For those who’ve worked so hard to purge the memories of the Giants’ inexplicable playoff loss to San Francisco four years ago, we urge you to contact your counselor in the wake of Sunday’s implosion in Nashville. Just as the Candlestick Collapse marked of the end of Jim Fassel, the Music City Meltdown officially places Tom Coughlin in similar lame duck status. In barbecue parlance, you can stick a fork in Tom Coughlin…he’s done.
The recent weeks have been a trying time for the Giants. Words such as “dysfunctional” and “tumultuous” have been popular ways to describe life for Big Blue. To exacerbate matters, Tiki Barber – also in lame duck status, but by his own choice – made another public outcry regarding Tom Coughlin’s lack of coaching acumen. So back to basics the Giants went; by passing to Jeremy Shockey early and often, giving Tiki Barber more carries, and finally providing Brandon Jacobs opportunities beyond short yardage situations. It was about time, as for weeks those hailing in Giantdom have all but sent smoke signals urging Big Blue to get back to fundamentals. And what do you know, by midway through the second quarter the Giants had a 21-0 lead. Sure Tiki Barber would have to eat a little crow for what he said, but so what, if that’s what it took to put the pedestrian play against Chicago and Jacksonville behind them, all was forgiven. It seemed to work. For at least the first half, the Giants hadn’t played so convincingly since shellacking Dallas on October 23rd. It wouldn’t be until the fourth quarter that Vince Young would resemble Jeff Garcia from the same aforementioned game everyone wants to forget.
For most of the game, the Giants moved the ball with positive rushing yardage and simple pass routes to move the chains. It may not have been the most loaded highlight reel, but for this banged-up ramshackle bunch, it was good medicine. And then, just like in the loss to Chicago a two weeks ago, a single play seismically shifted the momentum away from the Giants. That play, of course, was early in the fourth quarter where on 2nd and 4, Eli Manning flared a pass to Plaxico Burress on simple sideline route. Why in the world the Giants had to get cute when they should have kept running the ball in order to chew up the clock is beyond anyone’s logic. Then again, questionable play calling has been subject to debate all season long. Manning’s pass was a little overthrown, but certainly catchable if Burress gave it his all. Instead Burress gave up on the route, enabling “Pacman” Jones to make his first of two interceptions. Did Burress attempt to tackle Jones? Impede his runback? Try to knock him out of bounds? No, thus allowing Jones to return the inception for 26 additional yards and put the ball in Giants’ territory. The first tremors were being felt.
For Vince Young, this was his defining day as a rookie quarterback. Many were doubtful if Vince Young would cut in the NFL, thinking that his phenomenal performance in the Rose Bowl last January artificially boosted his stock. He still had his senior year in front of him at Texas, and, well, wasn’t he another one of those “running quarterbacks” anyway? After all, the jury was out on Michael Vick, the prototypical running quarterback, who last week was dubbed a “coach killer”. The last thing Tennessee needed was a quarterback juxtaposed to a “coach killer”. Add in the fact that Vince Young had his Wunderlik score (an 8, I believe) publicized in the same manner as JFK, Jr. failing the bar exam, and voila, Matt Leinart was soon saying bonjour Nashville. As for those running quarterbacks, they’re just useless aren’t they? Especially when it’s 4th and 10 and they’re about to be sacked by Mathias Kiwanuka.
