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Tag: Tom Coughlin

Blogs • Giants • Giants Thoughts

Oct 9, 2013

Giants-Eagles Week 5 Thoughts: ‘Meltdown at the Meadowlands’

Don’t let the NFC East standings fool you. The Giants’ season is over.

I was nervous that after the way the first four weeks of the season have gone that the Eagles might present us with something like a “Miracle at the Meadowlands Part II.” But it actually ended up being worse. Much worse. I should have seen the “Meltdown at the Meadowlands” coming with the chance to save the season.

The Giants’ season is over. Yes, I’m finally ready to admit that. I don’t care that they’re still only two games back in the division with11 games to play. The Giants aren’t mathematically eliminated and with the Eagles and Cowboys leading the division at 2-3, they likely won’t be for some time. But how is a team that’s 0-5 and been outscored 182-82 and given up at least 31 points each game and just lost to Nick Vick (half a game of Michael Vick and half a game of Nick Foles) going to get it together by Thursday and then go into Soldier Field and win a game? They’re not.

Thinking, writing and talking about what happened on Sunday makes me feel like Lloyd Christmas watching Harry and Mary drive off, but let’s get to the Thoughts, none of which were positive about the Giants.

– “I think at the end of my career, I’ll be in the Hall of Fame. I know myself, and I know (when) I have guys around me that feel the same way, which I feel I do. When I get my opportunity, the sky is not the limit. I think it’s past that. You have to believe in yourself to do good things. This is how I feel.”

That’s what David Wilson told Newsday last October. At the time he had 87 yards on 15 carries and the memorable fumble on Opening Night against the Cowboys that got him benched.

What else did he say back then? Oh, not much …

“I’m like birth control. You have to believe in me. Like birth control, 99.9 percent of the time I’m going to come through for you.”

It didn’t end …

“I never know when that opportunity is coming, and that’s why you have to stay prepared. But when I do get that opportunity, I’m going to get lost in the moment and keep it going. Once I get my chance to go out there and play football and do what I do, I’m not going to want to let go of that.”

On Sunday, Wilson found the end zone for the first time this season and after giving the Giants a 7-0 lead, he completed back-to-back backflips. That’s right. Not one backflip, which would have been ridiculous enough for the way his season and the Giants’ season has gone, but TWO backflips, which was embarrassing for him, the Giants and their fans. But I guess when you have 146 rushing yards on 44 carries after five games, you can do whatever you want.

– It’s scary to think the numbers Eli Manning would put up and the amount of wins the Giants would have if any receiver could catch a perfectly thrown deep ball. Why won’t you catch the ball Hakeem Nicks and Rueben Randle? Why?

– Does Victor Cruz know that every time he doesn’t catch a ball intended for him it’s not because of pass interference? It’s awkward for everyone watching the game to watch Cruz throw a temper tantrum in the middle of an NFL field and stomp and stammer when he’s unable to make a play on a very catchable ball when it’s his fault and not the defender’s.

– Trumaine McBride had a chance to make two game-changing plays. He didn’t make either of them.

The first play was a missed opportunity to down a punt on the Eagles’ 1 in the first quarter, which led to the ball rolling into the end zone for a touchback. McBride beat the ball to the 1 and was just sitting there waiting for it and once it got there he fanned on it.

The second play was a missed interception on first-and-10 from the Eagles’ 29 that McBride let go right through his hands like Domenik Hixon trying to make a catch in the 2008 playoffs. Instead of an interception that would have given the Giants the ball with a 7-6 lead, DeSean Jackson hauled in a 56-yard catch that set up a LeSean McCoy touchdown three plays later.

So thank you, Trumaine McBRide. Thanks for showing up to MetLife Stadium on Sunday.

– Only Brandon Jacobs could fumble without getting touched or bumped or hit. That’s right Jacobs put a ball on the ground despite making contact with nothing except the air of MetLife Stadium.

Jacobs has 48 yards on 22 carries this season and his longest run has been for seven yards. Tom Coughlin doesn’t trust David Wilson, Andre Brown still has a broken leg and Da’Rel Scott is no longer a Giant. Good thing the Giants didn’t sign Willis McGahee when they had the chance.

