Game Review: Chicago Bears at New York Giants, November 7, 2004

Chicago Bears 28 – New York Giants 21

Game Overview: These kind of losses make me sick. I realize that teams all around the league have and will lose games like this, but it just seems like the Giants have more of them than others. It is absolutely unbelievable how the Giants lost this game. A penalty took one touchdown off the board that could have made the score 21-0. Up by 14 points, with six minutes left before halftime, the Giants allowed the Bears to score 20 points in those six minutes to take a 20-14 halftime lead. The bumbling, stumbling offense did nothing in the second half of the game despite the fact that the Bears gave the offense more than a few chances to redeem themselves. Just sickening.

The Giants are not good enough to seriously contend in the playoffs. And with QB Kurt Warner sure to leave in free agency next offseason, it doesn’t make a lot of sense for the Giants to waste the remainder of the season on Warner with Eli Manning sitting on the bench. It would if Warner was playing well, but he is not. And because of this, the Giants will not go far. Could Manning’s play be worse than Warner’s? Sure, he is a rookie and most rookie quarterbacks (Ben Roethlisberger aside) make dumb mistakes. Plus, the offensive line is now playing down to preseason expectations so Manning would be under duress. But if the Giants go into 2005 with Manning the starting quarterback, having seen no significant real playing time, the 2005 season will be another up-and-down mess. Keep in mind that players such as Tiki Barber, Amani Toomer, and Michael Strahan are getting older.

The Giants embarrassingly lost their second home game in three weeks to a bad football team because once again the team failed to abide by the “Coughlin Doctrine” – don’t turn the ball over, don’t commit dumb penalties, and be more physical than your opponent at the line of scrimmage. The Giants turned the ball over five times, committed 14 penalties for 109 yards, and the offensive line was pushed around by the Bears’ front seven.

Offense: How bad was it? The Giants only totaled 258 yards of offense. Kurt Warner was sacked 7 times, the most sacks the Giants have given up in a game since 1996. And the team turned the ball over five times. The Giants were impressive on their two touchdown scoring drives (both on short fields) in the first quarter. They also looked strong on the drive that should have resulted in another touchdown that quarter, but was erased due to a holding penalty. But aside from these three drives, the Giants did not gain another first down for the rest of the half. Worse, there were four turnovers (two fumbles, two interceptions) in the first half. The offensive ineptitude continued in the second half, as the Giants did not pick up another first down until late in the third quarter. And New York fumbled the ball away again. Most disconcerting was the Giants’ inability to pick up a first down on 2nd, 3rd-, and 4th-and-1. The Giants were an atrocious 1-of-14 on third down and 0-of-3 on fourth down. Their only successfully converted short-yardage play was a 3rd-and-1 that resulted in a touchdown. Barber was stuffed on consecutive 2nd-and-1 and 3-and-1 plays in the second quarter. He was stuffed on a 3rd-and-1 and 4th-and-1 in the third quarter. Even when the Giants passed on 3rd-and-1 it did not work as a Warner pass to FB Jim Finn was batted away by the defensive end and a 3rd-and-1 pass to Shockey fell incomplete on another 3rd-and-1. In other words, the Giants were 1-of-7 when they needed to get a yard. Give me a freaking break! When the Giants finally managed to put a drive together late in the game (aided by penalties on the Bears), they turned ball over on downs despite having a 1st-and-goal from the 2-yard line. Pathetic! And to rub even more salt in the wound, God decided to torment Giants’ fan even more by having New York recover the onsides kick with almost two minutes left in the game and only down by seven. The offense has a chance to save the day! What happens? Incomplete, sack, sack, incomplete. Way to go Giants!

Quarterback: Kurt Warner (18-of-36 for 195 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions, 2 fumbles) practically lost this game all by himself for his team. Warner’s fumbling problem is beyond ridiculous now. Late in the first quarter, on 3rd-and-13, Warner was given decent time in the pocket, but could find no one open (Coughlin says there was a receiver open on the play). For some reason, he thought he could run to his left away from trouble. This was a ridiculous decision on his part because Warner wasn’t going to have time to set up again after pulling the ball down and he certainly wasn’t going to run for the first down. Worse, by carrying the ball so loosely, he invited a turnover and that’s exactly what happened. Late in the second quarter, Warner threw two bad interceptions that handed the Bears six points. Indeed, the Giants were lucky it wasn’t 14 points. His first throw to Toomer was a tad high and into double-coverage. His second throw was way behind Shockey and easily intercepted. In the third quarter, the Giants’ defense forced a turnover and gave the ball to Warner and the offense at the Bears’ 18-yard line, but Warner fumbled the ball away again two plays later. That’s four turnovers. Game, set, match.

