SB Nation - Michael Johnson

Do you still trust in Reese?

Ed Valentine — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:00:38 -0000

In Reese We Trust.

That has long been the mantra here at Big Blue View. Implicit faith in the decisions made by New York Giants General Manager Jerry Reese.

With what has happened to our Giants this season, however, I am wondering if your faith in the GM has been dented at all.

Ralph Vacchiano addressed this same issue the other day, and had this to say.

Reese has gotten next to nothing out of defensive end Chris Canty, linebacker Michael Boley, defensive tackle Rocky Bernard and safety C.C. Brown from his offseason free-agent spending spree. Injuries have ruined Canty and Boley's seasons. Brown and Bernard have been busts.

And for $84 million the Giants have a defense that is 28th in the league in points allowed (25.4).

Coming off a 12-4 season, and in a league in which fortunes can turn on just one or two right moves, that obviously doesn't reflect well on Reese's investment.

It's not all because of the Free-agent Four, of course, but it's still a startling group failure considering that until this offseason Reese had a Midas touch as the Giants' GM. After inheriting a playoff-ready roster from former GM Ernie Accorsi in 2007, Reese made a dozen smaller moves that helped push the Giants over the edge and turn them into a championship team. He's also had a scout's knack for finding both role players and future stars.

But his resume now includes a six-year, $42 million contract (with $17.25 million guaranteed) for Canty, who has missed seven games with calf and hamstring injuries and is still looking for his first sack. And it includes a five-year, $25 million contract (with $11 million guaranteed) for Boley, who missed one game due to a suspension and four more to a knee injury and has just one sack.

And those are the good signings. Brown (one-year, $1.4 million) was so bad at safety, he was replaced first by Aaron Rouse, who was cut during this season by the Packers, and then by Aaron Ross, who is a natural cornerback. And Bernard (four years, $16 million, $6.9 million guaranteed) has been such a non-factor he wasn't one of the seven active defensive linemen on Sunday night.

Bill Sheridan may take the heat , but this plan fell apart long before he called his first play.

Vacchiano is right, of course. This free-agent crop does not represent Reese's finest hour. While you are killing him, though, remember how positive the reaction was when most of these moves were made. And remember how many respected names endorsed the Canty move.

The other part of the equation, an area Vacchiano did not delve into, is the draft. In 2007, Reese's first draft, he unearthed Kevin Boss in the fifth round and Michael Johnson and Ahmad Bradshaw in the seventh. All of those players impacted the eventual Super Bowl victory.

You can't, truthfully, judge a draft class until after about three seasons. However, where we sit today, the 2009 crop does not look nearly as successful. At least if you judge it in terms of depth. Hakeem Nicks will be a star, and Will Beatty looks like a fixture on the offensive line. For whatever reason, however, there isn't really a player drafted beyond the second round who has made any impact whatsover on this year's Giants.

That has left the Giants thinner in some areas than we thought they would be, particularly in the secondary.

Thing is, I believe Reese correctly identified the areas of concern for the Giants. It's just that for a variety of reasons, some beyond his control, his choices have not all panned out.

No matter what happens the rest of this season, I think the upcoming off-season is a critical one for Reese and the Giants. The NFC East is not going to get easier, and the Giants can't afford another off-season of wasted draft picks and free-agent busts.

Do you still have faith that Reese will regain his magic touch.

I do. I believe the Giants are in good hands. In Reese I Still Trust.

New York Giants News & Notes: About those playoff chances

Ed Valentine — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:00:42 -0000

So, let's get right to it. How are you feeling now about the New York Giants chance of making the NFL playoffs? If I had to guess, I'd say not too good.

I have been asking that question every week lately. When I asked last week 72% of you who voted thought they would.

As of today, following Sunday night's disappointing loss to Philadelphia, Cool Standings gives the Giants just a 25.7 percent chance at making the post-season for a fifth straight season.

I am venturing a guess that this week's poll comes in somewhere in between those two numbers.

As of last night, more than 80 percent of you who had voted in the 'should Bill Sheridan be fired immediately?" poll said 'yes." Well, by now we all know that head coach Tom Coughlin disagrees.

Coughlin said he was "disappointed with the results," but had not given any thought to removing Sheridan.

Instead, as has been Coughlin's MO throughout his Giants' tenure, he put the onus on the players.

"I thought we had a winning performance on offense but not a winning performance on defense and not a winning performance on special teams," Coughlin said. "Our pressure wasn’t very good yesterday – whether we were four, five or six-man rushes, really – there was really no way to say that the pressure had any degree of success no matter how many you brought yesterday."

Coughlin was also peppered with questions about the long touchdown pass to DeSean Jackson. He was asked specifically if Michael Johnson was out of position on the play. He made no effort to cover for Johnson, who was supposed to be in two-deep coverage with Aaron Ross but was nowhere to be found.

"Why in the world we are stuck on this backup tight end coming out at us instead of the knowledge of where this guy is. He is the one guy that can hurt you wherever he is on the field. That’s a good question," Coughlin said. "He was so concerned with the receiver releasing in front of him, the tight end in front of him, that he really didn’t have an awareness."

