Tuesday, October 30, 2012

SuperFan: Giants vs. Cowboys (10/20/12)


Two Ugly Wins Still Make a Right
By Superfan

            First of all, I hope everyone is safe and protected back east, and wish you the best in this tough, ugly weather.  And speaking of ugly, how about Sunday’s victory?  On the road against a tough division rival, with a record of 1-2 in the NFC East, all that mattered was leaving with a W.  And we did, for the fourth time in as many tries in Jerry’s obnoxious excuse for a football stadium.  If Jerry Jones put half the work into letting qualified professionals run his football operations as he does worrying about making profits, they might actually put a contender on the field some time this century.  I can imagine Wellington Mara up above, looking down and laughing hysterically, “That guy still thinks he can be a General Manager?” 

            That advantage was never more apparent than on Sunday.  Because let’s face it, our offense played horribly.  Our defense took advantage of Romo’s many mistakes, but this game should’ve been a laugher.  We put forth one of our ugliest efforts of the season, and we still won.  Because Jerry Jones, Tony Romo, and the rest of the Cowgirls can’t be outdone in their house, even in a contest of sloppy plays.  Despite nearly flat-lining most of the Giants’ fan base in those final minutes, let’s go back and relive the ugly win that was…

The View From Home
            Halloween weekend is always guaranteed to have its myriad casualties, and this year was no exception.  I want to take this time to go on a bit of a tangent and accept my share of the responsibilities for San Diego’s brutal loss to Cleveland.  I was unable to make it to Jerry’s to watch the games this past weekend, and in responding the day before I sent him a kiss-of-death e-mail: “though I really don't see the browns being a trap game for you guys tomorrow, should be a breeze…”  Remembering I’d sent that the day before, I kept checking the Chargers score, hoping they’d come back.  They never did.  Jerry, I shouldn’t have written that.  My bad. 

            Anyhow, the usual crowd was over for the game.  JJ, myself, Joe and Vandy.  Things were fantastic early on, and we were loving every minute of it.  Though it was very frustrating watching us settle for field goals after so many big defensive plays.  It’s basically a two-for-one deal, so when Dallas started their scoring with a touchdown, it was a little troubling.  When they came back and took the lead, it was miserable.  I can’t tell you how many times JJ and I switched seats while Joe was out.  We even moved Vandy around from couch to couch.   Here are a few of the many insane texts I sent my dad while watching the game, that I’m sure you’ll get a kick out of in retrospect:
  • ·      (early second quarter) “Man…Eli’s making all the throws, receivers aren’t making plays.”
  • ·      (very soon after) “WOW…JUST AWESOME…JPP’S A MONSTER!!”
  • ·      (midway through the third quarter) “having a terrible game…I’m gonna be sick”
  • ·      (early fourth quarter) “I can’t remember the last time I was this pissed while in the lead”
  • ·      (moments later) “This game is shaving years off my lifespan”
  • ·      (last two minutes):

o   DAD - “Unreal.  Too close too call.  TD.   ______.”
o   ME - “No his hand hit the line…even Troy said so” (still love that)
o   (It got a little ugly after that…let’s just say it’s a good thing Troy was right…)

So a peek into the ridiculous stuff that runs through the brain of a maniac (or die-hard fan, whichever term you’d prefer), and the sage wisdom that passes from father to son on football Sundays.        
            
            By the time the game ended, I felt like I’d survived multiple heart attacks.  Or a dark, isolated viewing of The Shining.  It was exhausting, but a relief nonetheless. 

