An interesting article in the New York Times by Lynn Zisner got me thinking about Coughlin's impact on the Giants.
1. I like his coaching style. By all accounts he is very strict but he explains the reasons behind his rules. Players aren't left wondering "why is he doing that?"
2. The jury is still out on his ability to prepare the Giants to win. After four straight wins, fans were praising Coughlin for getting more consistent play out of the Gaints than Fassel had been. After the Giants took a step back against Detroit, they have something to prove. Coughlin has to show us that he can get this team ready to play every week.
3. Play-calling has to improve. I've even heard some fans comparing Coughlin's offense to Fassel's - Fassel won that comparison. Fans complain that the Giants don't go deep, don't use their receiving weapons, are unimaginative in the red zone.
I should start by saying that the Giants did attempt two long balls against the Lions. Both were near misses. You can blame Warner for being a few inches off. You can blame Shockey and Toomer for not going the extra inch, or you can chalk it up to bad luck. The risky play calling is there. It's just not working.
As for Toomer and Hilliard, I also wonder where they've been. It seems that sometimes Warner misses an open receiver, but more often it seems that the Giants receivers aren't doing a great job getting open. Much of the blame for this can be placed on Toomer and Hilliard, but Coughlin's job is to get them in a position where they can be open. Coughlin needs to do better, but improved play from the receivers would go a long way...
My biggest criticism of Coughlin is his short yardage play calling. The Giants offensive line can't move an 8 man front. They always seem to end up going backwards. Finn can't push the pile. Dayne can't push the pile or get outside. The other real problem is that opponents always know what's coming. How many times have you seen Dayne come in on short yardage? How many times did the Giants run him? Can we please try something else? If your opponent knows what you're going to do and you're not very good at it, you fail.
Conclusion: All in all, Coughlin has done well preparing the Giants 2/3 of the time, meaning he's gotten them to play well 4 out of 6 games (I count the Redskins game as playing well but the offense really shouldn't be included). In school 67% is not too good. In the NFL you could be talking playoffs. However, Giants fans can't seriously talk about playoffs until they score in the red zone (Coughlin's job is to find some answers but he hasn't) and stop opponents in the red zone (the Giants defense has to play like they did against Green Bay week in and week out).
So far Coughlin gets a passing grade, a 'C'. Giants football is interesting again. He doesn't get an 'A' or a 'B' because he has been making mistakes (and not learning from them - see Dayne's short yardage adventures) and hasn't gotten the Giants to play their best football consistently.
In Minnesota, they worry about Tiki Barber, Amani Toomer, and Ike Hilliard. Toomer and Hilliard are labeled "Viking-killers". However Kevin Seifert predicts a 24-17 Vikings win. He notes that the Giants haven't been able to stop the run (although that really applies to the last two games against the Cowboys and the Lions - and the first game against Philadelphia).
Vikings fans must be liking their offensive line against the Giants defensive line. Still if we stopped Green behind an excellent Packers line, we have a chance to do something in Minnesota. We also have a chance to get pushed around worse than we did against Detroit.
Giants fans, are worried. Eric from BBI expects fans to be clamoring for Eli by 4:00 Sunday. He notes that the Vikings corners match up well against Toomer and Hilliard and notes that Toomer and Hilliard have not been playing well lately.
There are tons of Randy Moss articles floating around. One from Neil Best has some interesting quotes from Gibril Wilson and the Wills. I worry that the Giants will continue to yield in the red zone (I'm talking about defense here though the offense seems to sputter too) because with Moss at 6'4" and Marcus Washington at 6'3", Culpepper has plenty of big targets.
I wrote about how the Ginats offense would need to find some success. The reason why is because of Minnesota's offense. For one, Mike Garafolo argues that the Vikings running game can be more dangerous than their passing attack. Garafolo credits the Vikings excellent offensive line. I can't predict waht's going to happen. The Giants played well against Green Bay's excellent offensive line, but came up short against the less heralded Detroit Lions offensive line. I'm anxious to see which defense shows up Sunday to play the Vikings. It should be the defense with Fred Robbins which is good news. Strahan also thinks you stop the run first.
Barret Green will be on the field, but will see limited action. Ernie Palladino Green has been making to many mistakes in pass coverage to suit Coughlin. Plus Coughlin was impressed with Griesen:
"Nick played well in the nickel," Coughlin said. "He's got a good grasp and a savvy for that. I saw him in the spring display really good hands."This is interesting because Green is so much faster than Griesen. Still if Griesen can get into position and Green can't that Griesen should be out there in the nickel. Paul Schwartz doesn't see it this way. Commenting on Green's inclusion in base defense and Griesen's in the nickle he says:
This is surprising in that Green's greatest asset is his speed, which seemingly makes him an asset in pass coverage, and that Greisen's strength is considered to be against the run.
He may also be better suited to tackling Culpepper, who is able and willing to run. In fact, Neil Best's article has some good analysis of Culpepper's ability to run. He's hard to tackle because he's almost as big as Strahan. He's got about 40 pounds on Green, which may be one reason we should have Greisen in there.
Gary Myers argues that the Giants can not afford to lose two in a row. However the Vikings are a more talented team than the Lions, especially on offense. If the Giants don't score points in Minnesota they will lose.
