N.Y. Giants: Big Blue Brass Pull Plug on Eli Manning's Swan Song

From the desk of: DO IT FOR THE DUKE

MANN vs. WORLD

The Continuing Saga of Eli's Swan Song

After Two Games Giants Announce Plan to Start Daniel Jones in Week Three

ELI MANNING:

• Two Games: 56 attempts/89 completions (63%) for 556 yards; two touchdowns; one INT; two sacks, 10 QB hits.

Cut the music!

After just two verses, Eli's swan song is over.

Manning is not the sole reason, or even a top three reason, why the 2018 Giants post a 3-13 record.  Nor is he a primary reason why the Giants are 47-67 over the last seven seasons.  They're certainly not off to an 0-2 start this season on account of Eli.  For that you must start with a novice defense which has so far allowed 60-plus points through two games with no hope of improvement in the foreseeable future.  Of course there's much more to this burgeoning nightmare.  But I digress ...

Eli is the last vestige of Ernie Accorsi's legacy as general manager of the New York Giants.  It is Accorsi who builds a Super Bowl contender with Eli being the final piece of the puzzle.  However those Giants first need to wait out Eli's maturation process.  By 2007 Eli Manning transforms before our very eyes into Mr. Freeze at Green Bay and goes on to win MVP of Super Bowl XLII.  By 2011 the Giants are squeezing the last bit of goodness out of Accorsi's creation en route to winning Super Bowl XLVI.  Eli Manning is again named game MVP.

In the seasons following 2011 the shelf life of an elite defense, a record setting offensive line, and once formidable running game all expire.  But because Eli was the last piece of the puzzle, he is also the last to remain.  In the meantime, Jerry Reese presides over the complete and utter deterioration of the New York Giants.  His drafting over his last five seasons as general manager bear no fruit, thus fostering a failed if not ruinous over reliance on free agency.  The impact on the field is self evident: sub par records.

Former offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride together with his friend and Giants head coach Tom Coughlin are as aggressive as they come.  When the Giants still field a competent offensive line and formidable running game, Gilbride maintains effective balance between rushing and passing.  But when it comes to passing, the triumvirate of Gilbride, Coach Coughlin, and Eli Manning, are all about high risk and high reward.  As a result they routinely lead the league in most yards attempted per pass!  That partly explains why Eli appears prone to throwing interceptions.  But Coughlin effectively signs off on each and every INT.  They just didn't care.  However as the talent level deteriorates along the offensive line and the running game comes to a halt, Gilbride becomes Jerry Reese's first scapegoat.  The continuing deterioration of talent over the next two seasons likewise causes Tom Coughlin into coaching more desperately.  He then becomes Jerry Reese scapegoat number two.

In truth, Gilbride, Coughlin, or even Ben McAdoo, were never the problem, per se.  The primary factor causing the Giants spiraling into irrelevance is John Mara's unyielding support for Jerry Reese.

Sure, Eli deserves his fair share of blame.  His performance can be ponderous at times.  Everyone deserves their fair share for this mess.  Some just deserve more than others.

Upon accepting positions with the Giants Dave Gettleman and Pat Shurmur know they are being tasked with putting Eli out to pasture.  Indeed, an unenviable position to be in.  Yet the process continues to wreak of indecisiveness and lack of conviction.  I'm not sure what they're thinking.  But it needs to stop.  Because the less sense this makes the more I'm inclined to believe John Mara still has his fingerprints all over this.  And why would that be?  Because he completely botches Eli's benching in favor of Geno Smith.  What a slap in the face, made worse by how the front office continues mishandling the aftermath.  Moreover because I believe Archie Manning commands Mara's respect and attention.  And if I'm Archie, I'm on the phone to John Mara blaming him, Jerry Reese, and Dave Gettleman, for essentially ruining the second half of his son's career.

It appears push has finally come to shove.  Eli is facing one of three choices: retire a Giant; waive his no trade clause; or stay and tutor Daniel Jones.  Concerned parties had better reserve a large conference room because I'm sure John Mara, Dave Gettleman, Pat Shurmur, Eli Manning, his agent, and Archie Manning, will all have something to say about this.

N.Y. Giants: New GM Dave Gettleman Vows To Kick Ass

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

Gett This House In Order

New York Giants: David Gettleman Named New General Manager ... And I Couldn't Be More Happy.

My genesis as a Giants fan occurred while Andy Robustelli (1974-1978) still served as general manager.  But I do not remember much, if anything, about him.

I vividly recall, however, the day the Giants hired George Young, and his 18-year tenure as general manager.

From 1994 through 1997, Ernie Accorsi served as assistant GM under George Young.  Upon his retirement after the 1997 season, Young appointed Ernie Accorsi to succeed him as next general manager of the Giants.

Jerry Reese likewise began working for the Giants in 1994 as a college scout.  In 1997, he was elevated to pro scout by George Young.  In 2004, Accorsi made him director of player personnel.  Upon his own retirement after the 2006 season, Ernie Accorsi named Jerry Reese general manager.

It was also Ernie Accorsi who originally brought David Gettleman into the New York Giants fold as a scout back in 1998.  He was elevated the following year and served as pro personnel director through the 2011 season.  In 2012, Jerry Reese promoted him to senior pro personnel analyst.

When the Carolina Panthers were in search of a new general manager, they brought in Ernie Accorsi as a consultant, whom recommended Dave Gettleman.  Gettleman in turn served from 2013 through 2016 as general manager of the Panthers, posting a 40-23 regular season record over his four years.  The Panthers made three straight playoff appearances under his stewardship, and after posting a 15-1 record in 2015 opposed the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl Fifty.

After co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch moved to release Jerry Reese and former head coach Ben McAdoo, they similarly consulted Ernie Accorci, who once again recommended Dave Gettleman (whom in 2016 experienced a falling out with Panthers managing owner Jerry Richardson).

His interview effectively ended with haste the Giants search for Jerry Reese's replacement.  And now David Gettleman becomes the fourth lineal general manager of the New York Giants during my lifetime.

Simply put, I love the move!

This is not just another typically safe in-house selection.  Dave Gettleman's resume speaks for itself. He has been a part of four different Super Bowl contending organizations.  He has scouted or served as general manager for two different AFC champions, and two different NFC champions.  All told, he's been associated with nine Super Bowl appearances:

• Buffalo - 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993.
• Denver - 1997.
• NYG - 2000, 2007, 2011.
• Carolina - 2015.

Gettleman began his NFL career scouting for the Buffalo Bills in 1986, and through the 1993 season.  For those of you still too young at the time, or not yet born, those Bills were frighteningly stacked with Hall of Fame and Pro Bowl caliber talent, whom together won four consecutive AFC championships.

From 1994 through 1997, Gettleman then served as a scout for the Denver Broncos.  Denver went 7-9 during his first season associated with the organization, then followed with an 8-8 record during his second.  The Broncos elevated to 13-3 in 1996, then posted a 14-2 record in 1997 en route to winning Super Bowl XXXII.

