Angel Delgado of Seton Hall (No. 31) – Image Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Can anyone blame Seton Hall for feeling their time has come?
The Pirates are ranked 23rd in the nation, the feeling around campus is they’re a team ready to contend for a spot in the Final Four.
They’re loaded with the right mix of old and young on its roster. Seton Hall’s senior class has come of age together. They came in together and have endured their fair share of growing pains while learning how to win together as a unit.
Seton Hall Has Their Own Big Three
Angel Delgado, Desi Rodriguez, and Khadeen Carrington are more than just talented basketball players. The trio came in together and have endured their fair share of growing pains. They’re now experienced veterans ready to finish their collegiate careers on the highest of notes.
On a cold Friday night in Newark, the triple-threat provided the spark Seton Hall needed to power past Fairleigh Dickinson with a 90-68 win in their season-opener.
After the game, Pirates head coach Kevin Willard pointed towards the strength of this year’s team.
“When you have as many seniors as we have, you have a lot of confidence in them,” Willard said. We’re like an aged steak.”
Delgado is a walking double-double, this is nothing new to fans of Seton Hall. He had 10 points and 10 rebounds against FDU, he’s been the heart and soul of the Pirates with his enthusiasm and effort.
You put Delgado with the offense of Rodriguez and Carrington and Seton Hall gives headaches for opponents trying to matchup against them.
Willard, along the way, has been great at surrounding his core group with a strong supporting cast. Freshman Myles Cale played a strong game with 12 points off the bench.
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Expectations for Seton Hall this season are high, as they should be. It can’t go unnoticed they’re the only Division I team with three 1,000-point scorers in Rodriguez, Delgado, and Carrington.
After three years of growing together through blood, sweat, and even tears – this team’s ready for their spot at the big table with the nation’s top contenders.
It’s time to serve the main course, the Pirates are ready to eat.
Fordham junior guard Joseph Chartouny (Image Credit: Fordham EDU)
If there’s anything to take from watching Fordham lose their season opener to Miami (Oh) it’s they’re still a team in search of consistent offense.
The defense is still a strength for this team. Third-year head coach Jeff Neubauer does a good job with making sure the Rams play hard on every play.
But the problem area for Fordham this year came up late in Friday night’s loss to Miami (Oh). When the defense struggles to get stops, where will the offense come from on this team?
Fordham had a 54-48 lead with 2:20 left in the game, that’s the time when you’re supposed to put your opponent away. Instead, while the Red Hawks were coming alive on offense, the Rams missed their last three shots.
Miami (Oh) went on a 7-0 run to escape Rose Hill with a 55-54 win over the Rams. It’s a frustrating beginning to a new season for Neubauer.
In the offseason, the Rams lost graduate transfers Christian Sengfelder (Boise St.) and Antwoine Anderson (UConn). They played key offensive roles for Fordham during their time there.
Junior guard Joeseph Chartouny is back for Fordham, they’re going to need his scoring just as much as his leadership.
Chartouny was aggressive in looking to get to the basket against Miami (Oh). He’s an excellent defender, but Neubauer will need more from him and Will Tavares to keep the Rams in ballgames.
Neubauer has brought a sense of stability to which was missing before he arrived on campus. He’s no-nonsense when it comes to teaching the fundamentals to his players. But he’s also aware this is still very much a process with getting the program out of the lower tier of the conference.
In order to take that next step, Fordham has to get more from their offense. That’ll be their challenge this season.
Kristaps Porzingis knows he’s now the number one option for the Knicks and the results so far have been great.(Image Credit: Business Insider)
Whenever Kristaps Porzingis touches the basketball now it’s become must-watch television.
A “very comfortable” Porzingis has been torching the league since the start of the season. The Knicks have been the benefactors of his emergence as their go-to guy.
Giants Head Coach Ben McAdoo (Image Credit: AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)
If the Giants and Ben McAdoo are looking to prove they’re not quitting on this season, they’re going to need a different approach. It certainly seemed that way during their 51-17 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
The Giants looked like a team already planning out their vacation plans. They certainly didn’t look like they were ready to play a football game.
The Rams are a good football team, there should be no more debates about this. This is a well-coached team, with a young franchise quarterback, playmakers at running back and wide receiver, and a game-changer on defense.
In other words, the Rams are everything the Giants are currently not.
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The Giants are missing Odell Beckham Jr., the injuries to their roster were body blows to their season, and the offensive line remains a joke. These issues are not why they embarrassed themselves against the Rams.