For now, I am with Coughlin on this one. Players have to understand their responsibilities, and carry them out. They have to understand which players can hurt them, and react accordingly.

That said, if the season ended today there is no doubt in my mind Sheridan would have to be looking for a new job. He has three weeks to change that. Off what I have seen for 13 weeks, I don't have much confidence he can.

Eli Manning knows the Giants are chasing Dallas (8-5) for the final playoff spot. He also knows they can't worry about the Cowboys.

"All we can do is worry about ourselves though. You can’t get into, you know, we need some help, but we’ve got to handle our business. We’ve got to win all three games. That is what our focus is, our focus is this week, right now, on Washington. We’ve got a big game. They are playing well. We’ve got to go into their place and find a way to get a win."

Kareem McKenzie, who has a sprained medial collateral, is likely out for at least two weeks.

(E-mail Ed at bigblueview@gmail.com)

Poll

With the Giants now at 7-6, do you think they will reach the NFL playoffs for a fifth consecutive season?

Yes, I am keeping the faith

720 votes

Playoffs? No way!

291 votes

1011 votes | Poll has closed

New York Giants Notes: Aaron Ross at safety, Gap Control, & Corey Webster

cjmulrain — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 12:00:36 -0000

Aaron Ross talked yesterday about his transition to safety after playing his whole life as a cornerback:

"I am getting there. I still have some things to learn. I know the defense but I still have technical and just small things that safeties that have been playing the game know that I might not. I have Michael Johnson, (Aaron) Rouse and C.C. (Brown) to teach me. It's been going pretty well."

Both Michael Johnson (transcript) and Tom Coughlin (transcript) blamed poor gap control for the defense getting gashed by the Philadelphia running game last time they met. The Giants run defense showed a huge improvement last week against the Cowboys, so hopefully they can maintain that and shut down the Eagles tomorrow.
Corey Webster had his worst game of the season on Sunday, but Bill Sheridan hasn't lost faith in the Giants #1 corner:

"The only thing I say is, as you know, we normally match him up against the best receiver on the other team," Sheridan said. "So inevitably, they are not going to be completely scared from throwing to that guy and he is going to get the ball thrown on him. So I am not surprised or disappointed. I think he would probably be more frustrated than I am, because he thinks he can play better on some of those plays where balls have been caught on him. But he is still as good as anybody we have from a coverage standpoint and I am not concerned about it."

Steve Serby outlines the "big blue-print" for beating the Eagles. I can think of at least one BBV commenter who will agree with step #2: "the big plays."
Amani Toomer's feud with the Giants was pretty short lived, as he will be on hand tomorrow as an honorary captain. His only regret is that he's not still a Giant.
I drew some criticism the other day for denying the existence of Super Bowl XXXV, but look, I'm not alone: the Giants 10 Greatest Games DVD includes the divisional round game against the Eagles and the NFC Championship game against the Vikings, and then skips ahead to the 2006 regular season comeback against the Eagles. For true Giants fans, this DVD should be at the top of your Christmas List (it's already on mine) - in addition to those three games it has all six postseason games from the Giants first two Super Bowl seasons plus Super Bowl XLII (the other three playoff games that year are included on the Road to Super Bowl XLII DVD, which is also worth owning if you don't have it already).

Cowboys @ Giants Injury Update

Aaron Novinger — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:23:51 -0000

DeMarcus Ware has been added to the injury report - again. Evidently, Ware has a small fracture in his wrist. From Todd Archer:

Ware was already on the weekly injury report with the foot injury but the wrist was added today. He is listed as probable. Ware had X-rays today that revealed the fracture. Ware will have to wear a small cast for protection.

Make the jump.

The extra time between games has helped heal Jason Witten's sprained foot.

"I thought it was something that might be lingering, but it feels really good," Witten said. "Last week was tough with a short week. I felt good in the game and the trainers did a good job of getting me back quick. If it were a normal week there wouldn't be any question."

Both Ware and Witten practiced fully this week and will play on Sunday.

The only other surprise on the Cowboys' injury report is that Ken Hamlin (high ankle sprain) did not return to practice this week. Therefore, he will not play against the Giants. Obviously, Marc Colombo will still be out with his broken fibula.

Here is the list of the Cowboys' probables:

LB Victor Butler (knee), QB Tony Romo (back), S Gerald Sensabaugh (thumb), LB DeMarcus Ware (foot/wrist), TE Jason Witten (foot)

For the Giants, RB Ahmad Bradshaw (ankle/foot) had limited participation in practice today and is listed as questionable. The same goes for S Michael Johnson who is suffering from an injured groin.

