Here is the link to the NJ.com fan blog:
http://blog.nj.com/giants_fan_blog/index.html
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Movin' on Up?
Remember the NJ.com Giants fan blogger contest? Well, I won (along with 5 other people). NJ.com is associated with the Star-Ledger, so I guess I'll start telling people I'm a sportswriter for The Ledger. It's got a nice ring to it.
The question is what does this mean for fatgiantsfan.blogspot.com? The answer is, I really don't know. I will certainly not take down the site, for I don't really know how long this gig with NJ.com will last, but I need to figure out how it's going to work with my blog essentially moving to NJ.com for the time being. For now don't worry, I will pass along all the info once I get it, and now matter where it is, I'll keep the blog posts coming.
The question is what does this mean for fatgiantsfan.blogspot.com? The answer is, I really don't know. I will certainly not take down the site, for I don't really know how long this gig with NJ.com will last, but I need to figure out how it's going to work with my blog essentially moving to NJ.com for the time being. For now don't worry, I will pass along all the info once I get it, and now matter where it is, I'll keep the blog posts coming.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
10 Not-So-Interesting Facts: Week 1
1. The win evens up the Giants all-time series with the Carolina Panthers at 3-3. The Panthers have still outscored the Giants in those 6 contests 164-142.
2. As bad as the Giants rushing attack was in the first half, their 118 rushing yards was good enough to put them at 11th in league after week 1. The Giants didn't break 118 yards in a game until week 3 last season, when they rushed for 226 against the Bucs.
3. Eli Manning's 263yds passing was the most he's ever had in an opening day win. It his second highest total in any opening game behind his 312 yd performance in 2007's 45-35 opening day loss to the Cowboys.
4. Carolina's 5 turnovers was the most turnovers the Giants defense has forced since Oct 2, 2005, when they beat the Rams 44-24.
5. The last time they forced 5 or more turnovers on opening day was in 1999 when they beat the Bucs 17-13 (a close game considering the Giants didn't turn the ball over at all themselves).
6. The last time the Giants combined with an opponent for 9 or more turnovers was on Nov 4th, 2001 when they beat the Cowboys 27-24. Interestingly enough, the Giants combined with the Redskins for another 9 turnover performance just 1 month before that on Oct 14th, 2001 (another Giants win, 23-9).
7. The Giants and Jets combined for a whopping 220 penalty yards in week 1.
8. Mathias Kiwanuka recorded 2 sacks on Sunday. He is the first Giant to have a multi-sack game since Justin Tuck recorded 2 against the Oakland Raiders in Week 5 of last season.
9. The Giants have now won 3 straight opening games, and have improved to 4-3 on opening day with Tom Coughlin at the helm. Coughlin is now 10-5 all time on opening day as a head coach.
10. Hakeem Nicks' became the first Giant since Plaxico Burress in Week 1 of the 2007 season--a loss to the Cowboys--to haul in 3 receiving TD's in a single game. The last Giant with 3 receiving TD's in a win was Amani Toomer in Week 15 of the 2002 season (45-27 over the Colts). With defenses starting to focus on Steve Smith, it is imperative that Nicks step up and be a big time playmaker for this offense. So far so good. Nicks' performance makes him the Fat Know-It-All's player of the week for week 1. So congrats Mr Nicks, I know you're excited!
2. As bad as the Giants rushing attack was in the first half, their 118 rushing yards was good enough to put them at 11th in league after week 1. The Giants didn't break 118 yards in a game until week 3 last season, when they rushed for 226 against the Bucs.
3. Eli Manning's 263yds passing was the most he's ever had in an opening day win. It his second highest total in any opening game behind his 312 yd performance in 2007's 45-35 opening day loss to the Cowboys.
4. Carolina's 5 turnovers was the most turnovers the Giants defense has forced since Oct 2, 2005, when they beat the Rams 44-24.
5. The last time they forced 5 or more turnovers on opening day was in 1999 when they beat the Bucs 17-13 (a close game considering the Giants didn't turn the ball over at all themselves).