Now for those of you who are still shell-shocked and have blocked out this play, here’s the quick recap. With 2:44 remaining in the game, Tennessee is faced with a 4th and 10 while trailing the Giants 21-14. The implications of this play are pretty basic: prevent the Titans from advancing the ball ten yards and the game is over. Young drops back to pass; he remains cool in the pocket – very cool, in fact – but can’t find an open receiver. Mathias Kiwanuka, who up this moment has had stellar rookie year, has Vince Young wrapped up. For all intents and purposes, Vince Young should have been sacked the same way Mookie Wilson should have grounded out to Bill Buckner in the ’86 World Series. Yet, incredulously, Kiwanuka lets Vince Young go. Perhaps Kiwanuka thought Young passed the ball and didn’t want to draw a roughing penalty. Fine, but if that were the case, Kiwanuka would have heard a whistle. Certainly he had to know what was going on. “It’s a fraction of a second, you have to make a decision and I made the wrong one”, Kiwanuka said. One has to wonder if such a mistake will be tagged to Kiwanuka’s career the same way Scott Norwood has never lived down missing that kick in Super Bowl XXV. In any case Young got the ten yards he needed, plus nine more. They would soon tie up the game a few plays later.
With less than a minute to go, the Giants had one final possession. In all likelihood they’d have to deal with being headed into overtime unless they got a miracle kick return for a touchdown. Just kneel on the ball, regroup, and accept that they squandered a 21-point lead but still can win in OT. They’ll take their shots about making this game exponentially harder than it needed to be, but in the NFL a win is win. They’ll still take it, the heck with the tabloids.
This, however, is not how the remaining 23 seconds would shake out. Rather than go into overtime with a few minutes to rest and focus, the Giants attempted to force the issue. After completing a nine-yard pass to David Tyree, Manning made horrible off-balance pass that was picked-off for the second time by “Pacman” Jones. “We basically gave it away at the end with the interception,” Tiki Barber said. “The only thing you don’t want to do is turn the ball over and that’s unfortunately what we did.” Indeed they did. Two plays later Tennessee was in range to kick the game winning field goal and won 24-21.
“We’re going to be sick about this one forever,” coach Coughlin said. After being decimated by injuries for the last month, the Giants are now sick as well. As for Coughlin, he too will be remembered for this loss forever. Stick a fork in him, he’s done.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Monday, November 13, 2006
TOO MUCH TO BEAR
For the first 28 minutes, a patchwork team of Giant defenders displayed some of the best, most inspiring football all season against Chicago. The swarmed, they wrapped, they pounded and they punished. Then, like a flick of the switch, something happened. Not only did the team fall apart, but so did individual players. Adding to the scroll of injured Giants is left tackle, Luke Petitgout, who went down late in the first quarter with a fractured left fibula. He’s out for the season. Also ailing is Sam Madison who re-aggravated his strained hamstring. As for Tiki Barber, his thumb will likely be the most scrutinized metacarpal since the days of Darwin. Perhaps he ought to consider retirement.
The early analysis on this game zeros on two particular plays where things went awry for Big Blue. The first was late in the second quarter, where Chicago converted on third and 22 on a draw play of all things. Up to that point the Giants had shut down the Bears running game completely. Several plays later the Bears scored, cutting the deficit to 13-10 but deflating the Giants morale even further. The second, which will remain tabloid and talk radio fodder until mid-week, was the 52 field goal attempt that was way short, caught by Devin Hester, and then run back 108 yards for a touchdown. Kicker Jay Feely missed from 32 yards going in the same direction earlier in the game, so what are the Giants thinking? Both are fair points, though there’s one other play that has been overlooked.