Here is how their injury report shakes out:

OUT - RB D.J. Ware (concussion)

QUESTIONABLE - TE Travis Beckum (groin), RB Ahmad Bradshaw (ankle/foot), S Michael Johnson (groin)

PROBABLE - LB Michael Boley (back), WR Derek Hagan (hamstring), QB Eli Manning (foot)

'Kudos & Wet Willies:' Rough day for Giants fans edition

Ed Valentine — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:49:17 -0000

by Julie Jacobson - AP

San Diego Chargers wide receiver Vincent Jackson (83) makes a catch for the go-ahead touchdown against New York Giants cornerback Corey Webster (23) in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009, in East Rutherford, N.J. The Chargers won 21-20.

View full size photo »

This morning's 'Kudos & Wet Willies' is not exactly fun to do. Sunday's game is one the Giants should have won, it just didn't happen.

The season is hardly over. A lot can happen in seven more games, and I still believe the Giants can be a playoff team. They certainly have no more margin for error, though.

Anyway, on with the 'Kudos & Wet Willies.' I'm sure some of my choices today will generate some disagreement.

'Kudos' to ..

Eli Manning: Well, we have a lot to complain about today. The play of Manning is not one of those things, however.
The Defensive Line: Big plays from Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, Mathias Kiwanuka and Fred Robbins. This group didn't always get to Philip Rivers, but they were in attack mode all day. The Chargers only totaled 34 yards rushing, largely due to improved work by the front four.
Terrell Thomas: Nine tackles and what should have been a game-clinching interception.
Bruce Johnson: It was nice to see Johnson on the field in passing situations instead of Kevin Dockery, and Johnson paid dividends by breaking up a trio of passes when Rivers and the Chargers tested him.
Steve Smith: Eight catches, including one for a touchdown and a few more third-down grabs. Smith continues to be the guy Eli can rely on when he needs to complete a pass.
Mario Manningham: Six catches and no drops for Manningham. The Giants really no longer have an issue at wide receiver, and Manningham is a big part of the reason why.
Kevin Boss: You just have to love this guy. How much tougher could be be? A brilliant catch early in the game when he got absolutely crushed coming across the middle of the field. I know my first thought was 'concussion.' Yet, there he was making a touchdown reception in the fourth quarter to put the Giants ahead. He is, undeniably, one of my favorite Giants.
Brandon Jacobs: Once again, Jacobs ran hard and well (11 carries, 67 yards, a 6.1 yards per carry average). Once again, though, probably not enough opportunities. Ahmad Bradshaw (14 carries, 39 yards, 2.8 YPC) wasn't getting it done, and I wish Jacobs had gotten more opportunities.
Michael Boley: Seven tackles and a pass defensed in his return from knee surgery. When he has been healthy Boley has shown speed and athleticism the Giants linebacking group sorely needs.
Kevin Gilbride: This one will send many of you into an outright uproar, I know that. But, I think the often-vilified offensive coordinator belongs here, anyway. The Giants put together two long, time-consuming drives, albeit we can argue about the wisdom of slamming Bradshaw up the middle on short yardage. KG used screens, play-action, slants, a reverse, a direct snap to Jacobs. Shoot, he even got Danny Ware in the game and got him the ball a couple of times. He pretty much emptied the tank. The conservative red/green zone series at the end is on Coughlin, not KG. That's the kind of game-changing decision that comes from the head coach.

'Wet Willies' to ...

Tom Coughlin: The Giants played with heart, taking TC's "one-game season" pronouncement to heart and playing with a lot of emotion. Coughlin, though, is the head coach of a team that has gone seriously off track, and right now he doesn't seem to have the answers. Two questionable Coughlin decisions had a lot to do with Sunday's loss. First, the choice to run the ball up three points in the red zone with more than two minutes to play. Settling for the field goal, instead of trusting your star quarterback and going for the knockout blow, is a bad mistake. I have thought about this one a lot, and as much as I love TC not trusting Eli and going for the knockout blow is inexcusable. Also, don't forget that the Giants passed up a chance to go for it on 4th-and-1 at the San Diego 21 the first time they had the ball. That, of course, resulted in the botched field goal and no points.
Corey Webster: We can stop now with the discussion of whether or not Webster should be considered an elite "shut down" corner back. Vincent Jackson (5 catches, 58 yards, 2 TDs) had his way with Webster Sunday. On the game-winning touchdown, Jackson beat Webster badly. C-Web didn't even seem to know the ball was in the air. That's awful. Maybe he should not have been in single coverage, but Webster is supposed to be one of the best cover corners in the league. A guy of his stature simply cannot get torched like that with the game on the line.
The Special Teams: Week in and week out, the only thing 'special' about the Giants' special teams is how especially bad they are. As much as anything, horrible special teams play cost the Giants a victory Sunday. A botched field goal in which Lawrence Tynes didn't even try to kick it. Horrible punting by Jeff Feagles that left the Giants defending a short field the entire game, and a non-existent return game. Are we sure Sinorice Moss hasn't stolen Domenik Hixon's uniform? Kevin Dockery had a stupid penalty that handed the Chargers 15 yards. Hey, Kevin, how can you have no clue where the return man is?
Bill Sheridan: I thought the defensive coordinator did a lot of good things Sunday. The defensive line was active. The Giants blitzed more, and did not sit back in 'prevent' on the last drive. The run defense was excellent. Having Michael Johnson and Aaron Rouse switch responsibilities worked out well. Bruce Johnson played a lot of nickel instead of Kevin Dockery or C.C. Brown. Clint Sintim saw some time at linebacker. The zone blitz, though, a remnant of the Steve Spagnuolo era Sheridan promised to get rid of, has to go. Justin Tuck cannot cover tight ends and should not be asked to. And why was there single coverage in the end zone on the final drive? C'mon, that's just asking for trouble. Which is what the Giants got.
The Offensive Line: Argue all you want about the Giants decision to run the ball on third down from the San Diego 14 while leading 17-14. The Giants don't have to make that decision without the killer holding penalty on Chris Snee. The line as a whole did not play well, in my mind. San Diego blitzers ran free much of the game and Eli was sacked five times and ran for his life at least a half-dozen other times. The dirty little secret with the Giants offense is that this offensive line, dominant for so long, is beginning to show some cracks. How can Shawne Merriman -- Merriman, of all people -- get a free, unblocked run at Manning on the final play of the game? In the run game, there were a few holes. But, not consistently.
Fans calling for immediate firings: You guys know that isn't going to happen. C'mon, gang! TC is a terrific coach who made a decision that ended up backfiring Sunday. Sheridan did some good things and some bad ones Sunday. As for Gilbride, I'd think people would get tired of calling for his head. The Giants have had a lot of success the past few seasons, and they have hit a rough patch. It happens. No reason to want everybody gone. Think they wouldn't love to have TC and his staff in Washington? Or Oakland? Or a lot of other places?

