This was the season that led to Coughlin/Eli. A franchise changing season, but expectations were high.
Some highlights:
-I remember high expectations entering the season. There was a lot of hope for the offense. William Joseph was drafted to sure up the defensive line after the collapse in SF.
-Jeremy Shockey called Bill Parcells a 'homo' during training camp which became a pretty big story.
-The Giants beat up on Kurt Warner pretty good in their week 1 win.
-Matt Bryant kicking it out of bounds and Parcells celebrating on the sidelines as a Cowboys coach. Brutal.
-Week 3 win in Washington after almost blowing the game.
-Brutal loss to Philly at home with the Westbrook punt return.
-Nice win at Minnesota, they were unbeaten at the time. An OT win against the Jets the following week. At 4-4, the wheels fell off after.
-Joe Horn cell phone debacle.
-Jim Fassel fires himself before the end of the season.
Just a miserable season. But it put us in the position to draft Eli and hire Coughlin.
What were your expectations going into 2003?
Also the OL blew that year. Ernie had let a couple of starters walk confident that Tam Hopkins and Ian Allen would step up ...lol. Neither of them could hold the job thru preseason.
I remember being 2-4, winning 2 in a row, including a thriller against the Jets that we almost blew. Then we played at the time, I think the worst team in the league in the Falcons. They were either winless or had like 1 win. I thought we'd kill them but we got killed in one of worst losses I remember. After Collins got hurt we'd score a quota of like 7 points in practically every game. I still remember the Joe Horn game. I was cramming for a math final which I was woefully unprepared for. Anyway, there was a surprising game against the Panthers on the last game of the season. The Panthers were good that year but the game ended up close I think due to some poor ST performance by the Panthers.
i really thought super bowl or bust headed into that season. holy shit, what a disaster.
Also the OL blew that year. Ernie had let a couple of starters walk confident that Tam Hopkins and Ian Allen would step up ...lol. Neither of them could hold the job thru preseason.
Parcells running onto the field celebrating was disgusting
The Cowboys loss was a punch in the gut. The Giants storm back from down 29-14, take the lead with 11 seconds left, and then fucking Bryant kicks the ball out of bounds. Just brutal.
The season turned on that Eagles game. I went with a friend. The Fish's are clearly the better team in that game. The Eagles' offense had no answer for the Giants' defense. Not a doubt in my mind that had we punted the ball out of bounds, we win. Fucking Westbrook. It was eerily silent as everyone left the stadium that day. Eagles go on to the NFC Championship Game, Giants go 2-8 the rest of the way.
The second half of the season was horrible. The Giants were TERRIBLE. They weren't competitive in a game the rest of the season.
Also the OL blew that year. Ernie had let a couple of starters walk confident that Tam Hopkins and Ian Allen would step up ...lol. Neither of them could hold the job thru preseason.
Wasn't the story that Mike Rosenthal actually took less money to go to Minnesota because he hated NY?
Outside of his first 2 seasons in the league, Kerry Collins never had consecutive winning seasons. He and Tiki Barber were turnover machines that year.
I remember being at Binga's, a sports bar in Portland Maine, for the Westbrook punt return. Right after Westbrook escaped the last possible tackle, I slammed my hand down on the bar counter & said 'F*ck!' Unfortunately for me, there was a family with a 5 or 6 year old sitting in the dining area right behind me. I apologized. That type of game, that type of season. Just a shake your head, let it end season.
The rest of the season is awful. And there was a blatant penalty on the Westbrook return that basically ended Fassel's tenure right then and there (along with the poor OL).
Fassel gave away the Cowboys home game by playing to protect against a botched snap because he was still scared from the playoff debacle the season prior.
There was also a story, I believe from Toomer, that Fassel had told Feagles not to punt the ball out of bounds in the Eagles home game and then later had Feagles cover for the bone-headed decision.
After the loss against the Falcons, the team completely laid down and quit on Fassel.
Kind of crazy to think that if it wasn't for a couple dumb special teams plays, the Giants would have been 6-2 at the midpoint of the season despite their ridiculous number of turnovers and in the driver's seat to take the division.
THIS!!! This game told me all I needed to know about that team and Fassell
-Week 5 vs Miami, turn the ball over 4 times and lose in a game we out-gain them 350-285
-Week 6 vs New England, out-gain NE 382-220, hold Brady to 8/21 passing for 112 yards(!). But lose 17-6 due to 5 turnovers, 2 missed field goals, and bad red zone offense
-Week 7 vs Philly, The Westbrook Game. Out-gain Philly 339-134(!!!), 2 turnovers in the red zone, punting to Westbrook.
-Week 10 vs Atlanta, season back on track at 4-4, then lose to Kurt Kittner at home.
That was that, just awfull. But it led to Eli/TC. So I guess it was worth it.
2003 Season - ( New Window )
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Kurt Kittner beat them at Giants Stadium. That was the real nail in the coffin.
