SB Nation - Madison Hedgecock

Texans Five on Five: Week 15 Edition

Jake — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:04:52 -0000

The Houston Texans picked up some momentum last week by trouncing the Seahawks 34-7. They'll try to keep that drive going on Sunday when they travel to St. Louis to play the struggling Rams. Remember last year when the Texans were coming off an emotional victory and played the struggling Raiders? Let's avoid the quintessential letdown game. Here's the five matchups I feel are the most pivotal to make that happen.

1. Amobi Okoye vs. Jason Brown - Brown rode his success in Baltimore to a lucrative contract with the Rams in the offseason. Now Brown finds himself on an island with the recent release of talented but impetulant guard Richie Incognito. Okoye has gone a long way to undo the "bust" label this yearl, but now it's time to start proving that he is going to take the next step. Look for Okoye to penetrate through a reworked interior line for the Rams.

2. Mike Karney vs. DeMeco Ryans - As people focus on the stellar rookie season of Brian Cushing, Ryans is quietly having a Pro Bowl year. Meanwhile, Steven Jackson is having the best season since 2006, even with the revolving door at quarterback this season. The Rams released talented fullback Madison Hedgecock early in 2007, which coincided with 4.1 yards per carry and an average of 1,022 yards over 2007 and 2008 despite Jackson being the focal point of the offense. This year, Jackson is averaging 4.5 yards per attempt and already has more than 1,200 rushing yards, largely due to the lead blocking of Karney. Ryans needs to shed the blocks in order to meet Jackson in the backfield and add to the 3 tackles for loss he recorded last week.

3. Bernard Pollard vs. Steven Jackson - With both Marc Bulger and Kyle Boller out, 6th round draft pick ~~Kyle~~ Keith Null will start at quarterback on Sunday. Look for the Rams to screen and check down to Jackson, who is easily their most talented player, often. Pollard showed last week that not only can he tackle in space, but he can jump running back routes and make opposing offenses pay. He also like to knock the piss out of people.

4. Matt Schaub vs. Rams Secondary - Schaub has already shattered his career highs in passing yards, completions and touchdowns this season. Unfortunately, he is also averaging an interception per game. On Sunday he will throw against a secondary that is second to last in the league with only 8 interceptions. Schaub has only had two weeks this year where he didn't throw a pick. If Schaub wants to put this game out of reach and therefore avoid even the possibility of a fourth quarter collapse, he needs to take care of the ball.

5. Texans players vs. Possible Kubiak Firing - Last week the Texans showed that they don't want to see head coach Gary Kubiak get fired. Andre Johnson not only made a public plea for Kubiak, but he also showed on the field that he flourishes under the offensive minded coach. The quickest way to put Kubiak in jeopardy is to lay an egg against a one win team. Hopefully the players continue to give Kubiak a stay of execution.

Texans vs Rams coverage

Run, Giants run! Or, why can't the Giants run anymore?

Ed Valentine — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:00:13 -0000

More photos » by Chris O'Meara - AP

What is wrong with the New York Giants running game? Plenty, but one big thing is that we just have not seen enough of this -- Brandon Jacobs with the football.

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What is wrong with the New York Giants' running game? Everyone seems to have an opinion, so here is mine.

I think the answer is two-fold.

The offensive line is not playing as well as it has the past couple of seasons.
Philosophically, the Giants are now a pass-first team and not a 'punish the defense with a physical ground game' first team.

First, let's lay out the numbers.

The Giants are averaging 126.8 yards rushing per game, ninth in the league. That is waaaay down from the league-leading 157.4 per game they averaged in 2008. It is also their worst rushing performance since they averaged just 119 yards per game in 2004. Not coincidentally, that is also the last time the Giants missed the playoffs.

On a per-carry basis, they average 4.3 yards. Respectable, but hardly the dominant 5.0 per carry they ripped off last season.

They have a paltry six rushing plays for 20 or more yards, none for 40 or more. In 2008, they had 24 runs of 20+ and three runs of 40+.

The Offensive Line

We have talked about the offensive line's troubles before. We need to do it again, though, because the disappointing work by the guys up front is a big part of why the Giants have been unable to run consistently. I turned to my newfound favorite stat site, Pro Football Focus, for data on the play of the Giants offensive linemen. As of Saturday, these numbers are still through only 10 games. Yet, good enough to give you an idea what is going on.

The chart below gives you PFF's run-blocking scores for each lineman for 2008 and 2009. I put Madison Hedgecock and Kevin Boss in there because they are key components of the run-blocking schemes.

Player	2008	2009
David Diehl	-4.5	-0.2
Rich Seubert	+18.3	-4.9
Shaun O'Hara	+7.5	+13.5
Chris Snee	+21.2	+14.0
Kareem McKenzie	+7.7	+9.7
Kevin Boss	+5.1	+12.9
Madison Hedgecock	+0.3	-0.9

Anyone else see what I see? Look at Rich Seubert's numbers. Using PFF's method of a zero for doing what is expected, gaining points for doing more than expected and losing points for doing less than expected, Seubert has dropped more than 23 points from last season. Is he hurt? I don't know. I do know Seubert has not been good.

