Giantseasonticketholder
Whammy
The alleged infraction was illegal contact initiated on a pick play by the WR. It was an AWFUL call. Especially since it happened AS Rodgers was getting piled on.
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*** Official 2011 New York Giants Thread *** (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter RC94
- Start date
netnalp
Footballguy
The bad calls were about as harmful as turnovers. I expect a couple of bad calls a game and usually both teams get a couple. This game it seemed like they were very strict on the Giants and had a "let them play" mentality towards the Packers. As for leaving time on the clock, I can't get too mad. What if they hadn't gotten the 2pt conversion? Though the thinking should have been if we don't get the 2pt conversion, the chance of getting the onside and getting into FG range isn't likely.The Packers also didn't play their best. They killed many drives with dropped balls. While this loss stings it wasn't an essential win. The wins the team has to have are the division ones coming up.
Last edited by a moderator:
kentric
Footballguy
You can't play the game thinking you're not going to make the two point conversion. I would much rather be behind by 2 points with 10 seconds left and with the 2 point conversion pending than tie with 1 minute left and the ball in Rodgers' hands. Its not like either defence was doing a decent job. Hell, even in OT you had to figure that whichever team got the ball first would win.
netnalp
Footballguy
Giants-Packers game review: Much to like for Giants, but 'moral victory' still a loss
By Mike Garafolo/The Star-Ledger
http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2011/12/giants-packers_game_review_muc.html
There are those who saw the value in Sunday’s “moral victory.” And there are those who say moral victories “are for losers.”
Put me somewhere in the middle.
The Giants have to learn to close. The comparisons to 2007 and the near-upset of the Pats are nice, but that team was already in the playoffs. They held back a bit on their game plan and had little to lose. This team had everything to gain. So to say this is going to be a turning point in a Super Bowl season is to miss the fact they have a long way to go to even make the playoffs. And like Dave Tollefson said, they have to be better than to allow a team to go 68 yards in four plays after allowing the Saints to go the length of the field in a blink last week.
But this team needed to be reminded of what it’s capable of doing in a lot of trouble areas, like the run game and the pass rush of late. Those things are now on film for them to see and believe. So yes, it can be a springboard of sorts.
I discounted the loss to the Pats in ’07 as just that — a loss. The Eagles and Ravens (two teams going nowhere that year) had just given the Pats, who were sucking wind by that point, a scare in previous weeks. What good was almost for the Giants in that spot?
Well, it was plenty good because it got them thinking they were better than they initially believed. This game has the chance to do that, provided they continue to play with the enthusiasm they brought Sunday.
* * * *
GAME BALLS
DE Jason Pierre-Paul. I counted eight — eight — pressures for him. Plus, two balls batted down at the line and a half-sack that was negated by a penalty. Huge, huge, huge game for him.
QB Eli Manning. Let’s face it, he’s gone toe-to-toe with Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers this year. Has he been the best quarterback in the last two of those games? No. But how slim is the difference? Very, very slight.
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers. Take it from Giants rookie LB Jacquian Williams, who has faced Brady and Brees. Williams thought he had a chance to make a play on the ball for Pack TE Jermichael Finley on the first play of Green Bay’s game-winning drive. “He put it exactly where he wanted to put it,” a somewhat bewildered Williams said. “I haven't ever seen nothing like that before. As a rookie.” Personally, other than the throws on that final drive, I’d have to say Rodgers’ most impressive pass was a 33-yarder to WR Jordy Nelson in the first quarter while he was rolling right. Rodgers has this little skip he does to get more juice on the ball while on the run. He did it there and that ball had some zip.
Green Bay LB Clay Matthews. Great read and break on the ball on his interception of Manning. The Giants ran a two-man route on that play and there was just nothing there for Manning, who tried to find RB Ahmad Bradshaw on the out route. A rare bad decision by Manning this season. Matthews also had a forced fumble, giving him three turnovers created in two games against the Giants. I also didn’t realize until today how quickly he shot into the backfield and pressured Manning on the quick throw to WR Hakeem Nicks for the touchdown with 58 seconds to go. Just incredible quickness, as he’d shown on a near-sack in the end zone earlier in the game.
Packers WR Donald Driver. Two touchdowns but the play that wowed me was the 7-yard catch on third-and-3 early in the third quarter (the one the Giants challenged). That ball didn’t move a centimeter from the time it hit Driver’s hands. If it had, that would’ve been ruled incomplete because his butt hit the sideline. That’s precisely what the Giants were challenging, so there was a very, very small window in which Driver had to secure the ball. He did. Tremendous catch.
Packers WRs Greg Jennings and Nelson. Somebody tell me where this corps ranks all-time. Are they up there among the great ones? They should be. Maybe another Super Bowl ring will get that conversation going even further than it already has.
Finley. Don’t forget about him. I had him down for three of the Packers’ six drops, but he was effective and made a big play to spark the final drive.
Giants coach Tom Coughlin. I tried telling people last week this team has been left for dead only to bounce back too many times to be counted out again. As Coughlin said, they’ll fight.
LB Chase Blackburn. You know those signs on trucks that read, “If you can’t see my mirrors, I can’t see you?” That’s kind of what happened on Blackburn’s interception Sunday. He said he couldn’t see Rodgers, which meant Rodgers couldn’t see him. Had Rodgers saw No. 93 (Blackburn is really having some fun with his new number, which is cool), he would’ve waited another tick and hit WR Randall Cobb on the inside slant, not Jennings trying to clear LB Mathias Kiwanuka. Great job by Blackburn not just on that play but all day Sunday getting underneath those routes, which had been a problem for Giants linebackers this year.
WR Victor Cruz. I didn’t get a chance to fire this last week. It’s a quote from Packers CBs coach Joe Whitt (courtesy of a legend in this business and a Hall of Fame writer, Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) on Cruz being the Giants’ No. 1 receiver in his mind: "There's no question. He's one of the most impressive guys I've broken down this year. Pro Bowl player. I mean, he's the real deal. If I had to pick Pro Bowl guys he would be on there." At this point, though, he’s not on the ballot, you’d have to figure Cruz is headed to Hawaii soon. He’ll get lots of votes from players and coaches.
Nicks. It’s to the point now where, if it’s a 1-on-1 jump ball, I fully expect him to make the catch and am stunned when he doesn’t.
Bradshaw. On the first play of the game from scrimmage, he broke a tackle for an extra 2 yards. That’s all. Just 2 yards. But I’d imagine it reminded this team of what he brings and got their confidence going right off the bat. That first drive was enormous. One other note: four years after RB Brandon Jacobs made Packers CB Charles Woodson road kill to open the NFC Championship game, Bradshaw did just that on a swing pass early in the fourth quarter.
Jacobs. Something I didn’t see until rewatching the game: he got just enough of Packers DL B.J. Raji to slow him down on the 42-yard pass to Cruz in the first quarter. Early in the second quarter, he had a huge stick on LB D.J. Smith on a blitz pickup.
RG Chris Snee. He’s had a concussion and a stomach bug that have bothered him in a few games, so he hasn’t been himself at times. He was himself Sunday and really got after it in a big game when the Giants needed stability on a shuffled line.
LG Mitch Petrus and C Kevin Boothe. As much as Boothe said after game it’s “no big deal” when he finds out two hours before a game he’s playing center instead of guard, it’s a big deal. As for Petrus, he had a few yips and drew himself a tough, tough assignment in Raji for much of the day. Petrus allowed a pressure to Raji in the first half, was shed on another block, had a false start and whiffed on Raji on a run in the third quarter. But there were times he handled him as well, including a real nice block on a 5-yard run for a first down that was negated by an illegal-formation penalty, and a few snaps later when he got up inside Raji to move that big body backward on the fade TD from Manning to Nicks. Even on a draw play to start the fourth quarter, when Raji made a quick spin move, Petrus let him do all the work and nudged him to the inside to give Jacobs room. Had Boothe locked onto Smith better there, that would’ve been a big run instead of a 3-yard gain. One play later, good blocks by Petrus, LT David Diehl and TE Jake Ballard opened the hole for 8 yards. Had Boothe not slipped at the snap there, that might have been another huge run. And finally, great job by Petrus to turn Raji on the 2-point conversion. (More on that down low.)
Diehl. Let’s not forget about him. He’s been solid since moving back to left tackle. You just can’t take that kind of stuff for granted.
DT Linval Joseph. He’s been under the radar this year but he’s been solid. Sunday was his best game of his career. He was around the ball all day long.
TE Travis Beckum. Think his teammates were excited for him? Just look at the reaction by guys like Cruz, Nicks, Ballard and Bradshaw coming up to a player who has struggled to find a role in this offense after a play like he made. I forgot to mention this in my note on Beckum but that play began with Manning nearly dropping the snap. He kept his composure and looked S Morgan Burnett toward Nicks’ side. That left plenty of room for Beckum, who picked up the last 35 yards after the catch by taking advantage of Burnett’s overrunning the tackle attempt twice.
K Lawrence Tynes. That 50-yard field goal was huge because it ensured the Giants would remain within one score if Green Bay added a touchdown, which they did. Plus, four touchbacks for Tynes.
FB Henry Hynoski. Aside from the fair catch that could have been (he vowed not to do that again), he played an excellent game and was a physical presence on a few lead runs.
DE Justin Tuck. That looked like “Old Tuck” to me. “I’m getting better,” he continued to say afterward about his health.
* * * *
GASSERS
Williams. I was a tad reluctant to give him one here because he played well for a good portion of the game and the illegal-contact penalty on him in the fourth quarter was a bit ticky-tack. That being said, he admitted he can’t be putting his hands on the receiver like that. He also admitted he has to play smarter than when he tried making a play on the ball to start the Packers’ game-winning drive, a decision that cost the Giants an extra 14 yards. Williams thought he could get to that ball. Perhaps it was in part because he made a play on a similar ball from Rodgers to Finley on a quick out early in the second quarter.
CB Will Blackmon. Tough spot for him to be put in, playing corner in only his second game back. Rodgers seemed to know that and he went after his former teammate in key spots, including on Nelson’s 27-yarder on the final drive.
Woodson. The Giants made it obvious they were going to take advantage of his aggressiveness. They started with a double move by Cruz that resulted in an illegal-contact penalty. Later, there was a nice pump fake by Manning on a “bounce” or “pivot” route when the Giants clearly had an inkling Woodson would be sniffing for a pick six. That play was big because it was a third-and-6 from their own 5 on a drive that resulted in a field goal early in the fourth quarter. Woodson also had a roughing-the-passer call when he went high on Manning after making a nice move to create pressure. Originally, I thought it was merely a glancing blow but after rewatching it, I felt it was blatant enough to be called.
The rest of the Packers’ secondary. There’s been a lot of talk about how the yardage they’ve given up is because of garbage time. Eh, I’m not so sure about that. For an undefeated team, the back end of their defense is a concern. The Giants took 10 shots of 20 or more yards down the field (they connected on three of them and drew a penalty on another), so they knew they could attack this secondary.
Referee Jeff Triplette and his crew. The people spoke (in the comments section) and I listened.
* * * *
UNDER-THE-RADAR PLAY
I know a lot of people were wondering why the Giants left 58 seconds for Rodgers and the Packers, but I’m with Coughlin. Worry about the score before the clock. The only decision in that sequence I would question was running a play from the 17-yard line before the 2-minute warning. They should have let that one run down and then start first-and-10 after the commercial break. That way, after Bradshaw runs for 3 yards, the clock continues to run. But again, it’s nitpicking, I believe.
* * * *
SECOND GUESSES
Let’s go over the penalties with which the Giants took issue. The first was a pass-interference call on CB Prince Amukamara early in the third quarter. That was a good call. As I noted in my game preview while talking about a play last year, you can’t grab a guy’s arm. It didn’t look like much live because there wasn’t a lot of body contact, but that’s pass interference, as was Woodson’s being all over Nicks on his touchdown. There was also the ruling on Jennings’ touchdown. (I’ve broken that out on its own one item down.) Then, we had the illegal contact on Williams. I didn’t love it called in a spot like that but, by rule, it’s a penalty. A few minutes later, there was a no call on CB Sam Shields when he had a fistful of Nicks’ jersey. That was absolutely holding or pass interference there. Finally, there was Driver’s second TD, where he might have stepped out of bounds. I can’t believe Fox didn’t have a replay from the back of the end zone to give a better look there. Plus, field judge Barry Anderson looks away as Driver is in the back of the end zone, so he wasn’t even looking for that. There’s just nothing we had to determine if he indeed stepped out.
Now, as for the Jennings touchdown, Coughlin was looking for clarity on the “Calvin Johnson rule” a few weeks back when it was ruled WR Mario Manningham didn’t hold the ball while completing the act of falling. That same week, it was ruled Lions WR Nate Burleson had completed the act of the catch before losing the ball while stumbling through the netting behind the end zone. I doubt, after watching this one, Coughlin will be any less confused about the rule. I’ll say this: when a player falls, the rule is much easier to apply. The contact with the ground and that moment of whether he holds the ball or not is the end of the act. But when a player stays on his feet, that’s when the gray area creeps in. When is the act complete? When does he have possession of the ball? I see what the officials must have seen and to what Mike Pereira referenced when he said there was control with the left hand after a few mini-bobbles. But once Jennings controls it, his left foot appears to be off the ground, which would mean he had only one foot down with complete control before Amukamara knocks it away. It’s very, very close as to whether that left foot was still on the ground.
Because I know you love to hate the three-man rush, allow me to point out Perry Fewell used it on back-to-back plays on the Packers’ first drive. Both resulted in incomplete passes, with the second one a ball Rodgers threw away deep after 6.5 seconds in the pocket — an eternity in the NFL. Where I didn’t like the three-man rush call was on Driver’s second touchdown.
The screen pass to RB D.J. Ware when he motions out to the left is so obvious it’s not fooling anybody anymore. I understand the Giants have fakes built in there to get the defense to crash down so they can hit a play downfield but they just don’t use them enough to make it worth the time to have a 4-yard loss that kills the momentum of a good drive that could’ve been a touchdown instead of a field goal. The one on third-and-8 midway through the fourth quarter was an absolute disaster. It looked like Ware believed he was running the decoy there because of the way he threw his hands up and was surprised when the ball came his way. In that spot, the decoy is the much better call.
I mentioned Coughlin had plenty of in-house replays to see before he challenged Ballard’s near-TD in the first quarter but I didn’t see the one Fox showed where Ballard’s knee does appear to hit the blue paint before the white until rewatching the game. That angle does make it look like he was in, though every other angle seemed to indicate he touched white first. And by the way, if you’re confused on that one and wondering why challenge if his left foot never came close to coming down in bounds, you should know (as John Madden and Dave Anderson wrote years ago) one knee equals two feet. In other words, the one knee in bounds would have negated the need for the left foot to hit at all. So in summation, after seeing the replay from behind Ballard, that challenge from Coughlin wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was while watching live. And frankly, Coughlin believes he should've won it. (More on that coming momentarily.)
The second challenge, though, should’ve never happened. It was right in front of the Giants’ sideline. It was close, but Coughlin had a perfect look at that one. Some people thought it wasn’t worth the gamble because, despite being a third down, it was only a 7-yard gain and that was the Giants’ last challenge. I don’t have a problem with that part because the Packers were driving to make it a two-score game and that’s not the position in which you want to be against the Packers. I just had an issue with the challenge itself.
Yeah, the officiating seemed to favor the Packers Sunday but Fox did a nice job of showing you the one play where S Deon Grant mugged Finley and got away with one. And I agree with Troy Aikman when he said the illegal contact that wasn’t called on Williams was worse than the one that was. Rodgers and Finley both were calling for a flag there. So it goes both ways sometimes.
I was sitting next to Gary Myers of the Daily News and he noted after the pass by the Packers' Cobb how do you take the ball out of Rodgers’ hand to throw it? Can’t agree more. Leave those plays for the Broncos to run.
Aikman put Driver’s first touchdown on S Antrel Rolle by saying he “blew that one.” He was wrong. Many of my Twitter followers said CB Aaron Ross was to blame. Eventually, after referencing CB Corey Webster, Aikman said it might’ve been Ross. Nope. (I was wondering why a bunch of my Twitter followers were saying everyone was in man coverage when it was only Webster who was in man. I just heard now during the replay that’s what Aikman said, so they were influenced by him.) Rolle’s immediate reaction told me he believed Webster should’ve sunk deep on that one because he went right toward him, and Webster acted like he knew he was in the wrong once Rolle relayed the info to him. Sure enough, after the game, Coughlin said, “They ran a switch route and we didn’t fall off outside.” Webster was the outside corner on the play.
As many of you astutely pointed out right away when this happened, the officials should’ve taken about 6 seconds off the clock when Matthews forced a fumble on Manning and everybody stood around. The officials got the fumble part correct but missed the clock issue. The Packers should’ve had 20 seconds, not 26, when they took over at the 50-yard line. They missed a field goal, so no harm done, but still the officials have to be on top of that one.
* * * *
ODDS AND (TIGHT) ENDS
Though I didn’t give Fewell a game ball, I came close. I’m stunned by the number of people who think the defense didn’t play well Sunday because they gave up 31 points. They came up small in a big spot, but they defended the Pack as well as anybody has this year. People were pointing to the drops by Green Bay receivers as reason for why Rodgers posted season lows in completion percentage and passer rating. Okay, but the Giants’ defense had a lot to do with that as well.
When Jacobs ran for 11 and 14 yards on the final two plays of the first quarter, it marked the first time since the fourth quarter of the victory over the Bills on Oct. 16 the Giants had consecutive double-digit runs. Not just back-to-back plays or even from series to series. Consecutive runs, period. And if my calculations are correct, and I believe they are, it’s only the second time they’ve done that this season.
Nice job by Nicks to save an interception off a deflection in the second quarter. Packers CB Tramon Williams had that one lined up after it bounced off Cruz and Morgan, but Nicks got a hand in there to make sure it fell incomplete. The teams traded punts on three possessions there until Blackburn’s interception helped the Giants to a lead. An interception by Williams near midfield might have changed that whole sequence and perhaps the game.
Nicks had said a few weeks ago he thought the Giants might start doing some things to help him get away from double coverage. If you looked closely Sunday, you saw he was lined up in the slot, moving in motion and switching with Cruz often at the line. All of these things are done to help Nicks get more room to operate.
If I were a coach, I’d think one of the things that would drive me bonkers would be when a returner fair catches a ball inside the 10 like Cobb did midway through the second quarter. I mean, you stand on the 10 and if you have to take one step backward, you let the ball bounce. If not, you catch it. Cobb caught it at the 6 instead of letting it hit when the closest guy on the coverage unit was still 6 yards away. Would it have checked up? Maybe. But that’s the chance you take. Instead, the Packers were backed up, Rodgers threw the interception to Blackburn and the Giants retook the lead. Would the Packers’ offensive sequence have gone differently if they had started from the 20? Yeah, maybe.
