The rookie kicker was the Sunday's final and brightest star in a classic back-and-forth contest between the Giants and Eagles, because he made what is typically an impossible kick to win the game with no time left.
From 61-yards out, Elliot nailed the game winner on a hot and humid day in the City of Brotherly Love, and at the same time all but ending the New York Giants season ... in week 3.
While the Giants did come back from a 14-0 deficit there was plenty of blame to go around for the disastrous 27-24.
Odell Beckham Jr: Beckham had a strange day on Sunday. He had a breakout effort statistically speaking with nine catches for 79yards and two touchdowns, but he also had a number of key drops early that killed a couple of drives for the Giants in the first half. In addition, his behavior is once again a major issue for Big Blue. After scoring his first touchdown, Beckham decided to imitate the urinating of a dog as his touchdown celebration.
The celebration brought back memories of Randy Moss mooning Packers fans some 15 years ago. Commisoner Roger Goodell is the one to blame for this. Goodell opened the door to Beckham's antics when he allowed players to do whatever they pleased with end zone celebrations. He deserves as much heat as Beckham is getting for this low class celebration. Beckham's antics continued on the sidelines which forced Ben McAdoo to stop coaching and plead with his player to knock it off.
Don't Blame the Offensive Line: After getting beat up in the media the past week, the offensive line was not the reason the Giants lost this game. For the most part they kept Eli Manning clean with no sacks on the day. Although Ereck Flowers should get a lot of flack for a holding call on the Giants final possession, which turned a crucial 2nd and 3 into 2nd and 18. That led to a hideous punt by Brad Wing that helped set up Elliot's game winner for Philly.
Eli Manning: Manning was inconsistent on Sunday. The drops by his receivers were a huge problem for him on Sunday, especially early. If Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall actually held onto the football early in this game, perhaps the Giants wouldn't need a miracle fourth quarter to erase a 14-point deficit. Manning did throw two bad interceptions in the game, but he also had his brilliant moments such as hitting Sterling Shepherd for a 77-yard touchdown that gave New York a brief 21-14 lead.
Play-calling: Ben McAdoo did not relinquish the play calling duties on Sunday, but it is important to note that the Giants spent much of their time offensively in the shotgun. That is both a condemnation of the offensive line, and also a sense of urgency on the part of the Giants. The one problem with the play-calling is the Giants refusal to run the football. Obviously they can't run it when they are down 14-0, but once they tied the game, they should have tried harder to slow the game down. Instead they opted to play the game like a track meet with the Eagles.
Ben McAdoo: Last week McAdoo threw Eli Manning under the bus for his performance against Detroit. On Sunday, he spent more time ripping Donald Trump for his bizarre comments on the NFL. When asked about Odell Beckham's behavior and his own play-calling, McAdoo either opted to be brief or didn't comment. Nice one, coach.
Now what? The Giants season is a flaming disaster. They are 0-3, and starring at 0-4 next week when the visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs got destroyed by Minnesota on Sunday, and surely will want to prove themselves to the world on Sunday afternoon at home against a bumbling Giants team.
No comments:
Post a Comment