Ever since Robinson Cano came into the fray as the everyday second baseman for the New York Yankees, the comparisons to Rod Carew and the like were coming from every direction. As I watched this kid for the first time in 2005, I thought in no way would he live up the the expectations set forth.
Boy was I dead wrong.
Cano has not only held his own with the bat, but his fielding is nothing short of spectacular. He supports a lifetime .984 fielding percentage and has a stellar arm for a second baseman. His ability to turn the double play is something to watch. The time it takes for him to field a ground ball and release to second is one of the shortest and best in the league. His range in both directions also are a huge benefit to his defensive game.
But where Cano is most notably excelling is at the plate. Batting behind Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, he has had his fair share of RBI opportunities, and he has taken advantage. He currently is second on the team to Arod with 53 RBI's this season. But Cano leads the team with a .359 batting average among the everyday players, a testament to his ability to take the ball the other way as he demonstrated in extra innings yesterday. Cano in the 10th inning against the Dodgers struck a line drive that landed 5 rows deep in left center to give the Yankees the lead which Mariano Rivera closed out. Time and time again, Cano has shown the ability to spray the ball hard all over the field. His hitting chart amply displays how evenly dispersed all of his hits are. Cano also has the advantage of the short porch at Yankee Stadium in right field, which he has taken advantage of since he came here. It would be a mistake though for Cano to turn into a pull hitter and to get too caught up in the short porch in right.
Kevin Long is to be given en enormous amount of credit with what he does, especially with guys like Cano and Arod. I always see him continuously talking with players before and after at bats not only going over scouting reports, but working on techniques and simple tendencies hitters sometimes fall into. The only knock you can possibly have on Cano is his batting in the postseason. He is still young, and playing on a team like the Yankees, he will continue to have plenty of opportunities to show why he is one of the best second baseman in the league, as demonstrated by the All-Star voting. Cano is a sure thing to be the starting second baseman for the American League in Los Angeles for the 2010 All-Star game. If he continues his hot bat in the second half of the season, you could be looking at the 2010 American League MVP.
Comments
Monday, June 28, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Only at the U.S. Open Can a Dream Like Erik Compton's Come True
What is so great about the U.S. Open are stories like Erik Compton's along with so many others who have the opportunity to play in the most storied event in the sport of golf. You can read more about his story here.
In no other sport can a story like Compton's ever come true. This is what makes this event and this sport so wonderful. Anyone with a registered USGA handicap of 1.4 or below can qualify for the U.S. Open by competing and passing both local and sectional qualifiers. All it takes is 3 magical rounds and you are in with the best.
Overcoming all odds this man fulfilled his dream to step on a golf course with the best in the world on the biggest stage.
Comments
In no other sport can a story like Compton's ever come true. This is what makes this event and this sport so wonderful. Anyone with a registered USGA handicap of 1.4 or below can qualify for the U.S. Open by competing and passing both local and sectional qualifiers. All it takes is 3 magical rounds and you are in with the best.
Overcoming all odds this man fulfilled his dream to step on a golf course with the best in the world on the biggest stage.
Comments
Sunday, June 13, 2010
110th U.S. Open Championship Preview
The one week of the year that brings me the most joy has arrived. Some of my fondest memories so far in my life are from this week, sharing memorable moments with my dad and grandfather playing the wonderful sport of golf and trekking several distinguished golf courses for a U.S. Open. A week where dreams come true in every single way on golf courses everywhere around the world is about to take place.
The 110th United States Open Championship begins this Thursday at Pebble Beach, where Lucas Glover will begin the pursuit of defending his memorable win last year at Bethpage Black. Glover beat out the resurging David Duval, 2002 U.S. Amateur Champion and newcomer Ricky Barnes, and Phil Mickelson, who has a long list of Open heartbreaks I will get to later. Phil has come oh so close way too many times in this Championship, and you have to think with all that's happened to Tiger, is there anyone who can stop Phil? Ya, there are a few actually.
Ernie Els is at the top of the Fed Ex Cup standings with 2 wins coming earlier this year, but his play of late has slipped. Jim Furyk also has 2 wins this year, 4 top 10's, and, like Els, has won a U.S. Open. Lee Westwood squandered a chance for the Masters with a poor final round, but finally came through with his first PGA Tour victory at the St. Jude Classic last week. All three of these guys have a shot, along with Tiger, to give Phil a run for his money this week. But in my mind, this tournament is Phil's to lose.
Too many times I have seen Phil Mickelson have a share of the lead at a U.S. Open late in the final round only to squander it. In 2004, I sat in the grandstands at the 18th green at Shinnecock Hills on Sunday waiting for Phil to come and take the trophy, only to see him 3-putt the par 3 17th. In 2006, I watched Phil pull a driver out of his bag on the 72nd hole and spray his drive off the merchandise tent which would lead to a double bogey and another squandered title. When I thought it could not get any worse, I walked through the rain last year at Bethpage Black to see Phil make bogeys on 15 and 17 to yet again give away the U.S. Open. Phil, I can't take any more of these.
If this is the year Phil Mickelson finally exercises his demons and takes home a U.S. Open, he is going to have to stick to doing things simple. But Phil is far from simple, hes been bombing drives farther than anybody I have ever seen and launching iron shots farther than I think they were designed to go. But at a U.S. Open, everybody knows the rough is think and the greens are slick. Phil has to slow things down, think fairways and greens, and pick his pins he wants to attack. You can not go for birdie on every hole at a U.S. Open, the course will eat you alive. But this course suits Phil well. He has won here 3 times at the Pro Am, finishing -14, -19, and -20 each time. Phil knows how to make birdies, but he has to avoid those bogeys, and others, to win.
Phil has been chasing Tiger to take over the top of the world golf rankings for several weeks, but so far he has failed to do so. Tiger and longtime swing coach Hank Haney have parted ways after several years. Tiger has not hired a new coach and has been using video to alter his swing. He better be watching a lot of video. Since he has returned, he has finished in the top 10 only once. He is spraying drives all over the place and has an inconsistent iron game. But 10 years ago, all of us witnessed the four most unbelievable rounds in United States Open History shot by Tiger, who is more than capable of just half of that, which in my mind is more than enough to take home the championship.
Should be one memorable week none the less.
Comments
The 110th United States Open Championship begins this Thursday at Pebble Beach, where Lucas Glover will begin the pursuit of defending his memorable win last year at Bethpage Black. Glover beat out the resurging David Duval, 2002 U.S. Amateur Champion and newcomer Ricky Barnes, and Phil Mickelson, who has a long list of Open heartbreaks I will get to later. Phil has come oh so close way too many times in this Championship, and you have to think with all that's happened to Tiger, is there anyone who can stop Phil? Ya, there are a few actually.
Ernie Els is at the top of the Fed Ex Cup standings with 2 wins coming earlier this year, but his play of late has slipped. Jim Furyk also has 2 wins this year, 4 top 10's, and, like Els, has won a U.S. Open. Lee Westwood squandered a chance for the Masters with a poor final round, but finally came through with his first PGA Tour victory at the St. Jude Classic last week. All three of these guys have a shot, along with Tiger, to give Phil a run for his money this week. But in my mind, this tournament is Phil's to lose.
Too many times I have seen Phil Mickelson have a share of the lead at a U.S. Open late in the final round only to squander it. In 2004, I sat in the grandstands at the 18th green at Shinnecock Hills on Sunday waiting for Phil to come and take the trophy, only to see him 3-putt the par 3 17th. In 2006, I watched Phil pull a driver out of his bag on the 72nd hole and spray his drive off the merchandise tent which would lead to a double bogey and another squandered title. When I thought it could not get any worse, I walked through the rain last year at Bethpage Black to see Phil make bogeys on 15 and 17 to yet again give away the U.S. Open. Phil, I can't take any more of these.
If this is the year Phil Mickelson finally exercises his demons and takes home a U.S. Open, he is going to have to stick to doing things simple. But Phil is far from simple, hes been bombing drives farther than anybody I have ever seen and launching iron shots farther than I think they were designed to go. But at a U.S. Open, everybody knows the rough is think and the greens are slick. Phil has to slow things down, think fairways and greens, and pick his pins he wants to attack. You can not go for birdie on every hole at a U.S. Open, the course will eat you alive. But this course suits Phil well. He has won here 3 times at the Pro Am, finishing -14, -19, and -20 each time. Phil knows how to make birdies, but he has to avoid those bogeys, and others, to win.
Phil has been chasing Tiger to take over the top of the world golf rankings for several weeks, but so far he has failed to do so. Tiger and longtime swing coach Hank Haney have parted ways after several years. Tiger has not hired a new coach and has been using video to alter his swing. He better be watching a lot of video. Since he has returned, he has finished in the top 10 only once. He is spraying drives all over the place and has an inconsistent iron game. But 10 years ago, all of us witnessed the four most unbelievable rounds in United States Open History shot by Tiger, who is more than capable of just half of that, which in my mind is more than enough to take home the championship.
Should be one memorable week none the less.
Comments
Thursday, June 10, 2010
NCAA lowers the hammer on USC; Other College Football News
The NCAA has ruled that USC will receive a two year ban from the postseason, a loss of scholarships, and will forfeit some wins according to an ESPN report that you can read here. A formal announcement from the NCAA will take place at 3:00 P.M. today.
This is a big blow to the USC football program. This will effect recruiting not only next year but the year after as USC will not be eligible to play in a bowl game until 2012. This also effects current players who have the ability to transfer, although they must sit out a year if they choose to do so. Lane Kiffin has his work cut out for him in the upcoming years, as he has his hands tied as he enters his first season as head coach of the USC football team. The people with smiles on their faces today are the people of Knoxville, whom Kiffin ditched after coaching for only one year to coach at USC.
In other college football news, Nebraska has accepted an offer to join the Big 10. Other teams are also expected to join the Big 10 some time in the near future. The Pac 10 also added the University of Colorado to join its conference. According to Pac 10 officials, it is only a matter of when more teams will join the conference.
