The Coughlin conundrum

[FrontSeven]

I think this is the worst situation a coach could face. He has two stars (Burris and Jacobs) that need rest and he faces a blowout if he doesn't play them. So we know he's going to play them. He's passed the first portal where he committed to avoiding the blowout, claiming that he's trying to win the game.

What is he really planning to do if the score reaches a certain margin, though? I think his worst nightmare is having proclaimed that he's trying to win the game, and then finding his team down 2-3 TDs in the first half. That's where the rubber meets the road for Coughlin. When Tom Coughlin believes that it's a losing battle then he will be forced to yank starters like Burris and Jacobs in order to have a shot at Tampa Bay. The problem is that 2-3 TDs is not an insurmountable lead to take back, but in his mind he won't be able to hide the fact that he believes it is insurmountable.

And then things could get really ugly. Once his team sniffs his real intentions, it's all over by the bawling. All that is there for entertainment factor is watching records fall, and waiting for the clock to tick down to the first 16-0 season in history. That's great for half of the fans. It's a living hell for the other half. I think a lot of TVs click off at that point so that they won't have to watch. Maybe some will stay on just to dwell upon history being made, even if it is painful history for them. Fans will have decisions to make too.

An easier consideration for Bill is when to yank Tom and Randy. Well, after they get their records then he has no reason to leave them in there except to maintain the lead. We know he won't give a team any shot to get the momentum back. Maybe he decides to run the ball at that point - a pretty safe option for the QB and receivers. Whatever, he seems to have a much easier decision than Coughlin.

If you're asking me the Giants have created a nightmare of inconsistency this year where they still don't know who they are as a team. Their QB has been wildly inconsistent, and is on a major downward trend lately. That is now fully in their faces. They are a tweener team and to me that's the worst kind of team to have going up against a great team one week before the playoffs. That's the lose-lose that they have created by being inconsistent. It's their baby. Take care of your babies you real men.

 

[goalkeepr]

You know how when a team makes it to the Superbowl, other teams try to copy them?

I think Eli's terrible play is intentional; they are just following the Chicago Bears model.

 

[Patriot_in_NY]

I hope they go all out.................. LOSE (and they will), and then lose to TB in the first round. The Jinks suck and deserve every sh!tty turn their crappy coach puts them in.

 

[NEGoldenAge]

You know how when a team makes it to the Superbowl, other teams try to copy them?

I think Eli's terrible play is intentional; they are just following the Chicago Bears model.

Damn that's funny.

 

[ClevTrev]

Tom shouldn't worry. Eli spoke with Peyton this week, and he now has the secret to beating the Pats.

 

[FibSeq13478]

The W-L record of NE opponents in their next game following a game with NE is 4-11 (Buffalo, Cleveland, Dallas, Washington). Of those 4 wins, 3 came against weak teams (against Jets and Dolphins) and Dallas was lucky to have a bye week to get over the beating before they faced Minnesota. This makes it for another lose-lose situation for Giants (lose to NE and lose to Tampa Bay again).

 

[JustWinBrady]

Coughlin says they will try to win the game. He didn't say he will play his starters the entire game to try to win the game. Whom ever is on the field for the giants they will try to win the game, that is what coaches get paid to do, win games. It is the exact same thing BB says. They try to win every game no matter what players are on the field.

 

[oldskool138]

Coughlin says they will try to win the game. He didn't say he will play his starters the entire game to try to win the game. Whom ever is on the field for the giants they will try to win the game, that is what coaches get paid to do, win games. It is the exact same thing BB says. They try to win every game no matter what players are on the field.

Exactly. That's what Coughlin is trying to say...it's the same thing BB says every week. Do you expect him to come out and say "It's a meaningless game and we'll be starting out 2nd and 3rd stringers."?

 

[NEGoldenAge]

This crap is why the best thing to say to the press is "I will do what's best for the team.".

 

[MetalBleachers]

Coughlin says they will try to win the game. He didn't say he will play his starters the entire game to try to win the game. Whom ever is on the field for the giants they will try to win the game, that is what coaches get paid to do, win games. It is the exact same thing BB says. They try to win every game no matter what players are on the field.

I think this is the smartest approach. I see no reason to risk injury to Osi, Strahan, Eli, Jacobs or Burress in order to stop a streak.

