The Legend of the Giants roll vs. the pats playing poorly

[Marko]

Here's another example of complete bias and ignorance by the NY driven media. The Giants are on a roll and they're hot because they beat Tampa by 10, the Cowboys by 4 and the Packers by 3. Contrast this to the Pats who are reported to have been playing poorly or almost beaten(JT Lebrick's words) by the Jags who they beat by 11, and the Chargers by 9(could have been more). In two games the Pats outscored their opponents by 20 while the Giants outscored their opponents by 17 in 3 games. Only a NY loving media could construe these results into the Pats playing poorly and the Giants being so hot.

 

[fnordcircle]

Here's another example of complete bias and ignorance by the NY driven media. The Giants are on a roll and they're hot because they beat Tampa by 10, the Cowboys by 4 and the Packers by 3. Contrast this to the Pats who are reported to have been playing poorly or almost beaten(JT Lebrick's words) by the Jags who they beat by 11, and the Chargers by 9(could have been more). In two games the Pats outscored their opponents by 20 while the Giants outscored their opponents by 17 in 3 games. Only a NY loving media could construe these results into the Pats playing poorly and the Giants being so hot.

Everything said about the Patriots playing poorly should be understood to be relative to how they were playing for the first part of this year. It's not that they are playing poorly, they merely look human. They are still the consensus best team in the league.

Beyond that you're missing the larger picture - EVERY MEDIA OUTLET IS GOING TO TRY TO BUILD UP THE GIANTS. Why? Because the Giants are the clear underdog and everyone in the media benefits if the public perception is that the Giants have a shot to win because if most fans don't think the Giants have a shot to win they won't pay attention to any of the pregame hype.

It's all about the ratings. Try not to take it personally.

 

[Marko]

Im falling off my chair at the OP. Why wouldnt you expect a ny media outlet to be supportive of thier hometown team? Please dont tell me you have a chip on your shoulder over a newyork media outlet supporting a new york based team.

Wow, I'm falling of my chair that you completely missed the point:bricks: , which is that their premise is flawed and it renders their argument invalid. They can be as biased as they want but don't tell me that they should base their argument on something that stupid and illegitimate. And fnordcircle, i completely agree with what you say that our expectations are higher, but it still doesn't mean that because the Giants are playing better than they did and the Pats aren't killing people like they did that Giants >Pats. BTW Shula can take the cork from his champagne and stick it.

 

[Marko]

See Dr' Z's prediction giving the Pats the edge in more categories but picking Giants, if you're going to make a pick on sentimentality or a hunch say so but don't used flawed logic to do so.

 

[Ethan 55]

The oversimplification stems from the fact that each team, relative to their first half performance, has either improved or declined. The Patriots have declined from their first half while the Giants have improved. Therefore, a simple mind thinks that the Giants will win simply because they're on the way up and the Patriots are on the way down. I believe Dr. Z said he always favors the team on the way up.

However, this neglects the starting point of each team. The Patriots started on Mount Everest while the the Giants started at sea level. Even if we've descended 10,000 feet and they've ascended 10,000 feet, we're still 10,000 feet higher than they are right now.

 

[Marko]

ding, ding, ding we have a winner! Based on their logic the 49ers are probably the best team right now because they came from absolute dreck to lower mediocrity befor the end of the season.

 

[DNR]

Everything said about the Patriots playing poorly should be understood to be relative to how they were playing for the first part of this year. It's not that they are playing poorly, they merely look human. They are still the consensus best team in the league.

Beyond that you're missing the larger picture - EVERY MEDIA OUTLET IS GOING TO TRY TO BUILD UP THE GIANTS. Why? Because the Giants are the clear underdog and everyone in the media benefits if the public perception is that the Giants have a shot to win because if most fans don't think the Giants have a shot to win they won't pay attention to any of the pregame hype.

It's all about the ratings. Try not to take it personally.

Finally, the voice of reason from someone who actually "Gets It"

Well said my friend......

 

[PatsDeb]

Here's another example of complete bias and ignorance by the NY driven media. The Giants are on a roll and they're hot because they beat Tampa by 10, the Cowboys by 4 and the Packers by 3. Contrast this to the Pats who are reported to have been playing poorly or almost beaten(JT Lebrick's words) by the Jags who they beat by 11, and the Chargers by 9(could have been more). In two games the Pats outscored their opponents by 20 while the Giants outscored their opponents by 17 in 3 games. Only a NY loving media could construe these results into the Pats playing poorly and the Giants being so hot.

Not just the NY media. Dr. Z is trumpeting the Giants on a roll and the Pats as "sinking." (although he may be NY too - isn't he from NJ?) What a joke.

I also don't agree that the Pats have descended as the season went on. When the weather got cold and it was obvious that slinging the ball around for 60 mins. wasn't going to work, they morphed into a more traditional run/pass offense. You don't score as many points, but the result (a "W") is still the same.

 

[DarrylStingley]

I disagree with the ratings comment. That would make sense for those who benefit from high ratings, like Fox and advertisers.

I think it's more about being a contrarian. It's boring to say what most people really think -- the Pats will win big. No one looks smart or insightful if they say that.

One looks like he knows something unique if he predicts a close game or a Giants win. Afterward, if either happens, those prognosticators will look smart.

But Vegas doesn't screw around. 12 is an indication of the prevaling view on this game. And that view is that the Pats will win easy. Always follow the money.