A Doozy in Dallas
            Despite the offense’s lack of production given their starting field position most of the first half (and the game), it’s hard to pin much blame on Eli. I remember thinking in the game’s early moments, “wasn’t I just saying this about RG3 while watching the Redskins play those counselors from Camp Bumblebee?”  I counted eight drops in the first half.  Might be more, but eight alone is far too many. 
            And Ahmad, it shouldn’t always take a fumble to get you revved up.  Especially after your tirades last week, you HAVE TO protect the ball better.  Fortunately they punted, but still, we were starting at our own 40 on that drive.  Need to take advantage of good field position at all times. 
Great to see our pass rush playing really well once again.   But as great as Stevie Brown and a few other secondary players have been, there are times where receivers get way too wide open.  Especially in the middle of the field.  Everyone knows Jason Witten is Romo’s favorite target.  Yet he caught the ball 18 times. Now for this week’s awards:

Offensive Player of the Game - Andre Brown.  Andre Brown was the only offensive player to get into the end zone all game, despite our defense making several turnovers deep in Dallas territory early on. 

Defensive Player of the Game - (TIE) Jason Pierre-Paul and Stevie Brown.  The former had a sack and a pick-six.  The latter had sick tackles, two picks, and a fumble recovery.  Can you really pick one over the other here?

Special Teams Player of the Game - Lawrence Tynes.  The only part of our offense that was consistently successful all day, Tynes was a perfect 5-for-5 on field goals and 2-for-2 on extra points.  His final two field goals gave us the lead and sealed it on Sunday. 

Non-Gmen Thoughts of the Week:
  • ·      Love and honor (and props) to my alma mater for knocking off the previously unbeaten, top-25 ranked Ohio Bobcats.  Go Redhawks!
  • ·      While we’re on it, HOW BOUT THOSE FIGHTING IRISH!!  They absolutely deserve their ranking, no doubt.  I promise, now that Oregon will be playing legitimate opponents, they won’t be blowing anyone out like they have been.  You Ducks can keep rolling up scores like you’re playing Madden on Rookie level.  We’ve still got the better strength of the schedule, and the poll that matters reflects that appropriately.  Not to look too far ahead, but watch out USC!  And please, don’t choke anymore until we face you at the end of the season - we want our victory to actually mean something.
  • ·      The San Francisco Giants have now won two of the last three world series.  To quote Bob Uecker from Major League II, “Great.  I think I’ll wet my pants.”  But seriously, besides fans in the Bay Area (I’m not forgetting about you, J-ron and Mike) does anyone even care?  Granted I’m a pissed off, jilted, biased Yankees fan, but it doesn’t change the fact that last night’s game was probably blown out of the water ratings-wise by the Sunday night game.  And I’ll bet the national newspapers gave college and pro football recaps bigger headline space Monday morning than they gave the champs of the baseball world.  Oh, how far our national pastime has fallen.  And to think the sport thought it was “fixing things” with its absurd new rules concerning the wild card teams.
  • ·      I really wish LA had decent sports radio after 9am.  Instead, I have to choose between Jim Rome and Colin Cowherd.  They’re both such clowns.  Like trying to choose between Chris Martin and Bono for most narcissistic, unnecessary human being alive.  It’s a choice no self-respecting person should have to make, and one they’ll only make if they absolutely have no other choice in the matter.  It also reminds me of just how little the mainstream sports media respects fans’ intelligence.


Looking Ahead…
            Here’s where things usually get tricky.  6-2 is becoming a familiar start for Coughlin’s Giants.  It’s November that usually provides a small, panic-inducing losing skid.  Can’t let that happen this week.  Pittsburgh, thought too old for their own good a few weeks ago, will come to town having won two big games in a row.  Even with Polamalu out, this is never a team to be taken for granted.  The defense has to come out strong again, and the offense has to respond as well.  Can’t settle for field goals off of turnovers - need to turn those into touchdowns.  We got this!  ALL IN, BABY!  To talk all things Giants, send an e-mail to gmensuperfan@gmail.com, find me on Facebook under the user name “Gmen Superfan,” or follow me on Twitter under the handle “@gmensuperfan1.”  Until next week, GO GMEN!!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

SuperFan: Giants vs. Redskins (10/23/12)


