Weekly playoff pulse: Will the Giants make it?
by Ed Valentine on Dec 8, 2009 2:29 PM EST
in News
85 comments
Seems like I keep asking this question -- mostly because I do. But, the landscape keeps changing -- as does the mood of our New York Giants fan base -- so it i worthwhile to ask.
When I polled you guys on Nov. 19, 871 of 1080 voters (80.6 percent) said they would make it. At the time the Giants were 54 with a four-game losing streak. You, obviously, were still optimistic.
I polled you again on Nov. 30 and got a much different answer. The Giants were 6-5 and had just gotten embarrassed by Denver. Out of 747 votes, 506 of you (67.7 percent) thought there was no way the Giants would make it. A huge mood swing.
So, how do you feel today? I will probably keep doing this every week until the Giants are either in or out. It's kind of fun to watch the confident level go up and down.
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it's a tough question...
the easy answer is: “yes, the giants make the playoffs, are you kidding me we’re one of the best teams in football”…
the other easy answer is: “no, are you kidding me, we lost 5 outta 6 and look like crap on defense”
the real answer is: “I have no freakin’ clue”
"If you don't know what you're doing... just rush the quarterback" - LT
IMO, the landscape changed with the Dallas win
With the potential wins and losses with all teams involved, things are a lot more interesting. My vote history has been Y, N and i can’t decide now!
Proud Consistent YES Voter
That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.
"We were very much aware of that. There was a lot of phone call-type things going on in the room." -- Tom Coughlin
I can see the "No"s
go up as the Eagles fans arrive.
Must’ve just woke up after their overnight janitor shifts….
"It ain't over till its over"---
hahaha
indeed. statistically, we’re at about a coin flip now: http://accuscore.com/latest-news
i’m going to thoroughly enjoy watching the eagles/dallas percentages both drop to ~50% after philly becomes our next victim on sunday.
Proud to be believe
even at the worst of times.
Never assume skill at bouncing a ball makes you smarter than the guy who built the court.
"Osi is probably one of our worst db's but he did alright there"
so...how's everyone feeling about philly?
i’m scared youknowwhat less.
I’m confident that we won’t play zone and we won’t ask CC brown to match up with D. Jackson. It’s gonna be a tough test for Webster but i put him on Jackson all day long. If he can get his hands on him he’ll slow him down and Corey won’t have to worry about Jackson’s size or stature. Just about the deep ball…so jam him at the line Corey.
Hopefully Rouse, CC, and Boley can handle Celek.
on the other side of the ball….man, i just don’t know. philly has had our number lately and bring some crazy blitz packages…and can hide their coverage schemes pretty well too.
I think the key for us this weekend is smart play calling. let’s take advantage of philly’s aggressiveness on D and get our RB’s the ball in the passing game. Boss will need to be a monster for us to pull this off. Get him the ball and rely on him. I’m a bit worried that Eli and our WR’s will have problems against this defense.
it’s game like this when (dare i say it) I miss Tiki…he used to really burn philly.
"If you don't know what you're doing... just rush the quarterback" - LT
ditto for plax
another eagle-killer, but i know i really shouldn’t bring his name up.
rouse, CC, and boley cannot handle celek – our hope is to put philly in obvious pass situations, and for the d-line to STEP UP AND MAKE SOME PLAYS on 3rd down. i’m as scared as you are of the philly offense — honestly, i think it’s going to take some mistakes/turnovers from them in order for us to hold them under 30.
well....
sometimes you gotta pick your poison.
Witten had a huge game against us last week…so did Romo for that matter and we still did a pretty respectable job on Defense. You take away that TD in garbage time and I say we did a damn good job.
I think we may have to let them take some stuff underneath as long as we can make tackles.
I think that ultimately it’s going to boil down to red zone efficiency. If we can hold philly to FG’s and we can score TD’s we got a shot.
I don’t think taking Celek outta the equation totally is possible but if we can limit his YAC and take away the deep ball we may just give our Offense a chance to do something.
"If you don't know what you're doing... just rush the quarterback" - LT
true
agree. this D is simply not good enough to do anything but that — keep things in front of them, and hope for mistakes from the offense.
the fact that gates didn’t do all that much against us (5-6 catches, minimal damage) adds a little hope. taking away the deep ball is key – mcnabb is always good for a 3rd down passes thrown in the dirt… the more 3rd downs we make them convert, the better our chances.
my biggest cocern right now....
believe it or not is not our Defense but our Offense.