That wasn’t one of the better games called by Aikman. He was off in plenty of areas, including when he said the Giants had played more man than Fewell had told them he would. Now, I don’t know what Fewell told them. For all we know, he might’ve said he’d play man half the time. But by my rough (and I cannot stress the word “rough” enough on this one because it’s impossible to tell with certainty what a coverage call is on a TV broadcast), I had the Giants about 2-to-1 zone-to-man at that point. Fewell went with lots of zone looks after calling a man-heavy scheme against the Saints. I think that was a smart adjustment after his DBs came up small in New Orleans.
Somebody on email asked me about the illegal-formation penalty on Diehl in the third quarter. It’s not really on Diehl; it’s on Cruz because he didn’t “cover” Diehl, meaning he didn’t line up on the line of scrimmage. The last guy on the line can’t be a lineman with an ineligible number (No. 50-79) unless he reports eligible. If you noticed, there was an unbalanced line earlier in the game that left OL Jim Cordle as the last man on the left side of the line. But because he reported eligible on that play, there was no penalty.
My brother-in-law, a neutral observer in this one, didn’t like the fist bump by Woodson to Nicks after Nicks’ TD. Eh, didn’t bother me. He’s established enough to get away with that. It’s not something you want to see a rookie do, but Woodson has shown he’s dedicated enough. He just respected Nicks’ ability right there, as well he should.
One of the keys in my game preview (linked above) was not letting Rodgers escape. The Giants did a decent job of that for the most part. The only errors were when DE Dave Tollefson got too far upfield to give him a lane to his right and when Williams lost his footing on a 6-yard run for a first down in the third quarter.
The blocking on Jacobs’ 12-yard run on the next-to-last play of the third quarter was the old Giants style of blocking. The combo by Boothe and Petrus on Raji to move him away from the hole and the lead blocks by Snee and FB Bear Pascoe allowed Jacobs to get up the field untouched. Maybe these guys are turning a corner here. We’ll see.
If you watch the 2-point conversion again, you’ll see Petrus look back at Manning after he makes the check at the line. “I didn’t hear it at first,” Petrus said. “I turned around and he’s like, ‘Alert! Alert! We’re checking.’ All right, here we go. It gets kind of loud.” How the Packers, who had little support up the middle, didn’t realize what the check meant is beyond me. Anyway, here’s more Petrus on his first career start: “I was really excited when I got the news. Unfortunately we didn’t win but we played hard, went out there and fought. I don’t have any regrets. I played as hard as I could. We’re going to get it down, we’re going to keep fighting. … (The start) felt awesome to go out there. It felt awesome, it really did. Even though we came up a little bit short, we were out there competing. It was good to be a part of that. I felt privileged and honored.”
And finally somebody tweeted to Cordle he took a late shot at Matthews. “I really don’t like him,” Cordle tweeted in reply. That is all.
By Mike Garafolo/The Star-Ledger
http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2011/12/giants-packers_game_review_muc.html
There are those who saw the value in Sunday’s “moral victory.” And there are those who say moral victories “are for losers.”
Put me somewhere in the middle.
The Giants have to learn to close. The comparisons to 2007 and the near-upset of the Pats are nice, but that team was already in the playoffs. They held back a bit on their game plan and had little to lose. This team had everything to gain. So to say this is going to be a turning point in a Super Bowl season is to miss the fact they have a long way to go to even make the playoffs. And like Dave Tollefson said, they have to be better than to allow a team to go 68 yards in four plays after allowing the Saints to go the length of the field in a blink last week.
But this team needed to be reminded of what it’s capable of doing in a lot of trouble areas, like the run game and the pass rush of late. Those things are now on film for them to see and believe. So yes, it can be a springboard of sorts.
I discounted the loss to the Pats in ’07 as just that — a loss. The Eagles and Ravens (two teams going nowhere that year) had just given the Pats, who were sucking wind by that point, a scare in previous weeks. What good was almost for the Giants in that spot?
Well, it was plenty good because it got them thinking they were better than they initially believed. This game has the chance to do that, provided they continue to play with the enthusiasm they brought Sunday.
* * * *
GAME BALLS
DE Jason Pierre-Paul. I counted eight — eight — pressures for him. Plus, two balls batted down at the line and a half-sack that was negated by a penalty. Huge, huge, huge game for him.
QB Eli Manning. Let’s face it, he’s gone toe-to-toe with Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers this year. Has he been the best quarterback in the last two of those games? No. But how slim is the difference? Very, very slight.
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers. Take it from Giants rookie LB Jacquian Williams, who has faced Brady and Brees. Williams thought he had a chance to make a play on the ball for Pack TE Jermichael Finley on the first play of Green Bay’s game-winning drive. “He put it exactly where he wanted to put it,” a somewhat bewildered Williams said. “I haven't ever seen nothing like that before. As a rookie.” Personally, other than the throws on that final drive, I’d have to say Rodgers’ most impressive pass was a 33-yarder to WR Jordy Nelson in the first quarter while he was rolling right. Rodgers has this little skip he does to get more juice on the ball while on the run. He did it there and that ball had some zip.
Green Bay LB Clay Matthews. Great read and break on the ball on his interception of Manning. The Giants ran a two-man route on that play and there was just nothing there for Manning, who tried to find RB Ahmad Bradshaw on the out route. A rare bad decision by Manning this season. Matthews also had a forced fumble, giving him three turnovers created in two games against the Giants. I also didn’t realize until today how quickly he shot into the backfield and pressured Manning on the quick throw to WR Hakeem Nicks for the touchdown with 58 seconds to go. Just incredible quickness, as he’d shown on a near-sack in the end zone earlier in the game.
Packers WR Donald Driver. Two touchdowns but the play that wowed me was the 7-yard catch on third-and-3 early in the third quarter (the one the Giants challenged). That ball didn’t move a centimeter from the time it hit Driver’s hands. If it had, that would’ve been ruled incomplete because his butt hit the sideline. That’s precisely what the Giants were challenging, so there was a very, very small window in which Driver had to secure the ball. He did. Tremendous catch.
Packers WRs Greg Jennings and Nelson. Somebody tell me where this corps ranks all-time. Are they up there among the great ones? They should be. Maybe another Super Bowl ring will get that conversation going even further than it already has.
Finley. Don’t forget about him. I had him down for three of the Packers’ six drops, but he was effective and made a big play to spark the final drive.
Giants coach Tom Coughlin. I tried telling people last week this team has been left for dead only to bounce back too many times to be counted out again. As Coughlin said, they’ll fight.
LB Chase Blackburn. You know those signs on trucks that read, “If you can’t see my mirrors, I can’t see you?” That’s kind of what happened on Blackburn’s interception Sunday. He said he couldn’t see Rodgers, which meant Rodgers couldn’t see him. Had Rodgers saw No. 93 (Blackburn is really having some fun with his new number, which is cool), he would’ve waited another tick and hit WR Randall Cobb on the inside slant, not Jennings trying to clear LB Mathias Kiwanuka. Great job by Blackburn not just on that play but all day Sunday getting underneath those routes, which had been a problem for Giants linebackers this year.
WR Victor Cruz. I didn’t get a chance to fire this last week. It’s a quote from Packers CBs coach Joe Whitt (courtesy of a legend in this business and a Hall of Fame writer, Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) on Cruz being the Giants’ No. 1 receiver in his mind: "There's no question. He's one of the most impressive guys I've broken down this year. Pro Bowl player. I mean, he's the real deal. If I had to pick Pro Bowl guys he would be on there." At this point, though, he’s not on the ballot, you’d have to figure Cruz is headed to Hawaii soon. He’ll get lots of votes from players and coaches.
Nicks. It’s to the point now where, if it’s a 1-on-1 jump ball, I fully expect him to make the catch and am stunned when he doesn’t.
Bradshaw. On the first play of the game from scrimmage, he broke a tackle for an extra 2 yards. That’s all. Just 2 yards. But I’d imagine it reminded this team of what he brings and got their confidence going right off the bat. That first drive was enormous. One other note: four years after RB Brandon Jacobs made Packers CB Charles Woodson road kill to open the NFC Championship game, Bradshaw did just that on a swing pass early in the fourth quarter.
Jacobs. Something I didn’t see until rewatching the game: he got just enough of Packers DL B.J. Raji to slow him down on the 42-yard pass to Cruz in the first quarter. Early in the second quarter, he had a huge stick on LB D.J. Smith on a blitz pickup.
RG Chris Snee. He’s had a concussion and a stomach bug that have bothered him in a few games, so he hasn’t been himself at times. He was himself Sunday and really got after it in a big game when the Giants needed stability on a shuffled line.
LG Mitch Petrus and C Kevin Boothe. As much as Boothe said after game it’s “no big deal” when he finds out two hours before a game he’s playing center instead of guard, it’s a big deal. As for Petrus, he had a few yips and drew himself a tough, tough assignment in Raji for much of the day. Petrus allowed a pressure to Raji in the first half, was shed on another block, had a false start and whiffed on Raji on a run in the third quarter. But there were times he handled him as well, including a real nice block on a 5-yard run for a first down that was negated by an illegal-formation penalty, and a few snaps later when he got up inside Raji to move that big body backward on the fade TD from Manning to Nicks. Even on a draw play to start the fourth quarter, when Raji made a quick spin move, Petrus let him do all the work and nudged him to the inside to give Jacobs room. Had Boothe locked onto Smith better there, that would’ve been a big run instead of a 3-yard gain. One play later, good blocks by Petrus, LT David Diehl and TE Jake Ballard opened the hole for 8 yards. Had Boothe not slipped at the snap there, that might have been another huge run. And finally, great job by Petrus to turn Raji on the 2-point conversion. (More on that down low.)
Diehl. Let’s not forget about him. He’s been solid since moving back to left tackle. You just can’t take that kind of stuff for granted.
DT Linval Joseph. He’s been under the radar this year but he’s been solid. Sunday was his best game of his career. He was around the ball all day long.
TE Travis Beckum. Think his teammates were excited for him? Just look at the reaction by guys like Cruz, Nicks, Ballard and Bradshaw coming up to a player who has struggled to find a role in this offense after a play like he made. I forgot to mention this in my note on Beckum but that play began with Manning nearly dropping the snap. He kept his composure and looked S Morgan Burnett toward Nicks’ side. That left plenty of room for Beckum, who picked up the last 35 yards after the catch by taking advantage of Burnett’s overrunning the tackle attempt twice.
K Lawrence Tynes. That 50-yard field goal was huge because it ensured the Giants would remain within one score if Green Bay added a touchdown, which they did. Plus, four touchbacks for Tynes.
FB Henry Hynoski. Aside from the fair catch that could have been (he vowed not to do that again), he played an excellent game and was a physical presence on a few lead runs.
DE Justin Tuck. That looked like “Old Tuck” to me. “I’m getting better,” he continued to say afterward about his health.
* * * *
GASSERS
Williams. I was a tad reluctant to give him one here because he played well for a good portion of the game and the illegal-contact penalty on him in the fourth quarter was a bit ticky-tack. That being said, he admitted he can’t be putting his hands on the receiver like that. He also admitted he has to play smarter than when he tried making a play on the ball to start the Packers’ game-winning drive, a decision that cost the Giants an extra 14 yards. Williams thought he could get to that ball. Perhaps it was in part because he made a play on a similar ball from Rodgers to Finley on a quick out early in the second quarter.
CB Will Blackmon. Tough spot for him to be put in, playing corner in only his second game back. Rodgers seemed to know that and he went after his former teammate in key spots, including on Nelson’s 27-yarder on the final drive.
Woodson. The Giants made it obvious they were going to take advantage of his aggressiveness. They started with a double move by Cruz that resulted in an illegal-contact penalty. Later, there was a nice pump fake by Manning on a “bounce” or “pivot” route when the Giants clearly had an inkling Woodson would be sniffing for a pick six. That play was big because it was a third-and-6 from their own 5 on a drive that resulted in a field goal early in the fourth quarter. Woodson also had a roughing-the-passer call when he went high on Manning after making a nice move to create pressure. Originally, I thought it was merely a glancing blow but after rewatching it, I felt it was blatant enough to be called.
The rest of the Packers’ secondary. There’s been a lot of talk about how the yardage they’ve given up is because of garbage time. Eh, I’m not so sure about that. For an undefeated team, the back end of their defense is a concern. The Giants took 10 shots of 20 or more yards down the field (they connected on three of them and drew a penalty on another), so they knew they could attack this secondary.
Referee Jeff Triplette and his crew. The people spoke (in the comments section) and I listened.
* * * *
UNDER-THE-RADAR PLAY
I know a lot of people were wondering why the Giants left 58 seconds for Rodgers and the Packers, but I’m with Coughlin. Worry about the score before the clock. The only decision in that sequence I would question was running a play from the 17-yard line before the 2-minute warning. They should have let that one run down and then start first-and-10 after the commercial break. That way, after Bradshaw runs for 3 yards, the clock continues to run. But again, it’s nitpicking, I believe.
* * * *
SECOND GUESSES
Let’s go over the penalties with which the Giants took issue. The first was a pass-interference call on CB Prince Amukamara early in the third quarter. That was a good call. As I noted in my game preview while talking about a play last year, you can’t grab a guy’s arm. It didn’t look like much live because there wasn’t a lot of body contact, but that’s pass interference, as was Woodson’s being all over Nicks on his touchdown. There was also the ruling on Jennings’ touchdown. (I’ve broken that out on its own one item down.) Then, we had the illegal contact on Williams. I didn’t love it called in a spot like that but, by rule, it’s a penalty. A few minutes later, there was a no call on CB Sam Shields when he had a fistful of Nicks’ jersey. That was absolutely holding or pass interference there. Finally, there was Driver’s second TD, where he might have stepped out of bounds. I can’t believe Fox didn’t have a replay from the back of the end zone to give a better look there. Plus, field judge Barry Anderson looks away as Driver is in the back of the end zone, so he wasn’t even looking for that. There’s just nothing we had to determine if he indeed stepped out.
Now, as for the Jennings touchdown, Coughlin was looking for clarity on the “Calvin Johnson rule” a few weeks back when it was ruled WR Mario Manningham didn’t hold the ball while completing the act of falling. That same week, it was ruled Lions WR Nate Burleson had completed the act of the catch before losing the ball while stumbling through the netting behind the end zone. I doubt, after watching this one, Coughlin will be any less confused about the rule. I’ll say this: when a player falls, the rule is much easier to apply. The contact with the ground and that moment of whether he holds the ball or not is the end of the act. But when a player stays on his feet, that’s when the gray area creeps in. When is the act complete? When does he have possession of the ball? I see what the officials must have seen and to what Mike Pereira referenced when he said there was control with the left hand after a few mini-bobbles. But once Jennings controls it, his left foot appears to be off the ground, which would mean he had only one foot down with complete control before Amukamara knocks it away. It’s very, very close as to whether that left foot was still on the ground.
Because I know you love to hate the three-man rush, allow me to point out Perry Fewell used it on back-to-back plays on the Packers’ first drive. Both resulted in incomplete passes, with the second one a ball Rodgers threw away deep after 6.5 seconds in the pocket — an eternity in the NFL. Where I didn’t like the three-man rush call was on Driver’s second touchdown.
The screen pass to RB D.J. Ware when he motions out to the left is so obvious it’s not fooling anybody anymore. I understand the Giants have fakes built in there to get the defense to crash down so they can hit a play downfield but they just don’t use them enough to make it worth the time to have a 4-yard loss that kills the momentum of a good drive that could’ve been a touchdown instead of a field goal. The one on third-and-8 midway through the fourth quarter was an absolute disaster. It looked like Ware believed he was running the decoy there because of the way he threw his hands up and was surprised when the ball came his way. In that spot, the decoy is the much better call.
I mentioned Coughlin had plenty of in-house replays to see before he challenged Ballard’s near-TD in the first quarter but I didn’t see the one Fox showed where Ballard’s knee does appear to hit the blue paint before the white until rewatching the game. That angle does make it look like he was in, though every other angle seemed to indicate he touched white first. And by the way, if you’re confused on that one and wondering why challenge if his left foot never came close to coming down in bounds, you should know (as John Madden and Dave Anderson wrote years ago) one knee equals two feet. In other words, the one knee in bounds would have negated the need for the left foot to hit at all. So in summation, after seeing the replay from behind Ballard, that challenge from Coughlin wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was while watching live. And frankly, Coughlin believes he should've won it. (More on that coming momentarily.)
The second challenge, though, should’ve never happened. It was right in front of the Giants’ sideline. It was close, but Coughlin had a perfect look at that one. Some people thought it wasn’t worth the gamble because, despite being a third down, it was only a 7-yard gain and that was the Giants’ last challenge. I don’t have a problem with that part because the Packers were driving to make it a two-score game and that’s not the position in which you want to be against the Packers. I just had an issue with the challenge itself.
Yeah, the officiating seemed to favor the Packers Sunday but Fox did a nice job of showing you the one play where S Deon Grant mugged Finley and got away with one. And I agree with Troy Aikman when he said the illegal contact that wasn’t called on Williams was worse than the one that was. Rodgers and Finley both were calling for a flag there. So it goes both ways sometimes.
I was sitting next to Gary Myers of the Daily News and he noted after the pass by the Packers' Cobb how do you take the ball out of Rodgers’ hand to throw it? Can’t agree more. Leave those plays for the Broncos to run.
Aikman put Driver’s first touchdown on S Antrel Rolle by saying he “blew that one.” He was wrong. Many of my Twitter followers said CB Aaron Ross was to blame. Eventually, after referencing CB Corey Webster, Aikman said it might’ve been Ross. Nope. (I was wondering why a bunch of my Twitter followers were saying everyone was in man coverage when it was only Webster who was in man. I just heard now during the replay that’s what Aikman said, so they were influenced by him.) Rolle’s immediate reaction told me he believed Webster should’ve sunk deep on that one because he went right toward him, and Webster acted like he knew he was in the wrong once Rolle relayed the info to him. Sure enough, after the game, Coughlin said, “They ran a switch route and we didn’t fall off outside.” Webster was the outside corner on the play.
As many of you astutely pointed out right away when this happened, the officials should’ve taken about 6 seconds off the clock when Matthews forced a fumble on Manning and everybody stood around. The officials got the fumble part correct but missed the clock issue. The Packers should’ve had 20 seconds, not 26, when they took over at the 50-yard line. They missed a field goal, so no harm done, but still the officials have to be on top of that one.
