E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat
writer for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995. He is the author of 26 books
and he is one of only four sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls.
Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.
REVIEWING THE WILD 2011 SEASON: HOT, COLD, DARK -- AND SUPER By
Aaron Klein The Super Bowl XLVI
Champion New York Giants took an interesting path on their way to the title,
to say the least. Let us remember.
Most coaches like to break down their team's 16-game schedule into quadrants,
much like the four quarters of a game, and figure that success in each fourth
translates into overall success and a ticket to the post-season.
Much like this: Aim for a 3-1 record in each quarter of the regular season, and
if you get it you finish with a 12-4 record, likely the best in your respective
division and probably a first-round bye.
In three of the Giants' four quarters of the season, they did just that, finishing
each four-game stretch at 3-1. Sure, it was infuriating at times, and each section
saw one inexplicable and downright awful loss amid the three wins. Oh,
and there was some weird stretch of four games during which the entire team, staff
and front office was whisked away into captivity. The
Giants went 0-4 in the third quarter of the season and everything went dark. Even
before the season began, everyone knew it was the meat of the schedule, during
which the Giants needed to win at least half of the time to ensure the NFC East
title and a playoff berth. Instead,
they lost four straight, all to NFC foes, all with playoff implications. Along
the way, calls for the ousting of head coach Tom Coughlin, general manager Jerry
Reese, ownership, half the roster and even some concession workers at MetLife
ran rampant throughout Giants Land.
And yet, just like they did in many of their victories, the Giants found life
again in the fourth quarter, turned around for another 3-1 stretch. Most importantly,
they won three division games, beating Dallas twice to overtake the Cowboys for
first place in the NFC East, booking a home playoff game against Atlanta in the
process. How did we get there? The
tumultuous 2011 season began with a bang when the drawn-out labor strife ended
in mid-July and there was a mad rush to get to training camp. There were no off-season
organized team activities (OTAs), nor was there an off-season workout program...
all of which translated into less preparation than ever. The
Giants elected to hold training camp in East Rutherford instead of UAlbany, and
it was probably the right move from a logistics standpoint as well as from a pre-season
one. They needed to get up and running as soon as they could and staying at the
Timex Performance Center was the best choice. They
won two preseason games, including one over New England (that's foreshadowing
for you) but lost cornerbacks Terrell Thomas and Brian Witherspoon in the same
game. Lost wide receiver Domenik Hixon in Week Two, as well.
We didn't see the best of 2011's key players yet, guys like Eli Manning, Victor
Cruz, Jason Pierre-Paul, Hakeem Nicks, Justin Tuck, Michael Boley, Jake Ballard
and many others... yet. FIRST QUARTER
The first four games of the regular season began with a whimper in an inexplicable
loss to Washington, replete with a performance by Redskins' quarterback Rex Grossman
that shocked everyone and a complete lack of fire on the part of the Giants. It
was as though they weren't there at all, though we saw glimmers, especially in
the play of the defensive line and the Manning-Nicks connection. With
a relatively soft schedule ahead of them, the Giants rebounded and beat St. Louis.
No, they didn't crush the Rams and they should have, but the defense let the opponent
in the door too many times. Nothing was easy for the Giants in 2011. Up next were
games at Philadelphia and Arizona, the former a rematch with the ultimate rival
and the latter a potential trap game. The
Giants cruised (Cruz-ed) through both, surprising many who had seen the season
opener, and we all started to see that Manning might be headed to a career year.
Ditto Nicks, who exploded against Arizona. More importantly, we finally saw what
Cruz was all about. He got his chance with Mario Manningham out with a bad knee,
but he took a regular role with both hands against the Eagles, beating Philly's
free agent coup, Nnamdi Asomugha for two touchdowns. SECOND
QUARTER Another inexplicable loss, this one to Seattle, opened the second
fourth of the schedule. The Giants showed the world that they could start weakly
and scramble back, sometimes even to victory. In this one, it was too little too
late and the defense let them down again, though you surely remember Manning's
three picks, and the eight-percent third-down conversion rate, and the pass defense.
Still, at 3-2 the season was still young. The Giants ripped off a pair of wins
over AFC East foes Buffalo and Miami, neither without drama and tension, before
the bye week. They beat Buffalo without Justin Tuck, Chris Snee and Brandon Jacobs.
They faced a Buffalo team that had gone on a tear and became the darlings of the
league. The Giants became the "Cardiac Kids" once again and, despite
the 5-2 start, looked a little lost. Then
came the bye and we were mostly worried about two things -- injuries and righting
the defensive ship. And there were those
Patriots again, looming on the horizon. The Pats weren't playing their best ball
yet, either, but somehow over the last four years these two teams had become rivals.
