Articles by J.D.Cook

Dec 29 2014

Giants 2014 Season Wrap Up

by: J.D. Cook

There is only so much one person can write about a losing season. I learned this truth last year when I blogged about the Giants entire losing season. It was kept interesting by the fact that although we started poorly, we went on a late season run at the playoffs that came close to actually happening. This year there was no such magic to be had. We went on a longer losing streak that took us from in the heat of the playoff race straight out of it and then off a cliff for some good measure. So in that spirit I decided to write one final Giants blog about the second half of the Giants 2014 season and where they should go from here.

The Positives
Odell Beckham Jr., he provided a spark to the offense that propelled it on a late (if pointless) winning streak in December. The defense still looked pretty decent this year and I think the Giants have a solid secondary. The special teams also played a pretty good year as there were only a few instances of mistakes involving kick offs, kicks or punts in general. (This past week excluded, of course). Josh Brown actually had the highest success rate in terms of making field goals (92.3) of any Giants kicker in history. Eli Manning also had a fairly good year in terms of statistics throwing one less interception then his brother Peyton.

The Negatives
The Giants lost to every challenging opponent they faced this year. Starting with the Eagles they went on a seven game losing streak that made the 2014 season even worse than the 2013 season. The offense looked completely useless at times and the Giants run game didn’t factor heavily into any of their contests this year. The defensive line failed to get enough sacks or pressure to make many big stops.

Two Minute Drill

Although I am fine with the Giants deciding to keep Tom Coughlin as their coach I am not sure how the team will improve next year. I don’t think installing a new offensive coordinator would be the correct move either but it’s hard to think someone shouldn’t be let go after the Giants failed to improve after a terrible 2013 season. Beckham Jr. looked great this year but who knows if he will be as effective next year or fade as he gets older like Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks. Perhaps Beckham Jr’s dominance this year will lead to a resurgent Cruz next year. If the Giants improve their defensive and offensive fronts and add a tough running back they should be back in contention next year. That said…I was hopeful going into this year after a dismal year before. I hope I’m not writing this same blog next year.

The Giants Blog is published every Monday during the NFL season while the New York Giants remain viable contenders (which in 2011 was right to the end and their Super Bowl championship). On the weeks when the Giants have a Monday night game, the blog will be published on Wednesday. The blogs are thoughtful (albeit heavily biased) analysis of the Giants’ performance from our editor-in-chief and Giant fanatic J.D. Cook.

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Nov 9 2014

Seahawks Rain on Giants

by J.D. Cook

The Seahawks looked terrible in the rain this week. Russell Wilson couldn’t complete a pass and their running backs were fumbling up and down the field. So all I have to say is the Giants lost to this terrible team to illustrate just how bad they are playing this year.

The Positives
To be fair there were a lot of improvements this week compared to their horrid loss to Indianapolis last week. The Wide Receivers seemed to understand that the loss last week was squarely on their shoulders and they seemed to catch almost everything this week. Parker had an especially good turn around and Odell Beckham Jr continues to look like a real N.F.L. talent. The Giants secondary looked fantastic as well.

The Negatives
Unfortunately none of that matters when the Giant’s defense can’t stop a single run. The Seahawks wanted to give the game to the Giants on a silver platter but the Giants wouldn’t take it. Instead they gave up record rushing yards to Seattle’s offense.

Two Minute Drill
The Giants look like their proverbial goose is cooked this year. They haven’t won a single game in a desperate stretch of contests that aren’t over yet. They still have to play the 49ers and the Cowboys in the next two weeks before things get any easier. If the Giants don’t win one or both of those games they will most likely be eliminated from playoff contention shutting the door on a very mediocre 2014 season. At that point I’m curious to see if Tom Coughlin will retire and where the Giants will go from there.

The Giants Blog is published every Monday during the NFL season while the New York Giants remain viable contenders (which in 2011 was right to the end and their Super Bowl championship). On the weeks when the Giants have a Monday night game, the blog will be published on Wednesday. The blogs are thoughtful (albeit heavily biased) analysis of the Giants’ performance from our editor-in-chief and Giant fanatic J.D. Cook.

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Oct 19 2014

Sue Jerry Jones

by J.D. Cook

I’ve seen this game before. That’s why I started writing this in the 3^rd quarter. Once Larry Donnell fumbled and Dallas turned it into a touchdown it was clear this game was over. It’s really frustrating that the Giants keep falling into the same narrative stretching back to last year at least. I’ll explain more below.

The Positives

The Giants offense managed to score points this week so that was a welcome improvement. Daniel Fells touchdown was a thing of beauty early in the game. Odell Beckham Jr. also looks like a legitimate threat on offense but his quick jump into touchdown dances after scoring makes me think he care a little too much about his image and a not enough about winning. Darn, even the positives section of the blog has negatives today…might as well get onto them then.

The Negatives

I spoke above about the same narrative taking place. That narrative is that when the Giants get hot on offense and score the defense can no longer get any stops. The reverse is true as well because when the defense is playing hot and getting stops the offense fails to capitalize on them. They just don’t seem able to get a stop and a score or vice versa. I can’t remember the last time the Giants got a clutch win against a division foe when they needed one. It probably hasn’t happened for a year or more. I miss the old days when we’d be down by a score and Eli would drive us down the field to win the game. Is that Giants team totally gone?

