Allstarjim

The only thing the writer was wrong about was the timing of Kurt Warner getting benched for Eli. Eli needed the on-field experience. His comparisons of Rivers and Romo on this point don't mesh. The Chargers had a great QB, and Cowboys hoped they had one. Warner wasn't getting it done, but he wasn't helped by the O-line much that year either. There WAS a bunch of people, myself included, that questioned if he was only taken as high as he was because of his last name. It wasn't a knock on Eli, but the fact was is that there was two other quarterbacks that were very highly regarded, that many scouts had even or slightly better than Manning. Particularly Rivers. He stepped it up at NC State in every big game, he was awesome. And at 72% completion, I remember posting these same points on the old Giants board before AND just after that draft. The guy I REALLY wanted the Giants to draft at the time was Sean Taylor, and for us to keep Kerry Collins. We had just been to the Superbowl a couple of years before, I figured Kerry just needed a little more help. The main point I made back then, and it stands today, is that Manning has to be CLEARLY and MEASURABLY better than both Rivers and Roethlisberger for the trade to be justifiable. They gave up A LOT to get him. The Chargers used OUR draft picks to draft Shawn Merriman and Nate Kaeding. If anyone thinks we would not be a better team, JUST RIGHT NOW, with Rivers at QB, Merriman at OLB, and Kaeding as our kicker, then they are a blind homer. I love the Giants, but that love of team should not prevent you from honest evaluation, and being able to criticize the moves the front office makes in a likewise honest fashion. I said it then, and will say it now, although I support our QB and hope that he surpasses his big brother, trading Rivers and those picks was one of the bigger mistakes the Giants have made. Today, with the current players and Merriman added, we would have a defense as good as the Bears, more than likely. And have a dynamite QB, that has already eclipsed single game passing marks of Manning in his first year. Yes, that's an overrated stat, but it is an indicator of Rivers' tremendous skill. I do see a lot of good things from Manning, but I also see wobbly and inaccurate passes a lot of the time, and an inability to progress through reads quickly. The latter is not just me talking, that has been Coughlin's criticism as well. No, I am not a Manning hater, I support him and honestly want him to prove me wrong in my belief that the team made a mistake in trading for him... But so far he hasn't, and that's just the truth.

Who would've thought that Petitgout was so vitally important. I've been saying for several years that we've been ignoring LT. But Petitgout was having his best season, and now he's gone. Whitfield can't do the job. A false start AND a holding penalty tonight. There were others where he flat out got beat, and a time or two where he held and it wasn't called. Not to mention he now has to get help from Tiki. That blows. And we really need Osi and Strahan back. Our defense suffers tremendously without those two. Our secondary is not that great, but the pass rush allowed them to look better than what they were. Now, with the pass rush significantly downgraded due to Osi and Strahan out, the secondary is getting torched. This team is in real trouble. They are a bad football team right now. They very easily could've lost this game 40-3. We just have to find a way to score more points. If that means no huddle the whole time on offense, so be it.

Go pound sand, dude. We have nothing to talk about.

How's everyone? Enjoy this video about all-time great Mark Bavaro.