Thank God for John Mara. The Giants boss was just as fed up as I was with the horrid pass defense, finally pulling the plug on the defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan . Judging by his rather harsh (but then it had to be) words, he must have been remarkably patient all year.
While I’m happy that the Giants finally made a move in that direction (I’ve been calling for Sheridan’s ouster for quite some time now), I think there’s certainly more that could be done. The secondary coach, the linebacker coach, and even the GM could also be considered for the boot.
Even considering the injuries and lack of pressure on the passer, the Giants corners and safeties were deplorable. If they weren’t totally out of position, they just stood by while the receiver made the catch. I’ve blamed the coordinator all year because nothing seemed coordinated. But surely the GM bears responsibility for the talent he brought in. And surely the secondary coach could have imparted some useful information as to how to cover people.
What saves the GM, Jerry Reese, in my eyes is the fact that he had that fantastic draft class of a few years ago. And the Giants certainly have plenty of talent on offense. Except for the front four though, there isn’t really much talent on defense at all. His very few high draft choices in the secondary, Kenny Phillips and Aaron Ross, were both hurt this year. Safety Michael Johnson was the 224th pick in 2007. Corner Terrell Thomas was pick 63 in 2008 but was only marginally competent. The rest of the acquisitions (free agents) were awful all year…CC Brown, any of the multitude of Johnsons, Aaron Rouse….if he played the secondary, he was incompetent.
The head coach, Tom Coughlin, also gets a mulligan, but only for now. His retention should definitely be considered temporary. He’s been the Giants head coach for a long time. Maybe the players have had it with him. They certainly haven’t responded to his pleas for playing hard.
All that being said, I really think the problems are fixable. With a good defensive scheme (what was wrong with Spagnuolo’s?), and Phillips and Ross returning in good health, half the secondary problems go away. The rest of the secondary roster, except perhaps for Terrell Thomas, have to go. A change in scheme should go a long way towards fixing any pass rush problems.
It’s to be hoped the new defensive coordinator will pay more attention to the effects of his teaching on a week-to-week basis than his predecessor, who was proudest of his consistency in his teaching method without regard to the results. (This last is almost too preposterous a position on which to comment).
Process is great. You will hear a lot about process from guys like Eric Mangini, whose Cleveland team finished strongly but still wound up with 4 or 5 wins (who’s counting?). Process gets you a situation such as the one that totally shut down Newark Airport yesterday. Process gets you the New Orleans situation after Katrina. And I’m sure process has a lot to do with the ridiculous war in Afghanistan.
Give me Rex Ryan anytime. Rex had a huge problem, quite literally, when his defensive tackle, Kris Jenkins, went down. He brought somebody in, coached him up, and the Jets soon resumed their proficiency in defending the run. When Mark Sanchez, his rookie QB, started turning the ball over, he initiated a simple color-coded sideline communications system to keep the QB on track.
When the Giants run into problems, they try to hide them. Actually, the hiding comes only after the denial that there is a problem at all. When Coughlin was forced into a corner to comment on his defense, he first obfuscated the problem by shunting some of the difficulty over to his offense. Then he said he wasn’t making excuses.
Keep it simple, make it work. Forget process. And, if we have one more year of uninspired play from the Giants, I’d say forget Coughlin too. And maybe Jerry Reese isn’t quite as brilliant as I had originally thought. He seems a lot better at the draft than he is at picking up replacement players in a pinch. No doubt he has a process for the draft. Heh-heh.
Well, that’s quite enough about those disappointing Giants, especially when we have a playoff contender in the New York Jets. Their impressive win over the Bengals on Sunday was a really good sign. I don’t care that neither the Bengals nor the Colts before them had anything to gain from the game. The Jets could have still lost. They could have assumed an easy contest and mailed it in. They didn’t. They played 120 minutes over two games of playoff football. Kudos to the Jets.
While I don’t think their rematch with the Bengals next Sunday will go nearly as well as the first game, I do think the Jets will win it. The injury to David Harris will definitely hurt though. He’s been the leading tackler for the Green and White for quite some time now. And while the Bengals will run more effectively with Cedric Benson rather than Larry Johnson, I can’t imagine it making a huge difference in the final result.
