Allstarjim

Wear the jersey with pride! You are still showing support for the Giants, so what if it's red. It's still a Giants' jersey.

Well the voters got it wrong on this one. Should've been Holliday. Wow, Rollins hit a bunch of homeruns in that joke of a park he plays in, where pop flies go for homeruns. At least Coors field is a fair park, and since they've been storing their baseballs in humidifiers the offense has been normalized to a good extent. Sure, Rollins had a great season, but if David Wright played in Citizens Bank Park, he would hit 50 homeruns. Rollins did bring his team all the way back to catch the Mets, and he was a driving force in doing so, but then the Phillies went three and out in the first round, choking when it really matters just like they always do, just like all Philadelphia teams. Holliday also led his team back on a historic streak and put up phenomenal numbers all season. Next year the Mets will be back on top, screw J-Roll and his worthless MVP.

Link Talk about WEAK! With Torrealba off the table and Posada re-signed by the Yankees, the leftovers STINK! Even Torrealba wasn't that great, to be honest. You have to struggle to find many .250 hitters in this group. Might as well re-sign Lo Duca and play Castro more.

Finally, a chance for Milledge. I think with Lastings playing everyday, he can produce big numbers. I think he has the power to hit 30 homeruns. I hope I'm not being a homer, but I see the potential for a 30-30 season, and with his history, about a .280 to .295 avg. He needs to outright win the job in spring training. He certainly will be a big upgrade over Shawn Green. I've always been a Lastings fan, and now it looks like he will finally get the chance. The Mets never seem to trust their young stud prospects with starting positions, but because of all the other needs, and with the free agent crop being lackluster, I think their hand is forced this time. But they will see that Lastings belongs! Of course, this is all pending any potential trades for starting pitching that may occur. Link

Truly remarkable. Here we are worried about a football game, on a message board and this man is doing something with life to make an impact. This is a guy with the right perspective, and it sure beats wasting away in some cubicle or office contribuiting to someone else's bottom line. Great story.

Right now may not be the best time to shut down Plaxico, but I think it's needed. You can visibly see that his performance is suffering. He is being reduced to a possession receiver. Why risk exacerbating the injury over the continued use of a possession receiver with a bad ankle? Sinorice is coming on. Let him start for 3 weeks with Amani, continue to have Shockey involved and maybe Steve Smith will be ready as well. We need Plax for the playoffs. We can win without Plax, just as we have won with a gimpy Plax. Come that first round of the playoffs, he needs to be 100%, beating that db down the field and making the acrobatic catches we are used to seeing him make.

Glavine did ok for us while he was here, but inconsistent. I know I for one was scared shitless at the thought of him starting two games in a playoff series. I think we will be better by his subtraction. Pedro will get more starts next year, hopefully Oliver Perez can be more consistent and pitch more innings, Maine is coming up, and time to give Pelfrey a bigger role. We can do better than survive and replace Glavine's innings. It's the bullpen that needs Duaner Sanchez back, and in his 2006 dominant form, for the Mets to take the East back.

Well, no Eckstein. I really don't understand signing Castillo for 4 years. It's true that Castillo is 32, and Eckstein is 32, but Castillo sure seems like an older 32 to me. I hope that Gotay is given more of a chance. He's fast and has hit well everytime he's given an opportunity. To me, the Mets need offense out of that position.

Link I think this is a great idea. Eckstein would fit perfectly batting 2nd, as he has a wonderful eye and is extremely difficult to strike out. He is tough and gritty and is a winner. He will give Reyes every opportunity to swipe a bag, and is an excellent bunter. Plus he is very good defensively. I'm a little surprised that Omar prefers Eckstein over Castillo, but happy that he does. The only minuses here are that Eckstein is 32, which really isn't too old, and that he will be switching positions, from SS to 2B. I think Eckstein will do fine at 2B, though. GO METS!

Hey I'm pretty good at this.

That was fantastic. I got a good laugh out of that one.

