Always great to get a win and no matter if there were mistakes, you win and learn from them. A couple of good and bad things stood out to me though.
Bad:
Clock Management at the end of the 1st. I know it worked out, but it was very risky. After Cruz's 1st catch in the drive, there was rough 45-50 seconds left in the half at the Cowboys' 16 yard line. I felt they should have burned a time out. Instead the clock ran down to 20 seconds after another Cruz catch. We were really limited in what we could run and were left with timeouts in our pockets. Fortunately, we were able to score, but I think the clock could have been stopped earlier.
I also thought he forced the run to start the 2nd half. I believe the first 5 first downs we had in the 2nd half we ran the ball with little success. Then we followed it up with play-action as well. I understand we needed to run to keep them off the field, but I felt it was a bit forced and we lost some rhythm that we gained in the first half.
Good:
I love how Ben and the coaches got on players early for making mistakes. Shephard and Donnell both were chewed out for mistakes that hurt the team. I am a firm believer in tough love, and a team that hasnt made the playoffs in years needs a little of that.
No RB by committee. THANK GOD. Both Vereen and Jennings had good games yesterday and we stuck with them.
At first, I thought Ben would need to throw the ball on the last drive, but he did the right thing by running it and then punting it. A rookie HC may have made a mistake trying to go for it by throwing it, but he definitely did the smart thing.
Anything else stand out to you guys? It was tough to judge the offense since they were not on the field for a lot of the game.
Most of the time I would agree - but how many times have we seen this team give the ball back to the opponent with 30-45 seconds left - and have them easily score? Or at least march down the field with a FG chance.
This is absolutely a better defense, and could be very good. But I actually liked the fact that McAdoo made sure that Dallas didn't get the ball back there (whether he did that intentionally or not). I'd rather let the clock go all the way down, get some points, and not give the ball back to the other team.
Other notes from McAdoo - I thought there was a nice controlled presence on the sideline throughout. Even when things started to get a little dicey, and when we were down in the first half and second - there was no panic. Not saying there was ever "panic" with Coughlin - but his style was a little more "throw your hands up in the air" when things go awry type of thing. McAdoo seems like he is going to be a little more controlled. Different strokes for different folks, but I like that.
Instead of focussing on some of the individual mistakes (and there were a few), look at the fact that the Giants D clearly made adjustments in the 2nd and 3rd quarters and proceeded to limit the Dallas O after the first three drives.
I also liked how McAdoo looked calm and collected on the sidelines. And though he made some mistakes, he also made some really good calls, like that series of running plays on the Giants final drive.
Let's not put Ben in a hoodie just yet, but he didn't seem overwhelmed.
I also liked how McAdoo looked calm and collected on the sidelines. And though he made some mistakes, he also made some really good calls, like that series of running plays on the Giants final drive.
This was my biggest takeway. Moment doesn't seem too big for Ben.
Would have been nice to get Beckham the ball more. I think he had 8 targets so that's good, but only 4 catches. Most of routes seemed to be shorter ones other than the 45 yarder he caught early on.
Offense was good overall for a Dallas game. But I still see a lot of that predictable play calling on 1st down.
Defense could be something special, all the pieces are there and these guys will continue to gel over the next few weeks. The more wins we get early on will be huge as it will make us that much better when the defense finally comes together as one. If we lose a bunch of games early on it may be to late to recover from later on.
Division games are rarely "easily handled"
specifically on a 2nd down a few seconds before 2 minute warning
if you run the ball , the clock is going to stop at the two minute warning anyway so you are not going to burn a ton of time
you have Eli Manning and a great receivering corp --
throw a pass in that situation
a first down pretty much ends the game be more aggressive
if you run the ball , the clock is going to stop at the two minute warning anyway so you are not going to burn a ton of time
you have Eli Manning and a great receivering corp --
throw a pass in that situation
I was yelling for that as well. But hey, I can understand why they wanted to keep pounding.
My thoughts exactly. We've given the ball back to the opponent with less than 30 seconds before, only to give up an easy FG.
They committed to stuffing the run, and they did. They could have thrown a ton of blitzes at a rookie QB. They didn't.
On offense, it's pretty clear that the Giants (still) move the ball best by throwing to their WRs. But they were intent on getting run going (fine with me), and underneath passes to the RBs.
