New York Giants: Kickoff Return Seems To Suit David Wilson

From the desk of:   DO IT FOR THE DUKE

NEW YORK GIANTS FOOTBALL: David Wilson Is Still In The Dog House, But Deserves A Bone After Sunday's Effort.

Kickoff Return Seems To Suit Him Nicely.

The first question is, was Philadelphia's special teams coverage that bad?  Because Sunday night, Giants rookie David Wilson ran away from Philly's coverage as if they were playing blindfolded.


Things have not necessarily started out as well for him as Sunday night went however.  To kickoff his NFL career, David Wilson committed a red-zone fumble on just his second carry in Week One.  That landed him immediately in Coach Coughlin's dog house.  In all, he rushed twice for four positive yards.  In kick return however, Wilson gained seventy one yards in three chances, with a long of thirty two yards.


Against Tampa in Week Two, Coach limited him to three rushes in which Wilson gained all of six yards.  But in kick return, he gained eighty six yards in three chances, with a long of forty four yards.


In Week Three against the Panthers, if there was any chance of exiting Coach Coughlin's dog house, this was the game to escape.  Ahmad Bradshaw was out with a neck injury.  But seemingly, all he did was earn himself an extended stay.  He rushed one time for negative two yards.  More damning, he dropped an easy scat pass over the middle, again in the opponent's red zone.  Wilson additionally only returned one kick for nineteen yards.  This was by far, his least productive game of his first three.  To make matters worse, Aaron Brown's rushing had everyone rethinking everything.


At that point, what rookie wouldn't want to do something; anything; to gain favor in his coaches eyes?  In Week Four, after the Giants first two possessions or so, it was clear the Giants had zero intentions of giving David Wilson any rushing attempts or passes out of the backfield.  Ahmad Bradshaw was back and carried a very light load.  The game plan even limited Aaron Brown.  So Wilson made the most of it on kick returns instead.


In six kickoff returns against the Eagles, David Wilson amassed 217 yards, with a long of fifty three yards.  For the day, he averaged thirty six yards per return.  And he did so with impressive bursts of speed.


In four games this season, David Wilson has thirteen kickoff returns and is now up to 393 yards.  That's a thirty yard average per kick return.  Minus Game Three, David Wilson unleashed thirty yard returns in three different games.  And as mentioned, his season high stands at fifty three yards.


The Philadelphia Eagles special teams just may be that bad.  Then again, the reason David Wilson had six chances was because Philly scored six times.  If things are going smoothly for the Giants on the offensive side of the ball (and defensively for that matter), that means less opportunities to return kickoffs..., doesn't it?  And that brings us right back to the dog house and getting chances out of the backfield.


David Wilson is standing on firmer ground today than he was perhaps before the Eagles game.  For rookies in the NFL, that isn't saying much.  But here's what this rookie has going for him.  David Wilson's work is now spread out over a quarter season.  There is enough there to warrant at least a bone from the Giants Head Coach.  On the other hand, sometimes trips to the dog house are warranted.  Depending on the coach, responding to adversity is the only way out.  Then there's Tom Coughlin's world.  And right now, he has Jerry Reese's pick selected to supplement a deficient back filed, in the middle of a hard lesson in Pigskin 101 basics.


Without beating a dead horse, the Giants running game has been below standard.  Ahmad Bradshaw is unlikely to carry the load by himself.  There is a reason Aaron Brown isn't starting somewhere else.  And Jerry Reese drafted this kid because necessity is the mother of all invention.  But only Coach Coughlin holds the keys to the dog house.  That's the way it should be.  If Coach is planning to send David Wilson a continuing message, I think we can all agree next week against the Browns is the last feasible week to get that done.  After Cleveland, the Giants difficulty of schedule rises exponentially, and will necessitate an all-hands-on-deck approach.





Mike.BTB

New York Giants: Giants Loss Deeper Than Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda

From the desk of:   DO IT FOR THE DUKE

NEW YORK GIANTS FOOTBALL:

Missed It by THAT Much

 

WEEK FOUR FINAL:

GIANTS   17

EAGLES  19

First things first - The fact Lawrence Tynes missed what could have been the game winning field goal doesn't bother me in the slightest.  He's got a good foot and is not why the Giants lost to the Eagles.


Next item - I do not mind that Kevin Gilbride and Coach Coughlin stayed ultra aggressive towards the end of Sunday night's game.  There was a time (as recently as last season) when I would have ripped into the Offensive Coordinator.  I guess two Super Bowls and Eli Manning have altered my thinking somewhat.  Sure I would have ran the ball on second down with under 0:30 seconds left.  But such as life.  Let's not be hypocrites...okay?  The old adage is you play for the win on the road, and for the tie at home.  Could the coaches have considered a different way to matriculate the ball into field goal range?  Yes, but again, I'm not concerned.  Remember what they say about hindsight and apply it here.


