SB Nation - Osi Umenyiora

Giants at Redskins: 'Kudos & Wet Willies' preview

Ed Valentine — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:00:28 -0000

Let me start by saying this. As a New York Giants fan, I do not have the best feeling in the world about tonight's matchup with the Washington Redskins.

The 4-9 Redskins have played much better than their record indicates in recent weeks, they have a stout defense, and they will be at home. The 7-6 Giants? Well, we should know by now that we just don't know with this team.

Will the defense show up, or will it just play the role of sieve as it has so many times this season?

What part of the special teams will cost the Giants points this week? C'mon, we know one of them will.

Can the offense, playing against a good Redskin defense, score enough points to make up for all the shortcomings around it?

Who knows. The Giants need to win, and they should win. But, things are different for each of these teams than they were in Week 1, when the Giants won, 23-17.

With all of that said, let's run through our usual 'Kudos & Wet Willies' style preview.

There will be lots of 'Kudos' Tuesday if ...

The Giants win in the Red Zone. This will not be easy. The Giants have the league's worst-ranked defense and 25th-ranked offense in that area of the field. So, bluntly, they have been terrible. Washington, on the other hand, has the league's best defense and ninth-ranked offense in the Red Zone. Ominous numbers the Giants must find a way to neutralize.
The defense shows up. Two weeks ago against Dallas Bill Sheridan's group played much more like the unit we expected to see this season. Last week against Philadelphia the defense reverted to the unit we have seen more often than not the last eight weeks. No pass rush, putrid coverage, blown assignments and no big plays. The Redskins offense is not great, and the Giants can't afford to make it look that way.
The Giants can run the ball, at least a little. The Redskins are 23rd in the league against the run. We all know, though, that they will stack the box and try to take Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw away from the Giants. Kevin Gilbride and the Giants have to run enough not to be one-dimensional against an excellent Redskins pass rush.
Eli Manning has a big day. Seems like this is always the case with this version of the Giants. Offensively, they will ride the right arm of Manning and the big-play ability of their exciting group of young wide receivers.

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

The Giants can't handle Brian Orakpo and Andre Carter. The bookend Redskin defensive ends have been what Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora were supposed to be -- the most dominant duo of pass-rushing ends in the league. They both have 11 sacks, making Washington the only team in the league with two players in double-digits. Rookie Will Beatty will have to deal with Carter, and David Diehl will have to handle Orakpo. If those guys are in the backfield all day, Eli won't be able to create the big plays the Giants will need.
The special teams break down -- again. It seems like every week some area of the special teams falls flat on its face. Last week it was punt coverage, surrendering a touchdown to DeSean Jackson. I would hope for more, but I will settle for the Giants at least not making any huge special teams miscues.
The Giants can't get pressure. Ugh! Again, we need to talk about this. Redskins QB Jason Campbell has posted two straight weeks of 100+ quarterback ratings and has 17 touchdown passes. He might not have a future in Washington, but he isn't exactly JaMarcus Russell. If the Giants don't make him uncomfortable, I have no doubt he will torch the team's beleaguered secondary.

New York Giants Notebook: 12.17.09

Jim Schmiedeberg — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:29:56 -0000

View full size photo »

Good Morning Giants fans, here are some of the stories making the rounds in the world of the indefensible (or is it un-defensible?) New York Giants:

The Giants are hanging their hats on one thing right now: No matter how bad things seem, it's worse for the Cowboys. I would not be so fast to agree, not until the Giants defense stops someone, anyone.
Shaun O'Hara and Trent Cole were both fined $15K for their fight in Sunday night's game.
The Redskins say they are worried about themselves, not playing spoiler for the Giants. If you believe this, then I would like to advocate C.C. Brown for starting safety in the Pro Bowl. I'm sure the Redskins would just love to help the Giants screw up their season.
Sort of Giants-related, Matt Simms, son of Phil, has signed a letter of intent to play at Tennessee.
Former Giant TE Howard Cross was voted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Nice to see Howard getting recognized, he is one of the most underrated players to ever put on a Giants uniform.

In a conference call with the Washington media yesterday, Justin Tuck was asked if this is a must-win for the Giants: (click link for full transcript)

I think so. You never want to put that pressure on yourself especially when they say we can still make the playoffs even if we don't win all three of these. For me personally, I think that we are because of the fact that we haven't played great ball. Even if we do make the playoffs, you don't want to go into the playoffs limping. You want to go in with the confidence, knowing that you kind of righted the ship and are playing your best ball at that point in time. I think for us it's important to win these next three.

Tom Coughlin talked about his team's emotional state: (click link for full transcript)

Well, we have been excited about playing our divisional games. It has been one game after another. We had a nice win against Dallas. We came up short the other night in a high-scoring affair. I think our guys will be right back on the mark. You come together on Monday and it is a sad day. Everybody is disappointed. Everybody wants to win. Everybody does everything they think they can. It doesn't mean that you always play as well as you are capable of playing. We try to get their dabbers back up and get them refocused and knowing full well that the season gets shorter and shorter and more meaningful and more meaningful. I think our leadership will be strong. I think our guys will come back and we will have a nice week of practice. We will be excited to go down to Washington.

'Kudos & Wet Willies:' Missed opportunities edition

Ed Valentine — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:19:02 -0000

More photos » by Henny Ray Abrams - AP

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) fumbles the ball after sliding head first in the third quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles during an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009, in East Rutherford, N.J. The play was ruled a fumble and the Eagles recovered. The play pretty much sums up the night, and the season, thus far.

Browse more photos »

I hardly know where to begin in discussing Sunday's 45-38 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles by our New York Giants.

The Giants gift-wrapped a couple of scores for the Eagles with turnovers and mistakes. They made some big plays of their own, but not nearly enough. Opportunity knocked everywhere, both offensively and defensively, much of the night. Too often, though, the Giants could not get the job done.

It was one of the craziest, most exhausting regular-season games I can remember watching. In the end, though, just another bad loss in what is becoming a season filled with them.

The Giants are now 7-6. Their path to the playoffs is clear, though treacherous. The Cowboys are 8-5, and it is pretty obvious the final NFC playoff spot will go to either Dallas or the Giants and the Giants own the tie-breaker advantage. Somehow, some way the Giants need to win one more game than the Cowboys during the final three weeks.

Otherwise, no playoffs for the first time since 2004. On with the 'Kudos & Wet Willies,' which look a little bit unusual this time around.

Kudos to ...

Eli Manning: Eli was brilliant Sunday night. In my mind, he played as well as a quarterback can play. The stats (27-of-38, 392 yards, three touchdowns) don't begin to describe it. Of his 11 incompletions there were nine -- yes, nine -- balls Giants receivers could have or should have caught. The fumble when he fell awkwardly and lost the ball as he hit the ground was a freak play. He had made an uncharacteristically nity run on the play. Can't kill him for it.
DeSean Jackson: It's not often I will give 'Kudos' to an opposing player, but this guy is just phenomenal.
Ahmad Bradshaw: Following a theme we seem to have developed here, Bradshaw stepped up and made some big plays. A 17-yard run. A 31-yard pass reception. The Giants didn't get enough of those from other guys Sunday night.
Big Blue View Nation: More than 2000 comments between the two Game Threads. The Giants couldn't step up and make big plays, but you guys did.

Kwillies to ...

A 'Kwillie,' for those who don't know, goes to players who did things that kept both teams in a game. Half 'Kudo,' half 'Wet Willie.'

The Giants receiving corps: There were a lot of great plays by Giants receivers Sunday night. But, an incredible number of opportunities they failed to take advantage of. Let me summarize.

Hakeem Nicks -- A 68-yard touchdown catch and run. Nice, sure. But, three drops. Including one on a long ball when he was 5 yards behind the defense.

Steve Smith -- Seven catches and broke the Giants' single-season receiving record previously held by Amani Toomer. But, two missed opportunities. Both on catches that were difficult, but plays a No. 1 Pro Bowl receiver needs to make. Particularly the one in the end zone where he had both hands on the ball and could not corral it.

