Monthly Archives: October 2009
Philadelphia Eagles: QB Donovan McNabb has said that his preparation for this weekend’s matchup with the Giants does not change in regards to whether or not RB Brian Westbrook plays. The Giants, who are the number one ranked defense, will definitely present a tough challenge to a quarterback without his number one weapon, so maybe not altering his preparation isn’t the best move.
Westrbrook is still going in for tests and it is unclear whether or not he will play come this Sunday (and on other sundays for that matter).
Washington Redskins: What initially looked like a certain season-ending injury to TE Chris Cooley now looks like it may not 
be. According to second opinions, Cooley may only have to miss a month with his right ankle injury.
In that game against the Eagles, four different players on the Redskins sprained their ankles. It’s one thing for four players to get injured in a game, that’s not too uncommon. But for four players to have the exact same injury is just unreal. By the way, the guys involved in this ankle sprain conundrum were Jason Campbell, Clinton Portis, Mike Sellers, and Albert Haynesworth.
Dallas Cowboys: Patrick Crayton not only lost his role as a go-to receiver to Monmouth U alum Miles Austin, but he also lost his punt return obligations to Allen Rossum. Well, the receiver is about 
to gain one of those duties back. This Sunday, Rossum will be out with a hamstring injury, and Crayton will return to taking punts.
I kinda feel bad for this guy. Replaced by a free agent in the punt returning duties and just ultimately beat out by a young gun in Austin. Regardless, Crayton has kind of earned back his duty by default, at least for a week.
Other then the three regulars, Boley, Canty and Ross the Giants are relatively healthy this week. The only other names on the report are Kareem
Mckenzie (groin) and Ahmad Bradshaw (ankle)
Coughlin said he expects McKenzie to take half the snaps and Bradshaw will do his usual friday practice thing.
The most surprising news is that Kevin Boss is not on the report after suffering a helmet to helmet hit on Sunday that turned his lights out for a brief moment. Boss returned to the game and continues to show what a tough player he is. Remember he only missed one game earlier this year with a high ankle sprain.
Eli Manning, Rich Seubert and Antonio Pierce, who have been on several other Wednesday pre practice reports are all off todays list.
Canty, Ross and Boley are all expected to do light work on the side but none of the three are expected to play on Sunday. Ross will probably only have one shot left for a comeback before the Giants shut him down for the year. As I have speculated before it appears as though Ross has the same hamstring injury Jose Reyes suffered from.
UPDATE 4:50
Wrote too soon, Antonio Pierce did not practice due to an ankle injury. Coughlin did not have him on the pre-practice report as they expected him to be on the field. The injury is not thought to be serious, but it bears watching the rest of the week.
Even if Brian Westbrook can’t go on Sunday the Giants safeties will be under duress. The Eagles have a ton of speed at wideout with Desean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, a young standout TE Brent Celek, and a rookie back, LeSean McCoy, who is a threat in the flats. What makes this game even harder to gameplan for is the Eagles ability to run the gadget play.
Although the Cardinals wildcat pass didn’t pan out, Larry Fitzgerald was wide open thanks to an overaggressive CC Brown. While the results weren’t there the play could not have worked any better against the Giants D (well it would have been better had there not been a penalty and had Larry caught the ball), but what’s worse is the play is now on film. The Eagles love running gadget plays on overly aggressive defenses and you can bet they will pull out a few to test a beleaguered safety pairing. Last night it came in the form of a DeSean Jackson reverse which resulted in a TD, but the play the Eagles seem to run the most, when it comes to gadgets, is the half back option. This is usually a play for Brian Westbrooks but the Eagles have the personnel to run it with out him. With Michael Vick on the team there is also the chance to see some wildcat, although Philly hasn’t used the formation a whole lot, but they could break it out for the Gmen.
Bottom line CC and Michael Johnson will have to be technically sound this weak and not get sucked up into the box on any play fakes. I imagine one reason the Eagles run these gadget plays is twofold. One because they have the personnel to do so, and two because they practice against one of the most aggressive defenses in the NFL. Steve Spagnuolo brought the Eagle’s aggressive blitzing style to the Giants and one answer for the heavy rush is a gadget play. I have said “gadget play” far too often, let’s hope the Giants safeties hear it just as much this week.