Philly has given us fits w/ there defensive schemes. This is going to take a total team effort….offense, defense, special teams, coaches, fans, trainers, Reby Sky (aka the Giants girl who doesn’t know anything about the Giants), the Ghost of Wellington Mara (no disrespect), so on and so forth.
"If you don't know what you're doing... just rush the quarterback" - LT
The Giant's crappy redzone defense
vs the Eagle’s equally crappy redzone offense
Who’ll win out?
Never assume skill at bouncing a ball makes you smarter than the guy who built the court.
"Osi is probably one of our worst db's but he did alright there"
Grrr...
Celek sucks…until he plays the Giants, at which time he becomes Tony Gonzalez.
I left my swagger in my other pants.
agreed, re: the d-line comment....
…for reasons that should be obvious. :)
by Step up and make big plays on Dec 8, 2009 8:31 PM EST up reply actions
Even as a Giant fan
I had to answer no…I feel like last week was just enough to get my hopes up, but they have a tough road ahead of them to make the playoffs. If we lose this week and Dallas wins, we are definitely done. If we win this week, I will change my tune, but until we see how this weekend plays out, I have to go with no playoffs. I want to see if last week was a fluke or a turnaround…I hope it’s the latter.
If the Giants win this week yes if not, no
the packers winning definitely hurt them.
Man, one win against big D and that changes some tudes around here eh :)
E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!!
I know.
A win vs you guys, I think it’ll stay that way.
Never assume skill at bouncing a ball makes you smarter than the guy who built the court.
"Osi is probably one of our worst db's but he did alright there"
if you guys beat us after dallas
i would definitely change my outlook about the gints too
E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!!
We'll be more worried about Dallas than you guys
or the Packers.
Its really either Dallas, the Giants or the Eagles for the division AND one of the WC spots…really, no one else probably has a shot.
Dallas has a god awfully tough schedule, there’s a real good shot they end up at 1-3 the rest of the way, real good.
As long as the Giant have the same record as them, they’re in.
"It ain't over till its over"---
Dallas has a brutal schedule
Would love to see another melt down too
The thing about Philly is they usually suck midway thourgh the season and then turn it on at the end. Why? no idea. We play good ball in dec/jan.
Our schedule isn’t too hard either
E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!!
Your schedule is definitely the easiest in the NFC East
Doesn’t mean it’s a cream puff schedule, but you guys have a little easier road, especially if you beat us on sunday.
Beat us, and I think you guys win the division.
Never assume skill at bouncing a ball makes you smarter than the guy who built the court.
"Osi is probably one of our worst db's but he did alright there"
I disagree about the schedule.
Cancel out the Eagles-Giants game, and let’s look at what’s left…
Giants
@ Washington – They played the Saints, Eagles, and Cowboys tough, but they’re extremely banged up, an the Giants have their number
Carolina – Bad/mediocre team
@ Minnesota – If they have something to play for, really tough game. If not (and that’s the more likely scenario), you’ll get their JV team
Eagles
San Fran – Bad/mediocre team
Denver – They’re 8-4, they’ll be a playoff team, and they’ll still very much fighting for their division.
@ Dallas – Again, 8-4. Division rival.
I’d much rather have your schedule.
dallas/philly
final week, giants have clinched division, dallas/philly facing off for WC spot (hey, I’m optimistic): who’s everyone pulling for to win that game?
I'll worry about that when we get there
but probably philly. I hate Dallas too much.
Never assume skill at bouncing a ball makes you smarter than the guy who built the court.
"Osi is probably one of our worst db's but he did alright there"
Dallas
In a heartbeat. Give me Romo and Wade in January every day and twice on Sundays!
by SonictheHedgecock on Dec 8, 2009 4:51 PM EST up reply actions
This week is the springboard
either into the pool of opportunity, or the molten lava. Having the tiebreaker over Dallas is huge. The Pack winning certainly hurts the WC chances. Philly and Dallas both have tougher schedules remaining than we do, especially with Minny likely having nothing to play for week 17 against us.
Really, I’m up in the air. We had some great plays Sunday, but some horrible ones too. If Ross, MJohnson, and Rouse can keep CC off the field, then there’s hope. If Eli can get his crap together… if Jacobs runs like he did Sunday, and not like he has the rest of the season… Too many ifs… I gotta abstain until Sunday night.
