Giants Draft 2022

Written by: Tony “The Prophet” Yantosca, Paul Burke, and Glenn Warciski

Tony:

This is the first draft in 15 years that the Giants Nation does not have to deal with Jerry “Reach” or “Bubble Brain”Gettleman. Giants’ fans have had to deal with a myriad of bad over drafted 1st round picks early in the draft over the past 2 decades leaving you wanting to throw the TV out the window. The list includes: Daniel Jones, Evan Engram, Eli Apple, Ereck Flowers, Justin Pugh (Mr. T Rex arms, could never play LT had to be moved to RT), David Wilson, Prince Amukamara, and Ron Dayne. What do all these players have in common? Not one of them has gotten a second contract. The jury is still out on Jones. I say no on the 5th year now. If they give him the 5th year and it will cost them $22+M. They could always give him a long-term deal or franchise him if he blows up under Daboll and Kafka.

The difference this year is that the Giants have real management in the war room. The only thing we have to worry about is John Mara, Chris Mara or Tim McDonald screwing things up.

First of all, after a decade of fruitless efforts to fix the OL, theGiants still need offensive line help badly. So ideally the pick should be Ekwonu or Neal at pick 5. Ekwonu is better but he is more of a left tackle and the Gmen already have Thomas. So, if they get Neal, he could slide to right tackle. If they get Ekwonu he will probably have to move to the right also. I don’t think they will move Thomas from LT. Latest news on Thursday morning is Neal is falling. If Ekwonu is gone the Giants could take Cross instead. 

It is possible that three defensive ends, Hutchinson, Walker and Thibodeaux, go in the top 3 picks as I have seen in some mock drafts. In others like Bucky Brooks latest mock, he has Ekwonu going first overall. This is possible because Trent Baalke is an unstable GM and a bit of a wildcard. He spent stupid money on Christian Kirk who is just a number 2 receiver. The Jags overpaid for less than top talent at the tune of $179 million this offseason just because they had cap space to burn but not wisely. 

What I think happens this year is that 2 defensive ends, 1 offensive tackle and Sauce Gardner go in the top 4 picks. Then the Giants would take the tackle left between Ekwanu and Neal. 

It would be ideal at 7 if the Giants could trade back. However, in this draft there are many more teams looking to trade back than those looking to move up. There are no more than 16 players with a real first round grade per NFL GM’s. I am assuming they have to make the pick.

If Sauce Garner is on the board they need to run up to the podium and grab him. I think he will be gone. They then would pick the best edge rusher available. It is possible that Thibodeaux will be there and they should take him. It he’s gone it could be Jermaine Johnson. If all of the above are gone, it would make sense to grab safety Kyle Hamilton. He is the safest pick in this draft. They could put him opposite McKinney with Logan Ryan gone. 

The other Giants needs are

offensive line depth

corner back-I expect Bradberry to be traded as the Gmen cannot take his cap hit this year. 

tight end

back up running back

safety if they don’t get Hamilton

wide receiver=no elite players but deep draft (Slayton may be gone plus history of injuries at WR)

 

With a real GM and coach, the hope is that this Giants’ draft is a well thought out with intelligent picks that do not send my blood pressure to Defcon 5!

Paul: I like the Giants nabbing Sauce Gardner with pick 105 and DL Jordan Davis at 107.

Glenn: The Giants will be picking in the top 5 for 5 consecutive years. Their record has been abysmal. No more need to mention how bad things have gotten. Again the Giants made GM and coaching changes but not one executive was fired. So I am cautiously optimistic about Joe Schoen and New HC Brian Daboll. With Dave Gettleman destroying this once proud franchise, both new guys have a lot of work to do in order to get the Giants on the winning road. Can they do it? It starts today but this draft is devoid of impact players. This is a damn shame because the Giants have two selections in the top 7 ( 105 and 107).

What should they do?

I think the Giants have to select the best available player. My choice at 105 would be LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. Unfortunately, he got hurt last year; therefore there has not been much buzz about him. He is the real deal as I have seen him play in person several times. He is a top corner who is a fantastic athlete. He can return punts and perhaps play WR. A two position player.

With 107: I think the Giants should find a trading partner. Get more picks. As I have stated this current team has so many needs.

If they cannot find a trading partner, they should select an offensive lineman.

Prophet’s Pulpit

Written by: Tony “The Prophet” Yantosca

The New York Football Clowns

The song remains the same for the New York Football Giants. Another game and another loss. The Gmen find new and imaginative ways to lose. They are using a backup quarterback but they are not alone. There were multiple teams in the NFL with backups starting.  The Giants lose their 5th game in a row and their 6th out of the last 7 games. They are not just losing but getting decimated. They were outscored 49 to 141 in the last 5 and 72 to 178 in the last 7. The Giants have averaged 10 points/game the past 7 weeks. There is no way you can win like that unless you have the 1985 Bears for a defense and this Giants group is far from that. 

This past week’s game vs the Bears was over before it began.On the first offensive play of the game, Gipson rushes from the right side and is untouched headed to Glennon. He sacks and strips Glennon. Nichols recovers the ball at Giants 18-yard line and takes it to the two-yard line. On the same play on the left side, Robert Quinn pushes Thomas back like he is not even there. The interaction keeps him from getting to Glennon firstbut he was a split second behind Gipson. Montgomery scored on the next play cutting through the defensive line like a hot knife through butter. The Bears are up 7-0 after 18 seconds!

On the 5th play of the second Giants possession, Glennon throws a pass to the $72M dollar man, Kenny Golladay, who can’t get to then ball while Artie Burns tips it up in the air for Gipson to intercept it and run 31 yards to the Giants 24-yard line. It only takes the Bears 7 plays to score. On a 4th and 2 from the Giants 4-yard line, Dalton finds Mooney streaking across the end line toward the right end zone corner for a touchdown. With less than 7 minutes off the board the Bears lead 14-0 and the game is over. 

The game was 22-3 in favor of the Bears at the half. It didn’t matter being behind but the Giants were afraid to have Glennon throw the ball because he knew that turnovers would ensue! He threw 2 interceptions on 11 attempts. Glennon also fumbled 4 times and lost 2 fumbles. With these kind of turnovers Glennon makes #DannyTurnover look great! Glennon only threw 11 times with 4 completions for 24 yards with a 2.2 YPA. Two receptions were to Booker for 0 yards and there was 1 reception each to Booker and Sills for 12 yards each. 

The Gmen ran 41 times even though they were losing all game. They totaled 161 yards rushing on those 41 attempts. This is a crazy stat for a team that lost by 26 points. The Giants pass game has become nonexistent! Just months before Gettleman spend millions to make sure Jones had weapons: Golladay, Shepard, Slayton, Toney, Ross, Johnson, Cooper, Engram, and Rudolph. You can throw in the running backs Barkley and Booker. These receivers were hurt all year. You have to question the Giants strength and condition personnel and the trainers. This has been a decade long problem. The Giants 3 receivers for the game were Golladay, Cooper and Sills. No wonder Glennon can’t throw. 

FIRE JOE JUDGE!

I listened to the 23-minute Joe Judge press conference after the game. You can tell that Joe Judge is cracking under the pressure. He had a diatribe at the end of the press conference explaining that everyone is trying hard to win. I said it after the 36-9 loss to the 49ers in week 3 in 2020 that Joe Judge is lost. They were playing a team that had 11 starters out hurt and lost the 12thstarter during the game. On the road, the 49ers smoked the Giants 36-9. If they couldn’t win that game, what game can they win???