David Diehl is slightly better in 2009 than 2008, but still in negative numbers. So, basically, that means the Giants cannot run to the left. Watch the clip below, and you will notice that Brandon Jacobs likes running left. If the Giants can't block that side, that is a huge problem.

Look a little deeper. I have had the impression that Hedgecock, the blocking fullback, has not been having a great year. PFF's numbers confirm it. When you have a blocking fullback whose numbers as a blocker are below average, that is another huge problem. Even Chris Snee, acknowledged as the best lineman, has good numbers. But, not as good as 2008.

So, the left side of the Giants line is below par in run blocking. And they are not getting good work from the blocking back. A pretty ugly combination.

The philosophy

After Thursday night's blowout loss to the Broncos coach Tom Coughlin had this to say.

"Football to me is that you have to run the ball and stop the run. Those are the first things you do have to do to put yourself in a position to be able to take advantage of the various aspects of your plans and your talent."

I think, overall, Coughlin is a terrific head coach. He has a Super Bowl ring, and I hope he coaches the Giants as long as he wants to. To be brutally honest, though, you have wonder sometimes if those are just words to the veteran head coach. At least in terms of how the Giants approach offense, that is.

I really hate to do this, but I can't help it. Because I can't stop thinking about it. Turn the clock all the way back to 2006, back to the days when Tiki Barber was openly challenging Coughlin and openly questioning the strategy being employed. What was Barber's chief complaint in those days, when John Hufnagel was calling the plays?

His chief complaint was that the Giants abandoned the run too quickly, failing to take full advantage of their best player. Which happened to be Barber.

Fast forward to 2009. What was O'Hara saying to reporters the other day? That he feels the Giants are abandoning the run too quickly.

"I think really as a unit we are probably frustrated with the run game. It has come so easy for us the last few years. Running the football has really been an afterthought. Yeah, we will get six, seven yards, no big deal. We’ll get 150 yards rushing without even blinking an eye. Things are a little bit tougher; it’s tougher sledding.

"The only way, in my eyes, to get back on track is to keep doing it and do it more. I think, as offensive linemen, we are always going to complain that we aren’t running the football enough. That is kind of our M.O. We want to run the ball more. Quarterbacks and receivers, we are going to have discussions with them every single day, they want to throw it, we want to run it. That is a constant battle. I am not going to be happy until we have 35-40 carries in a game."

I will bet you a nickel Tiki enjoyed reading that.

The overall stats leave little doubt that the Giants have gone from balanced to pass happy. They show that the Giants have run the ball an average of 29.8 times per game this season vs. 31.4 last season, a slight difference. Pass attempts, though, are up from 30.7 attempts per game last season to 34.4 per game in 2009. So, in 2009 the Giants are passing the ball 54 percent of the time. In 2008, they passed 49 percent of the time.

It doesn't seem like a big difference, but in truth it is.

Here are the numbers during the last six games, in which we know the Giants have won just once.

Opponent	Passes	Runs
New Orleans	36	19
Arizona	37	26
Philadelphia	39	32
San Diego	33	28
Atlanta	39	26
Denver	40	16

Total them, and that is 224 pass plays, and just 147 running plays, or 60.3 percent passing plays. A far cry from the balance the Giants have always said they strive for in their offense.

Now, a small percentage of that can be explained by the Giants trailing big late in a couple of those games. Yet, that isn't the whole explanation.

During their five-game win streak at the beginning of the season, the Giants ran the ball 180 times and passed it 154, or 54% of the time. Yes, slightly skewed by the blowouts against Tampa Bay and Oakland in which the Giants were running out the clock at the end of the games. Yet, to me, clearly an indication that the Giants are better served when they remember to run the football.

It's plain to see that the Giants have become a team that uses the run to protect the lead, but not to go and get it. Coughlin and Kevin Gilbride quite obviously want to put the ball in the air when the game is in doubt.

What is the big problem with that? The NFL is clearly now a passing league, and analyst after analyst will tell you that you have to throw to score touchdowns.

Sure, except the one offensive player the Giants have who is feared by opposing defenses is the 6-foot-4, 270-pound Jacobs. The guy no one in the league likes to tackle.

During the past six games, Jacobs has averaged just 12.3 carries per game. Sorry, but whether he is running as well as last year or not, offensive line struggles or not, Jacobs cannot do what he is paid to do with that puny workload.

Jacobs' job is to wear out defenses. To set a physical tone and tire out defenders, making it easier for Ahmad Bradshaw or D.J. Ware to find holes late in the game. And for Eli Manning to throw without pass rushers draped all over him.

The Giants are not allowing him to do that. And failing to give Jacobs 18-20 carries per game means they are not playing to their strength, as much as I love Eli and the receiving corps. Remember, too, that Jacobs alone is doling out that physical punishment this season. Derrick Ward was 230 pounds and could also punish defenders. Bradshaw can make them miss, but he can't make them hurt.

