NFL-Giants: NY Giants football news

Kubiak says Carr starting against Giants

Gary Kubiak said he is going to start Carr next week against the Giants. If the Giants can get some pressure on him, he will fumble. He also has a bad habit of trying to force balls into tight coverage. If the Giants can manage tight coverage we may be able to get a few turnovers that way.

Giants beat the Bucs 17-3: game summary

The Giants defense played strong early (Gibril Wilson had a couple of nice stops) and the Giants offense had good field position. The Giants were able to move the ball but 3rd and long situations were tough with the wind making the passing game pretty risky.

Eli overthrew Burress on one play but did manage to get some yardage with relatively low-risk passes. Thanks to the short field and the passing game, the Ginats scored a TD on their second position (Burress made an awesome catch on this play). That was big - because of the wind, both teams were able to put a bunch of guys in the box. The Bucs couldn't run at all and we could only run a little.

When the Bucs got the ball back the Giants D continued to look good. Strahan showed that he's the best DE in the NFL right now. A bit later Kiwanuka had a sack - that was sweet to see. He's going to be a player!

With about 12 minutes to go in the second quarter, Tamp Bay had to punt from their own 4 yard line (an awesome feagles punt stuck them down there and solid D made sure they stayed stuck - another Giants rookie, Dockery, made a nice play to knock down a pass). The Giants got the ball on the Tampa Bay 41.

The Giants didn't go very far, as Shockey dropped a 4th down pass. Luckily when the Bucs got the ball back they fumbled and the Giants recovered at the Bucs 30. A crazy pass (damn wind) to Buress, a Tiki run, and Jacobs slams it into the endzone from the 1. The Giants were up 14-0. A significant lead when passing is very risky.

Tampa Bay started to come alive after a squib gave them decent field position. Cadillac Williams had a first down run. Then Galloway helped us out with a pair of drops, including one when he burned Corey Webster and should ahve picked up big yards. On 3rd down it looked like Pierce was covering him (badly) but luckily Galloway dropped it again.

The Bucs did manage a field goal before half time. The Giants pass rush vanished and the Bucs should have had a TD when Webster got burned again (by Clayton this time). The pass didn't connect and Webster had a nice blitz to stall the Tamp bay drive. The Giants went into halftime up 14-3. The score was fine but was the momentum shifting?

Seems so, because the Bucs came out and played well in the 3rd quarter. Our offensive line couldn't handle their pressure and our defensive line couldn't bring it (thanks to short passes where Gradkowski got rid of the ball quickly). The defense held and di start getting some pressure. The Bucs defense was very aggressive and the Giants and Bucs played the field position game in the 3rd quarter. Short left the game so Wilkinson came in. He did make a big play stopping Tampa bay from getting a 1st down and looked pretty good overall.

When the 3rd qurter ended, the Giants defense needed to regroup as the Bucs were putting together a solid drive. Strahan got some good pressure to end that drive. Eventually the Giants did put together a decent drive. They had been running Barber left for no gain all day, but Brandon jacobs provided a spark with a very tough run. He's fun to watch. Not so fun when he gets called for taunting thoguh. Of course he had just taken a helmet to helmet hit but the refs didn't call that even though it looked dirty. The drive stalled at the Bucs 13 and Feeley was good from 31 for a 17-3 lead. More importantly, the Giants had taken some time off the clock.

With less than 4 minutes left in the game, the Bucs needed two TDs. Considering the wind, the game was pretty much over.

Campbell's click for cans

Go to the Campbell's Soup click for cans page, vote for the GIants, fill in the number, and submit your vote. Right now we're last in the NFC East and near the bottom of the league so go donate some cans of soup!

Giants can stop the Bucs

With Osi out, the Giants will need Kiwanuka and all the other defensive linmen to stp up. Of course Fred Robbins has already stepped up big time. I think his excellent play is one of the reasons Cofield looks so good so early.

Sam madison is another guy doing better than I expected. I didn't think he'd be as good as Will Allen because of his run support, but interceptions sure are nice. He said he'll play against Tampa Bay - but if there's a chance that playing might aggravate the injury he shouldn't. The Giants need him all season long.

Strahan is playing as well as we expect him to. He's getting some pass rushes and he's strong against the run. That's rare for 4-3 defensive ends these days. Most seem like little pass rush specialists who get pushed back on running plays.

The bottom line is that even without Arrington the Giants should be able to stop the Bucs weak offense.

What will the Giants do at SAM and DE?

