I would like to congratulate you, a NY Giants fan, for visiting this NY Giants blog on such an ignominious occasion. To willingly subject yourself to an examination of the Giants upon another defeat demonstrates tremendous loyalty to the team, a degree of masochism, or more likely a combination of both.
This has devolved into the 1970s. We are told it was 1979 when the Giants were last 0-5. (1987, the strike year, is ridiculous to compare anything to.) And the only other time I can remember the team consistently crumbling like this was in the second half of the 2003 season. It is that low.
Do we have to do a forensic analysis of how another seemingly competitive game at the Q3 mark fell apart? You can reread the recap to the first 4 games and we can replay all of that commentary for the same effect. The Giants were good enough to win this game, and they charitably pissed it away. The Offensive Line was much more cohesive today, and Eli had enough time to do damage to the Eagles. Unfortunately for the Giants, he had enough time to also do damage to his own team.
But trust me Giants fans. ELI IS NOT THE PROBLEM. Eli is part of the solution. He is a championship QB and he (to quote the post game comments by Coughlin et al) is pressing to try to do too much. So if you want to comment about how Eli blew this game, that is symptom, not the root cause. Were Eli's turnovers killers? Yes. And do turnovers lose games? Yes. And logic would dictate that Eli lost the game. But that is overly simplistic.
Did anyone notice how the slants were killing the Eagles? When the Giants went to small ball they took control of the game. And when they went gunslinging they hit and they missed. And in so doing they lost the rhythm they need so desperately when they are 0-4. This team has lost its mojo. Eli has lost his mojo because his run game is not there and his protection is (at best) not consistent. So rhythm is crucial to him and the offense. It is crucial to the defense as well, because the more snaps Eli sees, the less snaps the defense sees.
The mistakes and the penalties are part of sloppy football. 4 turnovers (which could have easily been 5 on a punt muff). 12 penalties. 3 of those were intentional grounding, which are equivalent to drive-killing sacks. Some QBs can go a year or two w/o 3 intentional groundings. Eli had 3 in one game. He is pressing.
This NY Giants defense does not scare anyone. There is still no pass rush. The first 5 games: 36-31, 41-23, 38-0, 31-7, 36-21. These are beatdowns. The offense does not help the defense when it leads the NFL in turnovers (20).
The team received a huge break at the end of the second quarter when Vick pulled up lame with a hamstring injury. It was the opportunity the team needed, and seemingly a few drives later (in Q3) the Giants took the lead. But then the game slipped away. Here it is, the Giants are down by 8 (1 score) with 10:26 left, an eternity:
1st and 10 at NYG 20 Shotgun E Manning pass incomplete DEEP middle to Randle
2nd and 10 at NYG 20 Shotgun E Manning pass incomplete DEEP left to Cruz
3rd and 10 at NYG 20 Shotgun E Manning pass DEEP middle for Cruz intercepted by Boykin
Boykin made a great play. I have no interest in taking that away from him. But there was no rhythm and no patience.
Take a step back. At 0-4, the Giants needed to play sound fundamental football, and that means a foundation of success, one play at a time. It's okay to stretch the field to keep the secondary honest, but make your living and win some games with smaller completions to give your OL, QB, WRs, TEs, and Defense some confidence.
John Mara was "absolutely furious-looking" (per Vacchiano of NYDN) when he came down to the locker room after the game. He does not like the shoddy play. He sees a team that is beating itself. He sees what we see. As structurally flawed as the team is right now (without the ability to run the ball and rush the passer), it was able to win this game and it came up with another loss. They Giants are 0-5. That is the only reality.
The Giants have a short week, as they play in Chicago on Thursday night. Try to build things slowly, 1 play at a time, one patient drive at a time, for one win.
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