OT: NY Giants' Stretch Run

[Piratz]

Things broke well for the Giants (5-5) during their bye week as both the Eagles (now 4-6) and Redskins (now 4-6) were hammered. Amukamara, Thomas, Unga, and Donnell are all practicing today. Pugh is in concussion protocol and sounds like Richburg could play Sunday, albeit with limited practice time on that ankle during the week.

Their shortcomings and near-misses are well documented with four of their five losses coming after they led at the final 2-minute warning. I think the defense has started to show some signs of improvement since JPP returned as it allows them to get a bit more creative. Really just need them to be average at best.

We'll see what Nicks can give them on the outside, if anything.

Hopefully there's a newfound focus and they can start to gain some separation within the division and win the title over these final 6 games. Time is now to become a good team as they play at Washington (4-6), home to the Jets (5-5), and at Miami (4-6). Need all 3, IMO.

 

[its haLL baLL]

The NFL is just terrible this year. Some of these games are unwatchable and the winner of most of these games is the team that is less terrible for 4 quarters. With that said, it sets up perfectly for the Giants. If they can get into the playoffs, look out. The only teams I'd be fearful of in the Wild Card round are the Seahawks and Packers, but I think the Packers take the division. The Vikings don't scare me and neither do the Falcons. For as bad as they've looked at times, this has shaped up pretty well for the G-Men.

 

[Piratz]

Have to see how it shakes out, but they're primed for a run if they're on the cusp. I think they are. If they are, they take care of business over the next three and reach 8-5. We'll see.

In general, I agree about the state of the league. It's exciting and competitive, but it's sloppy and fragmented. So week-to-week. But this is what the league has designed between the rule changes and salary cap. Then it's all compounded by the new CBA signed in 2011, which limits actual practice time to such an unbelievable extent it's hard to develop any football basics or proper physicality.

You get maybe 2-3 year windows if you draft exceptionally well and all works out in development (such as the Seahawks).

Sunday's game at Washington is huge. Lose and you're 5-6, they're 5-6, and everyone's back in the muck.

 

[hallgrad80]

The quality of the play in the League continues to slip year after year and certainly the CBA restrictions on practice time appear to have contributed to that decline . Yet I can't help think that the biggest problem that's causing the decline in the quality of play is the number of injuries we're seeing and the rule changes and those imposed under the CBA to improve safety appear to have had the opposite result.

As to the Giants playoff chances they're as good as any other team in a weak division.

 

[NYC Pirate]

The bottom line is that the division is in their own hands. I believe the Giants now control
their own destiny. I believe if the Giants beat the Redskins, either the Jets or Miami, the Panthers
and Eagles they have the division.

They Must beat the Redskins first. It's that simple. Even if he Cowboys run the table they could be 4-2 in the division with a maximum of 6 conference wins. By beating the Redskins ,Panthers and Eagles the Giants would also be 4-2 in the division ,but they would have 7 conference wins.

If the Giants beat the Redskins and the Eagles and 2 other games the Giants would be 4-2 in the division with a 9-7 record . The Eagles could also be 9-7, but 3-3 in the division. So the Giants would have the edge there.

Beat the Redskins and you have swept them in the season series 2-0. Once again the Giants would
have it even if the Redskins won the rest of their games. The Giants have to get to 9-7.

So the Giants have to beat the @Redskins, Jets, Panthers and Eagles(3 0f 4 at home) That's the path to the playoffs. Coughlin has to get them to step up here. They must play with focus on Sunday.There are no excuses for a lack of focus and time management issues for the rest of the season.

 

[Piratz]

Washington is a different team at home. They are 4-1 there versus 0-5 on the road although both the Eagles and Bucs had them on the ropes.

Defense travels and they need to continue to improve there. It's been better the past two weeks with JPP's return and the really strong play of Jasper Brinkley at MLB. Now with Prince and the LB's back, it should continue to improve as you build out depth and packages. The safeties remain a challenge and this week they'll go up against the Redskins with DeSean Jackson; he was out the first time the teams played.

