Monday, October 13, 2014

Thoughts from the weekend

The Giants' 27-0 loss at the Eagles only reinforces the concept that no small sample size in the NFL should be treated as too much of the overall picture.  For instance, three consecutive wins over lesser competition did not change the fact that the Giants' roster is not good.  For all the criticism Jerry Jones takes in his running of the Cowboys - both fair and unfair - one thing Jones understands that Giants' GM Jerry Reese seems not to, is that you build a team with focus on the offensive line.  The Cowboys' 30-23 win in Seattle, sends the Cowboys to 5-1.  And it reinforces what our friend Dallas said on Sports Limelight two weeks ago:  Investing in the offensive line with early draft picks, pays dividends.  Yes, Reese spent a first round pick on Justin Pugh in 2013, and he's been solid - not terrible, not great, just solid - but it hasn't been nearly enough, and it showed last night as Eli Manning didn't have much of a chance to lead a scoring drive while laying on his back.  Simply put, the Giants' offensive line last night made the Eagles' defense look as good as they were portrayed in that stupid twitter video put out by the Eagles. 

Other thoughts...

*The new Budweiser commercial featuring the yellow Labrador is both touching and depressing.  Touching because labs are adorable (and I will admit I am always a sucker for labs), but depressing because it's as if they are saying, "All right, we know you dude-bros aren't going to stop drinking and driving on account of the innocent people you kill with your cars, or on account of your families or friends...so will you at least do it for your dogs?"

*The Bills-Patriots game Sunday was the first ever all-AFC matchup to air on FOX.  Nothing profound to say about that, just found it interesting.

*The air raid siren that the Jets play seemingly after every defensive snap (successful play for the Jets defense or not), sounds awfully loud on TV.  I have an uncle who is a long time season ticket holder for the Jets, and I hope this siren isn't causing him hearing loss. 

*I love that Peyton Manning is three touchdown passes away from Brett Favre's career record.  For me, when it comes to the recordbooks, ideally Favre will be left with nothing but "Most career interceptions thrown."  Never forget, he broke the INTs record first; then he played long enough to set the TDs one. 

*Mainly from Sunday's action though, I'm just left with sadness in my heart for Victor Cruz, as a person.  The Giants' season is over, but I already knew that, and this team is going nowhere with or without Cruz in 2014.  But to see him lose his season the way he did, just doesn't seem fair.  I realize there are 31 other teams who have players with knee injuries, but following these guys so closely really leads to...what's the term you humans use...empathy?  (I'm not familiar with this concept, but am trying to get better at it.)  And from both a "Giants on the field" perspective, and a "Murphy's Law" perspective, if someone had asked me, what is the worst possible injury that could happen to the Giants, and at what part of the body?", other than Eli Manning's right shoulder, I'd have said Victor Cruz's knee. 

Monday, September 15, 2014

Mercifully, just 14 games left this season...

"Gotham is yours!  None shall interfere, do as you please."

-Bane, The Dark Knight Rises
(and...
-The 2014 New York Giants)

I said this last week when the Giants dropped their Monday Night opener in Detroit, and I'll say it here now, after a 25-14 home loss to Arizona:  I'm not going to do what you think I'm going do, in reacting to the way these Giants are playing. No fire and brimstone, no ranting, no raving.

I think a more fitting word to describe my thoughts on this team, is "resigned." I am resigned to the fact that this is the worst Giants team in my lifetime. I give this squad the nod over the last Ray Handley season (1992, 6-10 record, -61 point differential) and the last Jim Fassell season (2003, 4-12 record, -144 point differential), because those teams had talent but quit on their coaches. One thing a Coughlin team will never do is quit - last season showed that. But looking around the league it's clear to see the Giants just don't have the kind of young, hungry, nasty playmakers that other teams have. And that points to GM Jerry Reese more than anyone. Sure, the Giants are struggling to learn Ben McAdoo's new offense, and have shown some of the same mistakes of Perry Fewell's defenses past - more on this later - but sometimes the simplest answer is the correct one. For the most part, the Giants simply do not have good players, and the teams they play against have better talent than they do. Before the season began I predicted the 2014 Giants would finish 6-10. I'll stick with that, but 3-13 wouldn't shock me either.  