Aside from the turnover nightmare, it was still a mixed bag for Warner. He badly overthrew WR Amani Toomer on 3rd-and-11 on the Giants’ first offensive possession of the game. He did help to set up the next two scores with throws of 21 to Toomer, 6 to Shockey, and 20 to Shockey. He also hit Shockey again for 14 on the play preceding the touchdown run by Barber that was called back due to a penalty. In the second half, the Bears’ pass rush became a bigger factor and made life more difficult for Warner. He didn’t help the Giants’ cause with his second fumble and a false start. Coming off their goal line near the end of the third quarter, the Giants started to put a nice drive together with a big Barber run and then a real nice play by Warner on 2nd-and-17. Warner smartly moved to his left away from pressure and found Barber down the field for a 28-yard gain. But the drive stalled when the Giants couldn’t pick up a yard in two tries. Warner made an excellent throw to Toomer for 16 yards on the next drive despite tight coverage, but that drive stalled too. Trailing by 14 with seven and a half minutes to play, the Giants moved from their 36-yard line to the Bears’ 2-yard line. Warner made throws of 13 to Toomer (nice throw despite tight coverage), 18 to Barber on a screen pass, and 7 to Shockey. Warner had no chance on his next play as he was hit as he threw. Then, Warner’s intended pass to Hilliard was tipped at the line of scrimmage…this was a touchdown had the ball not been tipped. On 4th-and-3, Warner was pressured and threw a ball that was not near anyone. On the Giants’ last drive of the game, Warner’s first pass was incomplete as he tried to force the ball into Shockey despite triple coverage. Two sacks and another incomplete pass on 4th-and-20 ended the game.

Wide Receivers: It is unbelievable how unproductive the Giants’ wide receiving corps has become. Is it the style of offense? The quarterback? Overrated talent? Amani Toomer (2 catches for 34 yards) and Ike Hilliard (6 catches for 38 yards) still have not scored a touchdown this year. In fact, the only wide receiver to have scored a touchdown all season for the Giants (Tim Carter) was placed on Injured Reserve weeks ago!!! The Giants’ starting duo had 72 yards of offense against the Bears! Third wideout Jamaar Taylor didn’t have a catch. Not only did the starters not help their team, but they made things worse with horrible mistakes. Toomer was flagged with a holding call that began the meltdown. He was flagged for holding the cornerback on a 13-yard touchdown run by Barber. Instead of the game being 21-0, it is 14-0 and a few plays later Warner is turning the ball over for the first time. Hilliard, whose yards-per-catch totals this year look more like a tight end’s, set up the Bear’s second and tying touchdown with a fumble. He later fumbled again later in the game, but the Giants recovered that ball. I thought the illegal crackback block called on Hilliard was a terrible call as Hilliard hit the defender clearly from the front.

The good news is that the receivers continue to block well.

Running Backs: The day started off well for Tiki Barber (21 carries for 72 yards, 2 touchdowns; 4 catches for 59 yards) despite running into the back of his pulling guard on his first carry of the game. Barber scored on a 3rd-and-1 play off right tackle from the Bears’ 3-yard line midway through the first quarter. He scored on 1st-and-goal from the 1-yard line by bouncing the play outside on the next possession to make the score 14-0. On the very next drive, Barber broke off a 19-yard run off left tackle as he made the linebacker miss in the hole and showed some elusiveness down the field. Barber also did a nice job of reversing his field (this looked intended by the play design) on his 13-yard touchdown run that was called back. But things started to go south for him in the second quarter. After a 9-yard reception, he could not gain a yard on 2nd-and-1 and 3rd-and-1 and the Giants were forced to punt. Much of this had to do with the run blocking, but Barber has to try not to get too cute with his cuts in short yardage too (this is where not having a true short-yardage back hurts the Giants as Tiki can’t really push the pile). Barber also gave up a sack when the linebacker jumped over his attempted blitz pick-up. Barber looked weak again on a blitz pick-up on the play where Hilliard fumbled. To his credit, Barber saved a defensive touchdown by pushing the corner out of bounds on Warner’s first fumble.

