...so much has been written about our shit line backers and our do-nothing defensive ends, and our offensive line that can't run block and our #1 running back who can neither hold onto the ball nor pass block very well.
Fair enough!
But the Number One reason why this team finds itself in a hole is because our 2-time Super Bowl QB -- in his tenth season -- is throwing bad passes and way, way too many interceptions. IMO, the 2013 Season comes down to this: Either Eli Manning pulls his game together or we're looking at a Top 5 Draft Choice in 2014... maybe higher.
Not saying Eli hasn't made poor decisions, just that even if you eliminated some of the turnovers he's caused, it wouldn't necessarily solve everything.
One went off a DB's heel..
And 2 of the 4 were thrown after they were down 38-16...?
He bears blame but has still been the best player on the field in both losses..
But that's just me.
Yes Manning is not playing very well but he is not the main problem. Teams that were good fall off and teams like the 49ers, Seahawks and Bengals who sucked for years but were able to pick in the top 15 are now good. This team needs some youth injected into it. Guys like Jacobs, Snee, Bass, Tuck, Kiwi, Webster, Ross and others are not 25 anymore.
Eli had a few mistakes in game one, but I thought his overall performance was very strong.
Blame for our 2 losses? I think Denver had the better team and if you had to finger point a player against Dallas, it would be David Wilson.
the Denver loss was a total team (offense) debacle. eli's int before the half was unacceptable and a real momentum changer. but if myers doesn't screw up twice with the drop and falling down that is a much different game. nicks had a huge drop as well in that game. and the o-line was beyond bad.
Second, the running game is clearly the biggest weakness on this team right now. Clearly. If this team had a good running game they aren't 0-2 and they don't have 32 turnovers through 2 games.
It's as clear as day. The Giants are one dimensional. They don't lose at dallas if the RB doesn't melt down. Eli doesn't throw 15 desperate passes in the 2nd half last sunday if the team has any running game to speak of.
Eli has bee at fault but I don't like blaming the best player on a team for team wide struggles. See the Ewing theory.
Where I'm not happy with Gilbride is that there are things you can do when your running game stinks. You can go with quick, 3 step drops and short passes in the flat (or bubble screens), and do lots of misdirection runs off of 3 Wide Receiver spread formations. Sprinkle in a lot of trap blocks, and we might take advantage of Wilson.
And, for Heaven's sake, please try and PRACTICE screens during the week (they don't do enough of that, and it shows!) I used to complain every time I did camp reports that the team never, ever, ever ran screens in camp. If you don't drill that into guys, how do you expect them to do it in crunch time???
We can't go power. I know Coach Coughlin loves to do things off tight power formations, but we stink to high heaven when we run it. We should go exclusively to play action near the goal line.
But we won't. TC will ask that the OLine try to hold pass blocking for 3plus seconds, and go to power on the 1 yard line. We know what happens then.
Don't get too high or too low. Knowing this Giants team they will turn things around, get everyone in a frenzy talking super bowl only to struggle mid season.
Take it one game at a time. They are closer than some of you think to fixing the offense and the D is good enough to slow offenses down. They played two extremely tough games and lost. I still feel like the Giants have a chance to hold serve with a win this sunday. Get to 2-3 with a win over Philly and they are fine.
One game at a time.
The Heart IS the Giants Problem
What good is having a very good qb(not elite), a good trio of receivers, a RB that can take it to the house, if you don't have the time to pass and you can't consistently open holes in the running game?
It makes you one dimensional....it makes defenses dare you to run by playing 7 back there....there are many plays and schemes that you can't run without a good OL......and because of this OL, we can't take advantage of our weapons....we've gone years without addressing this problem, and now it's biting us in the ass..
Sure it's a team game, and Eli doesn't run block nor rush the passer, nor run down on punt returns... but the game of football depends first and foremost on the play of the QB. And he has been very bad so far after two games. Eli's QB Rating is 75.9 (25th in the NFL.) His rating is lower than Jake Locker's, Cam Newton's, Chad Henne's, Ryan Tannehill's, and EJ Manuel's.
That's ugly.
A turn around for the Giants -- if there is going to be one in 2013 -- starts with Eli Manning. He needs to cut down on both his physical and mental mistakes.