I have said all along that Joe Judge is a fraud. He is a Bill Belichick Wannabee that thinks he can be Bill with no gravitas and everything will fall into place. He is in over his head in the deep end of the pool and he can’t swim. He had a good line of BS, we are going to punch you in the face for 60 minutes, we will be a team this city will be proud of…blah, blah, blah. We see the same mistakes and mental errors week after week. Every press conference all he talks about improvement but he is the only one who sees it. He said this week that there plan was to run the ball. After being peppered he said he was sticking to the game plan even though he was down 3-4 touchdowns. Just come out and admit you couldn’t throw the ball and cut the BS. He was talking about the wind. Give me a break. 

At the beginning of the 2nd quarter the Giants have a 4th and 3 from the Bears 48-yard line. You are losing 14-0 and in plus territory. You are going to be 4-12 (soon to be 4-13). You would think he would go for it. Many other coaches would and you have nothing to lose. No, he punts the ball. He should be fired then. We all made fun of Nick Sirianni of the Eagles from his first press conference where he sounded totally inept and later with his use of rock, paper, scissors. However, if he wins Saturday vs the Cowboys minus Parsons he will have 10 wins in one season and Joe Judge has 10 wins in 2 seasons, 33 games!

THE SEASON FINALE

This week’s game will be another loss and the season mercifully will come to and end. The Giants have their 5th double digit loss season in a row and the 7th in 8th years! The Giants have no chance to win this game. It would take 4 turnovers to win. 

For the second time the Giants are marching out Jake Fromm. He is not ready for the NFL! Fromm was 6 of 17 for 25 yards, 1 interception, 1.5 YPA in his first start and was taken out of the game in the third quarter for Glennon. The Giants game plan is to run the ball 40+ times again. The Washington team is 8th vs the run only giving up 105 yards/game. They are 30th vs the pass giving up 266 yards/game. Guess what the Giants have no way to take advantage of their pass weakness. Shepard is on IR, Slayton is questionable, Ross and Toney are out. Fromm has a minuscule average depth of target. All Washington has to do is put 8 in the box and dare Fromm to throw. Kitchens better come up with some flea flickers or trick plays because it is the only chance they have. The Giants only managed 151 yards last week of offense with the better back up Glennon who is not great. At least this journeyman has been in the league since 2013. It was the second week in a row under 200 yards of offense. The Giants have turned it over 13 times in the past 5 game losing streak. They have lost these 5 games by an average of over 18 points. Fromm may be more turnover prone this game than #DannyTurnover. 

Washington will also be looking to run the ball. They get Gibson back off the Covid list. He is their workhorse back but he has been fighting injuries all year. McKissic is out and missed half the season. No problem, they launch Jaret Paterson who had 57 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown. Behind him there is Smallwood and Williams if they are needed. Heinicke can also take off and run.

The run will set up the pass. Heinicke is a professional quarterback. He’s no Aaron Rodgers but he’s the best QB in this game and he can do some damage. He completes 65.5% of his passes. Bradberry will have to take out McLaurin. After McLaurin, he has 4 receivers to target: Carter, Brown, Humphries, and Sims. At tight end they lost the very good Logan Thomas. Ricky Seals Jones has stepped up but when he has been hurt its next man up John Bates. Heinicke threw completed passes to 9 different players last week. He will find the open man. He has thrown 15 interceptions this year. If the Giants want to win, they will have to turn him over. 

THE PREDICTION

The Giants blew the first meeting on Thursday night of week 2. Hopkins missed a 48-yard field goal with 5 seconds left. Dexter Lawrence was offsides on the play so Hopkins got another try from the 43-yard line and put it through. This is an example of the mental mistakes we see every game that Mr. Patriots Way says that are getting better. The game flipped from a 29-27 Giants win to the 30-29 Washington win. I tweeted after this loss how do they expect anyone to sleep after that as the game ended after midnight. The next week they inexplicably blew the game at home vs the Falcons, 17-14. Instead of starting the season 2-1 it was 0-3 for the Gmen and it started this season’s death spiral.

I can’t see the Giants winning with Fromm. Washington has not been scoring a lot of points lately but they can score enough to beat this Giants anemic bottom of the league offense. I am calling this one Washington 24 and the Giants 6. The Giants will get only 2 Gano field goals or get a 4th quarter garbage time touchdown and miss the 2-point conversion. I love the Under in this game. You can parlay Washington -7 and the under 37.5 or 38. I got -6.5 early in the week, free money. If you are nervous you can tease Washington -1 and the Under to 43.5 or 44 for some easy money. Hopefully in 2022 we have a real GM, a real coach and a real quarterback! 1/10 will be a National Holiday for Giants fans to commemorate the launching of Gettleman. The other Giants holiday I celebrate every year is 12/4. It was that day in 2017 that Jerry “Reach” was fired!

Prophet’s Pulpit- Giants play in the Windy City, will they get blown out?

Written by: Tony “The Prophet” Yantosca

ANOTHER SUNDAY, ANOTHER GIANTS BLOWOUT!

It was another NFL Sunday and it was another Giants loss. This team is an embarrassment and is not going to win another game this year. In my opinion, the Giants are tied with the Jaguars for the worst team in the NFL. At this point the Lions, Jets and Texans can beat the Giants. They are a monumental disgrace. 

Who on this earth thought Jake Fromm was ready to start anNFL game? Fromm fell in the draft to the 5th round because he has a weak arm and he is not mobile. You saw that in spades during the game. Fromm’s stat line was 6/17, only 25 yards, 19.5 quarterback rating, He had a horrific 1.5 YPA. I don’t ever remember a starting QB with a lower YPA. He made Glennon who had to come in for him look like Dan Marino! Glennon is also a very bad back up. He was 17/27 for 93 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception and a 65.8 QB rating. His YPA was a terrible 3.4 yards. He got a late touchdown in garbage time vs a soft defense with a 31-point lead. 

The team was so bad all they could muster was 192 yards which was a measly 2.6 yards per play. As we have seen for over a month the pass game consists of check downs to the running backs and tight ends. Of the 23 receptions, 14 were to running backs and tight ends. The average pass was 5.1 yards. The defense does not have to respect any deep threats and they can hug the line of scrimmage and exert pressure. Barkley did nothing in this game. He had 32 yards on 15 carries, 2.1 YPC, and 1 reception on his only target for minus 4 yards. Besides his great rookie year, Barkley has done nothing. He had a very good second year but has missed 21 games including his second year. He has not had the impact expected as Gettleman’s 2018 1stround pick, the second pick overall. 

The game was close at the half at a 3-3 tie. But it does not take the Eagles long in the second half to get on the board. On the Giants second play of the half, Fromm is intercepted at the Giants 21-yard line. It only takes the Eagles 5 plays to score. Of course, Boston Scott, “The Giants Killer” scores. Boston Scott has 8 touchdowns vs the Giants in the 6 games against them from 2019 to 2021!

The score is Eagles 20-3 to start the 4th quarter and they score 2 touchdowns in 90 seconds at the start of the 4th quarter. Hurts throws a touchdown to offensive tackle, Lane Johnson to rub salt in the wounds. Four plays later Glennon throws a pick six making it 34-3 as this game is all but over. 

LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT SEASON

It is so very disappointing that Mara is keeping Judge and #DannyTurnover. Judge as I have outlined is a fraud. He’s in over his head. There are no results. The team makes the same mistakes. The Giants will have a bad 2022 and then they will fire Judge. Mara doesn’t want to fire 3 coaches in a row after 2 years each because it makes him look like the idiot he is! He has waited an extra year to fire Gettleman and look at the damage he created. The problem is that great potential coaching candidates like Brian Daboll and Kellen Winslow among 6 others who will get jobs and be off the market when Mara comes out of his coma to find a new coach next year. 

The GM search could also become another debacle. Last time when they hired Gettleman it was a nepotism search. Mara only looked at 4 candidates. Three were current or former Giants, Chris Mara, his nephew, Tim McDonnell, co-director of pro-personnel, and Gettleman. The only outsider was Louis Riddick of ESPN. He was the best candidate but they blew him off. The Giants should interview 8-12 candidates. If anything, they would get a lot of differing theories on how to improve the team. It could be a learning experience, but no. 

We are stuck with Daniel Jones. They shouldn’t take his 5th year option but they will. The quarterback candidates are not great this year. I documented before that Jones is a bottom 10 quarterback. He has a career 221 yards/game, 1.2 TD’s/game and more total turnovers than total touchdowns including his rush TD’s. I can understand that they don’t want to use their top 2 picks on a QB. However, they will be in the quarterback business next year unless they can get a veteran like Wilson who if he is traded is headed to the NFC. 

LOOKING AT THE BEAR’S MATCHUP

This week’s matchup is between 2 teams going nowhere. The Giants have 4 wins and the Bears have 5. The Giants can help themselves by beating the Bears because with every loss the Bears first round pick that was traded to the Giants gets higher. Both teams have used 3 quarterbacks this year. The Giants are starting Glennon this week. He may not be great but he is light years ahead of Fromm who is not just ready to be an NFL quarterback. Fromm’s appearance was the worst in the NFL since Nathan Peterman threw 5 interceptions in the first half several years ago. 

When the Giants have the ball, they are going to run the ball to keep the passing mistakes to a minimum and control the time of possession. The Seahawks ran for 170 yards vs the Bears last week. The Bears are 25th vs the run. Hopefully the offensive line can open some holes for Barkley and Booker who will both see carries in this game. The running backs and tight ends have been getting 2 out of every 3 receptions for the Giants the last 5 games. This will continue against the Bears. Engram needs to have a big day. Tight end Everett from the Seahawks was the leading receiver for the Seahawks and he also had a touchdown last week. However, Glennon will have to have throws over 15 yards to keep the Bears defense honest and not stuffing the box. The Bears are 4th vs the pass.

The Bears will also want to run the ball. The Giants are 26th vs the run. Montgomery will be looking to get over 100 yards in the run and pass game. He is versatile and Montgomery was the leading receiver last week with 7 catches on 9 targets. Foles played last week and had a decent outing with 250 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions and a 98.5 QB rating. Fields is questionable and may be back this week. If he is, the Giants must keep him in the pocket. When plays break down, he is dangerous. 

The Bears do not have many passing weapons. Their top receiver, Alan Robinson, has been out most of the year but he does come off the COVID list. Mooney has been the number 1 target but he has had up and down weeks based mostly on the quarterback play. Tight end, Cole Kmet has had some good games with 53 receptions but 0 touchdowns. Aging veteran, Jimmy Graham has been stealing the TD’s. He has 3 this year. 

This game may very well come down to turnovers. The Giantshave only 1 take away the last 4 weeks while turning it over 9 times. The bears are also bad on turnovers being ranked 31st in turnover differential at -13. If they can pressure Fields or whoever starts they have a chance. 

THE PREDICTION

The Giants offense has been anemic. They have only average 11.5 points/week the last 6 weeks. This team just cannot generate any offense. The over/under for this game is a super low 37 and that could be a good bet. I am calling this one, Bears 24, Giants 13.

Prophet’s Pulpit- Giants vs Cowboys Preview & Prediction Plus Chargers Recap & Commentary

Written by: Tony “The Prophet” Yantosca

CHARGERS RECAP AND GIANTS’ CURRENT STATUS

Pepsi Game.

It was another Sunday and another Giants loss. This was a pathetic loss even with Jones out. With injuries and Covid-19 there are many substitutes quarterback and players every weekend. Many teams are facing the same situation as we had over 100 players dealing with Covid-19 this week alone. 

This game was over by halftime. The final score of Chargers 37-21 does not indicate how super one sided this game was. It was 37-7 before the Giants scored 2 touchdowns in garbage time when the Chargers called the dogs off. 

Glennon is a bad back up quarterback. His 32nd birthday celebration was ruined by his and the Giants’ performance. He had a very poor outing the week before vs the Dolphins. He had a ridiculsly low YPA of 4.25! He was 23 off 44 attempts for 187 yards with 0 TD’s and 1 interception. He was sacked 3 times for 28 yards. This week his YPA was 5.3. Glennon was 9 for 19 in the first half for 112 yards. The Giants scored 7 points until the proverbial 4th quarter garbage time.

The dagger that won this game before halftime was a Herbert 59-yard bomb to Guyton with 25 seconds left in the half. Guyton had a larger role because the Chargers number one receiver, Keenan Allen, was out due to Covid-19. That didn’t matter vs the Giants. Herbert uses all his weapons as 8 different players had at least one catch. It only took Herbert 23 seconds to go 75 yards. Guyton beat Logan Ryan and McKinney who came to help but couldn’t catch him. Guyton split the defenders and he had a 4-yard lead on Ryan. Herbert laid in a perfect pass for the touchdown. The Giants have given up a league leading 59 points in the last 2 minutes of the first half. They also have not scored in the last 2 minutes of the half. They are the only team in the NFL that has not scored which is indicative of how bad this season has been. This is a bad stat for Joe Judge and the Giants to swallow.

The reason this was pathetic was they forced the Chargers to kick from their end zone and they got the ball with a 1 minute and 40 seconds left at the Chargers 41-yard line. The Giants virtually need 5 yards for a long Gano field goal who is deadly from 56 yards and in. They actually lost 2 yards on 3 downs. The Giants haven’t scored a point in the final 2 minutes off any game. You would think that Judge would go for it or try a fake punt. What do you have to lose? You are in plus territory and you are 4-8 going nowhere. They Giants only net 18 yards on the punt anyway!

Thankfully, the word is that Mara is finally going to get rid of Gettleman at the end of the season. He has set back the team a decade. The offensive line is no better than the day he started. He made a bunch of stupid free agent decisions that has used most of the Giants cap space. The Giants only have $2.4M in space now. They have $207M in cap liabilities in 2022 leaving them with no flexibility without restructuring or cutting players. I have coined Gettleman as the “King of Dead Money” racking up over $116M in dead money in 4 years. To put it in perspective it is two thirds of this year’s cap.

Gettleman’s biggest blunder has been drafting Daniel Jones at 6 overall in 2019. Giants #TogetherBlue Nation is in denial that he is a good quarterback. They have every excuse in the book. I knew in 1 quarter that Herbert was great. He had no OTA’s, no training camp, no first team reps as he was thrust into a game with 5 minutes notice and almost beat the World Champion Chiefs and lost by 3 points as an 8-point underdog. 

