No coach is perfect. I've been critical of his play-calling and time management in particular... but...
You can't deny the Giants have come out of the bye winning 4 out of 5 and averaging about 32 ppg. Yea, the Philly game sucked, but... maybe this coach needs to learn to win like these players do. I know we've played some back-up qbs, but... so did McAdoo for almost 2 yrs and we couldn't hang 30 on any of them.
He has these guys playing hard, and playing to win. You can't ask for much more than that.
Oh, to dream of another OL or 2 in the draft and a DL and maybe a ball-hawing safety... Playoffs? 2019 Playoffs? That sounds nice to me!
They put up 33 on the defense. I get your point, but blame the decimated team. But nevertheless, they scored the points, and probably score more if Eli and Barkley stay in the game.
Just need to keep perspective and I guess that is what you are saying.
Yes, their defense has played well this year - and they aren't totally decimated.
BUT - awful offense makes it hard to play defense. The Redskins punted like 10 times today. Every Mark Sanchez drive was non-competitive.
Field position and sheer TOP put their defense in a near-impossible situation today.
That said...
You play the teams on the schedule and no NFCE game is ever "easy"
Shurmur has done a very nice job of keeping this team pushing and fighting. The offense looks like it is really improving and coming around.
If we find a way to finish this year 7-9 or even 8-8 considering we started 1-7, I'll be pretty encouraged going into next year.
He seems to be settling in here. Barring a really, really shitty final 3 weeks, he deserves another shot next year.
But
You play who you play when you play them
There were PLENTY of backup qb's and bad teams that McAdoo and Coughlin in the final years lost to.
Especially for this offense, to put up a streak of games like we have lately? I'll take it. It's great!
Also, Barkley is amazing and the specials are really forming up too. Great to kick this shit out of the Redskins today.
Yep. Losing that game would/could have been a back breaker and the Giants are too demoralized to win another game. I’m buying into the idea of building momentum and a winning culture that will pay off next season and the going forward.
8-3 Bears are not a good team, backup QB or not?
Bears are a good team. Back up QB sure but a good defense.
The Bears aren’t a good team? The Texans aren’t a good team?
Didn't we beat the Texans before they won something like 9 in a row? That is a pretty good team .... and we came very close to some other very good teams. He wasn't going to fix things in a season.
The team as a living breathing organism finally hit its stride and found a formula that works for them.
This. Still think they fucked up cutting bait on Snacks and Apple. But this offense once the OL went from worst in the league mediocre it’s been a different team. And OBJ didn’t play. Add one more OL and a legit pass rusher and a few other defensive players this team can easily compete next year. Reese destroyed this team the last 5 years. DG and Shurmur should get another year to see how it evolves. Barkley is making the QB or bust crowd look dumber and dumber each game
he is still learning on the fly with using his players
to best suit there skill levels .
really? That is looking at stats to get your conclusion.
Agree. I discussed this in my preview. For better or worse, the Bears game was huge.
What matters is how they're improving. Wins against bad teams is what they did last year too. They ran all over Denver last season with Orleans Darkwa and that was thought to be a turning point too.
It is hard to win against anyone in the NFL. And today wasn't even close 40-16.
It is improvement every week. It is winning games with a less than talented team.
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Who wasnt even in the NFL last week.
It is hard to win against anyone in the NFL. And today wasn't even close 40-16.
It is improvement every week. It is winning games with a less than talented team.
Agreed and it's also about being prepared and effort. Something they're consistently doing.
This team could've easily hung their heads and mailed in the season after the last Eagles loss but they've done the opposite, and the HC has to get credit for that.
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Who wasnt even in the NFL last week.
It is hard to win against anyone in the NFL. And today wasn't even close 40-16.
It is improvement every week. It is winning games with a less than talented team.
When you're playing less than talented teams in back to back weeks, you're gonna see improvement.
What they did against Chicago matters, but even then, it was without their starting QB so it creates situations that arent an accurate way to judge the team.
