NFL-Giants: NY Giants football news

I’m sure most of you saw the Giants lose to the Seahawks. Some of the Giants played well, like Osi Umenyiora who had a great day against the best left tackle in the NFL. There’s no way I thought Osi could produce 2 sacks, 8 tackles, and several hits or hurries going against Walter Jones.

The problem on defense was with the secondary. Will Allen played well, but ex-Giant Joe Jerivicious had an awesome day picking on Corey Webster. I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised that a veteran NFL receiver can school a rookie who hasn’t played much, but I was surprised anyway.

And what hapened to Jay Feely? Seattle kicker Josh Brown has an excuse for him:

“The wind really swirls in here and stays high,” said Seahawks kicker Josh Brown. “It is not necessarily right down the field. That’s why the first couple of kicks were ground balls on kickoffs because if you get the ball caught up in the air, it is going to drop that way. I really feel bad for him.”

And the offensive line thought things were a bit too loud (and they were loud) committing 11 false start penalties (2 of which came from Walker on a punt). Petigout (5) and Diehl (3) were especially bad.

So all in all, the Giants could clean a few things up and be an elite team. But until they do…

Last week Dallas won but looked bad. This week they lost but looked good. Intersting that their defense held the Broncos prolific rusihing attack in check even if Denver was a bit undermanned. Very sweet that Dayne did more for the Giants on Thanksgiving 2005 then he had since his rookie season.

Anyway, what I’m wondering is this. When we lost to Dallas I questioned the play calling that led to so many passes and so few runs. Hopwever if Dallas is going to put 8 in the box next week we may have no choice but to do that again. But we should be talking about the Seahawks.

There’s an interesting article in the Washinton Post about how the NFC East might come down to a showdown between Mnning and Bledsoe. There’s also a lot about Eli even if some of it is just recycled old quotes.

It sure was nice to see the Giants beat the Eagles. It had certainly been too long. It was also nice to see Manning play relatively good football – can’t complain about three TDs vs. no interceptions.

It’s nice to see the Giants in first place even if we are tied with America’s least favorite team. Thanks to the Redskins for losing aother close game and the -13 turnover differential they have this season. That’s what we like to see.

We don’t like to see Dallas winning, but at least they managed to look bad doing it…

I didn’t really think the Giants would lose to the Vikings. The defensive performance was nice, but a special teams meltdown? That’s so 3 years ago…

And 4 interceptions in Eli’s 16th game? As a fan you have to hope he’ll get more accurate and since he has been in the past there is reason to hope. There’s alo plenty to be concerned about as well…

And before blaming Eli for everything, how about those drops?

Ernie Palladino has some insight into he backup linebakers in case nick griesen can’t play (He’s expcted to play but it seems unlikely he can play a full game). It seems that Chase Blackburn is the first backup but that Coughlin is also comfortable with Alonzo Jackson at WLB. Finally he could also play an extra defensive back instead.

As the season began I was excited about th right side of the Gaints offensive line. Snee and McKenzie are big enough to bring a real power running game to New York. The unning game is working pretty well, but many people weonder why McKenzie has been penalized so much this year when in years past (with th Jets) he was rarely penalized.

Pete Frisco on Sportsline says that McKenzie has been just anoher player. While I expected ewer penalties and mor dominating play considering the money involved, I do think McKenzie is playing beter than your average right tackle. Here’s what frisco said:

The Giants average 29.1 points per game to lead the league. A lot of it has to do with Eli Manning and the skill people, but the offensive line has made a major improvement over a year ago. Left tackle Luke Petitgout has played much better than he did in 2004, and the addition of Kareem McKenzie has helped at right tackle. McKenzie was signed away from the Jets as unrestricted free agent, and although he’s an upgrade, he hasn’t played nearly as well as the Giants had hoped. In fact, he has been just a guy, clearly a player not worth the money the Giants paid to get him. The best player on the line so far is coach Tom Coughlin’s son-in-law, guard Chris Snee. In his second year out of Boston College, he has emerged as a dominant player at his position and could be ticketed to the Pro Bowl. The word on him is that he backs down from nobody and has improved greatly as a pass protector. When you’re the son-in-law of the coach, you have to have a thick skin, capable of taking anything thrown your way. Word is Snee is all of that. The Giants players ribbed him last year, but he handled it with ease. Keep an eye on this emerging talent. Snee missed time last season with a glandular infection that had him wake up on game day with a swollen gland so big he couldn’t put his helmet on. He lost 20 pounds. Now that he’s back healthy, he’s becoming a force. One more thing: He’s probably the only guard in the league who spent vacation time in Hawaii with his head coach.

Profootballtalk.com states that the Giants have 3.02 million avialale under the 2005 cap. The smart thing to do would be to extend a couple players now and use up that extra cap space sooner rather than later. Here are some choices:

Allen, Will UFA
Carter, Tim UFA
Hasselbeck, Tim UFA
Greisen, Nick UFA
Clancy, Kendrick UFA
Lewis, Kelly UFA
Whitfield, Bob UFA
Morton, Chad UFA
Shiancoe, Vishante RFA
Ponder, Willie RFA
Walker, Frank RFA
Tyree, David RFA
Allen, Kenderick RFA
Duckett, Damane EFA
Ward, Derrick EFA

I would say the priorities have to be Ward, Tyree, Ponder, and Griesen. Probably at least one of the defensive tackles on that list also. It would probably be cheap enough to keep Shiancoe around as well.

Peter King has some nice things to say about Tiki barber:

It’s not meant as a knock on LaDainian Tomlinson, especially in light of his four-touchdown performance at the Meadowlands that allowed the Chargers to stay in the AFC pennant race against the Jets. But I find it funny that Tomlinson, without discussion, is proclaimed the best player in football. I love the guy, and there’s a good chance he’s the best running back in football. But let’s not eliminate the discussion. For instance, why isn’t Tiki Barber in the discussion, if Tomlinson is?

Stats of Tomlinson and Barber since the start of 2004:

Total yards over the past year and a half: Barber 3,008, Tomlinson 2,875.

Again, I’m not saying Barber’s better. I’m saying: Why isn’t there at least a discussion about it?

And some criticism of Brandon Jacobs:

Don’t be bush league when you score, Brandon Jacobs. Stopping at the one and turning around to look at the defense, then showboating in … that’s not class.

The Giants beat the 49ers. Yes, they were supposed to and no it wasn’t pretty. Still they go the job done and they did it with defense which makes me a bit nostalgic…

The Giants haven’t given up a TD in their last two games. Sure the 49ers and the Redskins aren’t the best offenses in the league, but the Giants defense did dominate them and that’s nice to see.

Something else which must have been nice to see: 2 Panthers cheerleaders in trouble for getting it on in the bathroom.