New Orleans Saints 45 – New York Giants 7
Game Overview: Two more games and this nightmare season is over.
As John Mara said on Wednesday, “In the second half of the season it became apparent to us that (the players) need to hear a different voice in the locker room.” So what we all knew was coming at the end of the season was announced two games early. Fassel himself was the one to encourage ownership to make the early announcement. The benefit to all was that this break-up took on a more dignified tone than is usual in the NFL. It also allows the Giants to talk to a couple of head coaching candidates early, most notably Tom Coughlin.
But make no mistake. This was a calculated move by Fassel. By making this announcement, not only does he enable other teams to start considering him early for a new job, but he effectively draws attention away from the Giants’ next two games, which are bound to be losses. Future employers won’t dwell as much on the soon-to-be 8-game losing streak as they would have.
Defensive Overview: The Giants’ defense gave up 38 points and only forced New Orleans to punt once. Except for two big runs, the run defense was actually pretty sound and did a reasonable job of containing the talented Deuce McAllister for the most part. The problem was the horrendous pass defense that gave up over 300 yards passing and 5 touchdowns.
The problem with the pass defense was threefold: (1) the depleted secondary consisted of guys such as Frank Walker, Ike Charlton, and Kato Serwanga; (2) the pass rush was non-existent, and (3) the defensive schemes stink.
It’s hard for me to be overly harsh on the secondary as these guys are doing the best they can. In fact, even on most of the Saints’ big completions, the coverage was reasonable. But there was confusion due to a lack of experience and cohesiveness. And these guys were receiving no help from the front seven. QB Aaron Brooks had a nice, safe pass pocket all night from which to work. When a quarterback feels safe and secure, his confidence grows and he can make the kind of throws that Brooks did. A secondary’s best ally is a good pass rush, and for the Giants, there was none.
I can’t wait for this entire freaking defensive coaching staff to get canned. You have Mike Barrow covering Pro Bowl WR Joe Horn on one play, and Omar Stoutmire trying to stick with him by himself in some sort of crazy zone? The Giant blitzes fool no one.
Defensive Line: The run defense was mostly acceptable. One of the two big McAllister runs came on a draw play where Strahan and Griffin were stunting and the Saints caught these two in the stunt. The pass rush was extremely disappointing across the board. Only Lance Legree picked up a sack and that was late in the game. Brooks had all day to throw and was rarely pressured. William Joseph and Osi Umenyiora played quite a bit but did nothing.
Linebackers: The Saints took advantage of Mike Barrow and Dhani Jones in pass coverage. Both had problems with McAllister and TE Boo Williams. Jones’ instincts for the game are not very good as he is often in the wrong place (plus, I’m sick to death of his guitar celebration crap). I can’t tell for sure, but it seems to me that many of the breakdowns in coverage are mental mistakes on his part. Barrow missed at least three tackles. Brandon Short was flagged for tripping. No one gets there on the blitz.
Defensive Backs: Don’t get me wrong, most of these corners may not even be in the NFL next season and they certainly did not shine on Sunday night. But I put more of the blame on the non-existent pass rush than these inexperienced players or journeymen. On most of the big completions and touchdown completions, the coverage was decent. The problem was that Brooks was able to make picture-perfect throws because he was so comfortable in the pocket.
The Giants suffered a big loss early when Ralph Brown re-injured his shoulder on the long TD completion to Joe Horn early in the game. It was excellent coverage by Brown, but an even better throw and catch by the Saints. My biggest problem on the play was that Johnnie Harris was running around like headless chicken instead of helping out on the deep pass.
With Brown out, Ike Charlton, Frank Walker, and Kato Serwanga were the main characters at corner. Frank Walker sticks close to his man, but continues to play with poor technique (i.e., not looking back for the football). He got beat for one TD by Horn. Charlton made one play on the ball, but also gave up a couple of key first downs. WR Jerome Pathon scored a TD against an odd defense that had him surrounded (but not tightly covered) by three Giants (Charlton, Serwanga, and Harris). Serwanga made one nice play in coverage, but also gave up a key first down.
