Giant Problems
Ugh.
This is going to be a long year. Our offensive line is the worst Giants offensive line I have ever seen. It might be the worst in the league, I haven’t been keeping up with other O-lines. And I feel like it’s the root cause of all our problems. Kevin Gilbride? Sure, Kevin “Killdrive” still uses antiquated schemes and plays, still doesn’t make proper adjustments, and should be fired, but I can’t lay the blame all on him. When our offensive line does its job, the Giants are okay. Look at the first half of last year: we gave up almost no pressures and Eli led the league in passing for 6 weeks. Then Diehl came back and it all went to hell. Gilbride’s time is up and we need a new coordinator who actually makes adjustments, but he’s not the root cause. Neither is Coughlin, who still has bad habits but still gets a pass because holy hell my team won two superbowls with him. It’s the O-line.
The Giants have neglected to address the O-line for years, and it’s finally biting them back. We had the best O-line in the league in 2008. Then those players got old and got released (Shaun O’Hara, Kareem McKenzie, Rich Seubert) or stayed with the team and eventually became liabilities (David Diehl, Chris Snee is well past his prime) and to fix this, we didn’t draft any O-lineman (except for Justin “My last name sounds like what I say when hit in the Solar Plexus” Pugh) but picked up average to bad free agents to fill the gaps (Baas, Locklear, Beatty). Now we suck at the footballs.
We cannot run the ball because our O-line cannot get penetration.
We cannot pass the ball because our O-line cannot protect Eli. Eli snaps the ball and defenders are on him in a flash. I’ve seen him panic way more than usual. Normally he’s unflappable, but he’s clearly nervous. He’s being forced into bad decisions and bad throws because he has no time. So the O-line is the cause of our offensive issues, which in turn are the cause of our defensive issues.
The defense, despite giving up as many points as they have, have actually kept up in games for a while. At least at first. Around halftime/3rd quarter though, they’ve been on the field so long due to our offense sucking that they get tired and give up.
If we lose this week to the Eagles, who are also bad, this season is pretty much lost. This team does not deserve the playoffs, so even in our crap division I don’t want us doing anything. I will sacrifice my liver to the beer gods and jump on the Browns bandwagon because I hate happiness. But hey, my Browns comics are good for Cleveland, because they seem to win whenever I make one.
Edit: A few people pointed out Beatty was a draft pick in 09. I must have blended him and Sean Locklear together in my brain, because I was convinced we got him off waivers or something. So we have addressed the O-line, but not well. Beatty is probably the best lineman we have at the moment anyway, but he seems inconsistent.
I don’t know why we haven’t re-signed Locklear yet. He should be healthy by now and he’s better than David Diehl.
Lotta satisfied looking men in that pile. Awwww yeah.
At least you don’t have to play the Seahawks……oh wait.
This is the weakest I’ve seen the NFC East in quite a while. I don’t think we have a good team among us! Yeah, it’s morning, but let’s just start drinking and don’t stop!
Idk, the cowboys look like they could make a playoff run this y-(snicker) Ahhhh, couldn’t say that one with a straight face…
Except the Cowboys are the best team in that division so they’ll be guaranteed a spot in the playoffs.
$10 says the Cowboys go 8-8, and since the Cowboys always lose in week 17, lose out to the Eagles, who also go 8-8 and win the division on tiebreakers, and end up on the couch for the playoffs so Chip Kelly fails to stay past the wild-card round.
Never count on the Cowboys to win the division, even if everyone else sucks.
I don’t know. I was super high on the Eagles at season’s start, now I’m really skeptical. The Cowboys are flawed but they feel like they have the least major flaws and have played competently in every game, even if not always too well. It’s their division to lose.
None of us are getting past the wildcard round though.
You have no idea how right you were
Love the walrus.
Remember when Earth, Wind, and Fire ran roughshod over the rest of the league for 2,500 yards? That feels like a lifetime ago.
At least this years draft should be a loaded one.
