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Blogs • Giants

Dec 12, 2011

Part Of The Solution And Problem For Giants

The Giants came away with the win, which is all that matters. But despite the elation from last night that has carried over into today, it’s time to look at the old saying, “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.”

This column was originally published on WFAN.com on Dec. 12, 2011.

Five minutes and 41 seconds. That’s the amount of time that separated Tom Coughlin and his coaching staff from turning in their three-weeks notice and guaranteeing that they wouldn’t be part of the New York Giants organization after Week 17.

I was prepared to open this column with an exchange between Michael Scott and Pam Beesly on the day they found out that the Michael Scott Paper Company was broke.

Michael Scott: Did I ever tell you about the day that Steve Martin died?

Pam Beesly: Steve Martin’s not dead, Michael.

Michael Scott: I know. But I always thought, that the day that he died would be the worst day of my life and I was wrong. It’s this.

That’s what Sunday night was shaping up to be. Another terrible memory added to the now long list of terrible memories and moments in recent Giants history. And with five minutes and 41 seconds left in the game, the Giants trailing by 12 points with two timeouts and a defense that couldn’t get a stop, I thought the Giants’ season was over. Actually I knew it was over. Dez Bryant had just been left so open on the field that the there wasn’t another player on the TV when the NBC camera found the him and the ball, and Rambo-like flashbacks of DeSean Jackson backpedaling into the end zone while dancing and laughing in Week 14 in 2009 clouded my mind. The season was over.

I had used the commercial break to ease the pain of the Giants’ loss, and convince myself that they didn’t deserve to be in the playoffs, and that if they did make the playoffs they would just get embarrassed anyway. I remembered thinking that the season was over after their Week 1 loss to the Redskins and that they weren’t going anywhere in 2011 with the injuries, and that getting to Week 14 was an accomplishment. It was like I had just used my entire checking account on a bar tab, and I was trying to justify it to myself, and trying to think of a way to twist it so that I wouldn’t feel so terrible about what had happened. “It was worth it. You only live once. This is what your 20s are for.” When in reality, it’s hard to justify buying $10 beers and $18 drinks for four hours the same way it’s hard to rationalize getting repeatedly sucked back into the Giants over the course of a season and constantly believing the team will come back.

I was willing to do anything to have the Giants win Sunday’s game in the form of a dagger that the Eagles delivered to the Giants in Week 14 last year. I said I would watch Saturday Night Live every week for the next five years. I would listen to Nickelback and only Nickelback from now until the end of January. I would read Snooki’s book and watch Pan Am and Kourtney and Kim Take New York. I would only use the ends of loaves of bread for sandwiches for the next month, and wake up at 4 a.m. all winter and run 10 miles. I would watch the Seahawks-Rams on Monday Night Football and attend a Nets game this year. I would do any of these things for the Giants to beat the Cowboys and keep their postseason aspirations alive. (So, yeah, I have a lot of horrible things to do and accomplish. And I probably should have said I would do these things if they beat the Cowboys and made the playoffs because if they lose to the Redskins or the Jets or the Cowboys and then don’t make the playoffs, that’s going to be devastating.)

Last night wasn’t the type of game that the Giants win. It was the type of game that the Giants lose. Never, ever, ever the type of game that they come back and win. It was the type of game where they drag you along and lead you on before they break your heart, only to put it back together before shattering it again with a sledgehammer. And they did their best to do this, and they tried to do it right up until the final play of the game (or the final play that mattered which was the missed field-goal attempt since the actual final play was an Eli Manning kneel).

That’s not me being negative or pessimistic. That’s me being a realist. Even Giants owner John Mara agrees with me, and he owns the team! He said so after the game: “The best thing is we got our season back tonight. It would be nice to have an easy tin for a change, but I don’t know if that is in our DNA.”

The Giants did get their season back like I thought they would before the game, but not with 5:41 left to play. They took care of their own business for the first time since beating the Patriots five weeks ago and they temporarily paused the second-half collapse, which is something they haven’t been able to do in past seasons.

The Giants won because they played with urgency when they had no other choice. I talked about this a few weeks ago. The Giants play to the level of their opponent, and they don’t play at the level we expect them to play at until the fourth quarter when it’s nearly too late and when one mistake will end the game. But really they won because of a series of crazy plays that happened in the final “five minutes and 41 seconds” that we will hopefully look back on in a few months as the turning point for this Giants season.

– The Giants go 80 yards in 2:27 to score and don’t use any timeouts, leaving them both timeouts and the two-minute warning.

– The Giants finally stop the run, and put the Cowboys into a third-down situation and only burned one timeout in doing so.

– Instead of running the ball on third-and-5 and trying to take additional time off the clock and hoping for a first down to end the game, the Cowboys try to pass for the first down. Tony Romo jussssst overthrows a wide-open Miles Austin, which would have resulted in a touchdown pass. The incompletion stops the clock, saves the Giants their final timeout (which they would go on to use to ice Dan Bailey) and the two-minute warning and forces the Cowboys to punt and play defense.

– Cowboys punter Mat McBriar only punts the ball 33 yards to the New York 42 giving the Giants great field position with 2:12 left.

– The Giants botch a snap and get saved by a Cowboys penalty. Eli Manning gets nearly sacked, but throws the ball with his left hand, but the play doesn’t count because of a Cowboys penalty.

– Mario Manningham drops a perfectly thrown ball in the end zone that would have given the Giants the lead. At the time I was going insane. When in reality, a touchdown there would have given the Cowboys even more time to work with and they would have sent the game into overtime or possibly won the game. The drops turns out to be a blessing in disguise.

– Jake Ballard catches an 18-yard pass, but is tackled at the Dallas 1 to kill additional time. If he gets in the end zone there, the Cowboys have more than the 46 seconds they ended up being left with.

– The Giants convert a two-point conversion on a … wait for it … wait for it … wait for it … DRAW PLAY TO D.J. WARE! Kevin Gilbride, you genius you!

– The Cowboys have 46 seconds and no timeouts, starting at their own 20. I don’t know what the chance of getting into field-goal range is given those circumstances, but it’s low. Really, really, really low.

– The Cowboys get to the New York 29 and kick a game-tying field goal, but Tom Coughlin calls timeout to ice Dan Bailey. On Bailey’s second attempt, Jason Pierre-Paul blocks the attempt and the Giants win.

The Giants came away with the win, which is all that matters. And it is all that matters because if the season ended today, the Giants would be the No. 4 seed with a home game in the first round (even though I would rather have them on the road in the postseason). But even with a win that saved their season, they were an iced kicker away from going to overtime where a coin flip would have decided their season. So, despite the elation from last night that has carried over into today, let’s look at the old saying, “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem” and how it pertains to three Giants from each side of it.

PART OF THE PROBLEM

Kevin Gilbride
Kevin Gilbride sometimes calls plays as if Tyler Palko is his quarterback and Adrian Peterson is his running back. OK, it’s not sometimes. It’s all the time. And because of that, I spent halftime last night creating Monster and CareerBuilder accounts for Gilbride to use following this season. I sent the user names and passwords to kgilbride@giants.com, but I’m not sure if that’s his email or not.

Cris Collinsworth said Gilbride told him in their pregame conversation, “If we can run it, I’m not going to do anything else.” At least Gilbride isn’t a liar.

Manning threw for 149 yards in the first half. The Giants started with the ball in the second half, and came out with a seven-yard screen pass to Ahmad Bradshaw, and then back-to-back running plays with Bradshaw that went for a combined one yard, forcing the Giants to punt. I understand that the Giants were probably thinking that Bradshaw would have fresh legs since he was bench for the first half, but Eli Manning just picked apart the Dallas secondary for a half.

Then at the end of the third quarter, they didn’t get a third-down play off in time, so the game went to a TV timeout. Out of the break, the Giants ran the ball with Bradshaw on third-and-2 from their own 41. He lost three yards, as Jay Ratliff was ready for the run as if he could read Gilbride’s mind. Speaking of which … does Gilbride really need to cover his mouth with the play chart when speaking into his headset? You don’t need X-ray vision to see through the chart to know that he’s mouthing “draw with Jacobs” or “inside handoff to Ware.” Actually, I want to see what it says on Gilbride’s play chart. I picture just a blank chart with “DRAWS AND SCREEN PASSES!!!” written in huge letters in bad penmanship in red marker. I mean with less than five minutes to go and down by 12, and just two timeouts left, the guy ran a shotgun draw to Bradshaw.

Jets fans probably think this is nothing compared to what Brian Schottenheimer calls for their team, but he has Mark Sanchez to work with. Gilbride calls plays like he has Mark Sanchez and not Eli Manning.

