“THE ANATOMY OF A DISASTAH”

Some thoughts and observations on one of the more surprising losses of the season for the Giants.

– First off, this was an Eagle victory JUST as much as it was a Giant loss.  Don’t get me wrong, the Giants lost the game but the Eagles won it outright just on the fact that they have playmakers who can score points very quickly and teams just dont have an answer for the amount of speed that the Eagles have.  But the Michael Vick show continued at the Meadowlands.  I’m not saying that he deserves the MVP over Tom Brady but you can certainly make the case that its a lot closer than some may even be willing to concede.

When I say the Giants shut him down for all but the last 7 minutes of the game, I MEAN they had him shut down.  Their game plan was to keep him within the pocket and have someone at both ends so he wouldn’t think about going around the edge and for 52 minutes, that game plan was solid and worked.  They harassed, sacked, batted down balls and made his day for the most part very difficult.  But let’s go over the final 8 minutes

8:09 left the Eagles get the ball back.

7:40 left- Brent Celek catches a 65 yard TD pass after Kenny Phillips whiffs on a tackle.  31-17.

7:28 left- After Special teams coaches warned them about the possibility of the onside kick, what do the front line guys do?  As David Akers comes to kick the ball, they start moving back and it makes Riley Cooper’s job a helluva lot easier despite the fact that the Eagles had their all hands team which is to say they were screaming onsides kick before they even kicked the damn thing.  Eagles recover.

one play later

6:54 left- Vick slips underneath a sack by Deon Grant who runs right by him and he goes for 35 yards.  Surprisingly that’s his season long.   Vick at this point, began playing the game on feel which is when he’s most dangerous.

two plays later

5:54 left- Vick tries to run again, but this time gets sacked as the Giants maintain gap discipline and don’t give him the edge.  BUT, its for naught because Justin Tuck is called for onsides after he lines up in the neutral zone so that sack is basically wiped out.

two plays later:

3rd and Goal- 5:32 left- Vick rushes for four yards for the touchdown.  Score: 31-24 Giants

So now, 2:08 later, they score 3 TD’s and cut it to a 7 point game which now adds urgency for the Giants to make this a real game, if the Giants weren’t aware it was already.  Basically all the momentum is on the side of the Eagles and the Giants are running on fumes.

The Giants convert on a first down and force the Eagles into using all three of their timeouts which is crucial because should the Eagles needed to challenge something outside of 2 minutes, they wouldn’t have a time out and speaking of which.  The Eagles got shafted on two challenges- one that was challenged that went the Giants way and the other that they didn’t challenge which most certainly would’ve favored them.  So ALL the breaks went the Giants way.  So the Giants really had no excuses.

The Giants get the ball back and a play later:

3:56- Eli is calling an audible and David Diehl gets called for a false start and now, instead of a manageable 2nd and 6, they have a 2nd and 11.  They run and get about 3 yards.

3:08- Now, with a 3rd and 8, the Giants must convert which means they have to pass.  Incomplete and an irate Eli is asking why his receivers didn’t break early and this is where I think the absence of Steve Smith is so crucial.  With Hakeem Nicks being double covered pretty much all game and taken out, the onus was on Derek Hagan and Mario Manningham and neither are on the level of a Steve Smith which shows because adjustments on the routes like that are necessary especially when the blitz comes.  The receivers have to know to break from their routes early and help Eli out.  The Giants put themselves in this position where they had to convert in order to keep the ball OUT of Michael Vick’s hands.

Eagles get the ball back after the Giants pin them at the 2.

two incompletions later

3rd and 10- 2:50 left-  Vick finally gets the edge after Aaron Ross stupidly overpursues for the sack and Vick gets the first down…and then some and he gets 33 yards.  They had pressure to keep him in the pocket and Ross plays too far inside and Vick gets the edge and no one is beating him in a foot race.

Vick completes a 13 yard pass to Maclin and takes a hit from Jason Pierre Paul.