Osi is listed as questionable but he probably won't play according to Coughlin. Tuck is listed as questionable and Coughlin says "we'll see." It seems that Kiwanuka is going to start. Awasom may be signed off the practice squad to provide depth at DE. The Giants are unfortunate that what was once their strongest position is now desparately in need of depth. 2 out of 4 DEs injured is tough to take. Kiwanuka talked about becoming an every down player some:

"Normally, if the coach sent me in, it was because they were going to pass, so I didn’t have to do much thinking on my own,” Kiwanuka said. “Now that I have to be out there the entire game, I have to think through what their formation is, what’s the situation, down and distance. It’s going to be a little different."

With Lavar Arrington out, the two options at SAM seem to be Emmons if healthy and Torbor if Emmons isn't ready. The Kiwi article I linked to above names Emmons the starter so hopefully he's better. The New York Post article quotes Emmons who says he's ready to replace Arrington.

There are more articles on the topic, but they're not real informative. Here are some anyway: Newsday, the Daily News mentions a few other hurt guys like Madison and Demps.

And for a trip down Giants linebackers memory lane, remember when LT changed football?

Giants 3-0 in the NFC East after beating Dallas on the road

The Giants are sitting pretty in the standing having beaten all of their NFC East opponents on the road. A Cowbiys blog places most of the blame on Dallas; they don't have the talent to compete with good teams like the Giants. The blog rightfully puts alot of blame on the offensive line. While this article takes too narrow a view, blaming TO. No doubt the 4th down drop hurt, but TO played well most of the game while the Dallas offensive line was roughed up by the Giants defense.

Fred Robbins played real well (even picked up his second interception). Strahan tied LT (officially anyway - not all of LTs sacks made it into the official record books) in total Giants sacks and he still plays the run well; clearly the best DE in the NFL right now. Osi looked good but was hurt. 6 sacks overall tells the story. So does 4 interceptions.

Arrington was having a breakout game until a ruptured achilles knocked him out of the game and probably the rest of the season. Dallas got something going for a while when Arrington went down, but it didn't last. They also remind us that "cornerbacks Sam Madison (cramps) and Frank Walker (hamstring) also were sidelined by game's end."

Unlike the Cowboys' offensive line, the Giants offensive line is playing real well. Dallas had the #1 rushing defense in the league but the Giants averaged 4+ yards / carry (27 for 114 yards from Tiki, 10 for 40 yards from Jacobs). Dallas was able to get some pressure on Manning, but every offensive line gives up pressures and the occasional sack.

Basically, we saw the Giants outplay a good team in a division game: "They out-played us, they out-coached us, they out-everythinged us," Parcells said. "I am ashamed to put a team out there that played like that. I apologize to the people that come out and watch that. That is not good football." The Cowboys are now desperate.

Here's an article on how NFL officials are monitored. It's not quite satisfying because it doesn't ask why there seems to be no accountability. Plus there's no discussion of the Giants - Cowboys game.

5 questions with a Cowboys blogger

I recently swapped questions with Dave from Blogging the Boys. Check out his blog for my answers to his questions. Below are his answers to my questions.

1. Dallas' linemen, backers, and safeties are all runstoppers. Is the only way to beat the Cowboys defense through the air?

So far, that's been the case, The Cowboys run defense has been phenomenal, no team has been able to establish any kind of consistent running game against Dallas. Fred Taylor had 74 yards in the first game of the season and that's been the high-water mark for opposing running backs. On the other hand, the Dallas secondary is no push-over, for the most part they've been solid. Jacksonville was able to get something established in the air in the first game, and the Eagles shredded our pass defense for huge plays. But even the Eagles game was deceiving, because a couple of the big plays in that game can be traced back to our starting FS, Pat Watkins, who is a rookie and played an awful game. So if you want to attack Dallas in the air, going after our rookie FS Pat Watkins and our SS Roy Williams, who is excellent against the run but ordianry at best in coverage, may be the place to start.

2. Is the Dallas offensive line as bad as it looks?

Actually, they're not as bad as most fans from other teams think. Because I follow the Cowboys so closely and I break down their game film each week, I can tell you that they are an erratic group in pass blocking, but are very good in run blocking. Most people saw the failures against Philadelphia and could easily conclude that they stink. But what the game film shows is that they weren't getting beat physically, they were getting beat because of mental errors, especially Flozell Adams. So there is the hope that they can get their blitz protections schemes worked out. They gave up 7 sacks in the Philly game, but only 5 sacks over the other 4 games. Against Houston last week, another blitzing team - although nowhere as talented as the Eagles - the Cowboys did much better in recognizing blitzes and blocking them. In the running game, they are actually quite good.

3. Do the Cowboys have one of the better running attacks in the league? Compared with the Falcons running game, will it be easier or more difficult for the Giants to stop the Dallas running game?