Jones is 12-25 and has not beat a team with a winning record (if the Saints, Eagles, or Raiders finish over .500 he will). He has more turnovers 51(29 interceptions, and 24 fumbles lost on 36 fumbles), than touchdowns 50, (45 passing, 5 rushing). He has only averaged 226 yards passing/game for his career which is in the bottom third. He has 220 yards a game this year which is unacceptable! I took a look at other bottom half of the league quarterbacks and they have more passing yards/game for their career to use for comparison: Cousins 273 yards, Wentz 243 yards, Tannehill 235 yards, Garoppolo, 249 yards. Even Tua with injuries and limited weapons at times has 243 yards/gamethis year. I rest my case. We need a new quarterback!!!!!

GIANTS/COWBOYS PREVIEW

The Giants like other teams this week have 9 players on the Covid list: Toney, Ross, Brown, Ximines, Brown, Robinson, Reed and Jamerson. The NFL is changing its policy to only 1 negative test, so more players can come back sooner. 

If the Giants are to have any chance in this game to win, they have to establish the run in this game. They had 135 yards last week and only the third time they topped 100 yards since week 3. I expect both Barkley and Booker to be active again in the pass game. Glennon has been playing badly and has been sacked 5 times in 2 weeks It will keep the Cowboys off the field and also slow down the pass rush.

Rookie sensation, Micah Parsons, has been a beast. He has 12 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, 16 quarterback hits and is 7th in sacks. After missing the first 10 weeks, DeMarcus Lawrence is back to also blow-up offensive linemen. The Giants could have drafted Parsons at 11 in the 2021 draft. They traded down for Kadarius Toney at 20 because the Bears grabbed Fields at 11. The Cowboys jumped on Parsons with the next pick at 12. Toney only had 2 good games. He will miss his 6th game this week. He will be a good pick with a new quarterback in the future and they did pick up an extra pick. 

Glennon cannot get the ball down the field, and his average depth of target is very low. Once again like vs Miami and the week before, he is throwing mostly to the running backs and tight ends. These 2 groups had 11 of 17 completions last week. The week before, the running backs and tight ends caught 16 of 23 receptions. The 6 passes to 4 wide receivers last week averaged only 9 yards. Glennon has to take some shots early to Golladay and Slayton to get the Cowboy defenders off the line of scrimmage. Dallas knows they can load the box and dare Glennon to throw. This is not a good formula. 

When Dallas has the ball they will want to establish the run also. Pollard is questionable but the Cowboys will have Zeke and Clement. The Cowboys will have to establish the run because Dak has been playing badly the last month. Other than the Las Vegas game on Thanksgiving, Dak has thrown for an average of an average of 221 in 3 of his last 4 games with 4 TD’s and 5 interceptions. 

Dak will have all his weapons. The Chargers threw for 275 yards and 423 total yards. Dak has one of the top trio of receivers Cooper, Lamb and Gallup in the league. He has a competent tight end in Schultz and secondary receivers of Wilson and Turner who had 2 touchdowns vs Denver. Dak is looking to get on track again vs a Giants get well defense that Herbert torched last week. The Giants are a pathetic 25th in sacks with 25. Dak was sacked 4 times last week. With tackle Tyron Smith out, there is an opportunity for the Giants to get to Dak. 

THE PREDICTION

The Cowboys moped the floor with the Giants in week 5 winning 44-20. Dak threw for 302 yards, 3 touchdowns and an interception. The stars, Zeke, Cooper and Lamb, all had receiving touchdowns. The Cowboys rushed for 201 yards. Glennon, who came in for an injured Jones, threw a pick 6. Toney had his best game with 189 yards and he could have had more if he didn’t get thrown out of the game with 5 minutes to go. Dallas has owned the Giants recently winning 8 of the last 10. Sunday is no exception. The Cowboys get well in the Meadowlands. I am calling this one, Cowboys 30 and the Giants with a garbage time score 14.

The Biggest Loser…The New York Football Giants

Written by: Glenn Warciski

I am at the point of giving up on my beloved team. Blogging about the Giants from 2017 til present, without question, has been painful, frustrating, and pointless. Instead of being excited and engaged about this once proud franchise, I am angry and disgusted with the entire team from John Mara, to Dave Gettleman, to Joe Judge, and to the players. I find it very difficult rooting for my team. In fact, I do not have any favorite players. As a protest, I have not purchased anything Giants in five years. Needless to say, I believe it is a team without a soul. Giants Pride or Together Blue does not exist. At this point, it is more superficial. These are just buzzwords or hashtags to use on social media to connect with other Giants fans. Right now, there is a disconnect with fans and the Giants organization. As the losses pile up each year, the decision makers within the Giants organization continue to pull the wrong levers. As a result, unfortunately, the Giants situation continues to get worse each year. Although fans can be unforgiving, they are the ones who support their team. What Giants management does not get? The losing is unacceptable. It has gone on for far too long. Since the firing of Tom Coughlin in 2015, the Giants have posted a record of 33-60. This is a franchise which won a Super Bowl 10 years ago. And since then, the Giants have one winning season (2016) with one playoff appearance. No doubt, this is a team which has fallen off a cliff! But management does not see it this way. John Mara continues to believe in patience and things will get better. This is Bullshit! This is the bullshit we have been calling out for some time. In fact, since 2014, we have created a forum here to share our thoughts about the New York Football Giants. Initially, we were the whisper voices in the wilderness. Pointing out problems in the way the Giants operate in thought provoking posts. Although we are educated fans, we are aware there are complexities in running an NFL franchise. We are not dealing with an ordinary NFL franchise. We are talking about the New York Football Giants. Indeed, the Giants have had lean years going back from 1964 thru 1978. However, this current losing culture is happening when the NFL is a middling league. There are a handful of good teams. The Giants have positioned themselves in a large hole due to the moronic decisions.

Firing Coughlin but not Reese.

Keeping Eli as QB for far too long.

Promoting unproven Ben McAdoo. Coincidentally, it appears he is a better coach than Shurmur and Judge.

Mara firing Reese, McAdoo, and Marc Ross. Calling it wholesale changes. But keeping Chris Mara and Ronnie Barnes and the rest of the scouts. He did not go far enough.

Hiring Dave Gettleman. This arrogant asshole has made matters worse. His approval of Pat Shurmur as head coach was a complete abomination.

Mara firing Shurmur but not Gettleman. What the heck was this about? Another mistake.

Then hiring this bird brain Joe Judge. His record is 10-19 and will get worse.

Drafting Daniel Jones. This incompetent is Dave Brown 2.0. It appears his season and career could be over.

These are some of the Giants missteps. There are so much more. The takeaway is this team has lost its way. It has been a culture of losing. Unless John Mara gets honest, things will not change. As a rabid fan, I will stop following this team. I will be done. I cannot take the losing anymore!

Prophet’s Pulpit-Giants vs Chargers Preview & Prediction Plus Prophet Takes

Written by: Tony “The Prophet” Yantosca

RECENT GIANTS’ DEVELOPMENTS

My daughter got married and I had some commitments after that so there was no Pulpit recently, but like Cam Newton “I’m back!” After the sample size got a little bigger, his play regressed to what it has become, a lesser player. Anyway, let me get back to a lesser or lower rung team- Our Giants!

The great news was that the Giants finally got rid of most unimaginative lame play caller in the NFL, “The Clapper”, Jason Garrett was fired on 11/23. It was 11 weeks too late because based on his body of work last year he should have been fired before the season.

His interim replacement, Freddy Kitchens, is no genius of calling plays. He was 6-10 as head coach. He was offensive coordinator in Cleveland the year before he was the head coach. He had the embarrassing t-shirt incident after the Myles Garrett helmet wielding incident. You can Google it. 