2:10 left- Another batted ball by JPP after the Giants again keep him in the pocket and surround him.

2nd and 10: 2:07 left- Vick rushes up the gut gets the first down and slips and falls.  2 minute warning.

Remember, Eagles have no timeouts left.

1:30 left- Maclin catches the pass, fakes to his right and turns to the left, slips a tackle and scores and now: 31-31 tie game.

Giants get the ball- 2 incompletions and then a sack.  But this is good because the Giants have made the Eagles use all their timeouts but the Eagles will STILL get a play off before the end of the game.  The point is to kick it out of bounds and hope that the Eagles play for overtime which they will.

:14 left-  All Matt Dodge has to do is kick it out of bounds.  Thats it.  Dodge gives the thumbs up signal to the sideline for some reason.  That was the moment that I began to get worried.  Pressure situation, and you have the world’s most dangerous punt returner at the other end waiting.  What does Dodge do?  Gets the ball a lil high, still has plenty of time because the Eagles go back to help block.

Jackson fumbles the ball after he gets a line drive punt.  It must have surprised Jackson as well considering the situation and Jackson takes care of the rest.  No flags.  Final score 38-31.

The entire stadium is at a loss for words except for the Eagles fans who decided to stay till the end and got themselves one of the greatest Christmas gifts ever.  Yesterday, Eli Manning said that they hand wrapped the game for the Eagles.  I disagree.  I think the Giants made three crucial mistakes:

1. Kenny Phillips not being able to tackle Brent Celek on that first touchdown that made it a 14 point game.  They scored that touchdown in 19 seconds.  19 SECONDS!!!!  Two plays were run during that drive.  Had Phillips dropped Celek, suddenly they need a few extra plays perhaps and the Eagles don’t have any type of momentum.  The Giants had taken the game over and were dominating the game, and i mean dominating the game.  This set up the chain reaction that was the onsides kick which wasn’t necessary at that point, except to somewhat keep the pressure on the G-men, who should have expected the onside kick EVERY SINGLE TIME the Eagles had to kick off to them.  But they didn’t and the Eagles took over.  By then, Vick realized he had to do whatever HE could to win this game for them.

2. David Diehl’s false start was a killer.  The Giants converted a first down and forced the Eagles into using all of their timeouts.  It was the only drive that the Giants had any kind of momentum and the running game was doing decent.  Not getting huge chunks of yards at a time, but still getting enough.  But Diehl’s false start makes it from a 2nd and 6 to 2nd and 11 and took the momentum squarely away.  Inexcusable penalty and it put the Giants into a position where on 3rd down they had to pass and the incompletion stops the clock and gives the Eagles a stoppage whereas on a 3rd and short, they can run the ball and keep the pressure on the Eagles by having the time drip drip away.  Instead of it being near the two minute mark, there’s 3:08 left on the clock.  Plenty of time for the explosive Philly offense to take the field and score.

3. The punt.  What can you say about the punt except that it should never have happened.  Not only was it the worst punt in the history of punts considering what happened, and the magnitude of this game, but you have to consider it the absolute DUMBEST play EVER!  It was so bad that Tom Coughlin ran out on to the field and you could immediately tell what he was saying to him: “what did I tell you to do?  HUH?!?”  We’ve all seen Tom Coughlin mad and upset, that’s his normal everyday face- but this was totally different.  He was so angry because he was so confused.  Matt Dodge, the rookie punter, had simple enough instructions- kick it out of bounds.  The absolute worst case scenario from that punt was Dodge getting it and line drive punting it straight to Jackson.  The worst part of that was Jackson fumbled the punt- probably from the shock of actually being given a chance to return the punt.  Even that break went the Eagles way because had Jackson received the punt cleanly, you have to assume that the Giants specials team would’ve been able to corrall him around where he got it (c’mon, lets dream shall we?).  Instead, the fumble threw everyone and all the timing off.  Watch as everyone sort of overpursues after Jackson takes a small step back and then just turns on the jets to run right through the inside seam and take it to the house.  There was a huge block at the 40 which sprang him and that would have been a block in the back if he had fielded it cleanly- the fumble actually HELPED him.  By then the momentum was completely on the side of the Eagles.  No way was that punt NOT being returned.