Then began his first stint in East Rutherford.  He was on staff during the Giants Super Bowl run of 2000, and for both their 2007 and 2011 championship seasons.

Said another way, the man understands winning.  Moreover, he understands New York Giants football.

Dave Gettleman Press Conference - NYG.com

Jerry Reese was widely criticized for his failure to effectively rebuild the offensive line, and poor drafting overall.  And while it's true that not one player from the 2011 and 2012 drafts presently play for the Giants, to be fair, Gettlemen and Marc Ross, were still a part of that process.

Since 2013, the Reese and Ross connection have arguably hit on a few players (some more debatable than others): Justin Pugh, Odell Beckham Jr., Weston Richburg, Landon Collins, Sterling Shepard, B.J. Goodson, and most recent addition, Evan Engram.

A few of their more notable busts are proving to be Eli Apple, Ereck Flowers, and newly departed Bobby Hart.

Point being, Jerry Reese, Marc Ross, the entire scouting department, and extended staff, indeed left much to be desired.

And so, here we are.

NY Giants Draft History - Football Reference

Prior to interviewing Dave Gettleman, the Giants previously extended their very first interview opportunity to Marc Ross.  On board since 2007, Ross spent his first six years with the organization serving as their director of college scouting, and for the last five years has served as the Giants vice president of player evaluation.

The New York Daily News suspects his interview did not go very well, because on Saturday David Gettleman fired Marc Ross.

At the very least, one should immediately ponder the future of Ken Sternfeld (director of pro personnel) as well.

David Gettleman does not operate in grey zones.  His decisions, rather, gleam with conviction.

He refuses to pay one dollar beyond what he thinks is their fair market value, and certainly won't pay for past performance late in careers.  In fact, he'd rather cut a player too early than too late, and is quick to eliminate malcontents from his locker room.  Look no further than his treatment of former Panthers favorites Steve Smith, DeAngelo Williams, Jon Beason, and Josh Norman.

Speaking of which ... I hope Odell Beckham Jr. is paying attention.  Or, maybe he should call right tackle Bobby Hart.  It was reported during Sunday's Giants/Redskins telecast on FOX, that Bobby Hart allegedly refused to play in Sunday's meaningless game.  Dave Gettleman in turn waived him.

During his introductory press conference, Gettleman listed among his top his priorities: rebuilding the offensive line; reestablishing the running game; and rebuilding the defensive line.  If you look at his team building in Carolina, he consistently maintained a strong presence at linebacker as well.

Is Dave Gettleman set on bringing back the good old days of Smash Mouth?

That remains to be seen.

But he did say rather matter of fact, his goal is to kick ass.

N.Y. Giants: Owners Pull Plug On Ben McAdoo and Jerry Reese

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

Cleaning House!

New York Giants: Owners John Mara and Steve Tisch Decide It's Time To Make Wholesale Changes.

John Mara confirmed what many fans like myself suspected - it was Ben McAdoo's idea to bench Eli Manning all along.

Sure, Mr. Mara acknowledged he could have easily put a stop to it, and took full responsibility for the poor manner in which things were handled.  In fact, he went as far as consulting with partner Steven Tisch, and together they decided it was time to make wholesale changes!

Giants President John Mara announced on Monday Ben McAdoo and Jerry Reese have been dismissed respectively as head coach and general manager of the New York Giants.

ICYMI: 

Ben McAdoo Decides Eli No Longer The Mann..

Heaven forbid Ben McAdoo tailor a system more suitable to Eli Manning's style.

Good coaches do that.  Stubborn, ideological ones, do not.

Since his first day as offensive coordinator, Ben McAdoo has been pushing his West Coast dope on Eli Manning, and till the very end sniveled when things went badly.

McAdoo seemingly didn't have much to say last season when Eli led the Giants to an 11-5 record and a return to the playoffs.  He somehow had even less to say regarding his wide receivers' ill advised trip to South Beach just before said playoff game, then offered absolutely nothing during the post-game in response to Odell turning in his worst performance as a professional.

He once again refused this season to take up issue with Beckham after infamously impersonating a dog peeing in the end zone during a game against Philadelphia.  McAdoo has also steadfastly refused to acknowledge any hints of poor play on behalf of the offensive line, and tried minimizing the numerous injuries among the receivers at every turn.

Instead, McAdoo used his words to levy criticism after criticism against Eli Manning.  He even seemly threw his proverbial hands in the air by handing off play calling duties to offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan.  But at no time did McAdoo ever once claim responsibility for his own flawed methodology.  He'd much rather have blamed Eli Manning for not carrying the Giants offense like Aaron Rogers carries that of the Packers ... when Rogers is on the field, that is.

Eli, on the other hand, started 210 straight games until Ben McAdoo stepped in.

Once the Giants were mathematically eliminated from this year's playoffs, Ben the Outsider with no real connection to Giants tradition and history, thought it wise to suggest benching the organization's greatest ever quarterback in favor of Geno Smith, or perhaps more accurately, someone better suited to play his awkward style of West Coast nonsense.

All that being said, Jerry Reese signed off on McAdoo's folly.  Generally speaking, though, he put Ben McAdoo in a position to fail, just as he put Kevin Gilbride and Tom Coughlin in positions to fail during their latter days as OC and head coach of the New York Giants.

What started well for Jerry Reese has ended horribly.  The organizational torch was passed to him after the 2006 season by former general manager Ernie Accorsi.  After a fruitful 2007 draft the Giants promptly won a Super Bowl.  Four years later Reese squeezed out the last bit of goodness from the fruits of Ernie Accorsi's labors in capturing yet another Super Bowl.  After which, Jerry Reese failed to sustain the organization's competitiveness.

The Giants indeed spiraled out of relevance.  Ineffective drafting, prohibitive manipulation of the salary cap, and Jerry Reese's over-reliance on free agency have cost the organization dearly.  His inability to replenish and resupply the roster with representative talent has resulted in a 41-51 record since 2012 through the present time, three times posting double-digit losses.

Ben McAdoo deserved to get fired based on the merits of his own shortcomings.  Jerry Reese, because he set the conditions.

BIG BLUE

SHAME ON YOU

That's what the billboard along Route 80 in New Jersey said, and John Mara heard it loud and clear. 

I'll hold off on critiquing his performance during all this for another post. 

In the mean time, Mara is a business man.  Four games remain in the Giants season, and three are at home.  Mara is no fool either, and knew better to stave off a Big Blue maelstrom.  Prominent former Giants players were threatening to parade the sidelines this week wearing Eli Manning #10 jerseys.  Ownership also ran the risk of season ticket holders selling the balance of their games, thus turning MetLife Stadium into the Big Blue Pit of Misery.  It may already be too late for some.  I'm sure in the coming games there will be more Cowboys and Redskins jerseys than usual. 

The question now becomes, how many more than usual?