Kevin Boss -- A career-best seven catches. But, Boss could not corral a beautiful throw by Manning in the second half that he had both hands on. In the fourth quarter of a game with so much at stake, you have to make that play. By the way, guess what? If Boss makes that catch the Giants have first down at Philly's 17. The next play was the 3rd and 5 draw any of you are killing.

(I am saving Mario Manningham for later. You know what that means.)

Brandon Jacobs: Fifteen carries for 60 yards, and lots of hard, knock defenders over, running (where has that been, Jake?). But, an uncharacteristic fumble that ended up being returned for a touchdown.
Michael Boley: Eleven tackles, but a huge missed opportunity when he had a potential game-tying interception in his hands toward the end of the first half and could not corral it.
Osi Umenyiora: A sack and forced fumble in his role as pass-rush specialist. That's the good stuff. But, several times when Osi was in the game the Eagles took advantage by running right at him for big gains.
Kevin Gilbride: You have to give your offensive coordinator some credit when a team compiles an astounding 512 yards of total offense, which the Giants did Sunday night. But, you also can question taking the ball out of Eli's hands on the failed 3rd and 5 draw play in the fourth quarter. It may have been his only bad play call of the night, but as many of you have already pointed out the failure to score points there was a killer. Taking the ball out of Eli's hands, especially the way he was playing, was the wrong choice.
Domenik Hixon: A 61-yard catch and run for a score. That's the good stuff. Losing contain on Jackson's 72-yard punt return and a pair of fumbled kickoffs is the bad. When does D.J. Ware get a crack at being the primary kickoff return man?

Wet Willies to ...

Aaron Rouse and Aaron Ross: Both guys got burned down the field by DeSean Jackson, Ross for an easy, back-breaking 60-yard touchdown. Rouse would have given up one, as well, but Donovan McNabb missed a wide open Reggie Brown.
The defense as a whole: Missed opportunities, blown coverages, little pressure on Donovan McNabb, and a complete inability to make a stop whenever one was needed. The inspired effort against Dallas gave me hope. This one left me feeling, again, that this group just isn't good enough.
Bill Sheridan: See all of the above about the defense. I couldn't argue with more than one or two of Sheridan's calls Sunday night. But, the overall performance of this group has to fall on his shoulders. And it just has not been good enough.
Special teams: Bad penalties, a punt return surrendered for a touchdown, two fumbled kickoff returns, less than adequte kickoff return coverage, ineffective returns all night. Yes, Fred Robbins blocked an extra point, but that's about the only thing the special teams did right. At some point, special teams coach Tom Quinn has to answer for the fact that week after week the Giants' special teams don't measure up.
Mario Manningham: How difficult is it for an NFL receiver to learn to run down the field and stay in-bounds? Manningham should have scored two touchdowns Sunday night. Instead, he ran himself out of bounds on both plays. He has done that consistently this season, and it is largely what has cost him his starting job. He is an exciting player, but he has to learn how to run a pass route on the sidelines. Otherwise, how can Eli trust him and throw the ball out there?

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

Final - 12.13.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
Philadelphia Eagles	14	16	7	8	45
New York Giants	3	14	14	7	38

Complete Coverage >

New York Giants notes: Aaron Rouse may have found a home

Ed Valentine — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:00:21 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

New York Giants safety Aaron Rouse (26) sacks Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) in the first quarter of their NFL football game at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, Dec. 6, 2009.

Browse more photos »

Here is some Friday afternoon reading material for you, New York Giants fans.

Aaron Rouse, acquired to take Kenny Phillips' roster spot after being let go by Green Bay earlier this season, has played exceptionally well the past couple of weeks. He even earned a game ball last week, with 12 tackles (10 solo) and his first career sack.

"He has been a big time pleasant guy for us in the last couple of weeks," defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan said. "He got a game ball the other day … and it was well-deserved. He is playing with a lot of confidence now that he is playing for a couple weeks. He is much more comfortable with the defensive calls and he plays super aggressive. He has a steady confidence about him, he tries to play physical. He made about a dozen tackles the other day and it looks like it, when you are on the sidelines watching it, he looks like he is in on a bunch of tackles. He has done an excellent job."

Rouse admits he endured an adjustment period, because changing teams and homes on the fly is difficult.

"As a young player, it is," Rouse said. "I had never experienced it; my first time was going from Green Bay to the Giants in the middle of the season. That was hard, but at the same time I have a great support system - my mom and my godfather were there. Basically, I know that being the good player that I am that I was optimistic about everything and never got down and was just waiting for the opportunity to play for another team. Mr. Reese (Jerry, the general manager) brought me in here and I am thankful for that and am just trying to make the best of this opportunity.

"This is my third year in the league, so anytime you go from a different team you try to think about things that have happened. But my main focus was to be optimistic. I know I am a good player, I know I am going to be a great player one day and when things happen you keep your head up and go forward."

My take: A couple of good games does not make a career. Rouse is just 25, though, and if he keeps playing as well as he has the past few weeks New York might just become a long-term home.

You would think Tom Coughlin has been reading Big Blue View when you look at his assessment of the key to beating Philadelphia Sunday.

"We have to try to keep them from making the big plays. It starts with us stopping the run. They ran the ball on us over there. They have made big plays. So we have to stop the run and try to prevent the big plays."

We agree, Tom. We agree.

Sheridan also knows stopping the big play is priority one Sunday.

"They have had their most success on big plays so that will be a huge emphasis for us. If we can just hang in there and keep the ball in front of us, we will have a chance to be competitive in the game. They get big plays, especially if they get them early, it is a big momentum swing for them."

We have talked a ton about the Giants seeming lack of use of tight end Kevin Boss. A few weeks ago, you might recall, I even penned an open letter to the Giants on Boss' behalf. Turns out offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride DOES know who Boss is. He even seems to like the guy.

Check out this exchange Thursday with reporters.

Q: Do you think as the weather changes that Kevin Boss – this time of year – needs to be more of a target?

A: I laugh sometimes when I hear that stuff. All it is is whoever gets open based on his scheme and what have you. What a lot of guys don’t realize is that the one that we threw deep down the field – that really was the primary guy was Boss on the ….route. He felt that he had a touchdown to Steve so he threw it there. The touchdown to Brandon Jacobs – that was designed to go to Kevin Boss. But they were so committed to knocking him, riding him in – that is what opened up, Brandon. So all I care is that when he has a chance to get open, that he does and he catches the ball. You know he is going to catch the ball. He has terrific hands. He has a great radius. His big thing is getting off the jams and stuff like that. And they made a commitment to bang on him a little bit. So we were able to capitalize on it on that one play for a big play, but a couple of other plays that were designed to go him – he has to do a better job of getting off being banged around. Because they know he is a big target; he is a good player. So they commit --- that is the way to slow him down and so that is the area that he knows that if he can get done. It is hard to run with him. He is a big, long-legged guy once he gets going.

Who knew? Gilbride does understand that the tight end is an eligible receiver.

On the injury front, Chris Snee's status remains uncertain.

Finally, a few nuggets about last week's victory over Dallas from Pro Football Focus.

Your eyes told you Kevin Boothe played pretty well after Snee went out with a knee injury. They did not deceive. Boothe was +1.2 in PFF's rating system. That, by the way, was the best overall rating of any offensive player.
Among the defenders, Rouse had a team-best +2.3 rating.
Mathias Kiwanuka played 80 of 82 snaps while starting in place of Osi Umenyiora. Kiwi lined up at defensive end, defensive tackle, outside linebacker and even middle linebacker. The Giants used an 'Amoeba' defense with a lot of guys standing up and moving around pre-snap. I loved it, and I want to see more of it.
Speaking of Osi, it appears he is now a pass-rush specialist. Thirty-three of the 38 snaps he played were passes.
Justin Tuck lined up at defensive tackle 30 times against the Cowboys. To protect his injured shoulder that is something Tuck has done little of this season.

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

Philadelphia Eagles opponents preview - New York Giants

JasonB — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:00:17 -0000

by Carolyn Kaster - AP

about 1 month ago: Philadelphia Eagles' Sean Jones (26) and Quintin Mikel (27) stop New York Giants' Brandon Jacobs (27) during the third quarter an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, in Philadelphia. The Eagles won 40-17. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

View full size photo »

This is the next part in our series of previews of the Eagles 2009 opponents. Joining us for this feature is Dave Schwab, who writes about the Eagles at his site Eagles Lincs.

