5 BOROUGH SPORTS

It’s been over 24 hours since one of the worst losses I’ve ever witnessed. I haven’t been able to watch any sports television since the game. But it’s now time for life to move forward. Let’s get last Sunday’s game completely out of our system once and for all by putting together what occured during those final eight minutes in the fourth quarter.

It all started with the Brent Celek touchdown catch. During that drive, for some reason the Giants’ defense decided to stop blitzing. Vick had more time in the pocket and found Celek across the middle of the field. Then the secondary proceeded to give up on the play and let the tight end stroll another thirty yards into the end zone. As soon as Philly cut the lead to 14, I had an awful feeling in my gut. If there was any team that could come back from this defecit with six and a half minutes to play, it’s the Eagles. Vick is the most explosive player in the game and he can make anything possible. This isn’t, however, any excuse for what happened.

Why did Perry Fewell stop blitzing? Why not stick to the game plan that worked all game? Vick had less than three seconds to pass in the first half. In the Eagles’ final two drives, Vick had double that amount of time. I’m not going to say that the Giants were complacent and thought the game was over. After hearing Coughlin and Justin Tuck in the press conferences after the game, I believe tham when they said they treated every play in the second half as if the score was tied. I’m not questioning the defenses’ heart. But changing the game plan is unacceptable. I know it’s safer not to blitz when up by 21, but when you’re playing against an explosive quarterback, you have to continue to put pressure on him.

The offense deserves just as much blame as the defense. How can you have three straight three and outs in the final minutes of the game?! It was up to the offense to gain the momentum back. Even if the Giants only got ONE first down during those possessions, the game would at worst gone into overtime. Instead, they handed the ball right back to Vick every time. Completely unacceptable.

Special teams. Yea I know everyone is blaming Matt Dodge. Coughlin told him to kick it out of bounds, and he didn’t. I get it. But in all reality, the game shouldn’t have even been close to putting a rookie punter in a situation like that. Let’s talk about the damn onside kick after the Celek touchdown. How do you not put your hands team on the field? Everyone except for Coughlin and special teams coach Tom Quinn knew that Akers was going to try an onside kick. Why can’t Coughlin play it safe and put a couple of players down field and the rest of the players ready for the onside kick? Worst case scenario, you call a fair catch if Akers kicks it deep and the Giants keep possession. The Giants have been very Jim Fassel-like with the problems they’ve had on special teams this season. I highly doubt Quinn will have a job come January.

And now we move on. I’m watching Sportscenter right now and they’ve said something about Eli delivering a message to the team today. Best news I’ve heard all day. With Green Bay’s loss last night to New England, the Giants can clinch the playoffs with a win. So let’s all have a wonderful holiday season and get a win at Lambeau.

This entry was posted on December 21, 2010 at 1:01 am and is filed under Giants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.