In down NFC, Giants for now stand above
ARLINGTON – You are not going to believe this when I say it.
The Giants, yes the New York Football Giants are the best team in the NFC.
I know this sounds very hard to believe. Even I wonder aloud how much I truly believe this.
However, the results speak for themselves.
Right now, the results say the following after the Giants too-close-for-comfort 41-35 victory over the Cowboys here on Monday night:
The Giants are the NFC’s best team.
Of course, this may be saying much when you consider that the conference as a whole appears to be down last season.
Dallas, Minnesota and defending New Orleans, the “heads of the class” going into the years all find themselves struggling mightily. The Cowboys now sit at 1-5, Vikings at 2-4 and Saints at 4-3 after taking an unexpected thumping from the Browns at home.
Instead of these contenders, the top of the NFC lists Seattle (4-2), Tampa Bay and Atlanta (4-2) and injury racked Green Bay (4-3).
Surely, the Giants are as good if not better than these teams.
They definitely showed that on Monday despite occasional bouts of ineptitude and mental shutdown early and late in the game was their sheer domination, moving the ball at will on the Cowboys defense to the tune of 497 yards and five touchdowns.
Defensively, despite spotting the Cowboys 10 early points due the turnovers on offense shut them down. You could see this coming early on and that was before the kill shot Michael Boley put on Tony Romo, sending him down and out in the second quarter and having Jon Kitna replace him, which was the equivalent of waving the white flag.
Dallas may feel the game would have turned out differently. They can think that all they want, but this is now the fifth quarterback the Giants have been able to eliminate from the game as their defense continues to be death on opposing signal callers and emerging as one of the league’s best.
Yes, there were the five turnovers. Yes, balls continue to bounce off receivers hands (though, not entirely their fault). Yes, they continue to have poor special teams coverage as a 69-yard booming directional punt by Matt Dodge turned into a 93-yard touchdown by Dez Bryant. Yes, they essentially took the last five minutes off, allowing the Cowboys make the score look a lot closer than what everyone’s viewing eyes saw.
In between all of that, there was a team that showed that whatever the NFC’s “elite” is, they should be in that discussion. Surely, no one is making reservations for a return trip back here on the first Sunday in February for Super Bowl XLV, but having lofting dreams cannot hurt.
Why not? Heading into their bye week with four straight wins, they can look at the remaining nine games of their schedule and begin to dream big at a slate that does not appear as daunting as it did when the year started.
If you are telling us the Giants can continue to have one the top defenses against the run and the pass, than success will continue as long as the offense can cut down on their season high 21 turnovers. The rotating defensive line, improved secondary play, overall health (despite the loss of Mathias Kiwanuka) and scheme of Defensive Coordinator Perry Fewell has turned them into a feared unit once again.
On offense, Ahmad Bradshaw and Hakeem Nicks have turned into star players to go alongside Eli Manning. The offensive line that was maligned early in the season as being old and no longer productive has found the fountain of youth over the last month and resemble their past dominant selves.
When you watch them, they still appear to be a work in progress, trying to figure out their identity as a team.
They are winning while still learning.
It has been a testament to Head Coach Tom Coughlin, a man many in the (drive by) media believed had lost the locker room after their 29-10 loss to Tennessee at New Meadowlands Stadium when the Giants committed five personal foul penalties.
That afternoon feels like so long ago now.
Four wins in a row will do that for you. Yet, there is still much work to do.
In the NFC, continuing to pile up victories will lead to a return trip to the playoffs.
The clouds have turned into sun for them over the last month and now they hope for sunny days ahead.
ARLINGTON – You are not going to believe this when I say it.
The Giants, yes the New York Football Giants are the best team in the NFC.
I know this sounds very hard to believe. Even I wonder aloud how much I truly believe this.
However, the results speak for themselves.
Right now, the results say the following after the Giants too-close-for-comfort 41-35 victory over the Cowboys here on Monday night:
The Giants are the NFC’s best team.
Of course, this may be saying much when you consider that the conference as a whole appears to be down last season.
Dallas, Minnesota and defending New Orleans, the “heads of the class” going into the years all find themselves struggling mightily. The Cowboys now sit at 1-5, Vikings at 2-4 and Saints at 4-3 after taking an unexpected thumping from the Browns at home.
Instead of these contenders, the top of the NFC lists Seattle (4-2), Tampa Bay and Atlanta (4-2) and injury racked Green Bay (4-3).
Surely, the Giants are as good if not better than these teams.
They definitely showed that on Monday despite occasional bouts of ineptitude and mental shutdown early and late in the game was their sheer domination, moving the ball at will on the Cowboys defense to the tune of 497 yards and five touchdowns.
Defensively, despite spotting the Cowboys 10 early points due the turnovers on offense shut them down. You could see this coming early on and that was before the kill shot Michael Boley put on Tony Romo, sending him down and out in the second quarter and having Jon Kitna replace him, which was the equivalent of waving the white flag.
Dallas may feel the game would have turned out differently. They can think that all they want, but this is now the fifth quarterback the Giants have been able to eliminate from the game as their defense continues to be death on opposing signal callers and emerging as one of the league’s best.
Yes, there were the five turnovers. Yes, balls continue to bounce off receivers hands (though, not entirely their fault). Yes, they continue to have poor special teams coverage as a 69-yard booming directional punt by Matt Dodge turned into a 93-yard touchdown by Dez Bryant. Yes, they essentially took the last five minutes off, allowing the Cowboys make the score look a lot closer than what everyone’s viewing eyes saw.
In between all of that, there was a team that showed that whatever the NFC’s “elite” is, they should be in that discussion. Surely, no one is making reservations for a return trip back here on the first Sunday in February for Super Bowl XLV, but having lofting dreams cannot hurt.
Why not? Heading into their bye week with four straight wins, they can look at the remaining nine games of their schedule and begin to dream big at a slate that does not appear as daunting as it did when the year started.
If you are telling us the Giants can continue to have one the top defenses against the run and the pass, than success will continue as long as the offense can cut down on their season high 21 turnovers. The rotating defensive line, improved secondary play, overall health (despite the loss of Mathias Kiwanuka) and scheme of Defensive Coordinator Perry Fewell has turned them into a feared unit once again.
On offense, Ahmad Bradshaw and Hakeem Nicks have turned into star players to go alongside Eli Manning. The offensive line that was maligned early in the season as being old and no longer productive has found the fountain of youth over the last month and resemble their past dominant selves.
When you watch them, they still appear to be a work in progress, trying to figure out their identity as a team.
They are winning while still learning.
It has been a testament to Head Coach Tom Coughlin, a man many in the (drive by) media believed had lost the locker room after their 29-10 loss to Tennessee at New Meadowlands Stadium when the Giants committed five personal foul penalties.
That afternoon feels like so long ago now.
Four wins in a row will do that for you. Yet, there is still much work to do.
In the NFC, continuing to pile up victories will lead to a return trip to the playoffs.
The clouds have turned into sun for them over the last month and now they hope for sunny days ahead.
No comments:
Post a Comment