– After all of the second-half collapses over the last decade and whatever the eff this season has been, it’s still hard to call for Tom Coughlin’s job because of those two February wins over the Patriots. But if Coughlin continues to make coaching decisions like he did against the Eagles, he’s going to make it easy for his job status to be put in jeopardy.

On the Eagles’ second possession of the game, the Eagles failed to convert a third-down attempt on third-and-9 from their own 48. A five-yard run left them facing a fourth-and-4 from the Giants’ 47. But an offensive holding penalty was called on the five-yard run and instead of declining the penalty and forcing the Eagles to punt or risk going for it on fourth-and-4 at basically midfield, Coughlin accepted the penalty, giving them a third-and-20 from their own 37. Now maybe Coughlin hasn’t seen every Giants-Eagles game during his tenure as Giants head coach, but 100 percent of the time the Eagles have faced a third-and-impossible, they have converted. So it was no surprise that Vick took off for a 34-yard run in a drive that would end with a field goal. Here you go, Philadelphia, here’s three free points!

And then there was the disaster at the beginning of the third quarter. The Eagles led 19-7 and Foles completed an 11-yard pass to McCoy on third-and-10 from the Eagles’ 27 for a first down, but replays showed McCoy might have not had possession when he went out of bounds on the catch. So what did Tom Coughlin do? He called timeout to give him more time to make his decision. (Goodbye first of three timeouts in the second half of a game you’re trailing 19-7 to save your season!) And then after getting extra time to make a decision, Coughlin challenged the play, putting his second timeout at risk in a 12-point game on an 11-yard pass that would have only given the Eagles a first down at their own 38. Now it looked like Coughlin was correct in challenging the play, but why risk two timeouts for one 11-yard play? And why risk it when no one ever has any idea what the ref is going to say when he emerges from under he good? Of course the play was upheld and the Giants lost two timeouts on one play.

– Eli Manning had three intentional grounding penalties. Not three intentional grounding penalties in a season. Three intentional grounding penalties in one afternoon.  And on top of that, Eli graced us with three more interceptions to bring his season total to 12. Eight touchdown and 12 interceptions in five games. No big deal, right?

Yes, several of the 12 interceptions have been unusual, but Eli isn’t doing himself any favors by trying to make a play on every play when he would be better suited taking a sack or throwing it out of bounds rather than trying to make throws underhand or with his left hand or letting balls go into triple coverage. I like to pretend that late in these games when Eli feels the pressure and an impending sack and doesn’t see anyone open for a reasonable throw he just screams, “Eff it!” and lets one fly as far as he can. The problem is all of these “Eff it!” throws are finding the other team.

– Hakeem Nicks’ effort getting on the field with the clock winding down on the Giants’ season on the play in which he didn’t correctly run his route leading to the third interception was … it was … just … like … ah who cares? It was a joke, that’s what it was.

– Trailing 36-21 with about three minutes to play and facing a fourth-and-28 on their own 19, the Giants punted. It didn’t matter if it was fourth-and-1 or fourth-and-10 or fourth-and-28 or fourth-and-99, the Giants waved the white flag. No, they most likely weren’t going to convert a fourth-and-28 (unless they were going against their own defense) and they certainly weren’t going to come back and win the game, but they didn’t even try. They gave up. After five games, I’m doing the same.

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Blogs • Giants • NFL

Oct 3, 2013

NFL Week 5 Picks

So last week wasn’t a must-win game for the Giants, but this week against the Eagles is. I’m serious.

October isn’t the same without the Yankees in the postseason. Luckily this October I have Giants playoffs games to watch.

The Giants have officially reached must-win status on Sunday against the Eagles because they’re not coming back from an 0-5 start even if the Cowboys lose to the Broncos on Sunday (or should I say when the Cowboys lose to the Broncos on Sunday). It’s not necessarily must-win from here on out because the Giants aren’t going to go 12-0 and run the table the way Antrel Rolle suggested they would on WFAN, but losing a second game in the division and falling to 0-for-the season through Week 5 would mean it’s over.

And with the Yankees’ offseason already being filled with enough nonsense that will take us up to and through spring training I don’t need the Giants’ offseason starting on Oct. 7 and don’t want to have nearly three months of meaningless of football to watch.

