N.Y. Giants: Head Coach Joe Judge is Now in Session

From the desk of: DO IT FOR THE DUKE

F-Bombs and First Downs, The Joe Judge Era Begins

The broader the view, the more Big Blue you see ...

Ray Perkins was a disciplinarian.  Hired in 1979, he gets the Giants back into the post-season in 1981 for the first time in eighteen years.

Bill Parcells follows.  He is also a disciplinarian and leads the Giants to Super Bowl victories in 1986 and 1990 and very well should have won another in 1989 were it not for Flipper Anderson.

I digress...

After realizing their mistake in handing over the reins to Ray Handley, George Young one day picks up his phone.  Hello?  Hey George, it me Dan Reeves, how bout giving me a crack at the Giants?  Okay you're hired.  To his credit, Dan Reeves in 1993 squeezes the last bit of goodness out of Lawrence Taylor, Phil Simms, Rodney Hampton and the smash mouth era with one last playoff push and victory over the Vikings.  Dan Reeves wasn't one to take much crap either.  He was a serious guy and remained instrumental over the next two seasons whilst George Young went about restocking talent.  It was Reeves who switched Michael Strahan from right to left defensive end.  Strahan was of course resistant at first, but the rest is football history.

Once the team is rebuilt to a satisfactory level, George Young tells Dan Reeves thank you and hires Jim Fassell who is nowhere near the disciplinarian his predecessors were.  It's actually an odd hire.  However, he benefits from good coordinators.  Fassell connects with his players and together they turn the Giants into a viable contender again.  In 1998, new general manager Ernie Accorsi picks up where retiring executive George Young leaves off.  Fassell marches forward to capture an NFC title and gets the Giants back into the Super Bowl.  But an underwhelming performance against the Baltimore Ravens is the line a demarcation.  For the fun stops there.  The Giants unyielding recklessness, undisciplined play and mounting losses, some ponderous, ultimately costs Fassell his job.

Ernie Accorsi reverts back to disciplinarian with the appointment of Tom Coughlin.  Two Super Bowls later new general manager Jerry Reese, unlike George Young, fails to draft well and rebuild the Giants (offensive line) in a timely manner.  In turn the Giants spend the last decade mired with futility, reactive faulty reasoning, bad cap economics, successive poor coaching hires, scapegoating, Mara's micromanagement and a mountain of losses.  The Giants are 55-77 since winning Super Bowl XLVI and have posted double-digit losses in five of the last six seasons.  That's a lot of stimulus for repeatedly making bad decisions.  The teams constructed by Jerry Reese during the latter years of Eli Manning's career were nothing short of a disservice to his legacy.  Matters compound when Gettlemen is derailed by Mara's insistence to win now while Eli is still under contract.  If sometimes Gettleman seemed in control of the situation and other times he seemed absolutely clueless, this is why.  It's part of being the front man.  Jerry Reese's hiring of Ben McAdoo and Gettleman's hiring of Pat Shurmur were specifically selected with Eli in mind.  Mara's fingerprints have since been uncovered everywhere.  Disciplinarians?  Don't make me laugh.

Years of giving it one more go for the Gipper are finally over.  With Eli Manning out of the picture, this finally becomes Dave Gettleman's team, albeit two years too late.  Take that with a grain of salt.  But he no longer must fret the owner derailing his best laid plans.  In fact, he moves forward with a new head coach and a quarterback and running back in place, and a first round offensive lineman selection that hints at the course Gettleman is setting.  Both sides of the ball are also collectively very young.  I'm not one to declare fresh starts for peace sake, but in Gettleman's case and the Giants present condition it may be warranted.

Hopefully Joe Judge brings law and order to the Giants.  They've clearly reverted back to hiring a disciplinarian.  The question is will players buy in?  Off the top of my head I say yes.  This is a very young team throughout the lineup, all seeking to establish themselves same as their rookie head coach.  There's every reason for them to come together as one.  It's called camaraderie on a rebuilding club.  But if you're a rookie coach looking to bully your way through the bingo parlor, you better know what you're doing.  If we've learned anything about him so far, it's that he's an F-bomber.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Lest we forget how winning trumps all.

Joe Judge was part of three New England Patriots Super Bowls.  But if his resume seems a little shy of experience, that's because it is.  His NFL career consists of eight years, all with the Patriots, as special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach.  That's it, and he's only 38-years old.

Once upon a time Tom Coughlin was a wide receivers coach with the Giants when Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick still ran the room.  Difference is he would go on to lead the Jacksonville Jaguars to back-to-back AFC title games prior to becoming head coach of the Giants.  Once upon a time Bill Belichick also started out as a special teams and wide receivers coach prior to his employment with the Giants.

Apparently Joe Judge has Bill Belichick's blessings.  That was not the case when Eric Mangini left the Patriots Trust to accept the New York Jets head coaching position.  He meets my approval as well.

Judge is going to be tough and structured, or so he thinks.  But I do believe he will be better than Ben McAdoo and Pat Shurmur put together.

So, let's be hopeful.

Improvement speaks louder than f-bombs.

Just saying ...

N.Y. Giants: Because Stone Cold Coach Pat Shurmur Said So

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

A GIANT STEP FORWARD

New York Giants: Pat Shurmur named the 18th head coach in team history.

He becomes the team's seventh during my years as a fan.  But outside of what I've read, heard on radio, or seen on TV, I know little else about the man.

Therefore, I guess a quick bio is in order.

After spending 11 years at Michigan State and Stanford, Shurmur joined the NFL ranks in 1999 with the Philadelphia Eagles where he served as tight ends and offensive line coach through the 2001 season.  He then served as Philadelphia's quarterback coach - working with Donovan McNabb -  through the 2008 season.  During his decade long association with the Eagles, they made the playoffs seven times, appeared in five conference championships, and one Super Bowl.

Shurmur spent 2009 and 2010 as offensive coordinator of the (St. Louis) Rams under then head coach, and former Giants defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo.  In 2009, his starting quarterback was Marc Bulger (not a bad QB) who was playing out his final NFL season.  The Rams went 1-15 that year, but parleyed that into quarterback Sam Bradford, selected with the first overall pick of the 2010 NFL draft.  With Shurmur calling plays, Bradford threw for 3,512 yards as a rookie.

By season's end, the Cleveland Browns set their sights on Pat Shurmur, naming him their head coach entering the 2011 season.  Shurmur posted records of 4-12 and 5-11 during his two seasons at the helm.  But I won't hold that against him.  Since his departure after 2012, the Browns have exceeded five wins in a season just once.  In fact, the Browns are just 4-44 over the last three seasons.  Not even Bill Belichik could turn that organization around.  Since guiding them to the playoffs in 1994, the Browns have qualified for post-season play just one other time.

In 2003, Pat Shurmer returned for a second stint with the Eagles this time as offensive coordinator.  Prior to this year's run to the Super Bowl, Philadelphia last qualified for the playoffs in 2013 with Shurmur calling plays for Nick Foles.  In 2014, the Eagles posted a second straight 10-6 record but missed out on the playoffs.  A 6-9 record the following season resulted in head coach Chip Kelly's release after Week Sixteen.  Pat Shurmur would then coach the Eagles to victory in the season finale.

He has spent the last two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.  In 2016, he split time being tight ends coach and offensive coordinator, and again served as offensive coordinator this season.  Reunited with Pat Shurmur in 2016, Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford led the NFL with a 71.6 completion percentage.  This season, the oft injured Bradford was out of action again after Week Two.  Enter back-up Case Keenun - a veteran in his own right.  With Shurmur calling plays, Keenum threw 3,547 yards over 15 games, with 22 touchdowns and just seven interceptions.

Of course, the Vikings fell well short in last week's NFC championship game against Nick Foles and the Eagles.  Shurmur's team was on the losing end of a 38-7 defeat.  One could ask what happened with the offense?  But Mike Zimmer is head coach of the Vikings, and therefore, he had to answer most of the questions and second-guessing.

But what about Pat Shurmur?

He entered that game with his fingerprints on both starting quarterbacks.  Case Keenum was 28/48 for 271 yards, one touchdown and one interception, in a losing effort.  Nick Foles, though, was better, throwing 26/33 for 352 yards, and three touchdowns.

So What Does All This Mean For The Giants?