Giants Defense (Minus Jason Pierre-Paul)
If one of my friends had been living overseas since Labor Day without Internet or any access to the American sports world and just moved back today and wanted to catch up on the NFL season and the Giants, and asked me to describe the 2011 Giants defense to them, I would say: “If there’s 30 seconds on the clock at the end of either half and the opposing team has the ball at their own 20 with no timeouts left, I don’t feel confident in the Giants being able to stop them from scoring.” Am I wrong?

I would rather watch Boone Logan face Josh Hamilton with the bases loaded and two outs in Game 7 than watch the Giants play defense. That’s not an exaggeration. For all the negative tweets and words I have written about the Yankees left-handed specialist who can’t get lefties out, he doesn’t even come close to the frustration level that the Giants defense brings out in me (and I’m assuming all Giants fans).

When the Cowboys got the ball with 1:38 left in the first half, I tweeted “If there is a line available on “Will the Cowboys score before the end of the half?” … I’m willing to wager a lot of money on it.” The Cowboys fumbled on the first play and the Giants recovered, and I got responses from people laughing at me. But when the Giants went into their “Settle for a Field Goal” red zone offense and barely took any time off the clock, the Cowboys got the ball back again with 1:03 left in the first half. They went 49 yards in 48 seconds and kicked a field goal to retake the lead. I didn’t need to tweet back as those who doubted me and believed in the Giants’ defense. It wasn’t worth it.

As of right now, if the Giants were to make the playoffs and win their first-round game, they would likely go to Green Bay to face the Packers. And while they played the Packers tough (but still lost!), that was at home. I can’t think of a worse thing to watch than having to go to Green Bay with the Packers coming off a bye week and watching a rest Aaron Rodgers and his offense just go to town on the Giants’ defense. Actually I can think of a worse thing to watch: Tom Coughlin trying to brave the cold and frigid temperatures of Green Bay like he did in the 2007 NFC Championship Game. (I would link to a picture here, but I plan on trying to sleep later.)

Ahmad Bradshaw
Bradshaw missed four games because of a cracked bone in his foot. You would think he would be itching to play and wanting to prove himself after missing 25 percent of the season. You would think.

I’m not mad at Tom Coughlin for benching Bradshaw here because even though it might have cost the Giants their season and Giants fans like me the season, it could have potentially cost Coughlin his job and his career. Sunday’s game was the most important game of Coughlin’s coaching career outside of Super Bowl XLII. He is 65 years old and isn’t going to get another head coaching job after he’s done with the Giants, and if he lost on Sunday, he would have basically fired himself. If he felt it was that important to bench his No. 1 running back for the first half of a must-win game then I have to stand by that decision because he put his livelihood in danger, and to me, only my football season as a fan was in danger because of it. Though you might be able make a case that Coughlin’s livelihood and my football fandom are equal.

Coughlin has been about discipline and old-school football since his first day on the job with the Giants. If you know who he is and what he’s about as I’m sure Bradshaw does, then no one is to blame for reportedly missing curfew and being benched other than Bradshaw. But yeah, Tom Coughlin has some pretty strong “principles” if he’s willing to go to war without one of his best players for breaking a team violation.

PART OF THE SOLUTION

Eli Manning
The world is full of silence from the Eli Manning critics today. Six fourth-quarter wins this season, his third 400-yard passing game of the year and he’s now tired with his brother and Johnny Unitas for he most (14) fourth-quarter touchdown passes in single-season history. We are far removed from the “Gee, golly” Eli days.

Sure, there are still those brain farts in the game where Eli panics and goes to the back-foot, off-balance throw that makes time stand still and makes your heart drop like when you drive past a cop doing radar going 20 mph over the speed limit. You hope the cop doesn’t pull out and come after you the way that you hope Eli’s errant pass finds the sidelines or hits some open ground.

There isn’t anyone that I would rather have with the game on the line in the two-minute drill in the league. (I say this a lot, but I don’t care. I’ll say it again!) Does that sound crazy? Maybe, but it isn’t if you watch Eli play every week and not just on national TV. With 5:46 left I didn’t think the Giants would win, but when it got to the point that Eli had the ball and a chance to go down the field and score the go-ahead touchdown, I knew he would find a way to get it done. I think the only two New York athletes I feel confident with in certain situations are No. 42 in the ninth inning and Eli Manning in the two-minute drill. Maybe Mark Teixeira with the bases loaded? Oh, wait…

Eli Manning has been so good that when you factor in the all of the drops between Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz and Mario Manningham throughout the season (and if it weren’t for the drops last night he might have thrown for 500-plus yards) and that Kevin Gilbride is calling his plays for him, Eli is actually even better than his numbers suggest he is.

Jason Pierre-Paul
If you’re not a Giants fan, you might not know who Jason Pierre-Paul was at this time yesterday. But I’m pretty sure after last night and now this morning, you know who he is.

It’s guy like JPP that make me feel bad when I berate the Giants defense because why should a guy like that get lumped into the conversation with guys who don’t do their job like Aaron Ross? It’s unfair to JPP. So, I’m giving him this space for me to honor him and separate him from the rest of the defense and those that don’t give the effort needed to prevent second-half collapses.

A safety, a forced fumble, two sacks, eight tackles and blocked field goal … in one game! If the Giants don’t give JPP a platinum copy of this game on DVD, I’m willing to buy him the NFL Rewind version of it iTunes. It’s the least I can do for him for saving my football season.

Brandon Jacobs
Brandon Jacobs is in the A.J. Burnett Zone and there’s no returning. I made this clear about three weeks ago.

I can’t stand Jacobs and his fall since the 2007 season has been devastating. But for one game, Jacobs used some of Steve Urkel’s “Boss Sauce” and hopped into the transformation machine and came out as 2007 Brandon Jacobs. He ran north and south, and east and west, and ran people over and held on to the ball and scored two touchdowns. He ran for 101 yards on 19 carries (averaging 5.3 yards per carry) and it was the first time since Week 14 last year. I could have done without whatever it was that he did in the end zone after his first touchdown, but I have accepted the fact that he still thinks he is as good as he was three and four years ago, and he is going to act like it.

If the Giants can get that kind of effort from Jacobs from here on out (and I don’t think they can but I hope they can), they will have two thirds of Earth, Wind and Fire for the stretch run and into the postseason. And the last time they had anything close to resembling that three-headed running monster they reached the postseason. (Yes, they lost in the first round, but after two straight years without the playoffs, I’m worried about getting to the playoffs first.)

On Friday, I said if we’re lucky we will get to relive this Game 7, do-or-die, must-win scenario again in Week 17. I will be ready for it.

Follow Neil on Twitter @NeilKeefe

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Blogs • MLB

Dec 7, 2011

Mets Make Moves To Salvage Mess

The Mets responded to the departure of Jose Reyes with a busy Tuesday night in which they traded Angel Pagan and signed a pair of free agents. Rich Coutinho joined me for an epic email discussion to talk about the moves.

This column was originally published on WFAN.com on Dec. 7, 2011.

The Mets delivered their fans a dagger on Sunday night when they failed to meet or exceed the Marlins’ offer for Jose Reyes, and on Wednesday, Reyes was introduced as a member of the Mets’ division rival.

Right after the Mets watched their franchise shortstop, who has been with the organization for 12 years, leave through free agency, Sandy Alderson spoke with the media and made the Mets’ finances known and what people could expect from the team in the near future as they play with the payroll of a small-market team in the country’s biggest market. Then on Tuesday night, Alderson went on a spending spree and changed the look of the 2012 Mets with a pair of free agents and a trade with the Giants.

With all of the madness of the Winter Meetings, Mets beat reporter and WFAN.com Mets blogger Rich Coutino joined me for an epic email discussion to talk about the Mets’ early offseason moves and the impacts of the series of deals they made on Tuesday night at the Winter Meetings in Dallas.

Keefe: I told Sweeny Murti on Monday (in an epic email discussion for Friday on WFAN.com) that I made sure I called my dad to thank him for being a Yankees fan and for raising me as a Yankees fan following the latest Mets debacle with Jose Reyes signing with the Miami Marlins (typing Miami Marlins is going to take some getting used to).

All season Mets fans were dragged along like a gullible group chasing a $20 bill in a parking lot that’s attached to a fishing line. They figured that the Mets refusal to turn Reyes into a few pieces for the future meant that they would be re-signing their franchise shortstop, who they originally signed in 1999. Now Mets fan are left with nothing, and while watching Mets fans agonize over the state of their team never gets old and being obnoxious to my friends who are Mets fan, even this is a little much.

Back in May I wrote about Yankees fans being fortunate that the Steinbrenners are the owners of the Yankees and not the Wilpons, and on Monday you wrote about Sandy Alderson doing the best job he can under this Mets ownership. But now, just two months removed from another disastrous season in Queens, the Mets are likely headed for another one in 2012 with the other four teams in the NL East in a much better position than them.

