Week Seven 2016: Giants at Rams

Big Blue had a big win in London against the Los Angeles Rams. Like Frankenstein's monster, the game was fugly, but all that matters is that the Giants got another notch in their win column. With the Giants on bye this week, they have to play the waiting game to see how the rest of the division shakes out.

"You talkin' to me?"-Frankenstein's Monster

What Went Right

This game really belonged to the defense.
Landon Cobwebs had two interceptions. I know, I was just as surprised as you were, considering he couldn’t catch a zombie virus if he was bitten in the face. Not only did he have two picks, but he cribbed the first one. That play was an absolute game changer. He was straight up beasting out last Sunday. I guess you can say he was an American Werewolf in London.

See what I did there?

Cobwebs wasn’t the only guy in the secondary giving Case Screamum a hard time. Dominique Rodgers-Crowmartie also had two picks. Both of them were late in the game, and his second one, which might of been the easiest pick of his life, was the final nail in the Rams coffin.

Jason Beware-Paul and Olivier Vermin still didn’t put up stellar numbers, but they put a lot of pressure on Screamum. That pressure might have been the reason he threw four picks.
Jonathan Fangkins and Demon “Ax” Harrison were also chipped in and helped the Giants contain Odd Gurley, who was held to just under sixty yards.

The G-Men’s only offensive touchdown game from a rare goal line series when they ran the ball three times in a row which lead to a touchdown by Macabre Jennings.

Robbie Ghoul, who was signed just days before the game after Josh Brown didn’t travel with the team, did well. He’s a solid kicker who will do just fine for the Giants this year. As long as he’s not a monster like his predecessor, it’ll be a huge step in the right direction.

Let’s stay on special teams for a second. Bat Wing has been great for the Giants this whole season, and the last game is no exception. The majority of the second half was a punting battle between Wing, and Rams’ punter Johnny Hexer. The field position battle became an important one, and Wing was ready to answer the call.



What Went Wrong

Eli's spending his bye week killing archeologists who opened his tomb.

Eli Mummy didn’t do well at all. I don’t know if it’s because he doesn’t entirely trust his o-line, if the running game is so stagnant that nothing is open downfield, or if Eli is just flat out playing worse than we’re accustomed to. Whatever it is, he’s gotta figure it out, and fix it fast.

Ohell Beckham Jr., Victim Cruz, and Skulling Shepard all under performed as well.

Scary Donnell still well deserves the wraith of Giants’ fans across the world after he fumbled the ball on the first possession. I said it last week, it might be time to give Will Die the starting duties.

Despite the singular rushing touchdown Macabre Jennings and Maul Perkins ran terribly. I’ve seen teenagers at Crystal Lake run more effectively than those two.

Ben McAboo is still not instilling confidence in the fan base that he can be a great head coach. I'm sure everyone was hoping that we wouldn't miss Tom Coffin, but the truth is I can't stop wondering what could've been with this team coached by him. Maybe McAboo can't manage the team AND call the plays on offense. He needs to take this week to reevaluate what his role as a head coach will be from here on out.

I've heard that being a head coach ages you more quickly, but this is ridiculous.

On To The Next One

The Giants don’t have a game this week. The bye is coming at a great time, actually.  This extra week will give the banged up Giants time to heal, and most of them can come back against the Eagles well rested and much healthier.

Speaking of the Eagles, as much as I hate to say it, we have to root for them this week while they play the Cowboys. I know, most of the time I’d rather see Norman Bates in drag in my bathroom well before I’d cheer the Eagles, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Philly beating Dallas will really level the playing field in the NFC East, and this is even truer if the Redskins lose as well. It seems early to watch other teams scoreboards but the Giants have very little wiggle room.

Will a break in the action reset the team, fixing all the glitches? This division is still up for grabs, but they got a hell of a battle ahead of them if they want to be on top in January.

Week Six 2016: Giants vs Ravens

Well the Giants won their first game in what feels like forever. Despite facing a team that was decimated by injuries, Big Blue still had plenty to overcome in this much needed win. The Giants are now 3-3, which still leaves them in last place in the NFC East, but this win serves as a small beacon of hope that the Giants can turn their season around



What Went Right

Pass protection was good. Eli only got sacked once, and that was by Terrell Suggs. Getting sacked by T-Sizzle is almost guaranteed to happen.

