Posts tagged ‘giants’

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October 17, 2011

Bills Mistakes + Giants Achievements = W for New York

by Jamie Insalaco

I’m a huge fan of Corey Webster – not only is he an outstanding play maker (2 interceptions this week!), he’s also keenly aware of reality:

“We still have a long ways to go, but it is easily corrected off of a ‘W’ instead of a ‘L.’ We made some mistakes, but we get to correct them. We have two weeks to do that so hopefully we get started moving in the right direction now.”

This is the sort of comment he makes after a win – no wonder I admire his play so much. Webster must know that yesterday’s win was achieved not only due to some good play by the Giants, of course, but also some tremendous mistakes by the Buffalo Bills. Both teams committed 3 penalties, but the Bills pass interference and face mask penalties in the fourth quarter were back breakers for them and W makers for the Giants. If the Bills don’t commit those blatant fourth quarter penalties, we could be looking at a different outcome, and I think Corey Webster understands that.

Eli Manning had a stellar game – 21 of 32 for 292 yards and no interceptions! Coupling this with Ahmad Bradshaw’s 104 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns and that’s good offensive production. The defense also had a great second half by allowing the Bills to score only once.Still, the New York Giants problems are there for all to see. I don’t expect Bradshaw to rush for 100 yards every week and although it seems that Victor Cruz is quickly becoming a fan favorite, I don’t see him being the answer at wide receive any more than I do Hakeem Nicks or Mario Manningham. I have always believed that to win a Super Bowl, a team has to have an elite receive, and I just don’t see that guy on the Giants roster at this time.

Enjoy the bye week!

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October 3, 2011

NY Giants: Better to be Lucky or Good?

by Jamie Insalaco

The New York Giants were able to get another win, this time over the Arizona Cardinals, even if it was in dubious fashion.

Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz fell to the ground untouched and then got up as if the play was over and dropped the football as he rose from the turf. As you can see by the expression on Eli Manning’s face, he and everyone else on earth thought it was a fumble, but it was ruled that the Cruz ‘gave himself up,’ which is akin to a quarterback sliding or a player running out of bounds. You can see the video here. Apparently, the official rule goes something like this:

Official shall declare ball dead [...] when runner declares himself down by falling to ground.

Eli Manning

Eli confirmed that I was not alone in my disbelief.

And I guess it does look like that’s what Cruz did – he clearly thought the play was over, but I thought the rule was that the play was NOT over until a member of the defense touched the ball carrier. I guess this means that the player has the right of way, so to speak – meaning it’s up to the offensive player to decide when the play is over, not the defensive player – so after the offensive player falls on the ground, they reserve the right to either drop the ball intentionally (and I think it’s clear that Cruz dropped the ball intentionally and did not fumble) or get up and run again. I don’t think that’s a good rule, but that appears to be the letter of the law.

Check out the video, make up your own mind… but it’s a strange case indeed. For Giants fans, I think we can all just say, “Whatever. Better to be lucky than good.” As for Cardinals fans,I’m sure they’re pissed… and they’re not wrong, either.

 

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September 21, 2011

Giants look bad in win over Rams

by Jamie Insalaco

I decided to take a few days and give myself some space after the Giants’ Monday night win over the Rams – watching my team play so poorly against another team that is even worse than they are leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Where to begin…

The defense doesn’t look too bad, but giving up 16 points to the Rams is disappointing, no matter how you look at it.
Can anybody on this team catch? Even when they’re wide open, Giants receivers can barely catch the ball, or it straight up bounces off their chest or hands.
Eli Manning isn’t exactly setting the world on fire. Back foot, anyone?

Still, the Giants might find a way to worm their way into the playoffs and as they get guys back from injury, maybe things will look up. Let’s see what they do against the Eagles – hopefully, Michael Vick will be able to play and the Giants can put a big hit on him; that alone would make the game worth watching, even if they get stomped.

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September 19, 2011

Monday Night Football: St. Louis Rams at New York Giants

by Jamie Insalaco

I haven’t written a single word about my beloved New York Giants this season until now, and with good reason: they stink. I didn’t expect much last season, and I expect even less this year… why waste my time?

You can hunt for silver linings, cast undue grandeur on existing players or just call it what it is – a weak team that cannot sustain a single injury and already has several. Without Osi Umenyiora, Hakeem Nicks or Justin Tuck (not to mention Prince Amukamara and Travis Beckum), you might as well ask Eli Manning to throw with oven mitts on his hands. The bottom line is the Giants needed to improve their roster for this season, not let several of their better players leave. Without Kevin Boss, who will Eli Manning dump the ball off to when he gets tired of watching the ball bounce off the hands and chests of his other receivers? Without -

You know what, forget it. I hate to be so pessimistic, but I consider it a significant miracle that the Giants went 10-6 last year, and this season, it’s hard to expect any better than a .500 record, but it’s easy to question even that prediction. They don’t play these games on paper, but when you review the Giants roster, it’s hard to get excited about this team. Maybe Mario Manningham and Dominic Hixon will suddenly turn the corner on their career and evolve into elite players. That seems likely. Maybe Brandon Jacobs will work well and play nicely with others this season. Right.

