SuperFan: Giants vs. Panthers (12/29/09)

A Sad, Gutless Farewell

By Superfan           

            So, Giants fans, here we are.  One week left in the regular season, and we’re officially out of the playoff hunt.  Not the situation anybody wanted, but one that shouldn’t be too much of a shock to anyone who’s been watching this season progress.  I’ll tell you one thing – the team I saw last Sunday certainly didn’t deserve a playoff berth. 

What I learned from Sunday…

            What bothers me most is that the game began with such promise!  That first drive was going perfectly.  We were moving down the field methodically, averaging about 5-7 yards per play, gaining first downs and killing that clock.  Then, suddenly, Madison Hedgecock got called for a holding penalty on what looked like a picture-perfect touchdown pass to Steve Smith.  And it wasn’t just a holding penalty; it was a blatant tackle that occurred right in front of the referee, when a chip would’ve sufficed.  Soon after, Mario Manningham carelessly fumbled away a completion down near the end zone, and the wheels completely fell off.  From there, it was all downhill.

            You’d think the guys out there would have a little pride, given what was at stake on Sunday.  Not only were we playing for our playoff lives, but it was also the Giants send-off to their home for the last 30 years.  AND THE ENTIRE TEAM FORGOT TO SHOW UP.  It made me physically ill to sit there and watch the whole game.

            Coughlin and his coaching staff put in 18-20 hour days, seven days a week.  And for what?  To see an offense that becomes completely unglued after a promising opening drive ends badly?  To see a defense show up, void of aggression?  Maybe Bill Sheridan wasn’t the answer to Steve Spagnuolo’s departure, but you can bet he put a lot more effort into this game than any of those pretenders did on the field.  Our defensive needs in the off-season are many.  They can be fixed through free agency and the draft, but to be a consistent winning team in December in the NFC East (like the Philadelphia Eagles have been – yes, hearing that should sting), a lot of soul searching and self-examination needs to start, and it needs to start this week in Minnesota.

            Michael Boley – I’m calling you out.  No more half-assed arm tackles.  Osi – I feel your pain, but you’ve been beyond miserable against the run all year.  Jacobs – you’re not Adrian Peterson, stop trying to run like him!  You’re a power back!  ACT LIKE IT!  It should take more than one guy reaching for your ankles to take you down.  Kevin Dockery – you didn’t play the way a starter in the NFL is expected to, and you know it.  When you’re head-on in a one-on-one situation near the sideline, there’s no excuse for getting juked out of your jock.  The list goes on and on…

The stadium deserved a better performance

            My friends and I went to the game with all the passion and optimism in the world, expecting our beloved Gmen to send the stadium off with a huge statement victory, helping us inch ever-closer to a potential playoff berth.  We were in our seats up in the mezzanine a good hour or so before kickoff, and watched with pride as the Giants stretched and warmed up for the last time in the stadium.  Not a single one of us had any doubt that we’d win this game handily, making for a truly joyous day of celebration for the landmark that is Giants Stadium.  Even Jimmy Hoffa seemed to be sending optimistic vibes from way underneath the building’s foundation.

            As miserable as it was, I forced my friends and myself to sit there until the clock ran out.  Forget the embarrassment that took place on the field – we owed it to the stadium, and to the franchise.  The team is bigger than one embarrassing performance, or one unfulfilled season.  That stadium has been home to some of the greatest experiences of my life, and I wasn’t going to let one heartless performance by the guys wearing Giants uniforms ruin its send-off.  The guys playing might not have cared enough to give it a fitting goodbye, but it didn’t mean the fans should disrespect it as well.  As upset as the game made me, I still walked out of the stadium with my head held high.  Not too long ago, it was the home of champions, despite the phonies playing it in last Sunday.  I felt really bad for Lawrence Taylor, especially.  To come in and watch the final Giants home game in the stadium, after calling it home for the entirety of his pro bowl career, only to see that embarrassing performance?  Those guys didn’t deserve to wear blue that day.  If only LT (or even Sehorn, for that matter) could’ve suited up.  Now those guys know what it means to play with heart and passion.  Hopefully, the guys who embarrassed themselves out there at least felt bad about it, but I doubt it.  The team I watched play last Sunday had absolutely no heart, and no pride.  They CERTAINLY weren’t Giants, that’s for sure.

Where do we go from here?

            There are obviously a lot of questions to be answered this off-season.  What we, as fans, should really hope for is that the Giants at least show some heart and toughness in their last game this Sunday in Minnesota.  While it won’t mean anything for us regarding January’s second season, it would be nice to see the players are still proud of the “NY” logo they wear on their helmets.

            Regarding the off-season, I’d love to see Jerry Reese go out and get us a shutdown corner.  I realize Webster and Ross have been out the last few weeks (Ross nearly the whole season), and as a result we’ve been playing with back-ups, but that doesn’t change my opinion.  I really feel like we should look into the free agent market, or the trading block, and get ourselves a Charles Woodson or a Brian Dawkins. Although I have been very encouraged by what I’ve seen from Jonathan Goff since stepping in for the injured Antonio Pierce, I think we should use the draft to build up our linebackers and safeties.  If there’s anything we’ve learned this season, it’s that you can’t have enough depth in those areas (it’ll be nice having Kenny Phillips back next year, that’s for sure).

Random thoughts:

• Is anyone else really bummed out that the Jets, not the Giants, have the last home game of the season in the stadium?  As bad as our last performance was (plus the fact that the Jets still have a shot at making the post-season), it seems only fitting that the last game in Giants Stadium would be played by the team with the same name.  Jets fans will get to walk out with chunks of the stadium.  All us Giants fans got was a bitter taste in our mouths and a poster.  What’s up with that?
• Having several weeks off of work for the holidays, I’ve managed to see two movies since coming east.  They were “Sherlock Holmes” and “Avatar” (in 3D).  Both were AWESOME!  I highly recommend them to anyone who loves the experience of going to the movies.
• My new year’s resolution:  convert one Eagles fan into a Giants fan in 2010.  I know it’s next to impossible, but I figure if I find one out in LA, far from their home turf, it might be a little easier.  Plus, it’s always a real pleasure to turn fans from the dark side to the side of good.  I’m setting the bar pretty high for next year!

In conclusion…

             Its going to be a really tough January.  For many, it means not even being able to watch the NFL playoffs, simply because it hurts so much to see two teams from the NFC East playing, not one of them being the Gmen.  But we’ll survive it.  Let’s finish the season on a positive note next week, and start getting ready for next year!  If you want to contact me, feel free to e-mail me at gmensuperfan@gmail.com.  You can also find me on Facebook, under the name “Gmen Superfan.”  Until next week, GO GMEN!!

             

 

SuperFan: Giants vs. Redskins (12/22/09)

Capitol Gains

By Superfan

            On a weekend where every team we needed (and expected) to win let us down (except the Steelers), the Giants took it upon themselves to go out there and take care of business. Talk about a statement!  I realize some people may say, “Oh, it was just the Redskins.”  I know I’m not the only Giants fan who was a little worried about heading into Washington, thinking that this could very well be a trap game.  They have a very tough defense (fifth in the league against the pass), and have recently played very competitive games against both Philadelphia and the Saints.  Well, we scorched them for 45 points, with 21 of them coming through the air.  And despite the fact that Jason Campbell made Gus Frerotte seem like a Redskins’ quarterback legend in comparison, our back-up defensive backs managed to keep some playmaking receivers (Moss, Randle-El) in check all game.

Thoughts About the Game

            I haven’t seen our offense click like that since the NFC Championship Game against Minnesota in 2000.  Especially that first drive, where every play seemed to work to perfection.  If there was one thing that stood out about our offensive performance Monday night, it was the absence of mistakes.  That’s all due to great preparation, and superior execution.  Another great notch on what’s been Eli’s best regular season of his career.

            For those fans out there who still rag on Eli, I feel sorry for you.  You’re letting one the best quarterbacks in our team’s history play before your very eyes, and you fail to appreciate it.  Do you realize Eli is now only the third quarterback in Giants history to throw for more than twenty-five touchdowns in a season?  You know who the other two were?  Y.A. Tittle and Fran Tarkenton.  Pretty impressive company, if you ask me.

            While it’s often the last thing most fans think about when watching a football game, I couldn’t help but notice how well our kickoff team played.  It certainly helps our defense when their starting field position is deep in their own territory after every one of our kicks.  Congrats for finally reaching their end zone, Mr. Tynes! 

            How about the job Goff has done filling in for Antonio Pierce these past two weeks?  An interception against Philly, and a really big sack against the Redskins.  Like what I’m seeing so far. 

            I can only imagine what an eye-opener it must have been for Bruce Allen (their newly appointed GM).  You have to think he was just sitting there with a checklist, marking off numerous roster spots that will need replacing.  Here’s the good news, Bruce – Dan Snyder, Vinny Ceratto, and Jim Zorn have set the bar very low. 

            Speaking of setting the bar low, how about that whole situation at the end of the first half?  Line up for a fake field goal, call a timeout, then line up in the EXACT SAME formation?  What did they think was gonna happen?

A Fun Day of Travel

            The game itself made for one hell of a travel experience.  Having flown back east for the holidays, my dad and I were able to catch the 2:00 pm Acela train to Washington, D.C. from Penn Station.  The train ride itself was great (minus some disgusting microwavable hot dogs), but waiting in Penn Station was a total mess.  Someone’s gotta do something about that place – talk about your all-time fire hazards.

