another mike garafalo analysis

[The P]

DENVER -- The Giants are running the wrong plays on the ground.

 

There, I said it. I’ve been hearing rumblings of that for a while now. All season, in fact. But I was reluctant to give them that out. It’s about blocking it up and running hard. That’s what gets you big yardage.

 

But after watching this team Thursday night and looking over the game again Friday morning, I’m convinced a major problem is they’re trying to go too wide and not straight ahead. Running backs coach Jerald Ingram said a lot of issues for Brandon Jacobs early in the season were the play calls to the outside that had him stopping and starting. Well, they’re still making those calls and they don’t have Derrick Ward around to run them. Plus, this offensive line would like to start knocking people off the ball more often instead of these finesse runs.

 

The worst one, to me, was after a 13-yard completion on their second offensive play of the second half. It was their longest play of the game at that point and it had come off an interception by Terrell Thomas that finally had them feeling good. So what did they do? They ran Jacobs wide on a stretch play with a lead blocker that went for a loss of 2 yards. Three plays later, Jacobs lost 3 yards on a run wide to the left side.

 

Starting with their next game against the Cowboys, the Giants need to start being more physical and straight ahead in the running game. They need to get after their opposing fronts. Now. And start being more effective in the running game. Now. To set up their passing game. Now.

 

And I’m not the only one who feels that way. Trust me.

 

GAME BALLS

Broncos WR Brandon Marshall. A couple of fingertip one-handed catches and suddenly it’s time to hug the rookie running back and slap hands with the coach. Brandon, you’re a terrific player -- when your head is screwed on right.

 

Denver RB Knowshon Moreno. We’ve had a chance to see Eagles RB LeSean McCoy and Cards RB Beanie Wells this year and both of those guys have been impressive. But Moreno’s in another world compared to those guys. Elusive but powerful and terrific vision. That spin move on DT Rocky Bernard and DE Mathias Kiwanuka was one of the best moves by a back I’ve seen in a while. (Though that doesn’t excuse the missed tackles.)

 

Broncos LB D.J. Williams. No weaknesses in his game. More thoughts on him sprinkled throughout down low.

 

S Brian Dawkins. He was an absolute game changer last night. He was terrific in run support and all over the field. Safe to say the Eagles appear to have cut the cord on him a little too soon. Having said that, see the bottom section for another thought on Dawkins.

 

Broncos fans. That stadium was rocking last night. The press box was shaking. Very impressive, especially since their team was on a four-game losing streak. I didn’t get the sense those fans were doubting their team.

 

Broncos defensive coordinator Mike Nolan. Some guys are better suited as coordinators, not head coaches. Thursday night, the Broncos’ defensive scheme and execution were both superb. Denver just looked to be on step ahead of the Giants. One of my favorite calls was when they brought heavy pressure on a third down late in the first quarter but dropped two LBs out into coverage (I said LBs, not DEs folks) to take away the quick throws they knew Manning would make with the pressure coming. Williams darted right for WR Mario Manningham to undercut the slant on the right side and that’s exactly what Manning was looking to complete. Great call, great play.

 

Denver K Matt Prater. Five touchbacks and kicks returned to the 16 and the 20. When an opposing offense is struggling and then has to deal with field position like that, a kicker really makes his coach happy.

 

GASSERS

Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride. You asked for it, you got it. My biggest beef? What I wrote up top about the running game.

 

Coach Tom Coughlin. The “road warriors” are now on a three-game losing streak away from home. Oh, and after a loss like that, Tom, nobody wants to hear how good your team meetings were. Nobody.

 

Defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan. The defense gave up points on four of the Broncos’ first five drives. Dating back to the Falcons’ scoring on all four drives in the second half, that made eight of nine drives that ended in points for the opponent. Other issues remain the same: DEs dropping into coverage, no personality, swagger or confidence and guessing wrong.

 

QB Eli Manning. I knew it was a bad sign when, on the first play of the game, Manning rolled right and threw for WR Hakeem Nicks on the short out, completely overlooking WR Steve Smith wide open on the deeper out. A few minutes later Mike Mayock broke down the play on NFL.com and made the point that, when you roll out and you’re not under pressure, you have to read from “high to low” and Manning definitely did not do it on that play. I also realized it was a bad sign when Manning threw behind Smith and nearly got picked off and then panicked and threw off his back foot on third down when he wasn’t under pressure in the least bit.

