Giants vs. Packers (12/28/10)

Taking Stock

By Superfan

Since about 7:45 pm (east coast time) Sunday night, I haven’t spoken a single word about this past Sunday’s Giants game to a soul. Until just before I sat down to write this article. Partly because I couldn’t quite grasp what had just transpired in Green Bay, and partially because my laptop crashed and I just got it back from being repaired. I haven’t watched a second of ESPN, NFL Network, or any of the games that have been played since. I haven’t looked at a single sports section, I haven’t listened to a second of sports talk radio, and I even gave away this week’s Sports Illustrated as soon as it arrived. I’ll tell you what – it actually felt pretty liberating.

But of course, when I got back today from the Apple Store, I was forced to sit down and remember everything. All of it. Every bit of anxiety, hope, stress, confidence, doubt, bewilderment, confusion, terror, frustration, and betrayal that passed through my head last Sunday when we went in to Green Bay and got spanked (yes, SPANKED) by the Packers.

This was the game we were going to make a statement in. To show the world that what Philly did to us the week before was a fluke, and the Gmen were still in fact the real deal. This was a MUST WIN, a game where we had to come out swinging, needing to show the rest of the football public that the Giants were a bounce-back team. A team that could win with our backs pressed against the wall. A team that knew how to put shocking disappointment in the past, confident in their ability to beat any team, any day, in dominating fashion.

On Sunday, the Giants were not that team.

Safe-Haven Turned Battle Ground

I was visiting home for the holidays on Sunday, so we got the old band back together. The same group from the good ol’ days of 2007 – a few family friends who are also die-hard Giants fans, their kids, my dad, my brother, my buddy Jon, and I. All should have been right with the world, except for one big problem. One of our family friends has a son who’s a die-hard Green Bay fan. I figured my dad, this being his house, would have at least set up some sort of rule that if he wanted to be cheer for Green Bay and wear a jersey, he’d have to watch in another room (and preferably another floor). Or he could watch in the living room with us, but he’d have to take his jersey off and be quiet. Despite my incessant protests, this was not the case. The damn kid came into our house, donning a Dorsey Levens Packers’ jersey, and sat right down on our living room couch.

How the hell are we supposed to create positive, untarnished must-win energy with a Packers jersey being worn in the living room??? All of our different rituals – from throwing the ball outside at least ten times without a drop to our seating arrangements, were all moot points with that ugly green jersey in the room. I was the only person to really say anything about it, but my dad felt it wasn’t right to do that to a family friend, and if the Giants were winning it wouldn’t matter anyway. THAT’S NOT THE POINT!!! The fact remains, we could’ve done something to change the negative vibes spewing from the inside of our living room, and the one person with the power to do something about it sat idly by and let it happen. I know it sounds ridiculous, but dad, this will be a sore subject for quite a while. It’s going to take a lot to reassure your dedication to the Gmen, as far as I’m concerned.

I don’t need to go into the rest of the viewing experience. Let’s just say I left the room somewhere near the end of the 3^rd quarter and watched the remainder of the game in the kitchen, sitting at the island with my head in my hands and my hat falling into an empty pizza box.

To Ugly to Go Into Detail…

And for that exact reason, I’m not going to write anything about the game itself. We all know what happened. Let it live where it belongs – the past. No film work to be done on this end. Good riddance.

Clearing the Fog

Now that it’s all said and done, it’s time to take stock of our current situation. And it’s pretty cut and dry – we need to beat the Redskins next Sunday, and we need the Bears to beat the Packers. If both those things happen, we’re in the playoffs. Not one or the other. Both. We lost a must-win game last weekend, and therefore no longer control our own destiny. Still, given how I’m sure everyone feels after these last two beatings, it feels like things should be a lot worse.

I don’t know what the future holds for this Giants’ team, its coaches or its players. I know that we’re still very much in the hunt, and regardless of recent events, one should never think a 10-6 team is underserving of a playoff spot. Especially when you look at the NFC West. We all had incredibly high hopes for this final stretch of the regular season, and so far it’s been the exact opposite of what we wanted. However, we currently stand at 9-6 (so no matter what we’ve improved on last year’s mark), with a fairly realistic shot at making the second season. I mean it’s not like we’re hoping the Panthers can go take down the Packers, assuming we take care of business with the Redskins. Did everyone else see Jay Cutler pick apart the Jets’ D on Sunday? All Giants’ fans better pray he stays hot.

All that being said, by no means is it a foregone conclusion that we’re going to beat the Redskins handily. Just because we’ve done it in the recent past doesn’t mean it’s a given to play out the same way. All the Gmen can control is the outcome of their game in Landover. That should be the most important game of every member of the team’s careers up until this point, as far as I’m concerned. I hope they feel the same way, and come out swinging.

We know what the Giants can do if they get a big spark in the final game of the regular season and sneak in as a wild card seed. If any fans out there really believe all hope is lost and the Gmen shouldn’t bother, that sentiment is understandable, but not allowable. We have to have faith in our team. If we win, and get a little help from the Bears, we’re in the playoffs. All that matters in the NFL, all season long, is making it to the post season. A higher seed, home-field advantage, and a bye are all different kinds of icing on the cake. Bottom line, you just have to make it to the second season. From there, anything is possible.

So pick your heads up fans! I know it seems like the walls are closing in, but they haven’t yet. We have to keep the faith! To talk all things Gmen, you can e-mail me at gmensuperfan@gmail.com, and you can find me on Facebook under the name “Gmen Superfan.”

That’s all for now. Hope everyone had a great holiday, and I wish you all a very safe, happy, and healthy New Year. Until next year, GO GMEN!

Superfan: Giants vs. Eagles (12/20/10)

I Can’t Believe What I Just Saw Either

By Superfan

Once the shock and disbelief subsided, that was probably the worst I’ve ever felt after a Giants’ game. To blow a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter is one thing. To do it at home against the Eagles, well, that’s something entirely different. Not since our loss to the 49ers in the playoffs back in 2003 have I gone from such joy to such misery so quickly.

Being at the game, with some friends (Jon included) who drove from Massachusetts for the day just to go to the game only made it hurt that much more. But we survived the night. The players, coaches, and fans are all still with us, and the sun still rose this morning, despite what many fans might have thought. What I’m getting at is, while circumstances are very bleak, all is certainly not lost. But I’ll get to that, after reliving with you fellow die-hards one of the worst losses I’ve ever seen:

I Know It Hurts, But Keep Reading Anyway

It started like every other magical football Sunday for a Giants fan. I woke up, having barely slept the night before, and the morning ritual began. Turned on the Sunday morning football shows, showered, grabbed breakfast, dawned my Giants’ blue, and waited for Jon and his friend, Josh, show up. They did, we did some necessary “GMEN!!” shouting, jumped around for a bit, got each other psyched up, then got in the car and headed for the stadium.

The atmosphere at the Meadowlands was ELECTRIC! Big Blue World Order was there in full force, with people going crazy with anticipation. We were in our seats minutes before they ran onto the field, and I swear our voices were all but gone by the middle of the second quarter.

In the stands, the first three quarters were about as much fun as you could possibly have as a Giants fan. Into the fourth quarter, after Kevin Boss’s incredible touchdown reception off a strike from Eli, you could see all around the stands green shirts lining up the aisles, signifying countless Eagles fans leaving the game early in disgrace.

Then the wheels fell off.

Before those Eagles’ fans could reach the top of the stairs, Philly drove the ball in two plays, scoring on a deep touchdown pass over the middle from Vick to Celek. Fine, a touchdown. Not great, but not the end of the world either. We’re still up by two scores. But then they tried a trick-play onside kick, and RECOVERED IT.

Come on, Gmen. Don’t look past this Eagles’ team. They scored quickly and somehow recovered an onside kick. You have to make a BIG STOP HERE.

NOPE. Instead, the Eagles took two minutes off the clock and scored a touchdown. 31-24 Giants, 5:28 remaining.

