As Bad as It Gets.....

This loss really sucks. There is honestly no other way to put it. The Giants had so much opportunity for the season and they let it all slip away. Usually after a bad loss I try to watch all the interviews and read all the articles the next day, but right now I don't want to even look at them. What made this really bad was when I got home from watching the game, my roommate had a big poster on my couch of a team picture of the Giants. I honestly considered ripping it apart and throwing it all over the apartment. I did not do that and the picture would be great if I could stand the team at the moment. I just told him that those are the last people in the world I want to look at right now and we can talk in the morning.

Anyway, back to the game. I want to start with the quarterback. I am his biggest fan. I have had his back since he was drafted. I have a couple reasons for this. First, he is our quarterback. The Giants put a lot of money and faith into him, so we should cheer and give him as much chance as we can, because if the Giants are going to win a Super Bowl within the next five years he is going to have to be the man. I addition, I like his attitude and calmness on the field. He has a good arm and pocket presence, as well as having a knack for the clutch. With all that being said though, he needs to put the team on his back when it needs him. This was a huge game with two young QBs. Both looked horrible early. Grossman though got better as the game went on and ended up with a very good day. Eli forced a bad INT on a drive in the 4th Quarter when the Giants had a very good chance to win the game. He played like shit the entire game. SO many throws were high and he never looked comfortable. This was a game where we needed him and he did not show up. At this point in his career that is embarrassing. He really needs to show me something in these upcoming games for me to have confidence in him for the playoffs.

My biggest fear going into this game was the Giants pass rush. Early on they were blitzing, hitting Grossman and really effecting him. As the game wet on though they got to him less and less and he was able to have time in the pocket. Because of this he was much more comfortable and accurate with his passes. The injuries to the DE's are catching up to the Giants and if these guys to not get healthy soon then the fortunes of this season can take a nose dive very quickly.

The field goal attempt that turned into a touchdown angers me on so many levels. First of all I do not agree with kicking a field goal there. At that stage in the game I would punt. Down four points with over 11 minutes to play there is a lot of football still to be played. If they could down the ball inside the Bear 10 or 15 yard line then the Giants would still have momentum and put the Bears in bad field position. The FG attempt was over 50 yards and if he missed it would have given the Bears very good field positions to go in for a FG of their own. It turns out they totally embarrassed the Giants and ran back the FG try for a TD. I understand its a judgement call on Coughlins' part and if the FG was good then no one would say a word. I just feel that the risk did not meet the reward, especially since the Giants still would not have been leading. While the defense did not play well in the second half, I still do not trust Grossman. Make him beat you in a big spot, don't beat yourself!!

Everyone is saying that the big play in the game was the third down and 22 at the end of the first half. I agree that it was a big play, but the Giant offense looked horrible before that. The TD pass at the end of the half was a joke. Barber played well, but Shockey was non-existent and like I said, Eli was horrendous. Even if the Giants went into the half with a 13-3 lead, I did not feel good about the way that the Giants were playing over all.

The Giants had an opportunity to tie the Bears for best record in the NFC. They would have had the tie breaker over the Bears and would have already basically locked up their division. Now they have a tough a tough road ahead and are only one game ahead of the Cowboys and the Eagles. I feel like Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men after he found out that one of the defendants wasn't even there when the "code red" was ordered. He gets hammered and goes on a rampage against Demi Moore... "Tell them what they have won captain....games against the Saints, Jaguars, Cowboys, Eagles, and Panthers down the stretch!!!!" This is the most painful Giants defeat since January 2003 in San Francisco when they blew a 30 point lead in the playoffs. The Giants had a golden opportunity with this game, and blew it. This is the best Giants team in a since then, but if they want to go places in the playoffs they need to be at home. I am sorry, but if you can honestly see them winning two games on the road in the playoffs you are a better man than me right now. This quarterback better step up and show his team he can dominate. Right now though, I don't want to see or hear anything about him or this team. The only thing that can make this worse is if I have to watch the Giants play next week on Monday Night Football and listen to Kornheiser and those other two bozos....Oh wait, shoot me now..

Morning After...

As you may have been able to tell, I wrote all of that right after the Giants game. While I still am very bitter about the loss, I have a little more perspective now than I did then. I just have a couple of more things to say on the subject, then I will move on...

1. People will try to point at the two fluke plays (Touchdown off the missed FG and 1st down run on the 3rd and 22 at the end of the first half) as why the Giants lost. I will not cheapen the impact of those plays, but there are two much bigger reasons as to why the Giants lost.
a) The Giants could not get any pressure on Grossman from the front four. They rattled him early in the game with blitzes. In the second half though, they could not get to him at all. He looked like Dan Marino sitting in the pocket in the second half. This is not a surprise due to the Giants injuries, but it is a major concern for upcoming games.
b) Manning had no protection from his blind side after Petigout went out. He was sacked and fumbled twice from the blind side and the Bears were in his face the entire second half beyond that. Petigout will be out at least a month, so the Giants will need to fix this quickly, or the season is in jeopardy. If Manning is going to do anything he needs time to throw.

2. Coughlin can not get murdered for the FG decision. Before every game the kicker kicks to both end zones and the coaches know then what his range is. In addition, unless you were on the field you do not know the wind at that point. There is no way Coughlin would put him out there unless he knew the wind was OK and it was in his range. He kicker did not execute and the coverage after was horrendous. While philosophically I would have punted in that situation, you have to believe that Coughlin knew that Feely had the potential to make that kick if he executed properly.

3. In order to make me feel better I racked my brain to another time the Giants had the season in their hands and let it slip. Back in 1990 the Giants were 10-0 and about to go into Philly and San Francisco. They end up losing both games and two weeks after that losing at home to Buffalo. While I do remember those games, I did not have a concept of what they meant in the long run. I can imagine that the media must have roasted them and the fans felt that while the team was still good, they were not Super Bowl good. Well, they ended up beating San Fran in the NFC title game and Buffalo in the Super Bowl that year. I can only hope that the Giants forget this game, finish 12-4 , get a bye and go into Chicago the the NFC title game and execute better than they did last night. I am sorry, but this is the only way I can look at this that will make me feel better at all...

No More Giants...

• I missed most of the games yesterday so I will only comment on a few...
• Big win my the J-E-T-S...I feel good for Mangini beating his mentor. The weather though was brutal and as my boy Z pointed out, anytime the weather is that bad the advantage goes to the inferior team. I take nothing away from the Jets though, as they are firmly entrenched in the playoff race.
• Cincinnati may be done. To be up 21 points at home and lose is a killer. This is their third loss at home and they are now 4-5. They better hope 10-6 gets them in the playoffs, and if is doesn't they need to revamp that defense...
• LDT is the nastiest RB I have seen since Marshall Faulk...
• USC is in great shape at #3 in the BCS. They will be in the top two when they face Notre Dame, but that will not be an easy game to win at all...
• The Bears still turn the ball over way too many times..
• Next time I jump on the Michael Vick bandwagon, drag me off...
• Not sure how much I like these Yankee trades. They have a philosophy though and they are sticking to it. They want young, power arms. They got four of them, two of which can possibly help them this season. Their starting rotation now needs to be rebuilt with depth since Randy Johnson will be recovering from back surgery. It will be interesting to see how they approach this and who they acquire. They are stockpiling power arms to trade if there is a Dontrelle Willis or Jake Peavy available....
• Looks like "The Chad is Back" is going down and "Eli the Great" had one of the nastiest fantasy weeks ever...You do not want me sneaking into those playoffs smurph.....