Meanwhile, speaking of management, kudos to Mets GM Omar Minaya for finally locking up Jason Bay, filling that left field slot with a pretty terrific hitter. If he can indeed get Molina to catch, the Mets will have a pretty awesome lineup as Beltran, Delgado and Wright all return. And Jeff Francoeur should be ok after his thumb problem.
The pitching is a different story. Kelvim Escobar is a good pitcher if he can get healthy but it seems like a shot in the dark. I would hope they still try to get a better arm for that up and down starting rotation. It’d be a big shot in the arm for a young and erratic staff.
Showing posts with label Sheridan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sheridan. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
On Bad Coaches and Players and Good Games
As I finally get to watch a college bowl game that I’ve heard of, the Cotton Bowl, my thoughts turn to some of the crazy happenings this week in sports.
Giants defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan’s responses to questions regarding his job status, Broncos’ head coach Josh McDaniel’s decision to bench Brandon Marshall for the finale and Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni’s decision to take Nate Robinson off the bench against the Hawks, come immediately to mind.
First there is the remarkable story of Bill Sheridan, Giants defensive coordinator.
He benched Osi Umenyiora, arguably the best defensive player on the team. He never rushed the passer despite having the worst secondary in the league. His players never showed any heart despite having shown pretty unequivocally two years ago that they had huge heart when playing for Steve Spagnuolo. He’s big on losing the forest for the trees.
But Sheridan thinks he should be retained. He actually said the following earlier this week:
“One thing at least we will get credit for is we stuck to our plan of how we’re going to coach and how we’re going to teach and gameplan….We’ve done that every single week and, like they say, the proof will be in hindsight.”
Excuse me, Bill, but……this year’s Giants defense has performed worse than just about any Giants defense in the long and mostly illustrious history of that great franchise. They have allowed 49 touchdowns in 15 forgettable contests, 20 on the ground, 27 through the air and 2 special teams TD’s.
The best defensive team also resides in New York, or actually New Jersey, if you want to be technical. That would be the New York Jets. They actually have a meaningful game tomorrow. Anyway, they have allowed just 26 (vs. 49) touchdowns, 11 rushing (vs. 20), just 8 (vs. 27) through the air, and a comparatively bad 7 on special teams. Compare….8 receiving touchdowns to the Giants 27!
Sheridan is a man who tried to get himself situated in the booth rather than the sidelines for games. His responses the other day to questions as to his job status tell you why. They are suggestive as to his personality. He is an automaton.
Football is an emotional game. Maybe Sheridan would fit better at Toyota.
I’ll breathe a huge sigh of relief when he is gone.
I actually have mixed feelings on the Josh McDaniels/Brandon Marshall showdown number 2. On Marshall’s side is the fact that an injury is an injury. On the coach’s side is the fact that an MRI showed nothing wrong. Coach also is sitting Tony Scheffler, his tight end, who has grumbled about game plans. Good for him. They should take the measure of Kansas City without those two malcontents.
Then there’s the curious case of Nate Robinson, the nutcase Knicks guard with a lot of talent and…..well, that’s all. He scored 41 last night to beat the Hawks but the Knicks record without Robinson in the lineup was 9-6. Nate doesn’t defend, doesn’t listen to his coach… or anybody for that matter, and doesn’t seem to really care who wins the game.
I’m almost sorry Robinson impressed last night. The Knicks are better without him. Good for Mike D’Antoni for having the guts to sit him, and the guts to play him as a last resort. But Robinson won’t change. In the long run, he’ll be a detriment to winning. Bring him in when you need some scoring and then sit him along with his other clueless friend Mr. Curry.
I’ve pretty much had it with selfish players. And clueless coaches too.
In this same vein, in a new book by Bob McGinn, “The Ultimate Super Bowl Book”, there are some real gems, including stats from the games and other things you’d expect, but also some interviews and quotes from coaches and players in hindsight on the games. I highly recommend it.
For Giants fans, there are several tidbits of “inside the game” type material, such as Bill Belichick’s take on the game, details as to the defensive calls and big plays, and a re-hash of the big catch by Tyree and the double-move and fade by Plaxico for the game-winner.
