Brady Quinn is Totes Sorry For Being Bitter About Tim Tebow, Guys…
One of the more interesting sports pieces published this week was Michael Silver’s oral history of Tebowmania for GQ. The most interesting part of said piece — other than Terrell Suggs trolling so hard — was the surprisingly catty remarks from Brady Quinn (and to some extent Kurt Warner) regarding Tebow’s success. Here’s a taste:
BRADY QUINN (backup QB, Denver Broncos): Early in the season, there was a game when Kyle [Orton] got hurt and the coaches were calling for me to go in, but Kyle got up and finished the game out. So I was the second-string guy. Then, a few weeks later, they decided to put Tim in. I felt like the fans had a lot to do with that. Just ’cause they were chanting his name. There was a big calling for him. No, I didn’t have any billboards. That would have been nice.
Someone call the wahmbulance…
QUINN: We’ve had a lot of, I guess, luck, to put it simply
–snip–
QUINN: If you look at it as a whole, there’s a lot of things that just don’t seem very humble to me. When I get that opportunity, I’ll continue to lead not necessarily by trying to get in front of the camera and praying but by praying with my teammates, you know?
It’s funny because he thinks someone is going to give him a chance to start…
Lest his obvious bitterness be construed as such, Quinn (who is a free agent) has issued an apology:
Quinn took to Twitter after the article’s release Tuesday, saying the comments attributed to him did not reflect his opinion of Tebow.
Tebow “deserves a lot of credit for our success and I’m happy for him and what he accomplished. Most importantly, he is a great teammate,” Quinn wrote.
Quinn said he’s reached out to Tebow directly “to clear this up,” adding, “I apologize to anyone who feels I was trying to take anything away from our team’s or Tim’s success this season.”
Quinn also said on Twitter that “the resulting story was a completely inaccurate portrayal of my comments. I have addressed my disappointment with the writer and have reached out to Tim to clear this up.”
Dude, just own it. If anyone understands shitty quarterbacking it’s you. Maybe if you just keep on trolling, Terrell Suggs will let you enroll at Ball So Hard University and QB his intramural flag football team. That’s really the best case scenario for you at this point and it’s also probably the closest you’ll ever get to being a starting QB in the NFL.
Bonus Kurt Warner cattiness:
WARNER: I’m more of a purist, a drop-back passer, and there were times that it was almost difficult to watch. Like, this isn’t supposed to be happening, and I don’t know how to filter it through my brain.
Hey Tim! There’s only room for one Bible thumping Jesus freak in this sport. I’d like to see you draw our Lord this well:
If You Aren’t Watching ‘Justified’ You’re Doing TV Wrong
I’ve long lamented the current state of television, so I’ll spare you today by highlighting something that I actually do like. I actually never thought I’d write this about a show set in Kentucky (although it’s filmed in California), but Justified is the best show running outside of premium TV (still can’t put it ahead of Game of Thrones) and you need to be watching it.
The truth is, Justified has an exceedingly simple concept and should be fodder for the average viewer that I have so disparaged in this space. The story follows US Marshall Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) who has recently (three seasons ago) been reassigned from Miami back to his boyhood home in Eastern Kentucky. See, Raylan has a nasty habit of shooting suspects and he’s shot one too many in Florida. Once back in Kentucky Givens finds himself facing off with (and occasionally teaming up with) his best friend Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins), an aspiring hillbilly crimelord who over the show’s three seasons has evolved from a loathsome neo-Nazi, into a “redeemed” back-woods preacher, into a strangely lovable anti-hero.
Each episode generally revolves around a procedural storyline, during which Raylan does Marshall stuff (tracking fugitives, protecting witnesses, shooting people) against the backdrop of a conflict between the larger, more malevolent forces in his life (usually Boyd and one or two other “big” bad guys). The larger, overarching storylines are allowed to simmer in the periphery before coming to a head in the final few episodes of the season. In this sense, there’s a little bit there for everyone. For fans of NCIS there’s a crime procedural, gun fights, Stetson hats, Southern accents, and very few big words. For people who appreciate good TV there’s actual story, human characters with plenty of flaws, and well written dialogue. And for people like me who enjoy staring at pretty ladies, there’s plenty of that too.
