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LANDOVER, Md. (AP) -The New York Giants seem intent on becoming the most dysfunctional team in NFL history to make the playoffs.
The
Washington Redskins seem intent on having the worst defense the league
has ever seen - at least when it comes to taking the ball away.
In
fact, it might be hard to tell which team is still in the postseason
hunt when the Giants (7-8) play the Redskins (5-10) in a Saturday night
game hardly worthy of prime time. Despite being out of it for several
weeks, Washington has shown more spunk lately than the Men in Blue, who
almost look ready to give up.
``It's hard to say that we are a
playoff team,'' New York running back Brandon Jacobs said. ``We have
lost six of our last seven. Playoffs teams don't do that.''
Playoff
teams also don't replace their offensive play-caller during the final
days of the season, as coach Tom Coughlin did this week when he
stripped that important job from offensive coordinator John Hufnagel
and gave it to quarterbacks coach Kevin Gilbride.
Playoff teams
also don't have fans calling for the head coach's job, as happened at
Giants Stadium during last week's drubbing by New Orleans. Playoff
teams don't have a star player who makes a quote like this: ``I am
sitting in a meeting and instead of being solely focused on the
Washington Redskins, I will be thinking about other things,'' maybe the
best piece of evidence yet that Tiki Barber has made the right decision
to retire at the end of the season.
What else is wrong in New
York? Well, defensive end Michael Strahan and kick returner Chad Morton
are done for the year with injuries, tight end Jeremy Shockey's status
is in question because of a sore ankle, and quarterback Eli Manning's
slump has reached the point that he never took a snap past the 50 last
week. A big-picture motivational speech would probably help right now,
but Coughlin kept his blinders on this week and stated a goal that
smacked of mediocrity: ``We're focusing on the future, on being 8-8,
and right now that's what drives us and motivates us.''
As it
is, 8-8 would likely get the Giants into the playoffs. Only an
improbable array of results in Sunday's games would knock them out
under the NFL's complex tiebreaker rules. They could get in even if
they lose to Washington - Green Bay, Carolina, Atlanta and St. Louis
would all have to lose on Sunday - which would make New York the first
team with a losing record to make the postseason in a non-strike year.
Is it even possible this is the same Giants team that was 6-2 in early November?
``But,
8-8, with everything that has gone on for us this season, to go to the
playoffs would be a great accomplishment,'' linebacker Antonio Pierce
said.
Meanwhile, the Redskins are pursuing some dubious history
of their own. The defense has only 12 takeaways, three short of the
all-time record for a non-strike season. Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs
has never finished worse than 6-10; he'll need to win Saturday just to
match that.
``If you told me we're going to do this again, I'm
not signing up,'' Gibbs said. ``This was the toughest five months of my
life here.''
Gibbs nevertheless says he's coming back next
season, and he's heartened by the notion his team hasn't gone into what
he called ``coast mode.'' Among the positive milestones achievable
Saturday is the franchise record for consecutive 100-yard rushing games
- Ladell Betts tied the mark with his fifth straight last week.
``It's
been a pride issue for us,'' Gibbs said. ``A bunch of guys are here
making statements about the future and what we can build around.''
Still,
the Redskins expect to see plenty of empty seats in their stadium
Saturday night, and their wretched defense will have even more holes
because linebacker Marcus Washington and cornerback Shawn Springs are
done for the year.
Nine years ago, these teams played one of the
ugliest prime-time games the NFL has seen, a 7-7 tie in which
Washington quarterback Gus Frerotte had to leave after head-butting a
concrete wall, and in which the Giants failed to win despite forcing
three turnovers in overtime.
A nobody wins sequel would seem a
fitting end of both teams' season this year. As Gibbs pointed out,
neither team is in any kind of shape to take much advantage of the
others' woes. For that matter, how can a team with so few takeaways
expect to take away someone's else playoff berth?
``Every time
somebody tells me somebody's got some struggles, you better watch
out,'' Gibbs said. ``Because chances are they're going to take the
struggles out on you.''
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New York Giants backup defensive end Justin Tuck will have surgery
on his left foot and will miss the rest of the season.
The surgery will repair a Lis Franc injury and will include inserting screws
into Tuck's foot. Dr. Robert Anderson will perform the surgery on Friday at
Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.
Tuck was injured in a Monday night game against Dallas and missed the last
three games. The second-year pro has been undergoing treatment, but an
examination earlier this week revealed that little progress had been made and
that surgery was needed. The Lis Franc is a grouping of interlocking joints in
the middle of the foot.
Tuck is the third Giants' player to have his season end in the past month.
Linebacker LaVar Arrington was lost with an Achilles' tendon injury in the
Dallas game. Veteran receiver Amani Toomer was knocked out last week with a knee
injury.