N.Y. Giants: Ben McAdoo Decides Eli No Longer The Mann

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

Ben McAdoo twice watched Eli Manning defeat his Green Bay Packers 

en route to winning the Super Bowl and being named MVP each time.

New York Giants: In What I Can Only Describe As An Act of Supreme Folly, Head Coach Ben McAdoo Culminates Season Long Criticisms of Eli Manning By Benching Greatest Quarterback in Team History.

Ben McAdoo served as the Green Bay Packers tight ends coach between 2006 through 2011, then served as quarterbacks coach through the 2013 season.  During his time there, he won a ring and enjoyed a daily up-close look at two of the games all-time great quarterbacks.

As tight ends coach, McAdoo was in Green Bay for Brett Favre's final two seasons with the Packers.  His arrival, however, came the season after Favre led the NFL with 29 interceptions.  So perhaps that matter escaped him once bewitched by the likes of Aaron Rogers.  Only Ben McAdoo was still tight ends coach when Rogers led Green Bay to a Super Bowl victory in 2010 over Pittsburgh.

Rogers had been starting for four seasons prior to McAdoo's promotion to quarterbacks coach.  Therefore, how much did he actually contribute towards Rogers' continuing development during their two years working together?

By 2012 and 2013, Jerry Reese's failures as Giants general manager were making desperate people out of head coach Tom Coughlin and offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride.  The latter would become the first scapegoat, and after the 2013 season was replaced as offensive coordinator with Ben McAdoo.

At that point, Eli Manning was coming off the third season of his career in which he led NFL in interceptions.  I chalk up most of that to Kevin Gilbride's aggressive down field passing.  He and Eli routinely led the league in most yards attempted per pass play.

Enter Ben McAdoo, who institutes a rather awkward style of West Coast offense.  During his two seasons as coordinator, Eli set career highs in pass attempts (albeit much shorter attempts), career highs in yardage, career highs in completion percentage, and in 2015 threw a career high 35 TD passes.

That's all fine and well.  But Jerry Reese's continuing failures as general manager nonetheless resulted in back-to-back 6-10 seasons requiring a second scapegoat, namely Tom Coughlin.

Ben McAdoo was then elevated to the position of head coach following the 2015 season.  And as we know, Jerry Reese spent money like a drunken sailor trying to reinvigorate a moribund defense.  And for a season, it worked.  The Giants actually fielded one of the league's best defenses, and carried over Super Bowl aspirations heading into the preseason.

McAdoo, however, would inevitably become the latest victim of Jerry Reese's machinations as were Tom Coughlin and Kevin Gilbride before him.  Much of the Giants present situation indeed falls on the general manager.

So why was it that Ben McAdoo would unleash harsh criticisms towards Eli Manning during the opening weeks of this season?  In fact, he's implied in more ways than one how Eli doesn't quite fit his system.

And there's the rub ...

When your quarterback is getting sacked within three seconds or less, when he's been sacked at least 50 times in his last 28 games, there is no freakin system!

When the general manager has no interest in rebuilding the offensive line and reestablishing a respectable rushing threat, there's no system.

When you're the second head coach guilty of turning a blind eye every time Odell Beckham insults the 90-plus years of Giants tradition and lifts his leg to decorum, there is no system.  How could there be with faux suspensions, and no repercussions for players guilty of giving up?  Ben McAdoo lost his locker room.  He did.  There's no disputing that fact.  Massage the situation all you want.  There are players whom quit on him.  It is what it is.

If the Giants are 2-9 this season, Jerry Reese is certainly to blame.  All other attempts at change have failed.  And so at the end of this season, he must go.

McAdoo must surely follow because Tuesday's decision to bench Eli Manning is just absurd.  If I'm not mistaken, he watched up close as Eli Manning and the Giants beat Farve and his Green Bay Packers in that epic arctic NFC championship game of 2007, then watched Eli Manning and the Giants defeat his precious Aaron Rogers and the Packers again four years later.  Each time Eli went on to win Super Bowl MVP honors.  Yet, McAdoo has determined benching Eli Manning is in the best interest of the team, and a Giant first step towards a better tomorrow.

He is benching Eli Manning in favor of Geno Smith of all people, which is complete folly.  Davis Webb is expected to get some reps over the final weeks of the season as well.  But what can be learned about him when he will most certainly be playing under extreme duress due to the Giants inept offensive line?  Not to mention, if the Giants indeed continue their losing ways, they will surely utilize what could end up being a top four draft pick on an available quarterback.  So what exactly is the point?

Eli Manning, who this season became only the seventh quarterback in NFL history to surpass 50,000 yards passing, whose streak of 210 consecutive regular season starts is second only to Brett Farve, is being pushed aside in favor of Geno Smith?

Really?

Dan Reeves was an outsider who once dictated when the Giants career of Phil Simms would end.  Now we have another outsider, Ben McAdoo, triggering the demise of Eli Manning.

Week thirteen ... Eli ... clip board duty.

Ponderous!

Damn tight ends coach.

N.Y. Giants: Big Blue Blight

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

Creatures of the Blue Lagoon

New York Giants: We've Arrived at the Pit of Misery.

Dilly, Dilly!

What more can the Chiefs, Skins, Raiders, Cowboys, Eagles, and Cardinals, possibly do to make this any worse?

Let the Giants win?  Pfft!  That would be a real kick in the posterior, wouldn't it?

When the New York Giants start a season 1-8 for the first time since 1980, in part by losing to the previously winless (0-9) San Francisco 49ers, you know your season has officially hit rock bottom.

Under Ray Perkins at least the Giants had already begun the process of deconstruction and reconstruction.  After recognizing the err of their (Wellington Mara's) ways, new general manager George Young began drafting the likes of Phil Simms, and Lawrence Taylor, and continued further resetting the organization's future course.

San Francisco likewise knows exactly where rock bottom is, but unlike the Giants, have already begun the process of putting these days behind them.  They presently have a locker room filled with high draft picks that before long will likely have the Niners playing competitive football again.

The Giants, however, are still a piano falling out of the sky.  It behooves them to finally acknowledge that they've arrived at the end of another long cycle, and that it's time for another reset.

That decision, however, can not come from general manager Jerry Reese.  He'll only continue spinning the team bus wheels in the mud; throwing bad money here, and wasting another draft pick there.

A new direction must be decided upon by John Mara, who was on hand for Sunday's game at Levi's Stadium watching his grandfather's and father's team lose in rather embarrassing fashion, again.

In consecutive weeks, the Giants have now faced arguably the best and worst teams in the NFL.  Yet, their performance from game to game deviated very little.

With a fairly equal amount of offensive opportunity, the Giants gained 374 total yards in 29:30 minutes of possession against the Rams, then gained 310 total yards in 31:00 minutes against the Niners.  The Rams on the other hand amassed 473 total yards in 30:30 minutes of possession, while the Niners similarly totaled 474 yards in 29:00 minutes.  Both teams would join to defeat the Giants by a combined 82-38 disparity.