What truly sets Justified apart is the quality of its acting. The cast is across the board excellent, but the two standouts are Olyphant and Goggins. Olyphant is perhaps best known for playing another (former) Marshall, Sheriff Seth Bullock on HBO’s Deadwood. He plays Givens with a bit more swagger, where Bullock was very much the strong, silent type, Givens is often glib. He’s Clint Eastwood with a sense of humor.
The real treasure, though, is Goggins, a veteran of another great FX show: The Shield. Goggins’ performance lends Crowder an air of casual, menacing intelligence. When contrasted with the usual dumbassery of the backwoods criminals featured on the show it becomes clear that Boyd Crowder is an entirely different animal, a would be Michael Corleone in a flannel shirt. Justified‘s writers along with Goggins, have managed to turn Boyd Crowder into the most complex TV villain since Ian McShane’s Al Swearengen on Deadwood.
Justified airs at 10 pm ET on FX and if you aren’t watching you’re doing TV wrong.
So Long, and Thanks for all the Knuckleballs
Tim Wakefield retired on Friday, as the third winningest pitcher in Red Sox history after 17 years with the team. Wakefield won’t be remembered as the greatest pitcher in team history (that honor belongs to Pedro Martinez), but for nearly two decades he’s been the greatest point of continuity for the team as it emerged from the dark days of the late 90′s and early aughts to become a perennial championship contender. For the average fan he will perhaps be best remembered for giving up a series-ending home run to Aaron Boone in the 2003 ALCS. Red Sox die-hards, however, will recall Wakefield forgoing a Game 4 start by volunteering for mop-up duty in a Game 3 blowout loss to the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS. That effort, along with Wake’s 3 inning appearance in Game 5, were critical to the Red Sox preserving their pitching staff to complete the greatest comeback in sports history. For that we’ll always be thankful.
The truth is that I’ve always had mixed feelings about Wakefield. He certainly brought a lot to the table, he was an effective innings eater, a respected teammate, and no one ever questioned his guts. However, he also took a lot off; Wakefield retires with a career ERA of 4.41 and a career FIP of 4.71, and Jason Varitek’s inability to catch his knuckleball required the Red Sox to carry deadweight Doug Mirabelli for years as Wake’s personal catcher.
Perhaps what was most unique about Wakefield was that his both his best and worst qualities as a pitcher seemed to be on display in every start. Wakefield could go from striking out two batters in a row to giving up back to back home runs in a span of 10 minutes. Although Red Sox fans have long adored him, we’d be lying if we didn’t admit that his starts have always been heartburn inducing.
This is perhaps the point in this retrospective where I should make a hackneyed metaphor comparing Wakefield to the pitch that made him famous, the knuckleball. The truth is that Wake often belied the long-held baseball stereotype of knuckleballers as odd-ball, flighty, personalities. In fact, what made Wakefield so easy to root for was how normal he seemed. Not only did he rely on a throwback pitch, he was a throwback to a time when baseball players weren’t freaks of nature. There’s no doubt that Wakefield was an exceptional athlete, but when compared to preternaturally gifted individuals like Nomar Garciaparra, Pedro Martinez and Manny Ramirez, Wakefield’s whole existence seemed proof that perhaps Major League Baseball wasn’t so hard to play. In a clubhouse often populated by crazy people (Ramirez, Carl Everett), outsized personalities (Martinez, David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia) and a town populated by the most neurotic fan base in the nation and a media best described as something just short of despicable — Boston’s two most likable print columnists are Bob Ryan and Tony Massarotti, one of whom (Ryan) once argued that Jason Kidd’s wife deserved to be verbally assaulted for sitting in the Garden stands with her kid and the other (Massarotti) of whom is just slightly less of a bridge troll than Dan Shaughnessy — Wakefield always felt like a breath of fresh air.