It's funny, in both the previous SB runs the Giants lost gut-wrenching games against undefeated teams (2007 vs. NE at 15-0, 2011 vs. GB at 11-0).

 

[anon_4htvdezyfe7k9]

I'm hanging by a thread with regards to the Giants/ NFL. Watching (rooting against) the Eagles yesterday before our game started was painful even though they were getting smoked, which is usually entertaining. The games in general are so hard to watch the all the penalties, and the duration of the halftime break felt like it was the Super Bowl.

Goodell may be lining the owner's pockets, but the league has deteriorated under his watch IMO. Been debating with a friend for a while now how much the league's success is based on gambling, fantasy leagues and weekly leagues like Fan Duel and Draft Kings, vs. the quality of the actual product. His argument was that most NFL fans aren't "degenerates".

That said, I will be watching the Giants whenever I can and I think they will win the division by default. Even though the defense looks better, I still think they will probably get bounced early, although it's tough to bet against Eli in the playoffs.

 

[its haLL baLL]

I'm hanging by a thread with regards to the Giants/ NFL. Watching (rooting against) the Eagles yesterday before our game started was painful even though they were getting smoked, which is usually entertaining. The games in general are so hard to watch the all the penalties, and the duration of the halftime break felt like it was the Super Bowl.

Goodell may be lining the owner's pockets, but the league has deteriorated under his watch IMO. Been debating with a friend for a while now how much the league's success is based on gambling, fantasy leagues and weekly leagues like Fan Duel and Draft Kings, vs. the quality of the actual product. His argument was that most NFL fans aren't "degenerates".

That said, I will be watching the Giants whenever I can and I think they will win the division by default. Even though the defense looks better, I still think they will probably get bounced early, although it's tough to bet against Eli in the playoffs.

The popularity of the NFL is directly aligned with the rise of fantasy football. Anyone who disagrees must be living under a rock. The stadiums now gear the breaks between plays and quarters towards fantasy football by showing touchdowns and fantasy scores for players across the league. If you're not a fan of the Jaguars or Titans why in the world would you watch those two teams play last Thursday other than for fantasy purposes? Same applies to next Monday night's Ravens vs. Browns game. 7 out of the 10 most popular stories on ESPN.com for the month of September were articles written about fantasy football. http://deadspin.com/espn-gets-a-ridiculous-amount-of-traffic-from-fantasy-f-1737780671

If your friend believes fantasy football players are "degenerates", he is missing the large population of people who play in season long leagues with family and friends. If you are between the ages of 16-40 and an average sports fan, odds are you're probably involved in some sort of fantasy football league.

The Daily Fantasy Sports are another animal. They are gambling. Period. And I play them weekly and will continue to do so, but I'm well aware that winning is mostly determined by chance, not skill. I'm looking forward to the classes and case studies that will be taught and written about their marketing tactics and fundraising over the past 6 months and how it put them in the situation they are currently in. If I never saw a commercial for either company again I would be happy.

 

[shugrads]

What a 2 week span the gmen can have without playing a game if the Eagles and Cowboys lose on Thanksgiving.

 

[its haLL baLL]

Remaining Schedules:

Giants:
@ Redskins
vs. Jets
@ Dolphins
vs. Panthers
@ Vikings
vs. Eagles

Cowboys:
vs. Panthers
@ Redskins
@ Packers
vs. Jets
@ Bills
vs. Redskins

Eagles:
@ Lions
@ Patriots
vs. Bills
vs. Cardinals
vs. Redskins
@ Giants

Redskins:
vs. Giants
vs. Cowboys
@ Bears
vs. Bills
@ Eagles
@ Cowboys

The winner of this week's Giants vs. Redskins game will be in the driver's seat for the division.

 

[shugrads]

this was a perfect week for them to have a bye as well.

 

[Piratz]

this was a perfect week for them to have a bye as well.

I think is a really good point. Not only from the perspective of injuries, but also a chance for the guys who have been playing all year to get a rest. They've been at it daily since July. Fresh legs make a huge difference at this time of year versus having the early bye week.

