Football Donks VS Giants Game Thread - Page 16

**Bwana** · 11-26-2009, 06:58 PM

Go Giants!

**petegz28** · 11-26-2009, 09:56 PM

NY embarrased on national TV

**Dylan** · 11-26-2009, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by petegz28

JFC I think the Giants D is worse than KC's

I think the Giants have the worse defense in the NFL -- the sad part -- they have good players on this team --

If Coughlin doesn't fire the coordinators at the end of the season -- then he needs to go. The secondary sucks -- the los of Kenny Philips for the season was huge. They also need better players on STs. --

The rest of the team are MUCH better than this J/M/O

Coughlin can take his son-in-law and Diehl with him

kcxiv · 11-26-2009, 10:02 PM

Giants got ****ing smashed on.

kcxiv · 11-26-2009, 10:02 PM

lol, dude just won a superbowl 2 years ago and already calling for his head. Shit, when the Chiefs coach eventually wins one, he's got a 10 year get out of jail pass.

-King- · 11-26-2009, 10:07 PM

The Giants playcalling makes Todd Haley seem like a master of offense.

stormtrooper · 11-26-2009, 10:08 PM

Orton sure thinks hes the shit now.

-King- · 11-26-2009, 10:10 PM

LOLFAIL!

**Dylan** · 11-26-2009, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by petegz28

NY embarrased on national TV

the NY media won't let the fans down...

Here is one example: This one is mild.

Quote:

It makes first-year defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan 0-for-2 in game-winning situations. His predecessor, Steve Spagnuolo, never failed in similar situations in his two years running the ship.

Filling in against the Falcons for injured Antonio Pierce, Blackburn spoke of communication problems down the stretch.

“All the way around, getting lined up, getting the calls in, getting it out and playing the plays as it comes out,” Blackburn said. “They went a lot of hurry-up in the fourth quarter which should not really be a problem. For whatever reason we didn’t seem to get the checks done right at the end.”

At times, the Giants are in the right position but simply do not make a play on the ball. At times, they look befuddled and completely clueless. Players haven’t been helped by shaky coverage schemes sent in by the coaching staff, and when the assignment is a good one the execution is lacking.

It hurts my heart, honestly,” added cornerback Terrell Thomas. “That’s not Giants defense.”

Source: Pick any NY publication

**petegz28** · 11-26-2009, 10:20 PM

Wow looked like PI to me

**Dylan** · 11-26-2009, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KcChiefsKing

The Giants playcalling makes Todd Haley seem like a master of offense.

thank you... Kevin "Killdrive" Kilbride is a huge problem. However, the problem lies with Coughlin -- he allowed Kilbride to take the offense in a different direction. The fault lies with Tom -- He should pull Kilbride's play calling duties immediately.

I don't know --I'm concerned. I see the same defense that was totally useless under Coughlin who hired def. coord Tim Lewis and refused to fire him until the media went after them for the teams' problems. In addition, Coughlin also had problems with Eli and the offense.

Sure-Oz · 11-26-2009, 11:30 PM

I just dont get why they dont run run and run esp up the middle with jacobs....

this sweep shit is stupid

**Dylan** · 11-27-2009, 11:37 PM

Thought I'd share -- since some of you have the Giants on your fantasy teams.

N.Y. Daily News
When bad things happen to "good" teams

By Ralph Vacchiano
November 27, 2009 9:31 PM
Osi Umenyiora had a straight face when he said it and I’m absolutely convinced that he believes it. In fact, I’m pretty sure that in the Giants’ locker room, he’s not alone.

“We’re not a bad team,” Umenyiora said, moments after the Giants lost to the Denver Broncos 26-6. “We’re a good football team. We just played bad today. We’ll get it right. We’ll get it right.”

I’m starting to think that the Giants believe that if they keep saying things like that they’ll eventually come true. The more they talk about rallying down the stretch, returning to Giants football, executing, etc., the more they sound like things you say when you have no idea what’s actually going on.

And trust me when I tell you, they have no idea how this season has taken such a dramatically wrong turn. The answers the players give are hollow and short on specifics. The coaches seem to disagree on exactly how to proceed. Everything they said they needed to do during the bye week turned out to be an empty promise.

They look like a team that believes that if they concentrate hard enough they can turn back the clock to the first 11 months of 2008 when they were the most dominant team in the league.

