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!!!!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
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!!
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!!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
SuperFan: Giants vs. Raiders (10/13/09)
Taking Care of Business
By Superfan
Another week in the books, another impressively dominant victory for the Giants over a team they were clearly far superior to. That’s a significant indicator of a great team – dominating the games in the schedule that they’re expected to dominate. As a Giants fan, you couldn’t have asked for a better situation leading up next Sunday’s big match-up in New Orleans. With Eli hurt, what we really wanted to see was a chance for him to show that he could play through the pain, keep himself fresh by getting in a few successful series, and have enough of a cushion for him to be able to leave the game early and rest his heel. I half-expected him (if he did start), to at least play the entire first half, but our offense’s productivity allowed him an earlier exit than expected.
And when I say dominated, I really mean it (more so than any of the other games we’ve played this year). If it weren’t for a phantom “forward progress” whistle in the first half, we would have shut them out and finished with a 50-spot (after watching CBS replay the fumble recovery with the audio, I never heard a whistle blow until one of the referees did so indicating the runner was down by contact; that would have made the play reviewable, and would have given us a fourteen-point swing).
To be honest, for the first time in as long as I can remember, I didn’t watch the game live. My roommates Ryan, Paxton, and I had been planning to take a trip up in Big Sur for a weekend before camping season ended, and collectively figured if I had to miss a game live, it might as well be against the Raiders. Fortunately for me, I was right. I somehow managed to get cell service up there in the Redwood Mountains, however, and was bombarded by scoring updates (what seemed like) every five minutes. On the ride home, I knew it was going to be a fun beating to go over with my DVR.
Still, after watching that game (I could only watch most of the first half – it was such a bad blowout that CBS switched over to the Detroit-Pittsburgh game on the West Coast with a decent amount of time left in the 2nd quarter), you can’t help but feel sorry for Raider fans. After living in California for nearly two years, there’s no question that Oakland (like Cleveland) has some of the most unfortunately loyal fans in the league. I can only imagine how depressing it must be to watch your team play each week, knowing more often than not that they don’t stand a chance. I honestly feel that a well-coached Division 1-AA team might actually have a reasonable chance at shutting down Oakland’s offense. Al Davis has to just step down already, before he’s completely blackened what was a historically, well, historical reputation. Bottom line is, as long as Al Davis is the owner of the Oakland Raiders, they will not be successful. In January of 2007, he watched a reasonably talented (certainly not spectacular) LSU quarterback completely pick apart a far weaker, smaller, and slower Notre Dame defense in the Sugar Bowl. And because of that one single performance, Mr. Davis decided he had to draft him number one. So, disregarding all the advice from his scouts, Al went out and picked Jamarcus Russell with the first pick in the 2007 draft. The thing about working in Oakland is, unfortunately, if a staff member ever has a different opinion than Al Davis, they get fired – no matter how valuable they are to the franchise or how right they might be (i.e.: Bruce Allen, Jon Gruden). What’s worse for the fans of the silver-and-black is that Jamarcus Russell doesn’t even seem to care about how bad things have become. This franchise put a lot of hope and responsibility on Russell’s shoulders when they drafted him in 2007, and he obviously isn’t doing his part. Jamarcus, your laziness doesn’t only affect you, but it also reflects badly on a once-great franchise and an incredibly devoted fan base.
Okay, enough of that. Back to the G-men. More specifically, my man, Mr. Ahmad Bradshaw! Given the way he’s been playing all season, you gotta think teams must now prepare for him about as much as they do for Brandon Jacobs. How about these numbers through five games:
• TOTAL RUSHING YARDS: 375 – 6th overall
• YARDS/GAME: 75 – 9TH overall
• RUSHING FIRST DOWNS: 20 – tied 3rd overall
• 20+ YARDS RUSHES: 4 – tied 2nd overall
• RUSHING TDs: 2 – tied 14th overall
Not bad for the number two running back on the team! It won’t be long until
Derrick Ward is a distant memory, not to take away from what he brought last year. But since stepping into the number two slot, Ahmad has done nothing but produce tremendously week after week. Remember that whole “boot situation” everyone was freaking out about the other week? Yeah, me neither.
Another group of this Giants squad that I haven’t praised enough yet this season is the injury-riddled secondary. Aaron Ross hasn’t played a down yet all season, we all know the Kenny Phillips situation (out for the year), and Kevin Dockery has played just one game. Yet, the depth of our defense has really made its presence felt, as indicated in these statistics:
• PASSING COMPLETION %: 52.4% - 1st lowest overall
• NET PASSING YARDS: 524 – 1st lowest overall
• PASSING YARDS/GAME: 104.8 – 1st lowest overall
• TOTAL PASSING TDs: 4 – tied 6th lowest overall
• TOTAL INTERCEPTIONS: 5 – tied 8th most overall
• OPPONENT PASSER RATING: 60.4 – 2nd lowest overall
Maybe we shouldn’t call this secondary banged-up. Maybe we should simply call them versatile. Of course, we’ll know for sure how they fare (whoever ends up in the lineup) this weekend against New Orleans’ extremely high-powered aerial assault.
