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It’s hard not to think that the Giants are the worst team in the NFC East after their most recent performance against the Colts. They were thoroughly dominated in all facets of the game. Their offense was inept and their defense, although they had some moments, simply could not stop Andrew Luck, who by the third quarter had four touchdowns and over 350 yards. Granted, Prince Amukamara was injured early in the game and might be gone for the rest of the season with a torn biceps.

On a night where Giants fans were exuberant for the Hall of Fame ring ceremony for Michael Strahan, the home side did absolutely nothing to take advantage of a crowd that was revved up during pre-game.

This was not a particularly pretty game. The Colts dominated, but they looked rather pedestrian on offense at times. Andrew Luck completed 54 percent of his passes and misfired on a lot of throws. His offensive line (particularly his center and guards) also blew multiple blitz pickups  (the Giants blitzed Luck 29 times, but he had an amazing 81.6 QBR against pressure. Manning saw 31 pressures and had an awful QBR of 29). But, when pressured, as Luck usual was, he was terrific. Eli Manning, was not.

Here’s ESPN’s breakdown of quarterbacks against the blitz on Monday. 

Both teams were terrible on third downs The Giants were three for 13, while the Colts were five for 15. The GMen only averaged 3.6 yards per carry only because Peyton Hillis and Michael Cox combined for three carries and 33 yards. One of the telling plays was Coby Fleener catching a 21 yard pass from Luck where it appeared he did not complete the process of the catch, as the ball was moving as he headed to the ground. The side judge called it a catch but it was surely subject for a review. Tom Coughlin had a hard time getting the challenge flag out of his sock (I kid you not), so consequently, Andrew Luck quick-snapped and threw a beautiful 32 yard touchdown to Fleener. The rest was history. The Giants never recovered.

The Colts had their way not only because they were the better team, but they completely out-coached the lifeless Giants. The only players to show up for the Giants and have meaningful games were Robert Ayers Jr. and Odell Beckham Jr. Ayers was a beast with six quarterback hits on Manning. Unfortunately, he could not get a sack and Luck burned him and the Giants because of that. Beckham, continues to show that he will be an absolute star in the league. He finished with seven catches for 147 yards.

Here are the three things we learned from the Colts-Giants matchup.

1. Ben McAdoo’s play-calling is atrocious

There was much excite for McAdoo coming from a great offense in Green Bay. Having been the quarterback coach for Aaron Rodgers, it was only fair to assume he would ‘fix’ Eli Manning and the sputtering Giants offense. Those aspirations were dumbfounded and have completely disappeared. McAdoo continued to go to the run with very little success, against the Colts, just like he did two weeks ago against Dallas. The Giants had little success running the football and even less on first and second down, where McAdoo often ran useless back-to-back inside runs with the plodding Andre Williams. It meant situations where they consistently had to deal with third and long situations. Manning had a nice statistical game only due to the soft zones the Colts were playing as it was garbage time. The Colts took out most of their defensive starters in the middle of the fourth quarter.  For the first three quarters, there was no rhythm nor continuity with this sputtering offense.

Manning also had a hard time hitting his targets. According to ESPN Stats Inc., Manning overthrew his intended receiver 11 times. Poor accuracy has continued to plague him and today, he was not bailed out by his receiver.

Jon Gruden also alluded many times that the Colts were playing their typical press-man coverage on the Giants receivers. McAdoo rarely called plays with motion or movement for his receivers, nor did he call for any bunch or trips formations, plays that gave the Colts numerous problems last week as Ben Roethlisberger destroyed their passing defense.

He also continued to put Preston Parker into the game, who could not connect whatsoever with Eli Manning dropping passes and running the wrong routes. McAdoo failed to use Larry Donnell properly except for his late touchdown where he was split out wide against , in any one-on-one situations. The Colts have struggled at times against tight ends this season and Donnell should have been used more out wide to create mismatches.

McAdoo and the Giants are privy to enough data to realize that Eli Manning has been awful on deep throws, as he’s only completed four of 26 passes that travel 20 or more yards in the air. That is atrocious and yet, they went 0 for 7 in the game and continued to try and fire deep. Manning has been terrible over the last two seasons on deep throws. Time to stop dialing them up.

McAdoo looks in over his head as a first-year offensive coordinator for the Giants. Eli Manning has not progressed well and the Giants offense has still not clicked consistently. It is starting to look like Aaron Rodgers is the cure to the supposed “mastery” that McAdoo possessed.

2. Vontae Davis has been a top-flight corner this season

Vontae Davis has had his best season as a pro  and should be considered among the best corners in the league. Pro Football Focus has Davis with a quarterback rating against of 37 on passes intended to him.  

NFL Media’s Jeff Darlington tweeted this during the game: “Davis has been targeted 33 times, allowing 15 catches. 45.5 percent of passes caught — that’s 3rd best in NFL.”Those are elite level numbers from a corner who was always on the cusp of becoming a top-flight player, but never has been able to completely put it together until this season.

He is a pure pressing corner who you can leave on an island. With the loss of Robert Mathis, the Colts have relied on Davis to provide the type of coverage that can mask a team not having an elite pass rush. They are also blitzing more this season having They are also blitzing more this season having done so on 39.1% of opponent dropbacks this season.

He was not shadowing one particular player, but any receiver that was on the left side of the formation had their hands full with Davis. Odell Beckham Jr. had the best game of any Giants wide receiver and his big gain of 59 yards and subsequent catches of 11 and 14 yards were against Greg Toler. We saw how badly the Steelers dismantled the Colts pass defense last week as Davis was taken out of the game due to injury. Against the Giants, the Colts proved that their pass defense can be dominant.

3. The Giants are out of the NFC East Race and virtually done from playoff contention

Since 1990, only seven of 135 teams that have started 3-5 ended up making the playoffs. This year, the Giants have already lost games to the Eagles and Cowboys and are 3-5. In contrast, the Eagles are 6-2 and the Cowboys are 6-3.

Barring an epic collapse, the Giants have no chance at winning the NFC East and a Wild Card spot is virtually an impossible task with teams like the Seahawks, Lions and the 2nd place NFC East team vying for two Wildcard spots. They have lost the likes of Victor Cruz, Prince Amukamara and Jon Beason for the season. Players such as Jason Pierre-Paul have not stepped up in areas where the Giants have needed them, most notably in the pass rush.