6. The last time the Giants combined with an opponent for 9 or more turnovers was on Nov 4th, 2001 when they beat the Cowboys 27-24. Interestingly enough, the Giants combined with the Redskins for another 9 turnover performance just 1 month before that on Oct 14th, 2001 (another Giants win, 23-9).
7. The Giants and Jets combined for a whopping 220 penalty yards in week 1.
8. Mathias Kiwanuka recorded 2 sacks on Sunday. He is the first Giant to have a multi-sack game since Justin Tuck recorded 2 against the Oakland Raiders in Week 5 of last season.
9. The Giants have now won 3 straight opening games, and have improved to 4-3 on opening day with Tom Coughlin at the helm. Coughlin is now 10-5 all time on opening day as a head coach.
10. Hakeem Nicks' became the first Giant since Plaxico Burress in Week 1 of the 2007 season--a loss to the Cowboys--to haul in 3 receiving TD's in a single game. The last Giant with 3 receiving TD's in a win was Amani Toomer in Week 15 of the 2002 season (45-27 over the Colts). With defenses starting to focus on Steve Smith, it is imperative that Nicks step up and be a big time playmaker for this offense. So far so good. Nicks' performance makes him the Fat Know-It-All's player of the week for week 1. So congrats Mr Nicks, I know you're excited!
Week 1 Report Card
There are two ways to look at Sundays game. The optimist will say, hey they didn't play well--4 turnovers, 9 penalties, 1 blocked punt allowed--and still won the game going away. Tighten up the mistakes and they'll be fine. The pessimist, on the other hand, will point out the running game was non-existent in the first half, the special teams were a joke, the defense gave up too many 3rd and longs, and all this was against an opponent that, frankly, doesn't look very good. I'll let you decide which side you're on, but here are my week 1 performance grades for the defense, offense, and special team.
Defense:
We can talk about the 3rd down conversions, but the bottom line is the Giants gave up only 237 yards (5th best in week 1), 89 yards on the ground against a supposedly great rushing team, forced 5 turnovers, had 4 sacks, and held their opponent to 16 points despite being given awful field position to work with all day courtesy of turnovers and horrific special teams play. That's a pretty damn good day. The question is whether or not this was the result of solid defense, or a completely inept offense. We'll find out next week for sure.
Grade: B
Offense:
Forget the 3 interceptions, Eli looked solid. More importantly, he looked confident in his receivers. Steve Smith has apparently graduated to double coverage, so Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham will be vital weapons for this offense (feel free to join the party anytime you want Ramses Barden). Both stepped up in that role on Sunday. The running-game remains a concern, but thanks to some second half adjustments they ended up with a respectable 118 yards on the ground. The Colts got gashed last week by Arian Foster and now they are without Bob Sanders, so if the Giants struggle to run the ball next week, then I'll worry.
Grade: B-
Special Teams:
They should play the "Entry of the Gladiators" every time one of the Giants special teams units come out on the field, because they are circus act right now. I'm not saying anything you don't already know, but the special teams will cost them at least one game this year if things don't turn around. They need to find some combination of guys who can run down and make a tackle, or make a block. As for the punter, Tom Coughlin said it best, "Patience is not a good word right now." I don't care that he was a draft pick, I said it before, and I'll say it again, I'm not interested in developing a punter. You have patience with a rookie QB, not a punter. It's clear Dodge struggles under pressure (he shanked his first few kicks in camp, his first few punts in preseason, and now his first few punts in a regular season game) so even if he starts to show some consistency in the regular season, can you really trust that his nerves won't get the best of him in the fourth quarter of a big game come December. God help us when the winds pick up.