But these aren’t those Giants anymore. This is a mediocre team that has the potential to be more, but far too often shows how capable it is of less. They’ve lost five of their last six games, so this is no longer a bump, a slump, a fluke or a misstep.

At this point the only reasonable, rational conclusion is this: The Giants are what they are and what you all saw on Thanksgiving night. Maybe they’ll be more than that before the season is over. But right now it’s just not very good.
So here’s another painful look back at yet another disaster. Maybe this time the Giants will actually learn from their past:

THREE STARS
1.Broncos RB Knowshon Moreno — His 19 carries for 88 yards weren’t eye-popping, but he just ran right through the Giants’ defense. Running mostly to the right side - an obvious attempt to target Umenyiora and DL Chris Canty - he got little resistance, and when he did he just bounced off it and kept going. He had no business scoring on his one-yard touchdown run because CB Terrell Thomas was right there to stop him. But he bounced off, made one cut, and was in the clear. And if you didn’t see the move he put on DT Rocky Bernard and DE Mathias Kiwanuka, go find a clip of that. My first thought was “How in the world did they not make that tackle?” But when I saw the move I thought that maybe they never had a chance.

2.Broncos S Brian Dawkins — Gee, here’s a surprise: Dawkins hurting the Giants. You think maybe he was instrumental in game-planning this week after what the Eagles did to the Giants down the stretch last season? He had eight tackles, one quarterback hit, two passes defensed, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery. To put it another way, he absolutely changed the way the Giants had to play. And oh, by the way, out in Denver he’s being given credit for rallying the Broncos with a players-only meeting during the week. If only the Giants had a leader who would do something like that …

3.Broncos WR Brandon Marshall — He was the best player on the field and got this star for two absolutely spectacular catches - a one-handed 28-yarder while he was backpedalling, and a one-handed, 33-yard catch that he tipped to himself with his fingertips. You can’t blame Giants CB Corey Webster for either one of those. Coverage doesn’t matter when a receiver makes a play like that.

THREE GOATS
1.Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride — If the Giants were down 21-0 five minutes into the game I might have understood this game plan. But they were never more than a touchdown away from being right in the game until the fourth quarter. Yet Gilbride - possibly with the help of a few Eli Manning audibles - called 44 pass plays and 15 runs. That is a stunning lack of balance for a team that wants to be 50-50 and wants to emphasize the run. And even when he calls runs, they’re not the right ones. Remember RBs coach Jerald Ingram saying during the bye week that the problem with RB Brandon Jacobs was that he was being asked to run stretch plays and sweeps that he was ill-suited to run? And remember how he said the Giants were going to commit to running him more “downhill” or straight-ahead? A few days later, Gilbride seemed surprised by that candid remark and he’s coaching like he doesn’t agree. They’re running Jacobs on far too many stretch plays to the outside that predictably result in loss of yardage or, at best just a couple of yards. He gets no momentum, which he’d get from running straight ahead. For a bad example, 5 ½ minutes into the second half and the Giants are driving. They’ve got a 1st-and-10 at the Broncos 24. What do they do? They run a stretch left where Jacobs can’t find a hole, loses his forwards momentum and loses three yards. The drive stalls and a touchdown turns into a field goal. So really it should be no surprised that he got only 27 yards on his 11 carries. Maybe he would’ve done better if the Giants hadn’t abandoned the run like they were down by 57 points. Then again, with those plays, probably not.

2. Giants defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan — The bye week clearly meant nothing to Sheridan and this unit because their problems are still exactly the same. They can’t get to the quarterback and the communication problems in the secondary are just mind-boggling. Check out the last touchdown to Brandon Stokely and watch how CB Terrell Thomas, CB Bruce Johnson and S C.C. Brown are all gesturing to each other trying to put themselves in the right position. Then watch how nobody covers Stokely. And then watch how S Aaron Rouse is playing five yards deep in the end zone, as if he’s trying to stop anyone from getting to the goal posts. How are there still communication problems in Week 13? How are mistakes like this still being made? I think a better question is soon going to be whether Sheridan is going to get a chance to answer those questions. Tom Coughlin is incredibly loyal to his staff. He had to practically be begged to fire - sorry, to “reassign” - offensive coordinator John Hufnagel near the end of 2006 in an obvious act of self-preservation. I still don’t think Coughlin would fire Sheridan during the season, but if things don’t get better it’s going to be hard to argue he deserves another year.