It would take less time to list the people who aren't the problem with the current Giants, so I'll do that here: Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning. Manning has shown that when he is given time, he will make plays. Of course that's not to say he never makes a bad decision. But most plays, he is not given time, with the offensive line being the Giants' #1 problem the past few seasons. And Coughlin, with a career coaching record of 290-158 (including 162-90 with the Giants) is a proven winner. He's trying his best to make chicken salad out of the chicken waste that he's been handed by Reese post-Super Bowl XLVI, and all things considered he's done an admirable job of it.

Last week, after the Giants' season opening 35-14 loss in Detroit, I ranked it a tie among 6 or 7 games exactly like it, as the worst Giants performance I'd ever seen. But the Week 2 loss to Arizona, was more like most other Giants losses in this era. In fact, it could serve as a perfect introduction to anyone in the Phoenix area who hadn't seen much of the Giants previously. As I watched this game, I sat on the couch calling out what would happen next, like a WWE fan who understands the anatomy of a 6-man tag match. "Okay, right here Roman Reigns is going to get tagged in, and beat up all three members of the bad guys' team, and at some point will deliver a 'Superman Punch' (jumping punch) and a 'spear' (tackle)." For example...

-The announcers state that Arizona's starting QB, Carson Palmer, would not be playing today. Instead, starting in his place would be Drew Stanton, who had not started an NFL game in 4 years. Great, right? Wrong. The Giants routinely make backup quarterbacks look like Hall of Famers, and would have been better off facing Brees, Brady, or Rodgers.

-Arizona faces a 3rd and 12. Their QB will have plenty of time to throw, and there will be a receiver running free, wide open. Easy completion, first down.

-Just enough of a tease to make you think the Giants have a chance to win. They climb back and take a 14-10 lead. The new Giants Stadium (That's my name for it; not calling it "Met Life") is rocking, and momentum is firmly with the Giants. Don't worry, they'll screw it up with...

-A special teams miscue. The first man to Ted Ginn has a clean shot, and goes for the knockout instead of tackling him. Ginn bounces off, and runs straight up the middle through the rest of the punt coverage team.

-The Giants rolling over and dying after the aforementioned miscue. It doesn't take much adversity for this team to completely lose composure, and more mistakes come fast and furious after the initial adversity. After Ginn's Punt Return TD to put Arizona up 19-14, still with almost a full quarter remaining, I knew the game was over.

I want to make it clear here that I'm not refusing to give credit to the Giants' opponents. It's just something that I liken to a Hollywood star like Elizabeth Taylor, having 8 divorces. If something happens enough, eventually you stop attributing it to the other person and have no choice but to say, "Gee, Liz, maybe you're the problem here."

So, are you a Giants opponent, and your backups or eventual washouts like Vince Young, Charlie Whitehurst, or Drew Stanton are looking like Johnny Unitas circa 1959 (or early-to-mid 90s Steve Young, if you're into references from the last 50 years)...you are able to do as you please on 3rd and long...and you're the sudden beneficiary of a flurry of turnovers and drive-extending penalties?  Well I'm afraid I've got some bad news. It's probably more the Giants' doing than yours. But you have nothing to apologize for.  Take the generous gifts, and move on to your next game, where such luxuries may not continue.

Monday, July 28, 2014

2014 NFL Over/Under Predictions

You can look back at my past predictions for NFL seasons here, but this year I wanted to try something a little different. 

I'll be predicting season win/loss totals, simply by guessing "over" or "under" the posted 2014 totals, found here.  In addition, I'll be using a sort of confidence points system, noting how much of a hypothetical $100 I would bet amongst the teams.  I have to bet on every team - if I have next to no clue at all, I'll just wimp out by betting $1 - and I must choose 16 "over" and 16 "under." (No "push" predictions allowed.) 

I hope to come back at the end of the regular season to review how many I got right, and whether I made any pretend money. As you can see, I'm putting a lot of my eggs in the "Houston under 8 1/2 wins" basket - I just don't see how they can drastically pull themselves out of their 2013 tailspin.



