Sep

26

2008

(1) Comments

Week 4 NFL Predictions

09:53AM by PLam

Here are my predictions for week 4 in the NFL.  As I have in the past, my picks for games involving NFC East teams is driven by my Giant fandom....

Sep

21

2008

(8) Comments

Week 3 Review - Giants 26, Bengals 23

06:24PM by PLam

I attended today’s game, sitting in my usual seat provided by The Film Giant.  As fans were filing in, one of the discussions that came up made the point that the Bengals’ Carson Palmer has been a pretty good quarterback in this league, and the likelihood that he would have 3 consecutive poor games was unlikely.  And as much as I’d like to think that the Bengals are just a bad football team, I think the reality is that they are a talented team that has just been playing poorly (compared to, say, the St. Louis Rams, who have one or two talented players but are really just a bad team).  With that as the premise, today’s close game wasn’t wholly unexpected.  The Giants pulled out a squeaker, winning in overtime by the score of 26-23.

Sep

19

2008

(1) Comments

Week 3 NFL Predictions

08:28AM by PLam

Teams are starting to settle in to their personalities for the season.  But there are a couple of teams that have struggled that I think are going to have big games this week (Minnesota, NY Jets) Here are my week 3 picks:

Sep

14

2008

(11) Comments

Week 2 Review - Giants 41, Rams 13

04:45PM by PLam

Before the start of this week’s game between the Giants and the Rams, there were a lot of questions about whether or not the Giants were “real”.  Yes, they had beaten the Washington Redskins, but for many, the Redskins had too many question marks of their own for anyone to know if the Giants had won a close game against a tough opponent or if they squeaked one out against a below-average team.  So this game against the Rams, who were themselves blowout by an Eagles team that was missing numerous offensive weapons, was a tough spot for the Giants to be in.  Win a close game, and fans say that the Giants aren’t much better than the riffraff of the NFL.  Lose, and the Giants become a laughing stock.  There was only one option for the Giants to maintain their status as one of the elite teams in the NFL:  Win, and win big.  And thankfully, the Giants won big, running away with a 41-13 victory over the Rams.

Sep

12

2008

(1) Comments

Week 2 NFL Predictions

02:09PM by PLam

My predictions for week 2 in the NFL.  Hopefully better than last week!

Sep

10

2008

(15) Comments

Some thoughts on the upcoming Rams game

10:13AM by PLam

The Rams got utterly destroyed by the Eagles in week 1.  Does this mean that we should expect the Giants to do the same to them?  And that anything short of a blowout will be a sign that the Giants have been surpassed by Philly?  I don’t think so.  Even against the bad teams, I don’t think the Giants are thinking about blowing out games.

Sep

6

2008

(2) Comments

Week 1 NFL Predictions

07:22AM by PLam

Here are my predictions for Week 1 in the NFL (* denotes which team will beat the spread).

Sep

5

2008

(7) Comments

More thoughts on week 1

11:53AM by PLam

A couple of years ago, I was talking with a Patriots fan who was telling me the virtues of Bill Belicheck.  He said “Bill Belicheck is brilliant.  The Patriots don’t seem to win by large margins, but that’s because Bill is guarding his playbook and game-planning over the course of the entire season, not just for each game.” In other words, as long as he felt the game was in control, he was only going to show people enough to win the game so that later in the year, there is less film of the Patriots for teams to study.

Thinking about the game last night, I wonder if Coughlin is trying to do things the same way.

Sep

5

2008

(13) Comments

Week 1 Review - Giants 16, Redskins 7

08:23AM by PLam

Thanks to a last minute sacrifice by my friend, The Film Giant, I got a ticket to the game.  And wow, what a night!  Everything felt electric; being the defending Super Bowl Champs really charges the fans up like nothing else.  This was a great night for celebration and football, and the Giants came away with a win.

Sep

4

2008

(0) Comments

Blue Corner - The Title Defense Starts Today

09:12AM by PLam

Seven months and one day after they shocked the New England Patriots, the New York Giants begin their title defense as Super Bowl Champions.  They open the 2008 season against division rival Washington Redskins in what will be the tone-setter for the entire year.  I believe that the Giants will win this game in a blow-out.