TC has been talking a lot lately about winning the physical battle. Well, to do that TC and KG have got to remember to take full advantage of the Giants most physical player.

'Kudos & Wet Willies:' Finally, Giants have a happy Monday

Ed Valentine — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:00:16 -0000

by Bill Kostroun - AP

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) celebrates with center Shaun O'Hara (60) after throwing a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009, in East Rutherford, N.J. The Giants won in overtime, 34-31.

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It often wasn't pretty. It definitely wasn't perfect. But, Sunday's 34-31 overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons was Big Blue's first 'W' in 42 days. 'Kudos' for that. The Giants are 6-4, and have assured themselves that they will continue to be a serious player in the playoff race.

For now, that's all that matters. Read on for this week's 'Kudos & Wet Willies.'

Kudos to ...

Eli Manning: I can't believe this was Manning's first 300-yard passing game at Giants Stadium. But, whatever. It came at a great time. I didn't feel so good about Eli early when he threw that interception and was doing a lot of running for his life. Manning, though, settled in and threw the ball beautifully much of the game. He went 25-for-39 for a career-high 384 yards with three touchdowns (a 111.5 QB rating). Many of those throws were perfectly placed balls squeezed into small spaces. In truth, it is as well as I can remember seeing Eli throw the ball.
MarioSmithHakeemManninghamSteveNicks: Yeah, that's a mess to read -- and to say. I am lumping all three young wide receivers in together, though, because the were all outstanding. And they have become a three-headed monster that teams around the NFL are going to have to deal with for a loooong time. So, yeah, forget all that stuff about the Giants not having any playmakers at the receiver position. They have plenty. Mario Manningham was tremendous, with six catches for 126 yards, including a beautiful 29-yarder in overtime to set up the game-winning field goal. Steve Smith (4 catches, 79 yards) was his usual reliable self AND busted loose for a 51-yard completion -- the missing link in his ascension to stardom. Hakeem Nicks (5 catches, 65 yards) is an absolute stud, who runs nice routes and has terrific hands.
Kevin Boss: We have been waiting ... and waiting .... and waiting for the Bossman to become a primary target in the passing game. Well, Sunday that day arrived. Boss was the answer in the Green Zone, with two touchdown catches. He finished with five catches for a career-best 76 yards, as well. I hope we continue to see more of that.
Michael Boley: You know this game meant a lot to Boley, who left the Falcons last season after unceremoniously being removed from the starting lineup. Sunday Boley showed the Falcons what they gave up, playing his best game as a Giant. In fact, maybe the best game by a Giants outside linebacker in a long time. He finished with 13 tackles and a sack. It also looked to me like Boley was filling some of that emtional leadership void left by the injury to Antonio Pierce.
OsiTuckJustinUmenyiora: Like with the wide receivers, I am lumping the two bookends of the Giants defensive line together. Tuck had a huge game with four tackles, a sack, a fumble recovery and a near interception the one time he dropped into pass coverage. Umenyiora had just one tackle and a fumble recovery, but I thought he was active and made Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan uncomfortable a number of times.
Corey Webster: Webster was all over Roddy White most of the game. He had the kind of game this week we had hoped he would have two weeks ago against San Diego's Vincent Jackson. CW ended up with five -- yes, five -- passes defensed. What I can't figure out is why the Falcons kept testing him.
Aaron Rouse: Nine tackles, including one huge run stop for a loss, and a pass defensed. A debatable penalty for a late hit, sure, but I thought Rouse played well. To this point, he has been a huge upgrade over 'Bad, Bad C.C. Brown.'
Chase Blackburn: Once again proved his value by playing very well in place of Pierce. It's just one game, but so far, so good.
Barry Cofield: It's a good thing Cofield (5 tackles) played probably his best game of the season. The other defensive tackles did pretty much nothing.
Madison Hedgecock: The guy caught a touchdown pass. Shoot, when a fullback gets one of those you have to give him something. A 'Kudos' is the best I can do.

There are probably a handful of other guys who deserve 'Kudos,' but I think that's probably most of them. Let's get on to the bad stuff.

Wet Willies to ...

Defensive tackles not named Cofield: I thought Chris Canty, Rocky Bernard and Fred Robbins were pretty much invisible. Bernard and Robbins might be in the process of playing themselves into different uniforms next season.
Bruce Johnson: The rookie cornerback has been pretty good all season. He got picked on time and time again Sunday, though. On top of that, he had a silly holding penalty that helped Atlanta score a third-quarter touchdown.
The Giants offensive line: I think we have to face the reality that this unit is not the dominant group we watched the past couple of seasons. The names are the same, but the results aren't. They eventually got the pass protection straightened out and Manning was sacked only once, but he spent much of the first half running for his life. And the run-blocking was very sporadic, which shows in the 26-carry, 88-yard (3.4 yards per carry) day the running backs had. The inability to run-block in the Green Zone is still a huge problem. It looks like General Manager Jerry Reese needs to start thinking about some changes to this group for 2010.

Kwillies to ...