* * * *
ODDS AND (TIGHT) ENDS
Though I didn’t give Fewell a game ball, I came close. I’m stunned by the number of people who think the defense didn’t play well Sunday because they gave up 31 points. They came up small in a big spot, but they defended the Pack as well as anybody has this year. People were pointing to the drops by Green Bay receivers as reason for why Rodgers posted season lows in completion percentage and passer rating. Okay, but the Giants’ defense had a lot to do with that as well.
When Jacobs ran for 11 and 14 yards on the final two plays of the first quarter, it marked the first time since the fourth quarter of the victory over the Bills on Oct. 16 the Giants had consecutive double-digit runs. Not just back-to-back plays or even from series to series. Consecutive runs, period. And if my calculations are correct, and I believe they are, it’s only the second time they’ve done that this season.
Nice job by Nicks to save an interception off a deflection in the second quarter. Packers CB Tramon Williams had that one lined up after it bounced off Cruz and Morgan, but Nicks got a hand in there to make sure it fell incomplete. The teams traded punts on three possessions there until Blackburn’s interception helped the Giants to a lead. An interception by Williams near midfield might have changed that whole sequence and perhaps the game.
Nicks had said a few weeks ago he thought the Giants might start doing some things to help him get away from double coverage. If you looked closely Sunday, you saw he was lined up in the slot, moving in motion and switching with Cruz often at the line. All of these things are done to help Nicks get more room to operate.
If I were a coach, I’d think one of the things that would drive me bonkers would be when a returner fair catches a ball inside the 10 like Cobb did midway through the second quarter. I mean, you stand on the 10 and if you have to take one step backward, you let the ball bounce. If not, you catch it. Cobb caught it at the 6 instead of letting it hit when the closest guy on the coverage unit was still 6 yards away. Would it have checked up? Maybe. But that’s the chance you take. Instead, the Packers were backed up, Rodgers threw the interception to Blackburn and the Giants retook the lead. Would the Packers’ offensive sequence have gone differently if they had started from the 20? Yeah, maybe.
That wasn’t one of the better games called by Aikman. He was off in plenty of areas, including when he said the Giants had played more man than Fewell had told them he would. Now, I don’t know what Fewell told them. For all we know, he might’ve said he’d play man half the time. But by my rough (and I cannot stress the word “rough” enough on this one because it’s impossible to tell with certainty what a coverage call is on a TV broadcast), I had the Giants about 2-to-1 zone-to-man at that point. Fewell went with lots of zone looks after calling a man-heavy scheme against the Saints. I think that was a smart adjustment after his DBs came up small in New Orleans.
Somebody on email asked me about the illegal-formation penalty on Diehl in the third quarter. It’s not really on Diehl; it’s on Cruz because he didn’t “cover” Diehl, meaning he didn’t line up on the line of scrimmage. The last guy on the line can’t be a lineman with an ineligible number (No. 50-79) unless he reports eligible. If you noticed, there was an unbalanced line earlier in the game that left OL Jim Cordle as the last man on the left side of the line. But because he reported eligible on that play, there was no penalty.
My brother-in-law, a neutral observer in this one, didn’t like the fist bump by Woodson to Nicks after Nicks’ TD. Eh, didn’t bother me. He’s established enough to get away with that. It’s not something you want to see a rookie do, but Woodson has shown he’s dedicated enough. He just respected Nicks’ ability right there, as well he should.
One of the keys in my game preview (linked above) was not letting Rodgers escape. The Giants did a decent job of that for the most part. The only errors were when DE Dave Tollefson got too far upfield to give him a lane to his right and when Williams lost his footing on a 6-yard run for a first down in the third quarter.
The blocking on Jacobs’ 12-yard run on the next-to-last play of the third quarter was the old Giants style of blocking. The combo by Boothe and Petrus on Raji to move him away from the hole and the lead blocks by Snee and FB Bear Pascoe allowed Jacobs to get up the field untouched. Maybe these guys are turning a corner here. We’ll see.
If you watch the 2-point conversion again, you’ll see Petrus look back at Manning after he makes the check at the line. “I didn’t hear it at first,” Petrus said. “I turned around and he’s like, ‘Alert! Alert! We’re checking.’ All right, here we go. It gets kind of loud.” How the Packers, who had little support up the middle, didn’t realize what the check meant is beyond me. Anyway, here’s more Petrus on his first career start: “I was really excited when I got the news. Unfortunately we didn’t win but we played hard, went out there and fought. I don’t have any regrets. I played as hard as I could. We’re going to get it down, we’re going to keep fighting. … (The start) felt awesome to go out there. It felt awesome, it really did. Even though we came up a little bit short, we were out there competing. It was good to be a part of that. I felt privileged and honored.”
And finally somebody tweeted to Cordle he took a late shot at Matthews. “I really don’t like him,” Cordle tweeted in reply. That is all.
netnalp
Footballguy
Giants sign offensive tackle Tony Ugoh
By Michael Eisen
The Giants today signed offensive tackle Tony Ugoh and placed tackle Stacy Andrews on injured reserve.
Ugoh, 6-5 and 304 pounds, played in 37 NFL games with 27 starts with the Indianapolis Colts from 2007-09, when his primary job was to protect Peyton Manning. He was also with the Detroit Lions in 2010, though he did not see any game action. Ugoh played for the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League this fall.
Ugoh, a product of the University of Arkansas, was the Colts’ second-round draft choice in 2007, the 42nd overall selection. As a rookie he started all 11 games in which he played at left tackle. The following season, he played in 15 games with 12 starts. In 2009, he played in 11 games, with four starts at left tackle. Ugoh has also played in five postseason games with two starts.
The Colts released Ugoh on Sept. 21, 2010. He signed with the Lions on Dec. 11 and re-signed with them after the lockout on July 30 of this year. Ugoh was cut by Detroit on Aug. 15.
At Arkansas, Ugoh played in 43 games with 35 starts. As a senior, he started 14 games as a third-team All-America selection.
Ugoh was born on Nov. 17, 1983.
Andrews was hospitalized Saturday with blood clots in both lungs. He had played in nine of the Giants’ first 11 games, with three starts.
The Giants also continued to maneuver their practice squad. Yesterday, they signed quarterback Ryan Perrilloux for the seventh time this season and terminated the contract of offensive lineman Selvish Capers. Today, they terminated Perrilloux and re-signed Capers.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maybe lightning will strike twice. The other Andrews was said to have nothing left but he played well. His back however won't allow him to play a full season and it seems he doesn't have the desire to play for what teams are willing to pay him. Hope Ugoh works out better.
By Michael Eisen
The Giants today signed offensive tackle Tony Ugoh and placed tackle Stacy Andrews on injured reserve.
Ugoh, 6-5 and 304 pounds, played in 37 NFL games with 27 starts with the Indianapolis Colts from 2007-09, when his primary job was to protect Peyton Manning. He was also with the Detroit Lions in 2010, though he did not see any game action. Ugoh played for the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League this fall.
Ugoh, a product of the University of Arkansas, was the Colts’ second-round draft choice in 2007, the 42nd overall selection. As a rookie he started all 11 games in which he played at left tackle. The following season, he played in 15 games with 12 starts. In 2009, he played in 11 games, with four starts at left tackle. Ugoh has also played in five postseason games with two starts.
The Colts released Ugoh on Sept. 21, 2010. He signed with the Lions on Dec. 11 and re-signed with them after the lockout on July 30 of this year. Ugoh was cut by Detroit on Aug. 15.
At Arkansas, Ugoh played in 43 games with 35 starts. As a senior, he started 14 games as a third-team All-America selection.
Ugoh was born on Nov. 17, 1983.
Andrews was hospitalized Saturday with blood clots in both lungs. He had played in nine of the Giants’ first 11 games, with three starts.
The Giants also continued to maneuver their practice squad. Yesterday, they signed quarterback Ryan Perrilloux for the seventh time this season and terminated the contract of offensive lineman Selvish Capers. Today, they terminated Perrilloux and re-signed Capers.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maybe lightning will strike twice. The other Andrews was said to have nothing left but he played well. His back however won't allow him to play a full season and it seems he doesn't have the desire to play for what teams are willing to pay him. Hope Ugoh works out better.
netnalp
Footballguy
'Freak' Pierre-Paul leading Giants' line
By Johnette Howard
ESPNNewYork.com
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- If the New York Giants' defense is going to hold down the Dallas Cowboys in Sunday night's must-win game that could decide the NFC East title, they know the formula they have to play.
The Giants need their pass rush to get after Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo before Romo can pick apart their banged-up secondary or a linebacker corps that's been reduced to backups and rookies. And the Giants know, with Justin Tuck still compromised by injuries and Osi Umenyiora again unlikely to play on his bad ankle, second-year defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is going to have to continue leading the Giants' pass rush.
All of that is serious stuff at the most serious juncture yet in the Giants' season.
And yet, the other Giants can't help themselves -- when you ask them about Pierre-Paul, they don't mean to give answers that come out sounding like comedy bits. It just happens because JPP, as he's called, has 10.5 sacks through 12 games this year. And on the way to complimenting him for how he's often kept their injury-riddled defense afloat, many Giants independently circle back to the same point:
Imagine how great the kid will be when he really knows what he's doing.
"How raw is he?" veteran safety Deon Grant repeats with a laugh. "His raw ability is so good it makes him look like he is mature in the game."
"He's freakish -- that's what I call him," defensive back Antrel Rolle says. "His effort and attitude has been very crucial for us, and uplifting for an older guy like me. He's been remarkable."
"He's so raw," Giants veteran defensive tackle Rocky Bernard says with a smile, "that in our meetings when he first got here, our coaches would say, 'Hey, we need you to line up in the B gap or line up in the five technique' and he literally had to count out the spots to figure it out. Most players already know the terminology. But it was all new to him because he's so new to football, period."
"But that only happened during his rookie year, right?" Bernard is asked.
"Well, this year, too," Bernard says, bursting into laughter again. "Sometimes we kid him and say, 'Man, you must know more than you let on' because of how well he plays. Usually people who haven't played that much don't make it to this level at all. And if they do make it, they don't play at the level he's playing at. So it's a credit to him. He's just so, you know …"
"Freakish?"
"Freakish," Bernard agrees.
The story of how Pierre-Paul played only one season of high school football, two years of junior college ball and one season of major college football at South Florida prior to applying for the 2010 NFL draft is well known among the other Giants.
But that storyline is quickly being overtaken by how he's carrying on the franchise's tradition of having one of the league's best pass rushes, a trait that dates back to Lawrence Taylor, runs through Michael Strahan, then Umenyiora, Tuck and now Pierre-Paul. And they hate to think where they'd be without him, given how much time Tuck and Umenyiora have missed.
Pierre-Paul was just 20 when the Giants took a chance and made him the 15th pick in the 2010 draft. Even now, at 22, he's not all that far removed from making it onto the NFL's radar the hard way. He grew up as the son of Haitian immigrants in Pompano Beach, Fla. His father went blind before Jason was born, and his mother was a housekeeper who often worked 12 hours or more a day to make ends meet once his father lost his sight.
Pierre-Paul has said he never would've been able to afford college had it not been for his football scholarship. And now that he's in the NFL and he has been able to lift his entire family to a better life, he often says, "I have to stay here." How? "By being a beast." And sacking the quarterback? "I don't like quarterbacks," he'll agree.
Getting even four or five words out of Pierre-Paul like that can be a challenge, especially in a group setting like Wednesday's media swarm in the Giants' locker room.
Pierre-Paul talks in Twitter-size bursts most of the time. He's 6-foot-6, 280 pounds, he runs like a deer and, as Rolle says, "He's got a motor that never stops." His 81-inch wingspan is so long, "It's tough for an offensive linemen to even get their hands on him," Giants guard Mitch Petrus says. "He also has moves. Crazy athleticism. And he's very strong. As good as he is now, he's going to be unstoppable soon."
To which Pierre-Paul shrugs and says, "I think I'm playing pretty good."
Pierre-Paul still defers to his elders such as Tuck and Umenyiora and Bernard. And Tuck, whose locker is next to Pierre-Paul's, is among the Giants players who have taken a special interest in him.
"If he stays healthy, he is going to create havoc for a long time," Tuck said after Sunday's loss to the Green Bay Backers. "It is just amazing that from week to week he is still going like this. It is amazing what he doesn't know, and I think sometimes that helps him out. … We watch tapes with him and he is like, 'Why did you do this?' and 'Why did you do that?' and 'If this guy does this, how do you counter it?' I see him being a beast right now. But he is going to be better."
The Giants need Pierre-Paul to stay at the level he's been for at least a few more weeks.
The way the Giants played in their 38-35 defeat to unbeaten Green Bay has sparked new hope that they may yet find a way to get into the playoffs this season. They barely care that they're only 6-6 and travel to Dallas riding a four-game losing streak.
The Giants were able to harass Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers throughout the game. And a lot of that was because of Pierre-Paul, who hit Rodgers twice, blocked two passes, was credited for hurrying Rodgers another three times, and had a half sack near the end of the game that had the MetLife crowd going nuts -- until a penalty in the Giants' secondary wiped away the play.
Green Bay pulled out the game in the last 58 seconds. But the Giants are talking openly now about feeling revived and believing they can sweep all four of their remaining games, including their remaining two against Dallas to win the NFC East. But to do so -- and to keep hiding the rest of the defense's deficiencies -- the Giants also know they have to keep rushing the passer. Because when the Giants' defense does, it goes from looking ordinary at best to making the Giants look as though they are good enough to beat anybody -- something they proved with their win at New England.
Now, Pierre-Paul's newest challenge is that opposing teams know it too.
When asked Wednesday if he's noticed more double teams coming his way, Pierre-Paul shrugged and said, "Seems like it. I just try to look past it." And he fell silent.
Do double teams frustrate him? "No," he shot back. "I just deal with it. See if a triple team comes next." Then he smiled.
Pierre-Paul knows handling the extra attention is part of the Giants' tradition of great defensive linemen. He says: "It's been a good tradition."
"Maybe I'll make a new one," he adds.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I'd like to see the Giants have an improvement at OLB to get Kiwi back at DE next year.
By Johnette Howard
ESPNNewYork.com
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- If the New York Giants' defense is going to hold down the Dallas Cowboys in Sunday night's must-win game that could decide the NFC East title, they know the formula they have to play.
The Giants need their pass rush to get after Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo before Romo can pick apart their banged-up secondary or a linebacker corps that's been reduced to backups and rookies. And the Giants know, with Justin Tuck still compromised by injuries and Osi Umenyiora again unlikely to play on his bad ankle, second-year defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is going to have to continue leading the Giants' pass rush.
All of that is serious stuff at the most serious juncture yet in the Giants' season.
And yet, the other Giants can't help themselves -- when you ask them about Pierre-Paul, they don't mean to give answers that come out sounding like comedy bits. It just happens because JPP, as he's called, has 10.5 sacks through 12 games this year. And on the way to complimenting him for how he's often kept their injury-riddled defense afloat, many Giants independently circle back to the same point:
Imagine how great the kid will be when he really knows what he's doing.
"How raw is he?" veteran safety Deon Grant repeats with a laugh. "His raw ability is so good it makes him look like he is mature in the game."
"He's freakish -- that's what I call him," defensive back Antrel Rolle says. "His effort and attitude has been very crucial for us, and uplifting for an older guy like me. He's been remarkable."
"He's so raw," Giants veteran defensive tackle Rocky Bernard says with a smile, "that in our meetings when he first got here, our coaches would say, 'Hey, we need you to line up in the B gap or line up in the five technique' and he literally had to count out the spots to figure it out. Most players already know the terminology. But it was all new to him because he's so new to football, period."
"But that only happened during his rookie year, right?" Bernard is asked.
"Well, this year, too," Bernard says, bursting into laughter again. "Sometimes we kid him and say, 'Man, you must know more than you let on' because of how well he plays. Usually people who haven't played that much don't make it to this level at all. And if they do make it, they don't play at the level he's playing at. So it's a credit to him. He's just so, you know …"
"Freakish?"
"Freakish," Bernard agrees.
The story of how Pierre-Paul played only one season of high school football, two years of junior college ball and one season of major college football at South Florida prior to applying for the 2010 NFL draft is well known among the other Giants.
But that storyline is quickly being overtaken by how he's carrying on the franchise's tradition of having one of the league's best pass rushes, a trait that dates back to Lawrence Taylor, runs through Michael Strahan, then Umenyiora, Tuck and now Pierre-Paul. And they hate to think where they'd be without him, given how much time Tuck and Umenyiora have missed.
Pierre-Paul was just 20 when the Giants took a chance and made him the 15th pick in the 2010 draft. Even now, at 22, he's not all that far removed from making it onto the NFL's radar the hard way. He grew up as the son of Haitian immigrants in Pompano Beach, Fla. His father went blind before Jason was born, and his mother was a housekeeper who often worked 12 hours or more a day to make ends meet once his father lost his sight.
Pierre-Paul has said he never would've been able to afford college had it not been for his football scholarship. And now that he's in the NFL and he has been able to lift his entire family to a better life, he often says, "I have to stay here." How? "By being a beast." And sacking the quarterback? "I don't like quarterbacks," he'll agree.
Getting even four or five words out of Pierre-Paul like that can be a challenge, especially in a group setting like Wednesday's media swarm in the Giants' locker room.
Pierre-Paul talks in Twitter-size bursts most of the time. He's 6-foot-6, 280 pounds, he runs like a deer and, as Rolle says, "He's got a motor that never stops." His 81-inch wingspan is so long, "It's tough for an offensive linemen to even get their hands on him," Giants guard Mitch Petrus says. "He also has moves. Crazy athleticism. And he's very strong. As good as he is now, he's going to be unstoppable soon."
To which Pierre-Paul shrugs and says, "I think I'm playing pretty good."
Pierre-Paul still defers to his elders such as Tuck and Umenyiora and Bernard. And Tuck, whose locker is next to Pierre-Paul's, is among the Giants players who have taken a special interest in him.
"If he stays healthy, he is going to create havoc for a long time," Tuck said after Sunday's loss to the Green Bay Backers. "It is just amazing that from week to week he is still going like this. It is amazing what he doesn't know, and I think sometimes that helps him out. … We watch tapes with him and he is like, 'Why did you do this?' and 'Why did you do that?' and 'If this guy does this, how do you counter it?' I see him being a beast right now. But he is going to be better."
The Giants need Pierre-Paul to stay at the level he's been for at least a few more weeks.
The way the Giants played in their 38-35 defeat to unbeaten Green Bay has sparked new hope that they may yet find a way to get into the playoffs this season. They barely care that they're only 6-6 and travel to Dallas riding a four-game losing streak.