In the second half, I once again thought Barber got too cute on a 3rd-and-1 effort. He abandoned his inside blocking to bounce the play outside, where there were a couple of unblocked Bears waiting for him. On New York’s next drive, two Barber runs of 7 yards sandwiched a false start penalty by Warner. On 3rd-and-1, Warner’s pass intended for Jim Finn was deflected by the defensive end. I did not like the play design as Barber was called upon to block the end by himself…that’s nuts. Tiki broke off a huge run on the next series. Starting at their own 1-yard line, Barber squeezed through the line of scrimmage en route to a 21-yard gain that for a second looked like it might go for 99 yards. Three plays later, Tiki caught a 28-yard pass down the field as on 2nd-and-17. However, the drive once again stalled as Barber was unable to gain a yard on 4th-and-1. After the Bears took a 28-14 lead, the Giants ran a screen play to Barber that was poorly blocked. Nevertheless, Barber was able to break off an 18-yard gain with some great running after the reception.

Jim Finn did a fine job with his lead blocking and blitz pick-ups. Finn made a very good block on both of Tiki’s touchdown runs and the 19-yard run in the first quarter. Mike Cloud had a nice cutback run of 13 yards late in the third quarter.

Tight Ends: It looked like it was going to be a really big receiving day for Jeremy Shockey (6 catches for 64 yards, 1 touchdown) as he was very active in the passing game early with four passes thrown in his direction in the first quarter, three of them being completed including 20-yarder that put the ball at the Chicago one-yard line. Shockey’s blocking was strong early too. Like Finn, he got good blocks on both of Barber’s touchdown runs. But Shockey also badly missed a block on the linebacker on a Mike Cloud run that lost one yard. In the second half, Shockey was flagged with an obvious holding call on a screen pass. A 3rd-and-10 pass by Warner fell incomplete as Warner was hit as he threw when Shockey could not handle DE Adewale Ogunleye’s pass rush. Jeremy had a 16-yard reception in the fourth quarter and a 1-yard touchdown catch where he did a good job of selling the play-action fake with his block.

Visanthe Shiancoe got two excellent blocks on Barber’s 21-yard gain off the goal line, taking out two Bear defenders.

Offensive Line: The weird thing about the offensive line is that they are regressing as the season progresses, rather than getting stronger as expected. Both run and pass blocking were far too inconsistent on Sunday. The Giants gave up seven sacks (one of which was a coverage sack and another was the fault of Tiki Barber). Five sacks is way too much as is the pressure on plays where Warner is not sacked. For example, on the Giants’ first play of the game, the defensive tackle split a double-team block by LG Jason Whittle and OC Wayne Lucier to pressure and hit Warner. On first play of the next possession, a strong safety blitz came free to smash Warner just as he was releasing the ball. The pass protection by the offensive line then settled down until midway through the second quarter. A double-team by Lucier and RG Chris Snee was split and Diehl gave up a pressure all on the same play, forcing Warner to scramble for a 3-yard gain. LT Luke Petitgout failed to chip the end before going out to block on a screen, causing the ball to be tipped. Then Petitgout got beat to the outside as Whittle lost his man inside and a sack resulted.

The pass protection got worse in the second half. Despite completing a 9-yard pass to Hilliard, Whittle was pushed back into Warner’s face by the defensive tackle. A drive that started at the Bear’s 18-yard line ended prematurely when Petitgout gave up another sack to DE Alex Brown. Warner fumbled the ball away on this play, but the turnover was really Petitgout’s fault as Warner was in the act of throwing after stepping up into the pocket away from Brown. On the next possession, Snee was cleanly beat for a sack. Diehl gave up a pressure to Ogunleye on a play Warner was clobbered as he threw. Later in the drive, Warner was hit again as he threw as the Bears’ blitzer timed his blitz perfectly to beat the blocking scheme. The low-point of the day for the offensive line was the Giants’ final possession when they had a chance to tie the game after recovering the onsides kick. On 2nd-and-10, Diehl was beat by Ogunleye for a sack. On 3rd-and-10, Lucier was driven back into Warner’s face, causing another sack. Then on 4th-and-20, Warner was pressured again as Snee and Lucier lazily let the defensive tackle split their double team. Embarrassing! Kudos to Brandon Winey for filling in ably in a pinch for the injured Luke Petitgout in the second half.

