Steitzenhaus

At this point, I actually prefer watching the games at home. My bathroom is feet away, I can drink as much as I want without worrying about consequences, and I know exactly whats going on in the game. Sometimes penalties, challenges etc. can get a bit lost when you're in the crowd. Good for you though Seph. As Giant fans we are all looking at the possibility of no NFL. As much as it will hurt, if one group of millionaires and another group of multi-millionaires can't come to an agreement, maybe they need to see the backbone of their entire product give a collective go fuck yourself until this is all straightened out.

Earl Campbell and Mike Webster are the first players I think of when it comes to this issue. It's controlled chaos, but the NFL is essentially the Colosseum of our time. I love the game but I would definitely consider it a guilty pleasure.

I'm not putting all of it in his lap but there is no guarantee the Giants would have a Super Bowl championship with Rivers or Roethlisberger at this point. I agree that talent wise he is probably third out of that group but it isn't as simple as just plugging one of the two other guys in and assuming they would have more success.

I remember when Webster was just about a bust in my mind until the end of the '07 season. He took a pick back late in the Buffalo game and I remember talking to my buddies about it. "What the hell was that". We know the rest and he has turned into one of the better cover corners in the league. Thomas gets picked on because Webster is better. That's not a knock on Thomas. He's a big, physical corner and has made a ton of plays this past year. We have come a looooooong way since the two Wills. These guys are only going to get better they aren't the problem in the least.

We will tell our kids about that '07 playoff run and THE DRIVE that took down the best team that I have ever seen in my lifetime until this point. I wouldn't trade that for anything. Yes, he can be inconsistent from game to game and at times he can look downright clumsy but look at the other choices in that draft. They're both extremely talented, perhaps more than Eli. Rivers hasn't gotten his team over the hump and is another McNabb until he shows me otherwise. Ben has two rings and is a very good quarterback but can't seem to keep his dick in his pants and has embarrassed the entire Steeler franchise. I'll take our dork.

It's a damn good thing for his sake he is the greatest linebacker of all-time and revolutionized the position. That's all I'm going to say about the matter. I don't need to elaborate on what would happen to schmucks like us if we were in his situation.

I think he and the team are going to be fine. Eli was frustrating on plenty of occasions this year but so was just about every Giant at some point during the season. Another year for Eli and the young receivers to get further acclimated should go a long way toward eliminating the interceptions and miscommunications. If you have the time, take a look at Elways first years in the league. I know the game has changed quite a bit and its certainly more difficult for defenses now but Eli has had a very nice career up to this point.

I agree completely that was my main concern.

They must have brought him in for his Super Bowl experience.

Yeah I had the same picks. 31-27 Green Bay lets go. If they can do that for us I'll be a Packer fan for the rest of the playoffs.

I think this defense is good to the point where the pass rush and the supporting cast can beat and sometimes dominate average to below average quarterbacks and offenses. The Tennessee game was lost solely on turnovers. The Dallas game had a HUGE game changing play, and the two Eagle games the defense as a whole did a pretty decent job containing Vick until 7:52 in the 4th quarter of game two. When it comes to playing offenses led by top tier quarterbacks, it seems the Giants just don't have the personnel right now to handle them. Our linebackers cannot cover at all. The secondary has 4 good, solid players but I wouldn't call any of them game-changers. Phillips I hope could eventually become one but we will see. Early in the Green Bay game Rodgers was taking a lot of three step drops and using the cushion Webster and Thomas were giving the wide receivers to his advantage. As someone alluded to in a previous post, it looked easy. I think that's where scheme comes in but at the same time, if teams are going to scheme to take Tuck and Osi out of the game there has to be players behind them that can step up and make plays. Right now, I don't think we have that when it comes time to play these big time offenses.

I read that Ayers could possibly play any of the linebacker spots in a 4-3. I dont watch much college ball and I only start looking at prospects starting around this time of year. Any insight would be appreciated. If that scouting report is accurate he sounds like he could be a good option.

when you lose the turnover and field position battle on a weekly basis, its hard to beat ANY team let alone ones we would classify as good. The Giants were in every game but Indy and Green Bay, and not surprisingly those teams had the two best quarterbacks we played all year. I think part of the problem in those games was poor scheming by Fewell, but this defense is desperately in need of playmaking ability at linebacker and while I like every player starting in the secondary, there is not much they can do against a Manning or Rodgers without Tuck and Osi generating a consistent pass rush. All that said, this season will be remembered for the turnovers and what could have been had they taken better care of the football.