The win against Dallas...
… was thereputic for Giants fans. For six straight weeks we’ve seen our team play under level, and even worse play without any fire in Denver. The Dallas game wasn’t just a win, it was a revival. It was seeing our Defense play imposing football. It was seeing the Dallas offense completely panic when they couldn’t recognize the defensive scheme. It was seeing our offense move the chains, but score with some big plays. Even with the win over the Falcons I still didn’t think we’d have a shot at the playoffs, but last weekend showed us a chance in the Giants mentality. If the Giants can play like last week, then we can be a contender.
I mean the Eagles scare me, no doubt, they always do, but then again this is the Eagles. If there’s ever a team more wildly inconsistant than we’ve been, its Philly. You never know what offense will show up, and some times their defense will practically lay down for points. Mentality will be the deciding factor going into this match. Both teams are hot, but we’ll see which team plays with more attitude on Sunday.
So fickle, so lovable, so 'fanny' --
- They lose they suck, they win, they’re Zeus. Been a Giant fan for decades (Spider Lochart was a childhood hero - did I spell the surname correct?) and have always laughed at the way we — at least the fans I was aware of (from the bleachers of the original old Yankee stadium to the nose bleeds of the soon to be old original Giants stadium) — basked in our fickleness, hating the ones we love (You suck Simms!!!!) adoring the ones we just finished berating with spittle powered vitriol (Eli rules!!!!). To the question: will the Giants make the playoffs? Who the f knows is the only serious answer. But being a fan isn’t about being serious, it’s about being passionate, somewhat delusional, blinded by memories of vicarious thrills, and dopey-dog loyal. Taking that into account, my answer is still no. Don’t feel it. But hey, I’m on a wrong streak here. Picked ‘em to lose to the to the Falcons and the Rick Perry/G.W. Bush/John Wayne f-tards owned by that nose picking plastic surgery disaster former friend of Jimmy’s. And I was wrong. (didn’t pick the Denver game for some reason.) Win at Philly, they have a chance. If the Gods continue to rain their displeasure on the nose picker (as they should, in a just world) the GW f-tards could very possibly lose three of their next four… so even if we split our next four… we’d be in at 9-7. Memories of 1984 all over again (sans Winston Smith and room 101.) Could happen. Will it? Like I said, my gut says we lose to philly,
lose to Washington, beat Carolina and a resting and somewhat shaken Minnie. Get to 9-7, and depend on Wade (ooops I crapped my pants) Phillips to miss the last bus out of town.
I've warmed up to your negativity...
and I don’t dislike you anymore…not in the slightest…cuz posts like these are enjoyable for their wackiness…
…but damn do I love it when your wrong.
Your 100% right on the who the hell knows thing tho. No one does.
Don’t worry, the Kool-Aid isn’t going anywhere.
Might be a little warm…cuz it a big vat of kool-aid and no one seems to want any….but its here.
"It ain't over till its over"---
A sobering dose of hard-headedness, Z, but
I cling to my dollop of hope.
I'm not as pesamistic as you Z-man
but I’m a lot more pessimistic than most on this site.
I don’t see it happening this weekend either. Even if the G-men play tough there has been little pass rush and Webster is having a down year so I see a few big plays from Philly that will decide it.
We’ll need to run the ball and we have just been awful at it and I don’t see us getting much better. The only way the G-Men win is with a few big plays, maybe Nicks expoits some coverage and gets some of Eli’s jump balls like Plax use to, I don’t know, I think at some point Nicks will win a game for us vs the Eagles I just don’t know if it’ll be this weekend.
In regards to playoffs they might get in if Dallas looses to NO, SD, & either Wash or Philly which is a very likely possibility even if they play well so the Giants might get a tiebreaker over Dallas to sneak in as the 6th seed
I remember 1984 my first year as a Giants fan when I actually knew what was going on, my Dad and older brothers got me into the Sunday ritual then. They were 9-5 with the division lead and two to play in 84 then they shit the bed against St. Louis and I think NO to finish 9-7 and need Wash to beat St. Louis on the final game so get in. They had a split tiebreaker over Dallas that season too. They beat the Rams 16-13 in the first round and totally contained Dickerson.
By the way...
Totally unrelated to this post, but the rumors swirling (per Dallas radio stations) are that Flozell Adams is likely to avoid a suspension, which of course is an utter disgrace.