The run blocking was solid early. Diehl and Whittle got good blocks on Tiki’s first touchdown run. On the 19-yard gain by Barber, Petitgout made a real nice block at the point-of-attack as Snee got a good downfield block. And Petitgout took out two defenders on Barber’s 13-yard touchdown run that was called back. But short-yardage run blocking became a nightmare starting in the second quarter. The Giants sent Barber up the gut on back-to-back 2nd-and-1 and 3rd-and-1 running plays and got stuffed. On one of these plays, the defensive tackle shoved Lucier into the backfield, disrupting the entire play. Late in the second quarter, a left-side sweep lost three yards as Petitgout was embarrassingly shoved into the backfield and his man made the tackle. In the second half, Petitgout got a good block on Barber’s 21-yard gain off the goal line. But a couple of plays later, Whittle couldn’t get to LB Brian Urlacher as Urlacher tackled Cloud for a 1-yard loss. Snee then made a nice block on Cloud’s 13-yard gain, but Barber couldn’t pick up the first down on 4th-and-1 when Lucier got pushed back by the tackle again. On the next series, Diehl and Snee got good blocks on a Barber run of 5 yards, but Winey couldn’t make his block on a blitzer and Barber was tackled for no gain. Lucier didn’t do a very good job of blocking in the open field on Barber’s 18-yard screen pass.

Penalties were again a problem. Snee was flagged with two false starts, including a killer one down on the goal line late in the game. So did David Diehl in the same situation. These two penalties help to turn a 1st-and-goal from the 2-yard line situation into a 2nd-and-goal from the 10-yard line. Inexcusable! Petitgout was flagged with an illegal formation penalty by not lining up on the line of scrimmage.

Defense: While the defense gave up some big plays that contributed to the loss, they played pretty well for the most part. Chicago only managed 231 yards of offense, 27 yards less than the Giants. And the Bears picked up only 13 first downs in the game (2 less than the Giants) and had to punt the ball away an astounding 10 times. The Bears only completed 8 passes, but there were some big completions in those eight. This game could have been a lot worse for the Giants had the defense not made a couple of goal line stands. The Bears sole first down on their first seven possessions came as the result of a penalty. But the Giants then gave up a cheap touchdown as for some reason Nick Greisen was called upon to cover a wide receiver over the intermediate middle on one play and then CB Will Allen lost the ball in the lights for a 35-yard touchdown reception. The other big play given up was a 41-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Defensive Line: It’s ironic that the Giants lost Strahan (4 tackles, 1 sack) in a game that was probably the best he has had all season. Strahan not only beat the tight end for a sack, but he had a number of quick pressures on QB Craig Krenzel before he left the game with a season-ending injury in the third quarter. Strahan was very stout against the run too. Strahan caused the Bears’ second turnover of the day when he sniffed out the swing pass to the running back and his presence caused the back to drop what was ruled a lateral. On the next series, Strahan got injured on a running play where he over-pursued the back in the hole and reached back in an attempt to tackle him. The Giants lost DE Keith Washington (1 tackle) for the season too; he will be missed for his run defense. Lance Legree played the rest of the game at strongside end and I thought played pretty well as a run defender, disrupting a few Bear runs in his direction.

Fred Robbins (6 tackles, 2 sacks) played an excellent game not just as a pass rusher (he had a few other pressures asides from his two sacks), but as a run defender too where he made a few penetrations into the backfield. Norman Hand (1 tackle) helped to gum things up inside and had a sack taken away from him because of a defensive penalty on MLB Kevin Lewis. He also got a good pressure in the second half of game on one play.

Osi Umenyiora (3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery) had more of a mixed day. His first big play was the fumble recovery and return of 15 yards when Krenzel was sacked by SS Gibril Wilson. I spotted Umenyiora getting a good pass rush on Krenzel on one play in the second quarter. However, Umenyiora got easily walled off on HB Anthony Thomas’ 4-yard touchdown run around left end that tied the score at 14-14. And the Bears were able to run at Umenyiora some in the second half of the game. Osi was still a factor on the pass rush. He tipped away one 3rd-and-3 pass as he rushed from the linebacker spot in the 3-4. Then he kept the Bears out of field goal range with his 9-yard sack from the right end position. On this play, he beat the tackle to the inside (a couple of Osi’s sacks this year have been from an inside move that he has now added to his pass rush arsenal). However, Umenyiora lost contain on Krenzel’s 2-yard conversion attempt off a naked bootleg.