A major change in the landscape of college football is taking place. It has been speculated that the Big 12 will dissolve if they lose more teams. We will wait and see if that happens. But what is taking place is something I do not think benefits the game of college football. The better teams will only get better and there will be more of a gap between the bad teams and the good ones. Expansion does not increase competition, and no one wants to see bad football. Expansion also does not benefit the average football fan. These programs are all in it for the revenue. They want more revenue to put more money into their schools to buy more things for their programs in order to recruit better players which only passes the burden on to the fans. Fans should expect ticket prices to continue to increase significantly, while more benefits will be given to boosters who contribute more to the pot. That is just how it works. Just like PSL's are ruining the average Joe NFL fan, expansion in college football will be a detriment to the average Joe college football fan.
What college football may get out of this is the possibility of a playoff system for the postseason. I have never been a fan of the computer system currently in place for the BCS, even though it has benefited the teams I root for. We have to wait until everything settles before we can talk about what type of system we can get.
Comments on USC and college football Conference expansion
This is a big blow to the USC football program. This will effect recruiting not only next year but the year after as USC will not be eligible to play in a bowl game until 2012. This also effects current players who have the ability to transfer, although they must sit out a year if they choose to do so. Lane Kiffin has his work cut out for him in the upcoming years, as he has his hands tied as he enters his first season as head coach of the USC football team. The people with smiles on their faces today are the people of Knoxville, whom Kiffin ditched after coaching for only one year to coach at USC.
In other college football news, Nebraska has accepted an offer to join the Big 10. Other teams are also expected to join the Big 10 some time in the near future. The Pac 10 also added the University of Colorado to join its conference. According to Pac 10 officials, it is only a matter of when more teams will join the conference.
A major change in the landscape of college football is taking place. It has been speculated that the Big 12 will dissolve if they lose more teams. We will wait and see if that happens. But what is taking place is something I do not think benefits the game of college football. The better teams will only get better and there will be more of a gap between the bad teams and the good ones. Expansion does not increase competition, and no one wants to see bad football. Expansion also does not benefit the average football fan. These programs are all in it for the revenue. They want more revenue to put more money into their schools to buy more things for their programs in order to recruit better players which only passes the burden on to the fans. Fans should expect ticket prices to continue to increase significantly, while more benefits will be given to boosters who contribute more to the pot. That is just how it works. Just like PSL's are ruining the average Joe NFL fan, expansion in college football will be a detriment to the average Joe college football fan.
What college football may get out of this is the possibility of a playoff system for the postseason. I have never been a fan of the computer system currently in place for the BCS, even though it has benefited the teams I root for. We have to wait until everything settles before we can talk about what type of system we can get.
Comments on USC and college football Conference expansion
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
The Year of the Rookie in MLB
With the phenomenal debut of Stephen Strasburg tonight in Washington, it seems appropriate to point out all of the rookie talent making major contributions to their ball clubs so far this year.
Jason Heyward is the rookie sensation in Atlanta. Atlanta currently leads the close NL East thanks in large part to their pitching. But Heyward has kept the offense going, providing multiple walk offs this season to propel the Braves into first place. Heyward is on pace to hit 30 HR's and over 100 RBI's. Heyward has cooled off of late, but if he can keep the pace he is on, he can keep the Braves in the race down the stretch.
Stephen Stasburg made his major league debut tonight in front of the first of many more sellouts at National Park in the nations capital. Strasburg was everything he was made out to be, and more. In 6 innings he gave up 4 hits, 3 runs, and struck out 14 with 0 walks to earn his first win in the bigs. He had unbelievable command of all 4 of his pitches, and even hit triple digits on the radar gun several times. The Nationals have not had this much excitement around their team since the relocation. The Nats are only 5.5 games behind first place in the tight NL East. If they can keep pace and Strasburg keeps pitching like this, its going to be a wild couple of months for the D.C. area.
Austin Jackson was part of a trade this offseason to bring Curtis Granderson to the New York Yankees, and he is tearing the cover off the ball so far in Detriot. Jackson has a .325 average and is on pace to steal over 25 bases. He is also getting the job done in center field, thanks to his range. He is not a power hitter, and his job as a lead off man will be to get on base. His on base percentage could be higher, but experience will lead to more patience at the plate. Jackson will be the Tigers center fielder for a long time.
Ike Davis was called up by the New York Mets in late April to provide some support for the Mets offense. The rookie has made some significant contributions so far, including 2 home runs tonight, the second a walk off in the 11th inning against the Padres. Ike came out of the gate very strong, and even though he has cooled off of late, his on base percentage has stayed strong. In the Mets lineup, especially when Carlos Beltran comes back, getting on base more and more will be all the Mets can hope for. Jason Bay, David Wright, and Beltran have to be the major contributors to the offense if the Mets look to contend this year in the NL East. But so far, Ike has done everything the Mets have asked of him, and has played great defense at 1st base.
Comments
Jason Heyward is the rookie sensation in Atlanta. Atlanta currently leads the close NL East thanks in large part to their pitching. But Heyward has kept the offense going, providing multiple walk offs this season to propel the Braves into first place. Heyward is on pace to hit 30 HR's and over 100 RBI's. Heyward has cooled off of late, but if he can keep the pace he is on, he can keep the Braves in the race down the stretch.
Stephen Stasburg made his major league debut tonight in front of the first of many more sellouts at National Park in the nations capital. Strasburg was everything he was made out to be, and more. In 6 innings he gave up 4 hits, 3 runs, and struck out 14 with 0 walks to earn his first win in the bigs. He had unbelievable command of all 4 of his pitches, and even hit triple digits on the radar gun several times. The Nationals have not had this much excitement around their team since the relocation. The Nats are only 5.5 games behind first place in the tight NL East. If they can keep pace and Strasburg keeps pitching like this, its going to be a wild couple of months for the D.C. area.
Austin Jackson was part of a trade this offseason to bring Curtis Granderson to the New York Yankees, and he is tearing the cover off the ball so far in Detriot. Jackson has a .325 average and is on pace to steal over 25 bases. He is also getting the job done in center field, thanks to his range. He is not a power hitter, and his job as a lead off man will be to get on base. His on base percentage could be higher, but experience will lead to more patience at the plate. Jackson will be the Tigers center fielder for a long time.
Ike Davis was called up by the New York Mets in late April to provide some support for the Mets offense. The rookie has made some significant contributions so far, including 2 home runs tonight, the second a walk off in the 11th inning against the Padres. Ike came out of the gate very strong, and even though he has cooled off of late, his on base percentage has stayed strong. In the Mets lineup, especially when Carlos Beltran comes back, getting on base more and more will be all the Mets can hope for. Jason Bay, David Wright, and Beltran have to be the major contributors to the offense if the Mets look to contend this year in the NL East. But so far, Ike has done everything the Mets have asked of him, and has played great defense at 1st base.
Comments
Thursday, June 3, 2010
The Perfect Game that Wasn't...What it means for Major League Baseball
Yesterday, an unfortunate circumstance took place as Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was denied a perfect game after umpire Jim Joyce blew a call on what would have been the 27th out of a perfect game.
What should be acknowledged first is the conduct of both Joyce and Galarraga during and after this highly disputed incident. Jim Joyce stood his ground on the field and made a call he believed in his mind was true, and stood there and took abuse from several Tigers including the manager as he walked off the field after the next out. Joyce, after viewing the replay after the game, admitted his mistake, said he blew it, and apologized to all parties involved, including a personal apology to Galarraga. He handled the situation better than anybody could have ever imagined.
Other pitchers would scream and yell and kick dirt after being denied a perfect game after a call like that, but not Galarraga. He did not utter one word to Joyce after the call was made. He calmly walked back to the mound and finished his job and got the next hitter out. He didn't walk around the mound, pout, yell, or look over. He conducted himself better than anyone could have imaged.
Now the debate begins. As MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has stated today, the call will not be overturned and a perfect game will not be rewarded to Galarraga, as it should be. If you overturn a call from the past, you open it up to review every other questionable call that has ever been made. However, the commissioner did say he will examine the current system that is in place. Human error has been and always will be apart of baseball. Bad calls are made in almost every game played. What MLB should be, and is committed to is limiting those calls as much as possible. In order to do that, some sort of instant replay should be implemented. That is what instant replay is for, it is to right a wrong caused by a inadvertent human mistake. Jim Joyce did not blow this call on purpose. Nobody makes bad calls on purpose. Instant replay is there to right a wrong, it is not there to be a detriment to the game or to take the human element out of the game.
The other question is if we have instant replay, what do we limit it to and how do we conduct it? Do we replay balls, strikes, and checked swings? No. Do we replay home runs, fair/foul, and base plays? We should. Home run replay was implemented last year after the All-Star break. The umpires huddle together and decide whether or not to look at a replay. Whether or not they review a play or not is solely the umpires discretion. The current replay system should be expanded to include fair/foul plays, and plays on the bases. Umpires will continue to make the calls, and if there is a questionable call and a manager comes out to argue, it will solely be the umpires discretion as to whether or not to use instant replay to review the play. If the umpire feels there is no need go to replay, there will be no replay. No matter how much the manager or coach or player kicks and screams about a play, the decision on whether or not to use instant replay will be at the discretion of the umpire.
Will this slow down the game? No it will not. Managers will continue to argue questionable calls and umpires will continue to give them their explanations. If an umpire is not sure, the argument will be much shorter, the umpires will review the play, and the right call will be made. This is the only way we can get the game to be as correct as possible. All any fan, team, or player can ever want is for the umpires to get the calls right, and this is the best way to get it right.
Comments
What should be acknowledged first is the conduct of both Joyce and Galarraga during and after this highly disputed incident. Jim Joyce stood his ground on the field and made a call he believed in his mind was true, and stood there and took abuse from several Tigers including the manager as he walked off the field after the next out. Joyce, after viewing the replay after the game, admitted his mistake, said he blew it, and apologized to all parties involved, including a personal apology to Galarraga. He handled the situation better than anybody could have ever imagined.
Other pitchers would scream and yell and kick dirt after being denied a perfect game after a call like that, but not Galarraga. He did not utter one word to Joyce after the call was made. He calmly walked back to the mound and finished his job and got the next hitter out. He didn't walk around the mound, pout, yell, or look over. He conducted himself better than anyone could have imaged.