The NY Times says that the NFL
will settle for, "clarifying the rule that forced TC to decline the penalty.
Why did they decline that penalty anyway? I was confused by that.
The Eagles are the first team in NFL history to have a running back and a wide receiver with 500 yards apiece in the same season before their 22nd birthdays.
Dallas missed a FG, so the half was over. Had the Giants accepted the penalty, Dallas would have gotten the ball back again (15 yards back, of course), which would have put them out of field goal range, but would have given them a shot at a Hail Mary.
Which is utter bs, of course...
Because in reality, the half was already over, and thus the penalty should have been assessed on the opening kickoff in the 2nd half.
74% say "yes". Big swing after one win.
Be clear, I am a Giants supporter and that will not change. However, I have voted “No” because (a) one slip and we are done, and there have been lots of slips this year, (b) we have a difficult run to the end of the regular season, and © we are not masters of our own destiny. If Eagles, Dallas, GB don’t slip up then we are out. I don’t like the idea of leaving it up to others. Ed – run the poll again next week because if we beat the Eagles (a possibility) and Dallas go down to the Bolts (a distinct possibility) I will probably feel a little different.
He was like a god walking amongst mere mortals. He had a voice that could make a wolverine purr and suits so fine they made Sinatra look like a hobo.
Actually we do control our won destiny
if we win every single game from now on we will make the playoffs no matter what any other team does
by mclaren_is_the_best on Dec 9, 2009 1:38 AM EST up reply actions
It's official...
No suspension for Flozell Adams, which is an absolute joke.
by JimmyK on Dec 8, 2009 7:39 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Beat the eagels, and YES!!!!!!!
"Yes we lost and yes we are upset. But like all Champs we will bounce back."
Osi umenyiora
I dislike teams in the NFL
especially the Giants and Philly. I can’t see hating a team , cause well there is just to many other things in life to worry about than hating on a rival football team lol
Your a great guy Dubious..The comments you make..
Are coming from a true football fan..Who could ask for anything more?..I enjoy what you have to say..If we all did not have teams to root for what fun would that be?..We all probably should consider taking up “Bridge” without that..lol
you know bobb that reply in the BTB wasn't about you personally......
what I can say for my short time here is that I haven’t been cursed or slandered for not having the same opinions as the main website.
Hate is too strong
I’m with dubious, ‘hate’ does seems a little strong to me. I put it down to ‘culture’ and not having grown-up with American Football. Mind you, when I used to watch Spurs v Arsenal as a kid it sometimes came pretty close.
He was like a god walking amongst mere mortals. He had a voice that could make a wolverine purr and suits so fine they made Sinatra look like a hobo.
I've always said yes...
We are going to win this division title..and oh by the way Bye_Dawk..I just stuck up for you on the BTB site..They have been hammering you for no good reason. Your not a troll in my book.
Idk anymore
I voted no with the anticipation of the Gmen not recapturing the defensive pressure they once applied. After the game against the ‘Boys it’s more of a wait and see for me now. It’s going to be tough but if we beat the Eagles then no doubt in my mind the Gmen make the playoffs.
NO.NO
Beating the Cowboys twice this year was good enough for me. I’m for all or nothing.
Our Giants are not good enough for the Super Bowl this year. I’m hoping they lose the rest of the games this year and go for higher draft picks. We have lots of needs. The OL are getting
older and slower, Eli need time to hit the receivers, he’s not getting enough time now,
DB’s and LB’s wouldn’t hurt. We need dept in those area’s.
A shot for the Super Bowl in 2011, If we’re lucky.
That's going too far.
I’m hoping they lose the rest of the games this year and go for higher draft picks.
Really don’t think I can agree with that. I can see the appeal, but I would prefer the Giants to win as many games as they can. If they play well and as someone said on another post (possibly Ed), go down fighting, I will be happy. The weak spineless capitulation is what I cannot cope with. As long as the guys play with backbone I will be happy … and the playoffs and post season will take care of themselves.
He was like a god walking amongst mere mortals. He had a voice that could make a wolverine purr and suits so fine they made Sinatra look like a hobo.
wow.....
that’s a little too much Jet fan-ish for me.
Who the hell cares about a draft pick?
We all want a good draft…but it doesn’t matter where you are. See that #88 guy on the team? Pretty f-ing good right? Rookie WR aren’t supposed to look like that you know. They’re supposed to be more like Ramses Barden this year…not playing.