A 'Kwillie,' for the uneducated, is a special award that goes to a player who did his level best to keep both teams in the game. I can only think of one Sunday, and he deserves special mention.

Lawrence Tynes: Nailed the game-winner. As he always seems to, he made life harder on the Giants than it had to. But, in the end he got the job done.

One more thing

I didn't quite have a category for the Giants' fourth-quarter defense. That group played well for much of the game, showing energy, generating pressure and covering well.

For the second week in a row, though, they could not get a stop late in the game when they needed one. Some of you want to crucify defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan for that, but I don't. I thought Sheridan tried to stay aggressive with some blitzing, always sending at least four when he did not blitz and not sitting in anything remotely resembling a 'prevent' type defense. At crunch time, though, no one on the defense could step up and make a play. Tony Gonzalez simply made the kind of play at the end of the game that a Hall of Fame tight end makes. And the kind of play no one on the Giants defense seems able to step up and make when it matters.

All in all, though, it's a win. I will take it. Now, it's on to Denver to see if the Giants can get on a roll again.

Final - 11.22.2009	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Atlanta Falcons	0	7	10	14	0	31
New York Giants	3	14	7	7	3	34

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Breaking news: Wilkinson to IR; Giants sign DB

Ed Valentine — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:35:24 -0000

The New York Giants have placed injured linebacker Gerris Wilkinson on Injured Reserve and signed rookie defensive back Dominque 'D.J. Johnson off Denver's practice squad.

Here is Patricia Traina of Inside Football on Johnson.

Johnson, who transferred from Missouri after starting four games as a redshirt sophomore in 2006, was a A 2008 first-team All-SWAC pick after having intercepted 10 passes and deflecting 27 in his first two seasons with the Tigers.

Although the Giants seem pretty much set at corner, my gut feeling is that they brought Johnson on board not only because they play Denver in two weeks, but more importantly because he is a playmakerwho also happens to have experience playing free safety. He also was a standout on special teams for Missouri State, where he played prior to transferring to Jackson State.

Mike Garafolo offered a similar opinion.

Johnson is a corner by trade but played some safety in college. Plus, scouting reports before the draft indicated he might be better suited to play safety. The Giants need safety help, so perhaps that's where he's destined to play.

My take: Now don't go and think this kid will suddenly solve all of the Giants problems at safety, especially immediately. GM Jerry Reese has a history of plucking useful players off other teams during the season, though (think Dave Tollefson, Domenik Hixon, Madison Hedgecock among others). Maybe Johnson turns out to be the next one.

Examining the New York Giants green zone issues

Ed Valentine — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:20:59 -0000

The New York Giants offense needs to remember that green means 'Go.'

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If you are talking about traffic signals green means 'go' and 'red' means 'stop.' That has to be why New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin calls that area inside the opponent's 20-yard line the green zone. Everyone else, of course, calls it the red zone.

The Giants offense seems confused by this whole concept. Maybe the players have forgotten the traffic laws. Maybe they are color blind. Maybe ... ah, maybe ... ah, whatever. Point is, the Giants offense has not done a good job the past couple of seasons taking full advantage of scoring opportunities.

Ernie Palladino has the numbers, pointing out that that the Giants were just 35-of-69 (51%) in green zone situations last season. You know it's an issue. I know it. The coaches know it. The players know it.

"We have to put the ball in the end zone when it is fourth and one. We have to convert the two third and one's," said coach Tom Coughlin (full transcript). "Anytime you are 0-3 in the green zone, obviously you need to get touchdowns instead of field goals. And so we continue to make that a matter of emphasis."

Quarterback Eli Manning summed up the problem this way.

"It is not really a green zone or red zone problem, it is a third and short problem," he said.

So, what is the problem here? The Giants have a 270-pound running back, one of the game's best offensive lines and a terrific blocking fullback. You would think they would be able to jam the ball down an opposing defense's throat and get a yard when they need one.

"We just assume that on third and short we are going to be able to run and be able to get it," said Manning.

Problem with that, to me, is that as good as the Giants offensive line is it is not a power, straight-ahead line. It excels at pulling and working in space, which is not typically the way short-yardage plays are blocked. Also, Brandon Jacobs is not exactly shifty in terms of squeezing into a small crack.

What can be done?

So, I'm not a football coach and Coughlin and offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride know more about this than I do. Here, though, are five suggestions for how the Giants can try to improve this situation.

1. Pass the ball more

From Tom Rock of Newsday, who is rapidly challenging Mike Garafolo and Ralph Vacchiano for the title of my favorite Giants beat writer, comes the play-by-play of the Giants three trips into the green zone against the Redskins.