Which brings me, at last, to this week’s game. While there are other good rivalries and competitive match-ups going on this weekend, I can’t find a single one that looks to be as exciting as our New York Football Giants going into New Orleans to take on the Saints. Before the season began, everyone knew what kind of threat both the Giants’ defense and the Saints’ offense posed to their opponents. However, the Saints’ defense has been suspect the last few seasons, and the Giants’ offense had serious questions coming in without Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer, or Derrick Ward. Low and behold, here we are in Week 5 of the 2009 NFL season, and both of these teams have been playing outstanding football on both sides of the ball. Check out these match-ups (with overall league rankings in parenthesis):
• GIANTS OFFENSE (2nd) vs. SAINTS DEFENSE (6th)
• SAINTS OFFENSE (3rd) vs. GIANTS DEFENSE (1st)
• GIANTS PASS OFFENSE (9th) vs. SAINTS PASS DEFENSE (11th)
• SAINTS PASS OFFENSE (11th) vs. GIANTS PASS DEFENSE (1st)
• GIANTS RUSH OFFENSE (4th) vs. SAINTS RUSH DEFENSE (7th)
• SAINTS RUSH OFFENSE (2nd) vs. GIANTS RUSH DEFENSE (15th)
Not too many people realize that the Saints rushing attack has been doing better than their passing offense this year, although that one game against the Jets (and Drew Brees’ two-game touchdown-less streak) must be taken into account. There’s also the fact that the Saints have played one less game this year than the Giants. And I hadn’t realized how mediocre we’ve been against the run – that’s going to have to change on Sunday. All that aside, those are some pretty enticing match-ups listed. Whether or not you even have a team to root for, the potential for this game to be a great one has to make any football fan’s mouth water. I have no doubt that it’s going to be a fun, tense, emotionally draining, heart-churning, ulcer-inducing sixty minutes of football!
Here are some random musings of mine from around the world of sports/entertainment/wherever:
• I can’t emphasize enough how excited I am about the way the Yankees have played so far this October. That sweep of the Twins was exactly what every Yankee fan needed to see to regain post-season confidence with the franchise. The starters pitched very well, all the Yankee veterans are playing top notch, A-Rod finally remembered to bring his bat to a post-season series, and Mariano did what Mariano does – finish games. Also, it was very comforting seeing Joba working out of the bullpen. It’s funny how easy it’s become for me to forget how angry I was at the beginning of the season when the Yankees decided to shell out such an obnoxious amount of money to get C.C. and Texiera. So far, they’ve both been a pretty sound investment. Can’t wait for the ALCS to get here (might try to see if I can find some tickets for one of the games played in Anaheim). GO YANKEES!!
• It’s official – I’m on the Denver bandwagon. How can you not like what’s transpired for this franchise? It’s the epitome of an underdog story (so far). They replaced one of the NFL’s most legendary coaches and a superstar-on-the-rise with a first-year coach and a well-known “game manager.” AND THEY’RE 5-0??!? That’s pretty incredible, if you ask me. These guys are beyond legitimate – they’re borderline elite. I hope they can keep this up – it’ll make for a really exciting Thanksgiving match-up against our G-men.
• Is it just me, or does it seem like each season of “Entourage” just keeps getting shorter and shorter? I couldn’t believe the other weekend was the season finale already! And don’t get me started on the storyline – not only did nothing really seem to happen for Vinnie Chase (AGAIN), but I haven’t seen any evidence that Eric or Ari are the least bit good at their jobs. Eric used his friendship with Vince to get a meeting with Bob Saget (he’s still alive??) and Ari yelled at people. That’s about it. Why am I supposed to care about these guys again? It’s becoming harder and harder to defend as a fan of the show, that’s all I’m saying.
• If you live on the West Coast, I strongly recommend making the trip to see the Redwoods in Big Sur. It’s awesome. The trees are the biggest you’ll ever see, and some of their bases alone are big enough to fit the entire Giants’ offensive line inside them comfortably. Remember the Ewok scenes in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi? They were filmed in California’s Redwood Mountains. Which also makes me wonder, wouldn’t it be cool if a bunch of families with little kids went up there, dressed their kids in little Ewok outfits, and scattered them randomly throughout the forest? It’d be pretty hilarious for unsuspecting visitors to go on a hike and suddenly find themselves among a bunch of little Ewoks! If anybody wants to help me plan this potentially epically hysterical situation, I’m down!
Well, I’m glad I got all that off my chest. If you have anything to add or comment on, or have any questions or comments at all, you can contact me via e-mail at gmensuperfan@gmail.com. You can also find me on facebook, under the name “Gmen Superfan.” Enjoy the rest of your week, football fans, get ready for the Saints, and keep bleeding blue. Until next week, GO GMEN!!
By Superfan
Another week in the books, another impressively dominant victory for the Giants over a team they were clearly far superior to. That’s a significant indicator of a great team – dominating the games in the schedule that they’re expected to dominate. As a Giants fan, you couldn’t have asked for a better situation leading up next Sunday’s big match-up in New Orleans. With Eli hurt, what we really wanted to see was a chance for him to show that he could play through the pain, keep himself fresh by getting in a few successful series, and have enough of a cushion for him to be able to leave the game early and rest his heel. I half-expected him (if he did start), to at least play the entire first half, but our offense’s productivity allowed him an earlier exit than expected.