Where did we pick Nicks?
Higher draft picks is a crock of manure and you should be ashamed to think the Giants “should lose the rest of their games”.
If they do they do….but wishing it on em? Damn man…that’s pretty piss poor.
"It ain't over till its over"---
I agree with you Free
We need LB’s – well Boley is young and is good. Goff had a good debut and Sintim picked up a sack on Sunday – so just maybe we are in good hands for the rest of the season and beyond.
As for DL – Canty and Cofield played like they are finally fit and we have Alford to return next year. Tuck and Kiwi are good DE’s – it may be the case we should have not started Osi but kept him on passing downs but that is hindsight for you.
The OL needs updating over the next couple of years and that can be done in several ways and that includes moving Diehl back to OG if we can get a quality OT assuming Beatty is not that guy (McKenzie needs replacing).
I wanted the younger guys to play last week as there was nothing to lose by playing them and plenty to gain by seeing how good they are and indeed their play could lead to wins in the remaining games.
by G Fan in England on Dec 9, 2009 8:41 AM EST up reply actions
isn't it amazing
how one week of play shows what we got?
After the Denver game…we needed a whole new from 7, and some secondary would help too. Also, the O-Line stunk, the RB’s stunk…we needed everything EXCEPT WR!!
…its somewhere in between. We have a bunch of young LB’s. Goff, Sintim, Boley and Kehl should be our LB rotation, maybe re-sign Blackburn and throw him in there too.
The DL your right, Canty probably is that run stopper we need. Cofield sets up picnic tables in the backfield too. We’re missing the heat seeking missile Jay Alford…but that’s next year.
I think secondary is priority one, namly safety. I think Rouse is earning a spot for the future, but he’s a run stopper guy. I think we need a ball hawk.
Line is priority two. Could use a DT in round 2.
Round 3 should be a OG or something like that. Maybe a pass rusher here in case someone falls (see: Tuck, Justin).
Round 4, who we passed on in round 3. OL or pass rusher.
5 and beyond, just find someone. I’d like to see what Andre Brown can be, but maybe a RB in the 5 could be a nice flyer.
…someone like Legarrete Blount, the dude who punched a player at the end of the Boise State-Oregon game.
I’ve heard he may go undrafted…but in the 5th round to get a guy who is a lot like Brandon Jacobs (tho…more like Michael Bush of the Raiders ), would be nice.
….Yes Ed, more draft talk. Except I’m not conceding the season like the Jets fans do.
"It ain't over till its over"---
We can also draft a quality kicker / punter in the later rounds
Instead of wasting them on DB’s that aren’t even on the team anymore like last year
by mclaren_is_the_best on Dec 9, 2009 1:45 PM EST up reply actions
I agree.
Tho, this past draft there was pretty slim pickings as far as kickers, tho Ryan Succup is not bad (Mr. Irrelevant).
Tynes is not THAT bad to go and spend the last pick in the draft to get a replacement.
But this year, Leigh TIffen from Alabama should be a priority in the draft for the Giants. He’s the real deal
"It ain't over till its over"---
I said
No to this pole as there are still too many variables with four games to go the biggest of which is the Eagles on Sunday.
If we beat the Eagles on Sunday I will change my vote to yes (in which case I guess the vote will be nearly 100%)..
If we lose on Sunday but play well and other results go our way (Dallas and Atlanta lose) I will change my vote to yes.
If we get hammered and the Cowboys win then I need say no more..
by G Fan in England on Dec 9, 2009 5:21 AM EST reply actions
Speaking of variables...
Check out this awesome playoff scenario maker
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/playoffscenario
Under my scenario, we’re the 4th seed vs the packers
Never assume skill at bouncing a ball makes you smarter than the guy who built the court.
"Osi is probably one of our worst db's but he did alright there"
I voted yes
because I’m the type of person that would be unable to watch my team if I really thought they were going to lose. Even in the worst Giant years I didn’t lose hope for a win. I’m not going to change now.
I had to change my vote to yes
The sweep of Dallas helps alot and if that team that showed up last week, show up this week we get an 8 and 5 log jam at the top (yes, I’m counting the Bolts winning as a done deal). Dallas also has to face that buzzsaw know as the Saints and I really don’t see the girls going down to N.O. and spoiling the fun. We finish with at least the same record as the girls and we are in.
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