Like getting 14 points off Sanchez tipped pass INTs against a Washington team that knew their season ended with Alex Smith's leg.
19-3 lead and they spit the bit while returning to the hapless losers than had been in the first 8 games during that second half.
That stinker of a half in a very meaningful game takes something away from the idea that these wins, while nice, are really a big deal in the scheme of things.
When it comes to assessing this team and this stage I throw out everything after 1-7.
What was the Bears' record before we beat them? Yeah, they had a mediocre backup QB playing, but their team wins on defense primarily anyway.
Or something like that. Anybody who's ever played OL knows this: when you play with someone truly gifted, it energizes you to do your darn job, at least.
When your WRs are blocking like junkyard dogs fighting over bones, it's not the coach making the difference. So long as PS keeps feeding SB the ball...
Point being there is likely going to be a bunch of turnover just by virtue of contracts. The Giants don't have a bunch of young good players under contract.
Shurmur's going to have a very different team and challenge next year.
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But they still have not beaten a GOOD team....
Bears are a good team. Back up QB sure but a good defense.
Also, lets stop acting like Trubisky is Brady. So yes, Daniels is not as good, but the drop off was not like going from Brady to Sanchez.
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But they still have not beaten a GOOD team....
What was the Bears' record before we beat them? Yeah, they had a mediocre backup QB playing, but their team wins on defense primarily anyway.
Exactly, the drop off between Trubisky and Daniels is not as big as people are making it sound.
The one thing that seems encouraging... he may be the sort who actually learns from mistakes and doesn't stay stubborn.
That in itself is a breath of fresh air.
Will their tendency be to dismiss the 1-7 start as an acclimation period, and eagerly cling to what the performance after the midpoint might imply? Will they still be able to see the weak spots and blunders buried in the wins and say, "Wait a minute, let's make sure we have a plan to address ______?"
Will the tell themselves, "A few different bounces here and there and we would have beat X, Y and Z and been right in the hunt!" and be satisfied by that, despite the possibility that maybe beating X, Y and Z doesn't really actually signify anything that meaningful because neither of them were great teams either?
Gonna be tricky.
Last year that joke of a team and HC went to SF, a bottom feeder and they did not trade for their new QB yet, and got destroyed. This year, sure some of the recent wins were against weaker teams, but they were wins and yesterday they obliterated a weak injured team. To me that means things are trending up and I think the coach needs to get some credit.
Also, cutting bait with the whole right side of the line and finding a more workable solution is also a good move. Took balls and it seems to be working out.
Sure wish they won that Carolina game, 63 yard fluke from a kicker who has been crap since.
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In comment 14211377 gmenatlarge said:
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But they still have not beaten a GOOD team....
What was the Bears' record before we beat them? Yeah, they had a mediocre backup QB playing, but their team wins on defense primarily anyway.
Exactly, the drop off between Trubisky and Daniels is not as big as people are making it sound.
Nobody is calling trubisky Brady, far from it, but I doubt Trubisky would have spotted the giants a TD lead by throwing a pick-6 into Ogletree's face mask. Are the Giants improving?-definitely but they collapsed in the face of a tough front seven in Philly and they still have big problems on the O-line. Beat Indy on the road or dallas at home and I'll be impressed! Right now they are what the record says they are a 5-8 team. Any team in the league can say if they got a few bounces here or there they could be in it.
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But they still have not beaten a GOOD team....
8-3 Bears are not a good team, backup QB or not?
Why is it the concept of a "trap game" never applies to a Giants opponent? The Bears had a big division win over the Vikings, then won on Thanksgiving Day. They'd won five straight and had 10 days off before facing the Giants, with a massive Sunday Night matchup against the Rams looming.
Isn't it at least possible the Bears were looking past the Giants a little bit? It's "great" that the Giants managed not to lose after blowing the game in the final 2 minutes, but let's be reasonable, the Bears didn't bring the same intensity they had last night in obliterating the Rams offense.