Eli Manning

The New England Patriots came out with strong defensive pressure, sacking Eli Manning twice on New York’s first drive and forcing a punt to give Brady the ball. Tom took that opening possession, dropped back to throw from his own endzone, and let a deep ball fly to absolutely no one while the Giants closed in for the hit. That correctly drew an intentional grounding flag, which from the endzone is grounds for a safety. So the Giants jumped to an early 2-0 lead and we were all flabbergasted.

Continue reading "The Final Drive: Super Bowl XLVI"

ts have the advantage in each of these match-ups, Edelman against Manningham is the most one-sided. Eli Manning is going to know when Edelman has one-on-one duty at any given moment and should exploit that advantage to its fullest. Don’t be surprised to see Manningham have a huge day in the slot.

Continue reading "The Opening Drive: Super Bowl XLVI"

s are up in the rotation!

In a season overshadowed by historic quarterback performances, Eli Manning has quietly had his best year as a Pro. Having found the consistency needed to be an elite quarterback; Manning rose to become one of the best in the league in 2011. While Rodgers and Brees were setting records in the NFC, only Manning has a chance to walk away with his second ring. He managed to pull a complete 180 from his 25 interception-fest in 2010 (which no one seems to be talking about).  In the playoffs, Eli proved his mettle with a warrior’s feat against the Niners, who put vicious hits on him time after time. The fact that Manning kept taking those haymakers while throwing 58 passes is nothing at which to sneer. Forgetting all the talk of rising above his brother, Eli has a chance to join a very select group of quarterbacks with two Super Bowl wins. To get there, he’ll need some help…

Continue reading "Breaking Down the Bowl: New York Giants"

Just as impressive was Jim Harbaugh’s defense, which sacked Eli Manning six times and really put the screws to Brandon Jacobs. They were exposed in the secondary by Victor Cruz, but what team hasn’t?

Continue reading "The Final Drive: 2012 Conference ..."

With the AFC spot in the Super Bowl currently being decided, the possible NFC participants are anxiously awaiting their turn in the national spotlight. And by national spotlight, of course I mean The Opening Drive!  

Continue reading "The Opening Drive: 2012 NFC Championship"

It’s not their fault it didn’t help. It's probably Eli Manning's fault. Manning had all day to throw and find the open targets, which were many.

As my buddy Joe (Packer fan) tweeted at me after his team's effort : That's GB's MO all season. "You've got wide receivers on your team? Here. Have 10 yards cushion."

Continue reading "The Final Drive: 2012 Divisional Round"

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For the visiting Giants, their offense needs to remain balanced as it was against the Falcons. Eli Manning’s been spot-on this season thanks to excellent play from Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks, but he’s at his best when he can exploit a defense with the play-action pass. To do that, Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw are going to need to show up again this week. As many yards as the Packer defense has given up this year, you don’t want force throws against Charles Woodson and Tramon Williams. (At least I sure as hell don’t.) The Odds:

Continue reading "The Opening Drive: 2012 Divisional Sunday"

John Abraham needs to have a big day.

Eli Manning may have just completed his best season as a professional quarterback. It came at a great time too, as the Giants wouldn’t have even been competitive this season without Manning’s heroics. Their running game hasn’t been as dominant as in years past, which is a direct result of the decline of their offensive line. Still, Manning’s put up points this year thanks to a stellar receiving crew, fronted by Victor Cruz, who looks like most explosive receiver in the game. On defense, the Giants are weak in the secondary, but those deficiencies are masked by the outstanding play of the defensive line. They still have Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora, but the emergence of Jason Pierre-Paul this year has really elevated their chances this postseason. Their front four has the type of talent they had when they won the Super Bowl and is a key to beating these high-powered offenses.The Odds:

Continue reading "The Opening Drive: 2012 Wildcard Sunday"

ork Giants

They’ll need to be with the way they just missed out on the playoffs last year. Eli Manning can’t drop another 25 interceptions if Tom Coughlin hopes for a different outcome in 2011. Look for them to run the ball with more persistency from Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs, but I’m not sold on the wholesale changes they made on the offensive line. Will Beatty is nowhere near a premiere left tackle and David Baas must anchor as the replacement for longtime mainstay Rich Seubert at center. Stemming from the way they looked in the preseason, the Giants seem to be back to their typical pass-rushing shelves. Unfortunately, with their depth at corner stripped away by injuries, the Giants will be forced into too many shoot-outs to hold up over the entire year. They’ll be on the outside looking in again.

