Okay, at this point I’m pissed off, and am going to vent my frustration in full-on Giants apologist mode. It seems that the entire sports world media has some form of collective amnesia, ignorance, or both.
This morning on Mike & Mike In The Morning, one of their “5 things you need to know” was the stat that the Giants have gone 6-18 in the second half of the season since 2003. Greeney commented that this spans multiple coaching staffs and huge player turnover, so it’s remarkable and inexplicable. No, Greeney, it’s really not.
In 2003, the Giants placed 17 guys on IR, and unsurprisingly were unable to win any of their final eight games. (Six of those eight losses saw Jesse “The Bachelor” Palmer as the starting quarterback.) In 2004, I don’t remember the exact number but recall it reported that the Giants either led the league or were near the top in number of guys on IR, and as a result went an unsurprising 1-7 in the final eight games. (Anyone remember that game when both defensive ends were lost for the season? It was week 9, IIRC.) That’s a collective 1-15. The way the stat was presented this morning implied that 2005 was included in the “second half swoon” stat, despite the respectable 5-3 record in the final half of last season. (Which also involved losing five linebackers: all three starters plus two of the primary backups.)
This year? Let’s see, for last week’s game the defense was missing both starting defensive ends (Strahan & Osi), both starting oustide linebackers (Arrington & Short), and both starting cornerbacks (Madison and Webster). Toss in a primary backup end (Tuck), the starting left tackle (Petitgout), a starting reciever (Toomer), and surprise surprise, the defense fell apart in the fourth quarter. What a stunner that exhausted second stringers fell apart.
I wouldn’t have bothered posting except I made the mistake of tuning in for a few minutes of the hot-stove horse-racing & tennis show known as Mike & The Mad Dog just now. Here’s the stupidity I heard on that show in a single ten minute span:
The Giants have been way overhyped for a team that hasn’t won a playoff game.
Yeah, and San Diego sucks too, right? One loss to the Jets is hardly more impressive than two losses to the 49ers and Panthers, but apparently this overhyped bar only applies to the Giants. For that matter, how many playoff games have the Colts won recently? Peyton Manning took six years to win his first playoff game, but Eli is already a bust in his third.
The Giants were supposed to be so great this season; they were 11-5 last year and brought in guys like LaVar Arrington, Brandon Short and Sam Madison, so they should be even better.
First off, the preseason over-under on the Giants was 8½, so they were hardly a preseason favorite. Second, I notice all those names mentioned are guys that haven’t been on the field in weeks. What an amazing coincidence that the current losing streak just happened to start when those guys (among many, many others) went down, isn’t it?
The Giants defense hasn’t been good in 15 years. They haven’t stepped up in a big game since 1990.
Yeah, pitching a shutout against the high powered offense of the Vikings in the Conference Championship was neither stepping up nor a big spot.
Tom Coughlin stands behind his players, so they should do the same for him.
As I recall, he made a big speech to the team last week about not throwing each other under the bus in the media. The very next game, his first comments in the postgame conference were throwing both Eli and Kiwanuka under the bus. Real standup guy there, eh?
I am so sick of the bullshit. Place the blame where it belongs: coaching and injuries. As Ron Jaworski pointed out, in the game last week the situation was 13 minutes left in the game, up by 21 points, you just ran for 6 yards, now 2nd & 4. So what play did they call? Empty set. Empty set! So the defense blitzes and Eli throws a pick. How much of that is Eli’s fault, (quite a bit,) and how much of that is the coaching staff’s fault? (Even more.) You don’t call a friggin’ empty set in that spot; you’re killing the clock with a huge lead for chrissakes. The only thing an empty set is going to give you is pressure on your QB and a potential hit to his psyche if he throws an unsurprising pick there.
The game before? Tiki Barber got 10 whole carries. Nice gameplan, coach! And why did it take Toomer going down for the season before Shockey got put into the gameplan? WTF?! Are these coaches incompetent or what?
Next year is the final year on Coughlin’s contract. The Giants as an organization never let a coach play out his final year; it’s either extended or terminated before that. So this offseason is decision time on the current staff. I think we can all guess which way I’m leaning.
Some good news for this week’s matchup:
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Brandon Short, Osi Umenyiora and Sam Madison will all be back.
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The media isn’t giving the Giants a chance, which is a sure sign that they’ll play well. May not be enough to win, but I’d be stunned if they didn’t at least play well.
