New York Giants Miscellaneous Notes and Observations

After 42 days of unmistakable misery in the Giants locker room, the Giants finally won a game. Except the coaching staff barely had an hour to savor it—as they had already begun delving into Broncos game film before the Giants Stadium parking lot had even cleared out.

At this point of the year, all speculation is thrown out. Get hot and you’ll have a chance for an all-expense paid weekend in Miami during the first week of February. If mediocrity gets the best of you, your best shot at camera time will be as an NFL Network correspondent.

Frankly, the Giants first win in over a month hardly felt like one. Though they were up by 14 with ten minutes to go, it wasn’t as well played a game as the Giants strive for. Here are some issues I have with the team now, along with some random notes.

The Running Back Quandary

Ahmad Bradshaw is not a 16 game running back. His remarkable ability to cut on a dime can make even the league’s elite look silly; hence all the calls for him in 2008 despite Derrick Ward compiling the most ho-hum 1,000 yard season in Giants history. But his skills do not allow him to carve through defenses in December and January as he did in 2007. After receiving a handful of carries the first ten games, Bradshaw’s condition has deteriorated and he likely won’t be a major factor down the stretch.

As opposed to Bradshaw, Jacobs is renowned for his inability to play 16 games. Though he has yet to be inactive for a game, he has suffered his share of injuries. Right now, both backs are banged up and performing poorly. The offensive line has failed to generate creases large enough to fit the 265 pound Jacobs, and Bradshaw’s cut backs are being snuffed out by linemen who have clearly watched film on him.

Injuries coupled with a short rest likely will further inhibit the backs from having productive games. Enter Danny Ware. My pre-season darling was M.I.A. for over a month with an elbow injury he suffered on the first play of the season. But with fresh legs, he may be the Giants main hope at running back.

I am not giving up on Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. But their all-around games leave something to be desired right now. It may have come against NFL scrubs and UFL studs, but Ware displayed skills of a legitimate downhill runner the past two pre-seasons. He’s powerful enough to break tackles at the point of attack, and is slippery enough to break through tiny holes and turn them into substantial gains.

Here’s the situation. The Giants are not going to make the playoffs if Eli is forced to put the team on his back throughout December. I think he’s due for a strong stretch run, but he will be playing three games at Giants Stadium, two of which against division rivals going against him for the second time this season. Manning’s passes did not learn to carve through the Meadowlands wind within a year. The running game has to step up in those games, or this season will end in a colossal disappointment.

Lawrence Tynes is a major issue

I’m fully convinced that had he not gotten the opportunity to kick that field goal to win the game, Tynes would have been cut. His putrid field goal misses would be somewhat excusable if he was able to kick the ball off.

I know it’s by design, but there’s no reason an NFL kicker should have to angle every kickoff on a line drive squib kick. Mike Garafalo of the Newark Star-Ledger references this in his game recap and echoed the sentiments in a much more polite way that I was portraying them on Sunday. With a struggling defense, the last thing the Giants need is guaranteeing their opponents field position at the 35-yard line, at a minimum.

If Tynes is unable to boot the ball with solid hangtime past the five yard line, but the Giants want to keep him as a kicker, than the Giants need to sign a kickoff specialist. In doing so, they may have to sacrifice Sinorice Moss. But even if the Giants suffer injuries in the wide receiver corps, what will be more important? Moss’s potential production, or pinning the Eagles back with a four point lead and four minutes to go in the game?

By the way, the NFL can just go ahead and reserve the Giants sixth round pick for a kicker. Teams are transitioning to a two-kicker system, and I expect the Giants to do the same. Or draft one kicker and cut Tynes.

No Bill Sheridan Love

I don’t like when coordinators receive as much blame as they do. Familiarity breeds continuity, and Kevin Gilbride has worked with Eli since he was drafted, and has been around this offense since 2004.  So why all the hate? Sure, he has his faults, but his mistakes are so minimal compared to the overall success the Giants offense usually has.

However, this Bill Sheridan situation is becoming dangerous. I was willing to be patient with him, and I have. Aside from a hiccup in Dallas, the first five games seemed to indicate the Giants defense was heading in the right direction. But that is not the case.

Although the defense has played relatively well in three of the last four games, the schemes that Sheridan has been implementing have really bothered me. First of all, it seems as if every time a linebacker or defensive back shows blitz, he blitzes. I have no confirmation for that, but I highly doubt there is any evidence to prove me wrong.

The pass rush appeared to take it up a notch against Atlanta but Sheridan will have to be more creative. The fact that a unit that has similar pieces that Steve Spagnuolo had success with further discredits the job Sheridan has done.

These receivers are for real

Okay, after getting through all my pet peeves and criticisms of the Giants here is one aspect of the team I am really excited about: Manning’s go-to-guys. They went through about a three-week funk but have seemed to get back on track.

I wrote a piece before the year started that this unit has the potential to develop into a cornerstone for the New York Giants after suffering through some growing pains.  Following a near flawless start, the receivers were mediocre throughout most of the four game losing streak.

I’ll start off with Hakeem Nicks. This guy is going to be the Giants number one receiver. He catches everything. He finishes plays. He's elusive yet powerful. The only aspect of his game that hasn’t been dissected is his downfield blocking ability, but he rarely has had a chance to display that because the running backs have had trouble breaking into the secondary.

This will allow Smith to serve in a role in which he will be best suited. As we saw on Sunday, he has the speed to get by a corner back and catch a pass down field. But his bread and butter is shaking off the nickel back in the middle of the field and getting open. Having Nicks man the outside will allow Smith to do just that.

Kevin Boss has to be regarded as a receiving threat. Like Nicks, he catches everything thrown to him. I think he’s already better than Shockey in terms of catching the ball in traffic. And it’s not outlandish to say he’s their most professional tight end since Bavaro. If the Giants continue to throw to him, defenses will have no choice but to lend attention to the big tight end as he runs down the middle of the field.

Lastly, let’s not forget about Mario Manningham. With all the coverage devoted to the aforementioned players, Manningham will put his skills on display in one-on-one coverage the majority of the time. We saw him thrive in that situation against Atlanta on Sunday, including the game-breaking 29-yard catch. Of course, him and Manning have yet to fully get on the same page. On one down and out pattern, Manning’s pass got to Manningham too late and the defensive back nearly jumped the route. But over time, they should develop a nice connection.