The Cowboys do have one of the better running attacks in the league. Julius Jones is 3rd in the league in yards per game (98.8) and the Dallas rushing offense is tied with the Giants for 3rd in the league at 151.8 yards per game. Stopping the Dallas rushing attack is different than the Falcons run game. The Falcons rely on zone blocking up front and expect Warrick Dunn to find the cutback lane. They also rely on Michael Vick to pitch in quite a few yards per game. The Giants did a good job of schemeing against that by bringing the blitzes from the outside and hemming Vick into the pocket and the front four showed discipline and stayed in their lanes. Dallas uses the more traditional run blocking scheme of man-on-man and they also pull their guards and center alot, and loop the tackles to the outside while letting the TE's block down on the end. Dallas also uses 2-TE sets often and usually puts one TE in motion to act as a fullback. So I don't know how much harder it is to stop the Dallas running attack, but the Giants will have to use a different scheme than last week to some extent.

4. Do you expect the Cowboys to try a trick play at some point during the game?

I've been expecting them to try one for the last few games but so far they haven't. We traditionally use the flea-flicker a few times a season and most of the time it works. The WR target is Terry Glenn who is already very fast, so if they can get the CB and safety to take one step forward to attack the run on a flea-flicker, Glenn will take it to the house. I would also say if Skyler Green dresses, he was our punt returner last week, he's a good candidate to be involved in a trick play. If he's in on an offensive play, watch out for a gadget.

5. What are Cowboys fans most concerned about regarding the Giants? For example is the main concern the pass rush getting to Bledsoe, Tiki and co. establishing the run game, or something else?

For me, there are two keys to Dallas winning this game, and you just mentioned both of them. First, we have to protect Drew Bledsoe. It's no secret that when Bledsoe has time and a clean pocket to throw from, he can be an elite QB. But when he faces even an average amount of pressure, things get dicey quick and the turnovers usually follow. It's not even the sacks that worry me the most, it his penchant for throwing interceptions when he 's pressured. The number two priority is to control Tiki Barber. I watched the Giants destroy Atlanta with off-tackle plays, especially on the left side of the Giants line, for runs where Barber wasn't touched until he hit the secondary. Our OLB's and DE's have to stand up the blocking and force Barber back into traffic. If we can be successful in those two areas, I like our chances.

Bonus Question: Are most Cowboys fans still supporting TO?

I get asked this one every week. My standard answer is that Cowboys fans are all over the map on this issue. Some love him, some hate him, and most of us tolerate him. Now, if he produces 3 TD's like he did last week, then I'm sure a lot more will start to love him. I just wish we could install a "Mute" button into his mouth and brain. Really, we don't need to know every single thought that enters his brain.

Pierce fined for hitting Vick

Pierce hits Vick out of bounds (certainly not by much) and just got hit with a $12,500 fine. Brrokings hits a defenseless Eli (Eli is being propped up by two Falcons linemen) leaving his feet and leading with his helmet. Has he been fined?

Anyway, bring on the Cowboys! I think we're ready for them.

Tiki Barber retirement talk

Gary Meyers disapproves of Tiki Barber's timing in announcing his retirement. Will Tiki Barber's retirement talk be a distraction for the remainder of the season? I don't know, but I hope Meyers is wrong. Hopefully instead it will drive home the "must win now" mentality that we need.

Giants make a statement in beating Falcons

Before the game, I mentioned that the Giants needed to score first to force the Falcons into passing more. Well the Giants did score first, but 3 points with about 7 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter wasn’t going to scare the Falcons. It probably should have been a touchdown on that drive, but the Giants inexplicably put Jacobs in the slot leaving an empty backfield. Then McKenzie and Shockey let John Abraham smack Eli who was totally helpless on the play. It was ugly, but the Giants got their three.

The defense played real well in the first half. Sam Madison came up with a couple of big turnovers. Osi Umenyiora and Fred Robbins were both blatantly held but nothing was called. I give them credit for beating their guys and blame the officials for calling a crappy game. What else do you expect?

Anyway, Vick was put in some 3rd and longs. A couple good blitzes did that for us. The Falcons had trouble here until late in the second quarter, on the drive after the Giants field goal. After the 2:00 warning, Vick broke a big run up the middle for a touchdown to put the Falcons ahead. That was set up by a Dunn run where Strahan was very badly and obviously held. Again, no call. On the Vick TD, Osi was clearly held. No call.

