Welp three very bad loses in a row to three teams that have their biggest assets in the passing game. Enter another team who have big, fast wide receivers even good secondaries have a tough time covering.

How will this play out for the Giants?

We’ll see. One thing is certain C.C. Clown has lost his starting job as Safety. Thank God. Is that enough?

The other good thing is Finally Michael Boley and Chris Canty (our 25 million and 42 million dollar investments) are poised to play a whole game!

Will this be enough to turn around the team?

This game is important. Let’s hope so.

Introducing the roundtable this week I have with me Fuchs, and Mark. Andrew is so embarassed with the Giants play he left the country and is unable to participate this week. Well he did leave the country, but it was unreleated.

I started off with a question about the secondaries ineptness over the past few weekends.

Who has more receiving yards Gates or Jackson? Will both get over a 100?
  I have to say Gates, just because Boley is out. Gates will get over 100. Jackson will be close, but both are capable of doing great damage. 

With Antonio Pierce in the middle of the field and the spotty play of the safeties I would say that Gates has a better chance to gain over 100 yards on Sunday

If past performance is an indicator of future success you’d have to seriously consider both. But if we’re going with one, I’ll say Jackson. Gates is hurt, hopefully enough to slow him down, and the Giants refuse to shadow opposing number one’s with Corey Webster so Jackson will find some weakness this weekend.

Who would you rather have Eli manning or Philip Rivers?
  For stats, Rivers. For wins, Manning. Rivers is probably a better QB, but Manning has the “it” factor that Rivers doesn’t.

I am a Giants fan through thick and thin, I am sticking to my guns, Manning.  Personally I believe that Manning’s foot is bothering him more then he is admitting and that is leading to some off throws along with some poor decision making. 

I’ve said this before, but this is how I see the QB class of 2004. All three teams are happy with their quarterbacks and all three I think would not trade any one of them for a different one. In Pittsburgh Big Ben reflects the Pittsburgh mentality of Blue-Collar type player. In San Diego Rivers brings the fiery passion the San Diego needs because they are such a laid back town. And Eli handles all the scrutiny of New York and WINS above all else.

Could Rivers or Big Ben do well in New York? Maybe.

Has Eli? Yes. He’s not a stat monster, but I’ll take Eli. Who generally raises his game when the game is the biggest. A great quality to have.

the next question I had was about San Diego’s running game.

Does L.T. Scare you at all?
  No, and that’s something I never thought I would write. He’s not the same. He’s older. He’s a bit slower. I would like him on my team, but I’m not scared of him.

 Agreed. L.T. is a shadow of what he once use to be. He’s not even a great goal-line back which he use to be unstoppable in goal to goal situations. No longer. Sproles might give the Giants fits out of the backfield, but I don’t forsee psuedo L.T. being a problem.

With the SD running game covered I asked Mark about the Giants running game.

is Jacobs going to have a big game against this below average run defense (27th in the league)
Jacobs seems pretty fired up this week and was running with some purpose last week.  I think he puts it all together on Sunday and has a great game.  Statistically the Chargers are giving up lots of rushing yards so this should favor the Giants.

He’s been playing much better as of late, I think this will be another solid week. The San Diego defense in the middle is porous already, but also beat up as their reserve NT (the one replacing Jamal Williams) may be out as well as their starting ILB, former Cowboy Kevin Burnett. Hopefully the Giants can get a nice push in the middle and do some damage this week on the ground. The Giants are obviously a better team when they run well.

Is this the game the Giants finally control the clock? The Chargers are only getting 28:29 minutes Time of Possession a game and opponets have 134 first down compared to there 132
  It could be, and it starts with a strong run game. If the Giants can get that going, then we can hold the ball for a long time. 

I think this is the biggest issue of the week. Will the Giants FINALLY return to their roots or continue to toil in obscurity? We’ll see this weekend.

I hadn’t checked the weather forecast  for the week So I asked Mark:

Can Rivers move the ball in the cold conditions of the Meadowlands?
Unfortunately the weather on Sunday is forecasted around 60 so it shouldn’t affect the Chargers and Rivers too much. 

