Predictions and general chat

[BerniesElbow]

I wonder if people are willing to put Drew Brees in the upper echelon of QBs like Manning, Brady, Rodgers, etc., after this last performance?

Seems most fans consider him more of a second tier guy. I think he should be the league MVP this year.

[kurtsimonw]

Brees is better than a lot of HoF QBs, he's definitely up there. Would rather have him than Rodgers, his receivers are far inferior I reckon.

[leviramsey]

The creme de la creme of QBs has been Brady, Peyton, Rodgers, Brees for some time now. I wasn't really aware that anybody didn't have Brees there.

My QB tiers (I try not to judge until at least a couple of seasons worth of starts)

Tier 1 (unquestionably elite)

Brady, Peyton, Rodgers, Brees, maybe Woerthlisrapistberger

Tier 1A (flashes of elite, but questions can be raised)

the 1 maybes, Eli, Rivers, maybe Schaub, maybe Ryan, maybe Cutler, maybe Stafford

Tier 2 (worth building a team around)

the 1A maybes, Flacco, Romo, Vick, maybe Sanchez, Hasselbeck, Palmer (former 1A), maybe Bradford

Tier 3 (stopgaps)

the 2 maybes, Fitzpatrick, Kitna, Grossman, Orton, maybe Moore

Newton and Dalton project for Tier 2, minimum

McCoy and Gabbert project for maybe Tier 2

[BerniesElbow]

I should have been more specific. I meant the media over here. It seems like they mention the usual suspects and then add Drew Brees as an afterthought. I mean, he HAS won a Super Bowl, last time I checked.

[kkr]

I would agree with the below but add the following:

The creme de la creme of QBs has been Brady, Peyton, Rodgers, Brees for some time now. I wasn't really aware that anybody didn't have Brees there.

My QB tiers (I try not to judge until at least a couple of seasons worth of starts)

Tier Tebow (G.O.A.T)

Tim Tebow

Tier 1 (unquestionably elite)

Brady, Peyton, Rodgers, Brees, maybe Woerthlisrapistberger

Tier 1A (flashes of elite, but questions can be raised)

the 1 maybes, Eli, Rivers, maybe Schaub, maybe Ryan, maybe Cutler, maybe Stafford

Tier 2 (worth building a team around)

the 1A maybes, Flacco, Romo, Vick, maybe Sanchez, Hasselbeck, Palmer (former 1A), maybe Bradford

Tier 3 (stopgaps)

the 2 maybes, Fitzpatrick, Kitna, Grossman, Orton, maybe Moore

Newton and Dalton project for Tier 2, minimum

McCoy and Gabbert project for maybe Tier 2

[YankeeinMadrid]

HUGE game tomorrow NYG vs NYJ.

I have to admit, I'm starting to get sick of Rex Ryan's BS. Have you read some of the quotes Cruz has made about Revis? I really hope Eli decides to go after Revis. I agree that Eli is having an amazing year and is a very good QB, but we all know he tries to force throws in there and is prone to dumb INTS.

The big matchup is if we can stop the 4 man pass rush (if not, Jets have no chance), if we can cover TEs and Rbs (Bradshaw might be out, plus your TE is out) and whether the Jets can stop Jacobs (who imo is a beast).

Time for the Jets to put up or shut up.

[kkr]

Time for the Jets to shut their **** obese mouths. If the Jets lose this week and dont make the playoffs then everything Rex Ryan would have said over his three years there would be proved as complete garbage.

Losing tomorrow would be the beginning of the end for Rex Ryan.

I hope we pound the Jets like the Eagles did, it would make Christmas very sweet and also give us a sweep of the AFC East.

Ballard wont play which is a huge loss, but Bradshaw will regardless of how healthy he is or not. I love that Revis and Cro are laughing off Nicks and Cruz also.

Im hoping that all the talk by the Jets has us fired up as if we come out and play hard then i think we have a much more talented team. Play flat again and we will have the misery of Eli struggling to carry us with no help and the defense being marauded through drive after drive.

Should be an epic game, cant wait!