Losing by 7-3 score was certainly not what we had in mind when we said the Giants needed to get a lead and force Atlanta to abandon the run. Going into halftime I was worried. The officials were killing us. Right before halftime they even called a hold on Snee that wasn’t as bad as one of the 4 very blatant ones they let Atlanta get away with. Our offense hadn’t gotten many points on the board and Eli didn’t throw a lot of good passes in the fist half. On the bright side, Tiki was in his usual MVP form and the defense was playing well despite our defensive linemen getting held (it was like the Falcons offensive linemen were middle school girls on their first date and watching their first scary R rated movie – they were hanging onto the Giant defenders with fists full of jersey). Brandon Short was having himself a game. Vick was getting hit and fumbling. It hadn’t burned Atlanta yet, but I had reason to hope.

Not as much reason to hope after Warrick Dunn’s 90 yard TD run. Looked like Arrington was tripped on that play but no flag. Will Demps has no excuse though. A lot more hope after the Giants answered with a TD of their own. I will admit that the refs finally made a decent call on the pass interference that gave us the ball at the 1.

Then the Giants got the ball back deep in their own territory. The Giants did a great job spreading the ball around to everyone but the receivers: Tiki (MVP), Jacobs, Shockey, Jacobs some more, Shockey with a huge 3rd down catch, Tiki with a big run down to the 2 (originally ruled a TD but the Falcons won their challenge), Shockey with a TD catch! That was an exciting drive.

Then we had some exciting defense as Cofield and Robbins got a sack. That’s just sweet when your two defensive tackles get to the QB. Cofield looks like a player, very nice 4th round pick. Robbins is obviously playing well, but is it because he needs another contract? He didn’t seem to be working this hard last year…

The giants put together a nice little field goal drive. A TD might have sealed the game by putting Falcons in pass only mode. We couldn’t quite get that kill shot (Eli overthrew Plax) but we kept adding pressure.

The defense came up big again, with Osi sealing the deal by sacking Vick (who fumbled and was slow getting up). Atlanta recovered the fumble, but the Giants got the ball back after a punt. Shockey had a big catch on 3rd and 4 on this drive. Tiki did some more MVP type stuff. Brandon Jacobs had a real nice run too. Shockey came up with the game sealing TD. The game was never really in doubt after the point after put the Giants up 27-13.

Great game overall. Eli certainly made his share of bad throws, and the 90 yard TD run was annoying but we outplayed them on offense and defense. Not really on special teams which were decent (Feeley had a good game, Feagles started off weak but got better – his last punt was sweet and downed at the 6, Morton didn’t do much of anything), but we definitely outplayed the Falcons on offense and defense.

Keys to the Giants vs. Falcons game

The Hartford Courant names a few keys of the game sfter reviewing how the Giants defense simplified things for the Redskins game:

1. The Giants have to contain the Falcons running game while still playing their own brand of football. In other words, dictate the game to the opponent - beat them at your game instead of playing their game.

2. Score a lot. Force the Falcons to pass more. Of course that requires a few things:
2a. Protect Manning.
2b. Overcome any noise issues.

I think we can do it. Now all the Giants players and coaches need to do is go prove me right.

Giants vs. Falcons: articles about the game

We have a few articles on how Whitfield is mad at the Falcons GM. Here's one in the Star Ledger, here's one in Newsday, here's one in the Post (which adds that Feeley is also mad at "Bitch McKay"). It seems like every other paper has one too, but let's move on.

Eli Manning faced the Falcons in his first start. He'll need his extra experience because he might need to do a lot of damage for the Giants to won this game. The Falcons defensive line is real good and their linebackers are good too so running is going to be difficult (although New Orleans was able to do it so there's still hope for Tiki Barber and Brandon Jacobs).

The Falcons are hoping too, hoping that they can get into the endzone which they haven't been very good at lately. Despite that, you've got an Atlanta paper that worships the glory of the Falcons amazing running game or something like that. Hopefully, the bye week didn't give them time to find a solution to their red zone woes.

Injury wise, Gibril Wilson is questionable because someone stepped on his toe. Sounds crazy, but apparently they knocked the toenail out. I'm sure it'll hurt but that'd be a cool place for a tattoo.

I know it's way too early, but let's draft Kansas State defensive tackle Quintin Echols

Despite the surprisingly good defensive tackle play the Giants have seen so far his year, I couldn't help but take notice when I read this on John Murphy's Yahoo column:

Kansas State defensive tackle Quintin Echols became a real pro prospect during the second half of last season, especially after games against Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Colorado. His hard work off the field, which included paying closer attention to his diet and staying up late watching game film, led to him becoming more of a vocal leader on the field.

The senior has ideal size for a nose tackle (6-foot, 320 pounds) and has recorded 18 tackles, 2½ tackles for loss and two forced fumbles in six games. He has shown good quickness off the ball, has been timed around five seconds in the 40-yard dash. He can help collapse the pocket of opposing offenses when he fires off the ball low and keeps his pads underneath him. That tends to keep blockers off balance and gives them a small target thanks to his compact/stout frame.

