N.Y. Giants: Coach McAdoo's Offense Pulling Themselves Together

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

2 - 2

NEW YORK GIANTS FOOTBALL: The Houston Texans and D.C. Hogs gave Ben McAdoo's offense a ton of extra possessions.  Eli and the Boys cashed in.

The season started with 2 opening losses followed by 2 convincing victories.  In plain English, a 2-2 record wreaks of inconsistency.

But, as with most everything, the first quarter of Big Blue's season is a matter of perspective.  Two opening losses raised red flags.  A pair of follow-up victories meant adjustments and improvements were made.

I guess then, it is time to revisit the original question of - who are the 2014 Giants?

For most of the first 2 weeks Eli Manning was looking a lot like skiddish Eli.  With the emergence of Donnell, Eli looked like a Super Bowl MVP again.  There's the rub.

So much of Eli's previous success came with an effective tight end at his disposal.  In recent years, I sometimes found it difficult to assess which adversely affected Eli more - an ineffective offensive line, or lack of a quality tight end.  Yeah, the running game fits into this equation as well - but you get the gist.

Larry Donnell had a game - a good game - a hat trick.  Nice!  He had 6 catches against the Texans too.  Way to make the most of your chance kid.

But, Donnell obviously went un-drafted, was relegated to the practice squad, and was limited to special teams last year for a reason.

He's getting a chance because so many have come before him and failed to retain the job.  He's just the next in line.  If you think I'm being harsh..., that's football.  Plus, I probably haven't sufficiently forgotten about his fumble against the Texans.

However, I hope, like every other Giants fan, that Larry Donnell continues to make the most of this opportunity.

At the same time, I'm not trying to sell Eli short.  After an abysmal Week 1, and poor start to Week 2, he recovered, and has been on point since.  Eli played an excellent game against the Texans before Donnell jumped into the spotlight against the DC Hogs, and continued playing like Champion Eli through Week 4.

After Victor Cruz, Eli Manning's group of receivers still have much to prove though.  I'll leave it at that.

Coach McAdoo has quickly endeared himself to me (as if) over the last 2 weeks because we actually ran the ball noticeably more than Eli threw it.

For 2 weeks now, the offensive line, Rashad Jennings (and Andre Williams) have not disappointed. Behind the O-Line, Jennings rushed for 176 rushing yards against Houston, and the running game rushed for another 153 yards against the Hogs.

You can do that when you play with the lead.....

It's all symbiotic.

Let's see who they chose to be over the next quarter of the season.




Mike