What I love/hate about the challenge rule is that regardless of whether a team wins or loses a challenge, it can really snap the momentum of a particular drive. One beef I have with Tom Coughlin is his propensity to make stupid challenges over frivolous things. Eli Manning and the Giants are the kind of offense that needs to keep a rhythm, and throwing the challenge flag can really kill the mojo. It wasn’t Coughlin who tossed the red flag last night, but Bears Head Coach Lovie Smith. Early in the fourth quarter, the Giants were really moving the ball well. They were only down 24-20 and there was no need to create a sense of urgency besides that they thrive in a fast paced, no-huddle offense. On first down Manning hits Burress for ten yards. Next play Tiki Barber runs it up the right side for eight more yards to the Chicago 41. Then, on a second and two, Manning hits David Tyree for 12 yards on long horizontal out pattern. Tyree makes the catch, and with some nimble footwork remains in bounds by about a millimeter or two. All in all it was a nice play by Tyree, despite his not running a particularly crisp pattern, and though the ruling on the field was a completion, the Side Judge was noticeably tentative. The Giants smelled a challenge looming and tried to get the next play off before it was too late…too late. Cut to a red flag on the field while Referee Ed Hochuli looks under the hood during a TV timeout. Tick, tick, tick…the Giants hot drive cools off as the officials make sure they get it right on this nationally televised game. Tick, tick, tick…still waiting in the rain while Chicago catches their breath and makes substitutions. The last thing the Giants needed on this drive was a lull. Finally, after further review, the play stood as called. It was the right call, but you had a sense the momentum had been badly disrupted. Next play, taking advantage of losing Luke Petitgout, Manning is hammered from his blind side, fumbles, and loses ten yards but not possession. Then one more run to Tiki on 2nd & 24, and then a horribly forced pass to Plaxico Burress the down after. Drive over… then comes the decision to make the 52-yard filed goal. You know the rest.
Now of course anything could have happened after David Tyree’s reception regardless of whether Chicago challenged the play or not, but I can not deny that my intuitive read that says the Giants would have kept moving the ball and likely scored. It’s like having a productive meeting at the office get hijacked by a fire drill. You just don’t quite pick up where you left off before the alarm went off.
And by the way, where the hell was Jeremy Shockey? Did the Giants not watch the game film from the week before against Houston? Only one reception for Shockey is totally inexcusable. Talk about talent not being utilized.
After three games at home, the Giants travel to Jacksonville next week and Nashville the week after. Both of these teams are dangerous despite their records indicating otherwise. The Jaguars fall into that description of being one of those “Jekyll and Hyde” teams; you know, as in never knowing what you’re going to expect. In many ways the same could be said for the Giants, not so much for having split personalities; just split limbs.
OTHER THOUGHTS:
1) After ten weeks into the season, which is the most surprising 4-5 team, San Francisco or Cincinnati? One team is going in the right direction, the other isn’t.
2) What’s all this talk about the handshake, or lack of a handshake, between Bill Belichick and Eric Mangini? Sure there’s some tension between mentor and protégé, but how long do other coaches with less of a history, like, say, Bill Parcells and Denny Green shake hands for? I watched the “cold” handshake between Belichick and Mangini, it was about .347 seconds. The Parcells Green handshake was about .469 seconds. That’s a .122 second difference; an extra syllable said at best. Who cares? This is so not a story…move on.
3) Not to start second guessing the Giants past draft strategy, but, you know, they did have Phillip Rivers for about 15 minutes before trading him to San Diego in exchange for Eli Manning and a king’s ransom. Phillip Rivers had a career transforming game yesterday; putting up 42 second half points in Cincinnati. Manning looked simply awful.
4) Saw Matt Leinart play for the first time this season against Dallas. Man Arizona looks bad, all game long Leinart had his eyes set on whomever the play was designed for. So easy to read if you’re a defender, no pump fakes, no counters, no play action, no scouting the field for other options. I mean, everyone on Dallas knew where the ball was going on every play. How the coaches haven’t attempted to make such adjustments is beyond me. Arizona is a very, very bad football team.
5) After seeing Luke Petitgout go down for the season, is there any wonder how the Left Tackle position has become the road to riches in the NFL?
The early analysis on this game zeros on two particular plays where things went awry for Big Blue. The first was late in the second quarter, where Chicago converted on third and 22 on a draw play of all things. Up to that point the Giants had shut down the Bears running game completely. Several plays later the Bears scored, cutting the deficit to 13-10 but deflating the Giants morale even further. The second, which will remain tabloid and talk radio fodder until mid-week, was the 52 field goal attempt that was way short, caught by Devin Hester, and then run back 108 yards for a touchdown. Kicker Jay Feely missed from 32 yards going in the same direction earlier in the game, so what are the Giants thinking? Both are fair points, though there’s one other play that has been overlooked.