Last time we saw the Giants the Eagles blew them out 40-17. Across the parking lot the Phillies were taking on the Yankees in the world series. While this Sunday's matchup in the swamps of North Jersey won't be so momentous, there's probably more on the line for the Eagles this time.

Dave's full analysis is after the jump.

Coming off a near perfect 34-7 beatdown of the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday the 8-4 Eagles now have to take it up another notch when they face the 7-5 New York Giants on Sunday night in the Meadowlands. The G-Men are coming off a huge 31-24 win over Dallas in a game that not only saved their season, but further tightened up an extremely close NFC East division race. A Philadelphia win would complete the season sweep of New York and almost guarantee the Birds at the very least a wildcard spot in the playoffs, but more importantly put them in control of winning the division. A loss could potentially set up a three way tie in the East, depending on the outcome of the Cowboys game against San Diego. This is the time of the year when each week becomes a one game season as the games take on a playoff atmosphere.

In the first meeting between these two teams back in week eight, the Eagles jumped out to an early lead and kept their foot on the Giant’s throat in a 40-17 romp. They used big plays on offense and kept Eli Manning off balance on defense to thoroughly dominate this game. While I do not expect Sunday night’s game to be nearly as one sided as this one, Philadelphia will look to recreate the same game plan that gave the so much success the first time they played.

Looking at the Giant’s offense the one area that has hurt them over the past several weeks has been their ability to effectively run the ball. Their big threat is Brandon Jacobs who has run for 722 yards on 187 carries which is less than 4 yards a carry. In his last three games he has only rushed for 105 yards combined. Their other back, Ahmad Bradshaw has been battling some injuries and hasn’t been able to contribute on a regular basis only rushing for 84 yards in the last three games. If the Eagle’s defense can keep these two from establishing any kind of momentum that will put the game in the hands of QB Eli Manning to try and pull off the win. Manning’s performance has been inconsistent at best. While he did pass for 241 yards and 2 TD’s against the Cowboys last week, he still has thrown 11 interceptions and lost four fumbles so far this season as he has the tendency to cough the ball up when under constant pressure. His primary target will be WR Steve Smith who has 78 receptions for 979 yards this season. Jacobs is also a receiving threat out of the backfield as his 74 yard catch and run for a touchdown against Dallas helped seal the win in last week’s game.

Defensively, the Giants are a mere shell from the unit that led the NFL after their 5-0 start. The defensive line has been unable to stop the run as well as put pressure on opposing team’s quarterbacks. Things got so bad that head coach Tom Coughlin benched DE Osi Umenyiora and DT Fred Robbins for the Dallas game in an effort to shake things up. Despite the loss, the Cowboys still rolled up 424 yards of total offense including 379 passing yards as Romo was only sacked twice for a loss of 13 yards and had no interceptions. Through 12 games, New York’s defense is still ranked 6^th in total yards allowed (301.6), 7^th against the pass (199) and 10^th against the run (102.6). Their main problem has been keeping teams out of the end zone as they are ranked 25^th in points allowed (23.8) which plays right into one of the Eagles biggest strengths as they are ranked 6^th is points scored, averaging 27.2 per game.

Looking at this match up on paper it clearly favors the Eagles, but with so much on the line this promises to be a great game that should remain close until the end. The outcome will most likely be decided by a couple of big plays on offense and special teams as well as a key turnover or two late in the game. These teams know each other so well it will be hard to pull off any surprises as they love to come right at one another in typical smash mouth NFC East fashion.

New York Giants News & Notes: Giants Have a Little Swagger Back

cjmulrain — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:00:28 -0000

Fred Robbins posts on his blog about the Giants win over the Cowboys and their upcoming game against the Eagles. He mentions that the Giants have their swagger back after excelling in all 3 phases of the game on Sunday.
Domenik Hixon was a big part of the reason the Giants Special Teams performed well, returning a key punt for a touchdown. For his efforts, he has been named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. Amazingly, that was the Giants first punt return touchdown since Chad Morton returned one against the Cardinals back in 2005.
Another key to the Giants performance against the Cowboys was how well the defense responded to the shuffling starting lineups on the defensive line. Osi Umenyiora should especially be commended for taking his demotion in stride, and coming up with a huge fumble recovery. For that, maybe we should thank LaVar Arrington. He was a bust as a free agent for the Giants a few years ago, but if his pep talk really helped Osi get his head right, I'll be forever grateful.
In perhaps the best news of the week, Chris Snee's knee is "very sore," but not seriously injured. It's still undecided if he will be able to play on Sunday, but it's at least good news that he won't miss significant time. Snee is the best player on the Giants offensive line and they're gonna need him down the stretch.
The Giants will have revenge on their minds Sunday against the Eagles. The Eagles have beaten the Giants in 3 straight meetings and have handed the Giants their last two playoff losses (of course, a Super Bowl Championship was squeezed in between, so we can't complain too much). I heard a lot about the revenge angle when these teams met a few weeks ago, and the Giants got killed. At this point, I don't care about revenge, I just want the Giants to win the damn game and get back into first place in the NFC East.
Steve Serby talks about "Hate Bowl II" and looks at the remaining schedules for the Giants and their playoff spot competition. On paper it looks good for the Giants, as long as they can beat the Eagles. That said, "any given Sunday" - which is why I hate looking ahead on the schedule. As the 2007 (and 2008) Mets proved, you can lose tro anyone down the stretch.
I joked about this in the comments a few days ago, but Plaxico Burress is looking for a work furlough to get him out of prison parttime. I'm extremely happy with our current crop of wide receivers & I know Plax left a bitter taste in a lot of mouths, but I'd be willing to take him back just for this weeks game against the Eagles & let him run a few plays. He always dominated the Eagles, and the Super Bowl run showed that he really doesn't need to practice. I'm only half-joking about this.
Finally, the NY Times 5th Down Blog continues its look at the 10 greatest Giants moments at Giants Stadium with their 41-0 NFC Championship Game beatdown of the Minnesota Vikings. It's really a shame they cancelled the Super Bowl that year, I really think after that performance the Giants would have absolutely destroyed the Ravens. I mean, Trent Dilfer...c'mon!

Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations

Ted Bartlett — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:30:13 -0000

More photos » by Reed Hoffmann - AP

15 days ago: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Brodie Croyle (12) has a pass attempt blocked by Denver Broncos tight end Richard Quinn (81) during a fake punt attempt at the start of the second half of their game, giving the Broncos the ball deep in Chiefs territory in their NFL football game in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, Dec. 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Browse more photos »

Happy Tuesday, friends, and welcome to another edition of ST&NO. After being sick last week, and running an abbreviated version on Wednesday, I am back in full effect this week. I feel kind of like Stringer Bell in season 2 of The Wire, when Avon Barksdale was locked up, and their supplier cut them off. Stringer said he needed to put out a smoker to hold the towers, and I feel like a smoker is similarly needed this week with ST&NO. After all, I can't really do what Stringer actually did, when he couldn't get his raw dope, and change the name. Nobody is going to read a column called Death Grip, you know? (Really, I don't know what kind of drug addict would buy dope called Death Grip, but that's neither here nor there.) Anyway, here comes the high test stuff, with the same name as always. So fill up your coffee, get comfortable, and let's get right to it. Ready.... BEGIN!!!

1. You have to like how the Broncos looked Sunday, even in spite of 3 turnovers by Kyle Orton. They once again beat down a bad team, which is what good teams have to do. They shot a hole in the terribly inane thinking that they couldn't win in Kansas City in December, and they strengthened their hold on the 5th seed in the playoffs. Helping matters, the Steelers and Ravens both lost to fall to 6-6, so their two competitors who beat them head-to-head lost some ground. I fully expect Jacksonville to choke, and I am starting to think that Miami is going to sneak into the 6th spot, actually.