            When we arrived in D.C., my dad seemed keen on having me zip up my jacket aboard the Metro.  I don’t know if it was because he was concerned for my safety (you’ll always be your father’s son, after all), or because he was born and raised in Bethesda, Maryland.  Regardless, I ignored his request, making it a point to remind him that we were in D.C., not Philly, and therefore he should relax.  Which he did.

            We arrived at the stadium around 7:00, where we met up with my Uncle Michael (my dad’s brother), and my cousin Alexandra, on break after her first semester at the University of Maryland.  While it’s unfortunate that they both happen to be huge Redskins fans, it was a pleasure to watch the Giants beat the stuffing out of the dead-skins in their seats (thanks again!!).

            Just before the game started, my dad and I hung out on the field for a bit, where it looked like there may have been more Giants fans with field passes than Redskins fans.  As the game started, we headed into a suite as my uncle’s guests, where (once again) the Giants fans outnumbered the Redskins’ faithful. 

            The best part of the game experience was that the suites at FedEx Field have huge windows that open in front, so we still felt very much a part of the crowd.  Also, the crab cakes were DYNAMITE.

            At game’s end, my dad and I hitched a ride back with the team train, which was quite a thrill.  I’ll tell you what – the train food back was a whole lot better than it was on the ride in!     

 

Random Musings

• I couldn’t help but notice a lot of random fans at the game wearing Eagles jerseys.  What was that about?  Did they simply have a small selection of football apparel to choose from, or were they deliberately trying to piss off both sets of fans?  Maybe they were counting on the whole “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” idea to come into play.  Only, which side would be which enemy?  Either way, that’s gutsy.
• While moving from the bus out of the stadium to the train that would take us the rest of the way to Newark, the entire team (players, coaches, family, press, friends, etc.) filed onto one very narrow escalator, which took us up to the platform.  While on it, I noticed that Eli was standing directly behind my left shoulder, and behind him and slightly to the right was David Carr.  Now, you must realize that this escalator was kind of slippery, since people had been walking on it with snow-covered shoes all day.  Considering all this data, I couldn’t help but picture the scene where I would be “that guy” to slip on the escalator, knocking Eli backwards into Carr, and sending the whole group tumbling down the escalator.  Could you imagine what that injury report would look like?  How could a fan possibly live with himself/herself?  That’s the first and second-string quarterbacks, out with one fell swoop!  Yikes.

Wrapping Up…

            What better way to head into the final game at Giants Stadium than with so much on the line?  It’s only appropriate that both the Giants and Panthers are coming off of dominating victories.  I also feel confident that the Giants won’t let their blowout of Washington affect their preparation or motivation for the match up against Carolina.  This team knows we need to take it one game at a time, and whatever might be riding on our big game in Minnesota won’t mean a thing unless we take care of business at home first.  Giants Stadium has been host to some amazing football over the years, and it’d been a shame to go out on anything less than a spectacular performance. 

            Despite Dallas’ surprising victory over the Saints, we’re still very much in this!  Assuming we can take care of our own business, we’d only need either Dallas or Green Bay to lose one more game!  Two games to go!  Each one’s a playoff game!  To keep talking Gmen football, or any questions/comments, feel free to send me an e-mail at gmensuperfan@gmail.com.  You can also find me on Facebook, under the name “Gmen Superfan.”  Merry Christma-Hanu-Kwanz-ukah everybody, and until next week – GO GMEN!!!!

 

SuperFan: Giants vs. Eagles (12/16/09)

Not Dead Yet

By Superfan 

         Sunday night was really hard to swallow.  To score 38 points on offense, and LOSE?!?!?!  The defense I saw out there was the worst I’ve ever seen wearing a Giants uniform, and I’ve been around for some bad defenses.  That was pathetic. 

            I feel bad for the offense.  Going back to what I mentioned earlier, our offense scored 38 points on Sunday.  Defense or special teams didn’t help that total – it was all the offense.  Eli played (without question) one of the greatest games of his career.  Jacobs and Bradshaw finally ran for over 100 yards combined, and looked great doing it.  When things click like that for a team, they deserve to win.

            Despite a few really bad games sprinkled in, Eli’s had one of the best overall seasons of his career this year.  Unfortunately, it’s been overshadowed by the poor defensive play.  Here are his season stats so far, with three games still left to play:

·      3,316 passing yards, 60.4% completion percentage, twenty-three touchdowns passes, and a quarterback rating of 93.0%. 

Not quite as inconsistent as we all thought this year, huh?  Take away one or two of his bad games, and he’s come close to having an MVP season!  And don’t forget, Eli didn’t even show his best stuff in 2007 until the playoffs arrived.  

 

Unfortunately, everything that our offense did great, our defense did that much worse.  With almost the same dominating cast they had last year!  It’s one thing for a new coordinator to need some time adjusting to his responsibilities with a team, and them having a few hiccups as a result.  But the fact that this defense has gone from one of the best to laughable in such a small span is ridiculous.  I realize it’s not kosher to change coordinators mid-season, but does anyone really think things could have gotten any worse this year if we had?  I’m being honest.  Nothing against Bill Sheridan, but I think at this point it’s pretty clear that he’s not up to the task of controlling our defense. 

 

We were at my condo to watch the game Sunday night.  It was JJ, his brother, Ryan, myself, and the beagle.  And one hell of a busy grill (thanks again JJ for the crazy barbecuing skills).  We must have changed our seating situation about five different times, and each time we thought we fixed the problem, the Eagles would drive down the field and score.  It was a terrible, helpless feeling.  Needless to say, dinner was the only thing we enjoyed that night.

 

All that being said, we’re still in this thing!  I hate to keep doing this, but in order to stay positive, I must continue making comparisons with this season and the 2007 season.  What I’m truly hoping is that this year’s Eagles are to us what the Cowboys were back in 2007.  We lost both regular season games to Dallas in ’07, then beat them on the road in the playoffs.  If we make it to the post season this year, and survive the first round, chances are we’ll take a trip to Philadelphia the following week.  When you compare the matchups between the two teams those two years, it’s a little scary:

·      In 2007, Dallas gained netted 801 yards and scored 76 points in their two regular season victories against us.

·      In 2009, Philadelphia netted 765 yards and scored 85 points in their two regular season victories against us.

            In no way am I saying that since it worked out for us then, it’ll work out the same way for us now, but it’s nice to reflect on that and realize that all hope is far from lost.  If we win out, and Dallas loses just one more of their games, we’re in.  That’s a big if, but a legitimate scenario nonetheless.

 

NON-GMEN THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK:

·      My sincerest thoughts and prayers go out to Chris Henry’s family and the entire Bengals organization.  What a great athlete, what a horrible tragedy.

·      Even though it’s with the Redskins, congratulations to Bruce Allen on getting back into the NFL!  One of the smartest football minds I can think of, it’s a shame the Buccaneers treated him the way they did.  While I’m not thrilled that our division rivals will finally have someone intelligent making their big football decisions, I’m very happy to have Bruce back in the league.  About time.

 

            We’ve got three huge games to go.  Washington, Carolina, and Minnesota.  They’re all winnable games, and games we have to win if we want to even think about the playoffs.  Speaking of Washington, I’m gonna be headed that way for the game Monday night.  Don’t kow where the seats are yet, or where we’ll be tailgating, but check my Facebook page for updates.  I’m on there under the name “Gmen Superfan.”  You can also reach me through e-mail, at gmensuperfan@gmail.com.  Until next week, GO GMEN!! 

 

SuperFan: Giants vs. Cowboys (12/8/09)

A Long Way From Over

By Superfan

“SHOW ME SOMETHING.” In one way or another, it seems every Giants fan posed this challenge to the team heading into last Sunday’s big match-up against the Cowboys. After what happened against the Broncos, not only did the Gmen need to win to stay alive in the playoff hunt, but they needed to prove to their fans and themselves that what happens out there every Sunday (or Thursday, or Monday) means as much to them as it does to us. And they did just that, in impressive fashion. Not to jump the gun, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say something finally clicked for us in the Meadowlands last Sunday. As soon as they went down 10-0 early, some switch flipped on, the metaphorical chip got wedged just deep enough into the team's collective shoulder, and it looked like they all universally thought, "Okay, enough is enough!” By the time we’d captured the lead just before the half, I could feel the reassuring pride coursing throughout my body like red blood cells. The New York Football Giants were back.
We’ve been here before, and have shown everybody we’re more than capable of coming back from the depths of mediocrity with our backs against the wall. Let's remind this league why we (not so long ago) used to be labeled one of its elite.
Statistically speaking, it wasn’t our best-looking win of the year. Eli completed only 11 of 25 passes, with an interception to go along with his two touchdown passes, and Jacobs and Bradshaw each had less than fifty yards rushing. But when it comes to aspects of the game that actually matter (statistics only really matter in fantasy football, not real football), this was by far our biggest win of the year. The Giants had to make a statement to the rest of the league, and that’s exactly what they did.

First thing’s first, a big kudos to Bill Sheridan and the defense. He’s been under the microscope for weeks now, and he stood his ground and came through. They shook up the lineup a bit, moved some guys around, did a few things differently, and boy did it pay off huge. Yeah, I know Romo completed 41 passes for nearly 400 yards, but he also had to throw the ball 55 times! Why? Because we held their three-headed rushing trio (Barber, Jones, Choice) to less than fifty yards (combined)! When we played the Cowboys in week two, those three ran for a combined 228 yards. Nice adjustment, if you ask me. Also, guess how many penalties were called against our defense on Sunday? One. (Well, two, technically, but the first ended up getting offset.) That’s a direct result of great coaching (the offense also only had one penalty called against them all game, by the way). I’ve criticized him plenty when the defense hasn’t played well, so I’ll absolutely give him big time props for what transpired at the Meadowlands on Sunday. Great job, Coach. Keep it up.
Even though his big play came on a receiving touchdown, it might as well have been a run. That one play showed me that Brandon Jacobs, the bulldozer we all know and love, is ready to reintroduce himself to the NFL. Pity to those fools who have to face him the rest of the way. It’s going to hurt.