Lingering Pains
By Superfan

            And when I say lingering pains, I mean that in the nicest way possible.  Because Washington’s newest offensive threats - Robert Griffin III and Alfred Morris - are going to be just that for our Gmen for years to come.  Once they hired Bruce Allen to work with Coach Shanahan down in Landover, most NFC East fans new it was a matter of time before the tandem started making its presence felt.  With Ryan Kerrigan last year and Griffin III and Morris this year, it’s pretty impressive to see just how quickly they’ve changed things around.  The team that used to be the “light” divisional matchup is now looking like our biggest threat to take the division.  
            I was getting a little worried last week with most experts picking us to win and celebrating our awesomeness (that’ll only get worse this week, by the way), but low and behold the Giants went out and took care of business.  This is a team with guys who never question whether the outcome will be in their favor.  They have too much faith in their quarterback and their own ability to ever have a doubt.  This is a team that knows, no matter what, no one is better than their captain when the game’s on the line.  And those are the types of teams that, in the past, have proven tough enough to make legitimate runs at a title defense.

            But let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.  For now, let’s celebrate a huge win against a tough divisional opponent for our Gmen!  Despite giving up 23 points, I think that was one of our best defensive efforts of the season (I’ll get into that in more detail later).  And once again Eli proved there is no one better in the last two minutes of a ballgame.  Let’s review that topsy-turvy, voice-killing, frustrating nail-biter of a win last Sunday:

The View From Home
            Back home after last week’s traveling, it was business as usual at the McClellan duplex.  The viewing party consisted of JJ, Joe, Vandy, and myself.  I got up nice and early to get my typical N.Y. Bagel and Deli breakfast, and JJ showed up (this time prepared) with his bagel and lox from Ralph’s. 
           
Changed the seating up a little bit this week.  JJ was next to me on the couch while Joe (and Vandy) had the recliner.  Not much of note took place while watching the game, though I do remember it was frustrating enough to force me to lose my voice from all the screaming before the final whistle blew. 
           
I also remember sending this text to my dad just as RG3 completed that fourth and ten late in the fourth - “D had no time to rest bc gilbride refused to run the ball.”  Two plays later, touchdown pass.  But like I said before, I’ll get into that...

Escaping with the Win
            …Later.  Just when I start to show Gilbride some love, he goes and makes me pissed off all over again.  Yes, our offense is productive this season, but I still think it’s very faulty and underwhelming.  Not only can his bad play-calling affect our offense, but it also has negative consequences for our defense.  This was on full display late in the fourth quarter:
           
After a long, 11-play drive, our defense comes up huge and forces a Griffin fumble.  The very next play, Eli throws an interception and puts the defense right back on the field.  Despite hurrying back out there, with our backs against the wall, our defense holds Washington to just a field goal.  The offense comes back out and for a short while runs things smoothly, forcing two timeouts from Washington in a span of five plays.  They have one timeout left, it’s 3rd and one, and this drive (while effective) has only run a couple minutes off the game clock.  We’ve got one of the hottest backs in the league (Ahmad Bradshaw) whose been getting fired up on the sideline wanting to run the ball more.  It seems like a no-brainer - give Bradshaw the ball.  He should be able to gain at least one yard.  No matter what, it’ll probably force the Redskins to use their last timeout.  It’ll also give our defense a little more time to rest up after the exhausting previous two series they’d been on the field for.  But alas, common sense seems to fail our play-caller, and we opt for a back shoulder throw to Nicks near the sideline.  Not only should you not pass it here, but why to the sideline?  So he can get out of bounds and stop the clock for them even if the pass is completed?  So, the clock is stopped and we punt.  Defense back on the field with less than three minutes of game clock having run since they left.  As a nearly direct result, the exhaustion could be seen as RG3 converted on a wild 4th and 10, followed by a perfect 30-yard floater to Santana Moss for a late go-ahead TD. 
In my opinion, the D played it as best they could, but it was only a matter of time before their fatigue became a legitimate liability.  As a defense, when you force the kind of clutch turnovers they did against the weapons the Redskins now have, your offense can’t continue to penalize you for it.  It’s just not right. 

