Posted by jazz74:
i agree that we should win this game. however, garcia does pose problems for us. sure in 2002 he had t.o. but last year he did it with reggie brown and other no names ( except westbrook of course). he may not have the weapons like before but he gets it done. i hope manning can hold his own against this d. the key is the running game. you can run on this d. so jacobs needs to have a good game so the play action can work for short yardage on this team. i don't think this is make or break for coue he is the first giants coach since before parcells to have this team in the playoffs three consecutive years. however, he will still be under a microscope next season.
On Garcia- Westbrook is a huge difference maker. He depends on throwing to his back to be effective and Westbrook made play after play for him after the pocket broke down. Here is what I posted that's different about Garcia this time:
I think a few things are different this time:
1) Garcia suffered a back injury at the end of the year that limited him into playing only 2 of the last 5 games. It has severely limited his mobility (0 rushing yards in these games, 4 sacks). He also hasn't exceeded 200 yds passing in those games.
2) Garcia doesn't have a safety valve target that can make plays after he scrambles like Terrell Owens or Brian Westbrook. Joey Galloway is great at grabbing the deep ball, but not on the underneath stuff. Hilliard can beat you underneath, but he doesn't have the speed or elusivness anymore to make any plays. Earnest Graham, the RB, is a workhorse, but not a big play guy at all. No plays more than 28 yds this year.
3) The Giants have a better pass rush this year than 2002 or 2006. And additionally, neither of those games featured Justin Tuck, who is an exceptional athlete that can run down virtually any QB's and also adds the added dimension of bringing pressure inside on 3rd downs.
Additionally- the Tampa run D is pretty good- 3.8 YPC, but they ahve fast playmakers to the outside. Key is pounding Jacobs up the middle and taking advantage of their light DT's and wearing down the LB's.
On Cough, he absolutely can't lose 3 first round games in a row. Too many things at work here:
1) Eli is not progressing in his offensive system and we have a lot committed- a loss here and its worth thinking about bringing in another system.
2) There is too much talent around him to suffer 3 straight choke jobs- being embarassed at home in 2005, losing a close but winnable game last year, and losing a game this year where I think we clearly have more talent would be difficult to justify.
You have to remember he's due for an extension- he's probably not gonna take the lame duck offer again, and if we are going to committ to him we need to be comfortable that he can win a big game in his tenure here. I like what he has done in a lot of respects, but the pressure is on for results now.
12/19/2007 6:42 PM
