Thursday, January 31, 2008

Jacobs is the New Bavarro



Remember when Bavarro carried about five forty niners on his back during the game with San Fran during the year. The Giant players on the sidelines went bananas. They were very inspired by what he did and they all got pumped up. They went on to win that game and the Super Bowl that year. Likewise when Jacobs knocked over Woodson in zero degree weather the Giants on the sidelines were similarly inspired.

This is an inspired team.

The Giants are Peaking

Many factors are evident which makes for a pretty good game by the New York Giants. Manning has never had this many quality receievers who are healthy. Plaxico is the best he has been physically all year. Steve Smith is improving with every game. Boss is making important plays and Toomer remains the great receiver he has always been. And don't discount Sinorice Moss coming out to make it five wides. Now that Burress is practicing, Eli is able to practice with everyone where they will be in the game. And the receivers are not dropping the ball the way they have during the year in leading the league in dropped passes. And be aware of that offensive line.

Ahmad Bradshaw gets better with every game and provides a contrast with Jacobs which catches defenses unaware. Hixon is an added attraction to improved special teams, giving the G men important field position. Jacobs is hitting with such ferocity that tacklers are wary of him.

Tuck is only getting better which is scary, while Osi has yet to reach his peak. And Strahan is more motivated than ever. The secondary, while not completely healthy, is better than it has been. The linebackers are steady.

All of which adds up to a quality effort against the Patriots.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Bradshaw is From West Virginia


Fumbles do not define Ahmad Bradshaw
By TOM BONE
Bluefield Daily Telegraph


— Do a couple of fumbles define a football career? Not in the case of Ahmad Bradshaw.
The New York Giants rookie, from Bluefield, Va., has overcome a shaky start in the NFL to lead his team in postseason rushing as they prepare for Sunday’s Super Bowl in Glendale, Ariz.
After being drafted No. 250 last spring, he had two fumbles as a kick returner in game two the 2007 season and his prospects looked dim. As the season progressed, though, he continued to work and learn. He has not fumbled since.
On Nov. 25, against the Minnesota Vikings, Bradshaw tied a Giants record for most kickoff returns in a game — eight. He also took his first four carries as a pro, gaining 29 yards.
Overall, in the regular season he averaged 8.3 yards per carry on 23 attempts, including the electrifying 88-yard touchdown against Buffalo on Dec. 23 that first brought him national notoriety and repeated ESPN highlight clips.
He gained 921 yards on 38 kickoff runbacks, an impressive 24.2 yards per return.
In the postseason, he’s carried 39 times for a team-best 163 yards, or 4.2 yards per carry. His 4-yard touchdown on Green Bay’s frozen turf in his last game showed again his determination and strength to go with his blinding speed.
That doesn’t include another flashy would-be touchdown run that would likely have won the game in the fourth quarter if not for a holding penalty.
As the Giants were driving late in the game, Bradshaw also demonstrated that he could keep his cool under championship pressure. He would not submit quietly to the NFL defenders’ practice of pinning the runner to the ground to let the clock tick away.
But instead of lashing out and costing his team a penalty, the rookie simply used his strength to push himself up and away — and get ready for his next play.
His coach, Tom Coughlin, was on television Monday night, talking about how Bradshaw “left the ball on the ground ... but he continued to learn.”
There is still room for this 21-year-old to learn, as there is for most of his former Marshall University classmates, who are still in their senior year in Huntington.
Bradshaw need not look far for examples to learn from, each of whom is a Marshall alumnus. Two will be in uniform on Sunday night.
One of them is very surprising — Randy Moss, former “bad guy” for his lack of effort at times and off-field run-ins while with the Minnesota Vikings and Oakland Raiders.
The 10-year pro from Rand, W.Va., has been a different guy with the New England Patriots. He’s now adopted a team-first attitude, even as he deals with a temporary restraining order won by a Florida woman.
Moss has 23 touchdowns this year for the perfect Patriots, with 98 catches for 1,493 yards, a 15.2 average.
Another is Troy Brown, a Patriot wide receiver now in his 15th pro year.
He will be remembered not for Hall-of-Fame receiving stats. But he was willing to do whatever was needed to help the Patriots win, including switching to a starting role at defensive back a couple of years ago when that position was thin due to injury.
Then there’s Chad Pennington, who plays for that “other” New York team, the Jets. Despite several season-ending injuries and calls by the rabid media to toss him to the curb, the former Marshall quarterback has endured with grace.
He quietly rehabs and prepares to compete in yet another season for a starting job.
A former Giant, Concord University assistant coach Tracy Gravely, says that Bradshaw is succeeding not for himself, but for his community.
A former teammate, Chase Elswick, may have said it best. “Anything you want in life, you’ve got to work hard for it, and he sure has,” Elswick said about Bradshaw last week at Graham High School.
One thing’s for sure — we’ll all be watching this work in progress on Sunday.
Tom Bone is a sports writer and editorial cartoonist for the Daily Telegraph. Contact him at tbone@bdtonline.com.