Last year the Giants were the worst NFL team in the red zone. This year the Giants are doing worse than last year. As Tom Canavan writes, the Giants are keeping some pretty bad company:
The Giants (4-2) have been inside their opponent's 20-yard line 21 times this season and scored just seven touchdowns and 67 points. The 33.3 TD percentage is the worst in the NFC and the tied for the second-worst in the league with Oakland and Miami. Buffalo is the worst at 25 percent.Jason Bartalone agrees, saying that the Giants must be color blind to Coughlin's green zone / red zone distinction. Gary R. Blockus points out that the Lions game was equal in some ways:A year ago, the Giants scored touchdowns on 38.3 percent of their trips into the red zone.
Other than that, the game was a statistical oddity. Both teams ended the day with 325 yards of offense and 22 first downs, the first time teams have done that since Buffalo and Miami had the same number of yards and first downs (254 and 15) on Oct. 8, 2000.But unequal in other ways:
Red zone efficiency? The Lions went 4-for-4 for 28 points. The Giants went 0-for-3.That probably won't beat any team, especially the Vikings.Third-down efficiency? The Lions went 6-for-10 for a 60 percent conversion rate. The Giants went 4-for-12 for 33 percent.
So the Giants are going to go play the Vikings. While Moss only saw two snaps against the Titans, expect to see him play against the Giants, especially on third down and in the red zone. Let's hope the Giants defense recovers from the debacle we saw Sunday gainst Detroit.
This isn't news, and I haven't started sifting through the news articles yet. I do want to add my thoughts into the equation. Many Giants fans are quite upset with the Giants performance. I am too. There's a strong contingent of people who say not to worry; 4-2 is better than the Giants were supposed to be at the beginning of the season, no one wins every game, etc. True enough, but we still have cause for concern, or even anger. The Giants didn't seem to play hard.
I had written about how the defense would win us the game. I think they could have, but they didn't seem to be playing hard. Osi looked like the best defensive lineman out there; he had three tackles and one sack. Our defensive line was not supposed to get pushed around by an average Detroit offense. Joey Harrington was not supposed to complete 18-22 passes or have a 140 passer rating. Detroit wasn't supposed to find its running game Sunday against the Giants.
All the things that weren't supposed to happen did happen, and the Giants defense let them happen. They let the fans down. I teach 4 classes a day and am more motivated for each and every one than the Giants defense was Sunday. And I make a lot less money...
Fans have the right to complain and be upset. Even to be angry. What I don't understand is the blame being placed on Warner. We knew that Detroit had a good defense, and that their defensive line would cause our offensive line problems. The offense wasn't supposed to have to win us this game. True, Warner didn't look brilliant, but at least it looked like he was trying.
Not that fans have nothing to complain about. Many choose to complain about Dayne, but I still feel he is being misused. He is not a short yardage back. He can't move the pile. How can he succeed when the Giants line can't push the short yardage pile, and the fullback Finn is an adequate lead blocker but no short yardage bull. Mike Cloud has better leaping ability. I remember one play he was criticized for during which he tried to jump over the Giants offensive line (which was moving backwards) and into the end zone. He didn't make it. Not his fault. I know it's mean, but Dayne reminds me of a comment my wife made at the Catskill Game Farm about their resident hippo which is separated from the zoo visitiors by a moat. My wife said "Can't he jump over the moat?" We all had a laugh, just as other teams must when they see Dayne coming in for short yardage situations. The Giants can't move the pile, Dayne can't get over it, and Coughlin's offense doesn't seem too imaginitive in the red zone (unless you count calling the "red zone" the "green zone" imaginative).
I wrote about the Giants Lions special tems matchup. And I wrote about the Lions defense vs. the Giants offense. Now I'll write about the reason the Giants will win.
The Giants defense needs to stop Detroit. They can. The Lions offense is last in the league statistically. Sure, Roy Williams will be back. But if the Giants defense can stop Farve and his talented receivers, plus Testaverde and his receivers, they had better be able to stop a rookie with a sore ankle and an erratic QB in Joey Harrington. For all of Willims highlight reel catches, the Lions still haven't had a 200 yard passing game.
Tom Canavan writes that both the Lions and the Giants defenses have been creating turnovers. The Giants defense should look to create a few more today. Ernie Palladino reminds us that the Giants aren't too good after bye weeks (at least in recent memory) and Strahan adds that it can be hard to get your grovve back. I'm betting that Coughlin has the Giants abck in their groove and that while the Giants offense might struggle a bit against the Lions defense, the Lions offense will go nowhere against the Giants D.
I've noticed the term halfback appearing quite a bit recently. It has been mentioned in discussions of Shiancoe's role on the Giants and in Gibbs' joke of an offense in Washington. I was too embarassed to admit that I didn't know the difference between a halfback and a running back. Turns out there is none:
What's the difference between a tailback and a halfback? None. They're both anachronistic terms that I interchange, preferring both to the current "running back."
I'm not sure that Barret Green will see a whole lot of playing time against the Lions. Pasquereli notes (in passing) that Green has been bencehed. Mike garafalo goes into more detail about Green and Coughlin.
This matchup is more even than the special teams matchup where Detroit has a clear advantage. Dave Caldwell writes that the Giants are protecting the ball but still have some work to do.
Dre Bly is one of Detroit's corners. He knows how good Warner can be. We'll need a big game from Warner as no team has had a lot of success running on Detroit. Their front 7 is very good and will create problems for the Giants offensive line.
