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1:49:00 PM EST
I Stayed Up Late for That?
In fairness to those of us who feel compelled to watch every Giants game of the season, I think the team should let us know when it doesn't feel like showing up. If I have to be inconvenienced by staying up late to watch, they should be inconvenienced by having to actually play the game.
This has been the Giants M.O. for years now, even before Tom Coughlin. If they don't feel they really need to win the game, they tend not to make much of an effort in that direction. With a two game lead in the NFC wildcard race, the Giants had no urgent need to win last night.
Sure, some of us would have thought that winning and clinching the playoff spot would have been special. I know some of us were thinking a home game against a weaker divisional opponent should be a win. And I'm sure that most of us figured with a thirty-six year old who hadn't started a game in ten years quarterbacking Washington, that the Giants should win the game going away.
Well, they got the going away part right. It seemed that the Giants took one look at that cold windy stadium and decided it wasn't worth it.
Eli Manning is not his brother, but I'm sure even Peyton would have trouble winning with ten of his passes getting dropped. I also wonder why Brandon Jacobs didn't have 200 yards last night. It was there. In the second half he was busting ten yards at a clip. Of course, that's fine for getting the ball into the redzone, but letting Jacobs carry the ball once the Giants were inside the Skins' twenty, that's not sound football. The Redskins couldn't stop Jacobs so the Giants did it for them but not giving him the ball at key moments.
Then again, had the Giants used Jacobs to score, they would have needed their defense to stop the Redskins, something that didn't seem very possible. Funny how career backup Todd Collins' receivers can hold on to his passes but Sam Madison can't (must have been watching his offensive brethren).
With the game at 10-3 and less than two minutes to go in the first half, the Redskins marched right down the field. They got forty-six yards on one play when Clinton Portis ran one for thirty-one yards and Sam Madison was flagged for a facemask that tacked on fifteen more. Luckily, the defense stiffened to hold the Skins to a field goal. I was laughing as the unit got high fives coming off the field. Yes, great job of giving back the three points the offense just put up on the board, nice work.
The real impressive job was the Redskins' opening drive of the second half. That was the one where they didn't settle for the field goal, they just pushed the Giants down the field and scored a touchdown. Great job guys.
The rest of the half, the Giants tried in vain to comeback from a 22-3 deficit. The Redskins just ran out the clock. Big Blue did score a touchdown when Manning hit Kevin Boss, subbing for the now out for the season Jeremy Shockey. Hey! I think the Giants lead the league in broken legs. Go team! Why Tom Coughlin thought going for a field goal when the team was down twelve in the fourth quarter is beyond me. I guess it was the same mindset that decided less Jacobs was better.
John Madden said it correctly last night, "The Giants are a playoff team, but they don't play like a playoff team." He didn't say that only in reference to last night's game, otherwise he might have said the Giants aren't playing like a playoff team. The Giants' season record represents who they are at 9-5. They lose against good teams and win against bad ones. The games against other middle of the road teams are toss ups.
Given the expectations I had going into this season, I can live with that right now. The problem isn't their record or their talent. The problem is this team showed guts twice this year, in Week Three against a Redskin team that was better than the one they lost to last night and in Detroit. The Giants have had an easy schedule this season. Two of their division rivals are having mediocre seasons and they have had the good fortune to play the Dolphins, Jets, Falcons and 49ers. That's 7-1 right there. They also caught the Bears in a down year. They need to win against a team they ought to lose to before their fans will have any semblance of real confidence in them. In reality, they're an 8-8 team, just like most of the league, that caught a couple of breaks.
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12/19/07 11:19 AM