Now the debate begins. As MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has stated today, the call will not be overturned and a perfect game will not be rewarded to Galarraga, as it should be. If you overturn a call from the past, you open it up to review every other questionable call that has ever been made. However, the commissioner did say he will examine the current system that is in place. Human error has been and always will be apart of baseball. Bad calls are made in almost every game played. What MLB should be, and is committed to is limiting those calls as much as possible. In order to do that, some sort of instant replay should be implemented. That is what instant replay is for, it is to right a wrong caused by a inadvertent human mistake. Jim Joyce did not blow this call on purpose. Nobody makes bad calls on purpose. Instant replay is there to right a wrong, it is not there to be a detriment to the game or to take the human element out of the game.
The other question is if we have instant replay, what do we limit it to and how do we conduct it? Do we replay balls, strikes, and checked swings? No. Do we replay home runs, fair/foul, and base plays? We should. Home run replay was implemented last year after the All-Star break. The umpires huddle together and decide whether or not to look at a replay. Whether or not they review a play or not is solely the umpires discretion. The current replay system should be expanded to include fair/foul plays, and plays on the bases. Umpires will continue to make the calls, and if there is a questionable call and a manager comes out to argue, it will solely be the umpires discretion as to whether or not to use instant replay to review the play. If the umpire feels there is no need go to replay, there will be no replay. No matter how much the manager or coach or player kicks and screams about a play, the decision on whether or not to use instant replay will be at the discretion of the umpire.
Will this slow down the game? No it will not. Managers will continue to argue questionable calls and umpires will continue to give them their explanations. If an umpire is not sure, the argument will be much shorter, the umpires will review the play, and the right call will be made. This is the only way we can get the game to be as correct as possible. All any fan, team, or player can ever want is for the umpires to get the calls right, and this is the best way to get it right.
Comments
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Pulled from the Attic: Super Bowl XLII Write-Up
Dug this out from an old facebook note I wrote back in 2008 during the memorable Super Bowl run. Enjoy
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So I thought I would right down my daily thoughts I had daily up until Super Bowl Sunday. I will update every night.
Monday 1/21/2008
My thoughts today, the Monday after one of the most dramatic games I have ever seen, go back to last night and the resiliency of kicker Lawrence Tynes after missing 2 go-ahead field goals, one at the end of regulation, that could have sent the Giants to Super Bowl XLII. His resiliency is a huge understatement. No one in the world would have thought that Tynes would make that 47-yark field goal attempt in overtime after missing the first 2. And lets not forget how he got that opportunity. The Packers won the coin toss to start overtime and on the second play, Bret Favre was under enough pressure to where he had to get rid of the ball off a little quicker than what he may have wanted to which caused him to under throw an out pattern to Donald Driver that was read nicely by Corey Webster and picked off for a chance for Tynes to redeem himself. An all around great performance by a great football team yesterday, the New York Football Giants. I plan on watching the film of the game tomorrow, so expect some analysis then.
Tuesday 1/22/2008
When you look at the success of the New York Football Giants this postseason, you have to look at the consistency of quarterback Eli Manning. Lets look at some stats from his post-season:
Game: Comp-Att Pct. Yds. Avg. TD Int
18 01/06 @ TB W 24-14 20-27 74.1 185 6.9 2 0
19 01/13 @ DAL W 21-17 12-18 66.7 163 9.1 2 0
20 01/20 @ GB W 23-20 21-40 52.5 251 6.3 0 0
TOTAL 53-85 62.4 599 7.0 4 0
The number one stat that has the Giants where they are right now, 0 Interceptions. 0 Interceptions by a quarterback who was under scrutiny all year about the 20 Interceptions he threw in the regular season. Eli has shown poise, confidence, and much improved accuracy during these past 3 games than any span in his career. When you look at maybe where it all started for him, most people want to point to the Patriot game where he threw 4 TD’s, but I am going to look somewhere else. I’m gonna look at :53 seconds left to go in the first half of the NFC Divisional game @ Dallas. After Dallas goes 90 yards on 20 plays in a span of 10:28, Eli took over:
New York Giants at 00:53
6-N.Folk kicks 54 yards from DAL 30 to NYG 16. 44-A.Bradshaw to NYG 29 for 13 yards
1-10-NYG 29 (:47) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass incomplete short right to 81-A.Toomer.
2-10-NYG 29 (:42) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass deep right to 12-S.Smith to DAL 49 for 22 yards. Timeout #2 by NYG at 00:34.
1-10-DAL 49 (:34) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass short right to 12-S.Smith pushed ob at DAL 38 for 11 yards. PENALTY on DAL-35-J.Reeves, Face Mask (15 Yards), 15 yards, enforced at DAL 38.
1-10-DAL 23 (:28) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass incomplete deep middle to 17-P.Burress.
2-10-DAL 23 (:21) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass incomplete short middle
3-10-DAL 23 (:17) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass short right to 89-K.Boss to DAL 4 for 19 yards.
1-4-DAL 4 (:11) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass short middle to 81-A.Toomer for 4 yards, TOUCHDOWN. 9-L.Tynes extra point is GOOD.
NYG 14 DAL 14 Plays: 7 Possession: 0:46
Eli Manning on the drive: 4-7 56 Yds, TD. What took Tony Romo and Dallas over 10 minutes to do, Eli and the Giants did it in :47 seconds (not including kickoff). That drive I believe was the start of Eli’s new found confidence and poise that he needed to take it to the next level. Ever since that drive, he’s been more accurate, more consistent, and much more confident that he has the ability to have what it takes to take a team to a Super Bowl and win it.
In -4 degree weather in Green Bay, he threw for more yards than a legend Brett Favre. He absolutely outplayed him on his own turf in the 3rd coldest game in NFL history. He and Plaxico Burress, who I will discuss later, tore apart Al Harris and the Green Bay secondary. They we no where near the level Eli and the Giants offense were in that game on Sunday. I will go more in depth about the game tomorrow because I haven’t watched the tape yet.
Wednesday 1/23/2008
With the injury to Giants cornerback Sam Madison in Week 17 against the Patriots, R.W. McQuarters has drastically improved his game, coming up with an interception in all 3 postseason games this year for the Giants. The first came late in the 4th against Tampa Bay where they were down by 2 scores, forcing Jeff Garcia to press a little bit with time dwindling down. The second came in Dallas on 4th and 11 with under a minute to go in the game. He intercepted Tony Romo’s intended pass in the end zone that gave the Giants a trip to Green Bay for the NFC Championship game, where he had a real up and down game.
With Green Bay driving near midfield in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, McQuarters intercepted Brett Favre at the Giants 8 yard line, and then took off, a mistake that almost cost the Giants a trip to the Super Bowl. McQuarters was dancing around offensive lineman when Green Bay running back Ryan Grant forced McQuarters to fumble the ball right into the hands of Green Bay offensive lineman Matt Tauscher. Green Bay would later tie the game on that drive with a Mason Crosby 37-yard field goal. No, I’m not done. With 2:30 to go in the game, Green Bay punted from their own 17 yard line. McQuarters dropped back for the punt, fielded it cleanly, and then took off again, leaving Giants fans to hold their breath, fearing the worst. Well the worst did happen, sort of. Green Bay again forced McQuarters to fumble around the Green Bay 40 yard line. The ball was about to be picked up by the Packers before Michael Johnson made the play of the year by knocking the ball out, giving Anthony Hixon the opportunity to fall on it for the Giants.
Tom Coughlin’s first item on the agenda when he became head coach of the New York Giants was to fix the fumble-itis problem of Tiki Barber. Prior to Coughlin’s arrival in New York, Tiki fumbled the ball 43 times in a span of 7 years. Under Coughlin, 9 fumbles in 3 years. Tom Coughlin makes a living off of fundamentals of coaching football. He preaches discipline and character to his team. Coughlin needs to do a little more of this to McQuarters. High and tight is the way to carry the ball so it is not forced out. McQuarters has been careless with his ball-handling, and trying to do too much on his own. My philosophy on interception returning and kick returning is that when your coming near a player, that you wrap both hands around the ball and get low, putting the ball in your gut where it is very hard for someone to get their hands on it. My message to McQuarters is this, “Stay aggressive, but don’t be careless!” Watching the film tomorrow, today was a hectic day, so break down of the game will be then!
Thursday 1/24/2008
After watching the tape, I still can not believe that Lawrence Tynes missed that chip shot with :04 seconds left in the game. And don’t tell me the snap was bad, because Jeff Feagles handled it superbly and got it down no problem. But, it all worked out and I’m over it. As far as the game goes, it was pretty good as far as offense goes. The Giants had 2 drives that they staled on in the red zone and had to settle for field goals. One of those drives Tyree looked like he could have came down with a Touchdown but it was broken up. Those stalled drives wont do against the Patriots. Field Goals mean nothing when playing them. You need touchdowns, and you need a lot of them. Also just before the half Manning hit Plaxico Burress for 2 nice catches down the field. On the third one, Plaxico caught the pass and lost the ball as he hit the ground, and the pass was ruled incomplete. I know Burress had the best postseason game of his career, but that catch he has to hold onto next week if the Giants expect to win. Eli also had his problems too. He underthrew 2 big passes that were sure Touchdowns. One to Burress and one to Steve Smith in the 3rd quarter on a nice stop and go route that completely burned the Packer corner (I cant remember which one). Eli has got to make sure those passes are crisp and placed to where his receivers can catch it and run.
Defensively I thought the Giants played a stellar game. The one big 90-yard play was just a bad play by Corey Webster as he fell down leaving Driver wide open with no safety on that side. Webster would make up for it later, but on that play I saw something I did not like. Gibril Wilson was coming over from the far side and had an angle to push Driver out of bounds but he pulled-up for some odd reason and let Wilson walk into the endzone. Wilson absolutely can not give up on a play like that. You can not assume that if you make the play they will score anyway. Fumbles and Interceptions happen all the time, especially in Green Bay where it was -4 degrees. A horrible play that I hope Coughlin spoke to Wilson about. Also early in the game the Giants put 8 and 9 guys in the box assuming what everyone else in the world thought, which was that Green Bay would run the ball a lot. Once Steve Spagnuolo recognized that the Packers were leaning more to the pass than the run as the game wore on, he did a nice job utilizing some nice blitzes out of the nickel package. The coverage by the corners down the field was good all game accept on a few plays where the Packers had receivers on linebackers, which is a mismatch any day, but the Giants did a great job to prevent that mostly.