The four down, goal line stand that prevented the Ravens from getting some much needed points. It was great to see the Giants defense buckle down and make a huge, game changing stop when they really needed it. Jonathan Casillas, along with Mark Herzlich, made the huge play against Terrance West on fourth down to prevent him from scoring and ultimately changed the complexion of the game.

OBJ had a huge game. It was the game that we all wanted from him, as well as the game he wanted from himself. He’s at his happiest when his playing contributes to a win.
Having two touchdowns over sixty yards certainly helped the Giants win the game, and it could very well be the turning point of the season.
The first was the, as Eli called it, “whirly bird” play. Which seemed to be ripped from the pages of a recess playbook.
The second touchdown put them in the lead with less than two minutes left in the game.  He had a great match up against an inexperienced cornerback and Eli recognized that and hit him on a quick slant. OBJ took that slant past the first down marker, past the field goal range marker, and right into the end zone.
For so many reasons, it was a beautiful sight to see. Eli got another comeback win under his belt, Odell made another huge play, and he got engaged on top of all of that.

Congrats to you and the net, Odell. Now please, stop getting penalties.

Janoris Jenkins has really proven to be the best free agent acquisition for this Giants this season. He didn’t have fantastic numbers against the Ravens, but he’s been playing lights out.

It was a good win by the Giants. They had to deal with shotty officiating, bad penalties, and a lackluster run game. They still did enough to win the game. It wasn’t pretty, but sometimes those ugly wins say the most about the team.



What Went Wrong

Despite this great win, a lot didn’t go right for the Giants.

Their run game wasn’t very effective, by that I mean it’s about as effective as a lead parachute. I thought with Rashad Jennings coming back we would see a quality rushing attack. Thirty-four yards is not what I had in mind.

The Giants also gave up a lot of yards in penalties, one hundred ninteen to be exact. I know that forty of those yards was because of a TERRIBLE pass interference call on DRC.
The worst penalty committed by the Giants, yes worse than the Odell helmet penalty, was Owa Odighizuwa’s roughing the passer penalty. He got to Joe Flacco late on an incomplete 4th down throw during their attempted game winning drive. That penalty gave the Ravens fifteen more yards as well as a fresh set of downs. If the Ravens ended up winning because they got more time and better field position, there would be no shortage of outrage from a Giants’ fan base who is growing weary of undisciplined play.
While Beckham’s helmet removal wasn’t as bad as Dighi’s, it still could’ve been very costly for Big Blue. Having to stop a kick off return is certainly more risky than a touchback. If that kick return was housed, we’d have another week hearing about Odell’s antics.

Larry Donnell is very concerning to me. Like a drunk man balancing a plate of nachos on his head, he’s a mess waiting to happen. First he does his patented hurdle, which is a great way to lose the football, then, while the Giants are trying to assemble a game winning drive, Donnell runs out of bounds one yard short of the 1st down to bring up 4th down. Luckily for him, Beckham saved the day by breaking that 4th & 1 catch for a touchdown.
I don’t know why Will Tye isn’t starting over Larry Liability. Neither are the second coming of Mark Bavaro, but Will Tye is nowhere near as risky as Donnell.

"Get off the field, Larry. You're gonna spill your dang nachos."

On a more serious note, it may not be pertinent to the Ravens’ game, but this whole Josh Brown fiasco is certainly something that “went wrong”.
The Giants may not have known the full extent of Brown’s abuse, but they certainly knew enough that they could have decided against resigning him and done so without feeling guilty. As it turns out, this goes way beyond an incident at the Pro Bowl. This abuse has been ongoing.
They are trying to rectify the situation now, but the damage has been done. The Giants are no longer the moral beacon that we all thought they were. I guess, if you think about it, the Giants put up with a lot of Lawrence Taylor’s issues. There is a difference, though, because I think his playing day problems were drugs and prostitutes. From what I remember and what I researched, I didn’t see anything about spousal abuse from when he played. But still, the Giants protected him from the league, and, not that it should matter, but Josh Brown isn’t on the same level as LT. He’s not even the LT of field goal kickers.
Hopefully the Giants can do enough to save face, but I have to be honest with you. This is, by far, the most disappointed I’ve ever been as a Giants’ fan. Out of all the horrible seasons I've witnessed out of all the boneheaded behavior, nothing has made me more angry at the Giants than this.