Like so much else in his career, Wakefield’s retirement seems somewhat understated for someone who was so much a part of the Red Sox culture for the past 17 years. In many ways, it comes as a surprise, I always thought that Wake could pitch well into his 50s if he wanted. At the same time, like so much else he did, it just seems like the right time, the normal time for him to hang it up.
Surprise, Surprise, People Don’t Like Crappy Movies
Does anyone know what Disney’s John Carter is supposed to be about? I’ve seen a couple trailers and I certainly have no idea. Semi-related question: does anyone care? Apparently not:
Hollywood is in a tizzy over the early tracking which just came online this morning for Walt Disney Studios‘ John Carter opening March 9th. “Not good. 2 unaided, 53 aware, 27 definitely interested, 3 first choice,” a senior exec at a rival studio emails me. Another writes me, ”It just came out. Women of all ages have flat out rejected the film. The tracking for John Carter is shocking for a film that cost over $250 million. This could be the biggest writeoff of all time.” I’m hearing figures in the neighborhood of $100 million. And the studio isn’t even trying to spin reports of the 3D pic’s bloated budget any more.
Who knew that showing a bunch of incoherent images from your movie wasn’t an effective marketing strategy? Maybe this will convince studios to stop spending millions of dollars making 3D poop-smears?
Now, to be fair, this very soft tracking has been expected. The studios’ private reports have shown for some time very soft awareness and very little wannasee. So what’s Disney’s explanation? “It’s the last leftover from the previous regime of Dick Cook,” an executive who works for successor Rich Ross reminds me. “We’re not running away from the movie. Our job is to sell it.”
“I’m not running away from this, but it’s totally someone else’s fault that it sucks.”
Here’s some helpful advice: instead of making and trying to sell the movies that your predecessor — who you clearly don’t think very highly of — left you with, just kill the project. That way you don’t have to take a $100 MM write-off.
Lin vs. Tebow: Because Someone Had to do it…
Linsanity has taken hold here in my light-less bog cave. Even though I’m a huge Celtics fan and long-time Knicks hater, I have to admit that I’m rooting for Jeremy Lin’s continued success. The honest truth is, I can’t think of another time that a player has come out of as much obscurity as Lin to post these types of numbers. Since being inserted into the Knicks’ starting lineup, Lin has filled up the stat sheet, he’s averaging 22.7 pts, 3.8 rebounds, and 6.8 assists in just over 30 minutes per game in February. And while the competition hasn’t exactly been the strongest out there (last 5 opponents: Minnesota, LA Lakers, Washington, Utah, New Jersey), he’s done this without the help of Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire and there’s some reason to believe that this performance is sustainable (more on that later). One of the things that surprises me most about the Lin phenomenon is that I haven’t seen a rash of columns comparing Lin to Tim Tebow. You know it’s going to happen — sportswriters LOVE writing about Tim Tebow — so I figured I’d get out ahead of this and break down why Jeremy Lin is much easier to root for than Tim Tebow (leaving aside the respective popularity of their sports).
Personal Back Stories: Tim Tebow is the culture war personified and he makes no bones about it. His parents are fundamentalist missioaries and Tebow has appeared in a Super Bowl ad put together by James Dobson. While a lot of people view Tebow’s religious views as a quirk, and Christians tend to view them as inspiring, non-Christians (practitioners of other religions and atheists like your’s truly) tend to be uncomfortable with such aggressive Jesus-talk. Sportswriter laziness interprets this as people begrudging Tebow his religion, and fundamentalists view it as Christian hate, mostly because they like to get butthurt at any perceived slight. That’s not the case, I personally don’t mind the fact that Tebow’s a Christian. I just find it hard to personally root for a guy who believes I’m going to hell because I don’t subscribe to his religious worldview, and no amount of niceness on Tebow’s part is going to change that. Perhaps it’s an insecurity on my part, but while I won’t hate on Tebow for his successes, I won’t openly root for him to succeed either. In the end, I don’t care that much, and Tebow leading fourth quarter comebacks isn’t going to change my worldview any more than a fundamentalist would be swayed by this post. I’m just laying it out.