The one issue that stood out to me during the game was how open Jason Witten seemed to be in the middle of the field all day long. Although, I’d gladly let Witten have a big day receiving if it means shutting down that rushing game. In the end, it wasn’t as close as the final score indicated, and a lot of those passing yards came against our prevent defense in what may as well have been garbage time.

Since the Giants won the last two times we watched them play at his house, JJ and I had initially planned to watch the game at my cousin Larry’s. It was then that I had a startling realization – we were also at his house last year when the Giants got beat up by the Cowboys in their second meeting. Sorry Larry, but I’m sure you understand that sacrifices have to be made to ensure a victory for the Gmen. It’s for the team.
So JJ and I wound up watching the game at my house with Ryan and the beagle (Pete). Unfortunately, since we only had the local feed, we were stuck waiting for the Redskins-Saints game to end before we could watch the Giants. Damn Redskins. Of course that anger faded fast as the game wore on, and it was nothing but Big Blue pride from then on. The assurance first came for me when we scored those quick 14 points just before halftime, and became legitimate after Dominik Hixon’s picture-perfect punt return for a touchdown. By the way, how great is it having a threat like that returning kicks for us? What a weapon!

For those of you who can’t seem to understand why our 3rd round draft pick (Ramses Barden) is inactive nearly every week, I sympathize with your confusion, but also see why the Giants are doing what they’re doing. They’re giving him the Mario Manningham treatment. He barely saw the field last season, spending his time learning from the guys around him, studying the playbook, and mastering his craft. As his production this season has shown us, it really paid off. I have a feeling the team’s handling Ramses Barden the same way. I realize that we have few tall weapons, and it would be nice to have his presence in the red zone, but you have to look at the big picture. In no way do I mean to knock him, especially because no one was more excited about drafting him than I was last April, but at this point in his very young career he brings little more to the table than a big body in the red zone. Wouldn’t it be better to let him master his craft, become a threat all over the field (instead of just twenty yards from the end zone), become a great downfield blocker, and use the last active spot on the roster for someone who adds depth in several areas in the meantime. After all, Hixon doesn’t score a touchdown on that punt return without Derek Hagan’s magnificent block downfield. Trust me, the coaches realize the potential they have with Barden. They’ll know when he’s ready.

(Back to the situation at hand…)

Here’s my take on the Gmen’s season so far, and what it all means: you can’t expect to have a storybook ending without encountering some serious hurdles along the way. If you remember correctly, the 2007 season was a fairly unpleasant and bumpy road up until the last few weeks in December, starting with our big win in Buffalo and continuing on through the Super Bowl. Conversely, last year was a very dominant season (minus that one really bad game against Cleveland) that ended miserably in early January. So forget about the previous twelve games. If we can keep going and get into the playoffs as a hot team, that would be just as valuable to our chances at making a run as home field advantage will be to the Saints or Vikings. Like we proved two years ago, you don’t have to be hot all year. Only when it matters most.

Some non-Gmen thoughts from around the world of sports/entertainment:
• I can’t believe I forgot to mention this last week, but congratulations to Derek Jeter for winning S.I.’s Sportsman of the Year award! Love him or hate him, the guy represents everything that’s great and pure about the game of baseball. Like Ted Williams was for baseball years ago, and Babe Ruth before him, and the countless others from years past, Derek Jeter has become the face of the sport. Years from now, when people think back to baseball in the 90s and into the 21st century, Jeter will be who comes to mind. In a period clouded with new problems like steroids and free agency, Derek Jeter stayed with one team and remained one of the purest, consistent, clutch, humblest, and most passionate players in the game. Hats off to you, Jeet. Atta boy!
• Have you all been watching this season of Dexter?!?! WOOOOOW!!!!! What an amazing show. My blood pressure reaches near-heart-attack levels every time I watch it, but it’s totally worth it. Can’t wait to watch the finale this Sunday after the Gmen are finished with Philly…

Okay, fans, here we go! From Dallas to Philly, the final quarter of the regular season is about to get under way. It doesn’t get any better than this! To talk Giants’ awesomeness, or any questions/comments, feel free to shoot me an e-mail at gmensuperfan@gmail.com, or look for me on Facebook under the name “Gmen Superfan.” Every game’s a playoff game from here on out. We still control our destiny! Keep on bleeding blue, and until next week, GO GMEN!!!!

SuperFan: Giants vs. Broncos (12/1/09)

So Many Questions, So Few Answers

By Superfan

After viewing last Thursday’s abomination, I have decided that it’s extremely unfair to have teams play any time after 4pm on Thanksgiving. This past week, I was so focused on the upcoming game in Denver that the holiday itself kind of just happened. I couldn’t really enjoy the time I spent back east with the family, nor could I savor what’s supposed to be the most delicious meal of the year. Instead, I just went over every possible scenario for how the game could play out in my head. Of course, when the game was over, I damn near lost everything I’d devoured hours earlier. I’m sure there were lots of Giants fans out there who weren’t so lucky, and recycled their turkey dinners that very same night. That’s just not fair to the chefs.

It may sound redundant at this point (which makes things all the more disconcerting), but this debacle is getting out of hand. Especially when you watch teams like the Vikings this past Sunday, and the Saints Monday night, how can the Giants be expected to do anything playing with such inconsistency? We’re heading into week 13 – all of the stupid penalties and missed communications should have been fixed months ago!

Once again, what frustrates me more than anything is that we in no way got outplayed last week. If anything, the Broncos seemed to do everything in their power to keep us in the thick of things all game. The fact that they only had 16 points on the board at halftime, despite several long drives into our territory in the first half, was miraculous. Despite our defense holding them to field goals on three out of four scoring drives in the first half (giving our offense chances to get back in it), our offense responded with a performance that was beyond anemic. To be more specific, they gained a total of 43 yards on six offensive possessions (one more possession than the Broncos had, by the way). How did those possessions go? Punt, punt, punt, fumble, punt, and punt. The middle four were three-and-outs.
What’s worse, it seems like each week we’re unable to make any sort of adjustments at halftime. In the second half, the Giants’ offense gained 219 yards on five possessions, but only came away with six points to show for it. Most of those yards came on their final 7-play, 84-yard scoreless drive that ran out the clock at the end of the fourth quarter (AKA – GARBAGE TIME). How did all five of those possessions go? Field goal, field goal, fumble, interception, end of game.

What happened to our offense? Eli’s come out and said that the “stress reaction” in his heel didn’t affect his play, and I believe him. It used to be that with this team, as long as the game was close in the fourth quarter, we always had a chance. Eli used to play at his best when his back was against the wall. I realize it’s never easy to play well on the road following an tough overtime win in a short week, but there’s no excuse for Eli to go from having one of the best passing games of his career to one of the worst in less than a week. And I don’t know if it’s even worth complaining about the bad clock management. Giants’ fans seem to have grown accustomed to the play clock being down to five seconds before Eli even starts calling out the blitzes and changing the play. He used to be able to use his cadence as a weapon to draw opposing defenders offsides in critical points in the game. Now, he’s lucky to get the play off in time on every snap. And to use a timeout in the 1st quarter, after your team’s first play from scrimmage, only to follow it with a draw that gains nothing on second down, is inexplicable. I always figured the quarterback went into the first drive of the game with several options of what plays they wanted to try to use to get themselves into a rhythm (kind of like a pitcher in the first inning). There is absolutely no excuse to have to waste a timeout on the second play from scrimmage. Mind-boggling.
Jacobs had pounded opposing defenses for so long that by that point, anyone in the backfield had an easy task of slicing through their front seven. Now, when the fourth quarter comes around, they play their worst. What were Jacobs’ numbers headed into the fourth quarter last Thursday, you ask? Good question. Through the first three quarters, Brandon Jacobs carried the ball nine times for eighteen yards. I don’t know what’s worse – the fact that he only carried the ball nine times, or his two-yard per carry average. When we’ve been successful, it’s because we were able to consistently run the ball against opposing defenses. Despite Derrick Ward’s absence, and Bradshaw being out last week, this is still the same offense that had over 200 yards rushing against the Baltimore Ravens last season! WHAT HAPPENED?!?! It could be their age catching up to them, but our offensive line looks disturbingly off-kilter. At first, I thought the majority of Jacobs’ struggles were due to the fact that he had almost nowhere to go each time he touched the ball, and as a result had to break three or four tackles just to get into the opposing team’s secondary. The past few weeks, however, he looks more and more like Clark Kent did in Superman II after leaving his powers behind in the Fortress of Solitude. Guys are bringing him down on first contact all of a sudden, even in the open field. Either he’s off a step, or defenses have finally figured out how to neutralize his powerful running style. Either way, if we can’t conjure up a way to get our running game back up to snuff, we’re in worse trouble than we thought. I understand he left the game in the fourth quarter last week, but eleven total carries is ridiculous, even if he were to have only played the first three.
What was so effective about our rushing attack last season wasn’t necessarily the yards gained every time Jacobs touched the ball, but the punishment he served against the defenses he faced. We’d let him wear them away with ten to twelve carries in the first half. Sure, he might’ve only gotten one or two big runs, and the rest short carries, but every time a defender was forced to take him down, it took a lot of energy. By the time they reached the end of the third quarter, opposing defenders were sucking wind. It was then that we’d be able to break off big plays both on the ground and through the air.