Alright, can’t spin out here. We’ve still got the lead, and we’re getting the ball back. If we can drive the field, and at least force them to use up all their timeouts, we’re in good shape. It couldn’t hurt to maybe get a score on the drive too, and really put this thing away again.

We did part of that, killing two-and-a-half minutes while forcing Philly to use all of their timeouts. Plus, we gave them the ball back pinned at their own twelve-yard line. Just need our defense to make a stop, and we’ll be fine. But they didn’t. Instead, Vick drove Philly down the field to tie the game up, leaving us one minute and change to try and avoid overtime.

We avoided overtime all right, only not the way any team would want to. After two straight incompletions, Eli took a big sack on 3^rd and ten. With fourteen seconds on the clock, Coughlin took a timeout. He pulled Matt Dodge aside and asked him to punt the ball out of bounds, away from Desean Jackson, and we’d go into overtime. But Matt Dodge didn’t punt the ball out of bounds. Instead, he punted it to Desean, who after fumbling it initially picked it up and right it back for a game-ending touchdown. OF COURSE HE DID.

The Meadowlands was the quietest it’s ever been. And I was about as upset as I’ve ever been.

No talking in the car during the ride home. After Jon and Josh dropped me off, I heard in the background, “Well, let’s go back and study for finals.” I wish those two the best of luck this week. Poor guys. We didn’t even have the heart to say, “tough loss” or anything. It just hurt too much to think about, and I think if anyone did say anything, it would have been instantly followed by vomit. Just because.

The Immediate Aftermath

When I got home, I posted on Facebook (and I’m paraphrasing) that I was pissed about the loss and didn’t want to talk about it until Monday. Then I read some of the responses the post was getting. Some of the negative energy that was brewing from what fans everywhere had just witnessed. Most of whom at halftime I’m sure were dancing and hugging and screaming about how Eli’s the greatest quarterback on earth, we were FINALLY going to give the Eagles the spanking they so deserved, and how grateful they were that the Giants have a coach who’s probably going to lead the Gmen to the Super Bowl for the second time in his coaching tenure. When I read the posts, it was like a collection of hate mail. Now there were definitely many fans defending the Giants, explaining that its not the end of the season, but the fact that fellow Giants fans would post so negatively in the first place just disgusts me. Folks were saying Coughlin got lucky with the first ring, but has no idea what to do with the talent he’s given. Others wrote that the Giants aren’t a good team, and need to clean house and start from scratch. Some even wrote we’d be lucky to see the playoffs this year.

Fans like that make me sick to my stomach. In case everyone wasn’t aware, as of Monday afternoon the Giants’ are currently the #6 NFC playoff seed. And Coach Coughlin didn’t let Michael Vick beat him around the corner on 3^rd and ten when a stop will get us the ball back or force a fourth down try, and probably end the game. He wasn’t the one punting the ball to one of the most dangerous return men in the NFL when it was supposed to go out of bounds. Tom Coughlin didn’t get stuffed in the running game, and he wasn’t out there unable to make any scoring drives happen when we needed to later in the fourth quarter, or at least run the ball successfully to take loads of time off the clock. And Tom Coughlin didn’t jump offside on 2^nd and six after Philly had burned their final timeout, throwing off what was a very promising drive and pushing back from their 38 to their 43, and eliminating most chances of at least a field goal try, which then would have put us up 34-24. But it was Tom Coughlin’s great coaching, as well as Perry Fewell’s great pressure, which gave us a three score lead after the first three quarters. The coaches did their jobs just fine, but the players got tired, sloppy, and let a very quick, hungry and opportunistic division rival sneak out of our house with one of the most painful and unlikely comebacks anyone’s seen in quite a while.

The Bigger Picture

Yes, it was one hell of an ugly loss. It really hurts, and it’s going to hurt for a long time. Definitely for those of us who are forced to be in contact with Eagles fans on an almost regular basis (you know who you are – STAY AWAY FROM ME). But the season is far from a lost cause. We’ve backed ourselves into a corner, but the road to the postseason isn’t an impossible one to travel. As I mentioned earlier, if the season were to end today, we’d be in as a wild card seed.

Despite our gut-wrenching loss, we still found ourselves pretty fortunate regarding the other games played yesterday. New Orleans, Tampa Bay, and Green Bay all lost. We still control our own destiny, and have two very winnable games ahead of us.

The comparisons have obviously been made aplenty since the loss as a silver lining, so I’ll go ahead and reiterate. In 2007, we got swept badly by the Cowboys during the regular season. Then, in the playoffs, we went into their house and won when it mattered most, making Jerry Jones just a stepping-stone on our path to a Super Bowl victory. Well, Philly swept us in 2010, and when we get into the playoffs, we very might see them along the way. The game would be in their house. What better way to get redemption? If any team knows how to do it, the Giants have proven they’re that team.

So stay positive, fans! Let’s make this most recent loss just a part of the Super Bowl DVD that you fast-forward through quickly. Obviously, try to stay away from the highlight shows, the “Inside the NFL”s, etc. if it helps keep your mind off of it. I’m still extremely proud to be a Giants fan, and every one of you should too.

Let’s get past the loss and get ready for the pack! Two huge games coming up. The plot’s always bleakest just before the storybook ending occurs! We’ve still got this Giants’ fans! To talk all things Giants, you can send me an e-mail at gmensuperfan@gmail.com, and you can find me on Facebook under the name “Gmen Superfan.” Be upset all you want, but there are still two more games to be played. They’re going to happen, so why not be ready for them? No more time to mope! Happy holidays everyone, and until next week, GO GMEN!!

Superfan: Giants vs. Vikings (12/14/10)

On the Road Again…and Again…

By Superfan

While the rest of the football world cares only about the fact that Brett Favre didn’t play, there actually was a Giants-Vikings game this past Monday night. And, for the second straight week, we ran away with the win (pun intended). After all the travel madness our Gmen had to endure over the weekend, they came out a little flat (to be expected), but turned things around pretty quickly. A quick little rant I’d like to get out of the way early – during the post-game analysis last night, I heard several people say that we won in dominating fashion, despite having little offensive production. Yet again proving that all NFL “experts” deem worthy, when it comes to offensive success, is a team’s ability to throw the ball. According to them, having two separate players with over one hundred yards rushing and a touchdown each doesn’t count as a productive offensive output. Wow.

Although I suppose we should consider ourselves lucky that the Giants’ victory was even mentioned. I get it – the streak’s a big deal. Which it is. But the season’s still going on, the guy’s not even playing, and his team was just eliminated from the playoff race. Can’t we wait for all the “Brett Favre’s the greatest thing to happen to pro football since they put laces on the ball” hoopla to go on once the season’s over? On that note, based on what he said about Tom Brady last week and Brett Favre Monday night, I think Trent Dilfer must give amazing best man speeches.

Facing the Elements…in a dome?

By now I’m sure everyone’s seen the clip of the Metrodome roof collapsing under the snow’s weight early Sunday morning. Unbelievable footage. What’s more unbelievable is that this isn’t the first, but the FOURTH time that it’s happened! So that means that three previous times this has happened, and someone must’ve said, “Well, we probably should do something about this. But until somebody ponies up the dough to build a new stadium, we’ll just leave it alone. I doubt it’ll happen again.” Shame on you, Minnesota, for caring so little about your team and its fans by allowing them to continue to play in a joke of a stadium. For that matter, I wonder what the support was initially when they pitched the idea for the Metrodome to the city of Minneapolis? “I realize you guys play in a cold-weather city, but we feel that an inflatable roof would be perfect! Wait, you think accumulated snow will be a problem? Come on, it’s just frozen water! Has rain ever hurt a dome? Snow’s the same thing, only colder!” Yikes. Now for the fourth time you’ve proven that the city doesn’t deserve to keep that team. Ziggy Wilf should be embarrassed. And thanks to your incompetence and indecisiveness, fans outside of the teams’ markets weren’t able to watch the game.