First Drive
First-and-10 from the 20 -- Pass to Jacobs +8
Second-and-2 from the 12 -- Jacobs run left +1
Third-and-1 from the 11 -- Toss right Bradshaw NG

Second Drive
First-and-10 from the 12 -- Pass to Smith +7
Second-and-3 from the 5 -- Jacobs run right +2
Third-and-1 from the 3 -- Jacobs run left NG
Fourth-and-1 from the 3 -- Jacobs run middle NG

Third Drive
First-and-10 from the 13 -- Holding -10
First-and-20 from the 23 -- Pass to Bradshaw +6
Second-and-14 from the 17 -- Inc. pass to Bradshaw
Third-and-14 from the 17 -- Pass to Bradshaw +7

A penalty stalled the third drive, but the first two were halted by an inability to pick up short yardage while trying repeatedly to simply run over the Redskins' defense. Out of those three drives, the Giants got six points. They could have had 21. Obviously, that would have made a huge difference, turning a fairly close final score into a rout.

I agree with Rock, who advocated more passes in those situations. I would particularly like to see some play-action. Some coaches consider it a sign of weakness if you have to pass to pick up a yard. I don't care, as long as the job gets done.

Manning also hinted at the possibility of passing more.

"We have to throw the ball a little bit more possibly in some of those situations," he said. "But, down there we're a team that is going to be physical, we have a big back, and we should be able to get that surge and should get a first down in those situations."

2. Spread the field

By now, I think the evidence is pretty clear that the Giants don't do their best work in the mano-a-mano 'heavy' formation situations. So, spread the field. Go three wides, even four, move Kevin Boss into the slot. Don't let the entire defense sit in the box and wait for Jacobs to come slamming up the middle. That way, you can run when you are at even strength with the defense.

3. Change the blocking personnel

On the fourth-and-one play where Jacobs got stuffed by Albert Haynesworth and the Redskins, Boss was the lead blocker. Sorry, but that's not gonna work. Boss has become a good edge blocker, but he can't be leading critical plays like that. Where is Madison Hedgecock, who gets paid to do that? Better yet, get one of the tight ends out of there if you choose to go 'heavy' and get an extra offensive lineman in the game. I really don't care which one, but an offensive lineman has a better chance of moving the pile than Boss or Darcy Johnson.

4. Run to the edges

Those kinds of plays, where maybe you can pull a guard, are the kind the Giants line seems to block the best. Maybe it takes a tad longer to develop, which is dangerous in short-yardage, but it is the kind of play the Giants run best. Play to your strength, not your weakness.

5. Ramses Barden and Travis Beckum

I know these two rookies have a ways to go before they earn the trust of the coaching staff. But, these are the types of situations Barden and Beckum were drafted for. Barden is a physical mismatch for any corner in a jump ball situation, and Beckum is a mismatch for most linebackers. As the season unfolds, the Giants need to find ways to take advantage of the talents possessed by these two young guys.

Summary

I don't think the Giants will solve this overnight, and they have proven they can win a lot of games even if they never figure it out. It sure would make things a lot easier, however, if they could take advantage of more of these situations. Hopefully, we will see some of the things I have suggested in future short-yardage situations.

Football Outsiders Almanac, New York Giants, Part III: The offense

Ed Valentine — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:00:16 -0000

More photos » by Mike Groll - AP

New York Giants offensive linemen Shaun O'Hara (60) and David Diehl (66) hit a blocking sled during Giants training camp at UAlbany.

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We continue our look through the 2009 Football Outsiders Almanac summary of our New York Giants with a look at this year's offense.

We have been over and over the wide receiver situation. If you are a Football Outsiders' devotee you know they have done exhaustive research and concluded the Giants were actually better last season without Plaxico Burress than they were with him. I am not going to belabor the receiver issue any further. You can buy the Almanac or download the free Giants chapter if you want to read that portion.

Instead, I thought I would look at some of the other points FOA makes regarding the Giants' offensive success.

The FOA makes the assertion that the group most vital to the success of the 2009 Giants is not the receivers or the running backs. Rather, it is the offensive line.

The place where New York has impressively managed to avoid injury for two years running is on the offensive line. No starter has missed a regular-season game for two seasons. It’s a remarkable accomplishment,
considering that no other team has seen its starting five linemen make it through two consecutive seasons without missing a single start since 2003. In 2002 and 2003, both the Chiefs and the Vikings managed to pull off the feat; neither made it to three years, although the Chiefs’ starters only missed a single game in 2004; the Vikings’ linemen missed 18 games in each of 2004 and 2005.

For the Giants, the basis of their team’s strength is in the combination of the offensive line with fullback Madison Hedgecock, so losing even one player for any period of time would be a huge problem. When Kareem McKenzie struggled with a back injury last year and had to come out for periodic extended breathers in the middle of games, he was replaced by utility lineman Kevin Boothe, who proceeded to nearly get Eli Manning killed. The team has only Boothe and second-round pick William Beatty for recognizable backups, so an injury to a key player like right guard Chris Snee or center Shaun O’Hara could be disastrous for the offense.

My take: I have to agree that this is an area that worries me. It has been well-documented that even the center-quarterback exchange has been difficult in camp for any center not named O'Hara. Boothe is now on the shelf with a pectoral injury, Beatty is not ready, no one knows how much Tutan Reyes has left, or if Guy Whimper and Adam Koets can actually play.

All I can say is, cross your fingers and hope we don't have to find out.

The FOA had this to say about Manning.

