The second and third rounds of the NFL draft have come and gone.

My guys made some promising picks today. The Giants picked up Sterling Shepard, a young wideout out of Oklahoma who is said to be quick and elusive, with the best hands in this draft class. If he is all they say he is, Eli will finally have someone else to throw to beside Odell, someone who will not (we can hope) drop the ball. And if Victor Cruz comes back as well, the G-Men should have a hell of a passing game. Shepard should also be a big help in the return game. Next round, Big Blue added Darian Thompson, a ball-hawking safety. That can’t hurt either. Their defense needs all the players they can get.

The Jets did well in the third by picking a linebacker out of Georgia by the name of Jordan Jenkins. The talking heads on ESPN and the NFL Network all seem to like him a lot, and a couple said he is better than his more heralded teammate Leonard Floyd, who went early in round one. Looks like this guy will be a solid pass rusher, and the more big bodies we have to get after Tom Brady, the better off Gang Green will be.

All the talk is about the Jets’ second round pick, however. They went for a quarterback, Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg. A lot of controversy on that pick. “Hack” was a freshman sensation under Bill O’Brien who then wilted in his sophomore and junior years under lesser coaches. I saw him in person last year, when I attended Northwestern’s home game against Penn State in Evanston. He lost that game. He’s lost a lot of other games too. Will be thrive with the Jets? Maybe. He has gifts. One can hope. One can dream. But…

But he’s sure not going to be ready to start this year. And Fitz is still not signed. So who will quarterback the Jets? And does this mean that Fitz will not be resigned? I sure hope not. If he does come back, who is the odd man out? The Jets can’t carry four quarterbacks. Does this mean they have given up on Bryce Petty already? Or…

… maybe they can trade Geno Smith. For a sixth. Or a seventh. Or a player. Or…

So the first round in the NFL Draft was last night, and both of my teams went for players from Ohio State. Any Buckeyes here who can tell me more about them? Jetboygirl, where are you?

The Jets picked a linebacker, Darren Lee, at twenty. Supposed to be very fast. A sideline to sideline guy. Okay, sounds good. More speed on the defense never hurts. I am glad they did not draft the Memphis QB everyone wanted them to. He’s a project, and we need a QB now. They need to sign Fitz.

The Giants, at ten, drafted a cornerback with the unlikely name of Eli Apple. Seven picks in, the G-Men were sitting pretty, with their two top choices still available. But the the Titans traded up to eight and drafted the offensive lineman the Giants wanted, and the Bear vaulted up from eleven to nine just to get grab the top linebacker, Floyd. In other words, the Giants got their lunch eaten. Leaving nothing but an apple. Of course, in this pass-happy league, everyone needs corners, and the Giants need them more than most, considering how many passing yards they gave up last year. Still and all… I would have been happier if they’d picked Shaq Lawson, the pass rusher.

The damned Cowboys got the guy I really wanted, running back Ezekiel Elliott. Curse them!

Today we get rounds two and three.

I am hoping the G-Men pick up ‘Bama RB and Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry. Or else maybe took a chance and grabbed Myles Jack, the injured UCLA linebacker.

But who knows? Anything could happen. That’s what makes these drafts so much fun.

Okay, this is amusing. What would it look like if NFL teams drafted characters from GAME OF THRONES?

http://www..com/photoessays/0ap3000000654646/season-6-game-of-thrones-mock-draft

Meanwhile, the real NFL is less than a week off, and as usual mock drafts are everywhere.

I don’t do mocks, but I do have my wishlist. The Giants are drafting tenth, and boy, do they have a lot of needs. I am still reeling at how bad their defense was last year. Historically, in good years or bad years, the G-Men have always had a fearsome D, and they need to get back to that. They spent a fortune in free agency to bolster the defense, and with luck some of those players should have a difference… but given the way injuries always seem to decimate Big Blue, drafting for more D would make a lot of sense. The biggest need is for a top pass rusher. We still don’t know if JPP will ever be the same player he was before he blew off half his hand, and even if he is, he needs help on the other side. Joey Bosa or Shaq Lawson would make me very happy in round one, if either one should last till number ten. That being said, there’s also a chance Ezekial Elliott will be there as well, and if he is, I hope the Giants grab him. I love old smashmouth football, and the key to that is a bruising running game. Elliott looks as though he could be special.