Their next eight games are: @Seattle, vs. San Francisco, vs. Dallas, @Jacksonville (who can pressure the quarterback), @Tennessee, vs. Washington, @St.Louis, vs.Philadelphia.

At best that is a 5-3 record and they would finish 8-8. Remember how the Cardinals at 11-5 did not make the playoffs last year. There is no way this Giants team is going 8-0 or even 7-1 in the next eight contests.

The Giants have not cleaned up their poor running game and sputtering passing offense and injuries have done them in as well. Looking at the playoffs contenders at this moment, what exactly can pundits say the Giants do well or close to better than any other team? Dallas and Philadelphia run the ball very well. Arizona blitzes the crap out of teams and stop the run like gangbusters. The Lions rush the passer like no tomorrow and the Packers and Seahawks (who they play next week) have elite quarterbacks. The Giants should worry soon about getting more of their young players work as their season is virtually done.

It’s hard not to think that the Giants are the worst team in the NFC East after their most recent performance against the Colts. They were thoroughly dominated in all facets of the game. Their offense was inept and their defense, although they had some moments, simply could not stop Andrew Luck, who by the third quarter had four touchdowns and over 350 yards. Granted, Prince Amukamara was injured early in the game and might be gone for the rest of the season with a torn biceps.

On a night where Giants fans were exuberant for the Hall of Fame ring ceremony for Michael Strahan, the home side did absolutely nothing to take advantage of a crowd that was revved up during pre-game.

This was not a particularly pretty game. The Colts dominated, but they looked rather pedestrian on offense at times. Andrew Luck completed 54 percent of his passes and misfired on a lot of throws. His offensive line (particularly his center and guards) also blew multiple blitz pickups  (the Giants blitzed Luck 29 times, but he had an amazing 81.6 QBR against pressure. Manning saw 31 pressures and had an awful QBR of 29). But, when pressured, as Luck usual was, he was terrific. Eli Manning, was not.

Here’s ESPN’s breakdown of quarterbacks against the blitz on Monday. 

Both teams were terrible on third downs The Giants were three for 13, while the Colts were five for 15. The GMen only averaged 3.6 yards per carry only because Peyton Hillis and Michael Cox combined for three carries and 33 yards. One of the telling plays was Coby Fleener catching a 21 yard pass from Luck where it appeared he did not complete the process of the catch, as the ball was moving as he headed to the ground. The side judge called it a catch but it was surely subject for a review. Tom Coughlin had a hard time getting the challenge flag out of his sock (I kid you not), so consequently, Andrew Luck quick-snapped and threw a beautiful 32 yard touchdown to Fleener. The rest was history. The Giants never recovered.

The Colts had their way not only because they were the better team, but they completely out-coached the lifeless Giants. The only players to show up for the Giants and have meaningful games were Robert Ayers Jr. and Odell Beckham Jr. Ayers was a beast with six quarterback hits on Manning. Unfortunately, he could not get a sack and Luck burned him and the Giants because of that. Beckham, continues to show that he will be an absolute star in the league. He finished with seven catches for 147 yards.

Here are the three things we learned from the Colts-Giants matchup.

1. Ben McAdoo’s play-calling is atrocious

There was much excite for McAdoo coming from a great offense in Green Bay. Having been the quarterback coach for Aaron Rodgers, it was only fair to assume he would ‘fix’ Eli Manning and the sputtering Giants offense. Those aspirations were dumbfounded and have completely disappeared. McAdoo continued to go to the run with very little success, against the Colts, just like he did two weeks ago against Dallas. The Giants had little success running the football and even less on first and second down, where McAdoo often ran useless back-to-back inside runs with the plodding Andre Williams. It meant situations where they consistently had to deal with third and long situations. Manning had a nice statistical game only due to the soft zones the Colts were playing as it was garbage time. The Colts took out most of their defensive starters in the middle of the fourth quarter.  For the first three quarters, there was no rhythm nor continuity with this sputtering offense.

Manning also had a hard time hitting his targets. According to ESPN Stats Inc., Manning overthrew his intended receiver 11 times. Poor accuracy has continued to plague him and today, he was not bailed out by his receiver.

Jon Gruden also alluded many times that the Colts were playing their typical press-man coverage on the Giants receivers. McAdoo rarely called plays with motion or movement for his receivers, nor did he call for any bunch or trips formations, plays that gave the Colts numerous problems last week as Ben Roethlisberger destroyed their passing defense.

He also continued to put Preston Parker into the game, who could not connect whatsoever with Eli Manning dropping passes and running the wrong routes. McAdoo failed to use Larry Donnell properly except for his late touchdown where he was split out wide against , in any one-on-one situations. The Colts have struggled at times against tight ends this season and Donnell should have been used more out wide to create mismatches.

McAdoo and the Giants are privy to enough data to realize that Eli Manning has been awful on deep throws, as he’s only completed four of 26 passes that travel 20 or more yards in the air. That is atrocious and yet, they went 0 for 7 in the game and continued to try and fire deep. Manning has been terrible over the last two seasons on deep throws. Time to stop dialing them up.

McAdoo looks in over his head as a first-year offensive coordinator for the Giants. Eli Manning has not progressed well and the Giants offense has still not clicked consistently. It is starting to look like Aaron Rodgers is the cure to the supposed “mastery” that McAdoo possessed.

2. Vontae Davis has been a top-flight corner this season

Vontae Davis has had his best season as a pro  and should be considered among the best corners in the league. Pro Football Focus has Davis with a quarterback rating against of 37 on passes intended to him.  

NFL Media’s Jeff Darlington tweeted this during the game: “Davis has been targeted 33 times, allowing 15 catches. 45.5 percent of passes caught — that’s 3rd best in NFL.”Those are elite level numbers from a corner who was always on the cusp of becoming a top-flight player, but never has been able to completely put it together until this season.

He is a pure pressing corner who you can leave on an island. With the loss of Robert Mathis, the Colts have relied on Davis to provide the type of coverage that can mask a team not having an elite pass rush. They are also blitzing more this season having They are also blitzing more this season having done so on 39.1% of opponent dropbacks this season.

He was not shadowing one particular player, but any receiver that was on the left side of the formation had their hands full with Davis. Odell Beckham Jr. had the best game of any Giants wide receiver and his big gain of 59 yards and subsequent catches of 11 and 14 yards were against Greg Toler. We saw how badly the Steelers dismantled the Colts pass defense last week as Davis was taken out of the game due to injury. Against the Giants, the Colts proved that their pass defense can be dominant.

