Rumblings of Sheridan's possible demise have circulated since week 8 of this 2009 NFL Season after poor performances versus tougher opposition like the Saints, Eagles and Cardinals.

New York lacked passion and seemed very unorganized on the defensive side. A team that  has always been known for their tough defense gave up a ton of points against several teams including two horrible performances versus NFC East rival the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Giants could not muster up any pressure all season long, Osi Umenyiora was a huge disappointment this year and was even benched towards the end of the season. Key injuries to Kenny Phillips, Alford and Pierce along with Canty and Aaron Ross being hurt most of the year did not help the cause but the team just never looked prepared.

It was an over all failure, you can't just blame the secondary for giving up huge plays, you also have to blame the defensive line who gave opposing quarterbacks all day to throw the ball and pick apart an already decimated, weak and confused secondary.

The departure of Steve Spagnuolo turned out to be bigger than most anticipated. Spags brought innovative schemes and alignments that confused offensive lines. He knew when to call a blitz and when to fake one, you can't pick up that type of intuition by reading a play book.

Bill Sheridan needs time to develop as a Defensive Coordinator, hopefully he will get a chance to learn and get a feel for the position with another team. The Giants have a good enough team to compete for a Superbowl next year, we need a coordinator who is ready now to take a talented defense to the level we got used to under Steve Spagnolo.

Carlos Caicedo
GiantsKickoff.com - Copyright 2009

Monday Night Football Game:

New York played their most complete game in weeks versus Dallas. The defense played hard, they stopped the Cowboys running attack which few teams have been able to do. Tony Romo was under constant pressure which led to a few bad throws in very important situations during the game. The pressure also took away the deep ball to Miles Austin. Romo however did not play poorly he completed 41 passes, 14 of those to his favorite target Jason Witten.

The Giants also excelled on special teams where Domenik Hixon scored a 79 yard touchdown on a punt return. The offense made a few mistakes which included an Eli Manning interception and a drop in the end zone by Steve Smith but all in all they played a good game. Brandon Jacobs only had 39 yards rushing but he was running harder than in previous games which was great to see. He also had a rare catch which he turned into a 74 yard touchdown.

Big Blue is now 7-5 and only a game behind Dallas and are back in the playoff hunt in a huge way. The Gmen pretty much control their own destiny, they have key match-ups versus division rivals, next week against the Philadelphia Eagles and then the Washington Redskins after that. The Cowboys have a very tough schedule ahead which will provide an opportunity for New York to get back in and fight for the division with the boys and Philly.

This was a great win for the NY Football Giants, hopefully they can build some confidence and momentum in upcoming weeks and carry that to the playoffs.

Carlos Caicedo
GiantsKickoff.com - Copyright 2009