I really don’t know why, after the success our ground game had against San Francisco the week before, the offense would be so quick to abandon it.  Twelve touches for Ahmad?  Of course the yards per carry were low!  Don’t you remember it took a lot of short gains last week before Ahmad finally busted out the big gainers?  How Gildbride’s memory could be that short is beyond me.  Maybe there’s more to it.  I don’t know, just calling it as I saw it.
            Nevertheless, Eli’s insane clutchness in the last two minutes, combined with Cruz’s unbelievable big play ability, made for one hell of an exciting victory in the final moments.  And again, our defense’s ability to force turnovers sealed the deal. 
          
Here’s my last argument about the state of our offense, and then I swear I’ll let it go (at least for the rest of this week) - our mistake-filled, non-opportunistic, poorly called offense still scored 27 points.  The league average is about 23.  Just imagine what could be if we were a little sharper and a little more consistent…        
Here are this week’s awards:

Offensive Player of the Game - Victor Cruz.  You can almost give this award to Martellus Bennett, who had some huge catches throughout the day that saved drives on more than one occasion.  But if Eli were a little more accurate earlier in the day, that game-winning touchdown catch and run Cruz had would have been his second of the day, or rendered completely moot.  Either way, huge day for Senor Salsa!

Defensive Player of the Game - (TIE) Jason Pierre-Paul and Chase Blackburn.  Too close to call, these two were responsible for three of the day’s four forced fumbles, including the victory-sealer at the end.  Pierre-Paul’s forced fumble also counted as a sack of RG3, lifting his season total to four and a half.

Special Teams Player of the Week - Lawrence Tynes.  In a close game, Tynes was perfect, accounting for 9 of our 27 points (2-2 on FGs, 3-3 on XPs).

Non-Gmen Thoughts of the Week:
  • ·      In case you missed it in the past few weeks, I’m taking my Halloween costume VERY seriously this year.  Going as the 10th doctor from Doctor Who.  And let me tell you something - nothing will cause random people more confusion than walking a light blue suit with silver pinstripes to a tailor.  Wonder what they’ll think when I put it on…
  • ·      Was anyone really surprised the Yankees lost?  Me neither.  Jeter or no Jeter, no team deserves to win anything when they hit that terribly.
  • ·      Very excited to see Cloud Atlas this weekend.  Really hope I’m not eating those words in this very section next week.
  • ·      Homeland was great as always, but I can’t help thinking they’ve jumped a little far this early in the season.  (*SPOILERS*) Now that everyone seems to know what’s really going on, is it possible for it not to become a completely different show than it’s been?
  • ·      Maybe I’m a cynic, but what bothers me most about these debates is that it preempts shows I look forward to watching every week.  I really don’t feel like anything said in a debate is completely honest or genuine, anyway.  It’s only about looking more capable than the other guy (again, me = cynic).  I personally know who I’m voting for, and understand nothing said in these debates will change that one bit.  I’d also like to think that, for something as important as this year’s Presidential election, the general public will be responsible enough to find out where these guys stand on the issues the right way, instead of simply relying on attack ads and overly-image-conscious debate responses to help form their opinions.


Looking Ahead:
            Oh, in case you missed it, it’s DALLAS WEEK!  That’s right - Eli’s domination of Jerry’s amusement park of a football stadium should keep right on rolling this weekend.  We really need to remind Dallas what an outlier that week one victory of theirs was in the grand scheme of things.  Here we go, baby!  To talk all things Giants, you can send an e-mail to gmensuperfan@gmail.com, find me on Facebook under the name “Gmen Superfan,” or follow me on Twitter under the handle “@gmensuperfan1.”  Until next week, GO GMEN!!

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

SuperFan: Giants vs. 49ers (10/16/12)


Guess What, Jim?  We’ve Got it Better Than You.
By Superfan

            Huge win.  Incredible win.  Big time statement win.  And yet, for some reason, it has me kind of worried.  It could just be the cynical fan in me, but just recently we had a huge, dominating win on the road before facing a tough division opponent, and it didn’t work out too well.  Plus, most experts are now putting us at one or two in their power rankings.  I’d be happier if everyone went back to not respecting us.  There’s something inherently wrong with me for thinking that, isn’t there?  But still, it’s all I can do to not be troubled by this weekend.  And I’m sure I’m not the only fan hesitant to take all of this sudden praise.  Give our shoulder its chip back, please.

