N.Y. Giants

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Was Kevin Gilbride really to blame for the Giants demise?

Posted by fantasyfurnace on January 6, 2014
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

The Giants offensive coordinator tendered his resignation last week and to us, it just doesn’t seem justified. Although it probably was a case of the Giants giving Gilbride the option of resigning rather than being fired, Gilbride said that it was all his decision. In any event, it still begs the question, was the G-men’s lack of offense and ultimate demise mainly his fault?

There are too many reasons to suggest that it wasn’t. The complete collapse of the team’s offensive line and Jerry Reeses’s inability to bring in some players during the season added to Eli Manning’s career-setting 39 sacks as well as his record-setting 27 interceptions. The O-Line, simply put, did not give the beleaguered quarterback the time to make accurate throws and that, coupled with his indecision this season, led to an inordinate amount of hits and sacks.

"The first thing I said to our owners is I'm responsible for the coaches, and to think there's any one individual who is responsible for the circumstances that we found ourselves in, that's crazy" -Tom Coughlin AP Photo/Bill Kostroun

Keven Gilbride, the Giants Offensive Coordinator for the past ten years has now resigned.
AP Photo/Bill Kostroun

We don’t believe that Eli Manning who is a former Super Bowl MVP, suddenly has forgotten how to be an elite quarterback, and more importantly, that it is Gilbride’s fault. Hakeem Nicks, in his contract year no less, was of no use to Manning failing to record even one touchdown this season. Even ‘Mr. Salsa’ himself, Victor Cruz (4 TDs) had an off year as Rueben Randle scored more touchdowns (6). The Giants’ tight end position, once a mainstay of their offense was at best ineffective with Brandon Myers averaging 32.6 receiving yards per game and posting only four touchdowns all season.

At running back, the Giants were devoid of their Earth, Wind, and Fire trifecta on their Super Bowl run. That trio included Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw and Derrick Ward. This year’s group included Andre Brown who broke his leg, David Wilson who had a more serious neck injury, and Brandon Jacobs who couldn’t carry the load single handedly & has since retired. Was the lack of a running game Gilbride’s fault as well? We think not. Once again, without a talented offensive line to open up some lanes, the team’s running backs rang up some of the fewest rushing yards in the league making Eli force many balls downfield as he consistently found himself in 3rd and long situations.

The Giants offense was ranked 28th in the NFL by season’s end. The team struggled, scoring an average of 18.4 points per game and you are not going to win many games scoring just a little over two touchdowns a game. On defense, during their 0-6 start to the season, the Giants, in games 4 through 7, were outscored 146-61. Not your typical Big Blue defense working on all cylinders. Once again, no fault of Kevin Gilbride.

The most telling stat that we were able to come up with was this: The Giants have scored 400 points in one season just five times in their long history. Three of those were under Kevin Gilbride. Enough said.

"The first thing I said to our owners is I'm responsible for the coaches, and to think there's any one individual who is responsible for the circumstances that we found ourselves in, that's crazy."- Tom MARK BONIFACIO/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

“The first thing I said to our owners is I’m responsible for the coaches, and to think there’s any one individual who is responsible for the circumstances that we found ourselves in (this season), that’s crazy.”- Tom Coughlin Photo: MARK BONIFACIO/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

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Stick a fork in the 2013 Giants…Their season is done!

Posted by fantasyfurnace on October 6, 2013
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 5 Comments

Jimmy Carter was the President and gasoline was $0.90 a gallon the last time the N.Y. football Giants were 0-5. That was back in 1979 when more than half of our readers weren’t even born yet! And now, history has repeated itself as the team once again has arrived at that dubious milestone.

This season has been going downhill for the Giants every week as this merciless season has unfolded. The only real bright spot took place in game one when three Giants receivers had 100+ receiving yards. There really haven’t been any other bright spots over their next four games.

The Giants have struggled on both sides of the ball but the most glaring common denominator has been turnovers. The team has 20 turnovers to lead the league in that category while 12 of those have come through interceptions by the once very elite quarterback & captain Eli Manning, who threw 15 all of last season!. (Eli has never lost five games in a row since coming into the league back in 2004).  Those turnovers have resulted in 54 points scored by their opponents which also leads the league.

#10 Eli Manning dejectedly leaves the field after throwing one of his three picks vs Dallas in game one this season. Photo: Rueters

#10 Eli Manning dejectedly leaves the field after throwing one of his three picks vs Dallas in Game 1 this season. Photo: Rueters

Some could raise the argument that the club has suffered more than their share of injuries but that’s just the nature of the game. Fact is their offensive line has not protected Manning enough as he has been sacked 15 times this season (19 all of last year). They also have not been able to open any lanes consistently for the Giants running game to get off the ground as David Wilson and Brandon Jacobs have proven to be a major disappointment on offense.