There's something to be said for his twenty-years of practical experience.

Aside from his two year stint at Cleveland, his career work has primarily focused on the offensive side of the ball - no different than Ray Handley, Dan Reeves, Jim Fassel, Tom Coughlin, or Ben McAdoo.  As we see, the Giants have hired a string of offensive minded coaches ever since the departure of defensive minded Bill Parcells.  Four of them took the Giants to the playoffs, and two of them got the Giants to three more Super Bowls.

General manager Dave Gettleman says Shurmur will be working with Eli Manning for the remainder of his Giants career.  Then there's Davis Webb whom still needs extensive development.  And of course, there's continuing speculation as to whether the Giants will utilize their up-coming number one draft pick on another quarterback.

Where it concerns quarterbacks, Shurmur's resume suggests successful involvement with Donovan McNabb, Marc Bulger, Sam Bradford, Nick Foles, and Case Keenum.  Moreover, while head coach in Cleveland, he somehow extracted 3,355 yards and 14 touchdowns out of rookie Brandon Weeden. It's worth noting because Brandon Weeden was out of the league within another three seasons.

But like Ben McAdoo, Shurmur is a proponent of west coast style offense.  I have my issues with that.  Shurmur also said he will be calling plays on offense.  I'm somewhat less concerned with that.

Shurmur did say that moving forward he understands Giants football which allows me to think he won't make the same mistake as McAdoo with regards to Eli Manning - which was trying to turn him into Aaron Rogers.  Dave Gettleman also said reconstructing the offensive line and reestablishing the run is a main priority.  I'm confident in Gettleman's vision, and so my west coast anxieties are tempered.

Pat Shurmur has otherwise contributed to highly competitive and successful situations in Philadelphia and Minnesota.

He also has no doubt faced adversity in St. Louis and Cleveland.

The Giants locker room was clearly fractured this past season.  Dave Gettleman wasted no time removing a few malcontents from the locker room.  And Shurmur's presser left little doubt he and Gettleman are on the same page where it concerns discipline.  Having participated in both winning locker rooms and losing locker rooms could turn out being a valuable experience from which Shurmur will draw upon during his upcoming seasons with the Giants.

The duo of Gettleman and Shurmur essentially means the days of enabling Odell Beckham Jr. are over.  Sure, Shurmur says he's getting a clean slate.  But without saying it, Odell already is being forced to clean up his act and grow up.  In other words, if Beckham wants premium money from the Giants, he'll need to compromise his so called personal brand.

Discipline, however, and disposition, can be slippery slopes.  Former NFL head coach Mike Holmgren recently chimed-in on Pat Shurmer, accusing him of having rabbit ears - meaning he pays too much attention to the media.  Said another way, he may be wound too tightly.  That can certainly become a problem in New York.  However, he nailed the presser - I mean nailed it.  He was direct, and succinct as one could be.  Shurmur left no doubt where he stands regarding a great many things.  In fact, he not only acknowledged his reputation for being too serious, he owned it - just like Tom Coughlin once did, and Bill Parcells did way back when.

Then again, those guys won Super Bowls.

Bill Belichick gets away with being a schmuck because he wins Super Bowls.

Pat Shumur said he couldn't help but notice the Giants four Vince Lombardi trophies on display in the lobby at MetLife Stadium.

The Giants have many holes to fill.  In fact, they may need a rebuild instead of just a retool.  So, let's be pragmatic about the situation.  Bill Parcells went 2-13-1 in his first season as head coach.  But despite being a schmuck, players rallied behind Parcells.  Ben McAdoo also went 3-13, but clearly didn't survive.  Ironically, he got fired in part due to his failed disciplinary policies and how that resulted in a fractured locker room.  McAdoo lost his players respect and they essentially threw him to the wolves.

Therefore, Pat Shurmur can be a schmuck all he wants.  He just needs the skill and tact for making players believe it comes from the heart.

Would the Giants have been better off with either Josh McDaniels or Matt Patricia?

Who knows.  We'll find out over the next five years or so.

But for now, Pat Shurmur's press conference makes this the right choice.

Bill Belichick's minions historically do not fare very well once they venture out on their own.  Think about it - because of their success since 2000, Belichick has gone through countless coordinators on both sides of the ball.  Yet, the Patriots seemingly continue mission without a hitch.

Why?

Bill Belichick is brilliant at making in-game adjustments.  He's been the one constant in New England for 18 seasons.  He possesses a mastery of the game his coordinators simply can not bottle-up and take with them.  The man has a uniquely superior mind for either side of the ball.

Therefore, the Giants could very well be better off with Shurmur.  The question then, is how good will he be at making in-game adjustments?

N.Y. Giants: Odell Beckham's Dog Day Afternoon

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

"I'm a dog, so I acted like a dog."- Odell Beckham Jr.

New York Giants: Owner Speaks Out; John Mara Pissed Off.

Tuesday's New York Post reported Giants owner John Mara said he's very unhappy with Odell's behavior on Sunday.  He also said the team will handle the matter internally.

I guess that takes the pressure off Jerry Reese and Coach McAdoo to speak out against their best player.

Coach McAdoo refuses to criticize his offensive line, refuses to take exception with Odell Beckham over Sunday's behavior, yet Eli Manning is fair game?  Funny how Coach's big blue marble spins, if not curiously.

For someone who is only three games into his fourth NFL season, OBJ's shameless acts of self-promotion are many.  Topping the list of incidences is a full blown feud with cornerback Josh Norman; his initial assault and subsequent love affair with a kicking net; another meltdown against Minnesota which included bumping a referee; taking the Giants receivers corp on an ill-timed trip to South Beach just before last year's playoff game against the Packers; then putting forth one of his worst ever performances in said playoff game.

The Giants have enabled it all, including Sunday's episode.  The only (person) people who can stop such antics are other players.  Winning locker rooms police themselves.  That being said, Landon Collins was recently on New York City radio condoning Odell's celebration antic.

So there's that ...

Here's the thing - prior to Sunday's game against the Eagles, I believed Odell Beckham's conduct and level of professionalism left himself wide open for public criticism.

What he did Sunday, however, is different.  If we are to take Odell at his word in believing he acted out with a personal protest directed at POTUS, then that's fine by me because protest is the American way.  We The People will settle these issues on our own - thank you - because when the establishment and their conventional wisdom continually fail its citizens; when promises of change and improvement never come; protest is in order.  In turn, protest comes in many and sometimes creative forms.  Sometimes protest even occurs on a football field.

Odell is a smart guy.  He knows exactly what he's doing, and doesn't seemed burdened by potential consequences.  He makes no apologies, and will continue marching to his own beat.  But at the end of the day, we're still talking about football, aren't we?  At least I am.  And as a Giants fan, I do not appreciate the things Odell does.

In all fairness to OBJ, though, I grew up dealing with Lawrence Taylor's issues.  I remember Bill Parcells and George Young cringing whenever their best player did something wrong, forcing them into damage control mode.  Like Taylor, Odell is presently one of the highest profile stars in the NFL There's no denying he's a superior talent, but his self-promotion is increasingly becoming a detriment to the team.  Unfortunately, all those highlight catches have not yet served as a catalyst for elevating Giants success.  Taylor at least helped lead the Giants to a pair of Super Bowl victories.

Odell is a game changing talent, and in the very near future this organization must decide whether committing a king's ransom in order to retain him will be in their best interest.

On that note, there are reasons why Odell Beckham became the fasted receiver to reach 300 receptions in NFL history this past Sunday.  The talent/skill level of the Giants offensive line has been far below par during Odell's three first three seasons with the team.  They've had no tight end to speak of.  In turn, the running game has been futile at best.  Therefore, the Eli/Odell connection continues being the lone extent of recent Giants offensive capabilities.

Knuckleheads abound in life.

In a game they once led against the Vikings, I watched the 1997 Giants defense breakout into a fight against each other while on the field, then lose in ponderous fashion.

Jeremy Shockey was just as problematic as Odell, if not more so because he often worked against a younger Eli Manning instead of with him.  Can't say that about Odell.  He never lambasted his coach to the media either like Tiki Barber did with Tom Coughlin.

It is what it is ...

Some things never change, like older fans wrangling with and against younger sensibilities; debating levels of tolerance or lack thereof; or arguing over personal accountability.