Linebackers: I thought the linebackers played fairly well and I thought this was SLB Carlos Emmons’ (7 tackles) best game of the season. Not just because of the tackle total, but because he was tough at the point-of-attack this week. He also got some pressure on the blitz.

WLB Nick Greisen (8 tackles) is much more stout at the point-of-attack than Barrett Green and Greisen also knocked away two of Krenzel’s passes. For some reason, the Giants got caught in a defense where Greisen had to cover WR David Terrell out of the slot over the intermediate middle of the field. This resulted in a 28 yard pass play on 1-and-20 and set up the Bears’ first score at a time when the Bears had not been able to pick up one first down on their own in seven possessions. Bad mistake by the defensive coaching staff. I also didn’t like the defensive line-up on Thomas’ four-yard TD run off left tackle as all of the defenders seemed to be bunched inside, including Greisen.

Kevin Lewis (8 tackles) was active, but he was flagged with a costly illegal contact penalty on a play where Hand had sacked Krenzel. Instead of it being 2nd-and-goal from the 10, the penalty made it 1st-and-goal from the 4-yard line and the Bears scored on the next play. He was handled some at the point of attack, but he also did a nice job on one run by fighting through a block and making the tackle.

Someone screwed up by letting Anthony Thomas get wide open for a 21-yard gain after the big Bears’ punt return. Luckily for the Giants, the Bears were flagged with an illegal formation penalty on the play.

Reggie Torbor saw time both at linebacker and defensive end. As an end, he got easily blocked inside on Thomas’ game-breaking 41-yard touchdown run.

Defensive Backs: Krenzel only completed 8-of-21 passes so the pass defense was very good for most of the game. However, there were a couple of major mistakes that ultimately proved costly.

Will Allen was playing an exceptional game until the 35-yard touchdown over his head. He had knocked away a 3rd-and-6 pass on the Bears’ first possession, a 3rd-and-5 pass later in the first quarter, and a 3rd-and-10 pass in the second quarter. He was step for step with WR Bernard Berrian on a deep pass into the end zone in with five and half minutes left in the second quarter, but Allen lost the ball in the lights despite having perfect position. A touchdown resulted on an excellent throw by Krenzel. I believe Allen’s excuse on this play because of his reaction during and after the play. He was right there to make the play – he just didn’t see the ball. Allen was very sound pass coverage in the second half of the game except for one play where he stumbled on a slant and gave up a 9-yard completion to WR David Terrell on 3rd-and-3. He knocked another pass away earlier in half.

The other big mistake by the pass defense (other than having Greisen cover Terrell) was the complete breakdown in the secondary by letting WR Bobby Wade get wide open down the seam for 33 yards very late in the second quarter. This set up the Bears’ final field goal before halftime. Someone screwed up big time.

Will Peterson played a strong game again. He knocked away two attempted fade passes to Terrell in the first half. However, Peterson got beat by Terrell for a 20-yard completion two plays before the 41-yard run by Thomas.

CB Frank Walker is very aggressive, but he has to be careful. He is lucky he did not get flagged for an obvious pass interference penalty and he still tends to play the man rather than the ball. Walker did a good job of keeping Krenzel short of the first down on a quarterback scramble to the right on 3rd-and-4.

Gibril Wilson (9 tackles, 1 sack) both helped and hurt his team this week. He made a nice play on the fullback in the flat in the first quarter. But he gave the Bears their only first down in their first seven possessions with a stupid holding penalty on 2nd-and-37. On the next series, Wilson sacked and forced a fumble that the Giants recovered, setting up New York’s second touchdown. But Wilson made another dumb penalty when he was flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty after Krenzel started his slide. This put the ball at the Giants’ 8-yard line and the Bears scored two plays later. Wilson did make a nice tackle on the halfback on the goal line for a 1-yard loss on the Bears’ final red zone opportunity of the first half. In the second half, Wilson had nice coverage on the tight end over the middle on 3rd-and-25. But perhaps the biggest mistake the defense made all game was by Wilson in the fourth quarter. Blitzing from the weakside, Gibril had a free shot at Thomas in the backfield on the latter’s 41-yard touchdown run. Wilson overran the play and both Will Allen and FS Brent Alexander took the wrong angle in pursuit down the field.