3. The Giants are out of the NFC East Race and virtually done from playoff contention

Since 1990, only seven of 135 teams that have started 3-5 ended up making the playoffs. This year, the Giants have already lost games to the Eagles and Cowboys and are 3-5. In contrast, the Eagles are 6-2 and the Cowboys are 6-3.

Barring an epic collapse, the Giants have no chance at winning the NFC East and a Wild Card spot is virtually an impossible task with teams like the Seahawks, Lions and the 2nd place NFC East team vying for two Wildcard spots. They have lost the likes of Victor Cruz, Prince Amukamara and Jon Beason for the season. Players such as Jason Pierre-Paul have not stepped up in areas where the Giants have needed them, most notably in the pass rush.

Their next eight games are: @Seattle, vs. San Francisco, vs. Dallas, @Jacksonville (who can pressure the quarterback), @Tennessee, vs. Washington, @St.Louis, vs.Philadelphia.

At best that is a 5-3 record and they would finish 8-8. Remember how the Cardinals at 11-5 did not make the playoffs last year. There is no way this Giants team is going 8-0 or even 7-1 in the next eight contests.

The Giants have not cleaned up their poor running game and sputtering passing offense and injuries have done them in as well. Looking at the playoffs contenders at this moment, what exactly can pundits say the Giants do well or close to better than any other team? Dallas and Philadelphia run the ball very well. Arizona blitzes the crap out of teams and stop the run like gangbusters. The Lions rush the passer like no tomorrow and the Packers and Seahawks (who they play next week) have elite quarterbacks. The Giants should worry soon about getting more of their young players work as their season is virtually done.

Even though The 49ers were able to beat The Rams two weeks ago in a great rallying comeback, due to an off night for some key 49ers players, mixed with a great Rams defense and one bad fumble, The Rams came away with the win 13-10. The following are three things we learned from tonight's game.

1. Phil Dawson's missed field goal

With only seconds to go before the half, Dawson, who had already made a field goal earlier in the game, missed a crucial field goal just before the half from the 37 yard line. Phil Dawson, the veteran kicker was one of a few vital 49ers players who were having an off night.

2. The Rams Defense

Among the list of great defensive plays by the Rams tonight. #55 James Laurinaitis was not only able to sack Kaepernick, but also got the last posession of the ball by recovering Kaepernick's fumble. The defense was able to get a total of 8 sacks on Kaepernick tonight, and only allowed one touchdown and one field goal.

3. Colin Kaepernick Fumbles

Colin Kaepernick clearly had an off night as well. Among having a passing rating of 22/33 and rushing only 14 yards, Kaepernick also fumbled the ball three times. The last fumble being the most crucial, with only seconds left in the game, and the 49ers down by only a field goal. Last year alone Kaepernick only had 3 fumbles, and he rushed for an average of 32.8 yards a game. This was clearly not Kaepernick's night.

The Rams and the 49ers now both move on 4-5.

The Minnesota Vikings used some late-game heroics again Sunday, defeating the Washington Redskins 29-26. After trailing 10-0 late in the first half, a Captain Munerlyn interception turned the tide for Minnesota, allowing the Vikings to get on the board going into the locker room. For the third time in his career, running back Matt Asiata found the endzone three times in a single game for the Vikings. With Robert Griffin III returning to action, Jay Gruden's team showed flashes on offense, but inconsistency derailed Washington's hopes for back-to-back road victories.

Here are three things we learned from Sunday's game. 

THE PURPLE PEOPLE EATERS ARE BACK

Minnesota's historic defensive line of the 1960's and 1970's was a force to be reckoned with. Mike Zimmer's current group of defensive linemen is doing a wonderful job of carrying the torch for the Vikings this year. After collecting five in Sunday's game, Minnesota now leads the league with 30 total sacks. NFC Defensive Player of the Month for October Everson Griffen is leading the charge with nine sacks. Griffen is proving to be money well spent for general manager Rick Spielman after signing a $42.5 million contract, with $20 million guaranteed over five seasons. After a disappointing rookie season, Sharrif Floyd has stepped up his performance, helping Minnesota's defense improve to number nine overall in the NFL. 

The Vikings' defense registered three sacks on three consecutive plays for the first time since 2003 against Arizona.

TEDDY BRIDGEWATER IS GETTING BETTER

After struggling mightily against Buffalo, Minnesota's young quarterback has put together quiet-yet-dependable performances the last two weeks. Bridgewater still struggles throwing the deep ball, but the rookie doesn't let those mistakes bother him, as he is able to keep his composure in the pocket and not suffer from getting too high or too low. After missing a wide open Greg Jennings and Cordarelle Patterson early, Bridgewater kept it together and led the Vikings down the field late in the first half following a Washington interception. Teddy finished the game 26-42 for 268 yards and a touchdown, and perhaps more importantly, zero turnovers. While the rookie needs to work on the timing and accuracy of his deep passes, Bridgewater's mental capacity appears to be untapped just a handful of starts into his career. 

DESEAN JACKSON IS THE BEST DEEP THREAT IN THE NFL

With the return of RGIII, Desean Jackson benefitted greatly Sunday, hauling in four receptions for 120 yards and a touchdown. The often volatile receiver has been impressive this season, topping 100 yards in five of Washington's games this season. Jackson averaged 30 yards per catch for the third time this season, and his speed is unmatched by most wide receivers in the league. With nine receptions of 40-plus yards this season, Jackson is the first Redskins player to reach that accomplishment since Santana Moss in 2005. Desean is the clear leader in the clubhouse for yards per catch, averaging a remarkable 21.8 yards per catch, the only receiver in the NFL above 20 yards. 

Minnesota and Washington both get a bye week in week 10. The Vikings will visit Chicago when they get back to action, a game the Vikings will need to win in order to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Redskins will host Tampa Bay in two weeks. Currently trailing division leader Philadelphia by 3.5 games, Washington's slim playoff hopes are hanging by a thread as the season hits the halfway point.

The New York Jets traveled to Arrowhead Stadium to play the Kansas City Chiefs.  No one expected the current incarnation of the Jets to win.  Expectations were met.  And still there were lessons to be learned.  Here are three things we learned  from the game.

3. The New York Jets front line got outplayed by the Kansas City Chiefs front seven

While the Jets season is in a tailspin, the bright spot was the defense, specifically the front seven.  Were they overrated, too much optimism? 