On the interception in overtime, they were in a nickel package, man coverage, and the Giants blitzed 7 guys (4 down and 2 linebackers) with the linebackers coming up the middle and it was picked up by the Packers but Favre just made a bad throw on an out route that was covered beautifully by Webster and he came up with the pick. More on what the team needs to do to beat the Pats next week.
Friday 1/25/2008
According to what only the media can see, Tom Brady has not practiced at all this week, leaving everyone wondering the health status of the number one quarterback in the league. When asked about it on Thursday, coach Bill Belichick would not say whether or not Brady practiced. Today, Belichick was asked a question and the VP of media said "last question." As soon he answered it, another question was asked, which was "can you tell us if Brady practiced yesterday?" Bill turns to the VP of media and asks "Was that the last question?" The guys sasy yes, and Bill walks out of the room. I do not get what the big secret is about his damn foot. Did he practice or not? Is he injured or not? Putting someone on the injury report every week for 3 years just to piss people off has really fucked him over because now when he really has an injury, he wont disclose it. Make the injury report legit and the NFL should fine teams that dont. ESPN had a good point also that medical people could sell injury information to sports betters who want insider info and will pay for it. The NFL is a serious business and Bill Belichick should treat it as if it weere one, not his own personal game to play with the media.
Saturday 1/26/2008
I have nothing really to say today, accept that the Patriots are 18-0, and that scares me.
Sunday 1/27/2008
As we are a week away from Super Sunday, my thoughts today were about the players and their families and how exciting it must be to be going to a Super Bowl. A lot of planning and time go into this humungous event, and people behind the scenes need to be recognized for that. The equipment people and the travel and communications department for both teams and the NFL do a fabulous job so that the players and coaches can have as little stress as possible in getting their loved ones to see them in the Super Bowl.
But any player for either team will tell you, getting there is not enough. And that attitude is what you need these 2 weeks with the circus that goes on surrounding the game. You have to remind yourself that going there is not your ultimate goal, even though it may feel like it right now. That’s why this week, practices must be tough and long as to not let the media think it’s a field day these 2 weeks. Players and coaches must be focused on winning just one more game for footballs ultimate glory.
Monday 1/28/2008
As we are less than one week away from Super Sunday, here is where we start to break down all 3 phases of the game coming up. Today will be offense, tomorrow will be defense, and Wednesday will be special teams. Offensively for the New York Football Giants, they just need to do what they have been doing these past 3 games, and that’s not turning the ball over. The Patriots are so good that even the slightest hick-up will lose you the game. Eli Manning needs to be accurate and make good decisions with his passes and not force anything into tight coverage. The receivers will be open, the Patriots defense is average at best, and the Giants have playmakers at the receiver position. Plaxico Burress, although not at 100%, is still a big time playmaker and he will be open down the field with the aging secondary of the Patriots. With that, it allows guys like Amani Toomer, Steve Smith, and Kevin Boss to be open across the middle and underneath. Basically the Giants need to do what the Patriots do. They need to scare the Patriots with the deep threat Burress, and look for the underneath wide open guy. Although they should not throw the ball as much as the Patriots do because they do not have Tom Brady, they have Eli Manning. He is efficient, but he can not handle throwing the ball 45+ times a game. They need to run the ball effectively to keep the Patriots on their toes. Brandon Jacobs needs to run and run hard at the linebackers too wear them down as the game goes on to open things for the passing game. And Ahmad Bradshaw could be effective in shotgun formation running the draw. I saw the Giants do this well in Chicago and in Buffalo.
The one thing the Giants need to do is do something they did not do in Week 17 and that is having the advantage in time of possession. The Patriots had 12 more minutes (36:18 Patriots-23:42 Giants) than the Giants did in time of possession and that is one reason why they lost that football game. If you dominate the time of possession, you keep Brady and the offense off the field and frustrated. You keep the ball in your hands and give them as little time as possible to score. Another thing the offense needs to do is not settling for field goals. The Chargers are the perfect example of this. They had the ball in the red zone 4 times in the AFC Championship game and kicked 4 field goals. End result, they lost the game. I read an article recently that had a study in it that found that statistically if you go for it, you have a high percentage chance of making it than if you punt. I think in this game the Giants have no choice because of the offense on the other side. I think they have to risk going for it instead of a field goal, and even if they miss one or two, it could pay off. I see them going for it five or more times in this game. I’ll put the over-under at five as far as going for it on fourth down goes. If they make four of five, I think they have a real shot at winning. But field goals do not beat the Patriots, touchdowns, and lots of them, do. Probably, 35 plus points are needed to win this football game because the firepower on the other side. Score points, and score them in bunches, and the Giants may pull it off.
Tuesday 1/29/2008
I know I said I would do defense tonight, but it is very late and I don’t have enough time to say all that I want to say about it, so special teams is the topic tonight. Basically, when it comes to special teams, I do not want to see a whole lot of them come Sunday. The only time I want to see Lawrence Tynes on the field is kicking extra points and kicking off. The only time I want to see Jeff Feagles on the field is holding extra point snaps. Punts and field goals will absolutely NOT win this football game on Sunday. Touchdowns, touchdowns, and more touchdowns win this ball game. Now, kickoff returns are a plus for the Giants this year. I love the pick-up of Anthony Hixon from Denver, he has been a tremendous threat and has given the Giants tremendous field position in the later part of this season. I think he needs to return and return balls out of the end zone. The Giants need every yard they can get, so I expect Hixon to take a few out of the end zone to hope to create something big for the Giants. Now if somehow the Giants have no choice but to punt, I would expect a lot of directional kicking by Jeff Feagles, who is one of the best. The Giants need to give the Patriots the longest field possible to score so that the defense can try and make a big play. And R.W. McQuarters MUST doa much better job of securing the football as I mentioned last week. Any special teams turnovers will result in disaster for the Giants, and they need to avoid that at all costs.
Wednesday 1/30/2008
Before I address the defense, I want to talk about Plaxico Burress and his “prediction” he made on Tuesday. What would you like him to say? Someone asked him a question…he answered it. The media would be all over him had he answered it either way. If he said we would lose, they would say that their defeated, if he said they would win, hes being too confident. If you ask me about any game and ask me to predict it about a team I like or play for, I tell you that I think we will win every time. You never go into a game thinking you are going to lose. You always think you can win, no matter how steep the challenge or how mighty the opponent. It all goes back to me to former New York Jets head coach and now Kansas City Chiefs coach Herman Edwards. He was asked a question on whether or not he thought his team would quit and not play hard after a 1-4 start to the 2001 season. This was his response:
"Hello, you play to win the game! You don't play to just play it. Thats the great thing about sports. You play to win. And I don't care if you don't have any wins...you go play to win. When you start telling me it doesn't matter, then retire...get out! Cause it matters!"
That’s basically it, you play to win the game. No matter what game, what time, what place, what setting, what the opponent. You go play, and you go play to win. When you find someone who goes and plays anything to lose (unless hes being bribed), than find me and I will give you a buck because I know no one, especially a professional football player, who would do such a thing, especially on a stage as big as the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is the most watched event every year, and one of the most cherished team accomplishments in all of sports. So when you ask any Giant player or fan and Patriot player or fan, guaranteed 100% will tell you they will win the game. Because that’s the reason we all play, to win.
Now as far as making a prediction and making the other team mad, that’s for them to decide. But as a Giant fan, I have no problem with him saying what he said, and neither did Michael Strahan. I absolutely love the fact that he is confident, in fact I prefer it because it means that he does not fear the opposing team. When you answer “Well, we are going to do our best,” that means to me that you know they are good and that you know you are probably going to lose. So be confident Giants fans and players, and leave it all out on the field. Since I went on a lot about this subject, ill save the defensive game plan for tomorrow.
Thursday 1/31/2008
Moving on to the third phase this week for Super Bowl XLII, the defense needs to be the stars of the game. We all know that Tom Brady has an ankle sprain, and if he has all day in the pocket to throw the football, he is going to eat up the Giants secondary. What must happen is the Giants must get pressure from the front four up the middle and in the face of Brady forcing him to flush out of the pocket. Now I’m not talking about little side steps back and forth, I’m talking serious rollouts to the sidelines, making him run on that bad ankle. The Giants need to do this early and often so they can get a feel for how bad Brady’s ankle really is.
Now if the front four can not get pressure early on Brady, the Giants should turn up the heat with corner blitzes and linebacker blitzes up the middle, making sure though they have enough people in coverage. Big problem with this though is that it leaves the screen pass to Welker and Faulk vulnerable. So I expect a corner to be assigned to each of them so they cant get loose in the open field. Also safeties Gibril Wilson and Michael Johnson MUST stay home and not come down in the box under any circumstances. I saw a play where the Steelers strong safety bit hard on a play action fake and the cornerback left Randy Moss to the safety that wasn’t there, for an easy touchdown connection from Brady to Moss. What this means for the Giants is that it puts added pressure on the linebackers to stop the run and not have any missed tackles. They have got to make the play because they won’t have any help. No mistakes, no missed tackles, and no dumb penalties (cough Sam Madison cough!). Also Giant cornerbacks need to get physical at the line of scrimmage with Patriot wide receivers. Aaron Ross, Sam Madison, and Corey Webster must get a push to knock the receivers off their timing and routes. This came back to bite Corey Webster in the butt in the NFC Championship game, but I think it balanced out as the Giants secondary did an excellent job in coverage. And Corey Webster certainly made up for it with the interception in overtime. A lot of it was Brett Favres’ fault, but he still made the catch and saved the day. Also turnovers are a necessity in this game, they are going to need one or two to come their way to help the offense out with field position throughout the game. If the Giants can do this, they have a good shot at pulling off the upset.