What more can you ask for? A big man with size to stuff the run, speed to pursue, and explosiveness to collapse the pocket. Plus he's known for his good work ethic. Almost oo good to be true...

Things that may not happen against the Falcons

It may not happen against the Falcons, but Bob Glauber reminds us that Strahan is close to breaking LT's franchise sack record. Steve Serby writes about the same thing.

Something else that may not happen against the Falcons, is Sinorice Moss getting on the field. However, he did say that he hoped to play Sunday... Jeremy Shockey is another health question mark for the Giants.

We know the Giants will have their hands full with Vick and Dunn. Still the Falcons haven't been an offensive juggernaut recently so the Giants defense might have another good day.

We should also find out if the Falcons defense is for real. They have been doing well so far and should be getting Abraham and Hartwell back. Still the guys they've been beating up on:

Granted, Atlanta hasn't faced the NFL's more high-octane offenses.

Carolina without wide receiver Steve Smith is like a gun with no bullets.

Tampa Bay couldn't score in a harem.

And Arizona ... well, Kurt Warner might consider returning to his old job stocking grocery-store shelves.

Probably my last post on the Giants beating up on the Redskins

I want to start talking about the next game, but the Giants vs. Redskins game is still the one making all the news. The biggest concern for Giants fans is Shockey's foot / ankle injury. It might be time for Giants fans to accept that Shockey is injury prone. Shiancoe is a good backup, but maybe we need a third tightend who's more of a pass catching threat than Rich Seubert. Still, watching Seubert come in as a blocking tightend was pretty cool so maybe we should keep him as our #3 tightend.

The best news is that Giants coaches are finally letting their players outplay (instead of trying to out-think opponents):

To a man, the Giants talked about how their coaches flipped their focus during the bye week. Instead of complicating the defense, Tom Coughlin and defensive coordinator Tim Lewis opted to simplify it.

"It was guys being more prepared," said Pierce, who, along with Brandon Short and Gibril Wilson, had a team-high six tackles. "Coach simplified some things for us, trying to make things easier so we could just read and react, not think as much. We went out there and had the performance we were looking for."

If that continues, we should see more defensive domination from the Giants who simply have good players. However we must remember that Brunell is the weakest of the 4 QBs the Giants have faced to date. Will the Giants be able to outplay the NFL's best offenses or will they need to outscheme them at some point?

The Redskins blogger I exchanged questions with asked where the hell was Sean Taylor? Apparently Taylor was busy threatening Brandon Jacobs. If you like reading people who criticize the Redskins defense, here's another article, this one from the Washington Times. Interestingly, he says that Carlos Rogers may never be ready to take over for Shawn Springs. That's why I called Carlos Rodgers a reach on April 24, 2005. I freely admit that when I'm right it might be more luck than skill but I'm still going to brag about it whan I'm accuarate.

Back to the posisitve stuff, the Giants. Glauber tells us about Tiki Barber's motivating message that the Giants have to make themselves good. It also helps that Barber does more than talk; Tiki leads by example. Steve Serby reminds us that Tom Coughlin also gets a lot of credit while Paul Schwartz reminds us that the Giants needed this win badly.

Giants beat the redskins with tough defense and an efficient offense

We played a good game. A few Giants penalties were irritating, and when the Giants got the ball at their 44 in the 4th quarter and couldn’t put the game away, that was disappointing. But overall we played a good game. I mean after the offense failed to put the game away the defense stepped up. Washington gave us the ball back. Tiki Barber had some nice runs to pick up yards and eat up the clock. It was like watching Giants football again. Then Brandon Jacobs comes in and picks up a big first down with a nice run. Sweet! We kick a field goal to go up 19-3 and the game is pretty much over with less than 3 minutes left.

The Giants defense deserves credit. Brandon Short did well replacing Carlos Emmons. Nice to have linebacker depth! Speaking of backup linebackers, Chase Blackburn did a nice job on special teams cover units. The starting linebackers played well enough, but not great. Pierce dropped an interception and Arrington wasn't in on many tackles. That's fine with me; it's a team game and we don't need one guy to have big numbers. If everyone gets the job done all year like they did today, the Giants are all set.

The Giants defensive line played well. Despite a number of blatant holds that went uncalled, we got good pressure from our front four. Strahan and Robbins picked up big sacks. Cofield still looks like a real NFL defensive tackle – great value from the rookie considering we got him late in the fourth round. The only downside here is that Osi Umenyiora had another quiet game. He did sack Brunell in garbage time. I didn't see the helmet to helmet hit the refs called. I think they gave Washington 3 points by blowing that call so I don't balme Osi there.