The respective outcome of these last two games are not a coincidence.  The numbers scream indifference; apathy; defeatism.

Otherwise, the entire 2017 season has indeed been a Big Blue Blight.

N.Y. Giants: Dysfunction, Junction, What's Your Malfunction?

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

Lunatics Are Ruling The Asylum, Again

New York Football Giants: Dysfunction Tends To Slip Into Every Team's Locker Room From Time to Time; How John Mara Intends To Address This Is What Most Interests Me.

When I think back upon instances of Big Blue dysfunction, Wellington Mara's 30-year rebuilding plan comes to mind.  That era was highlighted the very first fan inspired/hired prop plane towing a sign in protest over the Giants practice field.

Then there's Wellington's rift with his brother, necessitating the NFL Commissioner to intercede, and force the Giants into hiring George Young as their general manager.  On that note, there was Pete Rozell laughing it up over Young's selection of an unknown quarterback named Phil Simms out of Morehead State.

Soon thereafter, Bill Parcells went just 3-12-1 in his first season as head coach, and almost got fired as a result.

Lawrence Taylor ... no comment.

When I think dysfunction, I think back on two disastrous seasons under former head coach Ray Handley.

Fast forward a few years to the Jim Fassel era, when he gladly let the lunatics run the asylum.  There was the infamous mental meltdown against the Minnesota Vikings in the 1997 playoffs, in which Giants players starting fighting among themselves on the field, as well as on the sidelines.  Then there was the far more egregious mental meltdown during the 2002 playoffs in San Francisco against the 49ers, in which they blew a 38-16 lead with less than five minutes left in the third quarter.

Jim Fassel wound up leaving a veritable Animal House behind led by Michael Strahan, Keith Hamilton, Tiki Barber, Jeremy Shockey, and a few other prominent frat house pledges.

Tiki Barber's relationship with new coach Tom Coughlin, as well as that of Michael Strahan's with  Coughlin and Jerry Reese devolved to cantankerous levels, and absolutely wreaked of dysfunction.

We also saw what happened in 2007 when Jeremy Shockey sustained a season ending injury, thus freeing the Giants from his dysfunctional oppression of Eli Manning.

These days, the very mention of Odell Beckham's name has become a divisive issue because of the very dysfunction he's perceived to have brought to the team.  His history of immaturity, questionable behavior, and complete lack of professionalism prior to his injury continued undeterred.  Therefore, Coughlin and McAdoo both enabling Beckham the whole time is yet another level of dysfunction.

Dysfunction is Eli Apple saying the club needs a culture change; it's players leaving the field during games; and it's the odd circumstances surrounding Coach McAdoo suspension of Dominique-Rogers Cromartie.

Dysfunction is the background scuttlebutt suggesting Coach McAdoo is losing the team's respect.

There's only one man whom can rectify, or even eliminate, this entire current state of dysfunction presently afflicting the New York Giants - that's John Mara.

With this season already all but lost, when will his patience run out?  Mr. Mara is not afraid to draw a line in the sand and hold his employees to it.  He also possesses reasonable cause to blow this thing up.

The Giants have been hampered by the salary cap, and have drafted poorly for years.  Posting an aggregate record of 39-46 with one playoff appearance since the confetti stopped raining on Super Bowl XLVI, should indeed be making Jerry Reese feel very uncomfortably.

I know Mr. Mara will let Ben McAdoo and Jerry Reese finish out the season.  Mr. Mara is going to make them own this debacle.  After which, should the team finish the season under similar circumstances, I can almost guarantee the owner will make the next move.

N.Y. Giants: There is no MiamiGate

From the desk of: DO IT FOR THE DUKE

What is this issue you speak of...?

New York Football Giants: Beckham's Big Blue Brush Off

Odell Beckham Jr. said there is no link between MiamiGate and Sunday's loss to the Packers.

I guess that's it then ... because OBJ said so.

In other words, stay tuned for his next feat of unchecked narcissism, at a time and place of his choosing.

If I didn't fear cultural imprisonment for being a millennial age dissident, I'd swear he was censuring me.

And there's the rub...

This generation wants to be liked, followed, and befriended on social media.  They are intoxicated with the ability to live out and self-promote fantastic, self-idealized lives (whether real, imagined, or otherwise).

World wide social media is completely unique to this generation.  Instant self-exposure, notoriety, and even fame, are now measured by one's digital heat index, or, one's social media activity.  They have somehow weaved real life into a wi-fi fantasy, and vice-versa.  This has even supplanted reality for some.

Make no mistake - modesty has left the building.

Self-aggrandizement is now anthem of the day.

And now for the inescapable culture clash...

Growing up, my generation knew athletes weren't saints, and the older we got the less we wanted to learn about their private lives.  In the 1980s, we still maintained a mind your own business attitude.   Nowadays, every one's business is just a click, or an app away.

That being said, my generation gave birth to these people, who's every day has become its own mini reality adventure for all the world to see and like.  My generation thought they were going to outsmart their kids by spending more time being their friends than being actual parents and risk being the bad guys.

Sarcasm, however, is a trait my generation excels at.  My generation wrote the book on passive aggressive.  We Generation X'ers were angrier than the Baby Boomers.  Where the Boomers said never trust anyone over 30, my generation was telling everyone (including the Boomers) to f*** off.

• A phrase I learned in the 1980s: teenagers are people who will one day grow up to be as stupid as they thought their parents once were.

In a few words, Gen X was defiant, antagonistic, and supremely skeptical.  Said another way, we maintained social circles, social loops, and even social clubs.  But if you weren't mingling, you didn't matter.  Even then, we trusted no one.

Right to privacy still means something to Generation X'ers.  That's why the willingness of millennials to live their lives on public social media assaults our senses.

Odell is right.  Technically, without accountability, there's no link.

I'm just gonna have to suck it up.

Shame on me for not being a professional athlete.

*          *          *

Jerry Reese said the Giants will help Odell Beckham Jr. with the process of growing up.

*         *          *

Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor.  Victor Cruz had it within his power to avoid any and all controversies.  I place full responsibility of MiamiGate on him for failing to implement leadership.

N.Y. Giants: Three Cheers for Mediocrity

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

New York Football Giants: Jerry Reese's off-season investment upgraded to hold.

The New York Giants achieved par with a close victory over the Baltimore Ravens.  

But is today's 3-3 record tomorrow's 8-8 season?

Think about it...

While it's true, the Giants aerial exploits have been pretty damn astonishing, 35-year old Eli Manning is nevertheless throwing behind an offensive line he has little confidence in, has no tight end to speak of, and is minus backfield outlet Shane Vereen.  

Yet Eli, Victor Cruz, Sterling Shepard, and of course Odell Knucklehead Jr., have the Giants offense ranking 2nd in the NFL in overall passing yards, and 3rd in passing yards per game.

