psubills62
10-17-2011, 09:26 AM
This game gave me a worse feeling than the Cincinnati game did - and I was at the Cincinnati game, with Bengals fans all around me cheering like they won the Super Bowl when that final FG was kicked.
The reason the Giants' game felt worse was because Cincinnati outplayed us. I felt that we matched New York blow for blow and while we may not have deserved to win, we had many more opportunities.
Anyway, here's my thoughts.
1. Can we stop playing the "blame game"? These games are so complex, creating hypothetical situations based on a few plays going differently is relatively useless. I think it's more worthwhile to focus on overall strengths and weaknesses and figure out what we need to do to win games.
2. Re-emergence of David Nelson. He had been shut down for a few games, and I was afraid it would be even easier to cover him with Donald Jones out. Nelson played great with 4 receptions for 62 yards and come clutch catches.
3. I have no idea how people can blame the play calling on a wide open pass play that looked like it could have gone for a TD. Running the ball, in my opinion, was not a solution at that point. 7 of Jackson's 16 runs went for 2 or fewer yards. The Giants had shown the ability to stop our run game, especially when they knew it was coming. I had no confidence that running the ball would have helped matters and obviously Gailey didn't either.
4. If you're going to blame the play calling, then I'd look at our final drive. On 3rd and 5, our receivers essentially just ran routes to try and get the first down. Normally, that's fine, but considering 1) the Giants had ~5 guys covering the first down line, and 2) we needed big chunks of yards with time running out, I think the best play would have been to get someone behind the guys covering the marker. If you don't connect on that play, then on 4th down just try to get the first.
5. Our run defense was solid. In fact, it was very good through three quarters. Not what we needed to get the win, especially when Bradshaw rips off 50 yards in the 4th quarter, but better than the last few games where it's solid through two quarters then falls apart after halftime. In fact, the Bills only allowed Bradshaw to get 2.79 YPC through the 3rd quarter. Unfortunately, that included 3 one-yard TD's. However, I think it's great to see these solid numbers when we had two starting OLB's out for the game and a young rookie (Sheppard) getting significant playing time.
6. Fitzpatrick, despite getting pressured and harassed, was actually fairly accurate at 21/30 - 70%. It seems to me that the poor offensive performance in the second half against the Eagles was primarily due to the strength of their cornerbacks. The Giants' personnel were not nearly as strong at that position, and Fitzpatrick did a good job of picking them apart in the short passing game. Our receivers are very good at creating separation with the routes they run, especially Stevie Johnson.
7. I liked how they used CJ Spiller. Five receptions for 39 yards. The corners that covered him showed respect for his speed, so they just ran some comeback routes and took advantage of the space the Giants gave him. He displayed good hands and the ability to get open as a receiver.
8. We only lost by 3 despite losing the turnover battle by 2. One thing that has worried me this entire season up to this point was how the team would play without winning the turnover margin. After all, we've had several games come down to the wire, despite the fact that we had a significant advantage in turnovers in those games. I don't consider the Giants to be a really good team, but we had a lot of opportunities to win this game despite the two interceptions.
There are actually a few more thoughts that I am going to save for my mid-week stat analysis article.
Personally, I don't think either team that we've lost to is as good as their record indicates (both are 4-2). However, we had chances to win both games. And honestly, this is sort of what I was expecting and hoping to see this season. Obviously I wasn't hoping to see losses, but we've won a few close games and lost a few. We've also managed to rise up and beat a couple of good teams. At the same time, we've had two letdowns in games we could have and possibly should have won.
To me, those are the signs of a young but talented team that is on the rise. Let's hope our play after the bye week continues to improve.
The reason the Giants' game felt worse was because Cincinnati outplayed us. I felt that we matched New York blow for blow and while we may not have deserved to win, we had many more opportunities.
Anyway, here's my thoughts.
1. Can we stop playing the "blame game"? These games are so complex, creating hypothetical situations based on a few plays going differently is relatively useless. I think it's more worthwhile to focus on overall strengths and weaknesses and figure out what we need to do to win games.
2. Re-emergence of David Nelson. He had been shut down for a few games, and I was afraid it would be even easier to cover him with Donald Jones out. Nelson played great with 4 receptions for 62 yards and come clutch catches.
3. I have no idea how people can blame the play calling on a wide open pass play that looked like it could have gone for a TD. Running the ball, in my opinion, was not a solution at that point. 7 of Jackson's 16 runs went for 2 or fewer yards. The Giants had shown the ability to stop our run game, especially when they knew it was coming. I had no confidence that running the ball would have helped matters and obviously Gailey didn't either.
4. If you're going to blame the play calling, then I'd look at our final drive. On 3rd and 5, our receivers essentially just ran routes to try and get the first down. Normally, that's fine, but considering 1) the Giants had ~5 guys covering the first down line, and 2) we needed big chunks of yards with time running out, I think the best play would have been to get someone behind the guys covering the marker. If you don't connect on that play, then on 4th down just try to get the first.
5. Our run defense was solid. In fact, it was very good through three quarters. Not what we needed to get the win, especially when Bradshaw rips off 50 yards in the 4th quarter, but better than the last few games where it's solid through two quarters then falls apart after halftime. In fact, the Bills only allowed Bradshaw to get 2.79 YPC through the 3rd quarter. Unfortunately, that included 3 one-yard TD's. However, I think it's great to see these solid numbers when we had two starting OLB's out for the game and a young rookie (Sheppard) getting significant playing time.
6. Fitzpatrick, despite getting pressured and harassed, was actually fairly accurate at 21/30 - 70%. It seems to me that the poor offensive performance in the second half against the Eagles was primarily due to the strength of their cornerbacks. The Giants' personnel were not nearly as strong at that position, and Fitzpatrick did a good job of picking them apart in the short passing game. Our receivers are very good at creating separation with the routes they run, especially Stevie Johnson.
7. I liked how they used CJ Spiller. Five receptions for 39 yards. The corners that covered him showed respect for his speed, so they just ran some comeback routes and took advantage of the space the Giants gave him. He displayed good hands and the ability to get open as a receiver.
8. We only lost by 3 despite losing the turnover battle by 2. One thing that has worried me this entire season up to this point was how the team would play without winning the turnover margin. After all, we've had several games come down to the wire, despite the fact that we had a significant advantage in turnovers in those games. I don't consider the Giants to be a really good team, but we had a lot of opportunities to win this game despite the two interceptions.
There are actually a few more thoughts that I am going to save for my mid-week stat analysis article.
Personally, I don't think either team that we've lost to is as good as their record indicates (both are 4-2). However, we had chances to win both games. And honestly, this is sort of what I was expecting and hoping to see this season. Obviously I wasn't hoping to see losses, but we've won a few close games and lost a few. We've also managed to rise up and beat a couple of good teams. At the same time, we've had two letdowns in games we could have and possibly should have won.
To me, those are the signs of a young but talented team that is on the rise. Let's hope our play after the bye week continues to improve.