Lucky In Fantasy, Unlucky In Fandom
Figures. The one week I win all of my fantasy leagues, the Giants lose badly, the Knicks start the season 1-5 and the Jets are well...the Jets. Even when I win, I lose.
I'm a huge Giants fan, but I never bought into this Giants Super Bowl bandwagon that the writers and talking head have started since the Giants beat the Redskins a couple of weeks ago. For a couple of reasons. One, I never thought the Redskins were that good. Any team with Mark Brunnell as their starting QB is one hit away from Jetsville. Yeah, he's been impressive. But he reminds of something Phil Simms used to say a couple of years after he retired. He said that he could still make all of the throws, but he couldn't take the hits. I'm not convinced that he can take the beating of a full season anymore. And if he falls, so goes the Squaws.
The other thing is that I don't think the Giants are that good. Not yet. They have the skill players, the defense is shaping up and Eli has the makings of a star. But he's in his 16th game as a starter and he's still very inconsistent. Yesterday was a perfect example. He made a very ordinary defense look like the second coming of the '99 Ravens. Until he gets more comfortable throwing to his secondary targets like Toomer and Carter, he's not going to be able to keep defense honest. Toomer was a perennial 1,000 yard receiver. Tim Carter is the fastest guy on the team. It's not as if he's throwing to two rookies. When he completely comfortable with going to them, the offense will become consistent. It's pretty good right now with all the blips. If he can show defenses that he's willing to look at someone other than Plaxico and Burress, with Barber running the ball, they'll be unstoppable. As good as any offense in the league.
The defense has finally shaped up to what folks thought it would be so if the offense can start to sustain drives, it means that the defense is on the field less. And when they are on the field, they can tee off on the opposing offenses. I really like this team. And I think that they can win the division. But if they want to beat Atlanta or Carolina, they're going to have to be able mix it up on offense. Neither of these defenses are world-beaters. But they're solid enough. They're sure as hell better than Minnesota and you saw what happened on Sunday.
The Giants loss, combined with the Monday night game between Philly and Dallas, did create a very funny moment at Blondies Sunday night. Giants fans, Cowboys fans and Eagles fans all rooting for Tampa Bay. Why? Because Tampa was playing Washington and if the Squaws won, they would be in first place. So when Alstott ran the two point conversion in to win the game 36-35, We practically put one Bucs fan in the bar on our shoulders and carried him out of bar. Very funny moment.
I was also rooting for Tampa because of Chris Simms. Ironically, I was wearing a Phil Simms jersey Sunday and while it did nothing to help Big Blue, I was glad if it helped out his son. This kid has world of talent. More than his dad even. Hopefully he gets a chance to succeed or fail in Tampa. If this was his coming out party, it was some announcement to the world.
Now I'm forced to root for the Eagles tonight. Ugh. This is how disgusted the whole T.O thing has become to me. It's made the Eagles a team worth rooting for. Almost.
I think Dallas is the most dangerous team to the Giants hopes because of their balance. But Philly scares me. Yeah, they're weaker without T.O. But they're the champs. And until someone knocks them out, they're dangerous. If they beat Dallas tonight. The Giants have to kill any momentum they have by punching them in the mouth hard when they face off next weekend. Jump on their bones and crush them at outset. You don't want a team like that getting any sort momentum in the stretch run. It might not take them to the Super Bowl, but it could take them to wildcard berth or a division title.
As for the Jets. The only thing that they're worth for is to see what Joe Benigno is going to rant about on Monday mornings. They're becoming non-competitive with that offense. That game was winnable if you had a decent QB. Bollinger is a Arena QB at best. This guy has no business starting in the NFL. It's not all on him. But you need someone who at least gives you a fighting chance. Vinny can't do it anymore. If Fiedler was there they probably could have pulled it out. But he's not, so the point is moot.
I do agree with Benigno on this point. No more excuses for Herm and Bradway. Yeah, you're 2-6, but you have to show some guts and stop playing so conservative. You have nothing lose. Go for it! At the end of the first half, they have the ball with two timeouts and about 40 plus seconds. They're down 10-3. What do they do? They run the ball and let clock run out!
All this talk about playing to win the game. They play not to lose now. He would take risks a couple of years ago. But they were stupid risks. Option passes by Lamont Jordan. Silly gimmick plays instead of smart calculated risk. They're a joke.
I like Herm but he's not the guy to lead you to the promised land. This was a winnable game and he refused to go for the jugular. If you fail, fine, but go out guns a blazing. He'll probably keep his job. But I wouldn't shed a tear if he got whacked at the end of the season.
Benigno mentioned something about Vermeil retiring and Herm taking over in KC. Bad move, Dick. Herm's a great guy and great motivational speaker. But he's not a pro head coach. I hate saying this about the brother. But it's true. His team never surpass expectations. They either meet them or fall short. A good coach should be able to make a good team better. Not meet the status quo.