As for the Jets, who knows? They draft considerably later. Some mocks have them taking a QB, but I don’t know… the two top QB prospects will be coming off the board 1/2 this year, looks like, and I don’t think anyone else is worth a first round pick. I am still hoping Gang Green can resign Fitz, to be sure, but if not, well, the Jets took Bryce Petty last year, I’d sooner they give him a chance rather than start over with someone new. Not that I have a vote. But if I did, I’d say the Jets should draft for defense as well. You can never have too many pass rushers, especially when you’re in the same division as Tom Brady.

Well, that wasn’t the most exciting of SuperBowls. Certainly not a patch on the Giant victories over the Patriots in SB42 and SB46, or last year’s thriller in Arizona when the Seahawks snatched defeat from the jaws of victory with the Worst Play Call in NFL History. The game was sloppy, with way too many turnovers, and a dearth of heroics on the offensive side of the ball.

The defenses, though… ah, those were a joy to watch. And the final result proved that even in this age of high-flying aerial circuses, one old truth still holds water:

Defense wins championships.

Peyton Manning has had a great career, and it was nice to see Eli’s big bro walk off into the sunset with another ring (I do hope he has the sense to go out now, on top, rather than hanging on the way Unitas and Namath and Favre did)… but make no mistake, Peyton did not win the game. It was the Bronco D, first to last. They absolutely dismantled Cam Newton and the highest scoring offense in the NFL.

This game should be a lesson to the rest of the NFL… and especially to my own beloved New York Football Giants. When the Giants won those two SuperBowls over the Patriots, Eli Manning was MVP, and all that most people remember were his dramatic passes to David Tyree (in 42) and Mario Manningham (in 46)… but as great as Eli played, the D won those games too. The Giants pass rush terrorized Tom Brady from start to finish, just as the Denver D terrorized Cam this afternoon (especially apparent in SB42, when they held a New England offense that had been running up the score against opponents all year to a mere 14 points).

Defense has ALWAYS been a hallmark of the G-Men, since I was a kid. They had great Ds in their two earlier SB wins, under Parcells, as well… and going back to the 50s, the Giants were the first team to introduce their D at the start of games, the franchise where the chant “D-FENSE!” originated. Sam Huff, Harry Carson, Lawrence Taylor, Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora… the Giants have always had a formidable D.

But of late they seem to have forgotten that. This season, the Giants defense ranked 32nd in the NFL. Dead last. Shameful. I still reel thinking of that 52-49 loss to New Orleans. How it could be possible for a Giants team to score 49 points and lose… the mind boggles.

Come draft day, I hope the Giants draft defense, defense, defense, defense. Picking up a few pass-rushers and run-stuffers in free agency would be a good idea as well. I think the Giants offense will be fine with Eli and Odell and our new coach (and I pray Victor Cruz comes back). But for the Giants to return to contention, they need a defense that scares people again. A defense like Denver’s, that turned league MVP Cam Newton into a deer in the headlights.

Defense wins championships.

The Giants knew that once. Denver knows it now.

Thirty-two teams started the season, became twelve, became eight, became four. After Sunday we are down to two. Congratulations to the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers, who will meet in two weeks in Super Bowl L.

I watched the championship games, of course. Not much to say about them.

The afternoon game was a blowout. Must have been very painful for Cardinals fans, and a romp in the park for Carolina fans. Though I did wonder at halftime when the Panthers were only up by 17 points; the preceding week they’d enjoyed a 31-0 lead over Seattle, yet barely hung on to win. But this week Carolina decided to show up for the second half as well. I really thought Arizona would give them more of a fight. Carson Palmer looked dreadful.

The morning game was exciting. Too exciting for my taste; until that two-point pass fell incomplete, I really feared that Brady and the Pats would pull it out. Denver’s pass rush was amazing. I have never seen Brady smacked around so much, even in the two Super Bowls where the G-Men beat him. Evil Little Bill made a blunder by not kicking that field goal late in the fourth when he had the chance; in hindsight, that would have been the difference.