In any case, the Broncos are in a pretty good place right now. Peter King declared them to be toast two weeks ago, done, kaput. On Monday, he called them a psycho team, and ranked them 10th in the Fool 15. I am still feeling good about this Indianapolis game, and I am sure that the Broncos match up pretty well with the Colts. Coverage is the only way to beat them, and the Broncos are back to covering as well as anybody. I fully expect the Broncos to run for 150 yards against the Colts too, if they can keep the score within striking distance.

It's a good Tuesday to be a Broncos fan. Our team is in in the midst of a season which we can only consider to be a success up until this point. They've come together as a team, learned how to win close games against good teams, learned how to blow out bad teams, and figured out their brand new schemes. They've seemingly bought into one of the main Patriots mantras, that Durability is more important than Ability. Everybody is working hard to Do Their Job. This is when it's good to be a fan of a team, and when it's good to be a fan of a team, it's great to be alive.

2. Information From My Eyes - Denver at Kansas City

a. Kyle Orton had a C+ game, but I felt like all three turnovers he committed were a result of him being somewhat greedy. He's supposed to be the guy who checks it down when nothing is there, isn't he? I hope that film provides a good reminder for him to do so.

b. Knowshon Moreno improves every week, and he's really looking decisive lately. You can tell that he has had a big dose of Bobby Turner's foot in his backside this year. For a pick I didn't love when it was made, I have really come to be happy with Knowshon.

c. I was pretty worried during Kansas City's 20 play first quarter drive, because the tackling and gap discipline looked pretty bad. The Broncos sure stiffened by the goal line, though, and they set the tone for the rest of the game's defensive performance.

d. I meant to talk about setting the edge last week, but I forgot to. My brother Chris felt that Matt Millen made too much of the concept during the Broncos-Giants game, but I disagree, because it's all-important to the way the Broncos run the ball, and the way they defend against the run. The Broncos have been fanstastic in their own running game with setting the edge the past two games, led by Daniel Graham. He is getting out and winning his battles outside, and giving the runners a sealed edge to run inside of. Many of Correll Buckhalter's big runs on Sunday came just inside of Graham.

On defense, the idea is the same, but the defender wants to push the edge man back into the inside, and close off the outside lane. Mario Haggan has been doing this as well as any LB in the NFL this season. He has really found his niche as a physical, upfield run player. Ryan McBean makes a lot of plays in this way, as well.

Winning the physical battles at the edge is the key to everything for the Broncos, and they lost those battles during the losing streak. Since they've gotten back to winning, it's been no accident that they're winning at the edge on both sides of the ball.

e. The kick return where Eddie Royal faked a reverse to Brandon Marshall was interesting. I expect to see them actually hand that off one of these weeks.

f. Alphonso Smith needs to knock off the sucker penalties.

g. Spencer Larsen is an appreciably better blocker than Peyton Hillis. He just thumps guys, and it goes well with the work that Graham and Richard Quinn are doing at TE.

h. Tony Scheffler had a huge 3^rd down drop in 2^nd Quarter, and it was exactly the kind of play that has prevented the Broncos from being an elite offense. You have to make plays when they are available to be made. At least Scheffler blasted the return man on the ensuing punt.

i. Tamba Hali is a good fit for the 3-4, as I have been saying since the preseason. He's aggressive, quick, strong, and as a lifelong down DE, he has very good technique. The first sack he got on Ryan Clady was all technique. The Broncos did take advantage of Hali's aggressiveness on both TD passes, though, and also on the 49 yard bubble screen that Brandon Marshall had.

j. I saw where somebody said we should thank Phildelphia for Brian Dawkins and Correll Buckhalter. Miami is due a thank you card for Andre Goodman and Renaldo Hill, as well. If Goodman were just a little better tackler, I'd be even happier, but everybody should have noticed by now that the ball just seems to find its way into his hands.

k. Matt Prater has developed into one of the best kickers in the NFL. It's time we all realize that, and appreciate his work.

l. My biggest problem with Mitch Berger is that he takes too long to get the ball off. He had yet another seeing-eye punt on Sunday, which inexplicably missed a dead-to-rights block. Upgrading the punter position has to be a huge priority in the offseason.

m. It was great to see Peyton Hillis running the ball again, and he reminded the world that he can do some damage with it. Hopefully, the performance will get him some snaps on offense, because he clearly has something to contribute.

n. I really like Darcel McBath as a matchup safety. He is always around the ball when he is on the field, and I think his pick was a triumph of player evaluation. Draftniks considered him a reach, but he was hard to spot on some abysmal Texas Tech defensive units. He clearly has the goods, though; it jumps off the screen at you.

3. Information From My Eyes - Other games

a. I watched most of the San Francisco-Seattle game, and you know that means I will have some Alex Smith thoughts. He played great on Sunday, and did everything the team needed from him to win, short of missing one open receiver on a deep out in the 4^th quarter. It was the first 300 yard passing game of his career, and it should have been a lot more. His teammates dropped at least 9 passes in the game, including 3 TDs, by Delanie Walker, Vernon Davis, and Michael Crabtree.

b. Speaking of Smith, I meant to clear up an uttlerly stupid comment made by the always-brilliant Solomon Wilcots during last week's game. The head cold I was feeling made me forget to mention it, I guess. Wilcots noticed that the 49ers were (smartly) using Smith in the shotgun very frequently, and he said (I'm paraphrasing) that Smith was very comfortable, because he had used the exact same offense throughout college.

That's very interesting, Saruman, except, he didn't. This gets to my constant annoyance about the term "Spread Offense." There is no one monolithic spread offense. There are college teams which do some similar things formationally, with a lot of WRs, and many plays with the QB taking snaps from the shotgun, but the actual plays vary greatly. The 49ers aren't doing anything that is much like the Urban Meyer offense he played in at Utah. There are no option plays, and no shovel passes. The pass routes are actually tending to be much more horizontal and timed than the stuff he did in college.

A bunch of WRs and a shotgun setup does not mean you're playing a "spread offense," and saying that you're playing a "spread offense" doesn't mean the same thing from one place to the next. Smith is most comfortable in his footwork and reads from the shotgun, and he has time to get the ball out before he gets crushed behind the Niners terrible O-line. Smith has been sacked only once in the last 2 games. My only concern is that they've abandoned the run too much, and need to stick to it much more.

c. I remember thinking that Seattle looked pretty good against the Broncos in the preseason, but as I watched the game today, I was thinking that I really don't like the way their team is constructed. They have 3 terribly overpaid guys at WR (Deion Branch, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and Nate Burleson), and not much talent at RB or on the offensive line. The only players I really like at all on their defense are Brandon Mebane and Aaron Curry. They have a lot of money invested in Lofa Tatupu and Leroy Hill at LB, but I think both guys are just solid players (Tatupu is currently hurt, obviously.) I think they ought to go to a 3-4, if they can get a good NT in the offseason. (A few should be available.) The guy they have, Colin Cole, is more of a backup caliber guy. They could stand up Patrick Kerney, and use Curry in a blitzing role, which he is best suited for. Of course, their secondary will still be lousy, unless they address it.

d. Chad Henne looked really good on Sunday. I had the Miami-New England game on the smaller TV, during the Broncos game, and just about every time I looked over, he was making a play for his team. If he keeps it up, he'll be able to easily afford tattoo removal before too long.

e. ST&NO favorite Sean Smith had an interesting game on Sunday. He gave up an 81 yard TD to Sam Aiken on a play where he had perfect bump and run coverage but didn't find the ball in the air, and fell down trying. Later, he got beaten by Aiken on a double move, and Tom Brady overthrew him by about a foot. He got beat on a perfectly covered play, and got lucky on a busted coverage play. Such is the nature of being a CB playing a lot of man-to-man. By the way, Smith continues to look like he'll have a long career as one of the best man coverage players in the NFL.

f. I really liked what the Giants did on defense Sunday against Dallas, and I picked them based upon some moves I heard about during the week. For one thing, they moved a good CB, Aaron Ross, to FS, and benched the abysmal C.C. Brown. For another, they took a big-name guy, Osi Umenyiora, out of the starting lineup, and replaced him with Mathias Kiwanuka. Osi struggles against the run, and the Broncos continually ran at him on Thanksgiving night. The Giants correctly identified their top priority as containing the Dallas running game, and made the move to the stouter Kiwanuka.

