Redskins vs Giants

[PokerFink]

The players obviously don't think too highly of Coughlin so he's almost certainly gone, and I imagine the coordinators will be axed as well. I will be surprised if any of their main coaches survive the offseason. Futhermore, since Coughlin is recognized as a discipline guy and not an X's and O's guy, and the Giants are not disciplined at all, there is a strong chance that he will be out of the NFL for good.

The Giants will be pretty heavy dogs in the first round in Philly. The Eagles have trouble with Burress due to his size, but other than that Philly matches up very well. Their run defense has been very good the last two weeks, which includes a game against Tiki. If they keep Tiki in check again, the Giants are in a world of hurt.

As for Eli, he might not be the biggest draft bust ever (Leaf, others), but considering his hype and pedigree, he has to be up there. But who knows, sometimes the light just flicks on for a QB and they come out of nowhere to be stars (Brees). He isn't done yet.

[d10]

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Speaking of which, how the [censored] do the Giants lose 6 out of 7 games and make the playoffs? The NFC is a jopke.

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They're not in yet. Green Bay can still take the last slot if Green Bay beats Chicago, Detroit beats Dallas, Minnesota beats STL, and Miami beats Indy; AND if either all of the following games happen: Tampa over Seattle, Houston over Cleveland, Carolina over New Orleans, Arizona over San Diego, San Francisco over Denver, or if 4/5 of the previous games happen along with Jacksonville over Kansas City, New England over Tennessee, Buffalo over Baltimore, and the Jets over Oakland.

It could happen.

[MacGuyV]

I predict all of those things will happen until Favre gets picked by the Bears 3rd string CB in the endzone to clinch the loss.

[PokerFink]

I love how all most of those games require a huge dog to win.

DET over DAL
MIA over IND
ARZ over SD
SF over DEN
BUF over BAL

Quick estimate gives it a .002% chance of happening (1 in 50,000). Goodluck Green Bay.

[VarlosZ]

Why should Tim Lewis be fired? The defense has played pretty well for the past two years despite tons of injuries to the front seven and total garbage at both CB spots.

[JordanIB]

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Why should Tim Lewis be fired? The defense has played pretty well for the past two years despite tons of injuries to the front seven and total garbage at both CB spots.

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We're talking about the Giants here right? Have you watched the team at all? They had one good stretch early this year after the first 2 games.

[niss]

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Why should Tim Lewis be fired? The defense has played pretty well for the past two years despite tons of injuries to the front seven and total garbage at both CB spots.

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Huh? Played pretty well? You can't be serious, at least for this season, and the first 1/3 and last 1/3 of last season.

[VarlosZ]

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Why should Tim Lewis be fired? The defense has played pretty well for the past two years despite tons of injuries to the front seven and total garbage at both CB spots.

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We're talking about the Giants here right? Have you watched the team at all? They had one good stretch early this year after the first 2 games.

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Alright, "pretty well" might be overstating it, but they've been about average. This season they're 12th in total DVOA, 13th in weighted DVOA. The team is something like 23rd in points allowed, but keep in mind that a lot goes into that besides the quality of the defense: starting field position courtesy of the offense and special teams, luck on fumble recoveries, schedule difficulty, etc. The Giants have faced the 5th toughest schedule in the league, according to FO. Last season the Giants were 11th in total Defensive DVOA.

If you prefer more traditional stats, look at their Drive Stats. This season the Giants defense is 17th in yards allowed per drive, 17th in takeaways per drive, and 23rd in points allowed per drive. That last one sounds bad at first, but remember the hard schedule, and also this: the Giants defense, on average, had the 4th worst average starting field position in the league this year. Teams were set up to score points before the Giants defense even took the field.

Last year their defense was somewhat above average: 12th in yards allowed per drive, 5th in takeaways per drive, and 11th in points allowed per drive. (Granted, last year was the opposite of 2006 as far as starting field position was concerned: the Giants defense had the 3rd best starting field postion.)


Now, one average year and one slightly above-average year might sound pretty pedestrian for a defensive coordinator, but remember that the Giants defense has had huge injury problems the last two years. Last year it was literally cause for celebration when the 3rd string OLB was healthy enough to start. Combine the injuries with a secondary whose talent level is solidly below-average (and not immune to injuries themselves), and you've got a very tall order for a coordinator. Average and a little above average is probably about as well as the Giants defense could have played given the state of their roster.

[niss]

And all those numbers would be better if they had a defensive coordinator who didn't have his head up his ass, injuries notwithstanding.

[VarlosZ]

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And all those numbers would be better if they had a defensive coordinator who didn't have his head up his ass, injuries notwithstanding.

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You can do better than that. If Lewis has his head up his ass, then he must have left some evidence of that. Show it to me.