New York Giants terrible performance rolls heads
Tom Coughlin is not happy at all. New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning passed 200 more yards than his Tennessee counterpart Vince Young and still ended the game without a touchdown. One would think the Giants were dominating the situation outgaining the
Tennessee Titans by more than 200 yards but yards don’t automatically translate to points. The turnovers and the fouls were just simply ridiculous.
“The talent here is definitely better than the results,” claimed linebacker Keith Bulluck. Considering the numbers one can’t really disagree with Keith on this one. But something somewhere is going very wrong if even with those numbers, the Giants are still
beaten to a pulp on the scoreboards. “Look at the game (Sunday) — we dominated that team and we didn’t get the win,” Keith said. Well how in the name of the merciful heavens did they manage to suffer a 19 points loss in a game that they dominated?
First of all, the Giants’ behaviour on the field was not just unprofessional but almost childlike. A calm and composed team does not get flagged five times for unnecessary roughness. “Flags are like hand grenades,” said defensive tackle Chris Canty. “It
doesn’t matter who pulls the pin — we’re all done.” There were 11 penalties in total on the New York side. Canty said that the number of penalties reflects on their discipline very poorly. Coughlin was horrified by what his team did on Sunday and wanted to
take all the responsibility for the mess they made. “It was a shock for all of us to have the penalties the way they were.”
Coughlin isn’t the only one who felt responsible. In fact, it was a combined effort to shoot themselves in the foot by the team. Keith Bulluck maintained that the Coach at least wasn’t responsible. “He didn’t go out there and lose the game,” Keith said adding
that if the team had listened intently, the outcome could have been different. Coughlin had repeatedly warned the Giants that Tennessee would provoke them. And that’s exactly what happened. The Titans pushed the Giants’ buttons and personal fouls followed
to the delight of the team from Tennessee.
Ultimately though, the coach is the man behind a team and the man who would take the credit or blame for the team’s performance. Giants’ dismal start to the season has raised some eyebrows. Moreover, questions about Coughlin’s ability to coach the team have
followed suit.
Penalties can make or break a play. Monday night was another example of how careless play can cost you the game. It was Green Bay Packers whose string of penalties at the wrong times cost them the game. The only difference between the two games was that
the Packers were still close, while the Giants were not. Their self restraint was terrible and the cost they paid was much higher.
One glaring example of that would be Kareem McKenzie. He was benched after two personal fouls and was not happy about it. He said that he wasn’t thinking clearly at the time and if he had been, it wouldn’t have happened. Kareem offered his apologies and
since then Coughlin has somewhat cooled down. “He flat out got too upset and lost his poise. You can't get to that point. He knows he hurt us," Coughlin said.
Coughlin gave the team a piece of his mind. He said that if they are careless or make errors with the ball, they won’t win at this level. After the game, the coach appeared particularly distressed by Haleem Nicks botching a pass by Manning that ended in
an interception. “You expect a guy at this level, if he gets his hands on the ball, he better catch the ball,” Coughlin said.
The second straight loss this season for the Giants, and not a respectable one either this time, has many people asking if the Giants have what it takes as a team. Through this effort, all the Giants are trying to stay positive and focussed. If they could
address some of the obvious shortcomings like discipline and their special teams, it can translate into an immediate improvement in the team. They still have time to prove their talent.
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