What I love/hate about the challenge rule is that regardless of whether a team wins or loses a challenge, it can really snap the momentum of a particular drive. One beef I have with Tom Coughlin is his propensity to make stupid challenges over frivolous things. Eli Manning and the Giants are the kind of offense that needs to keep a rhythm, and throwing the challenge flag can really kill the mojo. It wasn’t Coughlin who tossed the red flag last night, but Bears Head Coach Lovie Smith. Early in the fourth quarter, the Giants were really moving the ball well. They were only down 24-20 and there was no need to create a sense of urgency besides that they thrive in a fast paced, no-huddle offense. On first down Manning hits Burress for ten yards. Next play Tiki Barber runs it up the right side for eight more yards to the Chicago 41. Then, on a second and two, Manning hits David Tyree for 12 yards on long horizontal out pattern. Tyree makes the catch, and with some nimble footwork remains in bounds by about a millimeter or two. All in all it was a nice play by Tyree, despite his not running a particularly crisp pattern, and though the ruling on the field was a completion, the Side Judge was noticeably tentative. The Giants smelled a challenge looming and tried to get the next play off before it was too late…too late. Cut to a red flag on the field while Referee Ed Hochuli looks under the hood during a TV timeout. Tick, tick, tick…the Giants hot drive cools off as the officials make sure they get it right on this nationally televised game. Tick, tick, tick…still waiting in the rain while Chicago catches their breath and makes substitutions. The last thing the Giants needed on this drive was a lull. Finally, after further review, the play stood as called. It was the right call, but you had a sense the momentum had been badly disrupted. Next play, taking advantage of losing Luke Petitgout, Manning is hammered from his blind side, fumbles, and loses ten yards but not possession. Then one more run to Tiki on 2nd & 24, and then a horribly forced pass to Plaxico Burress the down after. Drive over… then comes the decision to make the 52-yard filed goal. You know the rest.
Now of course anything could have happened after David Tyree’s reception regardless of whether Chicago challenged the play or not, but I can not deny that my intuitive read that says the Giants would have kept moving the ball and likely scored. It’s like having a productive meeting at the office get hijacked by a fire drill. You just don’t quite pick up where you left off before the alarm went off.
And by the way, where the hell was Jeremy Shockey? Did the Giants not watch the game film from the week before against Houston? Only one reception for Shockey is totally inexcusable. Talk about talent not being utilized.
After three games at home, the Giants travel to Jacksonville next week and Nashville the week after. Both of these teams are dangerous despite their records indicating otherwise. The Jaguars fall into that description of being one of those “Jekyll and Hyde” teams; you know, as in never knowing what you’re going to expect. In many ways the same could be said for the Giants, not so much for having split personalities; just split limbs.
OTHER THOUGHTS:
1) After ten weeks into the season, which is the most surprising 4-5 team, San Francisco or Cincinnati? One team is going in the right direction, the other isn’t.
2) What’s all this talk about the handshake, or lack of a handshake, between Bill Belichick and Eric Mangini? Sure there’s some tension between mentor and protégé, but how long do other coaches with less of a history, like, say, Bill Parcells and Denny Green shake hands for? I watched the “cold” handshake between Belichick and Mangini, it was about .347 seconds. The Parcells Green handshake was about .469 seconds. That’s a .122 second difference; an extra syllable said at best. Who cares? This is so not a story…move on.
3) Not to start second guessing the Giants past draft strategy, but, you know, they did have Phillip Rivers for about 15 minutes before trading him to San Diego in exchange for Eli Manning and a king’s ransom. Phillip Rivers had a career transforming game yesterday; putting up 42 second half points in Cincinnati. Manning looked simply awful.
4) Saw Matt Leinart play for the first time this season against Dallas. Man Arizona looks bad, all game long Leinart had his eyes set on whomever the play was designed for. So easy to read if you’re a defender, no pump fakes, no counters, no play action, no scouting the field for other options. I mean, everyone on Dallas knew where the ball was going on every play. How the coaches haven’t attempted to make such adjustments is beyond me. Arizona is a very, very bad football team.
