A Giant Disgrace

Football season is effectively over me. There is still one game to go in the regular season, plus the playoffs and Super Bowl. But it's done. When the clock read 00:00, the Giants season was done. Oh and that was the end of the first half, not the game.

The Giants, in their final home game at Giants Stadium, didn't bother to show up. A disgraceful display on both sides of the ball led to a 41-9 blowout at the hands of the Carolina Panthers. The loss, combined with the Cowboys and Packers wins, eliminated the Giants from a possible playoff appearance.

The entire game changed on one series in the first quarter and the Giants never recovered. ,It appeared the Giants were headed for a 7-0 lead when they marched right down the field on the game's first possession. But an Eli Manning TD pass to Steve Smith was negated by a Madison Hedgecock hold and a couple of plays later Mario Manningham fumbled away the football and the season. The Panthers completely dominated from that moment on.

The Giants defense which finally showed up last week against the woeful Redskins, reverted back to their "can't stop anyone" form. Jonathan Stewart rushed for the third highest (206) total yardage by any opponent in Giants' history.

It was a sad finish for the fans, especially those long time season ticket holders who can't afford the exorbitant prices at the new stadium.

As for next year, Tom Coughlin will likely be back. He's only two years removed from a SB championship. But defensive coordinator Brian Sheridan is likely gone. It's obviously not all his fault. The players did not get the job done. This was a defense that was supposed to better than last year's. Some heads will probably roll among the players as well.

O-Coordinator Kevin Gilbride's job is most likely safe, though he will probably look for a head coaching job. And what happened to this team's vaunted running game? Brandon Jacobs has played every game and maybe that's the problem. He's been very ordinary - yesterday he had six carries for one yard before leaving with a banged up knee.

True Blue

Big props to the NY football Giants tonight. There were many talking heads that kept referring to this afternoon's match up with Tampa Bay as a "trap game". That there would be a tremendous let down after the emotional victory over Dallas last Sunday night, they said.

Obviously, part of these feelings were based on past Giants performances in these situations and just the way the league "flows" in general. It was also stated despite these same talking heads also saying the Bucs could be one of the worst teams in the league.

The latter statement was the one proven true this afternoon as the Giants absolutely destroyed the Buccaneers 24-0. The Giants defense, missing a large chunk of personnel, still managed to hold the Bucs to 86 total yards. That's not a quarter total, that's the entire game.

The Giants meanwhile ran the ball down their Bucs' throat. Ahmad Bradshaw rushed for 104 yards on just 14 carries. Brandon Jacobs was 26-92 and 1 TD. Eli Manning with an efficient day- 14-24 161 Yds 2 TD 0 Int.

Next week? Yup, another trap game on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Priceless

New football stadium: over $1 billion


Avg Ticket Price at the new Cowboys Stadium: $159.65

Beating Dallas in their first home game and sticking it to the pig faced Jerry Jones:

PRICELESS