The secondary kept the Redskins receivers mostly covered. Sam Madison and Corey Webster get most of the credit from me. RW McQuaters played well when he was in. The Giants safeties still need to do more for me to be 100% satisfied.

Who am I kidding? I am 100% satisfied. We held them to under 100 yards passing and rushing. No way they could win with our defense dominating like that. 86 yards passing? 78 yards rushing? The Redskins 3.9 yards / rush isn’t bad but we had them much lower early in the game when it really counted. The Redskins 3.6 yards / pass is just bad (for them obviously). Something woke up our pass defense.

On offense, the Giants didn't put up big points but they moved the ball consistently, put together long drives that wore down the Washington defense, and didn't turn the ball over. In other words the offense played well. They did get lucky when Petigout recovered Tiki’s fumble (Sean Taylor made a nice play there – no need to worry about Tiki) but there's nothing wrong with a little luck.

The offensive line didn't give up a sack. Eli did face some pressure, often from the blitz (nice job by Jacobs picking some blitzers up) but came through with the big passes. Eli hung tough and there is no question – he is our QB and we're lucky to have him. If you think stats are important his completion percentage was closer to 70% than to 60%: 23-33, 256 yds, 1 TD, no interceptions.

The Giants receivers hauled in some nice catches, didn't drop too many (Shockey had what I felt was an important drop), and everyone showed up to play. Tim Carter might not lose the #3 job even if Sinorice ever gets himself healthy. Nice game Tim!

The offensive line had some nice run blocks and Tiki averaged over 5 yards a carry. Hard not to win when you do that.

On special teams, I already mentioned our coverage units when I mentioned Chase Blackburn. Tyree didn't do much, but other guys were able to get the job done. Chad Morton looked better than he has all season. The Giants did miss a 47 yard field goal attempt, but we made 4 others.

Defense (awesome), offense (good against a strong redskins D), and special teams (better than the other guys) – we outplayed the Redskins in every phase of the game. Let's build on this very solid effort.

If you're counting the Giants are 2-0 in the NFC East. Washington is 0-2. Now we get to watch the Eagles and the Cowboys beat each other up...

Is the Giants D progressing?

Ernie Palladino has a good article on the Giants situation at WILL. Short is expected to start but also expected to play primarily on running downs while Wilkinson will play more in the base defense. With any luck, Wilkinson's speed will help him cover more ground in the Giants empty looking zone. Also, he jad a couple stops for no gain or loss against Seattle (coming in for Emmons) and if he makes a few more big stops like that we'll all be happy on Monday.

Well we'll be happy on Monday if we get good play from our WILL and if the secondary plays well. At least Coughlin says they are doing better in practice.

5 questions for a Redskins blogger

I did a question exchange with a Redskins blog, an excellent idea that I can't take credit for. You'll definitely want to check out that blog now and before the Dec. 30 game and possib;y inbetween. Kind of like scouting behind enemy lines without the extremeskins crap. Anyway, check it out!

1. Which teams have defended Santana Moss best and what were their strategies for taking Moss out of the game?

Santana the Redskin has been very consistent with his number of catches per game. Never less than 2, never more than 10. The difference between a good game and a bad game for Santana is delimted in yards per catch. Santana is a two-way receiving threat, both as the short man in traffic as well as the streaking-behind-the-defense long man. Santana's first TD catch of 55 yards against the Jaguars was caught six yards downfield, and Santana spun around a direct hit at the 10 yard line. The 68 yard TD catch in OT was long for that night at 25 yards.

Against the Cowboys, though, on Monday Night last year, Santana's two TD catches were caught 30 and 45 yards from LOS. If Brunell can get it up there, Santana's open.

The games where Santana has not been open deep or had the YAC on the production have been at the Giants (last season's slaughter) and at home against the Raiders last season. In these games, he had a regular number of catches, but under 60 yards. I don't figure this season's games into that calculation. If I were though, it'd have to be the Texans, who held him to 50 yards on 6 catches. That's his worst catch-yards this season.

2. Will the Redskins offensive tackles be able to handle Umenyiora and Strahan one on one?

Not sure. Osi and Michael have combined for 18 tackes and one sack so far. They are due for a breakout game, and even though history is against the Giants after the bye, this is as good a game as any.

Jansen v. Strahan and Samuels v. Umenyiora is going to be epic. If Redskins lineplay is like the Jaguars game, yes. The Redskins offensive line was moving the Jaguars' defensive line back as the game wore on. If it's the lineplay from the Minnesota game, no. The Redskins looked overmatched and bewildered by the Vikings' rush schemes.

3. Many Giants fans are calling for a more aggressive defense that knocks receivers off their routes; could this be effective against the Redskins quick, short passes?

