Weekly Wonder

Wonder is a stitch. He knows the NFL scary good, and here are his comments below...

Giants- Underrated. They mailed it in vs the Skins because the Skins are so bad. If they had to play a better opponent they would have played a more complete game, but (typical of the) Giants play down to their opponent. They should be focused on the road enough to handle the Rams. If the Giants show up and play a complete game they will BLOW THE RAMS OUT... Rams are so bleeping horrible, the Giants should be able to dominate both lines of scrimmage. See remark on Rams by Wonder before last weekend. Giants have more depth than the Cowboys but the Boys have better starters. The Giants should pick up TE Pociask- he was signed by the Patriots, but they had 4 TEs and cut him.. he can block and he can catch, the Giants can easily use him, better than Matthews and Johnson.

Panthers- Good win for them was not helpful for the Giants. (See Saints below, net neutral.) Fox got his players to play w/o Smith and beat SD in last play of the game. There are 8 teams fighting for 6spots: DAL/PHI/NYG, CAR/NO, GB/MIN, and 1 schtick dreck from the west. So Carolina squeaking out a gut-check win really helped their chances this season. It looks like you will need to be 10-6 this year to make the playoffs as a wild card.

Seahawks- The injuries they sustained put them in serious trouble. RB Morris out, Burleson out for season, Branch out, Engram out, Obomanu out.. a total of 4 starting WRs out. Sims (OL) reportedly out for season too, they are in deep trouble and this opens the door for Arizona... not that Arizona is a good team, but just that they are the best of the least. And on top of everything else, bulging disc issue for Hasselbeck means they are one hit away from losing their QB.

Saints- news Wed that Pro Bowl WR Marques Colston out 4-6 weeks hurts them. They also lost Hollis Thomas for season, BIG loss. Saints vulnerable now to downside too.

Skins- Samuels should have been fined for that hit on Kiwanuka.

Jags- they are in serious trouble, lost 2 starting Guards after playing w/o starting Center, David Garrard will be running for his life. W1 they gave up 7 sacks and rushed for 50 yards, offensive line is a shambles now. "Their year is over...can u imagine the g-men losing O'Hara, Snee, Mckenzie ?? and backup OT gone also ??"

Cowboys- Felix Jones, ugh, the rich get richer. Jones AND Barber AND THAT OFFENSIVE LINE? Ya gotta be kiddin' me.

Colts - loss of Saturday was difficult. He called out all the protections for Manning.

Patriots- "...not to mention my favorite injury, you know..to that supermodel...(or was it her boyfriend?)"

Chargers- you think they missed (the real) Merriman not pressuring Delhomme? Now they will officially be missing him the rest of the season.

"Right now, the big 'winners' in NFC were the Cardinals and Panthers...on the injuries to their competition...also, Garcia out this week also...Giants cannot afford another big blow..whereas the Jets were NEVER deep enough to afford ANY...if any of the Jets OL starters goes down, so do their hopes...I never realized rooting for your team nowadays means simply rooting for your stars to walk off the field, win the war of attrition, and hope you can make a "healthy" run at your division the last 8 games...amazing !!!

"BIG SUNDAY FOR JETS, JETS, JETS !!! If they don't win, don't try to find me...I'll be living in OBLIVION, TEXAS !!!"

Be careful who you cut, you might have to play against him

Hedgecock: "There was a player the new coach (at St. Louis) wanted to keep, a guy he had been familiar with before, and so I was just the spare tire. I knew I was a better player. Heck, everybody on the team knew that. But I was the one who got cut. So now we play the Rams in our second game this season? Out there? Good."

I would not want to be in Hedgecock's way this weekend, he sounds like he wants to spit razor blades.