I would like the game to be 20 degrees, cold, rainy and windy because I question San Diego’s toughness. But alas, no break in the weather.
 
What’s the X-factor in this game for the Giants?
I see two factors, can the defense get back on track and can Manning not make the crucial errors and give the Chargers a short field/more opportunities to score.

I’d also like to see Mario Manningham catch the ball this weekend. I think avoiding big plays on defense and terrible plays on offense is the key to this game. Play smart. It’s really that simple.

The Giants were great last year because they had thirteen turnovers ALL Season, This year they already have 14. The Chargers leading sack artist is of course…Shaun Phillips. Is Shawne Merriman to worry about in this game? 
 Like LT, I don’t worry about him. The knee surgeries seem to have affected Merriman. He doesn’t have that burst. I’m more worried about Phillips and Larry English. 

What happened to Merriman? is he too busy choking out (alledgedly) his girlfriends to focus on football? I’m not sure. Whatever happened he’s a shell of the player he once was. Maybe he’s still capable of having a big game, but he hasn’t shown it this year. I think the problem is obviously that he’s coming off a major surgery, which usually takes more than year to get back to where they were before.

Last week there was a lot of chatter from the Giants wide recievers about how they would take advantage of the aggressive Eagles play (that didnt happen).

The Chargers also have agressive cornerbacks.

Can the Giants Wide receivers take advantage of the aggressive Antonio Cromarite?
I still feel that it all depends on Manning.  If he makes accurate throws the receivers should have a great afternoon.  If he is off target, rushing his throws or off with his timing it could be another long afternoon for Giants fans.   

I hope we don’t even try that often to be honest. Let’s pound the ball and see where it comes from there. No more third and 2 50 yard passes that don’t connect down the field.

Another big key to the game is getting pressure on the QB. The secondary can’t cover so you hope that the Giants can at least hit the QB to keep him from completing 50 yard passes all over the field.

can Giants get a sack this game?
That is a great question.  The Giants have been saying that they have had a great week of practice, they are loose and joking around and they have hopefully fixed the communication issues.  Hopefully Canty and Boley will be back on the field and with the addition of them I do think the Giants will at least register one sack.

Who knows. One of the biggest problems on the team is the lack of interior push at the defensive tackles position. Of course the lack of speed in the back seven doesn’t help.

This is THE key to the game. Stopping big plays. Play good defense.

Final Prediction of the game?
 Again, not liking this matchup. Wouldn’t blame the Giants for looking ahead to the bye week. With the way they are struggling, it could be brutal. Final score: Chargers 23, Giants 10

Unfortunately the weather looks warm this Sunday but I still believe the Giants will turn this ship around and win 21-14

I’m going to have to see it to believe it. I hear the Giants talk about wanting to “correct the easy fixes” but that’s lasted a month now. Do it. Stop saying you’ll do it.

Chargers 31 Giants 20.

Prove me wrong, boys.

Have a nice day, everyone.

Leave your thoughts. Let us know what YOU think is the key to this game.

Jesse

Ron Jaworski, who’s been watching film of the Giants for ESPN’s NFL Matchup show, said today on ESPN’s Mike and Mike in the Morning that from his analysis of Jacobs, it’s clear that something is wrong with him.

“This is a team that has to be fueled by the power running game of Brandon Jacobs,” Jaworski said. “What we’re now seeing is they’re not running the football well, and I don’t know what’s wrong with Brandon Jacobs, but something is wrong. This guy is not running with power, he’s not moving his feet, and as big as he is, he’s got to move his feet and get momentum going. When he stops moving his feet, he starts going backward. That’s not his running style.”

Jacobs, who had averaged 5.0 yards a carry each of the last two seasons, is averaging just 3.9 yards a carry this season. Whatever is wrong with Jacobs, the Giants, who are on a three-game losing streak, need him to get it fixed.

“I don’t think there’s any question that the injury has affected him,” Reese said. “I think it has affected his rhythm some. It may have affected his mechanics to a degree. But when you go out there and take the reps at practice, we expect you to go make the plays. He’s taken the reps at practice. Is he 100 percent? Absolutely not.”

