90% Half Mental

By 

Anthony Beers 

The concept that drives this team and weakens them is the same thing: the mentality. Football is an emotional game and if a team is not mentally prepared to play it can be an ugly site. This coincides with players and coaching staffs. Taking games lightly is something that can't happen, but for no particular reason sometimes does happen. 

It could be why the Giants under Coughlin always seem to struggle towards the second half of the season. And it may explain why out of nowhere the Giants laid two stinkers in a row to make things more difficult on themselves. It's also probably why the Giants absolutely buried any hope of a Green Bay victory last night. 

After suffering back to back losses, and a bye week to cope with the struggles, the Giants immediately got down to business at home against the red hot Green Bay Packers. On the games opening drive, the Giants ran a fake reverse roll out running back screen to Ahmad Bradshaw for 57 yards. The play most likely came as a complete shock to any Giants fan, considering the Giants are hardly ever about trickery and deceit as an offensive scheme, but that's probably why it shocked the Packers as well. That is a play that really set the tone for the night. The Giants came to play. 

The second play that really symbolizes the outcome of this game came towards the end of the second quarter. The Packers were down 24-10 and had a chance to drive and score making it a one possession game knowing they get the ball at halftime. At the start of the drive, Rodgers dropped back to pass but was sacked by Osi Umenyiora. Osi did an inside move to get to the quarterback. I repeat, Osi did an inside move to get to the quarterback, as a result Rodgers fumbled the ball and it was scooped up by Jason Pierre-Paul. It was a huge chance for the Packers to get back into the game, and as quickly as the opportunity presented itself, it was diminished by a big blue pass rush that had Rodgers under duress all night long. A lot of pressure on Rodgers resulted from great play in the secondary. Upon Kenny Phillips return the Giants ran a three safety set with Phillips, Antrel Rolle, and Stevie Brown. This scheme simplified things on the defensive end, and really resulted in a lot of sacks and hits on Aaron Rodgers. The Giants had the Packers number all night. 

Eli Manning was back to his old ways, throwing three touchdown passes that put Eli past Phil Simms with 200 touchdowns all time. Manning has officially thrown more touchdowns than any Giant that has ever been proud to wear the royal blue. It was a terrific moment for Eli and one of the many terrific moments in this Giants victory. 

Despite the domination, there are always areas of concern with the Giants future. Running back Andre Brown broke his leg in the fourth quarter. Andre the Giant had been a great contributor and was averaging over 5 yards a carry on the season. This loss could hurt the Giants running game because Brown had been consistent all year. Browns return this season remains questionable, but this is a terrific opportunity for the youngster David Wilson to emerge as a running back. There is no questioning Wilson's athleticism and break away speed, Giants fans have seen that on special teams and with Wilson's limited time at running back. But the real question that will shape Wilson's success is will he be able to step in and pick up a blitz to protect Eli. Brown was a terrific blocker and was a big part of a much improved pass protection last night. As far as Wilson's future if he don't block, he don't get the rock. 

The Giants have every right to feel good about this win and the more comfortable position they're in for the NFC East. But several big games are to come and the Giants lead is not secure. The Giants simply have to stay focused and mentally prepared for every snap. The Giants have to stay hungry, and that starts with Tom Coughlin and his ability to help his team overcome injuries or set backs. On Monday night the Giants have a very exciting game in Washington against the dynamic, explosive, and awesome Robert Griffin III. The Redskins are coming off a big win against Dallas and still have plenty of time to make things interesting in the NFC East. The Giants have to be ready for this challenge that lies ahead. 

Taking it week by week is the right mentality, but the Giants schedule clearly says that after Washington the Giants still have to play New Orleans, Atlanta, Baltimore and Philadelphia in that order. These are some tough teams, and the Giants are at their best against great competition. This sequence of games will give the Giants a healthy dose of work going into the playoffs. 

From a mental standpoint, the Giants don't want it any other way. If they want to be the best they have to beat the best. The Giants should embrace this tough schedule and competition whole heartily because they'll have a great understanding of how to feel going into the playoffs. 

Confidence is key in football. And right now the Giants have their confidence, mojo, swagger, or whatever you want to call it back right where they want it. Giants fans have rights to be excited but this game of football is unpredictable. It's a long season, and any team can beat anyone on any given day. That's a truth that can't be taken for granted. And a good reason for the Giants to stay hungry as December rolls around. 

