NY Giants Beat Tampa Bay

[NYC Pirate]

Sorry for another Giant thread. I think once the Seton Hall Basketball team plays
it will be primarily about the Pirates

Anyway, the Giants won a game they needed. It was a mixed bag as I saw it. The defense was
better to some degree, but we can't go overboard. The secondary was bad and the Giants were
fortunate that Tampa was dropping passes all over the place. Except for that inexcusable long run
they gave up late in the game the run defense was a solid. The linebackers I thought had one of their
best games of the season. The line showed more pressure, but still couldn't get to the QB. The Giants had
several late QB hits that weren't called. Of course Moore got his weekly penalty. JPP was a breath of fresh
air. He played way more than expected and played at a pretty high level I thought taking everything into
consideration. He could help this defense to elevate their play. so that was good.

Eli was a bit reckless and made several iffy throws throughout the course of the game. He plays a game like that every once in a while. He still gets a C+ maybe a bit better on his overall grade. He made throws, especially to Bekham Jr. when needed. I still cannot figure out the Giant play calling. They play so tight
and the 3rd and 4th down calls have absolutely no margin for error. Meanwhile other teams run those plays
so relaxed against the Giants. It's not like Eli had no time at all on this day. The Giants from the end of the 2nd quarter to the last drive were kind of ho hum on offense. The running game was a bit more balanced. No screens though and he only threw to Bekham Jr. it seemed on like 20 passes in a row. This offense is bland
and strange.

The bottom line is that they won and in fairness scored on many of their drives. Tampa is not an awful team either, well coached and they have a good deal of young talent. Anytime you win on the road it's a plus in the NFL.

 

[HALL85]

That's about how I saw it. It's an away win, but they still look like a .500 team at best. Will the offense look better when Cruz gets back? JPP adds a quality guy to a defense that is beat up, but he's not enough.

 

[hallgrad80]

Every win is a good win for the Giants. A couple of things stood out. I isolated on JPP as much as I could to see if the way the hand was wrapped would affect his play and a couple of times it did as he couldn't push off a lineman because he needed to use his injured hand to do so. Going forward what he'll bring is pressure but not sacks. In all the years I've been watching Giant football I can't ever remembering a Giant team that didn't record a sack two games in a row and it wasn't playing against teams that had good to great OL's.

 

[Burnsly]

That awesome 3rd down catch OBJ made late in the game was huge. Eventually led to a 53 yard FG from Brown to give them an 8 pt. lead. Still bothers me they can't get 2 yards to seal the game without having to rely on a 53 yd. FG. Next week could get real ugly.

 

[hbkmyr]

The merry-go-round continues. Hankins to season ending IR.

 

[Section112]

That awesome 3rd down catch OBJ made late in the game was huge. Eventually led to a 53 yard FG from Brown to give them an 8 pt. lead. Still bothers me they can't get 2 yards to seal the game without having to rely on a 53 yd. FG. Next week could get real ugly.

Excellent point on the catch - that play was huge because I have no faith in the defense's ability to hold anyone or anything in the 4th quarter. ODBJ has to have strong hands to make that catch. He had a really good game against a physical defense.

Giants are not good and were very lucky TBs receivers dropped so many good balls. They let TB hang around all game when they should have scored a few more TDs in the first half and settled for FG's. Eli did not have an accurate day throwing either. And Randle had a good first half but then completely disappeared in the 2nd half. The offense is still trying too hard to keep everyone happy with the RB by committee thing. Vereen needs to be in there a lot along with Jennings. Although Williams and Darkwa played well, I think the Giants are so much better with Vereen and Jennings in there because of their versatility. And why on so many third and two's does Eli have to throw the ball long down the field and have such a low percentage play leading to another punt and killed drive? I am happy about the win but boy is this team hard to watch. Hoping Cruz and Amukamara can come back soon.

Let's give some loud and sarcastic kudos to the coaches who have finally learned how to manage the clock at the end of the game.

 

[hallgrad80]

Just imagine how much better the offense would be if Reese could ever find a high quality TE , either thru the draft or in free agency.

 

[Piratz]

Hankins loss is big. Sigh.