On To The Next One

The Giants go across the pond to England to face the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams’ defensive line, especially Aaron Donald, are gonna be tough for the Giants. Other than that and Todd Gurley, the team isn’t very good.

What you need to watch for is how the Rams are going to be treating Beckham. Rams’ Coach, Jeff Fisher, loves to try to get into his opponents head by playing dirty. I have no doubt that LA’s secondary will do everything they can to throw OBJ off his game, because that’s the only way they can beat him.

Hopefully after this game, the Giants come back to the states another win richer, and gain some ground in this competitive division.

Week Five 2016: Giants at Packers

The Giants had another bad loss on Sunday night to the Green Bay Packers. This loss brings their losing streak to three games. That’s not a good thing when the rest of the division is off playing well. Big Blue needs to fix whatever is holding them back, or else the rest of the NFC East will leave them in the dust.

The Giants better turn their season around if they want to survive Fury Road.

What Went Right

The Giants’ defense got some turnovers, and the fact that it was two interceptions of Aaron Rodgers made it better. Jack Rabbit had both of those picks, which somewhat validates his expensive price tag. 

It was nice to see Odell score his first touchdown of the season and finally make up with that kickers net, but it would’ve been even better to see that in a winning effort. The touchdown itself was very impressive, as well.  

"I'm automatically attracted to beautiful nets. I just start kissing them, and when you're a star they let you do it. Grab them by the netting, you can do anything."

What Went Wrong

Both the offensive and defensive lines were abysmal.
At times, it seemed that Rodgers could have read the Song of Ice and Fire series in the backfield because of the lack of pressure he was under. He had all day for receivers to eventually get open. 
And where Rodgers could sit down to read those combined 4,500 pages, Eli Manning only had the time to read one Game of Thrones episode description on cable.
As soon as he got the ball, someone on the Packers was right in his grill. Ereck Flowers, who was only good at pushing reporters Sunday night, looked foolish by the way he let defenders run right by him.

Eli also looked bad. There were some passes that, if completed, would’ve completely changed the game. Is this just him being off, or was he rushing throws because he didn’t trust his protection? Even if that’s the case, he still has to play better.

Everyone is talking about firing McAdoodoo. They are talking about his inability to manage players. He’s only been a head coach for five games, he needs time to acclimate. Unfortunately, we have to see how he runs the Giants throughout the season. Firing coaches mid-season isn’t the Giants’ way of doing things, and neither is firing a coach only after one year. Maybe he’s unable to call the offense and keep tabs on his players, but until we know for sure, let’s cut him some slack.



On To The Next One

Their next game is at home against the Baltimore Ravens. For as banged up as the Giants are, the Ravens look to be even more injured. Five of the Ravens missed Friday’s practice. The most notable of which was Steve Smith, which is good news for a hobbled Giants’ secondary. Other players are linebackers Elvis Dumerville and C.J. Mosley, guard Marshall Yanda, and punt returner Devin Hester. It’s too bad for the Giants’ offensive line that the entire defensive front for Baltimore is out.
Can Eli and his offense step up and be as dominate as we all thought a few months ago? They're talking about a new scheme that will be fun to watch, so at the very least, the game won't be boring. 

If the Giants can capitalize on the Ravens’ injuries and play with full hearts like the Dillion Panthers in front of their home crowd, this can propel them to a win, and hopefully give them a wave of momentum that they can ride for several weeks.

Ride that radical wave all the way to the playoffs, bruh!

Week Four 2016: Giants at Vikings

I was convinced the Giants were going to lose on Monday night. I wasn’t wrong, but nevertheless, it was still a tough loss. They had a chance to win the game, but they blew it. Now they are facing an uphill battle as they are now in last place in the division.