 

[hbkmyr]

Anyone looking to argue how terrible the play in the NFL is can use last night's Pats-Bills game as exhibit A. Boy that was painful to watch (and yes, I was only watching for fantasy purposes). It felt like it took forever to play the final two minutes between stoppages, ref huddles, etc. I wonder how much all of the commercials, replays, ref conferences, etc. play into the sloppy play. Players are standing around at least 60% of the game and it has to be difficult for them to maintain any sort of rhythm.

Anyway...on to the Giants. I think the fact that the Eagles and Cowboys both play Thursday is somewhat of an advantage. They'll have a better idea exactly how the division is playing out for week 12.

 

[Piratz]

The Giants are in the driver's seat. This stuff about the Cowboys is just noise right now. They do not need to worry about anything as long as they do their part. It begins Sunday in Washington. No excuses.

The Redskins are now 27th in defensive yards/play, 30th in yards allowed/rush, 24th in net yards allowed/pass attempt, 30th in td% in passing defense, and have dropped down to 26th in sack percentage.

Offensively even though Cousins has been playing better and maybe Jackson gives them something, but the unit is very spotty. Their once-potent run game is even all the way down to 25th in yards/rush.

 

[shugrads]

It would be nice however if both eagles/cowboys lose b/c that all but leaves it a race b/w us and skins and I would take that any day of the week

 

[Burnsly]

The 2 calls by the side judge last at the end of last night's Pats Bills game really makes you wonder.
Watkins clearly caught the ball in bounds yet the side judge, who had a great view of the play, called him OB. Thankfully the call got reversed.

The last play of the game was ridiculous. How was he not out of bounds?

 

[Section112]

The 2 calls by the side judge last at the end of last night's Pats Bills game really makes you wonder.
Watkins clearly caught the ball in bounds yet the side judge, who had a great view of the play, called him OB. Thankfully the call got reversed.

The last play of the game was ridiculous. How was he not out of bounds?

Agree. I'm amazed that none has beat the Pats. And Rex continues to be the coach without a QB. Game was ugly last night and refs were awful.

 

[bd98]

Agree. I'm amazed that none has beat the Pats. And Rex continues to be the coach without a QB. Game was ugly last night and refs were awful.

That game last night reffed by none other than Gene Steratore. Probably the only thing I will ever agree with Kevin Willard on...Gene Steratore is dog doo.

 

[NYC Pirate]

The Giants are in the driver's seat. This stuff about the Cowboys is just noise right now. They do not need to worry about anything as long as they do their part. It begins Sunday in Washington. No excuses.

The Redskins are now 27th in defensive yards/play, 30th in yards allowed/rush, 24th in net yards allowed/pass attempt, 30th in td% in passing defense, and have dropped down to 26th in sack percentage.

Offensively even though Cousins has been playing better and maybe Jackson gives them something, but the unit is very spotty. Their once-potent run game is even all the way down to 25th in yards/rush.

The Giants are not great, but they can't play down to the level of their next few opponents. I always am
concerned when D. Jackson is playing against us. It was great for the Giants that Carolina knocked some
of the spirit out of the Redskins.

 

[Piratz]

Welp, if the Giants do not beat the Redskins and win the division now they all deserve to be fired. Hopefully they play well and don't back in, although I'm sure we'll take it any way we can after the past couple of seasons.

What a mess for the Cowboys (now 3-8) and Eagles (now 4-7) on Thanksgiving. Holy cow. Eagles look like they're in full scale mutiny mode.

 

[bd98]

Cowboys are clearly done. For as much of a disaster as the Eagles appear to be I wouldn't dismiss them just yet. If the Giants lose this week (which I fully expect them to because I'm a fatalist that way) the Eagles are still only a game behind the Giants. All they have to do is stay there until the final week then beat the Giants and, voila, Eagles win the division. Unless the Redskins do but I still can't bring myself to even contemplate that despite the fact they could be in first place 2 days from now.