Super Bowl 50: Giants Bust Broncos XXI

1967  ~  2016

SUPER BOWL

50

SUPER BOWL MEMORIES

XXI

Denver Broncos     20

New York Giants   39

The first ... my first ... OUR first Super Bowl ... and the Giants first NFL championship since the glory days of 1956.  

Don't forget Jets fans, it was Big Blue rooters whom first flew sign-towing planes over the Giants practice field several decades ago.  Now, finally, the Duke's 30-year rebuilding plan came to fruition.

Just as with the Mets, I spent the late 1970s and early 1980s watching Big Blue gradually transform themselves into a smash mouth power.  I endured brutal seasons as a youngster, then transitioned into a teen under Ray Perkins.  I grew into my own under the George Young/Bill Parcells regime.

But, by the time 1986 rolled around, I had already traded in my civilian status for a gig with Uncle Sam's service.  I actually watched the Super Bowl from Texas accompanied by me and myself.  And don't ask me how I pulled it off either.  You try doing that as the lone New Yorker in what was essentially a three story frat house.  The Pigskin gods were obviously with me during those playoffs and Super Bowl.  I went undisturbed, and free to bask in my somewhat ponderous glory (...of all years).

The Rose Bowl was beautiful...

Denver held a 10-9 lead at half-time, and you're damn right I was worried.  That's what Giants fans did back then.  Although the Giants dominated their regular season opponents, this was still something entirely new to us.

Plus, we were playing John Elway, whom gave the Broncos a 10-7 lead in the first quarter with a 4-yard TD scramble.

The Giants, however, inevitably imposed their will over Denver, outscoring them 30-10 in the second half.  The long maligned Phil Simms set Super Bowl records for completion rate and quarterback rating.  He went 22/25 for 268 yards and three touchdowns en route to winning MVP honors.  He also contributed 25 rushing yards towards the Giants overall 136 yards on the ground.  

The Giants gained 399 total combined yards against the Broncos defense led by linebacker Tom Jackson, and new partner Karl Mecklenburg.

The game aside, my favorite part of that Super Bowl was listening to Don Criqui call the action...

"as Mark Bavaro genuflects in prayer..."

This will always be the sweetest of the Giants four Super Bowls for me.  But, I chose that word carefully, as I have other ways of characterizing their other three Lombardi Trophy winners.

Then New York City Mayor, Edward Koch, refused to host a victory parade down Broadway for the Giants, citing they played in New Jersey.  He was a good mayor, and a necessary type at that time in the city's history.  But he became so petty regarding the matter.

N.Y. Giants: Dean Coughlin Cleaned Up Animal House

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

The man who put down a Giant insurrection...

NEW YORK GIANTS FOOTBALL: Thank you, Tom Coughlin, for all you've done as Head Coach of Big Blue.

I remember John McVay's last season as head coach in 1976, then grew into my Giants fandom under the stern guidance of Ray Perkins.

Years later, the Giants won Super Bowl XXV, I turned 24-years old, Bill Parcells left, in turn leaving me despondent, and thinking the Giants would never win ever again.

It's true.

Then Ray Handley happened, making Dan Reeves a necessary, and welcome sight for sore eyes.   Thankfully, the 1993 season served as somewhat of a healer.  Despite the departures and respective retirements of many former Big Blue champions, Reeves helped me move on with life.

Then came Jim Fassel, and what I dub the Delta House years (lots of fun, but riddled with typical frat house consequences).

What a bunch of knuckleheads - really - the whole lot of 'em.  For better or worse, guys like Jesse Armstead, Amani Toomer, Jason Sehorn, Jeremy Shockey, Keith Hamilton, Kerry Collins, Michael Strahan and Tiki Barker made Giants football exciting again, but in the most undisciplined manner conceivable.

Wellington Mara, however, was getting on in years, and so the renewed success of the Giants under Jim Fassel, and winning the 2000 NFC championship became perhaps one of the happiest moments of his life.

In truth, that Giants edition was extremely likable.  It took me nearly 10 years, but I was finally over the departure of Bill Parcells (kinda) because of these guys.

Make no mistake, however, Fassel was the ultimate player's coach.  Allowing the inmates to run the asylum ultimately cost the Giants greater glories, that sometimes were lost in quite embarrassing fashion.  Jim Fassel earned his dismissal.  There's little debate there.  Change was clearly needed.

Enter Tom Coughlin - chewing barbed wire and spitting napalm at reporters during his introductory presser.

The unruly Giants didn't take too well to their new commander and controller.

Foolish me sided with the players in those first two years - all but Tiki Barber that is.  I did not appreciate Barber's unrepentant, open defiance and denunciation of Coughlin.  That's not how I want my team's players behaving.  Therefore, in Tiki's case I was totally on board with the head coach.   Otherwise, my son chastised me for my initial lack of Coughlin acceptance.  Then by 2010, I was the one staunchly defending him against naysayers calling for his firing.

Jerry Reese was made to deal with Michael Strahan, and I applauded Reese's dismissive treatment of Strahan at the time.  But, what has transpired over the last few years falls mainly on him, not Coughlin.

Did the Giants suffer from poor coaching decisions this season?  Yes, but, that would necessitate expanding this conversation to include Eli Manning's play changing at the line within this new west coast system.

Sure, there's more to this than just that.  That said, somewhere between the seemingly ceaseless litany of criticisms levied upon Tom Coughlin by Tiki Barber, and the two Lombardi trophies added to the Giants collection under Tom Coughlin, lies the truth regarding his long tenure as head coach.

Do I think Tom Coughlin quit ... because it was right for the Giants?

No.  The Giants resorted to replacing both their offensive and defensive coordinators first.  Naturally, the head coach is next in line for modification.  I think Coughlin was respectfully squeezed out, and given the opportunity to leave under his own terms with class, and his dignity in tact.

Steve Tisch quietly wanted Coughlin gone last season.  If you remember, Steve Tisch publicly lashed out again midway through this season.  Suffice to say, he has not been happy.  Then again, we all know John Mara is the real shot caller, and even he couldn't be dissuaded from enacting reform - not this time.

Tom Coughlin restored order to Giants football.  Looking back on the Jim Fassel years, I say that with confidence.

Now, the time is right for change.

My lasting images of Tom Coughlin are three: his frostbitten face during the 2007 NFC championship game in the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field, and the two times his float passed me by during the Super Bowl victory parades down the Canyon of Heroes.

I've had my issues with Tom Coughlin.  I stated them clearly to open the season.

Tiki Barber still disparages his former coach till this day, recently saying Coughlin took the will to continue playing football from him.  To that I say, the Giants wound up better for it.

That's life in the NFL, Tiki.  Get over it.

Tom Coughlin was a great coach.

He'll be difficult to replace.

N.Y. Giants: A Rushing Mentality Must Flow Through Your Veins

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

Skip the game film, reopen the history books,

go directly to the chapter titled: 

Run With Power!

WEEK ONE

New York Giants  26

Dallas Cowboys    27

FINAL

NEW YORK GIANTS: Ben McAdoo, Tom Coughlin, and Eli Manning, were in perfect sync.  They couldn't have been more wrong, but make no mistake, they were all operating on the same page.

Entering Sunday night's opener, I did not think the Giants could rush for 100 yards against the Dallas Cowboys front seven.

They damn near pulled it off though:

• Rashad Jennings - 13 rushes for 52 yards.
• Shane Vereen - 3 rushes for 14 yards.
• Andre Williams - 6 rushes for 14 yards.
• Dwayne Harris - 1 rush for 11 yards.

Combined, they rushed 23 times for 91 yards, for an average 3.9 yards per carry.

These days, that's a solid effort against anybody much less the Cowboys - not ideal, but solid nonetheless.  

Or, maybe it's me.  Maybe I'm simply getting older and fixed in my ways.  Maybe I was overly spoiled (indoctrinated) by Bill Parcells and Smash Mouth football.

Maybe...

But, Bill Parcells always told his men to Run With Power!  

Sunday night, the Giants were seemingly doing just that.  Leading 23-20 with 5:08 left in the game, the Giants were zeroing in for the kill.  They marched 79 yards on 12 plays.

Offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo called on Rashad Jennings 7 times during the drive, and specifically targeted the Cowboys' middle 5 times.  In return Jennings produced 38-net yards.