Bradshaw part 62

This time it is Garafolo's turn to look for Mr. Bradshaw. As soon as Jacobs slows down and loses that 1/4 step (which turns into 1/2 step by midseason and a full step by the end of the season), Bradshaw should be starting. I would say he should be starting right now, but with Jacobs playing well, the Giants can certainly win with #27. Jacobs makes the Giants a much more physical team, and that is great. But Bradshaw is not exactly a pussycat out there... he runs very hard, just ask Ronde Barber. From my perspective, why not use Bradshaw in the slot, or even line him up wide? He has shown he can haul in a pass very well, and with Jacobs in the backfield, I would bet Bradshaw can throw a block as well if not better than any wideout. Not to mention the attention he can command out there in space. Everyone implicitly understands that Bradshaw can break a big one for 6 if given the carries and playing time. The Giants offense NEEDS him out there to spread the defense. Ward is a nice back, but does Ward spread the defense? No, he does not. This issue probably will not matter right now, but as the season progresses, if we are not seeing a lot of #44 it will be the coaches not having the best players on the field.

Week 1 review

The loss of Brady for the year is quite devastating. Seismic. I thought their defense was suspect (aging LBers and thin secondary), so now you have to realistically think the curse of the SB bridesmaid will continue.

The blitzkrieg of the Eagles and the Cowboys was impressive. Considering that Dallas did it on the road vs a credible team means more, but none of us should jump to huge conclusions on one week in the schedule. It certainly means something, but only the next few weeks combined with that will tell us just how significant these teams' chances are. The Eagles play Dallas on the road next Monday night... that should be a good one to watch.

The Bears defense was always good when it was HEALTHY. Guys like Brown and Harris were dominant, so it is only a question of whether they can reestablish that Pro Bowl form assuming they do STAY healthy. Last night we got to see that old Bears defense.

Is there any doubt that the presence of a guy like Brett Favre changes the outlook of a team? There answer is NO, there is NO doubt. So for 3.5 quarters they look fine, are up 20-7 on their way to a win, and then the Prevent Offense and Prevent Defense arrive. The Prevent Offense is the complete opposite of why you have Favre. Everyone can say- 'oh, but it did not matter, they won 20-14,' but that is not how it works. It works with QUALITY WINS by more than 10 points so that you do not have to worry about something stupid happening at the end of the game, like a jump ball being come down with in the end zone by the WRONG player. This time it was a Jet, next time vs a better opponent it will be by the opposing player. WHY mention this on a Giant blog? Because if the Giants hung on to win that game 20-14, I would have been going nuts the same way. There is simply no need to make the game that close... all you need to do is play the game with 5 minutes left the same way you played it for the first 55... but NO, Mangenius does the R-R-R-K routine. Forget that he has an experienced professional at QB. Instead the Dolphins are a play away from winning that game. Disgusting. I do not care if it is with 3 minutes left in the Q3 of a playoff game in SF in Jan 2003, if there is 0:14 left vs Dallas on Monday night in Sep 2003, if there is 9:27 left vs Dallas on Jan 13, 2008, these are the ways you lose games. PLAY 60 minutes. Not 42 minutes, Not 59:46, Not 50:33.

Around the League- Phil Simms style

Phil Simms is always knowledgeable and relevant. Some comments from this week and this morning:

1) Giants have a fast defense, powerful, still believes the Giants defense can get it done w/o Osi and Strahan. Expects Eli to be better this year. They can definitely get to the playoffs. The offense should be better than last year. Kiwanuka has that same look as Osi, will help them get it done.

2) Usually specials are crazy in first 4-5 weeks of the season because players trying to make the team are busy there in preseason. (This makes sense for explaining the Giants' specials, which were sloppy early last year and were also weak on kickoffs in W1 this year.)

3) He says the Dolphins may present a challenge today against the Jets because their regulars in preseason were already playing specials- they'll have an advantage there.

4) Thought Jets were going to be a playoff team BEFORE Favre was added to the team.

5) Ricky Williams is (still) the fastest guy on the field. Dolphins have a revamped defense, good offensive line. This is not a freebie for the Jets today at all.

6) With Gay and Samuel gone and them starting a rookie at CB, the Pats are vulnerable on defense. (This echoes Wonder, who says to throw at the Patriots and bet over in every game they play.)