5) After seeing Luke Petitgout go down for the season, is there any wonder how the Left Tackle position has become the road to riches in the NFL?
Monday, November 06, 2006
GIANTS AVOID CARR WRECK
For those of you who’ve missed those “old Giants”, you know, the one’s that somehow beat the other team but never covered the point spread, don’t complain. You’re order against the Houston Texans has been processed. Thank you for your patronage, come see us again next Sunday. For the last two weeks, those old Giants have been back. Just winning games in unceremonious fashion where by Tuesday it’s forgotten how they did it. Regardless of who’s coaching Big Blue, the Giants have always played the good teams much better than the bad. So is beating the woebegone Houston Texans by a paltry score of 14-10 really a surprise?
All week long this game has been of high importance and high alert. The alarm sounding of a “trap game” went off when Tampa Bay exited Giants Stadium the week before. So many times the Giants have stooped down to inferior competition to keep their batteries fresh against the presumably tougher match-up a week later. Would this happen again against the Texans? For a while it looked that way.
First of all, despite the Houston Texans dreadful 2-6 record, it looks like things can only get better for this team. After all, they’ve prevented the Giants from doing something they’ve had carte blanche access to for a month; and that’s getting to the quarterback. David Carr (21/30 0 TD, 0 INT), who’s spent more time on his butt than any other quarterback over the past five years, was often poised and in position to make plays. He even scored a touchdown, though that drive was sustained thanks to the bonehead penalty by dimeback, James Butler. For the Giants, the game plan was simple: get to David Carr quickly and shut down the quietest top receiver in the league, Andre Johnson (9-83). It wasn’t that simple, as Carr relied on his patented quick release and hit Andre Johnson in the flat to move the chains along. For the most part Houston moved the ball pretty well, but failed to score on most occasions. From the beginning of the game, Houston had a chance to establish themselves on the opening drive, and took advantage of several Giant defenders (Osi Umenyiora, Sam Madison, Brandon Short, and later, Michael Strahan) being out. The problem is that teams who’ve only won two games all season find ways to stay that way. While getting into scoring position on their opening drive, Carr on a 3rd and 6 play, threw the ball to a wide open Walter Lundy (3 rec/16 yards, 20 rush/43 yards) in the flat. With nary a blue jersey in sight, Lundy let the ball squirt right through his hands. End of drive. Fourth down…field goal missed. The Texans are the opposite of the 90/10 rule. Ninety percent of their losses come from screw-ups only ten percent of the time; at least it was that way against the Giants. For the most part, Houston hung tough, only to make mistakes at the most inopportune times.
What the Giants did do well, and have needed to do for many weeks now, was get Jeremy Shockey (8/66, 1 TD) involved early in the game. It’s no secret that Shockey has a way of getting the rest of the team ramped up to play, but he’s got to get going early. With Plaxico Burress having his quarterly back spasms, Shockey pulled the mother load. Clearly Plax was missed by Giants quarterback, Eli Manning (17/28, 1 TD, 1 INT). Just like Dan Quayle is no John F. Kennedy, Michael Jennings (2/21) and Tim Carter (1/15) are no Plaxico Burress. Jennings, in his first NFL start showed some hustle and gumption, but still isn’t on the same page as Manning. Tim Carter, who knows? The guy is just so inconsistent. This week’s issue wasn’t dropped passes or stupid penalties, but rather never having enough room on the field to make a play. Seemed that every time the ball came his way, one foot was already out of bounds. That’s just careless. At least he’s healthy, generally he’s only good until Halloween.
Of course Tiki did his thing (17-115), but what was really impressive was the offensive line discipline in this game. Guards Dave Diehl and Chris Snee were very crisp when pulling across en route to create downfield blocking lanes, while Luke Petitgout kept Mario Williams relatively quiet for most of the game. And boy have the penalties come way down, in fact, the only line penalties that I can recall came from Rich Seubert and Bob Whitfield; neither of whom are regular starters.
