denverYooper
12-09-2008, 07:51 AM
It's seemed like the Pack's recent struggles are similar to what the current Giants team went through under Tom Coughlin previous to last year. I remember the Giants being a highly penalized team the year before and having a subpar season after having high expectations:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Coughlin#New_York_Giants
First Year:
Coughlin inherited a team that finished 4–12 in 2003, but led the Giants to a surprising 5–2 start in his first season as head coach. After back-to-back losses in which veteran quarterback Kurt Warner struggled left the Giants at 5–4, Coughlin made the decision to bench Warner and start New York's highly touted rookie quarterback, Eli Manning. Coughlin received criticism from some who felt the move amounted to a surrender of the 2004 season when the Giants were still in playoff contention. The Giants would go on to lose six of the seven games started by Manning, who struggled in his rookie season.
Second Year:
Coughlin's early move to Manning, though, would pay dividends in 2005, as Manning and the Giants went 11–5 in Coughlin's second season and won the NFC East for the first time since 2000
...
Heading into the 2006 season, expectations for the Giants were high. In just over two years as the Giants head coach, Coughlin transformed the Giants from an underachieving, last place team into a possible Super Bowl contender.
Third Year: lots of injuries, lots of penalties, and a second half collapse for a team with a lot of promise. It sure feels like the '08 Packers
The Giants struggled early during the 2006 campaign, going 1–2 in their first three games. After a particularly bad loss to the Seattle Seahawks, star tight end Jeremy Shockey stated that the Giants had been "outplayed and outcoached." The Giants rebounded by winning their next five games to go 6–2. However, the Giants suffered a stunning second half collapse, losing 6 of their next 7 games to fall to 7–8 heading into the last game of the season... Numerous injuries, excessive penalties, and a high number of turnovers—all three being problems that Coughlin promised to fix when hired as Giants head coach in 2004—had been most responsible for the downward spiral of the 2006 Giants...However, the Giants rebounded with a victory in the season's final game at the Washington Redskins, all but securing a playoff berth and perhaps saving Coughlin's job in the process.
Fourth Year:
In the 2007 season, the Giants again started poorly with an 0–2 record. However, the team rebounded and won 6 straight games. The team compiled a 7–1 road record for the season...
We know where it's gone from there. Hopefully McCarthy's career takes a similar trajectory :).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Coughlin#New_York_Giants
First Year:
Coughlin inherited a team that finished 4–12 in 2003, but led the Giants to a surprising 5–2 start in his first season as head coach. After back-to-back losses in which veteran quarterback Kurt Warner struggled left the Giants at 5–4, Coughlin made the decision to bench Warner and start New York's highly touted rookie quarterback, Eli Manning. Coughlin received criticism from some who felt the move amounted to a surrender of the 2004 season when the Giants were still in playoff contention. The Giants would go on to lose six of the seven games started by Manning, who struggled in his rookie season.
Second Year:
Coughlin's early move to Manning, though, would pay dividends in 2005, as Manning and the Giants went 11–5 in Coughlin's second season and won the NFC East for the first time since 2000
...
Heading into the 2006 season, expectations for the Giants were high. In just over two years as the Giants head coach, Coughlin transformed the Giants from an underachieving, last place team into a possible Super Bowl contender.
Third Year: lots of injuries, lots of penalties, and a second half collapse for a team with a lot of promise. It sure feels like the '08 Packers
The Giants struggled early during the 2006 campaign, going 1–2 in their first three games. After a particularly bad loss to the Seattle Seahawks, star tight end Jeremy Shockey stated that the Giants had been "outplayed and outcoached." The Giants rebounded by winning their next five games to go 6–2. However, the Giants suffered a stunning second half collapse, losing 6 of their next 7 games to fall to 7–8 heading into the last game of the season... Numerous injuries, excessive penalties, and a high number of turnovers—all three being problems that Coughlin promised to fix when hired as Giants head coach in 2004—had been most responsible for the downward spiral of the 2006 Giants...However, the Giants rebounded with a victory in the season's final game at the Washington Redskins, all but securing a playoff berth and perhaps saving Coughlin's job in the process.
Fourth Year:
In the 2007 season, the Giants again started poorly with an 0–2 record. However, the team rebounded and won 6 straight games. The team compiled a 7–1 road record for the season...
We know where it's gone from there. Hopefully McCarthy's career takes a similar trajectory :).