3. The Giants’ wide receivers — I’m tempted to give this last goat to Manning, who had completed 15 of his 28 passes for 124 before the Broncos went into a prevent defense in the final five minutes of the game. Considering he threw for a career-high 384 yards a few days earlier, that’s horrible and inexcusable. I picked the receivers instead because when I watched the game from high above I just kept thinking “Nobody is open.” Now, admittedly it’s hard to always tell on TV and I can’t see everything on every play. But in the final five minutes against that prevent, the trio of Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham caught eight passes for 94 yards. In the first 55 minutes of the game, they caught 8 passes for 91 yards. In the first half, they had two catches — two — for 14 yards. They weren’t helping their quarterback at all.

UNSUNG HEROES
Broncos QB Kyle "Pro Bowl" Orton — He had one bad pass, which was a gift of an interception to Thomas. But for the most part he managed the game well (18 for 28, 245 yards) and let his play-makers make the plays. Sounds like a pretty good strategy, don’t you think?

Broncos K Matt Prater — The four field goals were impressive enough, but he also had five touchbacks which was a huge help to the Denver defense. By the way, for those of you who’d like to use Prater’s performance as a way to rip Lawrence Tynes, his three kickoffs landed at the goal line twice and five yards deep in the end zone once. It’s not his fault that last one was returned 41 yards.

LOOSE BALLS
• RB Danny Ware — I’m sorry, I mean “D.J” Ware - probably deserves a “goat” for his second-quarter fumble that led to the Broncos’ first touchdown. Go ahead and give it to him if you want. When you finally get the spotlight on you on the big stage, you can’t drop the ball. I wonder if that had anything to do with the Giants abandoning the run.

• Anyone want to take bets on how much longer Jacobs stays quiet? He looked really ticked after the game - moreso than usual. He had just 11 carries for 27 yards and when he was asked what was wrong with the running game, he seemed very close to throwing Gilbride under a bus. “We didn’t have that many attempts,” Jacobs said. “That’s not the issue and that’s not why we lost the game. We’ve got to go out and execute what’s called. I don’t think they did anything special to us in the running game. We’ve got to go out and do what we’ve got to do and what coach calls.” My Spidey sense is tingling because usually when someone trots out the “We’ve got to run the plays that are called” line, it usually means they’re not happy with the plays that are called.

• Now that I’ve said the receivers were goats, I should point out a spectacular catch made by Mario Manningham in the third quarter when he somehow managed to drag his back foot in-bounds along the sideline. After watching it live and seeing a replay I thought Broncos coach Josh McDaniels was absolutely right to challenge it. But after seeing a super slow-motion shot, both McDaniels and I were absolutely wrong.

• LB Danny Clark’s 10-yard sack on the first Broncos play of the game might have been the slowest developing sack I’ve ever seen. There was no one between him and Orton and Orton saw him. Then he waited and still couldn’t get out of the way. Strange play.

• You think McDaniels saw something on film? Seven of the Broncos’ first nine runs were to the left, at either Osi Umenyiora or Chris Canty. Those runs, by the way, went for 40 yards.

• Speaking of Umenyiora, he might want to consider changing his approach to rushing the quarterback. I lost count, but on far too many of the Broncos’ pass plays he came in way too wide at Orton - so wide, in fact, that he basically was rushing behind him. And he wasn’t always being force wide by the left tackle. Often he took that angle himself, which eventually took him right out of the play. Come to think of it, he was so out of the play so often, maybe that’s why McDaniels called so many runs to that side.

• Interesting defensive alignment early in the game when CB Corey Webster was out with a bruised knee. In the nickel defense, Aaron Ross was in at cornerback in the slot and C.C. Brown was in at linebacker with Michael Boley. The Giants did that in the past with Michael Johnson, but Brown? Wasn’t he having enough trouble at safety? He wasn’t terrible, though, and when Webster came back, Ross moved back to safety, and Chase Blackburn came in at linebacker again. I’m not sure why Blackburn wasn’t the linebacker in those spots the entire time.

