Giants' Pierre-Paul has right outlook

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Some may think New York Giants young defensive end Jason Paul is foolish for providing the top-seeded and defending Super Bowl board material by guaranteeing a victory in this weekend's NFC Divisional Playoff Game at Lambeau Field.

Others might believe the disposition of the rising defender was spot on.

"We're going to win," Pierre-Paul said following the Giants' triumph over Atlanta in this past Sunday's playoff opener. "One hundred percent we're going to win, because we're the best."

What else is Pierre-Paul going to say? How would his teammates, coaches and the media react had he said the opposite? Joe Namath, Mark Messier and Jim Fassel are just a few examples of players or coaches who have pledged victory for their respective teams, and Pierre-Paul simply became the latest to join the list with his bold statement.

Over the past month, the Giants have resembled a nasty bunch of players who are on a mission much like in the 2007 playoffs, when they needed to dispose of a Brett Favre-led Packers team on a cold night in Wisconsin to reach the Super Bowl. They have played superb in winning four of five outings since a four-game losing streak from Nov. 13-Dec. 4 and steamrolled the Falcons, 24-2, in their Wild Card-Round matchup.

Pierre-Paul, who recorded a career-high and team-best 16 1/2 sacks in the regular season, had eight tackles versus Atlanta. He ended the regular season with a sack in each of the last four games, totaling six in that span, but did not get to Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in a 38-35 loss at MetLife Stadium on Dec. 4.

Rogers and the Packers' offense will surely be a stiffer challenge than the Falcons for New York's defense, which is led by its dominating front line of Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck, Chris Canty and Osi Umenyiora. All eyes will be on Pierre-Paul for this anticipated showdown, however, though the second-year talent out of South Florida has taken a step back from his previous claim of an absolute Giants win.

"If the defense, offense, special teams, we all do our jobs and execute it on Sunday, we should win," a more reserved Pierre-Paul told New York radio station WFAN on Tuesday.

Pierre-Paul added that he is not going to twist his words around and was simply reacting after an exciting finish versus the Falcons. People tend to say things when emotions run high, and Pierre-Paul's demeanor was probably meant to be more of an uplifting compliment to his team rather than a knock on Green Bay. He was not punished for his comments, which may come as a surprise since head coach Tom Coughlin is a "no nonsense" kind of guy.

Coughlin is more concerned with how his players perform than what is said on the airwaves, however.

"I just think that we also have done a better job underneath, and that was an issue for us in terms of pattern reads, identification, recognition of who is where and doing a better job with a lot of the checkdowns," Coughlin said on Monday of his defense's performance. "There were a couple [Sunday] that were open, but by in large we have done a better job of that. We are just playing better coverage and we are playing the rush better, let's put it that way."

New York's defense is averaging just 10 points allowed over the last three games, and shutting down opposing quarterbacks has been its calling card. Rodgers is unlike most quarterbacks in the NFL, however, and had his way with the Giants' secondary in the first meeting just over a month ago, passing for 369 yards with four touchdown strikes and one interception. He was sacked twice in that one, with Tuck and reserve end Dave Tollefson each getting to the All-Pro. Pierre-Paul had three tackles and also batted down a pair of pass attempts, and Umenyiora was not active due to an ankle injury.

With New York's big guns on the defensive front at full strength for round two of this matchup, the trash-talking will go by the wayside to make room for those who can back it up. Pierre-Paul has been waiting for almost a week now to prove that his words weren't just to sell papers, but to solidify his belief that the Giants are the better team.

Come Sunday night, the nation will know.

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Is Mancini the right man for Manchester City?

Roberto Mancini's Manchester City lost for the first time in 15 Premier League games this season on Monday. (Getty Images).

I’ve said it before, and I will say it again: Roberto Mancini is not the right man to guide Manchester City to major football honors. I will go further by stating that while the Italian coach is still at Eastlands, the Citizens will not win the English Premier League or the European Champions League.

My opinion is based on several factors, some of which were quite evident again at Chelsea on Monday when City lost for the first time in the domestic league this season.

My first argument is about the way Mancini has been building his team. With virtually unlimited funds, he has loaded his squad with too many world-class forwards and not enough top defenders. City have now gone eight Premier League matches without a clean sheet, and that is one of the reasons why they will not win the title.

Against Chelsea, the 47-year-old - a forward himself during his distinguished playing career – had the likes of Samir Nasri, Edin Dzeko and Adam Johnson as replacement attacking options. He had to bring on Kolo Toure, primarily a central defender, as cover after left-back Gael Clichy was sent off.

Mancini often struggles to make the right substitutions. When City went down to 10 men at Stamford Bridge, he took off the only players who could lead a counter attack – Sergio Aguero and David Silva – and replaced them with a defender (Toure) and a defensive midfielder (Nigel de Jong).

He basically conceded any hopes of winning the game with 15 minutes left, with the score level at 1-1, and decided to eliminate any chance his team had of scoring a quick breakaway goal. Someone like Nasri or Johnson could have provided a spark against a tired Chelsea defense on a heavy and soggy pitch. Furthermore, one of those flair players would surely have been able to earn a few free-kicks in City’s attacking third and take the pressure off their defense for a few minutes.

In terms of man management, I believe Mancini has actually improved after clashing with several players such as Emmanuel Adebayor and Craig Bellamy in his first season at the club, but he has still made a mess of the whole Carlos Tevez saga. First, he accused the player of not wanting to come on as a substitute in the Champions League game against Bayern Munich, then it transpired the Argentina forward actually did not want to warm up again and never refused to enter the game.

Whichever way you look at it, Tevez was wrong, but this issue could have been resolved internally. By claiming, in a TV interview, that Tevez would never play for the club again, Mancini not only alienated a top player but also someone who has big influence in the dressing room. In my opinion, he lost more than he gained in that episode.

My final argument is simple: Mancini should have been able to guide City into the knockout stages of the Champions League. The players are good enough for that. Many of them would even be good enough to win the competition, if, like I mentioned before, there were a few more quality defenders around. They had some very tough opponents in their group, no doubt about it, but City should have been able to avoid defeat in Munich and in Naples. That’s what top teams with top managers are able to do at the highest level.

Don’t get me wrong - Manchester City are still good enough to challenge for the title, but they will come up short. Players win games, teams win championships, and in my view this team with this manager will never be good enough to lift the Premier League trophy.

Posted by: CNN World Sport Anchor, Pedro Pinto
Filed under: Football

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