And when I say dominated, I really mean it (more so than any of the other games we’ve played this year). If it weren’t for a phantom “forward progress” whistle in the first half, we would have shut them out and finished with a 50-spot (after watching CBS replay the fumble recovery with the audio, I never heard a whistle blow until one of the referees did so indicating the runner was down by contact; that would have made the play reviewable, and would have given us a fourteen-point swing).
To be honest, for the first time in as long as I can remember, I didn’t watch the game live. My roommates Ryan, Paxton, and I had been planning to take a trip up in Big Sur for a weekend before camping season ended, and collectively figured if I had to miss a game live, it might as well be against the Raiders. Fortunately for me, I was right. I somehow managed to get cell service up there in the Redwood Mountains, however, and was bombarded by scoring updates (what seemed like) every five minutes. On the ride home, I knew it was going to be a fun beating to go over with my DVR.
Still, after watching that game (I could only watch most of the first half – it was such a bad blowout that CBS switched over to the Detroit-Pittsburgh game on the West Coast with a decent amount of time left in the 2nd quarter), you can’t help but feel sorry for Raider fans. After living in California for nearly two years, there’s no question that Oakland (like Cleveland) has some of the most unfortunately loyal fans in the league. I can only imagine how depressing it must be to watch your team play each week, knowing more often than not that they don’t stand a chance. I honestly feel that a well-coached Division 1-AA team might actually have a reasonable chance at shutting down Oakland’s offense. Al Davis has to just step down already, before he’s completely blackened what was a historically, well, historical reputation. Bottom line is, as long as Al Davis is the owner of the Oakland Raiders, they will not be successful. In January of 2007, he watched a reasonably talented (certainly not spectacular) LSU quarterback completely pick apart a far weaker, smaller, and slower Notre Dame defense in the Sugar Bowl. And because of that one single performance, Mr. Davis decided he had to draft him number one. So, disregarding all the advice from his scouts, Al went out and picked Jamarcus Russell with the first pick in the 2007 draft. The thing about working in Oakland is, unfortunately, if a staff member ever has a different opinion than Al Davis, they get fired – no matter how valuable they are to the franchise or how right they might be (i.e.: Bruce Allen, Jon Gruden). What’s worse for the fans of the silver-and-black is that Jamarcus Russell doesn’t even seem to care about how bad things have become. This franchise put a lot of hope and responsibility on Russell’s shoulders when they drafted him in 2007, and he obviously isn’t doing his part. Jamarcus, your laziness doesn’t only affect you, but it also reflects badly on a once-great franchise and an incredibly devoted fan base.
Okay, enough of that. Back to the G-men. More specifically, my man, Mr. Ahmad Bradshaw! Given the way he’s been playing all season, you gotta think teams must now prepare for him about as much as they do for Brandon Jacobs. How about these numbers through five games:
• TOTAL RUSHING YARDS: 375 – 6th overall
• YARDS/GAME: 75 – 9TH overall
• RUSHING FIRST DOWNS: 20 – tied 3rd overall
• 20+ YARDS RUSHES: 4 – tied 2nd overall
• RUSHING TDs: 2 – tied 14th overall
Not bad for the number two running back on the team! It won’t be long until
Derrick Ward is a distant memory, not to take away from what he brought last year. But since stepping into the number two slot, Ahmad has done nothing but produce tremendously week after week. Remember that whole “boot situation” everyone was freaking out about the other week? Yeah, me neither.
Another group of this Giants squad that I haven’t praised enough yet this season is the injury-riddled secondary. Aaron Ross hasn’t played a down yet all season, we all know the Kenny Phillips situation (out for the year), and Kevin Dockery has played just one game. Yet, the depth of our defense has really made its presence felt, as indicated in these statistics:
• PASSING COMPLETION %: 52.4% - 1st lowest overall
• NET PASSING YARDS: 524 – 1st lowest overall
• PASSING YARDS/GAME: 104.8 – 1st lowest overall
• TOTAL PASSING TDs: 4 – tied 6th lowest overall
• TOTAL INTERCEPTIONS: 5 – tied 8th most overall
• OPPONENT PASSER RATING: 60.4 – 2nd lowest overall
Maybe we shouldn’t call this secondary banged-up. Maybe we should simply call them versatile. Of course, we’ll know for sure how they fare (whoever ends up in the lineup) this weekend against New Orleans’ extremely high-powered aerial assault.
