SuperFan: Giants vs. Jets (12/26/11)

Kings of New York

By Superfan

What a way to celebrate the holidays! You didn’t really think the Gmen would make this stress-free, did you? That’s not their style. Think about it - Christmas Eve Day, against the Jets, with the playoffs on the line. There was no way that game would be the least bit relaxing. But it was a win, a HUGE win, against the Jets. Our fate is in our hands, and the playoffs are ours for the taking.

While some of what was said was misinterpreted and taken out of context, I wasn’t thrilled about the talking we did with regards to a certain Jets’ island property-owner. Darrelle Revis is a stud. A king bear. Don’t poke the bear. Fortunately he dropped a few picks thrown his way, but the fact that he was motivated I’m sure had more than a little to do with why Eli wound up going 9 for 27. But I’m getting ahead of myself. The real story is that we came into our house as an away team (for the second time in as many regular season meetings by the way - apparently there’s a formula involved based on the previous season’s rankings instead of good-old-fashioned one away game and one home game - what’s up with that?), as the underdog, and outplayed them on both sides of the ball to get the clutch win. Like Coughlin preached to the team before and after the game - that was the first playoff game. We won, and now advance to round two. Win this one, and we’re into the second season.

Away at the Meadowlands

It was a family affair last Saturday as I went to the game with my dad and little brother. After navigating the always-more-confusing-than-helpful Meadowlands parking attendants, we found ourselves parked and throwing a football for good measure by 11:30. No drops, which was the first good sign of the day (can’t say we had the same luck last week). The next bit of luck was our ability to get out onto the field for pregame. After saying hi to some friends, I was inspired to see Justin Tuck come sprinting out of the tunnel for warm-ups. One of the most encouraging sights of the day was seeing #91 gather the rest of the defensive front in a huddle in the end zone for what looked like one hell of a pep talk. He admitted he wasn’t 100 percent, and probably won’t be the rest of the season, but he was still out there playing and giving his all. And I have to say it sure makes a certain other defensive lineman on the last year of his contract seem a little iffy for sitting out with an injury. Putting himself before the team to make sure he’s healthy enough to sign a big offseason contract perhaps? Doesn’t sound like a true Giant to me. That guy could learn a thing or two about heart from Mr. Tuck.

Several moments after the inspiring defensive huddle, we watched the team head off to the locker room for the last time before kickoff. The last two to leave were Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs, jogging off together. Seeing them leave the field, the determination in their eyes, the confidence in their swagger, it assured me that Saturday would be a great day.

The game started terribly of course, and the stress levels were off the scale for the remainder of the game. We were in a section completely split between Jets and Giants fans, but it was still all sorts of fun watching. In the second half even the Jets’ fans agreed how insanely biased the refereeing was, and how any time a play was up in the air it would no doubt go in the Jets’ favor. But despite playing both the Jets and the refs, our team finished the day victorious. Nothing better as a Giants’ fan than leaving that stadium and passing thousands of dispirited Jets fans. Gotta love it!

A Road Effort for the Home Crowd

I had mentioned after last week’s loss how disappointing it was to root for a team that seems to play down in front of their home fans. This made Saturday’s matchup quite interesting, since we were the away team in our home stadium. And it seemed to work. Maybe the Giants’ should start wearing white at home. Just a thought…

While we did outplay them, we got lucky that the Jets faltered on more than one occasion. We certainly didn’t play our best football on Saturday. There’s ABSOLUTELY NO EXCUSE for taking a delay of game penalty on the first offensive drive of the game. While Eli’s currently having the best season of his career, these last two weeks have seen his decision-making fall off a bit. The delay of game is one example. Another is throwing the ball to Ramses Barden (our third or fourth receiver) three times when covered by Revis one-on-one. None of those throws were completed, obviously. Finally, there was the interception in the fourth quarter. At first everyone was livid (myself included) at Kevin Gilbride for calling a pass in that area when all we had to do was run the ball. But listening to the post game interviews, we learned that there was a run called that Eli checked out of when he saw eight men crowding the box. Honestly Eli, it’s okay to get stuffed on a run there. We were up by seventeen points with less than nine minutes to go in the game at our own twenty-yard line. The clock was our friend, and we needed to keep it moving. So that one’s on Eli, not Gilbride.

Though I still wasn’t thrilled by Gilbride’s play calling throughout the game, especially when he’d call pitches and tosses on second-and-manageables which turned into 3^rd and longs. If we’re gaining yards on the ground up the middle, KEEP AT IT! There were times when Jacobs or Ahmad were starting to get on a roll, but our play calling suddenly diverted before they could really break a big one. Our biggest play happened not because we had a well-executed drive, but because Victor Cruz is an incredible athlete who made their entire defense miss for 99 yards.