But at the end of the game it was the Chiefs' defense that was the bright shining spot.  Specifically linebacker Justin Houston.  Houston completed the game with four tackles.  More importantly, he also had two sacks.  Both sacks came at the expense of the elusive Michael Vick.  Those two sacks bring Houston's season total to 12 sacks.

2. There was an Eric Decker sighting

Was it the change of quarterback?  Decker was targeted 12 times.  He caught nine passes for 63 yards and one touchdown.  That's one more touchdown than he had in the last two weeks.  That was one less target than Percy Harvin.  It isn't gang-busters, but it is a start. 

1. Michael Vick is a viable option

When Michael Vick's head bounced off the ground in the fourth quarter, Jets nation whispered "I told you so".  But then after going through the NFL's concussion protocal, Vick returned.  He not only returned but he has been named the starter for next week's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

In the game Vick passes for 196 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions.  Yea, he is the better option.  Now if he can only stay healthy.

Follow me on Twitter@ neverenoughglt

 In a game of matching touchdowns, Notre Dame left Maryland with a win over Navy and a late surge by a young defense that will need to re-adjust with some injuries to key players and a vaunted Arizona State team up next.

5 Things To Know

1: The Irish Must Prepare For Another Athletic Quarterback

The gameplans for each game are uniquely different, and the Irish must trend from their triple option sets to a somewhat more conventional style with yet another dual threat passer on the horizon-Taylor Kelly:

Coach Brian Kelly:

"It was interesting, the last series(against Navy) when they started throwing the ball, we were getting into our base familiar calls, and the guys were obviously teeing off and getting after the quarterback. You could see there was a different sense of not relief, but they were getting after the quarterback in a way that they're used to."

"It'll be a quick transition and one that, like I had mentioned to you before, we ran some 7-on-7 and did some things to keep our calls active, knowing that it was going to be a quick transition."

This makes the 6th multi-talented quarterback the Irish have faced or will face this Saturday.

2: College Football Meets Nyles Morgan

The loss of Joe Schmidt Saturday offers yet another oppurtunity for one more heralded recruit, Nyles Morgan- to step in and and stamp his star rating. Defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder offered some insight to the prospect and his abilities:

"It's been tough. Again, it's a lot of defense and it's been difficult for him to be able to learn it all, let alone then communicate it all, to everybody. So you know, I'll tell you, he definitely has a real resilience about himself. I'm on him a lot. A lot of coaching pressure on him, and he holds up really well. He doesn't flinch. It's going to happen. It's going to come. It's no different than I had rookie linebackers in the NFL, that first year was like, they were confused, they just couldn't do it. And again, I'm hopeful with him, because of his demeanor, that he'll get it. It'll come. And he's got some really, really outstanding physical traits."

In last year's game, freshman Jaylon Smith jumped off the page and showed college football who perhaps the nations best up-and-coming linebacker was.

Oh the irony for Morgan. The shoes of Schmidt are huge one's to fill, and no person should suggest leadership roles will be assumed from Morgan. But when it comes strictly to performance and capabilities- this is one kid many should never doubt.

After all, he does go by OBEY PRIDE on Twitter.

For those that know the player and saw his performance this past Saturday late in the game, look for similiar plays this weekend from Morgan.

Alongside Morgan and Smith, players like Greer Martini, Drue Tranquill and Romeo Okwara, who also played a major role last year- will need to play some of their best football on the year as a unit.

Morgan wears #5.

Many will automatically remember Manti Teo.

That's a large calling, but it should be noted Nyles Morgan will stamp his place in Notre Dame history soon.

And it get's rolling Saturday.

3: Taylor Kelly-Enough Said

Having missed 3 games due to injury, the dynamic signal caller for the Sun Devils has returned to nearly the same form he had in 2013 with his scrambling abilities alone.

Forget who your rooting for in this game: College football has 2 of the nation's best pitted against each other yet again.

Last Saturday's game against a top defense in Utah still offered some good numbers for Kelly, who completed 56 percent of his passes.

And of concern for the Irish defense yet again is another passer who can pull it down and go. Even though Kelly gave up four sacks against the Ute's- his ability to escape a tough defense surfaced again ,as he ran for 55 yards.

Overall, he is a competitor that can do alot and kill defenses- but can also hurt himself in the process:

*Kelly is an efficiant passer so far on the year, with a combined passer rating of 147.6

*His run first aspect provides sacks galor: 39 in 2012, 31 in 2011

*In 2012 and 2013, Kelly passed for over 3000 yards each year

*The last 3 years, Kelly has thrown for 66 total touchdowns

*In 2013, Kelly was unstoppable on 1st and 10 and 2nd and 10 downs with a 148 rating (On those downs, he completed over 60% of his passes.)

*In 2013 against the Irish, he was 33 of 47 for 362 yards and 3 touchdowns along with 2 interceptions

4: The Irish Defense Has To Improve

In the last 3 games, the young and talented Irish defense has provided oppurtunities to score for other teams.

The unit has given up 113 total points to Navy, North Carolina and Florida State.

In the previous 5 games?

60.

The last 3 games magnified some weaknesses, and the Sun Devils can take advantage of several of those.

Alongside Taylor, a former prospect for the Irish in runningback DJ Foster adds alot of firepower- not only as a back- but as a receiver.

Foster is averaging 11.9 yards per reception along with his 700 plus yards rushing.

Several things can happen with those type of players.

What cannot happen this Saturday for example, is something that took place against Florida State with a lead in the 4th quarter and on the road.

On the Noles final touchdown drive, the Irish defense yeilded passing completions of 15,11,7 and 16 yards.

Whatever gameplan Brian VanGorder draws upon this Saturday, it will have to be one of his best yet.

Throw in a hostile crowd, on the road- and expectations change dramatically. Against FSU, the 1st half Irish unit envoked talk of the 2012 unit. Coming off a scoring fest against North Carolina, the overwhelming opinion was the Noles and Jameis Winston could equal or double the output of the Tar Heels.

The Irish held true for about 3 total quarters when you consider the final drive for FSU. Pinned deep late in the fourth, Notre Dame held the Noles rushing unit to -2 yards rushing. On consecutive plays, Dalvin Cook had runs of -5 and -3 yards.

That defense, much like the one that played in Dallas in 2013- must reveal itself again this Saturday if the Irish hope to win.

5: The Sun Devil Defense Will Help The Irish

Many assumed the opinion of the Sun Devil defense as 'up-and-coming' and 'revitalized' after losing some key players like Will Sutton to the NFL last year.