Final - 11.8.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
San Diego Chargers	0	7	7	7	21
New York Giants	0	7	0	13	20

Complete Coverage >

The Giants are broken ... Now, how can they be fixed?

Ed Valentine — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:00:20 -0000

by Michael Perez - AP

Philadelphia Eagles' LeSean McCoy (29) rushes past New York Giants' Aaron Rouse (26) in the second half during an NFL football game Sunday. This type of thing has been happening to the Giants defense on a regular basis.

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We spent Monday complaining about all of the things that have gone wrong with our long-ago 5-0 New York Giants. Today, let's turn the page and think about what Tom Coughlin and Co. can do fix some of the things that have gone wrong the past three weeks.

I am starting with this premise. The biggest problem on this football team -- without any doubt in my mind -- is the underwhelming defense. This team was built to dominate defensively while the offense found its way as the young group of wide receivers grew into its responsibilities.

There have been weeks when the offense has not played well, which he realistically had to expect entering the season. Or when various aspects of the special teams have not played well. The one constant, though, has been that against good teams the defense has been completely overmatched.

When we weren't talking about Plaxico Burress during the off-season, we were talking about the devastating defense we thought General Manager Jerry Reese had assembled. So far this season, the only things the defense is devastating is the Giants' chance to be a good football team.

In the last three weeks the Giants have given up 112 points (37.3 per game) and been riddled by too many huge plays for me to even think about. Forget being a dominant defense. Bill Sheridan's unit is not even close to being a competent one right now.

So, what can be done to improve the situation? I am going to break this down into four categories -- defensive line, linebackers, secondary and philosophy.

via i391.photobucket.com

The defensive line

Remember back in the pre-season when we were wondering how defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan was going to find roster space -- and snaps -- for all the talented defensive linemen the Giants had collected?

Well, now the question is can anyone on that front four make a play?

The Giants are tied for seventh in the league with 18 sacks, but it is obvious that the front four cannot consistently pressure quarterbacks by itself -- which was the plan with this group. Osi is not the dominant force of yesteryear. Justin Tuck must still be nursing the Week 2 shoulder injury. Mathias Kiwanuka has been mostly a non-factor in recent weeks. The defensive tackles are non-existent in the pass rush.

The run defense has been horrible. Philadelphia ran for 180 yards, including 66 and 41-yard touchdown runs. Arizona, which is a bad running team, consistently got solid runs. New Orleans did what it wanted on the ground as well as in the air. All the way back to the Dallas game the run defense was a problem. In that game the Giants gave up runs of 56, 35 and 20 yards.

Way too often, running backs are hitting the second and third level of the Giants defense without being touched.

Fred Robbins and Barry Cofield are not holding up inside. Neither is Rocky Bernard, brought in from Seattle specifically to help the run defense. Jay Alford is gone for the year.

The solution? Inside I think all the Giants can hope for is that Chris Canty can make some plays if he ever comes back healthy. That is no guarantee, though, even if the Giants are paying him $42 million. He has never been a defensive tackle, and he has missed so much time there is no way of knowing how effective he can be. In all honesty, I have never been a big Cofield fan. As for Robbins and Bernard, I am wondering if both of these mammoth guys have just gotten old.

Outside, I think the only change the Giants can make is to start getting second-round pick Clint Sintim on the line in passing situations. Sintim and Osi at the ends, with Tuck and Kiwi at the tackles is the best pass-rush group the Giants can put on the field.