“I think he’s feeling better as the weeks have progressed,” Reese continued. “But has the foot bothered him some? I would imagine so because it’s not an easy injury to overcome, especially for a quarterback.”

Reese said he appreciates that Manning has not used the injury as an excuse. He played through the early parts of the season with plantar fasciatis but against the Chiefs he left the game with an injury to his plantar fascia. He didn’t miss any games, but besides a nearly perfect half of work against the Raiders, he has not been the same quarterback since.

“He hasn’t said that one time, ‘I’m hurt,’” Reese said. In fact, this week, Manning was adamant that his foot is fine and is not the cause of his struggles. But Reese disagrees.

“It may affect quarterbacks more than it would affect an offensive guard if you’re banged up some (in the foot),” Reese said. “A quarterback has to plant his feet and the machanics of that position, your feet are a big part of what you’re trying to do. You can’t just arm everything, you have to set your feet and step and throw.”

This explains a bit of the ineffectiveness in the past couple weeks for Eli. We know Eli is not going to come out and say “I’m hurt”, but I think it’s interesting that Reese came out and said it. Interesting development.

We said this last week, but this is another must win game for the G-Men. The Chargers are a very good offensive team. The Giants will need to stop that. How do the Giants beat the Chargers? We’ll tell you below:

1. For Pete’s Sake, Stop The Deep Pass!

Now that CC Brown has been benched, we’ll see how Aaron Rouse handles those deep passes to Vincent Jackson. If the Giants can stop this, they can win this ball game. But, we’re not really sure what we’ll get out of Aaron Rouse. By some accounts, he was given a bad deal in Green Bay. By other accounts, he’s awful. We’ll have to see what happens. But, we’ve advocated for this move, for awhile now. We’ll see what we get.

2. Pass Rush

As always, the Giants need a strong pass rush to neutralize Philip Rivers. With Michael Boley and Chris Canty on the way back, the pass rush should be improved.

3. Play Smart

The Giants looked flat out dumb in Philly last week. Not only does the interceptions have to come down, the penalties have to come down, and the mental errors have to come down. A successful football team does not make these kind of mistakes.

4.  Improve on Special Teams

The Giants got absolutely burned on special teams last week. The good news? They’re not facing DeSean Jackson. The bad news? They’re facing Darren Sproles. Sproles can be impossible to tackle sometimes. He’s better than Jackson. The Giants cannot afford to continue to give opponents (especially opponents with a good offense) good field position. Winning this game will have a lot to do with special teams.

5. Kevin Boss!

Look, I hate to be a broken record. But, the Giants HAVE to use Kevin Boss. You saw the benefits of that in the Philly game. Because the Chargers like to attack, there should be a soft spot in the middle of the defense. Kevin Boss will exploit that.

What took ya so long, Bill???

The follwing stats are taken directly from giants.com and their main site writer, Michael Eisen.

Before we get to that though, I want to point out something disconcerting.

There is a lot of talk about communication problems on defense, and even worse is every time the media asks defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan about the communication issues.

He says he’s unaware of them.

Excuse me?

Not only have Pierce, Tuck, Osi, Webster, and countless others talked about the communication issues, but IT”S EASY TO SEE!

When you see players looking at each other on the sidelines asking each other what’s going on and looking confused it’s easy to see.

It worries me that Sheridan is denying, or is entirely unaware of the communication issues.

Also, notice that statistically the Giants are a better team this year on both offense and defense in many areas, except THE GROUND GAME. On offense and defense the ground game is poorer.

Which brings me to the conclusion about something I had been thinking about writing for awhile.

The BIGGEST culprit for the Giants problems is the Defensive tackles.

There’s no inside push.

And I briefly mentioned in the round table that I think Canty’s return is most important. Robbins and Coefield are not playing as well. Alford’s presence is sorely missed. and Rocky Bernard, who is suppose to be used as a situational pass rushing Defensive tackle is being explosed.

The next biggest culprit is clearly C.C. Brown, but as far as players who were supposed to be playing a lot is the Defensive tackles, in my opinion.

Big game this week.

I’ll have the roundtable preview up for you tommorrow or Sunday morning.

