Delayed Gut Reactions: Week 11

In 1919 baseball’s Chicago White Sox purposely made errors in the World Series in order to hand the game to the Cincinnati Reds. By throwing the game, those players who were involved were able to earn money by betting on the Reds to win the series. Many of the errors committed during this series aided in the conviction and eventual ban from baseball due to the surprising ineptitude of otherwise talented players.

For the record, I certainly do not believe the Giants offense would dream of creating the new Black Sox Scandal, but at least we would have a reasonable explanation as to what has happened to these talented players over the past two games, who seem almost determined to give away winnable games.

•  Much of the concern coming into this game in regard to the offense was the injuries, particularly with the o-line. Of all the offensive players, however, the line did its job well by not allowing a sack against Eli Manning. With injuries to Steve Smith and Ramses Barden, Duke Calhoun and Derek Hagan also had decent games with four catches between the two of them. Fans should certainly be pleased that, for the most part, back up players are performing well in place of injured starters.
• On the flip side, Eli Manning threw three interceptions and lost a fumble, and Ahmad Bradshaw lost another fumble in one of the poorest outings I have seen out of them in some time. I happen to be a big supporter of Eli, but his decision making last night was way off base. All season I have defended his number of interceptions, many of which were the faults of receivers, but the same cannot be said for last night. Although the third one was a desperation throw at the end of regulation, the first two were poor throws that should have been intercepted.
• Eli’s lost fumble, however, was much more problematic. He first threw his second interception, which bounced off of an Eagles player and was intercepted, but Bradshaw was able to force a fumble and the offense recovered. Instead of making the most out of this huge break, the offense failed to get a first down. On fourth and six, Eli made the right decision by running the ball, but instead of sliding, he fell over and lost the fumble. Frankly, it scares me that an NFL quarterback who has the third most starts in his position in the league cannot fall to the ground and maintain possession of the ball without being touched. Every once in awhile bad Eli rears his ugly head and makes plays like these that lose games for the Giants.
• There is no doubt that Bradshaw is having a terrific season, but the fumbles have got to stop. The Eagles are known for their ability to strip runners of the ball, which will continue to spell disaster for both running backs unless they work on these fundamentals. One lost fumble, and one that was (somewhat surprisingly) overturned via coach’s challenge, will continue to lose games. Bradshaw’s forced fumble against Asante Samuel in the fourth quarter was great, but gifts like that will probably not come his was again anytime soon.
• Despite the doom and gloom on offense, the defense had a solid performance against the dynamic Michael Vick and Co. This game could have easily been a repeat of the Eagles’ domination of the Redskins, were it not for the pressure the defense placed on Vick, the running backs and receivers. Turnovers, bad punts and good field position could have led to four touchdowns. Instead, the Giants held them to three field goals out of four attempts.
• By the way, that blocked field goal by Terrell Thomas was just one of the highlights of his strong outing last night. He was all over the field last night with ten tackles and two passes defended. He and Justin Tuck, who sacked Vick three times and forced a fumble, led the defense last night. Everyone contributed, however. While Vick had a good game, it was nothing compared to the domination of the Redskins last week. The Giants kept him uncomfortable and scrambling for yards and prevented him from throwing a touchdown.
• Bottom Line: After one bad week the Giants defense is back on track and has proven that they can contend with a strong offense. I am convinced they will continue to show up every week and play as well as they have been all season. The offense and special teams are major weak spots right now, and if the team is headed into yet another second half tail spin, you can bet that Tom Coughlin will once again be on the hot seat, if he isn’t already. I don’t think he is the real problem here, I would rather see Kevin Gilbride replaced, but something has to be done now about these two units in order to save this season. The Giants have to win their next three division games now that they have lost first place, and Coughlin has to make sure his team is ready.