Other than that, all we can hope for is that Tuck and Umenyiora get healthier, and start making the plays they are being counted on to make.

via i268.photobucket.com

The linebackers

Ah, the linebackers. Ugh! There isn't much nice to say here. Without the injured Michael Boley this is an un-athletic, un-inspiring, un-imposing group.

Danny Clark? Nice guy, great character, Tom Coughlin loves him and DC will do great things off the field once his playing days are done. On the field, though, Clark should not be a starting linebacker in the NFL. The guy is old, slow and hardly ever makes a play. Pretty much, he is just out there.

Chase Blackburn? Again, great character guy. Great special teams player. Smart, can play multiple positions and is a good tackler. But, slow, not and doesn't get off his blocks very well. Not a play-making, starting caliber linebacker.

Antonio Pierce? We knew he is smart. We know he is the 'quarterback' of the defense. We also know he is slow in pass coverage, not very imposing in the middle of the defense and has been getting abused by offenses for the past two seasons. Who do you think teams are running at over and over and over when they gash the Giants up the middle? Sorry, but AP's best football is clearly behind him.

The solution? Clearly, some personnel changes are needed here. And this is an area of the defense where the Giants DO have some options. Those begin, again, with Sintim. I know the second-round pick from Virginia has clearly missed a lot of time on the practice field due to his leg injury earlier this season. He showed in the pre-season that he is an athlete, and a playmaker. It might be time to let Sintim learn on the field, replacing Clark. Sintim will make some mistakes, but he will also make some plays against the run simply with his athleticism. Against the pass? Put him at defensive end let him do what he does best -- get after quarterbacks.

On the other side, the Giants obviously miss Boley. In the couple of games he played before going down with a knee injury, he showed athleticism and cover skills the Giants have not had in an outside linebacker for a while. He will, of course, help when he returns. Until then? Sorry, Chase, but let's get Bryan Kehl on the field and see if he can help. Again, he is more athletic and maybe he can make a difference. Maybe he can't, but it's worth a shot to find out.

In the middle? The Giants are not moving Pierce out of there, as much as some of us might like them to. Blackburn is not the answer long-term in the middle, either. If the season spirals out of control (and Lord knows I am not wishing for that) I would like to see Jonathan Goff get a chance in the middle. He was impressive in pre-season and I want to know what he can do.

By the way, Clark, Blackburn and Gerris Wilkinson are free agents after this season. This group is headed for an off-season makeover.

The secondary

We have been over the issues with this group so many times I won't belabor them. The Giants miss Kenny Phillips so much I hate to even think about it. They miss Aaron Ross because at least he would provide them with some options. Have you noticed how often the Giants are playing 'nickel' with Michael Johnson, 'Bad, Bad C.C. Brown' and 'Just as Bad Aaron Rouse' on the field together? That's three safeties on the field in obvious passing situations -- none of whom can cover. A recipe for disaster.

There are no easy solutions here, though getting Ross back in some semblance of playing condition is probably the best the Giants can hope for. At least then in some of those passing situations they can get Brown off the field.

We would all love to see Brown get his pink slip. Yesterday. There is, truthfully, no help out there right now, however. If Reese could have done better than Rouse when KP went down he would have. But, teams don't jettison players mid-season without a good reason.

Maybe the Giants bring Sha'reef Rashad or Vince Anderson off the practice squad. It sure can't hurt, but it is no guarantee to help. Those guys are on the practice squad because the Giants didn't think they were ready to play at the NFL level yet.

Mostly, we just have to hope that Brown and Rouse learn from their mistakes, and get on the same page with the rest of the secondary. Oh, and that somebody back there remembers tackling is part of the job.

The philosophy

New defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan is under fire from every direction. Blitz more, Bill!. Don't blitz so much, Bill! How come your team can't play the run, Bill? Your guys can't cover, Bill! You can't carry Steve Spagnuolo's jock strap, Bill! Hey, Bill, we would have re-hired Tim Lewis or Johnnie Lynn if we wanted to watch this crap!

I have said it before -- I won't kill Sheridan over how much he blitzes or doesn't blitz. This team was built to pressure with four. It's not happening. They aren't getting home with the blitz, either. Because they just don't have the athletes.

That, really, is the crux of it. Right now the Giants simply don't have the athletes to be a dominant defense.

That said, it would be nice if Sheridan would remind his defensive backs that making a tackle once in a while would be nice.

Final word

I truly believe that better defense would solve a lot of the other problems the Giants are having. Inconsistent offense (which we expected entering the season), erratic special teams (which seems like a Giants trademark), the occasional incomprehensible Kevin Gilbride play call (yes, they do happen) would all be much less of an issue if the Giants could simply stop somebody once in a while.

We will see if Coughlin, Sheridan and Co. can figure out a way to make that happen. If they can't, the last eight games will be torture to watch.