Let’s move on to the biggest concern of all – our defense. Let me list of a few teams for you: New Orleans, Arizona, Philadelphia, San Diego, Atlanta, Denver. What do they all have in common? Well, besides being the Giants’ last six opponents (five losses, one eeked-out overtime win), they are also all teams who, before facing the Gmen, had offenses who had played very much out-of-character the weeks prior. Respectively, here’s how many points those recently “sputtering” offenses put up against us: 48, 24, 40, 21, 31, 26. It seems like the newest trend in the NFL for opposing offenses is to use the Giants defense as an opportunity to bounce back. I never ever thought that could possibly be the case. And don’t let our league rankings fool you – our D is only ranked as high as it is because of how insanely well they did the first five weeks of the season. If you compile stats for the six weeks since, we’re one of the worst. Of course having two defensive leaders on IR (Phillips and the recently-added Pierce) doesn’t help, but I can’t logically pinpoint that as the reason things have fallen apart so terribly.
The fact is, our defense is incredibly soft, and our coaches admitting it each week won’t change results as well as doing something about it would. We’ve got to get more aggressive. I saw good things from the defense right off the bat – including a big sack by Danny Clark during Denver’s first possession, one where they went three-and-out. Unfortunately, the tide quickly turned as the game progressed, as penalties, blown coverages, and missed tackles became the norm. There were lots of times where defenders would bite on a play-fake, and they’d have a huge gainer on a screen because the defender bit, and the next closest guy was back in deep zone coverage. Another week of surprisingly soft, unaggressive defensive play calling.
Kevin Gilbride and Bill Sheridan are both very intelligent football minds, and have proven themselves to be more than competent coaches. For whatever reason, their play calling hasn’t been able to mend appropriately with the players ability to execute efficiently on a consistent basis this year. And if they can’t figure out soon what it is that’s making this year’s team so incapable of playing at a consistently competitive level, and fix it, it’s going to be very hard to make a case in their favor regarding their role with the team next season.

Having traveled back east for the holiday weekend, I watched the game at home in New Jersey on Thanksgiving night. And I’ve never been more impressed at our fellow fans’ dedication to ritual regarding our beloved Gmen. Despite the fact that it was Thanksgiving night, every managed to duck out on their respective gatherings early enough to make it over to our house by kick-off. All the familiar faces were there – my dad, my brother Robby, my friend BJ, Jay (family friend), his son Matt, and me. Good to know the fans at least have their priorities straight.
The game itself was insanely hard to watch, and most of us spent about as much time trying to keep our turkey day dinners down as we did screaming at the television screen. Let’s hope when I head back home later this month, it’s a better experience.

Here are some random sports musings, not entirely Gmen-related:

• In the Tuesday edition of Monday Morning Quarterback this week, Peter King reminded me of something that’s been driving me crazy since I read it. Mike McKenzie was unemployed until two weeks ago. TWO WEEKS AGO!! I realize that our deficiencies lay more in the safety department, and McKenzie’s a cornerback, but still. A defensive back is a defensive back, and when one as talented as he is sitting around watching games at home every week, you gotta at least try to go out and pick him up. We can worry about what would be the best way to utilize him once he’s here. Of course that means nothing anymore, but it’s still an interesting “what-if” scenario.
• I can’t believe how poorly executed NFL Network’s production of Thursday night’s game was. I was excited about the idea of having Bob Papa doing a Giants game on TV instead of the radio. While he was still great, the rest of it was awful. Discounting the whole incident where they aired profanity in a RECORDED segment, they also had bad angles on their replays, came back from a commercial break with the producer still talking over the radio, missed a bunch of plays, and their “studio halftime show” consisted of two very long NFL promos. This is the league’s network, broadcasting nationally on Thanksgiving night. You’d think they’d put in the extra effort to at least feign a top-tier broadcast.
• I wish the Colts and Saints played during the regular season. What an awesome game that would be to watch.
• Love him or hate him, you have to admit the whole Brett Favre ordeal is one of the most incredible stories of the year. If you were to have told me before the season started, just after the Vikings signed Favre, that he would lead them to a 10-1 start and secure Brad Childress’s employment for the foreseeable future in the process, I’d have laughed you out of the room. There’s still a lot of football to be played, but what Brett’s done so far is nothing short of incredible.

As grim as things seem, the season’s not over yet. We get to play Dallas and Philadelphia at home in the next few weeks, and the entire season will ride on each game as we play it. I remember thinking the Giants were left for dead several years ago, then we barely secured a wild card spot with a game left in the season. We all remember how that turned out. In this league, especially if you’re still above .500, there’s always a chance for a miraculous turn-around. It’s our job as fans to believe it can happen, and it’s the team’s job to execute. Hopefully, in about a month, we’ll be laughing about this whole predicament, happily awaiting a playoff match-up. WE’VE SEEN THEM DO THIS BEFORE!! IT CAN STILL HAPPEN, FANS!! LOOK OUT, DALLAS!!

Just as a reminder, you can e-mail me at gmensuperfan@gmail.com, or find me on Facebook under the name “Gmen Superfan.” Until next week, GO GMEN!!

Superfan: Giants vs. Falcons (11/23/09)

Off the Schneid

By Superfan

Wow, what a wild game. A little close for comfort, but a HUGE win nonetheless. As will be the case for every game we have left, that W saved our season. There are some very good aspects to take away from Sunday’s win over Atlanta, and some very troubling issues.

Let’s start with the good:

Over the past two games, Eli Manning’s looked as good as he has all season. Except for a first-half interception, he was nearly perfect on Sunday. Certainly looks as though the issue with his heel is no longer cause for concern. Most of all, his accuracy is back on track.
Of course, Eli couldn’t succeed unless his receivers performed well. And that they did. For the first time since the first few games of the season, I was confident that nearly every pass thrown within the vicinity of a receiver (including Kevin Boss) was going to be caught. Mario Manningham, Hakeem Nicks, Kevin Boss, Steve Smith, and Domenik Hixon all came up huge on Sunday. Big thumbs up to the receiving corps.
Our red zone play has finally turned into green zone performance. In five trips to the green zone against the Falcons, the Giants scored three touchdowns, made one field goal, and missed another. We’ll get to that miss later on. I guess the “powers that be” consider that going 3 for 5, although I always assumed a field goal in the red zone is still a red zone score. To each his own, I guess.

Now, on to the negatives:

I can’t seem to comprehend how our defense went from being so strong in the first half of Sunday’s game to being that much softer in the second. The Falcons came out of the locker room after halftime wanting to score, and they did just that. Seemingly at will.
Like the Eagles game, the opponent’s starting running back, and probably their best offensive weapon, didn’t play. Yet, with Michael Turner on the bench, Atlanta managed to run on our defense as they pleased with their back-up, Snelling. The defense has to get tougher against the run. Not being able to do so is what helped Matt Ryan, Tony Gonzalez, and company slash our defense late in the game to erase a fourteen-point deficit.
I don’t know if it’s exhaustion, bad schemes, blown coverages, or a combination thereof, but our defense hasn’t been playing Giants football for several weeks now. Something needs to change. Since I can remember, the Giants have been a defensively-led team. Trying to run against us always ended badly for those crazy enough to attempt it, with plenty of bruises left behind as reminders. Now, back-up running backs are tearing into the secondary. We used to be a sack machine, and despite the fact that all of our star pass rushers are healthy and active, we’ve had a severe recession in sacks this season. I simply don’t understand.
Speaking of absent aspects of Giants football, what happened to the running game? What’s happened to the holes that used to exist up front? It’s one thing for Jacobs to break the first tackle, then bust through more when he gets into the secondary. But he’s got several guys on him instantly every time he gets the ball. He can’t be expected to break eight tackles on every run! This ties directly into Ahmad as well, because he has the most success after Jacobs has worn a defense out. When this happens, he’s able to glide through exhausted defenders, breaking off huge gains. For reasons unknown, that’s all been sorely missed this year. We’re really going to need to get our rushing game going in a big way if we want to make a legitimate shot in these final six games. Eli can’t be expected to put up over 375 yards passing each week.
If I’m not mistaken, I think that Lawrence Tynes has a missed field goal in every game he’s kicked a game-winner. Even if they are game winners, they’re only necessary because of an earlier miss. This isn’t baseball – you can’t go .500 and be okay with it. Even one of the extra points barely went through! That kind of inconsistency in our kicker really worries me.

I know it seems like I’m spending a lot of time complaining about a game that we won, but that’s only because I have such high expectations for our Gmen. At the beginning of the season, this team was regarded as one of the best in the league. We all know they have the talent to be among the elite. So why should we expect anything less than excellence every week? I assume the coaches and players expect nothing less from themselves.
When you take into account the remaining schedule, the Gmen can’t afford anything less than 100% performance in every game left. This past Sunday was the first of our seven game season, and every game’s a playoff game. We’re 1-0. Time to take the next six.
The best news of all is that the division is very much in our reach, and we still get to play Dallas and Philadelphia at home. It’s all up to us. We have a very short week this week, then some rest before a huge game against the Cowboys. But, first thing’s first. We’re heading into very hostile territory this upcoming Turkey Day against a team that’s starving for a win. And nothing’s more dangerous than fifty-three hungry guys on Thanksgiving! But I have a sneaking suspicion we’ll be feasting on some Broncos this holiday season.