THIS!!! This game told me all I needed to know about that team and Fassell
Not sure if I am dreaming this, but didn't Fassell bring a shovel to practice that week, and had all the players sign it. The theme was something of the sort "keep working".
Then they laid a Giant egg!!!! Brutal loss.
And the year started off so well with a nice win over a Rams team that still had Kurt Warner and a dangerous offense. The defense looked great that day.
You know the kind...
The SQUIB!!
He was pretty popular because he was an upgrade over his predecessors, but man I couldn't stand him. I never forgave him for Super Bowl XXXV.
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Going through some of these game logs, it is unbelievable the amount of times he fumbled or threw picks to kill drives that season
He was pretty popular because he was an upgrade over his predecessors, but man I couldn't stand him. I never forgave him for Super Bowl XXXV.
Came across that full game on YouTube recently, it was ugly. Really did feel like he played scared, more so than I remembered at the time. Our defense really played a strong game that day but we never had a chance.
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must be too young to remember 1982.
That 1982 should have been a playoff team .Bad losses week 1 vs the Falcons and vs the Redskins and Cardinals back to back in December killed our hopes but I think we still had a shot the last week if the packers and cards lost and we beat philly .We beat philly but the pack and cards won
that was the year Simms got high-lowed by the Jets in preseason and wrecked his knee. Olive Oyl Brunner got the job by default
no. but in '83 Parcells through it up for grabs and made the wrong chioce
In hindsight I'm glad it played out the way it did because we got Coughlin and Eli Manning thanks to the 4-12 record and trade BUT 2003 was my final straw with Collins prior to even knowing the Giants would get Eli. Tiki's annoying fumbles, the bad offensive line, everyone was hurt, Fassel's idiotic decisions, losing to back up QBs (Falcons game), Collins turning the ball over 8,000 times. Same old shit. To be honest, when the playoffs were out of the picture, I liked seeing that team get hung out to dry. Every game after the Tampa Bay game was a noncompetitive, pile of garbage. I remember it was so bad, instead of watching the Bills game I went to a friend's house from high school. Her mom was so shocked to see me during game time and I said nah I'm not watching that garbage, and then on her TV Toomer ran for 77 yards and the touchdown. The only score of the game. Those games were easy to miss.
What sticks out the most though is that stupid Dallas game. I remembered who were Cowboy fans again because they just started popping up out of nowhere for the first time since 1995. Nothing like loser NJ Cowboy fans.
Alas, the poor discipline and dumb play that symbolized much of Fassel's tenure returned. All foreshadowed, imo, by the collapse in SF.
The Country Club.
That was pretty much my rock bottom moment as a NYG fan in between the glory year period 86/90 and 07-11. I was LIVID. The postseason collapse in SF was one thing but that was the final straw for me in regards to Fassel. At that moment I was convinced the Giants wouldn't win shit with Fassel coaching the team. Bad luck, bad decision making...karma...combo of all three..who knows...but I was done. By the time Westbrook returned the punt for a TD 5-6 weeks later I was numb. I wasn't even upset when Westbrook scored the TD. Part of me was almost relieved because I knew the team would quit after that which would seal Fassel's fate for good.
I was at the week 1 win over the Rams and have to admit, was pretty fucking pumped after that game. Felt pretty good about that team for one brief moment. IT all changed a week later.
Alas, the poor discipline and dumb play that symbolized much of Fassel's tenure returned. All foreshadowed, imo, by the collapse in SF.
The Country Club.
That's an unnecessary shot at Fassel. The hot stretch was based on the offense. They came back the next year with a different (worse) o-line and Kerry Collins wasn't the kind of player who would give consistent performance year after year. There's a reason Tom tossed him overboard immediately. There's also a reason the team spent a fortune in free agency over the next 2 offseasons.
However, there's also no doubt that Tom got more out of Tiki and some of the other guys.
But since it was sandwiched between the SB season and the 2002 season that we all remember for the SF game, I feel like the 2001 season kind of just never gets talked about.
We started 3-1 but then we went 2-6 in the next 8 and everything just went totally down the tubes.
That 2002 Titans game was vintage Fassel. Going for two and being an idiot way early in the 4th quarter. Foreshadowing what would come in the catastrophe that was the 49er playoff game. Those comeback losses turn me into a dark evil beast.
Oh man I forgot about some of those. I do remember that Oakland game .. the field was an absolute mess.
Our field was just painted mud for a few years after they ripped up the astroturf at the old Giants stadium.
In STL, the Giants get hosed on a PI call and on the final drive the ball goes off the hands of Joe Jurevicious. Giants lose 15-14.
The next week the Giants dominate the game but are only up 9-0 after settling for FG's all game. McNabb hits James Thrash late and we lose 10-9. At 3-3, there air was kind of out of the balloon. Then they lose to the Redskins after 2 brutal losses.
I thought the 2001 Giants were better than their 7-9 record. They almost beat Philly late in the year at the Vet. The Lambuth Special game with Ron Dixon. Giants take 21-14 lead late but the defense couldn't stop the Eagles.
Brutal losses in 2001.