Special Teams: Jeff Feagles punted seven for 38.7 yards-per-punt average in very windy conditions. His punts went 44 (downed by Jim Maxwell), 25 (out of bounds), 37 (downed by Jack Brewer), 41 (return of 8, tackle by Mike Cloud), 26 (out of bounds), 49 (return of 30, tackle by Marcellus Rivers), and 49 (return of 5, tackle by Rivers). Obviously, Feagles had problems kicking into the wind. And not only did the Giants give up a 30-yard return, but Rivers was flagged with a 15-yard face mask penalty on the play. On the punt downed by Maxwell, David Tyree did a great job of keeping the ball out of the endzone by batting it back into the field of play.

Steve Christie’s kickoffs landed at the 3 (8 yard return, tackle by Frank Walker), out of bounds, and endzone (return of 19, tackle by Nick Greisen and Reggie Torbor). Obviously, the kick out of bounds was not good. However, the Giants did manage to recover the onsides kickoff late in the game (kudos to Jack Brewer on this play).

The Giants’ return game showed flashes of life. Willie Ponder’s returns went for 24, 22, 86, 38, and 33 yards. On the 86-yard return, Kevin Lewis was flagged for a non-existent holding penalty…a terrible call by the officials. Ron Dayne made a real nice block on one return.

Mark Jones’ punt returns went for 13, 3, and 29 yards. The latter return helped to set up the Giants’ final touchdown of the game by putting the ball at the Bears’ 11-yard line. Jones was flagged with an invalid fair catch signal (I thought this was a good call despite what Coughlin said). Curtis Deloatch needs to block the opposing gunner better; he let his guy run free twice.

Sometimes Words Just Fail

by David Oliver

This has been a difficult team to watch and assess. As a believer in the Parcellian adage, you are what the record says you are, I have to look at 5-and-3 and come away quite happy. I am happy because I believed after the Eagles game that if the Giants did not beat the Redskins they could go winless. I also believed that the Redskins would be the best match up for victory, and the Giants came through. They then beat a couple of decent opponents rather handily, and were streaking towards the playoffs. Along came the Bears, a team with a very good defense, and they defeated a somewhat listless Giants team that for one quarter looked like a Super Bowl contender. They were not only beaten on the scoreboard, but received a physical beating as well. I don’t know what the Bears locker looked like, but losing both starting defensive ends, leaving the field with a bruised starting RB, having a QB who was hit more times than William Joseph has hit a tackling dummy, and watching the antics of a Coach throw his clipboard onto the field on the dead run, but with no greater accuracy than his QB, left me very edgy.

Nevertheless hope springs eternal, and running into Hope J at the Pilot put a mellowing touch on a bad day. So here are a few observations.

• There appears to be some flutter in the learning process of the offensive coordinators and play callers. Trying, once again, to make Ron Dayne into a power back, after a spring and summer of observation, is just plain dumb. That move alone gives me pause about this offensive system. Dayne is not, and never has been, a power runner. What would I do? One of three things: split him out, or send him out into the flat, and throw him flare passes; go out and get a monster FB who would lead him into the hole; or trade him to a team like the Steelers who actually have O-Linemen who can power block.

• Next up is to use Shockey as the weapon we know he is. Shank is the blocking TE. Keeping Shock in to protect the QB is a waste of one of the two offensive weapons the Giants have. Shockey cannot even be used as a block and release TE – just send him into the seam and let him bull over the LBs and CBs.

• Recognize that for whatever reason, Toomer and Ike are no longer significant in this offense. Whether it is chemistry with Warner, or age finally catching up, our wideouts are ineffective. Solution – use Jamaar Taylor more, in conjunction with Shockey. Warner seemed to have developed a nice rapport with Carter, oh, well, all-promise and all-IR Carter. Such is life.

• Playcalling is erratic. This was to be expected with a rookie offensive coordinator, but it getting to be crunch time, so let’s get this straightened out.

