Many of you may remember my cheery post-game commentary on last year's 23-0 loss to Carolina.
Well this year I'm singing a much different tune. Even though the Giants ostensibly played better -- that is to say they kept the score close -- there are few bright spots to point out this time around.
Instead of focusing on the positive (we'll leave that to our ol' buddy Tom Coughlin, who already told his team he truly believes they are better than the Eagles -- and really, kids, isn't that all that matters?), we'll highlight some of the reasons to worry as the offseason begins.
1. Coughlin might be back. Ugh.
2. Tiki Barber won't be back. Double ugh.
3. Eli Manning was awful down the stretch (again) and did not impose his will on yesterday's playoff game (again). He was outplayed by 36-year-old backup quarterback Jeff Garcia. But he did a good job in one aspect: He finally settled the Eli vs. Big Ben vs. Philip Rivers debate. Too late to get those draft picks back?
4. Ernie Accorsi is leaving. You can rip him all you want for the Manning trade, but the man had a psychological block after what happened to him in Baltimore with John Elway. I'll begrudingly give him a pass on that. I'll also give him a pass on Plaxico (don't throw me anything but a touchdown) Burress and Lavar (won't play more that 5 games next year) Arrington. Those signings had the earmarks of Accorsi wanting to put together a championship team so he could ride off into the sunset with a Lombardi trophy in his saddlebag. I can't really blame him for that. At the end of the day, the Giants were a pretty good team with him in charge. They never got an L.T.-type performer or a Phil-Simms like quarterback, but they didn't flounder and flop every year the way so many other teams have during the past 10 years. His leaving cannot be a good thing.
5. Michael Strahan is a year older. He will be 36 next fall. The Giants have already proven they cannot get a pass rush without him in the lineup. So what happens when his talent starts to fade and all the injuries catch up to him?
6. Next year means more Jeremy Shockey, more Burress, more Manning, more Arrington, more Strahan, and possibly, more Coughlin. Another way to say it would be: Next year means more in-fighting, more false starts, more inconsistency, more players who've never won a damn thing in their lives shooting their mouths off, more media circuses and more excuses. Did I miss anything?
7. Tom Coughlin does not seem to trust Brandon Jacobs. Which is sort of a problem, since Jacobs is his only option at starting tailback next year. Jacobs has shown a propensity for ill-timed fumbles, but didn't Tiki, too? Surely his problems with carrying the ball could be fixed. And the way he runs, he could be a Rodney Hampton in the making. Or he could be another Ron Dayne. I don't know -- all three wear No. 27. You decide.
8. The Giants are a stupid football team. I cannot recall, even in their worst seasons, a team that more consistently hurt itself by taking bad penalties. False starts, holding, personal fouls -- you name it, they've done it -- and usually at exactly the wrong time. Unless there is a coaching change, it's hard to imagine the Giants suddenly remembering how to play disciplined football.
9. Did I mention Tiki Barber is gone?
10. Jeff Feagles may retire. Along with Barber, he was one of only two consistent Giants this year.
Ok, now it's your turn: What did I miss? Am I being too hard on Big Blue?
Send me your thoughts.
Comments (3)
not that eli's anything special, but the way rivers looked towards the end of the season (and the way big ben looked all year), I'm not sure anything's been settled...
if the pats find a way to stop LDT without putting eight men in the box, we're going to learn A LOT about the kid from NC state...
The 2006 Giants were not only just a stupid football team; they were probably the most torturous team to watch from a Big Blue fans' perspective in quite some time. It's more nerve-wracking watching them play with a lead than play from behind.
As for Eli Manning, it is obvious that he possesses neither the guts (thus the constant backpedaling away from traffic and throwing off the back foot) nor the instincts (thus his terriblly inconsistent decision-making) to ever be worth what they spent on him. One thing that was not mentioned in any of Newsday's coverage of the game -- and it was the best coverage by far of the three N.Y. dailies -- was the third-and-2 play from the Eagles 4-yard line in the fourth quarter when he easily could have stepped up in the pocket and taken off up the middle to get the first down but instead rolled to his left with the fear of God in his eyes. Putting your head down and diving for key yardage is the play that a gutsy, win-at-all-costs QB makes in that spot, not a rushed pass made out of fear.
However, all this talk about the Giants making the wrong move getting Eli must be squashed now because IT IS PURELY SECOND-GUESSING. Show me one Giants fan who was complaining when Accorsi made the deal for Eli in 2004, and I'll show you a liar.
And as for Jacobs, I don't at all think it's a matter of Coughlin not trusting him; it's more a matter of Coughlin being so hard-headed and sticking to his original game plan. It is obvious they wanted to put the game on the shoulders of the same person who single-footedly got the Giants to the playoffs -- Tiki -- and Coughlin was going to live and die riding him.
This, though, is a first-guess, something I was complaining about before their goal-line chances were foiled -- put in Jacobs. He has to be in the game when you get down toward the goal line, even if it means giving it to him two, three or even four times in a row.
Strahan's getting older, no doubt. And he might only have another season left in his tank. But the Giants' D-line is actually one of their strengths for 2007, what with up-and-coming stars Osi Umenyiora and Mathias Kiwanuka in the mix. Both are plenty good enough to generate a pass rush if they had semi-serviceable linebackers presenting a threat to blitz every once in awhile. Fact of the matter is other than Antonio Pierce, the Giants' LBs are horrendous. Especially Carlos Emmons, who has been absolutely useless since Accorsi signed him away from Philly despite the fact he was coming off an injury.
Alas, we revert back to Coughlin, a coach who can't relate to his players, can't think on the fly and can't get his team to stop making the same mistakes. And, perhaps, can't seem to lose his job, if at least for one more year. Ugh.
Oh my God, t-dips, get a life, please.
11: I vomit on all of you.