That's why I'm skeptical when Mike Garafolo writes that their should be opportunities to go deep against a weak Detroit secondary. Kurt Warner simply won't have time to sit in the pocket and wait for deep routes to develop. Still the Giants must find a way to try to stretch the field. It will be a challenge.
The Giants need to do better on third down. A big part of the equation here is avoiding third and long as the Detroit defensive line can really bring some pressure. The Giants also have some trouble on third and short because they haven't found a reliable short yardage running game. Again, Detroit's strong front 7 will make that difficult.
As for the running game in general, Tiki has been awesome, but Detroit is strong against the run. Barber knows he'll have to do something special to pick up yards against the Lions. The Giants probably won't run him at Detroit's middle; Tiki should be able to pick up some yards on the outside.
This is the one area of the game where Detroit has a clear advantage. Sure the Giants are getting better on special teams. The Detroit Lions are already good. Very good.
The Giants are looking to improve their punt returns. Mark Jones had been nursing a sore shoulder but has been healing up and studying. Currently the Giants are 24th in the NFL with a 6.5 yard average per return.
The Giants will also have to deal with Detroit's already very good retrurns. Eddie Drummond is averaging 29 yards per kickoff return and has a TD. Paul Schwartz talks about Drummond. He doesn't seem to think the Giants match up well on kickoffs, with Christie kicking off short and Drummond a great returner.
The Lions special teams are coached by Chuck Priefer. His son, Mike Priefer, is an assistant coach on the Giants special teams.
The New York Times has an interesting article on the Giants special teams. Coughlin is paying more attention than Fassel, the players have a new attitude, and the result is respectable.
The Giants special teams are going to have to play well against Detroit. Detroit's return teams are very good. Considering how their offense is playing, we ahve to make sure they don't get any big returns. If we put them in a position where their offense has to go the length of the field, we put ourselves in position to win.
I recently wrote about how signing Derrick Ward instead of a safety meant that the Giants really like Ward's potential. Maybe Curry Burns is ready to play, which lessens the need for a safety. Mike Garafolo writes that Burns is rotating with Jack Brewer and Terry Cousin in dime packages.
Burns might be ready to replace Jack Brewer or Terry Cousin in certain dime packages. (Cousin is a CB but "has been playing deep in obvious passing situations".) Remember though that one of his negatives on the scouting report is his inability to cover, so I expect we'll continue to see Terry Cousin (unless the scouting report is just plain wrong; I've never seen Burns play so I don't know).
Barret Green is still looking to play up to his ability: "I definitely haven't shown everything I can do on a football field as a New York Giant," said Green, who had 115, 116 and 117 tackles the past three years with the Lions. "Just getting to the ball, that's what I do well, and right now I know I can get to the ball better than I've been."
It would be nice if he put it together and playing the Lions, his former team, might just provide a little extra motivation. Still even if he's not at his best, he does look like the fastest guy among the Giants front 7. It was especially noticable after he came out against the Redskins.
Ernie Palladino has some kind words for the Giants offensive line. No doubt they deserve a lot fo credit, but as commenters on my post how bad is the Giants' offensive line have pointed out we have to be careful not to give too much credit.
Palladino writes that the line is pusing people off the ball, but that's not what I see on Sundays. I still remember Mike Cloud trying to jump into the endzone while his offensive line was moving backwards. The fact is the Giants are not so great at pushing people around, especially in short yardage situations. With a matchup against a Detroit front 7 that sacked Vick 6 times, I think we'll see a real test.
According to Paul Schwartz, Coughlin's work ethic makes him lonely. He even says he probably won't take advantage of what New York has to offer.
As Ralp Vacchoano points out, Coughlin's work has paid off. Aside from injuries and penalties, he is implementing his plan to restore Giants pride. Neil Best had previously graded Coughlin on his criteria but he picked 6 points whereas Vacchiano has chosen only 5.
Tom Coughlin is taking the Detroit Lions seriously. Good. Just because they got clobbered by Green Bay, doesn't make them a bad team. Remember they sacked Vick 6 times and the Detroit front 7 will cause matchup problems with our offensive line.
Other notes. Bromell is parcticing (limited) but Seubert is not. David Tyree, Willie Ponder and rookie Jamaar Taylor are competing for the third receiver spot left vacant by Tim Carter.
Tyree will be active because of his special teams play, but isn't going to stretch the field with his speed. Taylor was more impressive than Ponder in camp and has a good chance to win. Ponder is more dangerous on returns than Mike Cloud but he did fumble one. That may also affect Coughlin's decision; he'll only put a receiver on the field who he knows will hold onto the ball.
1 (25) William Joseph DT Miami (FL)
2 (56) Osi Umenyiora DE Troy St.
3 (91) Vishante Shiancoe TE Morgan St.
