Bye Week

Oh How We Needed You

You know, normally I would be upset about having a bye week. No Giants football is usually one of the worst times of the year, but not this week. This team is in a skid. It is not just Eli, it's Cruz dropping balls, Bradshaw fumbling, Diehl letting defensive ends run through him like water. That's just the offense.  Defense is banged up. No Kenny. No Jacquian to cover the tight end. Corey Webster giving up on plays. Justin Tuck saying hes healthy but having a miserable year. Time to regroup.

Losing in November is the Giants forte. We start off strong, lose at least 2 of 4 games in the middle, and then have to finish on fire. Luckily, we have been blessed with the terrible play from the rest of the NFC East. Rest of the schedule looks like this (home games in bold) Packers, Skins, Saints, Falcons, Ravens, Eagles.

To be honest I am worried about every single one of those games. I would almost feel more comfortable with playing the Packers and the Saints away from home. The Giants love Lambeau, and with everyone against them in 'Nawlins, they would play strong. I'm afraid of the Falcons home or away. They want payback in a bad way after the Giants held them to 3 POINTS in last years playoff game. Big plays have killed the Giants all year and the Falcons have one of the best, if not THE BEST receiver duo in the league. Ravens have a banged up D. Ray Rice, and Torrey Smith are manageable. Eagles/Skins are divisional match ups. Anything goes, records and past results are thrown out the window.

We have this bye however to fix things. Tom has time to seriously think about starting Locklear over Diehl. 6 of the Giants 13 sacks given up this year have come since week 9 when they put Diehl back in the starting spot. Nicks has time to get to 100% which he has NOT been playing at. Fewell should be getting a healthy Kenny back and MAYBE a Jacquian. This gives him the ability to draft up that 3 safety look. When I was in a live chat with Jenny Ventras, the Giants beat writer for the Star-Ledger, she said that the secondary coach also hinted at a 4 safety look with Will Hill thrown on the field with Brown, Kenny, and Rolle. We need all the speed and coverage we can get against the Packers. Should be interesting to keep an eye on.

Do you remember Ahmad Bradshaw's rookie year? He started to play later on in the season, as a change of pace back. Completing the "Earth, Wind, Fire" trio. What also happened that year was a Super Bowl victory. I know the Giants just brought in a bunch of running backs to work out, but we have 2 good healthy backs on the roster already. Obviously Bradshaw is more hurt than what was coming across. Now going for tests on his neck. I have faith in this coaching staff to get David Wilson more involved in this offense, especially towards the end of the year. Fresh legs are always a good thing, especially with his speed.

Great time for a bye, and with news permitting, I'll talk to you next week before the Packers.