What is a concern now that the season enters it’s latter half is injuries. Michael Strahan will be out at least 2-4 weeks with an ankle sprain while Osi Umenyiora still nurses his banged up hip. Clearly Chicago will look to exploit this weakness since David Carr came out of Sunday’s game relatively unscathed. Be careful for what you wished for, those old boring Giants just might hang around for a few more weeks…whoever’s healthy enough to go.
FIVE OTHER THOUGHTS
1) For a Giant secondary that can’t really cover, Gibril Wilson really stuck close in man-to-man coverage when Houston was deep in the red zone. Still would like to see him in more blitzes; which might be the case with the Giants defensive line being so banged up. I like Gibril Wilson a lot.
2) Other scribes have mentioned this as well, but I share their thoughts. As impressive as David Carr played against the Giants, act like a professional. Couldn’t tell if his reaction after a two-yard touchdown scamper was from his fraternity days or he was auditioning for The Price is Right. Either way it was extremely sophomoric and unprofessional. Grow up kid, you’re on a 2-6 team.
3) Saw all of the Giants-Texans game, most of the Indy-New England game (dozed off for a few minutes) and caught portions of Pittsburgh-Denver and Minnesota-San Francisco while at the gym. Added up, I equate this to about 2.672 football games watched by me yesterday. Nevertheless, I don’t think I’m exaggerating if I guessed that the Chevrolet commercial with John Mellencamp must have aired about 67 times yesterday. Message to ad agency buying airtime for General Motors: I live in Brooklyn, I ain’t buying a pick-up truck to haul calzones. Why the hell is this ad being aired in as if I’m living in Amarillo? Mellencamp fans forget about an upcoming tour, he ought to have enough royalty checks to cover him for the next ten years.
4) Not sure how long Rich Gannon has been an announcer. He’s an analyst for CBS and tends to do lower priority/small market games. In other words, we don’t get him calling too many games in New York unless the Giants or Jets are playing a team like the Texans; and so yesterday was my first experience with him calling a game. He stinks.
5) Besides Tiki Barber, Jeff Feagles will likely retire after this season as well. You don’t appreciate a good punter until he’s gone. Don’t laugh when I say that his impact will also be sorely missed. You heard it here first.
All week long this game has been of high importance and high alert. The alarm sounding of a “trap game” went off when Tampa Bay exited Giants Stadium the week before. So many times the Giants have stooped down to inferior competition to keep their batteries fresh against the presumably tougher match-up a week later. Would this happen again against the Texans? For a while it looked that way.
First of all, despite the Houston Texans dreadful 2-6 record, it looks like things can only get better for this team. After all, they’ve prevented the Giants from doing something they’ve had carte blanche access to for a month; and that’s getting to the quarterback. David Carr (21/30 0 TD, 0 INT), who’s spent more time on his butt than any other quarterback over the past five years, was often poised and in position to make plays. He even scored a touchdown, though that drive was sustained thanks to the bonehead penalty by dimeback, James Butler. For the Giants, the game plan was simple: get to David Carr quickly and shut down the quietest top receiver in the league, Andre Johnson (9-83). It wasn’t that simple, as Carr relied on his patented quick release and hit Andre Johnson in the flat to move the chains along. For the most part Houston moved the ball pretty well, but failed to score on most occasions. From the beginning of the game, Houston had a chance to establish themselves on the opening drive, and took advantage of several Giant defenders (Osi Umenyiora, Sam Madison, Brandon Short, and later, Michael Strahan) being out. The problem is that teams who’ve only won two games all season find ways to stay that way. While getting into scoring position on their opening drive, Carr on a 3rd and 6 play, threw the ball to a wide open Walter Lundy (3 rec/16 yards, 20 rush/43 yards) in the flat. With nary a blue jersey in sight, Lundy let the ball squirt right through his hands. End of drive. Fourth down…field goal missed. The Texans are the opposite of the 90/10 rule. Ninety percent of their losses come from screw-ups only ten percent of the time; at least it was that way against the Giants. For the most part, Houston hung tough, only to make mistakes at the most inopportune times.