1. Saints (6-0) They didn’t play great, but they turned a 21 point deficit into a 12 point win. With the Vikings’ loss, they are unquestionably the NFC’s elite right now. (Last Week: 1)
2. Vikings (6-1) Not shocking that they lost to the defending champs in Pittsburgh. They were right there with them for most of the game, so Vikings fans shouldn’t be at all worried. This is still the best team in the NFC North. (2)
3. Cowboys (4-2) They finally looked as good as they act this week in dominating a good Falcons team. With Miles Austin a starter, Tony Romo has found a new #1 who is actually better than Terrell Owens was last year.(9)
4. Cardinals (4-2) They beat a good Giants team on the road in prime time. Kurt Warner was held in check but the defense actually bailed out the offense this week. When they are firing on all cylinders on both sides of the ball, it is easy to see how they made the Super Bowl last year. (7)
5. Falcons (4-2) I still think this is a good team, but if Falcons fans want to start worrying, I’ll allow them to. They were outplayed and out-coached by a good Cowboys team, but I was disappointed that they didn’t really compete for a full 60 minutes. (3)
6. Eagles (4-2) They looked pretty good disposing of the Redskins, although it ended up only being a ten point win. Westbrook’s health is again an issue, although it’s always a bad idea to bet against him. They haven’t beaten a tough team yet, and nine of their last ten games are against quality opponents. (6)
7. Giants (5-2) In games against real competition, the Giants are now 1-2. Giants players should look themselves in the mirror and decide who they are because Giants fans have no idea what to expect anymore. I think they are better than the seventh best NFC team, but right now their resume is unimpressive. This week’s game against the Eagles will tell a lot. (4)
8. Packers (4-2) Like the Giants, they have dominated terrible teams and have been less than stellar against real competition. Seven of their ten remaining games are against quality opponents. (8)
9. Bears (3-3) After two losses to good teams, the Bears are back at .500. I really don’t know what to expect out of this team, but they need to get better quarterback play than they did this week. With the defense lacking its main man, it could all depend on the play of Jay Cutler. (5)
10. 49ers (3-3) The switch to Alex Smith gave the offense some mojo, but they fell just short of a huge comeback to the Texans. It looks like Smith will stick as starting QB, and he’ll get a tough test with the Colts. If he can keep playing this well every week, the pieces are in place for the 49ers to make the playoffs. Former first round pick Vernon Davis is having a breakout year. (10)
11. Seahawks (2-4) The Seahawks face the Cowboys after a week off. They could be tough on any given Sunday, but they won’t be making a run at the playoffs. (12)
12. Panthers (2-4) After losing to the Buffalo Bills, their season is officially over. The Panthers can now start tanking in order to land a rookie QB to replace Jake Delhomme. (11)
13. Lions (1-5) After a week off, the Lions take on the hapless Rams. A win here and the Lions could be a part of the Rams’ very own 0-16 season. (13)
14. Redskins (2-5) On the bright side, they didn’t lose to a winless team this week. During the bye week, Jim Zorn will be working on his resume. No one will fault him if he “accidentally” forgets to mention this season. (15)
15. Bucs (0-7) This is what the good people of England are forced to watch? (14)
16. Rams (0-7) Somehow Steven Jackson managed to break 100 yards on the ground again, despite being their only offensive weapon. (16)
Brian Westbrook seems to be a question mark every week, but usually ends up playing. This week will be no different. Last night Westbrook left
the Redskin game with a concussion. After tests are run the doctors will make the decision on Westbrook’s availability for the week, this is not a decision for coaches or the player to make. Usually a concussion keeps a player out at least a week, but earlier this season TE Zach Miller of the Raiders played against the Giants after suffering a concussion only one week prior to the game.
The Giants have always had trouble covering Westbrook out of the backfield (most teams do), without him the Giants will certainly have an easier time covering the Eagle wideouts (possibly doubling Jackson) and pressuring McNabb. In past years it may have been even more costly for the Eagles but the Giants cannot rest on LeSean McCoy, an outstanding rookie back, still it would be a big loss for the Eagles.
A Win This Week in Philly Will Go A Long Way
After seven weeks, the Giants are 5-2, the Cowboys and Eagles are 4-2 and the Redskins are 2-5.
