Approach to the Game – Arizona Cardinals at New York Giants, December 15, 2001: Who the heck would have thought the Giants would be out of the playoff hunt with a quarter of the season left to play? Especially, when you consider the division they play in? Six losses in eight games? Give me a break. NFC champs to chumps.
The situation makes writing a meaningful game preview pretty difficult. Who cares about the match-ups or game strategy? Hopefully, the Giants’ players will realize that they are playing for their jobs (read salary) and that they owe their fans more than they have delivered this year. At the very least, they will play hard simply to avoid being any more of an embarrassment.
I don’t care what Jim Fassel says about not thinking about next year. He has to and he has to use these last four games to get a head start on the rebuilding process. If he doesn’t, then he is wasting valuable time. That doesn’t mean throw Jesse Palmer to the wolves, but it does mean using the time to get more concrete player evaluations. What would be great is if the Giants could finally blow out one or two teams down the stretch here and get some of their back-ups in the game, particularly on the offensive and defensive lines. Giving the ball to Ron Dayne 20+ times would be great too.
Approach on Offense: If QB Kerry Collins is not on the hot seat with this franchise, then the team is being run by a bunch of morons. That is not to say that Collins should solely be judged on his performance this year, but if continues to regress in terms of his decision-making ability, accuracy, and poise, then the Giants have to go into the off-season finding suitable competition at the very least. The problem is that even if Kerry shines downs the stretch, what difference does it make? The pressure to get this team to the playoffs if off him now.
With WR Joe Jurevicius (hamstring) possibly out another game, the Giants need to use this time to get a better read on WR Ron Dixon. They know what they have in Thabiti Davis. I’d also like to see them take some shots down the middle of the field to TE Dan Campbell or TE Marcellus Rivers.
This brings us to the running game. When the playoffs were still a possibility, I said feed the ball to Tiki Barber. Now with playoff chances virtually gone, it’s time to give Ron Dayne the work. The Giants can ill-afford to have (1) Ron Dayne sulking into the offseason again and (2) not know how productive he can be if you feed him the ball. However, with the playoffs still a remote possibility, I bet you Fassel goes with the more productive player at this point until their playoff chances are officially dead.
I think it is pretty much a foregone conclusion that Lomas Brown and Glenn Parker are gone. Why not give Jason Whittle some work? It would also be interesting to get a better read on Chris Bober at tackle – though that might be pushing it. RG Ron Stone is probably still auditioning for a contract offer from the Giants.
Giants on Defense: What I’m hoping to see down the stretch is more pass rush productivity from DE Kenny Holmes and DT Cornelius Griffin. If you ask me, that is the key to the defense next year. It would be great for the Giants to get a comfortable lead and for them to give DE Cedric Scott, DT Lance Legree, and DT Ross Kolodziej some snaps. The biggest thing fans have left to cheer for is DE Michael Strahan’s pursuit of the sack record and DT Keith Hamilton’s toughness.
Jessie Armstead is another player on a hot seat. In the Giants’ system (as is usually the case throughout the league), the strongside linebacker (Brandon Short) is called upon to do the dirty work and the weakside linebacker (Jessie Armstead) is supposed to be the play-maker. You can probably count on one hand the great plays Jessie has made all year. If he continues to slump down the stretch, I can’t see how the Giants can justify keeping him. Want to watch a real football player? Besides Strahan and Hamilton, keep your eyes on MLB Mike Barrow. He’s a joy to watch. Again, it would be nice to see some of the back-ups such as Dhani Jones. Does Jack Golden have a future with this team?
I’m just not as bothered by the play of the secondary as some. The rookie corners will be fine and Jason Sehorn is hurting. Shaun Williams is in a temporary slump.
Giants on Special Teams: Nothing special here. I dread the snap of the ball before every special teams play.