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Finally! The Giants win a game. An ugly win none the less, but let’s take a look and discuss some of the events of the game.

Let’s start off with some of the bad:

The New York Giants NEED to Learn how to stop opponets on 3rd and 10 or longer

You can’t blame Sheridan for this one. This is where the Giants have spent a ton of money on Bernard, Canty, Tuck, Osi, and Kiwanuka…3rd and 10 the Falcons are sending four or five guys out on routes. SOMEONE BEAT YOUR MAN!

Sheridan can dial up pressure or not, but on 3rd and 10 and 3rd and 12 someone has to hit the quarterback. Beat your man. That is legal in football to just beat your man without the blitz.

WAYYY too many long third down conversions that kept Atlanta scoring drives alive, and they always capitalized.

Stop someone on fourth down!

The Giants gave up a ton of points in this game, and there are two reasons why. They didn’t stop the Falcons on third and 10 or more and they didn’t stop the Falcons on fourth down. Twice they went for it twice they converted and I think twice they scored touchdowns after the conversions.

Overall the Falcons averaged 5.5 yards per play

Which is not bad at all actually. That seems like a lot, but it’s not really. Usualy teams average a little over 7 yards per play, but like I said the GIants defense was bad on 3rd and longs all day.

Enough with the Penalties

Some of the calls were ticky tack. BOTH of the late hits on the position players against the Giants were weak. The holding on another 3rd and long situation on Bruce Johnson was weak, and overall the Giants had 8 penalties for 64 yards, while the Falcons had 3 penalties for 16 yards, and two of those were on like consecutive plays in their red zone defense.

STOP WITH THE PENALTIES! The Giants are keeping people in the game with all of the penalties.

Red Zone Defense

Suprisingly despite playing the Eagles, Saints, Cowboys, Cardinals, Chargers this season (all high powered offenses) the Giants are 2nd in total defense in yards per game.

However, they are 21st in total points.

What does this mean? Too many quick scores (they hold teams down, hold teams down, one big score) AND TERRIBLE Red Zone defense.

They have given up as many touchdowns as the Browns, the Titans, more than the Panthers, Seahawks, six more than the Raiders!

The Raiders!

It is AMAZING That the Giants have a winning record with how many points they allow. A testament to Eli Manning and the offense, who have struggled in some games, but overall are the only unit producing.

What happened to the Giants great offensive line?

The offensive line has been man handled all season this year. There are no running lanes

The power numbers to the left (power numbers are 3rd or fourth down rushing attempts that are 2 yards or less and that make a first down) are awful. They are converting 25 percent of those rushes to the left. The middle is 57 percent and the right is 67 percent.

Step up left side of the line.

Tynes. Let’s get it together.

I’m usually on Tynes said becuase he’s better than people give him credit for, but he’s missing too many easy field goals. Let’s get it together.

Same with you Feagles.

Feagles only averaged 33.6 yards per punt last game (terrible). Especially considering ZERO landed inside the twenty. League average is about 42 or 43 yards per punt

Feagles poor performances are another reason the Giants don’t give up a ton of yards but do give up a ton of points (good field position for opposing offenses)

Fred Robbins, Chris Canty, Rocky Bernard (especially Bernard)

Three combined tackles. Considering one of the three is on the field at all times…that’s terrible.

Chris Canty is still working himself back in and doesn’t play all that much this is directed mostly at Bernard. Robbins is doing O.K. Bernard has been terrible.

Eli’s first Interception

That was awful.

Gonzalez late production

I believe it was late 3rd quarter or early fourth quarter and Tony Gonzalez had 3 catches for like 23 yards or something. And the announcers were like “they are really frustrating and containing Tony Gonzalez today”. He ends the game with 8 catches for 82 yards. Not terrible, but a lot of big catches late in the game (and a lot of points  deriving from that). Let’s get it together.

Where’s Clint Sintim? Where’s Ramses Barden? Where’s Jonathan Goff? Where’s Travis Beckum?

I’m not all that considered about Ramses Barden not being on the team. Like I said not a great special teams player and the only unit really performing well this season is the wide receiver corps so Barden’s no big deal. I think next year (when Hixon probably leaves) Barden will have a huge role on the offense so that doesn’t worry me.

I am annoyed that Danny Clark and Chase Blackburn play so much more than Clint Sintim and Jonathan Goff. It’s not like the defense is all that impressive. Like I’ve demonstrated, they are closer to the likes of the Browns, Rams, Lions than they are the Colts or Steelers.