[YankeeinMadrid]

I agree with your Rex 'gastric bypass' Ryan sentiment. Talk is cheap.

Gonna be a great game!!!

Nicks and Cruz started the trash talking actually, but Eli would be crazy to attack Revis. I'm not being a homer, Revis is almost Deion Sanders good.

The Jets D needs to stop the run and Sanchez needs to get off to a good start. If we can do that and protect Sanchez, easier said than done, we should win.

Respect to the Giants, because given all their injuries they have no business winning as many games as they have. Lots of that credit goes to Eli.

I truly believe that this game will mark a before and after for these Jets.

27-17 Jets

[kkr]

I actually like Rex, he is a card and quite amusing. But because he has to talk about the Giants all the time there is resentment there from me for that.

Here is why i am optimistic for today:

Against Jets, Giants defense will return to the basics

Published: Saturday, December 24, 2011, 4:45 AM

Mike Garafolo/The Star-Ledger By Mike Garafolo/The Star-Ledger

There are a few things buoying Kenny Phillips’ confidence this week: the attitude of his teammates, the energy they’ve shown and the general belief the Giants will bounce back from a disappointing loss against the Redskins by giving the un-merriest of greetings to the rival Jets.

This isn’t just a hunch on Phillips’ part. He has empirical evidence to support his claim: a game plan that has all of the players excited.

“That’s one of the reasons practice has been so good this week,” the Giants’ safety said the other day as the locker room emptied following the final full practice of the week. “It’s just guys getting back to what they know, being comfortable.

“We’ve got our playmakers on the field. We’re putting guys in position to make plays. It’s going to show. You’ll see what happens.”

Phillips wasn’t alone in his optimism. A few players were enthused by defensive coordinator Perry Fewell’s willingness to get back to basics this week. The plan is apparently to rid themselves of many on-field checks in favor of getting back to basic schemes that worked last season.

Gone will be the confusion, the “I was right” excuses between players executing different calls, the not-so-veiled grumbling from Antrel Rolle wanting to be a “ball hawk” and the passive approach from defensive backs trying to figure out what to do.

Also eliminated will be the ridiculous rate of third-down conversions by opponents, the quick releases from quarterbacks giving the pass rush little time and the receivers running free for uncontested touchdown grabs.

Well, at least they can only hope all of these things will be cleaned up for a defense that has yet to turn in a dominating performance this year.

“From the front to the back. It’s been everything, it hasn’t been right,” safety Deon Grant said. “But this week (Fewell) got back to, ‘Forget it. I’m going out there with the guys I’ve got, I’m going back to last year’s mentality.’

“He’s been trying so hard this year to call hard defenses to be effective but he was trying to protect certain guys that didn’t know the defense as well.”

Let’s not misconstrue: the 2010 Giants weren’t the ’86 Bears, the 2000 Ravens or even the ’07 Giants. The Colts ran all over them, the Eagles scored 21 in a little over 6 minutes and the Packers hung 45 on them in what was pretty much a must-win game in Week 16.

But in Fewell’s first season in East Rutherford, the Giants led the league in takeaways with 39, and their 46 sacks were fifth-most in the NFL. They were also tops in the NFL in third-down conversions allowed at 32 percent.

This season, they’re tied for ninth in takeaways (26), are 10th in sacks (37) and if there was a stat for confused linebackers and defensive backs, they’d be in the hunt for the top spot.

The glaring (and measurable) problem is one that has contributed to a few of their recent losses: third downs. The Giants are now tied for 21st in the league with opponents converting 41 percent of the time.

Over the past month-plus, it’s gotten even worse in this department. For the first time in their history, they’ve allowed five straight teams to convert 50 percent or more. In all, opponents are 34 for their last 63 on third downs.

“It seems we’ve allowed teams to get in third-and-shorts and obviously the percentages go up,” defensive end Justin Tuck said. “Early in the season we did a good job of keeping them in third-and-8-pluses. That obviously allows us to get more creative on third down.”