4 (123) Rod Babers CB Texas
5 (160) David Diehl OG Illinois
6 (199) Willie Ponder WR SE Missouri
6 (207) Frank Walker CB Tuskegee
6 (211) David Tyree WR Syracuse
7 (240) Charles Drake S Michigan
7 (249) Wayne Lucier C Colorado
7 (255) Kevin Walter WR E. Michigan
The jury is still out on William Joseph, but he has been a valuable member of the defensive line rotation and I'm leaning toward calling him a good pick. Osi is also still developing. Many Giants fans were expecting a break out year for Osi, but we haven't seen that yet. Vishante Shiancoe is turning into a good blocking tight end. He's been touted a s a good receiver, so I'd like to see the Giants get him more involved in the passing game. Babers had talent at CB, vanished for a week of trining camp, and was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Lions. I was on the Lions message boards the other day, and they consider themselves lucky to have gotten him. Can't blame Accorsi for this pick. Diehl is a versatile lineman, now starting at right tackle. Great value. Willie Ponder fumbled on return but is more dangerous than his replacement, Mike Cloud on kcikoff returns. With Carter out, I expect to see Ponder activated for the Lions game. Tyree is a great special teams player. Lucier competed for a starting spot and is a backup center/guard. Great value.
1 14 Jeremy Shockey TE Miami (FL)
2 46 Tim Carter WR Auburn
3 78 Jeff Hatch OT Pennsylvania
5 152 Nick Greisen ILB Wisconsin
6 188 Wesley Mallard S Oregon
7 226 Daryl Jones WR Miami (FL)
7 246 Quincy Monk ILB North Carolina
In 2002, the Giants traded their fourth rounder to move up one spot in the first and get Shockey. Shockey is a huge fan favorite, and a great tight end. We were worried about injuries, but so far this season he looks healthy and is the Giants biggest threat in the red zone. Carter was playing well until he was injured and one wonders what his future has in store. No blaming Accorsi for that. Nick Griesen and Welsy Mallard were also solid picks.
1 22 Will Allen CB Syracuse
3 78 William Peterson CB Western Illinois
4 114 Cedric Scott DE Southern Miss
4 125 Jesse Palmer QB Florida
5 160 John Markham PK Vanderbilt
5 162 Jonathan Carter WR Troy St.
7 230 Ross Kolodziej DE Wisconsin
The Giants traded up to get Will Allen. Then they traded down and still got the guy they wanted, Will Peterson. The Wills had some injury trouble but are playing well this year. That alone makes 2001 a good draft for the Giants.
Good thing too, because nothing else makes 2001 a good draft for the Giants. Sure Jessie Palmer is still with the team, but 3rd string quarterbacks aren't all that hard to find... I can't remember ever seeing those other guys play.
1 11 Ron Dayne HB Wisconsin
2 42 Cornelius Griffin DT Alabama
3 73 Ron Dixon WR Lambuth
4 105 Brandon Short ILB Penn St.
5 140 Ralph Brown CB Nebraska
6 177 Dhani Jones OLB Michigan
7 217 Jeremiah Parker DT California
Obviously the 2000 draft will be remembered for Ron Dayne. He had a fine rookie season, but has never justified the 1st round pick or money. Cornelius Griffin was a passable tackle, but is playing much better this year (for the Redskins) than in years past. Brandon Short and Dhani Jones became the Giants starting linebackers. They weren't great, but they were OK. Good value for 4th and 6th round picks.
1 19 Luke Petitgout OT Notre Dame
2 49 Joe Montgomery RB Ohio St.
3 79 Daniel Campbell TE Texas A&M
4 112 Sean Bennett RB Northwestern
5 149 Mike Rosenthal OG Notre Dame
6 189 Lyle West CB San Jose St.
6 205 Andre Weathers S Michigan
7 225 Ryan Hale DT Arkansas
7 231 O.J. Childress OLB Clemson
Choosing Petigout was a big surprise. He's still the focus of much debate. As the 2004 draft approached, Giants fans argued if Petigout was a better right tackle. Should he be moved to the right while Gallery played on the left? Of course, Petigout said Gallery wouldn't beat him out for the left tackle job. He's probably right.
Then there's the more general argument, just how good is Luke Petigout? Is he better than Lonnie Shelton and Aaron Gibson, the tackles who were projected to go before Petigout?
1998 - Accorsi takes Shaun Williams in round 1 (#24), because he was the best athlete available. This allowed the Steelers to get guard Alan Faneca at #26.
The Giants also traded up for Brian Alford, Getting #70 from Philadelphia in exchange for #85 fourth-round pick #116.
round 2 (#55) Joe Jurevicius WR
round 3 (#70) Brian Alford WR
round 4 no pick
round 5 (#147) Toby Miles OT
round 6 Todd Pollack TE
round 7 Ben Fricke OC
Mike Garafalo writes that Seubert is making slow progress. He's working hard, his spirits are high, and he has earned praise from Tom Coughlin for his work ethic. As I've reported earlier, a decision needs to be made week 9.
Seubert is a good player. He's tough and he's a more powerful run blocker than Whittle. Like Whittle he was part of the 2002 line that gave up 24 sacks and featured 3 undrafted free agents (Bober, Whittle, and Seubert). Of course Seubert was also part of that fiasco in San Francisco, when he was interfered with but no call was made, denying the Giants a chance to rekick.
I just wrote about how signing Derrick Ward instead of a safety says something. Mike Garafolo writes that Ward my be the Giants answer at short yardage, although in my opinion Cloud has not had a chance to show what he's capable of. Stephen Edelson says Ward will get a chance to play soon (in the notes after an article on Kevin Lewis).
