Sports & Perspective
Robby Anderson is no longer a question mark for the New York Jets, he’s become their answer.
He’s not the answer to all of their questions, but his play has given fans a vision for their team’s future.
Anderson has gone from undrafted free agent out of Temple to an emerging NFL wide receiver. He’s become the home run hitter the Jets need in their passing game. Continue reading “Robby Anderson Gives Jets Their Home Run Hitter”
Matt Forte spoke his mind after the Jets lost their third straight game, the veteran running back had plenty to say.
Before the Jets go about the business of putting their season back on track, they better make sure everyone’s on the same page. Continue reading “For Matt Forte and the Jets, Two Wrongs Don’t Make It Right”
Turn out the lights on the 2017 season for the Giants, this one’s over.
Just when the Giants thought it could not get any more worse, they were reminded otherwise. This team’s in a free fall with no end in sight. Continue reading “Plenty Wrong With The Giants, Start At The Top”
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.
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.
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
— 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 (@TonyRushingNY) September 19, 2017
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.
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?
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.
If the Giants’ offensive line don’t come up with a cure to fix their problems, it won’t matter who Eli Manning throws the football to this season.
We were all reminded of this while watching Big Blue’s season-opening 19-3 road loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Manning was under pressure from the start and barely had time to adjust his helmet before having to run for his life.
The Giants were already without lead wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. because of an ankle injury. As I wrote prior to this game, sitting Beckham was the right call, make no mistake about it. But it wouldn’t have mattered if he was on the field for this one.
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New York’s leading receiver was Roger Lewis, with four catches for 54 yards. Brandon Marshall, brought in to be a solid number two wide receiver, was held to one catch for 10 yards.
I’m pretty sure that’s not how Giants head coach Ben McAdoo drew up the game plan to go.
But this problem doesn’t just impact the passing game, it is much more than that. The Giants inability to run the football the past couple of seasons can be largely attributed to the lack of lanes created for them to run through.
Paul Perkins and Orleans Darkwa are expected to carry the bulk of the running load for the Giants this season, they combined for 30 yards on 10 carries against Dallas.
When you have an offensive line that can’t pass protect or run block, you have a team setup for failure every week.
Beckham is one of the most exciting players in the league. Marshall, if used properly, can still be an impact player. Youngsters Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram have plenty of potential. But Manning needs time to get these players the football in order to do what they do.
The Giants, not surprisingly, lost the time of possession battle to Dallas. They only had the football for 25:46 to the Cowboys 34:14. What this means is the defense was on the field entirely too long.
This is a defense with the potential to be very good this season. But they will be gassed every week trying to pick up their offensive teammates.
The Giants will look to get on track in week 2 against the Detroit Lions. It’ll be the home opener and also a Monday night game.
If the Giants’ offensive line don’t figure out their problems quickly, it will be another lost season for the team.
These days Matt Harvey isn’t the Dark Knight, he’s just Matt Harvey, pitcher for the New York Mets.
Harvey’s no longer the superstar taking New York City by storm, he’s now just a pitcher taking the field every five days.
It’s not the 2013 All-Star Harvey, and it’s not even the 2015 National League Comeback Player of the Year.
The blazing fastball, hitting 98 mph on the radar gun, that Matt Harvey is no longer in the building. The growing reality is we may never see that Harvey again.
Adversity impacts us all in different ways. For Harvey, overcoming his adversity has become the biggest challenge of his professional career.
In three starts since returning from the disabled list with a stress injury to his right scapula, Harvey has posted a 1-2 record with an alarming 12.19 ERA. His struggles have escalated since missing the second half of last year due to surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome.
But it was Harvey’s comments after his most recent start which may have provided the clearest case of someone struggling to regain the success he once had.
In 3 1/3 innings of work, Harvey gave up five runs and loaded the bases three times. The Mets lost the game to the Cubs, 17-5, at Wrigley Field.
“It’s kind of hard to take any positives out of the last two years,” Harvey said. “I am extremely frustrated. It’s hard going out there and not doing what I can to help this team win and it’s extremely frustrating.
“There is a lot of work going in that is not paying off, and it’s becoming very frustrating for me, but there is still three starts to go and you have to do everything you can to go out there to just be better.”
Harvey’s frustration is clear and his concern is justified. The results have not been there for him, this despite all the hard work he’s put in behind the scenes.
I covered one of Harvey’s rehab starts this summer for the Mets short-season Single-A affiliate, the Brooklyn Cyclones. Afterwards, Harvey expressed excitement for getting back to the Mets in time to finish the season. But his comments also displayed an awareness of the process he’s going through.
I came away from that game thinking Harvey’s starting to get it now. He’s 28 years old and these last two years have clearly humbled him.
You can click here to read my article on Harvey, for NY Sports Day.
Harvey is at a career crossroads.
Early success can have us feeling like a superhero, or in Harvey’s case Batman. We feel invincible. Then, like a thief in the night, we’re reminded it’s never that easy.[bctt tweet=”Having an awareness of your situation is always the first step to correcting what’s gone wrong.” username=”TonyRushingNY”]
Once we’re aware of our situation, there’s an evolution phase we’re confronted with.
Michael Jordan didn’t come into the NBA known for his jump shot, he developed it as he grew older. Muhammad Ali was known for his footwork and hand speed, as much he was for his ability to talk you into the arena. But it was the rope-a-dope strategy he employed against a stronger George Foreman which displayed his willingness to evolve.
The ability to throw a blazing fastball can give you early success in Major League Baseball. But it’s more than just having a fastball, it’s knowing when to throw it.
In three starts since coming back from the disabled list, Harvey has struggled early, largely due to his working deep counts and throwing too many pitches. That’s an indication of someone still trying to beat you with only a fastball in their arsenal.
The moment Harvey finds a healthy balance between his power pitches and off-speed stuff, the chances of pitching deeper into ballgames can increase.
Harvey won’t successfully throw 95 to 98 mph throughout a ballgame and come away healthy. He’s no longer that person.
Evolution, however, doesn’t happen overnight.
Having patience is one thing. But having faith in what you’re being patient for is an entirely different ballgame.
Quite simply put, to achieve our goals requires faith in our own abilities to meet them. If we don’t believe in ourselves then what’s the point of even doing it.
Harvey’s not only looking to regain success on the field, he’s facing the challenge of having to evolve his overall game in order to do it. The critics and doubters will only grow with every setback.
The Mets are also looking to see if Harvey has what it takes to get through these tough times. They have a decision to make on Harvey’s long-term future with the team. He’s one year away from free agency, his value is arguably at the lowest it’s ever been.
How far Harvey goes from here remains to be seen, his faith in himself to see it through will go a long way towards his future with the Mets.
If Matt Harvey is to overcome this latest bout with adversity then implementing awareness, a willingness to involve, and maintaining faith in himself are all key components.
The Dark Knight may rise again one day smarter, stronger and fully evolved.