1. As I sit here right now, the New York Football Giants are 0-5, have committed 20 turnovers, given up 182 points, and are somehow just two games out of first place in the not-so-hot NFC East. I did not have high expectations for this team coming into the season, but not in my wildest dreams could I have seen this coming. I don't know what's worse: the fact that they are 0-5 or the way they have conducted themselves on the field. Last Sunday's game against Philadelphia was the first time all season I saw some fight and a glimmer of hope. The G-Men committed six turnovers in the opener at Dallas. Then I was at MetLife to watch Peyton Manning dissect the club in its home opener. Seven sacks and double-digit plays for zero or negative yardage against Carolina. Follow all that with a lifeless effort in Kansas City. Then, there was Philly. Up 22-21 late, it looked like the Giants had a chance to put one in the win column...except for the "Eli Implosion."
Three interceptions in a span of nine throws (coupled with three intentional grounding penalties) sends the Giants reeling to a fifth straight defeat. Eli is having a rough season to say the least. He's thrown for 1,482 yards, which is nice. However, he's completed just 53.7% of his passes and thrown just 8 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. When people look at those numbers and his recent fourth-quarter performances, many start to jump on the whole "Eli isn't that good" bandwagon. It's well-known that I've never been the biggest Eli supporter but I'm not putting this all on him. The offensive line is not what it used to be as Eli has already been sacked 15 times. Chris Snee is done for the year. David Diehl is a shell of himself. Justin Pugh is solid but still just a rookie. There is no running game. I never thought I would write these words but here they are: The Giants are DEAD LAST in the NFL, averaging just 56.8 rushing yards per game (In another crazy reality, Pittsburgh is barely above them, averaging 58.0 rushing yards per game.). When teams know you're throwing the football, they can adjust their schemes and make Eli's life miserable. Plus, with no semblance of a running game, he is forced to do way too much. It's highly likely that Eli is forcing throws into coverage and trying to make up large chunks of yardage quickly through the passing game, making mistakes he hasn't made since his rookie year.
Don't leave the defense out of this discussion. The Giants defense is filled with great names: Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul, Mathias Kiwanuka, and Antrel Rolle to name a few. I see two issues. One is that none of those names is playing up to his full ability and/or potential. Two is that none of those names play linebacker. The linebacking core has been a land of misfit toys for the last several seasons. The incredible pass rush up front and ball-hawking secondary play of Rolle and Stevie Brown have covered up for a lot of that. Brown is out for the year. Pierre-Paul is barely healthy. Tuck is a non-factor. The linebackers are simply being exposed. The Giants do not have the dominating, reliable linebacking corps they used to have. I don't go too crazy over the amount of yards a defense gives up. While I love to see defenses give up 150-300 yards a game, that (in many cases) is simply no longer a realistic goal in this era of offensive football where no-huddle rules the day and quarterbacks and receivers are protected at all costs. Case in point, the Denver Broncos allow 416.6 yards per game but are 5-0. The numbers that matter are turnover differential and points allowed. I believe those two numbers are the greatest barometer of defensive success with third down percentage very close as well. The Giants are DEAD LAST in the NFL, allowing 36.4 points per game. If you really want to be taken aback, there's this nugget. The Giants have a -13 turnover differential, giving the ball away 20 times. The team with the next most giveaways (Jacksonville) has only given it away 12 times, a full eight giveaways less. Opponents have also converted 49.4% of their third down opportunities against the Giants. I know there's still 11 games left and the rest of the NFC East hasn't exactly impressed either but numbers like this don't lie and they don't turn around overnight. The misery very well could continue with the short week...and a Thursday night visit to Chicago.
2. Jersey's Team was very busy this offseason. I have chronicled those moves on several occasions so I won't list them all again. There was a lot of backlash over some of the moves that were made. Through four games this season, most of those moves look pretty good. Damien Brunner, Michael Ryder, and the ageless Jaromir Jagr have all scored goals. Cory Schneider hasn't blown anyone away just yet but he has been steady in his two starts in goal. Ryane Clowe hasn't broken though quite yet but he has played well. The bigger concern is on the defensive end. Multiple breakdowns in the neutral zone have contributed to the club blowing leads in three of its first four games. The Devils had 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2 leads in the home opener against the Islanders and fell 4-3 in a shootout. Then the Devils had a 3-0 lead against the Oilers, fell behind 4-3, rallied to force overtime, then lost in a shootout 5-4. Finally, a 2-0 lead against the Canucks evaporated and ended in a 3-2 overtime defeat. An 0-1-3 record does not look too good right now but it's early and there's lot of hockey left to be played. The Devils are still trying to mesh all these new parts together and building team chemistry takes time, plain and simple. I believe it will come together and I will be celebrating with the rest of the Devils Army soon enough.