What Went Right

If your trying to find the silver lining to this game, don’t bother. You’re more likely to find grandparents at a metal concert.

If I had to think of a few things to highlight, I’d day Brad Wing punted well, Orleans Darkwa was impressive, and rookie back Paul Perkins had a great play towards the end of the game.



What Went Wrong

Defense looked good at times but letting up that long drive for a touchdown after the Giants were only down by seven was so demoralizing. Of all the drives for the defense to fall apart like a Nature Valley Crunchy bar, they chose the wrong one.

I challenge you to bite into one of these without your table looking like it's covered in hippie confetti.

Pass protection was ineffective, but that shouldn’t be surprising given how good the Vikings are at disrupting the quarterback. Eli had no time for downfield plays to develop, and when there’s no deep threat, the rest of the Giants’ offense struggles.
Despite Paul Perkins having a great run, he was terrible in pass protection. He missed blocking assignments the whole game.

The biggest blunder of the night had to be when Dwayne Harris didn’t call for the fair catch after a Viking’s three and out deep in their own territory. He muffed the punt, the Vikings recovered, and scored on that drive. I know it was really early in the game, but the game could have been really different if that fumble never occurred.  That fumble caused a momentum swing that seemed to carry throughout the entire game.



Speaking of self inflicted wounds, I guess I have to talk about the Odell Beckham Jr. debacle...

Show me "paint the chest"...

Odell was going on about how he’s targeted by both the officials and the defenders. I’m not sure about the officials having it out for him, although they did miss that call when he got hit out of bounds, but the defenders have adopted a certain playing style against him. Why would anyone do that differently though? He’s one of the most naturally gifted receivers in the NFL, he can’t be easy to cover. However, if you hit him a lot, and talk a lot of trash, it eats away at him like fire ants, and he’s thrown off his game.
I’m sure most defensive backs don’t take too kindly to his showy, flamboyant style, either. When it comes to him being targeted, he’s painted that bulls eye on himself. Some of the things that made him a household name, can lead to unwanted attention. 
Defenders will try to get under his skin, and the officials will look at him closely and make sure he’s behaving. He has to overcome it or he'll succumb to it. 
But I’m not going to call this guy a bad teammate. When it comes to putting him in the T.O. category, I want to look at the intent on his behavior. He wants to win, and he wants to play well. The passion is obviously there, but he has to control it. Not unlike Jean Grey, he has what it takes to be dominant, but he needs learn how to control what makes him great. We’ll have to see if he can control his fire and unleash the Phoenix on the NFL.



On To The Next One

The Giants are facing the Packers this Sunday night at legendary Lambeau Field.

This game looks to be another tough match up for the Giants but for different reasons than the Vikings’ were. Where the Vikings were tough on defense, the biggest obstacle the Giants have to overcome is the Packers’ offense lead by Jordan Rodgers’ brother, Aaron.

Aaron doesn't come in this house without paying the price. Not now, not ever!

The Giants’ banged up secondary will really be put to the test when they face Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb, and hopefully the front seven can contain Eddie Lacy.

This should be a great game for the Giants’ passing offense, though. With the Packers being ranked towards the bottom of the league, there’s no reason why Eli and his receivers should put up great numbers. But this isn’t the first time we’ve said this about the passing game this season, so I'm going to hope for the best but temper my expectations a bit.
For as bad as the Packers are at defending the pass, they are the opposite against the run. Their first ranked rush defense should bottle up whoever is running the ball on Sunday night. It’s not like this is a huge blow. The Giants’ running game looked cotton candy soft for most of the year.

Of course the one part of this game that everyone will be looking at is Odell. This is where needs to show us how tough he can be mentally. It’s a great match up for him, and he can certainly make it a rough night for Green Bay. Can he put this mess behind him and show everyone why he’s great, or will he fall further into this spiral of overreacting and petulance? One thing is for sure, if the Giants’ win on Sunday, and Odell has a good game, this subject will be dropped, and the talking heads will completely forget how much they trashed him this past week.