• middle > 3 yds.
• middle > 27 yds.
• middle > 7 yds.
• middle > 2 yds.
• left < minus 4 yds.
• middle > 2 yds.
• left > 1 yd.

Rashad Jennings and the Giants arrived at 3rd down on the Cowboys 1-yard line with 1:43 still left on the clock, which brings us to that fateful 13th play of the drive.

Offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo inexplicably called for a pass in that situation.

At that very instant I'm sure everyone thought, WTF!  I mean, what learned football man functioning in his right mind would call for a pass in that situation?  Football-101 clearly dictates you pound it in from the one.

"This is why you lift all those weights!" - Bill Parcells

Rushing doesn't just happen.  It needs to be established.  It requires commitment, choreography, and flow.  Running the ball early also paves the way towards bigger gains later.

Smash Mouth Football was designed to wear opponents down, and grind them into a fine powder.

Running the ball is about control, controlling possession, controlling the clock, and ultimately controlling the game.  When you control that stuff, you control your opponent's ability to field their offense against you.

That Is Why You Run!

Run early, run late, and intensify the run when you have the lead.

Eli said he was guilty of bad thought management.  Okay, I agree.

But, as a veteran quarterback and 2-time Super Bowl MVP, Eli should have known exactly what his exit strategy was.  A potential breakdown should have already played out in his mind.  He needed to instinctively run the ball himself, take a sack, or just take a knee.  At the very least, he should have glared at the sideline and given Coach McAdoo the screw face for calling such a play.

But, he didn't.

Coach Coughlin said that was the wrong call, and that they should have run the ball in that situation.   Once again, I agree, but I think he was merely doctoring the room.

Hell, I say he was in on the fix.  Coughlin heard McAdoo make the call.  He's not listening to Bobby Darin on those headsets.  Tom Coughlin could have squashed the play right then and there.

But, he didn't.

It's not my intention to criticize Tom Coughlin.  After all, the man is a 2-time Super Bowl champion - just like Bill Parcells.  Same goes for Eli.  He and Coach Coughlin merely did things their way.

With regards to Sunday, though, Phil Simms would not have compromised that situation by stopping the clock with an incomplete pass.  Coach Parcells wouldn't have allowed it.  He detested players whom did not understand situational football.

And as for Tom Coughlin, he should have known better.  He remembers Smash Mouth.  He was part of Bill Parcells' staff.

And there's the rub.

Coughlin served as Giants wide receivers coach under Parcells from 1988 through the 1990 Super Bowl season.  He previously served in the same capacity for Philadelphia and Green Bay.  At the collegiate level, he was QB coach at Boston College, and served as QB coach/offensive coordinator at Syracuse.

In other words, Tom Coughlin is an offensive Wile E. Coyote.  He's a chucker.  Bill Parcells was defense first, and conservative offense second.  He wanted Phil Simms to manage his system, nothing more.

Tom Coughlin and Mark Brunell, however, were registered with air traffic control in Jacksonville.   Through the years, Coughlin and Eli have behaved the same way.  Eli, by the way, was the same way at Ole Miss.

Just saying...

Former offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride paid a stiff price so as to allow Wile E. Coughlin to keep his job.  We (I) gave Kevin (Kill Drive) a lot of crap over the years.  But make no mistake, that was Coughlin's guy.  Together, they routinely led the NFL in most yards attempted per pass play.

This is not an echo - Coughlin and Gilbride routinely led the NFL in most yards attempted per pass play.  That means Ben McAdoo's play selection entered Tom Coughlin's left ear speaker and exited his right ear speaker approved for Eli's immediate execution.

That play was over 25 years in the making!

Running the ball is just not in Coughlin's blood the way it flowed through Parcells.

Don't give me that crap that time has changed this into a passing man's game.  That's what they said about the AFL 50 years ago.  Yet, the era was dominated by Vince Lombardi's supreme Run to Daylight.

Football, particularly rushing, is a simple matter of being stronger, smarter, and better.

Those that want to run the ball, do.

Happy Anniversary SB XXV.

N.Y. Giants: Cowboys Bringing Familiar Smash Mouth Style To Sunday's Game

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

It was a nice run, but the party has been over.

NEW YORK GIANTS FOOTBALL: The Cowboys Running Game Is A Reminder Of What The Giants Used To Be.

The Giants head into Sunday night's game against the Cowboys low-riding a five game losing streak.

After the Giants loss to Niners, Coach Coughlin and particularly Ben McAdoo said three goal-to-go plays weren't all designed to be fades; it just worked out that way.

Okay.  But what we got were three consecutive fade plays nonetheless, and a tipped ball interception on 4th down.  That's what I'll remember most about last week.  It's a sorry state, because I remember a day when the Giants basically telegraphed the run, then dared you to stop them.

That's why you lift all those weights!  Run with power.  -  BP

In any event, wasn't this new offense supposed to resemble Green Bay's?

Newsflash - not with this offensive line.  I wouldn't trust them in a tailgate pick-up game.

An inability to create daylight, while allowing constant pressure on the quarterback are what losing seasons are made of.

Sunday, I suspect the Dallas Cowboys will keep possession and control the clock behind their new offensive line and DeMarco Murray's rushing.  I could be very wrong about that (considering the Giants played the Cowboys well last time they met) but I seriously doubt it because we've watched that formula work here for decades.  Plus, the Cowboys just happen to have the 2nd top running game in football.

The Giants head into Sunday night's game low-riding a five game losing streak.  At this point, there's little to nothing the Giants can do to turn their season around, which is too bad because Perry Fewell's defense finally played a solid game against the 49ers.  But, that said, apparently holding the Niners under 20 points this season has been somewhat easier to do than in seasons past.  Besides, one good performance out of ten should not save Fewell's job.

This all means the Giants strayed from this organization's core values, and that it's high time for John Mara to rethink everything.

In the Tom Coughlin/Eli Manning era, Giants Football been about passing the ball, and having a strong defensive line/pass rush.  It's been a hit or miss approach - Super Bowl or big busts.

Previously. Giants football was traditionally predicated on defense (featuring a Pride of hungry linebackers) and running the ball with power.

There was a name for that style.

It's high time they rediscovered it, and brought that brand of football back home.



Mike

Coach Bill Parcells Takes His Rightful Place In the Pro Football Hall Of Fame

From the desk of:   DO IT FOR THE DUKE

New York Football Giants: The Author Of Smash Mouth.

Where's Peter King!?  I'm proud of my guys, okay? - Bill Parcells, 1986

Coming out of the 70's and entering the 1980's, the Giants were still somewhat of a mess, as GM George Young's affects still hadn't really taken hold yet.  Meanwhile in Flushing, Queens, the Jets, Joe Klecko and the New York Sack Exchange were enjoying a considerable measure of success under head coach Walt Michaels.  Georg Young first had to negotiate a truce between the Mara Brothers in order to get the club functioning properly again.  Wellington's twenty-five year plan was taking its toll on everyone, while the memory of Joe Pisarcik and "The Fumble" still weighed heavily on the minds of many Giants fans.

I was already a die-hard Giants fan during the Ray Perkins era.  It was under Ray Perkins that Bill Parcells was first hired as the Defensive Coordinator.  I liked Bill right away because he coached a solid unit.  Back then, the defense was the one really bright spot of the team outside of punter Dave Jennings.

It was no great secret that Ray Perkins wanted to leave for Alabama, but the sudden coaching upheaval still took many aback.  It's just that under Perkins, the Giants finally tasted their first morsel of success after a considerable time.  Sure we made the playoffs under Coach Perkins, but we weren't exactly threatening anybody for league supremacy - not yet.  Although they looked outside the organization, the Giants were still staunch in-house people.  So hard-ass George Young, replaced disciplinarian Ray Perkins, with a double-barreled hard-ass disciplinarian, Bill Parcells.

I do not think Giants fans anticipated the 1983 season going so badly, but we knew what Parcells was up against.  Injuries decimated the team, and there still wasn't enough talent on the offensive side of the ball.  There was a multi-headed monster at quarterback throwing passes to Earnest Gray and other non-descript receivers, with two heads belonging to Scott Brunner, and the often injured blond-haired laughing stock out of Morehead State, Phil Simms.  Good or bad however, the 1983 season gave every indication the team was heading in a new direction.  But like Bill himself, I also remember pondering whether he would indeed return after his first season.