And while the Vikings’ organization was fumbling, the Giants showed us all how professional and classy organizations carry themselves in times of great adversity. They got diverted from Minneapolis to Kansas City, and spent the night in an airport hotel, hoping to maybe play in the afternoon but most likely Monday night. The next day, they found out they weren’t going to play in Minnesota after all, and instead would face the Vikings at Ford field Monday night.

And we hardly missed a beat. Forget about Eli’s two early picks. They were really bad throws, and big mistakes. But we made up for them quickly. With the defense playing as well as it did, they became moot points. With a more mobile quarterback under center and arguably the best running back in the game lined up behind him, our defense held them both down all game, intercepting Tarvaris Jackson once, sacking him four times, and holding AP to just twenty-six yards on fourteen carries. Forget about Brett Favre not playing – THAT should be the story of the game. I’ve heard Big Blue Wrecking Crew, and I overheard Justin Tuck, during his post-game interview, refer to the D as “QB killers.” Don’t know if either or both of those nicknames will stick, or if they’ve been used before, but this year’s defense DEFINITELY needs some sort of cool nickname to be remembered by. On that note, while it may have been overlooked, we once again knocked the starting quarterback out of the game last night (ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS).

We’ve been doting on them, so let’s continue – our offensive line is ON FIRE. Yes, Eli got sacked Monday night. Once in six games. I’m okay with that. David Diehl’s presence was definitely felt, and our rushing game, for the second straight week, amassed over 200 yards. Looks like Earth and Fire are back, and even without Wind, look to be all the running elements we need to succeed. They’re helping us do exactly want we do best – grind out the clock and punish opposing defenses. This is exactly the kind of dominating play that helped lead our magical run a few years ago. And remember – Eli wasn’t exactly lights-out until it mattered most. Let’s hope he gets hot at the right time again this year. Finally, I take back many of the bad things I said about Matt Dodge earlier this season. He’s come into his own in the last few weeks, and has been absolutely BOOMING the ball when he’s had to, and has also done a nice job of placing punts when he’s had to.

For the most part, that was a great team win. Let’s not forget – when it counted, Eli fired in some great passes, especially his strike to Boss in the end zone at the end of the first half. What a brilliantly run two-minute offense to end the second quarter.

A Mess of a Viewing Experience

Trying to watch Monday night’s game was one of the more stressful and taxing experiences of my life. At work, around 4:00 pm (pacific time), I began searching all sorts of websites I might be able to use to watch the game on. The popular one, which I can’t name for obvious reasons, requires some sort of plug-in to watch anything. So I was stuck going between the gamecast on nfl.com and texts and instant messages from friends and family. But no office with a TV on to run into, since Fox would rather air a repeat of House than show the Giants-Vikings game nationally (or maybe ESPN threw a stink about not wanting their national audience messed with…who knows – bottom line, someone dropped the ball). So, with work going on in the background, not really able to pay attention to any of it, I found out they finished early. Around 5:30 my time I BOLTED OUT OF THERE! This was about three minutes after Brandon Jacobs scored on 3^rd and goal.

From work, I raced over to Beth’s place. She has Sunday Ticket. I was driving from downtown Hollywood to Brentwood. There’s no fast way to do that. Regardless, I managed to find the game on the radio, listened to our epic two-minute drill to end the first half, and made it to Beth’s just as the second half got underway. Literally, JJ opened the door for me as soon as Bulluck made the pick.

The rest of the game was pretty fun to watch. Beth made us tacos, and the Gmen made us smile. Of course, there’s the burden of having to listen to Troy Aikman announce the game, and its amazing how, even though we blew them out, he looked for every possible avenue to put us down. Amazing. To keep things fair, can’t he just go to CBS and do AFC games, and let FOX take Phil Simms? Even when Phil announces Giants’ games, at least he’s unbiased. Troy’s just awful.

But I digress. The game was great to watch, and I don’t just mean seeing Brett Favre on the sidelines in street clothes before and after EVERY SINGLE PLAY. Ahmad’s run that put the game away was huge, and I couldn’t get over how impressive our defense looked all game long. Even though the game was all but over near the end of the fourth quarter, they still didn’t take a bit of pressure off. If you’re a Giants fan, you should feel pretty excited about them right now.

Non-Gmen Thoughts of the Week:

· In case you weren’t in a New York or Minnesota market, or didn’t have Sunday Ticket, and missed last night’s game, you can watch the game in its entirety for free on demand on nfl.com. Just in time!

· I can’t believe what happened in the Cliff Lee circus. What a turn of events. Screw you, Philly.

· No excuses for what Sal Alosi did on Sunday. Strange that the Jets took so long to make a statement and take action, even stranger that he still has a job.

PHILLY WEEK IS UNDERWAY

I don’t have to tell any of you what a huge game we have coming up on Sunday against the Eagles. We’ve gotta make a big statement at our house, and I think we will! Unfortunately, it looks like we’ll be without Steve Smith the rest of the way. Our thoughts and prayers go out to him in the hopes of a safe and complete recovery. Regardless of who’s out there, the Gmen will be ready. We have to be. It’s Philly week!!!! GET READY!!!! To talk all things Gmen, you can e-mail me at gmensuperfan@gmail.com, and you can find me on Facebook under the name “Gmen Superfan.” I’ll be at the game on Sunday, and can’t wait to add to the home field madness!! Until next week, GO GMEN!!

Superfan: Giants vs. Redskins (12/7/10)

Capital Punishment

By Superfan           

 

            I realize I’m probably jinxing us, but I can’t get it out of my head that our offensive line hasn’t given up a sack in FIVE STRAIGHT GAMES.  Correction – our depleted, banged-up, and disassembled offensive line.  To join the love fest, there’s not enough good you can say about the job Pat Hagerty has done these past few weeks.  Not only in pass protection, but our running game has exploded recently.  You can be like everyone else and say, “oh, Haynesworth didn’t play,” or, “big deal, it’s Jacksonville.”  Yeah, the rest of the sports world loves nothing more than coming up with excuses for why the Giants perform well in a given period of time.  Except those of us who actually know and study football understand that no one wins because another team “lets them” (excluding the 1919 White Sox), and those who say otherwise are usually biased and/or bitter.

            Right now the Giants (injuries aside) are in the perfect position right now.  We’ve won two big games in a row at home, are tied for the division lead with Philly, control our own playoff destiny, and despite being in the biggest sports market in the country, are flying comfortably under the radar.  Just the way we like it!

            Speaking of injuries, did anyone notice them on Sunday?  Neither did I.  Tom Coughlin and Kevin Gilbride knew exactly how they wanted to attack Washington’s defense, compensating for our temporary weak spots, and the players executed their game plan to near perfection.  Despite our patchwork offensive line, and Eli finishing the game with a quarterback rating of just 62.3, we still blew them out.  Granted the Redskins aren’t exactly the hottest team in football right now, but they’re still a team that’s beaten Philly, Green Bay, Dallas, and Chicago this season.  So let’s not call them the Panthers just yet. 

 

Now let’s delve into the beautiful win that was, shall we?

 

Serving Up A Lucky Charm (not plural, please don’t sue) for Breakfast

            This week, JJ and I watched the game at his girlfriend, Beth’s, place.  I was a little hesitant to try a new (non-Sports-bar) location against a divisional opponent this late in the season, but he assured me all would be well, and that he watched last week’s epic comeback against the Jags there.  Good enough for me!

            There is absolutely one advantage about watching an early game at a girl’s place – she made us French toast!  An early touchdown run by Jacobs to start the game, accompanied by delicious apple-coated French toast, washed down with cold milk.  What a way to start a Sunday!  The only concern I might’ve had about watching the game there, as would be the case in any number of apartment buildings (including my own) was having to worry about being too loud while screaming at the TV.  Fortunately, when we jumped out to a 14-0 lead early, that worry all but vanished.