            I’m sorry.  This is a time to be celebrating a huge win in a very tough place.  I’ll save the bulk of my cynicism for the Yankees right now.  HOW ‘BOUT THEM GMEN!!  How about that pass rush finally showing up!  And so much for not being able to run the ball at the ‘Stick! 
           
Thanks have to go in part to 49ers’ Coach Jim Harbaugh.  Never wanting to be outdone, not even by a taken-out-of-context-quote from an opponent’s coordinator, Harbaugh just had to go and shoot his mouth off.  Good.  His immaturity and lack of professionalism made for great bulletin board fodder for our Gmen.  Didn’t see our coaching staff having to influence any officiating on Sunday, buddy.  Maybe if you worried less about being a rah-rah guy and more about your x’s and o’s, you wouldn’t lose these big games in such ugly fashion.  Who’s got it better than you?  We do - and we have the rings to prove it.  As for Justin Smith, well…Justin, meet Kevin.  Bet you’ll remember who he is now.  His offensive gameplan allowed the first 100-yard rusher against you at home in 44 games.  (I know, I know, no one rags on Gilbride as much as I do.  But it’s kind of like your sibling.  You can make fun of your little brother all you want - chances are he’s a pain in the ass - but if someone else makes fun of him or gives him a hard time, watch out…that’s my brother you’re talking about!) 
            Bottom line, Jim Harbaugh and his 49ers love to talk about how good they are and how lucky we were to have beaten them in the NFC championship game last year.  Meanwhile, Tom Coughlin’s Giants simply go out and show people why they’re the defending champs.  Well Coach Harbaugh, as a great rapper once said, “relax and take notes.”  Let Coughlin show you how grown-ups do it.

The San Francisco Treat(ment)
            Love the city of San Francisco.  Easily one of the best in the country.  Landed with cousins Larry and Charlie Friday night and was treated to a delicious Japanese dinner.  Saturday morning we got up and walked across the street from our hotel to the Ferry Building.  Later we walked a few blocks over for some great Dim Sum.  After more fun SF spectating and watching the Irish beat Stanford in glorious fashion, we capped the day with dinner at Zuni Café.  They’re famous for the chicken they serve there.  Not bad, but certainly not worth the hour-long wait.  If you’re going to make someone wait over an hour for a chicken, there better at least be fireworks coming out of it.  Or a picture of a naked lady on the plate it gets served on.  Something.

            The next morning was an early rise for gameday.  Larry, Charlie, Charlie’s friend George and I got to the stadium and parked plenty early, watching most of the early games at our seats on the big screen.  With great anticipation we waited for the stadium to fill up and the game to get underway.  
The whole first quarter was a nail-biter, chock full of those damn chants 49er fans make when they get a first down.  But come the second quarter, that all changed.  The Giants’ fans could be heard above everyone else, as the once-friendly/overconfident hometown fans could be seen trying to fit their feet in their mouths.  Man you fans should’ve heard the stuff they were saying before kickoff.  You’d think this was an exhibition game being played after they’d just won the super bowl.  And the looks on their faces when Ahmad finally broke off those big runs?  I’d be less shocked to see Charlie Sheen offering a stripper an overcoat. 
In an effort to beat traffic (Larry might be laughing at that statement if he’s reading this right now), we left at the beginning of the fourth quarter.  It was just after 4, and we had a flight out at 6:55.  Nearly three hours before takeoff - should’ve been plenty of time, right?  Wrong!  Unbelievably bad traffic getting out of there - we weren’t out of traffic until 5:40.  And yes, we missed the flight and had to reschedule for a flight out Monday morning.  So we got an extra night in SF, and I got a half-day of work on Monday.  Was still a pain, but fortunately Larry did a great job of managing the madness.  Next time I might just book the 10pm flight, and wait the extra few hours.
           