The Saturday Sim: Cardinals-Giants

Andrew602 — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:30:44 -0000

This week in the Saturday Sim, we feature a battle on Sunday night between the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Giants. Let me tell you this - it was an interesting game to say the least. For those of you that aren't familiar with this segment, I'll watch a simulation, or a game on Madden 10, between the Cardinals, and whoever they face for that given week. The quarters are 8 minutes, the penalties are turned up, the difficulty is All-Madden, and the rosters, time and weather are all up to date. It's probably the best and easiest way to simulate a game, although simulations can be very inaccurate at times. The game was a close one, and at times I even got into it. Here's how it went down.

First Quarter:

- The Giants receive the ball. After two runs, Eli Manning throws a pick to Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie who then returns it for a touchdown, similar to the one against the Texans. On the Giants following drive, they encounter a three and out and punt the ball. On the Cardinals first offensive drive, Larry Fitzgerald can't hold onto a would-be first down, and the Cardinals also punt. On the Giants next drive, Eli Manning starts with a play-action pass, which results in a 30 yard gain by Kevin Boss. The Giants march down the field with great protection for Eli, who throws a 33 yard sideline pass to Hakeem Nicks. Brandon Jacobs runs in the 1 yard touchdown. Game tied 7-7.

- On the Cardinals next drive, Kurt Warner throws a pick to Corey Webster. However, the Giants move the ball very little, before Manning throws yet another interception to Rodgers-Cromartie. The Cardinals can't protect Warner, and are forced to settle for a field goal. 10-7 Cardinals.

- The Giants continue to air it out, throwing deep balls to Nicks. A crucial sack in the end zone forces them to also settle for a field goal. Game tied 10-10

Second Quarter:

- The Second quarter features a lot of the same from the Cardinals. They can't run the ball at all, and are passing down field a lot. At the midfield point, Kurt Warner throws an outside pass to Tim Hightower, who breaks a tackle to run 55 yards for the touchdown. Cardinals lead 17-10

- The Giants are also forced to pass more, as Brandon Jacobs has had trouble running so far. Eli Manning continues to throw the ball to Kevin Boss, his go to man. After an offensive hold, Manning throws his third pick of the game to Karlos Dansby. Unfortunately, the Cardinals can't capitalizeon the turnover. Poor protection results in a tipped pass that is intercepted by Fred Robbins. With good field position, Eli Manning throws a sideline pass to Boss, who high steps too early, but makes the dive for the touchdown. 17-17.

- With little time left before halftime, Warner marches down the field, throwing a 39 yard pass to Jerheme Urban. Warner makes a huge mistake, throwing his third interception of the game in the end zone to Michael Johnson. End of first half.

Third Quarter

- In the third quarter, the Cardinals come out swinging, throwing big passes to Steve Breaston. Breaston breaks one for 25 yards down the sideline to give the Cardinals the score and put them in the lead. 24-17 Cardinals.

- The next few drives feature three and outs by both teams, using much of the time in the quarter. The Giants finally start to put things together, playing balanced. Jacobs is running better, plowing over several defenders. This sets up the play action pass, which gives Manning more time in the pocket and open receivers. The Giants can't convert a crucial third down however, and settle for a field goal. 24-20 Cardinals.

Fourth Quarter

- In the 4th quarter, the Cardinals are more conservative, hoping to establish the run, and drain whatever time is left on the clock. They settle for a long field goal, but miss, keeping the score the same. The Giants however, are moving much more quickly and easily at that. They continue to give the ball to Jacobs to set up the play action. Manning has plenty of time to throw as well. In the red zone, Jacobs breaks several tackles for 15 yards and takes the ball to the 1 yard line before he is stopped. Ahmad Bradshaw runs in the touchdown, giving the Giants the lead 27-24.

- Time is now becoming of the essence, as there is 3:30 left on the clock. Kurt Warner continues to get rattled, forcing a 3rd and long. Fitzgerald makes a great catch to keep the drive alive. The Cardinals run into another 3rd and long, but Warner is hit as he throws. With less then 2 minutes to go, the Cardinals decide to punt the ball away and let their defense win(I should say I didn't agree with this, but as you will see, I was wrong). A huge holding call puts the Giants at 1st and long. The Cardinals stuff three running attempts in a row, and burn all three time outs, giving them a little over a minute left. They get the ball back with a 15 yard punt return by Steve Breaston. Facing 3rd and 8 and near field goal range, Hightower makes a first down catch and the Cardinals spike the ball. With 3 second left, Neil Rackers ties the game 27-27.

Overtime

- The Cardinals win the toss, and elect to receive. On the very first play of overtime, the Cardinals decide to run with the outside toss to Tim Hightower. He gets several big blocks and breaks the run 50 yards before he is tackled at the 12. Neil Rackers lines up the makes the field goal!! Cardinals win 30-27.