Which brings me, at last, to this week’s game. While there are other good rivalries and competitive match-ups going on this weekend, I can’t find a single one that looks to be as exciting as our New York Football Giants going into New Orleans to take on the Saints. Before the season began, everyone knew what kind of threat both the Giants’ defense and the Saints’ offense posed to their opponents. However, the Saints’ defense has been suspect the last few seasons, and the Giants’ offense had serious questions coming in without Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer, or Derrick Ward. Low and behold, here we are in Week 5 of the 2009 NFL season, and both of these teams have been playing outstanding football on both sides of the ball. Check out these match-ups (with overall league rankings in parenthesis):
• GIANTS OFFENSE (2nd) vs. SAINTS DEFENSE (6th)
• SAINTS OFFENSE (3rd) vs. GIANTS DEFENSE (1st)
• GIANTS PASS OFFENSE (9th) vs. SAINTS PASS DEFENSE (11th)
• SAINTS PASS OFFENSE (11th) vs. GIANTS PASS DEFENSE (1st)
• GIANTS RUSH OFFENSE (4th) vs. SAINTS RUSH DEFENSE (7th)
• SAINTS RUSH OFFENSE (2nd) vs. GIANTS RUSH DEFENSE (15th)
Not too many people realize that the Saints rushing attack has been doing better than their passing offense this year, although that one game against the Jets (and Drew Brees’ two-game touchdown-less streak) must be taken into account. There’s also the fact that the Saints have played one less game this year than the Giants. And I hadn’t realized how mediocre we’ve been against the run – that’s going to have to change on Sunday. All that aside, those are some pretty enticing match-ups listed. Whether or not you even have a team to root for, the potential for this game to be a great one has to make any football fan’s mouth water. I have no doubt that it’s going to be a fun, tense, emotionally draining, heart-churning, ulcer-inducing sixty minutes of football!
Here are some random musings of mine from around the world of sports/entertainment/wherever:
• I can’t emphasize enough how excited I am about the way the Yankees have played so far this October. That sweep of the Twins was exactly what every Yankee fan needed to see to regain post-season confidence with the franchise. The starters pitched very well, all the Yankee veterans are playing top notch, A-Rod finally remembered to bring his bat to a post-season series, and Mariano did what Mariano does – finish games. Also, it was very comforting seeing Joba working out of the bullpen. It’s funny how easy it’s become for me to forget how angry I was at the beginning of the season when the Yankees decided to shell out such an obnoxious amount of money to get C.C. and Texiera. So far, they’ve both been a pretty sound investment. Can’t wait for the ALCS to get here (might try to see if I can find some tickets for one of the games played in Anaheim). GO YANKEES!!
• It’s official – I’m on the Denver bandwagon. How can you not like what’s transpired for this franchise? It’s the epitome of an underdog story (so far). They replaced one of the NFL’s most legendary coaches and a superstar-on-the-rise with a first-year coach and a well-known “game manager.” AND THEY’RE 5-0??!? That’s pretty incredible, if you ask me. These guys are beyond legitimate – they’re borderline elite. I hope they can keep this up – it’ll make for a really exciting Thanksgiving match-up against our G-men.
• Is it just me, or does it seem like each season of “Entourage” just keeps getting shorter and shorter? I couldn’t believe the other weekend was the season finale already! And don’t get me started on the storyline – not only did nothing really seem to happen for Vinnie Chase (AGAIN), but I haven’t seen any evidence that Eric or Ari are the least bit good at their jobs. Eric used his friendship with Vince to get a meeting with Bob Saget (he’s still alive??) and Ari yelled at people. That’s about it. Why am I supposed to care about these guys again? It’s becoming harder and harder to defend as a fan of the show, that’s all I’m saying.
• If you live on the West Coast, I strongly recommend making the trip to see the Redwoods in Big Sur. It’s awesome. The trees are the biggest you’ll ever see, and some of their bases alone are big enough to fit the entire Giants’ offensive line inside them comfortably. Remember the Ewok scenes in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi? They were filmed in California’s Redwood Mountains. Which also makes me wonder, wouldn’t it be cool if a bunch of families with little kids went up there, dressed their kids in little Ewok outfits, and scattered them randomly throughout the forest? It’d be pretty hilarious for unsuspecting visitors to go on a hike and suddenly find themselves among a bunch of little Ewoks! If anybody wants to help me plan this potentially epically hysterical situation, I’m down!
Well, I’m glad I got all that off my chest. If you have anything to add or comment on, or have any questions or comments at all, you can contact me via e-mail at gmensuperfan@gmail.com. You can also find me on facebook, under the name “Gmen Superfan.” Enjoy the rest of your week, football fans, get ready for the Saints, and keep bleeding blue. Until next week, GO GMEN!!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
SuperFan: Giants vs. Chiefs (10/6/09)
Taking in the Big Picture
By Superfan
It’s very strange at times being a Giants fan. After the win over Kansas City last Sunday, I found myself surprisingly a little more disappointed that the final score was as close as it was than I was happy than we won. I suppose it’s healthy to always expect more from the team you love, and to want them to play perfectly on all three sides of the ball each play, every game. But still, it’s important to take a day or so, soak everything in, and gain some perspective. I’ve done just that recently, and can say that there’s far more of a reason to be excited and encouraged than at all worried.