The once-embattled quarterback had his best season as a pro in 2008, improving his completion percentage and yards per attempt while cutting his interceptions in half, although it’s worth noting that his six dropped interceptions were tied for thirdmost in the league. Manning still has accuracy issues — his rating of 80.9 percent on our accuracy index (see Appendix) was below the league average of 82.6 percent, and 26th amongst quarterbacks who threw at least 100 passes, but he has improved his accuracy on crossing routes and short out patterns.

My take: Eli will never be a model of perfection, or a guy who piles up great numbers. He is flawed, but he wins. That is what counts.

The Almanac also has a little nugget about offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride. I'm sure the Gilbride haters in the crowd will appreciate it.

Kevin Gilbride took some heat for his play-calling against the Eagles in the Divisional round loss, but the problem was less with the scheme and more with the execution. Gilbride has had a habit of wearing out his welcome, though, so it wouldn’t a surprise to see the blame fall on him if the offense gets off to a slow start. Head coach Tom Coughlin appears to have moved on from his old drill instructor style of coaching permanently, but again, it’ll be interesting to see what happens if the team does struggle at the start of the year.

My take: Gilbride has a ton of different offensive weapons with a wide variety of skill sets. His job is to find the right ways to use those skill sets, and watching him try to figure it out will be one of the most fascinating -- and, I'm sure, most talked about -- stories of 2009.

This year's useless try at predicting the Giants' season-opening 53-man roster

Ed Valentine — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:00:11 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, left, runs a drill with Rhett Bomar (5) and Andre Woodson during mini-camp last month. The competition for a roster spot between Bomar and Woodson will be one of training camp's most interesting.

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OK, so with training camp only days away it is time to take a stab at predicting the season-opening 53-man roster. It's an exercise in complete futility. I mean, there is no way to predict injuries, and no guessing what veterans might get picked up right before the season starts.

But, I will take a stab at it anyway. Before Week 1 I will have to remember to look back and see how close I got.

Quarterbacks: Starter -- Eli Manning. Backup -- David Carr, Andre Woodson, Rhett Bomar.

The obvious fight here is between Bomar and Woodson for the third slot. Bomar, this year's fifth-round pick, was better than Woodson, last season's sixth-round pick, in the mini-camps. There is very little reason to think that won't still be the case in training camp. The Giants kept only two quarterbacks on the 53-man last season. Most teams keep three, and I am going to base this choice on Tom Coughlin keeping three.

The picks (3) -- Manning, Carr, Bomar

Running Backs: Starters -- RB Brandon Jacobs, FB Madison Hedgecock. Backup -- RB Ahmad Bradshaw, RB Danny Ware, RB Andre Brown, RB Allen Patrick, RB Dwayne Wright.

The roster spots here are easy to pick. The fight that will develop for carries behind Jacobs is not. I haven't got a clue who will emerge as the true backup behind Jacobs. I know, however, that between Bradshaw, Ware and the rookie Brown I'm not worried about it.

The picks (5) -- Jacobs, Hedgecock, Bradshaw, Ware, Brown.

Tight Ends: Starter -- Kevin Boss. Backup -- Michael Matthews, Darcy Johnson, Lee Vickers, Travis Beckum.

Third-round pick Travis Beckum wasn't drafted to block. Kevin Boss can block, but he is a pass-catcher. That means the third tight end has to be a big-time blocker, and that's what Matthews is.

The picks (3) -- Boss, Beckum, Matthews.

Wide Receivers: Starters -- Steve Smith, Domenik Hixon. Backups -- Mario Manningham, Sinorice Moss, David Tyree, Taye Biddle, Shaun Bodiford, Derek Hagan, Micah Rucker, Hakeem Nicks, Ramses Barden.

There are likely six roster spots to be had out of this group, and barring injury or trade it is pretty clear who will get them. That means a sad goodbye to Super Bowl 42 hero David Tyree. It also means cult hero Micah Rucker is likely playing for a spot on the practice squad.

The picks (6) -- Smith, Hixon, Manningham, Moss, Nicks, Barden.

Offensive Linemen: Starters -- LT David Diehl, LG Rich Seubert, C Shaun O’Hara, RG Chris Snee, RT Kareem McKenzie. Backups -- T Guy Whimper, T/C Adam Koets, T Andrew Carnahan, G/T Kevin Boothe, T Cliff Louis, G/T Terrance Pennington, G Tutan Reyes, G/T Orrin Thompson, T Will Beatty.

Each and every Giants' fan should pray that this starting offensive line, one of the league's best, continues to stay healthy. There isn't much in the way of dependable backups.

Second-round pick William Beatty should make the team. Veteran guard Tutan Reyes is likely in. The versatility of being able to play guard and tackle probably gets Kevin Boothe a slot. There has to be a backup center, so Adam Koets probably also sneaks onto the roster.

The picks (9) -- Diehl, Seubert, O'Hara, Snee, McKenzie, Beatty, Reyes, Boothe, Koets.

