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: 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.

N.Y. Giants ~ Back To The Land of Giants

From the desk of:   DO IT FOR THE DUKE

John Mara Leads Team Back To

THE LAND of GIANTS

Pre-Game Post: A Transcendental Championship Game

NEW YORK GIANTS FOOTBALL:  "Did Ya See Us Last Night Pop?  I Told You I Got This.  And You Would Have Been Proud of Mom Too."




It wasn't freezing this time like on that night in Green Bay four years ago; just extremely wet.  The game wasn't played in the legendary frozen tundra of Lambeau Field either.  Although the Media chill Tom Coughlin suffered this season would have broken a lesser man.  But he, and we, have been there and done that.  Instead, Sunday night's setting was a blast from Big Blue's past.  The New York Giants went back to a place where they made history once before by willing their way through one of the most tightly contested upsets in NFC Championship Game history.



This Sunday's game was another classic played in one of today's grandfathers of football stadiums against the 49ers.  The contest evolved similarly to the game played twenty-one years ago replete with stout defense, fumbles, and field goals.  In 1991, Lawrence Taylor recovered a Roger Craig fumble.  Matt Bahr then nailed a 42 yard field goal sending the Giants to Super Bowl XXV.  Twenty-one years later, the Giants returned to a rain-soaked Candlestick Park this time; recovered a fumble; and kicked an NFC Championship winning field goal....again.  Only this time it was a new generation of Giants that broke the hearts of San Francisco and propelled them into another Super Bowl.  Unlike that team of twenty-one years ago, this edition needed overtime to finalize victory, which just made it sweeter; and colorfully more historic.  But for more than a dozen or so Giant players and the Head Coach, STILL HERE since the 2007 season, they are now trying to get Lombardi Trophy number two; just like that NFC Championship team of 1990-91 was.



In the unlikeliest of manners, the Giants beat the 49ers with Special Teams.  San Francisco was supposed to be a superior team than us in that respect.  One the one hand, they were that good.  On the other, Giants' Special Teams have always had their problems.  And for portions of the game, it seemed as if the Niners held a huge advantage in that respect.  But in classic confrontations such as this one where mistakes were held to a minimum, the team who made the last mistake lost.



*Thank You - Steve Weatherford whom I've jokingly but routinely dubbed our pseudo-MVP this season, for continuing to have a great season punting the ball.  When it comes to matters of field position, he's been more than just a punter.  He's been a force.  Once upon a playoff era, Bill Parcells would have been proud of his kicker on a night like this.  This Sunday, Ol' Tom Coughlin was the beneficiary of his fine performance.  And glory be to Weatherford for getting that last snap down!

*Thank You - Devin Thomas for his effort to get down field after getting pushed out of bounds by two 49ers blockers, and for having the presence of mind to recover a live ball touched by the Niners.

*Thank You - Jacquian Williams, the rookie, similarly for his down field punt coverage, and for sticking his hand exactly where it needed to be when the Giants needed a big break most.

*Thank You - Lawrence Tynes for planting one sure foot into the soggy Candlestick turf and using the other foot to keep kicking Big Blue forward.



That 49ers' defense was as tough as advertised.  They completely dominated the Giants' Offensive Line all night long - (more about that later today!)  They totally took away the run right up until the very last few rushes by Ahmad Bradshaw which set up Tynes' field goal.  How good was the Niner Defense?  The Giants held the ball more than ten minutes longer than the 49ers and ran thirty-three more plays than San Francisco.  Yet we only out-gained them in total offense by twenty-four yards.



They beat, battered, pummelled, and pounded Eli Manning.  Sometimes Eli saw the rush coming.  Sometimes he didn't.  It didn't matter because he knew the rush was coming regardless, and that it was going to hit him; and that it was going to happen throughout the game.  Eli took hits; many hits; hard hits; and looked downright dishevelled at times.  He got sacked six times.  But he never fumbled.  Eli never even blinked with the Niners and the rain continually in his face.  He just kept staying tough and launching footballs into the heart of San Francisco.  Fifty-eight times Eli tried defying mother nature and the Niners.  Thirty-two passes found safety in the wet hands of his receivers.  By the end of the night, Eli Manning had thrown for 316 rain-drenched yards.  The Niners could have had interceptions, but missed their chances.  Instead, what they got were two more touchdown passes from The Aw-Shucks Kid.  In yet another great Championship Game, Eli stood out as the game's greatest player.



But none of this happens without another Herculean effort by the Defense.  The stats say San Francisco did so much more with their possessions than the Giants did with theirs.  With less time of possession and less plays from scrimmage, the Niners wracked-up almost as many yards as Big Blue.  The Giants may have given up over one-hundred yards rushing between Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter, and still more through catches out of the back field.  But they were controlled yards.  Instead, the Giants stymied San Francisco by dominating third down.  The Niners were held to one first down in thirteen tries.  And other than two TD passes to Vernon Davis, Alex Smith, the 49er offense, and Vernon Davis himself, could muster little else.



Chase Blackburn played huge.  JPP was a Wall of One.  And pass coverage was outstanding; save two plays.  Over the last few weeks, the Secondary has become a blanket.  In turn, the Secondary's success is coming from the Giants ability to maintain quarterback pressure with four guys.  Led by Justin Tuck, they flushed Alex Smith from the pocket, batted some passes, hit him often, and sacked him three times.  Together with overall good tackling, the Defensive effort was just enough to get the Giants through regulation, overtime, and off to Indianapolis to play in another Super Bowl.