There are also quotes from Spagnuolo, such as his recollection of the long Patriots drive that preceded the winning Giants drive…..”It was max-protection, they kept the tight end in. They were in a pressure situation needing to score and they executed their offense…..We should have pressured more.”
It’s also worth noting that Rex Ryan’s Dad Buddy coached the defensive line for the Jets in Super Bowl III, and that Don Maynard was hurt pretty badly, which was why George Sauer caught all the passes that day from Broadway Joe. I was also reminded that, after the AFL Kansas City Chiefs whipped the NFL’s Vikings the very next year, 1970, there was the merger.
Each one of those first four NFL-AFL games was truly more than a game. Ever since, each Super Bowl has pretty much just been another game.
Not that each game doesn’t have its own excitement though; tomorrow’s Jets game will certainly go a long way towards defining the Jets stature in New York, along with that of Rex Ryan and those defensive stars, Revis and Scott and Harris, and whether Ochocinco will make good on his web-site promises.
There’s the Cowboys-Eagles game too. Will McNabb and that wondrous group of wide-outs dictate against a Cowboys defense that sparkles, especially against the run. (When I was foaming at the mouth about the Eagles earlier, I hadn’t considered that the Boyz defense had only allowed 7 rushing touchdowns all year and just 19 through the air….the Eagles numbers are 10 and 25…quite a difference).
The Pats – Texans will also be a big one. The Texans have a decent shot at the playoffs still, and the 1 PM start guarantees they won’t know in advance how the Ravens and Broncos and Jets are doing.
The Steelers have about the same shot. Stay tuned.
Giants defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan’s responses to questions regarding his job status, Broncos’ head coach Josh McDaniel’s decision to bench Brandon Marshall for the finale and Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni’s decision to take Nate Robinson off the bench against the Hawks, come immediately to mind.
First there is the remarkable story of Bill Sheridan, Giants defensive coordinator.
He benched Osi Umenyiora, arguably the best defensive player on the team. He never rushed the passer despite having the worst secondary in the league. His players never showed any heart despite having shown pretty unequivocally two years ago that they had huge heart when playing for Steve Spagnuolo. He’s big on losing the forest for the trees.
But Sheridan thinks he should be retained. He actually said the following earlier this week:
“One thing at least we will get credit for is we stuck to our plan of how we’re going to coach and how we’re going to teach and gameplan….We’ve done that every single week and, like they say, the proof will be in hindsight.”
Excuse me, Bill, but……this year’s Giants defense has performed worse than just about any Giants defense in the long and mostly illustrious history of that great franchise. They have allowed 49 touchdowns in 15 forgettable contests, 20 on the ground, 27 through the air and 2 special teams TD’s.
The best defensive team also resides in New York, or actually New Jersey, if you want to be technical. That would be the New York Jets. They actually have a meaningful game tomorrow. Anyway, they have allowed just 26 (vs. 49) touchdowns, 11 rushing (vs. 20), just 8 (vs. 27) through the air, and a comparatively bad 7 on special teams. Compare….8 receiving touchdowns to the Giants 27!
Sheridan is a man who tried to get himself situated in the booth rather than the sidelines for games. His responses the other day to questions as to his job status tell you why. They are suggestive as to his personality. He is an automaton.
Football is an emotional game. Maybe Sheridan would fit better at Toyota.
I’ll breathe a huge sigh of relief when he is gone.
I actually have mixed feelings on the Josh McDaniels/Brandon Marshall showdown number 2. On Marshall’s side is the fact that an injury is an injury. On the coach’s side is the fact that an MRI showed nothing wrong. Coach also is sitting Tony Scheffler, his tight end, who has grumbled about game plans. Good for him. They should take the measure of Kansas City without those two malcontents.
Then there’s the curious case of Nate Robinson, the nutcase Knicks guard with a lot of talent and…..well, that’s all. He scored 41 last night to beat the Hawks but the Knicks record without Robinson in the lineup was 9-6. Nate doesn’t defend, doesn’t listen to his coach… or anybody for that matter, and doesn’t seem to really care who wins the game.