Friday 2/1/2008
I would just like to spend a little time talking about Tiki Barber today. Tiki Barber made an interesting decision last year by choosing early retirement. A little more than one year later, he’s seeing his old team one win a way from a Super Bowl victory, something that Barber did not accomplish during his short career. I wonder what he’s thinking now. We know what Michael Strahan would have been thinking as he was asked the same question this week, and Strahan said he would have been extremely frustrated had he chose to retire also at the end of last season. Tiki at the beginning of the year had a lot to say on NBC’s Football Night in America, saying that Eli’s leadership skills were “comical.” They couldn’t have been that comical Tiki if his teammates elected him into the leadership counsel of the New York Giants. They couldn’t have been comical Tiki if Eli has not thrown and interception in the entire 2008 postseason. They couldn’t have been comical Tiki if Eli has led his football team to 3 straight road playoff victories, done only 3 times in NFL history. I have nothing against Tiki Barber as a football player. On the field he was one of the most persistent running backs of the last few decades. But what I do not like about Tiki Barber is that once the going got tough, he folded. He bitched out on his team and himself. But he’s entitled to do what he wants. But when he starts saying the things he said about Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin, that’s where I have a problem. He would not shut up about how tough Coughlin’s practices were his first two seasons. He went to the G.M. Ernie Accorsi and he told him that he is the coach and you must go by his rules. Then he went to owners Wellington Mara and Steve Ticsh and they told him the exact same thing. So when no one told him what he wanted to hear, he quit. So if Tiki comes running back on Monday if the Giants win the Super Bowl and he stats saying “Yeah I knew all along Eli and this team could do it,” he is full of shit and I wouldn’t want to see him at the victory parade or ring ceremony or anywhere around this team, because Tiki doesn’t deserve this team.
Saturday 2/2/2008
Since its been talked about all day today on every sports channel imaginable, I will spend today talking about the New England Patriots and the “spygate” scandal. For those of you that don’t know what spygate is, it happened Week 1 of this season when a member of the Patriots coaching staff was caught filming the New York Jets defensive signals during their 38-14 win. The man was confronted by security, the camera was taken, sealed, and sent to the NFL. The NFL found what they did violated league rules, and they stripped the Pats of their first found draft pick in 2008, fined the team $750,000 and coach Bill Belichick $500,000. The league then destroyed the tapes, and according to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, they did this because they had no more use for them. Now, a Senator from Pennsylvania has asked Roger Goodell to testify before a Senate Judiciary committee and answer questions about why he destroyed those tapes. Some questions will be why they were destroyed, and if nothing was on there, and maybe what they were hiding if something else was on there. Lot of questions and I’m sure they will all be asked by the committee.
This week, a former Pats employee who worked with filming indicated that he had discriminating evidence against the NFL and the Pats. Today, a report came out in the Boston Herald that the Pats filmed the St. Louis Rams walkthrough before Super Bowl XXVI. A walkthrough is basically practice where you run plays at about half speed so you get your timing down and you know which people are going where and what they are supposed to do. The Rams have stated that during their walkthrough that year, they practiced plays that were going to take place in the red zone. All of this is pure speculation at this point, because no one has seen the videotape. But what I do know is the Patriots were caught CHEATING! Plain and simple. They cheated, they got caught, and punishment was given. In my opinion, the punishment didn’t fit the crime. The game should have been forfeited to the New York Jets. Point is when you cheat during the game, the game should be called off. Its basically like cheating in a card game in Casino’s. If they catch you, all your winnings are taken (Although I would like to think they do it like the movie Casino where they take you out back and ask “You can have the money and the hammer, or you can walk out of here, but you cant have both. What do you want? But it doesn’t happen that way.). So the Patriots win in Week won should be stricken from the records and they should be 17-1 right now. Now I will take nothing away from what they did after that, and they deserve to be in the Super Bowl, but that game should count as a forfeit. Now, as far as Super Bowl XXXVI is concerned, that is a much more complicated matter and I hope what they say the Pats did didn’t happen so we wont have to talk about whether or not that game was legitimate. But for now, we are less than 24 hours away from Super Bowl XLII, enjoy the game everyone. I will be back for analysis of the game probably next week. GO GIANTS!
Sunday 2/3/2008
The day has arrived, the game you have been working all year for has finally come. One game, one chance, to be crowned Super Bowl Champion. Who will it be? My prediction:
Giants 34
Patriots 31
Enjoy the game everyone, and GO GIANTS!
Monday 2/4/2008
New York Giants, Super Bowl XLII Champions, defeating the now 18-1 New England Patriots 17-14 in the most watched and probably most unbelievable Super Bowl ever played. So much to talk about, Tyree, Manning’s great escape, the defense, Steve Smith, it all really just has not sunk in. Tomorrow maybe it will be a little clearer.
Sunday 2/10/2008
One week ago, the New York Giants pulled off one of the biggest upsets in football history, and arguably the biggest, although Joe Namath’s famous guarantee in Super Bowl III might edge this one by a little bit since it was an important game for professional football. The game had everything you could ask for, drama, big plays, heartbreaking moments, and everything in between. It started off well for the Giants, they moved the ball effectively on their first drive, converted several key third downs, and put points on the board on what turned out to be the longest drive in Super Bowl History. The first series for the Patriots was very typical of what we have seen all year from them. Spread formation, lots of four wide receiver sets, and Welker had a few nice catches on the drive that was capped off by a Lawrence Maroney touchdown. The Giants did do something positive though on the drive, matter of fact on the very first play. The Pats lined up for a bootleg screen that the Giants blew up right in their face. They got pressure right up the middle forcing Brady to get rid of the ball too early and his pass to be off target. That would be a sign of things to come in this game. So the score remained 7-3 up until the fourth quarter, but in between there were several key things that happened.
The Giants had several chances to score points and missed. After the touchdown, Amani Toomer made another spectacular sideline catch, much like the one in Green Bay, down inside the Pats 20. Then with the ball at the Pats 14 yard line, Manning tried to hit Steve Smith on a route where he faked the outside and turned his body all the way around to the inside, a route that takes time to develop, but Eli had pressure in his face and had too let the ball go a tad too early. As Smith was just turning around to the inside, the ball was there and he tried to scoop the ball, but ultimately tipped it right into the hands of Ellis Hobbs for an easy interception. I don’t blame either Manning nor Smith for that interception, it was just a matter of the Pats pressure causing Eli to get rid of the ball too early and throw a ball that maybe if Smith isn’t a rookie, he may catch, and may not, who knows, but it was just good pressure by the Pats to cause that. Then with the ball at midfield and under 2 minutes left in the half, Brady was sacked and Justin Tuck forced Brady to fumble the ball that Osi Umenyora recovered and the half ended.
At the start of the second half, The Pats had the ball near midfield and were forced to punt when the Giants actually lined up with 14 guys on the field, one stepped off and the other one was almost to the sideline but he didn’t make it, and coach Belichick challenged that the Giants had 12 men on the field and won the challenge. The Patriots then had 3rd and 7 from the Giants 25 yard line. Brady went back to pass and was sacked by Michael Strahan setting up 4th and about 13. The Patriots decided to go for it rather than trying a field goal to go up by a touchdown. The attempt failed and the Giants took over on downs. The decision by Bellichick is an interesting one, leading people to believe he did not have confidence in his young kicker, Stephen Gostkowski, to make a 50 plus yarder. I think it was a bad move because the Pats had 4th and over 10 yards, and you should try and go up by a touchdown there. And even if you miss the field goal, your still giving them about the same field position as you would if you went for it on 4th down and missed, so a bad decision.
Then at the start of the fourth quarter, the Giants got the ball rolling. Manning hit Tight end Kevin Boss on a seem route up the middle of the field for 47 yards that set up Eli’s 5 yard touchdown pass to David Tyree that put the Giants ahead with a little over 11 minutes left in the game. After the touchdown, the Giants forced the Pats to punt after they converted only one first down. So the Giants took over with 9:20 left and the ball at their own 29 yard line. On 2nd and 9, Eli rolled left and had Plxico Burress wide open down the left sideline that would have went for big yardage, but Eli over threw the pass and the Giants had to punt. Later in Eli’s career, he has to realize that in order to be great and beat great teams, he has to put games away. That play had a chance to put the Pats away, and he blew that opportunity. On the Pats ensuing drive, the Patriots marched 80 yards on 12 plays in 5:12 to take the lead 14-10. On the touchdown play, Corey Webster slipped when he bit on the fade route on Randy Moss when he went in for a slant for an easy touchdown. On the drive, the Giants looked just plain tired. I saw Umenyiora stumble over to the sideline out of breath and gasping. A few other players in the secondary were doing the same. Basically the offensive line gave Brady protection and the Giants could not get to him. And when you give Brady time, he will find somebody. Also interesting was the play calling of Josh McDaniells in the red zone. On 1st and goal on the 6 yard line with a little under 3 minutes left, The Pats called 2 straight passing plays that both fell incomplete, which meant that little time came off the clock AND the Giants could keep all 3 timeouts. I believe if you give a team too much time on the clock after you score, you run the risk of giving them the opportunity to score again. I would run the ball one or two times, but at least one, to force the Giants to use those timeouts and to run as much time off as possible. They scored with over two minutes left, and the Giants had all 3 timeouts and the two minute warning.
So the Giants had to answer with a touchdown, down by 4 points, with 2:12 left in the game, and Eli Manning under center. This is the kind of drive that defines what kind of football player a man is, and Eli Manning responded. Eli found Toomer for a first down on the first play of the drive, which is very key because it gives you some momentum going forward. Later, they would have a 4th and 1 on their own 37 yard line, and in came Brandon Jacobs and he plucked his way for a first down. Then it came, 3rd and 5, from the Giants 44 yard line. Eli goes back to pass, and three Pats rushers bear down on him, and unbelievably, Eli escapes the sack roles right, and heaves the ball down the middle of the field towards David Tyree. Tyree jumps up, grips the ball with one hand, rests it on his helmet, and b rings his other hand over on the ball, all this while he was in mid-air and with Rodney Harrison on him with his hand on the ball trying to rip it loose from Tyree. Amazingly he falls to the ground and never lets the ball touch the ground for one of the most unbelievable catches you will ever see. Truly remarkable, but the job wasn’t finished. The play to Tyree went for 32 yards and set up the Giants with 1st and 10 from the Pats 24 yard line. On 3rd and 11 from the 25, Manning hit Smith on an out route out of bounds for 12 yards and a huge first down. The play set up with 3 wide receivers right, and one left. Smith was set up on the inside right of the formation, and the receiver to the right of him in the middle ran a slant route that caused 2 Pats cornerbacks to collide, leaving Smith open on the sideline for him to make the catch and extend forward to reach for the first down. A great play call, and great execution. So its now 1st down and 10 from the New England 13 yard line, the Giants have 3 receivers right, one left again. Burress is lined up left one on one with Ellis Hobbs. The Pats dialed up a blitz from the right side, and Burress fakes a slant and runs to the corner and absolutely fakes Hobbs out of his pants for an easy go ahead touchdown.
