NFL-Giants: NY Giants football news

I am pleasantly surprised. Or shocked and elated. The Giants look like a good football team again – on both sides of the ball – in the same game!

The Redskins offense had been coming alive the past few weeks but the Giants defense suddenly figured out what they need to do.

Manning was accurate, we had room to run, and the offense didn’t kill the team with turnovers.

All in all it was a beautiful day. Can we expect more of the same? Can the Giants win out? Can they get the help they need and end up with a wild card berth? Can they bring a competent defense and offense into the playoffs?

The Giants secondary has been bad. Sure we lost Kenny Phillips for the season but that doesn’t explain how lost our guys look out there. If Corey Webster and Aaron Ross don’t play I don’t think there’s much chance of our defense looking good against the Redskins.

The only thing that might save us is the Redskins offense – they have certainly had their share of issues… Having said that, the Washington offense has been improving the past 5 weeks and considering the state of our defense, they are entirely capable of smashing us. The gaints defense is going to have to toughen up and smarten up. No more getting blown up by blockers. No more missed tackles. No more missed assignments.

I do think the Giants will put up some points. manning has had a few good games recently and we have to expect that from our franchise QB so assume he has another good game. The Giants will move the ball. They’ll need to protect it better than they did vs. the Eagles of course…

“It’s extra special against Dallas. That’s absolutely a team I can’t stand. I’ve been hating Dallas ever since I knew anything about football.”

A win is extra special against Dallas. And the Giants season may not be over just yet – although it is hard not to get my hopes up after a sweet win, the Giants defense is still not looking so hot (the fumble recovery/return by Osi helped but can we can’t stop the pass). At least the defensive line is looking better.

Let’s hope Chris Snee is OK – knee injuries are pretty scary…

Coming in to the season I expected us to win most games. Today I was expecting us to compete and maybe get a win. Looks like to be realistic, Giants fans need to expect Big Blue to play like crap and get destroyed. It pains me to say it but that’s what I have to expect to happen next week against Dallas.

The Broncos don’t have a very good offense. Our defense is even worse. We couldn’t even run the ball when pretty much everyone else manages to do something with the ground game against Denver.

An a more positive note: Happy Thanksgiving!

It wasn’t a humiliating loss, but it sure counts as an L. Some good signs, most especially the play of QB Eli Manning who finally earned one of his big paychecks. 25-33, 215 yds, 2 TDs.

Giants were plus 2 in turnovers
Giants led in rushing 116 to 34
Giants led in total yards 304 to 226
Giants led TOP approximately 38 min to 22

There were more negatives than positives of course. Pass protection was an issue. Short yardage was an issue. Not scoring a TD when your defense gives you the ball on the opponents 4 yard line late in the 4th quarter is a huge issue. Not stopping an 80 yard drive in the final 2 minutes of the game is the most annoying issue of all for those of us who want the Giants defense to be feared…

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!