The effect was that both guys played really well. Umenyiora was actually used quite a bit in coverage, and he did pretty well. He's really a lean, athletic guy, and he did well in that role. He also recovered a key fumble, and returned it for a bunch of yards. The Giants held the Cowboys to 45 yards rushing on 23 carries, and it's the primary reason they won the game.

g. Don't give too much credence to this "Tony Romo/Wade Phillips can't win in December" stuff. Romo, particularly, played pretty well Sunday, and the loss wasn't on him. It was on a few defensive breakdowns which led to big plays, and the aforementioned lack of an effective running game.

Remember the one about correlation not necessarily reflecting causality? There is a real danger to putting too much stock in facts which Peter King insists on incorrectly referring to as factoids. The December record for the Cowboys the past few years is a case in point. It doesn't necessarily foretell what will happen this year, and even if the Cowboys lose a bunch of games this month, it may have nothing to do with the month. Remember, a football game is an independent event, which is comprised of many individual independent events. What happened in the past is meaningless.

h. Another example of this foolishness with meaningless statistics, while we're at it, was any credence being put into the fact that the Broncos were 1-16 all-time in Kansas City, during the month of December. Where to begin with this?

Well, in the most obvious place, of considering the significance of recency. If no players or coaches (or even owners) remain from the time when a game was played, that game has no meaning. A game in 1972 was played between the Chiefs and the Broncos, but not THESE Chiefs and Broncos. A rational person realizes that that game may as well have been between any two teams.

Another idea I had about this, that I wanted to share, harkens back to my days as a Finance major at THE Cleveland State University. There was a required class, Financial Markets and Institutions, which was really a BS class. It was taught by a really overweight, smelly, tenured professor who breathed really heavily, and the dude didn't ever teach anything, ever.

The class met in a computer lab, and consisted of 4 group analysis projects. We were given a bunch of parameters of a hypothetical economic environment, and we had to choose the 3-year period of the last 30 years, which was most predictive of the behavior of whatever financial instrument we were analyzing. We then used data from that 3 year period to analyze and project the performance of that instrument, and built a 6 slide PowerPoint discussing quantitative and qualitative reasons for our analysis. That was a 4 credit class.

Anyway, I was thinking that a reasonable thing to do might be to look into whether there was ever a time in semi-recent history where the two teams profiled like these two do, AND they played a game at Arrowhead in December. I didn't find any instances where the Broncos were a playoff caliber team, the Chiefs were a complete doormat, and the schedule played out this way. You could say I was not surprised at all by Sunday's result.

i. Chris Johnson is very dangerous, but I am not one of these people who is jumping up to call him the best RB in the NFL. For one thing, I think he makes the Titans a finesse running team. They do a ton of zone blocking for him, and he runs to the edges all the time, but without the kind of one-cut decisiveness that Broncos runners have always been coached into employing. Really, Johnson is a bit over-patient, in my opinion, and it's his exceptional burst and speed that let him mostly get away with it. I also continue to have my doubts about Johnson's ability to handle the heavy workload he gets, over a number of years. The Titans would be smart to get a legitimate second guy to take one third of the carries, because they apparently don't think LenDale White is that guy.

j. The Titans blew one on Sunday, and the way they did makes me feel even better about the Broncos' prospects for winning in Indianapolis next week. At halftime, the Titans had 2 more yards, and 6 more minutes of time of possession than the Colts, and Indianapolis led 24-10. The Titans also had 2 turnovers. Nate Washington dropped a perfect deep ball. There were plays available to be made, and the Titans failed to make them.

k. I watched the Steelers debacle against the Raiders, and all I can pin their problems on is missing Troy Polamalu. I think their defensive play-calling is less aggressive without Polamalu, and they're letting QBs have more time to throw the ball than the Steelers are known for doing. Bruce Gradkowski had some real good chances to get the ball downfield at times. It just gets back to the concept of a defense needing all its parts to be effective.

l. This stuff about Gradkowski being the answer for the Raiders is silly. He's a solid backup, and a try-hard guy, but he's not a starter for a winning football team. He lacks accuracy and arm strength, isn't particularly mobile, and just looks kind of underwhelming when you watch him.

m. Everybody knows I am generally not the biggest D.J. Williams lover, and I am going to reveal a closely held secret today, since I wanted to make this a smoker. My main problem with D.J. always has been that he isn't Steven Jackson. Back in 2004, I was fired up for the Broncos to draft Jackson, and a lot of Mel Kipers thought they would. They had just traded Clinton Portis, and I wanted a new RB.

When the Broncos took D.J., I was mad, my brother Chris will tell you. No matter what he ever does, I may not get over it. Anyway, I believe that Jackson is having the best season of any RB in the NFL this season, if you consider his circumstances. He has no QB, no line, not much at WR, and he continues to produce at a very high level. He's still only 26 years old, and he continues to be a great player.

n. Cedric Benson was back to his workhorse ways this week, and Larry Johnson was back to sitting on the bench. I continue to be impressed with the run blocking of Bengals LT Andrew Whitworth. He was a star at LSU, and was believed to be more of a guard, which is why he went in the second round. He has been blowing guys off the ball, though, as a LT. He's been similar to Jake Long, but better this season.

o. Matthew Stafford is clearly a tremendously tough kid, because he's been getting killed every week for the Lions, and he keeps coming back. He has a ways to go from a decision-making perspective, but he has to have the respect of his teammates, and you can't minimize the importance of that to a QB.

p. A lot has been made of the Michael Vick sighting in Atlanta, but the truth of the story is that he played a lot of garbage snaps in a blowout. The best thing you can say about him is that he showed he still has good run skills, and decent throwing skills. He completed both of his throws, but the long ball was kind of a duck thrown into a crowd, where Reggie Brown made a play on the ball. I do think he's going to get a look in a place like Carolina, which has no prospect of drafting a QB early.

q. Some pundit in the ESPN-o-sphere was recently trying to hypopulate that the Falcons were better off with Chris Redman at QB than Matt Ryan. As much of a non-fan of Ryan as I am, that's stupid. There's a good reason Redman was out of the league for more than 3 years, and that it took nepotism from his college coach, Bobby Petrino, to bring him back. He's been solid in some of his appearances, but there's no team in the NFL right now, for whom he is an upgrade over their starter.

r. If you remember back to the 2008 Draft, no WR was selected in the first round, and the first one chosen was Donnie Avery by the Rams. All the draftniks called Devin Thomas the best prospect, and had him going in the first round, and he eventually went one pick after Avery, 34^th.

He's playing fantastic football lately, and his rise really kind of started in the Denver game. Thomas is showing the qualities of a number 1 WR, and whoever his coach is next year, he is really going to benefit from it. Having a big, physical outside player like Thomas opens up the field for a guy like Santana Moss. Washington's recent offensive improvement has a lot to do with the light bulb going on for Thomas.

s. Percy Harvin didn't actually play RB at the University of Florida, and as a UF alum, Cris Collinsworth should know that. Collinsworth was trying to say that Harvin never ran any routes in college, and that couldn't be further from the truth. He didn't exactly run a full tree, but he ran many crossing routes, slants, and go routes. He has incredible run skills for an outside player, but he's a natural WR, make no mistake about it.

t. I hadn't gotten a look at Kurt Warner's wife in awhile, and she seems to have really upgraded her hair-sylist over the years. Back when Kurt won a Super Bowl, she looked like the kind of mom I would see wearing mom jeans, dragging around a bunch of kids at Wal-Mart, if I shopped at Wal-Mart. It's okay to wear mom jeans and shop at Wal-Mart, lest I offend anybody who does, but it's different for the MVP's wife.

u. Do these Gap ads with dancing beautiful people doing cheerleader cadences and wearing plaid make anybody want to go buy plaid clothing? I am interested in marketing and advertising, so if you're a ST&NO reader who finds those ads effective, I'd appreciate you saying so in the comments. My hypothesis is that they don't work well for anybody who reads this column.