Grade: F
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In case you missed it, Kevin Boss suffered a concussion on Sunday--and it's not his first. He will definitely miss this week and we'll have to wait and see after that. Also, Chase Blackburn re-sprained his MCL (same injury he had in camp) and William Beatty hurt his foot. Blackburn says he hopes to be back this week--although that seems unlikely. Beatty remains a bit of a mystery as Ralph Vacchiano reported that he needs surgery and may miss the season, but there hasn't been any conformation of that, and Mike Garofolo reported that his timetable is uncertain. The Giants signed Bear Pascoe off their practice squad and released LB Bryan Kehl to make room. I would think that if the Giants expected Beatty to really miss the year he would have been placed on IR to make room for Pascoe--so maybe that's a good sign. I'll let you know as soon as see something concrete. I'm sorry to see Kehl go, but if you remember I figured Pascoe would make the team over Kehl to begin with, so it's not too surprising. Kehl was also the one who missed his assignment on the blocked punt--which Tom Coughlin called "embarrassing"--so that may have been the play that sealed Kehl's fate.
Defense:
We can talk about the 3rd down conversions, but the bottom line is the Giants gave up only 237 yards (5th best in week 1), 89 yards on the ground against a supposedly great rushing team, forced 5 turnovers, had 4 sacks, and held their opponent to 16 points despite being given awful field position to work with all day courtesy of turnovers and horrific special teams play. That's a pretty damn good day. The question is whether or not this was the result of solid defense, or a completely inept offense. We'll find out next week for sure.
Grade: B
Offense:
Forget the 3 interceptions, Eli looked solid. More importantly, he looked confident in his receivers. Steve Smith has apparently graduated to double coverage, so Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham will be vital weapons for this offense (feel free to join the party anytime you want Ramses Barden). Both stepped up in that role on Sunday. The running-game remains a concern, but thanks to some second half adjustments they ended up with a respectable 118 yards on the ground. The Colts got gashed last week by Arian Foster and now they are without Bob Sanders, so if the Giants struggle to run the ball next week, then I'll worry.
Grade: B-
Special Teams:
They should play the "Entry of the Gladiators" every time one of the Giants special teams units come out on the field, because they are circus act right now. I'm not saying anything you don't already know, but the special teams will cost them at least one game this year if things don't turn around. They need to find some combination of guys who can run down and make a tackle, or make a block. As for the punter, Tom Coughlin said it best, "Patience is not a good word right now." I don't care that he was a draft pick, I said it before, and I'll say it again, I'm not interested in developing a punter. You have patience with a rookie QB, not a punter. It's clear Dodge struggles under pressure (he shanked his first few kicks in camp, his first few punts in preseason, and now his first few punts in a regular season game) so even if he starts to show some consistency in the regular season, can you really trust that his nerves won't get the best of him in the fourth quarter of a big game come December. God help us when the winds pick up.
Grade: F
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In case you missed it, Kevin Boss suffered a concussion on Sunday--and it's not his first. He will definitely miss this week and we'll have to wait and see after that. Also, Chase Blackburn re-sprained his MCL (same injury he had in camp) and William Beatty hurt his foot. Blackburn says he hopes to be back this week--although that seems unlikely. Beatty remains a bit of a mystery as Ralph Vacchiano reported that he needs surgery and may miss the season, but there hasn't been any conformation of that, and Mike Garofolo reported that his timetable is uncertain. The Giants signed Bear Pascoe off their practice squad and released LB Bryan Kehl to make room. I would think that if the Giants expected Beatty to really miss the year he would have been placed on IR to make room for Pascoe--so maybe that's a good sign. I'll let you know as soon as see something concrete. I'm sorry to see Kehl go, but if you remember I figured Pascoe would make the team over Kehl to begin with, so it's not too surprising. Kehl was also the one who missed his assignment on the blocked punt--which Tom Coughlin called "embarrassing"--so that may have been the play that sealed Kehl's fate.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Post Game Overreaction: Giants 31; Panthers 18
A win is a win is a win. They don't give style points. That being said, there are plenty of positives to take away from today's win, and also plenty of areas where the G-men need to improve. Here are my quick hit/half drunk thoughts on the game:
~ The special teams are still a nightmare. I like what I saw from Reynaud, but other than that, this is an absolutely awful special team unit. No coverage on kickoffs, the worst punter in the world, a blocked punt no return yards...a circus on the field every time they come on.
