Paul Stengel's New York Knicks fan blog

Week one of the NFL season is behind us, and for New York Giants fans there were a lot of positives.  The Giants defeated the Carolina Panthers in their first ever game at the New Meadowlands Stadium, 31-18.  Wide receiver Hakeem Nicks caught three touchdowns from quarterback Eli Manning.  Aside from a few drops and tipped balls that led to interceptions, the Giants passing game looked impressive.  They struggled mightily to run the ball in the first half, going to the break with -2 yards on the ground.  The Giants were able to run more in the second half, and running backs Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs both enjoyed 20+ yard runs.  Bradshaw scored the final Giants touchdown on the ground, one that essentially put the game away. 

On defense the Giants looked like a completely different unit from last year.  In the first half, because of poor performance from their special teams the Giants were constantly defending a short field.  They still held Carolina to field goals and limited the damage of the Panthers dangerous backfield duo, Deangelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart.  Safety Kenny Phillips looked good in his return to action, making a touchdown saving tackle and in interception late in the game.  The Giants forced five turnovers in all on defense, and in the second half harassed Carolina quarterback Matt Moore.  Defensive Coordinator Perry Fewell unleashed a hellacious pass rush once the Giants secured their lead, and the team didn’t look back.  They sacked Moore four times and repeatedly knocked him down.  Moore was eventually pulled from the game and replaced by rookie Jimmy Clausen. 

Continue reading "Giants 2010 Season - week one review"

In the first game in the new meadowlands stadium the Giants defeated the Jets 31-16.  The problem for the Giants is that the final score of the first preseason game is not always the most important measuring stick for a team’s performance.  In the first half the Giants starters were outhustled and outplayed by the Jets starters.  The Jets played a more physical game, they sustained longer drives, ran the ball effectively, stopped the Giants on the ground (Bradshaw and Jacobs netted only a yard on the ground), and even bloodied Eli Manning.  Manning’s first half injury was one of the scarier moments for Giants fans.  He had his helmet knocked off and cut his head on a Jets player’s facemask.  Manning received 12 stitches for the gash on his forehead, though he said after the game that he could have returned if the Giants needed him. 

Continue reading "Review of Preseason game 1 - Jets vs Giants"

“When I say D, you say FENCE!” Last night was the final Knicks home game of the year. Sergio Rodriguez surprisingly stole the show with 12 late points. Danilo Gallinari scored all 24 of his points in the second half as the Knicks rallied to outscore Washington 40-21 in the fourth quarter of fan appreciation night. The Knicks handed out free T-shirts before the game with the word “declare” on the front. They fired T-shirts into the stands and gave out prizes all night.

For one night at least, Knicks fans were treated to winning basketball and allowed to forget about the summer; when LeBron James and others become free agents, and the Knicks, with their $30+ million in cap room look to make a move for them. On this night, a lineup of Gallinari, Bill Walker, Sergio Rodriguez, David Lee and Earl Barron was enough to pull the game out. Going into the fourth period, the knicks trailed 82-74, and as Clyde Frazier would say “they looked tired and uninspired”. Suddenly, Gallinari awoke. He started converting three pointers and getting to the line. The Knicks survived a big game from Mike Miller for the Wizards. He scored 23 points and hit five three pointers. The Knicks had 11 threes, with Gallinari making four.

Continue reading "Knicks final home game"

The Knicks failed in their attempt to win three straight games for the first time since early in the year.  In this game the Knicks had to come back from numerous deficits, including a 20 point hole early in the contest.  They came back with three point shooting from Toney Douglas and Bill Walker.  Danilo Gallinari had another big third quarter following his 19 point third quarter outburst against Boston two nights ago. 

It seems like the Knicks are going to fall short of their record from the previous year of 32-50.  They need to win their last four games to duplicate that record.  Right now I'm somewhat upset with coach D'antoni for replacing Toney Douglas in the starting lineup.  It seemed obvious that Douglas was making an impact as a starter with his defense and scoring.  Douglas finished the Indiana game with 20 points off the bench. 

Continue reading "Knicks comeback against Pacers falls short"

 As Danilo Gallinari and Carmello Anthony continued their heated discussion during the third quarter last night, the Knicks found a way to take control of the game.  They have been playing winning basketball lately, since moving Toney Douglas to the starting lineup.  Douglas brings toughness and a lively scoring touch, not to mention a propensity for clutch play.  He seems to come alive during the second halves of games.  He went scoreless in the first half but finished with 16 points. 

 Something seems to have clicked with Gallinari lately as well.  He's become much more aggressive on offense and has been getting to the line with impressive frequency.  Gallinari's development is big for the Knicks, he's one of the few players who will still be here next season, and his sophmore campaign, which started off impressively looks like it's ending with a bang as well. 

Continue reading "The new look Knicks pull out another one"

Welcome to the starting lineup Toney Douglas! The Knicks are 2-0 in games Douglas has started, and he has clearly given the team a spark it was missing when it started Duhon and Sergio Rodriguez. Douglas has averaged 20 points over his last three games, and has brought great energy to the defensive end. His three steals against Philadelphia and clutch three point shooting helped keep the 76ers from coming back.

