Prophetic Am I Not?
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Since I'm sure nobody's going to say it, at least openly yet, I'm going to. Tom Coughlin's gotta go.
After the utterly poor performance on Monday night in his homecoming at Jacksonville, I've had enough. Every NYG fan within reading distance of this thing should've had enough and simply put, there's too much talent on this team for them to be strug-ga-ling [to put a drunken Namath spin on this] the way they are. And don't give me any of that 'they're hampered by injuries' crap. That's why you draft players in April and sign folks, so they can be called upon at a moment's notice and play at a level befitting a pro. If you can't produce when your number's called, football's not your sport.
But back to the root of this matter, and that root is Coughlin. How in the HELL do you give your young QB of the Future [needs to be N-O-W] a "vote of confidence"? How's THAT supposed to help matters any? With the talent they have actively, on both sides of the ball, I can't see this team missing the playoffs. I can't. Not with Eli, Tiki in his last season, Plax and Shockey on offense. Not with Osi, Antonio and the rest on defense. Not with three games already in hand within the division that they are currently tied with the 'Boys on top of. The same Cowboys who were beaten on Monday night in Texas Stadium a few weeks ago, before these rash of injuries hit and all of a sudden, folks forgot how to win.
And allow me to be clear about something else too. Home field's not optional here, it's MANDATORY. Losing to the Bears and Seahawks was bad enough, because those are two head-to-head tiebreakers the Giants lose if they finish with the same record. So right now, third's about as high as they can finish and that guarantees them at least ONE home game before having to win a possible two on the road if they hope to finish in February in South Beach. But... I'm doubtful.
Hell, with Coughlin, I'm downright skeptical of this happening or even being a remote possibility.
People, think back to his days in Jacksonville. Remember how those teams of his were always good enough to get to the playoffs, but never good enough to get to the Super Bowl? Coughlin's been to two AFC Championship games, but never to the Big One. Know who has been to that Big Game? Jim Fassel.
I hear he isn't doing a whole lot with his time, ever since Brian Billick gave him his pink slip in Baltimore. Think that he wouldn't be able to get this team back to the Super Bowl with a much better QB and a vastly improved [when fully healthy] defense? Remember people, his colossal choke in San Fran aside, he got the Giants to the playoffs three out of the six years he was in NY.
It takes a certain kind of head coach to do this job in New York and Fassel did it. He did it with his infamous playoff guarantee in the 2000 campaign, he did it in his first year going undefeated in division play for the first time ever, something Coughlin could repeat if the Giants can pull everything back together in time. But Fassel got the Giants to the Super Bowl, which is the only thing that counts in the NFL. The Super Bowl.
It's no longer enough just to get a team to the playoffs. Ask Tony Dungy about that, hence why he was booted in Tampa. And in terms of Fassel doing a second tour of duty in the Big Apple, let me put this simply as such...if Art Shell can be given a second chance by Al Davis of all people, why can't Fassel be given another one? Especially when you consider how much success Fassel had in his first tour of duty as Giants head honcho.
Fact is, he shouldn't have been fired two years ago. Err, make that three seasons ago. But owners make knee-jerk decisions that they often time live to regret, as I'm sure they're quietly doing now with the present head coach rattling the confidence of an already unstable young QB by giving him the utterly dreaded "vote of confidence" in the media. You know no great, good or otherwise is going to come from this.
Eli is no Mark Brunell, Tom. This defense isn't anywhere near what Jacksonville's was in its heyday or even today for that matter. Tiki's a damn good upgrade over Freddy T and I'd like to think that Jeremy Shockey is a helluva boost up from Kyle Brady. Yes, Kyle BRADY.
But for the life of me, I can't figure out why you won't give it to Tiki more than 10 times in a game that had to be won. I can't figure out why you won't do what you can to get Shockey involved EARLY in a contest, to open em' up in the middle so that the deep stuff can come easier for Eli.
The talent's in place and there's a window of opportunity here that's more than easily accessible considering the fact that there's no true power in the NFC, no Colts, Patriots, or Chargers in sight to basically hold the conference hostage so to speak. The Bears are gonna be good for a while, but how long can that offense get by with Grossman playing the way he is? The only thing more unstable than his play is the weather and even the Weather Channel can't accurately predict things day to day.
Get the picture?
The Panthers... oy. As long as Steve Smith is healthy, they're probably the team to beat in that conference and I will say this on record, they're gonna end up winning the South.
Next?!
The Seahawks? Forgive me if I have no faith in a team that couldn't beat the 49ers. This is the San Francisco 49ers we're talking about here. We are talking about a defense that made Frank Gore look like Ricky "Running" Watters in his prime on Sunday. Uh, yeah, right.
Fassel Fuel is just what NYG is looking for. Trust me.
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