Oh, and Monday Night Football – great. Everywhere I look, it says the game starts at 8:30 PM EST, but if it starts before 9, I will throw a parade in MNF’s honor. The only bright spot is that the Giants are favored tonight by 7 points – but again, they don’t play these games on paper.

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January 4, 2011

Giants 2010 Wrap Up, Orange Bowl, Pinstripe Bowl

by Jamie Insalaco

After little turnover in the roster from the New York Giants 2009 to 2010 squads, I wasn’t expecting much, so when we didn’t get much, I wasn’t very disappointed – overall. There as plenty of disappointment in the margins, as anyone who followed my Giants blogging can tell you. I still believe the Giants need to beg, borrow or steal a number one type receiver for their team, but how they find their consistency and get in a groove, I have no idea. I’m pleased the Giants are retaining Coach Tom Coughlin, who I feel has done a fine job over all. If the Giants don’t make a few moves between this season and whenever the looming lockout ends, I don’t know if we can expect much more than a first round exit from the playoffs next season.

I only watched a few seconds of the Pinstripe Bowl; honestly, who can be bothered? Watching a bowl game is one thing, but watching a bowl game because of where it is played is quite another. Call me when somebody sets up a bowl game on the moon.

On the other hand, my girlfriend is a Stanford alumni, which made watching the Orange Bowl a necessity. The first half was close, thanks to Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor, or as I like to think of him, Michael Vick without the evil. Taylor can throw, scramble, and rush like nobody’s business, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he accomplishes big things in the NFL someday. Of course, Stanford’s quarterback Andrew Luck was on fire the entire second half, wheeling off touchdown passes with ease and the precision that I think will come to be the hallmark of his professional career, which I think will hold off until after his senior year, but I’m just speculating about that bit – it seems like what with the NFL’s current labor conditions, he’d be wise to wait a year. Besides Andrew Luck giving VT a hard time, Stanford’s running backs also unleashed a ton of fury. By the end of the fourth quarter, it was hard not to feel bad for VT and their fans as they finally dragged their sorry backsides off the field in painful defeat. As for Stanford, amidst their joy, they must have that loss to Oregon running through the back of their minds as what kept them from a National Championship game, but that’s life, I suppose – and it’s also a nationally televised sport without a playoff system.

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November 30, 2010

Giants come back against Jaguars

by Jamie Insalaco

After the first half, I was thinking I would title this post, “Giants lose to Jaguars as they continue their march to .500,” but something amazing happened after the break:  the Giants started playing football.

Giants fans booed their team off the field after the first half, and I don’t blame them – hell, I was booing at the TV!  I was shocked at how the Giants defense let the Jaguars have their way and totally dismayed by the Giants offense’s complete and total inability to convert inside the red zone.  Going into half time with two field goals to their credit and a lack luster defensive effort, the boos were richly deserved.

Well, Giants safety Antrel Rolle doesn’t agree:
“You don’t boo your team, I don’t care what happens.  That’s my take on it. This is your home team, we’re out there pouring our heart out for our team and for our fans, you don’t boo your team. I don’t care what the situation is. We’re 7-4, we’re not 2-10, we’re 7-4. There’s going to be ups and downs during the course of a season, not under any circumstances should you boo your team. That’s just the reality of it.”

Whatever, Rolle.  You guys played like shiz, you get booed.

My boy Justin Tuck knows what I’m talking about:
“If I paid as much as they paid for tickets and you play like we did in the first half I would have booed too.”

Not to mention the $25 for parking.  But somehow, they got their act together, scored some points and played New York Giants style football and only allowed a field goal in the second half.  And if New York Giants fans were thankful for anything last Thanksgiving, it better have been Tom Coughlin and his staff’s amazing ability to win challenges.  That first quarter challenge might have kept the game from getting completely out of hand.  Thankfully, we’ll never know for sure.

Until next week when the Giants attempt to give us another heart attack…

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November 22, 2010

Giants lose to Eagles, faith in penal system shaken

by Jamie Insalaco

The Giants played another week of sloppy football against an opponent that gave them several chances to win, but they couldn’t get it done. The Eli Manning fumble was especially pathetic. Can somebody teach a brotha to slide?

I wish I had it in me to stick to sports today, but I can’t. I just can’t believe Michael Vick is still in the NFL. I understand Michael Vick has served his time in jail and is now free to move on with is life. That’s fine, but does the NFL really need to employ convicted felons? I almost feel like the Eagles are trying to buy me off with the wind and solar power they’re installing at Lincoln Financial Field.