Let’s start with the play of Eli Manning so far this season, a quarterback who, before the season began, was a cause for concern with many fans because he was assumed to have “no receiving core” to work with. Through four games, it’s safe to say his passing options have been anything but unreliable. Here are some numbers to prove his success so far:
• TOTAL PASSING YARDS: 1,039 – 7TH overall, 1st among NFC QBs (ahead of Mr. Fantasy himself, Drew Brees)
• YARDS/COMPLETION: 8.3 – 3rd overall, 1st among NFC QBs
• YARDS/GAME: 259.8 – 8th overall, 2nd among NFC QBs
• TD PASSES: 8 – tied 3rd overall, tied 2nd among NFC QBs
• 20+ YARD COMPLETIONS: 18 – tied for 1st overall (with brother Peyton)
• QB PASSER RATING: 104.1 – 3rd overall, behind Peyton Manning (114.5) and Drew Brees (108.4)
Not too shabby, if you ask this fan. Including the fact that he’s thrown just two picks, has only been sacked twice all year, and has registered a passer rating of over 100 in each of the last three games, I don’t think it would be unreasonable to include him in the talks for MVP (assuming he stays on this track). Of course, that heel injury that forced him out of the game last Sunday won’t help things, but I’m optimistic that it won’t be as negative of a factor as most might think. Love them or hate them, bottom line is the Manning family is a TOUGH family. If all that’s at risk while playing on that sore heel is pain, but no physical damage, expect Eli to play through it without hesitation. He’s looking really solid this season, and when he gets into his “zone” during the game, that sore heel shouldn’t be more than an afterthought.
Of course, Eli can only make smart, accurate passes to the receivers on the field – the rest is up to them. And boy have they stepped up in a big way. Mario Manningham and Steve Smith have had big games each week thus far, and there’s no reason to think they won’t continue that trend next Sunday when we host Oakland. I chose to focus my research especially on Steve Smith the last couple days. He used to more-or-less be just a reliable, consistent receiver who made big catches when we needed him to. Not to downplay the tremendous value that the latter has to any offense in this league, but in the last month or so Smith has risen from the ranks of dependable to outstanding. Forget Carolina. After four weeks into the 2009 NFL season, it’s OUR Steve Smith who finds himself among the league’s superstar receivers. Here are some numbers to help prove my point:
• RECEPTIONS: 34 - 1st overall
• TOTAL RECEIVING YARDS: 411 – 1st overall
• RECEIVING YARDS/GAME: 102.8 – 1st overall
• TD RECEPTIONS: 4 – 1st overall
• 1st DOWN RECEPTIONS: 22 – 1st overall
• 20+ YARD RECEPTIONS: 6 – tied for 3rd overall (1st overall in this category is none other than Mario Manningham, with 7)
Wow. Surprised, anyone? And the rest of Manningham’s numbers aren’t bad either. Most critics certainly didn’t expect these kind of numbers through four games for Smith or any Giants’ receiver, and man am I glad I they’re consistently wrong. You can’t ask for much more out of your wide-out through the first quarter of the season, although I’m sure he knows that’s the pressure’s now on to keep this insanely high level of play going as the year progresses. Regardless, there’s little else you can say about him except that he’s playing out of his mind. Keep up the good work.
There’s only one aspect of a team that can overshadow the kind of eye-popping stats I’ve discussed so far, and that’s an incredible shutdown defense. And say what you will about the Ravens, Jets, Saints (after that impressive victory over the Jets), or anyone else – you’d be hard-pressed to find any defense with the kind of depth, stamina, and pure talent than the Giants’. Not to get too redundant, but here’s some more numbers I gathered to give you a bit of a picture:
• POINTS ALLOWED/GAME: 16 – 6th lowest overall
• TOTAL POINTS ALLOWED: 64 – 9th lowest overall
• YARDS ALLOWED/GAME: 232.2 – 1st lowest overall
• YARDS ALLOWED/PLAY: 4.5 – 7TH lowest overall
• 1st DOWNS/GAME: 14.5 – 2nd lowest overall
• 3rd DOWN COMPLETION %: 28% - 5TH lowest overall
• PENALTIES AGAINST: 20 – tied 8th lowest overall
• TOTAL PENALTY YARDS: 162 – 9TH lowest overall
• TIME OF POSSESSION/GAME: 23:40 – 1ST lowest overall
• FUMBLES FORCED: 9 – tied for 1st overall, lost just 3
• INTERCEPTIONS: 5 – tied for 6th overall
That’s quite an assortment of top-ten categories. And the list could be longer. I’m not saying that numbers paint an entire picture, but these numbers certainly don’t lie. And let’s not forget about that shutout we pitched against the Bucs (I’m sure they haven’t). What those numbers don’t mention, which is crucial, is that we’ve been doing this with injuries turning the defensive bench into a game of musical chairs (most recent addition to the game – Michael Boley – who’s going to miss about four weeks after successful arthroscopic surgery to repair a partially torn meniscus in his right knee). Still, with the exception of Kenny Phillips who’s on the IR, all of the players who’ve missed games so far are expected to return within the next several games, and we should be fully healthy by mid-November. Just imagine what those numbers could be with a completely healthy defense. My mouth is watering.