Their defense has been, well, in a word, “offensive”. Their secondary has been as porous as swiss cheese and rushing the passer has become as extinct as the dinosaur. Jason Pierre-Paul and Justin Tuck are a shell of what they once were. Here’s a stat that exemplifies how their complete lack of defense has helped them actually make the record books: The 182 points allowed so far this season are the most through five games by ANY team since the Raiders gave up 187 in 1961…That’s over 50 years ago folks! 

It’s most shocking to see a Tom Coughlin team perform this badly, even going back to his early days in Jacksonville when he brought respectability to that franchise for the first time ever, they played hard every game for the fiery coach. Were the two Giants Super Bowl wins under Coughlin just flukes? Has the team lost its passion and hunger for another championship? Or has Tom Coughlin just lost his team?

Head coach Tom Coughlin now in his 10th season with the Giants, might be losing his team to bad case of ANDREW THEODORAKIS/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS. Photo:

Head coach Tom Coughlin, now in his 10th season with the Giants, might be losing his team to bad case of complacency. Photo: ANDREW THEODORAKIS/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Good questions all. We’ll have to wait and see what happens by the end of the season to realize any definitive answers. One thing is perfectly clear; no team that has begun the season 0-5 has ever made the playoffs and this bunch will be no exception to that rule. Can General Manager Jerry Reese work his magic and bring in some key replacements in time to at least salvage the season by making the Giants relevant or has that ship already sailed?

Meantime, that smoke you see coming out of Met Life Stadium means that the Giants season is done….WELL done!

2013 N.Y. Giants: Let the panic begin…

Posted by fantasyfurnace on September 23, 2013
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 9 Comments

Few are not aware of the horrific start to the season by the NY. Football Giants. I mean it doesn’t get much worse than a 0-3 start; the latest loss by a lopsided shutout at the hands of the non-elite Carolina Panthers. But should their early results come as such a shock given their recent past?

Consider that Big Blue owns a 3-8 record over their last 11 regular season games which include two shutout losses. Throw in their abysmal Pre-Season performance (1-3), especially  that of Eli Manning who looked ‘disinteredted’, the loss of Safety Stevie Brown (8 interceptions last season), Jason Pierre-Paul returning from back surgery in June, and the loss of RB Andre Brown to IR, and you have a recipe for disaster.

The worse begginning to a season under Tom Coughlin’s rule, the Giants 38-0 loss to the Panthers on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2013, ends the revered coach’s amazing streak in which he started 5-2 every year since he was hired in 2004.

The capitan Eli Manning, who had an up and down season last year, looked totally rusty in the pre-season and has thrown 8 interceptions in the first three games this year. The biggest culprit on this team without question has been their offensive line which has not made it possible for any lanes to open up for David Wilson  (75 rushing yards in three games) and Brandon Jacobs (who now has 10 carries for six yards since signing with the Giants for a 0.6 YPC average).

With an ineffectice O-Line the protection for Eli has also been non-existent. It’s affected the time he has to release the ball and has a lot to do with him making poor decisions by virtue of his 8 picks. He also has already been sacked 11 times!

#10 Eli Manning, sacked multiple times in the 38-0 loss to the Panthers only had 1 passing yard in the first half on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2013. Photo: Mike Mccarn/Associated Press

#10 Eli Manning, sacked multiple times in the 38-0 loss to the Panthers, only had 1 passing yard in the first half on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2013. Photo: Mike Mccarn/Associated Press

Second on the list of causes for the Giants demise, is their lack of any semblence on defense; from a limited pass-rush to cornerbacks and safeties that have allowed their opponents to rack up 115 points (38.3 YPG) average through the early going.

It won’t get any easier for the G-Men either as they will face the 3-0 Kansas City Chiefs next week at K.C. and then after a home game against the Eagles, they will have to play the 3-0 Bears in Chicago. It is quite conceivable that by October 13th we could be staring at the Giants sitting at 0-6 or at best 1-5.

Playoffs? Ponder this: The last time an NFL team began the season at 0-3 and made the playoffs was 15 years ago when in 1998 the Buffalo Bills and the Detroit Lions both accomplised that feat.

Tom Coughlin? The man will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in the first round of eligibility, or should  be. Got to feel for him as earlier last week he lost his 63 old brother in a freak accident. Instead of his team playing one “for the Gipper”, they just rolled over and played dead. Losing usually begets more losing…

Giants coach Tom Coughlin at the press conference after the embarrassing loss to the Panthers said, "He expected more from this team.." Photo: Rueters

Giants coach Tom Coughlin at the press conference after the embarrassing loss to the Panthers said, “He expected more from this team..” Photo: Rueters

 This latest edition of this team is clearly lacking in talent. Hopefully Giants General Manager Jerry Reese will go into his bag of tricks and pull out some players that can make a difference in the 13 remaining games for the Giants to at least gain some relevance in a very poor division. In the meantime, Owners, Coaches, players and fans…”Let the panic begin!”