Power Rankings: Giants Are Best of the Worst
Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
Following another defeat it is getting harder to defend the New York Giants rankings this season. Recent history has shown the Giants have had no problem getting off to fast starts to the season and slipping later in the season.
This season will have to be a bit of a role reversal as the Giants are now 0-2 following a 41-23 spanking at the hands of the Denver Broncos.
The Giants were able to take away several positives from their loss to the Dallas Cowboys in week 1. The same can’t be said for their week 2 loss.
The defense was not as sharp and the offense committed more turnovers without the fire power. One would think Tom Coughlin can work on the Giants undisciplined play and the Giants can turn the corner.
It has to start with the quarterback position. Yes, Eli Manning has been unlucky on a couple of interceptions, but he has not looked sharp and has forced to many throws.
The shaky offensive line and lack of running game has put added pressure on Eli, but he is a veteran quarterback and if he truly wants to be considered one of the elites in the game, he has to start performing more consistently.
With two winnable road games up next the Giants can do themselves a favor and get back to .500 heading into a week 5 home game versus the Philadelphia Eagles.
ESPN.com rank: 20 (16)
The writers over at ESPN.com were the last believers in the Giants overall talent heading into week 2. Now their ranking is closer to par with the rest of the other sports sites.
Hard to argue with the Giants being ranked in the twenties considering their effort over the first two weeks. I guess the best news I can report is that the Giants are ranked the highest among any of the other 0-2 teams in the NFL.
What were they thinking: One thing I really dislike about reading power rankings is when the writers overreact week-to-week to certain victories. This week the biggest culprit was the movement of the San Diego Chargers. Jumping up 10 spots in a given week is difficult to do. It most certainly should not happen following a win against a team that finished in last place last season. That was the case when they beat the Philadelphia Eagles, which yes despite all the Chip Kelly noise, the Eagles were indeed a last place team a season ago.
Foxsports.com: 24 (20)
I don’t know what it is but there is something about Brian Billick’s analysis of the Giants every week that just seems rude. He certainly shouldn’t hold any grudges since his championship ring came against the big blue.
This week he decides to give us the fun fact that Eli is on pace for 56 interceptions this season, the same number as his past three seasons combined. It’ll be interesting to see what he has to say about the team following a win. Hopefully we will see soon.
What were they thinking: How in the world can you lose a home game against a division rival to go to 0-2 and move UP six spots. That is exactly what Billick did with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who have shown zero offense all season and the team is slowly revolting against their coach.
The Bucs lost in week 1 to the lowly Jets and followed that up with a tough defeat to the Saints. I don’t understand the process that goes through when making these lists.
CBSSports.com: 22 (19)
From this week and going forward I’m going to be using the rankings of senior columnist Pete Prisco instead of Pat Kirwan. Prisco says it pretty plainly that the Giants just haven’t been very good. Ten turnovers in two games is an absurd number.
Hopefully the Giants can fix their turnover woes this season, if not they are in for a really long season. I expect it to get better, but I certainly wouldn’t bet my life on it.
What were they thinking: Prisco also made the overreaction of the Chargers in his ranking but I’d rather touch on the Arizona Cardinals rank. The Cardinals moved up five spots and jumped the Giants this week and they are 1-1 so that isn’t to surprising. But I’m still not buying the Cardinals as a very good team.
Palmer is still very capable of throwing the dangerous pick six at any moment in the game. I don’t expect the Cardinals to stay ahead of the Giants for to much longer.