I have no idea what kind of defense the Giants were using when Omar Stoutmire was called upon to defend the entire middle of the field by himself against Joe Horn on the latter’s last TD reception.
Offensive Overview: I didn’t care for the play-calling at all. Fassel put far too much stress on his young quarterback and offensive line but continuing to run on first and second down and then passing on 3rd-and-long. The Giants should have passed on first down, when the Saints were looking for Tiki Barber runs.
Quarterback: Not as bad as I expected. Palmer managed the game fairly well and didn’t hurt his team with any costly mistakes or turnovers. A couple of the sacks were his fault as he held onto the ball too long. He kept his composure well on the flea flicker that picked up 39 yards and did a nice job on his 26-yard scramble. But he did get a little sloppy in the 3rd quarter. He missed Tyree deep on one play, almost had one pass picked and returned for a TD, and didn’t set his feet properly on a key 3rd down incompletion where he had time to make a more accurate throw. Palmer didn’t take many chances throwing the football down the field to his receivers.
Wide Receivers: Pretty sad. Toomer had 2 catches for 20 yards, Ponder 2 catches for 10 yards, and Tyree 1 catch for 39 yards. Toomer did make a spectacular catch from his knees.
Tight Ends: The good news is that Visanthe Shiancoe is finally getting involved in the passing game. He caught 3 passes for 19 yards and a touchdown, and looked pretty natural as a receiver for the first time all season. His blocking was mostly positive, though there was one play where the defensive end threw him aside to tackle the back for a loss. Shiancoe got flagged for a costly unsportsmanlike penalty when the Giants were deep in Saints territory.
Halfback: Barber officially fumbled once (Shiancoe recovered) and there was another play where a pass was ruled incomplete that could have been ruled a fumble. Obviously, this fumbling problem has gotten extremely serious and the Giants need to bring another quality back to training camp in case Tiki can’t shake this thing.
It’s tough to judge Tiki’s running ability with the hodge-podge offensive line, but he doesn’t seem as explosive as he has in the past. Is he slowing down a bit? Or is this a result of not been in sync with the blockers up front? Barber did make two super one-handed catches on passes thrown high and behind him. Barber did an excellent job in pass protection on one play where he took out the defensive end, but on another play, he allowed the blitzer to pressure Palmer.
Delvin Joyce fumbled the ball away late in the game. Most of Dorsey Levens’ yardage came when the Giants were attempting to run out the clock in order to prevent an even bigger embarrassment.
Offensive Line: It’s tough to be too harsh on this group. You’ve got a natural right tackle playing out of position at left tackle. You have a natural center (who was picked up off the street) playing out of position at left guard. And you have basically a rookie right tackle making only his second start.
Scott Peters had a rough time at left guard. He isn’t very big or strong and gets pushed around a lot. He got flagged for holding and whiffed on a block on a screen pass. Like last week, Ian Allen played pretty darn well in the first half, but then struggled a bit in the second half. He gave up some pressure, but given the fact that he is playing in the wrong spot, I think he has done an admirable job. His biggest mistake was missing his block on the end around right after the flea flicker. If he makes that block, the Giants may score and cut the Saints’ lead to 17-14. Allen also doesn’t look very athletic when pulling.
As expected, David Diehl and Chris Bober were the best of the group. I like the way Diehl plays in the open field on pulling efforts. I also liked the fact that Diehl and Bober came to the defense of Palmer when Jesse was hit on a play that was blown dead.
Jeff Hatch had his ups and downs. There were times when he looked good in pass protection. But he spent too much time on the ground, got run over on one play, and was confused by stunts. He also gave up a sack by getting cleanly beaten to the outside.
Special Teams: Special teams continues to lose games for the Giants. The blocked field goal was a 10-point swing, making the game 24-7 instead of 17-10. The entire center of the line collapsed on the play.
Brian Mitchell is not only not helping the Giants, but he is now hurting them. He field one punt inside his 10 yard line (a big-time no-no) and fumbled away a kickoff return, setting up another Saints’ TD.