So the Pats had :40 seconds to try and tie or win the game, but rookie Jay Alford quickly closed that door when he sacked Brady on 2nd and 10. The Pats tried 2 Hail Maries, but failed and the Giants won the game. How did it happen? It happened because of two things. One, both the Giants offensive and defensive lines controlled the line of scrimmage and dictated play most of the game. Two, the Pats did not adjust in game. They stayed with their spread formation, stayed with the 4 wide receivers thinking that eventually they would break loose and the Giants secondary would break down, but they didn’t. The Pats absolutely should have done much more max protection, 2 tight end sets, run the ball more, wear down the Giants front seven, and cause them to be off-balance. But they didn’t, and that’s basically why they lost this football game.
*
So I thought I would right down my daily thoughts I had daily up until Super Bowl Sunday. I will update every night.
Monday 1/21/2008
My thoughts today, the Monday after one of the most dramatic games I have ever seen, go back to last night and the resiliency of kicker Lawrence Tynes after missing 2 go-ahead field goals, one at the end of regulation, that could have sent the Giants to Super Bowl XLII. His resiliency is a huge understatement. No one in the world would have thought that Tynes would make that 47-yark field goal attempt in overtime after missing the first 2. And lets not forget how he got that opportunity. The Packers won the coin toss to start overtime and on the second play, Bret Favre was under enough pressure to where he had to get rid of the ball off a little quicker than what he may have wanted to which caused him to under throw an out pattern to Donald Driver that was read nicely by Corey Webster and picked off for a chance for Tynes to redeem himself. An all around great performance by a great football team yesterday, the New York Football Giants. I plan on watching the film of the game tomorrow, so expect some analysis then.
Tuesday 1/22/2008
When you look at the success of the New York Football Giants this postseason, you have to look at the consistency of quarterback Eli Manning. Lets look at some stats from his post-season:
Game: Comp-Att Pct. Yds. Avg. TD Int
18 01/06 @ TB W 24-14 20-27 74.1 185 6.9 2 0
19 01/13 @ DAL W 21-17 12-18 66.7 163 9.1 2 0
20 01/20 @ GB W 23-20 21-40 52.5 251 6.3 0 0
TOTAL 53-85 62.4 599 7.0 4 0
The number one stat that has the Giants where they are right now, 0 Interceptions. 0 Interceptions by a quarterback who was under scrutiny all year about the 20 Interceptions he threw in the regular season. Eli has shown poise, confidence, and much improved accuracy during these past 3 games than any span in his career. When you look at maybe where it all started for him, most people want to point to the Patriot game where he threw 4 TD’s, but I am going to look somewhere else. I’m gonna look at :53 seconds left to go in the first half of the NFC Divisional game @ Dallas. After Dallas goes 90 yards on 20 plays in a span of 10:28, Eli took over:
New York Giants at 00:53
6-N.Folk kicks 54 yards from DAL 30 to NYG 16. 44-A.Bradshaw to NYG 29 for 13 yards
1-10-NYG 29 (:47) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass incomplete short right to 81-A.Toomer.
2-10-NYG 29 (:42) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass deep right to 12-S.Smith to DAL 49 for 22 yards. Timeout #2 by NYG at 00:34.
1-10-DAL 49 (:34) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass short right to 12-S.Smith pushed ob at DAL 38 for 11 yards. PENALTY on DAL-35-J.Reeves, Face Mask (15 Yards), 15 yards, enforced at DAL 38.
1-10-DAL 23 (:28) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass incomplete deep middle to 17-P.Burress.
2-10-DAL 23 (:21) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass incomplete short middle
3-10-DAL 23 (:17) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass short right to 89-K.Boss to DAL 4 for 19 yards.
1-4-DAL 4 (:11) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass short middle to 81-A.Toomer for 4 yards, TOUCHDOWN. 9-L.Tynes extra point is GOOD.
NYG 14 DAL 14 Plays: 7 Possession: 0:46
Eli Manning on the drive: 4-7 56 Yds, TD. What took Tony Romo and Dallas over 10 minutes to do, Eli and the Giants did it in :47 seconds (not including kickoff). That drive I believe was the start of Eli’s new found confidence and poise that he needed to take it to the next level. Ever since that drive, he’s been more accurate, more consistent, and much more confident that he has the ability to have what it takes to take a team to a Super Bowl and win it.
In -4 degree weather in Green Bay, he threw for more yards than a legend Brett Favre. He absolutely outplayed him on his own turf in the 3rd coldest game in NFL history. He and Plaxico Burress, who I will discuss later, tore apart Al Harris and the Green Bay secondary. They we no where near the level Eli and the Giants offense were in that game on Sunday. I will go more in depth about the game tomorrow because I haven’t watched the tape yet.
Wednesday 1/23/2008
With the injury to Giants cornerback Sam Madison in Week 17 against the Patriots, R.W. McQuarters has drastically improved his game, coming up with an interception in all 3 postseason games this year for the Giants. The first came late in the 4th against Tampa Bay where they were down by 2 scores, forcing Jeff Garcia to press a little bit with time dwindling down. The second came in Dallas on 4th and 11 with under a minute to go in the game. He intercepted Tony Romo’s intended pass in the end zone that gave the Giants a trip to Green Bay for the NFC Championship game, where he had a real up and down game.
With Green Bay driving near midfield in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, McQuarters intercepted Brett Favre at the Giants 8 yard line, and then took off, a mistake that almost cost the Giants a trip to the Super Bowl. McQuarters was dancing around offensive lineman when Green Bay running back Ryan Grant forced McQuarters to fumble the ball right into the hands of Green Bay offensive lineman Matt Tauscher. Green Bay would later tie the game on that drive with a Mason Crosby 37-yard field goal. No, I’m not done. With 2:30 to go in the game, Green Bay punted from their own 17 yard line. McQuarters dropped back for the punt, fielded it cleanly, and then took off again, leaving Giants fans to hold their breath, fearing the worst. Well the worst did happen, sort of. Green Bay again forced McQuarters to fumble around the Green Bay 40 yard line. The ball was about to be picked up by the Packers before Michael Johnson made the play of the year by knocking the ball out, giving Anthony Hixon the opportunity to fall on it for the Giants.
Tom Coughlin’s first item on the agenda when he became head coach of the New York Giants was to fix the fumble-itis problem of Tiki Barber. Prior to Coughlin’s arrival in New York, Tiki fumbled the ball 43 times in a span of 7 years. Under Coughlin, 9 fumbles in 3 years. Tom Coughlin makes a living off of fundamentals of coaching football. He preaches discipline and character to his team. Coughlin needs to do a little more of this to McQuarters. High and tight is the way to carry the ball so it is not forced out. McQuarters has been careless with his ball-handling, and trying to do too much on his own. My philosophy on interception returning and kick returning is that when your coming near a player, that you wrap both hands around the ball and get low, putting the ball in your gut where it is very hard for someone to get their hands on it. My message to McQuarters is this, “Stay aggressive, but don’t be careless!” Watching the film tomorrow, today was a hectic day, so break down of the game will be then!
Thursday 1/24/2008
After watching the tape, I still can not believe that Lawrence Tynes missed that chip shot with :04 seconds left in the game. And don’t tell me the snap was bad, because Jeff Feagles handled it superbly and got it down no problem. But, it all worked out and I’m over it. As far as the game goes, it was pretty good as far as offense goes. The Giants had 2 drives that they staled on in the red zone and had to settle for field goals. One of those drives Tyree looked like he could have came down with a Touchdown but it was broken up. Those stalled drives wont do against the Patriots. Field Goals mean nothing when playing them. You need touchdowns, and you need a lot of them. Also just before the half Manning hit Plaxico Burress for 2 nice catches down the field. On the third one, Plaxico caught the pass and lost the ball as he hit the ground, and the pass was ruled incomplete. I know Burress had the best postseason game of his career, but that catch he has to hold onto next week if the Giants expect to win. Eli also had his problems too. He underthrew 2 big passes that were sure Touchdowns. One to Burress and one to Steve Smith in the 3rd quarter on a nice stop and go route that completely burned the Packer corner (I cant remember which one). Eli has got to make sure those passes are crisp and placed to where his receivers can catch it and run.
Defensively I thought the Giants played a stellar game. The one big 90-yard play was just a bad play by Corey Webster as he fell down leaving Driver wide open with no safety on that side. Webster would make up for it later, but on that play I saw something I did not like. Gibril Wilson was coming over from the far side and had an angle to push Driver out of bounds but he pulled-up for some odd reason and let Wilson walk into the endzone. Wilson absolutely can not give up on a play like that. You can not assume that if you make the play they will score anyway. Fumbles and Interceptions happen all the time, especially in Green Bay where it was -4 degrees. A horrible play that I hope Coughlin spoke to Wilson about. Also early in the game the Giants put 8 and 9 guys in the box assuming what everyone else in the world thought, which was that Green Bay would run the ball a lot. Once Steve Spagnuolo recognized that the Packers were leaning more to the pass than the run as the game wore on, he did a nice job utilizing some nice blitzes out of the nickel package. The coverage by the corners down the field was good all game accept on a few plays where the Packers had receivers on linebackers, which is a mismatch any day, but the Giants did a great job to prevent that mostly.
On the interception in overtime, they were in a nickel package, man coverage, and the Giants blitzed 7 guys (4 down and 2 linebackers) with the linebackers coming up the middle and it was picked up by the Packers but Favre just made a bad throw on an out route that was covered beautifully by Webster and he came up with the pick. More on what the team needs to do to beat the Pats next week.
Friday 1/25/2008
According to what only the media can see, Tom Brady has not practiced at all this week, leaving everyone wondering the health status of the number one quarterback in the league. When asked about it on Thursday, coach Bill Belichick would not say whether or not Brady practiced. Today, Belichick was asked a question and the VP of media said "last question." As soon he answered it, another question was asked, which was "can you tell us if Brady practiced yesterday?" Bill turns to the VP of media and asks "Was that the last question?" The guys sasy yes, and Bill walks out of the room. I do not get what the big secret is about his damn foot. Did he practice or not? Is he injured or not? Putting someone on the injury report every week for 3 years just to piss people off has really fucked him over because now when he really has an injury, he wont disclose it. Make the injury report legit and the NFL should fine teams that dont. ESPN had a good point also that medical people could sell injury information to sports betters who want insider info and will pay for it. The NFL is a serious business and Bill Belichick should treat it as if it weere one, not his own personal game to play with the media.
