17
Dec
2011
Jason Pierre-Paul and Victor Cruz aren’t even on the Pro Bowl fan ballot
(Photo: NYDailyNews.com)
If you’d like to add your vote for this year’s Pro Bowl (one of sports’ least exciting all-star games), fans can do so through this Monday, 12/19 via the official ballot at NFL.com. And if you’re a Giants fan (or a particularly astute fantasy geek) you might notice two glaring omissions from the candidates at defensive end and wide receiver … namely, DE Jason Pierre Paul and WR Victor Cruz, who have each had breakout seasons at their respective positions for New York.
Pierre-Paul is currently 5th in the NFL with 12.5 sacks, while Cruz is 3rd in the league in receiving yards with 1,150, but neither are eligible for your votes to go to Hawaii. According to the Ralph Vacchiano of the NY Daily News, JPP and Cruz are victims of an antiquated voting system, and both were left off the ballot by the Giants organization, who were forced to make some difficult decisions based on the sheer volume of talent they have at certain positions:
Teams are only allowed a certain number of players at each position – two defensive ends and two receivers, for example. In some cases, there are other categories, such as a “flex” spot for either a running back or a receiver.
Since the Giants had to submit their players before October 25th, they put Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora as their two DEs, and Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham as their two WRs. For the flex position, they chose Brandon Jacobs after giving the RB slot to Ahmad Bradshaw.
4
Oct
2010
Hit Of The Week: New York Giants Defense sacks Bears (VIDEO)
Jay Cutler got knocked into next week by the Giants D (Photo: Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
We’ve started a new tradition every week here at ReadAndReact by bringing you the Hit of the Week! We’ll find the most brutal tackle (or block) from each weekend of NFL games, and present it for your viewing pleasure.
We don’t need to wait until Tuesday for this … the New York Giants defense showed up in a big way Sunday night, collecting 10 sacks en route to a 17-3 win over the previously unbeaten Bears. Chicago QB Jay Cutler was taken down 9 times in the first half alone, leaving the game at halftime with a concussion (and probably wet pants). A lot of the sacks were due to blanket coverage from the New York secondary, with Cutler hanging onto the ball far too long, especially in Mike Martz’ rhythm offense. His replacement, Todd Collins, was knocked out later in the 4th quarter as the Giants put the game away.
The Bears managed only 110 yards of total offense with 6 first downs in the game, and were shutout completely on 3rd down, going a pathetic 0-for-13. Cutler passed for 42 yards in the first half, but lost 55 yards on sacks, giving the Bears only 22 yards of net offense for the first 30 minutes. But the stars of the game were the NY front seven, who dominated up front, sending the Bears quarterbacks running for their lives and eventually the training room. Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora each collected 3 sacks as the Giants improved to 2-2 (tied for the NFC East lead), and saved Tom Coughlin’s job for at least another week.
One other interesting point was made by Shutdown Corner, who noted that perhaps Cutler’s bad night was a touch karmic fate. As you’ll notice in the highlights, neither he nor the Bears O-lineman were wearing Pink on their uniforms as part of the NFL’s Breast Cancer Awareness month. Shame on you, boys for not supporting second base. Karma is a sonofabitch, huh?
WATCH HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GIANTS vs BEARS AFTER THE JUMP
3
Jan
2010
Giants Defense Disgraceful; Sheridan Must Go
The Giants defense should be embarrassed (Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger)
UPDATE - Sheridan was fired on Monday. Hooray.
This is just ugly. This afternoon in Minnesota, with nothing to play for (I mean, except for pride and all those millions of dollars they’re making) the New York Giants defense has put on another embarrassing display of football, and trail the Vikings 31-0 at the half. Along the way, the Giants have given up over 300 yards and 20+ first downs, allowing Brett Favre to find Vikings receivers running free all over the field, and looking a lot like a high school football team in the process.
Defensive Coordinator Bill Sheridan should be out of a job by Tuesday, and Tom Coughlin should be looking over his shoulder as well. The Giants went from 5-0 and early Super Bowl favorites to one of the more pathetic units in the league. Granted, the defense was hit with some big injuries – namely to Kenny Phillips and Antonio Pierce – but with as much talent as is still on the Giants roster, there’s simply no excuse for giving up over 400 points this season (which has only happened twice before in franchise history), and missing the playoffs entirely.
Giants Defensive Coordinator Bill Sheridan is as good as gone (Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger)
Michael Strahan just observed on the FOX halftime show that the Giants “mailed it in weeks ago”, which appears to be true on every level. The individual effort of the players has been disgraceful, but the schemes have been awful, and that all goes back to the coaching staff. I doubt Coughlin is going anywhere after winning the Super Bowl so recently, but someone has to take the fall, and that person is going to be Sheridan. The way he has mishandled this defense in taking over for Steve Spagnuolo – alienating Osi Umenyiora along the way – is reminiscent of the way Rod Rust replaced Bill Belichick in ’91/’92, turning a once powerful unit into a shell of its former self. It’s a low point in the history of the franchise.
For his part, earlier this week, Sheridan said he wasn’t concerned about his job security, but after today’s miserable display, and after allowing 40+ points in 3 of their last 4 games, there’s simply no way that Giants ownership doesn’t make wholesale changes to the coaching staff and roster. And if there’s any justice in the world, the Sheridan era is over in New York.
Watch the game lowlights after the jump.
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