Haha I remember Harooni from the Giants message board before I left to come here. He seemed to devote his entire existence to discrediting Eli.

Green Bay has the talent to make it to Dallas. And if they take out the Eagles for all of us I will be rooting for them the rest of the way.

That's a funny analogy Jack. The line is still good, but it's time to start preparing for the future. Beatty showed flashes and Petrus supposedly has plenty of physical ability so I think the team has a good start with youth and depth. I hope they resign Boothe he's only 27, has been with the team a while and knows the system. I'm really interested to see what they do at linebacker. I don't follow too much college football but I read up on who's coming out right around this time of year. They say Ayers from UCLA has the potential to play any linebacker position. I don't know where he is expected to go in the first round but he sounds like a good option.

I think we should get on the phone with Skip Bayless and see if he would be willing to write a weekly opinion piece here. I haven't met a person yet that likes him and I think it would be a great way to bring everyone on the board together.

I would only be good with Burress returning if every person in the organization was top to bottom. I will always be grateful for what Burress did for this team. Without him the Giants are not Super Bowl champions. But because of his arrogance and stupidity the Giants were denied the chance to win another the following year.

Ok my cynicism is going to end. After the last few days I thought maybe this team doesn't have the talent and perhaps that's valid until next season when they show us they can beat what we constitute as a good team. But I think that train of thought is wrong. When you lose the battle in field position on a weekly basis and lead the league in turnovers you are not going anywhere. Special teams has always been an issue for the Giants but it has gotten to the point where there needs to be major overhauls in order to be even a respectable unit. There were exactly two games the entire year the Giants weren't in the game. Indy and Green Bay. I don't think it's a coincidence those teams had the two best quarterbacks we played all year. Another year for Fewell to work out the kinks could go a long way. Upgrade linebacker and figure out what to do with the special teams. As sloppy as this team was they won 10 games and were still alive even after they played the worst 4 1/2 quarters of football I have ever seen. That's either a backhanded compliment or it reveals a deep seeded problem within the team. I can't keep thinking about it so I'm going to hope the areas of weakness are fixable and this team gets back on track next year. Fuck the Eagles let's go Packers.

We are already two games in the hole since we can't beat the Eagles. If we continue the trend of losing to good teams we will drop the Green Bay, New Orleans, New England, and Jet games, though the Jets are debatable if they constitute a "good" team. If the turnovers continue they will drop at least one game to the NFC west. I'm being very cynical right now but fuck there is a lot of work to be done for this team.

Reynaud must stay. In order to keep our special teams at it's current level the Giants cannot afford to lose him.

That's a fair point and I've considered that. I'm just trying to wrap my head around it all. If we are to believe that they possess that much talent, then it has to be the coaching and the schemes that are preventing us from beating the better teams in the league the past two seasons. I can't fathom that the coaching is that bad, though Gilbride is incredibly frustrating at times and Fewell I thought really dropped the ball against the Packers with the gameplan. Who knows. Either way, let's hope the pieces get put in place from both coaching and personnel that it gets better.

I wouldn't say overachieved, but the idea that maybe as fans we are overrating the talent on this team is becoming more likely in my mind. I think the Giants have plenty of nice, solid players. However, when you're talking "game-changers", I only see eventually Nicks on offense and Tuck and Osi on defense. If this team took better care of the football maybe they would have won another game or two and we wouldn't even be discussing this. I do think that the Giants are close. They need to find a playmaker at the linebacker position and take an entirely new approach to special teams, whether that be coaching changes, personnel changes, or both.

Ranked #4? Do you mean the number 4 defense that gave up 28 points in 8 minutes? Maybe its the number 4 defense that gave up 45 in Green Bay. Look I didnt say this roster was garbage but right now theyre good enough to beat bad teams and its obvious theyre missing something when it comes to big games agaisnt good teams.