Photo courtesy of the NY Daily News
The unimaginable train wreck of the New York Giants 2013 Season has continued. 5 games into their 2013 campaign, and all the Giants have to show for it is 5 loses. Giant fans can certainly expect the NFL to use the ‘Flex Schedule’ and pop the Giants out of at least 2 primetime Sunday Night games. If you are unfamiliar with the flex-scheduling procedures you can read here http://www.nfl.com/flexible-schedules.
In another ugly loss, the Giants fell to the Philadelphia Eagles 36-21 at home. With the Giants out-playing the Eagles early, coach Tom Coughlin made a pivotal decision late in the first quarter. The Giants were up 7-0 at the time, and just stopped the Eagles for a 5-yard gain on 3rd-and-9 at the Giants’ 47. The Eagles were called for a hold, and Tom Coughlin declines the penalty instead, giving the Eagles a 3rd-and-19 on their own 37. Michael Vick then ran 34-yards for a demoralizing first down; which seemed to swing all the momentum to the Eagles. Tom Coughlin believed the Eagles would have gone for it on 4th-and-4, which was his explanation as to why he accepted the penalty.
It did not get much better from there. After the Giants scored a touchdown on their opening drive, the Eagles put up 19 unanswered points. Showing some life in the 3rd quarter, the Giants answered with 2 touchdown passes from Manning to Randle, giving them a 21-19 lead. That was about all that went the Giants way, as the perfect storm was brewing right before them. Fast forward to the 4th quarter, when Eli threw 3 straight interceptions on consecutive drives, giving him 12 pics through 5 games, and slowing approaching Blaine Gabbert status. The Giants should not have even been this close, as Eli Manning was outplayed by not one, but two Eagles quarterbacks (Vick and Foles).
It is clear that the Giants are one of the worst teams in the NFL. No one predicated the Giants to contend for the super bowl, however no one predicted they would be competing for the 1st overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft either. I saw 3 Giants who came to play on Sunday, and the rest of the team was sleeping. Will Hill impressed me as this was his first game back from his 4 game suspension. He seemed to be all over the field and had 11 solo tackles. Ruben Randle also came to play, catching 2 touchdowns in the 3rd to show some life. Hakeem Nicks also hauled in 9 catches for 142 yards, although he was not a factor at all in the 2nd half. You can also argue that Jason Pierre-Paul had one of his best showings this season, but he was not all that impressive nor a difference maker.
So where do the Giants go from here? Not really sure, as they have a quick turnaround and face the Chicago Bears this Thursday night. The Bears are 3-2 and tied for first in the NFC North. It may be a good thing the Giants have a short week, as they won’t take that much abuse from the New York media (although they deserve it). Even with a putrid NFC East, anyone with a brain knows that the Giants season is all but over. Veterans like Antrel Rolle and Justin Tuck will be playing for pride the rest of the season, and to help keep Tom Coughlin’s job. When Rolle was asked if he feels good in holding the Eagles to field goals, he responded, “I’m not feeling good about anything. We are 0-5 right now. I don’t look at the little things that happen during the game. I look at W’s. It doesn’t matter what I do as an individual, it doesn’t matter what anyone of us do as individuals. It’s about team effort and right now we know we aren’t putting it out there on the field.” After everything coach Coughlin has done for the Giants organization, you can’t help but feel for him.
Justin Lerner: PureSportsNY