With the first game out of the way, and the Vince Lombardi Trophy restored back to its proper shelf in the lobby, the public has seen a preview of what they can expect from the Giants in 2008.
One game against the listless Redskins does not a season make, though. There is much to improve on if they are to repeat - or even come close to repeating - as Super Bowl champions.
1. Eli Manning must not put the ball up for grabs. He did it again last night under pressure. When will this very bad and costly habit end? He is the reason why 'experts' are calling the Giants a fluke.
2. The coaches must not divert from the game game for the sake of doing so. The Giants were absolutely steamrolling the Redskins with their running game. So why, for the sake of Allie Sherman were they trying to establish the passing game with a two-score lead in the 3rd quarter? That has to stop. The only thing that will accomplish is allowing opponents to get back in games.
3. The Giants must be able to relax at home and trust the fans. They won their first home game in almost 11 months, but they didn't look comfortable at all in the 2nd half. For some reason they lose their fire during homes games, especially in games in which they get an early lead.
- B/R Ticket Guide
4. Kevin Boss and Ahmad Bradshaw must be in the game plan. Boss was absent last night and Bradshaw did not play. Boss needs to catch a pass early to get him in rhythm. Bradshaw needs to get some reps to level out the running game. He has the ability to take it to the house, so why not let him?
5. R.W. McQuarters should not be returning punts. How old is he, anyway? Sinorice Moss and Bradshaw both have more speed. What don't I know here?
6. Kenny Phillips should be starting soon. Michael Johnson isn't a bad player, but let's see what the kid has. He made some plays last night, which is a good sign that he may be ready.
The Giants will probably find ways to iron out these problems over the course of the season. They have the ability to repeat - all the ingredients are there.
The pass rush and overall defense looks like one of the league's best. The offensive line is consistent, the receiving corp is deep and the running game is tops. They need to improve on special teams, cut down on dumb penalties and stupid mistakes (usually made by Eli). If Boss and the TEs can get more involved in the offense, this team will play deep into January and possibly February again.
from blogNYG.com
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2 months ago
I like the Giants, but am not sold on Eli. Let's be honest, though Eli got a hell of a lot of attention for "winning" a super bowl for NY, he was only marginally better than a Trent Dilfer with the Baltimore Ravens. The defense was the real story. The Tyree catch was awesome, but was one of the luckier plays I've ever seen. Talk about putting the ball up for grabs. I think the Giants would be wise to do as you say and stick with a running game supplemented with play-action and not buy into Eli as the next incarnation of his brother. If they do that, they can go far. Nice article.
2 months ago
The thing I like most about this team is that you can't really find a glaring weakness anywhere. QB? Unsteady sometimes but comes through in the clutch. RB? Best RB-by-committee I've seen in a long time. With the way Jacobs and Ward were playing last night there was no need to get Bradshaw going. WR? Fabulous, a deep group highlighted by the great Plaxico Burress. TE? Maybe the one area you can really question them at -- and I'm sure Reese is already scheming a way to correct that next year. Offensive Line? A great group! Devastating run blockers and pretty darned good pass blockers as well though Diehl could use some improvement on the blind side. DL? Still good without Osi and Strahan. People only think about DE and overlook the DTs on this team, Robbins and Cofield, who are very good as well. LB? Pierce is top-notch in the center, the outside guys still have something to prove, though I thought Clark and Kehl looked very good last night. Safety? A deep group that will only get better when Phillips earns his place in the starting lineup. CB? Deep again, with Ross and Webster on the verge of stardom. Special Teams? Maybe the best punter/holder ever; Carney looked great last night with accuracy and lots of depth on kickoffs; the return and coverage could have used some work last night. I suspect the reason McQuarters is returning punts is because of this sure hands, the most important factor in any punt returner.
Overall it was a good start, 1-0 in the division and ten days to rest up for the Rams (cough...*2-0*...cough). Thank goodness Kiwanuka is OK because that was one of the dirtiest plays I've ever seen at the end of the game by Samuels -- I hope he's suspended and at least fined for that. Kiwi displayed an amazing ability to collapse a running play from the back end, I've rarely see anyone get down the back of the line that quickly. After the first defensive play from scrimmage I thought the pass rush was lackluster, not up to Giants standards. Jacobs was excellent, even when he wasn't destroying Redskin safeties he showed a lot more balance than he did last year. He could go for 1500 yards this year, but I can't understand why they still take him out sometimes on short yardage. Manning -- well, he started out great and seemed to slip back into a state of semi-bewilderment toward the end. It would be nice to see them snap the ball with more than two seconds on the play clock sometimes. Overall the defense was of course excellent, but are the Skins a real challenge? Tough spot for them, with a shit QB and a new coach playing Thursday night on the road against the Superbowl champs.
Whatever! It's a win. 1-0.
They rode a wave of adrenaline in the first half and held on for a 9-point win. Now comes the hard part, where they have to grind through the season
from 2 months ago
Once again, if that play from Samuels was really one of the dirtiest plays you've ever seen, you must watch a lot less football than your name would indicate. Look: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/54585-did-chris-samuels-try-to-hurt-mathias-kiwanuka
John, another fine piece, I agree with all your points, mostly. I fully expect Spags to get the defense better than last night, but the Skins made that defense look a lot better than it was. That has to be the big concern for the Giants. Oh, and Eli.
If they could feed Jacobs more carries(25 a game maybe) that guy would lead the league in rushing as well crushing hits!
