Sports & Perspective
When it comes to rebuilding the New York Jets, Todd Bowles is all about respecting the process. He’s also about making sure the team message of growth gets across to his players.
It should be no surprise that Bowles, after the Jets’ 38-31 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, made sure in his press conference to keep the emphasis on his team’s growth. Continue reading “Resilient Jets Showing Plenty of Growth Under Todd Bowles”
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”
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.
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.
Beckham, according to reports, has yet to practice since injuring his ankle.
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.
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.
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?