• Final observation: Kurt Warner is a once and possibly future great QB. But not in this system unless corrections are made. Yes, he holds the ball too long, but I disagree with some of the observers in The Corner Forum that his receivers are open all over the field. They are not, and mostly he doesn’t have time to find them. A good friend called me this week to advocate playing Eli. I argued it would be a terrible move right now, not because I am concerned with Eli’s psyche, but I am concerned over his body. Warner is getting killed. Eli would get killed. My friend argues that everyone would play better. I contend that most are maxed out. We have a very young right side of the line, and a jerry built and injured left side. Wait until December, when there are some winnable games, then get Eli into the mix.

The defense is quiet and steady. The entire unit has been playing inspired ball. But it will now be tested. Osi is ready to step up and in, so there won’t be a drop off on that side, maybe even an improvement. No one can come in and replace Strahan. It is going to be an interesting three weeks.

Arizona has a solid defense. For a number of reasons, I believe that the Giants will lose the next three games, but I also believe that they will win at least four in December as they match up better against the Redskins, the Ravens, the Bengals, and the Cowboys.

I talked to some linebackers Sunday night – Jim Maxwell, Reggie Torbor, and Kevin Lewis. It was interesting watching the locker dynamics as the herd (TV and main media) finally has discovered Kevin Lewis. I teased him about my needing to make an appointment to talk with him, and he laughed as he asked me, “Yeah, where have they been for the past few years?” Kevin is now the leader of the D, as the guy who calls the plays and sets the formations. Although disappointed in the outcome of the game, he said, “From a players’ standpoint, it is one play at a time…you win or lose on every play…when they break one for 100 yards, you have to erase the play.” I told him he sounded like a cornerback, known for their short memories. He said, “I have to be because I have to direct them on the next play…I just say I’ll get him next time.” We discussed his play and his role and I asked him if he was satisfied with his play. He told me he would never think he played a great game and that “when I make a bad play, I come down on myself.” He told me he is in control of the defense, and that “when I am calling plays, if I’m excited, they might panic. I have to be the same guy all the time.” He said if he gets excited or disappointed on a play, he has to let it go quick. This, he said, was the most important thing he has learned this year. We discussed the bond being formed by the linebackers and by the entire 11-man squad. They start in March and continue through the summer, “but” he said, “until the real bullets start flying, you don’t really know guys.” I asked him who he though was the biggest surprise on defense and it should come as no surprise to realize that he said, “Gibril Wilson, to come in as a rookie, making plays, putting in the time,” and he told me the older guys were taking him under their wings. As Kevin said, Gibril “is ready to play.”

I talked a little to Jim Maxwell about his journey from Gardner-Webb to the pros. He told me he went to Gardner as a 6’3″, 185-pound quarterback and came out some 40 pounds of muscle heavier as a LB. The Giants would like him to add a little weight, but only if he keeps his speed, so he told me he would spend the off-season in the weight room, but he would focus on still running. He’s on special teams now, and although he’d love to get in some defense, he’s willing to do his job. He did play some specials in college, but he was mostly saved because of his full-time defensive role. I asked him to highlight the transition process for me and he said, like everyone, that it “is a faster game.” He went on to bullet the next most important things, which for him, include, “everybody is looking for that certain match-up; there is a lot of class room, all day here in the morning, learning and all that.” I asked him about Defensive Coordinator Tim Lewis and Linebackers Coach Billy Davis and he told me that Lewis was very involved in the meetings, “that he knows his stuff, gets results…supervises in the meetings.” He also told me that there was a steep learning curve in this system and that he likes the system. He finished by telling me that every game he realizes, “I haven’t seen that yet; every day, it’s learning something different.”

Finally, Reggie Torbor told me that Sunday was frustrating as the team felt they were fighting back, “fighting against the clock; ran out of time.” The Bears, he said, “made some plays, made more plays than we did.” But he said, the attitude is “not to let it happen again. Come here tomorrow, watch the tapes and correct the mistakes.” I asked him if guys were trying too hard to make individual plays and he told me, “Everyone breaks the huddle saying don’t take this play for granted.” His attitude is, “Face it, correct it,” but he mostly summed it up pretty well when he said, “It just didn’t happen tonight.”

No it didn’t.

(Box Score – Chicago Bears at New York Giants, November 7, 2004)