3 and out

by GAgiantfan on Oct 28, 2009 11:06 AM EDT

Hey guys and girls. My job has taken me many places and I've been around some, but I think I'm back for a while - ready to share some stuff whether you like it or not!

The most alarming thing to me, especially in this last game against the Cards, is how many times our defense was put back on the field because of our offense (or lack of it). This has increased some over the past couple of games, and it is tied very closely to play calling (Gilbride) and then decision-making (Manning). Also, there are those occasional fumbles, dropped passes, weak punts, or stupid penalties that really screw things up. Let's just hope that those things remain on the "occasional" side rather than the "frequent" side.
The play calling in this last game was very predictable. It seems that there was one play that would've gotten me as an opposing DC, and I think it was a 3rd-and-2 pass play (which was unsuccessful). We have the players on offense to beat up any defense we face, but we can't decide to throw the bomb on 3rd-and-2, and surely not when we're losing. What about an intermediate route, or even a short route on that play?

Our defense really did OK in this game, and probably would have done even better - if our offense could gain 10 yards every now and then, you know, maybe put together what we call a "drive." At least then the defense, which is already nicked up almost across-the-board, could get a few moment's rest. Long, sustained drives (which we are capable of) give the offense confidence, and at the same time, demoralize the defense. Avoiding predictable calls on 1st down would be a good start in the right direction.

Having said all of that, I still believe that the Giants are mostly "in a funk" right now; though there have been bright spots intertwined with the dark. The past two games have been indicative of this intersection we have come to of "all things bad" - dropped interceptions, dropped passes, fumbles, bad punts, interceptions, stupid penalties, and the like. Time and training solve a lot of those things, but if we remain predictable on play calling, lose the turnover battle, and can't sustain drives, there's a better-than-good chance that we're staring a loss right in the face every time. Really it's Football 101. It's back to basics, guys. Just spice up the calls a bit.

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The 3 and out...

thing is frustrating. I really miss the times they ran about 8 minutes off the clock and marched down the field.

I really wouldn’t care if I saw one of those and it ended up in a FG. It takes a ton of pressure off their defense that even a FG is valuable (of coruse..a TD is better.).

They need to get back to their staples a bit. Short passes, running the ball and converting on third downs.

Not to say they do that the whole game. I have no problem with taking shots down field. But establish the dominance first, then take a few shots. Their taking the shots too early or at inopportune times, and its backfiring.

..."I predict...the Giants are #1"...

...."That's not a prediction meatman, that's a FACT OF LIFE"!.

---Carl

by FreeBradshaw on Oct 28, 2009 12:11 PM EDT reply actions

if the Giants' achilles heel

is going to be high-flying offenses (that make Kevin Gilbride envious, haha, watch as I duck and cover) then they really do have to counter that with clock-killing drives. The answer is not to go toe-to-toe with offenses like New Orleans.

You play to win the game!

by Simms-McConkey on Oct 28, 2009 12:18 PM EDT up reply actions

If you

watched Giants Online, Pat said it perfectly the offense looked for ways to exploit the defense with our wrs getting one on one and thinking that was the beat way to try and score. IF mario, hixon catch the ball then the running game works more effectively bc of the down field threat. TC wants balance and he is trying to achieve that but its not easy….

I really believe that these are just 2 games in a long season and they are bumps in the road. Hopefully now that we are heading into some division games they will be more carfeull about taking those chances. If the running game is working and we have managable 3rd and shorts keep running the ball and pounding it and save some of those downfield throws for a weaker team.

Bottom line we need to win at Philly… I dont care if it the ugliest game I have ever seen we need to score more points and stop them plain and simple….

by GiantRB27 on Oct 29, 2009 7:43 AM EDT reply actions

Yeh

I know what you mean about exploiting defenses. However, it was obvious by the end of the 2nd quarter that we weren’t as successful at exploiting anything and we were more successful at shooting ourselves in the feet. We also had a major stroke of luck, which we could use from time to time, but it still played a large part in the score.

Truth is, until these WRs can mature some, we cannot solely depend upon them. I like the “let’s run so we can pass” plan better than the “let’s pass so we can run” plan.

To put it in layman’s terms, we weren’t playing the ‘chess game’ very well, even though we thought we were.

We’ll get out of the “funk” we’re in, and hopefully it’ll be this weekend. Go Giants and to $)%_+@# with the rest!

We didn't even have a chance for the "perfect season", but we did have the perfect ending.

by GAgiantfan on Oct 31, 2009 11:52 AM EDT up reply actions