With Lin, there’s no such problem. He’s an Asian kid from the Bay Area, and while he’s been open about his Christianity, he doesn’t have to be viewed through the lens of the culture war. If you don’t see the nuance, let’s just leave it at the fact that Lin has never appeared in an anti-abortion advertisement with a guy who once said same sex marriage would lead to men marrying farm animals. There’s been some talk of Linsanity being driven by race, but I really don’t see it. Most of my friends who love Lin are white, and while I realize that’s hardly a representative sample, I haven’t seen any evidence that Lin’s popularity is race-driven. Honestly, there simply aren’t enough Asians-Americans to create a buzz this big on their own. The fact is, Lin is just a good story, a guy who played in the D-league last year, and was cut by a number of teams before landing in a seemingly perfect situation in New York. He’s much less of a controversial figure than Tebow and as such he has appeal to a much wider audience.
The Unlikeliness Factor: On some level, Tim Tebow’s success has been unlikely, but hardly so much as people have made it out to be. Tebow played at one of the best college football programs in the nation at Florida, in the perfect system for his skill set. He had a large section of the press corps cheering for him to be drafted in the first round — Drew Magary made an art of mocking Peter King’s “draft Tebow and pop the bubbly” line — the Broncos traded up to draft him. Since he was drafted Broncos fans have been clamoring for him to be the team’s starting quarterback, even buying billboard space to express their desires. Sure, at the beginning of this season John Fox and John Elway clearly didn’t have much faith in Tebow, but they might have been the only people in Denver who felt that way.
Lin, on the other hand, came out of nowhere. Harvard grads are successful in a number of walks of life, professional basketball it not one of them. Lin was undrafted and bounced around the league before landing on the Knicks’ bench. It’s a bit unfair to compare fan reaction for Lin to Tebow, mostly because no one knew who Lin was, or what type of player he could be. That said, in terms of unlikeliness, it’s really no contest, there have been people expecting success from Tebow for a while, no one ever expected anything from Jeremy Lin except Lin himself.
Sustainability: At least on the surface, Lin doesn’t have a fatal flaw like Tebow’s inaccuracy. At 6’3” Lin isn’t undersized for an NBA point guard, he clearly has the footspeed and athleticism to get to the rim, he’s shown quite a few basketball moves, he’s shown some range, and he’s done a good job of facilitating for a sub-par supporting cast. I know that Derek Fisher is about 10,000 years old (ballpark estimate) but Lin absolutely abused him on Friday night, and Fisher has long been considered a solid defender at the point. Furthermore, Lin is in a system that works for him, which increases the likelihood that he’ll continue to be an effective player. The Broncos really simplified their playbook for Tebow, but at some point they’re going to have to throw the ball to win games and then Tebow becomes a real liability. Lin, on the other hand, can run the pick and roll all day long once Amar’e returns, just like Stoudemire and Steve Nash did for so many seasons in Phoenix. It’s not hard to envision Carmelo Anthony adjusting his game a bit to become a kind of super-Shawn Marion, and the Knicks becoming one of the most entertaining teams in the league. Even if he comes back down to Earth, which is likely, Lin should continue to be a productive player for New York.
I hate the Knicks, but I’ll be rooting for Jeremy Lin from here on out. Tim Tebow? Meh.