Offensive tackle Luke Petitgout broke his left leg on Sunday night, but coach
Tom Coughlin said the team has not decided whether he will be lost for the
year.
Giants starting defensive ends Osi Umenyiora (hip) and Michael Strahan
(foot), linebackers Carlos Emmons (groin) and Brandon Short (quad) and
cornerback Sam Madison also are banged up.
Strahan won't play on Monday night against Jacksonville. Umenyiora and
Madison are doubtful and Emmons and Short are questionable.
In six games, Tuck had four tackles (two solo), plus six special teams
tackles (four solo). The former third-round draft pick played in 14 games last
season, finishing with 19 tackles (15 solo), a sack, a forced fumble and 18
special teams tackles (13 solo).
The Giants on Wednesday signed tackle Jonathan Dunn to their practice squad.
The 6-7, 324-pounder was a seventh-round draft choice by the Cleveland Browns in
2005. He suffered a season-ending ankle in his first training camp and spent the
season on injured reserve.
Dunn was in Cleveland's training camp this year, but was let go in the final
cutdown. He was a three-year starter at right tackle for Virginia Tech. | | |
| TAMPA - It was, perhaps, the best line voiced last August during any NFL training camp.
"I don't like dents on my Cadillac!"
The voice was Jon Gruden's. The victim was Tampa Bay Buccaneers
rookie quarterback Bruce Gradkowski. The offense? Gradkowski failed to
recognize a blitz during practice and allowed Carnell "Cadillac"
Williams, the Bucs prize running back, to run smack into the defense.
"You put a dent in my Cadillac, and you're going to drive a Pinto back to Ohio," Gruden screamed.
Funny then.
Interesting now.
Nobody is putting dents in Gruden's Cadillac this season, mostly
because Gruden has been prone to keep the expensive ride tucked away in
the garage.
Williams, the NFL's offensive rookie of the year last season, tied
his career-low with eight carries for a season-low 20 yards during
Sunday's 17-3 loss to the New York Giants on a windy day at Giants
Stadium that suggested the running game might be the way to go.
"We ran the ball good the previous three weeks. We didn't run the
ball well (against the Giants) for a lot of reasons," Gruden said. "If
you were down on the sidelines, maybe you take my point of view. Maybe
you won't."
Gruden's point of view was the running game struggled in the first
quarter when the Bucs were driving into the 40-mph wind. During the
second and third quarters, Gruden chucked the run for the pass to take
advantage of the wind that was now at Gradkowski's back.
"I understand," Williams said. "The wind was a problem I guess. When
we were with the wind, we had to take advantage of it, so I kind of
understand."
Williams "kind of" understands because, as with all running backs,
he feels he's always one play away from breaking off a big gain.
"I'm one of those players who feels like the next carry is going to
be the best carry," Williams said. "I'm just looking for opportunities.
I feel like if I get that I'm going to produce."
Williams had the opportunities last season when he rushed for 1,178
yards - the most by a rookie in franchise history. He gained 434 yards
through the first three games of 2005.
Through the first seven this season, Williams has rushed for 414 with just one 100 yard day.
Tampa Bay (2-5) began to reverse its 0-3 start with Williams' 111
yard afternoon in the loss at New Orleans. He rushed for 94 and 82
yards, respectively, in the Bucs two victories.
But he was virtually regulated to the role of bystander against the
Giants when Gruden decided to let Gradkowski attempt 48 passes on a day
members of the Giants called the windiest they've seen in a while.
When asked Monday for his idea of a perfectly balanced offense,
Gruden said: "I'd like to run it every play, not have to throw it,
because that's the safest way to win. But when you get the kind of
defense we saw (against the Giants) that's dead-set on making you do
something you don't want to do, you're going to have to throw the ball
at some point in time to make people play honestly."
Gruden, though, tends to go away from the running game when the Bucs
fall behind. They ran the ball 13 times in the season-opening loss to
the Baltimore Ravens and 16 times in the loss the following week at
Atlanta.
Given Williams success as a rookie, wouldn't it make sense to emphasis the running game even when trailing?
"You just can't compare numbers, you have to compare what happened
in games," Gruden said. "Last year, we won our first four games and
clearly, the clock was the enemy, and we were running the ball
repeatedly in the fourth quarter. Right now, when we're playing behind,
it's hard to do that."
Williams understands. Kind of.
Yet he feels he can help be the solution to some of the Bucs' problems.
"I'm just going to kind of go with the flow until I see otherwise,"
Williams said. "Coach Gruden, he's the head coach. He's been doing this
for a long time. I never experienced wind or anything going on like
that before. Right now, I'm cool. I don't feel like I need to (ask for
the ball). I feel like my play speaks for itself. Let's see what
happens this week." | | |
| The Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants entered the season with high
expectations. It's taken both teams a while to live up to them.
The NFC East rivals look to build on strong performances from last week when they meet at Texas Stadium on Monday night.
