Advertisement
Showing posts with label New York Giants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York Giants. Show all posts
-
Can The Saints Go Marching In?
The New Orleans Saints are hands down the best team in the NFL right now. They made the New England Patriots look mediocre. They handed the Patriots their worst defeat since their 38-13, week 3 loss to the Miami Dolphins last season. Matt Cassel took over quarterback duties in place of Tom Brady due to his season ending knee injury. The Dolphins offense was invigorated by the newly found Wildcat offense. In some ways the outcome of that game wasn’t all that shocking. For one the Patriots didn’t have their pro bowl quarterback Tom Brady. Matt Cassel hadn’t started a game since high school. He is the only quarterback in NFL history to have started an NFL game without starting in college. The defense had personnel changes it was trying to accommodate as well.
Teams don’t find their identity that early in the season. Suffering a demoralizing loss in week 12 is more alarming. Can the team psychologically recover from that loss? What type of character does this team possess? In order to be successful in this league you have to be able to bounce back. Have a short memory. Re-discover your swagger. It usually comes down to which teams are able to peak at the end of the season, most of the time. Last year the Arizona Cardinals looked terrible down the stretch. Their division, the NFC West, was equivalent to the AFC West division. The Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, and Denver Broncos were all bad teams. The San Diego Chargers were the only respectable team to emerge from the AFC West last year. The NFC West had terrible teams in the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, and St. Louis Rams last year. The Cardinals were the only one from that division to emerge as a respectable squad. They ended up winning the NFC West with a shoddy 9-7 record. Once the playoffs began the Cardinals defense played exceptionally well. Better than they had all season. Edgerrin James appeared to have reverted to the back he was three years prior to the actual calendar date. The passing game was firing on all cylinders. Larry Fitzgerald was having his best games of the season at the most crucial time. Everything was clicking for them. Hence Super Bowl XLIII hosted the Arizona Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers.
If the New Orleans Saints defense continues to fly around the field and playing with a chip on their shoulders, watch out. Combine that with their offense and Congress should pass legislation deeming the Saints an illegal organization. They make it seem unfair that opposing defenses can’t field 12 or 13 defenders to contain them. I do mean contain them. Don’t confuse that with stopping them. Talk about a defensive coordinators worst nightmare come to life.
Observing the Saints offense this year has been educational. It is a reminder that the game has evolved. Team speed has never been more essential. Gone are the days of the Lombardi sweep plays, physical bump ‘n run defenses, and Buddy Ryan hurling punches at fellow staffers on the sideline. The game resembles more of the AFL’s vertical passing style. To think, as fans we will be witnessing the three greatest offenses of all time, in the span of one decade. The 2001-’02 St. Louis Rams, 2007-’08 New England Patriots, and now the 2009-’10 New Orleans Saints.
Drew Brees has to be revered as one of the game’s elite. He possesses unbelievable passing accuracy. He was hitting his receivers in stride 30 or more yards down field at will. He was able to consistently throw the ball in seemingly impossible spaces, which only his receivers could get to. The entire Saints team has been nothing short of spectacular. It will be interesting to see if they can keep performing at such a high level.
The 2001-’02 St. Louis Rams lost to the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI. The 2007-’08 New England Patriots, who entered the Super Bowl 18-0, lost to the New York Giants. The Giants were a 10-6 wild card team that year. The Two most dominant offensive teams in NFL history lost to teams that were considered to be inferior. To put it best, any given Sunday
more
-
SECONDARY CRISIS!
What has happened to the New York Giants?
They started off 5-0 before getting crushed by the Saints in week 6 at New Orleans. They followed that up with a 17-24 loss at home to Arizona then a 17-40 loss to the Eagles in Philadelphia. The Giants opponents prior to the Saints game were Washington, Dallas, Tampa Bay, Kansas City, and Oakland. Dallas is the only team out of this group that should be considered a worthy opponent. In retrospect the Giants should have started of as hot as they did.
The loss of starting CB Aaron Ross at the beginning of the season due to a hamstring injury has proven to be a big loss for a permeable Giants secondary compounded further by the loss of starting safety Kenny Phillips. Which was put on display in week 6 when Drew Brees lit them up for 48 points thus handing NFL teams a blueprint on how to effectively attack the Giants. There are other contributing factors to the Giants sudden spiral. The loss of DT Chris Canty in week 1. Injuries to OLB Michael Boley and Mario Manningham haven’t helped. The offensive line hasn’t been as effective in protecting Manning the way they did in weeks 1-5. That can be contributed to facing stronger pass rushes and from having to play from behind.
The San Diego Chargers take the trip east to the Meadowlands for a week 9 matchup with the Giants. The strength of the Bolts is their passing attack. I don’t see how the Giants will be able to slow them down unless their big uglies up front can get pressure on Philip Rivers early and often. The Bolts starting receivers Vincent Jackson and Malcolm Floyd stand tall at 6’5” each. Starting tight end Antonio Gates comes in at 6’4” tall. Not exactly an ideal matchup for a struggling banged up secondary searching for their identity. If the G-Men aren’t able to remedy their coverage woes this week New York Giant fans will be praising Brandon Jacobs and praying for inclement weather often.
more
-
"Fire" Before "Earth"
The New York Giants are at the top of the NFC. It helps that they just played the abomination known as the Oakland Raiders. The team whose head coach is about to be sent to the house of correction. How excited Raider Nation must be right now! Coach Cable is upping his street cred!
In the coming weeks the Giants will be playing teams that actually belong in the NFL. In particular the New Orlean Saints. It is the most intriguing game of week 6. This is the battle of two superlative teams. The winner of this game gets my secret ballot for the NFL’s most impressive team to date. Accompanying the Colts of course.
I’m most interested in seeing the distribution that occurs in the Giants backfield. Will Tom Coughlin succumb to the media pressure and start Ahmad Bradshaw? If that happens it won’t be because of the media’s need to sell a story. If Bradshaw starts it is because he has had 58 carries for 375 yards. That is 6.5 yards per carry! Brandon Jacobs has 100 carries for 355 yards. That is a dismal 3.6 yards per carry!
Jacobs didn’t hide his displeasure regarding his play nor his critics recent criticism on his WEPN-AM radio interview. Maybe that will fuel him in his upcoming games?
Bradshaw is a home run guy every time he touches the ball. He has a nice mixture of light feet and power. If he racks up good numbers this week going against the NFL’s 7th ranked rush defense then I don’t think there will be much question as to who the better starting option in New York will be moving forward. At least until the cold weather settles in.
more
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