The game itself wasn’t the most exciting to watch (with the exception of Nicks’ awesome TD run-after-the-catch on an excuse-me screen pass), but there was still plenty to like about it. Each week, Ahmad is looking more and more like a mini, speedy version of Brandon Jacobs; the guy runs really hard and is very tough to bring down. Boss is slowly but surely beginning to reappear in the passing game. And I don’t think anyone can overstate just how remarkable our offensive line has been.
I had a very fun experience regarding the viewing of the games this past weekend. I went up north a little bit to my friend Jerry’s house up in Simi Valley, and found myself smack in the middle of die-hard Chargers country (good thing I chose to wear my Jacobs jersey, and not my Manning one). Being on the West Coast, our football Sunday started bright and early with donuts and Bloody Marys at about 9:45 am. Let me tell you something – my buddy Jerry makes ONE HELLUVA Bloody Mary.
The set-up at his place was awesome. He hooked up a big flat screen TV outside on his back porch by the pool, and turned the Giants game on for me inside (just in case). Outside, there were several chairs and table filled with delicious snacks. For the 10:00 (1:00) games, the selection was Mozzarella, spicy pitted green olives, Brochette, sliced meats, chips, and salsa. I watched the Gmen with them and inside, and they (with the aid of NFL Sunday Ticket) watched them all.
For the 1:00 (4:00) games, we got the grill going and had some hot dogs (from the one and only Carnegie Deli…mmmm…), hamburgers, and beer.
Then, for the Sunday night game (the one that they were really all there to see), Jerry served up some of the most amazing tri-tip I’ve ever had. EVER. It’s like the freaking cow lived in a tank of seasoning. Unfortunately, well, we all know what happened in the Steelers – Chargers game. Ouch (until the end).
All-in-all, however, it was a great time. Jerry, his family, and his friends are a very fun group to watch football with. It felt like we were just tailgating for about 8 hours. Awesome. If there’s anything I took away from the experience, it’s these two things: never tell a bunch of Chargers fans that you went to the same school as Ben Roethlisburger (no matter how cool you may think it is, they won’t care), and HATE THE BINKE!!!! (That one’s just for them.)
Okay, time for me to share some random thoughts that may or may not be Giants/football/sports-related:
• What a crazy time for New York sports fans. Despite their loss (to a VERY GOOD TEAM, no less) Sunday, the Jets still find themselves sharing the top spot in their division. The Rangers, Devils, and Islanders are all back out on the ice (hey, some people in this country still noticed), and the Knicks and Nets start playing ball in a matter of weeks (they’ve got nowhere to go but up). The Yankees have been sitting back for about a week, relishing in impressively clinching the division at home against Boston. And these guys look AWESOME – like, 1998 awesome. Can’t wait for the playoffs to start! And the Mets, well…ummm…yeah… At least you get to keep using the new stadium next year, assuming anybody bothers to come fill it up. (Haha, take that, JJ, you poor misdirected Mets fan.)
• If you haven’t already read it, be sure to check out this week’s “Monday Morning QB” (Monday’s edition) by Peter King. Personally, I think all football fans should read it every week – it’s consistently unbiased, educated, well-written, and very informative. This week, however, is especially nice for Giants fans. He gives us props by saying “the Giants might or might not be the best team in football, but I can tell you this: They're the deepest.” Great little bit giving long-deserved respect for GM Jerry Reese. There’s also a small paragraph giving some love to New Jersey. Gotta love that.
• If it weren’t for Sirius NFL Radio, I’d probably go buy a bike and ride it to work every day. It’s no secret that the traffic in California is beyond horrible, but it becomes rather tolerable when there’s great stuff to listen to on the radio. And if you’re a pure, hardcore football fan, there’s nothing better. The guys on air are extremely smart about the game, they have great interviews with all sorts of players and coaches regularly, and – best of all - the callers are educated (I know some of you who listen to WFAN don’t think it’s possible for educated people to call in to sports talk radio, but that’s absolutely the case here)! No focusing on the unimportant off-the-field issues, no egos overriding rationale, no broad, sweeping predictions. Just pure X’s and O’s. It’s about damn time!
• Thank God the new season of “Californication” finally got here. Such an awesome show.
• I can’t begin to imagine what must be churning through the stomachs of Green Bay fans this week. As much as I agree that he absolutely betrayed his former team, there’s no denying that Brett Favre still has a little something in the tank. And when the spotlight’s on, he rarely disappoints. Let’s just see if he’s still playing at this level when the second half of the season creeps around.
Well, that’s all I’ve got for now. I’m sure I’ll think of something else here soon, but I’ll just use it next week. As a reminder, you can reach me via e-mail at gmensuperfan@gmail.com, and on Facebook under the name “Gmen Superfan.” One more ‘should-win’ game coming up here against the Raiders, then our big matchup in New Orleans. Alright, fans - keep on cheering hard, keep on bleeding blue, and until next week, GO GMEN!!!!
By Superfan
It’s very strange at times being a Giants fan. After the win over Kansas City last Sunday, I found myself surprisingly a little more disappointed that the final score was as close as it was than I was happy than we won. I suppose it’s healthy to always expect more from the team you love, and to want them to play perfectly on all three sides of the ball each play, every game. But still, it’s important to take a day or so, soak everything in, and gain some perspective. I’ve done just that recently, and can say that there’s far more of a reason to be excited and encouraged than at all worried.