As for the picks, Week 4 was the first .500 week of the season … progress! Or as Alain Vigneault says, “Pro-gress.”

Week 5 … let’s go!

(Home team in caps)

CLEVELAND -4.5 over Buffalo
In the battle of beaten-down football cities, it’s hard not to pull for a Cleveland team that doesn’t have Nick Swisher on the roster.

Kansas City -3 over TENNESSEE
It’s weird that I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that Jake Locker isn’t starting for the Titans. And I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that Ryan Fitzpatrick is starting for the Titans. But right now against the Chiefs, it doesn’t matter.

MIAMI -3 over Baltimore
The Dolphins are 3-1 with their only loss coming in the Superdome, which isn’t the same as any other loss since it’s an automatic loss for any team the day the schedule comes out. Eight months after winning the Super Bowl, the Ravens are a 3-point underdog in Miami and I’m picking the Dolphins.

Jacksonville +11.5 over ST. LOUIS
Last week I said, “I think the only way I wouldn’t pick against the Jaguars right now would be if they were playing the Giants,” but I lied because I never thought the Jaguars would be getting 11.5 points against the Rams.

This should be the game where I say, “Somewhere someone who isn’t a Buccaneers fan or a Cardinals fan is going to bet on this game and watch it in its entirety. Think about that.” But really it’s probably a good idea to bet on this game and bet for Jacksonville to cover. Yes, I just suggest that people wager ON Jacksonville. So far the Jaguars have lost by 26, 10, 28 and 34 and have failed to cover in all of their games. But this is the Rams we’re talking about. The Rams, who have given no offensive support to the career of Sam Bradford and who have no business being favored against any team by 11.5 points, even if that team is the Jaguars.

New England -1.5 over CINCINNATI
If it were 2012 and the Patriots had gotten to 3-0 against the Bills, Jets and Buccaneers and I called them out for not being a convincing undefeated team and then they beat the Falcons in Georgia, I would have to believe in them. But it’s 2013 and the Falcons aren’t the team that went to the NFC Championship Game and blew a 17-0 lead in that game and my 10-to-1 parlay with the Ravens to beat the Patriots. However, the Patriots are 4-0 and just doing what the Patriots do seemingly every year even with Tom Brady’s top receiver being Julian Edelman.

Seattle -3 over INDIANAPOLIS
The Seahawks are 4-0 despite being tied for 14th in the league in total yards and 26th in passing yards in a league, which revolves around throwing the ball. Once Russell Wilson’s passing game clicks, it’s going to be hard for anyone in the league to stop the Seahawks, considering no one has stopped them yet just from their rushing and defense.

GREEN BAY -7 over Detroit
The 1-2 Packers at Lambeau coming off a bye against a division rival who plays their home games in a dome? It’s not as easy picking the Packers as it was in the 2011 season.

CHICAGO +1.5 over New Orleans
The Saints are 3-0 at home and have outscored their opponents 92-41. They have only played one road game, but that was a two-point win over the 0-4 Buccaneers, who over the first four games have been the biggest mess in the league. The Bears aren’t the Buccaneers. Soldier Field isn’t Raymond James Stadium. And most importantly, the Saints outside the Superdome aren’t the Saints.

NEW YORK GIANTS -1.5 over Philadelphia
Last week I said, “Save the season or end it. If it’s the latter, I will probably have to pick against the Giants for the rest of the season.” Well, the Giants lost and their season didn’t end and I’m still picking them this week. But this is the final straw. I mean it.

Carolina -2.5 over ARIZONA
I know Bill Parcells said, “You are what your record says you are,” and the Panthers are 1-2, but they are good. They nearly beat the undefeated NFC-favorite Seahawks in Week 1, had a terrible late-game letdown effort in Buffalo in Week 2 and then absolutely destroyed the Giants in Week 3 in the worst loss of the Tom Coughlin era.

Denver -9 over DALLAS
Once again, at some point the Broncos aren’t going to cover. If it’s this week, so be it. But I’m not going to be on the other side of another Broncos blowout.

SAN FRANCISCO -6 over Houston
The 49ers are coming off a much-needed win against the Rams at home and got to enjoy an extra long week off after playing on Thursday Night Football in Week 4. The Texans are coming off a devastating loss to the Seahawks that has called into question Matt Schaub’s abilities and future and has everyone jumping all over Gary Kubiak’s coaching abilities. It’s a recipe for disaster for the Texans in San Francisco.