These were the days before free agency, when teams could stockpile depth.  And boy were the Giants deep.  They built-up towards Super Bowl XXI, which makes that one very sweet for me, as it was the first championship I enjoyed as a Mets/Rangers/Knicks/Giants fan.  After suffering crushing defeats in previous years to the San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears, Big Blue dominated the NFL in that 1986 season and for the next five years continued playing Smash Mouth football.  At their very best, I rate the all the battles against Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott and the Niners as the ultimate pinnacle of Giants success.  Big Blue stood as Giants among the NFL elite.  By far the most crushing defeat was they way a dominant season ended in overtime against Flipper Anderson and the Rams.  But Super Bowl XXV was a most gratifying punctuation mark on the era.

For the New York Giants and their fans, Bill Parcells ended a thirty year wait with two Super Bowl championships in five years.  For his eight year tenure with Big Blue and all my time as a Giants fan, his brand of Smash Mouth Football was my most satisfying period as a New York sports fan.



  
Mike.BTB

New York Giants: Tuna Headed To Canton

From the desk of:   DO IT FOR THE DUKE

NEW YORK GIANTS - The Big Tuna Gains Membership Into The Canton Club.

Member: Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2013

 

Bill Parcells

Head Coach - New York Giants

1983 - 1990

 

 

Why Bill Parcells needed to wait a second year for election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame is  beyond me.  However with this year's correction, he now takes his rightful place along side the other Giants greats and legends already enshrined in the Hall.
 

 

The Bill Parcells Giants will never have the word "Flashy" used to describe them.  They were grunts in their most basic form.  Parcells teams brought back and thrived playing a more primitive form of the game.  Bill reintroduced Smash Mouth Football into the National Football League.  In both defense and running the ball, Bill Parcells assembled perhaps one of the strongest teams in NFL history.  He didn't care if the other team knew what play the Giants were running.  Parcells merely dared you to stop them.

 

"Run with power men!  ..........that's why you lift all those weights." - Bill Parcells

 

It was actually coach Ray Perkins who began the slow process of re-establishing the New York Giants to their lost former prominence.  He brought the Giants back to the playoffs in 1981 after a long, dormant period in Big Blue history.  But when Coach Perkins left to coach Alabama, it was Bill Parcells who took over, and transformed Big Blue into a nightmare for the likes of the great Bill Walsh and the 49ers and Joe Gibbs and the Redskins.  Of course, his greatest achievement was turning the Giants into two time Super Bowl champions.

 

 

Bill Parcells was old school in every sense.  He was hard on his players.  If he didn't like you, or worse yet didn't respect you, then you had a real problem on your hands, not to mention potential unemployment issues.  Ask Phil Simms and Jeff Hostetler about that.  But if you were one of "his guys", then you were mint.  He'd still be hard on his guys.  But there was an unconditional trust between them.  As tough as he was, and as mean as he could be with the media, even us fans knew that underneath his menacing exterior, was the cuddly heart of a fuzzy bear.  When he stepped down as head coach after winning Super Bowl XXV, not only was I devastated, I thought the Giants would never be good ever again.  I thought that as a grown twenty three year old adult, and life long football and Giants fan.  Coach Ray Handley only reinforced that notion.

 

 

Two Super Bowls are his Giants legacy.  Funny thing is, for much of his time here, it seemed as if the Giants struggled mightily to gain respect and success, because the style of football they played was laborious.  But if you understood it, the game plan was glorious.  Bill Parcells led a team that could play with anybody.  But the clashes against the 49ers are what I relish most from that era.  Bill Parcells guided his teams beyond the best of the best.

 

 

 

 

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

N.Y. Giants: On Kevin Gilbride, and an Offensive Line Preview

From the desk of:   DO IT FOR THE DUKE

NEW YORK GIANTS FOOTBALL:

It Is Time To Give Coach Kevin Gilbride His Due Praise.

Previous Post ~ Eli Manning Is Now Beyond The Coach

Offensive Line Preview

I give.  I know when I've been defeated.  Therefore, I here-by cease and desist my yearly vitriol and caustic attacks against the Giants offensive ring master.  While that's not entirely true, he does deserve the benefit of the doubt from now on.  Kevin Gilbride is entering his seventh season as Offensive Coordinator.  And while under his directive, Big Blue's Offense launched dual Super Bowl efforts over the New England Patriots; make that Bill Belichick's Patriots.



Damn!  Kevin Gilbride never left me short for subject matter.  But what can I say now?



Regardless of my Bill Parcell's era philosophy and belief in Smash Mouth Football, Kevin Gilbride's implementation of the running game is no longer up for discussion.  But not because of the former QB's insistence with passing the ball, and because of his history orchestrating the Run-and Shoot.  But because the way the Giants traditionally run the ball is now in flux.



Not only is the Giants' All-Time rushing touchdowns leader; Brandon Jacobs; gone to San Francisco, welcome to year two of reconstructing of the Offensive Line.  Last season, GM Jerry Reese decided to part ways with Shaun O'Hara and Rich Suebert.  This season, Kareem McKenzie was hacked from the Giants once record-setting Offensive Line.  I personally thought the seven year Giants Right Tackle was coming off one his best seasons.  The anemic Giants running game experienced its most success last season rushing to the right side between McKenzie, and Chris Snee.  But the Giants enjoyed even more success running outside Right Tackle; that being Kareem McKenzie.  For the moment, he remains an unsigned free agent.  But then again, with regards to the running game, the Giants rushed the ball dead last in Football last season.  So anything is fair game at this point.



That leaves two members of the famed Offensive Line left; David Diehl, and the already mentioned, Chris Snee.  David Diehl continues to get ping-ponged back and forth between the left and right sides of the line, as well as from Tackle to Guard.  Which will it be this season?  We'll see.  The plan was to have him take Kareem McKenzie's spot on the right side.  But for the moment, that remains to be seen.  Entering his tenth season, he will turn thirty-two years old once the season starts.  While still a very good lineman, it seems logical he will be the next player to get replaced.



Chris Snee continues to play at an All-Pro level.  He turned thirty in January, so there is still a lot of football remaining in this kid.  Entering his ninth season, the Giants Right Guard was perhaps the team's best run blocker last season.  When the Giants needed daylight, they looked between Snee and McKenzie.  Snee will now have a new partner on his right side this season.



To Chris Snee's left, will be returning Center, David Baas.  I rode him hard last season.  To be fair, there was an adjustment period for him, he played through a neck injury, and dealt with some minor issues.  But he finished strong, and played very well in the NFC Championship Game against his former team, the San Francisco 49ers.  I still feel he is undersized.  But if he plays the way he did down the stretch last season, he may yet turn into a bright spot on the Line.



The biggest questions for the Giants Offensive rest on the left side.  At Left Tackle, Will Beatty is supposed to finally take over.  His eye injury last season necessitated David Diehl's shift to Left Tackle.  So it stands to reason, Will's health this season will go a long way towards determining the Offensive Line's continuity and stability.   Now that he's back, Beatty is charged with protecting Eli Manning's blind side.  I'm not exactly overwhelmed with confidence he can.  Will Beatty is more of a technique and finesse player.  I'm concerned how well he can handle brute force and ignorance on the end.  But that was the plan last year, and remains so this year.  Will Beatty is no stranger to Giants fans.  And he's proved to be a very capable player before, despite my reservations.



Left Guard is perhaps the largest question mark of the Offensive Line.  What is certain, the position will have a new starting player.  Whether Mitch Petrus wins the job, or Kevin Boothe proves best, will be determined over the pre-season.  In either case, I am comfortable with the Giants' options.  I especially like Mitch Petrus, who provided an instant spark in the running game last season, when David Baas went down with an injury, and the Line shifted, creating a spot for Petrus at Left Guard.  That's when Kevin Boothe filled in at Center very admirably.  Kevin Boothe however, is the favorite this season to win the Guard job.  And that's fine with me.



Who will be backing up the forward ranks remains to be seen.  Jim Cordle I'm certain will make the team.  Sean Locklear is becoming an increasingly important back-up player on the left side.  James Brewer returns from last season but still has much to prove.  And rookie Brandon Mosely just might play his way onto the team.