Our defense played great, although there were several times where they’d make a great drive-ending play that wound up getting nullified by either a penalty or a bogus overturned challenge, then simply gave up when they went back out on the field. Things didn’t go our way, and their drive isn’t over - GET OUT THERE AND STOP THEM AGAIN! They forced turnovers, but again, one was because Sanchez threw what was the equivalent of a punt to Kenny Phillips in the middle of the field and another was a fumbled snap at the goal line.

What I did take away from the game was that our team has a whole lot of heart. I love a guy like Brandon Jacobs (on occasion). We had a huge win, he had a decent game, but he also said what everyone in the tri-state area (and the country, for that matter) who isn’t a Jets’ fan is thinking - SHUT UP, REX! It’s one thing to talk your team up once in a while to keep them motivated. It’s another to do it all the time. When it’s all you talk about, and it’s all you do, it’s no longer motivational, but annoying and laughable. At least we won’t have to hear him speak for a while now. And everyone’s been reminded whose stadium that really is. Don’t let the name fool you - IT’S GIANTS STADIUM!

Offensive Game Ball - Victor Cruz. All the guy does is make plays. In one play he saved our season and maybe Coughlin’s job. He might as well be featured in every Giants’ highlight from this year.

Defensive Game Ball - Jason Pierre-Paul. It was a tough call between him and Justin Tuck, but with four solo tackles, one assist, and two sacks I had to give it to him. Just another day at the office for JPP.

Non-Gmen Thoughts of the Week:

· Facebook Comment of the Week: “Jets embarrassed, Romo hurt and the Eagles eliminated. BEST. CHRISTMAS. EVER!” - Ian Etheridge.

· What a crazy football weekend to have Fantasy Football championship games. It’s hard enough when you have players playing on different days. But because of Christmas landing on a Sunday this year, we had four - yes, FOUR - separate days of football to comprise week 16. Thursday night, Saturday, Sunday night, and Monday night. I’m not complaining - the more football the better - I’m just saying it’s crazy, is all.

· Good for Detroit. That’s one heck of a football city, and their fans truly deserve to see their team in the playoffs again. Cleveland, on the other hand, will still have to wait a while.

· Saw MI: 4 in IMAX, but unfortunately it wasn’t showing the Dark Knight Rises prologue, which I heard was AMAZING. It did have the new trailer though, and that’s also pretty amazing. Seeing Heinz Field completely obliterated like that, with Hines Ward himself running across it? Nolan might just have outdone himself yet again. CAN’T WAIT! Oh, and MI: 4 was pretty good too.

· As was The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I’ve seen both the American and Swedish films, and they’re both great in their own way. Loved Noomi Rapace, but that doesn’t take away from Ms. Gmen herself, Rooney Mara. She did a great job in her turn in the role of Lisbeth Salander, bringing great flare and intensity. And the opening credit sequence is epic - think Fight Club meets James Bond.

Final Thoughts:

This is it! Last game of the year, hosting the Jerry Joneses-- err, Cowboys, with the winner earning the NFC East title and a trip to the post season. Does it get any better than this?! To talk all things Giants, send me an e-mail at gmensuperfan@gmail.com, find me on Facebook under the name “Gmen Superfan,” or follow me on Twitter under the name “gmensuperfan1.” Hope everyone had a great and safe holiday, I wish Giants’ nation a healthy and happy New Year, and until next week, GO GMEN!!

SuperFan: Giants vs. Redskins (12/19/11)

You Can’t Be Serious

By Superfan

That was beyond appalling. While it probably isn’t true, from the stands it sure seemed like the players and coaches cared less about the outcome of our matchup with the Skins than the fans did. No sense of urgency, no sense of pride, no sense of the PLAYOFFS BEING ON THE LINE. There are some who will look at the bright side and think well, our backs are pressed as far against the wall as they’ll ever be, and that’s when we play our best, right? I suppose, but I expect better. We shouldn’t have to be the team who only plays well when no one expects us to, and when our season is riding on the outcome.

The View from the Meadowlands

I flew home for the holidays and therefore was able to go to the game on Sunday. With my buddy Jon in tow, we got there and parked around 12:30. With a CD playing “Proud to Be (a New York Giant)” on repeat, we pulled in amped as ever for the game to begin. It was imperative we beat Washington to keep pace with the Cowboys after their dismantling of the Bucs Saturday night. Jon had actually mentioned to me on Saturday that he felt this game might be tricky. Washington was a team who had nothing to lose, and was probably riding high after taking New England down to the wire the week before. True, but so what? This was a new Giants team, ready to shake off the stigma of playing down to the level of their competition. Ready to start beating the teams they’re supposed to beat, and looking like a legitimate contender in the process.

Unfortunately, it turned out Jon was onto something after all.

Things started off great in the seats. Good atmosphere, good vibes, no Redskins fans anywhere near us. The first play from scrimmage, Corey Webster made a great play to intercept a deep pass from Rex. Everyone was going nuts, sure Sunday would be a great day. Unfortunately, the next offensive series were three incomplete passes and a punt. Wasted opportunity, but still okay. A good punt pinned them at their own 30, but they drove down the field and settled for a field goal. Not great, but manageable. We only gave up three. Time for the offense to shine.