Jenkins probably moves full time to tackle now, where he is better anyway. JPP looked pretty good yesterday for his first game back. Some pressures on the QB in the 4th quarter was nice to see. If he can continue to improve and Prince comes back the defense may be adequate. Won't be good, but adequate would be a big improvement.

After the NE game on Sunday they have the bye. The first 3 games off the bye are huge. Season-definers: at Redskins, Jets, at Dolphins.

 

[Section112]

What is the over/under on how many times this D-line with JPP will even touch Tom Brady?

 

[catholicman]

New England's great running back Dion Lewis is out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. And, NE's offensive line is really banged up. They almost didn't have enough warm bodies to fill in for injured players. This should help the Giants next week.

 

[Piratz]

To me it's a house money game. Go out there and put on a show. I do not expect them to win, but imagine the boost if they could ever pull the upset? Whoa.

I feel like Brady's going to toy with that secondary unless there's some freakish kind of game from the pass rush, especially Ayers and JPP.

Does Damontre Moore has a nice streak going of three consecutive games with a roughing penalty. Nice.

 

[Piratz]

Every win is a good win for the Giants. A couple of things stood out. I isolated on JPP as much as I could to see if the way the hand was wrapped would affect his play and a couple of times it did as he couldn't push off a lineman because he needed to use his injured hand to do so. Going forward what he'll bring is pressure but not sacks. In all the years I've been watching Giant football I can't ever remembering a Giant team that didn't record a sack two games in a row and it wasn't playing against teams that had good to great OL's.

And leveraging to play the run as well as he used to, too. I'm curious to what is most comfortable for him now considering they did move him around and even stood him up at times. I think a couple times he even tried to put that hand on the ground.

He made a difference though as a rusher and that's what it's going to be for the rest of the year, I think. He finished with 47 snaps and generated 4 hurries and 2 hits and they saved him a bit for the 4th quarter when he got Winston off the spot.

On offense, the running game has looked better. They've gone over 100 yards in 2 of the past 3 games, notable considering they hadn't done that at all through the first six. They're averaging 111 yards/game and 4.2 yards/ rush over that span, including 33 attempts in Tampa against a Bucs team that's 4th in the league against yards/rush. Should be a factor against the Patriots in trying to help keep the defense off the field.

 

[TomD82]

Just imagine how much better the offense would be if Reese could ever find a high quality TE , either thru the draft or in free agency.

Will Tye has actually looked pretty good at TE. The Giants think they can coach any player up no matter what. Even players with the football IQ that was mentioned here about Moore.

In regard to Hankins, don't forget how the current coach said there would not be so many injured players under him and especially players going on IR as there was under Fassel the previous coach.

 

[hbkmyr]

The wheels on the bus go round and round...Beatty not coming back. Done for season.

 

[Piratz]

The wheels on the bus go round and round...Beatty not coming back. Done for season.

Sounds like he's just not ready. A torn pec on an offensive lineman is major. So that's 2 down of the 5 injured vets and I think Cruz will join that list.

Really need Prince back with JPP.

BTW, the NFLPA is terrible. This whole thing with injuries is mind-boggling. You'd think as a union they would flexibility with injuries.

 

[hallgrad80]

The wheels on the bus go round and round...Beatty not coming back. Done for season.

Will be an interesting off-season for the Giants as they will have to make decisions on the players who are continuously injured and have a very large cap number like Beatty at $8 mil ,Amukamara at $6,898,mil , and Beason at $4,154,mil . Of Course what happens with Cruz will also be interesting as his cap number is $8,125,mil.

 

[Piratz]

Beatty now has a rotator cuff injury, unrelated to pectoral. He needs surgery, per Coughlin.

Unreal.

 

[Piratz]

Will be an interesting off-season for the Giants as they will have to make decisions on the players who are continuously injured and have a very large cap number like Beatty at $8 mil ,Amukamara at $6,898,mil , and Beason at $4,154,mil . Of Course what happens with Cruz will also be interesting as his cap number is $8,125,mil.

I'd bid farewell to Beason and provide Prince an incentive-laden contract. Likely someone will swoop him and guarantee him that money and if that happens, farewell to him too.

