Diary of a Giants Fan: I Hate the Giants, They Lose to Redskins

Alright, so perhaps the title is a bit of an overstatement. Then again. Did you watch the game? @JoeBianchino

Well. I may have seen the letdown coming - after all, as my Dad says, "They're so annoyingly predictable" - but it never gets easier to watch. What a disgrace. And it started with such promise, in both shocking and encouraging fashion. The Giants' secondary made a play, a sight so rare I had to ask the guy next to me what happened. Cory Webster intercepted a Rex Grossman pass and put his offense on the field. Eli and crew promptly did nothing, however, and the ensuing Redskins possession yielded a field goal. 3-0 Redskins and there's your ball game. Okay, that, too, is an overstatement. In fact, the Giant secondary was about to make another play. Now I know what you're saying, "Impossible!" I understand, I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't seen it. Phillips intercepted the Rex Grossman pass and the ball was back in the capable hands of Eli Manning.

Well, 'capable' is probably stretching it, at least on this day. The Giants offense, helped by a Hakeem Nicks drop on what would have been a walk in touchdown, did absolutely nothing (Is there something worse than 'absolutely nothing?' I couldn't think of one, if you could, insert that here). The Redskins would take possession and demoralize the Giants with a long drive, a drive that included a 4th down conversion following a huge gain on 3rd and 17, and score on a Rex Grossman pass. A blown coverage. A 10-0 hole. And, hey, why don't we just call it?

What? I have to keep going? But I'm tired and sad. Fine, I'll continue. But let me just sum up the rest of the first half:

Yip. That does it. The Giants were embarrassed. Defensively, the who's who of practice squad players that populate the Redskins offense (I'm bitter) were dominating. Roy Helu - seriously, who the hell is Roy Helu? - was gaining six or seven yards at a time and the Giants simply had no answer. Offensively, not only were the Giants not finding a rhythm, they didn't even seem to have a game plan until late in the half. What should have been a balanced attack was replaced by some sort of terrifying carnival-esq show entitled, "Kevin Gilbride's poor play calling and worse execution." All told it was 17-3 in favor of the Skins, an embarrassing half of football for the Giants. Still, in such cruel and Giant-like fashion, they gave you some hope at the end of the first. Manning and company had found some rhythm and managed a field goal at the gun. They would get the ball to start the second half. If they could get a score on that first possession, maybe - just maybe - they could find away to make the magic happen once again.

They wouldn't, and you're a fool if you let them make you think they could. Manning was intercepted on the opening drive of the half, the Redskins would capitalize with a field goal, and it really was over. Sure, the Giants would have some chances. But how do you overcome an offensive line that refuses to block, defensive players who refuse to defend, and receivers who don't run correct route and can't catch the [expletive-ing] ball when they do? You can't. A junk time touchdown would do nothing to ease the ire and bereavement of Giant fans. 23-10 Redskins. A disgrace.

So what do you do with a loss like this? Well, you look for silver linings. I've been sitting here for a few minutes and all I've got is this: This was a total, team effort. No, I don't mean that they tried hard. I mean that it took everyone working together to play that poorly. There have certainly been worse losses in the history of my Giant fandom, but there haven't been many that were a more pitiful watch than that one. After winning such a huge game against Dallas last week, this was the Giants' opportunity to finally get on a roll. Following that emotional, resilient triumph you thought maybe this team had turned the corner. Maybe they could come home, beat a bad Redskins team, and get on a run heading into the playoffs. But no. With opportunity right there at their fingertips the Giants decided to vomit all over themselves and give the game away.

This was a terrible effort from both units. The offense looked confused at times and just plain bad at others. Receivers ran wrong routes and dropped passes, and Eli Manning was under siege for the bulk of the game thanks to some really poor blocking. The defense looked, well, like the Giants defense normally looks, though in a departure from the norm, Sunday's squad seemed to lack a single Y chromosome in the front seven (except for Pierre-Paul). Harsh? Yes. False? Maybe. The defensive line was consistently blown off the line of scrimmage, allowing huge gains in the running game. The secondary blew coverages - though that's nothing new - and the unit as a whole missed more tackles than I care to think about. In fairness to the defense however, they intercepted Grossman twice in the first quarter and the offense came away with nothing. As bad as they played, I can't lay this entirely at their feet. Total. Team. Loss.

The only word I can really think of to describe the Giants on Sunday is, "feeble." Though, I did think of an actual silver lining. If there is one thing to be taken from this debacle it's that the Giants still control their destiny. Win out. Make the playoffs. Seems like a pipe dream at this point, though, eh?

Grades: Everyone gets an F. Now stop reading and go wallow in self-pity.

Wait! I thought of one more silver lining, don't stop reading yet. Maybe Antrel Rolle will watch the game tape, see how horrifically he played, and stop talking about how he's always in the right place. Seriously, Antrel. You were terrible. Now be quiet. The Giants will next play on Christmas Eve in a must-win against the Jets. Check back here mid week for my preview of the game.

Okay. Now go wallow in self-pity.