Saturday 1/26/2008
I have nothing really to say today, accept that the Patriots are 18-0, and that scares me.
Sunday 1/27/2008
As we are a week away from Super Sunday, my thoughts today were about the players and their families and how exciting it must be to be going to a Super Bowl. A lot of planning and time go into this humungous event, and people behind the scenes need to be recognized for that. The equipment people and the travel and communications department for both teams and the NFL do a fabulous job so that the players and coaches can have as little stress as possible in getting their loved ones to see them in the Super Bowl.
But any player for either team will tell you, getting there is not enough. And that attitude is what you need these 2 weeks with the circus that goes on surrounding the game. You have to remind yourself that going there is not your ultimate goal, even though it may feel like it right now. That’s why this week, practices must be tough and long as to not let the media think it’s a field day these 2 weeks. Players and coaches must be focused on winning just one more game for footballs ultimate glory.
Monday 1/28/2008
As we are less than one week away from Super Sunday, here is where we start to break down all 3 phases of the game coming up. Today will be offense, tomorrow will be defense, and Wednesday will be special teams. Offensively for the New York Football Giants, they just need to do what they have been doing these past 3 games, and that’s not turning the ball over. The Patriots are so good that even the slightest hick-up will lose you the game. Eli Manning needs to be accurate and make good decisions with his passes and not force anything into tight coverage. The receivers will be open, the Patriots defense is average at best, and the Giants have playmakers at the receiver position. Plaxico Burress, although not at 100%, is still a big time playmaker and he will be open down the field with the aging secondary of the Patriots. With that, it allows guys like Amani Toomer, Steve Smith, and Kevin Boss to be open across the middle and underneath. Basically the Giants need to do what the Patriots do. They need to scare the Patriots with the deep threat Burress, and look for the underneath wide open guy. Although they should not throw the ball as much as the Patriots do because they do not have Tom Brady, they have Eli Manning. He is efficient, but he can not handle throwing the ball 45+ times a game. They need to run the ball effectively to keep the Patriots on their toes. Brandon Jacobs needs to run and run hard at the linebackers too wear them down as the game goes on to open things for the passing game. And Ahmad Bradshaw could be effective in shotgun formation running the draw. I saw the Giants do this well in Chicago and in Buffalo.
The one thing the Giants need to do is do something they did not do in Week 17 and that is having the advantage in time of possession. The Patriots had 12 more minutes (36:18 Patriots-23:42 Giants) than the Giants did in time of possession and that is one reason why they lost that football game. If you dominate the time of possession, you keep Brady and the offense off the field and frustrated. You keep the ball in your hands and give them as little time as possible to score. Another thing the offense needs to do is not settling for field goals. The Chargers are the perfect example of this. They had the ball in the red zone 4 times in the AFC Championship game and kicked 4 field goals. End result, they lost the game. I read an article recently that had a study in it that found that statistically if you go for it, you have a high percentage chance of making it than if you punt. I think in this game the Giants have no choice because of the offense on the other side. I think they have to risk going for it instead of a field goal, and even if they miss one or two, it could pay off. I see them going for it five or more times in this game. I’ll put the over-under at five as far as going for it on fourth down goes. If they make four of five, I think they have a real shot at winning. But field goals do not beat the Patriots, touchdowns, and lots of them, do. Probably, 35 plus points are needed to win this football game because the firepower on the other side. Score points, and score them in bunches, and the Giants may pull it off.
Tuesday 1/29/2008
I know I said I would do defense tonight, but it is very late and I don’t have enough time to say all that I want to say about it, so special teams is the topic tonight. Basically, when it comes to special teams, I do not want to see a whole lot of them come Sunday. The only time I want to see Lawrence Tynes on the field is kicking extra points and kicking off. The only time I want to see Jeff Feagles on the field is holding extra point snaps. Punts and field goals will absolutely NOT win this football game on Sunday. Touchdowns, touchdowns, and more touchdowns win this ball game. Now, kickoff returns are a plus for the Giants this year. I love the pick-up of Anthony Hixon from Denver, he has been a tremendous threat and has given the Giants tremendous field position in the later part of this season. I think he needs to return and return balls out of the end zone. The Giants need every yard they can get, so I expect Hixon to take a few out of the end zone to hope to create something big for the Giants. Now if somehow the Giants have no choice but to punt, I would expect a lot of directional kicking by Jeff Feagles, who is one of the best. The Giants need to give the Patriots the longest field possible to score so that the defense can try and make a big play. And R.W. McQuarters MUST doa much better job of securing the football as I mentioned last week. Any special teams turnovers will result in disaster for the Giants, and they need to avoid that at all costs.
Wednesday 1/30/2008
Before I address the defense, I want to talk about Plaxico Burress and his “prediction” he made on Tuesday. What would you like him to say? Someone asked him a question…he answered it. The media would be all over him had he answered it either way. If he said we would lose, they would say that their defeated, if he said they would win, hes being too confident. If you ask me about any game and ask me to predict it about a team I like or play for, I tell you that I think we will win every time. You never go into a game thinking you are going to lose. You always think you can win, no matter how steep the challenge or how mighty the opponent. It all goes back to me to former New York Jets head coach and now Kansas City Chiefs coach Herman Edwards. He was asked a question on whether or not he thought his team would quit and not play hard after a 1-4 start to the 2001 season. This was his response:
"Hello, you play to win the game! You don't play to just play it. Thats the great thing about sports. You play to win. And I don't care if you don't have any wins...you go play to win. When you start telling me it doesn't matter, then retire...get out! Cause it matters!"
That’s basically it, you play to win the game. No matter what game, what time, what place, what setting, what the opponent. You go play, and you go play to win. When you find someone who goes and plays anything to lose (unless hes being bribed), than find me and I will give you a buck because I know no one, especially a professional football player, who would do such a thing, especially on a stage as big as the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is the most watched event every year, and one of the most cherished team accomplishments in all of sports. So when you ask any Giant player or fan and Patriot player or fan, guaranteed 100% will tell you they will win the game. Because that’s the reason we all play, to win.
Now as far as making a prediction and making the other team mad, that’s for them to decide. But as a Giant fan, I have no problem with him saying what he said, and neither did Michael Strahan. I absolutely love the fact that he is confident, in fact I prefer it because it means that he does not fear the opposing team. When you answer “Well, we are going to do our best,” that means to me that you know they are good and that you know you are probably going to lose. So be confident Giants fans and players, and leave it all out on the field. Since I went on a lot about this subject, ill save the defensive game plan for tomorrow.
Thursday 1/31/2008
Moving on to the third phase this week for Super Bowl XLII, the defense needs to be the stars of the game. We all know that Tom Brady has an ankle sprain, and if he has all day in the pocket to throw the football, he is going to eat up the Giants secondary. What must happen is the Giants must get pressure from the front four up the middle and in the face of Brady forcing him to flush out of the pocket. Now I’m not talking about little side steps back and forth, I’m talking serious rollouts to the sidelines, making him run on that bad ankle. The Giants need to do this early and often so they can get a feel for how bad Brady’s ankle really is.
Now if the front four can not get pressure early on Brady, the Giants should turn up the heat with corner blitzes and linebacker blitzes up the middle, making sure though they have enough people in coverage. Big problem with this though is that it leaves the screen pass to Welker and Faulk vulnerable. So I expect a corner to be assigned to each of them so they cant get loose in the open field. Also safeties Gibril Wilson and Michael Johnson MUST stay home and not come down in the box under any circumstances. I saw a play where the Steelers strong safety bit hard on a play action fake and the cornerback left Randy Moss to the safety that wasn’t there, for an easy touchdown connection from Brady to Moss. What this means for the Giants is that it puts added pressure on the linebackers to stop the run and not have any missed tackles. They have got to make the play because they won’t have any help. No mistakes, no missed tackles, and no dumb penalties (cough Sam Madison cough!). Also Giant cornerbacks need to get physical at the line of scrimmage with Patriot wide receivers. Aaron Ross, Sam Madison, and Corey Webster must get a push to knock the receivers off their timing and routes. This came back to bite Corey Webster in the butt in the NFC Championship game, but I think it balanced out as the Giants secondary did an excellent job in coverage. And Corey Webster certainly made up for it with the interception in overtime. A lot of it was Brett Favres’ fault, but he still made the catch and saved the day. Also turnovers are a necessity in this game, they are going to need one or two to come their way to help the offense out with field position throughout the game. If the Giants can do this, they have a good shot at pulling off the upset.
Friday 2/1/2008
I would just like to spend a little time talking about Tiki Barber today. Tiki Barber made an interesting decision last year by choosing early retirement. A little more than one year later, he’s seeing his old team one win a way from a Super Bowl victory, something that Barber did not accomplish during his short career. I wonder what he’s thinking now. We know what Michael Strahan would have been thinking as he was asked the same question this week, and Strahan said he would have been extremely frustrated had he chose to retire also at the end of last season. Tiki at the beginning of the year had a lot to say on NBC’s Football Night in America, saying that Eli’s leadership skills were “comical.” They couldn’t have been that comical Tiki if his teammates elected him into the leadership counsel of the New York Giants. They couldn’t have been comical Tiki if Eli has not thrown and interception in the entire 2008 postseason. They couldn’t have been comical Tiki if Eli has led his football team to 3 straight road playoff victories, done only 3 times in NFL history. I have nothing against Tiki Barber as a football player. On the field he was one of the most persistent running backs of the last few decades. But what I do not like about Tiki Barber is that once the going got tough, he folded. He bitched out on his team and himself. But he’s entitled to do what he wants. But when he starts saying the things he said about Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin, that’s where I have a problem. He would not shut up about how tough Coughlin’s practices were his first two seasons. He went to the G.M. Ernie Accorsi and he told him that he is the coach and you must go by his rules. Then he went to owners Wellington Mara and Steve Ticsh and they told him the exact same thing. So when no one told him what he wanted to hear, he quit. So if Tiki comes running back on Monday if the Giants win the Super Bowl and he stats saying “Yeah I knew all along Eli and this team could do it,” he is full of shit and I wouldn’t want to see him at the victory parade or ring ceremony or anywhere around this team, because Tiki doesn’t deserve this team.