Cruz is a more difficult question because he means a lot to the team in many ways.

 

[Section112]

I'd bid farewell to Beason and provide Prince an incentive-laden contract. Likely someone will swoop him and guarantee him that money and if that happens, farewell to him too.

Cruz is a more difficult question because he means a lot to the team in many ways.

Agree - time for Beason to go - we have two MLBs with some talent now and we should develop them. Have to bring Cruz back - hoping he gets on the field soon, we need him with Randle playing hurt. Prince is a guy you want to keep too depending on the outlook of free agent corners hitting the market next year. I wish Walter Thurmond did not get hurt the last two years - he could have helped us a lot this year if we kept him but I understand why they let him go as he could not stay on the field.

Should be interesting to see if we can rush Brady this week. That will be the key to the game as the corners and safeties will not be able to cover these guys for long. And the offense is going to have to put up some serious points.

 

[hbkmyr]

Read recently how the Giants regret letting Edlemen leave his visit when he was a FA without a contract. Didn't know it at the time but he would have been a great fit now.

Just for fun...the Giants should steal a page out of Bellichik's playbook with a 1990 super bowl style defense. Rush two and drop everyone back to take away the short catch and run lol.

 

[Burnsly]

Even with their injuries, the Pats are a horrible match up for the Giants. On defense, they'll take OBJ out of the game & the Giants supporting cast won't have a chance to compete. Brady could possibly set NFL records on offense this week.

Because of their chronic injury history, the Giants need to replace Beatty, Prince & Beason next year. (Reese too)

D. Moore leads the team in sacks even though he's played less 30% of the defensive snaps. It's up to the coaching staff to get thru to him. The guy is way too talented to give up on.

 

[Piratz]

They would need some crazy outlier game from the pass rush. JPP, Ayers, and Moore would have to be terrors.

I think the offense needs to be their best defense. You can move the ball on NE.

 

[hallgrad80]

The key to the Giants offseason will be building cap space to compete for the better free agents that fill priority needs for the Giants. For me that means adding at least two DB's , a high quality TE who can both block and catch the ball, another OL and address the DL at both end and tackle, particularly a pass rusher. With so many needs that can't all be filled thru the draft. the Giants have to have enough space to be a player in the free agent market.

Depending on what happens with Cruz will play a big role as the WR position may also need to be addressed. Here's the list of some of the Giants free agents beside JPP and Prince. Ayers, Jenkins, Josh Brown the kicker , Selvie,Randle and DeOssie , the long snapper . If Cruz can't get on the field next season and you lose Randle to free agency then all you have is ODB and no one else.

 

[Piratz]

Read recently how the Giants regret letting Edlemen leave his visit when he was a FA without a contract. Didn't know it at the time but he would have been a great fit now.

Just for fun...the Giants should steal a page out of Bellichik's playbook with a 1990 super bowl style defense. Rush two and drop everyone back to take away the short catch and run lol.

They're going to have to think outside the box. According to Pro Football Focus, Brady is getting the ball out of his hands in about 2.1 seconds, which is the best in the NFL and would set a new mark for the best since they started tracking the time in 2011.

 

[hbkmyr]

I think the Giants are pretty well set up for 2016 cap space. Last I saw they were projected to have about 38-39 million in 2016, which would put them in the top 10 in terms of money to spend.

 

[Piratz]

They are in excellent cap shape for 2016. As of today they are $38M under for 2016, 7th-best in the NFL. And could be a lot more to come from the current crop of injured veterans unless there is some major restructuring:

1). Will Beatty as a $9M cap number next year. He's no longer the team's LT, that now belongs to Flowers. You're not allocating that kind of money to a RT. They can save an additional $4M by releasing him. Unless he restructures, he's likely done as a Giant.

2). Jon Beason is about $6.5M hit and they can save $5M of it if they release him.

3). Victor Cruz is a $9.9M cap number for 2016, $6.1M can be saved.

Then you would need new deals for Pierre-Paul and Amukumara.

http://overthecap.com/salary-cap/new-york-giants/

 

[Burnsly]

He's done even if he does decide to restructure. One of Reese's worst signings.