• The game was basically over, but the Broncos’ last touchdown was, to me, a microcosm of what’s wrong with the Giants defense. Before the play, CBs Bruce Johnson and Terrell Thomas are motioning to Brown, who comes up to the slot where he seems to be covering both TE Tony Scheffler and WR Jabar Gaffney. Meanwhile, on the other side, Aaron Ross and Aaron Rouse are waving at each other until Ross finally backs way off the line. Then when the ball is snapped, Johnson and Thomas double-team Gaffney, leaving Brown to choose between Scheffler and Stokely. He seemingly guesses wrong by covering Scheffler (if you want to call it “covering” since he basically dragged Scheffler down) leaving Stokely to run free across the middle. And he runs very free because Rouse is hanging out by the goal posts with no chance to stop Stokely before he crosses the goal line. I’d love to be in the film room reviewing that play because I’m not sure anybody on the field had any idea what they were supposed to do on that play.

• I have to tell you, I don’t particularly care that Umenyiora was screaming at Jacobs and the offense and then Blackburn on the sidelines. Yeah, sure, maybe he should make a play before mouthing off (0 tackles when they ran at him all game long? Really? Ugh). But at least someone showed some fight and emotion. I don’t like trying to read the mood on the sidelines from the press box, but if there was a spark of life down there I sure didn’t see it.

• I may not like it, but I really do understand why defensive linemen have to occasionally drop into coverage. But does it really have to be Chris Canty? He’s barely played this season because of hamstring and calf injuries, he’s still learning the defense, and he’s trying to convert from a 3-4 end to a 4-3 end and tackle. Why throw more on his plate?

• For those who asked, yes I thought the personal foul on Webster for hitting Marshall on the incomplete flea flicker at the end of the first quarter was a good call. And yes, I think he should be fined. If the NFL is serious about reducing concussions and protecting players, then helmet-to-helmet hits - no matter what the circumstances - can not be allowed.

BY THE NUMBERS
• It’s really disgraceful that the Giants had only 38 first-half yards. That’s nine passing and 29 rushing. I mean, how is that possible on 23 first-half plays? By the way, the Giants’ previous low for the season was the 141 they had in the first half against the New Orleans Saints.

• The Giants hadn’t been held to six points since 2004 against the Philadelphia Eagles in Manning’s second start. Actually, that’s not completely true. That’s a regular-season stat. They were, of course, shutout by the Carolina Panthers in the playoffs at the end of the 2005 season.

• Thanks for the memories, Kevin Boss. After his breakout, two-touchdown game against Atlanta, he was back to being ignored. Just two catches for 22 yards. And yes, he caught both passes thrown in his direction.

• And a happy stat to end with: If the Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys next Sunday they’ll only be one game behind in the NFC East race, plus they’ll have the tie-breaker advantage. So all is not lost. It only feels like it is.

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/giants/#ixzz0Y7xEFRXM

11-26-2009, 06:58 PM
Bwana It's Five O'Clock Somewhere Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Billings, Montana Casino cash: $2135973647	Donks VS Giants Game Thread Go Giants!
Posts: 70,480

11-26-2009, 09:56 PM	#226
petegz28 Supporter Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Olathe, Ks Casino cash: $-965873	NY embarrased on national TV
Posts: 132,383

11-26-2009, 10:02 PM	#228
kcxiv In Search of a Life Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Central Valley, Cali Casino cash: $8697996	Giants got ****ing smashed on.
Posts: 29,111

11-26-2009, 10:02 PM	#229
kcxiv In Search of a Life Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Central Valley, Cali Casino cash: $8697996	lol, dude just won a superbowl 2 years ago and already calling for his head. Shit, when the Chiefs coach eventually wins one, he's got a 10 year get out of jail pass.
Posts: 29,111

11-26-2009, 10:07 PM	#230
-King- ▓▓▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▓▓ Join Date: Jan 2009 Casino cash: $-1284257	The Giants playcalling makes Todd Haley seem like a master of offense.
Posts: 65,458

11-26-2009, 10:08 PM	#231
stormtrooper Starter Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Boise Idaho Casino cash: $10004900	Orton sure thinks hes the shit now.
Posts: 226

11-26-2009, 10:10 PM	#232
-King- ▓▓▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▓▓ Join Date: Jan 2009 Casino cash: $-1284257	LOLFAIL!
Posts: 65,458

11-26-2009, 10:20 PM	#234
petegz28 Supporter Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Olathe, Ks Casino cash: $-965873	Wow looked like PI to me
Posts: 132,383

