Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Week Three 2014: Giants vs Texans

The Giants set out on Sunday to get a win to end this early season slide before it gets out of hand. That’s exactly what they did when they defeated the Houston Texans quite handedly. I know it was only the third game of the season, but this was a big win for Big Blue.

It didn’t start off particularly well for the Giants. In fact, it was downright horrible. The first play that made me nervous was when tight end, Larry Donnell, got tackled at the Texans five yard line and the ball popped out of his arms like a greased watermelon. Of course this happened when the Giants offense looked like it was finally clicking.
At first I was like...
The other time that made me completely freak out was after a sixty-one yard Eli/Cruz hook up. The Giants had to settle for a field goal. Usually I wouldn’t care, but on this particular field goal attempt, things went awry. The Giants long snapper and longtime team captain, Zak DeOssie, botched the snap to Weatherford. Ultimately, the kick wasn’t even attempted. This is when I almost lost my damn mind.
Then I was like...
Despite the woes on offense, the Giants didn’t get discouraged. They settled down, made plays, and started to score. I haven’t seen the offense clicking that well since their latest Super Bowl run. Don’t worry, I’m not making any connections between the two, just yet.

With plays being made on all sides of the ball, the Giants walked away with a win, and a good deal of momentum heading forward. And Giant fans can breathe a sigh of relief that the team isn’t a complete failure.
Finally, I was like...
Apparently, the Giants made some changes this past week. Coach Coughlin decided to take a more relaxed approach to the weeks preparation. He allowed players to play rap music at practice, and he ended their last practice with a punt-catching competition... between the offensive and defensive linemen. Instead of getting on his guys about the mistakes they made and how to avoid mental mistakes, he kept their minds at ease.
Do you remember in D2: The Mighty Ducks, when Gordon Bombay lost sight of what was important? He put too much pressure on his team, and they didn’t play their best. He eventually realized that all of the grueling practices and the yelling weren’t the ways to get the best results. Coach Coughlin isn’t as bad as “Captain Blood”, but he realized that the best course was for the team to just go out there and play the game that they love.

Eli Manning completed seventy-five percent of his passes against the Texans. He was accurate, he made good decisions, he didn’t try to force anything, and he got rid of the ball in a hurry. Basically, he was the bizarro Eli. Maybe it was all the rap music he listened to during the practices that helped him find a rhythm with his receivers, or maybe it was just the offense finally clicking. Whatever it was, it was great to see and I hope it’s here to stay.
Before the game started I was concerned with how much J.J. Watt was going to dominate the offensive line and be an absolute nightmare for the offense. But the offensive line kept Watt out of the game. They gave Eli a lot of time in the pocket, and they made holes for the running game. They answered the call.

The receivers did a great job too. There weren’t as many drops this time around. This was especially true for Victor Cruz. People were yelling “CRUUUUUUUUZ!” instead of “BOOOOO!” this time around. He had a huge sixty-one yard reception and a twenty six yard touchdown catch. Preston Parker had a big drop on a third down, but later in the game he was a reliable target for Eli. Also, tight end Daniel Fells made an incredible catch that pretty much solidified the win.

(Here’s a new installment for the blog. It’s called “Buy This Guy a Beer”. Basically, it’s the drinkers equivalent to the game ball. It recognizes a player who went above and beyond to propel their team to victory. I’m only going to do it after wins, so let’s hope I give out a lot of these.)

Buy This Guy a Beer: Rashad Jennings
The running game was a huge reason why the offense was effective. Jennings averaged five yards per carry, ran for a career best one hundred and seventy-six yards, and scored one touchdown. He went bananas on the Texans.
But it wasn’t just his rushing numbers that made an impact. His rushing game was paramount in making J.J. Watt nearly obsolete in this game. He was basically the kryptonite for Watt. It made the offensive linemen’s jobs easier, which made Eli’s job easier.

"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"
The defense came out swinging today. Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Gandalf of quarterbacks, came into Metlife Stadium with an average QB rating of almost one hundred and twenty. He left Metlife Stadium with a rating of fifty-eight. The defense played like maniacs against Houston. They went after that ball like hysterical teenage girls running after The Beatles. Rolle, DRC, and the Fresh Prince all had interceptions. Those were the only picks Fitzy has thrown this season. Despite his lack of success in the air, he was able to run quite a bit against the Giants.
Alfred Blue put up seventy-eight yards against the Giants. This included a forty-nine yard run in the third quarter. Obviously, Blue isn’t at the same level as Arian Foster, but it’s still encouraging.

Aside from the bad DeOssie snap, the special teams played well. The return game was smarter, all of Weatherford’s punts were inside the twenty yard line, and Damontre Moore blocked a punt. I have a feeling this won’t be the last blocked punt for Moore this season. He’s become a great asset in special teams.

This was a huge win, but this game was far from perfect. There are still plenty of things to improve on. Those two big blunders in the beginning of the game could become very costly against top tier opponents. But all in all, this was a very encouraging game. The team didn’t fold when they were knee deep in mistakes. They showed grit, and the persevered.

On to the Next One:
 For only being the four game of the season, the Giants play a game that could have a tremendous impact on the season. This Thursday, they go down to Washington D.C. to face the Redskins. The ‘Skins have a great offense, but a pedestrian defense. I’m not too concerned with how productive the Giants offense can be. I am curious to see if the G-Men’s defense can stifle the potent offense.
"Yes, Steve. You DID do that!"
The key to win is to get pressure on Kirk Cousins. He hasn’t been up against a decent pass rush yet this year. Let’s see how this former Spartan will handle it. Also, they have to contain DeSean Jackson. Right now he’s questionable, and I’d really prefer if he didn’t play. He has been a thorn in the Giants’ side, the Urkel to the Giants’ Carl Winslow, for years. If he plays, the speedy safety, Quintin Demps, will be in the secondary trying to keep Jackson in check.
If they can limit their mistakes, I like the Giants' chances to win this game and get back up to even on the season.

So what have I learned?

If this week was any indication, the Giants new offense can be deadly. The offense seems to be fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle. Piece by piece, the Giants are building a powerful offense.

It looks like JP2 is back to his original form. Despite getting hurt once every game, he seems to be healthy. And a healthy JP2 is a dangerous JP2.

Coach Coughlin knows his team well. The fact that he knew how to react to prevent the team from having a full on meltdown is a testament to how much he knows and how much the players trust him.

According to Eli, they were playing a lot of 90’s rap to get their collective mind right. The idea of Eli listening to Wu-Tang Clan while warming up is hilarious to me, and I hope it never stops.
"Hi. I'm Eli Manning and here are my new friends. Method Man, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, the RZA, Masta Killah, and Inspectah Deck."

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