What stands out in 2014, is teams that have prolific offenses can move the ball on the Sun Devils and score.

Although the Sun Devil defense is 50th in the country with 24 points per game, teams that are in the mold of the Irish as far as talent -like USC and UCLA- have averaged 30 points a game.

The benefactor of all this is the potent Irish offense in a warm environment.

This will be an athmosphere much like Florida State was.

Warm, large crowd and a 'prime time' of sorts audience again.

A player like Everett Golson should thrive Saturday afternoon.

USC put up nearly 500 yards of offense, with 273 yards in the air and 220 yards on the ground. The Trojans also hogged the ball with a total time of possession of 37 minutes.

And it has been made very clear as to the player Everett Golson has become.

Nothing against Cody Kessler, but there aren't many better in the country then Golson.

No matter the environment or caliber of team he has played, Golson has played his best football this year as an Irish player.

22 touchdowns on the year has jettisoned the one time exiled quarterback into the Heisman conversation.

Trophy options aside, the team and more importantly the offense- is perhaps one of the most lethal in the country and should have another yardage producing day.

Will Fuller- 46 receptions, 599 yards, 9 touchdowns, 13 yards per

Corey Robinson- 29 receptions, 393 yards , 4 touchdowns , 13.6 yards per

Tarean Folston- 101 carries, 5.3 yard average, 12 receptions for 166 yards

Offense overall- 35 points per game

Final Thing:

Starting off the 2014 season, many projected this game a loss for an Irish team many have since underestimated.

Early on Monday, a non-scientific poll favored an Irish win by 52%.

Forget polls and ESPN pundit lopsided opinions and the fact Todd Graham beat the Irish while with Tulsa, or the fancy uni's the Sun Devils will wear.

Put these 2 rosters together helmet to helmet.

Jimmy to Jimmy and Joe to Joe.

Coach to Coach.

Notre Dame wins this game.

But, this is college football.

And thus far, 2014 has yet to offer clarity.

It’s hard not to think that the Giants are the worst team in the NFC East after their most recent performance against the Colts. They were thoroughly dominated in all facets of the game. Their offense was inept and their defense, although they had some moments, simply could not stop Andrew Luck, who by the third quarter had four touchdowns and over 350 yards. Granted, Prince Amukamara was injured early in the game and might be gone for the rest of the season with a torn biceps.

On a night where Giants fans were exuberant for the Hall of Fame ring ceremony for Michael Strahan, the home side did absolutely nothing to take advantage of a crowd that was revved up during pre-game.

This was not a particularly pretty game. The Colts dominated, but they looked rather pedestrian on offense at times. Andrew Luck completed 54 percent of his passes and misfired on a lot of throws. His offensive line (particularly his center and guards) also blew multiple blitz pickups  (the Giants blitzed Luck 29 times, but he had an amazing 81.6 QBR against pressure. Manning saw 31 pressures and had an awful QBR of 29). But, when pressured, as Luck usual was, he was terrific. Eli Manning, was not.

Here’s ESPN’s breakdown of quarterbacks against the blitz on Monday. 

Both teams were terrible on third downs The Giants were three for 13, while the Colts were five for 15. The GMen only averaged 3.6 yards per carry only because Peyton Hillis and Michael Cox combined for three carries and 33 yards. One of the telling plays was Coby Fleener catching a 21 yard pass from Luck where it appeared he did not complete the process of the catch, as the ball was moving as he headed to the ground. The side judge called it a catch but it was surely subject for a review. Tom Coughlin had a hard time getting the challenge flag out of his sock (I kid you not), so consequently, Andrew Luck quick-snapped and threw a beautiful 32 yard touchdown to Fleener. The rest was history. The Giants never recovered.

The Colts had their way not only because they were the better team, but they completely out-coached the lifeless Giants. The only players to show up for the Giants and have meaningful games were Robert Ayers Jr. and Odell Beckham Jr. Ayers was a beast with six quarterback hits on Manning. Unfortunately, he could not get a sack and Luck burned him and the Giants because of that. Beckham, continues to show that he will be an absolute star in the league. He finished with seven catches for 147 yards.

Here are the three things we learned from the Colts-Giants matchup.

1. Ben McAdoo’s play-calling is atrocious

There was much excite for McAdoo coming from a great offense in Green Bay. Having been the quarterback coach for Aaron Rodgers, it was only fair to assume he would ‘fix’ Eli Manning and the sputtering Giants offense. Those aspirations were dumbfounded and have completely disappeared. McAdoo continued to go to the run with very little success, against the Colts, just like he did two weeks ago against Dallas. The Giants had little success running the football and even less on first and second down, where McAdoo often ran useless back-to-back inside runs with the plodding Andre Williams. It meant situations where they consistently had to deal with third and long situations. Manning had a nice statistical game only due to the soft zones the Colts were playing as it was garbage time. The Colts took out most of their defensive starters in the middle of the fourth quarter.  For the first three quarters, there was no rhythm nor continuity with this sputtering offense.

Manning also had a hard time hitting his targets. According to ESPN Stats Inc., Manning overthrew his intended receiver 11 times. Poor accuracy has continued to plague him and today, he was not bailed out by his receiver.

Jon Gruden also alluded many times that the Colts were playing their typical press-man coverage on the Giants receivers. McAdoo rarely called plays with motion or movement for his receivers, nor did he call for any bunch or trips formations, plays that gave the Colts numerous problems last week as Ben Roethlisberger destroyed their passing defense.

He also continued to put Preston Parker into the game, who could not connect whatsoever with Eli Manning dropping passes and running the wrong routes. McAdoo failed to use Larry Donnell properly except for his late touchdown where he was split out wide against , in any one-on-one situations. The Colts have struggled at times against tight ends this season and Donnell should have been used more out wide to create mismatches.

McAdoo and the Giants are privy to enough data to realize that Eli Manning has been awful on deep throws, as he’s only completed four of 26 passes that travel 20 or more yards in the air. That is atrocious and yet, they went 0 for 7 in the game and continued to try and fire deep. Manning has been terrible over the last two seasons on deep throws. Time to stop dialing them up.

McAdoo looks in over his head as a first-year offensive coordinator for the Giants. Eli Manning has not progressed well and the Giants offense has still not clicked consistently. It is starting to look like Aaron Rodgers is the cure to the supposed “mastery” that McAdoo possessed.

