Write On Sports LLC - "What is wrong with the <i>New York</i> Giants? Nothing, really" by Troy Somero

What is wrong with the New York Giants? Nothing, really

2006-09-27 01:22:54 | By: Troy Somero

After Week Three of this NFL season, it appears as if every Giants fan, columnist and pundit from Albany to Montauk to Trenton is having a psychological meltdown about the state of the Big Blue season. A 1-2 start, the league's worst scoring defense and dissent between star players (like the perpetually egotistical Plaxico Burris and Jeremy Shockey) could easily signal to the untrained football fan's eyes that the squad is a mess. Unfortunately for the pessimists in the tri-state area, the season is far from over, thus eliminating any reasonable thoughts that the team really is a "mess". A simple, logical look at the season to this point signifies that while the Giants have underperformed in various facets of the game, they still have the time and talent available to correct their mistakes.

1. The Giants still have thirteen games left this season.

Because hype sells, the "experts" who have their ideas seen, heard and read this week on ESPN, WFAN and NFL.com, respectively, are the ones that blow the Giants' situation out of proportion the most. In a daily perusal of the Internet Monday morning one could find more stories about Jeremy Shockey saying the Giants were "out coached" than stories that actual broke down the season to this point. This point is important because the season record does not weigh one game any more importantly than another – a win is a win and a loss is a loss. In fact, the Giants proved this to a point this weekend when they rode the so-called "momentum" from last week's comeback against the Eagles to the tune of a 42-3 deficit entering the fourth quarter against Seattle. With all of that said, it is important to remember that the Giants are only 1-2, not 1-12, not 2-11. Momentum (good or bad) is only as important as next week's game, and fortunately for the Giants they have no game this coming week.

2. The Giants have a bye this week.

As stated above, the Giants have no game this coming week! Clearly the team has several inconsistencies that have come to the surface in the four lopsided halves the Giants have participated in during the last two weeks. However, this bye week gives the Giants an extra week to determine why Peyton Manning, Donovan McNabb and Matt Hassleback have torn apart their zone defense, an extra week to correct the mental mistakes made by the skill players, and an extra week to scout the Redskins, the Giants' Week 5 opponent.

3. Nobody could unabashedly predict that any team with a schedule like the one the Giants have had so far this season would fair better than 1-2 heading into the bye week.

The Giants have played two of their three games on the road this year. The Giants' three opponents so far this season (Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Seattle) are a combined 8-1. The Giants three opponents were a combined 33-15 last season, and two of them (Indy and Seattle) won the AFC and NFC Regular Season crowns respectively. All things considered, Giants fans should be relieved that they made it to the bye week with any wins.

4. The Giants have a more explosive offense than most of the teams they will face this season.

Even a casual fan could tell that the Giants have a very talented and dangerous offense when clicking on all cylinders. Few teams could cut a 39-point deficit to 12 in the course of ten minutes. Even fewer teams could do what the Giants did in Philadelphia eight days ago by erasing a seventeen-point deficit and winning in overtime. Last season, the Giants finished third in the league scoring offense (behind Indy and Seattle), sixth in rushing offense, and eleventh in passing offense. None of the Giants offensive playmakers left the team this year. In addition, the top ten teams in scoring offense in the NFL after Week 5 are a combined 24-5 – the Giants have played three of the ten and currently sit fifth in this category.

5. Despite the amount of points it has given up to this point in the season, the Giants defense has the leadership and experience to correct its errors.

Michael Strahan, LaVar Arrington and Sam Madison are the key players on each of the Giants defensive units. They have a combined career total of 31 years of experience, 1204 tackles, 143 sacks, 38 interceptions and 13 Pro Bowls. Also, they have only played a total of three football games together. The Giants have the talent to shut down any offense in the league, but they need to establish their individual and unit roles to ensure that opposing quarterbacks do not shred their pass defense like they have the previous three weeks.

6. The mistakes the Giants have made are ones that can easily be corrected.

Plaxico Burris bats an easy reception into a defender's hands and fumbles a carelessly-held ball. Tim Carter drops a possible 70+ touchdown pass in-stride. Eli Manning throws a ball to Amani Toomer's wrong shoulder and it is intercepted. Football is certainly a game of inches, but as Giants fans learned when Tiki Barber resolved his fumbling issues a few years back, correct mechanics allow these inches to swing in the opposite direction. Plenty of game film and time with position coaches should cure these early-season issues.

7. The Giants are the most complete team with the most proven talent in the NFL East.

Well, OK. This statement is more subjective than objective, but the Giants are the defending NFC East Champs. They have arguably the best-rounded offensive attack in the league, a talented defense that has not reached its ceiling, and an average-at-worst special teams unit. In addition, the toughest part of their difficult schedule is over as of this bye week; although the Giants face teams like Chicago, Jacksonville and Carolina outside of the division later in the year, they do not face three teams of this caliber back-to-back-to-back again this season. The Giants have already proven that they can beat a divisional opponent on the road, and in a division as competitive as the NFC East, these victories will only become more difficult to achieve as the season progresses. As Giants fans beat their heads against a wall for a couple more days and question what has happened to a team with so much promise, the answer is quite simple: Nothing, really.