Defensive Linemen: Starters -- LE Justin Tuck, LT Barry Cofield, RT Fred Robbins, RE Osi Umenyiora. Backups -- DE Mathias Kiwanuka, DE/DT Chris Canty, DT Rocky Bernard, DT Jay Alford, DE Dave Tollefson, DE Maurice Evans, DT Anthony Bryant, DT Jeremy Clark, DT Leger Douzable, DE Robert Henderson, DE Tommie Hill.

If everyone gets through camp healthy, some very good football players will wind up being available to the NFL's other teams. I doubt there is another unit in the league that is this talented and this deep. The hardest cut out of this group will be Dave Tollefson, a popular player who has played well at times in sporadic opportunities. But with all this depth, with Jay Alford doubling as snapper on field goals and PATs, and with the talented Maurice Evans likely ending up on the practice squad I don't know how Tollefson sticks around.

The picks (8) -- Tuck, Cofield, Robbins, Umenyiora, Kiwanuka, Canty, Bernard, Alford.

Linebackers: Starter -- SLB Danny Clark , MLB Antonio Pierce , WLB Michael Boley. Backup -- MLB Chase Blackburn, MLB Jonathan Goff, WLB Bryan Kehl, WLB Gerris Wilkinson, SLB Zak DeOssie, SLB Kenny Ingram, SLB Clint Sintim, MLB Kelvin Smith.

The picks (8) -- Clark, Pierce, Boley, Blackburn, Goff, Kehl, DeOssie, Sintim

Defensive Backs: Starter -- LCB Aaron Ross, RCB Corey Webster, FS Michael Johnson, SS Kenny Phillips. Backup -- CB Vince Anderson, SS C.C. Brown, SS/FS Steve Cargile, CB Kevin Dockery, CB Bruce Johnson, CB Travonti Johnson, FS Sha’reff Rashad, CB Terrell Thomas, CB Stoney Woodson, CB DeAndre Wright.

The Giants are deep and talented at cornerback, a fact that is incredibly important in today's pass and blitz-happy NFL. They aren't so deep at safety, and I think that might leave room for undrafted free-agent Sha'reff Rashad to sneak onto the roster.

The picks (9) -- Ross, Webster, Johnson, Phillips, Brown, Dockery, Rashad, Thomas, Wright.

Kickers (2): P Jeff Feagles, K Lawrence Tynes

Feagles is the best in the business at what he does. Tynes makes many Giants' fans nervous, but he is a perfectly acceptable veteran kicker.

-- New York Giants schedule

Eagles win over Giants: What they're saying

JasonB — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:44:41 -0000

Brian Westbrook talked about the importance of commiting to the run.

"We were able to run the ball successfully early, and (Reid) stayed with it,” Westbrook said. "He was very committed to it, and I give a lot of credit to him. Usually, we're not that committed to it, but he saw that we were getting it done. We always try to tell him, "Two and three yards is not bad.' And we had a couple of carries that were just two or three yards. But he stayed committed to it.”

Did you hear that Rich Hoffman?

Might be time to rethink your "it's the players, not the playcalling" idea.

Tra Thomas confirmed that "it's the playcalling and not the players" idea.

"It's hard to pass all the time,” offensive tackle Tra Thomas said.

"If you keep pounding the rock, you might get three yards, then four yards, then no yards, but you might break the next one.”

Everyone wanted to talk about the new Eagles run game, including Sheldon Brown.

"Coach was trying to make a statement,” the Eagles Sheldon Brown said. "He took a lot of heat this year and he wanted to make a point of emphasis that we can be the more physical team and run the football.”

Sheldon also talked about how proud he was to have recovered the onside kick at the end. In fact, he kept the ball.

"Why did I keep it?” Brown said. "Who would think that I would be on hands team recovering the damn football? I’m going to put it on my highlight tape.”

LJ Smith played like the top 5 TE he is being paid like this year. His work after the catch was exactly the kind of stuff we hoped he'd do when he was drafted here.

"I'd rather catch nothing and win the game than have a great game and lose,” Smith said. "This is great but, at the same time, the headlines could be a lot different next week. So I'm not going to sit here and act like I don't know what's going on. I had a good game today but next week, if I don't have a good game, then the headlines could be something different.”

Despite two blocked kicks I said after the game that I thought David Akers looked really good. He agrees.

"This was definitely one of those games that even though I ended up 50 percent on the day I really felt like I had a really good day,” Akers said. "That probably sounds like the weirdest thing ever. Statistically it was an awful day, but I think overall I personally performed pretty well. (The Giants were) bringing it hard. The last kick, we stayed in strong and that was big because we went up two touchdowns.”

There's no doubt that the Eagles defense was embarrassed the last time they played the Giants and they came out yesterday looking for revenge. Jim Johnson.

"The memory was short from that last game,” Johnson said. "And we just said, ‘Hey, that wasn’t Eagles football.’ We’ve got to stay in the game. We have to win one series at a time. And they kept at it and they took this as a challenge.”

Trent Cole

"Definitely,” Trent Cole said. "Our defense definitely takes pride in the things that we do. We don’t like to lose, and we don’t like people to run on us and beat us down. We totally don’t. We want to go out there and be the penetrators and dominate our opponent.”