Lets take a look at the Michael Vick wrap sheet and other misadventures:

  • In 2004, two guys driving a van registered to Vick were arrested for distributing marijuana.
  • Later in 2004, a security screener had his watch stolen by two of Vicks employees.
  • This 2005 civil lawsuit is my favorite: a woman said she contracted genital herpes from Vick, who new he had the disease and didn’t inform her. Apparently, he was getting treated for the disease under the alias “Ron Mexico.” Many fans bought custom jerseys from NFL.com with Vick’s number 7 and the name “MEXICO” on the back. The NFL has since banned customizing jerseys with the name Mexico. You just can’t make that kinda shiz up!
  • Then there was that time Vick gave fans the finger. Both of them.
  • In 2007, Vick surrendered a water bottle to security officials at an airport… it had a secret compartment in it, that’s why they were so interested in it. Security said they didn’t find anything illegal, and Vick said it was for hiding jewelry, but lets be real here… who would hide jewelry inside a water bottle? Let’s go with… nobody. I’m not saying he had some nefarious purpose with this bottle, but come one… that’s for smuggling recreational drugs from one place to another; probably only enough for one or two people, but never the less. If you wanted to hide jewelry for a plane ride, you’d place the item in a travel jewelry box and pack the jewelry box in a carry on bag. Or you could wear it. Is Vick a jewelry salesman? He travels with so much jewelry that he can’t wear it all at the same time?
  • Oh right, the dog fighting… convicted of a felony for dog fighting, traveling across state lines (that’s why it was a federal crime and he went to Leavenworth), and he electrocuted, hung, drowned and beat dogs to death, or ordered it. And while he was on bale, he failed a drug test.
  • Last January, he was accused of using steroids while he was with the Falcons. He denied it, and it seems to have gone away for a while

You’ll have to forgive me; I’m used to blogging about baseball, where the concerns are all about who cheated; most of the players seem to be good guys. In 2007, 21% of NFL players had arrest records. So stay classy, NFL. Stay classy.

I love me some New York Giants. They’ve had their problems on the field and their players are far from perfect, but none of them have ever disgusted me the way Vick has. My proudest moment is when (like the Jets) they said they would not have Vick on their team. They didn’t have to do that, but they did. That’s because the Giants know there is a line. They may raise ticket prices and charge $9 for one beer, but even glutenous businessmen will only go so far.

Unless you’re the Eagles. I guess only the sky is the limit.

PS: VICK IS NOT THE ONLY FELON IN THE NFL
For example, Donte Stallworth served 30 days in jail for manslaughter after killing a 59 year old man by hitting him with his car. Stallworth was drunk. He’s back now and has played in the last three games so far this year.

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November 15, 2010

Giants lose to Cowboys, faith in humanity shaken

by Jamie Insalaco

We made the customary weekend trip to the grocery store, during which I picked up a Giants flag to replace my Yankees flag, which was now ready for a long winter’s nap. I spoke to my mother on the phone during the jaunt:

"I don’t think anyone expects the Giants to lose this game," I said, referring to the Giants vs Cowboys competition set for 4 pm that afternoon. "After their awful start, the loss of the starting quarterback and a coaching change against the Giants at home, a win is a bit much to ask."

Much to her credit, she didn’t call me back at halftime and asked her why I recommended this game as a safe watch. (My mom doesn’t deal with our teams losing very well.)

Ugly, ugly, ugly loss. Could a power-outage ever be more apropos? The Giants played so poorly, it’s really amazing that they didn’t get blown out. While it’s fair to say that Jon Kitna and his receivers had his way, the Giants defensive line and defensive unit did an awful job of pressuring Kitna. Bryan McCann‘s interception that he ran back for 101 yards because SOMEBODY forgot to finish their route and let Eli Manning through it right into McCann’s waiting arms was a huge killer; not to mention the other touchdown that was called back for a penalty on the Giants. I was also disappointed with the Giants’ offensive line’s inability to protect Manning, not to mention the play calling in the first half’s attempt to straight up attempt to kill Ahmad Bradshaw – how many times were they going to give him the ball in a row? After the fumble (that was thankfully recovered by the Giants) I guess somebody said, "Hm… maybe he’s tired after a million consecutive touches… lets give something else a try." I know the Giants are missing Steve Smith, but this team does have other weapons.

The Giants played awful, sloppy football against an inferior team. Dallas deserves some credit for overcoming a ton of hurdles, but the Giants served the W to them on a silver platter. The Giants should have won this game, and given their tough schedule coming up, I’m wondering how large this bad loss is going to loom.

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November 8, 2010

Giants destroy Seahawks

by Jamie Insalaco

There’s getting a beating and then there’s getting beat within an inch of your life.