All in all though, it was an amazing trip with amazing company.  Larry and Charlie - thanks again for a terrific weekend!  Love you guys - you’re the best!

Yes, Fans, We’re Still the Defending Champs Until Further Notice…
            Losing two close games to division rivals doesn’t change that.  Nothing but someone else winning the super bowl will change that.  Thanks for restating it for everyone though, Carlos Rodgers. 

And how about Victor Cruz?  Yeah what Ahmad did in SF was amazing and relatively unprecedented, but remember in the offseason when everyone said Cruz’s season might’ve been a fluke, and he’d be shut down once the rest of the league finally got its hands on tape of him?  Well, through the first six weeks of the season he’s tied for 9th in the league in receiving yards (496) and tied for 2nd in receiving touchdowns (6).  On Sunday, he did it against one of the league’s best cover corners.  Not a fluke - the salsa is here to stay.

What a difference a pass rush makes.  JPP and company were all over Alex Smith, and it’s no coincidence that he threw three picks against us.  All in all, a fantastically coached and played game for Big Blue.  Onto the awards: 

Offensive Player of the Game - Ahmad Bradshaw.  First opponent to rush for over 100 yards in Candlestick in the Jim Harbaugh era.  Scored the first rushing touchdown the 49ers defense has allowed all season.  Need another reason?  (Honorable mention - Giants offensive line)

Defensive Player of the Game - Jason Pierre-Paul.  Like Peter King in this week’s MMQB article, this could’ve just as easily gone to Antrel Rolle.  But seeing JPP come alive against such a great offensive line (2 sacks) was huge for all Giants fans.  It’s amazing what his pressure does for every other facet of our defense, and how much better it makes them.

Special Teams Player of the Game - David Wilson.  We have our fearsome kick returner.  That return at the start of the second half basically ended any hopes the niners ever had of coming back against us. 

Non-Gmen Thoughts of the Week:
  • ·      Hell yeah, Irish!  Keep this up! 
  • ·      Ouch, Nationals.  Very ouch. 
  • ·      Cam, I hope wherever you were on Monday you were sporting eye black and carrying a football around.  Because I know you didn’t have the Giants winning the matchup this year, either ;)
  • ·      Great article this week on SI.com about whether it’s still fun to be a Yankees fan.  And I agree, it isn’t anymore.  We don’t win the World Series, it’s a failure.  We win the World Series, big deal we were supposed to.  No more joy in it.    Another good point raised - yeah he did great things, but what in the hell is Steinbrenner doing among the likes of Mantle, Gehrig, Ruth, or DiMaggio in the new stadium memorial?  You were an owner, not a Yankee.  That whole family needs to get over themselves and realize the Yankees’ legacy goes back long before they had anything to do with it.
  • ·      On a more somber note, horrible news about Jeter.  You’re the greatest thing to happen to baseball in a long time, and you deserve to exit on your own terms.  Here’s to hoping you stick it out a little while longer.  This franchise isn’t the same without you.
  • ·      While in SF, we bought souvenir license plate frames and a few other fun tchotchkes at an officially licensed sports shop.  Put them in the trunk of the rental the night before the game.  A couple of days later, when we left for the airport, they were gone.  Never touched them once after putting them in the trunk.  That’s right - we have a very legitimate reason to believe we were robbed by a hotel valet in San Francisco.  


Looking Ahead:
            As I stated earlier, we can’t take this game for granted!  Don’t forget this team swept us last year with Rex Grossman at the helm.  RG3 happens to be quite the upgrade based on what I’ve seen so far.  We have to keep this momentum rolling from October right into November.  No taking the foot off the gas pedal.  To talk all things Giants, you can e-mail me at gmensuperfan@gmail.com, find me on Facebook under the user name “Gmen Superfan,” or follow me on Twitter under the handle “@gmensuperfan1.”  Until next week, GO GMEN!!