The rest of the year is officially off to the right start, Giants fans! Gotta keep the wins coming. This is a short week, so I’ll keep my comments short as well. If you want to contact me, my e-mail is gmensuperfan@gmail.com, and you can find me on Facebook under the name “Gmen Superfan.” Until next week, happy Thanksgiving, and GO GMEN!!

SuperFan: BYE WEEK (11/17/09)

The Longest Week of the Year

By Superfan

Well, fans, we made it. The loneliest weekend of the year is behind us, and it’s nothing but Giants football from now until season’s end (hopefully that’ll be in January or February). What’s best, we didn’t even play and we gained ground in the division! Instead of having Dallas and Philadelphia pull farther ahead from us, with a loss each, they’re now just 6-3 and 5-4, respectively. And don’t forget, we won our first match-up with Dallas, which is huge.

As we round the corner into the second stretch of this season, our schedule puts us in a position to not only control our own fate, but that of the entire NFC (and some of the AFC) playoff picture. In case you don’t have a schedule nearby, or haven’t checked one recently, here’s our remaining schedule (with team’s current record in parentheses): vs. Atlanta (5-4), @ Denver (6-3), vs. Dallas (6-3), vs. Philadelphia (5-4), @ Washington (3-6), vs. Carolina (4-5), @ Minnesota (8-1). That’s a combined record of 38-26. Three of those teams currently lead their respective divisions, and the rest (except Washington) will most likely be vying for an NFC Wild Card spot. Needless to say, we’ve got our work cut out for us.

This also means we’re really going to have to come out swinging, with no room for a slow start. Our invitation for January’s second-season is out there – we just have to go get it! And here’s (this fan’s opinion on) how we should go about doing that…
We can’t play from behind each week, especially not against the teams we have coming up. This disturbing trend can be helped twofold. First, and most obvious, is that our defense has to stop letting up the big plays. If the opposing team’s offense doesn’t constantly put points on the board, that’ll keep our offense from finding themselves in a shootout each game. Second, WE MUST ESTABLISH THE RUN! Each game starts strong for us on the ground, but never quite reaches the tipping point. By that, I mean that one clutch block, that one missed tackle, that one change of direction that breaks off a huge gainer. We’ve come close to one of those each week, but never quite got it. I have a strong feeling that if we can catch that one break for the running backs, it’ll blow our rushing attack wide open. When that happens, they won’t have the luxury of being able to sit back and wait for the pass every drive, and it’ll also hopefully mean Eli won’t be faced with constant 3rd and longs, where everyone knows we pretty much have to put the ball in the air. Here’s the thing – when you’re able to consistently pound the ball all game, and get positive yards with each run, it’s referred to as “dominating the line of scrimmage.” However, when it’s ineffective (as it has been the last few games), it’s referred to as being “too conservative.” We have two of the better backs in the league, and one of the toughest offensive lines. If we can get them to work together effectively, it’ll be just like the good ol’ days of last season.
When we drive the length of the field, it’s not okay to settle for field goals and hope our defense holds them. We have to be aggressive in the red zone, and turn it back into the green zone. One way to do that more effectively, I think, is to incorporate Ramses Barden into the lineup. I heard nothing but amazing things about him all off-season, yet I can’t remember seeing him since the season started. The guy’s 6-6! Just having the option to throw to that tall of a target in the red zone completely opens up the playbook. There must be some reason I don’t know about, but the way we’ve been playing down near the goal line, I don’t see how it could hurt to try with him out there. Plus, having a tall option means that Eli doesn’t always have to throw those “air-balls” to only Kevin Boss, which might make him less of a concussion risk every time he goes up to make a catch. The passing game has to get a little more creative, also. It seems like opposing defenses know exactly what’s coming each time we go to the air, and that has to stop.
The team unfortunately hasn’t been able to say much about the status of our injured defenders, but I think it’s mostly to keep the other teams in the dark (at least until they have to release the injury report). What I do know is that it’s been several weeks since the last major injury, and Ross finally got some limited time in practice recently. Sooner or later, our defense will be back to full health (minus Phillips, obviously). No excuses to continue playing the way we’ve been playing!

Steering away from the Gmen for a bit, I must talk a little about the Colts-Indy game this past Sunday night. I guess Belichik was thinking that Peyton would drive any distance to score the go-ahead touchdown, so he might as well try and let the offense run out the clock by converting on a fourth and two. That logic is completely illogical. I know by now it’s already been written about plenty, but there’s no excuse for going for it there, especially in your own territory. You have to trust your defense to make the stop, even if it is Peyton Manning. And don’t think Peyton’s gonna forget how afraid Coach Belichik was of him if they meet again in the playoffs. Of all the great decisions Bill’s made in his career, that was by far the worst.
On the other end of the spectrum, it’s unfathomable that the Browns are as bad as they are. The only good thing that’s happened to the franchise since they were re-conceived in 1999 is their stadium. They’ve been rebuilding for a decade. Even the Lions, Redskins, Chiefs, Raiders, Rams and Bucs have put up some surprising fight in some of their losses (and wins) this year. Cleveland, however, is just horrible. They need to change EVERYTHING.

Okay fans, that’s about it for the bye week. For the New York Giants, each of the next seven games has to be treated like a playoff game. If not, we won’t be playing in any come January – simple as that! We all know how quickly things can turn for a franchise in this league, and we need that to happen for us in a big way. This thing’s a LONG way from over! Time for the fearless underdogs to re-emerge out there in the meadowlands. GIANT DOMINANCE CAN STILL HAPPEN. All we can do is wait for this week’s game against the Falcons, and hope that the team made the necessary changes and lit that spark which will fuel their ferocious blue flame. The e-mail address is gmensuperfan@gmail.com, and I’m on facebook under the name “Gmen Superfan.” Until next week, GO GMEN!!

SuperFan: Giants vs. Chargers (11/10/09)

A Harsh Reality

By Superfan

I’m not going to be cute and use funny little euphemisms to describe just how hard it is to be a Giants fan now. I’m not going to sugarcoat anything and try to find what positives were taken away from Sunday’s loss. This team doesn’t deserve it, and quite honestly, I’m tired of it. It’s time for some bitter, harsh truths.

When you put all the “what ifs” and other excuses aside, the fact is that right now the New York Giants are nothing more than a mediocre 5-4 football team. They played dominantly against weaker competition and won in impressive fashion to start the season, but have done very poorly for four straight weeks and have been beaten by teams who were better prepared in each match-up.
No matter how optimistic a fan you might be, there is no glass-half-full scenario right now. In fact, the glass hasn’t had any water in it for nearly a month. Headed into the bye week, the Giants are a team lacking the toughness required to be successful in the NFL. There. I said it. Bottom line, if we don’t do something significant in this bye week, and start playing like a team that wants to win, we won’t make the playoffs.

Not to say that the season’s over. It’s just time for the players and coaches to stop making the same tired apologies after each loss and go out there and win. Yes, Kenny Phillips is out of the lineup on defense. But was he such a stellar safety last season that his coverage skills were the sole reason we managed to have such a successful pass rush? We haven’t lost anyone in, and have actually improved upon, our front seven, and yet Phillips not being back in coverage is supposed to be the reason we’re no longer able to sack the quarterback? I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT. The only significant change that’s lead to the downfall of our defense this season has nothing to do with anyone being injured. Someone has to get Bill Sheridan more tape from last season, and convince him to just copy what Spags did right last year. When we’ve faced legitimate offenses, Sheridan’s schemes haven’t really cut it.
For starters, how can we expect to have success against such a dominant passing attack when we’ve got defensive ends and linebackers playing man coverage against an all-pro tight end?! We got very lucky on a few drops he made, which would have made the final deficit far more than one point. Also, why does it seem like every time they ran a play-action or a misdirection screen, our entire defense would completely over-pursue to the wrong side of the field, leaving the underneath receiver completely open with plenty of field in front of him? Granted there was one reverse and one or two screens that we managed to sniff out, but they certainly didn’t make up for the plays they had tremendous success with.
And then there’s the final defensive series. You played well all game, kept a strong offense in check for nearly sixty minutes of football, and then completely abandoned what had been working all game long when it was most important? We’d been hitting Rivers all game long, and hadn’t let their running backs do anything up the middle. Then, when it mattered most, we stopped getting pressure on Rivers and let them walk down the field, doing pretty much whatever they wanted in the process. HOW CAN THAT BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN? I hope Sheridan and every defensive player watches those final 2 minutes on repeat every day for the next two weeks. Unbelievable. It’s like we only wanted to make it look like we could have won if we wanted to, but in the end decided we’d rather give them the W.