~ The adjustments both the offense and the defense made at half-time make me feel good about the G-mens chances.
~ Matt Moore is not a good football player...I thank him for that.
~ The decision to keep only 2 TE's (really 1.5 because Travis Beckum is incapable of blocking another human being) has already proven to be a mistake.
~ I like the look of the "Big Base"--with Kiwanuka at OLB and Chris Canty at DE. The run defense was impressive.
~ What's with those hideous "New Meadowlands Stadium" patches -- ugly.
~ All of Eli's INT's were slightly off-target passes, but all of them could have been caught.
~ The Giants need consistency from the run game. The yardage obviously improved in the second half, but overall the rushing attack was still inconsistent.
~ The game turned around when I poured myself a glass of Jameson. Just sayin'....
~ Linval Joseph a healthy scratch? You have to expect more from a second round pick.
~ Hakeem Nicks was ridiculous. Mario Manningham also impressed me -- which I'm sure was his goal going into the day.
~ Jason Pierre-Paul was a ghost in this one. Just sayin'....
~ Matt Dodge-- I know I already lambasted the special teams, but this guy needs a special mention. What an absolutely terrible punter.
~ I think the Panthers are a 6-10 football team. So beating them at home is nothing to write home about. But I also don't think the Giants played as well as they can, so there is a bit of hope. Then again, this was one sloppy game and the Giants won't beat many teams playing the way they did.
~ The special teams are still a nightmare. I like what I saw from Reynaud, but other than that, this is an absolutely awful special team unit. No coverage on kickoffs, the worst punter in the world, a blocked punt no return yards...a circus on the field every time they come on.
~ The adjustments both the offense and the defense made at half-time make me feel good about the G-mens chances.
~ Matt Moore is not a good football player...I thank him for that.
~ The decision to keep only 2 TE's (really 1.5 because Travis Beckum is incapable of blocking another human being) has already proven to be a mistake.
~ I like the look of the "Big Base"--with Kiwanuka at OLB and Chris Canty at DE. The run defense was impressive.
~ What's with those hideous "New Meadowlands Stadium" patches -- ugly.
~ All of Eli's INT's were slightly off-target passes, but all of them could have been caught.
~ The Giants need consistency from the run game. The yardage obviously improved in the second half, but overall the rushing attack was still inconsistent.
~ The game turned around when I poured myself a glass of Jameson. Just sayin'....
~ Linval Joseph a healthy scratch? You have to expect more from a second round pick.
~ Hakeem Nicks was ridiculous. Mario Manningham also impressed me -- which I'm sure was his goal going into the day.
~ Jason Pierre-Paul was a ghost in this one. Just sayin'....
~ Matt Dodge-- I know I already lambasted the special teams, but this guy needs a special mention. What an absolutely terrible punter.
~ I think the Panthers are a 6-10 football team. So beating them at home is nothing to write home about. But I also don't think the Giants played as well as they can, so there is a bit of hope. Then again, this was one sloppy game and the Giants won't beat many teams playing the way they did.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Giants vs Panthers Preview: It's Like Christmas Eve
I feel like a kid on Christmas eve. I'm so excited I can barely stand it. I am dreaming of all the wonderful things I may receive on Sunday: a big pass rush, a dominating run game, a high-flying pass attack...oh my! Of course, I also can't help but think about all the things that went wrong this year: the failure to improve the aging offensive line, the failure to significantly upgrade the LB's, the injuries, the question marks at DT... and I begin to fear that all I'll wake up to find is a lump of coal in my stocking. That's one of the things that makes week 1 great. You just don't know. No matter how much inside knowledge you have, or how many preseason games you've watched, you really don't know what to expect from a team until they strap on the pads week 1. Of course, with the bi-polar nature of the Giants last season, their new D-coordinator, and all the new faces, I feel I am even more clueless this year than in years past.