I realize that he's the big whipping boy of the OL, but saying he's the problem with the lack of blocking when he's been inactive is ridiculous.
NY-Fan : 11:47 am
It plays with very little passion, plays very slow,
Yep. We play flat and unispired, and the D is complacent, except when it was getting continual stops in the first two games only to watch the O give the opportunities away.
In the first half of both games, the D has played very well and was hitting hard. The O has been making mistakes, not executing well and wasting scoring chances. Not much of that seems to be because of a lack of passion or slowness.
But maybe not as atrocious as his end of half INT against Denver! That was a very big let down that should not happen with a 10-year vet. He forced something there that looked like a third string rookie trying to make the team in his last exhibition game.
If we find a way to fix our OL woes, we will get back on track as a football team. Really, that solution is nothing more than better performance from Boothe, Baas and Snee. We are not going to sign anyone off the street to come in here and play, nor did it appear that Brewer or Mosley are solutions at this time. If they cannot raise the level of their game, this is going to be a long season.
Beatty and Pugh, in my view, have performed adequately, though far from spectacularly. It's the G-C-G that have really hurt us in this 0-2 start.
The physical errors are one thing, but the poor decisions are really hard to justify after all these years. That's not an OL issue. That's an Eli issue. And right now we are seeing the BAD Eli. I'm waiting for the GOOD Eli to play for 60 minutes.
We run an offensive passing scheme that is built upon WR option routes. The WRs read the defense and finish their routes based on what they see. In order for this to work, you need great WRs who run great routes and make great reads. We have that.
however, you also need for the QB to make the exact same read. When it's on, it's extremely hard to defend because it is designed to find the holes in the defense.
however, it is very high-risk because if either the WR or QB sees something differently, then the QB is going to throw to a spot where the WR won't be near. It won't be an interception due to an imprecise throw, but an interception because the QB throws to an area where there are defensive players and not wide receivers. This then makes the INT returns worse.
Unfortunately, because the risk comes from the QB and WR seeing the exact same thing and not due to inaccuracy, there is the greater opportunity for risk (INT, incomplete) because there are more variables.
More than that, this type of exploitative offense is designed to dominate the deep-ball game. It's why Eli attempts more deep passes than anyone else in the league.
Another thing that hamstrings us is that our offensive line is not great in pass protection, thus forcing Eli to read what his WRs are doing earlier than he would like because deep plays take longer to develop.
Even worse is that our offensive line is embarrassing at run-blocking. We are meant to use the run to open up the passing game and to keep defensive players shallow. But since no team fears our rushing attack, defenses can keep extra men back.
The problems with our offense are sourced in the offensive line and with Gilbride's system which is ineffective with our personnel and in today's NFL where starting positions are more of a carousel than seemingly ever before
However, As M.S. and others have said this is mainly on Eli. And I agree on the pass to Scott (to hard and inaccurate) and the end of the half pass against Denver. Just unacceptable for a QB of his experience and quality.
If Eli does not step up his game and cut out the INTs, the Giants are done.
As I have stated before, one of my pet peeves of Eli is first down int's....3 of the 7 int's came on first down.....
As everyone knows, there is the Jekyll/Hyde Eli.....you would think after 10 seasons, the thought process on when to throw and not to throw should be ingrained.....
The pass before the half vs Denver, was a rookie mistake, made by a veteran......it was first down, Nicks was covered....we were in fg range....we had timeouts.....where was the short pass option? Eli stared him down, he was covered, and he still threw it up for grabs....throw it away....2nd down.....go for the td if it is open, or hit a short pass to make the fg attempt easier...
Another of my pet peeves with Eli is the short pass.....for some reason, which is hard to understand, he is not accurate with this pass......the receiver is not far away, yet the pass is hi/lo/has too much mustard/receiver has to change his route to catch it.....
I Joking set my third pet peeve as Eli can't slide....
But my fourth pet peeve has arisen again......can you believe he threw another left handed pass downfield?
Time to get it together Eli....
I am really not happy with the routes our WRs are running. IMO, they are rounding off their routes and also seem to be running them at practice speed. Barely any separation.