 

S C.C. Brown. I can’t be entirely positive about this because I don’t have the coverage call, but based on what I saw, it looked like the Giants were playing man coverage on a trips formation to the left side on the Broncos’ last TD. That means Brown, who was inside, should have taken the first player to emerge inside. That didn’t happen, as he instead rode with TE Tony Scheffler to the outside, leaving WR Brandon Stokley wide open over the middle. (And to boot, he got called for holding Scheffler.) Earlier, Brown also made the one mistake you can’t make on an NFL field: he hesitated. It was on a fourth-and-5 in the second quarter when he had RB Correll Buckhalter should he release out of the backfield. When Buckhalter stayed in to block, that freed up Brown to blitz. He started to come but stopped and then started again. Too late. Broncos QB Kyle Orton had already thrown the ball to Scheffler for a gain of 21. If he had just darted into the backfield, he would have had pressure or maybe a sack that could have given the ball back to the Giants instead of allowing Denver to go up 6-0.

 

RB DJ Ware. That fumble was a killer because the Giants might have been getting something going there.

 

CB Corey Webster. Just like this whole team, I thought he had snapped out of it last week. But like this whole team, he regressed again. He’s got to bounce back because the Giants will need him to play well against Dallas.

 

LB Michael Boley. He couldn’t get off a block.

 

Anybody who missed a tackle. Kiwanuka, Bernard, Chase Blackburn, Barry Cofield, Thomas, et al. I pinned the blame on Sheridan, but frankly, those guys and more were in position to make stops in the backfield and didn’t do it.

 

SECOND-GUESSES

Matt Millen on the NFL Network broadcast: “I think this is the best receiving corps the Giants have had for as long as I can remember.” Matt, buddy, I feel where you’re going with this, but do me a favor and don’t, okay? Not on a night when the opposing team has a guy making a pair of silly one-handed catches. I mean, this Giants receiving corps is very good, but how many times this year have we seen them make a play when there doesn’t appear to be one there? These guys do a good job of getting open, but this corps is just not creating enough plays. I’ve refrained from harping on this because I didn’t want to play the same note over and over, but it’s time to point out again how much they need a big, athletic body out there. Jerry Reese, you’ve talked about all the teams that have won without a Plaxico Burress-type presence and I agree it’s often not necessary. But take a look at your quarterback and how erratic he can be at times. He needs a guy that can help him when he’s not perfect, when he’s struggling and when he’s facing a veteran secondary like the Broncos’. He needs a guy who can go up and get a ball, providing Manning a bigger window. The Giants don’t have that in their receiving corps right now.

 

It’s bad enough DL Chris Canty has to get used to playing in a 4-3 after being a 3-4 DE with the Cowboys. But he also has to get used to dropping into coverage? That’s one guy that really shouldn’t be doing that.

 

Here’s a rule I’ve always thought to be weird: when Webster gets called for a personal foul on the flea flicker to Marshall for helmet-to-helmet contact, the Broncos are forced to decline the penalty for illegal contact on S Michael Johnson. But if Marshall catches the pass, the personal foul gets tacked on. Well, shouldn’t the personal foul then get tacked on to the illegal contact call? Especially since the official said the blow to the head occurred “after the play.” Always thought that one was weird.

 

The DEs are coming way too wide on their pass rushes. I know that’s DE Osi Umenyiora’s thing, but it’s not just him and it’s happening consistently.

 

ODDS AND (TIGHT) ENDS

Now, a lot of you folks here know I grew up in Philly and was an Eagles fan until I got into this business and had my fandom stripped away (while covering the Eagles, I might add) by the need to be objective and other things. So while people around the league were calling Dawkins a dirty player, I suppose I didn’t see it so much. You know how it is -- love him when he’s on your team, hate him when he’s playing for somebody else. But last night, I finally saw Dawkins the cheap-shot artist. On an incompletion to Smith in the third quarter, Dawkins comes behind and hits Smith in the back. That’s cool. Legal hit there. But then, as Smith is falling to the ground with Dawkins on top of him, Dawkins takes his fists and slams them into Smith’s back. Absolutely, positively uncalled for. Even if he wasn’t sure whether Smith had the ball or not, that’s a disgusting play.

 

Anybody see one of the officials smiling at Dawkins’ celebration after his fumble recovery? It’s visible on the replay after Moreno’s TD. Don’t know what to make of that, so I’ll let you guys have at it.

 

I mentioned how Brown hesitated on the blitz. Want to see what happens when you don’t hesitate? Watch Williams’ sack in the second quarter. He had the same RB-to-blitz responsibility and he played it beautifully. He made a read and went with it. And even though Ware snuck out into the flat, it didn’t matter because Williams was already on top of Manning. That’s the confidence and swagger that’s missing from the Giants’ defense right now.

 

Broncos TE Daniel Graham got flagged for holding twice. The way he blocks, with his hands on the outside, he could get flagged on every play.

