Will the Giants Make The Playoffs?

Author: Frank Caggino

Editor: Mark Awadallah

In a normal year, it would be hard to believe that the New York Giants would be in first place in the NFC East with a 4-7 record, making 2020 a year unlike any other. The Giants’ most recent win against the Bengals was not pretty, but it is a win or loss league. The Giants almost won on Thursday night and Monday night football, but there is no reward for being close in the NFL. They have benefited from injuries (Dak Prescott) and teams in their division not playing as well as they should (Philadelphia Eagles). The Giants have won back to back games, but they have some tough opponents that will make it difficult to keep winning.

The New York Giants next opponent is the Seattle Seahawks who have an 8-3 record and are one of the best teams in the NFL. Seattle just beat the Eagles convincingly and sacked Carson Wentz six times. Daniel Jones strained his hamstring against Cincinnati, and it is not clear yet if he will play on Sunday. If the Giants want to have even a slight chance of competing against a good team, Jones must be healthy and playing. The Giants cannot win with Colt McCoy as the quarterback who struggled putting up points against the Bengals, when he took over for Jones following his injury. The other problem with facing Seattle is Russell Wilson, who had been having an MVP caliber season until his past couple of games. DK Metcalf is a matchup nightmare and will be an extremely tough cover for the Giants. It is difficult to see the Giants winning this game which is unfortunate considering how close the division race is. Luckily for the Giants, the rest of the division has perhaps even tougher games than Big Blue. The Eagles taken on the Packers who have been just as good as Seattle and are very tough to beat especially in Lambeau Field. The Cowboys will be going up against the Ravens who are a good team as long as they have a healthy Lamar Jackson. Washington has the toughest game out of everyone when they face the undefeated Steelers. Even though the Giants will most likely lose on Sunday, they will still most likely be in first place.

The Giants’ next game is against the Arizona Cardinals who have their highs and lows. There are times when the Cardinals look like a playoff contender and other times when they look like they are middle of the pack. Regardless, the Kyler Murray and Deandre Hopkins led attack, is a tough one to defend. Murray has been dealing with a shoulder issue, which renders him less effective than he normally is. Nobody knows if Daniel Jones will be fully healthy by then which means this matchup does not favor the Giants, but they still have a chance. As far as the rest of the division, the Cowboys play the Bengals which is a winnable game for Dallas. The Eagles play the Saints and if New Orleans has Drew Brees, the Eagles will likely have a hard time winning. If the Saints do not have Brees, the Eagles have a slight chance, but the Saints are still a good team. Washington faces the 49ers who have also had injuries, but if they are healthier by then, San Francisco should win. Following week 14, the Giants should still be in first place.

In week 15 the Giants play the Browns who have a good record of 8-3, but do not play like a team that has an 8-3 record. The Giants definitely have a chance to win this game. Washington plays Seattle, which is a Seattle win if Russell Wilson still plays. The Eagles play the Cardinals, which should be a win for Arizona. The Cowboys play the 49ers, which is a game that could go either way, but favors the 49ers. If the Giants can win against the Browns or their previous matchup, they can be in first place following week 15.

In week 16 the Giants play the Ravens, who should be healthy by then which would make it a tough win for New York. Washington faces Carolina, which is a game that is very tough to pick as either team could win. The Eagles face the Cowboys, which means that an NFC East team, not named the Giants, will win in week 16 unless the Eagles get another tie. By the time week 16 is done, the Giants might not be in first place anymore depending on how they do the previous weeks.

The Giants last game of the season is against the Dallas Cowboys, which is an obvious must win for the Giants. New York should be able to win this game and with Washington facing the Eagles, it is going to be a very close finish to see who wins the division. The Giants path to the playoffs is not an easy one, but there is a chance that they can still make it. If the Giants can somehow beat either the Cardinals or Browns game and the Dallas game, they should be in the playoffs. The Giants also must hope that the rest of their division does not pull off any upsets, but that should not happen because the other teams in the NFC East are not performing at their best, currently. It definitely has not been the best or prettiest Giants season, but for the first time in a long time, the Giants are playing meaningful football games in December. For the first time in a long time, the Giants can make the playoffs and that would be a fitting end to 2020, filled with weird events all the way to the end.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

The State of New England Patriots

Author: Sahil Takur

*Written before Week 12

1-4 when down 7 points or less in the 4th Quarter. 1-4 record on the road. 4-6 on the season. When Tom Brady threw that backbreaking interception that sealed the fate of the 2019 season Patriots fans felt something that they haven’t felt in a long time. Uncertainty. After Tom Brady decided to take his talents south, for the first time in 20 years the Patriots had a hole at the most valuable position in football. What transpired over the next 5 months was a slow and painful decline of depth throughout the whole team. The Patriots led the league in Covid Opt outs with 8, including 2 defensive starters Patrick Chung and Dont'a Hightower. Additionally, the Patriots lost 5 more defensive starters from that top unit from last year to free agency. Going into opening weekend there were a lot of questions regarding how this whole operation was going to work. Offensively the Patriots for the first time in 20 years had a dual threat QB, however defensively they were very young and raw.