Third on my list -  I do not mind Eli's earlier interception in the end zone.  Although that was perhaps one of the worse he has ever thrown.  The fact is, offensively, Eli and whatever receivers on the field at any given time are the only components functioning well.  With regards to Eli heroics, this is just the way this game played out.  We fans can do a better job tempering ourselves when we start demanding perfection.


If Eli is indeed functioning well, let's give the Offensive Line some credit before I start a different tact.  The Offensive Line has indeed provided Eli enough time to throw the ball.  Eli suffered no sacks Sunday evening.  They got help blocking from Martellus Bennett and Ahmad Bradshaw.  But through a quarter season thus far, the group has pass protected well with or without David Diehl in the line-up.


Here is where I am concerned.  First, I do not mind Aaron Brown only rushed the ball four times considering he was coming off two very productive weeks leading into Sunday.  While Eli suffered no sacks Sunday evening, the O-Line created no holes to run through.  The Giants rushed for a pathetic fifty seven yards.  Low production out of the backfield is more than just a pattern.  That concerns me.  And that's why I give the way Sunday night's game ended, a pass.


Lastly, I was even more perturbed by costly holding penalties committed by the Offensive Line; i.e. - Will Beatty and Sean Locklear in particular.


If a team runs the ball well, and defends against the run well, that team will win a preponderance of their games.  There in lies the reason why the Giants lost.  Against the Eagles, they did neither well. Sunday night's contest was one of those very winnable games the Giants let slip by.  But make no mistake, this game wasn't lost because Tynes missed the last second field goal, or Eli's INT in the end zone, or the Giants inability to run the ball.  The Giants lost that game because they couldn't for the life of them stop Philadelphia's running game.  All told, the Eagles gained 191 yards rushing.   Michael Vick sprung free for forty nine yards on six carries.  And LeSean McCoy ran buck wild around Osi Umenyiora, and figuratively over Big Blue, rushing twenty three times for 123 yards.  Most disheartening, the majority of his yardage came in the second half.


Once again, the Giants got sliced and diced off the edges, and generally everything bounced to the outside.  Carved and served would be a more accurate portrayal of the feast enjoyed by the Eagles running game.  All containment has left the building.  Sunday's effort was as undisciplined a performance as they've had on the field together.  And as coach, if I am stressing anything this week in practice, it would be that.


Meanwhile, the deterioration of Corey Webster's play continues.  DeSean Jackson had Webster twisted like a pretzel when he received a second quarter touchdown pass from Michael Vick.  That's why Webster was no where to be found on the play.  He was heading somewhere else.  Nothing about that play has anything to do with Corey's hand being in a cast.  For the fourth consecutive week now, Corey Webster has played a very suspect game.


My two greatest two concerns after Sunday's loss to the Eagles however, are the health and status of Kenny Phillips.  His season was off to a tremendous start.  The Secondary just can not withstand any more injuries.  Losing Phillips, I believe would be major, major blow.  And secondly, the Giants are now 0-2 within the division.




Mike.BTB

New York Giants: Eli And Kevin Gilbride Rewriting Giants History

From the desk of:   DO IT FOR THE DUKE

NEW YORK GIANTS FOOTBALL:  Over The Last Three Seasons, The Offensive Line Has Deteriorated, The Running Game Has Declined, While Wide Receiver Needed Healing After A Shot To The Leg.  The More Giant Conditions Worsened Around Eli, The Greater Big Blue's Quarterback Became.


During Eli Manning's rookie season of 2004, he appeared in nine games and started seven.  He completed 95 of 197 pass attempts for 1,043 yards.  Eli finished his first season with six touchdowns and nine interceptions.  Nine years later, just three games into the 2012 season, Eli Manning has completed 79 of 118 pass attempts for 1,011 yards.  He has thrown five touchdowns and has been intercepted three times.


Since the day Eli threw his first pass in the NFL, through last Thursday's game against the Carolina Panthers, Eli has thrown for 28,590 yards, which now ranks #43 all-time.  If all goes well against the Eagles next Sunday, Eli will pass Len Dawson and Rich Gannon, and move up to #41 all-time behind Brad Johnson.  If two of the three QB's I just mentioned sound pedestrian to you, it is because they were.  But while Gannon's and Johnson's careers are closed books, Eli doesn't turn thirty two years old until January.  With continued health, the names on the all-time list Eli closes on will surely become more elite.


Within the Land of Giants, Phil Simms tops the G-Men with 33,462 yards passing.  Eli is now just 4,872 yards away.  It might take the final two minutes in Week Sixteen to get it done, but Eli Manning can pass Phil Simms this season.  If Eli keeps throwing at this current pace, there is a slight chance he can accumulate another 4,000+ yards passing this season.  Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying...., Eli is on his way towards a 5,000 yard season.  It would be the organization's first.