First play, seventeen-yard rush for Ahmad Bradshaw, followed by a decent four-yard gain. Then it happened. On 2^nd and 6, Eli threw a perfect ball to a wide-open Jake Ballard that he dropped. Not only would it have been a first down, but maybe a huge-gainer as well. Then, on 3^rd and 6, Eli went deep down the middle to Hakeem Nicks who had beaten the defense. It was a perfect ball that landed (for a moment) right in Nick’s outstretched arms, until he DROPPED IT! We were already celebrating the touchdown in the stands. No chance a number one receiver, with the playoffs on the line, could possibly drop such a perfect opportunity. But he did just that. Our defense got us the ball back right away though with a clutch interception by Kenny Phillips. When we got the ball back we got into a 3^rd and 2 but thanks to a false start by Jake Ballard (what a day for him so far) we got pushed back to a 3^rd and long and wound up having to punt the ball back again. Halfway through the first quarter, our offense had zero receptions while our defense had two. But after we punted back, the defense let up.

Jon and I switched seats many, many times throughout the game, to no avail. It was an ugly shocker, and made for a very quiet ride home. Yet again, with high hopes, I went to the stadium and was let down by the team I love so much. I’m sure the other 80,000 fans in attendance felt the same way.

A Disturbingly Familiar Sight

A bad team with nothing to play for comes to town against us, after we get a huge win to put us back on track, and we embarrass ourselves in front of the home crowd. This is getting ridiculous. Our defense is so bad it’s hard to watch. Seeing the secondary bicker with one another both on and off the field is like watching a Junior Varsity High School football team. Missed assignments, fingers being pointed at one another, zero accountability, a coordinator with no control over his players, and no shortage of undeserved trash talking (yes I’m talking to you, Antrel - until you start earning the obnoxious amount of money we’re paying you, keep your mouth shut). I started to feel that Coughlin should maybe start fining players for playing that badly. If you think about it, it’s like any profession. You get paid to perform. If a player isn’t earning his paycheck, either missing assignments or tackles, he should give some of it back. If a guy gets fined for being late to a meeting, why not fine him for leaving a receiver wide open? I also think that the defensive (and offensive, after Sunday) should be told not to talk to the media this week unless they’re apologizing. I know it seems extreme, but man I’m getting sick of this. Something should be done to wake these guys up.

Sunday was also some of the worst coordinating I’ve ever seen. Ahmad returned this week but only carried the ball ten times. Despite being down by twenty rather early in the 3^rd quarter, we didn’t go to the no-huddle until the fourth. Our secondary gave their receivers huge cushions on every third and long. The middle of the field was once again completely open. Eli finally came back down to earth and threw three interceptions, two of them coming on pretty bad decisions. Can’t completely fault him though, because his star receiver kept him from having a great start to the game. Hard to play quarterback and have any confidence in your receivers when no one can make a clutch reception. On the interception he threw to the back corner, Mario should have turned around and caught the ball in front of the defender. Instead, he watched Josh Wilson go up and catch it before making a very feeble attempt at swatting it out of his hands. Coughlin made a horrible decision on his challenge in the first half. Bottom line, no one played well.

It’s a game worth forgetting. No game balls. Let’s just flush it.

Non-Gmen Thoughts of the Week:

· Had a doctor’s appointment on Monday morning. Saw some medical equipment that read, “delivered by Tony Gamboni.” You know you’re back in Jersey when the medical supplies are being delivered by a guy who sounds like a made-up character from a Sopranos parody.

· Nice win for KC, finally handing the Packers their first loss of the season. On the same day, the Colts got their first win of the season. Good for both cities and Romeo Crennel. Bad for Todd Haley and Tyler Palko. Needless to say I did very poorly in my picks this past weekend.

· Loved the Tim Tebow sketch on SNL this past weekend, but upset that it was the last sketch of the show. Means a lot of people probably missed it. Very, very funny.

· Saw Hugo, loved it. Still need to see MI: 4 and Sherlock Holmes 2 before this holiday is over. Still think The Muppets is the best film I’ve seen this year (so far).

Final Thoughts:

Crazy as it sounds, we still control our own destiny. Have two incredibly important games coming up against the Jets and Cowboys. We win them both, we win the division. Have to forget all about this loss and move forward. If we can get hot these last two weeks, we have a chance. I’m not giving up hope, and you shouldn’t either! Just ignore all sports media outlets this week (except giants.com, of course!) and you’ll be amazed how much less the loss stings. To talk all things Giants, e-mail me at gmensuperfan@gmail.com, find me on Facebook under the name “Gmen Superfan,” and follow me on Twitter under the name “@gmensuperfan1.” Have a great holiday weekend everyone, and until next week, GO GMEN!