I’m almost sorry Robinson impressed last night. The Knicks are better without him. Good for Mike D’Antoni for having the guts to sit him, and the guts to play him as a last resort. But Robinson won’t change. In the long run, he’ll be a detriment to winning. Bring him in when you need some scoring and then sit him along with his other clueless friend Mr. Curry.
I’ve pretty much had it with selfish players. And clueless coaches too.
In this same vein, in a new book by Bob McGinn, “The Ultimate Super Bowl Book”, there are some real gems, including stats from the games and other things you’d expect, but also some interviews and quotes from coaches and players in hindsight on the games. I highly recommend it.
For Giants fans, there are several tidbits of “inside the game” type material, such as Bill Belichick’s take on the game, details as to the defensive calls and big plays, and a re-hash of the big catch by Tyree and the double-move and fade by Plaxico for the game-winner.
There are also quotes from Spagnuolo, such as his recollection of the long Patriots drive that preceded the winning Giants drive…..”It was max-protection, they kept the tight end in. They were in a pressure situation needing to score and they executed their offense…..We should have pressured more.”
It’s also worth noting that Rex Ryan’s Dad Buddy coached the defensive line for the Jets in Super Bowl III, and that Don Maynard was hurt pretty badly, which was why George Sauer caught all the passes that day from Broadway Joe. I was also reminded that, after the AFL Kansas City Chiefs whipped the NFL’s Vikings the very next year, 1970, there was the merger.
Each one of those first four NFL-AFL games was truly more than a game. Ever since, each Super Bowl has pretty much just been another game.
Not that each game doesn’t have its own excitement though; tomorrow’s Jets game will certainly go a long way towards defining the Jets stature in New York, along with that of Rex Ryan and those defensive stars, Revis and Scott and Harris, and whether Ochocinco will make good on his web-site promises.
There’s the Cowboys-Eagles game too. Will McNabb and that wondrous group of wide-outs dictate against a Cowboys defense that sparkles, especially against the run. (When I was foaming at the mouth about the Eagles earlier, I hadn’t considered that the Boyz defense had only allowed 7 rushing touchdowns all year and just 19 through the air….the Eagles numbers are 10 and 25…quite a difference).
The Pats – Texans will also be a big one. The Texans have a decent shot at the playoffs still, and the 1 PM start guarantees they won’t know in advance how the Ravens and Broncos and Jets are doing.
The Steelers have about the same shot. Stay tuned.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Giants Embarassment
I’ve about had it with the Giants. That Sunday night display of clueless defense was just too much for an old cornerback. I mean…where was the coverage? I could understand a breakdown in coverage on a single play. On a bad night I could understand even a couple of mistakes. After all, these are supposed to be pros.
What a sad joke they are! What a poor excuse for a football team! Except for the offense, which, to their credit performed admirably all night long (except for Manningham), this team stinks out loud. Last night was not an isolated incident. This team’s defense has been horrible ever since Spagnuolo went to St Louis to coach the Rams.
We could have expected a period of transition, similar to the beginning of the Giants Super Bowl season of 2007, when the defense turned it around after three weeks of horrible coverage and awful losses. After all, a professional defense is a complicated thing. You’d expect that a few weeks would be needed to digest it.
But what you wouldn’t expect was what happened last night. Let’s review:
FIRST HALF
First Philly possession – 7 plays to a Brent Celek TD, big 32 yard completion to DeSean Jackson, Philly needed no third downs in the drive.
Second Philly score – starts with Jacobs fumble after Giants were moving the ball. Fumble scooped up and returned 60 yards for a TD.
Second actual offensive possession - Philly actually had to punt.
Third Philly possession – 12-plays, Philly settles for a field goal.
Fourth Philly “possession” – 72-yard punt return for TD.
Fifth Philly possession – 8 plays, 2 third downs, one went for 23 yards down the middle to Celek, one to DeSean Jackson for 44 yards. Vick scored the TD.
Second HALF
First Philly possession – The new guy in the defense (Jonathan Goff) gets an interception! Manning fumbled shortly thereafter.