The Stats

Team Stats	Cardinals	Giants
Total Yards	409	429
Rush	54	91
Pass	355	338
First Downs	13	19
TOs	3	3
3rd Down	5-10(50%)	7-13(53%)
Penalties	6-48	9-82
TOP	13:46	19:52

Passing	Comp/Att	Yards	TD	INT	Rating
Warner	24/38 63%	355	2	3	78.3
Manning	23/39 58%	344	1	3	64.5

Rushing	Att	Yards	Avg	TD
Hightower	7	57	8.1	0
Jacobs	18	80	4.4	1

Receiving	Rec	Yards	Avg	TD
Fitzgerald	7	69	9.8	0
Boldin	4	47	11.7	0
Breaston	4	87	21.7	1
Hightower	4	80	20.0	1
Boss	7	99	14.1	1
Nicks	4	102	25.5	0
Manningham	4	67	16.7	0
Smith	2	23	11.5	0

Thoughts

I do believe that this will be a battle till the end of the game, as long as the Cardinals don't fold under the national pressure. This game could also go either way, but the Madden gods were nice enough to give us a win today. What are your thoughts on the simulation? Are the stats way off or accurate?

It's Friday, so Ernie P. is in the house

Ed Valentine — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:00:24 -0000

Time for my weekly visit with long-time Giants beat writer Ernie Palladino. As usual, we are both answering the same set of questions. My answers can be found over at Ernie's Giants Beat.

1. What would you do to solve the C.C. Brown problem at safety?

Ernie's Answer: "You mean short of summary execution? Kidding. Really. It was obvious from the lack of activity at the trade deadline Tuesday that either the Giants aren't interested in bringing someone new in, or that they couldn't find anything suitable for a decent price out there. So they're stuck with an existing corps that is comprised of Brown, Aaron Rouse, and Michael Johnson, and a practice-squad safety in Sha'reff Rashad. Obviously, you wouldn't want to move Rashad into a starting position, but you might move Rouse there. He's a ball-hawk kind of guy, probably a lot better in coverage than Brown. But then you'd lose the run support that Brown offers. It's been suggested that Tom Coughlin move one of the cornerbacks to safety -- perhaps Terrell Thomas -- but with Aaron Ross still out with a hamstring problem, the corners cannot be diluted. And I'm not comfortable moving Rouse, who has only been here three weeks, into a starting position. He's good enough to get more time in passing situations, so I'd use the dime more frequently and throw him in there. Aside from that, I'd just leave things the same and coach the HECK out of Brown. It's not that he doesn't have the speed. It's his coverage skills, and those can be worked on. Not a wonderful solution, but with the talent available, it's probably the best one."

2. How do you think the Giants will rebound from a terrible loss like they had in New Orleans?

Ernie's Answer: "Tom Coughlin's teams have shown nothing if not resilience. You know that cliched saying, "Never get too high after a win or get too low after a loss?" Well, this team takes it to heart. Wednesday's practice had a lot of intensity to it, so it looks like their heads are in the right place. Besides, remember what happened in 2007 after they gave up 80 points while losing the first two games? They ripped off six straight wins and seven of eight. Then they pulled a 41-17 stinker against Minnesota, righted the ship, and went to the Super Bowl. I'm willing to bet this team plays 100 percent better against Arizona Sunday. What's more -- and I'm going to go out on a hell of a limb here, I know -- I'll bet C.C. Brown has at least an acceptable outing and the defensive line gets at least two or three sacks."

3. If Anquan Boldin's ankle prevents him from playing to full strength Sunday, does the secondary have a decided edge in the passing game?

Ernie's Answer: "Not really. Larry Fitzgerald is pretty amazing. And the guy nobody seems to talk about, Steve Breaston, can make enough plays himself. So they do have weapons besides the Boldin-Fitzgerald combo. Tim Hightower is a good receiver out of the backfield with 29 catches for 228 yards. But Breaston is the real secet weapon of sorts. You may remember him from the Cardinals' comeback after the Jets put up 34 points in the second quarter. Breaston caught nine balls for 122 yards that day and has 96 catches for 1,251 yards and four touchdowns over his last 19 games. So whether Boldin is there or not, a secondary that failed miserably at the task of containing the Saints' receivers last week will again have its hands full."

4. Should the Giants reinstate Domenik Hixon as a starting wide receiver over Mario Manningham?

Ernie's Answer: "Hixon ran a bunch of nice routes and was open deep several times last week. And his three catches for 22 yards simply added to a personal 300 combined yardage day. But Manningham has become a valuable entity at receiver, showing excellent concentration and improved route-running ability. So I'd keep Manningham right where he is and let Hixon concentrate fully on his kickoff and punt return duties, which he took from the ineffective Sinorice Moss last week. Can't argue with the results there, as Hixon's seven kickoff returns for 230 yards easily surpassed Moss' 6-for-109 total for the five previous games. Hixon showed some outstanding qualities last week in hitting gaps and insisting on getting those extra yards. It's stuff you never saw from Moss. Let Hixon go out in the three or four-wide personnel groupings, but his major contributions should -- and probably will -- come on the return teams."

New York Giants news and notes: David Carr? Really?

Ed Valentine — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:01:11 -0000

What if Eli Manning can't go and David Carr actually has to play quarterback Sunday for our New York Giants against the Oakland Raiders?