TeamO/U LinePredictionHypothetical Bet
Arizona Cardinals7Under2
Atlanta Falcons8Over5
Baltimore Ravens8.5Under1
Buffalo Bills6.5Over6
Carolina Panthers8.5Over1
Chicago Bears8.5Under2
Cincinnati Bengals9Under2
Cleveland Browns6.5Under5
Dallas Cowboys8Under1
Denver Broncos11Under1
Detroit Lions8Under3
Green Bay Packers10Over3
Houston Texans8.5Under20
Indianapolis Colts9Over7
Jacksonville Jaguars4.5Over1
Kansas City Chiefs8Over2
Miami Dolphins7.5Over2
Minnesota Vikings6.5Under4
New England Patriots10.5Over6
New Orleans Saints9.5Over1
New York Giants7Under3
New York Jets6.5Over2
Oakland Raiders5Under1
Philadelphia Eagles9Over5
Pittsburgh Steelers9Under1
San Diego Chargers8Over1
San Francisco 49ers11Under4
Seattle Seahawks11Under1
St. Louis Rams6.5Over2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers7Over2
Tennessee Titans6.5Under1
Washington Redskins7Over2
100






Wednesday, June 18, 2014

This just in: Pro athletes are fast

I may have said this before, but this blog's been here for 6 years now so if I'm repeating myself, please bear with me...

If you would like to know how fast Olympic sprinters or NFL players are, try running a 100-meter or 40-yard dash, and compare your times to theirs.  This works even better if you fancy yourself pretty speedy in your own right.  You'll see just how wide the gap really is. 

And when considering how slow the biggest NFL offensive and defensive linemen are, just remember that they only look that slow compared to the rest of the blazingly fast players on the field. 

Monday, February 3, 2014

On this year's Super Bowl commercials


A couple Super Bowl commercials were particularly meaningful to me, so wanted to mention them here.  

1) Honda - Bruce Willis/Hugfest

You have to understand first, that for me, combining Bruce Willis and Honda into one concept, would be like Neil Peart doing an ad for loose-fitting, long-sleeved, light colored t-shirts.  (I avoid the sun at all costs, if you didn't know.)  Or Christopher Nolan directing a movie about the history of the Giants.  This film would also be narrated by WWE's Damien Sandow, if I'm not asking too much.  Anyway, I love Bruce Willis, I love Honda, and the message to hug people you love, was delivered with the perfect amount of humor balanced with sincerity.  

2) Budweiser - Puppy Love

A puppy and a horse are buddies - what else do I need?  Good for Budweiser, and this is coming from a guy who doesn't drink.  

I actually had a friend say something like, "What's with all these heartfelt commercials?  I just want silly stuff."  I think the right response to that comment is...Would you rather go back to the hack tropes we usually see?  Head and groin trauma? Talking babies and animals, and other ridiculous premises?  Not to mention the regular amount vulgarity you get these days.

I'd say this year, in general, was a step in a most welcome direction.  Drew and I plan on doing a Sports Limelight episode on advertising sometime in the near future, but for now I'll just add that one of the main things I'm looking for in a commercial, is to be moved or inspired in some way.  Funny is good, of course, but it isn't easy to pull off and so often misses the mark.  (Credit where it's due, I think Geico has by far the highest "humor percentage" of any company I've seen.)   I think the lack of creative, surprising humor in most commercials might be due to the inevitable urge to appeal to the lowest common denominator of viewer, but that's just speculation.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

NFL Playoff Prediction Update

Drew and I both struck out with the 49ers/Patriots combo last week, making these our totals for the 2013-14 playoffs:

Drew 3-7
Bill 6-4

Super Bowl predictions coming this week!

Friday, January 10, 2014

NFL Divisional Round Predictions

Drew's Divisional Round picks:

Chargers
Panthers
Patriots
Seahawks

Bill's Divisional Round picks:

Broncos
49ers
Patriots
Seahawks


Last Week

Drew 1-3
Bill 2-2