Written by: Paul Burke
There was a lot of excitement in the early going at MetLife stadium with Eli’s return from his brief hiatus. A standing ovation, cheers and signs were highlighted as he jogged onto the field. Then reality struck, and we were yet again reminded of the putrid football that this team has presented to their fans on a week-in-and-week-out basis this season.
When you look at the team statistics, you would conclude that it must have been a tight game. The Giants led TOP by almost six minutes. They ran 14 more plays than Dallas and had two more first downs. The game was tied up until the seven-minute mark of the 4th quarter, then five minutes of implosion occurred by the defense, with a little help from the offense. Time and again, the ugly wart appears for this defense. The BIG play. They lead the league in giving up plays over 20 yards, and we are quite sure it isn’t even close.
Yes, it is a byproduct of the lack of talent within the defensive unit, but the coach did not do them any favors. When you have your $40 million dollar DL that puts pressure on the QB like a baby’s grip on a bottle, you compromise your secondary every game. So, Spags brings the blitz that never works, which leads to compromising the back end of the defense even more.
Banks and Papa alluded to another putrid unit, the linebackers. They took a little shot at Reese when they wondered aloud why the organization has not devoted resources toward the linebacker unit. This was their first comment after watching Shepard pathetically attempt to chase down running back Rod Smith on his 81- yard slant reception that resulted in a TD. We have been screaming about this neglect for 10 years.
On the other side of the ball, we have the opposite. They cannot generate any big plays. Their average yards per play were a pathetic 4.4. You are not going to win games with this combination of defense and offense. Of course, we have seen our QB, who leads the league in quickest release time, compensate for the lousy OL. Obviously, it is not currently helped by the lack of skill players they currently have, which is basically one: Engram.
It is compounded by a case of the dropsies, an ailment shared by current members of the receiving unit. I am sure some of you were hoping for Sullivan to trash the WCO and sling the ball down field more. There are two problems with this. One, most of your players on offense are quite green, and you cannot change your offense midseason. The other is putting the health of your QB in serious jeopardy with that turnstile OL. Bottom line is the next new GM has his work cut out for him.
There are rumors that Gettlemen is the leading candidate for the GM job. There is even a report that it is imminent. We do NOT endorse this candidate. He is another byproduct of their front office. The front office is stale. They need new blood. They need new perspective. They need what we just wrote about last week.
New York Giants Underground 