The other side of the ball is just as much of a concern. The worst part of all is that Eli had a pretty good game on Sunday, as did the rest of the offense (for the first 56 or so minutes, at least). I know it’s the aspect of the game that stands out the most for all Giants fans, and to repeat it would only pour salt on an open wound, but our final offensive possession in the red zone was a disgrace. The defense finally made a game-changing play late when Terrell Thomas picked off a Philip Rivers’ pass and ran it back to the FOUR YARD LINE, and WE ONLY GOT THREE!?!?! A holding penalty on the first play of the drive sets us back to about the 15, and we run the ball three times. Not only that, but we run Brandon Jacobs TO THE OUTSIDE. To have three plays inside your opponent’s 20-yard line, that late in the game, up by three points, you have to at least try for the end zone. To not even attempt a pass on three straight plays shows that they have no confidence in our offense to put the game away. Which is a shame, because we’ve all seen the potential our offense has to make those plays when it counts. They just have to be put in a position to make those plays happen, and they never will unless Gilbride decides to stop trying not to lose and instead tries to win!
I’m trying to think when the last time was that we went an entire game without a delay of game penalty. These are beyond ridiculous by now. This is a professional football team. To be getting the calls in so late that there’s less than ten seconds on the play clock by the time you get up to the line and start pointing out the blitzes is inexcusable. And it’s not like this is a new trend. The Kevin Gilbride era has been littered with bad clock management and play calling indecisions for years now, and it hasn’t looked like they’ve even made an effort to improve it. Am I the only person who thinks this a bad trend? Why hasn’t someone stepped in and fixed this by now??

I’m also starting to get worried about Jeff Feagles. No only have his punts been, well, far less than stellar over the last few games, but to bobble the snap during the field goal try on our opening drive of the game? Ouch. The loss of those three points came back to bite us badly. Of course, I had thought we should’ve gone for it there – opening drive, moving the ball well, want to start with a touchdown instead of settling for three against a high-powered offense like the Chargers. Just another example of why there’s no room for ultra-conservative football if you want to be a winner. You can’t win in this league if you aren’t willing to take risks – plain and simple.

JJ came over to watch the game this week, but obviously to no avail. We thought for sure the game was ours, but after we failed to score a touchdown with the great field position set up by Thomas, we gave each other “the look.” You know, the one that says, “this team isn’t willing to do what’s necessary to win this game, and it’s going to cost them.” And, we were right. When it was over, we could hardly speak. He just looked at me, shook his head, and said something that really had an impact on me. He said, “It’s not fair that I feel worse about this loss than they do,” and he pointed at TV, showing the team as it walked into the tunnel. And he was right. Watching this team these last few weeks, and again in their post-game press conferences, I really feel as though us fans are more upset about this skid than they are. I hope I’m wrong, and they’re just good at putting on an, “Oh, well” act, but that’s absolutely what it looks like.

So here we sit, heading into a bye week, with absolutely no sort of momentum to speak of. This means two of the longest weeks of the year filled with thoughts of “what should be”, instead of “what is.” What bothers me more than anything is that I know we should be at a much better record right now than 5-4. Also, 5-4 isn’t all that bad, but the way this team’s played the last few weeks, it seems insurmountable to bounce back from.
Let’s take this bye week and get our minds off of football for a bit. Let’s hope the coaches and players do a little of the same, and show up to the stadium as the New York Football Giants that we know and respect, not the scout-team impersonators that have disappointed us this past month. Dallas and Philly have picked up the pace, and if we don’t make some drastic improvements this bye week, AND WAKE UP, we’ll have no shot at catching up to either of them in this division. I don’t mean to sound cynical or pessimistic, only honest. Our schedule doesn’t hold any favors for us when we resume play, so we’ll have to do things the hard way.
But if we can do something with this week off, turn on the right switch, and turn things around, what an amazing story it’ll be! It’s the coaches and players jobs to get our their and perform each week, and it’s our job as fans to support them through this horrific slide. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and let’s hope the gmen find it. Seven games left. Treat each one like a playoff game.
I’m a little to discouraged to worry about jotting down random thoughts this week, plus I’ll have little to write about after the bye week next week, so I might as well save it. Any questions, comments, or hysterical rants, you can e-mail me at gmensuperfan@gmail.com or find me on Facebook under the name “Gmen Superfan.” Being a Giants fan is never easy, but nothing worth such hardcore devotion never is. Keep your heads up, fans – the season’s not over yet. Until next week, GO GMEN!!

SuperFan: Giants vs. Eagles (11/3/09)

This Joke Stopped Being Funny a Long Time Ago

By Superfan

I’d like to consider myself an optimist. Stay positive each week, win or lose. Heck, it’s a long season. And I especially don’t like to feel as though it’s time to panic before the bye week even occurs! But after three miserable losses, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. It’s like the saying goes, “Once is a mistake, twice is a problem, three times is a trend.”
Now it’s time to get worried. I don’t think embarrassing is a fair enough term to describe the Giants’ performance last Sunday in Philly. Abhorrent would be more appropriate. There’s absolutely no excuse to play the way the Gmen did, and every fan out there has every right in the world to feel a sense of panic begin to creep in. Where do I even begin…

How about the play calling and personnel? In the fourth quarter, it seemed liked the Giants couldn’t decide whether they wanted to throw in the towel or try for a miraculous comeback. They kept Eli in the game, yet they had no sense of urgency (the play clock seemed like it had less than 10 seconds left every time they approached the line of scrimmage), and ran mostly runs and screens! Of course, that was also the case earlier in the game. In the third quarter, it took the Giants over four minutes of game clock (nearly to the end of the quarter) to drive 28 yards. Not to take away from Ahmad’s touchdown run, but when you’re down 33-10 in the third quarter of a football game, you can’t waste over FOUR MINUTES to go 28 yards! Inexcusable.
Going back to the end of the game, it took until the final four minutes (beyond us having a chance) to finally go into the no-huddle. Then, when we did, we ran the ball! Gilbride – you have to at least call plays that give the offense a chance.

I refuse to believe Eli’s heel injury is the reason he’s been playing so poorly the last few weeks, but it just might be. How does a quarterback go from playing so well to start the season that he’s in everyone’s “potential MVP” list, then suddenly start overthrowing passes to wide open receivers as bad as Dave Brown used to. The plantar fasciitis is only supposed to cause pain in the heel, which is something I figured could be toughened out by Eli, or at least aided with the help of pain relievers. Maybe its affecting him more than we all thought. Or, maybe his heel has nothing to do with it. Perhaps there’s something else going on that we don’t know about. There’s also the possibility that he’s just having a really bad slump. Regardless, with the way the rest of the NFC contenders are looking, something has to be done. We can’t expect to win many games given the schedule we have coming up when our quarterback can’t get the ball to wide open receivers.

Let’s move on to the secondary. I knew it was a big loss when Kenny Phillips went down, but I didn’t realize how big. Yes, we’ll improve when we get Aaron Ross back in the lineup, but Terrell Thomas has played pretty well in his place. I hate to do this, but I have to call out C.C. Brown. One of the main reasons we’ve had such big deficits to battle back from during the last three weeks is because nearly every deep ball that’s been thrown against us has been completed. They’re burning the safeties week after week, and you can’t win in this league if the secondary Can’t Cover! Not to mention the myriad of missed tackles.
For the first time in a long time, I fear for the worst every time the opposing offense tries anything up the middle. The linebacking core (another huge issue that for some reason people don’t think to talk about) has really softened up. Boley can’t get back soon enough.

Another worry is both lines regarding the rushing game. Our rushing defense has been letting absurd gains that they never used to (like the first down run on THIRD AND 11 in the first quarter, or letting a fullback run all over you the entire game), and our rushing offense has been pretty non-existent, with the exception of a few big gainers, which came from broken tackles and tough running more than anything. I suppose this could help explain part of Eli’s passing issues, since it’s hard to keep a defense honest when you’re unable to establish the run against them.
Even our kickoff coverage was incredibly lousy. How can any team lead a successful comeback when the opposition gets incredible field position each time we kick it off to them?

Not that it excused our performance in any way last Sunday, but that “forward pass” call from the replay official was completely bogus. You could clearly see Fred Robbins making an extra effort to turn his right shoulder backwards in an effort to make sure his lateral went behind him. That would have made the score 33-14, instead of 33-10, and could have been a huge momentum shifter. Of course, “could” doesn’t mean a thing in professional sports, and for the Eagles to have 33 points on the board that early in the third quarter is inexcusable.

Well, that was all very unpleasant. Kind of like my experience watching the game. For starters, my buddy JJ wasn’t around on Sunday to watch the game with me. On a weekend featuring Halloween, two huge world series’ games and a crucial divisional match-up for the gmen on the road against their arch-rival Philadelphia, he’d somehow gotten himself forced into having to go to Las Vegas with the girlfriend (since all her friends were there), leaving his boys in the dust. Ouch. Bros before, err, women, dude! At least he was around for the Yankees game Sunday night, but still. Very uncool.

Also, for whatever reason, my roommate decided to move all the furniture around to sweep and mop the floor IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GAME!!! I have no qualms about cleaning the place (it was especially dirty), nor do I mind helping, but during the game?? Seriously – what’s that about?

Needless to say, it was a pretty miserable experience in front of the TV, that is until game 3 of the World Series began that night. But even that incredible victory didn’t help my spirits as much as it should have. That was, without question, one of the ugliest Giants’ losses I’ve seen. On a magical fall weekend that should have consisted of a clean New York sweep of Philadelphia, the Giants spoiled the party.

All this negativity is really bringing me down, so I’m just gonna cut it short there for now. Let’s move on to some random thoughts from around the world of sports:
• I realize I’ve spent a lot of time in these articles the last several weeks talking about the Yankees, but that’s only because, well, it’s the post season! Hopefully, by the time this goes up, the Yankees will have secured World Championship #27!!! How great it’d be to win the World Series at home in the first year of the new ballpark. GO YANKEES!
• I understand it was a big deal for Favre to be playing as a Viking in Green Bay for the first time, but there’s got to be some sort of limit as to just how overboard TV analysts are allowed to go. For example, here’s how Terry Bradshaw recapped highlights at halftime of the Vikings-Packers game: “Favre hands off to Peterson here for the TD, and it’s 7-3, Favre over the Packers.” Really? FAVRE over the Packers?? You just recapped a RUSHING touchdown, Terry. I suppose the other 21 guys on the field shouldn’t have bothered to put on their uniforms on Sunday. Ridiculous.
• I’ve come to the conclusion that Halloween is the most successful social experiment of all time. It’s amazing how something as simple as wearing a costume (creating a new identity) can make even the most introverted people extremely outgoing. Eat your heart out, Carl Jung.