It's crunch time. And the Giants control their own destiny. Monday night should be another battle to remember. 

Also, after the game, New York Giants tight end Martellus Bennett actually caught a fan that was falling onto the field. It is an interesting story from a player like Bennett who seems to have an interesting personality. Here's the story. 

Cue the Critics

The Giants were absolutely humiliated in Cincinnati on Sunday. The tone was set on the opening drive of the game when Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green waltzed into the end zone untouched. The opening blown coverage was the first of many mistakes during a long afternoon of pain for Giants fans. The offensive line got blown off the ball on every snap, the offense didn't protect the ball, and the defense was a joke to start the game. To make matters worse, the Giants had several opportunities to change the momentum of the game and failed to seize any one of them.

Getting into the details of the loss is painful for me, but there's a few things I have to address: 1) David Diehl was a complete joke. The entire line as a whole struggled, but Diehl was downright disgraceful, and as a result Eli took some abuse. Sean Locklear is clearly a better option for the Oline. 2) Running back Ahmad Bradshaw for some reason still has no idea when to protect the football. In a crucial situation, with the Giants knocking on the door of a turn around score down 17-6, Bradshaw initially had eight yards on a carry and decided to fight for more yardage. His toughness is an admirable quality, but an eight yard run on first down is nothing anyone will complain about. Instead, Bradshaw tries to carry three men on his back, and while doing so he shows no regard for the football. It was forced out immediately, and the drive was ruined. Andre Brown deserves to start. 3) The receivers played terribly as well. The only one with a credible day was Hakeem Nicks, aside from that nobody showed up to play. Martellus Bennett failing to get his feet down at the end of the half to reel in a score was infuriating. It was a big time pass from Eli as the clock was winding down with no timeouts, and all he had to do was drag his feet a second earlier. That's a lazy play, and it cost the Giants big time. Cruz was out of it as well, he did virtually nothing the whole game, and failed to reel in a touchdown in the fourth quarter after a picture perfect pass from Manning. You can read an accurate breakdown of the Giants passing woes here. 4) To defend the Bengals passing game A.J. Green has to be double teamed on every play. Because aside from Green, there is no passing threat on the Bengals worth sweating about. On the embarrassing opening drive, it appeared Corey Webster was anticipating safety help from Stevie Brown in a cover 2 type situation but never got it. It's a big time blunder on the young Stevie Brown, but cover 2 is also a risky play call against a seriously valid deep threat in A.J. Green.

That was a painful recollection of an utterly awful football game for the Giants, but now it is time to look ahead for the Gmen. The Giants will limp into the bye week with a record of 6-4. There once very comfortable lead is now much closer, and the Giants still have to play the Falcons, Saints, Packers, Ravens, Eagles and Redskins. As usual for the time of the year, the Giants have made it much harder on themselves and the critics will begin to sing their song as the pressure piles up for the team. This is a routine the Giants are all too familiar with, and for some reason seems to happen almost every year with this team under Tom Coughlin. Over the years of brilliant first halves and sub par second halves, the Giants have blundered so much that they've missed the playoffs on a few occasions, and they've also bounced back so well they've won two Super Bowls.

Is this year any different? The Giants have real concerns (listed above) but the answer is no. The Giants will gear up and play their hearts out for the best competition against teams like the Falcons, Packers, and Ravens, but the margin for error is officially much smaller than it was two weeks ago. This week the Cowboys play the Browns, and have a chance to gain some ground in the division race with the Giants on a bye.  As Giants fans, we are used to this dance of the ups and downs of a regular season. But due to a New York media market that is hungry for any controversy whatsoever, the murmurs of choking and the criticism of Coughlin will now be cued once again, as they do every year.

The latest controversy came from that of no other then Giants quarterback legend Phil Simms. Wonder-Phil is known for arguably the most impressive stat ever, and that's 22/25 completed passes (with 2 dropped passes) on the path to a Giants victory in Super Bowl XXI. But for some reason the same stupid question about whether Eli Manning is an elite quarterback or not came up and Simms flat out said he doesn't think so. Simms explained that he felt elite quarterbacks have the ability to win games purely by themselves, no matter what. He explained he felt players like Brees (a player on a team without a winning record), Rodgers (another example of a team that's struggled a bit), and Brady (the player Eli out dueled on the worlds biggest stage twice), are more elite than Eli Manning.