Phil Simms topped 4,000 yards passing one time in his career.  That came in 1984 when he attempted a career high 533 passes.  That also marked the only time Simms ever attempted 500+ passes in a season.  Phil Simms had five other seasons in which he eclipsed 3,000 yards passing.  And four times in his career, he threw twenty or more touchdowns.


Phil Simms battled many injuries throughout his career.  Were it not for injury, his career numbers would surely appear to the average fan far superior than they do.  And if you're a Giants fan of that era like I am, you know Phil played for Bill Parcells within an entirely different system of football than we are currently playing today.  Everything the Giants did back then was predicated off the running game.  Phil Simms was charged with game management, and on occasion, greatness.  Smash mouth football limited Phil Simms to a career average twenty eight pass attempts per game.


Giants fans will never hesitate calling Phil Simms a great quarterback.  In Super Bowl XXI, he lived the dream and authored the most efficient day a quarterback could ever have in the biggest game of his career.  While not organization's first NFL championship, Phil Simms did deliver Giants fans their first ever Lombardi Trophy.  He was also largely responsible for putting the Giants in position for a second trophy.


Life is different for a certain age of Giants fan now.  Not drastically though, for defense still rules the day.  Instead of dominating with linebackers as the Giants did back then, today they do it with defensive linemen.  Offensively however, guys like me are still a little astonished with the new pass first regime.


Holding the leash of this modern Blue monster is Simon Bar Sinister; Kevin Gilbride.  Since 2006, he is the Offensive Coordinator who routinely leads the league in most yards attempted per pass.  He and Eli Manning have now collaborated on two Super Bowl winning drives.  Kevin Gilbride was Eli's quarterback coach for his first two seasons in the league.  That set the foundation for what the two would accomplish together after Kevin Gilbride's promotion to Offensive Coordinator seven years ago.


Interestingly, before the 2011 season, Eli attempted his most passes in 2005 under former Coordinator John Hufnagel.  It wasn't until Eli's sixth season under Gilbride that he re-established his new career high with 589 pass attempts last season.  Not coincidentally, Eli set a new career single season high with 4,933 yards.  Some of that was born out of having the worst rushing game in the league.  But it is still easy to see 5,000 yards being the next logical step for them both.


Save for his rookie season, Eli has never thrown less than twenty touchdowns.  Under Kevin Gilbride, Eli has averaged thirty two pass attempts per game.  He has topped 500+ attempts in six of the last seven seasons.  In every season except his rookie year, Eli has surpassed 3,000 yards passing.  For the past three consecutive seasons, he surpassed 4,000 yards passing.  Last season he threw for roughly nine hundred more yards than he did in 2009 and 2010, and fell just sixty seven yards short of his first 5,000 yard campaign.  But then again, he won his second Super Bowl MVP, didn't he?  Together, Eli and Coach Gilbride are re-writing the Giants record books and cementing themselves a place in all-time Giants history with a body of work unrivaled within the organization.  And they do not seem nearly through.


Over the last three seasons Kevin Gilbride's and Eli's attempts have risen commensurate with the decline of the once formidable Giants running game, and specifically the decline of Brandon Jacobs.  As is the case today regarding Ahmad Bradshaw, the Giants back is often compromised by injury rather than being in decline.  Also consider, three seasons ago the Giants record setting Offensive Line was ravaged by injuries.  In 2011, Jerry Reese began reconstruction of the Offensive Line in earnest with the releasing of Shaun O'Hara and Rich Seubert, and the free agent acquisition of David Baas.


Over the last three seasons, that wasn't all that was seemingly collapsing around Eli Manning.  In 2008, Plaxico Burress put a bullet into the Giants chance at yet another Super Bowl.  But more lasting, he blasted a wound into the position of wide receiver that took the Giants almost two seasons to heel from.


Since 2009, Jerry Reese selected a number of receivers that Eli Manning is now currently in the process of turning into stars.  And entering this season, Jerry Reese continued revamping the line with the release of Kareem McKenzie.  If David Diehl isn't already compromised by a recent injury, he is surely next to get replaced.  In the backfield, as noted, Ahmad Bradshaw missed the last two games after an early Week Two injury.  And rookie David Wilson is doing everything possible to stay in Coach Coughlin's dog house.  Something unexpected happened on the way to Week Three however.  The Offensive Line has been back-up effectively by Sean Locklear and the return of Will Beatty.  And the rushing game has also been refortified by third year Aaron Brown, who as Bill Parcells used to say, is running with power.


We shall see how Kevin Gilbride proceeds forward with a resurgent offensive line, and a reborn running game which now relies on a third year back getting his first crack at starting.  However, in spite of a few revelations during Week Two, the worse conditions and situations get around Eli, the better he becomes.  Since the 2009 season, in the face of a deteriorating running game, the decline of a once formidable offensive line, and left with a gaping wound at wide receiver, Eli Manning's heroics have multiplied exponentially, and his greatness revealed.


Bring on the Eagles!





Mike.BTB