The Giants were able to harass Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers throughout the game. And a lot of that was because of Pierre-Paul, who hit Rodgers twice, blocked two passes, was credited for hurrying Rodgers another three times, and had a half sack near the end of the game that had the MetLife crowd going nuts -- until a penalty in the Giants' secondary wiped away the play.
Green Bay pulled out the game in the last 58 seconds. But the Giants are talking openly now about feeling revived and believing they can sweep all four of their remaining games, including their remaining two against Dallas to win the NFC East. But to do so -- and to keep hiding the rest of the defense's deficiencies -- the Giants also know they have to keep rushing the passer. Because when the Giants' defense does, it goes from looking ordinary at best to making the Giants look as though they are good enough to beat anybody -- something they proved with their win at New England.
Now, Pierre-Paul's newest challenge is that opposing teams know it too.
When asked Wednesday if he's noticed more double teams coming his way, Pierre-Paul shrugged and said, "Seems like it. I just try to look past it." And he fell silent.
Do double teams frustrate him? "No," he shot back. "I just deal with it. See if a triple team comes next." Then he smiled.
Pierre-Paul knows handling the extra attention is part of the Giants' tradition of great defensive linemen. He says: "It's been a good tradition."
"Maybe I'll make a new one," he adds.
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I'd like to see the Giants have an improvement at OLB to get Kiwi back at DE next year.
netnalp
Footballguy
Giants Go Toe to Toe With Pack, Fall Short
Greenbay Packers 38 (12-0) – New York Giants 35 (6-6)
by rnargi for BigBlueInteractive.com
Game Summary
After a humiliating defeat at the hands of the New Orleans Saints, the Giants finally regrouped and seemed to find the sense of urgency and intensity that they’ve been missing since the 49ers game of four weeks ago. Despite the fire and enthusiasm they displayed, the Giants were simply overmatched at the end of the game by a dominant Packers offense and very shoddy officiating. New York tied the game in its waning moments with another touchdown and 2 point conversion on a phenomenal 2 minute drive orchestrated by QB Eli Manning. Unfortunately, a wounded, young, inexperienced and confused defense was unable to hold up for a mere 58 seconds and allowed Green Bay to erupt down the field to get into easy field goal position and put the Giants away 38-35.
Frankly New York deserved a better fate on Sunday. As has been mentioned often over in The Corner Forum, the officiating was wretched. The Giants lost a touchdown they probably should have been awarded and were victimized by a Green Bay touchdown that probably should have been overturned. Several other gaffes occurred that will be mentioned later. To make matters worse, the Giants have gotten to the point where they are now slapping duct tape on any moving part in hopes of keeping it together. It’s starting to feel like we’ve got Scottie in the engine room trying everything he can to give it more power without blowing the whole thing up. Seriously, it’s beyond laughable how badly this team has been, is, and continues to be hit with injuries.
Going to The Corner Forum these days is an exercise in holding your breath. It’s been discussed how many people, including myself, generally get all their breaking news on BBI and it’s the first place they go to in order to check up on what’s going on. This year, I dread opening The Corner Forum almost every time I go to it. The first thing I expect to see is a “sticky” thread with the title “So and so is out for year with X.”
Sure enough, we got another one this week when reserve OT and blocking TE Stacy Andrews was taken to the hospital on Thursday night where it was found he had blood clots travel from his legs to his lungs, a life threatening situation. We also found out that the Giants were going to be without the services of LB Mike Herzlich and C Kevin Baas. The Giants had very recently signed street free agents Chase Blackburn and Will Blackmon (Blackburn just this week) and they both played significant time on Sunday.
So let’s look at the situation on offense:
Mario Manningham out, Ramses Barden in.
David Baas out, Kevin Boothe in at center.
With David Diehl continuing at left tackle, Mitch Petrus at left guard.
Stacy Andrews out, Jim Cordle in at blocking tight end.
Henry Hynoski returned at fullback.
Now on defense:
Michael Boley returned.
Osi Umenyiora out.
Mark Herzlich out.
Chase Blackburn, signed off the street earlier in the week took over early in the game for Greg Jones.
Aaron Ross, Prince Amukamara and Kenny Phillips were all in and out of the game leaving Will Blackmon, another player out of football for most of the year, and rookie S Tyler Sash receiving significant playing time.
The Giants have been absolutely hammered with injuries this season, and for periods of time they’ve been able to persevere but they’ve been unable to overcome them in the long run. That’s not an excuse for the lack of intensity and resolve shown in games like against the Saints. The Giants are asking an awful lot out of career backups and street free agents while continuing to fight for a playoff spot, and it may be asking a bit too much.
Statistically, this game was quite close. Three things went against the Giants: First, they allowed too many long third down conversions and 7 of 12 overall. Second, though the Giants had six scoring drives to Green Bay’s give, they allowed a defensive touchdown and twice ended up trading touchdowns for field goals. Finally, though the teams traded touchdowns off turnovers, the Giants’ second turnover just before the half ended a drive that could have put points on the board.
Offense
The sleeping Giants offense roared to life on Sunday with a renewed potency in their rushing attack and hitting several big plays in the passing game, including a 67 yard touchdown on the first drive of the game. As noted, the Giants scored on six drives Sunday, though one was off a very short field. The Giants converted 3 of 4 green zone chances into touchdowns, and by many accounts probably should have had the 4th as well but TE Jake Ballard was ruled out of bounds in the end zone though it appeared he was in.
New York had their problems, but considering the upheaval along the offensive line they were relatively minor. The Giants had just two 3 and outs on the day, but also gave up the ball after 3 plays on an interception and 4 plays on a fumble. Three of the Giants’ touchdowns were on quick strikes of 2 plays, 3 plays and 5 plays.
As Antrel Rolle likes to say, even with a couple of gaffes, at the end of the day the offense got their running game untracked, were very effective with their downfield passing, and scored 35 points. That should be enough to beat any team in the league with the possible exception of Green Bay. It turned out that the offense had to play the perfect game, and they nearly pulled it off.
Quarterback
It’s unfortunate that most pundits will point to Eli Manning and the pick six and the fumble near the end of the half as the reasons the Giants lost. Nothing could be further from the truth. Manning once again hauled the team onto his back and brought them within 58 seconds of overtime against the undefeated, and for the most part this season, unchallenged Packers.
On Sunday Manning completed 23 of 40 passes for 347 yards, 3 touchdowns and the fateful interception. According to the game log, Manning was hit just 3 times. That’s inaccurate. Manning was under constant pressure and according to the TV analysis, was hit 15 times before the 4th quarter even began. Manning was sacked just once, however. Manning had 8 of his 40 passes broken up by Green Bay defenders, too.
On the year, Manning is now 4th in the league with 3,705 yards leaving him on pace to throw for 4,940 yards on the year. Manning ranks 6th in passer rating, 5th in touchdowns, 9th in completion percentage, 1st in completions of more than 40 yards (13), tied for 3rd with completions of more than 20 yards (50) and 7th in completions for a 1st down. Eli’s Total QBR ranking for this week was the worst of his season at 45.6, but he still ranks at 9th overall this year at 62.3. Again, these are the numbers for the entire NFL. If that’s not elite, then there is no such thing. By the time this season is said and done and provided he stays healthy, Manning will set career highs in every major category, and may very well beat his yardage total by 1,000 yards. Simply an amazing year for #10 and when you consider the tepid running game and inconsistent offensive line he’s been playing with, you can say it’s astounding.
Running Backs
The Giants welcomed the return of HB Ahmad Bradshaw on Sunday, and the impact was immediate. On the very first play of the game Bradshaw took a swing pass from Manning and turned up field for what should have been about a 3 or 4 yard gain, but Bradshaw made a move and took on CB Charles Woodson, gaining 7 total yards. Bradshaw was fired up, and so was the crowd. While Bradshaw didn’t pile up huge numbers, carrying 11 times for 38 yards (3.5 ypc) and catching 2 passes for 9 yards, it was clear that his presence was a huge catalyst for the offense. It was also clear that New York did not want to overwork Bradshaw as two bread and butter plays for him, the bubble screen, were given to HB D.J. Ware. Neither worked, and Ware gained just 3 yards on 1 carry. He did have an extremely important reception on the final drive for 12 yards, resulting in a 1st and goal at the 2 yard line on a 2nd and 7 play.
It seemed that HB Brandon Jacobs benefited most from Bradshaw’s return, almost like he missed his little buddy and was like a kid in a candy store. Speculation is that part of Jacobs’ lack of production while Bradshaw was out was due to his having to run plays designed for Bradshaw’s style. There may be a bit of truth to that, as during the New England game Jacobs was effective running down hill off direct handoffs on runs in the A gaps. Jacobs has trouble when he begins to move laterally, and this week again he was slamming the line in the A gaps for good chunks of yardage. On the day, Jacobs only carried 8 times for 59 yards, a 7.4 ypc average. Jacobs did tweak a hamstring and that may have limited his carries, but the Giants were also in catch up mode for the most of the final three quarters and only ran the ball 20 times. Jacobs continued his dominant blitz pickups and chips out of the backfield. Some of his chips are so violent it’s not exactly a correct name for them. He doesn’t chip, he hammers.
FB Henry Hynoski was solid in the running game, though he still tends to get blown up once in a while. He was instrumental in opening several holes at the second level for Jacobs.
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends
The Giants receiving corps once again had a dominant game. It seems that this write up is a repeat of the previous game every week. WR Hakeem Nicks, despite injuries to his ribs and ankle, had a terrific game finishing with 7 catches for 88 yards and 2 touchdowns. Nicks almost had a 3rd but was stopped at the 1 yard line prior to Jacobs’ touchdown run. Nicks made the play of the game for the Giants, hauling in a 51 yard pass from Manning that set up the Giants’ 3rd touchdown. New York had just gone down 28-17 midway through the 3rd quarter and it looked like the Packers might run away with the rest of the game when on the 1st play of the next drive Nicks and Manning made the hookup that put them in position to get right back into the contest.
On the other side, WR Victor Cruz continues his amazing season catching 7 balls for 119 yards. Cruz is now the 4th leading receiver in terms of receiving yardage in the entire NFL. This from a kid who did not catch a single pass in a regular season game until week 2 of this year. If he can keep up the yardage pace (he has had five 100+ yards performances this season, and had another for 99), he will break Amani Toomer’s single season Giants yardage record. Not to be lost is the fact that Cruz has become a proficient blocker down field. In case you missed it, valued Corner Forum contributor mort christenson started a thread about Cruz on Monday that’s worth a read.
WR Ramses Barden wasn’t targeted often on Sunday and only had 1 catch for 9 yards.
The tight ends accounted for 114 total yards on Sunday, as Travis Beckum caught a 67 yard touchdown pass in which he serpentined his way for the last 20 yards to the end zone giving the Giants the early lead. Beckum, the well known insurance policy, was wide open on a nice move to beat S Charles Peprah and never broke stride after the catch. It’s something all of us have been waiting to see for quite some time. If Eli ever finally develops a trust in Beckum, it’s certainly possible he can become the weapon many people envision he can be. That said, he must work to become a more consistent receiving threat.
Jake Ballard had three catches on six passes thrown in his direction. He easily could have had 5, as an apparent touchdown was not awarded following a booth review that ostensibly didn’t show enough to overturn the call on the field. Ballard also never saw a perfectly thrown pass to the inside on a skinny post that would have resulted in a huge play.
Offensive Line
Despite the fact that Kevin Boothe found out he would be moving to center and backup guard Mitch Petrus found out he’d be getting a start at left guard just hours before the game, the line played surprisingly well. The run blocking was better than it’s been in several games, and other than RT Kareem McKenzie again giving up too many pressures, the pass blocking stood up relatively well. McKenzie appears to be the text book example of staying with a player a year longer than maybe the team should have. Recall that Kareem graded out as the top RT in the league last season. That isn’t going to be even close to the case this season, as he’s been attacked and beaten consistently in the passing game all year long. On the final touchdown pass to Nicks, Manning nearly didn’t get the pass off and took a wicked hit from OLB Clay Matthews. On the play, McKenzie completely missed the block giving Matthews a free run at Eli and if it hadn’t been for the quick pass, Manning would have been sacked. Incidentally, many people were clamoring for a run on that play in order to run clock even though it was 3rd down. Moreover, the original play call was a run that Eli said he checked out of at the line of scrimmage. It’s important to point this out because, as is usually the case, too much emphasis is placed on what people believe the play call from OC Kevin Gilbride is and forget that Eli has a lot of leeway to change the play at the line of scrimmage.
One other negative to point out is that C Kevin Boothe gave up on the Manning fumble at the end of the first half despite no whistle being blown. The Giants stress ball security from the word go in training camp and it’s just not smart football to allow the ball to sit on the ground, whistle or no whistle, at any time. Just pick the ball up and let the refs determine whose ball it is. The Giants would have retained the ball at midfield with 26 seconds and a time out left to continue the drive had Boothe simply picked up the ball. Incidentally, after review, it was inexcusable that the refs didn’t take at least 4 seconds off the clock, which stopped because the clock operator incorrectly assumed that Manning had thrown and incomplete pass.
Defense
It’s hard to lay a lot of blame at the feet of the defense for this loss, despite the fact that they gave up a ton of yardage and 31 points to the Packers. Green Bay has arguably the best offense in football, and coming into this game they had won 16 straight games, most of them due to their offensive prowess. They have the #1 QB in football, an incredible array of receivers including one of the best tight ends in the game, and they have a solid running game.
The defense did a great job of containing the running backs all day, the longest run by a back being only 8 yards. The Packers running backs gained just 57 yards on 24 carries, a paltry 2.4 ypc average. That’s ‘getting it done’, and the Giants haven’t done that very well all season.
The problem was that due to playing a tight man under defense for most of the game, the Giants lost contain on QB Aaron Rodgers 4 times for 32 total yards. Three of those scrambles kept drives alive. The first was an 11 yard scramble on 3rd and 10 from the Giants 43 yard line. That call should have been challenged, as Rodgers began his slide short of the line to gain was awarded an extra 3 yards and the first down. It wasn’t caught by the announcers, but it was clear as day, especially on the replay. It would have been 4th down had the play been challenged. The second was a 2nd and 9 scramble later in the drive that netted 13 yards and another 1st down. These plays led to Green Bay’s second offensive touchdown. Later, Rodgers hurt the defense again on the second Green Bay drive of the second half for 6 yards and a 1st down on a 3rd and 5 play.
Overall, the Giants allowed too many 3rd down conversions, 7 of 12 (58%) and also allowed Green Bay to convert 4 touchdowns in 5 trip to the green zone. The 5th trip resulted in the game-deciding field goal, so ultimately the Packers were 5 of 5.
One of the 3rd down conversions was a ref job, as rookie LB Jacquian Williams was called for an extremely questionable illegal contact penalty on a play in which the Giants sacked Rodgers. (Incidentally, three Giants penalties led to 1st downs for the Packers.) The drive stalled, but it kept the defense on the field and at the end, fatigue was an issue as the Packers ran 16 more offensive plays than the Giants and had 6 more minutes time of possession.
Another reason why it’s hard to get too upset at the Giants defense is that once again they were extremely affected by injuries. Street free agents Chase Blackburn and Will Blackmon (who said he could not remember the last time he played cornerback) saw extended time, and the Giants were without Osi Umenyiora and lost S Kenny Phillips during the game. In their place DE Dave Tollefson and S Tyler Sash saw significant action. Many people hate to use the injury ‘excuse,’ but realistically it’s asking an awful lot of a defense this banged up to hang with the best offensive team in the league.
Front 7
The defensive line, minus Umenyiora, played one of their most inspired games of the season. DT Linval Joseph nearly single handedly took the Green Bay running game out of play on Sunday. Joseph had an astounding 9 solo tackles (1 for a loss) to lead the Giants. Jacquian Williams, despite his ticky tack penalty that wiped out a sack, also had a solid game, making 7 tackles. Williams had two passes defensed and one was nearly an interception, which may have been why he aggressively attacked TE Finley and went for the interception on the final and fateful drive of the game. Had Williams simply corralled Williams and escorted him out of bounds, the 24 yard gain is limited to just 7 or 8 and the Giants wouldn’t have been on their heels. No one likes to penalize aggressive play, but sometimes discretion is the better part of valor and in that case the play was to keep it from becoming a big gain.
DE Justin Tuck seems to be coming out of the season long injury funk he’s been in, as he had a dominant first half in which he got significant pressure on Rodgers, forcing him to get out on the edge. Unfortunately, there was little opposite side support and Rodgers is deadly on the run. Tuck was in on 5 tackles and registered his first sack in ages. Tuck also had another QB hit and stuffed a run. DTs Chris Canty and Rocky Bernard did yeomen’s work in the middle, clogging the lanes and helping to stifle the Packers running game. Canty was also in on 6 tackles, and had 1 QB hit.
Jason Pierre-Paul continues his monster season, though his numbers weren’t great. He knocked down 2 Rodgers’ passes at the line and hit him twice, and was chasing him down all game. Again, there just wasn’t much contain from the opposite side when JPP got his pressures and Rodgers ran away from him. The final member of the line, Dave Tollefson, also recorded a sack. In all, the Giants line registered 5 of the 6 hits on Rodgers on Sunday. It’s also of significance to note that the Giants had eight tackles for a loss on Sunday.
The Giants’ linebackers played well. Michael Boley’s tackles were down, but he was coming off a hamstring injury and he didn’t look like he was at full strength. Greg Jones started, but he was quickly replaced by Chase Blackburn who played like a man possessed all game. Blackburn had 2 passes defensed and forced the only Packer turnover, an interception, that led to a Giants touchdown. He also had 5 tackles. Blackburn certainly impressed considering he hadn’t played a snap all season.
Secondary
The Giants had their hands full going against Green Bay’s potent array of receivers, but they got the help from their defensive line they’d sorely been missing the past few weeks. New York didn’t play a lot of zone, and infrequently used the ‘three man rush’ widely despised over in The Corner Forum. Interestingly, that formation worked early but they were burned on it down in the green zone after Rodgers had an eternity to find Donald Driver take the scenic route to the inside pylon for a touchdown. New York had 6 passes defensed on Sunday, but only 1 came from a defensive back. The secondary didn’t break up a single play other than the one in which Kenny Phillips was hurt. They were also helped out by a bevy of Green Bay drops, but frankly at least half the drops were due to the heavy pressure on Rodgers that led to some slightly off target throws. A few, however, were flat out drops.