SuperFan: Giants vs. Cowboys (12/12/11)

On the Run

By Superfan

Nothing like going into Jerry’s World and pulling out a late-game stunner like that! Always provides for great images of Mr. Jones stunned in shocked disgust and disbelief. Finally, after four grueling weeks of losses, we got the W. The season so far has been a lot like most of our games - we put ourselves in really tough situations yet somehow find a way to scrape ourselves out of them. Or, in the cases of San Fran and Green Bay, almost out of them.

I think we can all agree that being a Giants fan will shave ten to fifteen years off a person’s life. They should go ahead and make that a medical fact. Sunday night’s huge comeback win on the road against the rival Cowboys was far too close for comfort, but it was absolutely worth it. As John Mara said after the game, “The best thing is we got our season back tonight.”

The View From Home

It was very nerve-racking all the way through, but fortunately nothing got broken. We have a ritual where, for every game, I have the “Proud To Be (a New York Giant)” song cued up on my iPod to play every time we score a touchdown. It played loud and often Sunday night, and hopefully the song could be heard around the block. It’s such a ridiculous yet awesome and catchy song. I would give about anything to have them play it again at the stadium during pre-game warm-ups. If you remember going to games in the late 90s, then you know what I’m talking about.

It was a packed house in the bottom half of the McClellan Drive duplex Sunday night. JJ and I (and Vandy) called on Justine to come back over, since she was there the day we beat the Patriots, and hadn’t been back since. Joe made it home by the second quarter. Nothing but good vibes for the primetime matchup.

There was only one brief moment of uncertainty with the viewing party. During the first quarter (before Joe returned), Justine inexplicably and without consulting anyone decided to move from the catch over to the recliner. During the Pats game she sat between JJ and me on the couch. During the beginning of the first quarter, when we got the safety and the huge completion to Nicks that set up a field goal, Justine was seated in the exact same spot. She got up for some reason, and when she returned, she went over to the recliner. Dallas scored a touchdown to take a 7-5 lead. We had her move back to the couch. It didn’t happen again (her moving, not them scoring, obviously).

Despite the aggravating stress during the back-and-forth contest, we were relieved and ecstatic in the end. There was much rejoicing. All was right with the world once more, at least for this week.

Home Away From Home

That new stadium in Dallas kind of is a home away from home for the Gmen at this point, isn’t it? In fact, it’s even more so. Since Jerry opened that obnoxious shrine to his own greatness last season, we have won each of the three contests we’ve played there. And boy does Eli shine under those Dallas lights. In his three regular season games played there, he’s got 1,036 passing yards, eight touchdown passes, and just one interception. That one interception came Sunday night off a tough screen pass that was tipped at the line by Victor Butler, deflected off the pads of an offensive lineman and into the waiting hands of Sean Lee. And the only reason Eli had to throw that pass was because despite converting a 4^th down previously, a dumb call for a shotgun draw on second and long (once again) forced Eli into a tough 3^rd and long. Being right outside their 20-yard line, I suppose Gilbride felt the screen would be a safe bet to at least set us up for a field goal to then get within two once more.

Bottom line, Eli ROCKS in that stadium. And in the fourth quarter. And this season in general, despite the secondary doing everything it could Sunday night to keep our losing streak alive. I don’t want to hear anything about us having five DBs on IR. Guess what? Antrel Rolle is a starter. Kenny Philips is a starter. Corey Webster is a starter. Aaron Ross wasn’t necessarily a starter, but was a first round draft pick intended to one day be a starter. Same goes for Prince Amukamara. It’s not like we have guys that were picked off the street playing in the secondary. Yes the middle’s depleted as well, which might complicate assignments, but we signed Chase Blackburn and had Michael Boley in there. So we had veterans as well as rookies in the middle. No excuses for injuries - it’s the responsibility of the backups to step in and perform at a high level. I’m tired of our secondary being such a huge liability. When your offense scores thirty points there should be no question that your team will win. We’ve scored over thirty points the past two weeks, and both games came down to the final play. Inexcusable. Someone in the secondary has to take some pride in his work, instead of counting on the pass rush to force bad throws or relying on dropped passes or missed opportunities deep downfield.

Kudos once more to the offensive line. Eli had time back there, and despite Ahmad missing the first half for violating team rules we still had a great rushing output from Brandon Jacobs, and eventually Ahmad later on. When Jacobs runs that powerfully, our offense is hard to stop. But once again, we could’ve and should’ve had a lot more points than we did, but we had dropped passes and missed opportunities near the end zone. That also won’t fly if we make it to the second season. Victor Cruz, I love your dance, but you have to catch those two balls late in the second quarter! And Mario, with the game on the line in the fourth quarter, YOU MUST HAVE THAT CATCH IN THE END ZONE! We still won, but if we didn’t, that’s all anyone would be focusing on right now. Jake Ballard also had a great game, redeeming himself for some rough play the few weeks prior. If we can just shore up the sloppy play, we’re unstoppable.

