Resting the final week

[Kerb Hohl]

Yeah, attributing fumbles to the extra 7 days off that nobody but Jennings (who didn't fumble according to the refs :-p) sat out for. Grasp those straws!

OK, I guess Rodgers fumbled because his hand was hit as he was cocking back.

It was a one game sample. It happens. The Giants outplayed the Packers. People make up stupid theories like Matt Ryan is clutch and the Patriots have lost their playoff mojo. Guess what, it's a bunch of garbage and the good teams win most of the time, but can be outplayed from time to time. Whatever helps you guys sleep at night, I guess.

However, everyone that makes these arguments seems to think that they have some sort of eye into what is going on in the locker room. You've figured it out! You are making some sort of argument that not playing a few guys against Detroit changed the mental aspect of things. You think that Ryan Grant decided that since he was mentally checked out, as he was catching the screen pass, he wasn't going to cover the ball up? After 20 years of playing football in his life, is that what happened? No, the Giants made a great play and stripped him, and he screwed up. It had nothing to do with the fact that Charles Woodson didn't play in week 17.

[rilamann]

after a week to reflect on what happened to the offense I think the pressure the offense felt to score every time due to our lack of defense boiled over.

You combine that with the playoff pressure and also combine that with a little rust and the offense choked under that pressure.

In a way you can't really be too upset about it,with how bad the defense was this season you can understand the tremendous pressure the offense must have been under/felt.

[Kerb Hohl]

You're entitled to your opinion, rilamann, and you could be right, but I honestly think that the offense just didn't play well. The Giants made some great plays on the ball, and that was that. I don't know how I'd explain Kuhn having it slip out of his hands bumping into his own lineman and Rodgers having it knocked away as he was about to sling it to a wide open WR other than it was not our day, and the Giants made some good plays.

I know that when I played football, the few times I fumbled had nothing to do with the situation of the game, my mental state, or the pressure. It was a defensive player doing a great job at hitting the ball, or a fluke that I slipped into the wrong spot or something. As a football player, I don't normally attribute fumbling to caving into pressure or not being mentally prepared.

[chuckleslove]

You're entitled to your opinion, rilamann, and you could be right, but I honestly think that the offense just didn't play well. The Giants made some great plays on the ball, and that was that. I don't know how I'd explain Kuhn having it slip out of his hands bumping into his own lineman and Rodgers having it knocked away as he was about to sling it to a wide open WR other than it was not our day, and the Giants made some good plays.

I know that when I played football, the few times I fumbled had nothing to do with the situation of the game, my mental state, or the pressure. It was a defensive player doing a great job at hitting the ball, or a fluke that I slipped into the wrong spot or something. As a football player, I don't normally attribute fumbling to caving into pressure or not being mentally prepared.

I fully agree with this, there are certain guys who are more prone due to technique but when you have guys that are fundamentally sound and just happen in to a bad situation it is a lot of times either just plain bad luck(running in to your own offensive lineman) or the defense making a good play(stripping Rodgers right before he hits a wide open receiver for a TD).

[rilamann]

I think part of it was the Packers had a bad day as well.


I just think it was a snowball effect type of thing.

I think the offense felt the pressure to score every time they had the ball going into the game like they probably felt most of the season,but with the pressure of it being a playoff game that pressure was at an all time high.

Then when the offense got off to a shaky start (bad day) probably due to some rust that pressure snowballed and boiled over.

And give the Giants credit,they took advantage of that and didn't let the Packers get that big play which might have woke the Packers up or took some of that pressure off.

[rilamann]

As far as fumbling for me personally,I didn't play a ton of football (I played WR) but the few times I fumbled it was due to a lack of focus and concentration.


I could see how a player would be more prone to fumbling if they were playing under a lot pressure.

[Kerb Hohl]

The one thing I'll agree with is the pressure, whether it caused anything or not. I personally do not like a strategy when you're down 2 possessions as an offensive team in the second half, to try to inch down the field in 7 minutes. There IS pressure there. McCarthy was basically banking on zero mistakes the rest of the way, or we'd run out of time. If it was me, I'd be trying to gun it up the field and give yourself more possessions and room for error.

[Kerb Hohl]

As far as fumbling for me personally,I didn't play a ton of football (I played WR) but the few times I fumbled it was due to a lack of focus and concentration.


I could see how a player would be more prone to fumbling if they were playing under a lot pressure.

Right, I just get annoyed by how much people think they can explain physical aspects and shortcomings in the game to some sort of mental/psychological insight they have.

The Packers fumbled a bunch clearly because a few unrelated guys on the team didn't play in a game 3 weeks ago or something. Could it be true? Yeah, maybe 10% of your guesses may actually be right, and this is a message board so we discuss stuff on here, but people's feelings on the mental aspects of the game are normally a shot in the dark based on what happened.

I'd take the Pats to beat the Jets 8 out of 10 at home last year in the playoffs and 7 out of 10 over this Baltimore team or something like that this year. In reality, the Jets planned and executed better and beat the Patriots. Instead of saying that, all sorts of theories that the Patriots have lost their playoff mojo, aren't mentally tough, blah blah blah come about. Then they win this year and some theory goes back the other way that Bill Belichick ran practice the same on Wednesday this week as he did in an AFC Championship of 2001 or something so they've got it back.

Guess what, the Patriots are good, and win these games 75% of the time, and therefore, that will be the result, but there always has to be some intangible explaining it.

[rilamann]

I think the pressure made the offense feel like they had to play perfect and usually when you feel like you have to play perfect you press and you choke .

And that whole situation wasn't helped by the fact that the offense,Rodgers in particular started off a little shaky/rusty.

That's just my theory.


Playing the Giants didn't help either,had we played a team like the Falcons or Cowboys they would have probably given us some big plays that would have given us some confidence.Cowboys or Falcons would have been kind of a warm up game for the 49ers in the NFC Championship.

The Giants were a legit opponent who punched us in the mouth.

Luckily if we can fix that pass Rush and if Nick Collins can play next season we should be fine going into next season.

[Kerb Hohl]

Right, rilamann, I don't really disagree a ton with your sentiments. I can buy a lot of yours, because I felt that way during the game as a fan. That said, a bunch of our fans can only try to claim that somebody fumbled because his teammate didn't play in week 17 for so long.