So what is going through the minds of Mets fans right now and those that cover the team?

Coutinho: I honestly thought once they did not trade Reyes at the deadline, they would make every effort to sign him. Sure, letting the market set itself was a risky strategy, but when you really think about it, the market on Reyes for whatever reason did come down from the “Carl Crawford” plateau. And then came the Marlins, who I honestly never thought would top $100 million, but they did. I do believe the Mets had a dollar amount in mind and it was five years for $85 million. The reps for Reyes always felt he would get a $100-million deal and given the fact the Marlins and Mets were the only suitors, I give them so much credit for getting this done for Jose.

Reyes is a superstar worthy of this money when you consider guys like Adrian Gonzalez, Jayson Werth, Carl Crawford and Matt Kemp have all signed bigger contracts recently. I think the thing that upsets Mets fans is that they had Reyes, Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez and now they don’t have any of them, even though most had accepted the fact they would lose two of the three. They understood K-Rod was a money issue and Beltran did return them a big-time prospect in Zach Wheeler. But losing all three is too much to swallow and that is why Mets fans are so upset.

Keefe: Sandy Alderson addressed the media and gave the public an idea as to what kind of financial situation the Mets are dealing with as they move forward. And even after all of this, Bud Selig is still allowing the Wilpons to own the Mets and to continue to destroy the franchise. Now the Mets will be playing in the country’s biggest market with a small market payroll.

I guess the next most logical thing to ask is what do the Mets do with David Wright? The Mets are sort of in this weird place where they need to be in complete rebuilding mode, but they really aren’t. They still have Wright and Jason Bay and Johan Santana on the payroll, and there isn’t much they can do regarding the latter two right now.

Wright is probably the last thing keeping Mets fans from completely losing hope and from the Mets ticket offices from being overtaken and the front office being held hostage. But is there really any point for the Mets to hold on to Wright any longer? The Mets aren’t exactly in a position to win right now and don’t look like they will be in one within the next few years. The Phillies are already a contender, as are the Braves and the Nationals and Marlins are on the rise.

Should the Mets just say, “Eff it!” and move Wright and rebuild this entire thing?

Coutinho: I would say no. Coming off an injury season, David Wright is severely undervalued now and will not get the prospects back that he would in the middle of the season when teams are in desperate need and David has produced his customary numbers.

The other reason is the Mets are in a tough situation, but not a hopeless on. Look at the Diamondbacks, who lost 90 games in 2010 and won their division with over 90 wins in 2011, and they did it with the same cast of offensive players (maybe less if you consider Stephen Drew was hurt most of the year). How did they do it then? They got Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson to pitch at an All-Star level and had a great closer in J.J. Putz, who was finally healthy for them. Nobody and I mean nobody picked them to win the NL West. It is a good blueprint for the Mets to follow but certain things must happen.

Johan Santana must return to the form of being a pitcher with a 3.00 ERA or lower and they must have a second pitcher to give them a solid 3.30 ERA season. R.A. Dickey did that last year while Jonathan Niese, though inconsistent, has the stuff to be that type of pitcher. Clearly, there are a lot of ifs and quite frankly, they’ll also need a reliable closer. My feeling is you start the season hoping this could work and if it doesn’t, you look at Plan B and around the break you try to pry prospects from teams and in the process, shed more payroll.

There’s also the additional wild card team in 2012, which can put additional teams in the playoff picture. That could mean the Mets might have more available trading partners at midseason than they normally would. In regards to the Mets’ payroll, $100 million, to me, is the minimum it should be at in this market. The chances are it will be a tad lower than that on Opening Day, but a good start could entice the Mets to add on if the situation presents itself. I try to compare the Mets’ situation to other companies that might have lost $70 million last year. Do you think any of them would add employees or would they cut payroll? Now it is fair to concede with a cut payroll, but expectations should be lowered as well in regards to both wins on the field and ticket sales.

The Mets are in a tough spot here and granted much of it is self-inflicted, but Sandy is playing this correctly. He can’t just do things because the fans demand it with the way things change in a hurry in this sport. Who ever thought that Texas would be in back-to-back World Series in a league that houses the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays? Who thought a Cardinals team with a payroll less than $100 million could win it all when most left them for dead in late August? Sandy can’t afford to make a move now because he lost Reyes. He must resist the temptation to overreact to the reaction.

Keefe: I’m sure Mets fans appreciate your optimism.

If Santana does come back and pitch the way he has in the past and you couple that with R.A. Dickey’s 2011 season, then you have something working at the top of the rotation. No, it won’t be easy for the Mets to score runs, but if they can build a stable rotation and one that has a true ace then maybe, just maybe they can hang around during the summer.

At the same time, I’m hoping Johan comes back and is healthy and dominant and the Mets decide that paying him to play for a non-contender isn’t worth it, and the Yankees take him off their hands and relieve them of some payroll. A healthy Santana behind CC Sabathia? Yes, please. But I know that many people are skeptical about what kind of pitcher Santana will be when he returns to the mound, and if he will be anywhere near the pitcher he once was with the stuff he once had, or if he will become the left-handed version of Freddy Garcia.

There were reports on Tuesday that the Mets were part of Mark Buehrle’s list of the final five teams he would sign with, and then there were reports and direct quotes from Sandy Alderson that disputed those claims with Alderson saying that the Mets would not be in contention to sign Buehrle. So maybe this is just Buehrle’s agent (who Alderson didn’t know the name of) using the New York market to drive up the price for his client?

This is good news for me since I’m still holding out hope that he joins the Yankees rotation, but it’s not good news for Mets fans, who might have been expecting the ownership to treat them to one solid free agent this offseason.

Last season the Mets rotation was pretty healthy with five starters making 26-plus starts, and Dillon Gee and Jonathon Niese combining for 53 starts and proving to be viable young arms for the Mets’ future. Aside from Gee, Niese, Dickey, Pelfrey and Capuano, the Mets only used four other starters (Chris Young, D.J. Carrasco, Chris Schwinden and Miguel Batista).

And in the bullpen, after trading Francisco Rodriguez, the Mets juggled the closer role between Bobby Parnell and Jason Isringhausen in an effort to transition Parnell into the role as the closer of the future, but it didn’t really go according to plan.

What do you think the Mets rotation will look like heading into spring training and the season? Who is the next Chris Young or Chris Capuano for them in a low-risk, high-reward arm? And how do they rebuild the back end of the bullpen?

Coutinho: From what I understand, the Mets inquired about Buehrle, but the price was too high. I think he is an absolute horse and would be a great NL pitcher and no worse than a No. 2. If I were the Marlins I’d go with him over C.J. Wilson or Albert Pujols if I could only sign one more free agent. As far as the Mets rotation, I see Santana, Niese, Dickey, Gee, and possibly Pelfrey as No. 5 starter if they tender him.

As far as a reach with starters, why not Rich Harden? I love his stuff and with last year’s high ERA he might come cheap. His K/IP ratio was over one per inning, so I think he might be a low-cost, high-reward type of pitcher the Mets could snare.

I do think the Mets will get a closer, but do not think it will be one of the big three left (K-Rod, Francisco Cordero or Ryan Madson). I think their hope is to stockpile guys relievers like Octavio Dotel, Jon Rauch, Frank Francisco, Chad Qualls or Todd Coffey and develop the back end that way. I thought Jonathan Broxton would have been a good gamble for them, but I agree the Royals overpaid for him at $4 million.

Aside from the relievers they obtain, I think Tim Brydak, Manny Acosta, Pedro Beato, and Bobby Parnell are in the mix as well. Beato and Parnell were spotty at best, but both have live arms and are worth another look. Brydak was solid vs. lefties all year and Acosta turned heads in the season’s final two months by finally realizing you have to throw a breaking pitch even if you possess a plus fastball. (Take note, Bobby Parnell).

The thing I noticed in second half last year after K-Rod left, is that the Mets crashed and burned in so many games from the seventh inning on, and you know what I say about a bullpen, Neil: a good one can cover up weaknesses, whether they be light hitting or starters not going deep in games. On the other hand, a bad bullpen can make every blemish an eyesore and I firmly believe in today’s game, the bullpen can make or break a team no matter how much hitting you possess.

The Cardinals refurbished their bullpen at the deadline, and so did Texas and not coincidentally, both teams made it to the Fall Classic.

Keefe: The Mets were busy on Tuesday night. First they signed Jon Rauch to a two-year deal worth $12 million and they followed that up by trading Angel Pagan to the Giants for Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez. Then they went on and signed Frank Francisco to a two-year deal. And just after hours after you gave me your take on what the Mets’ game plan should be to bolster their pitching staff, your theory on the Mets’ plan to rebuild the bullpen by stockpiling arms couldn’t have ended up being more accurate.

