Bump N’ Run w/ KT: Giants Drop Wild Card Game To Green Bay And One Of The Greatest College Football Games Ever Played

Deshaun Watson (Photo by Jeff Auger – Double G Media)

Giants Defense Finally Runs Out Of Gas Against Green Bay In Wild Card Game

For weeks, the Giants’ defense has been carrying the team as New York moved into the playoffs. The problem is that at some point, the offense would need to pick up some of the slack and help carry the load to make a run in the NFC playoffs. In Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers, the Giants offense started out great for the first ten minutes of play but then the parade of drops started and continued for the remaining 50 minutes of the game. Due to those drops, the Giants defense had to stay on the field and eventually lost their mojo in the 38-13 loss to Green Bay in their Wild Card playoff game.

The Giants receiving corps just seemed overwhelmed with the stage they were on. Odell Beckham Jr. caught only four passes on eleven targets and besides Tavares King and Will Tye, it was a showcase of ineptitude for the talented New York wide receivers. Now I know that the narrative is about the boat trip to Miami the receivers took last Monday but for once and for all, that is not why they lost the game. It’s an easy visual for the media to use but it’s not a story and everyone talking about it should stop.

In the end, the loss of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in the first quarter played a huge role in the loss for the Giants. Aaron Rodgers began picking on Tevin Wade and Eli Apple late in the first half and into the second half as those two cornerbacks are not at the level of DRC. The problem becomes depth in the secondary as this game showed that if DRC or Janoris Jenkins goes down, they are screwed after those two players.

Giants Off-Season Plans

As mentioned, the Giants’ secondary should be a priority as they need to address the defensive backfield. In addition, maybe it’s time to either move Ereck Flowers to a different spot on the offensive line or cut him. Every week Giant fans speak the name of Flowers with an expletive before his name. The offensive line has many issues but Flowers is the main culprit of many of the problems.

Add in finding an impact linebacker and a kick returner who is a home run threat, and general manager Jerry Reese has some more work to do this off-season to build on a 11-5 record.

The Jets Offensive Coach Search Continues…I Think

Not much has been said about the Jets since their season ended on Jan. 1. As of press time, there has been no mention of the Jets’ offensive coordinator search and who they are even targeting. It’s probably a good thing that no one knows who the Jets are really targeting as there are many other stories about this team that can be reported on. Stories such as whether Christian Hackenberg is any good or when will the team finally trade Sheldon Richardson. For who the Jets should be targeting for their vacant offensive coordinator job, check out Gregg Snyder’s article entitled Former NFL Head Coaches the Jets Could Consider For Offensive Coordinator.

Moving The Chains

– I think I watched one of the greatest college football games on Monday night between Alabama and Clemson for the National Championship. Clemson defeated Alabama on a last-second touchdown drive led by quarterback Deshaun Watson 35-31. It was a late game but it was amazing. Just wow.

– Can we stop giving the Houston Texans so much credit for their win against the Oakland Raiders on Saturday? The Raiders were down to a rookie third-string quarterback and let’s be honest; if Oakland came in full strength, they would have smoked Houston like a Marlboro.

– I’m looking at that Dallas/Green Bay matchup as probably my upset pick of the week. Dallas, whose top two skill players (Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott) are rookies, may not be able to stop the red-hot Aaron Rodgers and keep their nerves in check. I’ve got Green Bay in this one.

Here are this weekend’s NFL Divisional Playoff matchups:

Saturday Jan. 14

Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons, 4:35 pm
Houston Texans at New England Patriots, 8:15 pm

Sunday, Jan. 15

Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs, 1:05 pm
Green Bay Packers at Dallas Cowboys, 4:40 pm

Predictions:

Atlanta over Seattle
New England over Houston
Pittsburgh over Kansas City
Green Bay over Dallas