v. My other holiday season advertising analysis is as follows: I think the Best Buy caroling store clerks suck, but at least people who watch football tend to buy stuff at Best Buy. I bet they're trying to snag a wife or two with those ads. The Open Hearts collection at Kay Jewelers is of very little interest to the average male football fan, who tends not to care about Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman's mommy's trite advice. Kay ought to stick to their ads which say, "Your wife will give you some incremental action for a couple weeks, if you buy her a diamond. The bigger th diamond, the more action." It communicates the needed psychological message to men better. I do like the Go Forth Levi's ads, and I think they're very effective, vis-à-vis the football watching audience whom they're aired for.

w. The Cardinals are for real, again, and the main reason they are is that they have legitimate stars at every level of their defense. Darnell Dockett has been a star, and Calais Campbell is turning into one at DE. Karlos Dansby is terrific at LB, and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Adrian Wilson are both big-time players too. The underrated guy who I like is Antrel Rolle. He was kind of a bust as a first round CB, but he's terrific as a matchup safety. He's very smart, and can match up man-to-man with inside WRs or TEs. He also has excellent ball skills. The Cardinals could beat any team in the NFL on a day where both their offense and defense are clicking, because their personnel is definitely good enough on both sides of the ball.

x. Watching the Packers version of the 3-4 Monday night, I was struck by the difference between what they're doing, and what the Broncos do. Denver's scheme is much more similar to what the Cardinals, Ravens, and Jets are doing, where the pass rush is fairly conservative, and setting the edge and keeping contain responsibilities is often the main concern. If you watch what the outside rushers do for the Broncos a lot of times, they're not coming full-steam at the QB. Elvis Dumervil, Robert Ayers, and Darrell Reid are often asked to do more wrestling with O-Linemen than they are asked to run around people.

The Packers play more like the Steelers, where they're speed rushing off the edge. The point I am getting to is that Clay Matthews is a great fit for what the Packers are asking him to do, where Ayers is more of a fit for the Broncos scheme, despite his lack of sacks. Ayers has just missed a lot of sacks, and with better technique, he'll get there. He's doing a lot more than running around people, though.

y. Jermichael Finley is enormously talented, and is really starting to come into his own for the Packers. You can see that Aaron Rodgers is really developing a lot of trust in him.

z. The Packers are really protecting Rodgers a lot better than they were in the early part of the season. I've been very critical of Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher both over the past two years, but they've been an upgrade over the bums they replaced. Tauscher even caught his first NFL pass on Monday night, off a deflection.

aa. Rodgers is really starting to remind me of Rich Gannon in his Raiders years. He's so calm, and he goes to the right place with the ball all the time, with accuracy. He's playing as well as any QB in the NFL this season if you consider what he is doing independently.

ab. Lardarius Webb is so dangerous returning kickoffs. The Ravens, again, found a gem in the Draft

ac. Everybody knows I am a Joe Flacco fan, but he needs to remember never to throw the ball late down the middle. The officials tried to give the Ravens the game with all those late pass interference penalties and Flacco blew the game with his late interceptions.

4. Most regulars know that I am a Florida Gators fan, so I was pretty disappointed in the result of the SEC Championship game. Alabama deserved to win, because they made every play that was available for them to make. Florida made plays with very few of their opportunities, and that's what happens.

Anyway, nobody can deny that that game was a bonanza of future NFL players. I wanted to share some thoughts on about 10 guys who I think could go in the first 2 rounds in April, from the two schools.

a. Carlos Dunlap DE Florida Top 5

Mel Kiper downgraded Dunlap to 14^th on his Big Board after his DUI, but that's not going to mean anything when he compares favorably to Mario Williams in testing and measurements. His college film is better too, and he can play in any type of front. He and Ndamukong Suh will be the first two defensive players drafted.

b. Joe Haden CB Florida Top 10

Haden is by far the best CB in the nation. His play was a lonely bright spot for Florida, as he shut down the extremely talented Julio Jones. Haden is fast, fluid, smart, strong, and he has excellent ball skills. He compares as a prospect to Darrelle Revis.

c. Terrence Cody NT Alabama Top 20

He's not fat anymore, and he's covering a lot more space laterally than he did a year ago. His athleticism really flashes for such a huge man, and his strength is terrific. He punked Florida into not even trying to run their dive series. I'm a big fan of this guy.

d. Brandon Spikes ILB Florida Top 20

Spikes is not an elite athlete, but he's an elite player. He's downhill all the time in the running game, and he strikes guys as hard as any college player you'll ever see. He's also as naturally gifted and instinctive in pass coverage as Ray Lewis, and he's a similar type of emotional leader. What intrigues me most at the NFL level with Spikes is his natural pass-rushing skills. He really can get after a QB. He'll only run a 4.65 or 4.7, but he'll be an every down player, and make a bunch of Pro Bowls, trust me.

e. Rolando McClain ILB Alabama Top 20

McClain is big, fast, and smart. He's a bit less of a playmaker than Spikes, and more of a cerebral guy than an emotional one. He'll be a very good 3-4 ILB for many years in the NFL.

f. Tim Tebow QB Florida Top 25

Scouts don't like him that much, but coaches love him. Mike Shanahan, Tony Dungy, and Bill Belichick are all on record as thinking he'll be a big-time QB in the NFL. I am pretty sure the Jaguars are going to take him in the first round if he's on the board. Even Florida Governor Charlie Crist (an FSU guy, actually) was in the media Monday calling for it to happen. There is no doubt in my mind that he can play at the NFL level, despite his divergence from norms. He's the second coming of Donovan McNabb to me.

g. Aaron Hernandez TE Florida First Round

Hernandez is a junior, and he's not a huge or great in-line blocker. He's a tremendously gifted receiver though, as good as any who has been draft-eligible in many years. He is extremely dangerous after the catch, which is rare for a guy his size (6-2, 250.)

h. Javier Arenas CB Alabama Second Round

I really like Arenas as a CB, but I love him as a return man. I think he projects as a solid #2 CB, and a Pro Bowl caliber special teams player. His short, stout build works against him as a CB, but for him as a ball carrier.

i. Riley Cooper WR Florida Second Round

Who? He's the tall white guy who has been wearing #11 the past two years. (He wore #86 the first two, when he was primarily a special teamer.) He's been called the fastest Gator in a 60 yard dash, and as Gary Danielson noted on Saturday, nobody seems to be able to cover him, especially when they try to press him. Cooper had his way with Arenas several times, and he dominated Patrick Robinson from Florida State the week before. He's 6-3, 215 pounds, and very strong, which he puts to use in beating press coverage, and he's a dominant blocker outside. He projects as an outside-the-numbers deep threat type, and special teams ace, and when he runs a 4.35 at the combine, he's going to shoot up boards. The only question is if he'd rather play baseball instead (he's part of the Rangers minor league system already.) I think his future is brighter in football.

j. Jermaine Cunningham DE-OLB Florida Second Round

Cunningham projects as a starter at the NFL level, probably as an OLB in a 30 front. He plays much bigger than his size, and takes on blocks well. He kind of reminds me of Mario Haggan, actually.

k. Mike Johnson G Alabama Second Round

This is the type of guy I'd like to see the Broncos take in the second round. He is a strong and experienced drive blocker.

You can add in a few more Gators too, who seem less likely to declare at this moment, if they do. The Pouncey twins, Mike and Maurkice, project as late first or second round picks as interior offensive linemen, and S Major Wright looks like a second rounder to me.

5. I meant to mention this last week too, and I wanted to make the point. Matt Millen was a terrible general manager, but he is an outstanding in-game color analyst. There is nobody on TV who adds more value to a fan's understanding of what is going on than Millen does.

During the Broncos-Giants game, he pointed out how Kyle Orton was calling out the Mike. The average fan doesn't know what a Mike is, so Millen mentioned that it generally means Middle Linebacker. He also went on to mention that the reason Orton is calling out a Mike is to communicate to the protection that that player is the fifth player to account for. A lot of times it was a defensive back, but Orton was communicating who he thought was the most likely fifth rusher.

