NY Giants: Mid-Season Rant & Rave
by Shane Sharkey
I’m back with a new Rant & Rave. Hold on to your suburban “Middle America” thoughts because I usually make you people mad.
Rant: I have never hated to love anyone more in my life than Eli Manning. This guy defines everything I want in a QB, yet to quote T.O, “he’s my quarterback”! But damn it, it’s hard to like this guy. I want fire like Brett Favre. I want command like Peyton Manning. I want excitement like Aaron Rogers. I precision like Joe Montana. I want gun like Marino or Elway and I want a winner. Dare I say it? Like…Tom Brady. Spare me drama…the dude wins except when Eli is kicking his ass and he’s married to a supermodel!
Eli flies in the face of a top 10 quarterback, yet somehow he gets it done. I marvel at the weekly mistake like throwing into triple coverage, but it hard to image it any other way. When he’s gone…it’s gonna suck.
Rave: Who took Landon Collins lunch money? Or should I say vanilla Oreo’s. This guy evidently could pound a whole package of vanilla Oreo’s in a day or two while at Bama because they practiced so much he kept the weight off. Welcome to the NFL…the classroom dominates the work load and No. 21 has figured it out. Better diet, better conditioning, better results. At the half way point…consideration for Defensive Player of the Year.
Rant: If you want to play with the big boys…you gotta catch the ball. Seriously, if the ball hits you in the hands you should catch it. Attention: Cruz, Lewis, Tye and Adams…catch the ball! That is your only job. Sure you do some blocking, but for the love of all that it New York Giants football…catch the ball. You get a big check to catch it. So do it. If not put them on the bench and…next up!
Rave: Cheers to a bunch of misfit, cast off, and under appreciated linebackers. Casillas, Sheppard and Robinson are doing a great job. Each has it’s very specific job, yet…it’s getting done with very little error. Are they pro-bowl studs, no. But Jerry Reese is not paying them to be. Casillas is the most underrated guy on the defense as he swallows running backs and drops the hammer on those 4th and inches attempts.
Rant: How does Larry Donnell still have a roster spot? Yes, he is currently benched but he is taking up valuable space. They could have signed an O Lineman, a FullBack or god for bid…another Tight End. The guy doesn’t block and drops way more than he catches. His only value is entertaining the crowd when he leaps into the air and lands on his head.
Rave: Give me some Perk! Running Back, Paul Perkins has the potential of becoming the next Tiki Barber. Now remember Tiki wasn’t TIKI until Coughlin fixed his fumbling; however, give the man the ball off tackle. He’s shifty, deceptively quick and has great field vision. In the off-season he needs to hit the weights and put on about 7 pounds of muscle and help in the pass blocking. In the short term…give the man the ball.