As we've seen, however, the running game is non-existent.  Little Blue ranks 27th in the league in overall rushing, and 30th in rushing yards per game.  

In turn, the Giants rank 21st in overall points scored, and 25th in points scored per game.  Through six games, the Giants have scored 116 points for an average of 19.3 per game, while their opponents have scored 131 points against them, for an average of 21.8 points per game.  That's a 2 1/2 point handicap they must overcome.

Defensively, if last season was rock bottom, then all indications to date at least point towards mediocrity:

• 12th yards allowed.
• 14th yards allowed per game.
• 10th passing yards allowed.
• 11th passing yards allowed per game.
• 15th least rushing yards allowed.
• 12th least rushing yards allowed per game.
• 17th most points allowed.
• 14th least points allowed per game.

Said another way, Jerry Reese is presently breaking even on his off-season investments, but getting killed on fees.  On Wall Street, that's called a dog.

In football, it's called running with the pack.

N.Y. Giants: Revamped Defense Seeking to Establish a Trend

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

Reese's Defensive Pieces Making Him Look Smart ... Again

New York Football Giants: Revamped defense must validate last week's strong peformance against the Saints with an even stronger effort against Kirk Cousins and division rival Washington.

The Giants enter this year's first clash against Washington undefeated, while the Hogs are still seeking their first victory.

That makes Washington a desperate team, in turn giving this superstitious fan enough reason to believe things can go completely wrong Sunday ... if only just because.

My anxieties aside, Week Three is about legitimizing two weeks of play ... or not.

The defense has played well, and is improved from one game to the next.  In Week Three, they'll either take another promising step forward, or experience their first real setback.  Which will it be?

Since actions speak louder than words, this year's defensive performance so far reflects very well upon Jerry Reese's off-season improvements - a small sample size, but nonetheless.

Big Blue allowed the Cowboys 328 net yards in Week One, but held them to under 20 points.

They followed with a rather impressive Week Three effort against New Orleans, holding them
to 13 points and 288 total net yards.  Brees was limited to just 263 yards on 44 attempts, was sacked twice, and hit on six other occasions.  That in itself was an accomplishment, considering Brees threw for 505 yards against last season's inferior defense.  A good New Orleans running game was additionally held to just 41 yards rushing.

After two weeks, the total splits reflect nicely, and the dividends even more so for Jerry Reese.  The Giants have allowed a total of 31 points and 616 net yards, which averages to 15 points and 308 yards per game (only 71 yards per game on the ground).

All we can ask now is for them to keep improving.

There's a saying - once is an occurrence, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a trend.  And so we'll see if the defense can establish a pattern, and perhaps even create a defensive identity, again.

They'll be up against Kirk Cousins, whom scuttlebutt says is not the most loved member among his D.C. team mates.  If the Giants continue bottling up the run as they've been, Kirk Cousins will be forced to put the ball in the air perhaps more than Washington is comfortable with.

With the defensive line playing well so far, look for them to force up many 50/50 balls.  That's where Janoris Jenkins, Dominique Rogers Cromartie, and Eli Apple come in.


#DivisionGamesMatter

The Giants enter Sunday with a 1-0 division record.  If history has taught us anything, it's that they must continue gaining every division advantage possible over their arguably weaker division rivals, or be haunted by potential failures later in the season.

Last season, the Giants defeated the Hogs 32-21 in Week #3 at home, then fell 20-14 in Week #12 at Washington.

I like the match-ups, and if the Giants play smartly, they should end the day 3-0 and in firm control of the NFC East.

N.Y. Giants: Coach McAdoo Earns Week Two Game Ball

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE..!

Game Ball Goes to Coach McAdoo 

for demanding the New York Football Giants take better care of

"THE DUKE"

WEEK TWO FINAL

Saints    13

Giants   16

New York Football Giants: Coach McAdoo's reinvestment in the run, and Doing It For The Duke will get him far.

After two games head coach Ben McAdoo is undefeated.

Make no mistake, there's great value starting 2-0 in a 16 game season.  After all, you can't win division titles in September, but you certainly can lose them.  So, give the man his due.

But what Coach McAdoo has actually accomplished in two short weeks as first time head coach of the Giants needs more context.

Passing Aggressive Personality Disorder: Eli, Gilbride, and Coughlin.

For better and for worse, Eli Manning and former offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride spent years routinely leading the NFL in most yards attempted per pass - all with Tom Coughlin's blessings, of course.

Their system was good enough to win a pair of Super Bowls.  But on a year-in-year-out basis, such high risk/high reward down field passing would certainly increase Manning's odds of getting intercepted.

Sure enough, in 2007 Eli led the league in interceptions during his first season under Gilbride.  In 2010, Eli attempted his most passes under Gilbride to that point of his career, and wound up topping the league for a second time with 25 interceptions.  By 2013, times grew considerably more dire for both Kevin Gilbride and Tom Coughlin. In his final season under Gilbride, Eli Manning led the league in interceptions for a third time in his career, which perhaps more than anything, spoke about the Giants depleted running capabilities, poor defense, and overall mounting desperation.

With the Giants disappointing 7-9 record requiring a sacrificial lamb, Kevin Gilbride took the hit for his friend Tom Coughlin by notifying the organization of his retirement from football.

Say what you will about Kevin Gilbride (I do), he still maintained a balanced attack. Although he often drew the ire of Giants fans (myself included) for what I called his endless search for the perfect pass play, he knew how and when, and did utilize his running game effectively (creativity withstanding) ... back when the Giants could.  But once center Shaun O'Hara retired, the rest of the offensive line and running game deteriorated in kind shortly thereafter.

That's a main reason why by 2014-15 Tom Coughlin had become an exponentially desperate head coach, who perhaps limited much of new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo's play calling autonomy.

Coughlin all but abandoned his already inconsequential running game that now featured an untenable, counter-productive four back rotation.  At the same time, Eli was setting career highs with 600+ pass attempts in consecutive seasons as the Giants began incorporating a more west coast style system.

But after two straight 6-10 seasons and 12 seasons overall as head coach of the New York Giants, Tom Coughlin unavoidably gave way last year for the promotion of Ben McAdoo.

Meet the New Boss

Jerry Reese arguably dealt Coughlin a losing hand in his latter years as head coach.  For the moment, that remains another matter.

Today, after just two weeks of play, there's little debating how much more head coach McAdoo is benefiting from better quality personnel, particularly on defense.

As offensive coordinator, he noticeably shortened up Manning's passing game, thus making him a more efficient quarterback. Eli limited himself to 14 INT's in each of his two seasons under OC McAdoo.

But the most welcome change from one regime to the next has been head coach McAdoo's reinvestment in the running game.

Last year, the Giants threw the ball 76 times, and only rushed 42 times through the first two games of the season against Dallas and Atlanta.  The Giants utilized four different backs against Dallas, while three rushed in week two against Atlanta.