He was purported to have the quarterbacks push the ball down the field. We were going to see more offense everyone thought. However, the Giants only scored 22 points in the past 2 games. They won the Eagles game, but the defense won it with 4 turnovers with Jalen Hurts imploding. With all that they only mustered 272 yards and 202 passing yards. How pathetic is it to get 4 turnovers and vs the Eagles and only score 13 points? 

The next week with Mike Glennon it was a Gano Field Goal Fiesta. Glennon was very bad vs Miami with 187 yards on 44 attempts for a pathetic 4.25 YPA. Like Jones has done his last few games, Glennon cannot get the ball to the wide receivers. The running backs and tight ends caught 16 of the 23 receptions: Barkley 6, Booker 4, Engram 4 and Rudolph 2. The receiversonly caught 7 passes: Golladay 3, Cooper 2 and Slayton 2.

I have called out Joe Judge before. The deeper the sample size, the more you can tell he is in over his head. All we hear is the same broken record after losses. This is wearing thin on the beat writers and the #TogetherBlue Giants Nation. The most respected voice in New York Sports talk radio, Mike Francesa, who had a successful 4-decade career on WFAN, New York, called out Judge in this tweet:

“Giants lose 20-9, can’t find the end zone and Joe Judge is “pleased”. At the podium he looks and sounds like a babbling fool.”

I have said in the past that he is a fraud who is still learning on the job. His time management skills are making the inept Ben McAdoo look like a genius. I thought he would survive this year but if the Giants only win 5-6 games, he may be gone like Shurmur & McAdoo after 2 years. 

There are also reports that Dave Gettleman will be done at the end of the year! I would have launched his ass at the end of last year. This could not come too soon. At best the Giants may get to 6 wins again. Gettleman is 19-41, 31.7%. He’s been here 4 years and never fixed the offensive line. This was his number one goal from his opening press conference. He reached for Daniel Jones, who as far as I am concerned is a bottom 10 quarterback and a bust. The number of good draft picks since he’s been here you can count on one hand. 

Gettleman has made some horrible free agent decisions. Just look at the signing of Kenny Golladay for $72M of which $40 is guaranteed. Golladay’s problem is that he is always hurt. He missed 11 games last year and this year is no different. He has missed 4 and a half games this year so far. He was supposed to be the Giants stud X Receiver. He has 26 catches for 406 yards and 0 touchdowns! He only averaged 46 receptions in his 4 years in Detroit. To reiterate, I said in this column before the season that he would be a bust and not worth the money. If you extrapolate his catches, he will finish with 34 catches. 

GIANTS/CHARGERS GAME ANALYSIS

This game is becoming the game of the walking wounded. COVID-19 has hit the Chargers. Their best receiver probably will not beat the protocol before Sunday. Mike Williams is more probable to play due to close contact. Daniel Jones has a neck injury and will miss his second game in a row. There have been rumors that he may miss the rest of the year. The Giants flew to Arizona this week to practice so they wouldn’t have to travel from Miami to New Jersey and then New Jersey to Los Angeles. Daniel Jones went to a specialist in California at the beginning of the week and he may make another visit just before the game. 

The usual suspects will miss this game. It has been very disappointing that Kadarius Toney is going to miss another game. He will miss his 5th game. It took Garrett to week 4 until he figured out to use him. He has only had 2 good games. Shepard has missed 8 games. He is questionable but expected to play. It’s too bad he is signed to big money and the Giants still owe him $31M. He will be asked to be restructured at some point or be gone. He has 32 receptions and 1 touchdown and itsweek 14!

For the Giants to have any chance to win they have to establish the run. The Chargers give up 141 yards a game and are 31st in the NFL. I can see Booker getting yards and being used in the pass game besides then usual production that we hope is there from Barkley. They will need at least those 140 yards to have any chance to win. It will also keep Herbert off the field. 

The run game will take some pressure off Glennon who is not mobile. Glennon was sacked 3 times for losses of 28 yards. He was also pressured 16 times and was hit 8 times by the Miami defense. Glennon is lucky he is playing this week. He was in the concussion protocol. If he couldn’t play, the Gmen would have had to roll out, Jake Fromm. The former Georgia quarterback hasn’t played a down on the NFL. The line would have ballooned to 14 or more with him in. The beat goes on this week with a Chargers defense that sacked Joe Burrow last week 6 times! You have Joey Bosa and Nwosu providing the pressure. Glennon will have to get rid of the ball quickly to make itthrough this game with the Giants suspect offensive line. 

The Giants pass game has been anemic recently. Glennon like Jones has not been able or had time to throw down the field. Barkley, Booker and Engram should be busy in the pass game. For the Giants to win they will have to get the ball to Golladay, Shepard, and Slayton. Hopefully they can get the run game going so the play action is meaningful. The Giants cannot be in 3rd and long situations against this pass rush. 

When the Chargers have the ball, they set up the offense with the all-purpose Austin Eckler. He has 663 rush yards and 8 touchdowns. In the pass game he has 56 receptions for 578 yards and 7 touchdowns. That is 15 total touchdowns. Herbert is also a prolific passer. He is 4th in passing yards at 295.6 yards/game. Herbert is 3rd in touchdowns at 27. He is tied for first with 5 game winning drives in 12 games. 

Herbert’s biggest weapon, Keenan Allen is out with Covid-19. That means Mike Williams has to step up along with Jalen Guyton. Herbert will use his tight ends, Jared Cook and Donald Parham. The Giants defense has been playing better. Last week was the first time in 7 weeks that the Giants did not have a turnover.

GAME PREDICTION

The Giants have only scored an average of 14 points the past 4 weeks. The Chargers traditionally have not been a great home favorite especially by double digit points. Nonetheless, the Giants offense has been anemic. They do get some playmakers back but I have no faith that Glennon will have the time to get the ball down the field. He is one good hit from being knocked out of the game. The Chargers are too much for the Gmen as they try to solidify their playoff position. I am calling this one, the Chargers 27 and the Giants 16.

NYG {Hurts} 13 Eagles 7

Written by: Curmudgeon Nabob of Reality

Bravo! I got fired and the offense still sucks! Stick your headset up your ass. Perhaps you can hear better Joe!

Before the Giants versus Eagles game, a report surfaced from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, regarding the demise of embattled Giants GM David Gettleman. We are not in the least surprised by this as it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see Shit For Brains has been in operating in Cover his Ass mode for the last two seasons. All you need to do is look at the cap, free agent signings and safe pick of LT Thomas. All of this has amounted to the treadmill of suckatude. As the Giants have posted a record of 19-40 under his watch.

Many in the NYG twitter universe and social media ( echo chambers of depravity) are all drooling over themselves about this rumor. We, however, do not think much of this in the grand scheme of things. Yes, we want Gettleman gone but he is just a symptom of a much larger problem. Over the last decade, ownership has compounded the treadmill of suckatude with poor decision making. It started with loyalty and trust in Reese for way too long. The TC firing debacle. The McAdoo folly. Then going back to the old boys network in Gettleman hire who then hired Shurmur. Then the hire of Garrett-the adapt less offensive coordinator. ( Thankfully- Garrett was fired last week). The pattern starts with the rot that is the culture of the organization. Why do we believe the next GM hired by ownership will turn this from the treadmill of suckatude to the treadmill of contending? Unless this ownership group hires a consulting firm to root out the losing culture of bad decisions the odds are more wretched hires in the future will continue. Mara’s and Tisch’s resume of hiring plus management would result in the unemployment line for the average employee in any industry but football. They will continue to make millions whether they lose or win. There is a local team where I live (Detroit) that are the world champions of losing yet they still make money hand over fist. This is not the road we all should want this team to go down.