7) Brady and Peyton Manning, despite not playing in preseason, will be able to win their team's first games because they are not playing against good teams (KC, Bears). It is not who you play, but when you play them... if the Pats and Colts were playing tough W1 teams, they would have been more vulnerable.

Bradshaw found

Many times the Giants.com articles are so vanilla that they are not worth reading. This one was. Lots of good stuff in it, and salient comment from Coughlin on the disappearance of Bradshaw....

Brandon Jacobs had 21 rushing attempts and Derrick Ward had nine. But Ahmad Bradshaw, the Giants’ leading postseason rusher, did not carry the ball from scrimmage.

“That was my fault,” Coughlin said. “I didn’t get that rotation worked out the way I really would want to. … When we were making yards they were tough yards and I was pleased with some of the things that were happening with Jacobs and then with Derrick Ward. Not that I am not pleased with Bradshaw, no that is not the case, but I just didn’t get the right rotation.”

Wonder predictions for 2008 Season, Part II

ariz 7-9 will win some as dogs, lose some as favs
atl 3-13 actually a "good" future-looking year..go RYAN !!
balt 5-11 where's McEnroe...Flacco?ARE you SERIOUS ???
buff 9-7 could go 7-9 to 10-6...JASON PETERS ?? hello ??
car 9-7 make or break year Fox...Stewart/Williams STRONG
chi 4-12 lovie's last year..UGLY
cinc 5-11 BYE MARVIN...DEFENSIVE genius ??
clev 9-7 woulda's, shoulda's, could's..CRENNEL?? wake up ?
dall 12-4 IF T.O. plays 16 games...plays in S BOWL !!
denv 7-9 time to get a new coach
det 6-10...not so bad..they're "moving forward"
GB..9.5-6.5 they get "docked" .5 for Favre fiasco
Hou 6-10...not as bad as it looks..TOUGH SCHD!!!
Ind. 11-5...BETTER than their record..MAY go to SBOWL!!
Jag 11-5 ..tiebreakers decide fate of colts/jags
KC 4-12..and actually worse than their record..go away herm
Mia 5-11 start off 0-5 and actually right the ship..
Minn 9.5-6.5..they get "bonus" for Favre fiasco..TIEBREAK !!
N.E. 12-4..God do I hate BeleDICK and the PRICKriots
N.O. 11-5 IF Sean gets it PERFECT, headed for big dance
NYG 10-6 IF start out STRONG..brutal end of schd
NYJ 10-6 start out1-2..rattle off 4 straight wins..end 4-1
Oak 5-11..sleeper team? are you KIDDING me !!
PHI 11-5...IF HEALTHY could be DANGEROUS
PITT 10-6 despite BRUTAL schd...BIG BEN YEAR !!
SD 12-4(or 10-6)IF Merr AND LT play HEALTHY (and well)
SF 3-13..bye nolan..oh, where have you gone JOE/JERRY??
SEA 10-6 easiest over on the board..nice division to play in
ST.L. 4-12 bye scott..nice knowing ya..
T.B. 9-7 MEDIOCRE despite EASY schd
Tenn 8-8 GET vince some RECEIVERS !! (NINE IN THE BOX!)
Wash 6-10 welcome to the NFL MR. ZORN

Kiwanuka has a few words for Samuels

It was the last play of the game, and thankfully for Kiwanuka he was able to walk off the field without any aid. But Kiwi was not happy with Chris Samuels. Desperation to keep Kiwi from getting to the QB? An intentional attempt to injure? I feel it was both. Samuels has been in the league for far too long to not know exactly what he was doing.

The jeering and boos at halftime were Giants fans turning their ire at Steve Tisch (PSLs).

New York Giants 16 Washington Redskins 7

Meat and potatoes win. Yes Wonder, the Redskins stink. They are learning a new system, their offense is woeful and they have a lot of injuries. Their two minute offense wouldn't scare a college team. It is not who you play but when you play them. They will get a lot better- every team improves from W1 to W17.