If I were Coughlin, I'd also be keeping an eye on what Gruden's doing. They've made no bones about resting their starters in TB: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/dec/25/sp-grudens-approach-rest-over-rust/?sports-bucs

 

[FrontSeven]

Coughlin says they will try to win the game. He didn't say he will play his starters the entire game to try to win the game. Whom ever is on the field for the giants they will try to win the game, that is what coaches get paid to do, win games. It is the exact same thing BB says. They try to win every game no matter what players are on the field.

That is basically a meaningless statement. I'm sure it's designed to be meaningless, but let's just face it - it's meaningless.

Yet, Burris and Jacobs are said to be practicing, and I don't think you practice guys who are not going to play. Perhaps the little lie in this whole thing is that Burris and Jacobs will start, but maybe get yanked after a quarter or two.

So just will Coughlin do? Who will he play? We know Eli is a basket case who needs work, so there is a given. But if you're going to try to win the game with scrubs against NE, that is about as lame and empty a promise as any I've ever heard.

 

[FrontSeven]

This crap is why the best thing to say to the press is "I will do what's best for the team.".

Yes, dearie, but that is just another version of the original, meaningless statement. If you're going to get that creative you might as well just tell the media "no comment" or "I refuse to tell you who we're going to play."

Personally, I'd sit Burris and Jacobs, absorb the defeat, and move on. But that is one ugly scenario if Bill lets his starters stay on the field. That is perhaps the low point of the Giants' franchise. That is national TV. That is the largest regular season game viewing audience in the history of the sport. That is an embarrassment that could deliver a hangover of huge proportions.

And like that other guy said, teams that lose to the Pats don't exactly fare well the next week.

They're screwed. I believe the Giants are totally screwed.

 

[Truck]

There is no conundrum.

If they were playing a league average team; what should they do in terms of playing/resting players? Whatever his answer to that is; that should be how he plays it against new england. Whether new england does or does not go 16-0 is not his concern. His concern is doing whatever makes his team best prepared for the playoffs.

A win over NE would be a huge jumpstart to their playoffs. However, trying hard 100% and losing would basically guarantee a first round exit.

If I was him, I'd play my starters for the 1st quarter. If the game is close/they-have-the-lead I'd keep them in the 2nd quarter. Then 2nd half play the scrubs

 

[MoLewisrocks]

They're screwed. I believe the Giants are totally screwed.

I believe this about sums it up. But that was the case either way for Coughlin. Sucks to be a lame duck HC on a team where the inmates run the asylum under the watchful eye of the most judgemental in the world.

Once the mediots weighed in on the significance of beating us, and the players weighed in on the potential significance of momentum, on the heels of Cowher hinting he will not take another NFL HC job next season, Coughlin lost all rational control of the situation. He wants that one more year with the players and media who barely tolerate him...so he will take a shot at giving them what they want knowing that either way he's screwed if they lose in Tampa.

 

[Lloyd_Christmas]

This crap is why the best thing to say to the press is "I will do what's best for the team.".

I agree. Or just say "We are not going to tip our hand as to what we are planning to do."

It was dumb to say they were going to play all out to win the game. They are setting themselves up to make this their SB versus the Patriots... which is needless since it is a meaningless game for them and they have very little hope of winning it anyway.

When they lose, their moral will be down and they may possibly be worse off injury-wise. Better to play the backups most of the game and save face. Focus on the next week and put everything you have into THAT game... a game that means a lot more for your team and may actually be winnable.

 

[Lloyd_Christmas]

Personally, I'd sit Burris and Jacobs, absorb the defeat, and move on. But that is one ugly scenario if Bill lets his starters stay on the field. That is perhaps the low point of the Giants' franchise. That is national TV. That is the largest regular season game viewing audience in the history of the sport. That is an embarrassment that could deliver a hangover of huge proportions.

And like that other guy said, teams that lose to the Pats don't exactly fare well the next week.

They're screwed. I believe the Giants are totally screwed.

I agree that the Giants are screwed, but if they got blowed out (sic) in the matchup playing all their scrubs, I don't see that as an embarrassing defeat.

You can always justify by saying that the game was meaningless to the Giants and so there was no sense putting starters at risk. Nobody is going to fault their scrubs for a huge loss and there isn't much to gain strategy-wise if the Giants starters don't play and the play calling is vanilla, preseason-style, play calling.