Whats the difference?

A wise man once told me that in most cases “you can not be great at everything," but emphasized that to succeed "you damn better be pretty good at something”. Teams like the ’07 Pats or ' 72 dolphins don't come along often. Most times we get some rag tag misfits that happen to pull it together at the right time. Look at the 2007 Giants. They had a catalyzing and unifying experience in their loss to the “Perfect Pats.” They also had strong and experienced veterans, and a "pretty good" defense.


Michael Strahan and Amani Toomer were the heart and sole of that team. They were guys that lead by example and did their job every day. There was a strong sense of team and the “we have nothing else to lose” mentality, a mentality that guided them through a hard and long route to the SB. The biggest difference maker between those Giants, and today's 2.0 version, is the pressure of the front 4 lineman. The '07 edition had a league leading 53 sacks, with 40 of them coming from the D-line. That is 3.3 sacks per game with 2.5 coming from down lineman. Now the '09 G-men (projecting based on what they've done so far) will finish with a dismal 30 sacks, only 20 of which will come from the D-line. We're looking at 1.9 sacks a game and only 1 of them coming from down lineman. The near 50% decline has had a snowball effect on the rest of the defensive unit because opposing QBs have had more time to pick apart an already depleted and less talented secondary. Can the situation be rectified? Maybe. The Giants must bring more blitzes, but they've also got to get there, lest they leave their mediocre corners on an island.


Add to these woes, the realization that our line CAN'T EVEN STOP THE RUN! The numbers don't lie people. Defense 2.0 is projected to give up 20 rushing TDs, a huge increase from the beta Giants paltry total of 12. The 2009 squad also is allowing 20 more rush yards a game keeping the defense on the field and getting offenses into manageable third down situations. This Giant collapse, then, is not the offenses fault. Eli and Co are putting up almost identical numbers in 1st downs per game with 20 and 3rd down percentage at 42. Most important, the offense is actually averaging more points a game this year then in 07! The 2007 team was just hungry and had that swagger; it was a beautiful thing to witness.


There are plenty of quantitative stats out there that could be used to advance this argument further, but as an avid fan of sports you just know when a team is special. Its a feeling you get, a sense of toughness and destiny. Now I normally hate people that say “I have a feeling we will have a good team this year” about teams like the Cleveland Browns or Pittsburg Pirates, but the 07 Giants had it and the 09 Giants don't. Now, I do not mean the 09 Giants can't go all the way but if things stay the same they're going about as far as lovrich could throw, well, anything heavy. The team is in a funk and can't shake it. A great team changes and adapts when things go wrong. Great teams make changes at halftime, the Giants wait half the season before they even realize something is wrong. Yes they did win their first 5 games but won 1 of there next 5. The '07 team was stubborn, driven, and detail oriented. The '09 edition is slow, lazy, and defined by malaise.


The bottom line is that the 2009 New York Football Giants need a proverbial shocker! Something that the rest of the league and fans are not expecting. Something to wake them up from this month long funk and put a few good football games together. Perfection is nice but they damn better do something well in order to win! LET’S GO GIANTS!!!!!


-cm