NFL-Giants: NY Giants football news

The Giants outplayed the Raiders to the point where it’s hard to comment on individual players. Everyone seemed to beat their guy. Most Giants starters got to rest in the second half so their stats aren’t going to shock anyone (with the possible exception of Manning’s perfect QB rating).

Hakeem Nicks got involved and that was great to see. Bradshaw looked all-world. Jacobs ran for a much smaller average – you have to wonder if he’s going to break out and start seeing the results he had last year or what.

I say sloppy cause of all the penalties but considering how badly the refs sucked today I need to watch again before commenting on them. But for example look at the unnecessary roughness against Smith they called and the one they didn’t call and you’ll a terribly inconsistent crew that is an embarrassment to the NFL.

But as annoying as the refs were, this was a nice win because the Giants pretty much controlled the Chiefs – just like a good team should. We had plenty of offense, great defense (until the final minutes) that got some sacks, and good special teams (fumble recovery on kickoff, recovered an onsides kick to start the second half).

Did I mention the announcers were as annoying as the refs? And as stupid?

There is some concern over Eli Manning’s heel, but it does sound like everyone’s saying he’ll be fine. Mario Manningham also regressed a bit – missed some catches he should make – but he’s only played a handful of NFL games. Steve Smith was amazing and Hakeem Nicks looked good so they picked up any slack…

You know the Giants and Chiefs don’t have much in common when reporters are stretching to find weird connections like: Giants strength coach Jerry Palmieri coached at Kansas State (’87-92).

The giants are 3-0. Kansas City is 0-3. They went 2-14 last year. We made the playoffs (and then got knocked out early after Manning had a terrible game in Philadelphia).

This comparison from KC is a little better. They talk about how badly the Chiefs played against the Eagles and how the Giants have been successful. I’ll be honest – I think we win big against Kansas City. In theory, that’s the way it should go down. Sometimes things work out differently in real life than they do in theory, but let’s not let today’s game be one of those times. Go Giants!

We ran the ball at will and our defense was dominant. Sweet game. Except for the injuries. McKenzie and Seubert both had to leave the game at some point. They say McKenzie is getting xrays on his knee and that is a big concern.

Gotta appreciate what their head coach said: “They beat us down,” said Tampa Bay’s first-year coach Raheem Morris. “We were beat by a grown-man team, a team we want to be like one day,” the NFL’s youngest head coach added. “They came in here and took it to us. Out-manned us, out-gunned us. … It wasn’t even close.”

Sporting news predicts the Giants to finish 12-4 and 1st in the NFC East. They predict that the Giants will beat Philadelphia in the Divisional Playoffs, beat Atlanta in the NFC Championship Game and beat New England in Super Bowl 44.

Here are the “7 Reasons”:

1) Championship Pedigree: The Giants have been there, done that. Many key players already own Super Bowl 42 rings. They still have the swagger of champions. Last season made them even hungrier. Until Plaxico Burress’ gun incident derailed them, the Giants looked ready to repeat. They feel cheated, as if their season went up in smoke when a gun went off in a nightclub. Burress is now gone and will not stand in their way. Nothing will.

2) Depth: This team is well equipped to handle injuries. Significant players have gone down over the past two seasons – Jeremy Shockey, Mathias Kiwanuka, Osi Umenyiora. Yet the Giants kept winning. General Manager Jerry Reese has assembled a formidable roster. The Giants are toast if Eli Manning goes down for the long term. But overall their roster is rock-solid.

3) Offensive Line: Guard Chris Snee and Center Shaun O’Hara are coming off Pro Bowl seasons. David Diehl and Kareem McKenzie are excellent tackles, and Rich Seubert is a dependable guard. The Giants led the league in rushing last season, as their backs were provided with gaping holes. Few backs run with Brandon Jacobs’ power and Ahmad Bradshaw’s game-breaking speed. Derrick Ward, who signed with the Buccaneers, will miss the Giants offensive line more than the Giants will miss him.

4) Ferocious pass rush: Justin Tuck became a star last season after Umenyiora suffered a season-ending injury. Together, they will make sandwiches out of quarterbacks, while Mathias Kiwanuka will rarely see double teams, making him even more effective. The Giants will miss defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, now head coach of the Rams. But the franchise was smart to promote former linebackers coach Bill Sheridan to defensive coordinator. Sheridan sat in meetings with Spagnuolo, and knows best how to deploy personnel. Remember Super Bowl 42, when Patriots quarterback Tom Brady spent much of the game on his back? The Giants have the personnel to do that again.

5) Tom Coughlin (in Iraq): The longer he coaches, the more the Giants reflect his tenacity. One of Coughlin’s heroes is former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden. After the league meetings in March, Coughlin drove up the California coast to meet Wooden for the first time, and they talked for three hours. Like Wooden, Coughlin never thinks he knows it all. Late in his career, Coughlin had evolved into a players’ coach, without being too lenient. Hiring young head coaches has become trendy, but the league’s oldest head coach (Coughlin will be 63 in August) is still one of the best.

6) Eli Manning: It seems like this guy has been around for a decade, but he’s only 28. Manning has his supporters and his crtics, but has yet to reach his prime. He already wears a ring, and often plays his best in clutch situations. Quarterback is the most important position in team sports. In the fourth quarter, the Giants have a quarterback who makes plays.

7) Special teams: The punter (Jeff Feagles) is superb at pinning teams inside the 20. The placekicker (Lawrence Tynes) is reliable. The kick-coverage units are excellent. The Giants usually win the battle of field position and rarely waste scoring drives.

Here’s the full story.

A few comments:

Game on Thanksgiving is kinda cool.

Week 9 bye is better than we usually get.

Looking at the schedule, there are plenty of teams we should beat.

The Rams are paying Butler some real money: could be more than 4 million / year with incentives. I always liked Butler but 4 million does seem like a lot. Anyway, I wish him luck.

I trust that the Giants will be fired up as they play for the #1 seed vs. the Panthers today but maybe the coaches will mention this game, in which the Giants shut down Jim Brown. Sure would be nice to see some dominant defense today…

Warner saw a lot of pressure so I’m not blaming the guy but Manning certainly outperformed. The Cardinals put up an awful lot of offense – I’d much rather watch the Giants defense dominate than an offensive shootout – but I’ll take a win on the road any way I can get it. And remember, since they used to suck every year, Arizona is a solid team, now 7-4.

Jacobs was out, Plax was in. Plax hurt his hamstring – hopefully not too much worse than before.

Domenik Hixon had a huge game returning and was solid receiving.

The referees had a horrible game. Is this really the best the NFL can do? I don’t understand how the officiating can be so bad for so long.

The #1 rushing defense in the NFL sucked pretty bad – or the #1 rushing offense in the NFL played the game of their lives – as the Giants ran successfully most of the game. Here’s an article on Earth, Wind & Fire from before the game in case you missed it.

During the game the Giants rushed for over 200 yards. They made Ray Lewis look obsolete. Ahmad Bradshaw made him look silly on his 77 yard run. Jacobs left the game after landing on his knee but says he’ll be OK.

The offensive line, of course, deserves its share of the credit. The Giants runners are happy to give it as Bradshaw even talked about how good the blocking was on his 77 yarder (that run was mostly Bradshaw making guys miss).