Giants Shockied In Seattle

I am trying to take a "half full" view rather than a"half empty" approach to the state of the Giants. More than the loss, how they lost yesterday in Seattle was probably a good thing. This team is in trouble and yesterday's total disaster should be a catalyst for some necessary change. We will find out in two weeks whether Coughlin is a real coach or just a power hungry totalitarian who demands the respect he otherwise can't earn. I am not encouraged by two aspects of Coughlin I saw yesterday:

1. Coughlin's benching of Burress. While I believe Burress has the most talent of any Giants' receiver in recent memory, I have not been exactly thrilled by all of his immature antics and displays. It's therefore a bit odd to find myself concerned about Coughlin's benching of Burress yesterday. After all, my pre-game post actually called for the coaching staff to make lineup changes - to adopt a rule that you make plays or you sit and give someone else the opportunity. But, I am not a proponent of punishing players for making mistakes when they are trying to make plays. I have no problem if Coughlin made a decision that his back injury made Burress a liability. But that does not appear to have been the reason. Instead, I fear Coughlin chose to make an example out of Burress and it makes me a bit uneasy wondering why he selected Burress as his target. Furthermore, punishing players for making mistakes when they are trying to make plays is generally counter-productive. It simply sends the message that it is better to make no plays at all than to make a mistake trying to make a play.

2. Coughlin's comments after the game. While he said he took responsibility for the loss, in the same breath he said the schemes were fine and that the problem was simply a matter of poor execution by the players. Translation? The coaching staff and I are doing a great job - the problem is that our players simply suck.

I realize I am playing psycho analyst here, and I am certainly not saying the players are playing great. But, I do believe the disaster in Seattle presents opportunities - to make adjustments in both personnel and in the coaching schemes - an opportunity to bring this team together. It equally has the ability to tear the team apart. It also presents the opportunity for the public to learn whether Tom Coughlin is truly a great coach or just a pretender.

I think back to yesterday's game and see two primary problems:

1. Tom Coughlin knew the Giants were heading into a stadium full of noise against a very strong well balanced team. Seattle's defense led the league in sacks last year and has been playing even stronger so far this year. Under that scenario, I believe there was only one game plan, offensively, to adopt. Use the entire 1st and most of the 2nd quarters trying to physically dominate the line of scrimmage. Pound the ball with Tiki and a strong dose of Brandon Jacobs. Refuse to deviate if not immediately successful. Be willing to punt. A conservative and safe approach but one that provides a greater chance of success in the atmosphere the Giants were facing yesterday. And there is nothing that demoralizes an opponent more than getting beaten physically on the line of scrimmage.

2. The Giants had to create a pass rush. I am certainly not saying the secondary is playing great. However, it is truly impossible to get a good reading on just how poorly the secondary is playing when the opposing quarterback is under absolutely no pressure whatsoever.

These were two of the three keys I posted before yesterday's game and I believe yesterday would have been a totally different game had the Giants adopted both of these keys as their game plan out of the box.

I am certainly no professional coach - and I feel uncomfortable pretending that I know how to game plan better than Coughlin. But there it is. Like Shockey, I've said it. Unlike Shockey, I'm not a member of the team and my comments can't disrupt team unity. He needs to become a man and say what he needs to say straight to Coughlin's face and learn to control his emotions in public.

Amazingly, I am still not down about this team. Perhaps I am deluded. Maybe they really do stink and have no talent on either side of the ball. But I continue to think they are loaded with talent. It will be interesting to see in two weeks time whether Coughlin has made the necessary adjustments to have them playing that way.