2009 is not a write-off yet, but we should handle the balance of the season with a very forward view, and some things have become very clear.

AP and Danny Clark will not be back – Boley looks like the real deal, hopefully Sintim can show more of what he flashed in pre-season, and we really had better go LB very high in the draft, as Kehl, Goff & Wilkinson all look like back-ups / special teamers.

Robbins will not be back (even though he had a very good SD game) – too old, and there is a glut of DT’s (when healthy). Should be a glut of DE’s too, when healthy.

Kenny Plillips is no lock to return healthy, so either looking at TT as a potential free safety (if we think Ross can be healthy, and Bruce Johnson is no fluke) or a FA or draft pick is in order here, too.

Would not be surprised if Sheridan is one-and-done. Would love to see a Dick LeBeau, Dom Capers, Mike Nolan, Gregg Williams type of hire (look at what the last 3 did in 2009 with D’s that were suspect the prior year … amazing) – an ex-head coach who was best as a DC, with no aspirations of being a HC in the future. Stability !!!

On O, there are too many weapons. The young, talented WR’s should improve their ability to adjust routes to beat the blitz (our biggest problem here at the moment) and their overall in-synch-ness with Eli. Still many good options at RB . OL is still intact, although I see Beatty supplanting McKenzie (who may not be back unless he takes a salary cut to be a back-up) at RT, and need more depth in the draft. TE’s have Boss, and Beckham should improve, too. Eli is an elite QB, but can still be maddeningly inconsistent at times. This should be a big point scoring offense, not a "manage the game and let the defense win it" type.

What does that leave …. hmmmm … KG and the less than imaginative play book (compared to the rest of the league) and too predictable play calling tendencies on game day. I’m ready to cut the cord here, too.

Special Teams – blow it up and start over. Feagles showing his age lately, Tynes just not dependable (how can he not attempt that kick at the end of the 1st Q drive ?? Did he think his 43 year-old holder was going to out run the whole D ?!? And his short kick-offs are a major liability. The return/coverage units have been sub-par for years. Hixon looks like a good return man, but there never seems to be much of a lane for him. New ST-coach is in order.

TC must think Feagles is Superman, having him try what looks like a coffin corner kick every time he heandles the ball. Is our coverage that bad? (I can see doing it vs certain teams ( like SD), but you know you’re giving up a lot of yards that way.
I think Bradshaw’s hurting. I’d like to see more of Ware.
Good question, G. IMO, you provided the correct answer yourself.

must be one of Gilbride’s plays.

Don’t mean be a commercial, but they have the excellent NFL on Sirius Network. Those guys really keep you on top of what’s going on in the league. The Mad Dog also has his own station. The dude is MUCH better than he was with Fatcessa. There is no comparison between the two now. Dog has a way better show with a LOT less commercials. He also has a great team of broacasters too.

Coughlin said it wasn’t worth a shot in the endzone when the Giants found themselves at the 4 and then the 9 on Sunday near game’s end. Need we say anything more beyond that? This is a head coach so in tune with his OC that their playcalling tells the world that they’re settling for field goals from first down on! This is a head coach who signs off on defensive plans that have an all-pro lineman, Justin Tuck, dropping back into coverage, MORE THAN THE OFFENSE USES PLAY-ACTION! For weeks I have been writing about the blind and unquestioned loyalty that Coughlin shows to his coordinators may be the Giants most pressing problem. And for weeks I’ve heard that “a win will change everything” and “TC won a Super Bowl”. Well, in a world where Cowher, Billick, Shanahan and Gruden are all available for next year, the major problem isn’t the coordinators or CC Brown or injuries or the OL that for the most part does not get a push off the ball (whether against an overloaded box or not!) which is why the running game is not what it was (and yes, please don’t talk about the one ten-minute drive and Jacobs 6 YPC Sunday – think of the entire season and not one drive!) and a TE who is criminally underutilized and wide receivers who are rarely allowed to run pass routes that might lead to separation downfield and instead run constant underneath routes and linebackers (Pierce, Clark, Blackburn) exposed and their names never called during a game and young linebackers wasting away on the bench and in special teams and all the other problems we see and comment on. The problem is and always will be the mindset of a head coach who thinks that shot (or 2 or 3) into the endzone to put a game away IS NOT WORTH IT! And let’s be honest, this is not a problem from yesterday. How many of you have screamed at the field or at the TV as WE SEEM TO ALWAYS BE PLAYING FOR THREE – EVEN DURING THE SUPER BOWL YEAR, EVEN LAST YEAR, AND CERTAINLY SUNDAY???!!! My Giants, our Giants, are a mediocre football team. This we know. The coaches and coordinators are a level or two below that. As I see it and have been saying, this off-season MUST bring us a new head coach and two new coordinators or we will enter the ISLAND OF LOST TEAMS and having been there before, we do not want to go back there again.

So he’s a good football coach and let’s look at his record and Eli should share that blame and ALL coaches make mistakes and anyway, the other guys also have weaknesses – hmmm, while you talk excuses I talk accountability. And it starts at the top. Welcome to mediocrity, folks.