I think that had they been more aggressive in the passing game, they could have taken more advantage of Dallas' ragged D and put more points on the board. They didn't. And if the plan was to control the clock, they didn't do that either.
Still, it worked out due to the improved Defense and the bonehead play by the Dallas WR. If he doesn't screw that up, and Dallas kicks the FG, this performance looks much worse.
Loved him getting on Donnell. As frustrating as Donnell is people here need to realize that he's the only TE on the roster capable of making the TD Grab he did. Will Tye isnt making that play.
I would have prefered they saved a little more time on the end of the half drive by calling time out. You can always eat time by running the ball and inside the 10 (had they gotten there) the extra time allows for a run or two.
Thought the D was too conservative - but likely defending against Dak running. Once Dallas had to move the ball by passing, the rush amped it up.
No real complaints or criticisms.
most of the prognosticators are picking to win the
division .
The Team was Ready the Gameplan IMO worked and he is not
afraid to send a message for costly mistakes and I don't
think Larry Donnell is going anywhere . He is good red
zone target as much abuse as he takes he is our Best
TE target . I agree Tye doesn't make that play .
specifically on a 2nd down a few seconds before 2 minute warning
if you run the ball , the clock is going to stop at the two minute warning anyway so you are not going to burn a ton of time
you have Eli Manning and a great receivering corp --
throw a pass in that situation
a first down pretty much ends the game be more aggressive
THIS^
Putting the game in the defense's hands at the end of the game will pay big dividends for this team down the road.
He still needs to get some clothes that aren't too big for him, though.
specifically on a 2nd down a few seconds before 2 minute warning
if you run the ball , the clock is going to stop at the two minute warning anyway so you are not going to burn a ton of time
you have Eli Manning and a great receivering corp --
throw a pass in that situation
a first down pretty much ends the game be more aggressive
I originally thought the same thing. I went back and looked and we had to snap the ball with 2:11 seconds. If we threw the ball and it was incomplete the clock stops before the two minute warning. Meaning that the two minute warning comes after third down instead of second. Dallas would have gotten the ball back with just under two minutes. The run was the right call.
Overall I thought he had a very good game. My one qualm would be with the last possession. Specifically, the plays on first and second down. For reasons beyond my understanding the shotgun runs up the middle were hugely effective all game. This I didn't understand why they opted to go under center for those two plays. It seemed to clutter the middle of the field (where our backs were most effective), and resulted in the 3rd and long that Jennings almost converted with the same shotgun run.
I don't have any data to support this but the offense seems to have been operating better out of the shotgun for a couple years now.
That said I didn't like going with the back to back jumbo run formations at the end of regulation. Those are give up calls that give you no chance to earn the first down and end the game with the ball in our hands. It almost cost us the win.
That said I didn't like going with the back to back jumbo run formations at the end of regulation. Those are give up calls that give you no chance to earn the first down and end the game with the ball in our hands. It almost cost us the win.
?? If not for that hit by the Dallas DB Jennings gets the first down and the game is over.
One first down in that situation and we run the clock out on them. With the ball in our hands. After the 1 yard gain on 1st down I would have liked to see something more creative. We had options they hadn't pressured Eli all day.
Putting the game in the defense's hands at the end of the game will pay big dividends for this team down the road.
He still needs to get some clothes that aren't too big for him, though.
specifically on a 2nd down a few seconds before 2 minute warning
if you run the ball , the clock is going to stop at the two minute warning anyway so you are not going to burn a ton of time
you have Eli Manning and a great receivering corp --
throw a pass in that situation
a first down pretty much ends the game be more aggressive
I agree with this.. however consider this. The fact that the defense can actually end a game and get the Giants a win, happened. I think i am glad Macadoo said, win it spags.
Its a good thing in the end of course cause it worked !
I thought McAdoo was too conservative on the last offensive series.
Specifically on a 2nd down a few seconds before 2 minute warning.
If you run the ball , the clock is going to stop at the two minute warning anyway so you are not going to burn much time. You have a well protected Eli Manning and a great receiving corp - be more creative in that situation. A first down ends the game. Be more aggressive.
That said McAdoo coached a good game for his first time out of the gate and the team was clearly well prepared to battle both physically and mentally for as long as it took to secure a victory.