Giants Near Perfect Against GB, 'Playoff Bound'

By  Eeeeeeeegs

We played a near perfect game yesterday. Only two real mistakes. Eli's pick 6 and Aaron Ross's blown coverage on that Driver TD. Both were in the 2nd Quarter. You can say we let them run down the field on us for the game winning FG, but it's Jaquian Williams and Will Blackmon for God's sake.

While we're talking about Jaquian Williams and Will Blackmon, let's throw in Chase Blackburn (picked up this week), Dave Tollefson, and Deon Grant. This was NOT our pre-season plan. Forget about firing Coughlin. He's got my vote for Coach of the Year. We've got this defense patched together with duct tape and Elmer's Glue-All. I'm proud of the way they played.

Furthermore, I believe we need to let David Baas sit out for a while. Kevin Boothe at center and Mitch Petrus at LG were MOVING people in the running game. Both Bradshaw and Jacobs were getting to the second level through the tackles with regularity. I think we stumbled into a major improvement with our offensive line. Twenty carries for 100 yards works for me.

As for the anointed ones with yellow helmets... It's very difficult to frame what I'm about to say.  That is because I am not referring to any one play, but an entire collection of calls that ALL went the Packers' way (in our house) that really burns me up. I'll try to list them chronologically.

1. Jake Ballard TD review: Like EVERY video review in this game (I think there were 5) I believe this one would have gone our way if the officials had called it a TD on the field. It was so close, neither call would have been overturned. We settled for a FG. It sapped our momentum a bit and cost us 4 points.

2. Woodson P.I. on Nicks: It happened at 10:31 in the 2nd quarter. It was the first play of our 2nd drive after the Clay Matthews Pick 6. Nicks got past Woodson about 30 yards down the right sideline. He catches the ball but doesn't get both feet in bounds while Woodson is hand checking all the way and ultimately falls down, clearly scraping down Nicks' thigh before the ball gets there. If you want to call that incidental contact, fine...then DON'T CALL IT ON US LATER IN THE GAME...which they do.

3. Driver 3rd and 3 Review: This was the drive that ultimately resulted in the Driver TD where Ross blew the coverage. The referee slipped on the first down marker and had to confer with the other line judge. The call on the field was catch. It was close. VERY similar to Ballard's review. Again, I believe if the call on the field were "no catch" it would have stayed that way. No home cooking.

4. Aaron Rodgers 3rd 18 scramble: If you haven't erased it yet, go back and look. Rodgers goes into his slide a FULL YARD AND A HALF before the first down marker. That spot was ATROCIOUS. Never got mentioned by Buck and Aikman. They would have had a 4th and a long 1 around our 25. That probably cost us 4 points.

5. Eli Fumble/Forward Pass Review: Again, very close. If ruled incomplete on the field, I believe it would have remained incomplete upon review. Instead it was a fumble.

6. Clock on Eli Fumble/Forward Pass Review: It didn't end up hurting us because Mason Crosby missed the FG before the half, but the clock operator thought Eli's "fumble" was an incomplete pass. Therefore the clock stopped at :26. The way the play was ruled, B.J. Raji picked up the fumble and was half-heartedly tackled by Chris Snee (I think). At least six more seconds should have run off the clock. They even reviewed it and NOBODY saw it. With the Packers drive starting around mid-field, there is a HUGE difference between :26 and :20. Nobody saw that? This is where I really started to notice there were no calls going our way.

7. Prince Pass Interference on Jennnings: No freaking way! Ticky tack incidental/mutual hand checking at best. Not as bad as what Woodson did to Nicks. This ultimately led to a TD for Green Bay. Don't give me this, "Amukamara hasn't earned his stripes and shouldn't get that call" bullshit. All our guys with stripes are on the freaking IR. Call a consistent game.

8. Jennings TD review: This was not a catch. I knew it. Buck and Aikman knew it. Greg Jennings knew it. The only ones who didn't know it were the officials. I guess that big hunk of cheese on their heads was obstructing their view. Bullshit.

9. Nicks 1st TD: Woodson was all over him. Aikman couldn't shut up about it. Nicks caught the ball. But a flag certainly would have been a nice gesture. What if Nicks HADN'T caught it?

10. Jaquian Williams Illegal Contact: Perhaps the most offensive call. Tuck and Tollefson had converged on Rodgers for a drive ending sack. Jaquian Williams' arms were extended, but the contact (if there even was any) was initiated by Finley. It was so bogus. Why would a referee get his greasy fingerprints on the game like that? We did end up stopping them later in the drive, but it cost us momentum, oxygen and about 35 yards in field position.

11. Shields P.I. on Nicks: 8:07 left in the game. Shields had a fist full of cloth. The throw was there. Ball was dropped. We needed that call. Would have been a BIG play. No call.

12. Driver TD review: Probably the most justifiable call. I think they got it right. Had it been ruled out of bounds that call MAY have stood, but probably not. It is incredible, though, how any one of these paper-thin plays going our way could have changed the outcome of the game.

13. Jarrod Bush P.I. on Cruz: 2:10 left in the game. Cruz made the big play anyway. But as Bush fell to the ground he grabbed (for deal life) onto Cruz's jersey. Aikman pointed it out. No call.

14. Jarrod Bush, another P.I. on Cruz: In the corner of the end zone. 1:15 remaining. Bush, with his back to the ball, swings and pops Cruz in the shoulder pad a step before the ball gets there. Cruz failed to come down in bounds with the ball. It was a good pop on the pads and it was early. No call.

15. Nicks 2nd TD: Shields, clearly beaten, gets both hands on Nicks' pads and then has time to still wrap his waist before Nicks makes the catch. No courtesy call. Nothing.

I know it sounds like whining, guys. But there was virtually NOTHING that went our way. I think Aaron Ross may have got away with some illegal contact on Finley on a big 3rd down stop in the first half, but that's the only "no call" I saw on our end. The amount of "no calls" awarded to Green Bay was staggering. Especially when the ticky tack precedent was being set with those calls against Prince and Jaquian Williams. We made plays on many of the "no calls", but still...how 'bout a little home cooking?

Okay [deep breath].

I'm taking a "glass half full" approach. I'll compare this late-season home loss to an undefeated team to our home loss to New England in Week 17 of our Super Bowl year. We grew a LOT with that loss, going on to rattle off 4 consecutive playoff wins. The last of which was a Super Bowl victory against that same New England team. Shall we rattle off 4 in a row now? Who says we can't? We sure as hell looked better than Dallas did yesterday. Let's see what happens Sunday night? If we win that game, then it's homeward bound for the final three games. (Technically NYJ is away, but who cares?).

I'll make a prediction. If we play well and win @ Dallas on SNF, we'll win the division!

I'm proud of this team.