It is always great to see the Patriots lose. And I take some solace knowing that it was losing that game to the Jets that put the championship in Denver rather than New England. It would be have been an entirely different game in Foxboro.

Anyway, the Pats are going home, and the Broncos are going on. It would be wonderful if Eli’s Big Brother could end his career with another ring… but I fear that is not likely to happen. The Panthers just look too tough.

We’ll see. That’s why they play the games.

The NFL playoffs are in full swing, and of course as a football fan, I watch them.

However, I have to confess, since neither the Jets nor the Giants are involved, I don’t watch them with the same level of attention that I do when one of my teams is playing. I often work while watching… going over a copyedited manuscript, paying bills, balancing my checkbook, whatever. When something exciting happens, I can always rewind to watch what I missed. The wonders of having TIVO (I do love my TIVO).

So I really don’t have much to say about this weekend’s contests. Except…

The Patriots won. Bummed me out. Boring game too. I expected more of the Chiefs.

The Broncos won. No surprise, but that one was closer than I expected. Given the losses the Steelers have suffered, I thought it might be a blowout, but Pittsburgh hung in there gallantly. I have a lot of respect for the Steelers. The Rooneys, like the Maras, are one of the class ownerships in the NFL. I was glad to see Peyton advance, though. Can’t help but hope he ends his career with another ring. But first he needs to beat Brady and Evil Little Bill.

The Carolina / Seattle game was strange. Almost a repeat of the Giants game against Carolina during the regular season, minus the Beckham/ Norman war. Complete domination by Carolina in the first half, during which they built up a 31 – 0 lead. In the second half, they don’t show up. Almost blew that one, just as they almost blew the Giants game. Someone needs to tell the Panthers that NFL games last 60 minutes, not 30.

As for the Green Bay/ Arizona game… words fail me. That game was insane. Especially the ending. Discount Doublecheck indeed… Aaron Rodgers made what were essentially TWO Hail Marys to move from his own endzone to a TD. I have never seen anything like it. Impossible, really. And then came the overtime coin toss, and the bloody coin doesn’t flip. Plainly eldritch forces were at work. The end, with Larry the Fitz taking it over, was amazing and exciting and, I think, satisfying for any football fan not from Wisconsin. But hey, a great game, if a crazy one. I am glad neither of my teams was involved. Those last ten minutes would have killed me.

The latest news from the NFL: Los Angeles is getting the Rams back.

The San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders, who also wanted to move to LaLaLand, lose out… or maybe win, depending on how you look at this. The league chose the Rams and their plans for a new stadium in Inglewood over the Chargers and the Raiders and their joint scheme for a new stadium in Carson. They did say the Chargers could have a year to decide if they want to join the Rams in LA, presumably sharing the yet-to-be-built Inglewood stadium. (The Chargers would be fools to take them up on that, if you ask me. San Diego has faithfully supported the Chargers for half a century, while LA has not proven it can support one NFL team, let alone two).

I feel sorry for my friends in St. Louis. This is the second time they have lost a franchise. First the Cardinals, now the Rams. They deserve better. St. Louis is a great town (Archon is great con too, for what it’s worth). A great sports town. LA isn’t. If there is ever another round of expansion in the NFL, let’s hope they get a new team.

Still… since the league was determined to get a team back to LA, and the candidates were the Chargers, the Raiders, and the Rams, I am glad they picked the Rams. “St. Louis Rams” never sounded right to me. “Los Angeles Rams” did, and does. (Yes, I know they started in Cleveland, but that was before my time). There is history there. And I’m old school, so I like history. Okay, true, the Chargers had history in LA as well, since they started there… but that was in the dawn of the AFL and they only played in LA for about five minutes. And the Raiders have history in LA too… but that was always wrong. The Raiders belong in Oakland… and the Chargers belong in San Diego, preferably in their powder blue uniforms.