As a unit, the Offensive Line returns with familiar names.  There is a continuity factor that should work in the Giants favor.  Good health can only make this unit better.  Despite last season's rushing numbers, this unit can be very good.  But after Mitch Petrus, the Giants start to suffer from a  considerable lack of depth.


A greater conversation incorporating the backfield follows next.





Mike.BTB

N.Y. Giants ~ Reflections on Four Super Bowls

From the desk of:   DO IT FOR THE DUKE

XXI    XXV    XLII

XLVI

NEW YORK GIANTS FOOTBALL

A Celebration for the Ages

I week ago today, the Giants won their fourth Super Bowl and the eighth  NFL Championship overall  of this storied franchise's history.  Each of the four Super Bowls they've won in my lifetime are separately special to me for very different reasons.  And in truth, I can not rank them.  No one game stands out as my favorite.  All four bring to mind very different memories and trigger different emotional responses from me.



The 1986 season will always be singularly special to me for it was the first.  I turned twenty years old shortly after Super Bowl XXI.  So it was the cap stone in a life spent as a young boy and teenager rooting for the Giants.  Our time had finally come.  And it was glorious.  The fact that we had to beat the 49ers in order to get to Pasadena was in itself special to me.  The Giants/49ers rivalry is forever branded into my mind.  Big Blue dominated that season like no Giants team before them in my lifetime, and maybe like no other Giants team since.  Don Criqui called that game, and his voice, like no other to call a Giants' Super Bowl, still resonates loud and clear with me till this day.  And I can still see "Mark Bavaro genuflecting in prayer."



Super Bowl XXV was the culmination of an era and a swan song for many of my most favorite Giants Greats.  I was a young man with a one month old son now.  The NFC Championship Game in San Francisco still goes down as one of the hardest hitting contests I've ever watched.  Even today, I still have a hard time not ranking that game as one of the most gut-wrenching Giants' wins ever.  Then there was something about a juggernaut named the Buffalo Bills.  The Giants didn't dominate like they did in 1986 albeit it they were 13-3 that season.  But as was their custom, they were the dominant defense in Football.  And looking back, Super Bowl XXV was the start of a recipe that still works for the Giants today.  The experts said the Giants weren't supposed to be able to hang around with Buffalo.  They predicted the end of the Giants that night in Tampa Bay.  Instead, Super Bowl XXV validated their greatness.  They weren't a one and done.  And that made it special.



By the 2007 season, my son was seventeen and a full blown Giants fan.  So now it was about us and not just me anymore.  After waiting sixteen years since the last time the Giants won a Super Bowl, you might say both of us were riding the same magic carpet ride together.  For him, it was his first as a fan.  For me, just the first in a long time.  But on a personal note, this was a wholly different  experience than my two previous Super Bowl runs because of the father factor.  Now we start talking about life, and experiences, and feelings that last a lifetime for other reasons that include Football and the Giants and myself.  And yeah, it makes you think of things in generational terms, and about things like succession; as in Wellington Mara's passing, and with him, a time I rooted for the Giants as a younger man.  My son was only eleven when he passed.  But today he understands the magnitude of The Duke and that without him and his father before him, there probably is no NFL like we know it today.  And in that scenario, all these lifetime memories would cease to be.



I gather my son will look back on these times one day in his future when he takes a turn at guiding a young Giants fan in the ways of the Mara Family like I did with him.  And when John Mara stands alone as the Patriarch of this organization, he'll say, "yeah - I remember when his mom; Ann Mara; was still around, and your grandpa got her attention at the Super Bowl XLII Parade.  You should have seen him.  He was so happy."  For now thankfully, me and Big Blue's Matriarch are alive and well, and judging by the way she poked around Terry Bradshaw, she has a lot of years left in her Football career as the undisputed Queen in The Land of Giants.



Last Tuesday, my son and I went to our second Super Bowl Parade together when I myself had never been to one before.  If you remember back in 1986, Mayor Ed Koch wouldn't foot the bill for a parade.  Then during Super Bowl XXV, America's troops were being sent into harm's way overseas, making a parade inappropriate for the time.



To me, Super Bowl XLVI was history repeating itself.  Too many similarities existed between this era and the era between twenty-one and twenty-six years ago for me to ignore.  And as my son will vouch for his pop, four years ago I told him we were inside a five year window to win another trophy.  As such, this Super Bowl took on the aura of tradition for both of us.  What we did last time we repeated this time.  And how it played out a quarter century ago for me, things similarly played out for him in this new era of Giants Football.  And I guess to him, Tom Coughlin is what Bill Parcells was to me.  He tells me as much.  And what my son holds over me today is that in 2006, I wavered on Tom Coughlin.  I did.  Not my son though.  Not for a second.  And I'm proud of him.  Because I would have probably knocked someone unconscious if they ever tried to fire Bill Parcells when I was his age.

Giants' General Manager, Jerry Reese

During this most recent parade,  I managed to get the attention of General Manager Jerry Reese when his float passed by.  Like I said, last time it was Ann Mara.  And this time I managed to tell Jerry thank you for doing a great job.  He spotted me and replied with a thank you and a nod of acknowledgement.  The guy standing behind me was saying - Hey!  He was talking to you.  I saw it!  I saw it!  So there; there's my Super Bowl XLVI parade story.  That, and getting my arm and hands in the newspaper the next day are enough for me to live with.  I'm just happy as all hell me and my son are Giant Fans.  There's no finer First Family in the city and there's no other team that has made me happier over the course of my life.







Mike.BTB

N.Y. Giants ~ Coughlin and Parcells; Parallel Eras

From the desk of:   DO IT FOR THE DUKE ~ Super Bowl XLVI Edition

ATLANTA FALCONS

GREEN BAY PACKERS

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

NEW YORK GIANTS FOOTBALL:

Tom Coughlin and Bill Parcells are Mirror Images of

BIG Success and BLUE Setbacks.

Previous Posts:

Only Coach Gilbride Can "RIGHT" the Running Game

Super Sizing the Offensive Line

Two Super Bowl victories in five years cemented Bill Parcells' (as well as Bill Belichick's) legend in the Land of Giants forever.  The coach who came from 3-12-1 in his first season, won the Mara Family their first two Lombardi Trophies.  But make no mistake, there were a bunch of bad moments during the Parcells Era too.



Ever since the Giants won Super Bowl XLII, I've often reminded my son we were inside a five year window to make another Super Bowl appearance.  And quite similarly to the way an era evolved a quarter-century ago for me, here we go again.  It's as if history is making it's way around again and giving a younger generation a glimpse into what their parents went through twenty-five, and twenty one years ago.  Including this season, the last five years have in a sense been a modern day parallel of Bill Parcells' Giants march to greatness.



This Super Bowl, aside from the "Brady's Revenge" factor, has very nearly come about the way Carl Banks once described his team's ascent in 1990;

"We're back!"  "They said we couldn't do it."   "They put a fork in us and said we were done." 

Phil Simms; Rodney Hampton; - Done! - Lost for the season.  Even Carl Banks had that broken hand.  But it goes without saying today's Giants have dealt with injuries just the same.  Now they're back in the Super Bowl after so many in the Media wrote them off after the Saints blow-out; then again at 7-7; and at every chance they had since.  Just as The Matriarch; Ann Mara; who so "politely" pointed that out to Terry Bradshaw.  Parcells used to love that too - when the world wasn't just against you; they belittled you. The Media tried it back then with Parcells because the Giants were never pretty.  They were smash-mouth.  That's why he was so nasty and belittling back to them; -  because what he did, worked.  It just wasn't as flashy as San Francisco's west coast bling.  Phil Simms received the brunt of that crap from day one all the way into and after a 1990 Monday Night 7-3 loss against San Francisco.  We know how that season ended though.



Twenty one years after Super Bowl XXV, my son is gunning for his second Super Bowl inside five years like I did at his age.  His team; our team; is Coached by one of Parcells' grasshoppers; Tom Coughlin.  I never wavered once on Parcells.  If I never told you before (I have..), I'll remind you all now.  I did with Coughlin.  After the 2006 season, I wanted him fired.  All I'll say right now about that is Jerry Reese and John Mara made me realize my thinking was highly flawed.  But that subject  deserves a different post.  The point I want to make is that my son was always a staunch supporter of Coughlin's.  He told me flat out I was wrong then, and still reminds me about it from time to time.  Good for him.  As Coughlin has made an impression upon him, then so too in my early twenties, if Parcells would have asked me to eat dirt, I'd have shown up with spoon in hand and a salt shaker for taste.