Uninformed Super Bowl Commentary
I waited four days to write this column for a few reasons: 1. I wanted to digest all the post- Super Bowl story-lines to get a better sense of how everyone felt, 2. I’m really lazy, and 3. you’re not the boss of me. In any case, here are my thoughts on the Super Bowl and the aftermath:
1. The Giants outplayed the Patriots, end of story: You can harp on drops, or blame Tom Brady (more on both of those later), but the fact is the Giants were simply better for most of the game. They held a 15-minute advantage in time of possession which is huge against the Pats, who unlike other prolific offenses lack a true deep threat. Much of the post-game coverage has made it seem as if the Patriots blew this game completely or that they were ever expected to win. New England was a 3 point favorite and it’s questionable if the line should have even been that high. Give the Giants some credit for seizing their opportunities.
2. If the Giants had lost, Kevin Boothe would surely have been the goat: Boothe committed two critical penalties almost killed New York. The more egregious of the two was a hold on Vince Wilfork on third and five, which erased a first down run across midfield by Ahmad Bradshaw. The Giants were stuffed on the ensuing third and 15 and had to punt, leading to a 96 yard touchdown drive by the Patriots. To that point the game had been all Giants and had some blowout potential.
3. Blaming Tom Brady is idiotic: The trolls in the Boston media have been out in full force this week — I’m pretty sure that Dan Shaughnessy is a vampire who sustains himself on the sorrow of Massholes — and they’re all wrong. Brady threw a bad pick, true, but he was also brilliant, leading his team on one of the most impressive TD drives in NFL history before the half to take the lead, then followed it up with another touchdown drive to start the second half. Brady put his team in a position to win the game.
I also don’t have a problem with what Gisele Bundchen said after the game (and not just because I’m in love with her), it was the heat of the moment, as a wife she should want to defend her husband, and she didn’t say anything that was untrue. Brady could have made a better throw on the Welker drop, but that’s also a play that great receivers make. As my friend Ryan said after the game Brady was maybe 30% to blame on that play, the rest is on Welker. Aaron Hernandez’ drop on the other hand was entirely on the receiver, the ball hit him right on the hands at chest level. I’d go even further than Gisele did and note that Brady isn’t capable of covering the Giants’ receivers either. Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz, Mario Manningham, and even Henry Hynoski (Henry Hynoski!) were able to make plays in critical situations. The Manningham catch was an un-defendable (I’m making that a word) play, but many of the plays that turned the game to the Giants were simple cases of receivers beating their defenders.
4. Brandon Jacobs needs to shut up: Brandon Jacobs is maybe the 10th most valuable player on the Giants offense at this point in his career, so I’m not entirely sure why anyone cares about his opinion. That said, there’s nothing that ruins a victory like spouting some misogynistic nonsense a couple days later. Jacobs shouldn’t have any concern about what’s going on with the Patriots, he should just be enjoying the celebration. Jacobs has since apologized, but he shouldn’t have said anything in the first place.
5. Eli Manning isn’t a Hall of Famer (yet), but Tom Coughlin is: Eli needs a couple more seasons with number like this one and he’s in, no doubt (another ring also makes it automatic). For the record, I think he will eventually be enshrined in Canton. Coughlin is already in. He has three Super Bowl rings now (one as an assistant on the 1990 Giants) and he’s turned two teams that no one expected to go anywhere into champions. Combine that with the job he did in Jacksonville, taking an expansion team to the AFC Championship game, and he’s a no-brainer.
6. Both Teams have bright futures: The Giants will be healthier to start next season and should be able to fill some holes as well. The Patriots have four draft picks in the first two rounds, and this might be the year that they decide to use them to reinforce their defense. The AFC is clearly the weaker conference right now and the Pats could put themselves head and shoulders above everyone else simply by getting a pass rusher. Passing on Clay Matthews may haunt New England for a decade, that type of premium pass rush threat is the one thing that they sorely lack.