I think the trade of Pagan was a great move since both teams traded guys off down years in hopes of rejuvenating them with a chance of scenery. I don’t think Pagan is actually as good as he was two years ago, and I’m a big fan of Torres’ even if he’s getting up there in age. I haven’t seen as much of Ramon Ramirez since his departure from Boston and the AL East a couple years ago, but I know he has the ability to be dominant in the back of the bullpen and was for long stretches of time in the best division in baseball. Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco also have the ability to be lights out, but they both have had their fair share of struggles the last few years.

Coutinho: I think the Mets got better on Tuesday night. Don’t get me wrong I would rather have Jose Reyes, but Sandy Alderson really improved the team with these deals.

Rauch and Francisco have ability and pitching late innings in the AL East does test your ability. The trade of Pagan was necessary because there were rumblings in the Mets clubhouse that Pagan’s attitude changed dramatically in the second half of the year after the exodus of his mentor, Carlos Beltran. Torres is not the athletic specimen that Pagan is, but he is a much better defensive centerfielder and a great off-the-field guy. He has speed and could bat leadoff although the Mets may have other ideas about the leadoff spot.

The crown jewel though could be Ramirez who has a nasty slider and good heat. More importantly, the Mets have rebuilt their bullpen with three guys that could be penciled into the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. Add in Tim Brydak as a lefty specialist and Manny Acosta, who impressed in August and September, and you might have something here. It also affords the Mets the luxury of swing-and-miss guys in the ‘pen and I think not having a solid ‘pen cost the Mets at least 10 games in 2011.

Clearly, there is still a lot of work to do, but Sandy Alderson gets rave reviews from me on a night in which he both reshaped and strengthened the Mets.

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Blogs • Email Exchanges • Rangers

Dec 2, 2011

Rangers Building Elite Status

With the Rangers on top of their game and with the 24/7 series with the Flyers set to premiere in less than two weeks, now seemed like a good time to have an epic email discussion with WFAN producer and hockey writer Brian Monzo.

This column was originally published on WFAN.com on Dec. 2, 2011.

It’s right around this time every year when the Rangers begin their decline to the lower half of the Eastern Conference and spend the rest of the season jockeying for position between the sixth and 10th spots. The final two months of the season wind up being the Rangers’ postseason to reach the postseason, and settling for the No. 7 or No. 8 seed in the postseason feels like an accomplishment. Well, not anymore.

The Rangers have made the jump from being a middle-of-the-pack team to being an elite team in the first quarter of the season. They have the best winning percentage in the NHL and have lost just two games since Oct. 29 (it’s now Dec. 2 if you weren’t aware).

With the Rangers on top of their game and with the 24/7 series with the Flyers set to premiere in less than two weeks, now seemed like a good time to have an epic email discussion with WFAN producer and hockey writer Brian Monzo.

Keefe: The Rangers are fun to watch. I’m being serious. It’s not that it wasn’t “fun” to watch the Rangers or hockey in recent years; it’s just that this season feels different. This season isn’t like the last few years when they were only “fun” to watch at the end of the season because every game was a must-win to reach the postseason (right up until Game 82 the last two years) since they blew so many games earlier in the year. This year has a different feel to it. Earlier in the year it seemed like we might just be going down the same old road with the Rangers, but I think that can now be attributed to the insane schedule for the first few weeks of the season and travel overseas and north of the border to open the schedule with MSG being renovated. But it feels like all of this waiting and all of this building is finally adding up to something.

The Rangers just had their best week of the year. They played their hardest three-game stretch of the young season and came away with six points. That’s right, all six points. Philadelphia: defeated. Washington: defeated. Pittsburgh: defeated. And on top of that, the trailer for this year’s 24/7 was released and their Winter Classic jerseys were unveiled. So, I ask you, the “erstwhile” Brian Monzo, how good are the 2011-12 New York Rangers, and how excited are you about the possibilities and potential for this team?

Monzo: Well, the best week of the season got even better on Thursday night with the Rangers’ win in Carolina in a “TCB” game (Take Care of Business game). The Rangers are a better team than the Hurricanes and they needed to win against an inferior opponent even after beating the Capitals, Flyers and Penguins in their previous three games. The Rangers didn’t play a perfect game, but they got the two points they needed.

So far this season, what I like about this team is the fact that the best players, for once, are playing like the best players. Marian Gaborik has been a beast; Brad Richards has had zero issues adjusting to New York; Ryan Callahan is on pace for 30 goals; King Henrik is playing as good as ever.

Another asset has been the ability for the young players to really step it up. Derek Stepan has been better in his second season, and Ryan McDonagh picked up where he left off. After his recent call-up, Carl Hagelin has added speed and offense with four points in his first four NHL games. You also nailed something with what you said in that the Ranges are fun to watch. They are quick, score big goals when needed and fight when they have to.

One issue I’m having with the team is Brandon Dubinsky. It’s OK to struggle, but one goal in 22 games is unacceptable. Fortunately, they have been winning, despite Dubinsky’s lack offense, but he’s one of their main guys, and if they are going to do anything he will need to start burying the puck. In reality this is likely just a slump, but at 14-5-3, imagine what it could be if Dubinsky can get it going?

Keefe: The guy you have a problem with was rumored to be a player of interest to the Ducks in a trade for Bobby Ryan. The rumors were that the Ducks wanted Dubinsky, Michael Del Zotto and a draft pick for Ryan, and I gladly offered to pack their bags and buy their plane tickets for this type of deal. You said you wouldn’t go as far as packing their bags, so all I asked of you was to drive them to the airport to complete a potential deal.

Now the rumor is that Bobby Ryan is off the trade market, and no longer desires to be traded. Is this real life? Was this the shortest amount of time a player has been on the trade market? Not even a complete 24 hours of trade rumors and he’s already off the market? And he doesn’t want to be traded now? His mind changed that quickly? Doesn’t this all seem sketchy?

Let’s break this down into two parts with the first part being the idea of Ryan on the Rangers, which is a phenomenal idea, if you ask me. He’s 24 years old and has posted 31-plus goal seasons in the last three years entering this season. He’s a legitimate scoring threat to compliment Marian Gaborik, Brad Richards and Ryan Callahan. Del Zotto has been better in his third year after a rough sophomore season, but he’s certainly replaceable. And like you said, Dubinsky hasn’t been good. He has just one goal in 21 games, his career high in goals for a season is 24 and he’s two years older than Ryan.

The other part of this Bobby Ryan rumor is the situation in Anaheim. The Ducks are awful, and they fired Randy Carlyle (in his seventh season as head coach). Obviously the losing and the direction of the team played a role in Ryan being put on the block, and the reports of his unhappiness and willingness to want a trade helped fuel the rumors. But are the departure of Carlyle and the hiring of Bruce Boudreau enough to change his mind?

Monzo: You need to look at what the Rangers would be getting, and not just them, but any team that would have the opportunity to land a player like Bobby Ryan. Let’s not forget, Ryan was the guy drafted second to Sidney Crosby in the 2005 draft. There’s a ton of scoring talent with Ryan, and he’s put up 31, 35 and 34 goals in his first three seasons. So, would I make that trade? Yes. Would the Ducks? I don’t think so since now that they have a new coach, Ryan will be part of the solution.

It’s always tough when a good coach like Carlyle loses his job, but that’s part of the game. Boudreau can go back to playing his offensive style of hockey, like he did early in his tenure with the Capitals. He has a ton of talent to work with in Ryan, Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and some guy named Teemu Selanne. Once he gets to know his new team, they should be headed in the right direction. Boudreau didn’t win a Jack Adams Award for his looks. The guy can coach.

Keefe: Some people are opposed to the idea of the Rangers making a blockbuster move like the one that would have possibly landed them Ryan, and that’s because the team has 31 points in 22 games (the best points percentage in the league) and the fewest amount of losses in the league with five. I understand the idea of not wanting to break up what Glen Sather and John Tortorella have built here over the last few years, but a guy like Ryan takes the Rangers to another level.

The reason people spoke out against the rumors is because of the chemistry of this team and because every fan base (no matter what the sport is) always finds it hard to part ways with homegrown talent like a parent watching their kid go to school for the first time. And this group of homegrown talent is the best the Rangers have had in nearly two decades. You don’t hear about draft busts and overhyped talent anymore like we did in the early 2000s with names like Jamie Lundmark and Garth Murray and Hugh Jessiman. And we don’t have to worry about the Rangers signing terrible free-agent contracts like they did with Bobby Holik, Scott Gomez, Darius Kasparitis and Wade Redden. This Rangers team is one that fans can enjoy to watch and be proud of, and the way the team is being run is the way it should have been run for the last 10-plus years.

Monzo: It’s amazing how the organization has been able to develop players like Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, Derek Stepan, Ryan McDonagh, Michael Sauer, Dan Girardi and Artem Anisimov and have them immediately pay dividends. And the latest example of this is Carl Hagelin.

