Reviewing the game, 'Kudos & Wet Willies' style

by ETVal on Aug 26, 2007 12:03 AM EDT in News

I thought I would review last night's 20-12 loss to the Jets 'Kudos & Wet Willies' style.

In case you aren't familiar with 'Kudos & Wet Willies' it is really a simple thumbs up, thumbs down. But, calling it 'Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down' is distressingly boring. So, it's 'Kudos & Wet Willies.'

Kudos to ...

• Justin Tuck: Michael who? Tuck proved last night that he can handle left defensive end just fine, thank you. With four tackles, a sack and lots of good run defense Tuck showed that the Giants will have to get him on the field even if that other defensive end who is under contract finally decides to show up.

• Eli Manning: Good throws, good decisions, good presence. He went 17-for-25 for 146 yards and a TD in his second straight good performance. His play has to thrill Giants fans.

• Anthony Mix: He pretty much cemented a roster spot with seven catches for 45 yards and a touchdown. I don't know how much the Giants could actually get him on the field in regular season games, but at 6-foot-5, 235 pounds he makes a terrific target.

• Ahmad Bradshaw: The rookie seventh-round pick from Marshall continued his impressive play. He ganed 42 yards on 8 carries and managed to push the pile a couple of times. He also returned a kickoff 43 yards.

• J.R. Reed: Maybe you hadn't heard of Reed before last night, but he made himself noticed with one incredible play. Reed, a former Philadelphia Eagle, made a diving one-handed interception to bail out Aaron Ross on a play where I never thought he had a chance to get there. Reed, a third-year player who has been struggling to restart his career after suffering nerve damage in his knee a couple of years ago, was just signed after Will Demps got hurt.

• The defensive front seven: The Giants tarting defensive front seven was impressive, especially considering how bad they looked just a couple of weeks ago. The aforementioned Tuck played well, as did Osi Umenyiora and Mathias Kiwanuka.

Wet Willies to ...

• Both placekickers: If Tom Coughlin was looking for a decisive performance from either Lawrence Tynes or Josh Huston in their battle for the placekicking job, he didn't get it last night. Tynes was 1-for-3 in field goal attempts. Huston missed his only attempt. At least Huston showed off his strong leg by banging one kickoff through the end zone.

• The cornerbacks: I am going to pick on the whole group. I didn't think any of them played particularly well, especially R.W. McQuarters. That's discouraging, especially since McQuarters is likely to start. It looks to me like cornerback is still the soft spot in this defense.

• Guy Whimper: The second-year tackle is still a work in progress. I have to believe the Giants will sign a veteran tackle off the waiver wire in the next couple of weeks. The way Whimper played last night you have to hope he never sees the field in an important spot.

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Huston

My only vision of Huston has been when he performed well on kickoffs and made the fifty yarder. That just shows you how difficult some of these coaching decisions can be. My gut feeling is to keep Huston because he seems at least as good on field goals but excells in kickoffs.

I'll reserve judgement on Madison until we start playing real games. He may be able to crank it up a bit when it counts.

I don't know what to think about our LT problem.

by giant fan since 57 on Aug 26, 2007 7:38 AM EDT 0 recs

LT

I think we are fine there as long as Diehl stays healthy. If Diehl or McKenzie get hurt, though, I am not at all comfortable with the backups the Giants currently have.

by ETVal on Aug 26, 2007 10:22 AM EDT up 0 recs

agree

i was disappointed that huston missed that kick. that was a chance for him to really distance himself from tynes. i like what the first team defense did against a good jets offense as well.

side note to ETVal: sorry you got jabbed a bit on the yankees blog. im over there alot and those guys tend to get a bit testy after losses. in general they are pretty funny and sarcastic but they'll bite outsiders heads off over little things.

i really enjoy this blog and i think we all agree that you do a great job here.

by SBakerTheTouchdownMaker on Aug 27, 2007 8:49 AM EDT 0 recs

Jabbed

Hehe! I probably earned it, and I should have known better. My other blog is heavy on Yankee stuff, but has a small audience. I do what I can to reach out to other fans, but maybe sometimes that's not appreciated. As for the Giants, first team defense was very impressive. Placekicking was a mess Saturday -- no Feagles to hold and one bad snap by Alford. I actually think either kicker would be fine, though at this point Huston has been better. Oh, and thanks for the kind words about this site. I am enjoying this.

by ETVal on Aug 27, 2007 10:30 AM EDT up 0 recs

ETVal

I notice you made a page for me, probably because I make so many posts. Thank you. But how about you. Where is your story? Your site seems to have more mature fans who respect each others' opinions. I enjoy reading what you, George, S
baker, Potroast, and others have to say.

I also spend a little time at mvn but a lot of the posts there seem to be by teenagers who spend too much time calling each other idiots and generally overreacting to every story.

I didn't realise you were such a Yankee fan. The other day I ran across my 1975 yearbook showcasing Ron Bloomberg, Bobby Bonds, Lou Pinella and the gang. By the way, did you know that John Delorian was a limited partner.

by giant fan since 57 on Aug 27, 2007 7:23 PM EDT 0 recs

Yankees

Yeah, I'm a huge Yankees fan. I hate to admit it, but I might be a bigger Yankees fan than I am a Giants fan. My other blog is heavy on Yankees stuff. I have been following them ever since I was a little kid in the late '60s. I lived through the Johnny Ellis, Horace Clarke days. BTW, I think my favorite Yankee story of all time might be the Fritz Peterson-Mike Kekich wife swap!

by ETVal on Aug 27, 2007 10:52 PM EDT up 0 recs

Yankees

I think I became a Yankee fan in 1955. I rushed home from school to watch all the games that year (they were nearly all day games then) and was horrified that the Dodgers won. The following year I watched while Don Larson pitched his perfect game. I was also watching when Bill Mazzerowski hit his homer to beat the Yanks. The year Roger Maris hit 61 I listened to every game. In order to do that I had to listen to them on short wave radio. I was pulling hard for Mantle to overtake Maris and he almost did. I think he hit about 57.

After high school I didn't play anymore organized baseball and drifted away for a while. Then the Mets played Baltimore and I was fascinated watching them overcome the birds. In the seventies I watched a lot of Yankee games but the thrill wasn't quite there like it was in the late fifties.

I'm not sure if many people could tell you exactly when or how they became fans of their favorite team. When I was young there were only a few games on tv compared to today. Nowadays people take it for granted they can see any game they want on the tube but it wasn't always like that.

We put a lot time into organizing and trading our baseball cards. We talked baseball all the time played a lot of sandlot games. I seldom see any kids playing ball any more. Just video games. I guess that's why most of our best ballplayers now are from other countries.

by giant fan since 57 on Aug 28, 2007 6:12 AM EDT 0 recs

Sandlot

I can't remember the last time I saw kids playing sandlot baseball, without uniforms, umpires or adults. I used to spend summers doing that every day, then shooting baskets by the street light at night.

by ETVal on Aug 28, 2007 3:47 PM EDT up 0 recs