And Tuck played very well, gotta watch him, he's got some real quicks.
from 2 months ago
Are you the Redskins' Apologist-in-Chief? Samuels was beat and intentionally fell on the back of Kiwanuka's legs.
from 2 months ago
Two words. Justin Tuck.
Giants MVP, 2009
2 months ago
Congrats on the "win" over the 'Skins on Thursday. I am starting to dread those Week One Thursday games. They are painful to watch...
2 months ago
The Giants dominated the first quarter then started to loose their steam. As of now i dont think there is a weakness in any aspect of the team other then the fact that they need to get back into the habit of finishing.
from 2 months ago
No weaknesses? Really?
from 2 months ago
No weakness? How is their linebacking corps not a major weakness? Pierce is the only returning starter from last year. The two OLB's have no real starting experience.
2 months ago
Ask Landry what he thinks, if he can think straight today. LB is not a position of strength, but Pierce is the defensive leader (happy not to be in Washington any longer) and the other guys all looked pretty good Thursday night. I'm not lauding them as the second coming, but it's not a major weakness.
2 months ago
I would say your #2 point is the most important. When we got in the red zone (or green zone as coughlin and others like to say) I felt there was a desire to call passing plays - when we should have stuck with the running game. With our running back by committee situation - I just don't understand why Manning needs to be throwing 35 times a game - especially when we have the lead. I have been and remain an Eli supporter - even during "dark ages" - generally i find issues with the play calling. On the interception for example I don't understand why we needed to call a rollout to the left which causes Eli to throw across his body - classic setup for interception. I'm always reminded of the Titans game 2 years back - when with a lead we were calling deep pass plays.
Also agree with others that linebacker corp is not an area of concern for me. I actually liked how Wilkinson looked last year during playoffs when he had a couple games (think he is weaker on run but better in coverage then Torbor was). Also feel that the media has overlooked Robbins, Cofield and Alford when analyzing our D Line.
from 2 months ago
good points, Ben....what is your take on this week's game vs the Rams?
2 months ago
The Giants problems thursday night are correctable with work; missed blocks, bad penalties and poor timing. All will get better as the season goes on, watch and see.
We saw 3 things from New York thursday that were better than last year at this point: (1) the running game (2) the secondary and (3) the overall play of the defense, including the pass rush. The 'skins overcompensated for the rush all night, as will every opponent the Giants will face. No one can replace players the caliber of Strahan or Umenyiora, let alone both at the same time. While the Giants won't have as many sacks as they did last year, teams still need to game plan for the rush. If not, this crew will get their share of sacks.
The defense is fine, they have a lot of good athletes and a great scheme. The linebacking may be less well established than last year, but not by a huge amount. Mitchell and Torbor were hardly pro bowlers. Safety is an upgrade with Phillips, Johnson, Butler and Knight. Wilson wasn't, isn't and never will be worth the money the Raiders threw at him, that offer still makes no sense. NY was right to not screw up team chemistry by paying a non-pro bowler top tier money.
The Giants have a plan, have stuck to it and it has paid some dividends (i.e. a Super Bowl victory). It's why they looked a lot further developed as a team than the 'skins did the other night.
2 months ago
Just a small correction, but Bradshaw did play, he returned a kick.
from 2 months ago
A kickoff, I believe....he was not in the offense, though
from 2 months ago
As the article states "Boss was absent last night and Bradshaw did not play."
Just pointing out he did play.
from 2 months ago
It just makes no sense to not get Ahmad Bradshaw involved.... I understand that Ward is healthy and he is a very effective back, particularly catching balls out of the backfield.. but Bradshaw has the break away speed and frankly he is still a powerful runner for someone in the 5'9 185 range... I say they should run the ball a lot, then let Eli set his play action up find Plax deep, Steve Smith and Toomer over the middle and Boss whenever possible...
2 months ago
Why IS RW returning kicks? I say out-loud, every time he catches the ball, 'go down, go down.' I dont want him fumbling the ball.
2 months ago
Daniel, how can you say that eli was marginally better than trent dilfer? He had six TDs 1 pick, which btw sholdve been caught. He was rock solid against tampa, decent against dallas, and amazing in negative 25 degree weather in GB. Oh yeah, he had two TDs in the 4th quarter of the super bowl. All4 games on the road, all against top defenses.
I've never seen a team with the sense of team unity that the giants possess. They'll do anything for each other and are the best in the league at winning tight games. At least that's what last year showed.
Bradshaw was great on the biggest stage, but it's not the travesty everyone is making it out to be that ward is starting over him. When healthy, ward has been great for the giants. Bradshaw will get his though, don't worry.
The dominant D of last year will probably be no longer. Now they are just solid. The offense will have to step up some, more dynamic plays coupled with some clock draining drives. I wrote an article yesterday regarding how he shouldmanage their offense.
I think that the second half was a combination of poor playcalling coupled with an exhausted offense. None of the team looked like they were in game shape. I have a feeling that wont be an issue come December.
This team feeds off the doubters, and there are a lot of them this year.
2 months ago
Good article, but I think you're missing something about getting too conservative. They got in the red zone, Eli threw one pass that could have been picked, and it seemed like they just ran it up the gut for the next three trips to the red zone, resulting on all field goals.
I've got nothing against running up the middle, especially with someone like Jacobs, but at least go for a delayed hand off or something different.
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