            When a great, nearly six-minute drive in the second quarter looked certain to end with a touchdown, Eli threw one of the ugliest looking interceptions I’ve seen since his shovel-pick earlier this season.  As if that weren’t enough, the ‘Skins then took over and completed a huge 18-yard completion on 2^nd and 10.  After Cofield then stopped Davis for a two-yard gain on 1^st down, Beth decided to plop herself down on the couch with us, if only to shake things up a bit.  Sure enough, on the very next play, we recovered a fumbled reception.  It was challenged, but the fumble held.  Plus, we got an extra five yards tacked on to it from a Washington Delay of Game penalty.  That drive ended with the touchdown we should have gotten the drive before.  But, all’s well that ends well!

            She got up at halftime, and, sure enough, sat down just before Donovan McNabb coughed up a fumble, which Corey Webster promptly recovered.  Yet again, the Giants went on to convert the fumble recovery into a rushing touchdown.  “Whatever, that’s just coincidence,” you might say.  Well, think again!  As Beth was getting ready to leave us to watch the rest of the game alone for a bit (we were up 28-7 at the time, felt safe for her to depart), we pleaded she stay just a few minutes more.  This was as the fourth quarter began.  She agreed, and sat down for a brief moment.  In that brief moment, after McNabb completed a 21-yard pass to Cooley to convert on 3-and-7, Terrell Thomas stepped up and made a clutch interception in the end zone on a pass intended for Santana Moss.  Unfortunately, this turnover did not turn into any points.  Still, coincidence is one thing, this was something else.  New lucky charm?  I’d say so.  Beth – clear your calendar for January!

            It’s always fun to see wild moments like that repeat themselves several times in one game.  Thanks again Beth for the hospitality, the food, and all the turnovers!

 

Power Backfield Back in Action

            I can’t get over how well our offensive line looked on Sunday.  I know Haynesworth wasn’t playing, but so what?  Did you see the fit Brian Orakpo threw on the sidelines?  We absolutely manhandled their defensive front all game long.  Oh, by the way, Shaun O’Hara, David Diehl, and Shawn Andrews didn’t dress.

            It’s official – Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw are back.  Clearly Coughlin knew exactly what he was doing benching Jacobs earlier in the season, because since he renamed Brandon the starter, he’s been playing with a fire in his eyes we haven’t seen since 2008.  IT’S AWESOME!  On that note, they mentioned during the telecast at some point during the first quarter that Brandon Jacobs had surpassed 4,000 career rushing yards.  Congratulations!  And he’s only three rushing touchdowns away from fifty for his career.  Not to mention Ahmad Bradshaw went over 1,000 yards rushing for the season during the fourth quarter.  While it doesn’t necessarily mean what it used to, it’s still a noteworthy achievement.  Speaking of Ahmad, despite every defender and their mother trying to strip him of the ball on first contact, he has clearly made great adjustments these past two weeks and his play has reflected it.  We harp on him when he fumbles, so the least we can do is recognize him for making adjustments.  Keep it up, baby!

            I said it last week, but I’ll repeat it – our secondary deserves a whole lot of credit this season.  We’re second in the league against the pass so far, and still are only one of two teams this year that have managed to eliminate Philadelphia’s big-play opportunities.  The secondary continued that trend this past weekend, intercepting two passes and forcing two fumbles (the D-line forced the other four). 

            Special teams looked (and has looked) incredible.  Devin Thomas had a great revenge game against the team that drafted him, deflecting a punt and downing another on Washington’s five-yard line.  Matt Dodge has finally settled in nicely, bombing several punts, including 2 that were downed inside their twenty.  And how about some of the hits we delivered on kickoff coverage?  All our cylinders are clicking, and we’re currently “devastated” by injury.  Just keep on licking your chops for when we get back back to full health, then watch out NFC.

            Finally, how great was it to watch a Giants game on FOX and not have to listen to Troy Aikman?  I love it.  Regardless of the fact that he used to be a Cowboy, I really do enjoy listening to Daryl Johnston broadcast games.  He’s got great insights, notices things that matter to what’s going on in the game (not just off-field filler), and distributes his analysis evenly between whichever teams are playing.  For example, in the first half the cameras caught Pat Hagerty coaching up William Beatty briefly on the sideline on how to “get away with a hold,” so to speak, and Daryl immediately caught Beatty using that very lesson in the game several plays later.  Those are the intricate little in game nuances we as fans love to see.  Keep up the good work!  Of course, Beatty got called for a hold several plays later, but hey – nobody’s perfect. 

            One incredibly funny moment of the telecast – in the second quarter, when Mike Shanahan’s challenge of a fumble got overturned, the referee announced, “Denver will be charged a timeout.”  Classic.

 

Non-Gmen Thoughts of the Week

• After watching the Patriots beat the crap out of the Jets on Monday night, I too was very impressed with Tom Brady’s performance.  But its one thing to commend a player on a great performance, and another to do what ESPN did during their post-game coverage.  I mean you might’ve thought the guy just cured cancer the way they were talking about him.  I mean come on Trent – if you love Tom Brady so much, why don’t you marry him?  But in all seriousness, I’ve heard less cheesy Boyz II Men songs.
• Yeah, Denver firing Josh McDaniels was a big deal, and maybe unwarranted (depending on your stance), but the fact that they let him go isn’t what bothers me.  It’s how they did it.  So, how does a professional sports franchise announce to the waiting public that they’ve fired their head coach?  Twitter.  TWITTER!  Yes, the same “news outlet” that gives middle school kids an easy way to break up with each other is now being used by the Denver Broncos to announce personnel decisions.  Is there any way for the league to impose a fine on the team for “personal conduct” in this case?  Probably not, but its definitely a low point for this league, in my opinion.  Way to be classy, Denver.
• I noticed an article this week on a major sports website with the headline “Is Peyton Manning responsible for the Colts’ struggles?”  Wow.  Nothing more to say except its amazing how spoiled people have gotten.  Three games.  Would it be so hard for you to think before you write?  Come on, now. 
• R.I.P. Don Meredith.  Yes, you were a Cowboy, but you were a great, great football player and one of the pioneers of sports broadcasting.  Thoughts and prayers go out to your family.

 

Looking North

            We started December off with a huge W, so let’s keep it rolling!  As I write this, Brett Favre’s status for this game is still uncertain.  Personally, I hope he plays.  At this point in the season I think Tarvaris Jackson is a much more dangerous opponent to face than Old Man River, plus its always fun to beat Favre up a bit.  It’s the least we can do since he repeatedly refuses to respect the game and whatever team he’s on year after year.  I don’t know about all of you, but I’m licking my chops for this game.  Let’s not forget the beat down they served us in their house last season.  Not this time!  To talk all things Giants, you can e-mail me at gmensuperfan@gmail.com, and you can find me on Facebook under the name “Gmen Superfan.”  It’s December, baby!  The final stretch of the regular season is upon us!  Until next week, GO GMEN! 

Superfan: Giants vs. Jaguars (11/30/10)

The Turning Point We’ve All Been Waiting For

By Superfan

No longer are we on the brink of obliteration, as far as the rest of the sports world is concerned (not that we really were to begin with, but don’t let any football analysts find out – they’re really committed to their delusions). In all seriousness though, that was a huge win for us last Sunday. HUGE. We were undermanned in a must-win game at home against a division leader, and we found a way to scratch out the W. Yes, the first half was ugly. Like many fans out there, I was really starting to question how much our guys cared. Evidently, so did a few of the team’s leaders (most notably Justin Tuck). After what must have been one hell of a halftime speech, they came out a completely different team. It was the turning point fans have been waiting for these last few weeks, and hopefully it will spearhead our final push for the playoffs in the next month.