Offensive Game Ball - Eli Manning. No one in the league comes close when the game’s on the line. All he does is drive that point home week after week.

Defensive Game Ball - Jason Pierre-Paul. Are you serious with this guy? I should just make him the automatic selection for this every week, because he almost always seems to be. I’m noticing something very special going on with him. He’s going to be a Giants’ legend before all is said and done. I mean like in the same conversations as Lawrence Taylor and Michael Strahan. What a playmaker.

Non-Gmen Thoughts of the Week:

· Facebook comment of the week: “You can’t spell Elite, Reliable, or Believe without ELI!!!!!!! GO BIG BLUE!!!!” - Matthew Johnston.

· I hated him and everything he stood for (as a quarterback, his faith has nothing to do with anything) when the season began. When he went in for Orton, I thought it was bush league and nothing more than the coaches acting in an effort to please the fans. After he won a few, I chalked it up to dumb luck, fortunate circumstances, and conveniently weak competition. But I have to say, after what transpired Sunday afternoon, I’m officially swept up in Tebowmania. HUGE that they beat the Bears for us. How can you not enjoy this story? It’s absurd, but in a kind of awesome, fun way. Excited to see how long this “fated” team can last. With that insanely good defense, looks like it might be for at least a little while longer. And props to John Fox for making the best of a bad offensive hand.

· Just saw the teaser trailer for season 2 of Game of Thrones. AWESOME! With new Californication, Mad Men, Game of Thrones, and films like The Dark Knight Rises coming out, 2012 is going to be an amazing year. Also enjoyed the new MIB 3 trailer. Hate me if you must, but the Men In Black films are fun.

· Good for you, T.J. Yates. Good for the entire city of Houston. Clinching your first playoff birth and your first division title in such exciting fashion, with the third-string quarterback and no Andre Johnson. What a great story. Kind of like a modern-day Jeff Hostetler story, minus the awesome moustache.

Final Thoughts:

Let’s hope this win after last week’s close-yet-confidence-building loss was the official start of an epic run to and through the playoffs. We’ve got Washington, the Jets, and Dallas left on the schedule, all at the Meadowlands (despite one being an “away” game). Let’s keep this momentum going! To talk all things Giants, e-mail me at gmensuperfan@gmail.com, find me on Facebook under the name “Gmen Superfan,” and/or follow me on Twitter under the name “gmensuperfan1.” Until next week, GO GMEN!!

SuperFan: Giants vs. Packers (12/5/11)

Hope To See You Again Soon

By Superfan

Like the win over the Patriots several weeks ago was eerily similar to the win over them in the Super Bowl in 2008, our loss to the Packers last Sunday was in turn eerily similar to the game we lost to the Patriots to end that fated 2007 regular season. Toe to toe with the best team in the league (looking to remain undefeated), making them sweat until the very last play - and reminding them that not every team they play will go down easy. Certainly not this one.

I don’t believe the better team won on Sunday. We were not outplayed, but instead beat ourselves. If Eli doesn’t skip the ball to a wide open Ramses Barden on third down on our second drive of the game, if he doesn’t make a bad decision and not see Clay Matthews before throwing a pick-six, if Coughlin doesn’t lose timeouts on poorly-decided challenges, if Aaron Ross doesn’t completely forego his coverage responsibilities in the end zone against Donald Driver near the end of the second quarter, it’s a totally different ballgame. The point is, we missed opportunities to take this game for ourselves, and it still game down to a game-winning field goal as time expired for the undefeated Green Bay Packers to squeak by us with a win.

The View From Home

Missed the beginning of the game, including Eli’s touchdown connection to Travis Beckum on our first drive of the game (looked great on the replay, so why’d Travis disappear after that play?) thanks to the Denver-Minnesota game going a little long. I guess when Jesus is working his magic for another big-time fourth quarter comeback, all else gets put on hold. Fortunately the game didn’t go into overtime, and Fox picked the Giants’ game up just in time to see the defense force the Packers to punt it back to us on their first offensive series.

With JJ and I the only ones at my place watching, the seating became almost a new experience. Joe and Vandy were in San Francisco for the weekend, and didn’t make it back until the fourth quarter was well under way. JJ moved from the couch to the recliner, and it certainly seemed to work well. The defense played really well in the first half, while the offense seemed to (relatively) stub its toe a little bit near the end of the first/beginning of the second quarter. So I suggested maybe JJ try sitting in the recliner when we were on defense and try the couch while on offense. He wasn’t thrilled with the idea of moving around every time there was a change of possession, but being the awesomely die-hard Giants’ fan that he is, he figured if it helped give the Gmen a shot to beat the Pack, why not try? So he did, and on the first play of the second quarter, Eli threw a pick-six to Clay Matthews. Experiment over. So, yeah, that score was kind of on me - sorry.