The Daily News has an interesting interview with Kurt Warner. The Giants quarterback talks about religion, his wife, and football. He says he's not really comfortable with the Giants offense yet, and I expect that we'll see some more plays unleashed after the bye as players have time to practice them.
I wrote recently about Derrick Ward. The fact that we signed a running back when we have Barber, Dayne, and Cloud is a big deal. As John Dellapina writes in the Daily News, Ward isn't an immediate threat to Dayne.
Why is signing Ward a big deal? Because we don't need a 4th running back on the roster as much as we need a fifth safety. The Giants depth chart at safety looks like this: Strong Safety = Gibril Wilson, Curry Burns
Free Safety = Brent Alexander, Jack Brewer
Neither Curry Burns, nor Jack Brewer has shown that they can play a game at safety. The criticism on Burns is that he's not really capable of covering a slot receiver or play in a deep zone. Now in another article Dellapina write about the progress of Will Allen and Will Peterson. Perhaps the Giants are thinking they are so talented and deep at cornerback that the defense could succeed with Curry Burns playing should Wilson (Brewer should be ahead of Burns on the depth chart at either position) go down or Jack Brewer playing should Alexander go down.
But as Coughlin said in this old article about Burns, the giants started with 5 safeties on the roster. We now ahve one veteran safety, one rookie playing well, one veteran special teamer, and one rookie who proabbly doesn't know the playbook. The fact that Ward was signed instead more depth at safety means that the Giants must think he has pretty big upside potential because running back was not as big an area of need as safety.
Here's a nice article about how everything is going the Giants way, guys are happy, and problems are solved. Coughlin was the perfect fit, Accorsi should be exec of the year, etc. By the way, I was right about not signing Jeremiah Trotter. There are nice things said about Carlos Emmons who has received criticism from some Giants fans. At least he's keeping opposing tight ends in check.
Linebacker T.J. Hollowell and running back Derrick Ward signed with the New York Giants on Wednesday. They replace wide receiver Tim Carter and linebacker Wes Mallard. T.J. Holowell went through training camp with the Giants and was one of the last players cut. He should know the system.
Derrick Ward, was on the Jets practice squad (their seventh round draft pick). Ward had been mentioned as a possible replacement for Lamont Jordan who is unhappy backing up Curtis Martin and may be traded. He has great physical tools; he's powerful and agile. However, reports are that he was often in academic trouble in college and may not be able to learn a complicated system. He also has had fumbling issues and doesn't have great hands or good routes.
Despite criticism of his pass catching ability, he was the offensive MVP for the Blue Team in the Blue Gray All Star Classic with five catches for 59 yards and 38 yards on five rushes. 7+ yards/rush is obviously good and Ward was around that mark his whole college career...
A big test is coming up for the Giants offensive line. The Lions front 7 has been kicking butt recently.
"There have been 49 running backs this year that have rushed for 100 yards in a game," coach Steve Mariucci said. "None have been against our defense. We're improving. We happen to be playing without some guys, but the backups have come in and done a nice job. Our front seven seems to continue to dominate."In addition to playing well against the run, the Lions recorded six sacks against speedy Michael Vick. If you read the comments on my Giants offensive line post, you'll see that if there's a stat keeping people from calling our line good it's the number of sacks the Giants have given up. We need to find Barber some roomt o run and Warner some time to throw.The Lions are second in the NFL in forced fumbles (nine) and tied for second in fumble recoveries (seven). Detroit is also tied for third in sacks (16) and is ninth in rushing defense, allowing 98.3 yards a game.
So the Giants go to Detroit after Detroit plays Green Bay. I wanted to start talking Giants-Lions on the Detroit message boards, but they're busy predicting a win over seemingly hapless Green Bay.
What are they talking about?
Joey Harrington - starting to earn some respect. Has played well enough at QB to win over some fans but some still refuse to say he's good.
Roy Williams - Rookie of the year if the vote was today. Needed to be healthy because there is no running game in Detroit.
Jerry Rice - If he can be acquired for a late round draft choice, the fans seem to want him. Except for the fans who say he's too old, too expensive cap-wise, and that there's better talent available (no one says who...).
Alex Lewis - Rookie linebacker who is compared favorably to Barret Green. Got good pressure on Vick.
Teddy Lehman - Starting for the injured MLB, very sure tackler (led the team against the Falcons). There is talk about defensive rookie of the year.
Overall, they're pretty confident in Detroit. They claim to be a strong safety and premeir defensive end away from the best defense in the NFL. They expect to be competing with Minnesota for the division toward the end of the season. There is concern about the offense, which means the Giants should dominate with their defense playing as well as it has been.
Jeffrey Chadiha argues that Coughlin is only to be given partial credit for the Giants success and that the reason the Giants are playing more inspired is because Coughlin has changed his tough, strict style. Speaking of Coughlin, he gets praise from all over these days, starting here in New York with Paul Schwartz.
Here's a pretty weak comparison between the Giants/Patriots and Coughlin/Belechick. I'm not sure I follow the logic but it's something like Belechichk was criticized for letting lawyer Milloy go and someone wrote that the players ahted him. Then they started winning. Everyone said Gaints players ahted Coughlin, then they started winning.