Let’s start with the play of Eli Manning so far this season, a quarterback who, before the season began, was a cause for concern with many fans because he was assumed to have “no receiving core” to work with. Through four games, it’s safe to say his passing options have been anything but unreliable. Here are some numbers to prove his success so far:
• TOTAL PASSING YARDS: 1,039 – 7TH overall, 1st among NFC QBs (ahead of Mr. Fantasy himself, Drew Brees)
• YARDS/COMPLETION: 8.3 – 3rd overall, 1st among NFC QBs
• YARDS/GAME: 259.8 – 8th overall, 2nd among NFC QBs
• TD PASSES: 8 – tied 3rd overall, tied 2nd among NFC QBs
• 20+ YARD COMPLETIONS: 18 – tied for 1st overall (with brother Peyton)
• QB PASSER RATING: 104.1 – 3rd overall, behind Peyton Manning (114.5) and Drew Brees (108.4)
Not too shabby, if you ask this fan. Including the fact that he’s thrown just two picks, has only been sacked twice all year, and has registered a passer rating of over 100 in each of the last three games, I don’t think it would be unreasonable to include him in the talks for MVP (assuming he stays on this track). Of course, that heel injury that forced him out of the game last Sunday won’t help things, but I’m optimistic that it won’t be as negative of a factor as most might think. Love them or hate them, bottom line is the Manning family is a TOUGH family. If all that’s at risk while playing on that sore heel is pain, but no physical damage, expect Eli to play through it without hesitation. He’s looking really solid this season, and when he gets into his “zone” during the game, that sore heel shouldn’t be more than an afterthought.
Of course, Eli can only make smart, accurate passes to the receivers on the field – the rest is up to them. And boy have they stepped up in a big way. Mario Manningham and Steve Smith have had big games each week thus far, and there’s no reason to think they won’t continue that trend next Sunday when we host Oakland. I chose to focus my research especially on Steve Smith the last couple days. He used to more-or-less be just a reliable, consistent receiver who made big catches when we needed him to. Not to downplay the tremendous value that the latter has to any offense in this league, but in the last month or so Smith has risen from the ranks of dependable to outstanding. Forget Carolina. After four weeks into the 2009 NFL season, it’s OUR Steve Smith who finds himself among the league’s superstar receivers. Here are some numbers to help prove my point:
• RECEPTIONS: 34 - 1st overall
• TOTAL RECEIVING YARDS: 411 – 1st overall
• RECEIVING YARDS/GAME: 102.8 – 1st overall
• TD RECEPTIONS: 4 – 1st overall
• 1st DOWN RECEPTIONS: 22 – 1st overall
• 20+ YARD RECEPTIONS: 6 – tied for 3rd overall (1st overall in this category is none other than Mario Manningham, with 7)
Wow. Surprised, anyone? And the rest of Manningham’s numbers aren’t bad either. Most critics certainly didn’t expect these kind of numbers through four games for Smith or any Giants’ receiver, and man am I glad I they’re consistently wrong. You can’t ask for much more out of your wide-out through the first quarter of the season, although I’m sure he knows that’s the pressure’s now on to keep this insanely high level of play going as the year progresses. Regardless, there’s little else you can say about him except that he’s playing out of his mind. Keep up the good work.
There’s only one aspect of a team that can overshadow the kind of eye-popping stats I’ve discussed so far, and that’s an incredible shutdown defense. And say what you will about the Ravens, Jets, Saints (after that impressive victory over the Jets), or anyone else – you’d be hard-pressed to find any defense with the kind of depth, stamina, and pure talent than the Giants’. Not to get too redundant, but here’s some more numbers I gathered to give you a bit of a picture:
• POINTS ALLOWED/GAME: 16 – 6th lowest overall
• TOTAL POINTS ALLOWED: 64 – 9th lowest overall
• YARDS ALLOWED/GAME: 232.2 – 1st lowest overall
• YARDS ALLOWED/PLAY: 4.5 – 7TH lowest overall
• 1st DOWNS/GAME: 14.5 – 2nd lowest overall
• 3rd DOWN COMPLETION %: 28% - 5TH lowest overall
• PENALTIES AGAINST: 20 – tied 8th lowest overall
• TOTAL PENALTY YARDS: 162 – 9TH lowest overall
• TIME OF POSSESSION/GAME: 23:40 – 1ST lowest overall
• FUMBLES FORCED: 9 – tied for 1st overall, lost just 3
• INTERCEPTIONS: 5 – tied for 6th overall
That’s quite an assortment of top-ten categories. And the list could be longer. I’m not saying that numbers paint an entire picture, but these numbers certainly don’t lie. And let’s not forget about that shutout we pitched against the Bucs (I’m sure they haven’t). What those numbers don’t mention, which is crucial, is that we’ve been doing this with injuries turning the defensive bench into a game of musical chairs (most recent addition to the game – Michael Boley – who’s going to miss about four weeks after successful arthroscopic surgery to repair a partially torn meniscus in his right knee). Still, with the exception of Kenny Phillips who’s on the IR, all of the players who’ve missed games so far are expected to return within the next several games, and we should be fully healthy by mid-November. Just imagine what those numbers could be with a completely healthy defense. My mouth is watering.