Continue reading "Joe's 2011 NFL Season Preview: The NFC East"

en Bay Monday night at Soldier Field, the Chicago Bears head to New York on Sunday night to take on Eli Manning and the struggling Giants. Can the Bears make it to 4-0 or will the Giants rebound at home? Get your Gameday Preview on here!

Continue reading "Joe's Gameday Preview: Bears at Giants"

If Eli Manning can stop throwing ridiculous interceptions sometime soon, maybe the Giants can keep up in the NFC East. I mean, someone's knocking...

(1-2) Dallas Cowboys 27
(2-1) Houston Texans 13

Continue reading "Joe's Final Drive: Week 3"

 

Week three is here y'all! We have some great division games on the docket and a few 0-2 teams that desperately need to dig out of their hole. Here are the games to watch this Sunday!

(1-1) Tennessee Titans at

Continue reading "Joe's NFL Opening Drive: Week 3"

Week two is in the books and that means it's time for a Final Drive! What teams surprisingly fell to 0-2 and which ones made the 2-0 leap! Let's get it on!

(2-0) Pittsburgh Steelers 19
(1-1) Tennessee Titans 11

Continue reading "Joe's Final Drive: Week 2"

ow-up in three...two...one. 

(1-0) New York Giants 31
(0-1) Carolina Panthers 18

Well Eli Manning threw three touchdowns... but he also threw three interceptions. Lucky for him Panthers starter Matt Moore threw only one TD and three picks, looking like the late-round pick he is. While their rushing stats weren't great, the Giants stuck with the run, handing it to Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs 32 times. Also, if you hadn't noticed, Giants WR Hakeem Nicks is a red zone beast. Catching three touchdowns out of only four receptions proves it. 

Continue reading "Joe's Final Drive: Week 1"

emoved from their magical Super Bowl win, the New York Giants have lost their grip on the NFC East. Eli Manning is a good quarterback but isn't likely to ever be a great one. Bruising RB Brandon Jacobs doesn't have the same speed anymore and has trouble staying healthy. He's partnered with Ahmad Bradshaw, who without question still has the jets. If only their offensive line was as durable as it used to be.  Injuries across the line are cause for concern for a Tom Coughlin coached squad, as the man likes his football ran. Fortunately, he does have a nice core of young receivers that can make plays down the field. Hakeem Nicks is an up-and-comer in his second season and Steve Smith moves the chains. That's not even mentioning Mario Manningham and tight end Kevin Boss, who caught 57 and 42 passes last year, respectively.

Continue reading "Joe's NFL 2010 Season Preview: NFC East"

They've strayed from the running game and Eli Manning has turned the ball over with regularity. Atlanta's Matt Ryan is in a similar boat, with more interceptions through nine games this season that he had all of his rookie year. Whoever loses will almost certainly miss the postseason.

Continue reading "Joe's Opening Drive: Week 11"

He didn’t even ask the third-highest paid player in the league (Eli Manning) to make a throw that could put the game out of reach for the threatening Chargers. Instead of going for the win, Coughlin settled for three points. He then watched Philip Rivers march his squad down the field with ease with no timeouts or opposition. That’s how you run a 2-minute offense.

Continue reading "Joe's Final Drive: Week 9"

He didn’t even ask the third-highest paid player in the league (Eli Manning) to make a throw that could put the game out of reach for the threatening Chargers. Instead of going for the win, Coughlin settled for three points. He then watched Philip Rivers march his squad down the field with ease with no timeouts or opposition. That’s how you run a 2-minute offense.

Continue reading "Joe's Final Drive: Week 9"

hilip Rivers faces off against the man who forced his way out of San Diego on draft day in a trade. Eli Manning’s Giants are stumbling but have the bonus of a bye next week. Tom Coughlin will have his team ready to play in front of their home crowd.

Continue reading "Joe's Opening Drive: Week 9"

The Titans and Rams each found their first wins, another team fell from the undefeated ranks and both New York squads lost key division games. By the way, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning are pretty good. *cough*Favre won*cough* Let’s wrap the week eight in the NFL with the Final Drive!