Finding A Way To Win

When our offense is clicking, you tend to forget whatever issues they’re facing (in the case last weekend, it was missing a whole lot of starters) and expect every drive to end in a touchdown. Which we as fans should, because the coaches and players certainly do. At the same time, it also means whenever something goes wrong, you focus solely on that and none of what went right. Case and point, the opening drive of the game. Without David Diehl, Shaun O’Hara, or Shawn Andrews on the offensive line, newly appointed starter Brandon Jacobs ran all over the place guiding the offense pretty smoothly down the field. All hope seemed lost when a dropped pass by Derek Hagan was ruled a fumble on the field, but that was fortunately overturned. However, the drive stalled, and we had to settle for three. Everyone in attendance at that moment, myself included, was infuriated that we weren’t able to finish the drive off and get six. What people didn’t realize was, without Hakeem Nicks, Steve Smith, or the previously mentioned offensive lineman, Eli and company still managed to orchestrate the Giants’ first game-opening scoring drive of the season. Yet, despite another well-orchestrated drive, we only scored another three points in the first half.

Then the second half happened. Jacksonville started with the ball, and on their first play from scrimmage, David Garrard threw a ball a little behind Mike-Sims Walker. It went off his hands and into the waiting arms of Terrell Thomas. That was the big play we needed to turn the tide, and that’s when it hit me that this game would be ours.

We’d all expected our offense to struggle slightly, but our defensive struggles in the first half surprised everyone. It’s a good thing they reminded everyone how dominant they could be in the latter part of the game. After Eli and Brandon Jacobs orchestrated a drive down the field late in the fourth quarter, we finished it on a beautiful touchdown pass to Kevin Boss, taking a lead we wouldn’t relinquish. Jacksonville took over and immediately starting driving, making probably every Giants fan alive think “not again,” yet our front four promptly woke up and showed the dominance opposing quarterbacks have been fearing all season. Three sacks and one fumble recovery later, and Eli was finally able to kneel out the clock, giving us the win.

One more huge note to take away from their performance, and I can’t overstate this enough, is the number zero. That’s how many times we turned the ball over on Sunday. It’s no coincidence that we also won the game.

The Gift of Gum

Having been home for Thanksgiving weekend, I was able to go to the game this past Sunday (well, at least most of it). Thanks to Continental’s fantastic holiday travel schedule, the latest flight available from Newark to LAX was at 6:00pm. But we’ll get to that later.

My friend Jon and I got to the game nice and early, with another friend of ours, Ethan. Poor guy’s lived in Philly for a while, but he’s been back in Jersey for about a year or so I think. True to form, he still repped the Gmen well while living down there. Ethan actually drove, and my dad drove separately and met us there, since he would have to take me to the airport well before the game ended.

After parking, we blasted “Proud To Be” from Ethan’s car stereo for a while (the closest thing I can remember to a psych-up Giants theme song, though they stopped playing it in the stadium years ago for some reason…hint, hint – BRING IT BACK!), got ourselves plenty amped for the game, and made our way to our seats.

The first half was pretty hard to watch, and for all the wrong reasons my voice was nearly gone by halftime. I met up with my dad, and we stayed as long as we could before having to depart for Newark. Once the Gmen fought back and tied the game up at 17 apiece, we felt comfortable enough to take off.

I might’ve mentioned this in my week one article, but for those of you who haven’t been to the stadium yet, its coolest aspect is that even if you leave your seats, as long as you’re on the grounds you’ll know exactly what’s going on in the game. They have WFAN’s radio call playing everywhere, and even when you walk outside the building the game is played on all the monitors lining the exterior of the stadium. Very cool, and especially accommodating for those fans who pay to park and tailgate, but couldn’t get tickets.

We managed to catch Jacksonville’s ensuing field goal drive as we walked out to the car, but both my dad and I weren’t too worried about it. I think we sensed that our offense would answer. There was little traffic on the turnpike headed to the airport, so we were able to get close enough where we could pull over on one of the exits to listen to the rest of the game on the radio. We pulled off just in time to listen to Bob Papa call Kevin Boss’s game-winning touchdown reception. As Tynes kicked the ball off to Jacksonville after our go-ahead touchdown, my dad offered me a piece of gum. I was a little skeptical, since neither of us was chewing gum when we scored. But I took the gum anyway, and was chewing away as Jacksonville started their drive. They promptly began driving the ball right down the field, and it wasn’t until Aaron Ross got called for defensive holding on a third and ten that I turned to my dad. “Is this really happening?!?!” He turned right back to me, “You were right. Let’s spit the gum out.” We did, and on the very next play, Rolle and Tuck blasted Garrard on a huge sack. And the rest of the game is history. It won’t make any of the highlight reels or post-game notes, but my dad and I both know, deep down, that win was in part a gift of gum. Thanks again to Newark’s horrible flight scheduling for making that wild experience possible.

Non-Gmen Thoughts of the Week:

• A little bummed out regarding the film selection this past holiday weekend. I’d already seen the new Harry Potter, and wasn’t really in the mood to see a guy de-limb himself on a big screen. Aside from that, not many attractive options in theaters. Can’t wait for Tron: Legacy to get here.
• I love how this week, people are saying that you can’t blame Philly for losing a tough game against a good NFC team on the road. Yet, when they beat us in a close game last week, we were suddenly hopeless. There really needs to be some sort of regulations committee to keep contradictory/biased sports writing to a minimum. Especially on national publications.
• Instead of everyone making fun of Lebron and all the drama surrounding him and the Heat, can’t we all just stop caring? I think that would bother those premadonnas more than anything. Of course, that’s just my opinion.

Okay, we’ve got another huge game this week. A home game against the Redskins. It’s looking more and more like we won’t be back to full health until the Philly game, but the next two are still definitely winnable. We just have to keep fighting. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to talk about any and all things Giants. My e-mail is gmensuperfan@gmail.com, and I’m on Facebook under the name “Gmen Superfan.” Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, get ready for the ‘Skins, and GO GMEN!

Superfan: Giants vs. Eagles (11/23/10)

Love and Support, Through Thick and Thin

By Superfan

The True Measure of a Fan

I learned a lot about our team these past few days. Good and bad. Not necessarily the coaches or the players, but the fans. We’ve lost two straight divisional games. Lots of key players are getting hit with the injury bug, Hakeem Nicks being the latest addition to that list. I get it, things look dark. But I never thought I’d see so many people, who consistently claim to be “die-hard fans,” be so quick to throw away the season with our backs against the wall. If history’s taught us anything, shouldn’t we know that this team plays best in times of their greatest adversity?

For those of you who know me on Facebook, you might think I’m going to be a bit of a copycat, since I’ve already used the following as a “post.” But I still think it’s worth repeating. Here’s a little Giants’ history lesson:

• First, in 1990, one of the greatest quarterbacks in our franchise’s history, Phil Simms, went down with a knee injury just before the playoffs began. Not our star receiver or running back, our starting quarterback. And for those of you who remember that post season, our playoff run was one of the hardest stretches any team’s ever had to face. But then, an unknown backup with confidence in his ability, his coaching staff, his teammates, and his awesome moustache stepped in and led us to victory in Super Bowl XXV.
• Nearly a decade later, in 2000, the picture once again grew very dark for the New York Football Giants. People were losing faith in the team left and right, and no one thought we had a chance to do much of anything. Jim Fassel, our head coach at the time, made his famous “all-in” speech, rallying the players and the fans all the way to the Super Bowl where we unfortunately couldn’t quite finish the dream season, losing to the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV.
• In 2007, under head coach Tom Coughlin, we had more peaks and valleys than the old Route 66. We let up a combined 80 points in the first two games (two very ugly losses), and the sports world was convinced our then defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo didn’t have what it took to lead this defense. We then tore off six straight wins, and life was good again. However, in the second half of the season we had a few really ugly losses to Dallas, Minnesota, and Washington, and again all hope was lost. Plaxico hadn’t been able to practice all season, Eli wasn’t playing well, and Shockey’s health status was almost always in question until the day of the game. Despite all the cynicism, we pulled off a comeback win on the road in Buffalo and fought very hard in a close loss to end the season against New England. Obviously, the rest is history.
• Right now, after ten games, we’re 6-4. We’re 2^nd in our division, 1-2 in said division (with three more divisional games left to play), and 5-2 in the conference.