This season, first year head coach McAdoo and first year offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan have elected to pass 69 times, and rush 52 times.  Rashad Jennings and Shane Vereen have been the lone ball carriers, with the exception of Orleans Darkwa making his first and only rush of the season against the Saints.

All this sort of confirms Tom Coughlin's operational level of desperation.  The change is proving refreshing.

All that being said, once is an event, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a trend.  So let's see how things play out in Week Three.

Tugging at Big Blue's Heartstrings

Ben McAdoo spent ten years working under Mike McCarthy in New Orleans, San Francisco, and of course in Green Bay, prior to his arrival in New York.  With a credible resume, hiring McAdoo as offensive coordinator in 2014 was viewed, then, as somewhat of a layup - easily chalked up to career progression.

Instead, the general apprehension lay in having a 39 year old head coach.

Anyone savvy enough to invoke The Duke is wise beyond his years.  Perhaps a calculated move on McAdoo's part, but one that should have some members of the media feeling embarrassed of themselves for not catching it.

Starting the season 2-0 is nice too.

I'm sure Wellington would approve.

N.Y. Giants: New Big Blue Defense Faces First Real Test

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

2016

HOME OPENER

New Orleans Saints

vs.

New York Giants

FROM

The Swamps of East Rutherford

New York Football Giants: The Spotlight Will Be Shining Brightly on Jerry Reese's Expensive Defensive Pieces as Drew Brees and the Saints Come Marching In for Big Blue's Home Opener.

Despite Big Blue limiting Dallas to 19 points, possessing the ball for a mere 23:17 on offense against the New Orleans Saints simply will not do.  That's exactly how long the Giants held the ball last Sunday against the Cowboys, who ran 21 more offensive plays.

Minus Tony Romo, Dallas' major shortcomings occurred in the red zone with backup quarterback Dak Prescott taking snaps.  Questionable football acumen on the part of a certain Cowboys receiver on the game's final play is another reason to ponder Big Blue's week one victory.

Now the Saints come marching in to MetLife Stadium.

If you recall (or chose not to) it was the Saints edging out the Giants last season on a late field goal for a head-shaking 52-49 victory in New Orleans.  Drew Brees threw for (39 of 50) 505 yards and seven touchdowns.  All the while, the Saints still incorporated more running plays than the Giants.

That's absurd!

Giving the ball to Drew Brees for nearly 37:00 minutes is clearly begging for trouble.  Therefore, part and parcel to defending against Brees is keeping him on the sidelines.  That means employing yet another balanced offensive attack.

The strength of the Giants offense is obviously Eli connecting with OBJ and Cruz.  But they need to run ball just as they did in the fourth quarter against Dallas ... with power ... in order to exert a greater measure of control over the clock.

Even more absurd regarding last year's loss to the Saints, was the Giants managing no sacks, and registering an inconsequential three quarterback hits.

In 2015 the Giants defense allowed 400+points for a second straight season prompting beleaguered general manager Jerry Reese into spending huge sums of money during the off-season on available free agents.

The Giants require efficiency on both sides of the ball in order to get this done.  But all eyes, particularly those of Jerry Reese, owner John Mara, and every fan in attendance Sunday, will be on the defense.

After a tune-up against Dallas, this revamped unit will undergo its first real test of the 2016 season.   They must somehow disrupt Drew Brees yet still be very mindful of a very effective New Orleans running game.

Devon Kennard still leads a suspect group of linebackers.  Coach Spags need to be able to rely on at least two of them in order to maximize his blitz packages, otherwise they'll lack teeth.  Drew Brees will no doubt try crossing up Landon Collins and Craig Dahl, but free agent Janoris Jenkins and Dominique Rogers Cromartie give the Giants a very strong tandem at corner back.  That in turn, could and should help the boys up front get to the quarterback.

There was no mistaking Jerry Reese's true off-season priority lay in the front four.  The re-signed Jason Pierre-Paul, along with new free agent line mates Olivier Vernon and Damon Harrison, and even the returning Cullen Jenkins (cut by Washington), must now all live up to their half of the deal,

... or the general manager gets it.

New York Giants: Jerry Reese's Last Stand

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

Year of the Reese

New York Football Giants: Jerry Reese's Turn to Sink or Swim.

The Giants own a sub par 28-36 record over the four years since winning Super Bowl XLVI.

They're no doubt seeking to snap a streak of three consecutive losing seasons since going 9-7 during their Super Bowl follow up.  It's been roughly 35 years since the Giants last strung together this many losing campaigns.  Back in 1981, Ray Perkins finally put an end to eight straight losing seasons with the ever temperamental 9-7 record.

The Giants are additionally coming off back-to-back 6-10 seasons.  They have not suffered back-to-back seasons of double-digit losses since Jim Fassel's last stand in 2003 and Tom Coughlin's first year in 2004.

There have been ramifications for all this losing.  Since winning their last Lombardi Trophy, the Giants have jettisoned two defensive coordinators, one offensive coordinator, and a future HOF head coach.

This means all eyes will be on Jerry Reese.  Under him, the Giants have strayed from their traditional core values of strong defense and a ball control running game.  Rather, the running game is non existent, while the defense has allowed in excess of 400 points in each of the last two seasons.

Jerry Reese, then, is next on the chopping block.  He knows it.  Mr. Mara knows it.  And fans know it.
By season's end, John Mara in turn will be faced with a potentially team altering decision.

Will the Giants continue forward with Jerry Reese as their general manager?

The 53 players he fields will ultimately decide.

PIGSKIN 2016: OPENING SUNDAY

PIGSKIN

FOOTBALL SUNDAY

Week One

To PIGSKIN regulars, welcome back you bunch of animals!  If you're new to this, thanks for hopping aboard my Trolley.

Full disclosure, I am a Giants fan, but I do not hate the Jets.  You'll find I treat them very fairly.  In truth, I would probably still be a New Jersey Generals fan as well, were it not for Donald Trump killing the USFL.

Codes of Conduct and PIGSKIN Protocol:

• My weekly PIGSKIN picks are posted on Friday evenings, and I most often use the NYDN Friday line.  I have a real life like most of you, so if my picks are late in getting posted, they're late!  They'll otherwise be posted sometime before Sunday.  

• I run a Sunday cult ... thank you.  I do not bother with Monday and Thursday games unless the Giants or Jets are involved.  The only other exceptions are Thanksgiving and Saturday games in December.

• Please allow me to call you an idiot in advance (if it applies) just in case you wind up blowing your life savings following my picks.  I can not stress this enough > > > your stupidity is not my fault.   These football prognostications are for entertainment purposes only.  This is about us talking football, and having a good time doing it.

• Last time I checked, this blog also wasn't anchored 12 miles off shore, or registered in the Cayman Islands.  I run a respectable joint.  We play for Bagels here.  Each game is worth one Bagel.  What's a Bagel without a schmear of goodness?  Therefore, I post one Schmear of the Week which is worth three Bagels.  A push, is a push, is a push ... no Bagel.

