Joe Soriano
O.J. LewisTom Coughlin keys Giants win.
The play was a 3rd down and ten at the Eagles twenty yard line, and there was 6:25 left in the 3rd Quarter. The Giants had the ball and they were behind to the Eagles 24-20. Manning dropped back to pass. He could not find an open receiver, so he started to scramble, and it appeared that he had committed to run. At the last second, he threw a pass to Kevin Boss, which was complete to the Eagle six yard line. But hold on, there is a flag on the play, and it is evident to everybody in the stadium that Manning crossed the line of scrimmage before he threw the pass. The Giants are going to have to kick a field goal, but the Eagles are going to maintain the lead and get the ball back. But wait, Tom Coughlin is pulling out the red flag, and he is challenging the play. What is wrong with this guy? John Madden says he is over the line, so he has to be over the line. Wrong. Tom Coughlin knows the rules. Eli Manning had one centimeter of his right heel behind the line, and Tom Coughlin knew that was enough. The Giants maintained the ball, and they scored two players. Tom Coughlin is simply a fantastic coach, not just because of this play, but for how he has his Giants playing this year and for his phenomenal run last year, when he beat a great Patriots Team that many thought was the best ever assembled. Players win games; but don't be fooled, coaches win a lot as well. They usually do not win many on Sundays. They usually win them by how they assemble their teams and by their preparation prior to the game. But sometimes they are big contributors on Game Day, as well. Contrast Coughlin's decisions with those of Andy Reid. The Eagle coach cost his team two time outs on two consecutive plays with over nine minutes left in the game when he made two bad challenges,which put them in a hole when they were behind by twelve points and in need of all three time outs. Reid also made two questionable calls on the Eagles last possession when he ran the ball on third and three and again on fourth and one, instead of passing it with Star Quarterback Donavon McNabb. Tom Coughlin is an elite coach in the NFL. There are only a few others in his class, possibly only Jeff Fisher of the Titans, Bill Belichick of the Patriots, and Tony Dungy of the Colts.