11-26-2009, 11:30 PM	#236
Sure-Oz Stay positive, don't give up Join Date: Dec 2001 Casino cash: $1779383	I just dont get why they dont run run and run esp up the middle with jacobs.... this sweep shit is stupid
Posts: 46,294

11-27-2009, 11:37 PM	#237
Dylan The Lede Join Date: Aug 2007 Casino cash: $10016591	Thought I'd share -- since some of you have the Giants on your fantasy teams. N.Y. Daily News When bad things happen to "good" teams By Ralph Vacchiano November 27, 2009 9:31 PM Osi Umenyiora had a straight face when he said it and I’m absolutely convinced that he believes it. In fact, I’m pretty sure that in the Giants’ locker room, he’s not alone. “We’re not a bad team,” Umenyiora said, moments after the Giants lost to the Denver Broncos 26-6. “We’re a good football team. We just played bad today. We’ll get it right. We’ll get it right.” I’m starting to think that the Giants believe that if they keep saying things like that they’ll eventually come true. The more they talk about rallying down the stretch, returning to Giants football, executing, etc., the more they sound like things you say when you have no idea what’s actually going on. And trust me when I tell you, they have no idea how this season has taken such a dramatically wrong turn. The answers the players give are hollow and short on specifics. The coaches seem to disagree on exactly how to proceed. Everything they said they needed to do during the bye week turned out to be an empty promise. They look like a team that believes that if they concentrate hard enough they can turn back the clock to the first 11 months of 2008 when they were the most dominant team in the league. But these aren’t those Giants anymore. This is a mediocre team that has the potential to be more, but far too often shows how capable it is of less. They’ve lost five of their last six games, so this is no longer a bump, a slump, a fluke or a misstep. At this point the only reasonable, rational conclusion is this: The Giants are what they are and what you all saw on Thanksgiving night. Maybe they’ll be more than that before the season is over. But right now it’s just not very good. So here’s another painful look back at yet another disaster. Maybe this time the Giants will actually learn from their past: THREE STARS 1.Broncos RB Knowshon Moreno — His 19 carries for 88 yards weren’t eye-popping, but he just ran right through the Giants’ defense. Running mostly to the right side - an obvious attempt to target Umenyiora and DL Chris Canty - he got little resistance, and when he did he just bounced off it and kept going. He had no business scoring on his one-yard touchdown run because CB Terrell Thomas was right there to stop him. But he bounced off, made one cut, and was in the clear. And if you didn’t see the move he put on DT Rocky Bernard and DE Mathias Kiwanuka, go find a clip of that. My first thought was “How in the world did they not make that tackle?” But when I saw the move I thought that maybe they never had a chance. 2.Broncos S Brian Dawkins — Gee, here’s a surprise: Dawkins hurting the Giants. You think maybe he was instrumental in game-planning this week after what the Eagles did to the Giants down the stretch last season? He had eight tackles, one quarterback hit, two passes defensed, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery. To put it another way, he absolutely changed the way the Giants had to play. And oh, by the way, out in Denver he’s being given credit for rallying the Broncos with a players-only meeting during the week. If only the Giants had a leader who would do something like that … 3.Broncos WR Brandon Marshall — He was the best player on the field and got this star for two absolutely spectacular catches - a one-handed 28-yarder while he was backpedalling, and a one-handed, 33-yard catch that he tipped to himself with his fingertips. You can’t blame Giants CB Corey Webster for either one of those. Coverage doesn’t matter when a receiver makes a play like that. THREE GOATS 1.Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride — If the Giants were down 21-0 five minutes into the game I might have understood this game plan. But they were never more than a touchdown away from being right in the game until the fourth quarter. Yet Gilbride - possibly with the help of a few Eli Manning audibles - called 44 pass plays and 15 runs. That is a stunning lack of balance for a team that wants to be 50-50 and wants to emphasize the run. And even when he calls runs, they’re not the right ones. Remember RBs coach Jerald Ingram saying during the bye week that the problem with RB Brandon Jacobs was that he was being asked to run stretch plays and sweeps that he was ill-suited to run? And remember how he said the Giants were going to commit to running him more “downhill” or straight-ahead? A few days later, Gilbride seemed surprised by that candid remark and he’s coaching like he doesn’t agree. They’re running Jacobs on far