Thus concludes another week of Superfan. The Gmen’s schedule doesn’t get any easier from here, but at least we get a bye week after this week’s match-up against the Chargers. Our secondary better get some serious conditioning work in before facing Rivers, Jackson, and company. But hey, we’re 5-3, and one can only hope that the chip on our shoulder has been wedged deeper, causing a reaction to finally take place. If you want to rant on the Gmen’s issues, share some awesome Halloween stories, or whatever, e-mail me at gmensuperfan@gmail.com. You can also contact me on Facebook, under the name “Gmen Superfan.” Until next week, GO GMEN!!

SuperFan: Giants vs. Cardinals (10/27/09)

Superfan – Not Yet Time to Panic…

…But there’s certainly just cause for concern. I was thoroughly shocked watching the game Sunday night at the level of apathy displayed by our Gmen in their ugly loss to the Cardinals. I really and truly believed that we were going to step onto the field Sunday night and pound the ball right through that Arizona defense. Unfortunately, the opposite was the case for our Gmen at the Meadowlands. And I say OUR Gmen, not the Gmen, because I feel its necessary to remind everyone that we’ve got to stick by the Giants, win or lose. I’ll tell you what– it’s a damn good thing the Yankees clinched the pennant Sunday night, or else the New York sports columns would have been filled with Giant trash talk all Monday morning. Instead, there was cause for celebration, and it kept the loss in perspective (the trash talking got moved back a few pages).
In all seriousness, however, a two-game losing streak headed into Week 8 is no reason for people to start saying the five previous wins were a fluke. Are the teams we played and lost to in the last two weeks far more talented than the five teams we beat to open the season? Absolutely. But that shouldn’t take away from those wins. We beat up on the teams we were supposed to beat up on. You couldn’t have asked for much more from the Giants in those games. Now we’ve played two games against two top-tier NFC contenders, and lost them both. Should we be concerned? Absolutely.
You could say there might have been legitimate “excuses” for why the Giants lost the way they did the week before. Hostile environment, long flight, arguable calls, and the Saints were coming off the bye week. Again, those are just excuses, albeit somewhat reasonable. But there’s no reason to lose at home the way we did the other day. We simply played poorly in all phases of the game. Eli started off the game with two good, quick completions, and then went nearly silent the rest of the night, with the exception of one lucky tipped pass that resulted in a Hakeem Nicks touchdown. Similarly, Brandon Jacobs ran the ball very well to start the game, then for whatever reason seemed to lose the ability to find the running lanes (same goes for Ahmad). For the second week in a row, our secondary looked like a piece of Swiss cheese going through a shredder. Heck, even Feagles looked out of sorts! You don’t see that happen often (or ever, for that matter).
On top of that, we couldn’t help but commit stupid penalties at the absolute worst times all game long (mostly on 3rd downs). There were some very costly delay-of-game penalties, as well as a few ugly encroachment penalties against the D. All in all, very sloppy. Another thing to be concerned with was the play of the offensive line. For the first time in a long time, Eli seemed to be scrambling out of the pocket quite often, and the running backs got hardly any push at all. Not to say that missing one starter is grounds for a complete offensive line shutdown, but there was a very noticeable drop in productivity from the big guys up front without Kareem McKenzie.

Are the hopes of the Giants winning this division in dominant fashion for the second straight year no longer a possibility? Is it possible that maybe this team just isn’t as good as everyone thought they were, and instead just a slightly-above-average team which can only win big over bad teams? Absolutely not.

This was simply a wake-up call. The Giants had it pretty easy for the first quarter or so of the season, and it looks like they simply became a little complacent. Yes, injuries aren’t helping things, but we’ve already seen the depth this defense has, and its ability to fill in seamlessly. It was also the first time in a long time that I’ve seen Eli have the ball, down one score, late in the fourth quarter, and not come away with points. You have to give Kevin Boss some credit for the incredible catch he made, one that had every Gmen fan beginning to get that “we’re gonna pull this out” feeling, only to have it ripped away soon after by an unnecessary fumble by Ahmad Bradshaw who tried to make too much happen at the end of a play, instead of just going down. And I can’t begin to understand what Eli was thinking with those throws into double coverage late in the game. The best thing that could happen is either your receiver makes a ridiculous play (we’d already had it happen twice before with Boss and Steve Smith), or the ball falls harmlessly to the ground. Do it enough, and one of those passes are bound to get picked off. And that’s just what happened. Chalk that one up to poor decision-making late in the game.
What I’m trying to get at with all this ranting is that it’s not as though the Giants took the field Sunday night, left it all out on the field, and simply lost to the better team. Instead, for the second straight week, a good team came ready to play, and we didn’t. Some might want to criticize the play-calling or the disputable calls, but if the players simply execute what’s called for them (offensively and defensively), the Giants are 7-0 right now. This is a point I’d have to think the players and coaches are aware of, and we can only hope they regain that spark and start playing the high caliber, dominant Giants football us spoiled football fans have become so accustomed to. And who better to bounce back against than Philly?!

I decided to head over to my friend Jerry’s house up in Simi Valley to watch the games this past Sunday, for the second time, and this time my buddy JJ came with. We had to show up after the early games had ended, since I’m pretty sure Jerry thinks I’m bad luck ever since I went over to watch the Chargers get dismantled by Pittsburgh several weeks ago. We showed up, the Chargers had already beaten down the Chiefs, and all was well. Like last time, the food was amazing. For the afternoon games, we had marinated chicken wings (spicy as hell, but equally delicious), and for the big Gmen Sunday night game, we had marinated chicken and beef kabob, with garlic bread, both of which were some of the tastiest treats I’d ever eaten.
After watching the 1:00 pm games (4:00 pm EST) outside among the awesome tailgate-esque set-up, we came inside to watch the Giants. And, since the game had been rained out the night before, we had game six of the ALCS playing on the television in the next room. Funny tidbit – in the second quarter, just before the Giants went up 7-0, JJ decided to spend some time in the other room, and was in there for Jacobs’ touchdown run. Then, when he came back out later, the Cardinals scored to tie the game. It was then that I suggested perhaps he stay in the other room when Arizona had the ball. When he did the same thing in the third quarter (with the Giants up 14-10), having come from the Yankee-viewing room to watch the Gmen, only to have Arizona practically walk in a touchdown run, we (I) decided it would be best for him to just stay in the other room. He (reluctantly) obliged, but by then it was too late – the damage had already been done. Besides, I’m sure JJ had a much better time watching the Yankees win than I did watching the Giants get beat.
After the game clock read 0:00, we switched the main TV over to Fox just in time to catch the Yankees clinching the pennant. I have to admit it was a very strange feeling to celebrate the same night as a Giants loss, but in the grand scheme of New York sports, there’s no doubt that the Yankees pennant-clinching win was far more important and impactful than the regular season loss was for our Gmen.

Now on to my random musings for the week:

• HOW ABOUT THEM NEW YORK YANKEES!!!! As upset as I was to have been at the potential series-clinching game 5, only to see them lose, I’m very glad they had the opportunity to clinch the pennant at home in the first year at their new stadium. So far, they’ve had quite the season to kick off this new era of arguably the greatest franchise in the history of professional sports (along with the G-men, of course)!
• Go figure, the first Giants – Eagles game falls on the weekend just after a Yankees-Phillies World Series gets under way. Almost feel sorry for the rest of the country. Ah, who am I kidding…THIS IS INSANE!! Does everyone realize that in the span of a little more than a week, we can completely tear apart the hearts of all Philadelphia sports fans?? Mets fans, even you now have a reason to root for the Yankees! All-in-all, it’s the chance of a lifetime, folks. Can’t let it go to waste.
• Speaking of Philly-New York relations, am I the only Giants fan (born and raised in New Jersey) who’s incredibly bothered by the fact that most South Jersey residents root for the Eagles? YOU LIVE IN THE SAME STATE THAT THE GIANTS PLAY IN!!! And don’t give me that “proximity” crap. Your home state is your home state. Be proud of it – don’t let the enemy claim part of it! Freakin’ Philly, man. What a headache.

Alright, all this Philly-hating is making me incredibly antsy. We got the World Series getting under way on Wednesday, and a huge game in Philly on Sunday. It’s Philly week, in so many ways! Get ready! Any questions or comments, the e-mail address is gmensuperfan@gmail.com. Also, I’m on facebook under the name “Gmen Superfan.” Until next week, GO GMEN!!!!

SuperFan: Giants vs. Saints (10/20/09)

A Long Ride Down from Cloud Nine

By Superfan

Well, that certainly didn’t turn out as planned. I sat on my couch after the game ended, staring lifelessly at the TV. The loss stung. A lot. I’m sure all Giants’ fans out there are still in pain. And that’s okay. It’s supposed to hurt, so let it hurt. Don’t forget how much this loss stings, fans. I’m sure the players and coaches won’t forget, and they’ll use this as fuel as they bounce back, which they will. Over the last few seasons, this Giants’ franchise has epitomized depth, resilience, and professionalism. The players and coaches will watch the film from this one quite a bit, and adjustments will be made. There’s too much talent and knowledge with both the players and coaches to let this go unfixed. Which makes me feel very bad for Arizona – I know I wouldn’t want to face this Giants’ team after the beating they just took.