If you’re still with me on the superstition side of things here, you’ll love this next part. After giving up the lead with less than two minutes to go, our offense got the ball only to give it right back on an Eli Manning fumble. They drove a little ways and got into field goal range, which given their starting field position meant a relatively good stand by our defense. While lining up, JJ turned to me and said, “Those Meadowlands’ winds are really swirling. This field goal isn’t a given.” Then - WIDE RIGHT! Good call buddy!

The excitement really got amped up when Eli led that fantastic drive ending with a Nicks TD reception and a successful run by DJ Ware for the 2-point conversion. He’s just SO GOOD when we need him to be on those late-game drives. And while the excitement and exuberance left us as soon as it arrived, the pride was still there.

Toe to Toe with the Champs

Thirty-five to thirty-five, fifty-eight seconds left on the game clock, the Packers with only one timeout left. They drove the field and kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired. No way anyone can say the offense didn’t do its job. Yes we could’ve killed a little more time on our final drive, but you also have to realize it’s not like we were settling for a field goal. Touchdowns aren’t easy to score in the NFL, so when you can score them, you have to take the opportunity. What really irks me is that, despite the pass rush working all game to keep Aaron Rodgers in check, we stopped doing that when it matter most. Fifty-eight seconds left, and Perry Fewell sends out a defense comprised of eight defensive backs and three pass rushers. PREVENT DEFENSE DOES NOTHING BUT PREVENT TEAMS FROM WINNING!

I’ve never been soft-spoken about the way I feel about Aaron Ross - he’s not a starting NFL cornerback. Despite the many interceptions he’s made this season, I still think he’s cost us more than he’s helped us. There’s no clear stat that measures how often a defensive back gets burned throughout the season, especially if it’s a missed assignment. But I’ve taken notes on nearly every game this season, and looking through them there’s at least one or two moments in every game where I have something written about Ross letting a guy get behind him in coverage or falling down or missing an assignment or biting on a play-action or something. And it’s every game. Having one or two plays each game where you watch and think, “hey, nice coverage, good job,” shouldn’t be enough. It should be expected that you do your job and play tight coverage all game. The same goes for Will Blackmon, Antrel Rolle, and the rest of our secondary. To have eight guys back there with less than a minute to play and still give up 24- and 27-yard completions on their first two plays from scrimmage? Then on 2^nd and 11 from the 30, when they were still far enough away that the Meadowlands’ winds could maybe send their kick wide, we give up an 18-yard completion to Jordy Nelson! They call timeout with three ticks left, and the rest is history.

Secondary aside, our most effective defensive weapon all game was our pass rush. We were roughing up Rodgers all game and throwing off his accuracy. Then to simply take the threat away? A three-man rush against the best QB in the league, giving him all the time in the world to find open receivers? Really think that’s the best idea, Perry? You publicly challenged your defense last week heading into this game, which I supported, citing their lack of effort the past two weeks. Then they come out and show a great effort and punch the best team in the league in the mouth for fifty-nine minutes, and you take away their opportunity to finish? Guess someone should start challenging YOU publicly.

I don’t like to blame the referees for a loss, especially since bad calls typically even out between both teams, but I’d hardly call the refereeing on Sunday even. Early in the fourth quarter, Green Bay driving, 3rd and ten, and you call back an awesome sack by Tollefson and JPP because of an illegal contact by Jacquian Williams? He barely touched him, and it had nothing to do with the play! Granted we eventually stopped them and forced a punt, but we got the ball back at our own 13-yard line. Three and out. Had they not called back the sack on that 3^rd down earlier, they would’ve been punting from their own 25-yard line instead of our 46. Reminded me of the play during Super Bowl XXXV when Jessie Armstead had a pick-six early in the game called back by a very questionable “hold” by Keith Hamilton. You never know what sort of momentum that might’ve carried on throughout the game. And allowing the Greg Jennings third-quarter “touchdown catch” to stand, even though he clearly didn’t have possession throughout the play, which is supposed to be the rule for a reception in the end zone? Then again I’ve never been particularly fond of Jeff Triplett as a referee - just a bad guy that loves irritating the home crowd.

Done with that rant. Not blaming the refs, but couldn’t recap the game without at least bringing them up. Certainly not one of the best-called games of the year.

Great to have Ahmad back, that’s for sure. I think the offense (especially Jacobs) feeds off of his intensity. He didn’t have mind-boggling numbers, but between him, Jacobs, and Ware our rushing game accounted for one hundred yards and one touchdown. Takes me back to the days of earth, wind, and fire - don’t need one stand out, just enough from everyone to force opposing defenses to respect the run, which in turn helps the pass tremendously. And as Eli’s numbers will show you (23 of 40, 347 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT), they certainly did. Also have to give the offensive line a ton of credit - no Baas, no Beatty, no problem. Well done. When your team scores 35 points on offense, you can be sure that side of the ball wasn’t the reason they lost.