On all kickoff and punt returns by both teams, you could see that it was the Saints who were playing with more emotion and aggressiveness. The Giants were beaten on way too many one-on-one blocking situations as the Saints simply wanted it more.
Wes Mallard was flagged with a dumb personal foul and was also flagged for a block in the back penalty.
Now That the Shoe Has Fallen
by BBI Reporter/Photographer David Oliver
We can begin to put this season to bed and do what we here at BBI do best; we can speculate ad nauseam about who will succeed Coach Fassel, who was really at fault for the Debacle of 2003, what defense have the Giants been playing and what might they play, and, of course, will Big Al and MIS return in 2004, which is a question more fundamentally pertinent to BBI. Although there has been a constant ebb and flow of members and contributors to this site, we have lost far too many valuable contributors as a result of premee rancor, communications failures and just plain ill-manners and tempers. Maybe in 2004, better DISCIPLINE will be exercised among the ranks here, as we are as badly in need of it as are the Giants.
So with this homily, I come not to bury Jim Fassel, but to reminisce over him, and maybe to sprinkle a little praise in with the criticisms. Why? Because he brought us a sense of belonging as no other Coach since Bill Parcells, even in the face of his own impotence in catching the Brass Ring, or is it the ONE RING, the Grail of football, the Lombardi Trophy. Having suffered through so many Coaches, with so many different approaches to the game, from Allie Sherman on up (I never suffered through Jim Lee Howell – who produced rugged teams, Champions or not), Jim Fassel won more than his share of games. First off, let me say that I was not a Fassel man when he was hired – I was and am, a Joe Bugel kind of guy. I thought he looked like Mr. Roberts than, as he does now, and he was associated with the ill-fated regime of Ray Handley, which was an abomination for all Giants’ fans.
For me there are ear-marks defining the bad times. Trading Sam Huff, cutting Pepper Johnson, screwing with Jessie Armistead and Jason Sehorn, these are the hot coals that stigmatize the search, my search, for that same Holy Grail of Championship, even though I don’t get a Ring, or a big salary. So Jim Fassel arrived on the scene, optimistic, almost effusive. He assembled a pretty good coaching staff around him, he befriended his players, and he made something out of nothing. He did it over and over again, even taking what was at the time referred to as the “worst team ever to reach the Super Bowl” to the Super Bowl. He did it by pushing all his chips to the middle of the table, almost by sheer force of his own will and personality. And it was a wonderful ride. For me, I will never forget that late afternoon on the field in the Meadowlands following the blistering of the Minnesota Vikings, when a couple of the younger players that I had befriended during the year came running up to me and threw their arms around my neck and thanked even me. All the days and nights in the cold, the money I had spent, the time away from family, all of these things coalesced in that hug on that field and I actually felt as a part of the Giants family. That was Jim Fassel’s team, and for that I will always remember him.
Of course, it was after the Detroit game that year, the game marked by Jason Sehorn running down the field clutching his slipping pants, the game after which Bashir Levinston was sacrificed on the altar of discipline, the game when both Eric and I suggested that the Giants needed a new Coach, it was after all these things that the Giants went on to the Super Bowl. And much of that encapsulated a darker side to Jim Fassel. He coached a team of peaks and valleys and we could never figure out which team it was. He treated some guys in unbelievably juvenile fashion, ie., Bashir, Joe Montgomery and recently Ron Dayne. It isn’t whether they are or were good players; it was the door or the pine treatment, the coldness which contradicted the otherwise warmth of a player’s Coach. But they are signs only of a growing process, I hope, and not of a flaw which will dog this Coach through the remainder of his career.
I will always remember him with that goofy straw hat at summer camp; his warm nature sitting and chatting when the pressure was off; the joy at finding his son. I will also remember how he didn’t want the photographers anywhere near the sidelines, even at inconsequential camp practices. The photographer part of me cannot understand what it is that grabs these guys the wrong way about a camera, but a pencil seems so central to their image. I will remember the very generous note I received from his wife after I sent her some photos of her Mom and Dad with her on their first visit to the Meadowlands. For a guy who hasn’t made a dime off football in many years, just the thought put the Fassels on a different plane.