Like Tom Coughlin, Bill Parcells' Giants were not without their troubles; and vice-versa.  Four years after their initial Super Bowl victories, Tom Coughlin finds himself in position to win his second Lombardi Trophy, just like Bill Parcells was in 1990-01.  It's uncanny how the two eras match up.  Are there differences?  Sure..., many.  That team of the late 80's was all about smash-mouth and ball control offense.  On defense, they rode the backs of great linebackers.  Today's Giants are passing juggernauts with a ferocious defensive line.   They're kind of the same, but different, or, different but the same.  They're the Giants.  In both eras, drafting has made the difference.



There were no playoffs for Bill Parcells in 1983.  There were no playoffs for Tom Coughlin in 2004.  In 1984, the Giants faced the 49ers in the playoffs and got blown out.  Coach Coughlin's 2005 NFC East champs got blown out by the Carolina Panthers as Tiki Barber infamously accused his Coach of getting Out-Coached by another former Giants coach; John Fox.  In 1985, the Giants were embarrassed during a frigid playoff game in Chicago partly due to a wind-blown missed punt attempt.  In 2006, the Giants embarrassed themselves with an 8-8 record and just barely made the playoffs where they lost to the Eagles in the first round.



After two years of making the playoffs and falling short, both coaches led their teams to respective Super Bowls in their fourth year on the job.  But the Giants bid to repeat in 2008 was shot in the leg just as the Player Strike of 1987 effectively killed the Giants' bid to repeat back then.  Both seasons were horrible ways to follow-up their respective Super Bowl seasons.



As far as that 2008 season and how it ended, ask yourself which you'd rather happen - losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the playoffs after a dominant 12-4 season, OR, after having a dominant 12-4 regular season in 1989, watching the Rams' Flipper Anderson run right through the end zone and into the old Giants Stadium tunnels after scoring the winning touchdown in overtime of the opening round playoff game?  In either case; in both eras; in both seasons; the Giants went home prematurely.  And just to let you know, that Rams game still haunts me today more than losing Super Bowl XXXV; or losing to the Niners in 2003; or losing to the Vikings in 1997 ever did.



There were no playoffs for Bill Parcells in 1987 and 1988.  Nor were there any playoffs for Tom Coughlin in 2009 and 2010.  In 2010, the Giants missed the playoffs with a 10-6 record.  That's when Coach Coughlin famously told his detractors to kiss his ass; and rightfully so as far as I'm concerned.  In 1988, the Giants went 10-6 as well, and missed the playoffs because they lost the last game of the season to the Jets.




It seems what's old is new again.  And with any luck, this Sunday can be just as glorious for a new generation and my son in particular, just as it was for this forty-something fan who grew up in the wonderful Big Blue Land of Giants an era ago and thankfully never grew-up.






Mike.BTB

N.Y. GIANTS ~ Finish 2010 Season Ten and SICK

THE NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS: 

Let the autopsy begin. 

PART ONE: 

The Head Coach and the Offensive Coaches

I.  HEAD COACH ~ TOM COUGHLIN

First we must dispel the misguided notion Tom Coughlin can not continue as coach of the Giants.  Let's put his record up against that of The Tuna; Bill Parcells, because that is the only true way to diffuse Giant fan's fervent want for having Coughlin's head.


The TUNA YEARS:
1982 Season ~ Last season under Ray Perkins.
1983 Season ~ Giants suffer 3-12-1 season in Bill Parcells' 1st year.
1984 Season ~ Giants improve to 9-7 and make Playoffs.  Beat Eagles; Lose to 49ers in 2nd Round.
1985 Season ~ Giants make Playoffs with 10-6 record ~ Lose to Bears 21-0 in the Infamous Sean Landeta "Wind Blown Punt" Game.
1986 Season ~ Win NFC EAST TITLE; Super Bowl Champions.
1987 Season ~ Miserable Strike Season; Finish in last place.  Do Not Make Playoffs.
1988 Season ~ Giants finish 10-6 losing to JETS on last day of season, losing Division Title in process. Do Not Make Playoffs.
1989 Season ~ Win NFC EAST TITLE; After dominant 12-4 season, Giants Lose to Rams in First Round Playoff ~ Infamous "Flipper Anderson" Game 19-13 in O.T.
1990 Season ~ Win NFC EAST TITLE; Super Bowl Champions.
1991 Season ~ Bill Parcells steps down; Ray Handley is named Head Coach.


The COUGHLIN ERA:
2003 Season ~ Last season under Jim Fassell.
2004 Season ~ Tom Coughlin's First Year;  Giants 6-10
2005 Season ~ Win NFC EAST TITLE (11-5);  Lose First Round Playoff game to Panthers 23-0.
2006 Season ~ After 8-8 qualifies for post-season, Giants lose First Round Playoff game to Eagles 24-21.
2007 Season ~ Super Bowl Champions.
2008 Season ~ Giants Win NFC EAST TITLE; have dominant 13-3 season shot in leg by Plaxico Burress.  Lose to Eagles in First Round Playoff game 23-11.
2009 Season ~ Giants start 5-0; Finish season 8-8.  Do Not Make Playoffs
2010 Season ~ Giants finish 10-6; Lose out on Post Season on last day.  Do Not Make Playoffs
2011 Season ~ To Be Determined. - Owner John Mara emphatic Tom Coughlin will return.


The records speak for themselves.  You can almost pair off a season for season and Coach Coughlin still has a year to work with to try and achieve a second Lombardi.  So who exactly are you judging Tom Coughlin against?  Unless you're comparing him to Vince Lombardi, Chuck Knoll, Tom Landry, Bill Walsh, Jimmy Johnson, or Bill Belichick? ... Bear Bryant?  John Madden?  Don Shula?

....Who then?

Tony Dungy, John Gruden, Brian Billick, Jack Fisher, Bill Cower?  The Gipper?

Who is the Coach out there that has taken two different teams in both conferences to Championship Games and won a Super Bowl?  Parcells did it.  Gruden did it.  Who else?  Who cares!  My point is name me the coach who you think is available, and better than Tom Coughlin.

Who's available?  John Gruden; Jack Fisher; John Fox; Brian Billick; Bill Cower ~ They may be the best of the currently unemployed Coaching candidates.  You want Tom Coughlin fired to replace him with one of these names?

The whining and snivelling that came out of Tiki Barber's mouth regarding his Head Coach; Tom Coughlin, seems to have never gone away.  So many have continued the criticisms in Tiki's place about Coughlin ever since his retirement which he incidentally "un-officially and never quite verbally" blamed on Coughlin and the way he ran his team.  Additionally, just like Jeremy Shockey complained so did the GREAT Michael Strahan up until Jerry Reese told him to beat-it during his hold-out.  It was only then Michael Strahan came back to camp and he came back "correct".

Where are the players of 2010 complaining about Tom Coughlin and about how their Head Coach got out-coached now?  Where are the players who find playing for Tom Coughlin unbearable today?

Jim Fassell once stood there on the sideline and could do nothing to stop the in-fighting that caused the Giants to lose a playoff game in ridiculous fashion against the Vikings in '97.  Fassell had no answers for the Ravens during the Super Bowl during a game in which he thoroughly got out-coached.  When all Jim Fassell could do was stand there with that incredulous look on his face during the Trey Junkin Game in the 49ers playoff game, ...at least Coughlin had a reaction for his Kicker in Jan. of 2008 and a reaction for his punter in Dec. 2010.

What more can a Head Coach do when your players don't perform the way they've been coached to play?

Bill Parcells used to throw garbage at his players and threaten their jobs and scream at his coordinators.  Coughlin yells at kickers and his coordinators and benches fumblers.  Coughlin has to do it in a P.C. World.  The Tuna didn't.  The League, the Union and power structure were different then as well as the monies involved.  Coughlin is an Old School Guy still coaching very good Football in the Modern Game.