Continue reading "Joe's Final Drive: Week 8"

ighty hold (as much as it could have been a few week s in) on the NFC East is slowly slipping away. Eli Manning hasn’t played his best football lately and the only players Philly fans treat worse than their own quarterbacks are division rival quarterbacks. (I said it.) Tough stage for Eli, but he’s a Manning. They find a way. Meanwhile the Eagles and Cowboys are both 4-2 and salivating for a G-men loss.  Despite beating the “not ready for primetime” Redskins, the Eagles were sloppy and out of sync on Monday night. They need to bring it to take out the Giants and lay claim to first place. 

Continue reading "Joe’s NFL Opening Drive: Week 8"

Arizona’s pressure on Eli Manning produced three sacks and five hits, causing three costly interceptions from the Giants QB. Even after two straight losses to good teams, the Giants are still in charge of their division. Nothing to panic about… yet. The Cardinals have finally regained their NFC champion composure in spite of an ankle injury to Anquan Boldin. Coupled with the Niners’ loss, the Cards have sole possession of first place. 

Continue reading "Joe's Final Drive: Week 7"

r this one, so Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston need to pick up the slack in the receiver corps. Eli Manning and his Giants are looking to take out their anger after being embarrassed by the Saints in week six. Whichever defense can create the most QB pressure will win the game for their squad. My fake money’s on the Giants. 

Continue reading "Joe's Opening Drive: Week 7"

With a busier schedule than normal, the Opening Drive was relegated to Sunday morning! Here’s my quick takes on some of the weekend’s NFL match-ups. 

(3-2) Baltimore Ravens at (5-0) Minnesota Vikings In one of the better match-ups of the weekend, Brett Favre and the undefeated Vikes get their toughest challenge to date when the surely fuming Ravens come to town. I don’t know if I can imagine that team after losing three straight. I’d be scared. Still, Minnesota has a stout defense of its own. Favre and Joe Flacco need to protect the ball because each offense excels at cashing in on turnovers. Man I hope the Ravens win. 

Continue reading "Joe's Opening Drive: Week 6"

Still, when you run for 251 yards, you should win. But Eli Manning and the Giants calmly came back and got the field goal to win it. He’s shaping up to be an elite QB.

(2-0) Indianapolis Colts   27

Continue reading "Joe's Final Drive: Week 2"

Week one of the 2009 NFL season is in the books. Filled with injuries, blowouts and a dramatic ending out in Cincinnati, let’s take a look around the league in this first edition of the Final Drive!

Continue reading "Joe's Final Drive: Week 1"

n could be the bottom-feeder in the NFC East.

After losing his best and biggest target to prison, Eli Manning and his massive contract will have to throw to a “wide receiver by committee” in New York. Now that Osi Umenyiora is back on defense, the pressure will be put on Campbell in this season opener. The Giants could be primed for the postseason, but they have an uphill battle awaiting them.

Continue reading "Joe's Opening Drive: Week 1"

Kevin Payne deflected a key third-down throw by Eli Manning, showing off some new pass coverage skills.

Still a weak against power running backs, the Bears had trouble bringing down Brandon Jacobs. Brian Urlacher himself was shed by the bruiser on at least two occasions, not getting low enough to bring him down. Despite these mishaps, the defense showed tremendous improvement from the Buffalo game. They made

Continue reading "Cutler and Bears Dominate Giants"

 

The crystal ball had a dreadful performance this past week, posting a woeful 1-3 record.  This is playoff time, so that is totally unacceptable!  The crystal ball started off 1-0, but then dropped its last three for the weekend!  Anyway, that puts the crystal ball at 3-5 for the post-season, and 36-31-1 overall.  That’s five games over .500 (.537 to be exact).  Hopefully the crystal ball will perform better this coming week, as the pressure mounts in the Championship games!  Let’s take a look back, and review what happened last week.    

Continue reading "Divisional Round Review"

 

           Each week, I will look into my (never wrong, just misinformed) crystal ball and give my predictions for that weekend’s games.  I will prognosticate on all the playoff games each week.  Keep in mind, that this is for entertainment purposes only, and that I do not endorse any sort of legal or illegal gambling.  That being said…let’s see what’s in my crystal ball!  