The positives to that are that the Giants are 2-0 in the NFC East with a half-game up in the division and their bye week still to come.
The negatives are that the Giants let a winnable game get away from them Sunday night against Arizona, while Dallas and Philadelphia recorded key wins.
The Cowboys will make a playoff run and defeating Atlanta head-to-head on Sunday helped their post-season chances. The Eagles thrashed Washington last night, which doesn’t seem like a huge achievement these days, but it is a division win.
The Giants, by losing to New Orleans and Arizona back-to-back, may have sealed their fate for January. Those teams will most likely either win their divisions or vie for a wild card. By losing to those games, the Giants have hurt their head-to-head tiebreaker chances vs those teams. The way New Orleans is playing they could win 13 or more games. That means the Giants would have to win all of their remaining games to keep pace.
That is why the Giants must win the NFC East. But it won’t be easy.
They play the Eagles this week in Philadelphia. This is key game that could determine how the rest of the season goes. The Eagles are hurting, but they are never out of contention. If the Giants can win this game, they will be 6-2 and 3-0 in the division. That will put more pressure on their rivals going forward. They could go 5-3 in the final eight games and still win the East.
The Giants schedule from here out is grueling, especially when you consider how poorly the defense has been playing. Should they beat Philadelphia this week, the schedule still promises to be challenging:
San Diego, bye, Atlanta, @ Denver, Dallas, Philadelphia, @ Washington, Carolina and @ Minnesota.
Sweeping the East would only give them 9 wins. As you can see, there are no easy games left. That is why this loss to Arizona is so disappointing.
The ups
Mathias Kiwanuka had a solid game with a sack and a couple of pressures. It should be noted that Kiwi played inside at tackle several times, something Justin Tuck did a lot in 07 and continues to do today.
Terrel Thomas isn’t afraid to gamble in coverage and he was rewarded for his instincts with a pick in the first quarter and a couple of passes defended including a big 3rd down late in the 4th quarter (unfortunately his gambling goes both ways…see the down section)
Brandon Jacobs had 13 carries for 76 yards including a 25 yard scamper. Many analysts are now questioning whether or not his alleged “soft” running is based on his new contract. What shocked me is that ESPN’s Chris Carter questioned Jacobs after this particular game. Um Chris he just averaged 5.8 a carry and bowled over LB Clark Haggans to get his TD, and now you question him?
Hakeem Nicks continues to make big plays. Yes it was a flukey TD, but that’s now 4 straight games with a TD.
Bill Sheridan promised blitzes and for the most part he delivered. Yes they gave up 24 points but they were in bad field position most of the game and the offense had 4 turnovers. Warner was held to a 72.8 quarterback rating and they gave up less then 300 yards of total offense.
The Downs
CC Brown, or as Chris Collinsworth refers to him, “Can’t Cover,” had another awful game. Yes he led the team in tackles, but he continues to find himself out of position, most notably on the wildcat formation where he let Larry Fitzgerald run right by him. He also had Beanie Wells carry him into the end zone and while he occasionally lays a decent hit not one has forced a receiver to drop a ball. He also came up to support on a Beanie Wells 10 yard run in the first half, it looked as though Brown was going to lay some wood, but ended up gettting knocked backwards by the powerful Wells. Sidebar : If the Cardinals ever do decide to run Beanie Wells is a huge talent if he can stop from fumbling.
As noted earlier Terrell Thomas is a gambler. Thomas came up with a big interception in the first quarter but also found himself out of position on several balls thrown to Larry Fitzgerald in the second half. A corner who free lances is going to help and hurt you throughout the year, it’ll be interesting to see what happens if Aaron Ross ever does come back.
Mario Manningham now has 7 drops on the year and, as it was pointed out by Collinsworth, ran several poor routes in the game.
The Cardinals had a plan for Domenik Hixon’s return ability, simply kick it away from him. Not sure why the Giants didn’t go to a 2 returner set to counter the strategy. Hixon never had any blocking as Rackers was able to mess up the timing on every kick.
Eli Manning never looked right in this game. Even on the final 2 drives nothing ever seemed fluid. Eli threw 3 picks but easily could have thrown 5. Not sure why, but Eli has always had issues with delay of games and the Cardinals 8 man fronts and constant chess matches seemed to confuse him all the more.