OAKLAND +5 over San Diego
I have picked for the Chargers the last two weeks and they won for me and tied for me. In Weeks 1 and 2, I picked against the Chargers and they covered both times. So far this season the Chargers are 3-0-1 against the spread, which would make one think they should be all over them since they are staying in their time zone and division against the lowly Raiders whose lone win is against … you guessed it … the Jaguars! But I have learned over the last six years, mainly because of Norv Turner, that you can’t trust the Chargers and Philip Rivers and if you do, you can’t trust them for long. Trusting the Chargers for a third straight week and to continue their undefeated streak of covering is too long.

ATLANTA -10 over New York Jets
Geno Smith and the J-E-T-S on Monday Night Football in the Georgia Dome. The Giants won’t be the only New York football team with embarrassing blowouts on their 2013 resume.

Last week: 7-7-1
Season: 24-35-4

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Blogs • Giants • Giants Thoughts

Oct 1, 2013

Giants-Chiefs Week 4 Thoughts: A 12-Game Season

The Giants were embarrassed again and after an 0-4 start to their season they need to put the first quarter of the season behind them and focus on the remaining 12 games.

I didn’t think things could get worse after the six-turnover Opening Night performance. I was wrong. And I didn’t think they could get worse than losing by 18 despite being down 10-9 at halftime. I was wrong again. And then I didn’t think things could get worse than losing 38-0 and producing 150 yards of total offense. I was wrong about that too. Things have gotten progressively worse since the “Disaster in Dallas” and I’m not sure what’s left after getting embarrassed and run out of Kansas City by Alex Smith, Andy Reid and the Chiefs. Are the Eagles planning a “Miracle at the Meadowlands Part II” for this Sunday? If so, I wish someone would tell me now, so I can find something else to do like watch Knocked Up or Funny People or Five-Year Engagement.

The same day the Yankees season officially ended after 182 days and 162 games, the Giants season ended after 21 days and four games. Sure, the Giants are technically still alive in a division where the Cowboys of all teams are in first place at 2-2. And if there’s any team incapable of holding a division lead in the NFL, it’s the Cowboys.

But why would anyone think the Giants are going to suddenly figure it out? And by “it” I mean everything as in every facet of the game. Because right now there isn’t one thing the Giants are doing well. Well, unless we’re talking about throwing interceptions, losing fumbles, taking untimely and game-changing penalties and missing field goals because they are doing all of those things better than any team in the league.

Going to Kansas City in Week 4 with the Chiefs flying as high as they have in forever and the Giants at an all-time low in the Tom Coughlin era and maybe the lowest of low in franchise history was a recipe for disaster. It was a game the Giants were set up to lose after what had happened in the first three weeks for them and for the Chiefs. But even as 5-point underdogs, the Giants didn’t show up and were worked over the same way they were the previous two weeks and everything Carl Banks said about the team to Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts on WFAN last week held true again.

I’m not going to talk negatively about Tom Coughlin, question his decision making or call into question his job status. It’s not for fear of having Justin Tuck punch me in the face, but rather because I don’t think this debacle is because of Coughlin, even if he is the man in charge. Coughlin’s not the one who has thrown nine interceptions in four games and he’s not on the offensive line failing to hold up his man and he’s not on the defensive line failing to get to the quarterback. He’s the man on the sidelines, who is watching his highly-talented team underachieve and not play to their abilities and live up to their expectations. But Coughlin does get to call the shots during the game and he made a bad call on Sunday that changed the game.

In the third quarter with the Giants facing a third-and-17 at the Giants’ 14, Eli Manning hit Victor Cruz for 17 yards. A 17-yard pass in a third-and-17 situation. What’s that mean? First down, Giants. Right? Wrong. Andy Reid, whose history of poor challenges, poor use of the clock and bad in-game management helped end his tenure in Philadelphia, challenged the ruling on the field of a first down and the spot of the ball, a call that’s rarely and I mean RARELY ever overturned. But because it’s New York Giants football and because things are going as bad for the 2013 Giants as they did for Mischa Barton’s acting career after she left and ruined The O.C., Reid won the challenge and it became a fourth-and-1 for the Giants on their own 30.