Saturday 2/2/2008
Since its been talked about all day today on every sports channel imaginable, I will spend today talking about the New England Patriots and the “spygate” scandal. For those of you that don’t know what spygate is, it happened Week 1 of this season when a member of the Patriots coaching staff was caught filming the New York Jets defensive signals during their 38-14 win. The man was confronted by security, the camera was taken, sealed, and sent to the NFL. The NFL found what they did violated league rules, and they stripped the Pats of their first found draft pick in 2008, fined the team $750,000 and coach Bill Belichick $500,000. The league then destroyed the tapes, and according to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, they did this because they had no more use for them. Now, a Senator from Pennsylvania has asked Roger Goodell to testify before a Senate Judiciary committee and answer questions about why he destroyed those tapes. Some questions will be why they were destroyed, and if nothing was on there, and maybe what they were hiding if something else was on there. Lot of questions and I’m sure they will all be asked by the committee.
This week, a former Pats employee who worked with filming indicated that he had discriminating evidence against the NFL and the Pats. Today, a report came out in the Boston Herald that the Pats filmed the St. Louis Rams walkthrough before Super Bowl XXVI. A walkthrough is basically practice where you run plays at about half speed so you get your timing down and you know which people are going where and what they are supposed to do. The Rams have stated that during their walkthrough that year, they practiced plays that were going to take place in the red zone. All of this is pure speculation at this point, because no one has seen the videotape. But what I do know is the Patriots were caught CHEATING! Plain and simple. They cheated, they got caught, and punishment was given. In my opinion, the punishment didn’t fit the crime. The game should have been forfeited to the New York Jets. Point is when you cheat during the game, the game should be called off. Its basically like cheating in a card game in Casino’s. If they catch you, all your winnings are taken (Although I would like to think they do it like the movie Casino where they take you out back and ask “You can have the money and the hammer, or you can walk out of here, but you cant have both. What do you want? But it doesn’t happen that way.). So the Patriots win in Week won should be stricken from the records and they should be 17-1 right now. Now I will take nothing away from what they did after that, and they deserve to be in the Super Bowl, but that game should count as a forfeit. Now, as far as Super Bowl XXXVI is concerned, that is a much more complicated matter and I hope what they say the Pats did didn’t happen so we wont have to talk about whether or not that game was legitimate. But for now, we are less than 24 hours away from Super Bowl XLII, enjoy the game everyone. I will be back for analysis of the game probably next week. GO GIANTS!
Sunday 2/3/2008
The day has arrived, the game you have been working all year for has finally come. One game, one chance, to be crowned Super Bowl Champion. Who will it be? My prediction:
Giants 34
Patriots 31
Enjoy the game everyone, and GO GIANTS!
Monday 2/4/2008
New York Giants, Super Bowl XLII Champions, defeating the now 18-1 New England Patriots 17-14 in the most watched and probably most unbelievable Super Bowl ever played. So much to talk about, Tyree, Manning’s great escape, the defense, Steve Smith, it all really just has not sunk in. Tomorrow maybe it will be a little clearer.
Sunday 2/10/2008
One week ago, the New York Giants pulled off one of the biggest upsets in football history, and arguably the biggest, although Joe Namath’s famous guarantee in Super Bowl III might edge this one by a little bit since it was an important game for professional football. The game had everything you could ask for, drama, big plays, heartbreaking moments, and everything in between. It started off well for the Giants, they moved the ball effectively on their first drive, converted several key third downs, and put points on the board on what turned out to be the longest drive in Super Bowl History. The first series for the Patriots was very typical of what we have seen all year from them. Spread formation, lots of four wide receiver sets, and Welker had a few nice catches on the drive that was capped off by a Lawrence Maroney touchdown. The Giants did do something positive though on the drive, matter of fact on the very first play. The Pats lined up for a bootleg screen that the Giants blew up right in their face. They got pressure right up the middle forcing Brady to get rid of the ball too early and his pass to be off target. That would be a sign of things to come in this game. So the score remained 7-3 up until the fourth quarter, but in between there were several key things that happened.
The Giants had several chances to score points and missed. After the touchdown, Amani Toomer made another spectacular sideline catch, much like the one in Green Bay, down inside the Pats 20. Then with the ball at the Pats 14 yard line, Manning tried to hit Steve Smith on a route where he faked the outside and turned his body all the way around to the inside, a route that takes time to develop, but Eli had pressure in his face and had too let the ball go a tad too early. As Smith was just turning around to the inside, the ball was there and he tried to scoop the ball, but ultimately tipped it right into the hands of Ellis Hobbs for an easy interception. I don’t blame either Manning nor Smith for that interception, it was just a matter of the Pats pressure causing Eli to get rid of the ball too early and throw a ball that maybe if Smith isn’t a rookie, he may catch, and may not, who knows, but it was just good pressure by the Pats to cause that. Then with the ball at midfield and under 2 minutes left in the half, Brady was sacked and Justin Tuck forced Brady to fumble the ball that Osi Umenyora recovered and the half ended.
At the start of the second half, The Pats had the ball near midfield and were forced to punt when the Giants actually lined up with 14 guys on the field, one stepped off and the other one was almost to the sideline but he didn’t make it, and coach Belichick challenged that the Giants had 12 men on the field and won the challenge. The Patriots then had 3rd and 7 from the Giants 25 yard line. Brady went back to pass and was sacked by Michael Strahan setting up 4th and about 13. The Patriots decided to go for it rather than trying a field goal to go up by a touchdown. The attempt failed and the Giants took over on downs. The decision by Bellichick is an interesting one, leading people to believe he did not have confidence in his young kicker, Stephen Gostkowski, to make a 50 plus yarder. I think it was a bad move because the Pats had 4th and over 10 yards, and you should try and go up by a touchdown there. And even if you miss the field goal, your still giving them about the same field position as you would if you went for it on 4th down and missed, so a bad decision.
Then at the start of the fourth quarter, the Giants got the ball rolling. Manning hit Tight end Kevin Boss on a seem route up the middle of the field for 47 yards that set up Eli’s 5 yard touchdown pass to David Tyree that put the Giants ahead with a little over 11 minutes left in the game. After the touchdown, the Giants forced the Pats to punt after they converted only one first down. So the Giants took over with 9:20 left and the ball at their own 29 yard line. On 2nd and 9, Eli rolled left and had Plxico Burress wide open down the left sideline that would have went for big yardage, but Eli over threw the pass and the Giants had to punt. Later in Eli’s career, he has to realize that in order to be great and beat great teams, he has to put games away. That play had a chance to put the Pats away, and he blew that opportunity. On the Pats ensuing drive, the Patriots marched 80 yards on 12 plays in 5:12 to take the lead 14-10. On the touchdown play, Corey Webster slipped when he bit on the fade route on Randy Moss when he went in for a slant for an easy touchdown. On the drive, the Giants looked just plain tired. I saw Umenyiora stumble over to the sideline out of breath and gasping. A few other players in the secondary were doing the same. Basically the offensive line gave Brady protection and the Giants could not get to him. And when you give Brady time, he will find somebody. Also interesting was the play calling of Josh McDaniells in the red zone. On 1st and goal on the 6 yard line with a little under 3 minutes left, The Pats called 2 straight passing plays that both fell incomplete, which meant that little time came off the clock AND the Giants could keep all 3 timeouts. I believe if you give a team too much time on the clock after you score, you run the risk of giving them the opportunity to score again. I would run the ball one or two times, but at least one, to force the Giants to use those timeouts and to run as much time off as possible. They scored with over two minutes left, and the Giants had all 3 timeouts and the two minute warning.
So the Giants had to answer with a touchdown, down by 4 points, with 2:12 left in the game, and Eli Manning under center. This is the kind of drive that defines what kind of football player a man is, and Eli Manning responded. Eli found Toomer for a first down on the first play of the drive, which is very key because it gives you some momentum going forward. Later, they would have a 4th and 1 on their own 37 yard line, and in came Brandon Jacobs and he plucked his way for a first down. Then it came, 3rd and 5, from the Giants 44 yard line. Eli goes back to pass, and three Pats rushers bear down on him, and unbelievably, Eli escapes the sack roles right, and heaves the ball down the middle of the field towards David Tyree. Tyree jumps up, grips the ball with one hand, rests it on his helmet, and b rings his other hand over on the ball, all this while he was in mid-air and with Rodney Harrison on him with his hand on the ball trying to rip it loose from Tyree. Amazingly he falls to the ground and never lets the ball touch the ground for one of the most unbelievable catches you will ever see. Truly remarkable, but the job wasn’t finished. The play to Tyree went for 32 yards and set up the Giants with 1st and 10 from the Pats 24 yard line. On 3rd and 11 from the 25, Manning hit Smith on an out route out of bounds for 12 yards and a huge first down. The play set up with 3 wide receivers right, and one left. Smith was set up on the inside right of the formation, and the receiver to the right of him in the middle ran a slant route that caused 2 Pats cornerbacks to collide, leaving Smith open on the sideline for him to make the catch and extend forward to reach for the first down. A great play call, and great execution. So its now 1st down and 10 from the New England 13 yard line, the Giants have 3 receivers right, one left again. Burress is lined up left one on one with Ellis Hobbs. The Pats dialed up a blitz from the right side, and Burress fakes a slant and runs to the corner and absolutely fakes Hobbs out of his pants for an easy go ahead touchdown.
So the Pats had :40 seconds to try and tie or win the game, but rookie Jay Alford quickly closed that door when he sacked Brady on 2nd and 10. The Pats tried 2 Hail Maries, but failed and the Giants won the game. How did it happen? It happened because of two things. One, both the Giants offensive and defensive lines controlled the line of scrimmage and dictated play most of the game. Two, the Pats did not adjust in game. They stayed with their spread formation, stayed with the 4 wide receivers thinking that eventually they would break loose and the Giants secondary would break down, but they didn’t. The Pats absolutely should have done much more max protection, 2 tight end sets, run the ball more, wear down the Giants front seven, and cause them to be off-balance. But they didn’t, and that’s basically why they lost this football game.
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