I wonder if Al Groh is available?
I'm a huge Giants fan, but I never bought into this Giants Super Bowl bandwagon that the writers and talking head have started since the Giants beat the Redskins a couple of weeks ago. For a couple of reasons. One, I never thought the Redskins were that good. Any team with Mark Brunnell as their starting QB is one hit away from Jetsville. Yeah, he's been impressive. But he reminds of something Phil Simms used to say a couple of years after he retired. He said that he could still make all of the throws, but he couldn't take the hits. I'm not convinced that he can take the beating of a full season anymore. And if he falls, so goes the Squaws.
The other thing is that I don't think the Giants are that good. Not yet. They have the skill players, the defense is shaping up and Eli has the makings of a star. But he's in his 16th game as a starter and he's still very inconsistent. Yesterday was a perfect example. He made a very ordinary defense look like the second coming of the '99 Ravens. Until he gets more comfortable throwing to his secondary targets like Toomer and Carter, he's not going to be able to keep defense honest. Toomer was a perennial 1,000 yard receiver. Tim Carter is the fastest guy on the team. It's not as if he's throwing to two rookies. When he completely comfortable with going to them, the offense will become consistent. It's pretty good right now with all the blips. If he can show defenses that he's willing to look at someone other than Plaxico and Burress, with Barber running the ball, they'll be unstoppable. As good as any offense in the league.
The defense has finally shaped up to what folks thought it would be so if the offense can start to sustain drives, it means that the defense is on the field less. And when they are on the field, they can tee off on the opposing offenses. I really like this team. And I think that they can win the division. But if they want to beat Atlanta or Carolina, they're going to have to be able mix it up on offense. Neither of these defenses are world-beaters. But they're solid enough. They're sure as hell better than Minnesota and you saw what happened on Sunday.
The Giants loss, combined with the Monday night game between Philly and Dallas, did create a very funny moment at Blondies Sunday night. Giants fans, Cowboys fans and Eagles fans all rooting for Tampa Bay. Why? Because Tampa was playing Washington and if the Squaws won, they would be in first place. So when Alstott ran the two point conversion in to win the game 36-35, We practically put one Bucs fan in the bar on our shoulders and carried him out of bar. Very funny moment.
I was also rooting for Tampa because of Chris Simms. Ironically, I was wearing a Phil Simms jersey Sunday and while it did nothing to help Big Blue, I was glad if it helped out his son. This kid has world of talent. More than his dad even. Hopefully he gets a chance to succeed or fail in Tampa. If this was his coming out party, it was some announcement to the world.
Now I'm forced to root for the Eagles tonight. Ugh. This is how disgusted the whole T.O thing has become to me. It's made the Eagles a team worth rooting for. Almost.
I think Dallas is the most dangerous team to the Giants hopes because of their balance. But Philly scares me. Yeah, they're weaker without T.O. But they're the champs. And until someone knocks them out, they're dangerous. If they beat Dallas tonight. The Giants have to kill any momentum they have by punching them in the mouth hard when they face off next weekend. Jump on their bones and crush them at outset. You don't want a team like that getting any sort momentum in the stretch run. It might not take them to the Super Bowl, but it could take them to wildcard berth or a division title.
As for the Jets. The only thing that they're worth for is to see what Joe Benigno is going to rant about on Monday mornings. They're becoming non-competitive with that offense. That game was winnable if you had a decent QB. Bollinger is a Arena QB at best. This guy has no business starting in the NFL. It's not all on him. But you need someone who at least gives you a fighting chance. Vinny can't do it anymore. If Fiedler was there they probably could have pulled it out. But he's not, so the point is moot.
I do agree with Benigno on this point. No more excuses for Herm and Bradway. Yeah, you're 2-6, but you have to show some guts and stop playing so conservative. You have nothing lose. Go for it! At the end of the first half, they have the ball with two timeouts and about 40 plus seconds. They're down 10-3. What do they do? They run the ball and let clock run out!
All this talk about playing to win the game. They play not to lose now. He would take risks a couple of years ago. But they were stupid risks. Option passes by Lamont Jordan. Silly gimmick plays instead of smart calculated risk. They're a joke.
I like Herm but he's not the guy to lead you to the promised land. This was a winnable game and he refused to go for the jugular. If you fail, fine, but go out guns a blazing. He'll probably keep his job. But I wouldn't shed a tear if he got whacked at the end of the season.
Benigno mentioned something about Vermeil retiring and Herm taking over in KC. Bad move, Dick. Herm's a great guy and great motivational speaker. But he's not a pro head coach. I hate saying this about the brother. But it's true. His team never surpass expectations. They either meet them or fall short. A good coach should be able to make a good team better. Not meet the status quo.
I wonder if Al Groh is available?
posted by Darth Marc at 12:20 AM
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