It worked for 7 years; he is a multi-millionaire; he has had a good run. So there is no sense in being maudlin, certainly none in being vicious. I will remember Jim Fassel as one of the good guys. I wish him and his family, love, success and joy of being for the rest of their days.
Now, for me, it is also a soul-searching time. At the beginning of this year, I was told that “if we weren’t who we are, you wouldn’t be on the field,” (rough paraphrase). Just as Jim Fassel, I have known from the time I started covering football that this was the case. And I am eternally grateful to the Giants organization for being who they are. After all, if they weren’t, I would probably long ago have become a fan of some other organization. But I can’t tell you that it didn’t hurt, because it damn sure did. Some of you have been on this journey with me since I started here. You have gleaned a sense of who I am and what I did for the better part of my working career. I am a Professional; I have always been a Professional. I comport myself as a Professional and I expect to be recognized and treated as a Professional. That’s it. Nothing more. I am a thin-skinned SOB, who did some time in Thailand, Korea, Columbia, Egypt, the Soviet Union, France and Mexico – and it wasn’t always carrying a pen, or tape recorder, or wearing a suit. When something gets in my craw, it stays there. My wife says I never forget. I have always taken pain, internalized it, metabolized it and made it useful. Jim Fassel has 2 more games and then he moves on. I have one more game and, likewise, I am in serious consideration of moving on. There are, after all, places more rewarding than the sidelines.
The speculation as to who will succeed Jim Fassel is hot and heavy and I would like to throw in my .02 cents. The Giants must move fast to salvage next year. They do not have the luxury of waiting until deep in the playoffs to hire a Head Coach, who will have to assemble a staff, review this year’s coaching staff review of personnel, meet with the scouts and tell them what he needs or wants. I believe this precludes Charlie Weiss and Romeo Crennel. Weiss may be first choice, but timing dictates the Giants go elsewhere. This leaves 3 candidates: Coughlin, Saban and Schottenheimer. Tom Coughlin is available and ready to go. He probably knows who he wants on his staff and he has been looking at the Giants’ roster and tapes. He is a friend of the Maras. Saban has been successful at the College level, has Pro experience and will be done with his team shortly after the New Year. He will need more time to prepare than Coughlin, so he has little flexibility to negotiate. Schott is a personal favorite of EA; he will most likely be available within a week, if at all.
None are perfect. Only Bill Parcells and Dick Vermeil, among current Coaches, have shown an aptitude for winning in any place with any kind of team. Coughlin and Schottenheimer have reputations of being fossils, as opposed to Fassels. My own belief is that their personalities do not suit the modern game. Their past success has been just that, past success. Parcells, like Lombardi, could be a taskmaster and get away with it because there is a love of the game and their players that transcends age and style. Coughlin and Marty are technicians, what we used to refer to as green eye shade men. Either will take the Giants to Ground Zero and start again – too reminiscent of the parade that followed Allie Sherman. Saban is an unknown in this respect. My guess is that Tom Coughlin as next Coach will be as badly a kept secret as JimFassel’s moving on.
Lastly, a little discussion of the defense and what it needs. I have seen the playbook and it is larger than WAR AND PEACE. It is a playbook for a veteran team, a pre free-agency team. Whether it is read-and-react, passive aggressive, overly aggressive, it is a difficult playbook. I do not see a new Coach keeping it intact. It appears to be premised on stopping the big play, playing a very disciplined defense with knowledge of and trust in the performance of every member of the D. It is a defense designed to stop the offenses of the 70s and 80s, with some tweaking to account for the St. Louis Rams. It hasn’t worked. We needn’t concern ourselves as to whether it is read-and-react, or whatever it is called. Many players on other teams have told me it is a very aggressive defense. Many players on the Giants have told me it is a very difficult defense. My eyes tell me it is a defense that doesn’t work. I wish the next Coach luck in destroying the Maginot Manual of the current Giants’ defense.
The offense – well, the offense needs a line, and soon it will need a running back. I will have more to say about that in my finishing remarks after the last game.
For now, I wish you all a Happy and Joyous Holiday Season.