Tom Coughlin had a decision to make: Go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Giants’ 30 and risk turning the ball over on downs in a 10-7 game or punt it away and rely on the defense to make another stop. He went with his second choice and Steve Weatherford, who has been part of the problem and not part of the solution like just about everyone on the team this season, punted 59 yards to Dexter McCluster and McCluster “DeSean Jackson’d” the punt 89 yards for a touchdown and a 17-7 lead. Game over.

Cruz didn’t agree with Coughlin’s decision by saying, “I thought we should have gone for it on that fourth down. It’s coach’s call at the end of the day. … We had the momentum. I felt it was a yard, not even a yard, half a yard, we’ve got to take a risk at some point and make something happen.” And I agree with Cruz. The Giants had to make something happen and they went with the safe play even if it was the supposed right play given their field position, but at 0-3 and on the road and a quarter away from being 0-4, the Giants had to do something to change the momentum of that game and trying to gain not even a full yard for a first down would have done that instead. Instead they changed the momentum for the Chiefs.

The 0-4 start is alarming because it’s 0-4, but it’s heightened because of how last season ended and the bad taste it left in everyone’s mouths. Usually we’re used to see a stretch like this in the second part of the season or near the end of the season as the Giants erase their division titles hopes and playoff chances. Never before during the Tom Coughlin era have we seen something like this where the patented second-half collapse takes place in the first half or the first four weeks.

An 0-4 start looks a lot worse than a 6-2 team becoming 6-6, which is more Giants-like. But it leaves open the thought that maybe the Giants are getting their collapse out of the way now. No, that doesn’t mean I think the Giants are going to go 12-0 and run the table like Antrel Rolle said he “believes” the Giants can. But they don’t need to this season in this division where a winless record only has them two games out with 75 percent of the season left. And while Rolle’s prediction of the Giants winning out was just a little bold, he did redeem himself by saying, “This is just a new beginning, a 12-game season for us.”

The 12-game season begins with two games in the next 10 days. It’s hard to believe in the Giants, but that’s when they are at their best.

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Blogs • Giants • Giants Thoughts

Sep 9, 2013

Giants-Cowboys Week 1 Thoughts: ‘Disaster in Dallas’

A Giants letdown should have been somewhat expected on Sunday night given what has happened during the Tom Coughlin era, but it wasn’t and the “Disaster in Dallas” occurred.

I shouldn’t have been surprised that the first play of the Giants season and the first pass of Eli Manning’s season was intercepted. I shouldn’t have been surprised that the Giants turned the ball over on their second possession as well. I shouldn’t have been surprised that the Giants turned the ball over on their third possession as well. I shouldn’t have been surprised that David Wilson didn’t learn his lesson from Week 1 2012 and fumbled twice and then was benched. I shouldn’t have been surprised that Eli Manning threw for 450 yards and four touchdowns and the Giants loss. But I was.

I thought this year would be different the same way I thought 2012 would be after 2011’s Super Bowl run; the same way I thought 2011 would be after 2010’s collapse (it wasn’t until the postseason); the same way I thought 2010 would be after 2009’s collapse; the same way I thought 2009 would be after 2008’s post-Plaxico collapse; the same way I thought 2008 would be after 2007’s Super Bowl run. But Sunday night’s game wasn’t just a look at the 2013 Giants, it was a look at the Tom Coughlin Giants and it was a game that in a few years you won’t remember which season during the Coughlin era it came from because it fits perfectly in any of them.

I should have known better than to think that 252 days off between the Giants’ 2012 season finale and their 2013 Week 1 kickoff against the Cowboys would be enough time to try and correct a team that was 6-2 and headed for a division title before finishing 9-7 and out of the playoffs and unable to defend their status as “champions.” I should have known better than to think that the New York Football Giants would start a season off by playing to their potential and limiting turnovers and mistakes and penalties. I should have known better than to think the Giants would show up in Dallas and win. But what the New York Football Giants are isn’t something that I’m familiar with or something that only Giants fans are familiar with. It’s something that even the players familiar with. Here’s what Victor Cruz said.

