Very Fasselesque
I'm feeling Deja Vu watching this Giants team. It feels like the Fassel years all over again.
You all remember. Those flawed overachieving teams that were fascinating and maddening at the same time. Those teams that would play with the best in the league, only to find a way to lose at the end.
With those teams, it was the special teams. Fassel could never seem to get that equation right. The missed field goals, shanked kickoffs and touchdown returns kept reoccuring like some Groundhog Day film in the third rung of hell. Thankfully, everyone got injured in 2003, which led to a 4-12 debacle and forced Acorsi and the Maras to fire Fassel and end our Meadowlands nightmare.
In comes Colonel Coughlin, the disciplinarian. Just what the team and the fanbase needs. Parcells minus the sense of humor.
But whatever he lacked in style and personality, you knew one thing, the stupid mistakes would cease and desist under him. And for a little while, that seemed to be the case. Tiki stopped fumbling and went from being a very good back to a borderline Hall Of Famer. And the special teams went from being one of the worst to being one of the best. The team has become a playoff team and a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
But there's a pox that's keeping the G-Men from becoming a real power in the league. That pox reared its ugly head in the Seattle game last year and the Manning Bowl Sunday night. Two wins that would have made the league and the national media stand up and take notice of what's going on in East Rutherford.
Instead of huge wins however, the Giants hand their fans bitter defeats. What happened against Carolina was understandable. When you lose your starting linebacker corps and their backups. When you have guys coming off the street to play for the first time in years. You can understand why the Panthers were able to do what they wanted in that game.
But these false start penalties, these dumb mistakes at critical moments will be the death of this team. There's a thin line between the best and worst in the NFL. You can't afford to make these mistakes against bad teams, much less Seattle and Indy.
I'm hoping that Sunday was an eye-opener for this team. They're on the verge of either doing great things or falling back to the pack. There's a very small window in this age to compete for a title. Here's hoping that the Giants window hasn't closed.
You all remember. Those flawed overachieving teams that were fascinating and maddening at the same time. Those teams that would play with the best in the league, only to find a way to lose at the end.
With those teams, it was the special teams. Fassel could never seem to get that equation right. The missed field goals, shanked kickoffs and touchdown returns kept reoccuring like some Groundhog Day film in the third rung of hell. Thankfully, everyone got injured in 2003, which led to a 4-12 debacle and forced Acorsi and the Maras to fire Fassel and end our Meadowlands nightmare.
In comes Colonel Coughlin, the disciplinarian. Just what the team and the fanbase needs. Parcells minus the sense of humor.
But whatever he lacked in style and personality, you knew one thing, the stupid mistakes would cease and desist under him. And for a little while, that seemed to be the case. Tiki stopped fumbling and went from being a very good back to a borderline Hall Of Famer. And the special teams went from being one of the worst to being one of the best. The team has become a playoff team and a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
But there's a pox that's keeping the G-Men from becoming a real power in the league. That pox reared its ugly head in the Seattle game last year and the Manning Bowl Sunday night. Two wins that would have made the league and the national media stand up and take notice of what's going on in East Rutherford.
Instead of huge wins however, the Giants hand their fans bitter defeats. What happened against Carolina was understandable. When you lose your starting linebacker corps and their backups. When you have guys coming off the street to play for the first time in years. You can understand why the Panthers were able to do what they wanted in that game.
But these false start penalties, these dumb mistakes at critical moments will be the death of this team. There's a thin line between the best and worst in the NFL. You can't afford to make these mistakes against bad teams, much less Seattle and Indy.
I'm hoping that Sunday was an eye-opener for this team. They're on the verge of either doing great things or falling back to the pack. There's a very small window in this age to compete for a title. Here's hoping that the Giants window hasn't closed.
posted by Darth Marc at 2:27 AM
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