Corey Webster had a decent game, and as Troy Aikman opined during the broadcast, there is no way he can stay with a receiver, in this case Donald Driver, when the QB has 8 seconds to find him. Just like a QB, a DB has an internal clock going off in his head after a certain amount of time elapses and it’s nearly impossible to stay locked on to a receiver that long. That said, Coughlin seemed to indicate on Monday that it was Webster who blew the coverage on the Packers’ touchdown where the receiver was left wide open.
On this play, the Packers were lined up with two receivers split wide and a TE to Rodgers’ right. The back was in offset on the strong side, between the RT and TE. Donald Driver was in the slot. The Giants countered this look with Amukamara covering the split receiver on the weak side, Webster covering the flanker on the strong side, and Ross covering down on Driver in the slot. The rest of the Giants defense was in a cover 2 shell with 4 linemen and 3 linebackers in the box. Before the snap, Driver went in motion to the strong side and set in the slot, and Aaron Ross followed him. At the snap, Webster took Nelson, who had run a quick in, and was on him like a blanket. Rolle began to move to the inside where Finley split between Ross and Grant. Ross was standing in the flat as if he were covering a short zone. Driver ran right by him and posted to the end zone. On the replay, it’s clear as day that Rodgers’ first read was Finley, and if Rolle hadn’t covered down on him it would have been an easy touchdown despite Aikman’s ascertation that Grant “didn’t need the help.” Rodgers quickly came off Finley and found Driver all alone. Aikman broke down the play further and suggested that the Giants were playing man coverage with safety help inside, and Ross was probably at fault. But Coughlin said the outside corner (who was Webster) was supposed to “fall off,” so he was probably supposed to be in a deeper zone.
Prince Amukamara was burned badly on the touchdown to Jennings that many believe should not have been. Jennings got Prince moving to the outside and then just left him in the dust with a skinny post to the inside. To Prince’s credit, he recovered to knock the ball out of Jennings’ hands and by all angles it appeared that it should not have been a touchdown.
How do you blame Blackmon, guy who hasn’t played meaningful football in nearly a year, and can’t remember the last time he played cornerback, for allowing Jordy Nelson catch a 27 yard pass on that last drive? Yes, he lost Jordan, and it’s puzzling why Ross wasn’t locked up on the outside instead of him. But the fact is, Aaron Rodgers threw a great pass when he was a microsecond away from being swallowed up by three Giants defenders. It was just one of those mindboggling throws that you simply have to tip your hat to. It’s the fate the Giants have been dealt this year. It’s hard to keep count of how many defensive backs missing time or out for the year.
Special Teams
The special teams play was solid, as the Giants and Packers basically matched kick for kick and field position for field position all day. Each team’s starting field position average was their own 27 yard line. New York averaged 25 yards per kick return while allowing an average of 25.3. The Giants punted 4 times, allowing just 2 returns for a total of 6 yards. In the punt return game, the Giants did nothing with 3 fair catches and 2 other Green Bay punts downed.
K Lawrence Tynes hit two field goals, one for 38 yards and the other for 50. The Packers missed one field goal.
Coaching
It was talked about all week. Giants teams simply do not quit on HC Tom Coughlin despite adversity and that was evident again on Sunday as the Giants played with the most emotion and intensity that they’ve shown in weeks. It’s hard to question anything the Giants coaches attempted, but frankly these odd challenges are starting to become worrisome. Those time outs and not having any challenges late in the game could come back to haunt the Giants when they need them most. The Ballard challenge seemed futile from the get-go, but the still pictures seem to prove he was in bounds and it should have been a touchdown. The challenge on the catch along the sidelines, however, didn’t have a chance to get overturned and it was obvious from the live shot, let alone the replay.
As for DC Perry Fewell, there has been some discussion that he’s coaching scared. That could be, but it would probably be better to say he’s playing cautious and it’s probably due to not trusting the newcomers and rookies. That has got to stop. It would be prudent to just turn these guys loose and say “get to the ball carrier.” It’s proven over and over in football that you cannot play tentative, you have to dictate the pace, you have to attack, and you have to play fast. You cannot do that waiting to ‘read’ the play and then react. Frankly, it’s time to go for broke. Seriously, what does he have to lose?
Final Thoughts
I didn’t think the Giants had a prayer in this game. I believed that New York could move the ball well and score against Green Bay, but I didn’t think they’d score 35. The defense, though they performed better than my expectations, gave up too many 3rd downs and could not stop the Packers in the green zone. The swapping of field goals for touchdowns ultimately decided the game.
That said, it was impressive to see this team fight. Now I have hope that they will go to Dallas and kick some Cowboy ###.
Greenbay Packers 38 (12-0) – New York Giants 35 (6-6)
by rnargi for BigBlueInteractive.com
Game Summary
After a humiliating defeat at the hands of the New Orleans Saints, the Giants finally regrouped and seemed to find the sense of urgency and intensity that they’ve been missing since the 49ers game of four weeks ago. Despite the fire and enthusiasm they displayed, the Giants were simply overmatched at the end of the game by a dominant Packers offense and very shoddy officiating. New York tied the game in its waning moments with another touchdown and 2 point conversion on a phenomenal 2 minute drive orchestrated by QB Eli Manning. Unfortunately, a wounded, young, inexperienced and confused defense was unable to hold up for a mere 58 seconds and allowed Green Bay to erupt down the field to get into easy field goal position and put the Giants away 38-35.
Frankly New York deserved a better fate on Sunday. As has been mentioned often over in The Corner Forum, the officiating was wretched. The Giants lost a touchdown they probably should have been awarded and were victimized by a Green Bay touchdown that probably should have been overturned. Several other gaffes occurred that will be mentioned later. To make matters worse, the Giants have gotten to the point where they are now slapping duct tape on any moving part in hopes of keeping it together. It’s starting to feel like we’ve got Scottie in the engine room trying everything he can to give it more power without blowing the whole thing up. Seriously, it’s beyond laughable how badly this team has been, is, and continues to be hit with injuries.
Going to The Corner Forum these days is an exercise in holding your breath. It’s been discussed how many people, including myself, generally get all their breaking news on BBI and it’s the first place they go to in order to check up on what’s going on. This year, I dread opening The Corner Forum almost every time I go to it. The first thing I expect to see is a “sticky” thread with the title “So and so is out for year with X.”
Sure enough, we got another one this week when reserve OT and blocking TE Stacy Andrews was taken to the hospital on Thursday night where it was found he had blood clots travel from his legs to his lungs, a life threatening situation. We also found out that the Giants were going to be without the services of LB Mike Herzlich and C Kevin Baas. The Giants had very recently signed street free agents Chase Blackburn and Will Blackmon (Blackburn just this week) and they both played significant time on Sunday.
So let’s look at the situation on offense:
Mario Manningham out, Ramses Barden in.
David Baas out, Kevin Boothe in at center.
With David Diehl continuing at left tackle, Mitch Petrus at left guard.
Stacy Andrews out, Jim Cordle in at blocking tight end.
Henry Hynoski returned at fullback.
Now on defense:
Michael Boley returned.
Osi Umenyiora out.
Mark Herzlich out.
Chase Blackburn, signed off the street earlier in the week took over early in the game for Greg Jones.
Aaron Ross, Prince Amukamara and Kenny Phillips were all in and out of the game leaving Will Blackmon, another player out of football for most of the year, and rookie S Tyler Sash receiving significant playing time.
The Giants have been absolutely hammered with injuries this season, and for periods of time they’ve been able to persevere but they’ve been unable to overcome them in the long run. That’s not an excuse for the lack of intensity and resolve shown in games like against the Saints. The Giants are asking an awful lot out of career backups and street free agents while continuing to fight for a playoff spot, and it may be asking a bit too much.
Statistically, this game was quite close. Three things went against the Giants: First, they allowed too many long third down conversions and 7 of 12 overall. Second, though the Giants had six scoring drives to Green Bay’s give, they allowed a defensive touchdown and twice ended up trading touchdowns for field goals. Finally, though the teams traded touchdowns off turnovers, the Giants’ second turnover just before the half ended a drive that could have put points on the board.
Offense
The sleeping Giants offense roared to life on Sunday with a renewed potency in their rushing attack and hitting several big plays in the passing game, including a 67 yard touchdown on the first drive of the game. As noted, the Giants scored on six drives Sunday, though one was off a very short field. The Giants converted 3 of 4 green zone chances into touchdowns, and by many accounts probably should have had the 4th as well but TE Jake Ballard was ruled out of bounds in the end zone though it appeared he was in.
New York had their problems, but considering the upheaval along the offensive line they were relatively minor. The Giants had just two 3 and outs on the day, but also gave up the ball after 3 plays on an interception and 4 plays on a fumble. Three of the Giants’ touchdowns were on quick strikes of 2 plays, 3 plays and 5 plays.
As Antrel Rolle likes to say, even with a couple of gaffes, at the end of the day the offense got their running game untracked, were very effective with their downfield passing, and scored 35 points. That should be enough to beat any team in the league with the possible exception of Green Bay. It turned out that the offense had to play the perfect game, and they nearly pulled it off.
Quarterback
It’s unfortunate that most pundits will point to Eli Manning and the pick six and the fumble near the end of the half as the reasons the Giants lost. Nothing could be further from the truth. Manning once again hauled the team onto his back and brought them within 58 seconds of overtime against the undefeated, and for the most part this season, unchallenged Packers.
On Sunday Manning completed 23 of 40 passes for 347 yards, 3 touchdowns and the fateful interception. According to the game log, Manning was hit just 3 times. That’s inaccurate. Manning was under constant pressure and according to the TV analysis, was hit 15 times before the 4th quarter even began. Manning was sacked just once, however. Manning had 8 of his 40 passes broken up by Green Bay defenders, too.
On the year, Manning is now 4th in the league with 3,705 yards leaving him on pace to throw for 4,940 yards on the year. Manning ranks 6th in passer rating, 5th in touchdowns, 9th in completion percentage, 1st in completions of more than 40 yards (13), tied for 3rd with completions of more than 20 yards (50) and 7th in completions for a 1st down. Eli’s Total QBR ranking for this week was the worst of his season at 45.6, but he still ranks at 9th overall this year at 62.3. Again, these are the numbers for the entire NFL. If that’s not elite, then there is no such thing. By the time this season is said and done and provided he stays healthy, Manning will set career highs in every major category, and may very well beat his yardage total by 1,000 yards. Simply an amazing year for #10 and when you consider the tepid running game and inconsistent offensive line he’s been playing with, you can say it’s astounding.
Running Backs
The Giants welcomed the return of HB Ahmad Bradshaw on Sunday, and the impact was immediate. On the very first play of the game Bradshaw took a swing pass from Manning and turned up field for what should have been about a 3 or 4 yard gain, but Bradshaw made a move and took on CB Charles Woodson, gaining 7 total yards. Bradshaw was fired up, and so was the crowd. While Bradshaw didn’t pile up huge numbers, carrying 11 times for 38 yards (3.5 ypc) and catching 2 passes for 9 yards, it was clear that his presence was a huge catalyst for the offense. It was also clear that New York did not want to overwork Bradshaw as two bread and butter plays for him, the bubble screen, were given to HB D.J. Ware. Neither worked, and Ware gained just 3 yards on 1 carry. He did have an extremely important reception on the final drive for 12 yards, resulting in a 1st and goal at the 2 yard line on a 2nd and 7 play.
It seemed that HB Brandon Jacobs benefited most from Bradshaw’s return, almost like he missed his little buddy and was like a kid in a candy store. Speculation is that part of Jacobs’ lack of production while Bradshaw was out was due to his having to run plays designed for Bradshaw’s style. There may be a bit of truth to that, as during the New England game Jacobs was effective running down hill off direct handoffs on runs in the A gaps. Jacobs has trouble when he begins to move laterally, and this week again he was slamming the line in the A gaps for good chunks of yardage. On the day, Jacobs only carried 8 times for 59 yards, a 7.4 ypc average. Jacobs did tweak a hamstring and that may have limited his carries, but the Giants were also in catch up mode for the most of the final three quarters and only ran the ball 20 times. Jacobs continued his dominant blitz pickups and chips out of the backfield. Some of his chips are so violent it’s not exactly a correct name for them. He doesn’t chip, he hammers.
FB Henry Hynoski was solid in the running game, though he still tends to get blown up once in a while. He was instrumental in opening several holes at the second level for Jacobs.
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends
The Giants receiving corps once again had a dominant game. It seems that this write up is a repeat of the previous game every week. WR Hakeem Nicks, despite injuries to his ribs and ankle, had a terrific game finishing with 7 catches for 88 yards and 2 touchdowns. Nicks almost had a 3rd but was stopped at the 1 yard line prior to Jacobs’ touchdown run. Nicks made the play of the game for the Giants, hauling in a 51 yard pass from Manning that set up the Giants’ 3rd touchdown. New York had just gone down 28-17 midway through the 3rd quarter and it looked like the Packers might run away with the rest of the game when on the 1st play of the next drive Nicks and Manning made the hookup that put them in position to get right back into the contest.
On the other side, WR Victor Cruz continues his amazing season catching 7 balls for 119 yards. Cruz is now the 4th leading receiver in terms of receiving yardage in the entire NFL. This from a kid who did not catch a single pass in a regular season game until week 2 of this year. If he can keep up the yardage pace (he has had five 100+ yards performances this season, and had another for 99), he will break Amani Toomer’s single season Giants yardage record. Not to be lost is the fact that Cruz has become a proficient blocker down field. In case you missed it, valued Corner Forum contributor mort christenson started a thread about Cruz on Monday that’s worth a read.
WR Ramses Barden wasn’t targeted often on Sunday and only had 1 catch for 9 yards.
The tight ends accounted for 114 total yards on Sunday, as Travis Beckum caught a 67 yard touchdown pass in which he serpentined his way for the last 20 yards to the end zone giving the Giants the early lead. Beckum, the well known insurance policy, was wide open on a nice move to beat S Charles Peprah and never broke stride after the catch. It’s something all of us have been waiting to see for quite some time. If Eli ever finally develops a trust in Beckum, it’s certainly possible he can become the weapon many people envision he can be. That said, he must work to become a more consistent receiving threat.
Jake Ballard had three catches on six passes thrown in his direction. He easily could have had 5, as an apparent touchdown was not awarded following a booth review that ostensibly didn’t show enough to overturn the call on the field. Ballard also never saw a perfectly thrown pass to the inside on a skinny post that would have resulted in a huge play.
Offensive Line
Despite the fact that Kevin Boothe found out he would be moving to center and backup guard Mitch Petrus found out he’d be getting a start at left guard just hours before the game, the line played surprisingly well. The run blocking was better than it’s been in several games, and other than RT Kareem McKenzie again giving up too many pressures, the pass blocking stood up relatively well. McKenzie appears to be the text book example of staying with a player a year longer than maybe the team should have. Recall that Kareem graded out as the top RT in the league last season. That isn’t going to be even close to the case this season, as he’s been attacked and beaten consistently in the passing game all year long. On the final touchdown pass to Nicks, Manning nearly didn’t get the pass off and took a wicked hit from OLB Clay Matthews. On the play, McKenzie completely missed the block giving Matthews a free run at Eli and if it hadn’t been for the quick pass, Manning would have been sacked. Incidentally, many people were clamoring for a run on that play in order to run clock even though it was 3rd down. Moreover, the original play call was a run that Eli said he checked out of at the line of scrimmage. It’s important to point this out because, as is usually the case, too much emphasis is placed on what people believe the play call from OC Kevin Gilbride is and forget that Eli has a lot of leeway to change the play at the line of scrimmage.
One other negative to point out is that C Kevin Boothe gave up on the Manning fumble at the end of the first half despite no whistle being blown. The Giants stress ball security from the word go in training camp and it’s just not smart football to allow the ball to sit on the ground, whistle or no whistle, at any time. Just pick the ball up and let the refs determine whose ball it is. The Giants would have retained the ball at midfield with 26 seconds and a time out left to continue the drive had Boothe simply picked up the ball. Incidentally, after review, it was inexcusable that the refs didn’t take at least 4 seconds off the clock, which stopped because the clock operator incorrectly assumed that Manning had thrown and incomplete pass.
Defense
It’s hard to lay a lot of blame at the feet of the defense for this loss, despite the fact that they gave up a ton of yardage and 31 points to the Packers. Green Bay has arguably the best offense in football, and coming into this game they had won 16 straight games, most of them due to their offensive prowess. They have the #1 QB in football, an incredible array of receivers including one of the best tight ends in the game, and they have a solid running game.
The defense did a great job of containing the running backs all day, the longest run by a back being only 8 yards. The Packers running backs gained just 57 yards on 24 carries, a paltry 2.4 ypc average. That’s ‘getting it done’, and the Giants haven’t done that very well all season.
The problem was that due to playing a tight man under defense for most of the game, the Giants lost contain on QB Aaron Rodgers 4 times for 32 total yards. Three of those scrambles kept drives alive. The first was an 11 yard scramble on 3rd and 10 from the Giants 43 yard line. That call should have been challenged, as Rodgers began his slide short of the line to gain was awarded an extra 3 yards and the first down. It wasn’t caught by the announcers, but it was clear as day, especially on the replay. It would have been 4th down had the play been challenged. The second was a 2nd and 9 scramble later in the drive that netted 13 yards and another 1st down. These plays led to Green Bay’s second offensive touchdown. Later, Rodgers hurt the defense again on the second Green Bay drive of the second half for 6 yards and a 1st down on a 3rd and 5 play.
Overall, the Giants allowed too many 3rd down conversions, 7 of 12 (58%) and also allowed Green Bay to convert 4 touchdowns in 5 trip to the green zone. The 5th trip resulted in the game-deciding field goal, so ultimately the Packers were 5 of 5.
One of the 3rd down conversions was a ref job, as rookie LB Jacquian Williams was called for an extremely questionable illegal contact penalty on a play in which the Giants sacked Rodgers. (Incidentally, three Giants penalties led to 1st downs for the Packers.) The drive stalled, but it kept the defense on the field and at the end, fatigue was an issue as the Packers ran 16 more offensive plays than the Giants and had 6 more minutes time of possession.
Another reason why it’s hard to get too upset at the Giants defense is that once again they were extremely affected by injuries. Street free agents Chase Blackburn and Will Blackmon (who said he could not remember the last time he played cornerback) saw extended time, and the Giants were without Osi Umenyiora and lost S Kenny Phillips during the game. In their place DE Dave Tollefson and S Tyler Sash saw significant action. Many people hate to use the injury ‘excuse,’ but realistically it’s asking an awful lot of a defense this banged up to hang with the best offensive team in the league.