Bill Parcells had Sean Landeta's Wind Blown Punt and Flipper Anderson.
Jim Fassel had Trey Junkin, Rich Seubert and 1997.
Tom Coughlin has his own moments.  No Coach is without them.  And Bill Parcells didn't get the Giants to the playoffs 4 consecutive years; only three.

And then ask yourself this, ~ Do you really think John Mara is going to allow his General Manager Jerry Reese to fire Coughlin for some hot-shot, up-and-coming Coordinator?  Really?

Well, John Mara already put this all to rest.  After the game he told the press he already informed Tom Coughlin last week he'd be returning as the Head Coach of the New York Football Giants next year.

Keeping Tom Coughlin is the right thing to do.  Reeling in the TUNA was the only HOOK to get some of "US" Giants fans to understand this.



II.  OFFENSIVE COACHING STAFF


1 ~ OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR ~ KEVIN GILBRIDE

You knew this was coming from me.  But there's a reason Buddy Ryan punched him in the face! 

He continually and needlessly put his Defense back on the field in bad spots because of a complete failure on third down conversions this season.  Thirds Downs...and Three-and-Outs!  Why? 

Because with Coach Gilbride it's either FEAST OR FAMINE. 

How many times this season have we found ourselves late in third and fourth quarter situations, desperately needing first downs to control the clock and keep the other team's Offense off the field only to fail miserably with another Three and Out and too much time left on the clock?

Answer; Excruciatingly Too Many!!  And it has everything to do with his aversion with being a run first Coach.

I've been on Coach Gilbride all season long.  I'm sure I could have plucked better examples but my post in WEEK 6 shows I've been on him since the beginning of the season.  Even through WEEK 10 ~  HERE'S Proof  in something Titled: Fourth Down and GILBRIDE To Go ~  I have been screaming for Coach Gilbride to get the running game in tune for December Football forever.  I believed then as I believe now, when you absolutely, positively, have to, no doubt about it, need a first down on 3rd and short situations, you have to turn to your Running Game and expect them to get it done; NOT throw a 15 yard out over the head of Kevin Boss.  What Coach Gilbride does not comprehend is that reliance on Power Football comes through living it week in and week out.  A third and short in desperate times is not something you can just pick from out of your notes and call in a play, especially when all you're doing is salivating over your next call for a pass anyway.  That critical first down is derived at by pure power and dedication to the run game as a way of life.  The fourth quarter, Third-and-Short conversion is a cumulative effect that starts with the first offensive possession of the game.  It's a game-style designed to finish games late.  A well prepared and confident Running Game will look a Defensive Front in the eye and tell them they are running the ball off-tackle and still make three yards.  Period!  That's Football since the NFL's inception...whether you wore no helmet, a leather helmet, or a Modern helmet!

Among the many, many things that went wrong against the Eagles in the melt-down, almost all of it could have been avoided with ONE FIRST DOWN.  But when we needed to get one, we could do nothing outside of being sickly in our attempts.  With multiple opportunities to end the game with one first down, they could manage none.  The same circumstances resurfaced most recently against the Redskins.  Coming off three Redskin fumbles, the best we could offer on Offense was a wimpy three-and-out on three consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter.  The Giant ability to will themselves to first downs, this game, against the Eagles, and other times, was lost because it was ignored by Kevin Gilbride in weeks 3,4 and 5 and 6, but grossly mismanaged all season long from start to finish, because Kevin Gilbride unnecessarily tilts 15 to 20 plays Eli's way per game that should have been invested earlier in the season on the running game.

It all goes back to Kevin Gilbride setting up the Run with the Pass, opposed to the more conventional setting up the Pass with the Run Game.

In the games in which Jacobs and Bradshaw ran wild accumulating almost 600 yards in three games..., 
Their Touches Never Increased...But Eli's Pass Attempts Did!!!  The more those two ran off huge chunks of yardage, the more Gilbride wanted to pass to the point our Backs became ignored, (and Jacobs..forgotten).  Gilbride pats them on the back and puts Jacobs on the shelf.

How can you limit Brandon Jacobs to an average of 8 carries a game for the season?  How do you limit this potent running game to 22 to 25 carries a game combined, and justify Eli needlessly throwing upwards of 35 and 40 passes with games well in hand?

This man must be held responsible for his 1/3 of the blame regarding Eli Manning's career high for interceptions in a season, and for one of the worse INT totals in Giants' history.  All Gilbride's pass calling and Eli's in-completions do nothing but open the door for comebacks and plenty of time with which to get it done.  This goes right in hand with the third quarter disappearances by this Offense which have been nothing short of mystifying.

To be fair, Kevin Gilbride may have had something radically more lethal in store for the NFL had our entire Recieving Corp not succumbed to injury; we didn't turn the ball over at such a prodigious rate and our Offensive Line had been healthier.  Yes, Kevin Gilbride can be an excellent (no..very good) Offensive Coach.  The key word is can.  And it bares repeating, with him, it's FEAST OR FAMINE.  The Super Bowl Year we obviously feasted, but that was with PLAX and Steve Smith on the field with a completely healthy O-Line. 

I'd be very careful with who the Giants replace him with.  I'd rather stick with Gilbride and try to get him to change his thinking, than turn over this Offense to a hot-shot who doesn't even shave yet.  He and Tom Coughlin are long time friends and the fact Tom Coughlin is also an Offensive kinda guy goes against everything I'm trying to hammer home.  But at some point they have to have a Pow-Wow and decide once and for all to incorporate the Running Game into something much more integral to this team's success than just something Coach Gilbride feels obligated to mix into the plan while hindering his search for the Ultimate Pass Play.

So..., what I'm saying is that with more commitment to the running game and better clock management through such, Gilbride can stay. But it still doesn't mean he won't make me want to punch him in the face sometimes too.


But if John Gruden would lower himself to a coordinator's level again,  I'd gladly invite him to run our Offense.



1A) - QB Coach Mike Sullivan

Eli Manning's passes were consistently high this season.  These high passes were many times tipped and intercepted.  Eli Manning also at times reverted to throwing off his back foot again.  We've seen him do the "throw and turn your back" thing along with the baffling shovel attempts he's made when in the grasp of pressure.  Then there was the non-slide-rolling-fumble play.

What has Mike Sullivan done to improve Eli's throwing technique in order to get his passes lower especially being this is not a new problem?  Why has Eli seemingly reverted to old rookie habits with regard to his footwork?  Why has he been increasingly inclined to attempt these shovel tosses which have the potential of being disastrous?  And why is Eli not practiced in the art of sliding?

What is the man charged with ensuring these details are addressed for upwards of six days a week, with the obvious exception of game day, (and even then their job doesn't end).  These are the items of concern that are obvious to many, which we have every reason to believe are worked on week in and week out.

So, a fair question to ask is how much of the responsibility and blame for Eli's regressing tendencies fall on his Quarterback Coach?  Why hasn't he impressed his will and corrective measures with obvious and positive results upon his QB?

Look what another Giants QB guru and and Offensive Coordinator,  i.e;. Jim Fassell and Sean Peyton did with Kerry Collins (Pffff).  Then look what Sean Peyton did with Drew Brees.  John Elway didn't need Dan Reeves or Mike Shanahan to be great.  He needed a RUNNING BACK!

But I think the question is fair.  What has Mike Sullivan done to straighten out Eli for us?  Because me personally?  Eli is my guy.  I'll win and lose with him.


1B) - Running Backs Coach Jerald Ingram

Tom Coughlin personally corrected Tiki Barber's fumbling problems.  We know Coach's preferred technique.  Ahmad Bradshaw should be no stranger to Coach's techniques just as he's no stranger to fumbling the ball even before this season.  Coach Coughlin switched off to Brandon Jacobs as the starting back after the first Eagles encounter because Ahmad continually put the ball on the ground.  The Coach was forced to take a course of action and did.

Now, what happened to the reinforcement techniques, drills and mental preparedness that the Running Backs Coach is there to ensure gets met and employ such,  for six days a week; 4 weeks a month; and at least 5 months a season?  These matters fall under Jerald Ingram's attention to detail with proactive and reactive measures.

Yet, the fumbling continued all the way into last week's game against the Packers.





Next: 

PART II ~ The Offensive Line and Special Teams Coaches

PART III ~ I'll be TACKLING the Defensive Coaches

PART IV ~  Jerry Reese and the Players



MIKE.BTB