WEEK THREE
Falcons
vs.
GIANTS
If The Hog Mollies Can't Push Around The Atlanta Falcons, Then Who Can They Push?
Some intelligent guy from Greece once said: man is the measure of all things. If we apply this to football, the Atlanta Falcons will measure the Giants' offensive line. Because, as I say: once is an event, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a trend.
Thus, into Game Three, we go.
Another intelligent person on Twitter said that if the Giants get more first downs, the defense spends less time on the field.
Indeed!
- Week One, the Broncos achieved 24 first downs, 17 passing, four running, and three on penalties.
- Week Two, Washington completed 25 first downs, 13 passing, eight running, and four on penalties.
- Through two weeks, opponents have achieved 49 first downs, 30 passing, twelve running, and seven on penalties.
- Against the Broncos, the Giants earned 19 first downs, 13 passing, three running, and three on penalties.
- Against Washington, they completed 21 first downs, ten passing, seven running, and four on penalties.
- All told, the Giants have achieved 40 first downs, 23 passing, ten running, and seven on penalties.
Said another way, the Giants are getting outplayed. But do with these numbers as you will. Just know they're being polluted by Daniel Jones. The Giant quarterback leads the team through two games with 122 yards running on 15 romps, with two touchdowns, one fumble, and no trip-ups ... yet.
The backfield of Saquon Barkley and Devontae Booker together has rushed 29 times for 99 yards. If you take away Barkley's 41-yard run against Washington, Saquon finishes that game with twelve rushes for 16 yards. With his 41-yard romp, Barkley has now rushed 23 times for 83 total yards, averaging 3.6 yards per run. He carried ten times against the Broncos and 13 times against Washington. Is he being eased back into action coming off last year's injury? Indeed he is.
However, the numbers still speak for themselves. In light of Saquon's soft return, there are two, actually three, big reasons why Devontae Booker is not helping bring the rushes per game up from 14 and 15 to upwards of twenty-plus per game.
Sometimes stuff like this needs to be revisited ...
ONE - The days of the highly skilled blocking fullback (Maurice Carthon) have gone the way of the Dodo Bird - flightless, grounded, extinct. Phil Simms and the Giants do not win Super Bowl XXI without Joe Morris; Jeff Hostetler and company do not win XXV without Otis Anderson. Heck, Kerry Collins, and Jim Fassel do not get to XXXV without Tiki Barber. What these three teams had in common was a formidable offensive line. After the 2000 season, Ernie Accorsi further supplemented it, and that offensive line set a record for consecutive games played together. They all waited for Eli Manning to grow up, and when he did, the Giants won two more Super Bowls. But, of course, that doesn't happen without Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. What did the 1986/1990 Giants have in common with 2007/2011 Giants, you ask? Both teams featured Pro Bowl-caliber centers in Bart Oates and Shaun O'Hara.
TWO. - Bill Parcell's Giants were straight out smash mouth. Simms was tasked with being a field manager. That's why he glistened in Super Bowl XXI because entering that game, the Giants had already stamped the NFL with their running game. Nor did 2007 and 2011 happen without offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, who, despite pass-happy Tom Coughlin, called a balanced game; after all, the Giants featured a formidable running game. The point being, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett is the one calling plays. His style often works contrary to the available talent pool; his sense of pass/run balance is nonexistent. Everything in between is rightly within questioning.
THREE - Forget the history lesson; the Hog Mollies are simply not performing at a contending level, never have. After 2011, Jerry Reese then Dave Gettleman have never satisfactorily rebuilt the offensive line. Instead, they effectively ruined the latter part of Eli Manning's career. But I digress. The offensive line is not creating enough daylight. Open a lane, and I can push a mailbox through for positive yardage. Otherwise, the line of scrimmage remains dark. Whether by design or taking what is given, yardage gained by Daniel Jones is strictly opportunistic football. It's the complete antithesis of what we Giant fans know works because it's been proven: clock-control smash-mouth football.
The season-ending injury to Shane Lemieux, and presently to Nick Gates (IR) further compound matters. The Giants will be moving forward with Andrew Thomas, Ben Bredeson, Billy Price at the center, Will Hernandez, and Nate Solder, with Matt Peart and recently signed (C) Jonothan Harrison on call.
Newly inserted center Billy Price did not at all have a good game against Washington. Andrew Thomas was better from week one to the next. Nate Solder and Will Hernandez remain pedestrian, and Ben Bredeson performed under par.
What more can I say, other than there's a reason teams like the Steelers and others make such huge investments into their (center) offensive lines.
First downs or bust ...
I will go to my grave believing Atlanta lost the Super Bowl to New England because (their then) All-Pro quality center Alex Mack broke his leg just before halftime. Afterwhich, the Falcons running game completely collapsed like a cheap poker table. Atlanta's inability to achieve first downs compromised their entire second half. They instantly became one-dimensional; Bill Belichick and Tom Brady and took care of the rest.
The Denver Broncos have a good defense, and Washington features better security. But the same cannot be said of the Atlanta Falcons. We shall see if these Hog Mollies are trending or not.
ICYMI
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