The Seattle Seahawks (dropped to 4-4) were awful at home against our own New York Giants (tied for NFC best 6-2). The Seahawks inability to capitalize on opportunities or Giants mistake combined for a woeful performance that never gave Seattle a chance to win the game. Sure, Seattle was missing their starting quarterback, and that’s never going to give you a very good chance to win a game, but to lose 41-7 at home is totally unacceptable for an NFL team, especially when your opponent is traveling cross country after their by week.

Eli Manning picked the Seahawks’ secondary apart like he’s been doing it his whole life – specifically studying these guys and how to beat them. There is no excuse for how bad they played. Sure, I could fawn all over the Giants and tell you they’re the best team in the NFC, as per Joe Buck (who didn’t seem to know the difference between an interception and a kickoff return yesterday, but I can’t be bothered to pick apart the poor man’s Bob Costas today), and it might be true, but that’s not saying much, and the Giants have a tough schedule (after the Cowboys) ahead of them, so exactly who the Giants are this year still remains to be seen.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m really happy with the Giants this year; they’ve exceeded by expectations on a number of fronts, both offense and defense. But there is still a long way to go, still more games to be won to clinch a playoff spot – the Giants know this, even if the press doesn’t:

“I wouldn’t want to say we are the best team. But, we are playing the way need to be as a team,” Giants safety Antrel Rolle said.

The Giants did tons of good things yesterday, things they could build upon. They beat a bad team, and good teams need to beat bad teams, and dominating them goes a long way toward their overall success. But let’s not put the cart before the horse; when the Giants win a second round playoff game, then we can start getting crazy.

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October 26, 2010

Giants put the Cowboys to sleep for good

by Jamie Insalaco

I’ve been tough on the NY Giants this year, but if I was a Cowboys fan, I think that last night’s loss would have been my breaking point – if it hadn’t come already.

How many things do the Cowboys need to go their way to win a game? Newman and Sensabaugh intercepted Eli Manning twice in the first five minutes off passes tipped by Giants receivers. I still don’t think those should be scored as interceptions against the quarterback – NFL level receivers need to do a better job of catching the ball in general, but I am tired of the Giants receiver core making Manning look bad. Maybe last night’s passes were high, but I expect NFL receivers to make a play – at least every once in a while. In any case, the Cowboys had a 10-0 lead after six minutes of play (which had the Giants defense scratching their head, given that they’d barely given up 50 yards at this point – this is why I don’t worry about the Giants defense giving up 35 points to a 1-5 team), and they just couldn’t get it done. There’s probably no bigger indictment of the Cowboys then their failure to come up with a touchdown after that second interception.

Despite 35 points allowed, I was pretty happy with the Giants defense last night. Considering the first 10 points came off of field position that was impossible to defend, I’m cutting them some slack. Little kids probably check for DeMarcus Ware under their beds rather than monsters. Michael Boley tackled Romo so hard he broke his clavicle. That’s scary. If you’re an opposing quarterback, do you worry about playing the Giants? Tony Romo is just the latest victim of the Giants defensive juggernaut of legal hits to the quarterback. A broken collar bone is nothing to sneeze at, and you have to wonder where this leaves Romo and the Cowboys long term. As for the Giants D, it leaves me to wonder if they’ll get through the entire season without killing someone.

Major kudos to Lawrence Tynes for kicking that 52 yard field goal at the end of the second quarter – that was a huge boot and a huge field goal. Manning was also impressive (despite the interceptions) at 25-35 for 306 yards and 4 Touchdowns. Manning also impressed me with his ability to adapt and change the play after reading the defense. Ahmad Bradshaw rushed for over 100 yards and Brandon Jacobs finally seems to have settled into his role as the short back. Maybe things are finally coming together for the Giants, but I still think they lack a true number one receiver, despite over 100 yards for Hakeem Nicks and Steve Smith.

Tom Coughlin went 2 for 2 in challenging bad calls on the field last night, and an opportune time out also allowed for a booth review that corrected another call against the Giants. I don’t understand why a team is penalized when they get a challenge wrong but only given their due when they get a challenge right. I think that if a team gets a challenge right, they shouldn’t get that challenge taken away. It’s not the coach’s faults that the officials keep screwing up. I understand the NFL wants to keep the game moving along swiftly, but between half time, starting the game at 8:40 EST (insane) and the ridiculous frequency and length of the commercial breaks, the game pace isn’t that fast anyway. Anyway, I believe the system needs some refining, but I do like the challenges.

The Giants still need to play more games in their division, but I’m beginning to wonder: are the Giants playing to their potential (they’re certainly playing better) or is the league just that weak? At this point, I’m starting to question if I was wrong when I said the Giants would make but not go deep in the playoffs.

ALSO:

What was LeBron thinking?  The Nike commercial is AWFUL.  He needs to fire whoever convinced him to do this or whoever is responsible for leading him down this path… he might have to fire himself.

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