Yeah….’bout that….it actually isn’t all that good…there’s Clowney, and then there’s…some tackles…
Ignoring the Panthers much?
Funny how Eli is going through exactly what Philip Rivers went through the last two years. Except Eli arguably has better receivers and runningbacks.
But you still like to trash the better QB.
If you would read the description,
you would see that Dave is bashing the offensive line.
You missed his point completely. He’s just mad that I joke about Rivers while Rivers is good and for the past few years went through what Eli is dealing with now. It looks like I’m defending Eli and laying all the blame elseware while trashing Rivers, when in fact I mock both pretty evenly and he’s just getting defensive about his QB instead of lightening up a bit and accepting that they are jokes and I’m not actually trashing Rivers.
You’ve had him commit suicide like three times. While they are funny, it’s grey area funny. Yeah he hasn’t won super bowls like the rest of his draft class QB’s but is it his fault? Arizona last year. Cleveland a few years before. Both teams suck. But their defenses held the Pats to under 20 points. Pretty much any team can beat the Pats if they have a defense that can do that. Like the Giants in their two super bowls. Eli played well in his two super bowls, but the games were won thanks primarily to the defense. Ben? Also won his two on the strength of the D.
Those comics, if anything, make Eli and Ben into assholes and are sympathetic (In a dark humor kind of way) towards Rivers. They paint Rivers as the hapless guy who is just fine, wanting to belong, yet held up to stupid standards (rings) and bullied by jerks. I think you are focusing too hard on Rivers suicide, because those comics are totally on his side from a subtext point of view.
I know how good Rivers is. I also know that if I come up with a good Rivers joke, I’m going to make it.
He also has a bazillion (approximately) comics about Sean Payton living in a dumpster, and Jay Cutler putting a cigarette out in Elmo’s eye.
It’s all in good fun, dude.
Oh my god you even remembered to put Kevin Gilbride’s favorite playcall on Eli’s wristband. The Draw Play.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE that Andy Reid Walrus on the sidelines.
Giants, Steelers, and Ravens all have crappy offensive lines, and both are struggling on offense, especially the Giants, in spite of having genuine #1 receivers – except maybe Pittsburgh, but I really like Antonio Brown – and, in Baltimore’s case, an elite RB.
San Diego goes from horrible to actually kinda-good by fixing their awful offensive line, in spite of, Antonio Gates aside, a hodgepodge receiving corps – Eddie Royal has five TDs. Eddie Royal. Think about that. A guy who couldn’t even average 500 yards a season and get to 2,500 in five years, couldn’t average 32 yards a game for his career, and had ten touchdowns his entire career, is a shade under 200 yards with five touchdowns through four weeks! – for Philip Rivers to throw to.
It infuriates me when people ignore the offensive line’s impact for a team. You have to win in the trenches before you can win anywhere else, and the lines get unfairly neglected when they’re what makes the entire game work.
Beatty was a draft pick, not a free agent.
Oh, so he was. I thought we picked him up from someone. I might have assumed he was the same as Locklear. Beatty is probably the only one who is okay anyway. He is alright as a pass blocker but crap as a run blocker
As a pats fan this gives me hope, but i have a sneaking suspicion we won’t be going to the superbowl this year… so please have a sucky o-line/team for a few years until we win another ring, ok?
You must have not seen our 2nd grade o-line
I actually hope the Giants keep their losing ways, our season’s fate is already decided. Getting a Top-10 draft pick is better than going somewhere from the 15th-20th pick.
Also this is a great draft class were looking at..soooooo
Browns Bandwagon is now boarding! Hop on now so you can say you were there from almost the beginning! Win of lose, we drink the booze (see week of sadness strip set in the bar, that last panel was NOT an exaggeration) so grab a Great Lakes Dortmunder and let’s get Muni Lot wasted! Go Browns.
Oh yeah and don’t forget to duct tape “Hoyer” over your Richardson jersey…
Is Wilson out there because he whiffed a block or because he got open?
Andy ‘Red Walrus’ Reid is epic in the last panel
Omaha!