Will LA support the Rams? Maybe at first. Novelty always counts for something. And after too, so long as they are winning. But if they start to lose? Don’t count on it. There’s a reason both the Rams and the Raiders left LA back in 1994. You know, during my years in TV, I went to a number of NFL games while I was out to LA. Mostly in the Coliseum, which is where the Rams will be playing until their new playpen is ready. How did I ever get tickets? you may wonder. Did I have a season pass? Not hardly. Did I buy them from a scalper? No need. I just walked up to the box office on game day and said, “I’d like a ticket.” Good seats too. The Coliseum was always half empty at the games I attended (mostly when the Jets or Giants were visiting). And half of the people who were there seemed to be rooting for the visitors.

But maybe this time will be different. Maybe.

I don’t know if the Chargers or the Raiders will stay put now, or try to move somewhere else. If they do move, however, I hope the NFL makes them change their names. If we have to shift franchises around, the way to do it is the way they did the Cleveland to Baltimore move, where the team moving leaves its original name with the city, and gets a new name for the new place. That’s much to be preferred than the Baltimore to Indianapolis model. The Colts name should have stayed in Baltimore, just as the Browns name stayed in Cleveland.

Of course, the best model of all is Green Bay, where the team is owned by the city and the fans and will never move. Would that we had more of those… but I fear the NFL would never allow it.

No, no, not my Wild Cards books… NFL football.

All four road teams won. So much for home field advantage.

“Life is miserable and full of pain,” I often say, when the Giants and the Jets go down to defeat. But I have to say, this weekend’s games put my own miseries into proportion. Yes, yes, the Jets have breaking my heart since 1969… but at least I am not a Vikings or a Bengals fan. (Though I have friends who are both. Hi, Mike. Hi, Steve). In all my years of watching football, I don’t think I have ever seen two such agonizing losses. If they had happened to one of my teams, I’d… I’d… god, I don’t know what I’d do. Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Next week it’s on to the divisonal round. Someone please beat the Patriots and I will be happy.

Tom Coughlin announced today that he is stepping down as head coach of the New York Giants.

That makes me very sad.

Coughlin has been coaching the G-Men for twelve seasons, the longest tenure since Steve Owens back in the jurassic age of professional football. He’s compiled a winning record, and has led Big Blue to two Superbowls, winning them both. He helped shape Eli Manning into one of the best QBs in the NFL.

Yes, the Giants have missed the playoffs for four years. And this year was dreadful.

But I put most of the blame for that on the Giants front office, not Coughlin. The team had terrible luck with injuries this year — I believe the Giants ended the season with more players on IR than any other team — but even aside from that, the talent just wasn’t there. Look at the Minnesota game. With Odell Beckham Junior suspended, it became blindingly obvious that the Giants had no other receivers who could actually catch Eli’s passes. And the defense… oh, don’t get me started on the defense. Worst in the NFL?!?

Coughlin’s fault? No. Truth be told, no coach could have won with the roster he had this year. Not Evil Little Bill. Not Parcells. Not Don Shula, not Chuck Noll, not Tom Landry. Not even the sainted Vince Lombardi.

I wish Tom Coughlin well. He was a great coach and he had a great run, and he should leave with his head held high.

I have no idea who the G-Men can possibly bring in to replace him. He’s going to be a hard act to follow.

Nothing like starting off a new year with two agonizing fourth quarter losses.

Giants lost to the Eagles. It might have been Tom Coughlin’s last game as coach. I really thought the G-Men would rise up and win one for Tom, but noooooo. If TC does go, I hope the new coach makes it a priority to get a defense. For a franchise that has built its storied rep on D, having the worst defense in the NFL is a disgrace.

And the Jets, well, all they had to do was beat the Bills to get into the playoffs. But of course they lost too, also in devastating fashion, so now they are out. It was a better season that anyone could have expected under our new GM and new coach, but of course when the game REALLY REALLY COUNTED, the Jets came up short, the way they always do.

Pfui.

Yes, I know, the playoffs are coming… but with both my teams out, my interest is minimal. I want the Pats to lose, of course. Elsewise I don’t much care.

Time to start looking forward to the NFL Draft.

((ONLY football talk in comments, please. Off topic comments will be deleted)).