For old-fashoined football fans, the fullback should be an exciting part of the team. The Giants have had some good ones as they were traditionally a running team. How does Jimm Finn compare to previous Giants fullbacks? Neil Best writes that Finn is becoming a good lead blocker though most Giants fans rarely give him much credit for Tiki Barber's yardage. It seems like previous Giants fullbacks were given more carries and more opportunities to catch the ball. Perhaps it has something to do with Tiki Barber being such a dangerous receiving threat.
I dug up an old article on how Greg Comella was going to have to block Ray Lewis in the Giants last superbowl appearance. Comella has an interesting family by the way.
Then I dug up an article that brought back memories of Charles Way. He and Howard Cross were probably the best tight end/full back duo in football for getting a running game going. Of course Way is still doing things with the Giants. At that time, though, the Giants had an uninspiring Wheatley and Rodney Hampton nearing the end of his career.
Tim Carter will probably be put on injured reserve; he's out for the season with a fractured hip socket. Coughlin is hopeful that Robbins can play Detroit even though he sprained a shoulder against Dallas. Jamaar Taylor will probably take over Carter's duties. With this the third year in a row that Tim Carter has been injured, one has to wonder about his future with the Giants and in the NFL...
Does Dallas play dirty? Amani Toomer accuses Roy Williams of taking cheap shots. He claims he was injured by one of those cheap shots (not the time Williams ripped his helmet off). If you dislike Roy Williams as much as I do, at least Shockey beat him for a touchdown. Of course Shockey probably got away with one on that play. And at least Toomer is happy with the win, hopefully he'll be happy with xray results...
Also injured were Robbins and Carter. Carter had no catches and dropped a TD, so Robbins would be more sorely missed. Robbins has a sprained shoulder but there's no news about how serious it is. Diehl got poked in they eye and the officials made him get off the field. He got back on though...
Ernie Palladino discusses Wes Mallard's important role on special teams, which, due to Mallards injury and upcoming surgery, will now belong to James Maxwell. Mallard was the outside protector for Jeff Feagles. Hank Gola also takes a look at losing Mallard and replacing him with Maxwell. The situation is getting so much media attention because field position is expected to be key against Dallas.
Continuing the special teams theme, Neil Best writes about how Coughlin wants his special teams to be more of a weapon (all we can say is that they aren't a liability), but losing Stoutmire and now Mallard makes turning the Giants Special teams into a weapon a bigger task.
Finally, in comparing the Jets and the Giants, Steve Christie gets insulted. In fact my biggest concerns are the 9.6 yards per punt return Giants opponents are averaging and Christie's short kickoffs and missed field gaols.
Here's one about premeir left tackles. Pace and Jones each make over 7 million a year and don't really ahve to go to training camp.
The other one is about lots of different stuff, but what I found most interesting was that big name players get inflated stats when they play at home. The example here is that Ray Lewis was given credit for 5 tackles when he made only three.
Parcells calls the Giants the best team the Cowboys have played so far (subscription). This article gives Warner much of the credit and notes that he's more dangerous than Brunell and Garcia.
Michael Eisen on NFL.com writes about Warner and Testaverde. They've both proved that they can still play. Coughlin talks about Parcells, pass interference calls, and more on Giants.com.
Shaun Williams is on IR. There was some talk about signing another kicker, but the Giants clearly needed depth at safety. Some fans who wanted the Giants to draft Jason Shivers in the second round thought we should sign him off the Rams practice squad, but we signed Curry Burns off the Patriots practice squad. The Patriots seem to be doing a better job at evaluating talent these days...
He was drafted in the 7th round and expected to be primarily a special teams standout who could play gunner and block kicks or punts with his leaping ability. He was described as a "linebacker playing in a safety's body" and some of his shortcomings are what you'd expect of a linebacker:
Areas of Concern: Burns can play a tight end in coverage, but otherwise he’ll need some help in that area. He is not someone that plays the ball because of his intense focus on eliminating the guy holding onto the ball. His speed and range are merely adequate in coverage, so he probably won’t be asked to cover too many slot receivers or play in any deep zones....
Curry Burns has a reputation as a hard hitting run stopper, but in College he earned praise for interceptions:
2001: Led the team and ranked No. 10 in the conference with 107 tackles, including 56 solos stops ... earned Defensive MVP honors at the AXA Liberty Bowl after notching a game-high 12 tackles, including nine solo stops, and an interception at the end of the third quarter which setup Ronnie Ghent's 27-yard game-clinching touchdown ... tied fellow safety Anthony Floyd for second on the team and fifth in Conference USA with four interceptions ... a major reason why the Cardinals were the toughest team to throw against in Conference USA (199.3/game) ... U of L ranked No. 18 nationally against the pass with a 105.01 pass efficiency defense ... tallied six double-digit tackle games, including a season-high 16 in the season-opener against New Mexico State ... notched 10 tackles, picked off two passes and deflected another three at Illinois.
Ralph Vacchiano writes that Tiki is ready to continue carrying the load (he gains 40% of the Giants' yards). The media people down in Dallas know they have to stop Tiki with a 20th ranked run defense (subscription). They could put eight guys in the box but that would expose their 17th ranked pass defense.