Feel free to leave comments, I always appreciate them.

Let me know what you want to discuss.

Have a nice day, everyone.

Here are the stats.

The Giants have been 5-3 or better in the first half of each of Tom Coughlin’s six seasons as head coach. The current 5-3 mark has improved their record to 35-13 (.729) in the first eight games since Coughlin arrived in 2004.

*The Giants are fifth in the league with an average of 386.9 yards a game, or 15.5 more than they were gaining halfway through the 2008 season. For the first time under Coughlin, they have gained more than 3,000 yards in half a season. They are on pace to finish with 6,190 yards, which would shatter the franchise record of 5,884 yards, set in 1985.

*The Giants are averaging 26.5 points a game, which is ninth in the league and down slightly from the 28.3 they averaged at this point last season. They have scored 23 touchdowns (seven rushing, 14 passing and two returns), one less than they had last year (when the breakdown was 10 rushing, 13 passing and one return).

*Their average time of possession of 33:57 is 56 seconds more than last year, a Coughlin-era high and second in the NFL, behind New England’s 34:22.

*But this year, the Giants rely on their passing attack to control the ball much more than they did last year. Their rushing output has dropped by more than 20 yards a game, from 162.6 last year to the current figure of 141.8. Brandon Jacobs has run for 550 yards and a 3.9-yard average after finishing the first half with 680 yards and a 5.2-yard average in 2008. The team average has slipped from 5.2 to 4.4 yards a carry.

The passing game has picked up the slack, averaging 245.1 yards a game, 36.3 more than last year and 29 more than the Giants’ best first half under Coughlin, set in 2006.

*Last year through eight games, the Giants had converted 42 of 96 third down opportunities. This season, they succeeded on 49 of 112. That’s 43.8 percent all the way around.

*The Giants have 15 takeaways and 14 turnovers, a plus one differential. At midseason last year, they had 13 takeaways and seven turnovers (on their way to a league record-tying 13), for a plus-six differential.

*Eli Manning’s midseason passer rating of 86.4 is a bit lower than last year’s 89.7. Manning has completed 57.9 percent of his passes for 1,855 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Last year at this time, he had hit 61.2 percent of his throws for 1,735 yards, 12 scores and five picks.

*In 2008, Manning had been sacked 10 times for 70 yards. This season, Manning and David Carr have been sacked 10 times for 66 yards.

*Steve Smith leads the team in receptions, as he did at halftime of the 2008 season. But last year, he had 34 catches for 328 yards and one touchdown. Currently, he leads the NFL with 53 catches, which have accounted for 662 yards and four scores. Smith is on pace to finish with 106 receptions for 1,324 yards. The team records are 82 and 1,343, set by Amani Toomer in 2002.

*After eight games a year ago, Plaxico Burress and Steve Smith were tied for the team lead with three touchdown catches. This year, Smith, Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks have four apiece.
 
*Defensively, the Giants are third in the NFL in yards allowed per game (278.1) but 22nd in points allowed (22.9). That is 17.7 more yards and 6.8 more points than the Giants were giving up at this time last year. Their opponents have scored 24 touchdowns (12 rushing and 12 passing) – 10 more than at this time last year.

*The opponents’ biggest improvement has been on the ground. The Giants are allowing 113.1 rushing yards a game, a sharp rise from the 85.4 they were giving up a year ago. At the same time, opposing passing yardage is down, dropping from 175.0 to 165.0 a game.

*That last figure is perhaps surprising, given that the Giants have five fewer interceptions (11-6) and 12 fewer sacks (30-18) than they did at the midpoint of the 2008 season. The Giants also had 30 sacks halfway through the 2007 season.

*Giants opponents are averaging 5.2 yards per play, compared to 4.6 last year.

 *Despite those numbers, opponents have converted only 30 of 96 third down opportunities, a 31.3 success rate that is the league’s second best and easily the best first-half figure in Coughlin’s six seasons as head coach. And though their opponents have eight more first downs (125) than they did last year, the Giants are first in the league, allowing only 15.6 a game.