“I thought that was the typical Giants story of how we come back. Kind of how we always are. We get down here, and we have to crawl back and fight back. And we make some big plays and the pendulum swings.”

“Typical Giants story?” “Kind of how we always are?” “We have to crawl back and fight back?” It’s probably not good that Cruz knows what the Tom Coughlin Giants are and are about. It’s one thing for me to write and talk about it, but it’s another thing for the players to actually understand that the Giants are always going to be involved in games like they were on Sunday night.

There was the “Miracle at the Meadowlands” and the “Miracle at the New Meadowlands” and now we have the “Disaster in Dallas.” Three interceptions, two fumbles and one effed-up punt return for a 36-31 loss and an 0-1 record. The lasting image from the game won’t be Eli Manning punching the air after Da’Rel Scott gift-wrapped a touchdown for Brandon Carr to end the game. And it won’t be Tom Coughlin looking so infuriated that the only thing to compare his anger to would be a parent who found out that their kid was kicked out of college for academic and substance abuse reasons, got a girl pregnant and racked up $45,000 of credit card debt and found these things out all on the same day. No, the lasting image will be David Wilson standing on the sideline with no one to talk, staring into nothing at AT&T Stadium with his helmet lifted up on his head wondering what the eff happened. Because that what all Giants fans were wondering: What the eff happened? Well, Tom Coughlin summed it up pretty well.

“Six times we gave the ball away. Six times. I’m totally disappointed and embarrassed by that. That’s sloppy football.”

Tom Coughlin hates turnovers more than you hate anything in your life and turnovers were the only reason the Giants lost and are now faced with the Broncos as the only separating them from being 0-2 and then going on the road for back-to-back games. So on that note, let’s get to the Week 1 Thoughts.

– It’s scary that the Giants had six turnovers and lost 36-31 and actually had the ball with 2:41 left and a chance to win the game 31-30. Does that mean A.) The Giants have the best offense in the league? B.) The Cowboys suck? C.) Both teams suck? D.) Nothing, it was just a Week 1 game? I’m hoping it’s A and B and not C, but it’s probably D.

– I have no idea what Eli was doing on the first play of the game. Zero idea. He has thrown 147 interceptions in his career and that was the worst one. For all the wrong-footed, ill-timed, goal-line interceptions he has thrown, that was the worst thing I have ever seen from Number 10.

– The Giants trail 30-24 and have the ball with 2:41 left and two timeouts. It’s third-and-5 from the Giants’ 22 and Eli hits Reuben Randle for 26 yards. The Giants now the ball on their own 48. They come out of the two-minute warning and on the first play Eli throws a pass to Da’Rel Scott that Scott deflects into the hands of Brandon Carr, who returns it for a 49-yard touchdown to end the game.

It doesn’t matter if Eli made a bad pass or that Scott should have had it. What matters is that Nicks, Cruz and Randle all had over 100 yards receiving at that point and the play is to Da’Rel Scott, who barely made the team and was only in the game because David Wilson had the worst game a running back could have. That’s your play? Is this real life? The only thing I hope is that that wasn’t supposed to be the play coming out of the huddle and a TV timeout for the two-minute warning. Please don’t let that be the case.

– Victor Cruz: five catches, 118 yards, three touchdowns. Hakeem Nicks: five catches, 114 yards. Reuben Randle: five catches, 101 yards.

It the Giants don’t turn the ball over six times a game, the Giants offense is going to be the offense everyone around the league gushes about and not the Broncos, 49ers, Falcons or Packers. But I guess that would only create hype and expectations for the Giants and in turn they would fail to live up to them.

– The defensive line was still missing from the end of the 2011 season on Sunday night until the Giants had to get a stop to get the ball back while trailing 30-24 and then Justin Tuck, Linval Joseph and Jason Pierre-Paul showed up. The defensive performance won’t be talked about since Eli’s three picks and David Wilson two fumbles and the overall loss to the Cowboys are the major storylines, but the defense was much better than I thought they would be. They bailed out the turnovers each time, got the biggest stop of the game to give Eli the ball with 2:41 left, held Dez Bryant to four catches for 22 yards and gave up just 331 yards of total offense.