Going back aways, huh? Again, TO has never given up on his team. Wow, he called his QB gay, and I think that was even AFTER they weren't teammates anymore. Either way, I fail to see how that relates to the play on the field. And oh no, he yelled at Donovan. Should he have done that? No. He hurt his relationships on that team, but he never gave up on the field. The very reason he got in Donovan's face was because he wanted to win so badly and felt that he wasn't getting the opportunity to help his team do that. For the record I think Donovan and Andy Reid handled that situation very well, and TO came off looking badly. But again, he never took plays off. What Randy did in Oakland was despicable. He took Al Davis' money for two years for zero effort. Sure, it's easy to talk big and put in effort when things are going great and your team can't be beat. But it takes a MAN to give the same effort and hard work when your team is down. And because of that I don't even consider Randy Moss a real man. TO, while exercising poor judgement at times (not this year or last year for the most part) has always competed hard, always kept himself in impeccable shape and put in the hard work, and for that, at least that, I can respect him. Moss is the most gifted receiver in the history of the NFL but he is a shitbag with no pride in my opinion and in the opinion of many others. And while TO had a lot of drops last year, he also led the NFL in TD's. And BTW, our very own Giants didn't seem to have an answer for him on Sunday either. Spare me. And you are on crack to think that a talent like TO wouldn't have still made it if he hadn't made that catch. Why do you think he was being thrown the ball (and even on the field) to begin with? Because he was the best receiver on the field. And the fact of the matter is that HE DID make that catch that WON THE GAME. I'll take his few drops and double digit TD seasons every time over someone who will quit on your team when the going gets tough. And also, don't call me an idiot because you are talking shit to a guy whose team just beat your team because some other team (who is NOT your team) is conceivably better. It is sour grapes, and it's very unbecoming. Another thing a real man does is take their lumps with class and shakes the hand of their opponent when they've been handed an ass-whipping like we received on Sunday. You couldn't do that, and it is repulsive. Claiming some obscure connection to the Patriots because Belichek was on the Giants' staff 16 years ago is just dumb and irrelevant. And yes I was around for both Superbowls and watched them happily. But he's the Patriots coach now and I have no feeling whatsoever for him except to acknowledge that he's smudged the game with his cheating, runs up the score on opponents, looks like a bum on the sidelines, and (like you) shows zero class when he's been beat, even when the person who beat him was his protege (see Mangini, Eric 2006). Hell, most of the time he shows zero class, whether he wins or not. I'll give him he's a great coach but I'm not going to root for him because he was our linebackers coach and DC a long time ago on our championship teams, and I'm certainly not going to claim him because his team can beat the Cowboys and ours can't. That shit IS WEAK! And if you were "old school" like you claim to be you wouldn't say shit like that either.

Noted Orthopedist Dr. Robert Anderson examined the ankle on Sep. 26th and described it as "a bad sprain". You're free to doubt the injury's severity, but I just want the guy to get healthy and help our offense win games.

I submit to the jury Tom Brady. Everyone does have a bad game, sure, but we are talking about greatness. That's what we expect from Eli. Why? Because he was a #1 pick overall, we traded a lot to get him, and we are paying elite QB money to him. His play has not matched his salary, therefore we are getting screwed. Sorry, he has not been great. The correct characterization of Eli's play has been "inconsistent". Sorry if we want more in year 4. He has a 78.6 QB rating. Great QB's do better than that. On a side note, Ben Roethlisberger has a 110.2 QB rating so far this season, and Tony Romo, who half the people on this board says is garbage, has a 103.3 rating. The two guys just ABOVE Eli in QB rating? Jason Campbell and Joey Harrington. Now you may commence with your 500 excuses for him and how he really is great but there are a million and one reasons why he's being held back that are outside of his control while simultaneously ignoring the fact that the other 31 starting QB's in the NFL all have to deal with setbacks and challenges as well. We're all ears.