Things to do on Sunday: I Admire This Network’s Devotion to Boobs
This is the first in a running series about things to do on Sunday now that football season is over:
I love boobs. Along with scotch, pizza, and puppies, they’re probably my favorite thing in the world. That’s why I’m thrilled with Showtime’s Sunday lineup of shows: Shameless, Californication, and House of Lies, all of which feature boobs as significant plot devices. With Sundays now devoid of football, I can think of worse things to do than stare at boobs for two hours. Here’s a breakdown of the shows themselves…
Shameless kicks things off at 9 pm ET and is actually quite good. The plot centers around alcoholic Frank Gallagher and his six children, living on the South Side of Chicago. Shameless is a remake of a British show and if you know anyone who watched the original they’re sure to be insufferable about the inferiority of the American version. Ignore those people, everything is better in America (USA! USA!) and alcoholics are gross enough without having British teeth. The show ostensibly stars William H. Macy as Frank, but the real headliner(s) are Emmy Rossum’s — who plays Fiona, Frank’s eldest daughter — boobs, which are featured prominently. Overall the show is consistently interesting, although some of the characters are irritating and plot devices are sometimes contrived. Shameless is billed as an hour-long comedy and in that sense it’s much more successful than other Showtime offerings like Nurse Jackie, Weeds, or The United States of Tara. Shameless is still more of a drama than a comedy, but it manages to be lighthearted without trying to lay on the schtick to thickly like Weeds. There’s a chance I’d be watching even if there weren’t so many boobs.
Next up on Sundays is House of Lies, an new half-hour black comedy that takes viewers inside the world of management consulting. The truth is, you don’t have to be interested in consulting, business jargon, or even money in general to enjoy this show, a simple interest in boobs will do. This is the rare Showtime comedy that is actually consistently funny, and that has a lot to do with a stellar cast that includes Don Cheadle, Kristen Bell, and my personal favorite Ben Schwartz, best known as Jean-Ralphio on Parks and Recreation. Did I mention there’s boobs? Unfortunately, one set of boobs that we won’t be seeing on House of Lies are Kristen Bell’s, as she has a no nudity clause in her contract. That aside, this is worth a watch.
Californication wore out it’s welcome with me some time ago. Sorry, but there’s only so many masturbation jokes that one man can endure. It’s hard to say that this show jumped the shark, because the whole thing has felt like one extended shark jump. Compared to the shows that precede it, this one is pretty bereft of boobs, which is pretty strange for a show that handles sex with as little tact as possible. Still, it’s not like you’ve got anything better to do at 10:30 on a Sunday, so you might as well have that 3rd scotch and watch.
A Retrospective on Giants Successes Past and Present
Giants 21 – Patriots 17
Giants Super Bowl victories come when you least expect them. The Giants have made five Super Bowls in their history, winning four of them. In my lifetime they’ve won three of four big games. None of them were expected. I was a toddler when the 1990 Giants beat the Buffalo Bills for the title, behind backup quarterback Jeff Hostetler and a missed Scott Norwood field goal.
The first Giants Super Bowl run that I remember clearly was in 2000 and it ended in defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens, a loss I’m still bitter about (Ray Lewis should be in jail dammit). The 2000 Giants were actually slight favorites in the championship game after throttling the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game. Those Giants were actually the top seed in the NFC, but in retrospect they weren’t actually a great team. They catapulted into the playoffs following an improbable second half run against a weak NFC. They were quarterbacked by Kerry Collins and coached by Jim Fassel. Their defeat really shouldn’t have come as a shock.
Volumes have been written about the 2007 season and the Giants’ eventual Super Bowl win so I won’t rehash it except to say that I was as shocked as anyone when they won.
The 2008 Giants were actually the only Giants team that I have ever expected anything out of. For much of the season, the Giants ran roughshod over the NFC. Then Plaxico Burress capped himself after a Week 12 victory that saw Big Blue improve its record to 11-1 and the Giants stumbled into the playoffs losing 4 of their last 5 games. They were still the top seed in the NFC that season, but lost ignominiously at home to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. I remain convinced that but for the Burress shooting those Giants would have made a return to the Super Bowl.