Nothing better summarizes the fall of the Giants than the second quarter of this game. On a third and 33, the Rams called a screen play likely just to make for a manageable fourth down. Jared Goff hit Robert Woods and, 52 yards later, found himself in the end zone celebrating a touchdown.
How an NFL defense allows a touchdown there is beyond me. Woods ran right through the Giants’ defense; the secondary took terrible angles on the play. They looked out of position and eventually shell-shocked.
Just as inexcusable was the Giants allowing Goff to find Sammy Watkins for a 67-yard touchdown pass which basically put the game away before halftime. Again, the secondary, specifically Landon Collins, looked caught off-guard.
The body language from Dominque Rodgers- Cromartie, after Woods scored again on a four-yard touchdown pass, said it all. Woods was wide open in the end zone when Rodgers-Cromartie was in coverage on another receiver. He turned and saw Woods and could only throw his hands up in disgust.
In that one gesture, Rodgers-Cromartie likely summed up the feelings of every Giants’ fan this season.
Effort shouldn’t be taught, it’s either there or it’s not. No matter what anyone on the Giants say about this game, there’s no justifying lack of effort and players continuing to blow their coverage assignments.
After the game, McAdoo spoke having to keep fighting and learning about people during times like this. The Giants could be looking at McAdoo exactly the same way. And it’s not just McAdoo, it’s the entire coaching staff and general manager Jerry Reese.
If I’m the Giants, I’ve seen enough to know major changes must take place after the season. They probably won’t, but it can’t hurt to start now.
Because no matter what they say to convince anyone otherwise, they look like a team which has already pulled the plug.
D’Angelo Russell of the Brooklyn Nets makes his move on Jarrett Jack of the Knicks. (Image Credit: USA Today)
The narrative for the basketball landscape in New York City lately has centered around the Knicks and Nets heading in different directions.
The Knicks are under new management with team president Steve Mills and general manager Steve Perry. On the court, the trade of Carmelo Anthony signaled the official beginning of the Kristaps Porzingis era.
Brooklyn is in year two of a massive rebuild which has caught the attention of everyone around the league.
Where the Knicks have struggled with cohesion, the Nets have thrived. For proof of this, all you would have to do is take a quick look at the standings.
Coming into Friday night’s matchup at Madison Square Garden, the Nets were 3-2 and coming off of an impressive home win over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Meanwhile, not only were the Knicks looking for their first win of the season –- they were also looking to silence any whispers of their team heading in the wrong direction.
There was plenty to feel encouraged about for Knicks fans, starting with the play of point guard Frank Ntilikina.
When placing blame for what’s wrong with the Giants, make sure the finger pointing starts at the top.
A 24-10 loss to the Detroit Lions on Monday night, in front of a capacity crowd for the home opener at Met Life Stadium, has fans scratching their heads in disbelief and frustration.
After another embarrassing performance in front of a national audience, the Giants find themselves at 0-2 to start the season.
Much like the week before in Dallas, the Giants’ offensive line was atrocious.
The Lions sacked Eli Manning five times.
Giants Have Giant Problems All Over
Like Jon Gruden on ESPN constantly reminded us, the Giants run an offense with an emphasis on timing. But Manning has had zero time to pick up his head, much less go through his progressions in order to find an open receiver.
Manning, unlike his counterpart on the Lions, Matthew Stafford, doesn’t have the quickness to constantly escape the pass rush. There were a handful of times where Stafford was able to use his feet to avoid trouble and gain positive yards. Meanwhile Manning, at 36 years old, was target practice for the Lions on this night.
This isn’t to poo-poo on Eli Manning. I’m not hopping on the ‘Is Eli done?’ bandwagon, even though it’s beginning to pick up steam.
The blame for this team’s offensive struggles isn’t entirely on Manning. Just like the fault isn’t entirely on a ground game which only produced 54 yards total between three running backs.
Odell Beckham Jr. returned to the field, but only had four catches for 36 yards.
Then there’s Brandon Marshall.
Marshall was a little more active than his one-catch Giants debut against Dallas a week ago. But his drop in the fourth quarter, on a beautifully thrown pass from Manning, eventually led to a game-breaking 88-yard punt return for a touchdown by Detroit’s Jamal Agnew.
But the receivers are also not entirely at fault.