While the outcome of the game wasn’t entirely decided by it, there’s no denying the fact that the officiating was a little more than “suspect.” How about the phantom holding call on Brandon Jacob’s touchdown reception? Are you kidding me? The team getting some letter from the league this week apologizing for the terrible call doesn’t make it okay (probably my number 2 pet peeve in all of football, right after the TD/extra point-commercial break-kickoff-commercial break deal). THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO HOLD, ED HOCHULI. Stuff like that can’t just be allowed to happen. Other bad calls I noticed and jotted down during the game: horse-collar penalty called against us at the end of the 1st quarter, when he clearly grabbed his shoulder; pass interference penalty in the 2nd quarter on third down (which eventually led to a Saints TD), where you can see the receiver tripped over his own feet. The list goes on and on, but really, what’s the point?

Despite the bad officiating, the refs aren’t to blame for this loss. Bottom line, you have to call Sunday’s result what it was – a good ol’ fashion a**-whooping. It happens. When you play a top-notch team like the Saints, in New Orleans, off their bye week, and don’t bring your A-game, you’re going to get beaten. Badly. And that’s exactly what happened. Our defense only hit Brees I think three times. THREE! How can you expect to stop a passer with his talent if you don’t get pressure on him? When a team can throw at will, their rushing game will naturally do well. The defense is forced to spread out and play the pass, creating huge holes up front for the running back to find. After the hole we put ourselves in early, we didn’t really stand a chance. Yet, our offense kept us in it heading into the half, before that whole end-of-the-half disaster happened.
As much as I hate to say it, I think the injuries on the defense are finally starting to catch up to us. Hopefully we’ll hear something soon regarding the status of Ross, Canty, and Boley, but don’t expect any of them to play against Arizona. On the note of injuries, I haven’t been able to find anything out about Kareem McKenzie. That’d be a big loss for our O-line.

If you want to look at the silver lining – at least it wasn’t like last season, where our potential undefeated season ended in a blow-out to the hapless Browns on Monday Night Football. Also, to make the pain a little less harsh, the Eagles lost to the Raiders! THE RAIDERS!!! Yes, the same team we beat so badly last week that Antonio Pierce could only describe it as being “like a scrimmage.” Despite being in the biggest game of the week, we weren’t the ugliest loss! That’s a tie between a miserable Titans team who got beyond spanked by the Pats, and a miserably shocking and disheartening loss for our ARCH-NEMESIS. Oh, that’s just fantastic.
Here’s the other thing – aside from giving the Saints the edge in a potential home-field-advantage-throughout-the-playoffs tiebreaker (seems like the newest trend in the playoffs in recent years is to be the road team, anyway), not much has changed. So, we’re not one of the first few teams listed in a reference to “the NFL elite” by “experts” and “analysts” this week. So, we drop a couple places in this week’s power rankings. SO, WHAT??? We’re 5-1, 2-0 in the division, AND STILL HAVE TEN GAMES LEFT IN THE SEASON!!!!! Believe me, this isn’t as big a deal as everyone’s making it out to be. We’re just upset because we had high expectations for last Sunday’s outcome, and things turned out differently than we’d hoped. But it’s not like this was a playoff game. And if you honestly think that any of the remaining undefeated teams in the league actually have a legitimate shot to stay unbeaten for the rest of the season, well, you should probably go work for ESPN. They love irrationally “bold predictions.”
(I can see it now; Chris Berman: “Welcome to Sunday NFL Countdown’s ‘Bold Predictions,’ sponsored by Coors Light. And now, here’s Ron Jaworski.” Ron: “Thanks, Chris. Football fans, let me explain why there’s no question in my mind that Brett Favre will not only lead the Vikings to the Super Bowl, but will also fix the economic crisis and lead us to victory in the battle for Middle Earth.”)

Now, for the single positive we can take away from the Giants’ performance against the Saints. Special teams! (Nothing against special teams, but you know it’s a really ugly loss if all you have to talk about is “that third phase.”) Dominik Hixon, way to have a day! He sure had a lot of opportunities to return kickoffs last Sunday, and he made the most of them. Seven kick returns (wow, I can’t get over how many that is) for 230 yards and two punt returns for 51 yards. We won’t be down like that every week, so if Hixon keeps returning kicks to set Eli and the offense up with great field position drive after drive, it’d be HUGE. It’s no secret what a big difference it is to start each drive from your 30 or 40 instead of back at the 20. Really opens up your play-calling options.

Now, on to my viewing of the game itself. Ryan the roommie was out camping, so it was my buddy JJ, my other roommate Paxton, and myself watching the game at my place. I can safely say that Ryan made the right choice spending the week out in the woods – he’s a huge Dodgers fan. He’s got absolutely ZERO cell service where he is, so he has no idea how bad things have gotten in the NLCS. Smart move, if you ask me. So anyway, we watched the game at my place, and were miserable. Fortunately, I was careful to direct the violent throws of the remote/my notebook into couch cushions, and not the wall (you’re welcome, Ryan). It was such an ugly game to watch that when it was over, JJ promptly left and I didn’t even bother to stay on the couch and watch the second batch of games. What did I do instead? I cleaned my room! I realize that might not seem like a big deal to some people, but for me, it is. This wasn’t your typical “do some laundry, make the bed, shuffle stuff around on your desk” kind of clean; this was an all-out overhaul. I’m talking “everything out of the room and into the hall, floor mopping, tall kitchen garbage bags (yes, plural) full of trash, desk wipe-down, Martha-Stewart-eat-your-heart-out” kind of crazy cleaning session. I don’t normally just “do” things like that, at all. And on a Sunday in October with football and postseason baseball on TV, no less? Yeah, it was a big deal. On the bright side, I don’t feel like there’s the possibility of contracting Swine Flu every time I enter my room anymore. So I got that going for me, which is nice.

Fortunately, I’ve had a day or two removed from the loss, and managed to settle down. I’m not too worried, more just upset because the opposite of what I wanted to happen happened the other day. You think we’ve got it bad at all? Go find out if any of your friends are Titans fans, and give them a call. We’re still in a great position right now, and we’ve gotten that (hopefully just one) miserably pathetic loss out of the way. Guess what else that means? Remember that “They’re a good team, but far from being elite” opinion of us that everyone had in 2007 which helped secure a chip into the Giants’ shoulder which led to their incredible Super Bowl run? Well, I think the chip might be back. We had our big NFC statement game, and we lost it. Now everyone thinks, no matter what we do, we’ll still be second fiddle to New Orleans. WE’RE THE UNDERDOGS AGAIN!! I know it seems like a cynical way to see the glass half full, but if there’s one thing this fan (who bases 90% of his professional football opinions on superstition) knows, it’s that the attitude that comes with being the underdog is partly what makes this Giants’ defense such a scary one to face.
That being said, let’s move on to my random musings for this week:
• Girardi, what were you thinking Monday afternoon? Robertson came in (leaving two guys in the bullpen), got two quick outs in less than five minutes, and you pulled him for Alfredo Alceves? Nothing against Aceves (besides Monday, he’s looked great out of the pen), but what was the reason? They’re both right-handed pitchers, so I don’t quite see what difference it would have made match-up wise. Also, if you’re that worried about Kendrick, than pitch around him to get to Izturis! In the post season, when it’s a close game, in extra innings, and your pitcher’s “in the zone,” you can’t pull him unless there’s a really good reason. And unless there is one that we (the fans) simply don’t know about, I’m putting Monday’s loss directly on Joe Jr.’s shoulders. Although it’s not like we’re out of the series. We can still end it before having to get on another plane, which would really be preferable seeing as how the Yanks decided to go with a three-man rotation. This is still the year! I don’t know what might happen between now (Tuesday morning) and whenever this article goes online, but I feel strongly that the Yankees are the best team in the post season right now, and this is the year for number 27! GO YANKEES!
• If you want a visual of how every Giants’ fan felt watching the beat-down we suffered on Sunday, check out the picture of Reby Sky on ESPN’s New York Giants photo wire. Here’s the url:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/teams/photo?photoId=2361863&team=nyg.
(Sorry to single you out here, Reby, but the expression on your face is PRICELESS. It’s the one exact moment where, no matter how die hard of a fan a person might be, or how badly they want to believe that a crazy miracle is still possible, the fan must accept the fact that this is actually happening, and there’s no way to change it. It’s the worst feeling in the world. But I have a good sense that we won’t have to worry about that happening again, at least not for a long while.)
• Is it going to take for the Giants to lose a bunch of game before we no longer have to worry about Troy Aikman announcing our games? It’s stressful enough having to watch the Giants’ get their rears handed to them, I shouldn’t also have to listen to that freaking homer Aikman pointing out every Giants mistake, and why they’re probably not as good as everyone thinks. What an unfortunate burden to have to bear when your favorite team earns Fox’s top announcing team for each televised game.

And that just about covers it for this week. If you have any questions or comments, or just wanna vent to a fellow Giants’ fan, feel free to send me an e-mail at gmensuperfan@gmail.com. Or you can reach me at Facebook, under the name “Gmen Superfan.” Stew on this loss a bit, then move past it, sports fans. We’ve got a whole lotta football left to play! Until next week, GO GMEN!!