A quick note about Jagr. In my July 29th column, I wrote the following:
"There has been a lot of local outrage of the signing of Jaromir Jagr by the New Jersey Devils. I'm not on the Jagr bandwagon but I'm not going to lambast this move either. I believe that Jagr can contribute positively to Jersey's Team and as long as fans understand that Jagr, while still an effective player at 41 years old isn't the Jagr of old, then expectations can be tempered and perhaps people will actually enjoy his stint in a Devils uniform. I believe any sports fan would love to see an icon of sport play for his/her team and that's how I'm going to look at this. Jagr is an NHL icon (like it or not) and it will be interesting to see him in a Devils jersey. Plus, unlike many stars at the twilight of their careers, Jagr still has some talent left to be a positive addition."
Let me just say that I was tempering my own excitement at that point. I am firmly planted on the Jagr bandwagon and am thoroughly enjoying watching an NHL icon play for Jersey's Team! I'm also pleased to say that I did indeed buy a red #68 Jagr t-shirt at "The Rock" on Friday night after the home opener. He still isn't what he was during his free-flowing mullet heyday but he's still got great hands and puckhandling skills. I believe he will continue to be a positive contributor to the club so why not just go all in and enjoy his time with the team.
3. I have one quick thought on the Philadelphia Flyers firing head coach Peter Laviolette just three games into the season. Perhaps his message wasn't getting through to the players but I don't agree with this move at all. Laviolette is a very good hockey coach and have no doubt he'll be on the shortlist of every team that fires its coach either during or after this season. The Flyers have a lot of problems. They still haven't recovered on the blue line since the injury-forced retirement of the stalwart Chris Pronger. Trading away Mike Richards & Jeff Carter hasn't worked out quite as well as they hoped because youngsters Matt Read, Sean Couturier, and Brayden Schenn haven't developed as quickly as the club would've liked. There's still time for these players to put it all together but that doesn't help a team like the Flyers when the "win now" mandate is constantly hanging over the club. You have to believe that GM Paul Holmgren is next in line to go...especially with favorite son Ron Hextall coming over from Los Angeles to serve as assistant GM.
4. At 2-3, my alma mater, the Syracuse Orange, is actually sitting right where we all figured they would be. Losses to favored Penn State, Northwestern, and Clemson combined with wins over Wagner and Tulane have sent the Orange into the meat of their ACC schedule with a legitimate chance to go bowling. The rest of the schedule for the 'Cuse play out like this: at North Carolina State; at Georgia Tech; vs. Wake Forest; at Maryland; at Florida State; vs. Pittsburgh; vs. Boston College. Save for that tilt in Tallahassee against #6 Florida State, there's no reason the Orange can't win the majority of those games. If you take Florida State out of the equation, the other six teams remaining on the schedule are a combined 19-11 at the moment, including wins over Elon, Old Dominion, and Presbyterian. That's not exactly the most imposing obstacle. If the Orange can take four of those games, it'll be 6-6 and likely go bowling for the third time in the last four seasons, something the Orange hasn't done since the late '90s when they went to the Orange Bowl after the '98 season, the Music City Bowl after the '99 season, and capped it off with a trip to the Insight Bowl after the '01 season. So things are actually still looking good for Syracuse. As for the lack of orange in the uniforms...we won't even go there.
5. I know there are some out there who aren't happy with the extra wild card in Major League Baseball but you have to admit that it was very exciting this season. The chance to see the Pittsburgh Pirates host a postseason game for the first time since 1992 was nothing short of amazing. The Tampa Bay Rays had to win not one, but two play-in games, defeating both Texas and Cleveland before getting to the Division Series to play Boston. I'm also hoping this is the year the Oakland A's finally get back to the League Championship Series. I've always enjoyed watching them succeed despite constantly turning their roster over. It's amazing how they just keep defying the odds and winning lots of baseball games in the process.
6. A few more college football pieces because you know that my posts are always littered with college football and New Jersey Devils information. Wouldn't it be great if Baylor goes into its showdown with Oklahoma at 7-0? Can anybody slow that Baylor offense down as they're currently averaging 70 points a game? When will people start to give Kliff Kingsbury some credit for the great job he's done at Texas Tech? Perhaps when he's 7-0 going to his team's game against Oklahoma? Can Washington really give Oregon a run for their money this weekend? Or will we have to wait for the next Oregon/Stanford showdown? How come no one is talking about the fact that the SEC doesn't look invincible this year? Will Ohio State run the table again? Can Rutgers go to a BCS bowl in its final chance in the American/Artist Formerly Known as the Big East? Will Mack Brown make it through the rest of the season if the Longhorns fail to beat Oklahoma again?
Until next time.
- Meech
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