*In 2008, Justin Tuck was the Giants’ midseason sack leader with 8.5. Mathias Kiwanuka was second with 6.0. This year, Osi Umenyiora leads with 4.0, followed by Tuck with 3.5.

*Opposing quarterbacks have a passer rating of 86.3, or 16.1 points higher than last year’s 70.2.

*Last year at this time, the Giants had shown significant improvement in their red zone defense. They had allowed only five touchdowns on 14 opposing trips inside their 20-yard line, a touchdown percentage of 35.7. This season, the arrow is pointing in the other direction. The Giants have allowed 19 touchdowns in 26 opposition trips inside the 20-yard line, a 73.1 percent rate that has the Giants at the bottom of the NFL.

*Lawrence Tynes has kicked 17 field goals, one less than John Carney had at this point last year. Tynes leads the NFL with 74 points, six more than Minnesota’s Ryan Longwell.

*Neither the team’s kickoff returns (21.5-yard average compared to 20.6) nor punt returns (8.4 from 9.4) have changed significantly. Giants opponents have returned 11 punts for 84 yards. Last year, they had returned 11 punts for 59 yards.

*The Giants have been penalized 45 times for 386 yards. Their opponents have been penalized 45 times for 389 yards. For the Giants, that is 11 fewer penalties and 103 fewer yards than at this point last season. For their opponents, the declines are 17 penalties and 75 yards.

A look at the Giants’ midseason statistics under Coughlin:

OFFENSE

DEFENSE

SPECIAL TEAMS

*This is the third time a Coughlin-coached team has reached midseason with a 5-3 record. In addition to the 2004 Giants, the 1997 Jacksonville Jaguars were 5-3 and finished 11-5.

*Manning rushed for a career-best 34 yards on Sunday, the highest total by a Giants quarterback in 10 years. On Oct. 31, 1999, Kent Graham ran for 41 yards – also in Philadelphia.

*Nicks has 368 receiving yards, which tie him with Pittsburgh’s Mike Wallace for second among all rookie receivers – one yard behind Minnesota’s Percy Harvin. Nicks has touchdown catches of 62, 54 and 37 yards and is the only rookie in the league with three scoring catches of 30 or more yards.

*On Sunday, the Eagles scored 30 points in the first half two weeks after New Orleans totaled 34 points in the first two quarters. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it’s the first time the Giants allowed 30 or more first-half points twice in the same season since Sept. 18 and Nov. 27, 1966, when Dallas scored 31 and Washington scored 34.

*Philadelphia (two) and the Giants combined to score three touchdowns in a span of 1:08 late in the second quarter. That’s the quickest three touchdowns were scored in a Giants game since Dec. 22, 2002 at Indianapolis, when the Giants and Colts (two) reached the end zone three times in 51 seconds – and four times in 2:45.

*The Eagles scored their two touchdowns at the end of the half in 52 seconds, the two fastest six-pointers allowed by the Giants since Nov. 25, 2007, when the Vikings scored two touchdowns in 42 seconds – both on interception returns.

*Philadelphia scored on runs of 41 and 66 yards and a 54-yard pass, the first time the Giants allowed three touchdowns from scrimmage of 40 or more yards since Oct. 28, 1973 in a 35-27 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

*The Giants had last allowed two touchdown runs of 40 or more yards in the same game on Nov. 27, 1966 (the 72-41 loss to Washington that is the highest-scoring game in NFL history).

*If the Giants defeat San Diego Sunday, they will tie the Dallas Cowboys for the highest winning percentage in games prior to a bye:

*Jeff Feagles has placed 169 punts inside the 20 as a member of the Giants, one behind Dave Jennings’ franchise record.

We are halfway through the NFL season (crazy, right?). The Giants, after a blazing start, have lost three straight, and are looking for answers. This season has featured some great individual performances. The Professor is in, and he’s not holding back. So, sharpen your pencils, take a deep breath, and here we go.

OFFENSIVE MVP: Steve Smith

Yeah, not many people thought our best offensive player would be a receiver. But it has. He has 53 receptions. He had 57 all of last year. His 662 yards and 4 touchdowns are more than he had last year. He’s a number one receiver, playing on a Pro Bowl level. He gets open, and he gets first downs.  Without him, the Giants would be in a lot of trouble.