Giants' FB Madison Hedgecock gave credit to the Eagles D

"They had our offense figured out today, that is for sure," Giants fullback Madison Hedgecock said. "In the third quarter I looked up and we had 36 rushing yards."

Did the Burress situation affect the Giants? Amani Toomer implies that maybe it did.

"Oh, man. I don't know," said chronically honest receiver Amani Toomer. "It's probably our craziest week. It's probably our worst performance. You can put two and two together."

Finally Brandon Jacobs, who was banged up in the game, said he could have returned but didn't see why he should?

"Didn't cause any more damage to it, just a little pain," Jacobs said. "It wasn't frightening because I knew what it was, I do it almost every game, that time I just did it real good."

Jacobs said he could have come back into the game. "But why?" he said. "We couldn't get anything going and we didn't play as good as we're supposed to play."

"But why?" There's a committment to excellence!

More heads must roll at Rams Park

VanRam — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:40:55 -0000

Besides the coming changes in the Rams front office, which ought to help with the personnel mistake and mismanagement still plaguing this franchise, some players must be called out for their play. Something has to be done; how else can Haslett get these guys to do anything for the last seven games of the season? (I know what you're thinking, "ugh. seven more games of this?") Obviously, there's no simple answer here. Benching a player here or a player there will not save the Rams. Too bad. After watching the team quit yesterday, fan temperament calls for a massive, bloody purge, guillotines and all.

I understand the point that Haslett and the coaches are obliged to play the best players in a Rams uniform, but when some of those so-called best players can't or won't live up to that description the head coach needs to find someone who at least wants to play. Right now, of course, those players have to come from the Rams roster, and that's an even bigger problem.

Some suggestions, starting with the obvious.

QB Marc Bulger - I'll say this in Bulger's defense: he hasn't had a decent line in a long, long time. The last time play in front of him offered him a reasonable chance to make things happen was 2006, even then he got sacked more than his fare share. Now, he's got to be benched.

Let me justify benching him in one of two ways; pick your rationale. First, bench him with the understanding that it's as much about giving him a chance to recoup as anything, as DiscoJer said in the post-game thread comments.

Remember when Bulger called out slackers in 2006? It worked, sort of. The o-line might as well stay home; that's how much protection they offer. I'm not seeing much in the way of leadership from Bulger this season. I know he's not a vocal guy like some and I'm not inclined to believe that only type A personalities can provide the occasional dose of good leadership. Bulger doubtlessly asks himself "why bother to be a leader for these no talent ass clowns" and makes that part of his rationale for not taking the vocal helm. I understand. We've all been in situations where the best policy was to shut it down and ride it out quietly. Of course, we hadn't just recevied a contract, slightly more than a year ago, to be the team's offensive leader. For what Bulger makes, he has to lend his voice to the cause.

I have the feeling that Bulger won't be a Ram next year, without advocating for him to stay or go. I just don't get the sense that he wants to play here anymore. Do you?

C Nick Leckey - This guy has to be on the bench next week. He's just too small to play in this league, and the 3-4 eats him up every time. Is Romberg better? Not much, but something has to be done. How can you keep sending the same problem out there after games this and expect anything to happen...or a QB to play well. What about Incognito at C and bringing in Greco at G? Incognito's play at G is nothing to be proud of this season - but I think he's generally a better run blocker than Leckey. As for his long snapping, what does it matter? The Rams can't pass anyway right now. Besides, the Rams don't have enough depth to bench all the linemen who shouldn't be playing.

TE Joel Klopfenstein - There's no way he's on the roster for '09. What's the point? And why wait? Poor blocking, terrible offense. What round did we pick him? With the middle of the line struggling, the outside lanews become even more important, and the Rams have had success running that way, particularly on the right side, in their few bright moments this season. With poor blocking from the TE, FB and WR, though, those lanes are no better than the middle of the field being tended to by Nick Leckey.

Speaking of the second round...why not give Brian Leonard one more chance by converting him to a TE for next season?

FB Dan Kreider - Linehan jettisoned FB Madison Hedgecock because the smarter than himself coach thought the Rams offense could do without a true bulldozer type guy. Hedgecock now plows open lanes for the Giants and their league-best rushing offense. Our backup runners might have had a much better shot with a bruiser like that clearing the lanes. Also, Steven Jackson's injury situation might be a little better too if he were able to focus more on running when he's got the ball than avoiding guys who should have been blocked. But I digress. Seeing the error of their ways in last season's blocking debacle, the Rams brought in the veteran Dan Kreider, last seen making Willie Parker the centerpiece of the Steelers offense. Kreider, who tore his ACL ten games into last season, isn't the same player anymore. Last week he missed a key block that led to a sack, and the Rams try to work him into a play or two in games lately to no avail. He doesn't strike me as the quitter type, but his play just doesn't make him an asset.

We haven't even touched the defense yet. So let's hear your thoughts...

I'm going to let the steam from my neck clear out a little bit, and be back with lots more later.