What the Giants did do well, and have needed to do for many weeks now, was get Jeremy Shockey (8/66, 1 TD) involved early in the game. It’s no secret that Shockey has a way of getting the rest of the team ramped up to play, but he’s got to get going early. With Plaxico Burress having his quarterly back spasms, Shockey pulled the mother load. Clearly Plax was missed by Giants quarterback, Eli Manning (17/28, 1 TD, 1 INT). Just like Dan Quayle is no John F. Kennedy, Michael Jennings (2/21) and Tim Carter (1/15) are no Plaxico Burress. Jennings, in his first NFL start showed some hustle and gumption, but still isn’t on the same page as Manning. Tim Carter, who knows? The guy is just so inconsistent. This week’s issue wasn’t dropped passes or stupid penalties, but rather never having enough room on the field to make a play. Seemed that every time the ball came his way, one foot was already out of bounds. That’s just careless. At least he’s healthy, generally he’s only good until Halloween.
Of course Tiki did his thing (17-115), but what was really impressive was the offensive line discipline in this game. Guards Dave Diehl and Chris Snee were very crisp when pulling across en route to create downfield blocking lanes, while Luke Petitgout kept Mario Williams relatively quiet for most of the game. And boy have the penalties come way down, in fact, the only line penalties that I can recall came from Rich Seubert and Bob Whitfield; neither of whom are regular starters.
What is a concern now that the season enters it’s latter half is injuries. Michael Strahan will be out at least 2-4 weeks with an ankle sprain while Osi Umenyiora still nurses his banged up hip. Clearly Chicago will look to exploit this weakness since David Carr came out of Sunday’s game relatively unscathed. Be careful for what you wished for, those old boring Giants just might hang around for a few more weeks…whoever’s healthy enough to go.
FIVE OTHER THOUGHTS
1) For a Giant secondary that can’t really cover, Gibril Wilson really stuck close in man-to-man coverage when Houston was deep in the red zone. Still would like to see him in more blitzes; which might be the case with the Giants defensive line being so banged up. I like Gibril Wilson a lot.
2) Other scribes have mentioned this as well, but I share their thoughts. As impressive as David Carr played against the Giants, act like a professional. Couldn’t tell if his reaction after a two-yard touchdown scamper was from his fraternity days or he was auditioning for The Price is Right. Either way it was extremely sophomoric and unprofessional. Grow up kid, you’re on a 2-6 team.
3) Saw all of the Giants-Texans game, most of the Indy-New England game (dozed off for a few minutes) and caught portions of Pittsburgh-Denver and Minnesota-San Francisco while at the gym. Added up, I equate this to about 2.672 football games watched by me yesterday. Nevertheless, I don’t think I’m exaggerating if I guessed that the Chevrolet commercial with John Mellencamp must have aired about 67 times yesterday. Message to ad agency buying airtime for General Motors: I live in Brooklyn, I ain’t buying a pick-up truck to haul calzones. Why the hell is this ad being aired in as if I’m living in Amarillo? Mellencamp fans forget about an upcoming tour, he ought to have enough royalty checks to cover him for the next ten years.
4) Not sure how long Rich Gannon has been an announcer. He’s an analyst for CBS and tends to do lower priority/small market games. In other words, we don’t get him calling too many games in New York unless the Giants or Jets are playing a team like the Texans; and so yesterday was my first experience with him calling a game. He stinks.
5) Besides Tiki Barber, Jeff Feagles will likely retire after this season as well. You don’t appreciate a good punter until he’s gone. Don’t laugh when I say that his impact will also be sorely missed. You heard it here first.
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