Front 7
The defensive line, minus Umenyiora, played one of their most inspired games of the season. DT Linval Joseph nearly single handedly took the Green Bay running game out of play on Sunday. Joseph had an astounding 9 solo tackles (1 for a loss) to lead the Giants. Jacquian Williams, despite his ticky tack penalty that wiped out a sack, also had a solid game, making 7 tackles. Williams had two passes defensed and one was nearly an interception, which may have been why he aggressively attacked TE Finley and went for the interception on the final and fateful drive of the game. Had Williams simply corralled Williams and escorted him out of bounds, the 24 yard gain is limited to just 7 or 8 and the Giants wouldn’t have been on their heels. No one likes to penalize aggressive play, but sometimes discretion is the better part of valor and in that case the play was to keep it from becoming a big gain.
DE Justin Tuck seems to be coming out of the season long injury funk he’s been in, as he had a dominant first half in which he got significant pressure on Rodgers, forcing him to get out on the edge. Unfortunately, there was little opposite side support and Rodgers is deadly on the run. Tuck was in on 5 tackles and registered his first sack in ages. Tuck also had another QB hit and stuffed a run. DTs Chris Canty and Rocky Bernard did yeomen’s work in the middle, clogging the lanes and helping to stifle the Packers running game. Canty was also in on 6 tackles, and had 1 QB hit.
Jason Pierre-Paul continues his monster season, though his numbers weren’t great. He knocked down 2 Rodgers’ passes at the line and hit him twice, and was chasing him down all game. Again, there just wasn’t much contain from the opposite side when JPP got his pressures and Rodgers ran away from him. The final member of the line, Dave Tollefson, also recorded a sack. In all, the Giants line registered 5 of the 6 hits on Rodgers on Sunday. It’s also of significance to note that the Giants had eight tackles for a loss on Sunday.
The Giants’ linebackers played well. Michael Boley’s tackles were down, but he was coming off a hamstring injury and he didn’t look like he was at full strength. Greg Jones started, but he was quickly replaced by Chase Blackburn who played like a man possessed all game. Blackburn had 2 passes defensed and forced the only Packer turnover, an interception, that led to a Giants touchdown. He also had 5 tackles. Blackburn certainly impressed considering he hadn’t played a snap all season.
Secondary
The Giants had their hands full going against Green Bay’s potent array of receivers, but they got the help from their defensive line they’d sorely been missing the past few weeks. New York didn’t play a lot of zone, and infrequently used the ‘three man rush’ widely despised over in The Corner Forum. Interestingly, that formation worked early but they were burned on it down in the green zone after Rodgers had an eternity to find Donald Driver take the scenic route to the inside pylon for a touchdown. New York had 6 passes defensed on Sunday, but only 1 came from a defensive back. The secondary didn’t break up a single play other than the one in which Kenny Phillips was hurt. They were also helped out by a bevy of Green Bay drops, but frankly at least half the drops were due to the heavy pressure on Rodgers that led to some slightly off target throws. A few, however, were flat out drops.
Corey Webster had a decent game, and as Troy Aikman opined during the broadcast, there is no way he can stay with a receiver, in this case Donald Driver, when the QB has 8 seconds to find him. Just like a QB, a DB has an internal clock going off in his head after a certain amount of time elapses and it’s nearly impossible to stay locked on to a receiver that long. That said, Coughlin seemed to indicate on Monday that it was Webster who blew the coverage on the Packers’ touchdown where the receiver was left wide open.
On this play, the Packers were lined up with two receivers split wide and a TE to Rodgers’ right. The back was in offset on the strong side, between the RT and TE. Donald Driver was in the slot. The Giants countered this look with Amukamara covering the split receiver on the weak side, Webster covering the flanker on the strong side, and Ross covering down on Driver in the slot. The rest of the Giants defense was in a cover 2 shell with 4 linemen and 3 linebackers in the box. Before the snap, Driver went in motion to the strong side and set in the slot, and Aaron Ross followed him. At the snap, Webster took Nelson, who had run a quick in, and was on him like a blanket. Rolle began to move to the inside where Finley split between Ross and Grant. Ross was standing in the flat as if he were covering a short zone. Driver ran right by him and posted to the end zone. On the replay, it’s clear as day that Rodgers’ first read was Finley, and if Rolle hadn’t covered down on him it would have been an easy touchdown despite Aikman’s ascertation that Grant “didn’t need the help.” Rodgers quickly came off Finley and found Driver all alone. Aikman broke down the play further and suggested that the Giants were playing man coverage with safety help inside, and Ross was probably at fault. But Coughlin said the outside corner (who was Webster) was supposed to “fall off,” so he was probably supposed to be in a deeper zone.
Prince Amukamara was burned badly on the touchdown to Jennings that many believe should not have been. Jennings got Prince moving to the outside and then just left him in the dust with a skinny post to the inside. To Prince’s credit, he recovered to knock the ball out of Jennings’ hands and by all angles it appeared that it should not have been a touchdown.
How do you blame Blackmon, guy who hasn’t played meaningful football in nearly a year, and can’t remember the last time he played cornerback, for allowing Jordy Nelson catch a 27 yard pass on that last drive? Yes, he lost Jordan, and it’s puzzling why Ross wasn’t locked up on the outside instead of him. But the fact is, Aaron Rodgers threw a great pass when he was a microsecond away from being swallowed up by three Giants defenders. It was just one of those mindboggling throws that you simply have to tip your hat to. It’s the fate the Giants have been dealt this year. It’s hard to keep count of how many defensive backs missing time or out for the year.
Special Teams
The special teams play was solid, as the Giants and Packers basically matched kick for kick and field position for field position all day. Each team’s starting field position average was their own 27 yard line. New York averaged 25 yards per kick return while allowing an average of 25.3. The Giants punted 4 times, allowing just 2 returns for a total of 6 yards. In the punt return game, the Giants did nothing with 3 fair catches and 2 other Green Bay punts downed.
K Lawrence Tynes hit two field goals, one for 38 yards and the other for 50. The Packers missed one field goal.
Coaching
It was talked about all week. Giants teams simply do not quit on HC Tom Coughlin despite adversity and that was evident again on Sunday as the Giants played with the most emotion and intensity that they’ve shown in weeks. It’s hard to question anything the Giants coaches attempted, but frankly these odd challenges are starting to become worrisome. Those time outs and not having any challenges late in the game could come back to haunt the Giants when they need them most. The Ballard challenge seemed futile from the get-go, but the still pictures seem to prove he was in bounds and it should have been a touchdown. The challenge on the catch along the sidelines, however, didn’t have a chance to get overturned and it was obvious from the live shot, let alone the replay.
As for DC Perry Fewell, there has been some discussion that he’s coaching scared. That could be, but it would probably be better to say he’s playing cautious and it’s probably due to not trusting the newcomers and rookies. That has got to stop. It would be prudent to just turn these guys loose and say “get to the ball carrier.” It’s proven over and over in football that you cannot play tentative, you have to dictate the pace, you have to attack, and you have to play fast. You cannot do that waiting to ‘read’ the play and then react. Frankly, it’s time to go for broke. Seriously, what does he have to lose?
Final Thoughts
I didn’t think the Giants had a prayer in this game. I believed that New York could move the ball well and score against Green Bay, but I didn’t think they’d score 35. The defense, though they performed better than my expectations, gave up too many 3rd downs and could not stop the Packers in the green zone. The swapping of field goals for touchdowns ultimately decided the game.
That said, it was impressive to see this team fight. Now I have hope that they will go to Dallas and kick some Cowboy ###.
netnalp
Footballguy
Giants at Cowboys – Sunday, December 11, 2011
By Eric from BigBlueInteractive.com
Approach to the Game: I’ll give the Giants credit. I didn’t give them a chance in hell to beat the Packers last week and they almost did it. In a weird way, last week’s loss almost feels like a win to me. Why? Because even in defeat I was proud of the team because of the way they fought. We all want the Giants to win, but we’ll sometimes cut them some slack when they lose against a better opponent if they make us proud in the process. Show us some fight. Give us a fun game to watch, not that crap they performed in New Orleans. The Giants-Packers game was a damn good game.
For the Giants, there are no more Saints and Packers on the regular-season schedule. The Cowboys, Redskins, and Jets are all very beatable. It’s time to end the four game slide and go on a run. The Giants are very, very fortunate to be in control of their own destiny at 6-6. But they do control their own destiny. Everything that has transpired in this crazy season no longer matters. Forget about it. All that matters is these last four games. The Giants can still win the division and earn a home-playoff game.
There are two “games of the year” for the Giants. The first is on Sunday night against the Cowboys. The second is the regular-season finale against the same team. But the final three games may not mean anything unless the Giants beat the Cowboys on Sunday night. For all intents and purposes, this is a playoff game for the Giants. There is no tomorrow. All hands should be on deck.
“Our playoffs start now,” says guard Chris Snee. “That’s how you have to look at it. We know what’s at stake. Everyone is aware of what’s going on and the circumstance we put ourselves in by not being able to win some of these games. But heads are up. We’re not down by any means. We know that we’re still in it. If we take care of our own business, hopefully we’ll be playing in January.”
The Cowboys are very similar to the Giants in that both teams have been terribly inconsistent. Dallas came damn close to losing to the Redskins and Dolphins before being defeated by the Cardinals last week. So they have hardly been impressive in recent weeks. But they do have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball and are quite capable of beating even a top team. Sound familiar? I think the most important keys for this weekend’s game is what Cowboys team will show up and what Giants team will show up? Will it be the Cowboys team that beat the 49ers or got crushed by the Eagles? Will it be the Giants team that lost to the Eagles in the Meadowlands or beat the Patriots? This could be a closely fought game or one of the two teams could pretty much own the other team depending on the focus, intensity, execution, and yes, coaching of both teams.
Get pumped Giants’ fans. This is a playoff game against a bitter division rival in a stadium where the Giants play very well. It’s games like this that make football the best sport in the world.
“This is exciting,” says quarterback Eli Manning. “When you’re getting into December and you’re playing for playoffs and division leads and different things, this is what it’s all about. This is a fun time. I think it’s important that the guys look at it like that. It’s not something to get nervous about or get anxious. It’s something to look forward to, be excited, have great energy, great enthusiasm amongst the team.”
Giants on Defense: Perry Fewell, his assistant coaches, and his players have to find a way to stop the bleeding. The Giants’ defense has given up 80 points (not counting the turnover TD in the Packers game) and over 900 yards in the last two games. Now granted this was against the two best offenses in football, but the Dallas Cowboys are quite capable of putting up big rushing and passing numbers of their own.
The Giants’ defense is 29th in the NFL in yards allowed and 28th in points allowed. God, I hate bad defense! A particular sore spot is the dreadful 4th quarter defense. Perry Fewell’s unit seems to regularly collapse late in games. Sometimes the Giants’ offense can bail them out, sometimes they can’t. Can this defense make a play late in the game to seal a win?
Dallas is 7th in the NFL in total offense (7th in passing and 14th in rushing). But don’t let the rushing stats fool you either. Rookie running back DeMarco Murray has had a couple of monster games rushing the football since taking over the starting job. He’s averaging 5.5 yards per carry. When Dallas throws the football, Tony Romo has a wealth of talented pass receiving targets in TE Jason Witten, WR Dez Bryant, WR Laurent Robinson, and WR Miles Austin, who returns this week after missing time with a hamstring injury. The Cowboys will also throw to their backs (both Murray and Felix Jones) and reserves such as TE Martellus Bennett. Robinson and Bennett have been bothered by injuries this week.
In order to slow down the Cowboys, the defensive line has to take over this game. If they don’t, the Giants will be in deep trouble. First and foremost, like last week, the Giants need to shut down the running game. Make the Cowboys one dimensional. Do not let Murray or Felix Jones get going. Linval Joseph and Chris Canty are coming off a strong game against the run and hopefully that continues on Sunday night. Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul, and Dave Tollefson need to control the edges as well.
When Dallas puts the ball up, the key is getting to Romo. But it’s best to keep Romo in the pocket. He tends to make his best plays when improvising outside of the tackles. He’s elusive back there and the defensive players need to break down and make sure tackles. So the Giants need to get after Romo, but they need a disciplined approach to doing so, particularly the ends. Romo doesn’t like getting hit. No quarterback does, but if you smack him around, he will get flustered and start making mistakes.
One should not minimize the contributions of Robinson (7 touchdowns) and Pro Bowler Austin (4 touchdowns), but the two guys who can really take over a game for the Cowboys in the receiving department are Witten (5 touchdowns) and Bryant (7 touchdowns). Witten is Romo’s security blanket. In dire situations, Romo seems to always look for Witten and Witten seems to almost always come through. On 3rd-and-long, the Giants have to cover Witten. Bryant is the enigmatic head case who is their most explosive player. You have to keep him under control, but it’s Witten who keeps those drives alive.
One of my worries this week defensively is if Kenny Phillips plays or not (he’s officially doubtful for the game). Tyler Sash is as green as you get. Deon Grant is too slow. The Giants need Phillips’ athleticism and experience in there to deal with all of these weapons. There is no tomorrow Giants’ medical staff…let Phillips play.
So…stop the run…cover Witten in critical situations…play with great intensity and passion…and for once, make plays in the fourth quarter to put the game away! Finish!
Giants on Offense: To me, the key to this game offensively is the Giants’ offensive line. The strength of the Dallas defense is their front seven. It’s a 3-4 defense with a very good nose tackle in Jay Ratliff and two outside linebackers who can rush the passer. ROLB DeMarcus Ware will battle his old friend David Diehl. Surprisingly, Diehl has done a decent job on Ware in previous games, but Ware is the kind of rusher who can give Diehl problems. Kareem McKenzie has had problems with outside speed this year and the Cowboys have played Ware over McKenzie at times. And regardless, LOLB Anthony Spencer can get after the quarterback too. This will be a much more difficult challenge for the revamped offensive line of Diehl, Petrus, Boothe, Snee, and McKenzie than last week’s contest.
The weakness of the Dallas defense is their secondary. It has been for years. If the Giants give Eli time, Eli and his receivers should eat this group up. Can the offensive line, tight ends, and backs give Eli the time? If they can, the Giants will move the football and score. Dallas will have problems matching up with Nicks, Cruz, Manningham, and Ballard. Dallas defensive coordinator Rex Ryan says the Cowboys can confuse Eli. We’ll see.
With Bradshaw back and Jacobs seeming a bit re-energized, I don’t look for Coughlin and Gilbride to abandon the run. “I think balance is the key,” said Coughlin this week. “Believe me, I really do. I don’t think you’re going to win being one-sided. I don’t think anybody here does. You have to take the pressure off the quarterback some way. It can’t be an every-down situation. But we’ve been able to have some success throwing the ball and it’s obviously first and foremost due to the quarterback and the protection. So we take full advantage of whatever the weapons that we have are. It certainly has turned in that direction, but I still do philosophically believe in balance.”
However, if history is any guide, the Giants like to go after this Dallas secondary. Look for some deep shots early.
Keys on offense…protect Manning…don’t turn the football over.
Giants on Special Teams: Dez Bryant is extremely dangerous on punt returns and he’s hurt the Giants before (93 yard return for a touchdown last season).
I hope the Giants can find a way to get Da’Rel Scott back on kickoff returns again.
By Eric from BigBlueInteractive.com
Approach to the Game: I’ll give the Giants credit. I didn’t give them a chance in hell to beat the Packers last week and they almost did it. In a weird way, last week’s loss almost feels like a win to me. Why? Because even in defeat I was proud of the team because of the way they fought. We all want the Giants to win, but we’ll sometimes cut them some slack when they lose against a better opponent if they make us proud in the process. Show us some fight. Give us a fun game to watch, not that crap they performed in New Orleans. The Giants-Packers game was a damn good game.
For the Giants, there are no more Saints and Packers on the regular-season schedule. The Cowboys, Redskins, and Jets are all very beatable. It’s time to end the four game slide and go on a run. The Giants are very, very fortunate to be in control of their own destiny at 6-6. But they do control their own destiny. Everything that has transpired in this crazy season no longer matters. Forget about it. All that matters is these last four games. The Giants can still win the division and earn a home-playoff game.
There are two “games of the year” for the Giants. The first is on Sunday night against the Cowboys. The second is the regular-season finale against the same team. But the final three games may not mean anything unless the Giants beat the Cowboys on Sunday night. For all intents and purposes, this is a playoff game for the Giants. There is no tomorrow. All hands should be on deck.
“Our playoffs start now,” says guard Chris Snee. “That’s how you have to look at it. We know what’s at stake. Everyone is aware of what’s going on and the circumstance we put ourselves in by not being able to win some of these games. But heads are up. We’re not down by any means. We know that we’re still in it. If we take care of our own business, hopefully we’ll be playing in January.”
The Cowboys are very similar to the Giants in that both teams have been terribly inconsistent. Dallas came damn close to losing to the Redskins and Dolphins before being defeated by the Cardinals last week. So they have hardly been impressive in recent weeks. But they do have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball and are quite capable of beating even a top team. Sound familiar? I think the most important keys for this weekend’s game is what Cowboys team will show up and what Giants team will show up? Will it be the Cowboys team that beat the 49ers or got crushed by the Eagles? Will it be the Giants team that lost to the Eagles in the Meadowlands or beat the Patriots? This could be a closely fought game or one of the two teams could pretty much own the other team depending on the focus, intensity, execution, and yes, coaching of both teams.
Get pumped Giants’ fans. This is a playoff game against a bitter division rival in a stadium where the Giants play very well. It’s games like this that make football the best sport in the world.
“This is exciting,” says quarterback Eli Manning. “When you’re getting into December and you’re playing for playoffs and division leads and different things, this is what it’s all about. This is a fun time. I think it’s important that the guys look at it like that. It’s not something to get nervous about or get anxious. It’s something to look forward to, be excited, have great energy, great enthusiasm amongst the team.”
Giants on Defense: Perry Fewell, his assistant coaches, and his players have to find a way to stop the bleeding. The Giants’ defense has given up 80 points (not counting the turnover TD in the Packers game) and over 900 yards in the last two games. Now granted this was against the two best offenses in football, but the Dallas Cowboys are quite capable of putting up big rushing and passing numbers of their own.
The Giants’ defense is 29th in the NFL in yards allowed and 28th in points allowed. God, I hate bad defense! A particular sore spot is the dreadful 4th quarter defense. Perry Fewell’s unit seems to regularly collapse late in games. Sometimes the Giants’ offense can bail them out, sometimes they can’t. Can this defense make a play late in the game to seal a win?