After the Monday night game, he was talking about how the Packers have shored up their protection, particularly against the double A-gap blitzing that Baltimore loves to do. It's a little bit hard to separate the man from his art, but you have to. He's outstanding on TV, and should be listened to.

My friend Tony from Norwich sent me this link last week, where the Sporting News rated the best sportscasters. I found it interesting, so I thought I'd share it, since it's germane to this rant. I think they have some total losers on their list, primarily Al Michaels, Verne Lundquist, Dan Fouts, and Mike Patrick. Lundquist is the worst play-by-play man ever, if you ask me.

Just prior to the start of the SEC Championship Debacle, Verne was getting down to business. Paraphrasing, he said, "I don't know what Alabama is doing, but Javier Arenas isn't on the field to return this kick." As number 28 warmed up on the TV screen, waiting for the kick to arrive. I threw my Gator hat across the room, and Tweeted:

He misidentifies players constantly, and gets a lot of rules-related topics wrong too. Gary Danielson is excellent, but Verne is a 9,000 ton anchor dragging him down.

6. I got a reader email which forced to be a little introspective last week, and I need to address something real quick, as a result of it. The reader didn't sign the message, but the crux of it was that he/she felt like I am really full of myself, and that that was "repugnant." (Repugnant was his/her actual word.)

I didn't thnk I would ever need to do this, but I am going to explain the central concept of ST&NO, so there's clarity among us all. The premise of this feature, for which I am sure I have written well over 100,000 words during the past year, is that insightful analysis can be, and should be, combined with humor, personality, and entertaining writing. Every week, that's what I try to bring to the table, and I work hard to make this a coherent, continuous, unified narrative, which everybody can feel like they're part of.

Now, I am definitely not known for false humility. What good does it do to pretend to lack self-awareness, for the comfort of insecure people? I know my work is very good, and if I didn't think it was, I think I'd be an A-clown to spend so much time on it. Everybody who does this has some ego about their work, believe me.

Believe it or not, watching 6 games on a Monday night, and then writing for 6 hours after that, after working all day, can get pretty boring and tiresome. It is work, just like what I do in my office all day. I choose to do this work because you, my readers, reaffirm that you want to read it every week. It's not worth the effort to just do it for myself.

Now, understand that I'm not going to change anything, really. Not being Joe Milquetoast is frankly a subtle part of the humor of ST&NO, and it's a true picture of who I am as a person. I'm not at all meek, and I'm not looking to inherit the Earth, or any other damn thing. I'm here to work hard and personally earn what I get. When I say I am a high-talent, high-work ethic accountant, it's because that is a demonstrable fact. You'll recall that I said it as part of a larger point about football and the media environment. I have thought all week about whether I am inappropriately arrogant, and I really think that the answer is no. I think I land in a reasonable place, really, given the givens. So, I am going to keep writing, I am going to keep doing work that I am proud of, and I am going to do it to add value for you, and for future readers who aren't even aware of ST&NO yet. I humbly thank you all for being my readers and commenters, and that was the type of humility that I do value; the genuine kind.

7. Retired for John Elway.

8. Okay, I need to end on a good note, and I am going to bed at 1 AM Cleveland time, on Tuesday morning, so I can think and dream on what that note should be. I'll be back in 5 1/2 hours to finish up, hopefully with a great idea. Ready..... STOP

Okay, I am back. Ready.... BEGIN!!! My alarm wakes me up to the local low-brow morning radio show, Rover's Morning Glory. Through my adventures with the snooze bar, I got to hear a lot of stilted Tiger Woods chatter, because apparently, his wife split, and he had some other blond woman over who left in an ambulance this morning.

He's being an idiot, from the sound of things. I don't know who is advising him; maybe T.O.'s publicist who said he had 25 million reasons to live? Tiger ought to just fess up for everything, like David Letterman. When you're in the mud, you might as well just get everything out there voluntarily, because there's no more incremental damage he could take. If you're Wee-Bey, and you're already going to prison for life for six murders, you might trade copping to a few more for a sandwich. The number ceases to matter, as long as it all comes out now.

Tiger's reputation is fried in this moment, so he might as well say, look, yes, I was out fooling around with a lot of other women. I am not even sure how many, but it was more than several. This is a flaw in my character which I am working hard to overcome. Elin and I appreciate you giving us the benefit of some privacy, as we work through a very hard time in each of our lives. (Then, you quit having women over for awhile, and even if you don't, you make sure none of them leave your house in an ambulance.)

By not deflating the story with an "it was a lot / I have a problem" blanket statement, Tiger is letting each new revelation, by each self-serving former mistress, hurt him individually. Duji, the radio chick, was saying there are 10 who have now been identified. That's really not that many, if you're just a regular guy who is serious about philandering. A very average man could do that in a couple months, pretty easily. If you're Tiger Woods, you could have 10 in about 3 days.

Remember the haters? Well, a lot of people love to hate Tiger. He's there with Roger Federer, Derek Jeter, Tom Brady, and Jeff Gordon in that way, as guys who are so talented, and so polished that relatively untalented and unpolished people are apt to hate them. (Gordon ought to have a Gillette commercial, too. I bet they figure people who like Gordon already use good shaving equipment.) It's really an ugly trait, to root for the failure of the most talented people, but a lot of people do it. Let's drag everybody down to our own level.

Tiger needs to go on Oprah or Letterman (probably Letterman is better, given the circumstances.) If he gets all the way clean, and then disappears off the public radar for a few months, this can be stopped pretty effectively. The TMZ's and their ilk will still try to keep it going, but it will fade pretty quickly when there is no new news. Letterman already isn't being actively cast as a philanderer. Tiger can come back in the spring, with a pre-packaged narrative about how these trying times have caused him to re-invest himself in his golf game, win a few tournaments (people will perceive him to have slipped, even though he was recently playing fine), and turn this into a redemption story. Americans love redemption stories, after all.

That's all I have for this week, friends. Have a great one, and as always, tell me what you think in the comments. ST&NO may be ending for now, but the discussion is just beginning.

New York Giants notes: Bill Sheridan, master motivator

Ed Valentine — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:00:33 -0000

You know all that stuff we have been saying about New York Giants defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan not knowing how to motivate his troops? Forget it. At least for one week, anyway.

Check this out.

The Giants' embattled defensive coordinator, Bill Sheridan, tore a page from a 1,500-year-old script to try to inspire his beleaguered unit on the eve of the most important game of the season.

"Coach Sheridan read us an excerpt from the speech that Leonidas delivered to the troops before they went out (to battle)," said Giants nose tackle Barry Cofield. "It was eerie how much it applied to our situation and it was very inspirational."

Giants-Cowboys isn't exactly the Battle of Thermopylae, and Tony Romo isn't quite Xerxes, but desperate times calls for inspiration from an ancient Greek source. And if reading excerpts of a speech that King Leonidas delivered to the 300 Spartans under his command before they faced a Persian force of 80,000 is what it takes, then so be it.

"It was inspirational, to say the least," Cofield said. "(Sheridan) always pulls little things out like that but this was the best one ever."

This news, of course, sent me scurrying around the Inter-Google for Leonidas quotes. I have no idea what exact passage Sheridan read, but these are some of my favorites.

"This is where we fight! This is where they die!"
"The world will know that free men stood against a tyrant, that few stood against many, and before this battle was over, that even a god-king can bleed."
"We Spartans have descended from Hercules himself. Taught never to retreat, never to surrender. Taught that death in the battlefield is the greatest glory he could achieve in his life."

OK, now I'm all pumped up. How about you?

Here are a few other Giants notes making the rounds this morning.

Brandon Jacobs turns game into win for Giants, but calls his leadership 'terrible'

"I think my ability to lead this team has been absolutely terrible. I have to pick myself up as the leader of this football team and take more responsibility on myself," Jacobs said following Big Blue's 31-24 victory over the Cowboys. "Vocally I felt like I wasn't where I was supposed to be, and guys weren't responding to me because I wasn't really trying that hard.

"I came into today's game, into this week, being more of a vocal leader and getting guys up on the offense and the defense ... the first half I did my best to keep our defense and our offense in it even though we were down 10-0. And we all came back."