Our other concern is the rumor states that ownership still believes in their HC. We have heard the mantra of patience by the ownership history but we are calling Bullshit . It is called a mask to own up to poor hiring and decision making. But it isn’t just about that but how can you stick a coach on a new GM hire? Isn’t a GM supposed to be independent of ownership to make personnel decisions? It is like when a GM was hired because ownership still believed in the past in thinking Eli still had fuel in the tank. How did that turn out? In the end a GM and HC need to be tied at the hip in terms of philosophy, culture of team and long term plan for success. Unlike this disjointed current organization. Don’t make me list my points that are evident above.

As for the game:

On a day the Giants were honoring Number 92 Michael Strahan, they edged the dreaded Iggles. It is always great to beat those deadbeats from filthadelphia. The final score was a whopping 13-7. By the way, a game total of 318 passing yards for both teams. Think about that. The rules of the game are totally predicated on passing. The average NFL QB will racks up that amount by himself. Judge fired Clapper Garrett but can we discernibly tell any difference in this offensive Offense? Has it improved the team’s ability to get TDs versus going for FGs? BTW, the Giants were gift wrapped 4 turnovers and it lead to 13 total points. The game planning and management is an issue that Gettleman is not responsible. This is on Judge who deserves to be fired at years end too. We are exhausted by this and frankly tired of watching a sub sub standard product of football. Just be honest with yourself in watching the Pats, Titans, Bucs, Colts, Packers and Rams this Sunday versus this 13-7 game and ask would either team really compete in a playoff game? This Giants team sucks! Do not believe in this hollowed win. Just go back to 2013. The Giants began the season 0-6. And they were able to muster wins vs shitty QBs. Recall. Matt Barkley playing for the Eagles. Pryor under center for the Raiders. Scott Tolzien chucking 3 INTs as the Packers QB. And the best is Josh Freeman. He was picked up by Minnesota to start against the Giants on Monday Night Football. So 0-6 became 7-9. Giants owner John Mara believed the Giants were going to fix their broken offense by getting rid of much maligned OC Kevin Gilbride. (Gilbride retired before getting the axe.). How did this work? Subsequently, the Giants had back to back seasons posting 6-10 records. Treadmill of suckatude……. It has been like this for too long.

Prophet’s Pulpit-Giants vs Bucs on MNF

Written by: Tony “The Prophet” Yantosca

RAIDERS WIN RECAP

The Giants finally win a game where the defense stepped up. Everyone in the free world thought that the defense would be the strong side of the ball for this Giants team. Hopefully this is where Graham’s side of the ball exerts its dominance because the offense has not shown much yet. The defense is ranked 18stvs the run and 23rd vs the pass giving up over 372 yards/game. The Giants defense did give up 403 yards to the Raiders but they made huge stops in the red zone to win this game. 

Both teams score on their first scripted drives. In less than 10 minutes into the game the score was 7-7. The teams trade possessions next. Then on first down, Jones as he is prone to do, does not feel the pressure from the blind side. Jones gets hit on the upper arm by Ngakoue and fumbles the ball. Philon for the Raiders recovers it. The Giants defense does a strong job holding the Raiders to a field goal making it 10-7 Raiders. The drive started on the Giants 30-yard line and stalled on the 6-yardline forcing the field goal. 

The teams trade drives. When the Giants get the ball back at their own 40-yard line. They end up stalling and can only get to the Raiders 17-yard line where Gano hits a 35-yard field goal tying the game up 10-10. The Raiders get the ball with 3:17 at their own 30-yard line. Carr makes a good drive to take them to the Giants 14-yard line where they kick a 32-yard field goal to take the lead 13-10. It was an even game by the stats at the half. The Raiders had 161 yards, ran 30 plays and had 10 first downs. The Giants had 159 yards, ran 29 plays and had 8 first downs. You can’t have it any closer for the half. The Giants defense takes this game over in the second half to win the game. 

On the third play of the second half, on a 3rd and 7, McKinney steps in front of a pass intended for Renfrow and takes it to the house for a 41-yard touchdown. The pass was underthrown and Renfrow was waiting for it. This was the beginning of the end for the Raiders. The Giants go ahead 17-13. 

The Raiders make a long drive after the pick. They drive 85 yards in 15 plays taking 8:08 off the clock. The4 Giants defense stiffens again when the Raiders had a 1at and 10 from the Giants 14-yard line. The Raiders are forced to kick a 25-yard field goal. The Giants are up 17-16. The Giants defense forced the Raiders to kick 2 25-yard field goals and a 32-yard field goal. This is the difference in the game as all these kicks are less than an extra point try in yardage. 

The Giants go on a long drive taking them into the 4th quarter but get stopped at the Raiders 11-yard line and Gano has to kick a short field goal. The Giants are up 20-16 but the game is still within 1 possession. The Raiders go on a long drive to the Giants 7-yard line. Once again the defense keeps them out of the end zone. Carlson tries a chip shot 25-yard field goal but he misses it. The Giants do nothing on their nest drive. When the Raiders get the ball, McKinney picks Carr for the second time and the game is over. The Raiders were 1-6 in the red zone for a super low 17% efficiency. The Gmen add a field goal makingthe final 23-16 for the New Yorkers. 

This game was how the unimaginative, conservative Garrett offensive game plan for the Giants has been since he’s been here. If you take a look at the 9 prior wins for Daniel Jones, the team has rushed for an average of 132 yards and has throw for only 203 yards. Today Jones threw for 110 yards, 1 touchdown, and 5.5 YPA. Is this what we expect from the 6th overall pick in any draft? The Giants ran for 132 yards. The Giants were outgained 403 to 247. The defense came through but what happens when you are behind? Can you win with long term this formula?

Of the 15 completions, 12 were to running backs and tight end so that makes only 3 to wide receivers! This is a pathetic offensive. There were 11 receptions to running back and tight ends the week before vs the Chiefs. 

Here is the pathetic performance of the Giants wide receivers this year.

The top 4 receivers have made 71 catches in 9 games, 7.9 catches per game.

The top 4 receivers also missed 16.5 games during the 9 games:•

Shepard 32 catches, missed 5 games including week 11•

Golladay 19 catches, missed 3.5 games, missed 11 last year, $72M contract

!• Slayton, 6 catches, missed 3 games• Ross, 8 catches, missed 3 games

 

Golladay is on pace to catch 36 balls! I was on record before the season saying this this signing was a waste of money. The Giants still owe him $63.9M. As a footnote, he missed 11 games last year and you sign him to a huge deal? 

 

THIS WEEK’S MATCHUP

 

When the Buccaneers have the ball, they are a lethal offense. The Buccaneers are:

• 3rd in yards per game, 406 yards•

3rd in points/game, 31•

3rd in 3rd down efficiency, 48.2%•

2nd in yards per play, 6.22 yards•

4th in passing yards, 315.6•

2nd in completions of 20+ yards, 43• Brady is 1st in TD throws, 27

 

The Bucs will try to throw more on first down. They will try to establish the lead so they can blend in the run game. Fournette has distanced himself from Jones. He can be effective and he can also catch the ball. He has 486 yards rushing for 4.3 YPC. He also has 284 receiving yards on 38 receptions. Antonio Brown will be out. He has become Brady’s most trusted receiver. Brady also gets Gronk back. He has been gone since week 3. He is his favorite red zone target along with Mike Evans. Brady gets the ball out quickly. He gets his passes off in an average of 2.38 seconds and that is 2nd in the league.