I'm not sure what games you are watching. Moss in DC doesn't even have a TD this year! Santana moss has 24 catches for 297 yards this season, are you joking? Plaxico is having a pro bowl year on a bad ankle. Hello? No, he is not as good as TO. And he is not as physically gifted as Randy Moss (RM is a little faster). But I'd still take him over Moss because Moss has no heart and will give up on your team in a heartbeat. And Plaxico has as many TDs as Owens so far this year (8), which, by the way, leads the NFC, and is also the main objective of an offense (score TDs). He is doing this with an average QB and with his counterpart (Toomer) being past his prime making him the focus of the pass defense. And all this with a bad ankle. Plus, Plaxico has made some of the more spectacular catches I've seen in recent memory. He's made one-handed, leaping, diving catches that are sometimes otherworldly. I've seen these catches. So I really don't know what you're talking about when you say he doesn't make the tough catches. Plaxico has 5 drops on the year, certainly not a terrible number. You have bias that is affecting your judgement of his play. If there's one gripe I have against Plaxico (and this is the only one) is that in the past he has held the ball carelessly away from his body while being tackled which has led to fumbles on occasion. I don't remember seeing him do that this year, though.

Your logic is flawed. He has an injury. The injury is not healing properly and completely because HE'S PLAYING EVERY WEEK. That's not plenty of rest. If anything, you should admire him for playing at a high level even though he's hurt. And every play he's out there is going to cause strain on that ankle. One could argue that running plays are even worse for him because he has to block and use his legs and feet for leverage against the opposing DB. If we don't have Plax, we don't have one proven receiver on the team that can beat people deep and outjump the opponent. I'm pissed at some of his plays last year, too, but that doesn't mean I don't want him on my team. He's our best, most dangerous receiver and I'd hate to see our offense function without him. I would only take a couple of guys in the NFL at WR over him. We're lucky to have him.

To further the point, give credit where credit is due. Dallas outplayed and outcoached us. Romo clearly is more accomplished and a better qb than Eli right now, Dallas is just a better team. I hope that we get the chance to play them again in the playoffs and give them a better game. And blunatic is spot-on. TO, despite his past antics, has never quit competing for his team. He's never "taken plays" off, much less at least two SEASONS off like Moss. Moss has no heart, unlike TO, who is an ultimate competitor who sometimes can't keep his mouth shut when he should. I would take TO over Moss any day of the week as well.

OMG. Nothing is worse than seeing a fellow Giants fan make excuses and take credit for other coaches because they were once assistant coaches for the Giants. UGH. Are we going to take credit for Sean Payton, too? Except we fired him! If the Giants were smart he'd be our head coach now. But I'm not going to root for the Saints and call them the Giants' "little brother". To hear someone say that the Patriots are the Giants big brother is repulsive.

Um, it's a team sport. There is no great QB ever that did it by himself. Someone has to throw, someone has to catch, and others have to block. Still others need to play defense and give you the ball back. The argument here is that Eli has a good supporting cast, and is not getting it done. This team is a good team. Eli has a GREAT offensive line. People on this board don't give credit to the other team, I find it comical sometimes. It's like the Giants should be able to impose their will on everyone. That defense that the Cowboys have is very good, let's not forget. But our O-line should have at least 3 probowlers on it (McKenzie, Snee, and O'hara) and an emerging David Deihl who has been spectacular in his first year at LT. Eli has a great line, and very good receivers. Plax is a great receiver. He could go anywhere and put up double digit td, 1000+ yard seasons. Shockey is a very good TE. Jacobs is a great RB. Amani is... at this point in his career, a mediocre possession receiver (but still has great hands). The talent is there for Eli. It's up to him to bring it all together. Someone was comparing Peyton early in his career to Eli. Well, ever since Peyton started playing in the NFL, he has thrown at minimum 26 TDs. He has posted a 90+ QB rating every year but 3 times, one of those being his rookie year. The two other years he did not post at least a 90+ QB rating, he posted an 84.1 and 88.8 rating in 2001 and 2002, respectively. And he has thrown for over 4000 yards in every season he has been in the league but two. Eli has not made the jumps Peyton has. Eli has not posted at least even an 80+ QB rating yet in the league. He has thrown a max of 24 TDs in his short career (less than Peyton's minimum). I bring this up because there is no comparison. Eli is a mediocre QB right now. I'll give him somewhat of a pass for last year after losing his starting LT in the Bears game and consequently not having good protection. But this year, he is without excuse. If he can't pull it together THIS YEAR, and at least show significant improvement over the last 7 games, I'm not sure he will ever be more than say a Dave Krieg or like someone else said, a Bernie Kosar. On a side note, I don't understand why Sinorice Moss doesn't get more opportunities. When he gets the ball, I feel like he can take it all the way every time he touches it.