Offense: Manning was not present for all 4 quarters, but he looked good. He used the pump fake and looked off the safety on more than a few occasions, which was vg. Burress was excellent. Steve Smith picked up right where he left off with his terrific 3rd down possession catches which kept moving the sticks. Jacobs was punishing... he always looks good at the beginning of the season when he has fresh legs. Ward looked very good too... and as good as we have ever seen him catching the ball out of the backfield. When Jacobs has fresh legs it is hard to argue for Bradshaw. With the exception of a pass or two out of the backfield that screamed for #44, any of the three of them could get this job done. John Madden was having a lovefest with the offensive line.. I was surprised he did not suit up to join them down there. Great play call by Gilbride on the naked bootleg at the 1 yard line. As we mentioned in preseason, Manning should run ONCE per game just to keep the defense off-balance.

Defense: the DL was fantabulous. Pick a lineman, they all played great. I saw #21 all over the field. He made a great play to stop a first down by making an open field tackle of rookie Devin Thomas just short of the sticks. Webster played very well. Alford got called for a big 15 yarder which was horsebleep. They say it is a rules change but Alford totally missed his face mask anyway. Ross looked bad on the Moss TD, but he may have been in zone, so I won't judge that one too harshly. (The real culprit on that drive was...

Specials: Not good, folks. No hang time on kickoffs gives them good field position. Carney will work until Tynes can come back. Costly roughing the kicker by McDougle was a turnover insanity.

The Giants had to win this game, they did win, NEXT. The first 4 weeks are exactly like this, schtick dreck competition where the gmen must get their business done. The Giants benefit from this 10 day layover because everyone makes mistakes in W1, the Giants get to iron them out after a win and become a better team. Wilkinson and Kehl got a lot of playing time and looked fine with the exception of each taking a bad penalty... the coaches will take a scalpel to each of these guys if they keep making boneheaded mistakes like those. (Kehl had the illegal block on kickoff, Wilkinson had the unnecessary roughness.)

Burress signs new contract with NY Giants at 4PM

Burress signs new deal. Excellent news. Right before the 'deadline' for his first paycheck. Good for him. Good for the Giants. We always thought he deserved to get paid, because he delivered, stopped showing up Eli and played hurt all season. If he did not get that fluke MCL in the shower before the SB we may have beaten the Patriots a lot easier.

GO GMEN! Kick Redskin butt this evening.

Wonder's NFL predictions for 2008 season- Part 1

1) NFC WEST: Seattle a lock over +8.5. This division is putrid. SEA under the gun with suspensions at beginning of season but will still get 9+ wins.

2) NFC SOUTH: Vilma will fit in with the Saints and have a good year. So will the Saints, who will "hands down" win their division. Only the Panthers are a real threat. Panthers have a very good running tandem in Williams and Stewart but they only have one WR, and he is out the first two games with a suspension. Play 8 in the box and they are done. If Carolina's defense can show up and play well they might challenge the Saints, but more likely they are on the outside looking in for winning their division AND also coming up short for a wild card.

3) NFC NORTH: Pack is still back. 37-1 (Super Bowl XLIII) is a big overlay on them. Minnesota wild card? Can Adrian Peterson stay healthy? Peterson was injured in college and injured as a rookie, so this is a continuing question. Why oh why did Minnesota not get help for 2nd year starter Tavaris Jackson? As this kid goes, so goes the Vikings, a big bet Wonder does not make... why didn't they get another QB to help the team and to help Jackson, Wonder asks.