Knowing the Giants, this will be like the 2013 Yankees where they either hit or pitch, but don’t do both together, and the offense will bounce back in Week 2 and limit the turnovers and the defense will get torched by Peyton Manning. If Week 1 retaught me anything I have learned about the Giants in my life, it’s don’t get too down on a big loss or too high on a big win. So I’m just going to say it would be really awesome if the defense would play like that again on Sunday. That’s all.

– I had to save the Man of the Hour for last. The Giants don’t have a choice, but to play David Wilson and fix his fumbling problems. They used their 2012 first-round pick on him, benched him for nearly the entire season after Week 1 a year ago and then he failed to live up to the job of being the No. 1 back with tons of pressure and hype on him entering last night. I didn’t think that not even 12 hours after the first game of the season I would be hearing rumors and reports that Brandon Jacobs could be returning to the Giants. Ladies and gentlemen, the New York Football Giants!

After the game, Wilson said, “I’m at the bottom now. Nowhere to go but up.” Well, that’s not true since you and the Giants could stay at the bottom. And with Peyton and the Broncos coming to the Meadowlands this week, going up might have to wait another Sunday.

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Blogs • Columns Archive • Giants

Dec 19, 2012

This Is What a Second-Half Collapse Looks Like

The Giants are looking at the possibility of another second-half collapse. Eli Manning doesn’t seem too worried about it.

Last year the Giants were 6-2 and to open the second half of their schedule they lost to the 49ers in Week 9 even though it had been determined before the game that the Giants would lose to the 49ers. It had been determined because that’s what New York Giants football had been and has been in the second half of the regular season during the Tom Coughlin era.

I remember being scared on Nov. 13, 2011 after that loss to the 49ers because of the 5-0 start in 2009 that ended with an 8-8 season and the 7-4 start in 2010 that DeSean Jackson destroyed. So when the Giants lost to the 49ers and opened the second half of the 2011 season with a loss, it made me think, “Oh eff, this isn’t happening again, isn’t it?”

The media thought it could be happening again too. So they asked Coughlin about the Giants’ recent second-half collapses over and over the way Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) asks Larry if the paper in his the Ziploc bag is his homework in The Big Lebowski. But instead of “Is this your homework, Larry? Is this your homework, Larry? Is this your homework, Larry?” it was “Is this the start of another second-half collapse, Tom? Is this the start of another second-half collapse, Tom? Is this the start of another second-half collapse, Tom?”

Coughlin sat there like Larry just giving the media a confused and disgusted look while I chimed in from the side like The Dude with “We know it’s the start of another second-half collapse, Tom!” But unlike The Dude, I never told him that there were people threatening to cut off his manhood.

Eventually Coughlin responded to the media’s questions about the possibility of another second-half collapse.

“I can’t imagine why this question keeps coming up in terms of you have to take each year one at a time.”

That’s right. He really said that. Tom Coughlin couldn’t imagine why the media kept asking him about second-half collapses as if they had made up the idea that the Giants had been awful during his time as head coach in the second half of the regular season. How bad had the Giants been in the second half under Coughlin prior to that question being asked? Let’s take a look.

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.

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.

2007: They start 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.

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 didn’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.

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.

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 seven 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.

And then there’s 2011, which was a Tony Romo to Miles Austin completion away from being maybe the worst collapse of them all. After losing to the 49ers, the Giants lost the next three games to start the second half of their season 0-4, dropping them to 6-6. We all know what happened in the final five minutes and 41 seconds in Dallas in Week 14 and after that, but no one knew all of that would happen. No one could fathom that all of that would happen and happen essentially the same way it did four years before.

It’s been 13 months and a Super Bowl since Coughlin gave that puzzling answer to a legitimate question about what the eff goes on with his teams once the ninth game of the year rolls around the way I wonder what the eff happens to Mark Teixeira when the calendar turns to October. And I understand that Coughlin was doing what any coach would do by protecting his players and trying to stifle questions about the team’s horrifying collapses the way Willie Randolph didn’t want to talk about October 2006 or September 2007 in the spring of 2008. I can understand why Coughlin was irritated by the questioning, but I can’t understand how he couldn’t “imagine” the questions being asked.