The
Giants (3-2) returned every offensive starter from a unit that scored
the second-most points in franchise history last season, helping New
York earn its first division title since 2000.
New York stumbled
out the gate this season, however, losing two of its first three, with
the low point being a four-turnover, 42-30 loss at Seattle on Sept. 24.
However,
the bye week, which has historically hurt the Giants' play in their
next game, seemed to come at the perfect time. New York regrouped
during the week off and has since posted back-to-back victories,
including a 27-14 come-from-behind win over Atlanta on Sunday.
New York trailed 14-3 early in the third quarter before scoring 24 unanswered points.
``I
think guys are having fun again,'' said Giants middle linebacker
Antonio Pierce, the team's leading tackler. ``That's what we got back
to. Guys out there are shooting hoops (after sacks). (Jeremy) Shockey
is talking smack. Eli (Manning) is even pumped up. Tiki (Barber) is
doing what he is doing. We have put all the other stuff on the side.''
The
Cowboys (3-2), especially brazen wide receiver Terrell Owens, seem to
have done the same. Dallas opened with a 24-17 loss to Jacksonville
before recording victories over Washington and Tennessee.
The
Cowboys failed in their next challenge, losing 38-24 to Philadelphia in
Owens' return to Lincoln Financial Field, but seemed to finally put it
all together in a 34-6 win over Houston. Owens and quarterback Drew
Bledsoe found their groove, connecting for two of Owens' three
touchdowns, while the defense grabbed two interceptions, forced a
fumble and defended nine passes.
Dallas isn't totally convinced, though, as it has yet to beat a team with a winning record.
``We've
got to put together a streak,'' Cowboys linebacker Bradie James said.
``Everyone talks about potential, potentially we have all this talent.
It doesn't matter if you don't do it. ... It should happen here soon.
If not, we're going to be around here weeping a little bit.''
The
Cowboys have had little to weep about at home this season, outscoring
opponents 61-16 in two wins. Bledsoe has a 93.3 passer rating in those
games, throwing for four TDs and no interceptions, as opposed to a 53.7
rating in three road contests with seven interceptions.
Julius
Jones helps to balance the Cowboys' attack with 98.8 rushing yards per
contest. Dallas is fourth in the NFL in points (29.4) and yards per
game (369.4).
The Cowboys and Giants are tied for third in the
league with 151.8 yards rushing per game. New York's success on the
ground is due to Tiki Barber, the NFL's leading rusher with 533 yards.
Barber
ran for a season-high 185 yards last week to earn NFC offensive player
of the week honors, but repeating that performance this week could be
much tougher against a Dallas run defense that is the league's
stingiest at 67.0 yards allowed per game.
``It's going to be a
challenge for us, just like it was last week in Atlanta and the week
before in Washington,'' said Barber, who said Wednesday that he is
leaning toward retirement after this season. ``We have to stay
committed to it and we have to find ways to take advantage of things
they do. We'll have a game plan. I have faith in our coaching staff and
my offensive line to get whatever has to be done, done.''
While
Barber is crucial to the Giants' offense, New York can utilize other
weapons, having finally rediscovered the diverse attack that allowed it
to score 422 points last season. The Giants rank second in the league
in yards per game (417.6), third in passing yards (250.0) and sixth in
points (25.4).
Quarterback Eli Manning has spread his throws
around between top receiving targets Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress,
each of which has more than 300 yards receiving, and tight end Jeremy
Shockey got into the mix last week. Shockey recorded the first
two-touchdown game of his career, catching six passes for 55 yards.
New
York has also given more work to 6-foot-4, 264-pound running back
Brandon Jacobs, who has 34 carries for 177 yards and two touchdowns. He
had only 38 rushes in his 2005 rookie season.
The Giants defense
has also vastly improved since the bye. After allowing 92 points over
the first three games, New York has given up 17 in the last two.
The
Giants sacked Michael Vick seven times last week, their most since
recording eight against Arizona on Oct. 18, 1998. New York hopes
Michael Strahan can help it maintain that strong pass rush Sunday
against Bledsoe, who's not known for his scrambling ability.
Strahan has 13 sacks in his last 10 games against the Cowboys and needs two to match Lawrence Taylor's team record of 132 1/2.
The
Cowboys, though, are 7-1 against the Giants on Monday night, and Owens
has typically been at his best in that situation. He's averaged 122
receiving yards and has nine touchdowns in his last six Monday night
contests.
Dallas leads the series with the Giants 51-34-2,
including 23-10 at Texas Stadium. The teams split two meetings last
season, with the home team winning each time.
Both clubs trail first-place Philadelphia by a half-game in the division.