 

[NYC Pirate]

The Giants clearly control their own destiny, but that can change if they lose to the Redskins. At
this point Washington is 1-1 in the division with games against the Giants, Eagles and 2 with Cowboys.
So if they beat the Giants they could actually go 5-1 in the division by beating the troubled Eagles and Cowboys. That's there way to the division.

Eli, Coughlin and company have to rise to the occasion here. Beat Washington, the Jets, Miami and Philly
and they are hosting a home playoff game.

They have to exploit Washington secondary in this one, limit big plays to the Redskins that keep them in the game, and Eli has to manage the game without the huge mistakes. I still think they need to think about 30 points to win here.

 

[Piratz]

A win on Sunday in Washington really put things into a solid position. The other two are toast. Look at the Eagles' schedule. The Cowboys are now without Romo again too.

Should that occur they have a 2 game lead with 5 remaining, including a sweep of Washington.

NYG = 6-5, 3-2 DIV (NYJ, at MIA, CAR, at MIN, PHI)
WAS = 4-7, 1-2 DIV (DAL, at CHI, BUF, at PHI, at DAL)
PHI = 4-7, 2-2 DIV (at NE, BUF, ARI, WAS, at NYG)
DAL = 3-8, 2-2 DIV (at WAS, at GB, NYJ, at BUF, WAS)

Now if they play a bad game and lose to Washington, they're back in the mud.

If they don't polish off this division and get back to the playoffs this year, it'll be an epic collapse on top of the already blown opportunities in many games, which they division has given them back.

 

[hallgrad80]

Giants need to win against the Skins and avoid any injuries to key players .

 

[Piratz]

Pugh and Richburg are out for the game against the Redskins on Sunday.

But Amukumara will play, which is huge for that defense. Between him and JPP continuing to improve, those are major additions.

 

[bd98]

I thought that went well. LOL.

Let Coughlin finish the season. Fire Reese before the night is out.

 

[Section112]

Terrible terrible loss. How do you come out of a bye week with that lackluster effort? Skins are not good.

 

[hallgrad80]

please explain that last play to me and why wouldn't you try a Hail Mary especially with a receiver like OBB who can out jump anybody for that ball.

 

[bd98]

please explain that last play to me and why wouldn't you try a Hail Mary especially with a receiver like OBB who can out jump anybody for that ball.

Because your idiot punt returner caught the ball at the 1-yard line so you never got close enough to be able to reach the end zone with a Hail Mary. Beckham outjumping everyone and catching a Hail Mary at the 10-yard line doesn't really help matters.

 

[Piratz]

Terrible terrible loss. How do you come out of a bye week with that lackluster effort? Skins are not good.

Reminds me of some of those games in the SB years when they laid over against the Redskins, LOL.

Terrible, terrible performance, and out of a bye? Please. Inexcusable. And just enough to tease you and the end, which is the story of this season.

Now they're back in the muck. Fitting.

 

[Piratz]

So Geoff Schwartz broke his leg, same leg he broke his ankle on last year, which limited him to two games. The Giants were down the center and both guards. What is Pugh's mysterious condition? That's now two games and a bye week.

Sucks for Schwartz, but what a bust as a big FA last year. Rebuilding these lines has been an absolute mess for Reese.

 

[Vegas pj]

So Geoff Schwartz broke his leg, same leg he broke his ankle on last year, which limited him to two games. The Giants were down the center and both guards. What is Pugh's mysterious condition? That's now two games and a bye week.

Sucks for Schwartz, but what a bust as a big FA last year. Rebuilding these lines has been an absolute mess for Reese.

Giants hoping to move some games next year to Manilla in the Philippines. There Giants translates into Folders.

 

[Piratz]

They have to exploit Washington secondary in this one, limit big plays to the Redskins that keep them in the game, and Eli has to manage the game without the huge mistakes. I still think they need to think about 30 points to win here.

Steeeee-rike 1

Giants need to win against the Skins and avoid any injuries to key players .