I think Carl Hagelin is a name that is going to get more and more attention around the league throughout the season. How can anyone not like what they have seen out of the rookie early on? His style of play and the combination of offense and speed adds another element and weapon, to the Rangers’ game.

He’s flown under the radar behind Gaborik and Richards, but Callahan is soaring with the “C” on his jersey. He has 10 goals, and is always in the right spot on the ice. He throws his body around, and has been tremendous in front of the net on the power play.

Keefe: As we head into the second quarter of the season, the Rangers have a lot on their plate with maintaining their level of play and position near the top of the conference, as well as dealing with the media and production crews surrounding them for the next month leading up to the Winter Classic. The Rangers have had their share of convincing wins over the other elite teams in the Eastern Conference, and the only team they haven’t seen from that tier is the Bruins, who they won’t see until January. But without a 1-0 or 2-1 Rangers-Bruins game (since they always end in those scores) so far, would you be willing to put the Rangers in the conversation for the best team in the league?

And now that we are under two weeks away from series premiere of this year’s 24/7 featuring the Rangers and the Flyers. HBO showed a preview of the series last week, and the trailer did an unbelievable job of teasing the rivalry between the two Atlantic teams. Last year I analyzed and reviewed the show for WFAN.com, and it will be even better this year with the Rangers being part of the process and the buildup to the Winter Classic on Jan. 2.

Maxime Talbot stole the show last season (along with Bruce Boudreau) with his antics at the team holiday party and on road trips. Fans got to see into the locker room of the Penguins during a lengthy winning streak and into the Capitals’ during an extended losing streak. How pumped are you for this year’s 24/7 and who is going to be this season’s Max Talbot?

Monzo: It’s going to be exciting. Last year HBO did an outstanding job with the Penguins-Capitals 24/7, and I don’t expect anything less this year. It will once again give fans the chance to get inside the locker room before, during and after games.

Brian Boyle has a pretty good personality, and I would not be shocked if he is someone that fans see a really cool side of. I also wouldn’t be shocked if John Tortorella does the same thing, but for different reasons that the media is far too familiar with.

It’s tough to say the Rangers are the best team in the league, but I think it’s safe to say they are one of the best teams in the league. The problem is they haven’t done this long enough, and we have seen teams have hot starts and taper off. However, I think the feeling around the league is the Rangers are finally doing all the right things to continue this level of consistency. Now, can they continue this stretch of long winning streaks? It will be tough, but they certainly have the right pieces. If everyone stays healthy (and they are due to get Mike Rupp and Marc Staal back at some point) everything could fall in the right place.

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Blogs • Giants

Nov 23, 2011

Signs of a Giants Collapse

There are certain signs of a Giants collapse I have grown familiar with during the Tom Coughlin era and especially over the last two years. Those signs came out on Sunday night at MetLife Stadium.

“Noooooooooooooooo!” That’s what I yelled as Jason Babin chased down Eli Manning from behind on Sunday night. Eli had no idea that Babin was coming. He had just completed a 47-yard pass on third-and-3 and a 17-yard pass before that on second-and-20. He had the ball on the Eagles’ 21-yard line and he could smell overtime.

That’s why I yelled, “Noooooooooooooooo!” as the game slowed down to almost a standstill. Images of DeSean Jackson’s punt return and Jon Kitna’s three touchdowns and Eli’s dive and fumble from 2010, and the 45 points the Eagles put up, and the 26-6 loss on Thanksgiving and the last-minute loss to the Chargers from 2009 flashed through my mind in the time it took for the ball to leave Eli’s hands and hit the ground. I watched the loosely protected ball fall out of Manning’s arm like the bottle of Goldschlager getting knocked out of the homeless man’s hand by Seth on the bus in Superbad. Game over.

I sat there hoping for that rectangle on the NBC Sunday Night Football score bar to turn yellow and for “FLAG” to appear. It never came. Then I waited for the bottom of my TV screen to turn into a scrolling ticker that read: This is a test of the Second-Half Collapse Emergency System. If this had been an actual emergency, the Attention Signal you just heard would have been followed by official information, news or instructions.” It never came either because it wasn’t a test … it was an emergency. This is an emergency.

I’m scared, but there’s no one to tell me everything is going to be OK because most people don’t think it’s going to be OK, and no one wants to sugarcoat this thing or lie about it. The Giants are 0-2 in the second half of the season. They have had chances to go to overtime on their final drives in the last two games and haven’t, and now the Superdome awaits and the defending champions and undefeated Packers will follow six days after that. This is a full-fledged collapse. It doesn’t mean it can’t be stopped, it just means that it has started. And once something like this starts it’s hard to stop. And with the Giants’ schedule it’s nearly impossible to stop.

I have become a historian when it comes to collapses. It’s not something you want to be familiar with or an expert about, but I think it’s safe to say that if the NFL Network, NFL Films, HBO Sports or ESPN ever decide to make a documentary on the Tom Coughlin era, I would be a front-runner for a cameo to talk about this near decade of Giants football. I even have a title for the documentary: “Is This Real Life?: The Tom Coughlin Giants”. Maybe I should just film this thing myself?

There are certain signs of a collapse I have grown familiar with during the Tom Coughlin era and especially over the last two years. Those signs came out on Sunday night at MetLife Stadium just as the Second-Half Collapse siren went off in my head when the Eagles recovered the fumble on Babin’s sack of Eli with 1:17 left in the game.

1. Losing Games You’re Supposed To Win
The Giants never make anything easy. It’s not what they’re about. If the Giants had beaten the Redskins in Week 1 at home or the Seahawks in Week 5 at home, of if they had completed the comeback against the 49ers or not lost to the Vick-less Eagles at home, then they wouldn’t be sitting here wondering where four or five more wins are going to come from. They wouldn’t need to steal a game against the Saints or Packers, or sweep the season series from the Cowboys. I’m not saying they should have won all of those games to be sitting at 10-0 right now, but is it too much to ask for them to win one or maybe even two of those?

I have said it before and I will say it again: This is New York Giants football. This is who the Giants are. Erase that four-game playoff run in January and February of 2008 from your memory. Yes, it happened and it was glorious, but that’s not who the Giants are, and that’s certainly not who the Giants are under Tom Coughlin. They happened to have a few consecutive weekends of picking up girls out of their league, and it took them some time for them and the public to accept that their amazing hot streak had come to an end.

Losing games against inferior opponents and backup quarterbacks, and allowing special teams touchdowns and committing special teams penalties and throwing interceptions in the red zone and fumbling to lose games is who the Giants are. I have come to accept it. It shouldn’t be like that and it doesn’t have to be like that, but under Tom Coughlin that’s the organization’s identity.

2. Negative Thoughts In the Players’ Minds
With Joe and Evan on Tuesday on WFAN, Antrel Rolle said, “We’re too calm, man. We’re too relaxed come Sunday. We’re too poised.”

Justin Tuck used the words “historical second-half collapse” with reporters.

Michael Boley spoke out against Tom Coughlin’s assessment of the team by saying, “I’ve always said, coaches coach, players play. We (are) in the trenches. We really know what goes on out there. For someone on the side to say this doesn’t happen, it doesn’t mean nothing to me.”

Brandon Jacobs took out his frustration on the fans by saying, “That’s the best thing that they do here is to boo. I’m not worried about that. I’ve been hearing that for seven years.”

On Twitter, Jake Ballard showed that he is still thinking about his costly drops by tweeting, “Thanks for the love on here. I feel terrible about the drops. Letting my team and fans down, I can’t stop thinking bout it. I will overcome.”

So we have a safety who thinks the team wasn’t ready, a defensive lineman who has been a part of the last two collapses and is already thinking about the possibility of another one, a linebacker who disagreed with his coach to the media, a running back who decided to challenge the fan base and a tight end who can’t stop thinking about his terrible performance against the Eagles. All we need is some fourth-quarter rally beers and a few orders of Popeye’s and we have quite the reenactment of another collapse.

I still believe in this Giants team. I don’t know why since they haven’t done anything to make me believe in them, but I do. Maybe it’s because I don’t have another choice if I want to see Giants football past Week 17 for the first time in three years. Maybe it’s because I’m tired of these endings and afraid of seeing another year of Eli Manning’s prime be wasted. Maybe it’s because I don’t want another image of Tom Coughlin etched into my mind of his hands on his hips and head his tilted to the side like he’s trying to read Chinese or decipher one of those Ticketmaster security codes you have to type in.

3. Playing Without Urgency
This Giants team shouldn’t be playing for a postseason berth. They should be playing for a No. 1 or No. 2 seed and a first-round bye. They were 6-2!

