A Good Tough Loss

For those of you who’ve been followers of The Octavio Lense since its inception, you know that a portion of this site is dedicated to the New York Giants. Well, lets get started….

Tough loss to the Atlanta Falcons Sunday, but I feel there were a lot of positives to this game. Granted there was a lot of sloppy play (Shockey 3 drops…come on) and penalties…but more on that later.

What I saw from this game was a spark. Sure you can say it’s because Eli Manning made his debut, but there’s more to it than that. There was something about the crowd. A feeling in the air that this team is finally on a path; that better things are to come. You can’t put a finger on it; just an intuitive sense that this team is going some place. It reminds me of the 1983 season. That was Bill Parcells’ inaugural season as head coach of which the Giants only went 3-12-1. By all measurable accounts a dismal season; one that put Parcells on the firing line after just one campaign. But if you’re old enough to remember, there were lots of bright spots the way Leonard Marshall, Jerome Sally, George Martin and Casey Merrill played on the defensive line, the cohesion in what was to be the greatest linebacking corps ever assembled, (OK…slight bias on my part…feel free to try to prove me wrong if you can) and improved play in the secondary. They only won three games, but the Giants meant business. Win or loose, the Jints were starting to look mean after a decade and a half of abysmal football. In essence, there was a sense of belief.

I sensed that same belief in the Giants today. I’m seeing a connection between Manning and Shockey already form. Granted Shockey had a first half he’d soon like to forget, as the papers will surely remind him this week, but you could see his impact in the second half. It’s still way premature to make a Simms to Bavaro juxtaposition with Manning and Shockey, but I can smell it coming. The stats won’t prove it in this game, but Shockey is in pole position to be Eli’s go-to guy. I’m still with the camp that believes Jeremy Shockey’s potential has yet to be fully tapped.

Kudos to the O-line as well. The naysayers made plenty of noise the past two weeks in the unforgivable losses to Chicago and Arizona (16 sacks given up in the first 5 games, 24 sacks given up in the last 4…we know, we know, we know), but I stuck to my guns that, yes, it was because of Kurt Warner’s holding the ball for too long that led to that sack frenzy. Atlanta’s much ballyhooed blitzing attack was thwarted by Big Blue. They didn’t shut them down, but they at least gave Manning workable time in passing situations. Heck, you can’t ask for miracles, but a quarterback can ask for at least a three step drop; and for the most part Manning got it. Lets not forget folks that Big Dave Diehl moved from guard to tackle (hardly an easy transition) and he’s sharing the right side of the line with rookie, Chris Snee, and they were playing with back-up center Wayne Lucier and that Luke Petitgout is really a natural right tackle, not a left tackle. That’s a lot to ask for, especially with a rookie QB and first year head coach. Everyone thought Atlanta’s D-line would have an endless highlight reel after what happened the last two weeks. Not so. Lets cut these guys some slack…OK? And I haven’t even mentioned the running game of which they made some big holes (even Dayne got passed the line of scrimmage a few times)...I’m just talking about pass protection.

Defensively the Giants contained Michael Vick pretty well. Everyone got freaked out with the loss of Strahan and Keith Washington for the season, but Osi Umenyiora (who I always had faith in since the end of last season) really stepped up on the D-Line. The D fell short with stopping the run, but that’s what happens when the linebackers and secondary have to spy Vick in addition to everything else. All in all, considering what a star the Giants Defense made Craig Krenzel look like two weeks ago, Michael Vick was pretty quiet. Good press in the secondary with Brent Alexander and Terry Cousin in nickel and dime formations to enable some pass rush up front; though rookie “find” Gibril Wilson was certainly missed. Nobody deserves a game ball here, but they didn’t quit. I think I’m belaboring the obvious that the biggest hole is with the linebackers, however some rays of light can be extracted by the play of Nick Greisen and Reggie Torbor in recent weeks.

Penalties…ughh. Where to you start? No game should ever pinned on what the zebras call. Lets face it, the Giants got a few breaks too, but that personal foul on Carlos Emmons was a steak in the heart at the end of the game. You’ve heard the old cliché of NFL standing for No Fun League, but for God’s sake, can these professional football players be allowed to, say, play football? Is that asking too much? Never has a season been so painstakingly tedious by the constant barrage of yellow flags. HEY PAUL TAGIABUE…GUESS WHAT…FOOTBALL IS A CONTACT SPORT! YOU THINK THESE GUYS CAN BE ALLOWED TO HIT? You think a guy making $40 million can withstand an inadvertent slap on the helmet .0427 seconds after he releases the ball? Jeff Tripplet are you competing with Tom White to be the next Dick Hantack? You’re a marked man on The Octavio Lense.

Anyway…

Quiet recognition goes to Marcellus Rivers being promoted over Visanthe Shiancoe from third to second string Tight End. Nice job blocking. Same to Jeff Feagles on special teams. If Ray Guy ever gets into the Hall of Fame as a punter, then Jeff Feagles should someday be considered too. His contribution in the game of field position has been invaluable.

But more than anything else, I got something off the crowd. No, I wasn’t in the swamps of Jersey today on this balmy late November afternoon. I watched the game on the tube. But the crowd didn’t give up. They were electric, and I’ll tell you I have not sensed that feeling from the Giants faithful since Parcells stepped down. I don’t know how else to say it. Perhaps you have to be a long time fan to know, but there was something about the Jim Fassel era that wasn’t emblematic of what the New York Giants are about…too nice, too slick, too many smiles, too many weddings to Angie Harmon and too many CHOKES. Even in this age of free agency, it’s still about homegrown stars that gets the fans exited. LT, Mark Bavaro, Harry Carson, Phil Simms and, (why not) Phil McConkey…these are my New York Giants. Eli Manning brings that intangible link to the fans; he’s our quarterback, and you could feel that vibe entrenched in the roar of the crowd. Kerry Collins never delivered that.

The Giants looked just a little more pissed off today, a little hungrier, despite a shoddy first half and lots of penalties. The Falcons won, but they had to scratch and crawl to do it. The Giants scratched and crawled too. But while doing so, they jettisoned the Madison Avenue finesse of Gentleman Jim Fassel for Hunt’s Point grit of Tom Coughlin.

I like what I’m starting to see.