2. Vontae Davis has been a top-flight corner this season

Vontae Davis has had his best season as a pro  and should be considered among the best corners in the league. Pro Football Focus has Davis with a quarterback rating against of 37 on passes intended to him.  

NFL Media’s Jeff Darlington tweeted this during the game: “Davis has been targeted 33 times, allowing 15 catches. 45.5 percent of passes caught — that’s 3rd best in NFL.”Those are elite level numbers from a corner who was always on the cusp of becoming a top-flight player, but never has been able to completely put it together until this season.

He is a pure pressing corner who you can leave on an island. With the loss of Robert Mathis, the Colts have relied on Davis to provide the type of coverage that can mask a team not having an elite pass rush. They are also blitzing more this season having They are also blitzing more this season having done so on 39.1% of opponent dropbacks this season.

He was not shadowing one particular player, but any receiver that was on the left side of the formation had their hands full with Davis. Odell Beckham Jr. had the best game of any Giants wide receiver and his big gain of 59 yards and subsequent catches of 11 and 14 yards were against Greg Toler. We saw how badly the Steelers dismantled the Colts pass defense last week as Davis was taken out of the game due to injury. Against the Giants, the Colts proved that their pass defense can be dominant.

3. The Giants are out of the NFC East Race and virtually done from playoff contention

Since 1990, only seven of 135 teams that have started 3-5 ended up making the playoffs. This year, the Giants have already lost games to the Eagles and Cowboys and are 3-5. In contrast, the Eagles are 6-2 and the Cowboys are 6-3.

Barring an epic collapse, the Giants have no chance at winning the NFC East and a Wild Card spot is virtually an impossible task with teams like the Seahawks, Lions and the 2nd place NFC East team vying for two Wildcard spots. They have lost the likes of Victor Cruz, Prince Amukamara and Jon Beason for the season. Players such as Jason Pierre-Paul have not stepped up in areas where the Giants have needed them, most notably in the pass rush.

Their next eight games are: @Seattle, vs. San Francisco, vs. Dallas, @Jacksonville (who can pressure the quarterback), @Tennessee, vs. Washington, @St.Louis, vs.Philadelphia.

At best that is a 5-3 record and they would finish 8-8. Remember how the Cardinals at 11-5 did not make the playoffs last year. There is no way this Giants team is going 8-0 or even 7-1 in the next eight contests.

The Giants have not cleaned up their poor running game and sputtering passing offense and injuries have done them in as well. Looking at the playoffs contenders at this moment, what exactly can pundits say the Giants do well or close to better than any other team? Dallas and Philadelphia run the ball very well. Arizona blitzes the crap out of teams and stop the run like gangbusters. The Lions rush the passer like no tomorrow and the Packers and Seahawks (who they play next week) have elite quarterbacks. The Giants should worry soon about getting more of their young players work as their season is virtually done.

Even though The 49ers were able to beat The Rams two weeks ago in a great rallying comeback, due to an off night for some key 49ers players, mixed with a great Rams defense and one bad fumble, The Rams came away with the win 13-10. The following are three things we learned from tonight's game.

1. Phil Dawson's missed field goal

With only seconds to go before the half, Dawson, who had already made a field goal earlier in the game, missed a crucial field goal just before the half from the 37 yard line. Phil Dawson, the veteran kicker was one of a few vital 49ers players who were having an off night.

2. The Rams Defense

Among the list of great defensive plays by the Rams tonight. #55 James Laurinaitis was not only able to sack Kaepernick, but also got the last posession of the ball by recovering Kaepernick's fumble. The defense was able to get a total of 8 sacks on Kaepernick tonight, and only allowed one touchdown and one field goal.

3. Colin Kaepernick Fumbles

Colin Kaepernick clearly had an off night as well. Among having a passing rating of 22/33 and rushing only 14 yards, Kaepernick also fumbled the ball three times. The last fumble being the most crucial, with only seconds left in the game, and the 49ers down by only a field goal. Last year alone Kaepernick only had 3 fumbles, and he rushed for an average of 32.8 yards a game. This was clearly not Kaepernick's night.

The Rams and the 49ers now both move on 4-5.

The Minnesota Vikings used some late-game heroics again Sunday, defeating the Washington Redskins 29-26. After trailing 10-0 late in the first half, a Captain Munerlyn interception turned the tide for Minnesota, allowing the Vikings to get on the board going into the locker room. For the third time in his career, running back Matt Asiata found the endzone three times in a single game for the Vikings. With Robert Griffin III returning to action, Jay Gruden's team showed flashes on offense, but inconsistency derailed Washington's hopes for back-to-back road victories.

Here are three things we learned from Sunday's game. 

THE PURPLE PEOPLE EATERS ARE BACK

Minnesota's historic defensive line of the 1960's and 1970's was a force to be reckoned with. Mike Zimmer's current group of defensive linemen is doing a wonderful job of carrying the torch for the Vikings this year. After collecting five in Sunday's game, Minnesota now leads the league with 30 total sacks. NFC Defensive Player of the Month for October Everson Griffen is leading the charge with nine sacks. Griffen is proving to be money well spent for general manager Rick Spielman after signing a $42.5 million contract, with $20 million guaranteed over five seasons. After a disappointing rookie season, Sharrif Floyd has stepped up his performance, helping Minnesota's defense improve to number nine overall in the NFL. 

The Vikings' defense registered three sacks on three consecutive plays for the first time since 2003 against Arizona.

TEDDY BRIDGEWATER IS GETTING BETTER

After struggling mightily against Buffalo, Minnesota's young quarterback has put together quiet-yet-dependable performances the last two weeks. Bridgewater still struggles throwing the deep ball, but the rookie doesn't let those mistakes bother him, as he is able to keep his composure in the pocket and not suffer from getting too high or too low. After missing a wide open Greg Jennings and Cordarelle Patterson early, Bridgewater kept it together and led the Vikings down the field late in the first half following a Washington interception. Teddy finished the game 26-42 for 268 yards and a touchdown, and perhaps more importantly, zero turnovers. While the rookie needs to work on the timing and accuracy of his deep passes, Bridgewater's mental capacity appears to be untapped just a handful of starts into his career. 