Tuck has a point. Of the 63 third downs, 26 have been third-and-5 or shorter, with 17 converted (65 percent). But of the third downs with 6 or more yards to be gained, the Giants have still allowed a 46-percent conversion rate.

This mess began against the Eagles, who converted six third downs on their game-winning drive in Week 11. It continued through the bad loss in New Orleans (the Saints were 5-for-9 on third downs), the loss to the Packers (two touchdown passes on third downs), the victory over the Cowboys (which would’ve been a win for Dallas if Tony Romo didn’t overshoot Miles Austin on third down) and Sunday’s loss to the Redskins, who converted third downs of 14, 12 and 11 yards plus a fourth-and-1 after Rolle missed a tackle on third-and-17.

“It’s been a breakdown here or a breakdown there by either the coverage or by the rush or the execution of the pressure,” Fewell said. “Obviously, we’ve gone up against some pretty good offenses. We think we’re better than that, but they’ve executed better than we have.”

The Giants have only three sacks on third downs over the past five games (after sacking the Patriots’ Tom Brady on two third downs), which might be a sign Fewell isn’t generating enough pressure. Against Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers was sacked once on third down and pressured four times. Not surprisingly, those were the only five third downs the Packers didn’t convert.

This week, the Giants believe they have a plan that will help them be more aggressive on the front end and in the secondary. For obvious reasons, they wouldn’t divulge specifics but Grant said it’s along the lines of what they ran last season.

“We knew exactly what packages we were running in each game, so we knew the defense,” Grant said of last year’s game plans. “We knew how to freak it if we wanted to.”

Uh, what it?

"'Freak it’ means two guys out there used to playing with each other, and he’d do something and I’d piggyback off him. I’d mess up and he’d clean it up for me so it’s not highlighted,” Grant said. “This year you’ve got guys who don’t know the system like that. You’ve got injuries. So you’ve got to try to figure out ways to make it work."

Grant is referring to the rookies, namely linebackers Jacquian Williams and Greg Jones as well as cornerback Prince Amukamara.

Williams has had issues in zone coverage, Jones blew an adjustment from zone to man on a touchdown by the 49ers and a confused Amukamara has allowed a few big plays, including 74- and 40-yarders against the Cowboys and a 20-yard touchdown against Washington.

Reading between the lines of Phillips’ “playmakers” quote, don’t be surprised if the Giants keep the rookies on the sidelines today in favor of Rolle, Phillips, Grant, Corey Webster, Aaron Ross, Michael Boley and Mathias Kiwanuka behind the four pass rushers.

Also look for Rolle back deep so he can break on routes and be that “ball hawk” he wants to be.

“I’m not restricting what he can do,” Fewell said, countering Rolle’s claim. “I would be more than happy for him to get a lot of interceptions.”

Grant said the things the Giants did last year were on display in the game against the Patriots. Looking back at the “All-22” coaches’ tape, it’s evident their two interceptions were on simple coverage looks, as opposed to the “complex” calls that have confused Amukamara and even veterans like Rolle and Webster on Dez Bryant’s 50-yard touchdown for Dallas.

Both of the interceptions against New England appeared to be Cover-3 defenses in which the two cornerbacks and a safety (Phillips) had the deep zones, with three linebackers and Rolle patrolling underneath. One interception was a result of Boley’s tipping a pass underneath a route, while the other came when Grant trailed tight end Rob Gronkowski up the seam.

As Grant dropped, he seemed to convert it to man coverage, with Boley keeping an eye on the zone he vacated.

That’s right, they freaked it.

“It looked like we played a lot of man last year but we used to mix it up,” Grant said. “We were aggressive because we knew what we were doing. Now, we’re out there guessing too much. Last year, even when we were playing zone, we were attacking. Now, we’re not attacking.”

They’re also not doing what Fewell and his assistants identified as a key ingredient in their defense: matching up “late in the down.” In other words, starting in zone and matching up with a receiver running through it.

Instead, there’s been a lot of standing around zones without making a play on the ball.

