STAMFORD, CT – Another NFL week is in the books, with the New York Giants on a five game winning streak and threatening to make the playoffs. The wheat is separating from the chaff, whatever that means, and the Giants are right there at 7-3. The Giants keep winning ugly, but it sure beats losing pretty.
O-Line woes: Achilles would die young, or so went the prophecy, so his mother dipped him in a sacred river to make him invincible (note: not the Hudson). But Ma held him by the foot, so his heel was not submerged into the protective waters. He was eventually shot in the heel with a poisoned dart or arrow and died. (Note 2: If I were Greek and there was a prophecy about me, I would just accept it. You can’t fight the prophecy. Look at what happened to Oedipus. Gross.) But what I’m getting at here is the Achilles’ Heel for the G-Men: The O-Line. The Giants have been trying to stick to the run more as of late, and there’s a been some success, but the running lanes are not there consistently.
The pass blocking is better I guess, but they run a lot of 3-step drops and quick throws. You don’t see Eli sit back in the pocket and survey the field too often. The defense seems to be coming together and they have weapons on offense. But can the line come together enough to get them into the playoffs? Sure, Eli Apple could end up being a great player. But for this year, I keep wondering what they’d look like with big Laremy Tunsil in there. Drafting an OL will never make your fan base erupt in celebration, but a dominant O-line can cover up a lot of weaknesses.
This game was way too close, with the Bears actually in position to win in the end. With some big plays by JPP, the Giants held on. They played it pretty conservatively in the end, knowing the Bears couldn’t move the ball at all in the second half. Eli’s near pick six on his last throw of the game nearly foiled that strategy. Cuidado Elijah! That might have been season killing.
So let’s look at the schedule. The Giants tend to play down to their competition, but you gotta figure the next game against the Clowns is a win. Speaking of the Browns, did you see this hit?
https://youtu.be/mZabxGEgviw
Ooof. Check your fillings McCown. Anyway, after the Browns the Jints have @Steelers, Cowboys, Lions, @Eagles, @Redslurs. The Steelers and Lions are not easy games, but I would expect both to be close. Let’s say they split, then lose to Dallas and beat Philly. That would put them at 10 wins for a final game against Washington. 10 wins won’t always get you in, ask the Jets. Could the season finale against Washington be for a wildcard?
Here’s an interesting stat. The Giants have won their 7 games by a total of 27 points. That is the smallest number for 7 wins in NFL history. All of NFL history. If you’re a glass-half-full kind of person, you say they’re finding a way. If you’re a glass-half-empty kind of person, you say that means it’s all been smoke and mirrors and this glass house of cards is gonna crumble like a cookie (for those keeping score at home, that was a triple mixed metaphor, even more rare than a double eagle). Anyway, it should be exciting. Giants fans know anything can happen if they can sneak in there.
Well then, come back tomorrow for Angry Ward, a man who doubted the the Giants would cover my over bet on 8 wins. Also, please follow us on Twitter at @benwhit8 & @MeetTheMatts and like our Facebook page, Meet The Matts.
P.s… How about them New York Rangers?!