Continue reading "Predictions Divisional Round"

32 teams, 7 rounds and nothing.  Romo didn’t come out of college with the pedigree of an Eli Manning, Phillip Rivers, or Matt Ryan, to name a few.  He needed a few seasons of grooming just to resemble an NFL QB.  Everyone needs to be patient with him.  Even Peyton Manning took several years before he had post-season success.  And Romo doesn’t even have an ounce of the same pedigree that the Manning’s have!  As for the Cowboys winning the Super Bowl if Crayton didn’t drop that sure TD pass…we will never know?  But, I think that the Cowboys have something with Romo…let’s wait a few years before we label him a bust.  From where he came from…he’s already out-performed anyone’s expectations!    

Continue reading "Predictions Wildcard Weekend"

 

The crystal ball, once again, had a stellar performance this past week, going undefeated at 4-0.  Truly a tremendous achievement, as many of the games had playoff implications.  That puts the crystal ball at 29-22-1 for the season.  That’s seven games over .500 (.567 to be exact).  Not many prognosticators gave the Cowboys much of a chance against the G-Men, but the crystal ball took a chance on them.  The ‘Boys rewarded the crystal ball, and pulled off the upset.  Let’s review and see what happened last week.    

Continue reading "Week 15 Review"

 

           Last night, on NBC’s prime time Sunday Night Football, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the New York Giants, 20-8.  The Cowboys desperately needed the win, as they are fighting for their playoff lives.  The Cowboys are now 9-5, but so are the Vikings, the Bucs, and the Falcons.  The Eagles and Bears aren’t that far behind either.  With the Cowboys facing the Ravens and the Eagles in their next two games, the ‘Boys needed a win…desperately. 

Continue reading "Sack-alicious"

The media, fans and even the coaching staff probably knew this would not be a pretty sight. Eli Manning besides 1 pick six looked pretty good throwing for 3 scores. Dallas drops to last place in the NFC East. However, all hope is not lost for the Boys'. They head into a Week 10 Bye and will likely get Tony Romo back in Week 11. Still a lot of football left to be played.

Continue reading "NFL Week 9 Fallout"

Brad Johnson looked anything, but sharp...BUT...Dallas musters out a win and will face rivals Eli Manning and the New York Giants next week. Should be a...interesting one.

Continue reading "NFL Week 8 Fallout"

 

           Each week, on Friday, I will look into my (never wrong, just misinformed) crystal ball and give my predictions for that weekend games.  I will always prognosticate on the Eagles and Cowboys games and then pick two more games of interest (to me, that is, not necessarily to you).  Keep in mind, that this is for entertainment purposes only, and that I do not endorse any sort of legal or illegal gambling.  That being said…let’s see what’s in my crystal ball!  

Continue reading "Predictions Week 8"

          The crystal ball was two up and two down for the week.  Even though that is an improvement, it still doesn’t cut it!  Good thing this is for entertainment purposes only…or I would be in the poor house!  Let’s take a look back and see what happened: 

Continue reading "Week 5 Review"

          

           Bill Belichick, Head Coach of the New England Patriots, was accused by Al Davis of “tampering” with Randy Moss prior to their trade a year ago.  The Raiders received a 4th round pick as compensation in the deal.  Davis alleges that the Patriots had a secret workout with Moss prior to the negotiations, which would violate NFL rules.  Bill (here’s a surprise) denies the accusation. 

Continue reading "...Then It's Probably A Duck!"

           This week two head coaches were relieved of their duties…fired!  First, Scott Linehan of the St. Louis Rams, and now, Lane Kiffin of the Oakland Raiders, why?  Jim Haslet replaced Linehan.  What’s the difference, the Rams are horrific!  Kiffin is being replaced with O-line coach, Tom Cable…who?  Yeah, that’s right, I never heard of him either! 

Continue reading "Instant Gratification"

           Once again, my crystal ball failed me.  I don’t understand what happened…I shined it up last week.  I even purchased a stand for it…so now it sits on top of the mantel.  I’ve treated it with the utmost respect.  For who?  For what?  (Yes…that was a shot at Ricky Watters!)  Once again, I was one up and three down last week…not good…awful…embarrassing even!  I have to do something different for next week…maybe I will punish it…have it stand in the corner…or give it a time-out!  Something has to give…and I’m not backing down!  Let’s take a closer look and see what went wrong: 

Continue reading "Week 4 Review"

           The other day, Rashard Mendenhall (Rookie RB for the Pittsburgh Steelers) sent his buddy, Ray Rice (Rookie RB for the Baltimore Ravens) a text message.  So why is that football news?  Because LB Bart Scott of the Ravens made it so!  Mendenhall’s text was only intended for his buddy Ray.  It claimed how great of a day Rashard was going to have against the vaunted Raven’s Defense.  Ray Rice took it upon himself to let his defense know about the text message…Bart Scoot took offense.