Second Philly possession – Philly had to punt AGAIN (holy cow)
Third Philly possession – 60-yard TD to Jackson on first play after Giants score
Fourth Philly possession – another punt – WooHoo!
Fifth Philly possession – 12 plays, 91 yards, TD, McNabb passes to just about anybody wearing green, they were all open.
Sixth Philly possession – Philly just burning time – punt, meaningless possession
Every time Philly needed a score, they got one. Philly could score at will. The Giants were helpless. McNabb had all day to throw. Almost literally. The secondary couldn’t cover anybody. Again.
I’ve been saying all year long that this new defensive coordinator was not working out. Now I’m saying Coughlin isn’t working out. The man did nothing, through all the blown coverages, through all the losses, through all the embarassments, he’s done NOTHING, except to protect his horrible defensive coordinator.
I said several weeks ago the Giants wouldn’t make the playoffs with that defense. (It doesn’t take a rocket scientist after all). The only reason they have a chance at making the playoffs at all is that Dallas is faltering and has a tough remaining schedule.
But they were actually favored against the Eagles, a remarkable fact that indicates how over-rated the Giants really are. They are no match for the Eagles.
The Eagles have a coach who actually knows how to coach. When there’s a problem, he fixes it. He responds to changes in his environment. Reid may pass too often and forget about his running game but he realizes his mistakes and reacts. Coughlin just stands there looking confused and making excuses.
Maybe I’m being too hard on Coughlin. I wonder if this clueless DC was his choice. I wonder if keeping him is within his realm of empowerment…perhaps not, and, if not, I apologize.
But somebody has to take the hit for these year-long failures.
The G.M. has certainly done nothing, either to adequately replace the safety that went down or to replace the middle linebacker when he went down. Let’s give him some of the blame too.
But maybe he can’t spend any money. After all, the Giants haven’t sold nearly all the PSL’s they’ve needed.
So maybe it’s the fan’s fault. Ownership is punishing its fans for not buying up the seat licenses, for moving from mezzanine sections to the upper deck, for not drinking the tres cher Kool-Aid.
In any event, I’m through even rooting for this team. It’s tough to keep pulling for those who don’t even try to help themselves. The Giants are as bad now as they were in the sad years before George Young was hired, when the Mara brothers were fighting each other and neither one knew what he was doing.
And it’s not just the defense. The special teams have been almost as bad. At least two of the wide receivers look as if they’ve never played football before, Manningham and Moss.
About 90% of high school receivers know how to drag a leg after making a catch near the sideline. Manningham is uncoachable, apparently. Either that or the coach(es) don’t know how to teach. Sinorice Moss just never picked up route-running or anything else.
Okay, I’ve said enough about that sorry organization.
In lighter matters, the Jets looked really solid yesterday. I know the Bucs aren’t very good but the Jets beat them slowly and inexorably to the end. Their second-string QB didn’t take any chances and the running game under Thomas Jones wore those Bucs down. Their defense was unbelievable. In fact, statistically, they have the best defense in the league.
They get Atlanta next at home and the Falcons haven’t shown much; they’re all banged up. Then they get two ridiculously tough opponents, the Colts and the Bengals, but both those teams may be coasting by the time the Jets come to town.
But, even then, they could easily miss the playoffs as there are so many other teams in the hunt.
But, playoffs or not, I like the Ryan-led Jets. Ryan has made mistakes but he’s admitted them and then taken action to change things for the better.
The Giants simply have not.
What a sad joke they are! What a poor excuse for a football team! Except for the offense, which, to their credit performed admirably all night long (except for Manningham), this team stinks out loud. Last night was not an isolated incident. This team’s defense has been horrible ever since Spagnuolo went to St Louis to coach the Rams.
We could have expected a period of transition, similar to the beginning of the Giants Super Bowl season of 2007, when the defense turned it around after three weeks of horrible coverage and awful losses. After all, a professional defense is a complicated thing. You’d expect that a few weeks would be needed to digest it.
But what you wouldn’t expect was what happened last night. Let’s review:
FIRST HALF
First Philly possession – 7 plays to a Brent Celek TD, big 32 yard completion to DeSean Jackson, Philly needed no third downs in the drive.
