Not Exactly The Week 1 We Hoped For…

Sorry for not writing until Monday afternoon but I’ve spent the last few hours trying to cover Jason Whitten over the middle. Somebody’s got to do it.

Ok, so we learned three things on Sunday:

1)I can’t pick against the spread: 6-8 on Sunday. If I win both Monday night games I’ll be 8-8. Does that clinch me a playoff spot in the NFC?

2)The Giants defense is atrocious. Tony Romo is good – but not “I won my fantasy week because of him” good. I am not even remotely confident in the Giants’ secondary and Mathias Kiwanuka looked as comfortable at linebacker as the class nerd playing dodge ball in gym class. Also, I saw John Madden get less winded running sprints before the game than the Giants D-line.

3)The Giants are the exact same team as last year minus Tiki Barber. Just when you think the game is lost, they come back to give you hope, only to say 10 plays later, “you silly, silly man, did you think we were ACTUALLY going to pull it out?” Last year’s team did just enough to lose the big games. Last night wasn’t any different.

Plain and simple, the defense let us down Sunday night. Injuries aside, you can’t get torched for 45 points and 336 passing yards. Defense gets an F for Sunday’s loss. I’m more worried about the secondary than the injuries.

Let’s look at the bright side of things, now.

Ok…done.

Just kidding. In reality, we’re 0-1 after an injury-plagued game, on the road. If we take care of Dallas at Giants’ Stadium later in the year, we can call it a wash. Last night would have been a HUGE win, but it’s not the end of the world.

Manning looked better than I’ve ever seen him. Assuming his injury isn’t long term – the passing game looks promising, and who needs Brandon Jacobs when you’ve got Derrick Ward, right? There were glints of Tiki Barber last night from Ward, but I wouldn’t christen him the savior running back just yet.

At the very least we saw that Ward can be an extremely effective third-down-type back. Paging David Meggett…

No, seriously, we need David Meggett and any other football player that’s played running back before. Send resumes to: OnTheHotSeat@coughlin.com

Bottom line, it could be worse – we could be the Jets.

–Ryan

Couglin On The Hot Seat

Despite making the playoffs the past two seasons, expectations for the New York Giants aren’t that high.

Tiki Barber, the Giants’ all-time leading rusher and offensive catalyst, retired for a television career. The wait for Eli Manning to live up to expectations continues. And who knows what to expect from seven-time Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Strahan, if anything.

Then there’s the Tom Coughlin factor. The no-nonsense coach is on the hot seat after failing to get past the first round of the playoffs two straight years amid all kinds of turmoil.

If the path gets bumpy again, things could get ugly fast.

That’s the Giants, though. They were the defending NFC East champs and considered a legitimate Super Bowl contender a year ago. They got big heads, suffered a couple of injuries, pointed fingers and went 8-8 to barely squeeze into the playoffs.

“One of the things we are striving for this year is playing together as a team,” center Shaun O’Hara said. “I think last year we had a lot of individual talent, but I don’t know if we played well as a team every Sunday. That’s our overall goal as a team, to complement each other in every phase and make it a collective effort.”

Whether the Giants can get back to being a title contender depends on three key issues:
— Can Manning have a consistent season and avoid the big mistakes?
— Can big, bruising Brandon Jacobs do as well as Barber, and stay healthy?
— Will Strahan end a holdout and play a 15th season, and can the defense survive without him?

The Strahan question was the most unexpected. Hours before training camp opened, the NFL’s active sacks leader announced he was holding out while he mulled retirement. Five weeks later, and just a little more than a week before the opener at Dallas, he was still mulling his options.

On the field, the offense has shown the potential to carry the Giants, especially if Manning can avoid a third straight second-half slump. Having former quarterbacks coach Kevin Gilbride as the offensive coordinator should help Manning, who is also being tutored by Chris Palmer, another longtime quarterbacks guru.

One thing that has changed is Manning has emerged as one of the leaders of the Giants, thanks in part to Barber.

Barber criticized the quarterback’s leadership a few weeks ago during halftime on Sunday night football and Manning fired right back at his former teammate.

Not only did the retort prop him up in the eyes of his teammates, but Manning followed that with good stints against Baltimore and the Jets.

Manning should have plenty of help this season.

David Diehl’s ability to move from left guard to left tackle has strengthened the offensive line. It also should help Jacobs use his 6-foot-4, 260-pound frame to run over defenses.

The receiving corps is deep with Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer, rookie Steve Smith and Sinorice Moss on the field along with Pro Bowl tight end Jeremy Shockey. The concern is Burress, who missed much of training camp with ankle and back problems.