On Calais Campbell’s sack in the first halg he was double teamed by Chris Snee and Shaun O’Hara….again double teamed by the Giants 2 pro bowl lineman…not good.
Jeff Feagles had a rough day, after 22 years of NFL experience it’s safe to say this was an aberration.
The referees missed a blatant helmet to helmet hit on Kevin Boss, while the ref’s missed it the league will not. Antrel Rolle is bound to be fined for the hit later in the week.
Ahmad Bradshaw had a fumble fighting for extra yards, but what got him pulled from the game was a personal foul for striking the defender in the face with his fist.
If there were a “Middle” section to this post that’s where William Beatty would show up. He had some good plays, and some bad. It is clear that Beatty’s athleticism and strength have him ahead of the “project” title, but it’s also clear he still needs another offseason before he is ready to go. If he has to play this week, and the Eagles get to game plan for it, things may not go as well for him.
Thats the Ups and Downs…onto Philly.
Going into tonight’s MNF football bout between the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins, no team in the NFC east can really feel too easy with the current situation they’re in.
The Philadelphia Eagles, who lost last week to arguably the worst team in football (Oakland Raiders), know that tonight is definitely a must-win if they want to be strong contenders in the NFC.
For the Redskins, this game means much more than just getting the win. The Skins are looking for some sanity within the current situation they’re in seeing as they have a completely new playcaller being introduced and frankly an entire team that’s just in complete dissaray.
Both teams are coming into tonight with a chip on their shoulders, and both teams know they have to win.
In New York, we all watched as the Giants lost their second straight game to a better than we thought Arizona Cardinals team. Granted, we should’ve won this game, but Arizona played well, and we cant take that away from them. Like the Eagles and the Skins, the Giants have a certain feeling of desperation on this Monday night.
Surprisingly the only team that can feel good about themselves right now in this tight division is the Cowboys. The ‘Boys looked better than they have in over a season yesterday where they completely dominated a good Atlanta Falcons team. Maybe it was the gained presence of Felix Jones, or maybe the emergence of Miles Austin as a playmaking WR, but they just seemed to be turning on all cylinders. Defensively…and offensively.
If the Redskins win tonight, look for a new hope to emerge from DC. A win will mean a successful move by Daniel Snyder to change the playcaller, which will then lead to a team that is 3-4 and by no means out of the race for the playoffs.
A win for the Eagles, will make everyone forget about that horrible loss to Oakland, which is what Philadelphia, and Philadelphia fans alike desperately desire.
I think it’s safe to say that both these teams really need to win tonight, not only for the season, but perhaps for their sanity as a football team.
With a Giants-Eagles matchup looming in the backdrop, a win tonight could mean the Eagles will be playing for 1st in the NFC east next week, something the Gmen do not want to see happen.
For the second week in a row, the Giants were outplayed by a quality NFC opponent. And for the second week in a row, Giants fans and players are re-evaluating their team. The Giants are clearly not an elite team, but are they even a playoff team? At this point, it’s hard to believe they are the best team in the NFC East anymore.
- Eli Manning had his second straight poor outing. Manning was 19 for 37 for 243 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. He made some poor decisions, threw into double coverage, had some passes deflected and others sailed out of bounds. Even his touchdown pass was the result of a lucky bounce. Against a secondary that has been as bad as the Cardinals this season, the Giants have no excuses for their poor passing performance.
- Brandon Jacobs looked like the old Brandon Jacobs, gaining 76 yards on thirteen carries (5.8 yards per carry). He looked like himself, plowing through defenders on his four yard rushing touchdown. Maybe Gilbride should have given him more than thirteen carries.
-I love that Ahmad Bradshaw always battles for the extra yardage, but he has to do a better job of tucking the ball away. He fought to pick up 14 yards late in the fourth quarter, but left the ball unprotected. The ball was stripped and recovered by the Cardinals, and the Giants offense was lucky to get the ball back at all.
- Even Jeff Feagles had a terrible game, averaging only 34.4 yards per punt. You know things are going bad when even Feagles is playing poorly.
- Too many delay of game penalties.