``At
the halfway mark, I think everybody is still going to be in
contention,'' current Cowboys and former Giants coach Bill Parcells
said of the NFC East race.
| | |
| In the weeks leading up to the season, the Super Bowl was all the
New York Giants talked about. Eli Manning, Tiki Barber and the
second-greatest offense in franchise history were all back.
The no-hands secondary was revamped. Bookend Pro Bowl defensive ends
Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora were going to create havoc again on
opposing quarterback, and $49 million linebacker LaVar Arrington was
going to be reincarnation of Lawrence Taylor.
Everything was in motion for coach Tom Coughlin to complete the mission of restoring "Giants Pride" in just three short years.
What a Giant mistake.
Three games into the season, just call the Giants (1-2) overrated.
Heck, they don't even have the best record in New York. That belongs to
the Jets (2-1) and baby-faced coach Eric Mangini.
Here's a condensed list of what's wrong:
_ The offense only scores after it falls behind by double digits.
_ The defense is among the worst in the league.
_ Arrington is damaged goods.
_ And those wonderful players who were going to deliver a third
Lombardi Trophy to New York are bickering with their coaches, at least
when they are not throwing them under a bus after a loss, like Jeremy
Shockey did last weekend.
"This is not situation where guys need to lose their minds, whether
it be coaches or players," said Arrington, who has shown the effects of
offseason knee surgery. "The situation is we have to grow up. You know
the cliche. 'When the going gets tough, the tough get going.' That's
where we are at now. Either the tough are going to get going or they
are not. The going is getting tougher now. We have to press through."
The Giants have a badly needed bye this weekend coming off a
dreadful 42-30 loss to Seattle. The Seahawks forced four turnovers in
taking a 35-0 first-half lead, and upped it to 39 points in the second
half.
While the performance was horrible, the postgame show was worse.
Shockey blew his cool and said Coughlin and his staff were outcoached.
It was the second time in four games that Coughlin was criticized by
one of his players. Barber also said Coughlin was outcoached after a
23-0 playoff loss to Carolina last year.
Coughlin told Shockey to shut up on Monday and then told his team to
fix the little things that have been hurting them all season:
penalties, turnovers and blown coverages. He also reminded them there
are 13 games to go.
"It was the right message. We have to stay together as a team,"
Barber said. "It's easy to get distracted and start splintering. He's
not going to let that happen, and I don't think the veteran leaders are
going to let that happen."
Coughlin focused on getting back to basics in practice this past week.
Even when the team has been running wind sprints, he has been
screaming at the players to do it right. That means everyone starting
on his whistle.
"I always tell the players there are no victims here," Coughlin
said. "We've created the problem for ourselves and we can solve the
problem for ourselves. But we can't go about our business in that
lame-dog, pulled-back-in fashion. That's not the way to do it."
Manning said that if the offense can start faster and avoid mistakes, it will be all right.
"I don't think we are in a bad situation," Manning said. "We've
played three tough teams. It's not like we've gone out there and lost
to some bad teams."
That's true. Indianapolis, Philadelphia and Seattle have a combined 8-1 record.
The problems with the defense are greater.
Despite having Strahan and Umenyiora, who combined last season for 26 sacks, New York is last in the NFL with two sacks.
Coordinator Tim Lewis' crew is 31st in scoring defense (30.7 points)
and third-down efficiency (58.7 percent), 30th in first-downs allowed
(71) and average yards passing allowed (281) and 27th in overall
defense, yielding 370.3 yards.
What is really scary is the secondary that imported safety Will
Demps and cornerbacks Sam Madison and R.W. McQuarters left four Seattle
receivers wide open for scores last week.
Call it miscommunications, breakdowns or whatever, it was ugly.
"I can't screw it up, and right now I am screwing it up," said Lewis, who refused to blame his players for the foul-ups.
Outgoing general manager Ernie Accorsi will have to take the blame
for the Arrington situation. With a bad knee, he doesn't terrorize
opposing offenses. Whether he will be able to do that again, only time
will tell.
Perhaps the biggest concern for Coughlin is keeping the team
together. When New York is winning, the players can put up with his
rules and fines.
Losing will stress their patience, as Shockey showed last week. And
there are other characters, too. Plaxico Burress can be a time bomb
when Manning doesn't get him the ball. And even Strahan and Barber can
speak out of turn when things aren't going well.
That means any restoration might be short-lived. It's something Jim
Fassel discovered after taking the Giants to the 2001 Super Bowl, and
Dan Reeves learned before him.
"To be in this market, when you don't win as many games as people
think, you're going to be criticized,' veteran receiver Amani Toomer
said. "What's troubling is the way we are losing games. That's the
thing that has to change."
Giants history says it won't. The last time New York made the
playoffs two years in a row was in 1989 and '90, the second year being
capped with a Super Bowl win over Buffalo.
The chances of that happening again are a good as, well, Scott
Norwood making a 47-yard field goal with the championship on the line. | | |
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