Offensive Game Ball - Victor Cruz. All the guy does is make plays. He’s turning into what Amani Toomer used to be and what Steve Smith looked like he was starting to become - Eli’s go-to-guy. Whenever Eli’s in trouble, he always seems to look Cruz’s way, and Cruz more often than not seems to come through. The guy makes great catches at clutch times, and always seems to find a way to get open. Despite Nicks matching his jersey number in receiving yards and reeling in two TD catches in the process, it was Cruz whose name I kept hearing and chanting all game. Seven catches for 119 yards. All game we converted just five of eleven third downs. One of them was on a one-yard rush by Jacobs. The other four were converted through the air - one to Ballard, one to Nicks (on our last offensive drive to score a TD and put us within two), and two to Cruz. And he only targeted Cruz twice on 3^rd downs. Talk about clutch when he has to be.

Defensive Game Ball - Jason Pierre-Paul. Like Cruz, he didn’t come away with the best stats from the game on Sunday, but if you were watching then you’d know he was the most dominant presence out there. Chase Blackburn obviously gets a mention here with his incredibly clutch interception in his first game since being resigned by the Giants, but JPP still had the better overall effort. Even the two weeks prior, when we played horribly, JPP was the one guy who never showed the slightest hint of giving up. He only came away with three tackles, and had no sacks, but the guy was in Rodgers’ head all game. He played a great series on the Pack’s second-to-last offense drive of the first half, including a backfield tackle and a tipped pass, but unfortunately the secondary didn’t match his effort and let up a TD.

Non-Gmen Thoughts of the Week:

· A cousin introduced me to the site “Damn You Auto Correct,” which focuses on accidentally hilarious texting conversations made by the iPhone’s auto correct feature. I don’t own an iphone, and have never used auto-correct, but I think it’s dumb for people to blame auto-correct. Stop being so reliant on technology to do everything for you. Are you so lazy that you can’t finish your own texts, or are you not able to turn the feature off? And are you not able to check what’s filled-in by the auto-correct tool before sending the message? While it is hilarious and I’m happy the site exists to make me and other people laugh, don’t think for a second any of the idiots this has happened to deserve any sympathy. Just another scapegoat for what’s become an unbelievably lazy and impatient society.

· Facebook Comment of the Week - “Somehow I keep thinking that before this season is over and done with, the ’72 Dolphins are going to owe Big Blue one more time!” - Rob Lender.

o Haven’t done this in a while, mainly because most of the comments aren’t exactly PC, but when I read one that gets me this amped up, I have to feature it. Well put, Rob - hope you’re right!

o I know, it’s Gmen-related. But it’s less team- and game-centric, more big-picture epic-ness. Good enough for me.

· Fighting for my fantasy football life tonight during the San Diego - Jacksonville game. Playoffs on the line, fighting for that 6-seed, currently down 91-79 with only Vincent Jackson to play. He’s out of players for the week. On a side note, don’t you hate it when one of the guys in your fantasy league is completely out of it and decides to trade a bunch of his good players to a contender just to have players from the team he likes? That happened, and that “contender” is the one I’m jostling with for the last playoff spot. BUSH LEAGUE.

· Finally Tim Tebow gets a win and finishes the game with respectable quarterback numbers. Not the guy or the team to pick against right now, that’s for sure.

Final Thoughts:

Fortunately for us everyone we needed to lose last weekend lost. We’re very much still in the driver’s seat, and on Sunday looked like the hotter team than this Sunday night’s opponent, the Cowboys. I’ve been saying for weeks now that if we take care of the Cowboys, the division is ours. Time to make that happen! DALLAS WEEK! GET PSYCHED! To talk all things Giants, e-mail me at gmensuperfan@gmail.com, find me on Facebook under the name “Gmen Superfan,” and/or find me on Twitter under the name “@gmensuperfan1.” Twelve games down, four to go! Let the epic run begin! Until next week, GO GMEN!!

SuperFan: Giants vs. Saints (11/29/11)

Limping Into The Fourth Quarter

By Superfan

I’m getting sick and tired of this. I’m getting sick and tired of the Giants playing a decent-to-good-enough September and tearing through October, getting everyone’s hopes up and their imaginations running wild about what the rest of the season might hold. Then getting into November, closing in on the final stretch, and falling apart. It’s as though the team thinks they only have to show up for half a season and their good 1^st-half record will somehow magically carry them into the playoffs. Then they show up without any heart, without any discipline, without any toughness, without any pride, and they drive us fans crazy. The only consistency I’ve seen out of the New York Football Giants the past few years is their inability to play at a high level for a full season.

All that being said, there is still over a quarter of the season left to play, including two against the Cowboys. Plenty of time and opportunities to make the second season, but if we keep playing the way we’ve been playing, that won’t happen. Let’s rehash the worse of our past two miserable losses.