DESEAN JACKSON IS THE BEST DEEP THREAT IN THE NFL

With the return of RGIII, Desean Jackson benefitted greatly Sunday, hauling in four receptions for 120 yards and a touchdown. The often volatile receiver has been impressive this season, topping 100 yards in five of Washington's games this season. Jackson averaged 30 yards per catch for the third time this season, and his speed is unmatched by most wide receivers in the league. With nine receptions of 40-plus yards this season, Jackson is the first Redskins player to reach that accomplishment since Santana Moss in 2005. Desean is the clear leader in the clubhouse for yards per catch, averaging a remarkable 21.8 yards per catch, the only receiver in the NFL above 20 yards. 

Minnesota and Washington both get a bye week in week 10. The Vikings will visit Chicago when they get back to action, a game the Vikings will need to win in order to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Redskins will host Tampa Bay in two weeks. Currently trailing division leader Philadelphia by 3.5 games, Washington's slim playoff hopes are hanging by a thread as the season hits the halfway point.

The New York Jets traveled to Arrowhead Stadium to play the Kansas City Chiefs.  No one expected the current incarnation of the Jets to win.  Expectations were met.  And still there were lessons to be learned.  Here are three things we learned  from the game.

3. The New York Jets front line got outplayed by the Kansas City Chiefs front seven

While the Jets season is in a tailspin, the bright spot was the defense, specifically the front seven.  Were they overrated, too much optimism? 

But at the end of the game it was the Chiefs' defense that was the bright shining spot.  Specifically linebacker Justin Houston.  Houston completed the game with four tackles.  More importantly, he also had two sacks.  Both sacks came at the expense of the elusive Michael Vick.  Those two sacks bring Houston's season total to 12 sacks.

2. There was an Eric Decker sighting

Was it the change of quarterback?  Decker was targeted 12 times.  He caught nine passes for 63 yards and one touchdown.  That's one more touchdown than he had in the last two weeks.  That was one less target than Percy Harvin.  It isn't gang-busters, but it is a start. 

1. Michael Vick is a viable option

When Michael Vick's head bounced off the ground in the fourth quarter, Jets nation whispered "I told you so".  But then after going through the NFL's concussion protocal, Vick returned.  He not only returned but he has been named the starter for next week's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

In the game Vick passes for 196 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions.  Yea, he is the better option.  Now if he can only stay healthy.

Follow me on Twitter@ neverenoughglt

 In a game of matching touchdowns, Notre Dame left Maryland with a win over Navy and a late surge by a young defense that will need to re-adjust with some injuries to key players and a vaunted Arizona State team up next.

5 Things To Know

1: The Irish Must Prepare For Another Athletic Quarterback

The gameplans for each game are uniquely different, and the Irish must trend from their triple option sets to a somewhat more conventional style with yet another dual threat passer on the horizon-Taylor Kelly:

Coach Brian Kelly:

"It was interesting, the last series(against Navy) when they started throwing the ball, we were getting into our base familiar calls, and the guys were obviously teeing off and getting after the quarterback. You could see there was a different sense of not relief, but they were getting after the quarterback in a way that they're used to."

"It'll be a quick transition and one that, like I had mentioned to you before, we ran some 7-on-7 and did some things to keep our calls active, knowing that it was going to be a quick transition."

This makes the 6th multi-talented quarterback the Irish have faced or will face this Saturday.

2: College Football Meets Nyles Morgan

The loss of Joe Schmidt Saturday offers yet another oppurtunity for one more heralded recruit, Nyles Morgan- to step in and and stamp his star rating. Defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder offered some insight to the prospect and his abilities:

"It's been tough. Again, it's a lot of defense and it's been difficult for him to be able to learn it all, let alone then communicate it all, to everybody. So you know, I'll tell you, he definitely has a real resilience about himself. I'm on him a lot. A lot of coaching pressure on him, and he holds up really well. He doesn't flinch. It's going to happen. It's going to come. It's no different than I had rookie linebackers in the NFL, that first year was like, they were confused, they just couldn't do it. And again, I'm hopeful with him, because of his demeanor, that he'll get it. It'll come. And he's got some really, really outstanding physical traits."

In last year's game, freshman Jaylon Smith jumped off the page and showed college football who perhaps the nations best up-and-coming linebacker was.

Oh the irony for Morgan. The shoes of Schmidt are huge one's to fill, and no person should suggest leadership roles will be assumed from Morgan. But when it comes strictly to performance and capabilities- this is one kid many should never doubt.

After all, he does go by OBEY PRIDE on Twitter.

For those that know the player and saw his performance this past Saturday late in the game, look for similiar plays this weekend from Morgan.

Alongside Morgan and Smith, players like Greer Martini, Drue Tranquill and Romeo Okwara, who also played a major role last year- will need to play some of their best football on the year as a unit.

Morgan wears #5.

Many will automatically remember Manti Teo.

That's a large calling, but it should be noted Nyles Morgan will stamp his place in Notre Dame history soon.

And it get's rolling Saturday.

3: Taylor Kelly-Enough Said

Having missed 3 games due to injury, the dynamic signal caller for the Sun Devils has returned to nearly the same form he had in 2013 with his scrambling abilities alone.

Forget who your rooting for in this game: College football has 2 of the nation's best pitted against each other yet again.

Last Saturday's game against a top defense in Utah still offered some good numbers for Kelly, who completed 56 percent of his passes.

And of concern for the Irish defense yet again is another passer who can pull it down and go. Even though Kelly gave up four sacks against the Ute's- his ability to escape a tough defense surfaced again ,as he ran for 55 yards.

Overall, he is a competitor that can do alot and kill defenses- but can also hurt himself in the process:

*Kelly is an efficiant passer so far on the year, with a combined passer rating of 147.6

*His run first aspect provides sacks galor: 39 in 2012, 31 in 2011

*In 2012 and 2013, Kelly passed for over 3000 yards each year

*The last 3 years, Kelly has thrown for 66 total touchdowns

*In 2013, Kelly was unstoppable on 1st and 10 and 2nd and 10 downs with a 148 rating (On those downs, he completed over 60% of his passes.)

*In 2013 against the Irish, he was 33 of 47 for 362 yards and 3 touchdowns along with 2 interceptions

4: The Irish Defense Has To Improve

In the last 3 games, the young and talented Irish defense has provided oppurtunities to score for other teams.

The unit has given up 113 total points to Navy, North Carolina and Florida State.

In the previous 5 games?

60.

The last 3 games magnified some weaknesses, and the Sun Devils can take advantage of several of those.

Alongside Taylor, a former prospect for the Irish in runningback DJ Foster adds alot of firepower- not only as a back- but as a receiver.

