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!!!!