A big reason is a lack of pass rush, another reason is terrible safety play, and of course little speed at the linebacker position. Clark and Blackburn don’t have speed. Goff and Sintim have more. If the defense was playing well I’d say it makes sense can’t ruin the flow. But there is no flow. Just terrible play.

Let’s see some more Sintim, and Goff.

I Don’t remember seeing Beckum on the field at all after that INT vs the Eagles.

I don’t understand why the Giants don’t consider just making Beckum a full back. He’s not a great blocker for a Tight End. BUT I’m sure he’d be a fine blocker as a full back. Besides that he’d be very dangerous out of the backfield. That 4 yard pass they through to Hedgecock that ends up being 4 yards or less could turn into something big if Beckum was out on the flat, or at the very least it would be respected.

Now onto the good.

Welcome back Mr. Tuck

A sack, a forced fumble, 3 tackles. And another sack taken away on Bruce Johnson’s cheap-ish holding call. Keep playing like that because no one else on the line is.

Michael Boley is EVERYWHERE!

Obviously the best signing in the off-season to this point. 11 tackles, 1 sack great coverage in the first half. 34 tackles in 5 games (nearly 7 a game or much better than anyone else on defense). The coverage started breaking down in the 2nd half. But like I said a lot of that was dumb penalties that gave a ton of first down and poor third down defense.

9.2 yards per offensive play.

The Giants were averaging nearly 4 yards per play more than the Falcons. They were a 100 percent on goal to goal effeciency. They were 60 percent in the Red-zone (which you can live with, especially if it’s a 100 percent on goal to goal) and they still only scored 3 more points than the Falcons.

Mario Manningham, Steve Smith, and Hakeem Nicks.

The media hates Eli Manning. They do, I think. You watch an Eagles game all you hear about how is “oh Donovan McNabb is doing so well with this young Wide receiver corps”. This young talented Wide Receiver corps is going to do good things.

You watch a Giants game, it’s all about the offensive line (which isn’t even playing well) and once in a while they will mention the Wide Reciever corps is a little young. They talk about how young Brent Celek is (same draft class…same round as Kevin Boss)

But really the Giants and Eagles are very similiar with their young wide reciever corps. In fact the Giants WR and TE might be better.

Steve Smith 65 catches for 798 yards, Mario Manningham 40 catches for 617 yards, Hakeem Nicks 28 catches for 472 yards (16.9 yards) For a total of 13 combined touchdowns.

The Eagles DeSean Jackson has 42 cathces for 728 yards, Jeremey Maclin has 37 catches for 477 yards, and Jason Avant has 27 catches for 380 yards  for a total of 11 combined touchdowns.

If you throw in the TE. Celek has 568 yards and 5 touchdowns, Boss has 259 yards and 4 touchdowns. Both teams have very young developmental Tight Ends (Beckum and Cornelius Ingram).

The differnence is this: DeSean Jackson will score FAST and BIG PLAYS!

ALL 5 of his touchdowns (plus one rushing touchdown) are touchdowns of OVER 50 yards.

That’s amazing.

Still the Giants are set up well too. So let’s not forget that when we discuss the two wide receiver corps.

Eli Manning looked like a 100 million dollar QB

I’m higher on Eli Manning than most people are already, but yesterday he looked like a 100 million dollar QB. He had a few rough games, but for the season has been very good. He has a 2 to 1 touchdown to INT ration (18 TD and 9 INT), which could be even higher if he played the other 5 portions of quarters he missed in the Cheifs and Raiders games.

And who knows what it would have been like the terrible stretch of games if he didn’t have that injury. The past two games he’s thrown the ball with much more auhtority (looks like he’s planting better and not strong arming the passes)

I like the young secondary.

Becuase the Giants are supposed to be a Superbowl Contender people foget about how young they are, but that’s just what they are. Young. Corey Webster is young. Aaron Ross is in his third year (typically when everything “comes together”) Terrell Thomas is in his 2nd year, Bruce Johnson is in his first. Kenny Phillips will be in his third next year. Michael Johnson is in his third right now.

A lot of talent there, a lot of growing pains. Hopefully next year will be better.

All right that’s all I have on this game. Great offensive performance more troublesome things on defense, but keep in mind if you take out the stupid penalties and third down converstoins of 10 or more yards this is a blow out. But keep in mind it’s troubling that these are persistent issues.

Let me know what your game impressions were.