We are now at week 11, after Thanksgiving, where Coach Belichick always has said the real NFL Season starts. For the Patriots they are in uncharted territory. Currently they are 4-6 which has landed them 3rd in the AFC East and 11th in the AFC Conference. The path to the playoffs is simple, if they win their remaining 6 games then they will be in. When talking about the New England Patriots over the past 20 seasons this feat would not only be surprising but expected. This year however this is all but a certainty. This Patriots team has been one of the most inconsistent teams on both sides of the football. At sometimes they look like the Patriots of old and at times they looked like a team with no identity. They have had solid games against top teams like Baltimore and Seattle, but then on the other hand they have had some duds against the 49ers and the Broncos. The same defense that kept Patrick Mahomes under wraps for 3 quarters was shredded in the air by Joe Flacco and the Jets. The same defense that kept one of the best running attacks in football in Baltimore under wraps also got run over by the 49ers.

Not all is bad in Foxboro however. Over the last 4 weeks we have seen a better version of Cam Newton and we have seen some improvements in the running game and in their overall defensive schemes. There have been many young players that have taken key roles on this team and succeeded. The development of Cam Newton over the last 4 weeks shows that there is potential for him to be an answer at QB for another year or two while they continue to develop Jarrett Stidham. Damien Harris has proven to be the Patriots top back running with conviction and averaging 73.7 yards per game and 5.4 yards per rush.

There are things to observe and learn from from the first 10 games of this season regardless of where the next 6 games take us.Throughout all the changes that New England has gone through over the last 6 months one thing has stayed the same. Bill Belichick. And one thing the teams and fans know about Bill Belichick is to never count.

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Harden Wants Out

Author: Ian Kayanja

Editor: Fran Attié

James Harden wants out of Houston, and the Rockets would be misguided to deal him just because he asked out.

The NBA offseason opened up on Monday, and with it came a litany of trades and rumors. The loudest of them all being Harden's demand to be traded to the Brooklyn Nets. Where there is smoke, there is fire. And with the Houston Rockets, the house has been burning since the organization traded Chris Paul for Russell Westbrook in the summer of 2019. Harden's trade demand is only the latest domino to fall, but the Rockets can't allow a superstar's trade demand to tank the entire franchise.

In the age of player empowerment, it’s increasingly common to see star players force their way off teams with multiple years still left on their contracts. The teams often get put into a bind and make knee jerk reactions, because the player is always right, right?

Wrong.

There comes a time where the pendulum swings too far in one direction. In the last four seasons, the NBA has hit that point, as star players realized there are a ways to get their money and end up the career winner. And frankly, I can’t blame them. The name of the game is to get paid, after all. So, two years into their max extensions, stars cry they are trapped in a losing situation. They want out.

Yet, what is damaging is when the organization gives a player a max contract and then proceeds to show that player that those in charge are committed to building a winner, and then the player leaves anyway. What was the point in re-signing in the first place? Why is the grass always greener somewhere else?

That is exactly the situation Houston finds itself in now. Harden has two years left on his contract, and has demanded a trade. Ok, so what? I understand Daryl Morey is gone. I understand that he has a new head coach, and he will be operating in a new system. Harden probably has some apprehension as to what exactly this new system may look like, or how the front office will handle things going forward. I understand all that.

It is also no mistake he put Philadelphia as one of the teams he would want to be traded to. Both the 76ers and the Nets offer Harden familiarity. He's played for Daryl Morey before, and he has played with Kevin Durant before. Outside of the city, Houston is a new franchise. It has a new owner, new general manager, a new coaching staff, but there is not a new Harden.

Situations like this just take time. Going forward, Houston should ask Harden to honor the two years left on his contract, and give it time. If he still wants out a year from now, the franchise should explore options then. But to trade Harden now would be jumping the gun on something that just might sort itself out.

If Harden needs any warning on why jumping the gun can change the trajectory of a player’s legacy, he need only look at Kyrie Irving and what happened to him when he wanted out of Cleveland.

Houston traded for Trevor Ariza, and it got back draft capital. Those in the front office claim that they want to run it back with Westbrook and Harden, even amongst Westbrook’s harsh critiques of Rockets culture. If this team can find what it had in the early months of 2020, it could still be a championship-caliber team. If new head coach Stephen Silas curates a system that doesn't put such a heavy offensive workload on Harden, things could work out. If Tilman Fertitta learns to let go of the basketball decisions and trusts the people he has hired, again things just might work out.

There are too many unknowns to say Houston is a sinking ship, but if Harden leaves obviously that would become the reality.

It’s human nature to always want the next best thing, even if it means too much too soon. So, with Harden’s wandering eye, Houston has to double down and trust that holding on to him, even for just one more season, might just straighten things out for the long term.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE