Archive for the ‘Giants’ Category

WEEK 74 – With the Fishes

Posted: November 1, 2011 by Keith Stone in 2011 Giants, football, Giants, NFL
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Giants 20, Dolphins 17

I can’t remember another season where the Giants had this many close games. On the one hand, I’m glad that they’re pulling most of them out. On the other hand, these aren’t teams that should be keeping it close. What happens when they play the Patriots next week?

Eli Manning continued his stellar season. He was the only one on the offense that seemed to be able to do anything.Bradshaw and Nicks’s injuries worry me, but they seem minor. Even more worrisome might be Brandon Jacobs. Even though he’s banged up too, I think it’s mostly mental. The booing doesn’t help either, people!The Giants play best when the running game is strong and Bradshaw and Jacobs both do their thing. This season isn’t going anywhere if they don’t get their act together.

Normally, it’s a sound strategy to keep running the ball but especially when Bradshaw was in the locker room, they weren’t getting anything. Eli was hot all day. Why not let him air it out in that situation? Victor Cruz once again proved that he’s going to be a valuable contributor to this team and his game-winning TD was phenomenal. The kid is hot like salsa.

The return of Justin Tuck didn’t do as much as I thought it would. When Matt Moore is running on you like he’s the second coming of Barry Sanders, it’s not a good thing. They did manage to pull it together at the end and hopefully the momentum will carry over into next week. I just hope Tuck isn’t half-strength for the rest of the year.

WEEK 73 – BYE Week Boogie Down

Posted: October 26, 2011 by Keith Stone in 2011 Giants, football, Giants, NFL, power rankings
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VH1 just released its list of the Greatest Songs of the 00’s and the Giants had their BYE this week, so I got to watch more football games than I normally do. You know what that means! NFL Power Rankings to the sounds of the 00’s. I have just one complaint. How can the majesty of the Thong Song be ranked #100? It influenced millions of chicks to wear sexier panties. In my book, that’s all that matters. Plus a great cameo by Sisqo’s daughter in the video. Onto the top 10…

10. New York Jets (4-3)


The Jets are going to be in every game they play, just like In Da Club is great for almost any occasion from getting freaky with your lady at the club to a bar mitzvah. It looked like the J-E-T-S were going to collapse in controversy, but everyone forgets that the team thrives on it. As long as the Jets remember that its strength is defense and not the passing game, they’ll be fine. I could see Gang Green doing everything from winning the AFC East to going 7-9, but let’s pencil them in for a Wild Card. Sanchez remains their greatest weakness and he’ll never be anything more than a mediocre QB. If they had anyone better, they could be a legit Super Bowl threat. Plax’s three TD’s against the Chargers were great. Hopefully, he doesn’t shoot himself in da club.

9. Dallas Cowboys (3-3)


Tony Romo’s favorite singer serenades them at #9. It’s been a wild year for the Romosexual, snatching victories from the jaws of defeat and vice versa. This team could easily be undefeated. Dez Bryant’s lingering quad injury hasn’t helped but DeMarco Murray looks more than capable at filling in at running back. With the NFC East looking not as strong as everyone envisioned (*cough* Dream Team *cough*), the Cowboys could win the division even if Romo gives a few more games away.

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WEEK 72 – Nobody Circles the Wagons…

Posted: October 17, 2011 by Keith Stone in 2011 Giants, football, Giants, NFL
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Giants 27, Bills 24

The mark of any good team is how well it responds after a disappointing loss. Luckily, it appears that the Giants are a good team. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t perfect but it was a solid win against a decent team, and we’ll take it especially considering the injuries. The offensive line held up well without Chris Snee. A week to prepare helped a lot. Eli was solid as always and Bradshaw finally had some room to breathe. The defense was a bit worrisome with the two big plays in the first half but for the most part the Bills were under check and Corey Webster played a brilliant game, stepping up and making plays when they were needed the most.

The game almost turned in the third quarter after Manningham dropped a TD and for some reason Coach Coughlin wanted to attempt a 51-yard field goal. Tynes is an average kicker but has struggled to get kicks up all season. Even if gets it over all the outstretched arms, he probably has a 50-50 chance of hitting it. Why not punt the ball and trap the Bills while they’re up against the ropes? The block gave them momentum and they almost stole the game. Keep Tynes off the field for anything deeper than 40 yards unless the game is really on the line. Otherwise, everything looks good heading into the bye week. I’m looking forward to getting reinforcements in the form of Justin Tuck, Brandon Jacobs, Snee, and the Prince. The Giants might not make the playoffs but it’s sure going to be interesting.

WEEK 71 – Off A Cliff

Posted: October 12, 2011 by Keith Stone in 2011 Giants, football, Giants, NFL
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Seahawks 36, Giants 25

Totally unacceptable. A football team is like a car. If one part of it isn’t working, the entire car has a problem. This week, the tires were popped, the oil was low, even the windshield wipers weren’t working. The Giants’ offensive line is already shaky enough at full strength, but the loss of David Baas and then Chris Snee turned it into a sieve which was exacerbated by the fact that Brandon Jacobs was also out. But Seattle is a really, really bad football team. That doesn’t play well on the road. And has a shitty quarterback. And a backup QB that looks like Jared Leto.

There’s no way in hell the Giants should have lost unless they completely gave it away. That’s exactly what they did. I love Cruz and he made an amazing play on his touchdown but there’s no way you can fumble deep in your own territory. The Seahawks were mentally on the plane home already. That play gave them new life along with the safety (barely) of D.J. Ware. Missing Tuck again, the quarterbacks were given waaaaaaaaaaay too much time to operate. Also, how many times are the opponents going to go no huddle before we stop it?

It’s frustrating that Eli can move the ball so effortlessly at times when he really needs to but not when it’s the second quarter. I don’t know if it’s him, the entire team, or the playcalling, but they need to play like every drive is a game-winning drive. It’s OK to play one bad game, but I’m afraid it’s becoming a trend and that’s a problem. It’s a problem when you barely beat shitty teams and it’s a major problem when you lose to them.

WEEK 70 – Card Sharks

Posted: October 3, 2011 by Keith Stone in 2011 Giants, football, Giants, NFL
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Giants 31, Cardinals 27

“It hurts because we thought it was a fumble and it should be our ball, and then we probably win the game. Then you get caught up in the emotion and they line up and throw a deep ball. They took advantage of our emotions.”—Calais Campbell

I was at the Yankees game and still reeling from the failed ninth inning comeback when I got to the Yankee Tavern as the Giants were down 10 with a few minutes left. I watched the rest of the game with the sound off. I may watch every game with the sound off from now on. It honestly doesn’t seem like anything happened in the first 55 minutes of the game. From what I can gather, Beanie Wells ran amok and the Giants used their same old conservative offensive gameplan. When they open things up, good things happen. Jake Ballard made an amazing catch in the end of the end zone (about five feet away from where Plaxico won the World Title) and Nicks is fucking unstoppable if he can get the ball in stride.

Of course, the play everyone is going to talk about is Cruz’s “fumble.” Honestly, I agreed with the refs. He made no effort to continue to get yardage. He gave himself up. End of story. Sure, it was stupid for him to take his hands off the ball and I wouldn’t have been surprised if the refs ruled the other way. But they didn’t and the Giants proved they can still win close games. And one more thing, Osi’s baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack.

WEEK 69 – Giant Nightmare

Posted: September 25, 2011 by Keith Stone in 2011 Giants, Dream Team, football, Giants, NFL, Philly sucks
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Giants 29, Dream Team 16

“They can continue being the Dream Team and keep dreaming.”—Brandon Jacobs

The thing about the Giants is that they’re not intimidated. They might not be the best team out there but they’re never intimidated. It’s not the same cast of characters that won the Super Bowl, but most of the important people are still there and that swagger carries over to the younger guys. It felt great to beat the Dream Team. In Philadelphia. You got seven-year-old kids throwing beer bottles and giving the team bus the finger. Fucking great. This proves that the Giants are a legitimate team. They looked mediocre at best in the first two games but maybe they just needed a little motivation.

Really, the best revelation to come out of the game was Victor Cruz. Having a reliable third receiver is going to open up the offense so much more. He did work against Nnamdi Ashomaskjdhsasakjdhdsjhsa and that’s no joke. His first TD was amazing. Defenders colliding all over the place. Amazing. We still need Manningham but this is a big factor. The running game was also great. Jacobs got the ball a little more and Bradshaw is starting to get those important five- and six-yard runs. The O-line is improving and still isn’t perfect but we’ll take it.

The D was marvelous. JPP continues to be a force to be reckoned with and the Dream Team O-line looked even more pathetic than it is. Mike Vick can whine all he wants about getting hit, but I didn’t see any egregious missed calls. If the guy has the potential to run for 70 yards, then yeah, defenders are going to come at him until the very last second. Don’t blame the refs, don’t blame Chris Canty. Blame your horrible linemen. Then, don’t say you’re not complaining, you’re just pointing out that you never get flags. You know what that’s called? Complaining! Sorry about the boo boo on your hand. Maybe you shouldn’t have killed those dogs. Oh, and did I mention that Osi Umenyiora didn’t play?

McCoy killed us but Andy Reid is so stupid he’d rather run the fullback on the game’s biggest plays. Aaron Ross finally contributed and hopefully this will bolster his confidence in the future but as long as those rushers bring the heat, the secondary won’t get picked on as much. The soft part of the schedule is coming up. The team can’t take anything for granted and needs to continue playing at a high level and get better, especially the offensive line. The best is yet to come.

WEEK 68 – Win Column

Posted: September 20, 2011 by Keith Stone in 2011 Giants, football, Giants, NFL, St. Louis Rams
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Giants 28, Rams 16

It was an encouraging win for the Giants. Not great but solid. It was looking dicey at the beginning there but the Boley touchdown was huge. Also big was the fact that Eli was able to shake off his bad start. That first interception was horrible and set a bad tone for the game. Hixon and Cruz are gradually working themselves into the offense, which is huge, but the injuries to Manningham and Hixon could nullify that. Can we please get through a few games without losing any more players? The D is improving but still gave up way too much to Bradford. Tuck coming back really helped and Osi’s return should make up for the large deficiencies in the secondary. When Deon Grant got “injured,” I almost started crying. Next week is going to be a dogfight.

WEEK 67 – Scalped

Posted: September 12, 2011 by Keith Stone in 2011 Giants, Deadskins, football, Giants, NFL
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Redskins 28, Giants 14

This game was a disaster from start to finish but it was still fairly evenly matched. The big difference was Eli’s TAINT. The Skins also got a huge advantage on Antrel Rolle’s questionable unnecessary roughness penalty, and converted a 4th down while the Giants failed on theirs. The injuries killed us, especially Justin Tuck’s. Rex Grossman was able to get tons of time with only JPP coming after him. The offensive line wasn’t great, as could be expected, but they will improve. I would’ve liked to see the ball get thrown downfield more. The few times they did, good things happened. Not even so much long bombs, but more in the 20-30 yard range. The running backs looked fairly solid but I would have liked to see Jacobs more.

Overall, a horrible way to start the season. I’m very discouraged. At the same time, the Giants are good at making adjustments, nobody got injured, and the Rams may be even more banged up. Although I still don’t think the Redskins are very good, it was a division game on the road and those are very hard to win. Remember: the last time the Giants lost to the Skins, they were holding up the Lombardi Trophy two months later.

Jets Still Suck

Posted: August 30, 2011 by Keith Stone in football, Giants, Jets, NFL
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The Jets beat the Giants tonight 17-3 and I’m sure everyone on the Jets side of things is going to make a big deal about it, but they can shut their holes. The Giants moved the ball for the entire first half while the Jets scored with the help of a 70-yard kickoff return by Antonio Cromartie. This isn’t taking anything away from the Jets, but they had like two first downs in the first half. For the G-Men, it was the same old story. They stalled around the 30-yard line and couldn’t convert when it meant the most. The Jets got the W but we’re not going to know who the best team in New York is until December 24. I thought the Giants played better, but I’m sure Rexy won’t agree. It’s all a matter of perception.

I’m Down With JPP

Posted: August 14, 2011 by Keith Stone in football, Giants, JPP, NFL
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It’s not prudent to take too much out of the first preseason game, but Jason Pierre-Paul was off-the-hook against the Panthers. Two sacks, seven tackles, and a ton of pressure on the QB. Sure, it was only the preseason and it was the Panthers but if JPP really steps it up this season, the Giants’ D-Line is going to be better than ever.

The kid was a little lost in the beginning of last year but turned it on at the end. It was one of the underrated stories of 2010. Plus, now Osi knows he’s going to have to kick it into high gear and work even harder to keep his starting job. A little competition is good for everybody. Who cares if the Giants lost out on Plax, Smith, and Boss? They have three beasts who are going to attack the quarterback. Michael Vick is going to be running like a dog. It doesn’t matter how many cornerbacks get injured during training camp. I could play in the secondary with a can of PBR in my hand and the Three-Headed Monster would take care of everything. One gets tired, the next one comes in. Kinda like me with the ladies on a Saturday night.

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