- The defense played pretty well considering the tough spots they were put in. Cardinals drives consistently started in or around Giants territory thanks to the offense’s inability to sustain drives and Jeff Feagles’ poor punting. They sacked Kurt Warner twice and hit him seven more times. They held the normally accurate warner to 20 of 36 passing for 231 yards, one touchdown, one interception and a 72.8 passer rating. Although some people are getting on the defense again, giving up only 24 points to one of the best offenses in football is definitely a step in the right direction after last week.
- Why wasn’t there a personal foul when the Cardinals DB propelled himself helmet first into Kevin Boss late in the fourth quarter? Boss miraculously hung on to the ball, but fifteen more yards would have been huge. It should have at least been hitting a defenseless receiver, if not a helmet to helmet hit.
There also should have been pass interference on Terrell Thomas, who arrived early on a pass to Larry Fitzgerald earlier in the game.
- Mario Manningham’s butterfingers resurfaced, this time proving more costly than ever. Manningham dropped a beautiful pass from Manning on what would have been a touchdown to cut the lead to three. Instead, the Giants settled for a field goal that moved them to within seven.
Give Mario Manningham one more game to prove he should be starting. Either way, Hakeem Nicks should be getting equal playing time. The receiving core has great potential, and Manningham is a part of the future. But the rookie Nicks is more polished right now and Manningham’s drops are too costly.
- The offensive game ball goes to Hakeem Nicks, who again was one of the only bright spots in a tough loss. Nicks’ heads up (lucky) catch of a deflected ball turned into a 62 yard touchdown in which he outran the entire Cardinals defense. He now has a touchdown in four straight games and has to be in the conversation for offensive Rookie of the Year.
- The defensive game ball goes to Terrell Thomas, who had an interception and four passes defensed. He is quickly turning into one of the better players on the Giants’ defense, and has probably earned himself a starting spot if Aaron Ross ever returns.
Bonehead of the Week: Mets Fans
Why not? Everything else has gone terribly, terribly wrong for Mets fans.
The two teams Mets fans hate most are set to meet in the World Series, leading Mets fans to choose between rooting for the Yankees or jumping off a ledge.
It’s really the only fitting conclusion to a season in which basically everything that could go wrong did go wrong (we call that Daniel Murphy’s Law). Every important Mets player was injured and the team found 92 new ways to lose a ball game (that’s a good name for a book that Jerry Manuel should write).
So while I don’t have an exact reason for making Mets Fans the boneheads of the week, it just feels right.
By the way, were Yankees fans seriously cheering when TV cameras showed Kate Hudson? Seriously?
For 22 years Jeff Feagles has been a premiere punter in the NFL. No one in the league is better at placing the ball within the 20 yard line then Feagles
(OK statistically some are slightly better, stop checking up on my writing and just believe me). In 7 years as a Giant I have only heard Jeff Feagles name called out once in a post game conference (On a punt return by Brain Westbrook 5 years ago). Last night Feagles averaged 34.4 yards a punt and put the Giants defense in several tight spots.
On 3 straight punts in the third quarter Feagles failed to drive the ball more then forty yards, and gave the Cardinals great field position, twice in Giants territory. One of the punts was a shank, and shanks happen, but the other 2 punts were simply directional punts that sailed out of bounds far to quickly. The interesting part of the post game conference is how Coughlin responded. “Those were on me.” According to Coughlin he did not want to give Cardinal punt returner Steve Breaston a chance to make a play. Still there is also no way Coughlin wanted Feagles to net less then 35 yards on all 3 kicks.
After 22 years of kicking it’s clear this game was an aberration, but for one game Jeff Feagles was not the special teams weapon he normally is, in fact he was a liability. Although the defense gave up 24 points they actually did a good job of containing a high powered offense considering the field position they dealt with and the turnovers, 4 to be exact (although 1 was on the final offensive play). The defense actually held the Cardinals to less then 300 yards of offense and a meager 216 yards passing. As coach Coughlin says you need to have all three units playing well in order to win in the NFL, you can get away with two, but last night the specials teams and offense were no where to be found. For one game, and probably one game only, I ask what the Feagles was that?
P.S (Yep I consider each of my posts to be personal letters to my flock of readers, hence the P.S., and by flock I mean all 6 of you) After his first punt inside the 20 I got a text from my friend “the neck,” who was at the game. It said “Feagles should punt till he is 50.” Please feel free to blame him for this weeks loss….stupid Neck.
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