Dallas is 7th in the NFL in total offense (7th in passing and 14th in rushing). But don’t let the rushing stats fool you either. Rookie running back DeMarco Murray has had a couple of monster games rushing the football since taking over the starting job. He’s averaging 5.5 yards per carry. When Dallas throws the football, Tony Romo has a wealth of talented pass receiving targets in TE Jason Witten, WR Dez Bryant, WR Laurent Robinson, and WR Miles Austin, who returns this week after missing time with a hamstring injury. The Cowboys will also throw to their backs (both Murray and Felix Jones) and reserves such as TE Martellus Bennett. Robinson and Bennett have been bothered by injuries this week.
In order to slow down the Cowboys, the defensive line has to take over this game. If they don’t, the Giants will be in deep trouble. First and foremost, like last week, the Giants need to shut down the running game. Make the Cowboys one dimensional. Do not let Murray or Felix Jones get going. Linval Joseph and Chris Canty are coming off a strong game against the run and hopefully that continues on Sunday night. Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul, and Dave Tollefson need to control the edges as well.
When Dallas puts the ball up, the key is getting to Romo. But it’s best to keep Romo in the pocket. He tends to make his best plays when improvising outside of the tackles. He’s elusive back there and the defensive players need to break down and make sure tackles. So the Giants need to get after Romo, but they need a disciplined approach to doing so, particularly the ends. Romo doesn’t like getting hit. No quarterback does, but if you smack him around, he will get flustered and start making mistakes.
One should not minimize the contributions of Robinson (7 touchdowns) and Pro Bowler Austin (4 touchdowns), but the two guys who can really take over a game for the Cowboys in the receiving department are Witten (5 touchdowns) and Bryant (7 touchdowns). Witten is Romo’s security blanket. In dire situations, Romo seems to always look for Witten and Witten seems to almost always come through. On 3rd-and-long, the Giants have to cover Witten. Bryant is the enigmatic head case who is their most explosive player. You have to keep him under control, but it’s Witten who keeps those drives alive.
One of my worries this week defensively is if Kenny Phillips plays or not (he’s officially doubtful for the game). Tyler Sash is as green as you get. Deon Grant is too slow. The Giants need Phillips’ athleticism and experience in there to deal with all of these weapons. There is no tomorrow Giants’ medical staff…let Phillips play.
So…stop the run…cover Witten in critical situations…play with great intensity and passion…and for once, make plays in the fourth quarter to put the game away! Finish!
Giants on Offense: To me, the key to this game offensively is the Giants’ offensive line. The strength of the Dallas defense is their front seven. It’s a 3-4 defense with a very good nose tackle in Jay Ratliff and two outside linebackers who can rush the passer. ROLB DeMarcus Ware will battle his old friend David Diehl. Surprisingly, Diehl has done a decent job on Ware in previous games, but Ware is the kind of rusher who can give Diehl problems. Kareem McKenzie has had problems with outside speed this year and the Cowboys have played Ware over McKenzie at times. And regardless, LOLB Anthony Spencer can get after the quarterback too. This will be a much more difficult challenge for the revamped offensive line of Diehl, Petrus, Boothe, Snee, and McKenzie than last week’s contest.
The weakness of the Dallas defense is their secondary. It has been for years. If the Giants give Eli time, Eli and his receivers should eat this group up. Can the offensive line, tight ends, and backs give Eli the time? If they can, the Giants will move the football and score. Dallas will have problems matching up with Nicks, Cruz, Manningham, and Ballard. Dallas defensive coordinator Rex Ryan says the Cowboys can confuse Eli. We’ll see.
With Bradshaw back and Jacobs seeming a bit re-energized, I don’t look for Coughlin and Gilbride to abandon the run. “I think balance is the key,” said Coughlin this week. “Believe me, I really do. I don’t think you’re going to win being one-sided. I don’t think anybody here does. You have to take the pressure off the quarterback some way. It can’t be an every-down situation. But we’ve been able to have some success throwing the ball and it’s obviously first and foremost due to the quarterback and the protection. So we take full advantage of whatever the weapons that we have are. It certainly has turned in that direction, but I still do philosophically believe in balance.”
However, if history is any guide, the Giants like to go after this Dallas secondary. Look for some deep shots early.
Keys on offense…protect Manning…don’t turn the football over.
Giants on Special Teams: Dez Bryant is extremely dangerous on punt returns and he’s hurt the Giants before (93 yard return for a touchdown last season).
I hope the Giants can find a way to get Da’Rel Scott back on kickoff returns again.
Bronx Bomber
Footballguy
Back in 1st!
Not minding the 2010 draft at the moment.
1st Round. JPP - Beast
2nd Round. Joseph - Solidified himself as starter, though game can improve obviously.
3rd Round. Jones - Horrific injury, remains to be seen whether he'll return. Shame.
5th Round. Petrus - Starting to look good run blocking, now just needs to stay healthy.
Can't complain too much with three future starters, Dillard and Dodge obviously disappointed, but 7th round pick, whatever, and Tracy is still around on the prac. squad.
1st Round. JPP - Beast
2nd Round. Joseph - Solidified himself as starter, though game can improve obviously.
3rd Round. Jones - Horrific injury, remains to be seen whether he'll return. Shame.
5th Round. Petrus - Starting to look good run blocking, now just needs to stay healthy.
Can't complain too much with three future starters, Dillard and Dodge obviously disappointed, but 7th round pick, whatever, and Tracy is still around on the prac. squad.
harryhood
Footballguy
I like seeing them utilize Nicks a little more on the back shoulder throws. Those two were money for Eli/Nicks last year when they needed them. Manningham continues to underwhelm, however him dropping that ball last night could have been the greatest thing ever at this juncture. Too much time left for Romo and company if he had held on there.
This team, while extremely banged up is giving me lots to cheer for against some of the best competition in the NFL right now(sans Saints game). I still believe moving forward, we need a new Defensive Coordinator.
This team, while extremely banged up is giving me lots to cheer for against some of the best competition in the NFL right now(sans Saints game). I still believe moving forward, we need a new Defensive Coordinator.
netnalp
Footballguy
Cruz is only 194 yards away from becoming the Giants’ new single-season receiving leader (overtaking Amani Toomer at 1,343) and has joined Hakeem Nicks (1,023 yards) as the only duo in the 87-season history of the Giants to each record 1,000 yards or more in the same season. 
http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2011/12/giants_wr_victor_cruz_becomes.html
http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2011/12/giants_wr_victor_cruz_becomes.html
Last edited by a moderator:
netnalp
Footballguy
Giants' Michael Boley under investigation for child abuse, report says
By Mike Garafolo/The Star-Ledger
Giants linebacker Michael Boley is under investigation for child abuse for allegedly abusing his 5-year-old son, according to a report by TMZ.
Boley is accused of the "repeated willful abuse of a child" under 18 from May 30 to June 5, per TMZ's report, which cited the official police report in Gadsden, Ala.
A Giants spokesman said the team is aware of the incident and that Boley is still expected to play against the Redskins on Sunday but had no further comment.
Boley's Atlanta-based attorney, Randall M. Kessler, told TMZ the alegations were brought to the former Falcon along with "outrageous monetary demands in a contested child support case which she filed over a year ago."
Kessler also told the news outlet the woman who filed the complaint did not seek an order restricting Boley's visitation rights.
"The only relief she requested from the judge was that child support be more than quintupled to, in her words, 'increase her lifestyle,'" Kessler said, per TMZ.
In 2008, Boley was arrested on a domestic battery charge after becoming "physical" with his then-wife. He was suspended by the NFL for one game - the first of his Giants career after signing a five-year, $25-million deal in March 2009.
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Oooof! If he did abuse hope he gets prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Looks like an extortion attempt however.
On a lighter note, Packers fans whining about not getting enough media attention. Whine & cheese party
They deserve the win against the Giants as much as Elvis deserved his black-belt.
By Mike Garafolo/The Star-Ledger
Giants linebacker Michael Boley is under investigation for child abuse for allegedly abusing his 5-year-old son, according to a report by TMZ.
Boley is accused of the "repeated willful abuse of a child" under 18 from May 30 to June 5, per TMZ's report, which cited the official police report in Gadsden, Ala.
A Giants spokesman said the team is aware of the incident and that Boley is still expected to play against the Redskins on Sunday but had no further comment.
Boley's Atlanta-based attorney, Randall M. Kessler, told TMZ the alegations were brought to the former Falcon along with "outrageous monetary demands in a contested child support case which she filed over a year ago."
Kessler also told the news outlet the woman who filed the complaint did not seek an order restricting Boley's visitation rights.
"The only relief she requested from the judge was that child support be more than quintupled to, in her words, 'increase her lifestyle,'" Kessler said, per TMZ.
In 2008, Boley was arrested on a domestic battery charge after becoming "physical" with his then-wife. He was suspended by the NFL for one game - the first of his Giants career after signing a five-year, $25-million deal in March 2009.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oooof! If he did abuse hope he gets prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Looks like an extortion attempt however.
On a lighter note, Packers fans whining about not getting enough media attention. Whine & cheese party
They deserve the win against the Giants as much as Elvis deserved his black-belt.
Last edited by a moderator:
Avery
Footballguy
Tuck said he was as healthy as he felt all year and played 88 snaps; a career high.I think Vacchiano tweeter that Osi still needs a couple of weeks to heal. Not looking good for Ballard as well, but he is trying to rush things on what he says was a "2-4 week injury".
Yenrub
Footballguy
Heck of a game by the Giants in 2 of the 3 phases. Special teams was up and down.
The offensive line gave Eli a lot of time to pick and choose his targets and he didn’t make many mistakes
The defense while they were helped out by the Packers drops did a great job limiting this high powered offense.
Hope they can do it again next week in SF
It feels good! They are playing with house money right now!
That 49er defense is going to be tough to crack next week
The offensive line gave Eli a lot of time to pick and choose his targets and he didn’t make many mistakes
The defense while they were helped out by the Packers drops did a great job limiting this high powered offense.
Hope they can do it again next week in SF
It feels good! They are playing with house money right now!
That 49er defense is going to be tough to crack next week
Giantseasonticketholder
Whammy
'netnalp said:
Focus!! TC Tough!.
Giantseasonticketholder
Whammy
From Elias: The Giants are Giant killers in the postseason. In terms of difference of wins during the regular season, the Giants have authored the 3 biggest wins in NFL postseason history. The Giants have defeated three teams that had won at least 5 more games than they did during the regular season. In fact, they own the two 6-win differential games with Sunday and back in Super Bowl XLII when they knocked off the unbeaten Patriots
Redwes25
Footballguy
Good news of the day so far is that Canty is fine and didn't even have an MRI. When he went off the field I was very worried as they will need his strength against a very physical San Fran team and he has done a great job putting pressure up the middle the last two games. He has looked great this last stretch and he is playing liked I hoped he would when they signed him.
netnalp
Footballguy
Victor Cruz, the New York Giants, and Shades of the Run-and-Shoot Offense
Good strategies may fade away, but they never die
By Chris Brown on January 19, 2012
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7481235/chris-brown-victor-cruz-new-york-giants
New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz has been nothing short of a phenomenon this year. In 2010, his first season, the undrafted free agent had the kind of woulda-coulda-shoulda start to an NFL career that more often leads to telling your grandkids that you almost made it rather than to a fruitful career. Cruz followed a breakout preseason game against the New York Jets — 145 receiving yards and three touchdowns — with a season-ending injury. Your grandfather once played for the Giants! I scored three touchdowns in one game! After that, little was expected of the undersized and unheralded receiver who claims to be 6-foot-1 in cleats. But Cruz returned and delivered one of the most memorable seasons for a receiver in memory. He racked up 1,536 yards on 82 catches for a staggering 18.7 yards per catch and produced some of the season's most memorable plays, like a 99-yard touchdown against the Jets and a 74-yarder against the Cowboys in Week 17 that helped propel the Giants into the playoffs. And, of course, he capped off each score with his patented salsa dance, which is the only touchdown move I've seen be analyzed by a dance instructor. It all amounts to a pretty good bedtime story.
Cruz's success is even more fascinating for how he accomplished it. He put up huge numbers by playing what has historically been an unheralded spot — the slot receiver. Cruz lines up inside rather than on the outside of a formation. This season, Cruz's production is not quite as unusual, since several of the league's top receivers played some form of inside receiver spot, whether it was Wes Welker or Rob Gronkowski or Jimmy Graham. Even so, the classic image of a great wide receiver isn't a diminutive speedster lined up in the slot; it's Calvin Johnson or Jerry Rice — bigger, more physical, lined up out wide and ready to streak down the sideline or run a deep route. Yet Cruz's success is in no way unprecedented. Indeed, Cruz is the latest in a long line of slot receivers who have operated within the run-and-shoot offense, which forms the backbone of the Giants' passing attack.
The run-and-shoot was supposed to be dead, at least in the NFL. The offense (at least one form of it) was conceived by Glenn "Tiger" Ellison back in the 1950s, while Darrel "Mouse" Davis developed its modern form throughout a four-decade coaching career that has touched nearly every level of football imaginable. The offense had its moment of glory in the NFL in the early 1990s. Back then, the Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons, and Houston Oilers (and the Seattle Seahawks, extremely briefly) ran the 'shoot, which featured four wide receivers and one running back on every snap. The offense used no fullbacks and no tight ends.1 These teams had mixed success. The Lions won 12 games in 1991; the Falcons won 10 and made the playoffs twice during their 'shoot days. But the NFL team that most exemplified the run-and-shoot, in both its glory and its shame, was the Houston Oilers. The Oilers made the playoffs in seven straight years with the run-and-shoot (and fielded a top-10 offense in each season), and quarterback Warren Moon blitzkrieged defenses with his four-receiver aerial assault. But the Oilers never reached the Super Bowl, and they managed to be on the wrong end of the greatest playoff comeback in NFL history. Against the Buffalo Bills in the 1993 wild-card round, Moon threw four first-half touchdowns, but he wasn't able to burn the clock and the defense collapsed in the second half of a 41-38 loss. The Oilers became part of an even more ignominious moment the following year, when Buddy Ryan, Houston's defensive coordinator, punched the team's offensive coordinator in the face.2 Ryan was no fan of the run-and-shoot, which he called the "chuck-and-duck."
Eventually, a consensus formed around the league that a team couldn't win championships with the run-and-shoot, and teams abandoned the offense. Without a tight end or fullback, they said, the 'shoot was "finesse only" and lacked the physical element necessary to win.3 But not everyone agreed. When Hall of Fame safety Rod Woodson heard Houston had given up on the offense, he said: "Tell the owner thank you, and tell the front office thank you. The run-and-shoot got the Oilers where they are, and I think defenses all over the league are going to be very relieved when they hear about it."
But the run-and-shoot went out of fashion for a reason. In a modern NFL full of tight ends and multiple formations, an offense that limits itself to one personnel grouping — whether it's four receivers and one running back or two running backs and a tight end — can't be successful. The run-and-shoot forced the Oilers, Lions, and Falcons to protect their quarterback with six players; without multiple looks, today's defenses would develop schemes to destroy those protections. Indeed, what killed the run-and-shoot wasn't the playoff failures or the perceived lack of physicality, but rather the zone blitz, which was designed to defuse the kind of six-man protection schemes that run-and-shoot teams used on every down. For a while, at least, everyone around football seemed to agree that the run-and-shoot had died and would never come back.
But the run-and-shoot never left. No, I'm not talking about the increased use of multiple receiver sets or the emphasis on passing in this year's NFL. Both trends exist, but they aren't necessarily tied to the 'shoot. Instead, I'm referring to the famous route packages that Mouse Davis invented and every 'shoot team since has used: "streak," "switch," "go," Choice, and so on. What made the 'shoot special — and truly explosive — was that it was backyard football writ to the NFL. Instead of the traditional pro football approach, where a team might have hundreds of pass plays, each with multiple variations, that the quarterbacks and receivers were all required to practice and memorize, the run-and-shoot was simple.
Tiger Ellison's 1950s book on the run-and-shoot described the coach's experience of going to a playground to watch how kids actually play football outside of organized teams. He didn't see anyone getting in a power formation and running the ball off tackle. Instead, he saw the kid with the best arm run around and search for someone to throw the ball to. The receivers had no predetermined routes; they just looked for open areas and ran to get away from their defenders. Ellison had a revelation: High-level football shouldn't have to fight this impulse. It should be based on what comes naturally to every kid who picks up a ball. And the run-and-shoot was born.
Prior to Ellison's insight, the great leaps in football strategy had been rooted in increased organization, increased precision, and increased discipline. Coaches like the great Paul Brown of the Cleveland Browns drew on the lessons of World War II — and installed martial-style techniques like huddles, playbooks, game plans, and rigorous drilling. Football, with its brief outbreaks of battle and long stretches of quiet planning, is more steeped in militaristic virtues than any other sport.
Ellison saw another strand running through the game, one closer to rugby, football's Continental forebear, as well as sports like basketball and soccer where fluid, on-the-fly athletic intelligence matters as much as planning. While teams like the Browns achieved victory with the inevitability of a Roman legion marching through some soon-to-be-conquered territory, Ellison's "Now Attack" was ad hoc guerrilla warfare.
Mouse Davis organized Ellison's insights into the offense the Oilers ran 40 years later, and he did so by combining Brown's military approach with Ellison's free-flowing game. Each pass play was designed with the rigor of Brown's battle plans, but instead of a single assignment, each wide receiver was given a decision tree. If the play was "go," the slot receiver might run deep; he might stop and turn back to the quarterback after about eight yards; he might run 10 or 12 yards and then break across the field; or he might go deep, but instead of going straight he'd run diagonally upfield. Ultimately, the decision didn't really belong to the receiver. Just like backyard football, it depended on the defense. Just as Ellison taught, while a receiver might have a variety of different assignments on a given play, he is ultimately given one overarching, all-encompassing command: Get open.
It's true that the "pure" run-and-shoot is never coming back to the NFL. But this aspect of the offense — the read-and-react style that rang up huge numbers in the early 1990s — has never left. It was merely co-opted into other attacks. For an offense that is supposedly defunct, it may be surprising to know that almost every team in the NFL uses some piece of the old Oilers offense, whether it is a type of read route or an entire concept. In this way, Victor Cruz and the Giants' success is no surprise. Cruz is a current-day Ernest Givins — the gutsy, undersized slot receiver who has a knack for reading defenses (and uses that skill to shatter receiving records). And let's not forget the name of the Oilers' offensive coordinator at whom Buddy Ryan took a swing: It was Kevin Gilbride, offensive coordinator for the 2011-12 New York Giants.
After leaving the Oilers, Gilbride joined the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars under their new head coach, Tom Coughlin. Given the sorry history of expansion franchises, they searched for an offense that would give the Jaguars an edge. Coughlin had no interest in running the "chuck-and-duck," but over the next few seasons Gilbride and Coughlin blended their styles into an attack that helped Mark Brunell lead the league in passing in the franchise's second season and brought Jacksonville to the AFC championship game twice. Gilbride left after the 1996 season and bounced around as a coordinator before reuniting with Coughlin in New York.