Somehow, the Cowboys are pretty confident, as they used the bye to break in some new players. Still it seems that the Giants might be able to take advantage of the cornerback situation:
Seventh-round pick Jacques Reeves will start in place of Pete Hunter at right cornerback. Veteran Tyrone Williams was signed last week and is likely to play, but Parcells needs to see him more in practice before deciding how he'll be used. Parcells is considering dressing five cornerbacks Sunday: three rookies, second-year starter Terence Newman and Williams.Paul Schwartz is confident that Coughlin will have the Giants ready, so what we should see is two well prepared teams taking the field. The Cowboys feel they need to prove themselves. Looking at statisitcs, the Giants have a better team. Troy Aikman doesn't go so far as saying that BIg Blue will win, but he seems to be leaning that way. He gives props to Will Allen and Will Peterson, who will have to come up big against the Cowboys who have the #2 passing attack in the league. I trust our defense to play well against Testaverde if they can do it against Farve. I trust our offense to gain yards. What makes me nervous is that our offense hasn't been getting the job done in the red zone. We need to put points on the board.The changes at both positions affect everything from the running game to blitz calls. Those are the kind of uncertainties that make Parcells' stomach churn.
"We're going to have some growing pains," he said. "There's going to be things that happen you wish wouldn't happen but that's what we are right now.
Remember when Coughlin said the Giants had to restore their pride and do six things to win:
1. "Effort is the key to success."Neil Best from Newsday gives Coughlin high grades on 5/6 but notes that penalties are still a problem.2. "We must win the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball."
3. "We must run the ball and we must be able to defend the run."
4. "We must eliminate turnovers. You are not going to beat anybody with a minus-16 . That stat has to radically change."
5. "We must eliminate costly penalties. You can't shoot yourself in the foot and expect to win the 100-meter dash."
6. "Special teams and winning the battle of field position must become our catalyst for victory and not our Achilles' heel."
Green Bay is trying to figure out how they gave up 245 yards rushing to the Giants. Nick Barnett promised no team would gain as many yards on the Pack as Chicago did in Week 2 (182 yards). The Giants didn't even need the whole team. Tiki Barber gained 182 yards on 23 carries, nearly 8 yards/carry. I suppose the offensive line deserves some credit too. Sure they gave up 4 sacks but two fo those were really coverage sacks. And there are problems as Neil Best points out:
The Giants continue to struggle in the red zone, in short yardage and on third down. But they have won anyway, in part because of good fortune and timing.So the evidence is starting to come in. I was right. The Gaints offensive line is pretty good. Kind of makes Theismann and a lot of other "expert analysts" look like morons for saying that the Giants had the worst offensive line in the NFL. As Dr. Z points out, there are lots of bad offensive lines in the NFL. Miami gets a mention. So does Carolina. So do the Redskins. Cardinals, Rams, Bengals. The Giants are not mentioned at all. Are all those teams worse than the Giants offensive line? Probably.
Bob Gosman writes that the Giants knew they could do better against the Packers than Indy and have come a long way since the preseason and week 1. Neil Best offers a fair evaluation of the newest members playing in the Giants secondary: Gibril Wilson, Frank Walker, and Amani Toomer:
Wilson, in his first start since veteran Shaun Williams was declared out for the season, nearly had his third interception in three career games, but it was overturned on a replay challenge. He finished with a team-high 12 tackles, 10 of them solo.I don't know about you, but Gibril Wilson is strting to really impress me. And he always plays hard.Walker, playing his first game this season after suffering a fractured foot, saw extensive action in dime packages, another byproduct of the fallout from Williams' injury. The Packers picked on him, but he held his own. He had a 69-yard interception return for a touchdown called back on a pass-interference penalty against him.
Walker seemed to have a chance to break up the touchdown pass from Brett Favre to Javon Walker, but he did not make a play on the ball and Walker completed a 28-yard scoring play.
Was that really Amani Toomer playing safety at the end of the game?
Yes. The star receiver lined up deep to protect against the Packers trying a long play designed to be a jump ball.
Toomer said he last played safety in high school. "It was very weird," he said, "but anything to win."
Terry Bradshaw is eating his words. Bob Glauber writes that Coughlin is too modest. Kimberly Jones says that winning (and not being laughed at) has made the Giants look prouder. The Giants players all seem to believe they can win on any given Sunday. Ron Borges has the Giants on his list of contenders but not in the same league as the Patriots or Eagles. Warner and the offense get some credit for gaining 400 yards, but mostly credit goes to the defense:
New York's defense has been producing turnovers at a furious rate, but this time they turned over Brett Favre himself. They left him feeling like Oscar De La Hoya felt two weeks ago after being knocked out by Bernard Hopkins.I don't know the extent of Farve's injury, but Warner says that after the game Farve couldn't remember the TD he threw.Favre was on his knees, then on his back, and finally on the bench after a crushing hit left him wondering why he was hearing an ice cream truck bell behind him. The ringing didn't stop long enough for him to save the 1-3 Packers. The Giants may be mad at Coughlin and his encyclopedic rulebook, but on Sundays they band together and make their opponents pay for whatever grief they had to put up with all week from the cranky coach.
John Altavilla also sees reason to hope as he reviews the positives from the Giants Packers game. The Giants should ahve scored more points against a depleted Packers defense, and they would have if Steve Christie had one his job. Neil Best's blue notes are worth reading too. Dayne had 9 carries for 23 yards. Mike Cloud was active and returned a punt for 23 yards...
Travis Sawchik writes that Warner's success means that the Giants would have been better off spending their money on Roy Williams, Robert Gallery or Sean Taylor.