 

[Sicilian]

It comes down to three things to me:

1) The majority of the country doesn't like the Patriots for various reasons. It's the same with A-Rod and the Yankees. We don't like the Yankees, so A-Rod is a bum, despite the numbers, who we'd NEVER want on our team

2) Hype. Ads cost multiple millions of dollars during the Super Bowl because so many people watched LAST YEAR, so they presented a certain number of "eyeballs" to clients this year, saying "This is how many people will watch! Give us cash!" The more who watch, the more they can charge next Super Bowl. They want casual fans to watch, and they're not going to (outside of NE and NY) if they think it's going to be a 21 point blowout.

3) The disappearing prediction phenomenon. If an analyst picks the Pats, and is right, big deal. If he/she picks the Giants, and is right, WOW, they have GREAT football insight! If they're wrong... well, no one ever seems to bring it up. Win win.

 

[Heck67]

Not just the NY media. Dr. Z is trumpeting the Giants on a roll and the Pats as "sinking." (although he may be NY too - isn't he from NJ?) What a joke.

I also don't agree that the Pats have descended as the season went on. When the weather got cold and it was obvious that slinging the ball around for 60 mins. wasn't going to work, they morphed into a more traditional run/pass offense. You don't score as many points, but the result (a "W") is still the same.

I think this is the biggest point to consider, the weather has been the biggest factor in the last three games we played. Out in Arizona it is going to be nice and warm, I think you will see our pass offense really increase in productivity.

 

[RayClay]

Im falling off my chair at the OP. Why wouldnt you expect a ny media outlet to be supportive of thier hometown team? Please dont tell me you have a chip on your shoulder over a newyork media outlet supporting a new york based team.

I don't know, I've been reading Jackie McMullen, Borges, Shank O'Shaugnessy, Felger, Tomase and Guregian.

I though local media was supposed to hate the team and coach.

 

[jscout]

I think it's funny that when the Pats stopped crushing opponents they're considered to be playing poorly. I wonder if it's even remotely possible that the Pats have been playing at the same high level all season but it's their opponents that have stepped up their play and played to the Pats' level. Nah, that can't be.

 

[TomBrady'sGoat]

The only thing that surprises me is that no one is talking about how much of a mismatch this game is. There are people picking the Pats and people picking the Giants, but no one mentioning that this is the most lopsided superbowl matchup since Stan Humphries took the Chargers to the big game (and it's probably a bigger mismatch. I just see no need to go beyond the mid-90s to make my point). You'd think the Giants had a 40% chance to win this game the way it's being advertised (rather than the 5-10% chance I'd say they have in reality).

 

[PatsfanGlo]

What annoys me the most is that a lot of these so called experts seem to be picking Giants not because they think they'll win but because they seem to personal grudge against Pats. Latest one being Shaun King(career backup). He goes on saying how Giants are great, Coughlin is better coach than BB(giggles) and how TB has more pressure on him than Eli. May be he forgot this is TB's 4th SB and he is used to this kind of pressures.

 

[Watson's IQ]

As someone pointed out, it's all a matter of expectations.

The Giants are a mediocre team that has gotten hot.

The Patriots are an all-time great team which has been beating people less convincingly lately.

To people pursuing this storyline, that's all they need as a basis for this argument. The fact that the Patriots are 18-0 is irrelevant if you take that narrow a view of it.

As the OP pointed out, the fact that even with the Giants on a roll and the Pats playing worse, the Patriots are STILL winning more convincingly (over better teams, I might add) is not worth mentioning for the mediots who push this garbage.

 

[primetime]

Football Outsiders has an article up saying that the Patriots have played better in the playoffs than the Giants (as well as during the games leading up to the playoffs).

 

[Deus Irae]

I posted this in a different thread, but it looks like a better fit here:


Let's take a look at something that's been overlooked in all the hype, and take a real look at the teams New England and New York faced in the playoffs.


Giants:
9-7 Bucs team that had lost 2 straight and 3 of its last 4 games.

13-3 Cowboys team that had lost 2 of its last 3 games and had beaten the Lions by a 28-27 score the week before.

13-3 Packers team that had been absolutely waxed during a bad weather game in week 16 while still trying for HFA. The Giants won this game in overtime after Favre, who'd struggled in both of these bad weather games, tossed a terrible pick to set up the Giants, when he had other receivers open on the play.


Patriots:
11-5 Jaguars team that came into the game having won 4 of 5 and 7 of 9, including 2 on the road against the Steelers. The one loss in those last 5 games was the final game of the season, where Jacksonville was resting players in preparation for the wildcard game. Garrard, for example, didn't play in that final regular season game. Thus, the only loss in that last 9 games where Jacksonville was actually playing full out was a 3 point loss to the Colts, in Indianapolis.

11-5 Chargers team that came into the game having won 8 in a row, and 9 of 10, including 2 victories over a Colts team thought by most pundits to be the second best team in the NFL (behind only the Patriots).



New England has a points differential in the 2 playoff games of +20 against AFC teams that were 'hotter' than the foes the Giants faced. New York has a points differential in the 3 playoff games of +17 against weaker teams that weren't playing all that well, generally speaking.

I'm sorry, but I just don't find the Giants playoff run to be very impressive at all. Now, if the Giants defeat the Patriots, THAT will be impressive.