N.Y. Giants: Feeling Green With Envy

From the desks of:

DO IT FOR THE DUKE  and  WALT MICHAELS' REVENGE

THE ODD COUPLE

Can two teams share a stadium, without one of them driving their fan bases crazy?

NEW YORK GIANTS: Differences between Blue and Green are like Night and Day, Good and Bad, and just too much to bear anymore.

I do not like bleeding colors, but now that Washington has become a common opponent, I thought a comparison between Big Blue and Gang Green would be a great way to make a point.  It's a fairly accurate snapshot in so far as Washington played each team within the span of a few short weeks.

Why do this?  Because it's my blog and it applies.  I hope this pisses off someone working in one of the Blue offices at Snoopy Centre.  Otherwise, Jets fans, you're safe. Giants fans... what more can I say?

I - The Giants played Washington in Week Three; the Jets in Week Six.  Both walked away victorious by similar final scores:

• NYG 32; WASH 21
• NYJ 34; WASH 20

II - There's no arguing whom the more established, and more accomplished quarterback is.  After Eli's poor performance against the Eagles Monday, however, Giants fans may not be as forgiving.   For the Jets, Ryan Fitzpatrick was clearly the better option over Geno Smith (I think), although some Jets fans might still debate that as well.  Both nevertheless posted similar statistics against Washington:

• Eli: 23/32 for 279 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT QB rating 119.1%
• Fitz: 19/26 for 253 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, QB rating 113.1%

III - That's where the similarities end, and the major differences begin.  The Giants run the ball and play defense extremely poorly. The Jets on the other hand run the ball and play defense extremely well.

In Week Six against Washington, Chris Ivory rushed 20 times for 146 yards, averaging 7.3 yards per carry.  Zac Stacy rushed another 13 times for 46 yards, averaging 3.5 yards per.

• Between them, they rushed 33 times for 192 yards.

In Week Three against Washington, Rashad Jennings rushed 11 times for 32 yards, averaging just 2.9 yards per carry.  Andre Williams rushed 14 times for just 29 yards, averaging 2.1 yards per carry.

• They combined on 25 rushes for 61 yards.

IV - Then there's the curious case of D.C. quarterback Kirk Cousins.  He's easily the worst of the three QBs mentioned here.  Jet fans believe that, while me and my fellow Giants fans are trying our best.

In each game against the Giants and Jets, Kirk Cousins threw one touchdown, two interceptions, and got sacked once.  That's where the similarities end, and the major differences begin, again!

• Cousins vs. NYG - 30/49 for 316 yards (6.4 ypp), with a 69.8% QB rating.
• Cousins vs. Jets - 25/43 for 196 yards (4.6 ypp), with a 57.9% QB rating.

V - Finally, here's your total yardage for the game:

• The Giants gained 363 total yards, but were outdone by Washington's 393 total yards.  In my math, they netted -30 yards for the game.
• The Jets gained 474 total yards against Washington, but only surrendered 225 total yards, for a 249 net yards advantage.

So, where am I headed with all this? Philadelphia of course.  I'll preface this by saying things have gone haywire for the Giants in the City of Brotherly Stuff, and against the Eagles in general, ever since I started following Big Blue back during Jimmy Carter's administration.  It's a little weird to explain, but irrelevant regarding Monday's game.

All three of the Giants loses have been so uniquely bad in their own right.  However, their most recent one followed a very familiar trend:

• Philly's DeMarco Murray rushed 22 times for 109 yards.
• Rashad Jennings rushed 13 times for 63 yards; Andre Williams was five for six yards, and Shave Vereen rushed once for no yards.  All told, they carried the ball 22 times for 69 yards.

Shameful!

After leading the league in pass attempts through the first four weeks, Eli has slipped down to 6th most, and is now ninth in passing yardage and 11th in touchdowns. Despite Sunday's bruising, he's still among the least sacked quarterbacks, and is arguably outperforming his older brother (big deal).

Eli Manning was 24/38 for 189 yards against the Eagles, with a touchdown, 2 INTs, and was sacked three times.  His opponent Sam Bradford threw three INT's, but don't discredit what he did against the Giants defense nonetheless.  He attempted the same number of passes as Eli, and likewise completed as many, yet managed to throw for 91 more yards than Eli.

What's more, Odell Beckham Jr. and Rueben Randle were both nursing hamstrings, yet were targeted 14 times and made 12 receptions.

All of which means Ben McAdoo called for more passes than running plays for the sixth straight week.  His questionable utilization of Shave Vereen also continues to perplex.  Vereen made one reception out of the backfield, which means he had five touches all game.

All told (and getting four turnovers to boot), the Giants still only managed 247 total yards of offense.   The Eagles, meanwhile, accumulated 425 total yards.

I'll let the comparative numbers speak for themselves.  You can draw your own conclusions.

You already know where I stand.