 

What a tremendous catch by Manningham on the toe-tapper in the third quarter. Wow. Manningham was favoring his left shoulder on the way to the locker room. He’s had a shoulder issue all season long. We’ll see if there’s anything new to report when Coughlin addresses reporters on a conference call Friday afternoon.

 

In addition to the play calling, another issue with the Giants’ running game is the second-level blocking. Do yourself a favor (if you have the game DVRed or taped) and go back and watch Ware’s 13-yard run in the third quarter. Watch the block by RG Chris Snee on Williams and notice how that one block makes the entire play happen. That’s one of the big things the Giants need to get this running game going.

 

They really like Christmas here in Denver. Everything’s lit up and there’s Christmas music everywhere. It’s like they blew right past Thanksgiving.

 

Having ripped this team and its performance to shreds, allow me to say two things: 1. While Coughlin refused to use the short week and the scheduling as an excuse, there’s no doubt in my mind this team was affected. 2. I wrote what’s known as an “early” for the early editions of the paper that went to press before the game ended. That story was about how, no matter what happened in Denver, the games against the Cowboys and Eagles had to be won. So while Thursday’s game stung, don’t forget that if the Giants beat the Cowboys, they’re only a half-game out of first place with four to play. Take a deep breath. The games that matter most have not been played yet.

 

* * * *

 

And finally, I know Thursday night didn’t end well, but I hope all of Giants nation and everyone out there had a terrific Thanksgiving and will do their best to enjoy the rest of the weekend. Jenny Vrentas will take you home the rest of Friday, as I make my flight back home. I should have a story up here Saturday night, but I do plan on having a pseudo-Thanksgiving with the fam Friday night and all day Saturday, so I might not be able to get back to your comments and e-mails as much as I’d like. But please do keep the (intelligent) conversation going down below.

 

http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2009/11/a_look_back_at_the_ny_giants_t.html

[Storm]

Good read, thanks dude.

 

I think more needs to be made about the defensive schemes that have DEs and DTs dropping into coverage.

[Treehugger]

Good read, thanks dude.

 

I think more needs to be made about the defensive schemes that have DEs and DTs dropping into coverage.

Agreed.

[JMFP]

Good read, thanks dude.

 

I think more needs to be made about the defensive schemes that have DEs and DTs dropping into coverage.

 

I think Coughlin should take his foot and ram it up Sheridan's ass the next time that happens.

 

While he's at it, he should save a foot for the next time Killdrive decides to run Jacobs parallel to the line of scrimmage.

 

For the life of me, why can't we just line up and blow people off the ball, with Hedgecock leading Jacobs??????? Maybe it's too high-percentage and effective for Gilbride, "the gambler". Every loss reminds me of the how 2008 ended....stupid fucking plays that make zero sense.

[The P]

I think Coughlin should take his foot and ram it up Sheridan's ass the next time that happens.

 

While he's at it, he should save a foot for the next time Killdrive decides to run Jacobs parallel to the line of scrimmage.

 

For the life of me, why can't we just line up and blow people off the ball, with Hedgecock leading Jacobs??????? Maybe it's too high-percentage and effective for Gilbride, "the gambler". Every loss reminds me of the how 2008 ended....stupid fucking plays that make zero sense.

 

[TaylorBanksCarsonVanPelt]

I saw that play by Dawkins on Smith and the one thing that went through my mind was that this asshole was really trying to hurt the man ....not just tackle him and/or dislodge the ball. A real dirty classless bastard. There was another play that he clearly saw the ball sail past the receiver but he ducked his head and drove the man to the ground like he was catching a serial killer.

[Storm]

I think Coughlin should take his foot and ram it up Sheridan's ass the next time that happens.

 

While he's at it, he should save a foot for the next time Killdrive decides to run Jacobs parallel to the line of scrimmage.

 

For the life of me, why can't we just line up and blow people off the ball, with Hedgecock leading Jacobs??????? Maybe it's too high-percentage and effective for Gilbride, "the gambler". Every loss reminds me of the how 2008 ended....stupid fucking plays that make zero sense.

 

It's ridiculous man...I hope they are booed to high hell after we get raped by Dallas next week.

[Storm]

I saw that play by Dawkins on Smith and the one thing that went through my mind was that this asshole was really trying to hurt the man ....not just tackle him and/or dislodge the ball. A real dirty classless bastard. There was another play that he clearly saw the ball sail past the receiver but he ducked his head and drove the man to the ground like he was catching a serial killer.

 

I dunno if anyone saw it, and I don't think it was B. Dawk....but a ball sailed out of reach of Jacobs and some douche got him in the knee anyway, too...