Steeeee-rike 2

Terrible terrible loss. How do you come out of a bye week with that lackluster effort? Skins are not good.

Steeeee-rike 3

They were an absolute disaster today. They looked totally unprepared and disorganized. All the bad elements of this team were on display,

*Dropped passes get bobbled into interceptions
*Moronic route running leads to a crucial turnovers in the end zone
*Guys WIDE OPEN running free behind bad safeties and inept LB's in coverage
*Cannot make a big stop on a final drive
*No running game
*More injuries exposing the terrible depth
*Another close loss. Of their 6 losses, 5 are by a total of 19 points.

 

[TomD82]

112 and bd. The mistakes you talk about are squarely on the coaching staff. I don't know how people can still be saying fire the GM now when you have on the field mistakes like this game in and game out not to mention clock management and play selection.

 

[hallgrad80]

Because your idiot punt returner caught the ball at the 1-yard line so you never got close enough to be able to reach the end zone with a Hail Mary. Beckham outjumping everyone and catching a Hail Mary at the 10-yard line doesn't really help matters.

But what you hoping for is a pass interference call and a game can't end on a penalty and the Skins were mugging ODB all day.besides a 10-15 year pass trying to keep lateraling the ball has far less of a chance to succeed then a Hail Mary.

 

[Section112]

Tom let me ask you a few questions about our talent. When was the last time we had two good LBs in Reese's tenure? When was the last time we had a good offensive line? When was the last time we had two good safeties? When was the last time we held onto a good TE? That is just the tip of the iceberg with Reese. I agree they played terrible today no argument there.

 

[Piratz]

But what you hoping for is a pass interference call and a game can't end on a penalty and the Skins were mugging ODB all day.besides a 10-15 year pass trying to keep lateraling the ball has far less of a chance to succeed then a Hail Mary.

But how are you going to get the ball down there? The drive started at what, the -12 yard line?

That last play was snapped from the -30-ish at :07 and the Skins defending the sidelines. Eli's not putting the ball in the air for 70 yards.

 

[hallgrad80]

112 and bd. The mistakes you talk about are squarely on the coaching staff. I don't know how people can still be saying fire the GM now when you have on the field mistakes like this game in and game out not to mention clock management and play selection.

You can only coach the players the GM drafts for you and the free agents he signs and the weaknesses in the OL, in the defensive backfield , the lack of a two- way TE, problems at linebacking are all Reese's fault and it's time for both the GM and Coach to go.

 

[Piratz]

You can only coach the players the GM drafts for you and the free agents he signs and the weaknesses in the OL, in the defensive backfield , the lack of a two- way TE, problems at linebacking are all Reese's fault and it's time for both the GM and Coach to go.

Unless you're Belichick, who picks the teams and coaches them. Sigh.

Safety was a HUGE issue all offseason and it has torched them all season long. Collins is a rookie better suited to play the run. You have to hope he improves because he looks lost. Merriweather and Dahl? They'd be good for depth, but are being exposed. They were signed off the scrap heap in what, September? The other options were 5th+ round unproven picks who all got injured and would've been glorified rookies anyway.

They haven't had a cover LB in years. The guys that play here are then out of the league the next season (Williams, McClain, etc.). And Beason is joining Schwartz as total FA busts, unfortunately. Scheme changes, but TE's over the middle don't.

Is the full back still playing d-line? Oy vey.

A two-way TE in a TE Era in the NFL would be nice. A weak offensive line and no edge blocking = well, the Giants' run game.

 

[hallgrad80]

Recently read somewhere that there are 5 players who should be let go because the production the Giants are getting from them doesn't justify their contract whether it be because of being consistently injured and unable to get on or stay on the field or their production on the field. The list begins with Beatty, Beason , Schwartz , Jennings and Cruz . Letting them go will create $15 plus million in cap space although the article said the Giants could try to resign Cruz at a much lower number. The question about Reese is whether you think he can spend the cap space and fill the Giants holes thru free agency . For me the answer is no based on his recent record in free agency.