Do you guys feel good about Carr driving the Giants' offense? Or, will you squirm uncomfortably every time he drops back to pass?

We know Carr's history of misery in both Houston and Carolina, and we know the Giants brought him to New York hoping to resurrect his shattered confidence. If he has to play, maybe we find out if they have done that, or if those experts who say the Giants are in trouble with Carr taking snaps were correct.

Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride is expressing confidence in Carr. Which is exactly what you would expect him to do.

"I expect him to play well. Last time he played for us for any extensive period when we wanted him to do something was the Minnesota game and I thought he was outstanding. So I would be disappointed if he doesn’t play well because I think he will," Gilbride said.

Gilbride says the game plan won't change if Carr is the quarterback.

"As the game unfolds or as if it looks like there are some things that are not going as you planned or you thought it might, then you scale back and you adjust," Gilbride said. "But we do that if a receiver is not getting open, if the running game is not going as well as it should, if somebody is getting beat in pass protection. But going into it, I would be very disappointed if he doesn’t play well because I think he will."

To be honest, as I write this I still think Eli is playing. But, what about it, gang? Will you still feel good about Sunday if it's Carr under center?

Replacing Boley

When does one equal three or four? When it comes to how the Giants defense tries to replace injured linebacker Michael Boley, that's how.

[Chase] Blackburn technically will replace Boley in the starting lineup, but in reality it will take several people to replace what Boley was able to do. Losing him creates a chain reaction of change throughout the defense.

Because Boley is such an athletic linebacker, he was able to stay on the field in sub packages and help with pass coverage. Now the Giants likely will take the linebacker off the field in those situations and replace him with safety Michael Johnson as the nickel linebacker.

"That was the thing about [Boley] coming in: We knew he was going to be a linebacker who could stay in when we did go sub," Johnson said. "He could stay in and play coverages where normally we used to put a defensive back in."

That means safety Aaron Rouse, who joined the team two weeks ago after Kenny Phillips was put on injured reserve, likely will play more Sunday against the Raiders than he did in the previous two weeks.

Other Stuff

NFL admits bad call last Sunday against Chiefs.
SBNation.com now has its own weekly NFL Power Rankings, voted on by the football bloggers for each team. The Giants are No. 2 in those rankings behind Indianapolis.

Giants vs. Cowboys: A 'Kudos & Wet Willies' style preview

Ed Valentine — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:00:17 -0000

When it comes to game previews, everyone writes 'keys to victory' or 'things to watch for' or some variation of that. Well, here at Big Blue View we like to think we have our own unique style. After all, who else does 'Kudos & Wet Willies' to review the games?

With that in mind, let's try a little 'Kudos & Wet Willies' style preview of tonight's matchup between our New York Giants and hated Dallas Cowboys.

There will be lots of 'kudos' Monday if ...

The Giants can quiet the crowd. Jerry Jones is gunning for a record-setting crowd to open Cowboys Stadium, and the atmosphere could easily be a problem for the Giants. A fast start and an early lead are a must to keep the crowd out of the game, for at least a while. Get behind early, and it could be a long night.
The Giants control the Dallas pass rush. The Cowboys had eight sacks the last time the teams played, and 12 in the two games in 2008. If the Giants can keep Eli Manning upright most of the game they will have opportunities to make plays.
The Giants can get to Tony Romo. I am not talking about 'pressuring' the Dallas quarterback. He is slippery as an eel in the pocket and makes many of his best plays once he starts moving around. I am talking about sacking him. Three to five times, at least. Once he starts moving around it is inevitable that he will create some big plays.
The Giants make the Cowboys' offense one-dimensional. Stuff the Dallas running attack (easier said than done) or get a lead and make Dallas throw, and the Giants' linemen can just go all-out after Romo.

There will be lots of 'Wet Willies' Monday if ...

DeMarcus Ware has a big day. The extraordinary Dallas linebacker is a terrible matchup for Giants' left tackle David Diehl. If the Giants don't give Diehl help, and Ware has a big day, that's bad news for the Giants.
The Giants can't run the ball. It should be a given with the Giants' punishing ground game and the Cowboys' seemingly soft run defense that Brandon Jacobs and Co. should have their way running the ball. If, for some reason, that doesn't happen Eli could be in for a lot of punishment.
The Giants defense can't control the middle of the field. Historically, the soft spot in the Giants' pass coverage is the short crossing routes and handling the tight end in the middle of the field. Bill Sheridan has to find a way to contain Dallas tight end Jason Witten.
The Giants can't get touchdowns in the Green Zone. Or first downs on third and short anywhere on the field, for that matter. This ongoing issue has to get solved, or it will bite the Giants eventually.
The Giants run out of healthy bodies in the secondary. Aaron Ross is out. Kevin Dockery is limited. Starting safeties Michael Johnson (burner) and Kenny Phillips (knee) should play, but no one knows how long or how effectively. Corey Webster can't cover everybody.

Giants vs Cowboys coverage
Giants vs Cowboys preview
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