What’s the point of reliving all this, you might ask? It’s simple – to put this season in perspective. We’ve seen this movie before, yet there are a lot of fans out there that think there’s no reason left to hope. If we’ve learned anything from years of being Giants’ fans, it’s that we play best when things are at their worst, when it looks like there’s no light at the end of the tunnel.

So, fellow fans, I implore you to have some faith in your team! Yes, we’ve shot ourselves in foot as of late, and brought many of our losses on ourselves. One fan wrote to say, “Well, good teams don’t ever make mistakes to let close games slip away.” Another wrote, “Bottom line, we don’t have the talent on the field to match up and maintain while Hakeem and Smith are out.” Really? On the same day as our ugly collapse, the great and powerful Peyton Manning threw the Colts’ game away on a bad interception late in the fourth quarter. In that same game, a New England team who, besides Tom Brady, was made up almost entirely of players who for all we know could’ve been on some team’s practice squad last season, beat them.

So to those so-called “fans” who seem to be doing nothing but looking for reasons to think this season’s hopeless, keep it to yourself, or go offer to write for the New York Post or some other obnoxious tabloid. But don’t declare your depressing hopelessness for the public to read about on some social networking site. I was thinking yesterday, what would happen if Coughlin came into work, found out about Nicks, and thought, "well, that's it - let's pack it in?" Or anyone on the team thought that? It'd be ludicrous. As far as I'm concerned, the fans are the 12th man. Therefore, we have the responsibility to carry ourselves with the same hope and optimism as anyone employed by the team. We're an extension of the New York Giants, and represent them with our public "outcries," so to speak. I'm proud of it, and we all should be. I'd like to think most of us are, we just gotta get those stragglers back in line.

“Who are you to judge a person’s level of fandom?” Me? I’m nobody. Just a guy who really loves the Gmen, yet won’t even use his real name, hiding behind an alias every week (although I mean come on, it is a damn cool alias). In my opinion, a fan is simply defined by their love and loyalty for their team. How they choose to represent it is entirely up to them (some buy jerseys, other simply scream out "GMEN!" at the top of their lungs in random, public places). What I think people have a serious issue with is how so many people are so quick to harshly overreact when things go bad and abandon all hope, instead of having faith and love in their team through thick AND THIN. But fans who one Monday talk about a coach being a legit Coach of the Year candidate decide two weeks later that he should be fired because of consecutive ugly losses and simply forget about how great he's been for us (got us a ring!) over the years pisses most true fans off. Of course Coughlin's just one isolated issue, it ranges from late-season collapsing to Eli’s poor play these last two weeks to a number of other irrationally harsh statements about our beloved GMEN. Real life isn't Madden, people - you can't just one week decide people stink and a quick replacement will change everything, and that all good teams go 16-0 and win every game by 21 points. All teams go through tough times, and all teams suffer injuries. Only the true fans can appreciate and respect the fact that the season is unpredictable, and all you can do is love and respect your team! Who’s to say Derek Hagan won’t step on the field this Sunday and have an absurd 200-yard receiving day with three touchdown receptions? Is it likely? Probably not. Is it possible? ABSOLUTELY. Cinderella stories have to happen somewhere – why not East Rutherford, New Jersey? We’re a family. While we sometimes might want to replace our siblings or parents when they’re bothering us, we know deep down that’s not the correct way to handle it. We have to bear with it, and know that in the end, they care about us as much as we care about them, and will do everything in their power not to let us down. I believe we owe it to our team to show them the same courtesy and admiration.

Whew, rant over. On to last Sunday’s miserable viewing experience:

A Bad Start, Even Before the First Whistle Blew

JJ and I should’ve known we’d be in for a long, arduous night from the get-go. We decided to watch the game at O’Brien’s Irish Pub in Santa Monica. From what we’d heard, it was the marquee “New York Sports Bar” in the area, and we figured we’d need to be amongst many of our own kind for this game. Well, despite a lone Giants helmet on the wall, I don’t really know if I’d call O’Brien’s and New York sports bar. There were certainly a lot of Giants fans there mingling about, but nothing about the bar showed any sort of New York personality. Which brings us to the service, or lack thereof. We also went there to grab some quick dinner before the game started, but there was only one guy working the tables, and it took him nearly thirty minutes from the time we sat down (IN FULL GIANTS DECORUM!) before he finally asked us what we’d like to drink, and we felt it necessary to throw in our food order at the same time, in case it took another thirty minutes for him to come back. Still, not too bad an experience so far. Then, the kicker.

Nearly two minutes before kickoff, your typical Southern California parent, exuding responsibility, thought it wise to bring his wife and toddler inside for a pleasant family dinner. Seriously, the kid had to be about two or three years old. Of course, they were seated in the booth next to us. The game started, and of course every play was followed either by very loud cheers or very loud jeers. JJ and I were certainly among those yelling, not letting one father’s dumb decision derail our viewing experience. Needless to say, after Eli threw his first pick, there were some angry expletives being shouted, and people continued screaming at the TV long after the play ended. JJ and I, lost in the game and not worrying about those around us, joined in. Of course the father had the nerve to lean over and say, “Do you mind? I’m trying to eat dinner with my wife and daughter over here, and you guys are being very loud.” REALLY?!?! I promptly turned to the guy, without hesitation, to let him know it might not have been the wisest choice to bring his wife and toddler into a (supposedly) New York sports bar on the night of a primetime Giants-Eagles game with first place in the division on the line for a casual family meal. Let me just preface – this place isn’t a restaurant that happens to have a bar area. This is a bar that happens to serve food and has tables to accommodate the viewing crowd. And this guy has the nerve to call out two Giants fans, in a New York sports bar, for cheering loudly for the Gmen? His best defense – “Well, they have a kids’ menu.” Wow. Then, the unexpected occurred. The guy who was seating tables, working for a (supposedly) New York sports bar, came and told MY FRIEND AND I to keep it down. It’s not like he then turned to the family and said, “This is a New York sports bar, and when there’s a Giants game on, it tends to get a little loud. Another night might be better, but we’ll see what we can do.” Or something at least unbiased and reasonable. No, he turned to us, and asked us to keep it down, saying nothing to the other party involved. I understand there was a kid, but is it our fault the guy was irresponsible? That’s like bringing your child to a jam band concert and complaining about the smoke. A little logic goes a long way. Needless to say, we cancelled our food order, paid for our drinks, and got out of there. Certainly not going to that place for any New York sporting events any time in the near future.

We got to my place with plenty of time left to go in the second quarter. It was up and down the whole way through, but ultimately ended in a very disappointing loss. Obviously what happened at O’Brien’s had nothing to do with how the game turned out, nor did we think it did, but there’s never any room for bad mojo while watching a crucial divisional match up in primetime.

We all know how the game played out, and I don’t want to spend time reliving the painful details. Some positives to take away were the blocked field goal at the end of the first half, our defense’s ability to contain Vick, our defense’s ability to create turnovers, and the likes of Travis Beckum and Derek Hagan coming up with huge touchdown receptions in the clutch. One thing’s for certain – Michael Vick’s arm and legs didn’t beat us on Sunday night. Our own mistakes at crucial times in the game are what did us in. Those mistakes are correctable, although guys like Bradshaw fumbling every game and Eli refusing to learn how to slide correctly better hurry up and correct themselves soon. We have to believe that they will. The breaking news Tuesday morning was that the Giants would be signing Michael Clayton, fresh off a few weeks playing in the UFL. I don’t know what to expect, but hopefully he’ll serve his purpose in our offense adequately until we get Smith and Nicks back.

