Humble In Victory

Coach Coughlin told us to be humble in victory and even lead the Giants in an Our Father which they did as a team.  So, rather than trade war stories of triumph in Gillett Stadium, let’s look at the journalistic aspects of Sunday. 

Alec Shane of PatsPulpit shines as a superior writer that “gets” the fan perspective in his piece, “Coping with Loss: Giants Edition.”

Shane shrewdly begins, "Ugh.  I don't even know what else to say here.  This is absolutely brutal."  

With the reader hooked, he goes on:

I know I'm supposed to think of five positives that we can all use to hold us together moving forward. …But the bottom line is that I'm not feeling very optimistic at all right now... What I really want to do is go on an angry fan rant where I just start spouting profanity associated with poor decision-making and failed execution…I want to harp on the turnovers and call out Julian Edelman..."

It’s noteworthy that Shane can put the event in the context of a bigger picture.  Shane continues:

“I know it hurts, and the manner in which the Patriots lost makes everything seem a lot worse than it is, but in all honesty it really wasn't that bad. The Pats are just in a little bit of a slump right now…. They have played their worst football of the season in back-to-back games, lost a game at home for the first time since the Carter administration, and dredged up memories of the worst day of many Patriots fans' lives.”

Props are due to Shane for not necessarily telling the reader what he wants to hear.  However, while some might enjoy Shane’s refreshingly candid take, others will ask, “What about an Authority?”  It’s a good question that’s answered by none other than Pat Ouellette of the National Football Authority.

Ouellette should get high marks because while it is easy for a writer to say there is a problem, it takes a incisive and gifted writer to both tackle and frame the problem.

First, Ouellette lays out the matter as he sees it:

“Brady did not deal well with the defensive pressure and was often indecisive and inaccurate.”

Then, Ouellette shrewdly and courageously follows up--most likely with the support with the intrepid folks at The Authority—with what he sees as the cause of the problem.

As Ouellette tells it:

“…both of Brady’s interceptions were the result of him forcing passes into a small window that enabled Giant defenders to make a play on the ball."

In a clever move, Ouellette lets the reader decide the cause of Brady being forced to pass into this “small window.”  Then, while the reader ponders the answer, he snaps close the trap.

“…when he’s human as he was last night against New York, the Patriots’ margin for error becomes even slimmer.”

Happy tailgating to both journalists and Giants fans alike.


(For the complete articles, please go to PatsPulpit or to National Football Authority.)