I thought the Redskins' gameplan for the Texans would have been a great opportunity to test out some longer passes, the timing routes, some play-action. Instead, the narrative about the Redskins gameplan was about how the shorter, 'high percentage' passes would solve the attacking defense of the Texans. Whatever we thought we saw in Houston, it worked. All day.

The difference here would be that the Giants, though not up to their game yet, are a real defense and so I would assume the quality of attack would be of higher quality in New York than Houston. Mario Williams may be a great player someday, but right now, he's worthless as the NOOP (Number One Overall Pick).

So to your question, I believe Al Saunders is showing a basic part of his philosophy with this part of the offense, that against an attacking defense, someone is out of position and so someone is open.

My opposing gameplan for the Redskins' offense would be to take away that open man short by playing bump and run and man to man on the corners, forcing the Redskins to run in the middle and throw over the middle. They had success with that against the Jaguars, but at this point, that performance is still the exception.

4. Why hasn't the Redskins defense looked as tough as they did last year?

Injury and scheme. Shawn Springs is still injured, and even though I have badmouthed Springs in the past, it's obvious how much this defense relies on him. My beef all along with Springs has been that he's got the injury bug. Never the same injury twice, but he's been dinged so much in his career that you have to think that compensating of one injury leads to another. WTF your abdominal is torn off the pubic bone and you wait until training camp to have surgery?! Still, when he comes back, I think Gregg Williams will be more confident in the corners.

In the scheme department, I truly believe Williams' philosophy is to protect the Redskins offense. As the Redskins offense has moved upwards statistically, the Redskins defense has moved down. It was ranked 3rd in 2004 (Gibbs' first year back; 7th pass / 2nd rush), 9th in 2005 (10th pass / 13th rushing -- how does that work?) and in this season so far, ranked #15 (26th pass / 5th rushing). The Redskins appear to prefer living on the edge. That means the offense has to get better, because the defense won't at least until Springs gets back. Memo to Tim Lewis: pass over the middle and send the corners into man to man downfield.

5. Who's going to win in the trenches and why?

The Giants offensive line will be challenged by the Redskins defensive line. The Redskins are improving and held the Jaguars to 33 yards rushing. Can't blame that on the Redskins' offense going out to a big lead. It was a back and forth game and the Redskins controlled the tempo on the ground the whole game. Tiki...?

The huge battle will be on the other side of the ball. If Robbins, Osi and Strahan can get it going early, that will limit the Redskins ability to use the run to set up the pass.

BONUS QUESTION: Regarding Chris Cooley, does every Redskin fan love the way he plays
or what? He's easily my Favorite Redskin because he's what a football player should be, tough but not flashy.

Chris is living the dream. Chris was a 3rd round draft pick, and played a key role in Joe Gibbs' offense as the H-back in his first two seasons. 71 catches last year, Joe's never had a TE or H-back that productive. He has a good sense for the underneath seams and as we saw against the Jaguars, can work the sidelines as well. He has not trended the same production this year, which is pretty much attributed to his Al Saunders role as a TE v. his Joe Gibbs as an H-back. As the season wears on, he should see more action.

Off the field, he's the tabloid boy. He diddled not one but two Redskins Cheerleaders, Christy and Frankie, getting them both fired. Last I heard last season, he had took up with the second one as his girlfriend, but I also think I heard he's moved onto blonder pastures. Like Sean Taylor's upside v. his stupid penalties, Chris Cooley will be a favorite as long as he's productive. The moment he drops off, the whole Spicoli thing won't fly in town.

Questions from a Redskins fan about the upcoming game

I recently did a question exchange with Curly R's Redskins blogin which he answers my questions about the upcoming game and I answer his. Here are his questions and my answers:

1. Giants' Offense. What's your take on Eli? Is he developing? He's already thrown 5 interceptions this season and been sacked 9 times. He doesn't seem always to be on the same page as the receivers. What critical development factor is Eli missing and how long will the Giants' faithful have confidence in him?

Eli's passing has been more accurate than it was last season, particularly at the end of last season when he kind of fell apart. I believe two of the interceptions cam when Giants receivers knocked balls into the air that should have been caught but the other 7 are obviously an issue. It seems that the Giants offense doesn't use enough high percentage passes. Typically, Eli is throwing the ball down the field. The longer the ball is in the air, the longer defenders have to make plays. To fully develop, Eli needs to do a better job of throwing the ball where there are no defenders who can make a play on it. I think he's getting there, and that's why Giants fans still have faith. We'll have confidence in Eli for a long time. His come-from-behind heroics against Philadlephia gave us a good feeling that even the 1st quarter of the Seattle game couldn't take
away.