Non-Gmen Thoughts of the Week:

• Caught the newest Harry Potter over the weekend. Wow. While watching it, I thought back to how I saw the first couple films form this franchise with my immediate and extended family during the holiday season in years past. Don’t get me wrong – the film was amazing, and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time – but in no way can you call this Harry Potter film “fun for the whole family.” That much is for certain.
• Love the new ad campaign for the Windows phone (“a phone to save us from our phones,” or whatever the tag line is). However, two things bother me: first, the whole point is that the phone essential lets you “check what you care about most” quickly so you can get on with your normal life, or something to that effect. Is that really what we now care about most? That’s kind of sad. Second, the same people who laugh at the commercial and how ridiculous it is (like a father getting pelted in the head with a baseball because he’s too consumed with texting to pay attention to the catch he was having with his son – loved that one) are the same ones who are repeat offenders of those same exact actions. We love to laugh at ourselves, but never seem to learn from it. (Ooooh, ooooh, I should make that my Facebook status! Be right back J ).
• Not to kick him too hard while he’s down, but karma’s a bitch, isn’t it Mr. Favre? Glad to see Aaron Rodgers put Brett in his place on the road in Minnesota, and even happier to see what a classy guy he was about it, exchanging what seemed like words of respect and admiration for the guy he used to play behind.
• Richard Seymour – what did you think was going to happen? Really?
• Bud Adams, you can’t expect a great coach like Jeff Fisher, who has loads of self-respect, to get along with an immature baby like Vince Young. I realize no one likes to admit the fact that they have to move on without their number one draft pick, but it’s not worth losing such a great coach simply because you feel its necessary to give an overgrown child endless chances. Cut ties, move on.

Putting it in Perspective

All right, its time to move forward. It looks like we’ll be without Smith, Nicks, O’Hara, and Diehl for the next two weeks. Nicks, specifically, closer to 3 weeks, if not more. These next two weeks we play Jacksonville and Washington, both at home. Those are winnable games, even with our injury-depleted roster. If we can make it past those games, and keep it close against Minnesota, we should have nearly our full roster intact just in time to host the Philadelphia Eagles on December 19^th. I have faith that we can do this, and everyone else should too. Must believe in our Gmen, baby! To talk all things Giants, you can e-mail me at gmensuperfan@gmail.com, and you can find me on Facebook under the name “Gmen Superfan.” I hope this week’s article motivates most fans, and everyone can remember why we love this team so much, and the magical moments this franchise is capable of producing on any football weekend. This Thanksgiving, I know I’ll be thankful for my health, happiness, the well-being of those close to me (INCLUDING MY G-FAM, OF COURSE), and the NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS. Have a great holiday weekend everyone, and until next week, GO GMEN!!

Superfan: Giants vs. Cowboys (11/16/10)

Sit, Stew, Get Over It

By Superfan

If this were any other sport, Sunday’s horrible loss to the Cowboys wouldn’t have been a big deal. In baseball, it would’ve been a bad game, and we would have already played another one to put it in the past. In golf, we’d simply take a mulligan, or at least try to make up a few strokes on the next hole. But this is the NFL. Seventeen weeks, sixteen games, with a week between games to scrutinize each and every performance. Of course, when it happens to New England, and they get embarrassed by the Browns, it’s just an “off week” that everyone dismisses as soon as the final whistle blows, realizing there’s still plenty of football left to be played. Not with the Giants. With us, it means everything we’ve done well so far this season is for not, and we might as well give up on the rest of the season. After all, we lost to the struggling Cowboys, playing their first game under an interim head coach on the road with a backup quarterback. And Michael Vick went crazy Monday night against the Redskins, so he’s the hands-down favorite for league MVP. Clearly there’s absolutely no hope for the Giants anymore. Clearly, a bad performance one week dictates how the rest of the season will play out. Or at least that’s how ESPN and the other shortsighted sports writers around the country will describe it this week. Next week, it’ll be another story, and everyone will complete contradict every bold statement they made this week.

If you haven’t gotten the point of my obnoxious sarcasm yet, its this – don’t let one bad performance send you into panic mode. Most of the “experts” around the country need something to write about to fill in the sports pages each week between games, and aren’t football-savvy enough to write about teams and their respective matchups on a week-to-week basis. Instead, they decide to formulate an uneducated “best-guess” prediction for the season based on what they saw most recently, not taking each team’s season-long performance as a whole into consideration. Henceforth bringing to fruition Tuesday morning’s front-page headline on espn.com: “McNabb due just $3.75M if released.” This coming the day after he got a 5-year contract extension. Oh, the hype machine is at it again! But enough about all the unnecessary mumbo-jumbo, let’s get to our New York Football Giants.

A Tough Game to Watch

Need I say more? JJ came over to my place to watch us get demolished by the Cowboys. We tried switching seats on the couch several times, but never to any avail. Just an all-around frustrating day to be watching a football game.

We never really felt we were completely out of it until the last quarter, but also couldn’t help but notice how much Troy Aikman must have been LOVING to call the game on Fox. You could hear the smug satisfaction in his voice all game – he really shouldn’t be allowed to call those games. At least when Phil Simms does Giants games, he goes out of his way to not favor the Giants in any way to avoid an unfair bias being perceived. Of course, Phil Simms is a professional. Troy Aikman’s just annoying. To quote him late in the second quarter, after Nicks made a great catch, “Hakeem Nicks is Dallas’ version of Dez Bryant.” Well, Troy, at least you tried.

At least the new Meadowlands Stadium had some pity for the fans watching. It got so hard to believe, the power went out so they didn’t have to show the game on TV for a short while until they got things up and running again. Unfortunately, the newly re-electrified stadium didn’t provide the comeback “spark” the Gmen so desperately needed (pun intended).

Grave Reflections

Instead of going back over the ugly performance from last Sunday’s loss, let’s instead think about what good can be taken away from it. For starters, let’s hope this means the Giants will be the underdogs again in the public’s mind from this point on. Nothing seems to stir up trouble with this team more than perceived greatness. As soon as people think we’re the best team in the league, we’re doomed. I’m perfectly fine being called “almost the best,” if it means we win more games.

Secondly, we had a nice, large piece of humble pie to feast on. There were fans out there thinking the Giants were going to take this Cowboys team lightly. I responded that there was absolutely no way the Gmen would ever take a divisional opponent lightly, especially a team as desperate for a win as the Cowboys were. Yet, watching the game, it sure looked like that’s what happened. The secondary played very poorly, there was virtually no pass rush, and they almost seemed surprised to see Felix Jones getting as many touches early as he did. Don’t be surprised, be prepared! Of course, you have to give the Cowboys their due credit – they came ready to play, and hungry to compete. We didn’t.

Finally, the depth chart got chipped away at further with Ramses Barden’s fractured ankle. He played pretty well in the few opportunities he got the other day, but now it looks like he’s gone for the season. In the meantime, it looks like we went out and signed Derek Hagan to shore up the receiver position a little bit while Smith continues to rest up. And it was hard not to notice the affects of all the injuries to our offensive line lately. Here’s to hoping for faster recoveries for Diehl, Boothe, and O’Hara.

All in all, there were dumb penalties, sloppy play, a rough day for Eli passing the ball, very little out of our running game, bad tackling, and worse coverage. So overall just a really bad day. The players and coaches definitely must watch the tape to see what went wrong and what needs fixing, but after that we’ve got to flush this game away and focus on Philly this Sunday night.

Non-Gmen Thoughts of the Week:

• The new ad campaign for the Toyota Highlander makes me sick to my stomach. Some obnoxious kid bragging about how cool his parents’ cars are, while other kids hide in shame from their parents driving older, used cars. Really? We want to teach kids in grade school that its okay to judge other kids based on what kind of cars their parents drive? And advertise it nationally in football games? This is why the rest of the world hates us, America.
• Nothing like having a Harry Potter marathon on all weekend to keep me from being productive. However, it did provide me with a nice distraction after the Giants took that beating on Sunday. Can’t wait to see the new flick this weekend.
• I miss Mad Men. A lot. The first episode of The Walking Dead was kind of entertaining, but it’s been horrible since. I want Draper back!