Second Philly score – starts with Jacobs fumble after Giants were moving the ball. Fumble scooped up and returned 60 yards for a TD.
Second actual offensive possession - Philly actually had to punt.
Third Philly possession – 12-plays, Philly settles for a field goal.
Fourth Philly “possession” – 72-yard punt return for TD.
Fifth Philly possession – 8 plays, 2 third downs, one went for 23 yards down the middle to Celek, one to DeSean Jackson for 44 yards. Vick scored the TD.
Second HALF
First Philly possession – The new guy in the defense (Jonathan Goff) gets an interception! Manning fumbled shortly thereafter.
Second Philly possession – Philly had to punt AGAIN (holy cow)
Third Philly possession – 60-yard TD to Jackson on first play after Giants score
Fourth Philly possession – another punt – WooHoo!
Fifth Philly possession – 12 plays, 91 yards, TD, McNabb passes to just about anybody wearing green, they were all open.
Sixth Philly possession – Philly just burning time – punt, meaningless possession
Every time Philly needed a score, they got one. Philly could score at will. The Giants were helpless. McNabb had all day to throw. Almost literally. The secondary couldn’t cover anybody. Again.
I’ve been saying all year long that this new defensive coordinator was not working out. Now I’m saying Coughlin isn’t working out. The man did nothing, through all the blown coverages, through all the losses, through all the embarassments, he’s done NOTHING, except to protect his horrible defensive coordinator.
I said several weeks ago the Giants wouldn’t make the playoffs with that defense. (It doesn’t take a rocket scientist after all). The only reason they have a chance at making the playoffs at all is that Dallas is faltering and has a tough remaining schedule.
But they were actually favored against the Eagles, a remarkable fact that indicates how over-rated the Giants really are. They are no match for the Eagles.
The Eagles have a coach who actually knows how to coach. When there’s a problem, he fixes it. He responds to changes in his environment. Reid may pass too often and forget about his running game but he realizes his mistakes and reacts. Coughlin just stands there looking confused and making excuses.
Maybe I’m being too hard on Coughlin. I wonder if this clueless DC was his choice. I wonder if keeping him is within his realm of empowerment…perhaps not, and, if not, I apologize.
But somebody has to take the hit for these year-long failures.
The G.M. has certainly done nothing, either to adequately replace the safety that went down or to replace the middle linebacker when he went down. Let’s give him some of the blame too.
But maybe he can’t spend any money. After all, the Giants haven’t sold nearly all the PSL’s they’ve needed.
So maybe it’s the fan’s fault. Ownership is punishing its fans for not buying up the seat licenses, for moving from mezzanine sections to the upper deck, for not drinking the tres cher Kool-Aid.
In any event, I’m through even rooting for this team. It’s tough to keep pulling for those who don’t even try to help themselves. The Giants are as bad now as they were in the sad years before George Young was hired, when the Mara brothers were fighting each other and neither one knew what he was doing.
And it’s not just the defense. The special teams have been almost as bad. At least two of the wide receivers look as if they’ve never played football before, Manningham and Moss.
About 90% of high school receivers know how to drag a leg after making a catch near the sideline. Manningham is uncoachable, apparently. Either that or the coach(es) don’t know how to teach. Sinorice Moss just never picked up route-running or anything else.
Okay, I’ve said enough about that sorry organization.
In lighter matters, the Jets looked really solid yesterday. I know the Bucs aren’t very good but the Jets beat them slowly and inexorably to the end. Their second-string QB didn’t take any chances and the running game under Thomas Jones wore those Bucs down. Their defense was unbelievable. In fact, statistically, they have the best defense in the league.
They get Atlanta next at home and the Falcons haven’t shown much; they’re all banged up. Then they get two ridiculously tough opponents, the Colts and the Bengals, but both those teams may be coasting by the time the Jets come to town.
But, even then, they could easily miss the playoffs as there are so many other teams in the hunt.
But, playoffs or not, I like the Ryan-led Jets. Ryan has made mistakes but he’s admitted them and then taken action to change things for the better.
The Giants simply have not.
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