“We haven’t done it as well as we did it a year ago,” Fewell said, adding: “It’s a matter of trust, knowing who your partner is and how you’re working with your partner. It’s more of a, ‘I know where everybody is and I know where my responsibilities are and this is how I play it.’”

Fewell wants to see it this week. He has to. In a lot of ways, he’s simplified the game plan by getting back to what worked last year.

And the players like it.

“He’s been doing it week in and week out but he hasn’t been sold on it,” Grant said. “This week he said, ‘It’s do or die.’”

link

Thats what we need. Plus Tuck says he feels great, Tony the Tiger Grrrrrreeeeeat, so hopefully he i back to his best and can have an impact because he has been anonymous pretty much all season with groin, neck and toe injuries.

If we had Ballard i would be confident but i can see the D stepping up and then the O struggling somewhat or at least being slowed down and it coming down to the 4th quarter.

Sanchez gives the Jets a 4 point lead with 2 minutes or less to play and Eli drives the field throwing the game winning fade over Revis to Nicks.

[YankeeinMadrid]

Rex Ryan needs to shut his damn mouth. Refs helped us out multiple times. If Cro and Wilson would have tackled Cruz instead of sucking, the momentum wouldn't have changed. The only positive in my life, sports wise, is that Real Madrid are currently in 1st place.

[kurtsimonw]

I usually 'nothing' the Jets. But Rex makes them very unlikeable. Despite us only playing once every 4 years, he seems to spend an awful lot of time talking about the Giants or taking cheap shots. The Jets NY inferiority complex is pretty hilarious though.

[kkr]

I think its the owners more than Rex. They hired Rex telling him they were tired of being second fiddle to the Giants so of course to justify their faith in him he will take any opportunity to bash us and what with them making the playoffs the past two seasons and us missing out he had some ammo.

Now he doesnt so hopefully he will shut up.

Still think he is entertaining though. A fat loudmouth clearing in the woods, but a funny one.

[BerniesElbow]

Big weekend coming up.

Pittspuke in Cleveland on Sunday and Ohio State v. Florida the next day!

And, by the way, I just moved to Florida last week!

GO BUCKS! Woo-hoo!

And lets see if anybody on the Browns offense has the "testicular fortitude" to go after that punk-ass James Harrison for knocking out Colt McCoy with a cheap shot.

Heres what I would do:

On the very first offensive snap for the Browns, I would have Colt McCoy take a knee and the other 10 guys run at Harrison and knock him down and then just pile on him.

[Tegis]

Brees! Of course he has to break the record with a TD pass. Amazing QB

[kkr]

Pro Bowl rosters have been announced.

NFC

AFC

Eli and JPP in for the Gmen, no Cruz. Not sad. 2 out of 3 aint bad.

[Tegis]

Pro Bowl rosters have been announced.

NFC

AFC

Eli and JPP in for the Gmen, no Cruz. Not sad. 2 out of 3 aint bad.

Champ (11th pro bowl, shut down corner if there ever was one) Von and Doom. Our defence gets the recognition it deserves.

[Tegis]

Seeing as we actually have a wicked pass-rush and a running game to support Orton, I think we'll have a winning season/8-8 this year. No playoffs though.

So, 8-8 was correct, but we got playoffs

[kurtsimonw]

Had no sleep last night so fell asleep and missed all the games. Looking through them now though and do you think Green Bays performance today means that Drew Brees should be MVP and not Aaron Rodgers? Not taking anything way from Rodgers' season, but surely if your backups can throw 6 TDs against a good team then it's more the offense as a whole and not the actual QB that's making things work? While I think Brees makes their receivers.

[leviramsey]

Brees has a much better running game than either Rodgers or Brady, though.

I'd argue that Brady has much worse surrounding talent than Brees or Rodgers. No running game to speak of and no "true" wideouts (much better slot receiver and TEs, though, than either... (Hernandez+Gronkowski) is better than Finley or Graham individually).

[claret75]

Grossman gets my vote. Grossman aside, I wouldn't like to say. The Packers have better WRs but the Saints are a lot better at running the ball taking the pressure off Brees.