While I was hoping the Giants would figure out a way to land Gallery, I'm not so sure I agree with Sawchik. Gallery just started his first game (at right tackle, not left) and was called for three false starts. There's no indication he would have beat out Petigout. Maybe he would be starting at right tackle for us, but Diehl has been doing well enough.
I also wanted Sean Taylor more than Manning, but while we could use depth at safety right now, Sean Taylor hasn't been all that exciting for the Redskins. He made 7 tackles against Cleveland but got beaten by Davis and didn't stop Suggs from having a big game.
The only player who has reallly impressed so far is Roy Williams, and I did write before the draft that he would be the best receiver of the 2004 class. It would be nice to have him, but Toomer, Hilliard, and Carter are doing well enough and Jamaar Taylor should be able to contribute soon.
I'm elated that the Giants beat the Packers, but this game reminded me of the Redskins game in that the offense should have put more points on the board. The defense did a marvelous job holding Farve and the Packers scoreless in the first half:
Neither team did much offensively in a scoreless first half, the first time since Oct. 6, 1980, that the teams had gone into their locker rooms at Lambeau Field without any points.Once again the Giants were able to move the ball but unable to score touchdowns. In addition, Steve Christie was unable to kicka fieeld goal, going 0-3. They don't talk about all the mistakes on Giants.com's game review but it seems clear enough:
Neither team scored in the first half, which was particularly frustrating to the Giants, who had better chances to get into the end zone and outplayed the Packers, enjoying advantages of 147-98 in total yards and 10-5 in first downs.The Packers turned the ball over three times, but like in the Redskins game the Giants offense seemed unable to take adavntage. The Giants defense kept coming up big, stopping Green Bay repeatedly, then knocking Farve out of the game (William Joseph hit). Farve cam back in and threw a TD, but then sat out the rest of the game (something he really didn't want to do) and Green Bay was done scoring.
Lynn Zinser writes that Mike Cloud is good at scoring. He seems like a nice charitable guy, so I'm rooting for him. This from a Giants press release: Q:
Did you see enough of Mike Cloud last week that if you knew going into the game he was your second running back, that he would have a bigger role this week?Ernie Palladino also outlines some of Cloud's successes, including against the Giants last year.A: We certainly saw…we were fortunate in the opportunity to get Mike into the rotation. Would I have had him in an expanded role? I would probably have had him in a more expanded role, yes. He has good versatility and can be used a lot of different ways.
There are grumblings about the Packers defense and the way they handled the cap. Todd McMahon says that Green Bay needs to create turnovers to beat the Giants. He then points out that the Giants have been good at that but Green Bay has been atrocious.
Strahan leads the league with three fumble recoveries but faces a big challenge against Mark Tauscher of Green Bay. While Green Bay does have the ebst offensive line in the NFL, they just lost their center for the season. Their backup is good, but he's no Mike Flanagan.
The Giants seem much healthier than the Packers. Sure they miss Shaun Williams and Stoutmire, but everyone else seems ready to go, including Dayne, Walker, and Taylor. They may not all be active for the game and so far I haven't heard who takes Williams' roster spot. Coughlin says he'll be placed on injured reserve next week, so I guess he feels he has what he needs to compete against Green bay.
I think the Giants will score more than ten points against the ailing Packers defense. Tony Moss thinks I'm wrong:
The Giants have given their fans something to cheer about, but let's face it, a six-point home win against a Redskins team that committed seven turnovers, followed by a victory over a Browns club that wouldn't even be the best team in NFL Europe should hardly have G-Men supporters thinking playoffs. The Packers have had their struggles over the past few weeks, but they still have a talent advantage, not to mention the push they will get from being at Lambeau Field. Expect Favre and company to come out with renewed focus this week, against a Giants team that figures to be up-and-down all year. Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Packers 34, Giants 10.
The Packers defense is in pretty bad shape injury wise. They are especially weak on the defensive line without nose tackle Grady Jackson and backup James Lee. Packers fans are a bit more optimistic about the secondary improving over their dismal showinf against the Colts, even if Mike McKenzie can't play (50% chance). Tom Silverstein isn't so optimistic about the Packers secondary. (subscription necessary). He does report that the fight between the Packers defensive backs and McKenzie wanting to be traded aren't major distractions. Judd Zulgad places much of the blame on the coaches, (subscription required) especially Slowik the defensive coordinator.
The Packers linebackers are supposed to be their strength, but they haven't been very successful, especially on blitz packages. The Packers want to get after Warner, but they need to fix their blitzing schemes first:
What the Packers badly need is pressure up the middle because they are getting push from end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, their sacks leader the last three seasons, but it merely resulted Sunday in Manning stepping up in the pocket. Had the linebackers, or someone else, created some kind of push up the middle, Gbaja-Biamila might have had a couple of sacks.
The Giants will probably have to stop the Packers a few times if they want to win. Producing a few turnovers always helps. The Giants defense thinks they can do both. The plan is to put pressure on Farve (whose hamstring makes him less mobile than usual) and hope the defense can male plays on the resulting errant throws. Of course getting the pressure won't be easy as the Packers offensive line is a great one.
Ernie Palladino talks about Farve's injuries and how Barret Green says a weakened Farve will make mistakes. That helped the Lions beat Green Bay last Thanksgiving. Mike Garafolo also writes about intercepting Farve.