GB 38 NYG 13

“They were who we thought they were. That’s why we took the damn field. If you want to crown’em, then go ahead and crown their (expletive). But they are who we thought they were. And we let them off the hook.”

Of course that was Denny Green after his Cardinals let the Bears off the hook on a Monday night game. He thought his team was capable of winning, and they did not get the job done.

So too for the Gmen. They were kicking the Packers *** up and down the field in the first half, and they let them off the hook. Somehow the Giants went into halftime down 14-6. It was a little bit too much tempo (too big a hole) to climb out of, and late in Q3 the game unraveled. It was a frustrating loss. Sickening, actually.

I am here to tell you that on this moment of grief for the end of the 2016 season, there is a lot to build off of. That seems distasteful tonight, but there is a lot in the future for this team. Guys like Collins, Harrison, Jenkins and Vernon can anchor a title run. Rookies will improve next year when the game slows down for them. Eli still has a few years left.

The score was misleading. The Gmen have a lot to be proud of. The Defense had some inspired effort out there, stopping a 3rd and 1 and then a 4th and a foot. That lead to a Tavares King TD and some fight in this team. It was obviously not enough in the end. But it was enough for me to be very proud of the team that I root for. Part of grief is acceptance. I accept that Aaron Rodgers is too good to make mistakes that will not come back to bite you. There were enough mistakes…

OBJ had 3 drops before the 4th Quarter when I shut down the season at 31-13. One was a TD drop. Another killed a drive on 3rd & 5.
Rainey cannot field that kickoff at the 3 yard line.
Shepard drop.
Eli Apple cannot let that Hail Mary go uncontested.
On a 3rd and 1, you have to use Perkins instead of Rainey.
Special teams hidden yardage was a killer, very poor play from this unit, along with short kickoffs and poor coverage.
Casillas had a missed tackle.
Wade filling in for DRC hurt the slot coverage.
The floodgates opened at the end and the Defense fell apart.

I am not quite sure why Apple as on Adams when Nelson was out.. I would have moved Jenkins to shadow Adams.

Everyone knows that when you are marching up and down the field in the first half and you only score 2 FGs, that you set yourself up for problems if you cannot keep up the pressure and distance yourself with more scoring. Bad specials enable an easy setup for Rodgers at the NY Giants 38 yd line. Eli Apple’s weak pass defense enables a big play that is converted for a TD two downs later. Like that, the Giants have blown their lead and everyone in America knows that’s trouble.

Master of the obvious.. the Hail Mary was a shotgun blast to the stomach. How many of you were ready throw up at halftime? Brutal.

There were some great things that happened today. (1) Landon Collins has the heart of lion. He is the kind of burgeoning star that is the nucleus of a championship. He is a complete animal out there. He reminds me of Troy Polamalu. Polamalu helped the Steelers to 2 titles; yes, I see those parallels. Hopefully Collins will be a part of one or more Giants titles. (2) Eli was sharp. It was not his fault that OBJ and Shepard made drops. Yes, Eli had enough to help the Giants win this game, but he can’t catch it, he can’t call all of the plays, he can’t block for Flowers, he needs help. Reese, please keep him upright.

Watching Steve Spagnuolo’s pocket contain on Rodgers was great. That it unraveled in the 2nd half is just not his fault or frankly anyone’s. How many times has Rodgers scrambled to kill other opponents? You pick your poison, and the first half (5 consecutive punts) was good enough to set up a win.

OBJ’s up & down is trouble. How stable is this man? After the game he allegedly punched a wall and was seen banging his head against a locker. Does he want to go into the offseason with a hand injury? We get the fact that he is upset for his team and for himself. We know he cares. I ask aloud about his balance. I seriously believe he needs yoga & meditation to take control of the mental part of his life. He needs patience and balance.

During the offseason, I believed that this was a rebuilding year because there were too many holes to fill. The acquisition of 3 players (OV JJ DH) who all “hit” for the Giants was a tremendous success. And yet, on Offense there are still too many holes. Linebacker is still a liability. The Giants are still searching for a healthy (Darian Thompson?) Free Safety that can grab the job and not let go. So that offseason prognostication was (in the end) a little more realistic than my belief that the Giants would be “live” these playoffs.

The future for Apple, Shepard, King, Okwara, and Perkins should be good. Goodson, Thompson, JAdams and Lewis have potential as well. The upside of 2016 is that these guys saw a lot of action and should be able to build on it quickly in 2017.

We will have all offseason to talk about needs going into Free Agency and the Draft. For my two cents, it is OFFENSIVE LINE AND LINEBACKER. In that order. At this point the Giants need 2 Offensive Tackles.

I want to thank the Giants for a strong season and I want to thank everyone’s support on the blog. The commenting and discussion makes this a great community. Thanks to all of you for making this a great group of fans. Keep up with us this offseason and GO Giants!