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: Do It For The Duke, or Else

From the desk of:   DO IT FOR THE DUKE

 

Proceed With Caution!

NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS: That's Not Erie Silence You Hear Emanating From The Owner's Box - It's John Mara Grinding His Teeth and Seething.  Memo To Big Blue Players, There Is Only One True GIANT, And You Work For Him.

John Mara is his own person, and runs the Giants organization admiringly as far as I'm concerned.  He certainly has his own way about him, and wouldn't hesitate imparting some knowledge upon this team if he felt it was warranted.  His father's influence (rest his soul) has most likely, if not assuredly spared, or should I say saved, the uniformed members of this football team from such an episode - so far.

Wellington Mara was a patient man, and before he passed away, he taught his son the fine art of temperance.  The younger John was somewhat of a hot head.  If you saw how Ann reprimanded Terry Bradshaw after SBVLVI, it's easy to understands where he may have gotten that from.  Joking aside, but at the same time in all seriousness, that's not necessarily my observation or opinion.  They're John Mara's, forwarded by himself through the years.  Make no mistake.  John Mara is the alpha of this Big Blue organization, and players are well aware of the family history.  It comes with being a Giant, so there is no way of it eluding or escaping anyone who dons the uniform.  That said, in their current state, these players will never feel the really truly embarrassment of having to look into Wellington Mara's eyes.  To that I say, what a shame!  It was hard not taking one his looks to heart.  The modern environment of football is much more cold and impersonal than the days of shame and accountability.  These days, you just get cut.  That's Jerry Reese's department.  But in the land of Giants, a glare from the owner is just as relevant, and as potent as it ever was under Tim Mara, his son, or presently under Tim's grandson.

Jon Mara doesn't speak publicly much, although he is quite available.  Be sure.  Instead, he is very adept at choosing his moments.  When he does speak, the uniformed members of this team had better listen very intently.  He makes it easy on the listener, because he doesn't mince words.  He's commented publically regarding team performance before in less dire straights than the current dilemma facing the team.  I expect the New York Football Giants to make an appearance on the local airways soon, or not.  But for the players sake, let me be wrong.

Hence, the Giants portion of my blog is titled:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE..!

And another thing for those who've strayed - don't you know, that in one form or another Coach Tom Coughlin is enmeshed in all this team's history of the last twenty-five years as well?  With two SB trophies to his credit as Head Coach, this organization will not be forcing Coach out the door.  The Giants suffer personnel issues, not head coaching issues.  It is understandable for us fans to be upset.  But dumping on Coughlin as a first resort will no longer be excused.  Now shape up, and get back in line.



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