We have a huge game coming up Sunday night. Our first game against the Eagles, to decide first place in the division! Does it get any bigger than this in November? We need a huge bounce-back game, and what better place to have it than in Philly? To talk all things Gmen, you can reach me via e-mail at gmensuperfan@gmail.com, and you can find me on Facebook under the name “Gmen Superfan.” Until next week, GO GMEN!!

Superfan: Giants vs. Seahawks (11/9/10)

Soaring Over Seattle

By Superfan

We had just come off the bye week, and (almost on cue) the hype machine was well under way. On many sports websites, we were being ranked as one of the top five teams in the league, and arguably the best team in the NFC. Even Sports Illustrated, in their midseason report, had us reaching the NFC Championship game but losing to Green Bay. Most Giants fans understand that this sort of chatter typically spells absolute and unequivocal doom for us. All we needed was a segment in one of the Sunday studio pregame shows dedicated to the G-men’s resurgence as a dominant NFC team, and the recipe for disaster would be complete. Alas, despite all that, we still went out there in a very tough environment on the road and came away with a huge blowout victory. How ‘bout them Giants!

It might not have seemed like it, but from a superstitious/recent history perspective, we had a lot of reasons to think something bad would come out of this game. For starters, we were coming off the bye. Second, we were playing in Seattle (where we hadn’t won since I believe 1981). Lastly, like I mentioned earlier, we typically don’t play well once the rest of the country believes we’re really good. Alas, come kickoff, none of that stuff mattered.

The Curse of Jerry’s House Finally Ended

Despite the fact that the last two times we were invited to watch games at his place the Giants and Chargers (he’s a die-hard fan of the latter) lost, Jerry still invited JJ and I to come over last Sunday, and we obliged. Normally, I’d be worried, what with all the previously listed reasons going against the Gmen. But for some reason, I had a great feeling about this one. In fact, when we arrived around halftime of the early games, I leaned over to JJ and said, “You know, if we force a few 3-and-outs, get a couple scores, and take the crowd out of it early, this might end up being a blowout.” JJ (and I don’t blame him, in fact I probably would’ve reacted the same way had it been the other way around) promptly looked at me in bewilderment and told me to shut up. To paraphrase, “Dude, you’re like that guy in the dugout who feels it necessary to remind the pitcher he’d throwing a perfect game in the fifth inning.” Guess who had the last laugh there? Although, if the game had even been the least bit close, I’m sure JJ would have been ALL OVER ME for it until the final whistle blew.

As always, the setup was awesome, and the food was delicious. Since we got there around half time of the Chargers game (and wow was that a tense living room to walk into), we missed breakfast. Between games lunch was served, which consisted of delicious twice baked potatoes. The gathering of fans kind of parted ways as the late games began, since half of us really wanted to watch the Giants-Seahawks game, and a few of the Chargers fans were all about the Chiefs-Raiders match-up. There were no Gmen haters around, however there were quite a few of us who were going up against Eli, Nicks, and/or Ahmad in fantasy (myself included). I was more than happy to take the hit that Eli’s huge numbers provided my opponent in my fantasy game, however there were others who weren’t so thrilled about it. They really made it known how angry they were that Eli was not only still in the game, but also still throwing passes near the end of the third quarter. For the record, I managed to squeak out a one-point win this week (thanks Arian Foster, sorry Jerry), so everything worked out just fine. After half time of the Giants’ game, Jerry served dinner, which was flank steak with peppers and onions, with two kinds of rolls (soft and hard) to make sandwiches with. Yum.

Things went so well for the Gmen that JJ and I left near the top of the fourth quarter, when the back-ups began shuffling in, and listened to the rest of the game in the car (we took the gourmet brownies he had for dessert on the road). Jerry – as always, we had a blast, the food was great, and the company was even better!

Silenced in Seattle

The most encouraging thing about the huge win last Sunday was that the Giants did exactly what an elite team is supposed to do against a lesser opponent – dominate them from beginning to end, with plenty of time to let the back-ups get some reps in. With the exception of Kevin Boss’s fumble on our first drive, our offense was nearly perfect in the first half. Almost every skill player on offense had at least one or two big plays, and if I remember correctly I don’t think we even punted the ball until the second half. Ahmad continues to look better each week, and Brandon’s finally getting back to being a bruising, dominant runner. I think its also worth mentioning the moment in the first quarter where we scored fourteen points in fifteen seconds of game clock, thanks to a huge forced fumble by Travis Beckum on a kickoff which Goff recovered inside the red zone. Two touchdowns, fifteen seconds. Not a typo. Beat that, Reggie Miller.

The defense was just as good. Sure, we didn’t have any sacks and our consecutive games streak for knocking quarterbacks out of games came to an end, but I’ll gladly trade that while allowing the opponent less than 200 total yards offensively all game, with a pair of interceptions to go along with it. To be completely honest, Charlie Whitehurst looked very much out of his league out there, however I think his production (or lack thereof) showed everyone just that.

The special teams looked pretty solid as well. The kickoff coverage was outstanding, taking their biggest threat (Leon Washington) completely out of the game, and I was very encouraged by what I saw out of Will Blackmon. One more huge positive was the way our second-teamers were able to hold the ball for nearly all of the fourth quarter on one drive, where we took over with thirteen minutes and change remaining and finally gave it back to them with under a minute left. Very impressive.

Also, can we take a moment real quick to give some serious props to our secondary this season? At the end of last season, the Giants were a middle-of-the-pack team, allowing 214.1 passing yards per game. This season through eight games our passing defense is ranked second in the league allowing just 169.8 yards per game through the air. Webster, Thomas, Ross, Grant, Rolle, Phillips, and Johnson – WELL DONE!

The only thing that bugged me about our win (well, ‘bugged’ is a strong word – how about ‘irked’) was our inability to score touchdowns in the second half, instead settling for two field goals. The game was already well in hand, but if you have to nit-pick a nearly flawless performance, that’s what you’d have to point to.

Non-Gmen Thoughts of the Week:

• Caught Avatar (several times) on HBO over the weekend. Forgot how much I loved Dances With Wolves-- er, I mean Fern Gully-- er, I mean Avatar.
• I don’t understand why people are so amazed by Wes Welker’s ability to successfully kick an extra point in the game against Cleveland. Did everyone forget he took care of the kicking duties on more than one occasion while playing in Miami?
• Is it really a big story that Dallas fired Wade Phillips? Its not going to change anything about this season, and it was a move that was going to happen regardless, whether it was now or at the end of the season. And for all intensive purposes, the season’s over in Dallas, so it’s essentially the same thing. Secondly, let’s stop being so flabbergasted that their season ended up the way it did. No one except hype-convinced pundits assumed Dallas would make it to the Super Bowl the year they were hosting it. Finally, you can’t blame this on Romo being injured. Their defense flat-out isn’t very good this season.

Can’t Look Past Dallas

To truly contradict my previous comments, the header basically says it all. We have a huge Sunday night match-up against Philly coming up on the 21^st, but first we have to make sure we take care of business at home this Sunday against the visiting Cowboys. By the way, how great is it that this season’s played out so that a November game against Dallas can be viewed as a possible “pushover”? This has been such a great season to be a Giants’ fan so far.

That’s it for this week. Can’t wait to embarrass the Cowgirls, and then look to do the same thing to the Eagles the next week! Going headfirst into the divisional part of our schedule! To talk all things Giants you can reach me via e-mail at gmensuperfan@gmail.com, and you can find me on Facebook under the name “Gmen Superfan.” Keep on bleeding blue, and until next week, GO GMEN!!