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.