 Another big contributor to the Knicks lately has been Bill “Sky” Walker. Walker’s high flying dunks and surprising outside touch have been on display of late. He’s shooting near 60% as a Knick and has been a pleasant surprise in general when considering he was originally a throw-in in the Nate Robinson trade. Tracy McGrady’s frequent injuries have opened up minutes for Walker and he’s taking advantage.

Continue reading "Welcome to the starting lineup Mr. Douglas!"

CLAAAANG!!!  Another errant Knicks shot glances off the rim.  The New York Knickerbockers have mastered the art of losing for the past 10 years.  The only silver lining after this season is the possibility of signing two big name, “max contract” players.  The Knicks traded away their upcoming draft pick (along with Jared Jeffries and others) to Houston,  to free up more money for these players.  Nothing is guaranteed, the Knicks aren’t necessarily getting anyone for their trouble. 

The losing that the Knicks have been doing is a relatively new experience for their head coach, Mike D’Antoni.  D’Antoni came over from Phoenix, where he had an outstanding winning percentage, playoff appearances every year, and usually a late-season meeting with the San Antonio Spurs that ultimately would decide who would come out of the west.  Before he coached Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash and Shawn Marion to 60 wins a year.  Now he leads Al Harrington and a band of inexperienced, below average knicks to likely two 30 win seasons. 

Continue reading "New York Knicks, what the salary cap future holds"

…and we know you don’t care.  This team is not going to trick me into watching it this year.  However, I have decided that I will check in on them, as one would check in on an ailing old friend.  They looked pretty good tonight, beating the Phoenix Suns, 126-99.  I’ll just give my critique of Gallinari’s play, since I know the Knicks arent doing anything this year, and Gallo’s one of the few players I know will be around next year. 

The Knicks and Suns entered the game with records that were the complete inverse of each other (3-14 to 14-3).  Gallinari looked particularly focused on this day, starting the game with a quick dunk, and a reverse layup.  After that his shot was on target the whole night.  In addition, his passing and his defense were excellent.  He never forces anything. 

Continue reading "Knicks Blow Out Best Team in NBA (12-1-09)"

Ugh, I remember this feeling.  The Giants are once again an excruciating, exhausting team to watch.  They have been for most of my lifetime, yet somehow, they put it all together at the end of the 2007 season.  They won the Superbowl, beat an undefeated team, and even carried that momentum into the majority of the following season, but overall this has never been a team that handles prosperity well. 

The Giants conservative approach on offense is becoming more and more frustrating to watch.  They have to play the perfect game now in order to win against decent/good teams.  Even the Dallas win this year required a flawless performance from Eli to eek out a win against a team that commited at least 4 turnovers. 

I believe Coughlin and the rest of his staff need to shift their overall philosophy in several areas.  They overemphasize the importance of controlling and possessing the ball.  They win the turnover battle almost every game, they run the ball a ton, and they ALWAYS dominate time of possession.  Is this team capable of scoring quickly on offense?  I thought they had shown in the first few weeks that they were a dangerous passing team, but watching them take nearly 11 minutes to piece together a touchdown drive today has left me with doubts. 

Continue reading "Another Deflating Giants Loss (11/8/09)"

The Giants once again dominated the time of possession against the Eagles, holding the ball for over 35 minutes, and they again had a "healthy" balance of run and pass plays.  They actually ran the ball 32 times in this game, 8 more times than the Eagles.  They also lost the game 40-17, and were outperformed in every phase of the game.  The one thing the Giants did more effectively than Philly was to actually run down the game clock, effectively taking care of that for the Eagles by taking way too long in their drives, and running an absurd number of draw and running plays while trailing by 24 points.  

There is something fundamentally wrong with the Giants offensive philosophy.  The defense also looked horrendous, and they have for long stretches of this season, but for now I'll concentrate on criticizing the 1940's style, "power football" that the Giants are employing on offense.  Sometimes the play-calling and formations of the offense truly baffle me.  They continue to try to establish the run early in games, and lately with very little effectiveness.  I personally have nothing against running the ball, and all teams need to have some kind of balance, but the Giants take it too far.  Most good teams (like Pittsburgh and New England) nowadays pass early in the game to take the lead, and then run, to run down the clock.  The Giants run all the time, no matter the situation, which shortens the game and limits their number of possessions.  They often dominate games in terms of yardage and T.O.P. and yet they struggle in the red-zone and don't put up enough points.  Their slow tempo on offense also allows vastly inferior opponents to still have a chance to win, because they rarely jump out to big leads.  (For example, they completely dominated Tampa Bay in week 3, didn’t allow a first down in the first three quarters and for about the first 40 minutes of the game were only up two scores.)  The last three weeks, the Giants have fallen behind early and shown absolutely no ability to run an up-tempo offense.  Maybe they overestimated the ability of their defense, but the lack of urgency or creativity from the offense boggles the mind.

Continue reading "Thoughts following a terrible loss to the Eagles (11-1-09)"