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As I wrote in an earlier post prior, if the Giants don’t figure out what to do with their offensive line, they can forget any talk of competing for a Super Bowl. They won’t even make the playoffs.
Eli Manning won’t be able to take hits likes this for too much longer if the Giants don’t figure out their offensive line struggles. (Image Credit: Jim McIsaac)
A Giants Offensive Line Which Has Looked Offensive
Left tackle Ereck Flowers was bad again. Lions’ defensive end Ezekiel Ansah recorded three of Detroit’s five sacks on Manning. Watching Ansah repeatedly blow by Flowers at the line, you couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.
It was that bad, it’s been that bad with Flowers since the Giants drafted him.
Flowers has become the poster boy for all that’s wrong with this team’s offensive line. They can’t pass-protect and they can create lanes for the run game.
Those are the primary responsibilities of the position.. Hence, the problem.
On their way to 0-2, the problem remains the same. The O-Line is a mess and it impacts the entire offense. #GiantsPride
The run game will never get going, which will make the Giants one-dimensional and predictable. Opposing defenses will continue to focus on Manning whenever he drops back to pass. However, his uneasiness in the pocket will prevent him from ever getting in tune with his receivers.
There will be more three and outs, this will lead to more time on the field for the defense.
Until the Giants figure out their issues on the line, this destructive chain reaction will continue.
But this isn’t all on the offensive line either. Well, the blame has to start somewhere, right?
It’s time to look at who’s calling the plays and who put the team together. Giants general manager Jerry Reese and head coach Ben McAdoo is where the blame begins.
Reese’s decision to bring back this offensive line, with little to no changes, can’t be ignored anymore.
It’s time for Giants general manager Jerry Reese (left) to start answering questions about his offensive line. (Image: Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports)
Then there’s McAdoo. He was right to hold Manning accountable for his delay of game gaffe which cost the Giants field position in the red zone. But his play calling also has to change.
On the Giants only touchdown drive, Manning got rid of the football quickly and without hesitation. With that line in front of him, this is going to be the only way the offense will find any rhythm to it.
McAdoo has shown he’s not afraid to criticize his quarterback in front of the media, so then it shouldn’t be a problem for him to make sure Manning gets rid of the football quicker from here on.
Reese and McAdoo can also put their heads together and come up with a better solution at left tackle than Flowers, because this just isn’t working.
It’s one thing to stand by a player who’s clearly struggling to figure it out, but at what point do you start thinking about the rest of the team?
It Doesn’t Get Easier
The schedule doesn’t do the Giants any favors. A divisional road game against the Philadelphia Eagles is next, followed by another road game against Tampa Bay.
But if there’s going to be a blame game for what’s gone wrong with the 0-2 Giants, there’s plenty to go around. Just make sure you start at the top.
The preseason’s over and the Giants are less than one week away from the start of the regular season, possibly without Odell Beckham Jr..
It’s been two weeks since Beckham injured his ankle in a preseason game against the Cleveland Browns. The Giants open their season Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys on national television. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on the availability of their star wide receiver.
There’s plenty reason to have Beckham on the field Sunday night. He’s a playmaker who’s shown he can thrive on a huge platform such as playing on Sunday night. The Cowboys, besides being a rival, or also a divisional opponent. The Giants can make an early statement with a win on the road to start the season.
But while there’s plenty of reason for Beckham to play Sunday night, the reality of the situation is there’s still an entire season ahead.
Perspective On Beckham
If the Giants deliver on defense, protect Eli Manning, and find some sort of running game, they’ll be make a playoff-run this season. But they’ll need their playmakers and Beckham’s at the top of the list.
Odell Beckham Jr. of the Giants walks off the field after suffering an injury in the first half of a preseason game against the Browns. (Image Credit: Getty / Joe Robbins)
Beckham obviously is a huge reason expectations for the Giants passing game this season are high. If he’s not 100 percent or close to it, do the Giants really want to risk their top receiver re-injuring himself?
In my opinion, that’s not a risk worth taking in week 1 of the season.
It’s no secret Beckham’s passion for football sometimes gets overshadowed by his occasional emotional displays on the field. There’s no doubt he’s well aware any game against the Cowboys is circled on the calendars of most Giants fans. He’s going to want to play, hurt ankle or not.
It will be interesting to see how the Giants approach Beckham’s injury during the week leading up to Sunday night. Will they throw caution to the wind and play him? Or will the big picture for the rest of the regular season take first priority?