The problem with the Giants is urgency, and it always has been. They don’t know the meaning of it and don’t seem to care to want to play with it. How do I know this? Well, five of their six wins have come in the fourth quarter. They haven’t had a lead at halftime since Week 4 against Arizona (Oct. 2), and they have been shut out in the third quarter in six of their 10 games. But they don’t have trouble finding the scoreboard in the fourth quarter. Hmm…

The Giants play to the level of their opponent, and they don’t play at the level we expect them to play at until the fourth quarter when it’s nearly too late and when one mistake will end the game. They consistently leave themselves no margin for error, and sometimes it pays off (lucky call for Cruz against Arizona, Webster interception against Buffalo, Cruz touchdown against Miami, Ballard catch and touchdown against New England), and sometimes it doesn’t (Eli interception against Seattle, deflected ball against San Francisco, sack and fumble against Philadelphia).

What is this team doing in the first three quarters? Why does it take a deficit heading into halftime and no life from the offense for the Giants to get motivated to want to win?

4. Sloppy Play
Eli Manning completed 18 of his 35 pass attempts on Sunday night, and that’s with seven drops. If say, three of those drops aren’t dropped, we might not be sitting here talking about a loss, but rather admiring a first-place team and celebrating the end of the Eagles’ season.

Against the Eagles, Jake Ballard had three drops, Hakeem Nicks had two, and Victor Cruz and D.J. Ware each had one. Last year it seemed like every time the Giants receivers “dropped” a pass they actually tipped it into a defender’s hands for an interception. This year they are still dropping passes at an amazing rate, but they are fortunately hitting the ground. Eli’s receivers weren’t helping him and the Giants didn’t have a running game to turn to. It’s a miracle that the Giants even had a chance to tie the game on their final drive.

And what exactly went on with the running game? 17 carries for 29 yards from a trio of running backs? That type of production seems almost impossible, and Coughlin calling it “pathetic” wasn’t enough.

Brandon Jacobs carried the ball 12 times for 21 yards (1.8 yards per carry). On one of those 12 carries, Jacobs ran for nine yards. So, on the other 11 carries, he ran for 12 yards (1.1 yards per carry). Unfathomable.

Jacobs is 6-foot-4, which is 2.1 yards. This means that if Jacobs took the handoff from Eli and got back to the line of scrimmage and just fell forward, he would have gained more yards per carry than he did actually trying to gain yards by “running.” Unbelievable. Actually with Jacobs it is sort of believable. How is Jacobs still blaming others for his lack of production? Now the fans are wrong for booing him? Jacobs has entered the A.J. Burnett Zone and there’s no turning back now.

He hasn’t rushed for 100 yards since he ran for 113 against the Vikings … last December. He has become worthless to the offense and the Giants have resorted to using D.J. Ware and Da’Rel Scott in situations over him with Ahmad Bradshaw still out. If Bradshaw doesn’t come back soon there is no chance of this season ending well because the Giants have proven that they will keep running the ball no matter what with their…

5. Unusual Playcalling
There’s a reason Brian Schottenheimer has the training wheels on Mark Sanchez, and there’s a reason he calls the plays he calls. There’s no reason why Kevin Gilbride calls the plays he calls with the Giants offense.

Against the 49ers, Kevin Gilbride (and his no undershirt) called for a shotgun draw to his No. 3 running back on third-and-2 run from the San Francisco 10 with 1:10 left and the game on the line against the No. 1 run defense in the league. Against the Eagles, multiple times he decided to give the ball to Brandon Jacobs on back-to-back running plays to begin drives. And I remember an awesome draw play with Jacobs on second-and-10 that went for no gain. Is that really putting your team and your players in the best possible situations to succeed?

How do the Giants not adjust to what they’re seeing on the field? How do they keep giving the ball to Jacobs time after time unsuccessfully? With Bradshaw out, their best offensive weapons are all wide receivers and not running backs. Doesn’t anyone notice this?

The Giants have the most predictable offense in the NFL. There are no surprises. They put themselves in unmanageable third downs and then call for plays that leave them one yard short of a new set of downs. It’s not like this happened a few times for the first time on Sunday. It happens every Sunday. Every single Sunday.

6. No Defense At Inopportune Times
It seems like yesterday the Giants defense held Tom Brady scoreless for the entire first in Foxboro. But that was a few weeks ago. What really feels like yesterday even though it was now three days ago is the Giants defense letting Vince Young orchestrate an 18-play game-winning drive against them. 18 plays! How was this possible? Let’s look.

Third-and-3: Ronnie Brown runs for six yards.

Third-and-10: Pass to Riley Cooper for 18 yards.

Third-and-3: Pass to Clay Harbor for six yards.

Third-and-1: Vince Young runs for one yard.

Third-and 4: Pass to DeSean Jackson for 10 yards.

Third-and-Goal: Eight-yard touchdown pass to Riley Cooper.

That’s six successful third-down conversions on one drive with the game on the line. An embarrassment.

If you own a company that’s looking for a lot of marketing, advertising or promoting, why wouldn’t you want to sponsor “converted third downs against the Giants?”

“It’s third-and-22 for the Eagles on the Giants’ 10. Young drops back … he looks left … scrambles to the right … and he finds Jackson wide open up the middle for a 34-year gain. It’s another Modell’s Sporting Goods third-down conversion against the New York Giants.”

7. Bad Coaching
Antrel Rolle told Joe and Evan on Tuesday that the Giants weren’t ready to play against the Eagles. (Rolle also used the phrase “at the end of the day” 20 times in a 13-minute interview. Yes, I counted.) How could you play 16 regular season games a year and not be ready for one of them at the end of the day? How could you be playing for a postseason berth for the first time since 2008 and playing against the Eagles, your chief rivals and the team that has ended your season the last three years and not be ready at the end of the day? How is this possible at the end of the day?

(I loved when Rolle said, “Are they [the Eagles] better than us? Not at all.” Oh, OK. I must have been watching a different Giants-Eagles game on NBC on Sunday night.)

If the Giants weren’t ready then there is a clearly problem with this team and this coaching staff. Tom Coughlin, who prides himself on being old-school and a disciplinarian, has watched his team collapse in six of his seven years here, and now they are 0-2 in the second half as he goes for a seventh collapse in eight years.

Coughlin is coaching for his career here. If the Giants don’t make the playoffs, he’s gone. That year left on his contract after this season is meaningless. It’s just there so he isn’t a lame-duck coach this season and doesn’t have to answer questions about next season to distract the team. But if the Giants don’t make the playoffs then he’s gone.

Coughlin is 65 years old and in his eighth year with the team. No other team is going to be hiring a 65-year-old to come into a new organization, and the Giants aren’t going to bring back a guy who has missed the playoffs three years in a row and hasn’t won a playoff game in seven of the eight years he’s been with the team, even with Super Bowl XLII to his name.

So knowing all of this, how does Coughlin allow David Akers and the 49ers to successfully recover an onside kick against his team? The same David Akers that did it to him in the Eagles’ epic comeback last year. And how does Coughlin’s team, a week later, punt the ball to DeSean Jackson, who ended the Giants’ season last year? How? No. I want to know. Howwwwww?!?!

The Giants are 6-4. The Cowboys are 6-4. They still have to play each other twice, which will most likely decide who wins the NFC East. But aside from those two meetings, the Giants play the Saints (7-3), Packers (10-0), Redskins (3-7) and Jets (5-5). The Cowboys play the Dolphins (3-7), Cardinals (3-7), Buccaneers (4-6) and Eagles (4-6).

The Giants and Cowboys meet on Dec. 11 in Week 11 and again on Jan. 1 in Week 17. If that Week 17 game is essentially a one-game playoff for a postseason spot it will be like the Yankees and Red Sox meeting for one-game playoff. I’m not sure I’m equipped to handle something of that magnitude.

Two weeks ago New York City was the focal point of the football world. Now it’s home to two second-place teams battling for their postseason lives and scoreboard watching along the way. But the NFL is a week-to-week league, and that’s why the Giants going into New Orleans as seven-point underdogs and winning isn’t improbable.

The Giants can beat the Saints and temporarily postpone what seems inevitable, or they continue their annual meltdown. I won’t be surprised either way. That’s Giants football.

***

Here are my picks for the three Thanksgiving games. The rest of the Week 12 Picks will be posted on Friday.

DETROIT +6.5 over Green Bay
I will be rooting as hard as possible for the Packers the same way that Lions fans will be two Sundays from now. I think this will be a close game, and I can only hope the Packers win. It’s all about watching other NFC teams lose now to keep the Giants’ wild-card chances alive if the division fades away.