The Giants open their 2010 campaign, and the new "GIANTS" Stadium (until they name it, that's what I'm calling it), against the Carolina Panthers--the same team that humiliated the Giants (and me) in the last game the Giants ever played at the old stadium. The Panthers are another team that is hard to gauge coming into 2010. They have a young QB who showed promise last year (e.g. when he lit up the Giants), two excellent RB's, and the bold prediction by SI's Peter King that they are going to the Superbowl. I like Peter King, he's a fine writer and a seemingly lovely man, but he tends to be awful with his predictions and I think that might be the case here. The Panthers certainly offer an interesting challenge to the G-men, but the fact remains they are starting 4 new defensive linemen. And when I say new, I don't just mean to the Panthers, I mean they are starting 4 guys who didn't start for anyone in 2009! They are also going to be without starting RT Jeff Otah (knee).
The Giants need to win this game. I don't want to overstate the importance of the first game of the season (we all remember what happened at the start of the 2007 campaign), but if the Panthers come in and run all over them again, it will be devastating. Obviously, not so much in terms of standings, but more for its effect on the team's psyche. I get the sense the Giants are confident they can bounce back from last season, but still aren't quite sure they will. With a game in Indianapolis next on the schedule, a loss may very likely mean an 0-2 start. Now I know they went 0-2 in 2007 and went on to win the Superbowl (come to think of it, in 2007 they also had a new D-coordinator and were also coming off an 8-8 year--just saying), but I don't think this team could handle the pressure that would mount on them with a slow start.
One advantage the Giants have is the element of surprise. Perry Fewell said the Giants showed about 10% of their defensive looks in the preseason, meaning the defense you see on Sunday won't be on tape yet. Hopefully they can cause confusion for the young QB and get some pressure to force a few turnovers. Offensively, if the Giants can't run on this inexperienced front, they won't be able to run on anyone. I'm pretty confident they'll move the ball against this defense. Knowing the Giants, it will be a sloppy game. Don't expect the football equivalent of a Red Ryder BB Gun to be under the tree Sunday, but I don't think we're getting coal either. I think the Giants win--ugly.
The Giants open their 2010 campaign, and the new "GIANTS" Stadium (until they name it, that's what I'm calling it), against the Carolina Panthers--the same team that humiliated the Giants (and me) in the last game the Giants ever played at the old stadium. The Panthers are another team that is hard to gauge coming into 2010. They have a young QB who showed promise last year (e.g. when he lit up the Giants), two excellent RB's, and the bold prediction by SI's Peter King that they are going to the Superbowl. I like Peter King, he's a fine writer and a seemingly lovely man, but he tends to be awful with his predictions and I think that might be the case here. The Panthers certainly offer an interesting challenge to the G-men, but the fact remains they are starting 4 new defensive linemen. And when I say new, I don't just mean to the Panthers, I mean they are starting 4 guys who didn't start for anyone in 2009! They are also going to be without starting RT Jeff Otah (knee).
The Giants need to win this game. I don't want to overstate the importance of the first game of the season (we all remember what happened at the start of the 2007 campaign), but if the Panthers come in and run all over them again, it will be devastating. Obviously, not so much in terms of standings, but more for its effect on the team's psyche. I get the sense the Giants are confident they can bounce back from last season, but still aren't quite sure they will. With a game in Indianapolis next on the schedule, a loss may very likely mean an 0-2 start. Now I know they went 0-2 in 2007 and went on to win the Superbowl (come to think of it, in 2007 they also had a new D-coordinator and were also coming off an 8-8 year--just saying), but I don't think this team could handle the pressure that would mount on them with a slow start.
One advantage the Giants have is the element of surprise. Perry Fewell said the Giants showed about 10% of their defensive looks in the preseason, meaning the defense you see on Sunday won't be on tape yet. Hopefully they can cause confusion for the young QB and get some pressure to force a few turnovers. Offensively, if the Giants can't run on this inexperienced front, they won't be able to run on anyone. I'm pretty confident they'll move the ball against this defense. Knowing the Giants, it will be a sloppy game. Don't expect the football equivalent of a Red Ryder BB Gun to be under the tree Sunday, but I don't think we're getting coal either. I think the Giants win--ugly.
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