Suddenly, Giants Have a Mess to Clean Up
Clifton Brown - SportingNews.com
Nov 02, 2009
PHILADELPHIA -- What's wrong with the New York Giants can be answered in one word -- plenty.
Eli Manning is in a slump. Their tackling is atrocious. Their defense is being dissected.
Those glaring problems were exposed by the Philadelphia Eagles, who embarrassed the Giants 40-17 to start a huge sports day in Philadelphia. As the Phillies and Yankees were across the street, preparing for Game 4 of the World Series, the Giants tried to explain the grand-slamming they took from the Eagles (5-2).
"It's mind-boggling how we're playing right now," middle linebacker Antonio Pierce said after the Giants (5-3) dropped their third consecutive game.
"Three weeks ago, we're not playing like this -- we weren't making the mistakes. You're talking about 21 days.
"I still believe that we're very capable of getting to the destination we want to get to. In the month of November, a lot of teams go from champs to chumps, contenders to pretenders. We need to make sure we're back in that contender race."
It will be fascinating to see how the Giants, expected by many to be Super Bowl contenders, fare in the second half of the season. A soft September schedule masked obvious weaknesses. But look at their next five opponents -- home games against the Chargers and Falcons, a road game against Denver, followed by division home games against the Cowboys and Eagles. If the Giants are going to make the playoffs, they will have to beat quality opponents.
They are going nowhere fast unless Manning (20-for-39, 222 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions) steps up his game. He has thrown six interceptions in his past three games, is overthrowing receivers on a regular basis and too often is forcing passes into tight coverage.
Manning insists he is fully recovered from the plantar fasciitis in his right foot that bothered him earlier this season.
"It feels great," Manning said. "It hasn't bothered me all week -- I'm not taping it. That's not an excuse I can fall on."
Whatever is bothering Manning needs to be fixed fast. The Giants accept the fact Manning will never be the NFL's most accurate passer. But some of his throws lately have been atrocious, like his second-quarter pass intended for Sinorice Moss that sailed five feet over his head. It was intercepted by safety Quintin Demps less than two minutes before halftime, setting up an Eagles touchdown that helped put the game out of reach.
"Bad decision," Manning said. "You can't have those. Throw it away, take the sack, don't give them some more momentum."
Not that the Giants' defense is helping. New coordinator Bill Sheridan cannot be sleeping well, knowing his unit is not playing well. The Giants have surrendered 112 points in their last three games, and some of the defensive mistakes are glaring. Blown coverage in the injury-depleted secondary allowed DeSean Jackson to run free for a 54-yard touchdown pass.
Leonard Weaver, a fullback not known for his blazing speed, ran through a gaping hole for a 41-yard touchdown on the Eagles' opening drive. And throughout the game, the Giants allowed big plays because they tackled the Eagles as if they really could fly.
"We're not doing anything well on defense," Pierce said. "It's a complete embarrassment and disappointment."
Pierce would not point the finger at Sheridan's game plan as a problem, although others surely will. Steve Spagnuolo, now the Rams' head coach, was one of the league's top defensive coordinators.
"We're a team," Pierce said. "It goes with the coaches. It goes with the players. Every one of us has to be accountable."
So while the Eagles and Cowboys (5-2) sit atop the NFC East, the Giants are trying to halt a potential season-ruining skid.
"I just told the players in there -- nobody said this was going to easy," coach Tom Coughlin said.
Right now, the Giants are making it look very hard.
Clifton Brown is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at cliftonbrown@sportingnews.com.
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