Barber... also known as the greatest RB in Giants history. Don't forget it. Tiki was special, and nothing that he has said takes away from what he did on the field. Moreover, all Tiki did was be honest. He gets asked a question, and yes he could have said no comment. It's amazing how everyone wants to crucify Tiki for saying the same things we have about Coughlin. Coughlin has got his stuff together THIS year. He lost his team in Jacksonville and he nearly lost the Giants. He finally realized you don't treat grown men, especially those that are professionals and carry themselves that way, like children. As far as Eli, I watched that segment on NBC. Tiki was overall complimentary of Eli and showed faith in him. He was basically saying that Eli was still growing and still had some obstacles to overcome to reach his full potential. ESPN and other media outlets took a small section of what he said and changed the whole context of it. Tiki respects Eli and his ability. For those who just want to read one quote out of context in a news article, and base your whole opinion of someone on that, then you will be duped your whole life. That Tiki vs Eli story was simply the media creating a story where there wasn't really one, something they are adept at doing. And as far as the book goes, again the media takes out a few quotes about Coughlin and ignores the positives that Tiki said about Coughlin. Tiki does credit Coughlin with helping him eliminate the fumbling problems that plagued the early part of his career. Besides the fact, Tiki had retired, he has every right to write about what factors went into that decision. Coughlin was an asshole who has only recently lightened up. If you had an asshole boss and had an opportunity to quit and transition into another great job, you'd do it to.

Barber... also known as the greatest RB in Giants history. Don't forget it. Tiki was special, and nothing that he has said takes away from what he did on the field. Moreover, all Tiki did was be honest. He gets asked a question, and yes he could have said no comment. It's amazing how everyone wants to crucify Tiki for saying the same things we have about Coughlin. Coughlin has got his stuff together THIS year. He lost his team in Jacksonville and he nearly lost the Giants. He finally realized you don't treat grown men, especially those that are professionals and carry themselves that way, like children. As far as Eli, I watched that segment on NBC. Tiki was overall complimentary of Eli and showed faith in him. He was basically saying that Eli was still growing and still had some obstacles to overcome to reach his full potential. ESPN and other media outlets took a small section of what he said and changed the whole context of it. Tiki respects Eli and his ability. For those who just want to read one quote out of context in a news article, and base your whole opinion of someone on that, then you will be duped your whole life. That Tiki vs Eli story was simply the media creating a story where there wasn't really one, something they are adept at doing. And as far as the book goes, again the media takes out a few quotes about Coughlin and ignores the positives that Tiki said about Coughlin. Tiki does credit Coughlin with helping him eliminate the fumbling problems that plagued the early part of his career. Besides the fact, Tiki had retired, he has every right to write about what factors went into that decision. Coughlin was an asshole who has only recently lightened up. If you had an asshole boss and had an opportunity to quit and transition into another great job, you'd do it to.

