Giants update

The loss in Cleveland in October was a good loss for the Giants--on the road, against a non-conference opponent, where nothing worked. The offense and defensive lines had been dominant up to that game, and both were terrible in Cleveland.

Since then, the line play as been very good, especially on the offensive side. Today they made the Ravens defensive line look like the Seattle Seahawks or San Francisco 49ers. That is, sad. Another 200+ yard night for the "Earth, Wind, and Fire" running back trio.

To complete the full list of elements, let's call the defense "Water" because no offense catches fire against them. The line is sack-happy and run-stopping, and the secondary is making interceptions. The linebacker corps is the weakest part of the defense, but no one has seriously burned them.

Yes, Eli Manning is not sparkling. Another sub-200 yard performance and a dumb interception. However, when your offense runs for over 200 yards per game, you're not asking your quarterback to light it up. He is managing the game well, using the hard count expertly. At one point, he drew the Ravens off-sides on two consecutive plays, turning a 3rd and 7 into a first down. I would like to see him run for a first down every once in a while to keep the opposing LBs guessing, but I'm not complaining.

The team is now 9-1. With Dallas beating Washington tonight, the Giants need, at most, three more wins to go to the playoffs. People are talking about how tough the Giants schedule is for the rest of the season. Absent major injuries (knock on wood), I see the Giants going 14-2. They may lose either to Dallas or Washington on the road, but not to both.

The worst part of the Sunday football that I saw today was a complete abuse of the replay system in Pittsburgh. On the last play of the game, San Diego tried lateraling to keep the play alive. Palumalu broke up the play and went into the end zone for an apparent touchdown as time expired. Yay! Game over! Time for the 60 Minutes interview with Obama. But no, the officials actually needed to review the play to determine whether the first lateral was actually a forward lateral, which, if called, would have ended the play and negated the touchdown. So the officials keep the players on the sidelines to review the play. After a few minutes of confusion on the field, the officials determined that it was a forward lateral and therefore no touchdown.

The game was over. The players were pissed off. Tomlinson looked like he could have ripped off someone's head. Just let them walk off the field.

Giants looking good

The Giants are 4 and 0. This is a good team. I'm not saying the Giants will repeat as Super Bowl champions, but they are showing that they were no flukes. The NFC East is a good division, so the intra-divisional games will be key.

Offense

The Giants lead the NFL in points and yards. Why?

Eli Manning, 6 TDs, 1 INT, 0 fumbles lost.

Good Eli is here to stay? I sure hope so. He looks good. Turnovers, primarily by Eli, killed the Giants in previous years. This year, only one turnover.

Brandon Jacobs, 95 yards per game, 5.8 yards per rush

What I really like is that Jacobs is raking up those kinds of yards without a lot of rushes. Clinton Portis got 29 rushes on Sunday. That is how you kill a RB. A bruising runner like Jacobs will be done after 5 years of 20+ rushes per game. With the wealth of talent at RB, the Giants can keep Jacobs going until 2015.

This is all happening without the me-first histrionics of Jeremy Shockey, who is with New Orleans and once again injured. Between Burress, Toomer, Smith, Hixon, and maybe even Manningham and Moss there is enough wide receiver talent. Shockey wants to be a slow wide receiver instead of a good tight end, half of whose job involves blocking. Now we have Boss, who is happy to block like a tight end and make some catches. Shockey got a lot of TV accolades for his blocking, but he was good for a stupid holding call once per game. I don't think Boss has been called for holding yet. I will give Shockey some credit, though. The Giants did not utilize him well, so I understand some of his frustration with the team. But, still, good riddance.

Run the ball, keep the chains moving, and don't make mistakes. Classic winning Giants football, especially with a defense like this....

Defense

They are 2nd in points allowed per game, 3rd in yards per game (second against the pass, sixth against the run), and first in sacks per game. The pass defense has been not only up front, but also in the defensive backfield. Ross and Webster have been particularly good. Even Dockery has looked good. When the Giants don't have to use R.W. McQuarters and Sam Madison every down, let alone every game, you know the starting secondary is good. We're still waiting for Kenny Phillips to explode. The surprising thing is that the Giants are putting up these kinds of defensive stats with so few takeaways. I think that will improve in the games to come.

Granted, these stats are through 4 games, not 5 like most teams, because the Giants already had their bye week.

Next up is Cleveland. I think Cleveland than their 1-3 record would indicate. Their losses were to teams with a combined record of 10-4 (Dallas, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore). The Giants should win, but it won't be nearly as easy as Sunday's 44-6 demolition of Seattle on Sunday.

Irrational Faith

This is my first post. Obviously, I hope my blog doesn't suck.

The big news is that the Giants won the Super Bowl. A fan always hopes for a good season, but before the season I certainly wouldn't have put money on the Giants to even get to the Super Bowl.

In the New York sports venacular, the word "believe" is typically associated with the Mets, specifically the 1969 Mets. These days, that overblown word will be spotted on banners in May at Shea and even at other stadia. But this Giants team really was about belief.

My belief was not unwavering. On December 24, 2007, I declared in an e-mail to friends:

"The frustrating thing is I don't doubt Eli's ability to win some games, but the Giants are not going to win the Super Bowl with such an inconsistent QB. He hasn't had a complete, 4-quarter effective game in a long time. So, sure, he'll get to the playoffs with a strong defense and good running game, but his play does not indicate that he will lead his team to a championship."

I can claim that I believed, because I put money on the game. I bet $10 on the Giants to win and $10 against the spread. (Shoulda put $100 on the line. I also should have bought real estate in Washington in 1998, but never mind.) My confidence was on display only after the Giants had made it into the game.

But the truth is that somewhere during the season, I stopped believing that the Giants could win it all. Does that make me a bad fan? Don't fans put too much emphasis on what they do? Some wear lucky jerseys. Some pray. Others say cliches like "one game at a time" as if it matters what we think.

I was skeptical. I needed evidence to believe that the Giants could win a championship with Eli Manning at the helm. Like religion, being a sports fan should be an irrational matter of faith. Following your team is not about evidence, it is about faith, irrational faith, rife with superstition and ritual. I will never lose sight of this again. As Theodore Herzl famously declared, if you will it, it is no dream.*

* Does not apply to Redskins. The irrational faith of the drunken ignorant Maryland masses in the 400-level will never be redeemed.