 

[Section112]

They are in excellent cap shape for 2016. As of today they are $38M under for 2016, 7th-best in the NFL. And could be a lot more to come from the current crop of injured veterans unless there is some major restructuring:

1). Will Beatty as a $9M cap number next year. He's no longer the team's LT, that now belongs to Flowers. You're not allocating that kind of money to a RT. They can save an additional $4M by releasing him. Unless he restructures, he's likely done as a Giant.

2). Jon Beason is about $6.5M hit and they can save $5M of it if they release him.

3). Victor Cruz is a $9.9M cap number for 2016, $6.1M can be saved.

Then you would need new deals for Pierre-Paul and Amukumara.

http://overthecap.com/salary-cap/new-york-giants/

Will be very interesting to see what JPP does at the end of the season. Will he feel like he was treated well during the injury or have hard feelings? Can't blame the Giants for being cautious but it should be interesting to see how it plays out.

 

[hallgrad80]

If I were the Giant GM I would look to trade Beatty and whatever they get back is a plus and would release the Giants of all of Beatty's contract . Remember teams are always looking for an experienced LT and if he's healthy I could see teams looking at him.

 

[hbkmyr]

this is an early look at FA for 2016. Question is are you allowing Reese to spend this money?
http://nfltraderumors.co/2016-nfl-free-agents-list/

 

[Piratz]

They also have nearly 30 UFA's of their own to sort through, including:

Pierre-Paul
Jenkins
Amukumara
Ayers
McBride
Randle
Donnell
Wing

 

[hbkmyr]

Yup. It sets up very nicely if they decided to make a regime change. A new GM can come in and quickly put his fingerprints on the team and sign the kind of players a new coach woild want.

 

[Piratz]

Yup. It sets up very nicely if they decided to make a regime change. A new GM can come in and quickly put his fingerprints on the team and sign the kind of players a new coach woild want.

It really does on the defensive side. On the offensive side the players are pretty much locked up and then you face a 3rd offensive scheme in 4 years.

 

[hbkmyr]

I agree...I'm not sure how much tinkering they'll want to do on the offensive side. As noted it would be another change in offensive philosophy for a 34-year old QB. I would think they'll try to keep many of the offensive players in place to help with Eli's comfort level.

 

[Piratz]

We'll all know soon. After NE they have the bye. So at 5-5 the season will be defined by the 3-game stretch coming out of the bye week: at Redskins (3-5), vs. Jets (5-4), at Dolphins (3-5) on MNF. Really need a clean sweep because the final leg is challenging (vs. Panthers, at Vikings, vs. Eagles).

If the team is 8-5 with 3 to play, you're set up. Will this team be able to play that consistently and take care of business?

Sunday's game has the same feel as that 2007 regular season finale because it’s really one of those “house money” games with absolutely nothing to lose. Mindsets and confidence are HUGE in this league, especially for a newly formed nucleus of players trying to get over the hump. Wouldn't it be nice to play out of their minds and shock the world? Would make-up for the agony of the games against the Cowboys, Falcons, and Saints, LOL.

 

[hbkmyr]

Apparently they learned little from the Dallas debacle

 

[Section112]

Two chances to catch the ball and end the game. We make one of those catches and we win.

 

[bd98]

I hate this team with the white hot heat of a thousand burning suns. How may times can you do the SAME EXACT DAMNED THING!?!?!?!?!?

Of course if Jerry Reese's latest bust Landon Collins could actually catch a ball... Dude's so bad he got benched for Craig Dahl. Then of course Dahl shows he's the worst player in the league so they put Collins back in and he does that. Thanks Jerry!

 

[Piratz]

This was beyond strategy, IMO. Need to catch the ball. End of story. Beckham, Collins, either of them. And stop them on 4th down.

You had three occasions to win the game with 1 play made.

 

[Piratz]

I hate this team with the white hot heat of a thousand burning suns. How may times can you do the SAME EXACT DAMNED THING!?!?!?!?!?

I have never seen this amount of heartbreaking losses. They have 3 losses by a combined 5 points. And a 4th by 4. Sickening.