The night ended perfectly as Terry Bradshaw was forced to look at winning coach Tom Coughlin in the eye yet again.  That was always Bill Parcell's favorite part; proving the naysayers- "The Commies" - "the subversives from within" ..., wrong.  But even before that, the re-education of Terry Bradshaw had begun.  The Family would have their say first.  Watching John Mara; the man who believed in Tom Coughlin; and his Mom; - Mrs. Duke - Mrs. Ann Mara - THE MATRIARCH - just destroy Terry Bradshaw and telling him Where to Stick It was the most satisfying part of the whole night.  Don't Worry Pop.  I Got This!



Now That's GIANTS FOOTBALL!!



YEeeeeeeeaAHH!







Mike.BTB

N.Y. Giants ~ Eagles II - Fight or Flight

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

NEW YORK GIANTS FOOTBALL:

We're Playing the Eagles, But Battling Demons.

GAME TEN

The Knock-Out Punch; Do The Giants Have It In Them?

My fellow Giant Fans, the time for our team to collectively put up or shut up is upon us.  We have before us an opportunity to redeem ourselves in light of last year's season gone wrong at the hands of the Eagles, and in doing so, make this season right.   After nine football games, we find ourselves in first place despite what should have been season debilitating injuries for most teams.  Yet here we are.  And now the Giants are down to the Seven Deadly Games on their schedule.  Sunday, they'll not only be playing an old division foe, they'll be playing against their own recent history of falling short down the stretch. 



The last thing the Giants want to do is let the Eagles back into the division race by losing this Sunday; not when a Giants' win can effectively eliminate Philadelphia from the playoff picture.  Dallas however is another matter.  Having seemingly collected themselves, they are now entering the easiest portion of their schedule.  Sunday they play the dreadful Washington Redskins.  A Giants loss and a Dallas win would land the two teams in a tie for first place of the NFC East.




How we got to 6-3 no longer matters.  With Dallas breathing down our necks, the Giants' defining portion of their season starts...now.  The relative quiet we've enjoyed this season and the time for self aggrandizement is over.  Earlier wins over the Eagles and Patriots have given Giant fans confidence.  And why not?  We're a good team.  But stay grounded people.  Those two games are distant memories now.  Adversity is on the way.  And the true test of a team's character is how they respond when faced with such.  The Cowboys and Eagles afforded the Giants early season conditions to exist relatively free of external threats because A) - the Cowboys suffered through a horrific start, and B) - the Eagles are currently in the midst of a crippling melt-down.  What I'm saying is, don't get cocky!  Now more than ever, it's time to keep our attention to detail.  Every snap from center in this upcoming game and moving forward carries with it the weight of a Big Blue world.




Many times in my football life as a fan, a Giants' loss played into my moods for the rest of the week. However, last week's loss against San Francisco not so much.  I've seen that game before.  And I've seen us recover as well.  So it spared me from lamenting too long over a very winnable game in the second half of the season.




Fact is, we had our chances.  And that's what matters to me; that my team is capable enough to put itself into winning situations.  So there's solace in my feeling that if we should take the field against San Francisco again tomorrow, the Giants can win.  That's not a knock against the 49ers.  They're having a great season and deserved to win.  I just speak from a standpoint of confidence I have in the Giants.  Quite frankly, we did many things better than the Niners last Sunday, except manage the final score.



But this week is a little different than the 49ers.  Since my days watching Lawrence Taylor terrorize Ron Jaworski, the damnedest things happen during Giants/Eagles games.  It didn't matter if it was Randall Cunningham, Donovan McNabb, or these days, Michael Vick on the other side.  Guys like Reggie White and Harold Carmichael, to LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson, have all been part of  some of the most incredulous games I've ever suffered through.  Look no further than at last year's disastrous final minutes the last time Philly came to Giants Stadium.  There's two things I know about Giants/Eagles games; they're never fun until the game is over, and then, only if you win.




Somehow, it doesn't matter who's on the field.  These games have a life of their own.  Philly will be without Michael Vick.  The Giants will be missing Michael Boley this week, and Ahmad Bradshaw will sit out again.  And so what...  The only way I'll feel better about Sunday night prior to playing is if the Eagle's team bus breaks down on the Jersey Turnpike and they're not present for kick-off.  Otherwise, I'm not listening to that nonsense about the Eagles' 3-6 record and a Philly-Fade.  Talk to me about that on Monday morning.



But here we are none the less.  The Giants can deliver their first truly big blow of the 2011 regular season against the Eagles Sunday evening and therefore dictate the conversation regarding how strongly, or not, they'll finish this year.  It's in their hands.  We're going to find out if they have enough punching power to deliver a knock-out blow, or if they are just going to rope-a-dope their way through another disappointing finish.



The first nine games  of the season were merely a forward.  The story on the Giants 2011 season is still yet to be written.  All that starts now.  But first, they must exorcise the demon of 2010 in order for them to move on.




Let's Go Giants!

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

Philadelphia Eagles

(Est. 1933)

vs.

NEW YORK GIANTS

(Est. 1925)

From

The Big Blue Stadium

Mike.BTB