“This team came a long way,” said Toomer, who has returned from major knee surgery. “There were times early in camp where it was touch and go, but the young guys stepped up and our defense played real well.”

After a dismal performance in the preseason opener, the defense improved under new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, allowing one touchdown in the next two games.

Justin Tuck, who like Strahan missed a good part of last season with a serious foot injury, has been outstanding filling in at left end. Osi Umenyiora has been a force on the other side.

Mathias Kiwanuka has been adequate making the transition from defensive end to strongside linebacker, and free agent Kawika Mitchell has looked good as weakside linebacker. With Pro Bowler Antonio Pierce in the middle, the linebackers are solid.

The weakness is the secondary, especially with veteran Sam Madison battling a hamstring injury. Rookie cornerback Aaron Ross should provide help at some point.

“This is going to be a team you can be proud of,” Pierce said. “I know one thing you love in New York is defense. When I came here from that other team (Washington) I saw the (tradition) at linebacker: Carl Banks, Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson. But this group is going to work hard and play some ball.”

One area not settled is the kicking job. Neither veteran Lawrence Tynes nor free agent Josh Huston has won it, although Huston has kicked better lately.

(AP)

Giants – Jets First Half Thoughts

By Ryan Murphy, WNBC.com Editor

The first play aside, I’m pleasantly pleased with the Giants so far.

Offense – moved the ball down field. Could have gotten inside the red zone a bit more, but Manning looked good and I am extremely impressed with WR Anthony Mix (I was going to write that before his touchdown, too.) Jacobs looked decent, I’m just worried about this guy taking a beating if he carries 30 times a game. The upside is clearly his size so maybe he’ll be distributing more beatings than taking them.

Defense – mulligan on the first play and they were putting for birdie every series after that. The Giants D-line made Jets O-line look like Swiss cheese and Pennington had 80 total yards. Remember, 79 came on the first play. A+ for the Giants D in the first half. A safety always helps too, but that’s more a credit to special teams coverage.

Special Teams – a little disconcerted about missing 2 field goals with our supposed starting kicker. I’m over it fast though as preseason is just that – PRE season. 0 for 2 in a close game during the regular season will not evoke the same response, I assure you that. You can’t give up 6 points, ever. I still think Tynes will be our guy on opening day. But why is kicker such a shaky position for the Giants year in and year out? Great coverage on the punt that led to the safety. It’s nice to see David Tyree back in action.

All in all, Giants get an A- for first half action. I’d take a performance like this on opening day against Dallas in a heartbeat. Let’s see how bad second and third stringers want on this team…

By the way, kudos to Darrelle Rivas for tight coverage in the first half. My counterpart, Jim Scott will be pleased with his first half performance. Ouch…he just got drilled on a second-half punt return…sorry Jim

Ryan Response? Email me!

A Letter To Tiki Barber

Dear Tiki,

I never thought I’d ever hear myself saying this to you, but I think it’s time we move our separate ways. I need to get over you. We need to move on.

I’ll always cherish the memories, Tiki. Like in 1997 when you scored your very first touchdown in a Giants uniform. It was the touchdown that prompted me to switch jersey numbers – from 27 to 21.

And how about the 2000 season? Do you remember how much fun we had that year? It probably wasn’t much fun for you, though, considering you had to carry Ray Lewis on your back for much of the last game… and much of the New York Giants team for that season.

From 2002 on things just kept getting better and better. You were a mainstay in all the Giants top offensive categories and the Hall of Fame seemed in reach.

In 2004, I cried, literally, when you broke the Giants all-time rushing record. From section 325 in Giants Stadium, on a day when playoffs didn’t matter, I was there for you when you proved you hadn’t give up on the fans or the Giants.

And forget the fumbles; I forgave you for every single one. Forget 2007, when retirement crept into the conversation and the wins started to fade. I said it then and I’ll say it again, you deserved to go out how you wanted.

As much as I’m reticent to admit it, I’ve got to be an Eli guy now – and I stick up for my guys. I was disappointed in you this week, Tiki. Granted what you said about Eli may not have been too far off the fairway, but let the Giants’ locker room situation pan itself out. There’s enough going on in Giants’ land already without you stirring the pot.

Last season, you asked Giants fans to move on from you as you called it a career. Most fans I’ve spoken to had moved on quickly. Not me, though. It’s taken me until now to accept that you’re gone… and maybe it’s time for you to do the same.

I’ll miss you Tiki.

Best,

Ryan Response? Email me!