 

The Giants will have to get pressure on Brady. We all know that after 2 decades in the league, Brady’s Achille’s Heel is A-Gap pressure right up the middle. It will be up to Williams, Lawrence and Johnson to provide that pressure vs Brady. Ojulari can apply pressure from the outside. That is easier said than done because the Buccaneers have only given up 12 sacks which is tied for the league best. 

 

The Giants will also need to get turnovers to win. Tampa has given up 12 so far so there is hope to get them. The Giants linebackers and secondary will have to make tackles upon contact. Tampa has 1374 yards of YAC (yards after contact). Brady has always been successful with the short passing plays that turn into big gains. Bradberry will have to take Evans out of the game. I don’t know if he can do it unless he travels. Evans has been lined up in the slot on almost 40% of the snaps. Previously he was predominantly the X receiver. 

 

When the Giants have the ball, they need to establish an effective pass game to the wide receivers. Jones needs time from the underperforming offensive line. You cannot run against the Bucs. They are the number 1 run defense only giving up 80 yards/game. They must try at times to run just to keep the Bucs D from winding up on this Swiss Cheese offensive line. 

 

The key to the Giants victory is Kadarius Toney. He has been hurt some, but Garrett has not figured out to use him and get him in space. He only had 1 dominant game; He is a tremendousmismatch for many defenders. Last game he had 1 target, 1 reception for 9 yards. If Toney does not get 10 targets in this game, I would fire Garrett after the game and give him bus money to get home! He has tanked this offense since he’s been here. With Shepard out, Golladay needs to step up too. Game manager Jones needs a minimum of 275 passing yards to have any chance in this game. 

 

The Buccaneers come off 2 losses so they are looking at the Giants to get right, The Giants played the Bucs on a Monday night game last year and the Bucs barely beast them 25-23. The Giants caught them in a trap game last year when they had to face the Saints the next week for the second time (they got smoked in the first game and were looking for revenge that did not happen) off a short week. The Giants come off a bye where their record over history has been bad. However, the Gmen have been road warriors. They are 12-3 against the spread on the road the last 15 games. If you take the time to go back further it is just as good since 2017. I think this game will be closer than the 11 points favorite the Bucs are. I’m worried about the Giants offense but I think the defense can keep this game from being a blowout. I am going to call this game, Buccaneers 27, Giants 20. For this week the Giants stay in the NFC East cellar. The schedule does get easier going forward. However, the Eagles do look like they are playing much better and play the Gmen twice in the remaining schedule.

Prophet’s Pulpit- Raiders vs NYG Preview & Prediction; Plus Arrowhead Choke Commentary

Written by: Tony “The Prophet” Yantosca

GROUNDHOG DAY-GIANTS CHOKE ON VICTORY AND LOSE AGAIN

It is very painful to watch the Giants continue to blow games that they had won. It is a sorry Groundhog Day for all Giants fans. Joe Judge was right. He said the fish rots from the head down and that is John Mara. We have the rest of the cast of incompetent characters. Gettleman cannot evaluate talent. He has been trying to rebuild the offensive line since he got here and it has been a 4-year utter failure. Garrett cannot call an imaginative game to use the healthy weapons that he has left. Graham was the only coach that performed well except at the beginning of the game. He ran a soft umbrella coverage that gave The Cheetah, Tyreek Hill, 8 receptions on 12 targets and a touchdown in the first half alone. 

Now I want to talk about Joe Judge. He is a FRAUD. He snowed Mara, Tish, and Gettleman with his tough talk interview. They swallowed the bait hook. Line and sinker. We have not seen any of it. He was supposed to bring the non-nonsense Patriot Way with discipline and tough play. This team is making the same mistakes game after game, and critical situation after critical situation. His press conferences are a broken record and nothing changes the next week. He hit a new low saying that he has had headphone problems in this game and all year. The next day the NFL came out and said there are no problems. Someone suggested that maybe he didn’t know that they shut them off with 15 seconds on the play clock. 

The game opens with a long well scripted first drive for the Chiefs. They get all the way down to the Giants 5-yard line. Then Mahomes throws a pick to Jordan Love. Two plays later it was nullified when Daniel Jones telegraphed his throw to Slayton. William Gay followed “One Read Danny’s” eyes right to the ball and intercepted Jones. It only took Mahomes 4 plays to find Hill in the end zone and a huge opportunity was wasted.

On their 2nd drive since then the Giants score on a touchdown pass to Rudolph tying the game. The Chiefs have to punt on the next series and Pettis fumbles the punt and recovers it. He was popped in the process is knocked out of the game for his mistake. The Giants are already down Golladay and Shepard got hurt in the game not to return.. On the second drive for the Chiefs after that score, they drive 68 yards. McKinney nearly picked Mahomes earlier in the drive but the ball hit the ground. 

On the ensuing kickoff, Johnson gets called for taunting moving the ball back to the Giants’ 9-yard line. The Giants drive the length of the field buy with 3:09 left on clock with a 3rd and 4 from the Chiefs 7-yard line, Judge has to call a time out because there is utter confusion lining up the play. On third down, “One Read Danny” throws a short pass to Shepard who runs a short route and is 2 yards short. Now on 4th and 2 the conservative Judge kicks a field goal. He went on 4th and 2 before and scored. You are a 2-5 team with nothing to lose playing a team that can put up points like a pinball machine, go for it! They kick the field goal and it’s 14-10 Chiefs. 

With 3:36 in the 3rd quarter Logan Ryan punches out the ball from Kelce on a completed pass and the Giants recover the fumble on their own 43-yard line. The Gmen for once capitalize on a break and score on a 2-yard Engram touchdown, his first catch of the game and first TD of the year. The Giants finally get the lead in this game at 14:53 of the 4th quarter. 

The Giants continue to make mistakes when they get the ball back. Penny is called for a taunting penalty and on the punt, the Giants get called for illegal touching. The Chiefs get the ball back at 4:41 left in the game and it is tied 17-17. During the drive the Giants intercept Mahomes form the second time. There were 5 plays where he could have been picked during the game. However, lack of discipline and mental mistakes kill this team and Joe Judge is responsible! On 2nd and 20, Ximines jumps off side and the Holmes interception does not count. It would be overtime at the worst and the Giants could get a chance to win with 4:22 left. Then on the next play Crowder gets called for a facemask but he never touched the facemask. The officiating has been horrendous again this year but you can’t blame this loss on the officials. 

RAIDERS/GIANTS MATCHUP

There is adversity for both teams coming into this game. The Raiders are dealing with the Henry Ruggs DUI case and itsaftereffects for the team. They have won 2 games with coach, Bisaccia, since the team fired Gruden. The Giants are coming off another blown gut-wrenching loss caused by mental mistakes and penalties. They were also hit by COVID this week. They dealt with a number of false positives. However, Barkley, McKinney, Skura, and Brightwell are in the Covid protocol. They cannot afford to lose McKinney and Skura. Barkley as expected to miss the game.