DEFENSIVE MVP: Kenny Phillips

I know this is odd. I know Phillips is hurt. But, haven’t we seen the holes in this defense now that Phillips is gone? He was playing on a Pro Bowl level. His replacement, the infamous CC (can’t cover) Brown, has not been an adequate replacement. With Phillips in there, there isn’t a 3 game losing streak. CC Brown has been that bad. And that’s why Phillips is the Defensive MVP. Once you take him away, the defense is not the same.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: Terrell Thomas

Terrell Thomas made some very good plays last year as a rookie. This year, as a starter, he’s been fantastic. For the most part, he’s held opposing receivers in check. He wasn’t even supposed to start this year. Not bad, right?

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Barry Cofield

Cofield, after a standout year last year, has done nothing. Made no plays. Gotten zero pressure. You’ll start to see more of Rocky Bernard and Chris Canty, when he comes back.

BEST ROOKIE: Hakeem Nicks/Bruce Johnson

Too hard to decide. Nicks is a future star. Bruce Johnson, found off the scrap heap, has been tremendous as the nickel corner. Can’t say it enough, but Jerry Reese has done it again.

THERE WAS NO ROOM FOR HIM, BUT HE DESERVES A COMPLETELY NEW CATEGORY ABOUT HIS INEPTITUDE: CC (Can’t Cover) Brown

Yes. CC has his own category. Signed to be the third safety, he’s been thrust into starting duty after the Kenny Phillips injury. CC has been, how do I put this lightly, awful. Just plain awful. He either doesn’t know how to cover, or just can’t.  I’m convinced a high school safety could be better at this point. Unfortunately, there are no real options out there besides him. You could move Terrell Thomas to safety when Aaron Ross comes back, but that severely weakens the cornerback depth. We  may just have to stick with him.

CAUSE FOR CONCERN: Penalties, turnovers and injuries

This doesn’t resemble a Giants football team. Too many penalties. Too many turnovers. And way too many injuries. So many key players are hurt. Without them, the Giants are nothing.

CAUSE FOR HOPE: Receivers

The Giants receiving core is only going to get better. And that’s scary for opposing defenses.

So that’s the team, halfway through. What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Over the past eight weeks I have a few questions? 

Where are the second half adjustments?

Why is the communication not there?

Why is Sheridan doing/not doing things he said he would/wouldn’t do? (Dropping linemen into coverage blitzing more just to name a few?)

Maybe just maybe the booth is the better spot for Sheridan.  The upper level view could give him a chance to survey the situation and maybe he sees something up there.  The booth is also a quieter place, maybe it gives him a better chance to think things through and make the neccesary calls and or adjustments required for this defense to thrive.

Now, for one, I am not calling for Sheridan’s job.   It’s pretty tough to win when you lose a starting safety, corner, linebacker and key defensive linemen.  If anything I would start questioning Gilbride but thats another story.

Dunta Robinson, Houston Texans (27),

Carlos Rogers, Washington Redskins (28)

Dre’ Bly, San Francisco 49ers (32)

All three of these defensive backs are great players. Although most of them have past their prime, I believe that they could help our depleted seconadary.

I’ll start with this: I never, ever want to call for someone to be fired. Never. There’s more to the person than the job. There’s a life. There’s a family. It’s not fair. I would never want anyone to call for my firing. So I’m not going to say that Bill Sheridan should be fired. It wouldn’t be fair. But, I will say, it could be time for a change. As you know, the Giants have vastly underperformed on defense since the injury to Kenny Phillips. We know CC Brown can’t cover, and has been a disaster. We know that the defense hasn’t gotten the same type of pressure that we’re used to.

We were spoiled with Steve Spagnoulo. He was a defensive genius. He was fiery. You felt safe with him. I didn’t think there would be much of a change when Sheridan took over. And maybe there hasn’t. We seem to forget that they were absolutely dominant against Tampa Bay and Oakland. But in games against contenders, the Giants D has not shown up.

I leave it to you. Should Sheridan be fired? Should he be kept? If they fire him, who should replace him? Discuss in the comments.