The original #58 spoke in his regular spot on Monday on WFAN. Carl’s theme for this team is “mediocrity with above average talent “. Here are the snippets from Killer:
1. “I think there’s not one single person from player to coach that doesn’t deserve to have some things questioned after yesterday.“
2. Their “best players are not showing up on a consistent basis.” “Maybe they’ve accepted mediocrity.” What they have is a “case of the DWI ‘don’t want it’ guys don’t want it in crucial situations”. Furthermore, “they’re no longer good enough to overcome a penalty here or a mistake there because they tend to compound them now.”
3. Going away from the running game: “When you look at a running back who only touches the ball eleven times “ and “he’s averaging six point three yards per carry” (actually 6.1) and “you don’t challenge the defense to bring that average down your doing a disservice” in addition he says “I don’t think that at any given time during the course of the game it was a blowout” and “that you just say you’ve got to get into the passing game.”
4. I chuckle at this “If it was a team that was rebuilding you look at the game I guess today and say boy – they’re awfully close a play here play or there” and they could have won “but this team so far away from that.”
5. On the coaching front he goes on to say “okay I don’t sit in the coaches meetings but some things I notice just don’t seem logical… This is something I would question in having Bradshaw in the game and you run a dive up the middle but if you are going to run that type of play you want a battering ram in there. You’ve got a small guy in there.. he works better in space you’re probably better off off- tackle.. (you are) better off putting him in space or just a little bit of space.”
6. A juicy tidbit here: “When you are a passing team in the Giants when you look at the stats sheet it looks like its balanced but obviously this offensive line they love to run the football. Okay if you’re having that much success in the running game and” then “you put your quarterback in the shotgun it really takes away the play action. So you can leave Jacobs in the game but you would have much more success on some of your downfield plays if you are running play action from some of those same running formation. Getting your quarterback under center then you start” to get “a lot of guys in the box.”
7. On defense Banks questions why “you use your best pass rusher dropping back in pass coverage and he’s caught in no man’s land against Antonio Gates. Do you question that? I do.” When referring to zone blitzes “as a general rule they’re designed to catch the offense off guard but when you don’t blitz a high volume like the Philadelphia Eagles” you can’t get away with it. The Eagles are successful because they blitz “60%” of the time. On the other hand when “the Giants blitz” they “are not fooling anyone and defenses don’t respect their blitz.” On an educational note zone blitzes are designed to counter teams that use 3 step drops for “hot reads and quick slants” and “where their quarterback has to get the ball out of his hands quickly”. Furthermore he questions utilizing Tuck in coverage as “why take the chance- I’d rather take my chances with my best pass rushers doing what they do best because now you my best against your best let’s see who gets it done as opposed to putting your defense at a disadvantage.”
8. Banks blames Boley for the big Sproles gain on the SD game winning drive. “Sproles is not in the game to block and in the game to run so as a general rule if you have coverage in a blitzing situation don’t put yourself in an area where you can’t get to your coverage that’s totally on the player.” This is an “example of your best players not showing up” in crucial moments.
9. Countering Evan and Roberts he poses the question: “maybe the players have lost Coughlin” versus the players have tuned out Coughlin? “You have to instill confidence in each other.” After Thomas’ INT Banks was thinking you’ve got to take a “shot at the end zone, drop the hammer.” Banks believed TC was “gun shy” after all those turnovers the previous 3 games and was “playing the percentages” with their “defense finally playing well the previous 3 series.” Banks speaks volumes here when he goes on to say “take it for what it is, it sends a message to your players I don’t trust you.” Although “the players have done enough to earn that.”
10. The “bye week couldn’t have come at a better time” and the “coaches need to go in the bye period and throw out all the junk that’s not working and evaluate what you do best and come out with that. In the flow of the game you think you have your finger on the pulse of it but sometimes you out think yourself and sometime you just need your best players have to just step up and the make the basic play.”
Great, great, great stuff from the original #58. I know he calls out everyone and not just the coaches but he confirmed a lot of what this humble blog has been screaming about for months (and even years). He stated “it is easy to criticize coaches” when things go wrong but the criticism of going away from the run to the shotgun formation speaks volumes. Banks is truly the only one in the local media that has openly criticized Gilbrown. In addition to Banks statements above the underutilization of Boss and the poor utilization of players by not calling plays to maximize their strengths (i.e. Bradshaw comments above) is a criminal offense.
The “out think yourself” comment about the coaching staff clearly does not apply to Gilbrown and I certainly don’t need to expand upon that. I, however, do believe this is very applicable to a cerebral guy like Sheridan. This was evident with putting Tuck in coverage on zone blitz packages which was truly a farce. Sheridan progressed this past game but he is still taking his medicine.
Finally, I disagree with Banks on the point that the players have lost Coughlin to a point. It is clearly a 2 way street and there appears to be a lack of “trust” from Coughlin as well as a lack of trust from the players in play calling. How else can you explain the confusion, missed assignments and perhaps the cause of “DWI”? This team has been “battle tested”, per Banks, and they shouldn’t be going through these issues right now.
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