When the Raiders have the ball, they will want to throw the long ball and beat the Giants deep. They will want to run somewhat to set up play action. With the injuries to Jacobs, who will be back for this game, they have only been able to run for 87 yards/game which is 29th. Waller, who is back for this game, is the main target. The Giants need to run the same defense that they used vs the Chiefs. They ran cover 2 with 2 deep safeties and doubled Kelce who only had 4 receptions for 27 yards and Logan Ryan punched the ball out of his hands on one of the receptions. Renfrow is the next target with Edwards and Jones moving up the depth chart.

Carr has 16 deep completions of 20+ yards in 7 games. He has a 116.5 passer rating on these deep throws which is 4th. The Giants are 5th on allowing such long attempts. Their rating vs these long throws is 112.3. So, this is the key matchup of the game. Carr is 5th in total passing yards in the NFL. The 4 quarterbacks in front of him all have played one more game, so in reality he is even higher. The only way the Raiders can beat the Giants is through the air. 

The Giants proved last week they could hold Mahomes to 275 yards passing and 20 points when they average 296 yards/game. Carr should easily have over 300 yards passing. For whatever reason Gruden did not like Kenyan Drake. In the 2 games since he has been gone he scored both weeks. Look for him to be effective in the pass game especially on 3rd downs. 

Once again the Giants are the walking wounded. News update on Friday, Barkley and McKinney were removed from the COVID list. Besides the COVID protocol players (Barkley ankle too) Shepard, Pettis, McKinney, Carter, Ebner, do not look good to play. It appears that 3 of the 4 Covid tests were false positives. The Giants probably use the same COVID testing company as they do for their headphones. Golladay, Toney, Smith, and Ross are questionable and had limited practices. There is a chance all 4 will play. 

For the Giants to win, they will have to run for well over 100 yards. That means Booker needs a big day along with Jones rushing. They have no one else. If Garrett had imagination, he should use Toney on jet sweeps and also look to get a bigger role for Penny. The Raiders are 28th vs the run and give up 131 yards/game. 

It seemed Toney was on a pitch count especially in the first half last week where he was used as a decoy. Booker was the leading receiver last week with 5 receptions. If Jones has to be Captain Checkdown because of the Swiss Cheese offensive line again this week, they will certainly lose. The Raiders have given up 44 receptions to tight ends for 377 yards and 4 touchdowns in 7 games. Both Engram and Rudolph scored last week because Jones was under pressure and he was throwing underneath. Toney had 4 receptions for 26 yards last week. Garrett will have to design deeper plays for him especially if Shepard is out, if they want a chance to win. Slayton has been in the Witness Protection Program. He had 0 catches on 2 targets last week. They need the real production from him as the X receiver with Golladay out as usual. I told you before the season, Golladay would be a bust based on his injury history! The latest report shows him questionable so he may finally see the field. 

THE PREDICTION

The Raiders are coming off their bye. It is a 10am Pacific Time game for the Raiders. Historically they have not performed well in those games. The Giants have not performed well at home either. They are 10-27 since the start of 2017. The Gmen can keep this one close but The Raiders win their 3rd game in a row under their new coach. The deep passes ultimately do them in. I am calling this one, Raiders 27, Giants 20. The second score I liked was Raiders 28, Giants 23. The Giants can’t lose next week because they are on their bye. 

GIANTS DECADE OF MALAISE

Dave Gettleman’s Record since becoming GM: 16-38

Giants Record since last Super Bowl win: 59-93

Giants Record since the start of 2017: 20-52

Giants Home Record since 2017: 10-27

Jason Garrett’s Record: 8-16

Daniel Jones Record as a Starter: 10-24

Daniel Jones: 46 TD’s (39 pass,5 rush); 46 turnovers (27Interceptions, 36 fumbles, 19 lost)

Joe Judge’s Record: 8-16

Winning Seasons since 2011 Super Bowl Year: 2

Chiefs 20 Giants 17

Written by: Glenn Warciski

Pig slop! What a poorly executed game by both teams. And the Giants find another way to lose a game. The Giants fall to 2-6 on the season. Another lost season. This franchise is broken! Time to blow it up! We have been stating this for 5 years. It overdue to overhaul this abomination of an organization.

Pigpen football: A whopping 22 penalties accepted in this game. The Chiefs were flagged for 12 penalties totaling 102 yards. While the Joe Judge “disciplined” or lack there of Giants squad had 10 infractions totaling 88 yards. Too many unsportsmanlike penalties cost the Giants this game. In particular, the Penny taunting and the Crowder’s two penalties were daggers in the Giants heart. The former stalled a potential scoring drive. While the latter, first one ( roughing) allowed the Chiefs to tie the game at 17. Subsequently on the Chiefs next drive, Crowder was flagged for a phantom face mask, which allowed the Chiefs to sustain their drive and get the winning points.

If you believed Joe Judge in his introductory press conference a year ago, as a fan, you have to be livid with the lack of discipline of his team.

Joe Judge in his own words:

What I’m about is an old school physical mentality. We’re going to put a product on the field that the people of this city and region are going to be proud of because this team will represent this area. We will play fast, we will play downhill, we will play aggressive. We will punch you in the nose for 60 minutes, we will play every play like it has a history and a life of its own, with a relentless, competitive attitude. We will play fundamentally sound, we will not beat ourselves. That is our mission right here. I’m about caring for the players in the locker room. Let’s not forget there’s a human element to this game. Let’s not think that in professional sports that paying a pay check to somebody makes it absent of empathy. We need to make sure that we take care of the players in our locker room, that we treat them the right way, that we teach them the correct techniques, and that we put them in the right situations to be successful. We’re going to ask these men to come in and give everything they have every day. We’re going to demand it, and we appreciate everything they give us. It’s our responsibility to take care of them on a daily basis and make sure that when they are done with our game, they are better furthered for the rest of their career as a father, a husband, and a professional in whatever avenue they take.

The Giants do not play fundamentally sound. This is on Joe Judge. Instead of making excuses, like the latest, a headset problem. Judge has to be honest and hold himself accountable.

https://twitter.com/NYGunderground/status/1455395762867634180?s=20

What should Judge do when his players are committing dopey penalties? take the Bill Parcells approach, ‘if you get called for penalties, we’re taking you out of the game.’ The only way that you’re going to stop this, you have to have a sense of responsibility for your actions. So if you’re going to get called offsides and if you’re going to make mistakes then you’re coming out of the game. There has to be a fear; fear does the work of reason.

Fear not headsets. Judge does not know when to keep his mouth shut. His idiotic excuse about headsets has made it crystal clear. Joe Judge is unfit to be a NFL head coach. On top of his nonsense, his boss John Mara made it a point of emphasis about zero tolerance with taunting penalties.

“Nobody wants to see a player taunting another player. I know, I certainly don’t. I think the rest of the members of the competition committee feel the same way, too.”- John Mara

So what is going on in the Giants building? Judge did not take note his boss who is part of the competition committee put this new rule in effect. Then Giants Elijah Penny taunts a Chiefs player at a critical point late in the game. In turn, squandered the Giants chances of taking control of the game. But all we hear about is headsets. Unbelievable!

Other Observations:

Daniel Jones in rare form. After the Giants defense intercepts Mahomes, Jones was in an early Christmas mode. Throws an ill advised pass which is intercepted. Daniel Jones is Dave Brown 2.0. Difference Brown threw more pick 6 interceptions. We are in QB Hell!

Change coaches. Change players. Going back to 2016, the Giants cannot score enough points. More importantly, they are at the bottom of red zone scoring. From scouting to evaluating, they do not have an accurate gauge on grading players. Then the coaches do not know how to effectively attack in the red zone.