After the preseason, we said 6-10. After Week 2, when the Giants were 0-2 and everyone else was bungee jumping, we said “6-10 is still a very plausible scenario.” And after today’s 30-17 win?… Once again, 6-10 is still a very realistic outcome. It’s the prediction we have been sticking with throughout, so no need to change. Another blogger tweeted that “this game almost reminds me of that third game from 2007 when the Giants started slowly and then banded together to finish.” How do we say this politely… NO. About the only thing 2007 and 2014 have in common is that the Giants lost their first 2 and won their 3rd game. If you are somehow looking for a 10 win season this year, I really think your expectations are too high. We all can hope. But this NY Giants blogger is looking for smaller and more realistic progress. Today was exactly that.
The Giants beat a bad team. If Arian Foster was running the ball, it’s a different game. Fitzpatrick was a caretaker QB being asked to win the game, which he cannot do in his 3rd game as a Texan. The Texans had previously beaten the Raiders and Redskins, teams that are collectively 1-5. Now they are 2-1 against teams that are collectively 2-7. That is enough perspective on the competition.
Still, the Giants did what they could not do vs Arizona last week. They finished and they got a W. Good. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The depressive bungee jumpers from last week will be the manic starry eyed dreamers thinking about playoffs this week. Please keep your feet on the ground and don’t get wrapped up in those thoughts until the Giants can beat a real team. They face ~4 of them in a 5 week stretch: PHL IND SEA (SF..?..3?). And let’s see how they do vs WAS and ATL. Both of those games can be won… or lost. Given that it is possible the Giants could be 3-2 before that stretch or even as bad as 1-4 (I would therefore expect 2-3), let’s take it a game at a time and see where the team is after 8 games before really assessing the season. In the meantime, let’s enjoy this win. We’re off the schneid.
After two disasters early in the game (a red zone fumble by Donnell and a botched snap on a FG attempt), the Giants kept dominating and finally scored points. The Giants did most things well on both sides of the football. They ran the ball well. They stopped the run. They passed the ball well. They stopped the pass, especially on 3rd down (HOU was 0-10 on 3rd down until garbage time in Q4). They pass protected for Eli. They pressured Fitzpatrick. And they won the turnover game with a 3-1 edge.
Jason Pierre-Paul was active. He was a disrupter for the first time in quite a while. No, he was not exploding off the edge. But he was getting pressure and batting balls. It’s progress. It’s a lot better than we saw in 2013. No, it’s not 2011 yet, but it’s going in the right direction.
DRC and Amukamara held Andre Johnson in check. He had only 2 receptions for insignificant yardage, and finished with 4 catches for 24 yards after the game was out of reach.
Eli Manning was downright efficient and effective. Praise almighty, the Giants aren’t cutting him this week!! They aren’t benching him for Nassib!! You know, if we listened to all of the bungee jumpers who said his career was over last week, he’d be trade bait already. STOP!! Eli’s part of the Giants next Super Bowl title solution. He’s in the prime of his career. If Reese hadn’t botched up the OL so badly, we’d never even be having this discussion in the first place. Today, Eli said his Offensive Line was “dominant.” It’s remarkable how much better a veteran QB can be, new offense or not, if he has decent protection.. Enough sarcasm.. Imagine where the line will be a year from now when Pugh is a 3rd year player, Schwartz is back and integrated into the line, Richburg is no longer a newbie rookie, and JD Walton can possibly ascend to pre-Denver-injury form… all of a sudden 2015 looks a whole lot better.
Eli was 21-28, 2 TDs, 0 INTs. Hey- there is a future for Eli in the West Coast Offense! It takes time, is all. Everything is not coming up roses just yet either. But imagine what it will be like this time next year when Eli, Randle, Cruz, the TEs, Jennings… have another year under their belt. Imagine Eli not having to think about where the ball has to go, let alone where his feet are. This is why it’s a work in progress. Patience is required. And that goes for after wins as well as losses.
Larry Donnell is developing. He’s got 18 receptions in 3 games. I’d like to know the odds of a TE with 3 receptions in his career grabbing 18 receptions in the first 3 games of the season under the Gilbride era. Probably slim. And while I am busy kicking Gilbride, I’d like to update that (Ahmad Bradshaw had 3 receiving TDs in 6 years with the former offensive coordinator vs..) in 6 games with the Colts, he has 3 receiving TDs… he got another earlier today. While on the topic of red zone offense, the Giants have a total of 5 receiving TDs in 3 games. And 3 of those 5 TDs have been pulled in by TEs. Credit McAdoo for understanding the value of the TE in the red zone.
Jennings was excellent. He showed balance, vision, patience and reliability (no turnovers this time) in racking up 173 yards on the ground. There is only one problem with this guy- he’s 29 years old. Hopefully the Giants can win with him before his time is up, or at least bridge the gap to Andre Williams.
And in terms of longer term pieces that are bullish, let’s finish with Damonster blocking a punt with one outstretched hand. With any luck, this guy is going to become the same force as a pass rusher. 2015? All roads point to 2015. We found out today that the elements of a win vs a weak team will be what will help the team beat better teams, perhaps later this season and hopefully with more frequency the following season. 1-2. Onto Washington this Thursday night.
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