Winning would not only mean one more "W," but it would also be a moral victory.
With a loss we'd all start to wonder how the team would do in November and December.
Win.
THIRD QUARTER At various times, the Giants were without Tuck, Jacobs,
Bradshaw, David Baas, Manningham and on and on. But
the team found its dark side, that scary, underachieving side that has gotten
it into trouble many times before. Once again, many wondered (incorrectly, as
it turned out) if Coughlin was the right guy to lead the team, if defensive coordinator
Perry Fewell could do the job necessary to win the division and go to the playoffs.
However, upon closer inspection, two of the four third-quarter losses were winnable
games regardless of the result. The Giants were right there against San Francisco
and, aside for one, final drive from Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers that
saw great offense and plainly lousy defense, the Giants were right there, too.
They were far, far away in losses to
Philadelphia and New Orleans, however. The former was a killer loss to an NFC
East rival and the latter a painful defeat against an overwhelming New Orleans
offense. The four losses put the Giants
in a huge 6-6 hole. Worse, the impression was that they were plainly finished
and that the season had just imploded.
As always, there was more to this story.
FOURTH QUARTER With their collective backs against the cold, hard brick
wall of another lost season... ahhh, just the way they liked it. "Must
win" proceeded "all in" when it came to inspirational slogans. They had no choice
but to win at least three of the final four and hope for a favor or two from the
Dallas Cowboys. Let's forget that other
blip, the one against the Redskins, the one in which the Giants seemed ready to
go to sleep for the winter. Maybe they just felt too comfortable at 7-6. Maybe
they needed a little extra pressure, as if they didn't have enough already. At
7-7, with the season on the line --- maybe even a few jobs, too --- two games
remained, one against the blustery and big-mouthed New York Jets and the final
contest against Dallas, again. They had to win both to have a chance at winning
the division. A wild card position was out of the question. The
offense, minus the powerful running game that had defined Giants football for
so many years, was prolific with Manning, Nicks, Cruz and Manningham. The offensive
line was a patchwork, the tight end position was erratic with Jake Ballard doing
all the right things when he was healthy, Bear Pascoe and Travis Beckum holding
serve when Ballard was not. Defensively,
everyone knew the Giants had a great pass rush from the line, but Tuck was still
hurting. The good news was that not only had Pierre-Paul arrived, but Osi Umenyiora,
who had missed most of the season with a bum knee, had returned to form. At
linebacker, Chase Blackburn, back from private life and playing out of his head,
was holding fort at the MIKE position and Matthias Kiwanuka was strong as a SAM-DE
hybrid. It was Michael Boley, however,
who emerged as the defensive quarterback and was playing a career year.
The secondary, on the other hand, was still struggling after a series of injuries
and terrifying experiences at the hands of Drew Brees and even Rex Grossman, of
all people. It was as though the secondary had still not recovered from the loss
of T-2 in the preseason. What happened
over the final two games was damned near epic. The Giants were strong against
the Jets, a game in which Cruz completed his journey to greatness with an inconceivable
99-yard touchdown catch, breaking three tackles and taking off. Even Bradshaw,
who had just 54 yards on 15 carries, punched in two touchdowns. The Giants were
standing tall and the NFL was taking notice. After losing four straight, the Giants
looked as though they were ready to peak, and there were murmurs of 2007. And
on that same weekend, the Giants got a little help from the "Dream Team" when
Philadelphia woke up long enough to beat Dallas.
So on New Year's Day night, the Giants found themselves in a win-and-in situation.
Just the way they liked it. They rolled,
of course, simultaneously crushing Dallas' playoff hopes while winning the NFC
East title with a 31-14 victory. Cruz pulled off a 74-yard touchdown and went
6-for-178. Nicks caught five for 76 and a score. Bradshaw scored twice.
Most importantly, the defense came alive, stifling Dallas and Tony Romo with six
sacks and a pick. Suddenly, the Giants
had gone from an afterthought to the dark horse to win it all. They
hit their stride at the right team, got hot and earned a chance to go all the
way, making everyone forget the four-game losing streak, the losses to Washington
and Seattle, the injuries and the finger-pointing. They
took it all in, burned it for fuel and went all the way instead. Have
something to say? Got a question? Thoughts? Send it over to aklein22@verizon.net
or follow me on Twitter @_AaronKlein_. Check
out Dave's website at E-GIANTS
where you can subscribe to his newsletters which
run much more frequently than what is available here. - Team Giants
NEW
- Send a request to davesklein@aol.com
for a free week's worth of news! |