Even with all the ups and downs of the past decade, the 2011 Giants stand alone as perhaps the most unlikely Super Bowl victors of all time. Sure, they weren’t huge underdogs in the ultimate game like the 2007 team. That said, the 2007 Giants were a team that you could dream on, with star receivers in Burress and Jeremy Shockey, a punishing running game, a stout offensive line, a Hall of Fame pass rusher in Michael Strahan, and a new defensive scheme designed by Steve Spagnuolo which constantly kept QBs on their heels.
In contrast, the only pre-season dreams that anyone had about the 2011 team were nightmares. Burress and Shockey were distant memories, but the Giants began the offseason by watching their replacements: Steve Smith and Kevin Boss — two of Eli Mannings most reliable receivers over the past three seasons — walk. The Giants, desperate for cap room, continued their veteran purge by releasing Shaun O’Hara and Rich Seubert, anchors on an offensive line that had been one of the league’s best for a few years running. The Giants weren’t off to a great start. And then the injuries hit. As the preseason unfolded, the team lost top corner Terrell Thomas along with two more defensive backs: Brian Witherspoon and Bruce Johnson. 1st round pick Prince Amukamara hurt his foot and missed 3/4 of the season. Osi Umenyiora had knee surgery and missed the start of the season as well while Justin Tuck started the season with a litany of injuries. To top it all off, starting middle linebacker Jonathan Goff hurt his knee and was placed on IR.
In the course of the preseason the Giants’ secondary had gone from one of the team’s greatest strengths to a unit without a nickel corner, forcing safety Antrel Rolle (a failed cornerback) into the role. The Goff injury exposed an already thin linebacking corps, especially when Michael Boley was unable to stay on the field early in the season. In the Super Bowl, the Giants started Chase Blackburn, whom they had signed off the couch late in the season, at the MIKE spot. There were bright spots on defense, Mathias Kiwanuka made a successful transition from defensive end to linebacker, and Jason Pierre Paul emerged as the greatest Giants pass rusher since Strahan, amazingly eclipsing Tuck and Umenyiora. Still, the defense was a liability all season long, especially against teams that could stretch the field.
On the offensive side of the ball is where the 2011 Giants made their greatest strides. The offensive line was atrocious for much of the season, with formerly steady performers like Chris Snee and Kareem Mackenzie faltering. The running game struggled as Ahmad Bradshaw battled injuries and Brandon Jacobs looked past his expiry date. Yet, the Giants had one of the best offenses in the league as Eli Manning took a step forward from being a prolific yet turnover prone passer to a straight up late game assassin. Finally, the Giants found themselves the perfect receiver for the modern passing game in Victor Cruz, who may never have been discovered if not for injuries to Mario Manningham and Domenik Hixon. Out of the slot, Cruz is Wes Welker with better dance moves and his emergence as a go-to target for Manning as well as the perfect complement for Hakeem Nicks was the single greatest reason for the Giants’ improved offense this season. In the end, losing Steve Smith — who was a nonfactor for the Philadelphia Eagles — may have been the best thing to possibly happen to NY in the offseason.
These storylines are only visible in retrospect and if you thought at Week 1 that the Giants would be standing here today, then I honestly would like some of whatever you’re taking because hey, who doesn’t like a nice trip? Then again, the Giants are Super Bowl Champions despite it all, and I couldn’t be happier about that fact.
Upcoming:
Super Bowl Analysis
A Look Ahead to Next Season
Programming Note
Sorry for the silence around here. I’ve been working and travelling pretty much nonstop for the past 3 weeks. I promise to have a Super Bowl recap up tomorrow as well as regular posting throughout the week. In the meantime, anyone know where Madonna gets her HGH? I’m trying to bulk up…
aattarw
