EAST RUTHERFORD - Perhaps Giants General Manager Jerry Reese really is smarter than the rest of us.
If you remember, those of us outside of the inner Giants football circle were out with megaphones screaming and drums banging that it was imperative that the team acquire a legitimate number one receiver (or receivers) by any means necessary.
The conclusion was drawn that the current men on the roster were simply not good enough and that they were the only thing holding this talented roster from making another trip to the Super Bowl.
Through the first two games, those fears have been alleviated.
With teams in fear of the Giants powerful running game (ranked number one in the NFL last season), Eli Manning and the offense have thrown a wrench into the opponent’s plans and have gone to the air in order to move the ball.
The plan has been successful.
The Giants have seen two of their young receivers, Steve Smith and Mario Manningham emerge as the NFL’s best early season tandem and making teams think twice before loading up on the run.
Last year, the moment Plaxico Burress shot himself off the team, the offense never recovered from his loss and did not adjust accordingly because they did not have enough time. The current wide outs that were on the team were not developed as players and did not have any established rapport with Manning. With time to prepare in the off-season to acutely adjust, the results are showing early.
Smith is proving to be more than a dependable third down target and Manningham is showing some of the explosive big-play ability that he displayed when he was at the University of Michigan. Through the first two weeks, the duo is ranked third and fourth in the NFL in receiving yards and is among the top 10 in receptions.
11 of Smith’s 17 receptions have gone for at least 10 yards or more. On Sunday night against the Cowboys, he burned Pro Bowl cornerback Terrance Newman twice on the Giants opening drive, hauling in receptions of 32 and 26 yards. Last in the third quarter, his 22-yard touchdown reception gave the Giants a 27-24 lead. One of the big developments from the early year has been that Smith has shown the ability to get open, downfield and making plays. He followed up his six catch performance on opening day against the Redskins with a 10 catch effort for a career high 134 yards and his second career touchdown.
For Manningham, it has been a revival for a man who experienced a lost season the year before. He was set to contribute as a rookie before a leg injury set him back in camp. When he entered regular season games, he looked tentative and unaware of what he was doing and where he was going. This year, fresh off a strong camp, he was ready to be an impact player and on Sunday night in Dallas in front of a national audience, announced himself to the world.
Utilizing his natural ability, the Giants have found ways to get him the ball and allow him to do the work. In the first game, Manningham used his quick feet and his ability to gain yards after the catch and turned it into a 30-yard touchdown grab. This time in Dallas, he continued make defenders miss with his feet and showed he can get separation from his defenders down the field.
Working on cornerback Orlando Scandrick, Manningham in the second quarter made two very nice plays where he was able to get the ball in space, and used his feet to make him miss and gain yardage. Later in the half, Manningham was able to beat Terrance Newman on a pass down the right sideline and kept his concentration to make the catch after bobbling it give the Giants a 20-14 lead before the half.
On the last play of the third quarter, Manningham showed that he also had a gear to get deep when he hauled in 49 yard reception on a deep post that would late lead to a touchdown on the drive.
What you noticed is that the Dallas defenses was going to load up men at the line of scrimmage, most times with eight men, and are daring the Giants to pass the ball. The running game has not been effective because of all the concentration being placed on stopping it, but it has opened up space in the passing game and the receivers have shown that they can get open.
This is a good situation to have. As long as the offense continues to make teams pay for their insistence on stopping the run, they will back off and play softer coverage as we saw last season when they were gashing teams on the ground for nearly five yards a carry and numerous 200 yard games.
Domenik Hixon, who injured his knee on Sunday, will be back soon along with Hakeem Nicks (foot). That is four receivers that, if utilized properly, will provide matchup problems for the defense that did not appear to be available at the beginning of the year.
You think back to the hot-stove season, and one by one during the, there were different names bandied about on whom the Giants should get:
Braylon Edwards, Anquan Boldin, Brandon Marshall...come on down!
Reese, obviously smarter than us mere mortals (or just a fortuneteller) continued to tell the public to be patient ad have faith. There was a unique sense of confidence that he had that no one with any sense could figure out.
Right now, his faith is being rewarded.
No comments:
Post a Comment