With Simms' "winning quarterback" logic, the NFL's elite quarterbacks consist of Jay Cutler, Matt Schaub, and Matt Ryan. But he failed to mention any of those names. The point is, why do all these ex-giants (Toomer, Barber, Shockey, Strahan, Warner and now Simms), choose to criticize the Giants after they've left? Yes, they are in sports media fields and are entitled to say whatever they want, but there's just no coincidence as to why this keeps happening. It's because controversial stories, especially those involving ex-players, are big news and therefore big money! I'll go as far as to say it's a complete conspiracy and an attempt at media coverage, by making a story out of virtually nothing.

Heck, the passing game has struggled. That can't be denied when Eli hasn't thrown a touchdown pass in almost 100 attempts making it a career low for him. But any Giants fan will tell you the passing game is struggling as a group, as a TEAM. Pointing out Eli and bringing up the elite/non-elite garbage is just ridiculous, especially from Phil Simms. Eli quite frankly is a better quarterback already then Simms was in his entire career. It's all pish posh man. Another example of the media world trying to meddle with the purity of sports teams, instead of telling the stories as they happen for the public. What a crazy concept.

As Giants fans, it should be our duty to tune out stupidity like this and stick to what we know: the football. So what we should take out of this game is the Giants have some work to do in this bye week, but quite frankly it's nothing they can't handle. After a week of rest, expect Eli and the offense to come out guns hot against the Packers. Because Eli's taken enough senseless criticism throughout his career, but he's always just cared about one thing: THE FOOTBALL.

So Giants fans, in the wake of the teams recent struggles, the adversity that has followed, and the unnecessary criticism that Eli Manning knows far too well, just try and remember it's about the freaking football man. The Giants have been down this road before. It's tough to go an entire season without a breaking point where the team begins to struggle. But now the Giants have an opportunity to do what they do best, and that's to overcome the adversity that's been laid upon them. Forget the fact that it's a Giants legend and complete garbage, just remember that if there's one thing the Giants have done under Coughlin it's that they've embraced the critics.

Because the Giants, especially Eli, feed off that doubt. That total disregard for the respect the Giants truly deserve. The Giants will turn things around, there's no doubt in my mind.

But until then, cue the critics. Because the Giants don't need love from the media, just from each other.

Deja Blue

11/6/12
By Anthony Beers

After a 6-2 start the Giants lost the first game of the second half of the season. Yes it's happened again, that tough loss where an entire month of dominance is already questioned. The Giants offense looked pitiful on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Good thing the Giants are all about overcoming adversity, because adversities here.

Maybe saying that after one loss is dramatic, but maybe it's not. The good news is the Eagles, Cowboys, and Redskins all lost this past weekend and this loss didn't hurt the Giants place in the division in any way. But it's officially time for sports media to question the offense, and in New York if there's any remote sign of  a team going through struggle, it's well known throughout the media.

Against Dallas two weeks ago, the Giants offense was able to squeak out a win. But they had to settle for a field goal on five separate occasions in the red zone. On Sunday against the Steelers, the offense was even more inept. Eli has not had a passing touchdown in two weeks, and he only passed for a measly 125 yards on Sunday. That's simply not the expectations Giants fans should have of Eli. There's no question he can play better but it's not entirely his fault.

The entire offensive unit struggled against a tough Steelers defense, and that conversation begins with the battle upfront. The Giants offensive line was a complete joke against the Steelers. Maybe the Giants should consider starting Sean Locklear again, because David Diehl did not look like he was prepared to play a football game. Tom Coughlin recently had Diehl's back in a press conference and made it clear he's sticking with him. There's no question he has done great things for the Giants in the past, but quite frankly, Sean Locklear had not given up a sack in his previous 542 snaps. That's a stat worth thinking about.