too many stretch plays to the outside that predictably result in loss of yardage or, at best just a couple of yards. He gets no momentum, which he’d get from running straight ahead. For a bad example, 5 ½ minutes into the second half and the Giants are driving. They’ve got a 1st-and-10 at the Broncos 24. What do they do? They run a stretch left where Jacobs can’t find a hole, loses his forwards momentum and loses three yards. The drive stalls and a touchdown turns into a field goal. So really it should be no surprised that he got only 27 yards on his 11 carries. Maybe he would’ve done better if the Giants hadn’t abandoned the run like they were down by 57 points. Then again, with those plays, probably not. 2. Giants defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan — The bye week clearly meant nothing to Sheridan and this unit because their problems are still exactly the same. They can’t get to the quarterback and the communication problems in the secondary are just mind-boggling. Check out the last touchdown to Brandon Stokely and watch how CB Terrell Thomas, CB Bruce Johnson and S C.C. Brown are all gesturing to each other trying to put themselves in the right position. Then watch how nobody covers Stokely. And then watch how S Aaron Rouse is playing five yards deep in the end zone, as if he’s trying to stop anyone from getting to the goal posts. How are there still communication problems in Week 13? How are mistakes like this still being made? I think a better question is soon going to be whether Sheridan is going to get a chance to answer those questions. Tom Coughlin is incredibly loyal to his staff. He had to practically be begged to fire - sorry, to “reassign” - offensive coordinator John Hufnagel near the end of 2006 in an obvious act of self-preservation. I still don’t think Coughlin would fire Sheridan during the season, but if things don’t get better it’s going to be hard to argue he deserves another year. 3. The Giants’ wide receivers — I’m tempted to give this last goat to Manning, who had completed 15 of his 28 passes for 124 before the Broncos went into a prevent defense in the final five minutes of the game. Considering he threw for a career-high 384 yards a few days earlier, that’s horrible and inexcusable. I picked the receivers instead because when I watched the game from high above I just kept thinking “Nobody is open.” Now, admittedly it’s hard to always tell on TV and I can’t see everything on every play. But in the final five minutes against that prevent, the trio of Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham caught eight passes for 94 yards. In the first 55 minutes of the game, they caught 8 passes for 91 yards. In the first half, they had two catches — two — for 14 yards. They weren’t helping their quarterback at all. UNSUNG HEROES Broncos QB Kyle "Pro Bowl" Orton — He had one bad pass, which was a gift of an interception to Thomas. But for the most part he managed the game well (18 for 28, 245 yards) and let his play-makers make the plays. Sounds like a pretty good strategy, don’t you think? Broncos K Matt Prater — The four field goals were impressive enough, but he also had five touchbacks which was a huge help to the Denver defense. By the way, for those of you who’d like to use Prater’s performance as a way to rip Lawrence Tynes, his three kickoffs landed at the goal line twice and five yards deep in the end zone once. It’s not his fault that last one was returned 41 yards. LOOSE BALLS • RB Danny Ware — I’m sorry, I mean “D.J” Ware - probably deserves a “goat” for his second-quarter fumble that led to the Broncos’ first touchdown. Go ahead and give it to him if you want. When you finally get the spotlight on you on the big stage, you can’t drop the ball. I wonder if that had anything to do with the Giants abandoning the run. • Anyone want to take bets on how much longer Jacobs stays quiet? He looked really ticked after the game - moreso than usual. He had just 11 carries for 27 yards and when he was asked what was wrong with the running game, he seemed very close to throwing Gilbride under a bus. “We didn’t have that many attempts,” Jacobs said. “That’s not the issue and that’s not why we lost the game. We’ve got to go out and execute what’s called. I don’t think they did anything special to us in the running game. We’ve got to go out and do what we’ve got to do and what coach calls.” My Spidey sense is tingling because usually when someone trots out the “We’ve got to run the plays that are called” line, it usually means they’re not happy with the plays that are called. • Now that I’ve said the receivers were goats, I should point out a spectacular catch made by Mario Manningham in the third quarter when he somehow managed to drag his back foot in-bounds along the sideline. After watching it live and seeing a replay I thought Broncos coach Josh McDaniels was absolutely right to challenge it. But after seeing a super slow-motion