Continue reading "Bulletin Board Material"

           Each week, on Friday, I will look into my (never wrong, just misinformed) crystal ball and give my predictions for that weekend games.  I will always prognosticate on the Eagles and Cowboys games and then pick two more games of interest (to me, that is, not necessarily to you).  Keep in mind, that this is for entertainment purposes only, and that I do not endorse any sort of legal or illegal gambling.  That being said…let’s see what’s in my crystal ball!           

Continue reading "Predictions Week 4"

           Today I am taking my lumps, and licking my wounds.  I was 1-3 on my predictions for Week 3.  Though I take great pride in my prognosticating skills, I must blame the crystal ball for this one.  Granted, I should have known better, because I purchased it at Dollar Tree…what do you expect for a dollar?  Maybe I will “Windex” it before this week’s prediction, so it isn’t so cloudy and hazy.  Lets take a closer look at what happened: 

Continue reading "Week 3 Review"

It seemed as though in one game, Eli Manning grew up, jumped out of the shadow of older brother Peyton, and suddenly became a great Quarterback. You have got to be kidding me. Yeah they were good last year at the right time, but the New York Giants in no way earn my respect. They are a team that got lucky. End of story.

Continue reading "32 Teams in 32 Days, Team #5: The New York Giants"

(Repost from another place in December)

Fantasy Football.

I like it. I play it. I read Matthew Berry's columns. This is my ode to him while trashing the guys in my league. Enjoy.

Continue reading "Fantasy Football Mid-Season Post"

Now that the New York Giants QB Eli Manning has been named the cover boy for John Madden’s football video game, Madden NFL 09, the Internet is abuzz with speculation about whether he will be the next victim.

Continue reading "Is Eli Manning Cursed?"

Now that the Giants have managed to win the Super Bowl despite making
what I thought were some fatal offseason mistakes, such as keeping
coach Tom Coughlin and failing to upgrade the secondary enough (I love

Continue reading "Champ's Offseason Plans"

Eli Manning: Wow! I am a believer now. I seriously had him written off as a viable starting QB. As I have said before, I stand corrected. That 3rd and 5 play where he avoided the sack and threw that pass…wow!

Continue reading "5 Reasons the New York Giants Won Super Bowl XLII"

I have never claimed to be an expert when it comes to predicting outcomes of football games, although last year I nearly predicted the exact final score of the Super Bowl while hitting on seven of my nine prop bets. (My prediction was 26-17, the final was 29-17.) For whatever reason I had a very good feel for that game. This year's Super Bowl, however, remains a mystery to me. Part of the reason I am having trouble getting a good feel for this game is that I am a bitter Jets fan and I can't stand either team. I'm finding it difficult to put my personal feelings aside and look at the game objectively. I think right now I am as close to objectivity as I am going to get, and with that being said, here is my official Super Bowl XLII prediction.

Continue reading "Super Bowl XLII Prediction"

I was not a believer in Eli Manning until the last few games I watched him play. I seriously had the New York Giants written off as Super Bowl contenders. Also, I assumed that Eli would never actually come into his own and learn how to be effective in the NFL. Written off as nepotism, I was one of those naysayers that figured he would be a back-up QB sooner rather than later.

Continue reading "I stand corrected!"

#39;t give them much of a chance in Green Bay yesterday and they shocked me on the way they played. Eli Manning was again error free and continued his string of great playoff games. In fact he even played well in the loss to the Patriots the last game of the season.

Continue reading "Giants Look Super Again On Way To Super Bowl"

Every since Eli Manning was drafted and traded to the New York Giants so much has been written and said about him. He showed today why the New York Giants had faith in him and supported him even in the troubled times. Against the New England Patriots he showed great poise and now he went and carved up the no. 1 pass defense in the NFL the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Continue reading "Time To leave Eli Manning Alone"

While I have never been a New York Giants fan, I have to give them and Eli Manning a lot of credit. They refused to go quietly and I really thought they had a realistic shot at winning Saturday. I have always been of the opinion that Manning was in the league due to nepotism, but he has silenced much of my doubt. I grudgingly admit that he made me a believer in his skill. Next week’s game in Tampa should be interesting.

Continue reading "Shining Stars"