The Two Minute Drill

The Giants played a much better game this week but this loss is crippling. We no longer have much of an ability to win the division unless the Cowboys and Eagles go into long losing streaks. All the teams the Giants have beaten this season have been sub-par and we’ve now lost to every good team we’ve played. I have little to no hope that we will come out of our killer stretch of games with a winning record. At this point I’d probably say we will be sitting at home when the playoffs come around for yet another year. I want to end this blog on a positive so I’ll just say that hopefully some fans will sue Jerry Jones for trying to blind the crowd with his ridiculous idea to keep the stadiums windows open.

Adios until after the Bye Week!

The Giants Blog is published every Monday during the NFL season while the New York Giants remain viable contenders (which in 2011 was right to the end and their Super Bowl championship). On the weeks when the Giants have a Monday night game, the blog will be published on Wednesday. The blogs are thoughtful (albeit heavily biased) analysis of the Giants’ performance from our editor-in-chief and Giant fanatic J.D. Cook.

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By J.D. Cook • Sports • 1 • Tags: Articles by J.D.Cook, New York Giants, NFL

Oct 15 2014

Zero Offense

by: J. D. Cook

It’s taken me a few days to fully digest Sunday night’s abysmal loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The lack of scoring coupled with the loss of Victor Cruz is enough to send any fan into a minor writing coma. Thankfully I’ve recovered…but things still look bleak.

The Positives

We’ve already gotten one division win against the Washington Redskins so even with this horrid defeat we can still triumph in the East. That said the Dallas Cowboys suddenly look like they could be for real, although people were saying that about the Giants last week. The Giants defense earned my respect by hanging tough through the entire game. They limited the high flying Philly offense to 27 points and if the Giants had only scored one touchdown in every quarter we would have been one point victors. The Defense even had two pics and a sack but it was to no avail.

The Negatives

The offense…all of it. Manning’s line broke down early in the game but it did manage to recover a bit. By the middle of the game they were giving him chances to throw but he looked so rattled that he wasn’t taking any of them. Rookie Andre Williams was not enough of a factor to give the Gmen a ground game and the receivers were eliminated as factors in the game.

The Two Minute Drill

This week’s showdown with the Cowboys puts the Gmen in the ultimate crunch time position. If we don’t win there is a very real chance we will be 3-8 by the next time we play them in week 12. This is because after we play the Cowboys we go into a bye at almost the perfect time in the season but on the other side of it lies the Colts, Seahawks, 49ers and then the Cowboys again. Only time will tell if this team is made of true Giants.

Until Next Week

The Giants Blog is published every Monday during the NFL season while the New York Giants remain viable contenders (which in 2011 was right to the end and their Super Bowl championship). On the weeks when the Giants have a Monday night game, the blog will be published on Wednesday. The blogs are thoughtful (albeit heavily biased) analysis of the Giants’ performance from our editor-in-chief and Giant fanatic J.D. Cook.

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By J.D. Cook • Sports • 0 • Tags: Articles by J.D.Cook, New York Giants, NFL

Oct 5 2014

Giants Kirk those Fal-KHANS

by J.D. Cook

Some consistency is a nice thing! After two straight wins we’ve now won 3 games and are heading into a huge division clash with the Philadelphia Eagles. Division match ups are hard to predict but the Eagles are the current top dogs and how we play against them will be a measure of our improvement since last year.

The Positives

The biggest positive of the game had to be the fact that we managed to sustain drives that ate away at the clock in the second half. Along with that the Defense got some rest in the second half so that when they got on the field they did nothing but hassle Matt Ryan. Odell Beckham Jr had his first touchdown and looked fast for having not played in months. Along with this fellow rookie Andre Williams showed the Giants they could still run the ball without Rashad Jennings illustrating some much needed depth.

The Negatives

Early in the game it looked like the Falcons could be in for a big day against us, as they were moving the ball up and down the field. Thankfully the defense tightened up and it didn’t get out of hand but the Giants front four need to get more pressure. Along with this there were a few times it looked like the Giants could have converted easily if they ran the ball but instead chose to throw the ball. This did work on occasion but there were also times it didn’t. I’d prefer to see the Giants with a run first mentality but the offense looks good this year so maybe I’m just old fashioned.

The Two Minute Drill

I love watching the Giants play the Eagles with the division on the line. My stomach tightens and I spew hatred for all things green…well not all things but definitely green things from Philadelphia. I’m itching to see if the Giants have what it takes to pluck those birds and if they don’t I will be excited to see if the Gmen work hard enough to best them when they play later in the year.

Until Next Week

The Giants Blog is published every Monday during the NFL season while the New York Giants remain viable contenders (which in 2011 was right to the end and their Super Bowl championship). On the weeks when the Giants have a Monday night game, the blog will be published on Wednesday. The blogs are thoughtful (albeit heavily biased) analysis of the Giants’ performance from our editor-in-chief and Giant fanatic J.D. Cook.

Other Sports Related Articles

By J.D. Cook • Sports • 0 • Tags: Articles by J.D.Cook, New York Giants, NFL