shot, both McDaniels and I were absolutely wrong. • LB Danny Clark’s 10-yard sack on the first Broncos play of the game might have been the slowest developing sack I’ve ever seen. There was no one between him and Orton and Orton saw him. Then he waited and still couldn’t get out of the way. Strange play. • You think McDaniels saw something on film? Seven of the Broncos’ first nine runs were to the left, at either Osi Umenyiora or Chris Canty. Those runs, by the way, went for 40 yards. • Speaking of Umenyiora, he might want to consider changing his approach to rushing the quarterback. I lost count, but on far too many of the Broncos’ pass plays he came in way too wide at Orton - so wide, in fact, that he basically was rushing behind him. And he wasn’t always being force wide by the left tackle. Often he took that angle himself, which eventually took him right out of the play. Come to think of it, he was so out of the play so often, maybe that’s why McDaniels called so many runs to that side. • Interesting defensive alignment early in the game when CB Corey Webster was out with a bruised knee. In the nickel defense, Aaron Ross was in at cornerback in the slot and C.C. Brown was in at linebacker with Michael Boley. The Giants did that in the past with Michael Johnson, but Brown? Wasn’t he having enough trouble at safety? He wasn’t terrible, though, and when Webster came back, Ross moved back to safety, and Chase Blackburn came in at linebacker again. I’m not sure why Blackburn wasn’t the linebacker in those spots the entire time. • The game was basically over, but the Broncos’ last touchdown was, to me, a microcosm of what’s wrong with the Giants defense. Before the play, CBs Bruce Johnson and Terrell Thomas are motioning to Brown, who comes up to the slot where he seems to be covering both TE Tony Scheffler and WR Jabar Gaffney. Meanwhile, on the other side, Aaron Ross and Aaron Rouse are waving at each other until Ross finally backs way off the line. Then when the ball is snapped, Johnson and Thomas double-team Gaffney, leaving Brown to choose between Scheffler and Stokely. He seemingly guesses wrong by covering Scheffler (if you want to call it “covering” since he basically dragged Scheffler down) leaving Stokely to run free across the middle. And he runs very free because Rouse is hanging out by the goal posts with no chance to stop Stokely before he crosses the goal line. I’d love to be in the film room reviewing that play because I’m not sure anybody on the field had any idea what they were supposed to do on that play. • I have to tell you, I don’t particularly care that Umenyiora was screaming at Jacobs and the offense and then Blackburn on the sidelines. Yeah, sure, maybe he should make a play before mouthing off (0 tackles when they ran at him all game long? Really? Ugh). But at least someone showed some fight and emotion. I don’t like trying to read the mood on the sidelines from the press box, but if there was a spark of life down there I sure didn’t see it. • I may not like it, but I really do understand why defensive linemen have to occasionally drop into coverage. But does it really have to be Chris Canty? He’s barely played this season because of hamstring and calf injuries, he’s still learning the defense, and he’s trying to convert from a 3-4 end to a 4-3 end and tackle. Why throw more on his plate? • For those who asked, yes I thought the personal foul on Webster for hitting Marshall on the incomplete flea flicker at the end of the first quarter was a good call. And yes, I think he should be fined. If the NFL is serious about reducing concussions and protecting players, then helmet-to-helmet hits - no matter what the circumstances - can not be allowed. BY THE NUMBERS • It’s really disgraceful that the Giants had only 38 first-half yards. That’s nine passing and 29 rushing. I mean, how is that possible on 23 first-half plays? By the way, the Giants’ previous low for the season was the 141 they had in the first half against the New Orleans Saints. • The Giants hadn’t been held to six points since 2004 against the Philadelphia Eagles in Manning’s second start. Actually, that’s not completely true. That’s a regular-season stat. They were, of course, shutout by the Carolina Panthers in the playoffs at the end of the 2005 season. • Thanks for the memories, Kevin Boss. After his breakout, two-touchdown game against Atlanta, he was back to being ignored. Just two catches for 22 yards. And yes, he caught both passes thrown in his direction. • And a happy stat to end with: If the Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys next Sunday they’ll only be one game behind in the NFC East race, plus they’ll have the tie-breaker advantage. So all is not lost. It only feels like it is. http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/giants/#ixzz0Y7xEFRXM __________________ Last edited by Dylan; 11-27-2009 at 11:44 PM..
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