Miami +7 over DALLAS
Everyone is chalking this up as a win for the Cowboys much like they chalked up the Giants-Eagles game on Sunday Night Football as a win for the Giants. The Dolphins aren’t good because beating the Chiefs, Redskins and Bills doesn’t make you good. But now that they are completely out of the Andrew Luck sweepstakes and Tony Sparano is trying to whatever he can do either try and stick around Miami next year (1-percent chance) or audition for other jobs in the league. The Dolphins are going to fight until the clock reads 0:00 in Week 17. I can only hope that mentality mixed with their three-game wining streak is enough to beat the Cowboys, who are always vulnerable to a devastating loss of their own.

BALTIMORE -3 over San Francisco
The Brothers Harbaugh Game. I could care less about this game. Jets fans, however, aren’t thinking the same way. Alex Smith is going to turn back into a pumpkin at some point this season, and what better night than on Thanksgiving in Baltimore?

Last Week: 7-5-2
Season: 72-79-9

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Blogs • Giants

Nov 15, 2011

Giants Facing Familiar Fate?

The Giants’ loss to the 49ers hurt, but it’s time to look at the importance of the game against the Eagles with quotes from the Giants on Sunday and Monday.

The Giants lost a game on Sunday that they could have won. I wanted to wait an extra day to write about the 27-20 loss to the 49ers because I wanted to wait for reactions from the Giants on a loss to start the second half of their schedule. While immediate postgame reaction is usually substantial, you knew the media would have even more questions about second-half collapses on Monday, and that the Giants would have even more to talk about a day after the loss. And they both did.

Sunday’s loss was a loss that hurts, but not one that will cause Rambo-like flashbacks to 2009 and 2010. It’s a loss that will go away with a Giants win over the Eagles in Week 11. To analyze the loss to the 49ers and preview the importance of the game against the Eagles this week, I thought it would be a good idea to get some help from quotes from the Giants from Sunday and Monday.

Tom Coughlin on the loss: “Yeah, I’m very disappointed.”

I’m disappointed too.

Eli Manning on the loss: “We felt confident. We were right there. Very close.”

I felt confident too.

Osi Umenyiora on the loss: “I’m not shocked. We shouldn’t keep letting it get like that.”

That’s the answer I was looking for. This is what I’m talking about. Osi Umenyiora gets it. Why doesn’t everyone else?

Sure, the Giants lose to another first-place team on the road (not only the road, but the West Coast and 3,000 miles away from East Rutherford), but they had their chances to win. They had more than enough chances to win.

When you get an onside kick recovered against you, throw an interception because the play before the interception your wide receiver dropped a first down, throw another interception because a different wide receiver stops his route, allow Alex Smith to throw for 242 yards (when he had thrown for more than 201 yards just once in previous eight games) and you take penalties on special teams, you’re going to lose. It’s pretty ridiculous that the Giants were just 10 yards from tying the game and sending it to overtime. I can only pray that the Giants make the playoffs, win in the wild card round and then face the 49ers again. But to do all that they have to do that first thing: make the playoffs.

Like Osi said, “We shouldn’t keep letting it get like that.” It’s great that Eli is the best two-minute drill quarterback in the NFL (that’s right, Tom Brady fans, I said it), but you don’t want to keep going to the well and needing him to bail you out. It’s the same situation with the Rangers and Henrik Lundqvist. Sure, Henrik’s going to bail the offense out more times than not, but you can’t expect him to only give up one or two goals every game. And you can’t expect Eli to go down the field with under two minutes left and a pair of timeouts every Sunday of the season and live to tell about it come January. The defense has to do something too.

Tom Coughlin on the onside kick: “[David Akers] is exceptional at it. What is he – nine of 19 in his career with surprise onsides? You talk all week about it. You do the best you can with that. We let our guard down just a little bit, didn’t attack the ball and that was the consequence. So I take responsibility for that.”

I’m glad Tom Coughlin decided to take responsibility for the onside kick. Who else was going to take responsibility for it? Not me. I was 3,000 miles away from San Francisco when it happened.

The No. 1 thing everyone looks at when the Giants start the second half of their schedule is Tom Coughlin. It’s why his face where he looks like he is trying to solve the equation on the hallway chalkboard in Good Will Hunting has become synonymous with collapses. He represents everything that is the 2009 and 2010 collapses, and it’s his coaching and disciplinary styles that get questioned and critiqued when the Giants lose. So, you would think after what has happened the last two years at this same point in the season that Coughlin would make sure if the Giants lose games they are at least losing because the other team is better. You would think that no team would be attempting an onside kick and successfully recovering it against the Giants in the second quarter of a tie game at this point in the season. You would think that the Giants wouldn’t let the same kicker who had a successful onside kick against them in the game in which they blew a 21-point lead with 7:18 a year ago to knock them out of the playoffs, successfully kick another onside kick against them in a big game. You would think so. But it happened. It all happened.

I’m glad Tom Coughlin takes responsibility for it.

Coughlin, who is the King of Challenges, challenged that a 49er touched the ball first on a Giants punt at the beginning of the second half. FOX went to commercial twice without showing the best possible views of the play (probably so Joe Buck could touch up his red and white face paint), so viewers had no idea what was going on, but when we finally saw the play, it was puzzling as to why Coughlin challenged it. So, Coughlin allowed an onside kick in the first half and started the second half by wasting a challenge and a timeout. He was certainly in second-half form on Sunday.

Victor Cruz on Carlos Rogers doing Cruz’s salsa dance after an interception: “Yeah, I wasn’t too fond of that. But whatever. I got best of him throughout the game, so I wasn’t worried.”

Victor Cruz isn’t worried that the Giants lost because he got the best of Carlos Rogers. Oh OK, well I’m glad playoff berths are given out based on which receivers got the best of which cornerbacks and not based on which teams have the best win-loss record.

If you’re going to salsa dance on defenses then defenses are going to salsa dance on you. It’s part of the art of celebrating. If you don’t want someone imitating or mocking your signature celebration or impersonating you in a negative way then maybe you shouldn’t give them the chance to.

Yes, Cruz led the Giants with six catches for 84 yards, but it was his drop that was one of the crucial plays and turning points of the game.

At the time, the Giants had the ball with 1:49 to play in the first half (Eli’s time) and were trailing 9-6. Cruz drops a wide-open pass for a first down and a huge gain. The Giants go back to Cruz on the very next play and the 49ers pick it off and take over at the Giants’ 43. Luckily, Alex Smith was picked off four plays later and the Giants went to halftime trailing by just three, but they could have tied the game or taken the lead heading into the locker room. So, salsa dance all you want, Carlos Rogers.

Justin Tuck on Michael Boley’s hamstring injury: “It’s actually kind of funny. We were talking about who on this defense would it hurt to lose and unanimously we talked about [Michael] Boley.”

That’s “kind of funny?” Are you insane? Who talks about things like this? “Hey guys, wouldn’t it really suck if Michael Boley got hurt and our linebackers were even worse than they already are with him playing?” Why stop there? “Hey guys, wouldn’t it be terrible if Eli got hurt and was out for the season and David Carr had to finish out the year?” Or “Wouldn’t it be funny if we lost Corey Webster, who’s our only reliable player in the secondary? Wouldn’t that be hilarious?”

Seriously, who talks about things like this? It’s one thing to say “no-hitter” or “perfect game” while either of those two things are happening, but you entered the season without cornerback Terrell Thomas (knee), linebacker Clint Sintim (knee), defensive tackle Marvin Austin (pec), cornerback Bruce Johnson (Achilles), cornerback Brian Witherspoon (knee) and Jonathan Goff (knee) for the season, and Prince Amukamara (foot) is still out, and you’re wondering who’s going to get hit next by the injury bug? That’s so funny that Michael Boley might not be able to play against the Eagles! I’m just glad it was unanimous!

Eli Manning on his pass intended for Mario Manningham in the fourth quarter: “It was close. He’s trying to catch it on the move. It was probably like two inches overthrown. It wasn’t a poor throw, but they always say ‘Football is a game of inches.’ It was so close.”

And when Eli says, “It wasn’t a poor throw,” here’s what he really means: “It was a great ball that was perfectly timed and in the perfect place for him to catch it. It hit his hands, didn’t it? If he dives, he catches it and either scores a touchdown or we have the ball on the goal line.”

Mario Manningham on not catching that pass: “I have to come down with that.”

Yes, yes you do. If the ball hits your hands, you need to catch it. And if the balls hits your hands, and you don’t catch it, and you didn’t dive to try and catch it, then you probably should have.

D.J. Ware on his performance and his inability to get the first down: “I think I played well overall. That last yard, you want to always get that.”

I don’t fault Ware for not getting the first down. I fault Kevin Gilbride for calling that play. (And can someone get Kevin Gilbride an undershirt to wear under his Giants polo?)