• PIGSKIN is politically incorrect, and will make damn good use of its soapbox, particularly where owners Jerry Jones and Daniel Snyder are involved.  Therefore, PIGSKIN does not recognize the football team from Washington as presently named.  They will be henceforth referred to as the D.C. Hogs. 

• More often than not, I post a Football Sunday menu (see below).

• Finally, one last piece of advice before we get started ... whatever I say about the Browns, go the other way.  They're as difficult to decipher as the DaVinci Code.  Funny thing though, Bernie Kosar is one of my favorite QBs of all time.

• The rest gets worked out as we go along.

Coin Flip:

• Jerry Reese is the GM of the New York Football Giants next season.
• Super Bowl 51 = Cardinals vs. Steelers?

1st and Ten:

• Appeal this, Tom Brady!  Commissioner Goodell is still the supreme exalted mystic grand high ruler of your universe.  See you in four games, smartphone wrecker.
• The first game of the season proves Cam Newton is a marked man, who received numerous questionable high hits in the jaw and helmet area.

2nd and Short:

• RG3 gets a fresh new start with the Cleveland Browns ... poor guy.
• Sam Bradford gets a fresh new start with the Vikings ... poor Minnesota.

No Gain:

• No more Peyton Manning.  
• No more Marshawn Lynch > > his post game interviews were classic.

Punt:

• Tim Tebow's baseball career by comparison will make his NFL career seem legendary.

Week One:

Giants PK (COWBOYS)
The Giants offense will be opposed by a dreadful Dallas front seven.  Big lightBlue's offensive line and running game have much to prove.  Hopefully Victor Cruz becomes a legit threat again, while Eli and OBJ continue to piling up points together.  Defensively, the Giants still need to Show Me the Money! was worth it.  Without Tony Romo, I'm sticking with the G-Men.
WIN  20-19 Giants

JETS -2 1/2 (Bengals)
The Cincinnati funky bunch ... They're really good, but you just never know to what extent they'll suck on a given Sunday.  I like the Jets balance.  Late arriving to camp, Ryan Fitzpatrick's timing should be in sync by now, and Revis Island is open for business.  That's a spread.  People want to believe in the Bengals, but can't commit.  I can see them covering this, but I'll take the chance they don't.
Loss  23-22 Bengals

FALCONS -3 (Bucs)
All eyes are on Matt Ryan.  Above all, the Falcons are interested in getting off to another fast start.  I just can't see them playing down to the Bucs ... as they did last year!  For Pete's sake!  This game could be, should be, better be....
Loss  31-24 Bucs

Vikings -2 (TITANS)
Sam Bradford?  I have some confidence the rest of the Vikings will get this done.  Vegas obviously has no confidence in the Titans.
WIN  25-16 Vikings

EAGLES -4 (Browns)
Remember what I said ... you've been warned.  Now throw RG3 into the mix.  But, yeah, the Eagles should beat the Cleveland Browns.  Right?
WIN  29-10 Eagles

Raiders +1 (SAINTS)
Some things change, while some do not. The Dome is no longer the Saints' safe haven.  Drew Brees is a richer man, but their yawn inspiring roster appears perfectly suited for the Big Sleepy.  The Raiders are not to be taken lightly.  They are among a pack of young emerging teams looking to unseat the old guard.
WIN  35-24 Raiders

CHIEFS -7 (Chargers)
This game speaks more about San Diego's demise than Kansas City's rise.  Seven points may be cutting this close.  Then again, the Chargers could very well get blown out.
PUSH  33-27 Chiefs

Bills +3 (RAVENS)
Buffalo is the Rexy pick here.  Baltimore is in the midst of a strangely slow and productive demise.  I foresee a defensive battle.  Rex lives for pick-six.
Loss 13-7 Ravens

TEXANS -6 (Bears)
J.J. Watt versus Jay Cutler.  The Bears QB deserves everything he gets.
WIN  23-14 Texans

Packers -5 1/2 (JAGUARS)
That's not a misprint.  The Jags are improving, but they need to prove themselves first.
Loss  27-23 Packers

SEAHAWKS -10 1/2 (Dolphins)
That's a lot of bait to lay.  Dolphins are not fish.  The team is not good.  Seahawks rule the day.
Loss  12-10 Seahawks

COLTS -3 1/2 (Lions)
The Lions best change for winning is if they score off turnovers.  Andrew Luck is just that kind of guy - just not Sunday.  There will be no need to take unnecessary chances.  The Detroit Kitties have lost their best mitten - Megatron.
Loss  39-35 Lions

CARDINALS -6 (Patriots)
Cardinals are still a strong outfit.  They take a back seat to no team.  But no Brady and no Gronk mean no dice for New England.
Loss  23-21 Patriots

D.C. HOGS +3 (Steelers)
The Steelers are gonna kick themselves after this one.
Loss  38-16 Steelers


*SCHMEAR of the WEEK:
Colts -3 1/2
LOSS

Guten Appetit:
Nothing crazy this weekend.  Will make a high stack of various finger sandwiches, homemade macaroni/potato salad, big mixed greens salad, homemade salsa with stuff from my garden, and fruit.


Good luck, and have a great Football Sunday everyone!


Post Game
Week One Record: 5-8-1
BAGELS in t he Basket:  -7

Giants vs. Jets: Snoopy Bowl VII

From the desks of:

DO IT FOR THE DUKE  and  WALT MICHAELS' REVENGE

FORTY-EIGHTH YEAR OF GIANTS/JETS PRE-SEASON FOOTBALL

THE TURF WARS

1969-2009

Jets lead the all-time pre-season series 25-21-1 over the Giants

SNOOPY BOWL

I -  NYG 31; NYJ 16       II - NYJ 17; NYG 3

III - NYG 26; NYJ 3        IV - NYJ 24; NYG 21

V - NYG 35; NYJ 24       VI - NYJ 28; NYG 18

VII

New York Giants

vs.

New York Jets

FROM

MetLife Stadium

If you derive satisfaction from gaining local bragging rights through this game, by all means have your fun.  I do not begrudge anyone for that.

I, however, view Saturday's game as nothing more than a scrimmage.  But if there ever was a meaningful pre-season game with actual implications, this would indeed be the one.  That said, my anticipation is sufficiently high.  For sake of team spirit then, lets go Giants!

Scrimmage Three is fairly straight forward - nothing fancy, just beat the man in front of you.  That makes this game a convenient way of gauging speed, instincts, and physicality, minus all the in-season brain work.  Therefore I'm not necessarily interested in winning Snoopy Bowl VII, but I will be keeping a very watchful and critical eye on certain aspects of Big Blue's game.

NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS: Lack of Offensive Balance Plagued the 2015 Giants.

The Giants last year demonstrated they can score points.  

This year should be no different, or will it?   

In 2015, their 420 total points ranked sixth in the NFL, for an average of 26.4 points per game.  In fact, Eli Manning and his receiving corp tied Tom Brady and his minions for the league's most touchdown receptions.