Another thing worth thinking about is the Giants running game. The Steelers absolutely humiliated it on Sunday, and yes Pittsburgh's known for that, but that was embarrassing. Ahmad Bradshaw has a lot of heart, has played through injuries, and is a fan favorite of many Giants fans. But it's time to question his game. The blocking up front was not good enough, but throughout the season Bradshaw has been a little shifty at the line when the hole is right in front of his face. Bradshaw has also had a few fumbles and has not nearly seen the same criticism that David Wilson did. Sure Wilson is a rookie, and Coughlin rightfully put the kid in his place, but if Bradshaw puts the ball on the ground and is forgiven how is it a fair policy for the running backs? Coughlin obviously is more critical of the rookie, but there is a point where consistency of coaching is important. That all being said, Andre Brown has been the most consistent of the three backs. When Bradshaw went down he was quite dependable, perhaps against weaker teams, but he never put the ball on the ground and when the holes in front of him he hits it. Bradshaw is also overcoming a lot of physical pain, like he always is, so perhaps more carries for Andre the Giant should be in order.

Defensively the Giants were playing great, but unfortunately the fourth quarter came around and the Giants were gassed. A lack of offense means one thing, the defense can't get off the field. And it showed when the Steelers scored fourteen unanswered points in the fourth quarter. Mike Wallace's touchdown was simply awesome. The guys speed was truly stunning, he made Prince Amukumara look slow and uncoordinated as he ran up the sideline untouched. Give Roethlisberger credit. He was getting hit a fair amount throughout the game but he hung in there in the fourth quarter and made the plays. That's something Giants fans are used to feeling on the other side of the ball. Then later in the game when the Giants desperately needed the ball back, Isaac Redman was running the ball right down the Giants throat. Fatigue was a factor, but at the end of the day they were overpowered by an impressive Steelers running game.

It may be true that any rabid Giants fan that has watched them under head coach Tom Coughlin over the years, had a deep wretched feeling at the start of this game. That's because every Giants fan knows this let down game. The great first half, and now's when the problems come. Do the Giants stick with struggling veterans in Diehl and Bradshaw or give other players a chance? Is it just one game that the Giants can overcome and put behind them easily? There are a lot of serious questions to think about as a result of this loss.

All of will be answered on Sunday! This game against the Cincinnati Bengals is now magnified quite a bit after this loss. The gap between being 6-4 and 7-3 is a huge swing. Other teams in the NFC East are struggling, time to capitalize, because any Giants fan knows that no lead is safe in this division. Does anybody recall a 4-8 Eagles team that finished 8-8 last year? The Giants need to take this loss seriously despite the comfortable lead and get right back on to rolling. The Bengals have struggled as of late and will have every right to be pissed off against the Giants on Sunday.

The Adversities officially here, time to overcome it. Captain Justin Tuck is confident this wont be another second half fall off. Confident statements are always grand, but in the world of football actions speak louder than words.

The Giants can still overcome this. Time to protect Eli and get this passing game back to it's former dominance of a few weeks ago. Nicks has looked a little slow and that's going to happen when you play hurt. Cruz can't do it all himself, and that showed on Sunday. A true third option in the passing game needs to emerge. To start the season it appeared to be Martellus Bennett, but the dudes been a little ghostly as of late. Rueben Randle was exciting fans a few weeks ago, but he looked like a rookie on Sunday. And Giants fan saw know sign of Domenik Hixon either. Any one of these players could be the third option that the passing game needs. Time to step it up.

It's time for the Giants to overcome the unfortunate feeling of deja vu Giants fans are feeling. Go Big Blue! Time to hang tough.



A special shout out from this weeks blog post goes to all victims of Superstorm Sandy. The amount of damage in the area is coming as a shock to me. My family is still without power back home on Long Island, and the scary thing is they're some of the lucky ones. This storm was pretty devastating, but to any victims do your best to hang in there. We can overcome this awful situation.

Another shout out goes to Chuck Pagano. Pagano is head coach of the Indianapolis Colts and was recently diagnosed with Leukemia. He recently took a trip from the hospital to congratulate his team on their big win against Miami. It was a truly humbling thing to see, and his speech was enough to make any grown man cry. Hang tough Chuck, I think deep down there's a little part of most football fans that's now rooting for the Colts.

And lastly, Giants fans, be sure to check out this awesome sports blog that is everything Giants Football. Fans are encouraged to comment and talk about anything going on in Giants world! It seems pretty sick to say the least.