This should be a great game, easily the 2nd best game of the year after last week's Colts/Patriots game. This will be a physical game, to be sure. Neither offense can be excited about going up against these 2 defenses. There will be a few big plays that will decide the outcome. The Cowboys look to get a big lift inside with the presence of Tank Johnson. Lucky us, he comes back just in time to play the Giants. Demarcus Ware seems to play well against us, and their secondary, especially corner Anthony Henry, are playing well. Henry has 5 INT's in 5 games played, with 9 passes defensed. Eli will have to be accurate, and the Giants receivers will need to help him out more than they have in the past couple of games with regards to not dropping passes. On the other side, Romo has played extremely well against the Giants, but this will be the best Giants defense he's ever seen. I expect we will harass him, but Romo is a great player, and I expect him and T.O. to hook up in this game for at least a couple of big plays. Patrick Crayton could be an x-factor for the Cowboys. I think he creates the biggest matchup problem for the Giants assuming Ross is on T.O. the majority of the game. Witten is another player that has had success against the Giants. Hopefully, Kawicka Mitchell and Antonio Pierce can take him away to an extent. I do not think Kiwanuka is ready for the task. Rushing yards figure to be hard to come by for both teams, despite the great running backs. For us to succeed against them, we need to harass Romo into turnovers. It can happen, but it won't be easy. Umenyiora and Strahan will have a tall order to fill getting by tackles Leonard Davis and Flozell Adams, they are two of the best. I know that I am being very complimentary of the Cowboys, but they are a great team, and there is a reason they are 7-1. We have a couple of advantages... we've had two weeks to get ready and get healthy. I think the players needed the extra rest and they will come in with a full tank and I think a chip on their shoulder from the beating they took week one from the Cowboys. I think offensively, we need to control the ball. That means that two critical players will be Chris Snee and Kareem McKenzie. The Giants love to run right, so they need to dominate their blocks. If they can do that against the Cowboys' D-line, then we have a good shot with Jacobs being able to dictate the flow of the game. The Cowboys have a Superbowl quality team. They remind be of the 90's Cowboys' teams. Just swap Romo with Aikman, Witten for Novacek, and T.O. for Irvin. And although he's no Emmit Smith, Marion Barber III is a very good back. Additionally, the Cowboys have a great defense. That said, the Giants have the best team they've had in a long time. I think our team today is better than the 2000 Giants that went to the Superbowl. It would help if one player were to step up and be an unexpected star for us in this game. Paging Sinorice Moss? Perhaps he can be a difference maker to get us over the hump and have a breakout performance. In any case, this is going to be a great game, possibly even a preview to the NFC championship game, as these are the best 2 teams in the conference. The Giants have more to lose in this one than the Cowboys. If the Cowboys win, then the Giants are 3 games back out of first, by virtue that the Cowboys will hold the tiebreaker. That being said, if they lose, the Giants will be playing for the wild card the rest of the way, because the Cowboys are not going to lose another 3 games out of the last 7. With a win though, the Giants are tied for first and have a great shot for the division championship, a first round bye and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. That is how big this game is for the Giants to win. So the playoff road will be much, much tougher if the Giants lose today, and should we meet these Cowboys again in the playoffs, it would be much more advantageous to have them come to Giants Stadium than for us to have to go back to their house. So.... GO GIANTS!

I think the point is being lost here concerning last season's 2nd half collapse. The reason we went 2-6 the rest of the way, beginning with the Bears game, was the loss of Luke Petitgout at LT. Hear me out on this one. We were in that Bears game, until Luke went out. Luke breaks his leg, I think it was, he's gone, in comes 150 year old Bob Whitfield, and all of a sudden Alex Brown is hitting Eli Manning on the blind side every time he drops back. The only reason we won 2 games in the 2nd half last year was because of Tiki's brilliance. I know it seems dumb and overly simplified to say one player can have that much of an impact, but it's one quiet truth of the NFL. You must have a guy to protect your qb's blind side. Do you think Eli's 2nd half numbers last year were a coincidence? If you have some games on tape from the 2nd half last season, look at the game from the LT position. Bob Whitfield could not block any speed rusher, and he was not great against bull rushers, either. The loss of Petitgout was a devastating blow. And if you look around the NFL, you see that teams that have lost their starting LT are struggling big time. Look at the Rams losing Orlando Pace. You think they would be 0-8 with him in there? Losing Amani last year was rough as well, but the loss of Petitgout had the greatest impact on the offense. And with the offense not able to be effective, and Eli's increased turnovers, it put the defense in tough situations. The same thing will happen if we were to lose Deihl this season, knock on wood. Some players you can afford to lose to injury and still go out there and compete. But not the LT position. Most teams, including ours, do not have a backup at that position that can stop the vast majority of starting DE's in the NFL. And Eli is a pocket passer who cannot succeed with that position NOT on lockdown. It was crazy last year, you could visibly see Eli was concerned about the rush from that side when he dropped back. Additionally, the offense changed to include a lot more quick throws. Then the Defense is dicating to you what you are doing as an offense. We can only hope that Deihl will stay healthy all season long so that the Giants will continue to succeed.