It’s third-and-2 on the San Francisco 10 with 1:10 left. The Giants either have to get a first down or have to score a touchdown. The 49ers have the No. 1 run defense in the NFL. I said, “THE 49ERS HAVE THE NO. 1 RUN DEFENSE IN THE NFL!” But you know what 49ers have the 25th-best of in the NFL? That’s right. They have the 25th-best passing defense in the NFL. (Do you like my textbook example of foreshadowing here? My fourth grade teacher, Miss Ryan, would be proud.)

Eli has already completed 26 of his 39 pass attempts in the game (that’s 66.7 percent for you non-math majors), and he’s 6-for-8 on the drive for 56 yards. With Ahmad Bradshaw inactive, the Giants’ best offensive weapons are NOT backup running back Brandon Jacobs or No. 3 running back D.J. Ware. Once again it’s third-and-2 with the game on the line and possibly a first-round bye in the playoffs too. What play would you call? I’ll give you a minute to think about it.

(Letting you think about it…)

Did you decide on a shotgun draw to the No. 3 running back? Well, then you and Coughlin and Gilbride are all on the same page.

Ware gets the ball and gets stuffed by the BEST RUN DEFENSE IN THE NFL for no gain. Shocking. Eli’s fourth-and-2 pass gets knocked down at the line and the Giants lose.

Tom Coughlin on being asked about the Giants’ recent second-half collapses: “I can’t imagine why this question keeps coming up in terms of you have to take each year one at a time.”

You can’t imagine why this question keeps coming up? Really? You can’t imagine it? It’s unimaginable?

I can’t imagine A.J. Burnett winning 24 games in 2012 with a 2.19 ERA. I can’t imagine my girlfriend telling me it’s OK to miss her birthday, so I can watch a Giants game (luckily they are playing the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football on her birthday and it’s at 8:20 p.m., so I will be able to watch it). I can’t imagine Eddie Vedder pulling me up on stage at the Garden and giving me Mike McCready’s guitar and letting me play the solo on “State of Love and Trust” (mainly because I don’t even know how to play guitar).

But I can imagine why Tom Coughlin is getting asked questions about losing the first game of the second half of the season. Do you want to know why I can imagine that? Well, let’s look at what Coughlin’s son-in-law Chris Snee had to say to figure out what I can imagine this type of questioning.

Chris Snee on the Giants’ second-half collapses: “We are not analyzing previous years here. As far as I can remember, we’ve had bad years and we had a good year and won the Super Bowl, so I think that is finishing strong.”

Snee’s right. The Giants have had “bad” years. Snee’s rookie year with the Giants was 2004, which is the first year Coughlin became the coach of the Giants and also Eli Manning’s first year in the NFL. So, Snee has been on the Giants for the entirety of the most recent era of Giants football (along with Coughlin and Manning). This is important because here is how all seven seasons have played out for the Giants since 2004, entering this season.

2004: The Giants start the year 5-2 with Kurt Warner starting and showing Eli the ropes. They lose back-to-back games to fall to 5-4 and start planning for the future by letting Eli start, which causes unrest and division in the locker room. Eli goes 1-6 in his first seven starts in the league, but wins the final game of the year against the Cowboys. The Giants finish the year at 6-10 and don’t make the playoffs. Bad finish.

2005: It’s Eli’s first full year. The Giants go 6-2 in the first half of the season then go 5-3 in the second half of the season. They make the playoffs for the first time since blowing a 24-point lead against the 49ers in the 2002 playoffs. The Giants lose 23-0 at home in the first round of the playoffs, as Eli goes 10-for-18 for 113 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions. The Giants finish with just 132 total yards in the game. Bad finish.

2006: The Giants start the year 6-2, but are now 7-7, and entering Week 16, for them to clinch a playoff berth, they need one of two scenarios to happen.

1. Win + Minnesota loss or tie + Atlanta loss + Philadelphia win or tie + Seattle win or tie.

OR

2. Win + Minnesota loss or tie + Atlanta loss + Philadelphia win or tie + San Francisco loss or tie.

The Giants lose 30-7 to the Saints, but the Vikings, Falcons, Seahawks and 49ers all lose too, and the Giants basically hit the biggest parlay ever. Only the Eagles win, so the Giants just need to win in Week 17 against the Redskins and they make the playoffs at 8-8.

The Giants beat the Redskins to get into the playoffs at 8-8 thanks to a Giants single-game rushing record of 234 yards (on just 23 carries) from Tiki Barber. The Giants are just the ninth team in history to reach the postseason without a winning record. After starting the year 6-2, they finish the year 2-6. Then they lose 23-20 to the Eagles in the first round of the playoffs on a David Akers 38-yard field goal with no time remaining. Bad finish.

2007: They tart the year 0-2, but win six in a row after that. After their bye in Week 9, they finish the year 4-4, and with a 10-6 record, they are the No. 5 seed in the playoffs. They run the table on the road in the NFC playoffs, beating the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers and then beat the 18-0 Patriots in the Super Bowl. Best finish ever.

2008: They’re 11-1, but are now without Plaxico Burress for the rest of the year. The Giants finish the regular season 1-3 (they would have finished 0-4 if John Kasay doesn’t miss a field goal for the Panthers in Week 16), but still get the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. They lose in the divisional round at home to the Eagles 23-11. Bad finish.

2009: They start the year 5-0, and then lose four games in a row. They come off their bye week to beat the Falcons in Week 11, but lose four of their last six games in embarrassing fashion to finish the year at 8-8, and miss the playoffs. Bad finish.

2010: They’re 6-2 after Week 9, but then they lose to Jon Kitna and the 2-6 Cowboys at home, and then they lose in Philadelphia the following week thanks to five turnovers and an Eli dive that turns into a fumble with the Giants down by 7 and 2:51 left in the game. At 6-4, the Giants win three in a row, and have a chance to lock up the NFC East in Week 15 at home against the Eagles. They blow a 21-point lead with 7:18 left and lose. They have a chance to rebound the following week and still make the playoffs, but they lose 45-17 in Green Bay. In Week 17, they need a win against the Redskins and a Bears win over the Packers. They beat the Redskins 17-14 on the road, but the Bears lose to the Packers. Bad finish.

(Hey Tom, now can you imagine why you might have to answer questions about second-half collapses now?)

By my count, that’s seven years, four playoff appearances and only one good finish (and an all-time finish at that) to the season. Now does 2007 cancel out all of the other bad years? I actually think it does. It definitely cancels out 2004, 2005 and 2006, but you could make a case that it doesn’t 2008, 2009 or 2010 since those happened after.

Tom Coughlin on the loss to the 49ers to open the second half of the season: “Does it have anything to do with the second half [of the season]? No. It has to do with the ninth game of the year, which I felt we had a great chance to win.”

Sunday’s loss wasn’t a sign of a second-half collapse. Not yet. However, if the Giants don’t make the playoffs, we will look at that onside kick as the turning point in another failed season the way Francisco Cervelli’s home run in Atlanta in 2009 and Brian Cashman traveling with the Yankees on that same road trip are viewed as the turning point for the 2009 World Series champions. As of right now, that loss is just a loss, and let’s hope it stays that way when all is said and done, but it did set up this Sunday night’s game against the Eagles to make it more than that at the end of the season.

The Eagles are in an unthinkable spot. They are 3-6. They are three games off of the division lead with seven games to play, and they don’t have the 2011 Red Sox in their division or on their schedule. They basically need to run the table to make the playoffs and even then that might not do it since the Giants and Buccaneers both missed the playoffs at 10-6 last year. Their coach is on the hot seat, and after 13 years these seven games might be his last seven games in Philadelphia. Their starting quarterback has two broken ribs and missed part of Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals, and his status is unknown for this Sunday. Their backup quarterback (the one who dubbed them this team the “Dream Team”) hasn’t started a game since Nov. 21, 2010 and hasn’t won a game he started since Oct. 10, 2010. Their star wide receiver was inactive on Sunday for “missing a special teams meeting,” which was code for basically mailing it in for most of the year. In other words, the 2011 Philadelphia Eagles are a certified gongshow.

The Eagles have a 7 percent chance of making the playoffs and have very little to play for at this point other than to play the role of spoiler and to ruin the Giants’ season, which I’m sure they would love to do. The Eagles knocked the Giants out of the 2006 playoffs in the wild card round and knocked them out of the 2008 playoffs in the divisional round, and they are the reason the Giants missed the playoffs in 2009 and 2010. The Eagles live for the opportunity to ruin and absolutely devastate the Giants and if the Eagles are going down, you can be sure they are going to try to take the Giants down with them. That’s why even though this matchup on Sunday night heavily favors the Giants, it’s why I’m more to scared to watch this game than I am to watch Jack and Jill.

Chris Snee on the Philadelphia game: “With this team, we are not worried about second halves, like everyone else is. We are worried about Philadelphia this week. We are not looking ahead.”

And you should be worried about Philadelphia. I am.

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