Rushing the ball, however, was a completely different matter.  The Giants rushed for a mere five touchdowns last season - easily last among the NFL's top ten scoring teams.  League wide, only San Diego rushed for less.  

That's called a one dimensional offense, and it needs to be corrected.

The offensive line's failure to create sufficient daylight certainly played a part in last year's overall rushing futility.  They're improving and slowly creating stability, but still have a ways to go, especially on the right side.  So I'll be paying particular attention to them come Saturday evening.

The running game's true phantom menace, however, were the coaches themselves, who ponderously employed a three, and sometimes four man backfield rotation.  Limiting their touches, hindering their ability to establish rhythm, and leaving them completely out of sync is not something they should repeat.

The Giants suffered lack of ball possession, plain and simple.  Sure the Giants can score, but they can not manage the game clock, much less dominate it, without an effective running game.  Last year was a perfect example.  The Giants failed to hold numerous 4th quarter leads because their lack of rushing prevented them from possessing the ball and killing the clock.

Dollar and a Prayer: Will Money Save Jerry Reese's Job?

Defensively speaking, Coach Spagnuolo and the players under him will ultimately determine whether Jerry Reese will still be serving in his present capacity this time next year.  The grace period earned for his part in securing the organization more Lombardy trophies is essentially over.  

Reese spent quite a Big Blue fortune this off-season revamping a woeful defense, and if this last ditch effort fails, I expect him to be relieved of his duties.

Here's what I'd like to know...

In each of the Giants four Super Bowl victories, they featured powerful running games.  Joe Morris, Otis Anderson, Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw all rushed behind superior offensive linemen.

Be it the old Washington Redskins or Denver Broncos, numerous clashes against the San Francisco 49ers, the Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers or New England Patriots, et al, the Giants wore their various opponents down to their preferred speed, managed the clock with defense and the running game, and generally put a stop to high powered spread formations, and west coast style offenses.

So ... if smash mouth football has been proven to work in any era, why then are the New York Football Giants so intent on becoming a west coast style offense - the very kind we used to defeat?

Just saying....

What tight end?

NEW YORK JETS: All Eyes On Ryan Fitzpatrick

Now that Ryan Fitzpatrick is back in the fold, the big question is can he duplicate last season's performance, in which he threw for career highs with 3,905 passing yards and 35 touchdowns.  

For the Jets sake, Fitz better ... because the situation surrounding Geno Smith is now bordering comical.  

Up front, the Jets offensive line will be as good as their center.  That's Nick Mangold's spot.  Nuf ced. With the expectation they'll will keep Ryan upright, Fitzpatrick will have plenty of weapons at his disposal.  Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker, Matt Forte, Bilal Powell, Kellen Davis, all should provide for a balanced attack.

Tourism Up on Revis Island

On the other side of the ball, Gang Green is still in search of a legitimate pass rush.  It's a situation that's hurt them before, and is bound to haunt them again.  And of course, Derrelle Revis still has as much to do with the Jets pass rush as anybody.  Their scheme will still be contingent on deception, and coverage.  Revis Island, however, is not the isolated paradise it once was.

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: Jerry Reese Facing a Reality 'Chick

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

That was then...

I got news for ya...

Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, and Michael Strahan

aren't walking through that door!

NEW YORK GIANTS: This game is largely a referendum on Big Blue general manager Jerry Reese.  Everyone finds out where Big Blue really stands Sunday afternoon.

For a few years previous to 2014, I started reading and hearing varying accounts to the effect how Bill Belichick should have replaced himself as GM in New England.

So ponderous were they, I nearly died laughing!

Therefore, let's talk truth, right here, right now.

Very simply, Robert Kraft hired Bill Belichick not only to be his head coach, but to become the Patriots' entire front office.  Since then, the New England Patriots have posted exactly one losing season (their initial one together back in 2000).

Moreover, the Patriots have only missed the playoffs twice in the first 15 years under Belichick.

In 2007, his team posted the first undefeated regular season of the 16-game schedule era. They've played in six Super Bowls, won four of them, and are obviously this year's defending champion (exactly 15 years after Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick, and Tom Brady won their first together).

As we know, Belichick and Tom Coughlin both served together under Bill Parcells.  Four years after Bill Belichick's career ended with the Giants, Jerry Reese's started.  Ironically, the Patriots only two Super Bowl defeats during the Belichick era came at the hands of Jerry Reese, Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning, and the New York Giants.

Jerry Reese indeed owns two Lombardi trophies, both at Belichick's expense.  Yet, each has their respective organization headed in opposite directions since the day they last met for a championship.

• With regards to personnel, Jerry Reese has failed to sustain what Ernie Accorsi started.  His overall draft results have been pedestrian at best - his salary cap management, even worse. 

• Whereas defense and the running game were once the Giants primary strengths, they are now the Giants primary weaknesses.

• The Giants literally haven't fielded an impact linebacker in decades.  They have six guys that between them can not generate a single sack, and a secondary as fragile and shallow as Donald Trump's ego. 

• Tom Coughlin is first and foremost a pass oriented coach.  Kevin Gilbride loved going long, but always tried maintaining some sort of balance between pass and run.  Under Ben McAdoo, the passing game has gone from long to short, which has statistically improved Eli Manning's efficiency.  The run, however, has become a mere afterthought.  They have four running backs whom they all use extremely ineffectively, and disturbingly infrequently.

Giants fans should be very clear about a few things regarding this team, and those Super Bowl teams.

First, both Super Bowl winners rushed the ball extremely well with Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw behind an exceptional offensive line.

Second, and more importantly, two huge reasons why the Giants twice beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl, (IMO), were Aaron Ross and Corey Webster.  They were shutdown corners for Steve Spagnuolo during the SB XLII run.  Then, many times during their XLVI season, former defensive coordinator Perry Fewell's system resulted in the secondary looking like Keystone Cops.  It wasn't until Fewell relented late in 2011 at the behest of his secondary, that Aaron Ross and Corey Webster were able to get back into man-coverage.  Once Fewell simplified his (stupid) plan, the pass rush helped the 9-7 Giants bull their way to another championship.

These guys couldn't bull there way through my tomato garden.

Old Rivals Meet Again

New England Patriots

vs.

New York Giants

FROM

Snoopy Stadium

THE SWAMP

I expect Tom Brady to relentlessly, and mercilessly attack the Giants linebackers all day long with crisscross patterns, wide receiver screens, and slant patterns.

Meanwhile, I expect Gronk to do anything he damn well pleases.  The Giants will be damned if they double or even triple cover him, and damned if they don't.  That said, Bill Belichick could just as easily have him line up, and help tenderize the Giants front seven with a strong running game - because they can - and Belichick would do it just to prove a point.

In any event, I expect the Patriots to dominate time of possession, and put up lots and lots of points.

In truth, I expect the Giants to play their worst game of the season.