The disclosure by Eli that he told Jennings to not go in the for the score is a total fiasco. Eli said he had discussed this with the Giants coaches. Yet Coughlin said he was not aware of this until after the game. This whole end game clock mismanagement was completely dysfunctional. Yes, it is now in the rare strata of Joe Pisarcik-land.
SCORE THE TD. WIN THE FREAKING GAME. It is ironic that we mentioned XLVI/Bradshaw in the review yesterday. That reference was with respect to a situation where time matters more for getting 40 more seconds out of the clock IF YOU DO NOT SCORE. That is where the similarity ends. When you are up by +1 to being down by 7, there is an advantage to trying to bleed as much time from the clock to prevent the other team from having more time. But let’s keep it simple here… you are up by 3 points… SCORE THE FREAKING TD and END THE GAME. I heard that 3 out of 50 times the onside kick was used in late Q4 (not as a surprise) and was successful. So the combination of DAL needing a TD PLUS an onside kick recovery PLUS a FG is approaching ZERO.
I was able to go back and watch the first ~50 minutes of the game. The Giants played better than I thought they would. So there is some good that can come out of this loss, if that is at all possible. Preston Parker had 3 drops, and this was a killer. It is bad enough that Collins was in coverage vs 2 TDs to Escobar and Witten, and that Unga is in coverage vs another Witten TD. Those rookie misses are going to happen. We “counted” on that. We expected those points from opponents when you start rookies. I really cannot assess how much speed and instinct Unga has this early. He is so green. It is a new system for him and his teammates. He barely knows where the mens room is, nonethless what exactly all his responsibilities are. So it will take time to see what kind of speed he has when he is not thinking and he is just playing. Collins looked better. He has pedigree and will play faster in coming weeks and months. The Parker drops, the game clock mismanagement.. those are the things that are insane. I know we have the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, but many were calling for Jones to make the team, and were completely surprised that Parker made it. Jones was good enough to make the team. It is a bad decision, not because of 1 week in the NFL, but because you have to win NOW in the NFL. You have to win while OBJ is getting his cheap rookie salary. Jones has the experience and easily could have been the difference between a win and a loss.
When Cruz comes back, he will clearly make a big difference. I am much more optimistic. The OL will play better, given time with one another. I was not enamored with the OL play, but it was what it was. They kept Eli upright for the most part. Flowers got a negative grade from PFF, but I am not surprised, as our expectations for his rookie season were not great. He has so much potential. We love his upside. His poise on the field was impressive.
The three turnovers created by the Giants were made because of aggressive and solid play. Spagnuolo had his players in the right places, even if they were a step too slow. There was discipline. It was not Fewell where the players were not even in the same zip code this time last year vs the Lions (remember Golden Tate wide open?!). It was not Fewell vs the Seahawks where there was no clue about how to defend the read-option. For their first game, they looked a lot better and more organized on defense than I expected. Frankly, I am thrilled. Was there a decent enough pass rush? Absolutely not. But we knew/know that deficiency. What we hope and expect to see is that over time, as the season progresses, the defense will get a little better. The pass rush is definitely a problem, but maybe Moore and Odighizuwa and Ayers can make some of that come together later on.
Amukamara and DRC played very well. This is another positive. It will give Spagnuolo some help with his schemes. The pass interference call on DRC was awful. Terrible call. But you can’t control that stuff. It is just a good sign that DRC looks very good. Hankins anchored the middle of the line on run defense against a good DAL offensive line. The interior crossing stuff is a liability, but this is not a surprise. LBer has been a problem for many years. The Giants personnel vs RB in pass catching duties has been deficient since… Spags! And Spags put a Safety on the RB and that fixed it. So in time, Spags will continue to scheme as best he can to manage his weakness/strength in personnel.
Summary: This game was a fiasco loss, but I think I see 8 or 9 wins this year if they can stay healthy and get Cruz inserted into the offense. The 1st half of the season will have patches of ugliness, but the 2nd half of the season has more potential. This team has to make a second half run- that is where their opportunity presents itself. Spagnuolo’s D will be more automatic. Rookies will be playing better. Guys like Hankins and Kennard will be able to make plays. Beatty will be back. The schedule is easier. Everyone will be on the Coughlin death-watch. And another rabbit can be pulled out of the hat.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
