How Good Are the Giants?

Ok, that’s two bad games in a row. Last week in New Orleans the defense was the culprit, and last night the offense lost the game for the Giants. Big Blue feasted on the weak teams the first five weeks, but now facing solid teams two weeks in a row, they looked lousy in both games.

The D wasn’t great but came up with two big stops at the end and were good enough to win the game (though the injuries to Kenny Phillips , Aaron Ross and Michael Boley seem to be catching up to them). The offense, on the other hand, was off-kilter and inconsistent all game long. Even Jeff Feagles was terrible. Here’s what we didn’t like:

Eli Manning – he threw three interceptions, only completed about half his passes and looked rattled and confused by Arizona’s defense the whole game.

And what’s with all the delay of game penalties? He spent most of his time at the line of scrimmage shaking off Jorge Posada . The receivers didn’t help Manning, though. They ran bad routes and dropped a whole bunch of passes. Mario Manningham missed a pass that was right in his hands that was a sure TD. Even the TD pass that Hakeem Nicks caught was pure luck.

Ahmad Bradshaw ’s fumble near the end of the game killed them. They were finally putting together a good drive, and he doesn’t take care of the ball. And what was he thinking punching a 300-pound man in the facemask? There were way too many three-and-outs, with some curious play-calling at times. And the offensive line gave up three sacks and Manning was pressured all game.

So how do we judge the Giants? They’re not as good as the 44-7 ass whooping they gave the Raiders, but they’re probably not as bad as the last two games. So how good are they?

Are they better than the Redskins but not as good as the Cowboys and Eagles?

Or are they still the best team in the NFC East (they are still in first place, after all)?

Are they better than 9-7 but not as good as 14-2?

Are they better than the Raiders but not as good as the Saints?

Are they better than the ‘72 Giants but not as good as the ‘86 Giants?

Are they better than the Angels but not as good as the Yankees?

Are they better than Sammy Hagar Van Halen but not as good as David Lee Roth Van Halen?

Are they better than the remake of The Longest Yard but not as good as the original?

Are they better than How I Met Your Mother but not as good as The Office ?

Are they better than choking A-Rod but not as good as 2009 A-Rod?

Are they better than Jon Gruden but not as good as Cris Collinsworth ?

Are they better than tomato juice but not as good as beer?

Just where do the Giants stand? It’s hard to tell right now. Here’s the oddest moment of the night—I flipped to YES during a commercial, and Smokey Robinson , who was on Center Stage, claimed that his all-time favorite movie is Back to the Future, and he’s seen it over 30 times and knows the dialogue to the whole movie.

Why do I find that a little strange? Back to the Future ? Sure, it was a nice little entertaining movie, but can you really watch it more than 30 times? And do you want have the whole script taking up all that space in your brain?

Maybe the Giants need to go back to the future or back to the drawing board and find out where they’ve been going wrong. Next week they take on the Eagles, and they better turn things around before they start sinking in the standings.