NO FRILLS, NO WORRIES

Going into Week Five with a 1-2 record, the Giants were a salesman needing a big month to offset a rough quarter. Beating the Redskins Sunday didn’t necessarily constitute a “big month”, but they satisfactorily met their goal. By winning they avoided the probationary letter this week, but to say that they’re in a secure enough position to buy that bigger house would be a bit premature. Management was reminded why they showed some patience. The Giants are reminded they’re only as good as their last game.

Coming off their bye week, the Giants had two weeks to meet, analyze and do whatever teambuilding drills were required to plug the leaks in their young season. There were tons of questions going into this game, with the biggest concerns being on the defensive end of the ball. The Giants, with all their depth on the defensive line, desperately needed some semblance of a pass rush and did; with Osi Umenyiora, Michael Strahan and Fred Robbins all getting a sack apiece. For most of the day, Redskins quarterback, Mark Brunell, was hurried, knocked around, and rarely with enough time to locate an open receiver. That said, there seems to be a noticeable disappearance from first round draft pick Mathias Kiwanuka. Kiwanuka’s play both in pre-season and the opening game against the Colts indicated a somewhat Taylorian presence. He’s quick and mean, not to mention a “find” coming out Boston College. Yet he seems to be relegated to cameo appearances. Why? Granted Michael Strahan still has some “gas in the tank”, but isn’t New York ready for some “MK?”

The other major defensive question was how well would the secondary play. In typical Washington DC fashion, the Redskins have enjoyed name-dropping their much touted “Al Saunders” offensive scheme. It took a few weeks for it to come together, but after the shootout against Jacksonville, it looked as though Brunell got ten years younger while Don Coryell sprinkled some magic dust over FedEx Field. Knowing how shredded the Giants secondary was in their previous three games, it was foreseeable that Santana Moss, Antwaan Randel El, and Chris Cooley could potentially post some career high numbers. It didn’t work out that way, as Chris Cooley, of all people, was the Skins’ top receiver with a paltry four receptions for 41 yards.

What made this victory significant was its situational timing as opposed to overall execution. In order for the Giants to have some motivation to keep playing this season, they had to beat the Skins. Plain and simple. If they didn’t, then questions of Coughlin having control of his team might snatch a morsel of the attention away from Joe Torre’s job status. Still though, (and this is when one goes on auto pilot when discussing the Giants) Big Blue showed once again that they can move the ball with great efficiency only to come up with less than seven points on all but one drive. As most of us know, this is a decades old rant starting with the Bill Arnsbarger era. Granted, the Giants didn’t have nearly as many drive stopping penalties as they did in previous games this season, but they did have a few. The most costly was an illegal pick by Jeremy Shockey that negated an Amani Toomer touchdown. Fortunately for the Giants, they didn’t need 42 points to win. Two safeties would have been enough to eclipse Washington’s lone field goal. Not every victory has to result with an impromptu block party. But this game gets them to 2-2, and with the deadlock in the NFC East behind Philadelphia, this game might be regarded as the springboard that kept the season alive.

Other Thoughts…

Giants Player You’ll Get To Know Better Next Week:

I have a sense that Visanthe Shiancoe, the Giants number two tight-end, is going to have a break out game next week against Atlanta. With the status of Jeremy Shockey’s ankle sill uncertain (MRI results due out soon) it looks as though Shiancoe might get a rare start. Shiancoe, though used sparingly, has shown that when he does get the ball, he holds on to it pretty well. Blocking is not his forte, in fact, you’ll have to go back to Dan Campbell (now with Detroit) to when the Giants had a tight-end that could actually block. In any case, with Shockey going into yet another season dinged up, look for Coughlin to work Shiancoe a lot more into the offensive game plan. Go ahead, read into the subtext on that one if you want. Even if Shockey did apologize for his comments after the Seattle game, I think Coughlin wants to make things a little unpleasant for New York’s favorite Okie since Mickey Mantle.

Giants Player You Got To Know Better This Week:

Tim Carter made a few key receptions Sunday against Washington. He still has to survive at least half a season before we get really exited about him. The Giants have shown patience with Carter mainly because of his speed, though that patience will continue to wear thin if the oft-injured Carter continues to drop key passes and get penalized at the most inopportune times. Each week though, Carter has gained steady ground to show he’s a legitimate third receiver after Plaxico Burress and the ageless Amani Toomer. Let’s see if that trend continues.

Five Other Football Thoughts:

1) I think it’s about time that Bill Cowher really consider retirement. After 15 years as the Steelers’ head coach, and finally winning that Super Bowl which has put him among the NFL’s elite coaches, there’s just a sense that his fire and gumption has evaporated. It’s a like a rock star who’s sold three multi-platinum albums based on angst ridden lyrics and throaty vocals. I mean, after three blockbuster albums, a house in the Hollywood Hills, and a crash pad in TriBeCa, how frustrated can one still be? What’s the fourth album going to be besides something…ummm…acoustic? That’s where I see Bill Cowher right now; as Alanis Moriseette post “Jagged Little Pill”. The loss to San Diego Sunday night proves it.

2) It’s too early to determine if Detroit Lions Head Coach Rod Marinelli is the reason to the Lions’ woeful start. Being that he’s so new, it’s easy to point the finger at Detroit’s GM, Matt Millen instead. It’s likely Millen will be ousted after this season. Too many poor draft picks, too many head coaches not succeeding (though I’m still a believer in Steve Mariucci), too many free agent busts. However, while catching the final seconds of the Detroit-Minnesota game Sunday, I watched Rod Marinelli waddle with a militant gait, like he’s got a thermometer in his lower orifice, with a clipboard stuck in the front of his pants, and I couldn’t help but think that this guy has the leadership skills of an anvil. Now I could be wrong here. After all, if you looked at Albert Einstein, you wouldn’t necessarily think he was a genius. But still, there are those types that strike an intuitive chord right off the bat, and I am sorry, but I’m just so not sold on Rod Marinelli. Based on Detroit’s current winless record, it doesn’t look like his team is either. With the exception of Andy Reid, seldom do position coaches ever make for good head coaches.

3) The St. Louis Rams are the most under-the-radar 4-1 team in the NFL right now.

4) The Dallas-Philadelphia match-up was one of the best games so far this season. But the hype around T.O. returning to Philly was about as overblown as the 1983 TV Movie “The Day After”. For those who don’t recall that movie, or weren’t born then, “The Day After” was about a nuclear attack on Lawrence, Kansas, and for weeks there was mass hysteria about the emotional consequences this film would have on its audience. The day after America saw “The Day After” everyone scoffed at the absurdity of the media hype. I mean, it was just TV…entertainment…and a B-movie at best, even if it did star the late Jason Robards. Ergo with T.O. coming to Philly. For God’s sake, he’s just a painfully insecure wide receiver who can’t keep his mouth shut, not Idi Amin coming out of exile. Extra security my foot, it would be better used guarding the Liberty Bell.

5) If there’s a team in the NFL that could use a youth movement right now, it’s the Buffalo Bills. It’s tough enough that they hail from a frigid Rust Belt city that’s seen better days, but to have two octogenarians run the show doesn’t suggest the Bills are on the cusp of football precocity. Throw in Dick Juron, a yard sale pick-up of a coach, and you’ve got the NFL’s version of Orange Julius from a mall built in 1973. Time for the Bills to find the next Jack Del Rio…now.