Osi Umenyiora: 'Extremely painful' to not start in game against Cowboys

"It hurt for a little while," Umenyiora said in his first comments since his benching was publicly announced on Friday. "It was extremely painful, to be honest with you, because I am a man with tremendous pride."

Umenyiora said he is fine with staying in his current role and will do whatever the Giants want him to do. He also credited (ex-Giant Lavar) Arrington, who retired after barely surviving a motorcycle accident in 2007, with lifting his spirits on the morning of the game. "I realized I'm alive, I'm making a great living and I get to still go out there and play football," Umenyiora said. "Whatever they want me to do, I am going to go out there and do. I have no quarrels with anybody. Something obviously needed to be done. They made the change and we won the game. If we keep making changes like that and winning games every week, I'm 100% for it."

Tiki Barber greeted with boos, cheers from crowd at Giants game

"Whatever it is, it's appropriate," Barber said before walking out onto the field. "It's how the fans feel. I have been booed mercilessly in this stadium before. But also cheered heroically. I have appreciated both, because the fans always expected good from me."

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

'Kudos & Wet Willies:' Return of the Giants edition

Ed Valentine — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:00:23 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

New York Giants cornerback Kevin Dockery (35) and wide receiver Derek Hagan (80) congratulate wide receiver Domenik Hixon (87), left, after he ran a 79-yard punt return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, Dec. 6, 2009.

Browse more photos »

Lots of praise to dole out on the morning after our New York Giants rescued their season Sunday with a 31-24 victory over the arch-rival Dallas Cowboys.

This was an inspiring victory that begged only one real question. Where has this kind of passionate, determined effort been for the past six weeks?

Anyway, I will never figure that one out. So, on with the 'Kudos & Wet Willies.'

'Kudos' to ...

Bill Sheridan: He has been getting killed around these parts for weeks as the defense under-performed. Today, the beleaguered defensive coordinator deserves some praise. We knew going into the game Sheridan was going to make lots of lineup changes. Well, he did and for the most part they worked beautifully. The Giants rotated a lot of people, and guys like Jonathan Goff, Clint Sintim and Mathias Kiwanuka all played well with increased time. Sheridan stacked the line of scrimmage and the Giants allowed Dallas just 45 rushing yards. Only two sacks of Romo on the day, but he was harassed and hit often as the Giants seemed to do a better job than they have all season of dialing up well-designed blitzes at good times. Maybe there is hope for Sheridan yet.
Kevin Gilbride: The other beleaguered coordinator also deserves some praise. Still only 13 carries for Jacobs, but Gilbride stuck with the run enough early on to open up some play-action stuff later on. On, and there were a few minor changes I a couple of run formations and personnel packages that helped the Giants pound out some tough yards when they needed them.
Brandon Jacobs: The longest play of his career -- a 74-yard touchdown -- came Sunday on a simple pass into the flat. Jacobs, incidentally gave a lot of credit to Darcy Johnson for his downfield blocking on the touchdown. Only 39 yards rushing on 13 carries for Jacobs, but he did run hard, dish out some punishment and barrel his way into the end zone in a goal-line situation.
Steve Smith: A typical six catches for Smith. A very un-typical 110 yards (18.3 yards per catch). Smith is a master at getting open and catching the ball, but those catches are usually followed by Smith immediately crumpling to the ground. Not Sunday. He had a 36-yard catch and run, mostly run, and a handful of other plays where he got big chunks or yardage after a catch. Since the Giants won, and we are giving Smith 'Kudos,' we won't talk about that ball he dropped in the end zone.
Aaron Rouse: Twelve tackles and a sack for the Green Bay reject. Rouse is looking more and more like another one of those brilliant in-season pickups by General Manager Jerry Reese. I don't know for sure what went wrong for Rouse in Green Bay, but he seems to be getting better and better as the weeks go by with the Giants. He was tremendous Sunday.
Domenik Hixon: We have been begging for a big special teams play for weeks, and Hixon finally delivered with a game-changing 79-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Terrell Thomas and C.C. Brown: I am putting these two guys together, and I am even amazing myself that I am including Brown. Even though Romo passed for 392 yards, I thought these two guys were fabulous, especially in run support. Thomas had 10 tackles, Brown had nine and there weren't any blown assignments.
Barry Cofield: We have been begging for a push from the middle of the defensive line, and Cofield provided it Sunday. Only three tackles, but a couple of those were for losses and Cofield was a disruptive presence in the middle for the entire game.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: There are several other guys who could be on this list. They include Mathias Kiwanuka (six tackles and a forced fumble), Ahmad Bradshaw (a couple of big runs after his first-half fumble), Goff (who held up just fine in the middle of the defense) and Michael Boley (11 tackles). Give Osi Umenyiora credit, too, for playing hard, coming up with a fumble recovery and not complaining to the press because he didn't start.

Wet Willies to ...

Corey Webster: Tony Romo threw three touchdown passes, and Webster was the defender on all three of them. Two of those were to Roy Williams, the type of tall, physical receivers who seems to give Webster trouble.
Chris Canty: Got a start at defensive tackle against his old team, and had no impact. In fact, the $42 million free agent did nothing. He didn't even get his name in the stat sheet.
Eli Manning: I really hate to give this one out, but I feel like I have to. Eli was just 11-for-25 for 241 yards. He threw two touchdown passes, but one was mostly due to Brandon Jacobs' tremendous individual effort and the other was a terrific catch by Hakeem Nicks on a ball Eli threw late. Manning threw a bad pick in the second half when he just tossed a ball up for grabs in the end zone, and badly missed a wide open Steve Smith on a deep ball in the fourth quarter. Not his worst game, especially since he was under duress much of the time, but he can play better.
Flozell Adams: Do I even have to talk about it? This guy is a moron who deserves a suspension. Enough said.

Final - 12.6.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
Dallas Cowboys	0	10	7	7	24
New York Giants	0	14	7	10	31

Complete Coverage >

The Linc - Vick tops a list, Umenyoria gets demoted, & Georgia Eagles

JasonB — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 18:00:22 -0000

by Matt Slocum - AP

19 days ago: Bernard Hopkins, left, of Philadelphia, poses with Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick after Hopkins' non-title light heavyweight boxing match against Enrique Ornelas, of Mexico, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009, in Philadelphia. Hopkins won in 12 rounds with a unanimous decision. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

View full size photo »

Homecoming For Five UGA Eagles - Philadelphia Eagles
Michael Vick isn't the only Eagles' player with a homecoming of sorts on tap this Sunday when the team travel south to play the Atlanta Falcons. For Will Witherspoon, Chris Clemons, Sean Jones, Reggie Brown and Max Jean-Gilles, the trip to the Georgia dome will be a return to the state where they played their college football. All five players went to the University of Georgia - the biggest collection of players from one college on the Eagles' roster.

KSMU - Nixa Schools Changing Logo Due To Trademark Concerns
The Nixa Public School district is taking a proactive step to avoid a possible trademark infringement lawsuit. The school’s current eagle athletic logo is identical to the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles logo, with just the colors changed.

Eagles Notes: An opportunity for Reggie Brown
"He's a good player," Avant said, "and I heard one guy say if Reggie Brown is your third or fourth receiver on the team, that group is pretty good. But he's a No. 1 guy no matter where he goes, and he has the opportunity to prove it again."

It appears that Osi's been demoted - NFC East Blog - ESPN
Greetings from Manhattan, where folks are abuzz about the news that Giants Pro Bowl defensive end Osi Umenyiora may have been demoted for Sunday's game against the Cowboys.

Eagles' penalties; Giants demoting Osi? | Philly | 12/05/2009
Before the season, if I would have predicted that Winston Justice would play well and get a four-year extension, and Umenyiora would get demoted, well, you likely would have stopped reading MTC. Crazy how things play out in this league.

ESPN The Mag: In Vick's own words - NFC East Blog - ESPN
Eagles quarterback Michael Vick showed up at No. 13 on ESPN The Magazine's list of the top 100 stories of the year. In a story from the Dec. 14 issue, Vick opens up about what it's like to have transitioned from prison to the NFL.