But a year later, the weird answers haven’t stopped coming out of the Giants locker room. And this time it’s Eli Manning who’s making me think this Sunday against the Ravens or next Sunday against the Eagles might force me into a nine-month depression until Week 1 of the 2013 season. If you didn’t watch Sunday’s debacle in Atlanta and only listened to Eli answer questions after the game, you never would have guessed which team lost 34-0 and which team is now playing postseason games from here on out for the rest of the 2012 season. Here is Eli after the loss to the Falcons.

On summing up the loss to the Falcons.

“I think you’ve got to look at the good things and look at the bad and we had some opportunities. We got down in scoring range four times and got no points.”

Eli Manning has earned the Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera treatment from me. Well, he has almost earned it. Because I did slip twice early on Sunday and “Ladies and gentlemen” Eli after his first pick and then after his second pick. But for the most part, it’s those three and Henrik Lundqvist in the New York sports scene that I will never, ever, ever (OK, rarely ever) criticize.

But by being in that elite class, there comes responsibility. And if you’re going to open things by telling people to look at the “good” and the “bad” of a 34-0 loss then I can’t help you. What good could have come from being run out of the Georgia Dome? And if you’re going to give an example of something “good” that happened and it’s that you got deep into Falcons’ territory four times and scored zero points then maybe I should find something else to do on the next two Sundays.

On whether or not he is confused about which team is going to show up every Sunday.

“No. We could have executed better. I think it’s just a matter of certain plays.”

You’re not confused? Oh, OK. Because I haven’t been this confused since Nick Swisher bunted against Jon Lester with a runner on second and one out in 2011.

And “a matter of certain plays?” You lost 34-0. Thirty-four to nothing. That means you lost by five possessions. That’s a little more than a matter of “certain plays.” That’s a whole game of sucking. That’s 60 minutes of bad football.

On the team’s confidence.

“The confidence is great. Your confidence is high because of the coaches that we have, the character of the players we have, the talent of the players we have and our preparation will be good. We’re going to have a chance to go out there and perform well.”

I’m not sure how the team could have any confidence after that game, let alone “great” confidence heading to Baltimore. But, OK. I will take your word for it since I don’t really have any other choice.

And preparation? Let me just say that after the 34-0 loss several Giants said the team looked great in practice all week. You know who doesn’t reference how great the team looked in practice all week? Teams that win.

On how the team will react.

“I think we’re going to react great. If you say at the beginning of the season that you have two games left and you’ve got to win both of them to be in the playoffs, I think you’d take it. This is an opportunity you ask for. These are circumstances you want to be in. Could there be better circumstances? Yeah, of course. There can always be better, but there could be much worse.”

You want a last chance opportunity because you already blew every other opportunity? OK? But what if I said after Week 12, “You’re 7-4 with a chance to end the division race with a win over the Redskins in Week 13? Would you take that?” Because you had that opportunity and you let it get away.

“We like our chances. We know what we need to do and it’s right in front of us and we’ve got to go out there and win this game this week.”

And if you don’t? Actually, don’t answer that.

On the team reacting well to being in a must-win situation at the end of the year.

“I think just because we trust each other and our preparation is good and I think we just have good character guys and guys who understand the importance of this and understand that they treat their football careers very seriously and understand that this is a big game for us.”

If these “guys who understand the importance of this and understand that they treat their football careers very seriously” then wouldn’t those “guys” have not blown the Steelers game or been embarrassed by the Bengals or lost to the Redskins or done whatever you want to call what happened on Sunday?

On having the players on the team question Sunday’s performance.

“For the most part, I think we’ve been in every game that we’ve played in this season, had a chance to win every one except this one, which got out of hand. But for the most part we’ve been tight in every game and not every game is going to be perfect.”

34-0. Yes, I would say “out of hand” is a good way to describe it. At least we’re being honest now.

On playing well in must-win games in previous years.

“These are the circumstances you want to be in. You want to be fighting to make it in the playoffs and that’s just football and you understand it’s tough to make the playoffs. You’ve got to work. You’ve got to win games. You’ve got to win important games and this is a chance. This is as important a game as you can have, this upcoming game, and our mindset is the playoffs have started. This is it. This game right here is huge. It’s the most important game and it’s a must-win game for us.”

You’re right, this is a must-win game for the Giants. But all of the games for the Giants are must-win games from now until however long their 2012 season goes. And I should have known that would be the case before the season even started. It always is.

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