We have some very upset folks out here pressing the red panic button..I don’t like what Gilbride and Sheridan are showing up with on gameday..but TC will fix it, if not this year then next..Meantime he is going to be a very dangerous person to be around the next two weeks..Fire him???..that’s nuts, he is the most successful coach we ever had for crying out loud..mediocrity?

should sit. Ware should get the carries. Use B only if the other one of the others goes down. He’s not himself and risks further injury if he keeps getting carries.

will always see TC through the prism of the SB win. “I don’t like what Gilbride and Sheridan are showing up with on gameday..but TC will fix it, if not this year then next..” – He hasn’t fixed it for the past 4 games, when is a good time to fix it? And for that matter, the red zone problems have been with us for years – when does he get around to fixing them? We underutilize a terrific tight end – when does he get around to fixing that? With the exception of Boley, Pierce and Blackburn are useless. When do we even see what the kids can do? But we won’t cause TC is a veteran’s coach and he’d rather watch Pierce and Blackburn chase RBs that see what a young, faster, more athletic player might do. So, yes, you are all right – give TC time, he’s won games, he won a SB. The one thing you are right about is that 5-4 isn’t classic mediocrity; 5-5 is. I will say it now, Reese will clean house at year’s end and TC, Gilbride and Sheridan will all be gone. And Hootman, I am not advocating an “instant strip down” as you suggest. Never wrote it, never thought it. I am advocating and will continue to do so as I watch this team slide further down, that at season’s end TC and the two coordinators must go. Let them coordinate their own exit. They probably can’t even do that.

There is nothing but surgery that will fix AB..He’s not running bad, but with Ware back we’ll get our “Earth, Wind and Fire” running game back.

This is a great point you made and we see this week after week “We are seeing blitzes, sure, but we are seeing blitzers run straight into blockers. That means the offenses are seeing exactly what is coming. We are also seeing a lot of blitzes that come from way off the ball, and will never get there”. We need to fix this now or we can kiss the rest of the season goodbye

I agree on Tuck and Osi covering tight ends. How many times does it need to fail for TC/Sheridan to grasp that it doesn’t work with our defense.

Same with the red zone (I refuse to call it a green zone until we produce), this has been a mess during TC’s tenure. At what point does a coach take a step back and realize what we try hasn’t worked. It’s been a monumental failure.

As a fan nothing is more infuriating than watching the Giants march up and down the field then once they reach the 20 it’s as if they have an entirely different offensive unit on the field.

I can’t agree with you more. Case in point the Giants last punt prior to the first half vs. SD. Why punt the ball out of bounds. Make SD catch and run burning more time on the clock. SD received that ball at mid-field with about 20 seconds remaining in the half. Two decent gains and SD is in FG range. The Giants got lucky when SD took a penalty on FD. In the end we didn’t get burned by it so it went unnoticed.

My Dad..the man who is my best friend and raised me to be a Giants fan is dying..I need to get out of here to drive up and try to make it there in time before he passes..I hope I can make it in time..I’ll talk to you all later..probably much later..oh boy..For him please say a prayer for him..His name is William A. Dolson..I’ll talk to you guys later on in the season..football is the very last thing on my mind now..Cheers…Bob

Agree that offense has many good players, but OL has been a problem, and their problems show how important OL is to overall offense. Got to give Eli better protection.

Think you have to be a bit more critical of coaching, which is not to say I’m yelling for heads. But in hindsight, this team was way, way, WAY too overconfident, and seemed to remain overconfident right up until they got beat by Eagles.

Also, watching team carrying on with same defensive and offensive plays, when they were getting hit with all kinds of new variations from their opponents, was like watching your granddad’s NFL. They are going to have to do better job exploiting their opponent’s weaknesses in 2nd half, rather than relying on their own strengths, or they are not going anywhere.

“Also, watching team carrying on with same defensive and offensive plays, when they were getting hit with all kinds of new variations from their opponents, was like watching your granddad’s NFL. They are going to have to do better job exploiting their opponent’s weaknesses in 2nd half, rather than relying on their own strengths, or they are not going anywhere.” Way to go, Deal!!!

Thank you for analyzing the coaching over the last four losses. Not by a long shot am I blaming them completely for our poor performance, but with some of the rosters we’ve scotch taped together (due to injuries) we have to at a minimum be AS prepared as our opponents. It looks as if we watch ZERO game film before some of these games. (See Samules jumping Eli’s route in Philly on one of his first throws; that’s preparation) We’ve made it too easy for opponents offesenses by trying complex defensive schemes. If we don’t see something change I won’t be happy to BS on sidelines next year. Our offense has done little to adjust formation and play calling on 3rd/4th and short. Like you, I’m not saying I have the answers, but then again we aren’t paid to! I do know what we have been calling isn’t working. I think Gillbride called a great game against SD other than the consistent bunch formations that we try on short yardage. I would love to see either a spread formation run play or play action just once in this situation! Even if it doesn’t work at least Gillbride won’t be fulfilling the definition of insanity with his short yardage play calling.