IMO, getting a guy like Santana would be unbelievable. But losing what it would take to get him is not worth it. Unless they'll take Delgado, in a trade where Morneau and Santana come here, then I don't think it's a good idea. It will take Milledge, Gomez, Pelfrey and maybe Heilman to get Santana. It's doable, we would get him, but I don't think we NEED him that much. Remember, we didn't have Pedro almost the entire year. Pelfrey made strides this season. Maine is coming into his own. Perez is very good if not spectacular. This rotation could peak next year. What we do have is 2 old corner outfielders, and an old 1st baseman. What the Mets really need to do is try to land Posada. Plan B for catcher should include Yorvit Torrealba or Michael Barrett. It should NOT include bringing back Lo Duca. I wouldn't mind if the Mets just made Castro the starter. The guy can hit, has a lot of power, and I think would put up very good offensive numbers, given the chance to play everyday. And we all now he is very good defensively. This somehow doesn't seem like a viable option to the Mets, though. Another thing I don't understand is why not let Gotay start? He has proven he can hit on the major league level already, is a switch hitter, and is pretty fast as well. Plus they could resign Marlon Anderson, and Damion Easley has already signed, so that's 2 good backups there. Honestly, how much are we realistically going to lose with Castillo gone? Getting back to the potential trade, though, Alou can't stay healthy all year, so that leaves us thin in the outfield if Milledge and Gomez are gone. Milledge is ready to start IMO. The Mets have this problem letting there prospects make the final jump from reserve player to everyday player. What, is Shawn Green really going to produce better than Milledge for a full season? I think we know the answer to that. But since we do need another left-handed outfield bat with pop, Green may be back. If he's not, bringing back Cliff Floyd, who is a free agent might make sense. Even though he does fight injuries, we still have depth where Milledge, Chavez, and/or Gomez can get starts so the older guys can get rest and stay fresh. The bullpen is the major point we need to improve. With Duaner Sanchez coming back, hopefully strong as ever, we will automatically be better in that area. I think Wagner was better this year than in '06 and am willing to keep him. To me, he had a very solid year. Nobody is automatic everytime. I think we need another good bullpen arm, though, for insurance in case Sanchez doesn't return to form. There seem to be a lot of quality arms in the free agent market this year. Some people want to get rid of this guy and that guy but you have to examine who is out there to replace those players.

IMO, getting a guy like Santana would be unbelievable. But losing what it would take to get him is not worth it. Unless they'll take Delgado, in a trade where Morneau and Santana come here, then I don't think it's a good idea. It will take Milledge, Gomez, Pelfrey and maybe Heilman to get Santana. It's doable, we would get him, but I don't think we NEED him that much. Remember, we didn't have Pedro almost the entire year. Pelfrey made strides this season. Maine is coming into his own. Perez is very good if not spectacular. This rotation could peak next year. What we do have is 2 old corner outfielders, and an old 1st baseman. What the Mets really need to do is try to land Posada. Plan B for catcher should include Yorvit Torrealba or Michael Barrett. It should NOT include bringing back Lo Duca. I wouldn't mind if the Mets just made Castro the starter. The guy can hit, has a lot of power, and I think would put up very good offensive numbers, given the chance to play everyday. And we all now he is very good defensively. This somehow doesn't seem like a viable option to the Mets, though. Another thing I don't understand is why not let Gotay start? He has proven he can hit on the major league level already, is a switch hitter, and is pretty fast as well. Plus they could resign Marlon Anderson, and Damion Easley has already signed, so that's 2 good backups there. Honestly, how much are we realistically going to lose with Castillo gone? Getting back to the potential trade, though, Alou can't stay healthy all year, so that leaves us thin in the outfield if Milledge and Gomez are gone. Milledge is ready to start IMO. The Mets have this problem letting there prospects make the final jump from reserve player to everyday player. What, is Shawn Green really going to produce better than Milledge for a full season? I think we know the answer to that. But since we do need another left-handed outfield bat with pop, Green may be back. If he's not, bringing back Cliff Floyd, who is a free agent might make sense. Even though he does fight injuries, we still have depth.