Copyright © 1999-2006 cnhi, inc.

http://www.bdtonline.com/localsports/local_story_030004942.html/resources_printstory

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Bellechick is Talking too much.

I guess he feels confident. Apparently he thinks this game will not be that much of a challenge. Or maybe he is thinking about his legacy. We have a surprise for him.

Bill M.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Zimmerman of SI picks the Giants

Tougher than the rest
Giants' grit will overcome Pats' talent in Super Bowl
Posted: Tuesday January 22, 2008 11:41AM; Updated: Tuesday January 22, 2008 1:06PM

With Ahmad Bradshaw emerging as the type of back whose speed can put a defense on its heels, Giants have the weapons to keep pace with the Pats in the Super Bowl.


I have a chance to settle an old score, right an old wrong, find peace in my old age and apologize, in sideways fashion, to those whom I wronged so many years ago.

The way to do all this is to pick the Giants to upset New England, and that's what I'm doing. Giants to upset the New England Patriots, currently favored by 12½, in the great stormfest known as Super Bowl XLII.

In 1968 I was the beat man, covering the Jets for the New York Post. I was around the team every day. I flew down with them to Miami for Super Bowl III and I stayed in their hotel, the Galt Ocean Mile in Fort Lauderdale. The Colts opened as 17-point favorites. By game time, the rush of Baltimore money had pushed the price up to 19½, one of the biggest line moves in Super Bowl history. They were calling the Colts The Greatest Team Ever, or at least the greatest on the defensive side of the ball. Their owner, Carroll Rosenbloom, thunderously echoed that sentiment.

I had a feeling about the Jets, not a strong one, but Joe Namath working against that strong side rotating zone? Gee, he'd never had trouble with it before. Could it be that ... ? Do I have the courage to ... ? Nah, I'll pick the Colts to win, but by under the spread. That'll make everyone happy. So I did and it made no one happy, least of all me when the Jets scored the biggest upset in Supe history. Who was happy? Leonard Shecter of the Post. He picked the Jets. I kicked myself for the coward I was. No longer. Today, I am a man.

I was in Green Bay on Sunday. The Giants clearly were the better team, tougher, more resilient, harder hitting. That bone chilling cold that was supposed to imbue the Packers with strength and sap it from their enemies, kind of like the giant Antaeus from Greek mythology who drew his strength from contact with the ground ... that brutal, minus-24 wind chill cold was brushed aside by the Giants.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/dr_z/01/22/superbowlxlii/index.html

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Shockey has not been Missed

The confusion among the media as to the ability of Eli Manning has a partial answer in the absence of Jeremy Shockey. Manning is a much better quarterback when he does not have to deal with the tight end's constant: "Give me the ball." Shockey was clearly responsible for two interceptions during the Viking game when he did not make the proper adjustment on his pass route. And how about his working out in Miami and not coming to early camp?

The proof is in the pudding and Shockey, hopefully, will come back with more team in him. Otherwise, maybe we can get a solid lineman for him.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Mike and the Mad Dog and all other pundits.

Russo and Francesca got all the Giant's playoff predictions wrong and they are still picking the Patriots. You would think they would have a little humility by this time. The Las Vegas oddsmakers put the Giants at 14 point underdogs again which means that they are more conservative than analytical. They figure the money is going on the Pats. Two things they should know. Eli has matured considerably, the receivers are healthy and better. Above all, Burress is motivated as he has never been before.

The pundits still won't eat crow.

How About that Defense.


You can't say enough about this defense. Whenever they had to make a play they did. They stopped the mighty Dallas offense when the Giant offense could not run out the clock. They got the ball back for Tynes so he could make the winning kick. You could write a post about him. But look at Justin Tuck and what a job he is doing. The coaches and the front office know it. They just tied him up at six mil a year. How Sweet it is!!

First About Eli








Eli has gotten better but part of the problem was all those dropped passes. Think of how many drives were stalled, first downs not made because of dropped passes. The receivers are finally more consistent. That is what they are getting paid to do; catch the ball. Notice the New England receivers. They catch the ball thrown in front of them, behind them and high and low. Eli does not say what I am saying directly if you listen to him. What he says is that: "People are making plays."

The other thing is that they seem a much better team without Shockey, who has dropped his share.

The other thing is this. A good receiver, if he cannot catch the ball, will not let the defender intercept. He will never give up on the play.

Bill M.