If the Giants don't make the playoffs, TC should fire himself. Watching the Panthers and Eagles play what was a fairly entertaining game made me think that the Giants, with Strahan and Petitgout in the lineup, might be the second or third-best team in the NFC.
There's every reason to think a 9-7 team with the No. 5 seed can run the table in this conference. Who scares a nearly healthy (save Toomer and LaVar) Giants team? The Bears in Chicago? A little. The Seahawks in Seattle? Only because it's the house of horrors for the Giants. The Saints in New Orleans? The Cowboys in Dallas? Please.
Now, I'm not saying that just because it's there for the taking, the Giants will take it. They have shown an amazing ability to hurt themselves this season with dumb decisions. Not to be Captain Hindsight, but I do recall writing or saying somewhere that the Plaxico-Shockey twosome would be great if things were great, but if the Giants began to falter, you just knew these two would be involved somehow.
To look at the four losses -- really just the last two, since those were the most winnable games -- is really to say that coaching was responsible for two major screw-ups: The play-calling while the lead was fading in Nashville, and the play-calling on the goal line twice on Sunday at home.
The rest... You can't coach that stuff. Injuries meant Frank Walker had to be on the field against the Titans, and Frank did something dumb. Mathias Kiwanuka has to be on the field in both games, and he made two rookie mistakes.
Maybe you want to hold Tim Lewis to account for the lackadaisical defense, and yes, I agree that having William Joseph in as the lone tackle instead of Fred Robbins in the dime is not smart. But Will Demps got a decent amount of dough to be a read-and-react safety. He's reading and reacting wrong, and there's four games left in the season. Bad coaching? Hard to say that.
This is kind of a ramble, since there's a day until the Giants start talking about Carolina. Let's get a jump:
Jake Delhomme looks like some QB we all know around here... Can't think of the kid's name... Starts with an E.
Remember when Delhome was the next Montana? Or the first Romo? Gosh darn, he played poorly last night. And if the Panthers' vaunted D-line can't wriggle free against the Eagles and Jeff Garcia, the Giants -- whose pass protection has been very good the last two weeks -- should be feeling good about themselves.
The Panthers secondary is a mess too. If Eli gets some time and makes smart reads like he did on Sunday, the Giants will be able to move the ball well. The no-run Eagles managed 98 rushing yards on Carolina, so Tiki and Jacobs could do some damage.
Hate to say it, but I kind of like this matchup for the Giants on Sunday... Kiss of death, I know. Maybe I'll change my mind before the week is out.
Oh, and Giants-Eagles on Dec. 17 is now 4:15. Who'd have thunk that game would mean something to both teams?
Comments (8)
I haven't heard anyone address a glaring deficiency for this team - the UNIFORMS! This team hasn't played well since the logo change from GIANTS to ny. Is there a reason why they look like the Falcons in the road uni's? Don't get me started on the "Big Red" Jerseys, we're big blue not the Huskers. Bring back the old uniforms before it's too late!!!
All I can think of is the Steelers last year. Going down the stretch no one was giving them a chance. All the talk was about the Colts, but we know how that ended. What we want to know is how this season will end. I say why not the Giants? I know I shouldn't be thinking about the Super Bowl when we would be lucky they make the playoffs but I don't care.
Just think of the headlines after the Giants beat Chicago in the NFC Championship...
"Super Ballin!"
For all those who think I'm nuts...ask yourself, "Why not?"
Unless I'm wrong, how many times have the Giants been to the playoffs since they switched BACK to the ny logo? Um, and I think they went to the Super Bowl the first year they changed.
Which uniform did Dave Brown wear? Exactly!
Plus, each team has an alternate jersey...should they have picked orange instead? I love the red jerseys and wish we saw more of them.
Arthur, can you please stop liking the Giants in matchups? Everything was going great when you picked them to lose every game. Then you picked them to beat Houston by a larger margin than they really did, and that seems like the game where fortunes really turned.
Actually, we should probably be rooting for the Giants to take on a NEW uniform next year. After all, teams in new unis have historically performed very well in that first season in the new duds. The Broncos in 1997. The Giants in 2000 (sans the Super Bowl). Check the record; I am sure there are a few other teams that had results like that.
And by the way, it's spelled Ali Haji-Sheikh. Yeah, that's right. He went 35 for 42 in his rookie year of 1983, which was a record for FGs made at the time. It was also Parcells' rookie year as a head coach, the Giants went 3-12-1, and Haji-Sheikh was Haji-Shank by the next year, giving way to the always-clutch Raul Allegre. Sorry for rambling.
Ali, the uniforms? Get real! Besides, like Ryan, I LOVE the red jerseys...bought one myself as a matter of fact! :-)
Anyway, the reason the G's have been losing is that down here in Baltimore there's a writer for The Sun who is a jinx. Everytime he picks our guys to win, they lose. In the beginning of the season he was a Giants hater and life was so much better. I'm going to write a letter to the editor to get him to STOP IT!
One of these 6-6 teams is going to get hot and make a run at going all the way to at least the NFC title game. Why can't it be the Giants? Even with all their issues, they may still be the NFC's most talented team.
I'm sure the coaching staff has thought of this already, but why hasn't Tim Carter returned kicks?