4) NFC EAST: Dallas is winning the division and going to the Super Bowl. The only question is whether PHL and NYG both go to the playoffs as wild cards. The toughest division in football right now. Philadelphia's schedule is so easy, it is very hard to see how they are NOT in the playoffs. Dallas will get derailed if they lose TO or Romo. The achilles heal is that Dallas only has one WR, so if TO is lost the entire team collapses. The Giants still have a shot, but Osi's loss was horrible... if the Giants get another big injury they are done. Most teams cannot survive a big injury like Osi, but the Giants can... they just cannot afford another one. Burress and Smith need to stay healthy. McDougle was a reasonable signing. Because the Giants play SEA at home, they will sweep the NFC West. The Eagles get CLE/PIT at home and CINC/BAL on road, which Wonder thinks is a much easier path to 3-1 or 4-0 than the way the Giants have it, which is the exact opposite. Wonder saw 9.5 games for the Giants before Osi went down, still sees 9, maybe 10 wins now. Says the Giants better/will KILL the Skins in Week 1 or else they are in trouble. Skins awful. Giants have huge advantage in 10 day layover after week 1 to get kinks out and be even stronger. Back to the wild card, PHL (Westbrook?), MINN and NYG all one injury away from disaster.

AFC NORTH: Pittsburgh. Cleveland is a good team but Crennel is a lousy coach.

AFC SOUTH: Indianapolis. They are the most balanced, play tough at home, tough in the dome. Jax? Tenn? Wild cards?

AFC EAST: Patriots. NE has huge problems. If you want to beat the Patriots throw against them 30-40 times. Their defense is slow, aging, Samuel loss hurts their secondary, make their LBers play in space, the LBers cannot cover. Bet 'over' in every game that the Patriots play. Jets can fight for a wild card. Just like the Giants must kick serious butt in week 1 vs the Skins, he sees same imperative of the Jets kicking serious butt on the Dolphins. The Jets cannot afford to lose to the teams that they are expected to beat. If they beat those teams they are 10-6 and a wild card. If they lose to 1 or 2 of those teams they are out. Sleeper of the NFL resides in this division- Buffalo. Buffalo will steamroll SEA on opening day. If they do not then they are poorly coached. Buffalo will be better than people think. Can defense gel? Trent Edwards?

AFC WEST: Chargers. KC had good draft but they stink. OAK and DEN nowhere.

SUPER BOWL XLIII- Dallas vs. Indianapolis with a tight 3 point spread for either one.

Marvelous on the New York Giants versus the Washington Redskins

No confidence in them. Very concerned about them winning the game on Thursday. Lucky we are playing the Skins as opposed to playing the Eagles or Boys. Thinks the Giants going after McDougle was a way to maybe enable them to get Kiwanuka back to LB if McDougle can aid at DE. "I am worried about Clinton Portis. I do not like our LBers. The defense with Clark and Pierce is not fast." Marvelous puts himself in the shoes of the Redskins and says that if I am the Skins I go after those guys (at LB).

LBer is easily the weakest unit on the team. One can argue that they were the ones who suffered the loss when Umenyiora went down, but the reason the Giants moved Kiwanuka back was because they knew he would make more of an impact at line. So what does THAT say about him as a starter at LB? The Giants should play a 5-1-5 and stop the charade. Unless it is 3rd and ~2 or less that is what they will be in.

The New York Giants' Schedule in 2008

The two tough ones this year to peg for wins are AT CLE and AT PIT. With New Eli and Osi, we can win one or even both. At this moment I am not so sure we win EITHER.

WASH ..win
AT STL win
CINC ..win
SEA ...win
AT CLE ....loss
SF ....win
AT PIT ....loss
DAL ........loss
AT PHL ....loss
BAL ...win
AT ARZ win
AT WSH ??? ???
PHL ...win
AT DAL ....loss
CAR ...win
AT MIN ....loss

I am not a big believer in new coaches in their first season. So the Giants have an oppty vs the Skins to sweep. If they do they can go 10-6. If they lose, they are 9-7.

Note how the first three games are against schlock, and the fourth is vs a team which should rate to lose to us on the road. So we will rate to be 4-0... a nice start. But this is the weakest part of the schedule, so DO NOT GET EXCITED simply because we got out of the blocks. Get excited if we see the NEW ELI. Get excited if we get "QUALITY WINS."