The game itself wasn’t the most exciting to watch (with the exception of Nicks’ awesome TD run-after-the-catch on an excuse-me screen pass), but there was still plenty to like about it. Each week, Ahmad is looking more and more like a mini, speedy version of Brandon Jacobs; the guy runs really hard and is very tough to bring down. Boss is slowly but surely beginning to reappear in the passing game. And I don’t think anyone can overstate just how remarkable our offensive line has been.
I had a very fun experience regarding the viewing of the games this past weekend. I went up north a little bit to my friend Jerry’s house up in Simi Valley, and found myself smack in the middle of die-hard Chargers country (good thing I chose to wear my Jacobs jersey, and not my Manning one). Being on the West Coast, our football Sunday started bright and early with donuts and Bloody Marys at about 9:45 am. Let me tell you something – my buddy Jerry makes ONE HELLUVA Bloody Mary.
The set-up at his place was awesome. He hooked up a big flat screen TV outside on his back porch by the pool, and turned the Giants game on for me inside (just in case). Outside, there were several chairs and table filled with delicious snacks. For the 10:00 (1:00) games, the selection was Mozzarella, spicy pitted green olives, Brochette, sliced meats, chips, and salsa. I watched the Gmen with them and inside, and they (with the aid of NFL Sunday Ticket) watched them all.
For the 1:00 (4:00) games, we got the grill going and had some hot dogs (from the one and only Carnegie Deli…mmmm…), hamburgers, and beer.
Then, for the Sunday night game (the one that they were really all there to see), Jerry served up some of the most amazing tri-tip I’ve ever had. EVER. It’s like the freaking cow lived in a tank of seasoning. Unfortunately, well, we all know what happened in the Steelers – Chargers game. Ouch (until the end).
All-in-all, however, it was a great time. Jerry, his family, and his friends are a very fun group to watch football with. It felt like we were just tailgating for about 8 hours. Awesome. If there’s anything I took away from the experience, it’s these two things: never tell a bunch of Chargers fans that you went to the same school as Ben Roethlisburger (no matter how cool you may think it is, they won’t care), and HATE THE BINKE!!!! (That one’s just for them.)
Okay, time for me to share some random thoughts that may or may not be Giants/football/sports-related:
• What a crazy time for New York sports fans. Despite their loss (to a VERY GOOD TEAM, no less) Sunday, the Jets still find themselves sharing the top spot in their division. The Rangers, Devils, and Islanders are all back out on the ice (hey, some people in this country still noticed), and the Knicks and Nets start playing ball in a matter of weeks (they’ve got nowhere to go but up). The Yankees have been sitting back for about a week, relishing in impressively clinching the division at home against Boston. And these guys look AWESOME – like, 1998 awesome. Can’t wait for the playoffs to start! And the Mets, well…ummm…yeah… At least you get to keep using the new stadium next year, assuming anybody bothers to come fill it up. (Haha, take that, JJ, you poor misdirected Mets fan.)
• If you haven’t already read it, be sure to check out this week’s “Monday Morning QB” (Monday’s edition) by Peter King. Personally, I think all football fans should read it every week – it’s consistently unbiased, educated, well-written, and very informative. This week, however, is especially nice for Giants fans. He gives us props by saying “the Giants might or might not be the best team in football, but I can tell you this: They're the deepest.” Great little bit giving long-deserved respect for GM Jerry Reese. There’s also a small paragraph giving some love to New Jersey. Gotta love that.
• If it weren’t for Sirius NFL Radio, I’d probably go buy a bike and ride it to work every day. It’s no secret that the traffic in California is beyond horrible, but it becomes rather tolerable when there’s great stuff to listen to on the radio. And if you’re a pure, hardcore football fan, there’s nothing better. The guys on air are extremely smart about the game, they have great interviews with all sorts of players and coaches regularly, and – best of all - the callers are educated (I know some of you who listen to WFAN don’t think it’s possible for educated people to call in to sports talk radio, but that’s absolutely the case here)! No focusing on the unimportant off-the-field issues, no egos overriding rationale, no broad, sweeping predictions. Just pure X’s and O’s. It’s about damn time!
• Thank God the new season of “Californication” finally got here. Such an awesome show.
• I can’t begin to imagine what must be churning through the stomachs of Green Bay fans this week. As much as I agree that he absolutely betrayed his former team, there’s no denying that Brett Favre still has a little something in the tank. And when the spotlight’s on, he rarely disappoints. Let’s just see if he’s still playing at this level when the second half of the season creeps around.
Well, that’s all I’ve got for now. I’m sure I’ll think of something else here soon, but I’ll just use it next week. As a reminder, you can reach me via e-mail at gmensuperfan@gmail.com, and on Facebook under the name “Gmen Superfan.” One more ‘should-win’ game coming up here against the Raiders, then our big matchup in New Orleans. Alright, fans - keep on cheering hard, keep on bleeding blue, and until next week, GO GMEN!!!!
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