I had actually felt sorry for Matt Dodge and kept telling everyone- this kid has a huge leg and he will get it soon.  But even I couldn’t forgive and forget on that punt.  Even I turned into a typical pessimistic fan willing to leave him in Newark instead of taking him on the flight to Wisconsin to play the Packers next Sunday.  Mike Francesa yesterday said “if he blows it in Green Bay, they should just leave him there.”  I agree with him.  I hate for anyone to lose their job in this economy and to be left in a city like Green Bay, (just kidding), but that punt was inexcusable and for him to sit there and say he was being pressured- look at the tape there is NO ONE within five yards of you after having received the punt and all you had to do was kick it out of bounds.  Angle it out of bounds.

Simply put the Eagles were the better team on the field and if that performance didn’t put into everyone’s mind how absolutely dangerous this team is?  I dont know what will.  There is a way for teams to beat the Eagles, but you need athletes.  You need stud athletes to keep up with theirs.  Michael Vick CAN be bottled up but you have to be of absolute discipline and on two plays the Giants weren’t and Vick ran amok.  Think on this: for 52 minutes Vick had 99 passing yards and 30 something rushing yards.  By the end of the game he had more than 200 yards passing and a 130 yards rushing in a virtuoso performance.  Peter King in his Monday Morning QB article wrote that he would never be able to match this performance from this game ever again.  I disagree.  If this season is the fully mature, realizing-his-potential Michael Vick then, isn’t this kind of thing on every fan’s mind now?  If he’s become the best passer/runner combo version of himself that every defense that played him feared, isn’t this kind of feat-especially now that he’s accomplished it, something that should be expected of him?  I’m not saying he should be expected to score 28 points in 7 minutes, but with him, leading this offense, literally no lead is safe.  You can’t game plan athletes of his type.  You can try to bottle them up but once they begin playing school yard, unless you have the athletes to play that school yard too you begin to be spectators too.  Half the time he went on those runs, Giants defenders had to be amazed at his ability to escape pressure and turn losses into gains.

The Michael Vick show is back and is soooooo alive.

If the Eagles don’t make the Super Bowl, trust me when I say this- it will be a HUGE shock.  I’ve seen magical seasons and games like this are the stuff that make this season more special than any other Philly has had.  If the Eagles dont face the Patriots in the Super Bowl- it will be because of some stupidity that Philly won’t soon forget- not because Vick failed.  This playoff run will either be magical or a truly terrible shock for Philly fans.  Even they can smell it.  They know its coming.  They can beat the Bears, the Rams, the Saints, the Falcons and we all know that they own the Giants- after beating them for the sixth straight time.

What now becomes of the Giants?  Its simple:  either this loss defines them and haunts them or they put it behind them and they make a push for the playoffs renewed by their failure.  But we all know losses like this are not the kind of stuff you just put away.  These are the kind of losses that snowball and destroy a season.  Mike Francesa asked a question that I myself wondered: “if you’re a Giant player, how did you even drive home yesterday?”  I’d be staring at a wall for hours too trying to come up with words to express the disappointment.

The Giants now have to at the very least split their next two games in order to win the final playoff spot.  Next week is not given.  If the Giants lose next week trust me when I say that armageddon will be upon the G-men should they not even win week 17.  Forget about it.  If they don’t make the playoffs Tom Coughlin could get fired.  I’m not saying he deserves it but those within the organization who don’t like him may have enough ammo to get the job done.

Peter King reported that Bill Cowher may be a front runner for the job but that he isn’t sure that Cowher will get the job because of his price tag.

This collapse will live on among the greatest New York collapses of all time.  Miracle at the Meadowlands.  ALCS 2004.  METS in 2007.  Number 7 in 7 minutes in 2010.  Welcome to hell Giants fans.