The Eagles have a very weak schedule (AT CHI, ATL) with the right teams (CLE, PIT) at home. If the Eagles show up they are 11-5. If they have a good season they are 12-4 or 13-3. (If Westbrook goes down, kaput 8-8 again. I will assume the Eagles stay healthy and finish 2nd in the NFC East.)

Tomorrow, Wonder's assessment around the NFL before the start of the NFL season.

Questions for 2008

1) New Eli or Old Eli? What we saw in preseason was more of the inaccurate Old Eli. In PS-3 when Hixon made those two Toomer toe TDs, some of it was Eli being there but some of it was Hixon taking poorly thrown balls and pulling them in. ELI CAN HELP HIMSELF AND BE MORE ACCURATE.

2) David Diehl liability in pass rush protection.

3) Depth at TE? I was surprised the Giants did not go after someone else. Matthews and Johnson both were criticized by their own coaches. Boss better stay healthy.

4) Does Bradshaw start (at some point) this season? We know he is not starting in W1, but if he is not starting eventually it means this offense is not playing to its maximum potential.

5) Does the Defensive Line survive the loss of #92 AND Osi? Does it manage to thrive? Kiwanuka and Tuck are both very good players, but neither has done it on a full time basis.

6) Is LB the big liability we see in W1, or does Pierce play with younger legs, Kehl get the kind of playing time to make a difference, Wilkinson play well and Clark do adequate stopgap? Lots of questions here, few answers.

7) Does Kenny Phillips make an impact? Does Ross/Webster/Thomas et al grow into a great set of corners, or do they slip back?

8) Is FG kicking a liability?

9) Do specials leave off where they left us last year, or do they start where they started last year? Tale of Two Cities.

Before Osi went down I was looking for 10-6 and playoffs. The bottom line for volatility here is - tell me how Eli's, Diehl's and Pierce's season are and I tell you how we do. If these three veterans do well, we do well, if two of them do well we do ok, if 1 of them do well we do poorly. There are many other variables, because if the second year players make that leap then we are in vg shape... but we still need those three to get it done. The weakest link on defense is LB. The weakest link on offense is Diehl's pass protection. The most inconsistent part of the team is Eli's play. Pierce seems to always start well and end slowly. He is generally playing/hurt by the end of the year, and then at that point it is like watching him with molasses under his feet. And as helpful as Diehl is in playing a position he is not meant to play, he exposes us to the speed rush. These questions this year are not as cloudy as they were last year, but they are important enough in determining the success of the team.

If you can tell me we have new Eli all year, the one who is playing 4 quarters, not disappearing in between games... if you can tell me Bradshaw and Boss are not wasted assets by Gilbride's meathead neglect... if you can tell me Pierce is fast all season... THEN THE GIANTS ARE LIVE AS MUCH AS ANYONE IN THE NFL. We will know much more after the first 3 games. Right now I have to make them 9-7.

Odds and Ends

You probably saw that McDougle was signed to the defensive line when the Eagles cut him. Refreshing everyone's memory, the Giants liked him in 2003, but when he went before our pick, we were left to pick William Joseph. Both guys have been mostly invisible in the NFL, so the gmen are taking another stab at the Miami Draft of 2003.

Coleman is correct- Whimper was put on IR, not cut. Thanks.

Wonder was telling us a while back (August 15th, #11) that the Jets are loaded at TE, that they should pick up Pociask if he gets cut, because it is all about #s in that situation, not ability. Well, it took all of a day or so for the Pats to grab him off waivers.

We avoided the Burress soap opera as long as possible... so it should not shock completely that he is getting into game shape as the first game of the season rolls around. He has gone through three complete practices and has gone at 'full speed' for one. Manning to Burress is the biggest connection in the NFL over the last 3 years, so this is what we needed to see.

QB Andre Woodson, OL Na'Shan Goddard, OL Kurt Quarterman, DE Wallace Gilberry, DT Jeremy Clark, CB Geoffrey Pope and WR Marcus Monk were signed to the practice squad.