2. Giants' Defense. How serious is starting weakside linebacker Carlos Emmons' injury and how does his loss affect the Giants' defense? Will Allen and Will Peterson are gone, but the defense is giving up lots of points (over 30 per game) and lots of passing yards (nearly 850 yards in three games). What's the problem with the Giants' secondary and how are the Giants' planning to control the Redskins?

Well, the injury is not unexpected. Emmons has had an injury every year he's been a Giant. He was even injured when we signed him. How serious a loss Emmons is depends on the replacement noone has really seen, our 3rd round pick, Wilkinson (or less likely Brandon Short). Emmons strength is supposed to be covering the tightend from the SAM position, which he wasn't doing in the first three games. Considering how soft the Giants zone looked with Emmons in there I don't see how there could be a big dropoff. How could the giants zone get any worse? Emmons is a big, tough run stopper. Wilkinson is faster, but less experienced. I don't have the answers but will he fill the right gaps? Will he be fooled by play action? Will he be a tough, reliable tackler?

To control the Redskins, Giants fans want to get rid of the soft zone and play tough. We remember the good old days when Giants linebackers were knocking receivers off their routes. Sadly, I don't think that's what the Giants plan to do, but they will try to tighten up that zone.

3. Giants Roster. Who's your breakout player for 2006? If you had a mulligan on one player acquisition from last offseason, who would you use it on, why, and who would you have wanted in his place? What are the top two offseason priorities for this team?

Brandon Jacobs looks to be a breakout player for 2006. He's running tough. Sinorice Moss has been the biggest bust so far since that quad of his has kept him off the field for a very very long time. However, rather than replace hime with another draft pick, I would say IR him and keep Curtis Deloatch (now with the Saints) on the roster. The Giants special teams miss Deloatch.

4. Tom Coughlin. If history served, tight end Jeremy Shockey would be benched for at least part of the Redskins game for comments about the Giants being outcoached and outplayed against Seattle. Wednesday, Coughlin said Shockey would start. Is Coach sacrificing principle for expediency, trying to win now and save the season and/or his job? Or was Shockey's transgression simply not as serious as others that have earned a benching?
Is Coughlin losing the team? Where is the fanbase on Coughlin?

To my knowledge, Coughlin never said he's bench Shockey. Most fans feel Shockey has a big mouth but in this case we agree that the Giants coaches need to do a better a job. We're fine with TC's handling of the players but not fine with the game plans on offense or defense. The penalties are frustrating as well but no one really knows how much of that is on the caoch and how much is on the players. I don't see Coughlin losing the team.

5. Finishing Strong or Finished Off?. After winning the Division last season, expectations for 2006 were high for the Giants. The team had to deal with injuries and controversy on the week off, and the Giants already have a problem coming off the bye, where they are a combined 3-14. Can they turn it around? How do you see the NFC East shaking out?

It's true that the Giants have sucked after byes for a while. I don't follow statistics like that; to me the players control the game and history isn't even an influence. Can they beat the Redskins? Yes. The Redskins have the weakest offense of the teams the Giants have played
so far (basing this on performance to date, not potential). Either the Giants defense will pull itself together and the Giants will win or the Redskins offense will have breakout game and the Giants will lose. I see the Giants winning the NFC East (the defense will wake up sooner
rather than later), Dallas finishing second (Strong defense will win some games and their receiving threats will win a few more for them), the Redskins third (I don't see enough depth to withstand more than a couple of injuries), and the Eagles 4th (their injury problems are
already costing them games).

BONUS QUESTION: Tiki Barber. His first couple of seasons, he was finding his place on the team, and now he's a bona fide star. What was your honest take when the Giants drafted him, and where does he fit now in the pantheon of Giants ball carriers?

He didn't make much of an impression until he came in for Rodney Hapton one time. You could tell he was just much faster than Hampton and more exciting to watch. In other words, I didn't notice when we drafted him but I noticed the first time I saw him play in an NFL regular season game and was impressed. Tiki is the greatest Giants running back. As elusive as Megget and as tough as Hampton who were the guys I grew up watching.

Disagree with my answers? leave a comment and tell us why.

Trouble for Giants fans in Philly

Giants fans get punched and abused in Philly. No wonder they actually like Brian Dawkins, that less than human crapbag.

Which one will be the Giants and which one will be the Redskins?

The Pwned image is hosted on photobucket so I'm not sure how long it will last... Anyway, just remembering last year. The Giants Pwn the Redskins to the tune of 36-0. Then the Redskins Pwn the Giants as Santana Moss makes a joke out of the Giants secondary. Seeing as how our secondary and pass rush has been a joke much of the year so far, I think we Giants fans need to unite in prayer for some bye week magic...