Not Worth The Effort

Monday Night Football on the West Coast. A football fan’s worst nightmare. After an entire day of dropping not-so-subtle hints at work about that night’s game, my bosses let me take off around 5:30, which allowed me to listen to the first quarter in the car.

JJ met me at my house and we turned it on just in time to watch the Saints effortlessly drive the field to take a 7-0 lead to start the second quarter. It wasn’t much better from there, as we listened to Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden, and Ron Jaworski all but crown the Saints victorious just before halftime, when they took a commanding 21-3 lead. Aside from a comical moment that they provided us with the teleprompter (if you DVR’d it, go to the 11:20pm EST mark, you’ll be glad you did), there was little else about the broadcast worth writing home about. Nothing like watching your favorite team get their behinds handed to them in front of a national audience. Then again, that’s turning into a trend for us these past couple of weeks, isn’t it?

Bayou Beat-Down

There was a time, not too long ago, when our defense was one of the most feared defenses in the league. And I don’t want to hear about injuries. We’ve gotten our top draft pick back, so we have one cornerback and two veteran linebackers on IR. If that makes us unable to play any kind of respectable defense, then it simply means we didn’t do our job building depth at key positions. And what happened to our pass rush? They were supposed to be the ONE THING that wouldn’t falter! Drew Brees had ridiculous time all night to find his receivers. There was one play were it looked like we might get a sack in the middle of the third quarter, but Brees got away from two guys and scrambled out to his right. Despite there being two defenders closing in on him as he approached the line of scrimmage, Antrel Rolle decided to abandon his assignment watching the short route to come after Brees as well, leaving Pierre Thomas wide open to receive a short desperation pass to convert a first-and-fifteen. To top it off, Coughlin decided to challenge the play thinking it was an illegal forward pass, but anyone who watched the replay could clearly see it was a bad decision.

Eli came away with good numbers, though a lot of that was garbage due to their defense playing prevent with a huge lead. But I don’t put this on him. He had one bad throw in the first quarter that was picked off. But it’s not his fault his star wide receiver, Hakeem Nicks, had several significant drops. Not to mention Danny Ware and Victor Cruz. Ramses Barden made some nice catches on balls thrown his way, but had a strange play where he seemed to fall down without being touched and could have gotten up to run with the ball but didn’t. Jacobs ran with a little bit of fire, and got a rushing touchdown, but with the huge deficit most of the game there were hardly any opportunities for him to do much.

The one positive from this game was Da’Rel Scott. He has some potential it seems as a return man. If he could’ve managed to keep his legs from outrunning the rest of his body Monday night, he would’ve had some great chances to break big returns. I feel he will in time with more experience.

No game balls this week. Just a bad game all-around.

Non-Gmen Thoughts of the Week

· Saw The Muppets over Thanksgiving weekend. LOVED IT. Thank you, Jason Segel, for bringing them back to us and doing it right. Just a fantastic movie-going experience. The soundtrack is also great.

· As bad as it feels to be a Giants fan, at least we’re not Chargers’ fans. So much for Norv Turner being an offensive guru. They looked really, really bad. I can’t fathom this whole Tebow thing. Someone has to show up against them and show them what a real defense looks like. Detroit’s the only team who’s done it so far…

· Speaking of Detroit, wow Suh. Dirty, dirty, dirty. On Thanksgiving, no less. I know you were upset about Nickelback. We all were. Still no excuse.

· Ever since I joined Twitter I’ve noticed all these Tweets from Giants’ receivers talking about appearances they’re making for autographs or whatever at malls and stores and stuff. I understand if it’s something the whole team is doing or sponsoring, especially if it’s for a charity, but I have a problem if it’s just their agent or manager scheduling separate events for profit. Maybe they should worry less about making public appearances and more on CATCHING THE FOOTBALL AND PREPARING FOR THE NEXT WEEK’S GAME!

· It’s official - Jermichael Finley is the biggest fantasy draft bust I’ve ever made. One really good point total all season, single-digit points nearly every other week.

Final Thoughts

It doesn’t look likely, but there are some things to think about regarding this week’s matchup against the Packers. In 1998, with Kent Graham at quarterback, an undefeated John Elway-led Denver Broncos team came into our house, and we beat them. They went on to win the Super Bowl that year. In 2008, after losing by just three to them to end the regular season, we faced the undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, and beat them. The way we’re playing right now it doesn’t seem likely, but based on recent history, if anyone can keep the Packers from going undefeated this season, it’s the Gmen. Something to think about.

To reiterate, we’re 6-5, not 4-7, despite how things may seem. Our fate is in our hands, with both games left against the Cowboys to take the NFC East. But we have to wake up out of this funk - we’re beating ourselves. If we want this stigma of late season collapses to go away, WE HAVE TO MAKE IT SO! To talk all things Giants, e-mail me at gmensuperfan@gmail.com, find me on Facebook under the name “Gmen Superfan,” and follow me on Twitter under the username “@gmensuperfan1.” Until next week, GO GMEN!!