The Giants' offense is different from what Coughlin and Gilbride ran in Jacksonville, but it retains many of the same elements: a mixture of traditional sets and spread looks, along with several old run-and-shoot favorites. As long as Coughlin coaches the Giants, they will be a run-first team, but it's also clear that this season's Eli Manning-led passing attack has been the one constant for an inconsistent 9-7 team that now hopes to complete another run from the wild card to the Super Bowl.
Cruz is the player who makes the New York offense truly dynamic. From his slot receiver position, it's his job to, well, get open. Earlier this season, when Gilbride described Cruz's job and development on the field, it sounded like a flashback to the run-and-shoot Oilers:
"When you are in that inside position and that is where we needed somebody to be, there is a lot going on. It is so much easier outside because you have a corner, and if the corner goes deep or rolls up and the safety is over the top, that is it. But inside you have somebody over your head, you have a linebacker, a safety and the other safety across, you have so many more variables in the equation of [Cruz] making the final decision. ... [Cruz] has really reduced the number of errors he makes and he is making a lot of good decisions, and you saw the great plays. Even on the ones where he reads it right and his decision was right. He is doing the right things and I am really proud of him and what has taken place because I don't know how fair it was to expect so much. We always knew we had a guy that we knew could do it but you never know if they are going to do it."
A perfect example of Cruz excelling in a run-and-shoot play this season came in Week 3 against the Eagles. On third-and-2, Gilbride called an old staple — the "switch" concept. At the snap, the inside receiver, Cruz, and the outside receiver, Hakeem Nicks, were to "switch" their releases by crisscrossing past each other. But that's just where the fun begins. Each receiver still had multiple decisions to make. Nicks' job was to run an inside "seam read" route. Depending on how the defense played him, Nicks might go vertical or he might break across the field. Cruz's first responsibility was to get deep, but if the defense played him over the top to take away the deep ball, his job was to stop and look for a pass in the open space. On the play, the Eagles blitzed and Cruz found an open spot in the defense and waited. Manning found him, and 74 yards and several broken tackles later, the Giants had a touchdown.
The image below is an actual page from Coughlin and Gilbride's playbook with the Jaguars, showing how they run the old Switch in modern football with a tight end.
Examples of these run-and-shoot concepts abound in the Giants' game plans. Cruz reads the defense on almost every pass play, and the Giants' favorite passing formation is a variant on the run-and-shoot's Choice concept, with Hakeem Nicks as a single backside receiver with multiple route options while three receivers to the other side run a different formation. This forces defenses to pick their poison: Guard Nicks one-on-one and Manning will throw to him all day, just as Warren Moon once did with guys like Haywood Jeffires. If the defense sends additional players to Nicks' side, space opens up for the run game inside or for the other receivers, just as it did for Cruz on his 99-yard touchdown against the Jets. For a dead offense, that's pretty good.
In football, the narrative is never as simple as it seems. Do the Giants run the run-and-shoot? No, of course not. But they use pieces of it, just as every other NFL team does. Drew Brees' best pass play is four verticals, where the receivers can adjust on the fly — a 'shoot staple; the Patriots use a plethora of option routes, where receivers are given the freedom to get open and break in any direction they want; and even Peyton Manning's great Colts offenses frequently asked receivers to read routes on the fly. Maybe these players and coaches use run-and-shoot concepts without knowing where they came from, but they use them.
There are few absolute truths in football. One is that championships are won with talent and hard work more than anything else. Another is that good ideas don't die. They merely get assimilated. This year's Giants are the proof.
Good strategies may fade away, but they never die
By Chris Brown on January 19, 2012
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7481235/chris-brown-victor-cruz-new-york-giants
New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz has been nothing short of a phenomenon this year. In 2010, his first season, the undrafted free agent had the kind of woulda-coulda-shoulda start to an NFL career that more often leads to telling your grandkids that you almost made it rather than to a fruitful career. Cruz followed a breakout preseason game against the New York Jets — 145 receiving yards and three touchdowns — with a season-ending injury. Your grandfather once played for the Giants! I scored three touchdowns in one game! After that, little was expected of the undersized and unheralded receiver who claims to be 6-foot-1 in cleats. But Cruz returned and delivered one of the most memorable seasons for a receiver in memory. He racked up 1,536 yards on 82 catches for a staggering 18.7 yards per catch and produced some of the season's most memorable plays, like a 99-yard touchdown against the Jets and a 74-yarder against the Cowboys in Week 17 that helped propel the Giants into the playoffs. And, of course, he capped off each score with his patented salsa dance, which is the only touchdown move I've seen be analyzed by a dance instructor. It all amounts to a pretty good bedtime story.
Cruz's success is even more fascinating for how he accomplished it. He put up huge numbers by playing what has historically been an unheralded spot — the slot receiver. Cruz lines up inside rather than on the outside of a formation. This season, Cruz's production is not quite as unusual, since several of the league's top receivers played some form of inside receiver spot, whether it was Wes Welker or Rob Gronkowski or Jimmy Graham. Even so, the classic image of a great wide receiver isn't a diminutive speedster lined up in the slot; it's Calvin Johnson or Jerry Rice — bigger, more physical, lined up out wide and ready to streak down the sideline or run a deep route. Yet Cruz's success is in no way unprecedented. Indeed, Cruz is the latest in a long line of slot receivers who have operated within the run-and-shoot offense, which forms the backbone of the Giants' passing attack.
The run-and-shoot was supposed to be dead, at least in the NFL. The offense (at least one form of it) was conceived by Glenn "Tiger" Ellison back in the 1950s, while Darrel "Mouse" Davis developed its modern form throughout a four-decade coaching career that has touched nearly every level of football imaginable. The offense had its moment of glory in the NFL in the early 1990s. Back then, the Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons, and Houston Oilers (and the Seattle Seahawks, extremely briefly) ran the 'shoot, which featured four wide receivers and one running back on every snap. The offense used no fullbacks and no tight ends.1 These teams had mixed success. The Lions won 12 games in 1991; the Falcons won 10 and made the playoffs twice during their 'shoot days. But the NFL team that most exemplified the run-and-shoot, in both its glory and its shame, was the Houston Oilers. The Oilers made the playoffs in seven straight years with the run-and-shoot (and fielded a top-10 offense in each season), and quarterback Warren Moon blitzkrieged defenses with his four-receiver aerial assault. But the Oilers never reached the Super Bowl, and they managed to be on the wrong end of the greatest playoff comeback in NFL history. Against the Buffalo Bills in the 1993 wild-card round, Moon threw four first-half touchdowns, but he wasn't able to burn the clock and the defense collapsed in the second half of a 41-38 loss. The Oilers became part of an even more ignominious moment the following year, when Buddy Ryan, Houston's defensive coordinator, punched the team's offensive coordinator in the face.2 Ryan was no fan of the run-and-shoot, which he called the "chuck-and-duck."
Eventually, a consensus formed around the league that a team couldn't win championships with the run-and-shoot, and teams abandoned the offense. Without a tight end or fullback, they said, the 'shoot was "finesse only" and lacked the physical element necessary to win.3 But not everyone agreed. When Hall of Fame safety Rod Woodson heard Houston had given up on the offense, he said: "Tell the owner thank you, and tell the front office thank you. The run-and-shoot got the Oilers where they are, and I think defenses all over the league are going to be very relieved when they hear about it."
But the run-and-shoot went out of fashion for a reason. In a modern NFL full of tight ends and multiple formations, an offense that limits itself to one personnel grouping — whether it's four receivers and one running back or two running backs and a tight end — can't be successful. The run-and-shoot forced the Oilers, Lions, and Falcons to protect their quarterback with six players; without multiple looks, today's defenses would develop schemes to destroy those protections. Indeed, what killed the run-and-shoot wasn't the playoff failures or the perceived lack of physicality, but rather the zone blitz, which was designed to defuse the kind of six-man protection schemes that run-and-shoot teams used on every down. For a while, at least, everyone around football seemed to agree that the run-and-shoot had died and would never come back.
But the run-and-shoot never left. No, I'm not talking about the increased use of multiple receiver sets or the emphasis on passing in this year's NFL. Both trends exist, but they aren't necessarily tied to the 'shoot. Instead, I'm referring to the famous route packages that Mouse Davis invented and every 'shoot team since has used: "streak," "switch," "go," Choice, and so on. What made the 'shoot special — and truly explosive — was that it was backyard football writ to the NFL. Instead of the traditional pro football approach, where a team might have hundreds of pass plays, each with multiple variations, that the quarterbacks and receivers were all required to practice and memorize, the run-and-shoot was simple.
Tiger Ellison's 1950s book on the run-and-shoot described the coach's experience of going to a playground to watch how kids actually play football outside of organized teams. He didn't see anyone getting in a power formation and running the ball off tackle. Instead, he saw the kid with the best arm run around and search for someone to throw the ball to. The receivers had no predetermined routes; they just looked for open areas and ran to get away from their defenders. Ellison had a revelation: High-level football shouldn't have to fight this impulse. It should be based on what comes naturally to every kid who picks up a ball. And the run-and-shoot was born.
Prior to Ellison's insight, the great leaps in football strategy had been rooted in increased organization, increased precision, and increased discipline. Coaches like the great Paul Brown of the Cleveland Browns drew on the lessons of World War II — and installed martial-style techniques like huddles, playbooks, game plans, and rigorous drilling. Football, with its brief outbreaks of battle and long stretches of quiet planning, is more steeped in militaristic virtues than any other sport.
Ellison saw another strand running through the game, one closer to rugby, football's Continental forebear, as well as sports like basketball and soccer where fluid, on-the-fly athletic intelligence matters as much as planning. While teams like the Browns achieved victory with the inevitability of a Roman legion marching through some soon-to-be-conquered territory, Ellison's "Now Attack" was ad hoc guerrilla warfare.
Mouse Davis organized Ellison's insights into the offense the Oilers ran 40 years later, and he did so by combining Brown's military approach with Ellison's free-flowing game. Each pass play was designed with the rigor of Brown's battle plans, but instead of a single assignment, each wide receiver was given a decision tree. If the play was "go," the slot receiver might run deep; he might stop and turn back to the quarterback after about eight yards; he might run 10 or 12 yards and then break across the field; or he might go deep, but instead of going straight he'd run diagonally upfield. Ultimately, the decision didn't really belong to the receiver. Just like backyard football, it depended on the defense. Just as Ellison taught, while a receiver might have a variety of different assignments on a given play, he is ultimately given one overarching, all-encompassing command: Get open.
It's true that the "pure" run-and-shoot is never coming back to the NFL. But this aspect of the offense — the read-and-react style that rang up huge numbers in the early 1990s — has never left. It was merely co-opted into other attacks. For an offense that is supposedly defunct, it may be surprising to know that almost every team in the NFL uses some piece of the old Oilers offense, whether it is a type of read route or an entire concept. In this way, Victor Cruz and the Giants' success is no surprise. Cruz is a current-day Ernest Givins — the gutsy, undersized slot receiver who has a knack for reading defenses (and uses that skill to shatter receiving records). And let's not forget the name of the Oilers' offensive coordinator at whom Buddy Ryan took a swing: It was Kevin Gilbride, offensive coordinator for the 2011-12 New York Giants.
After leaving the Oilers, Gilbride joined the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars under their new head coach, Tom Coughlin. Given the sorry history of expansion franchises, they searched for an offense that would give the Jaguars an edge. Coughlin had no interest in running the "chuck-and-duck," but over the next few seasons Gilbride and Coughlin blended their styles into an attack that helped Mark Brunell lead the league in passing in the franchise's second season and brought Jacksonville to the AFC championship game twice. Gilbride left after the 1996 season and bounced around as a coordinator before reuniting with Coughlin in New York.
The Giants' offense is different from what Coughlin and Gilbride ran in Jacksonville, but it retains many of the same elements: a mixture of traditional sets and spread looks, along with several old run-and-shoot favorites. As long as Coughlin coaches the Giants, they will be a run-first team, but it's also clear that this season's Eli Manning-led passing attack has been the one constant for an inconsistent 9-7 team that now hopes to complete another run from the wild card to the Super Bowl.
Cruz is the player who makes the New York offense truly dynamic. From his slot receiver position, it's his job to, well, get open. Earlier this season, when Gilbride described Cruz's job and development on the field, it sounded like a flashback to the run-and-shoot Oilers:
"When you are in that inside position and that is where we needed somebody to be, there is a lot going on. It is so much easier outside because you have a corner, and if the corner goes deep or rolls up and the safety is over the top, that is it. But inside you have somebody over your head, you have a linebacker, a safety and the other safety across, you have so many more variables in the equation of [Cruz] making the final decision. ... [Cruz] has really reduced the number of errors he makes and he is making a lot of good decisions, and you saw the great plays. Even on the ones where he reads it right and his decision was right. He is doing the right things and I am really proud of him and what has taken place because I don't know how fair it was to expect so much. We always knew we had a guy that we knew could do it but you never know if they are going to do it."
A perfect example of Cruz excelling in a run-and-shoot play this season came in Week 3 against the Eagles. On third-and-2, Gilbride called an old staple — the "switch" concept. At the snap, the inside receiver, Cruz, and the outside receiver, Hakeem Nicks, were to "switch" their releases by crisscrossing past each other. But that's just where the fun begins. Each receiver still had multiple decisions to make. Nicks' job was to run an inside "seam read" route. Depending on how the defense played him, Nicks might go vertical or he might break across the field. Cruz's first responsibility was to get deep, but if the defense played him over the top to take away the deep ball, his job was to stop and look for a pass in the open space. On the play, the Eagles blitzed and Cruz found an open spot in the defense and waited. Manning found him, and 74 yards and several broken tackles later, the Giants had a touchdown.
The image below is an actual page from Coughlin and Gilbride's playbook with the Jaguars, showing how they run the old Switch in modern football with a tight end.
Examples of these run-and-shoot concepts abound in the Giants' game plans. Cruz reads the defense on almost every pass play, and the Giants' favorite passing formation is a variant on the run-and-shoot's Choice concept, with Hakeem Nicks as a single backside receiver with multiple route options while three receivers to the other side run a different formation. This forces defenses to pick their poison: Guard Nicks one-on-one and Manning will throw to him all day, just as Warren Moon once did with guys like Haywood Jeffires. If the defense sends additional players to Nicks' side, space opens up for the run game inside or for the other receivers, just as it did for Cruz on his 99-yard touchdown against the Jets. For a dead offense, that's pretty good.
In football, the narrative is never as simple as it seems. Do the Giants run the run-and-shoot? No, of course not. But they use pieces of it, just as every other NFL team does. Drew Brees' best pass play is four verticals, where the receivers can adjust on the fly — a 'shoot staple; the Patriots use a plethora of option routes, where receivers are given the freedom to get open and break in any direction they want; and even Peyton Manning's great Colts offenses frequently asked receivers to read routes on the fly. Maybe these players and coaches use run-and-shoot concepts without knowing where they came from, but they use them.
There are few absolute truths in football. One is that championships are won with talent and hard work more than anything else. Another is that good ideas don't die. They merely get assimilated. This year's Giants are the proof.
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netnalp
Footballguy
Absolutely. I was saying they were an 8-8 team. Whiffed on Cruz this season too. So glad I wasn't right!Eli's going to need the two weeks to recover from the pounding he took.Wow.Considering how this team looked mid-season, hell, even late in the year I am in shock they pulled it together for this run.
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Raider Nation
Devil's Advocate
Congrats guys! This looked highly improbable in the middle of the season.
Go finish the job!!!
Go finish the job!!!
harryhood
Footballguy
This game was unreal. They took a pounding, and had NO answer for the pass rush of SF. But the D kept going, and going. All you need is opportunities, and the Giants defense created plenty of opportunities for this game to continue, even when the offense was struggling.
When they needed it, Eli was there to deliver in the clutch as well. That is a 3rd and 15 throw, and it is BIG TIME.
TEAM EFFORT!!! FINISH THIS BIG BLUE!!!!
When they needed it, Eli was there to deliver in the clutch as well. That is a 3rd and 15 throw, and it is BIG TIME.
TEAM EFFORT!!! FINISH THIS BIG BLUE!!!!
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Giantseasonticketholder
Whammy
I am not going to lie. I walked out AT HALFTIME of the Redskins game because I was so disgusted at how this team played. I went home and tore up the application for playoff tickets. But then Victor Cruz caught a 10 yard pass, slipped through a couple of Jets, went 99 yards and the rest is history!
This has been an incredible run! 1 more win!!!!! TC TOUGH!
This has been an incredible run! 1 more win!!!!! TC TOUGH!
Jed
Footballguy
The 2nd Skins game was the most frustrated I've ever been as a Giants fan. This is an incredible run, and I hope it doesn't end now!
Angry Beavers
Footballguy
Let's see -
Giants beat SF in the NFC Champtionship Game when they went onto beat Buffalo in the SB - that was 20 years ago - almost to the day! Let's hope for history to repeat itself!
Giants beat SF in the NFC Champtionship Game when they went onto beat Buffalo in the SB - that was 20 years ago - almost to the day! Let's hope for history to repeat itself!
houndirish
Footballguy
Hell yeah boys! That was a war of attrition and we came out on the right side of it. Brutally physical game. Those guys are gonna need every bit of those two weeks to stop aching. Eli really doesn't get credit for the hits he takes. He's tougher than I ever would'a guessed.
Giants remain undefeated in NFC Championship games. Gotta finish.
Giants remain undefeated in NFC Championship games. Gotta finish.
Jason Wood
Zoo York
KILLS me to say this, but "congrats boys."
Giantseasonticketholder
Whammy
The only time I leave early is when the Giants are up big. I stay and take my lumps if they are getting run out of the building. But the "effort" they put forth in that game was disgusting. I was fortunate enough to go to the Jets game with a bunch of friends and Cruz' play really was the turning point. The entire sideline was electric for the rest of that game and every game since.
houndirish
Footballguy
Much appreciated Woodrow! Despite your rooting interests I've always respected your opinion and perspective.KILLS me to say this, but "congrats boys."
netnalp
Footballguy
Jerry Jones said the biggest difference between the Cowboys and Giants is Eli Manning.
http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4689763/jerry-jones-eli-manning-made-the-difference-for-giants
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I'd point to your GM before Romo. Cowboys have a lot bigger problems and I don't think one of them is Romo.
http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4689763/jerry-jones-eli-manning-made-the-difference-for-giants
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I'd point to your GM before Romo. Cowboys have a lot bigger problems and I don't think one of them is Romo.
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