Foster is averaging 11.9 yards per reception along with his 700 plus yards rushing.

Several things can happen with those type of players.

What cannot happen this Saturday for example, is something that took place against Florida State with a lead in the 4th quarter and on the road.

On the Noles final touchdown drive, the Irish defense yeilded passing completions of 15,11,7 and 16 yards.

Whatever gameplan Brian VanGorder draws upon this Saturday, it will have to be one of his best yet.

Throw in a hostile crowd, on the road- and expectations change dramatically. Against FSU, the 1st half Irish unit envoked talk of the 2012 unit. Coming off a scoring fest against North Carolina, the overwhelming opinion was the Noles and Jameis Winston could equal or double the output of the Tar Heels.

The Irish held true for about 3 total quarters when you consider the final drive for FSU. Pinned deep late in the fourth, Notre Dame held the Noles rushing unit to -2 yards rushing. On consecutive plays, Dalvin Cook had runs of -5 and -3 yards.

That defense, much like the one that played in Dallas in 2013- must reveal itself again this Saturday if the Irish hope to win.

5: The Sun Devil Defense Will Help The Irish

Many assumed the opinion of the Sun Devil defense as 'up-and-coming' and 'revitalized' after losing some key players like Will Sutton to the NFL last year.

What stands out in 2014, is teams that have prolific offenses can move the ball on the Sun Devils and score.

Although the Sun Devil defense is 50th in the country with 24 points per game, teams that are in the mold of the Irish as far as talent -like USC and UCLA- have averaged 30 points a game.

The benefactor of all this is the potent Irish offense in a warm environment.

This will be an athmosphere much like Florida State was.

Warm, large crowd and a 'prime time' of sorts audience again.

A player like Everett Golson should thrive Saturday afternoon.

USC put up nearly 500 yards of offense, with 273 yards in the air and 220 yards on the ground. The Trojans also hogged the ball with a total time of possession of 37 minutes.

And it has been made very clear as to the player Everett Golson has become.

Nothing against Cody Kessler, but there aren't many better in the country then Golson.

No matter the environment or caliber of team he has played, Golson has played his best football this year as an Irish player.

22 touchdowns on the year has jettisoned the one time exiled quarterback into the Heisman conversation.

Trophy options aside, the team and more importantly the offense- is perhaps one of the most lethal in the country and should have another yardage producing day.

Will Fuller- 46 receptions, 599 yards, 9 touchdowns, 13 yards per

Corey Robinson- 29 receptions, 393 yards , 4 touchdowns , 13.6 yards per

Tarean Folston- 101 carries, 5.3 yard average, 12 receptions for 166 yards

Offense overall- 35 points per game

Final Thing:

Starting off the 2014 season, many projected this game a loss for an Irish team many have since underestimated.

Early on Monday, a non-scientific poll favored an Irish win by 52%.

Forget polls and ESPN pundit lopsided opinions and the fact Todd Graham beat the Irish while with Tulsa, or the fancy uni's the Sun Devils will wear.

Put these 2 rosters together helmet to helmet.

Jimmy to Jimmy and Joe to Joe.

Coach to Coach.

Notre Dame wins this game.

But, this is college football.

And thus far, 2014 has yet to offer clarity.

It’s hard not to think that the Giants are the worst team in the NFC East after their most recent performance against the Colts. They were thoroughly dominated in all facets of the game. Their offense was inept and their defense, although they had some moments, simply could not stop Andrew Luck, who by the third quarter had four touchdowns and over 350 yards. Granted, Prince Amukamara was injured early in the game and might be gone for the rest of the season with a torn biceps.

On a night where Giants fans were exuberant for the Hall of Fame ring ceremony for Michael Strahan, the home side did absolutely nothing to take advantage of a crowd that was revved up during pre-game.

This was not a particularly pretty game. The Colts dominated, but they looked rather pedestrian on offense at times. Andrew Luck completed 54 percent of his passes and misfired on a lot of throws. His offensive line (particularly his center and guards) also blew multiple blitz pickups  (the Giants blitzed Luck 29 times, but he had an amazing 81.6 QBR against pressure. Manning saw 31 pressures and had an awful QBR of 29). But, when pressured, as Luck usual was, he was terrific. Eli Manning, was not.

Here’s ESPN’s breakdown of quarterbacks against the blitz on Monday. 

Both teams were terrible on third downs The Giants were three for 13, while the Colts were five for 15. The GMen only averaged 3.6 yards per carry only because Peyton Hillis and Michael Cox combined for three carries and 33 yards. One of the telling plays was Coby Fleener catching a 21 yard pass from Luck where it appeared he did not complete the process of the catch, as the ball was moving as he headed to the ground. The side judge called it a catch but it was surely subject for a review. Tom Coughlin had a hard time getting the challenge flag out of his sock (I kid you not), so consequently, Andrew Luck quick-snapped and threw a beautiful 32 yard touchdown to Fleener. The rest was history. The Giants never recovered.

The Colts had their way not only because they were the better team, but they completely out-coached the lifeless Giants. The only players to show up for the Giants and have meaningful games were Robert Ayers Jr. and Odell Beckham Jr. Ayers was a beast with six quarterback hits on Manning. Unfortunately, he could not get a sack and Luck burned him and the Giants because of that. Beckham, continues to show that he will be an absolute star in the league. He finished with seven catches for 147 yards.

Here are the three things we learned from the Colts-Giants matchup.

1. Ben McAdoo’s play-calling is atrocious

There was much excite for McAdoo coming from a great offense in Green Bay. Having been the quarterback coach for Aaron Rodgers, it was only fair to assume he would ‘fix’ Eli Manning and the sputtering Giants offense. Those aspirations were dumbfounded and have completely disappeared. McAdoo continued to go to the run with very little success, against the Colts, just like he did two weeks ago against Dallas. The Giants had little success running the football and even less on first and second down, where McAdoo often ran useless back-to-back inside runs with the plodding Andre Williams. It meant situations where they consistently had to deal with third and long situations. Manning had a nice statistical game only due to the soft zones the Colts were playing as it was garbage time. The Colts took out most of their defensive starters in the middle of the fourth quarter.  For the first three quarters, there was no rhythm nor continuity with this sputtering offense.

Manning also had a hard time hitting his targets. According to ESPN Stats Inc., Manning overthrew his intended receiver 11 times. Poor accuracy has continued to plague him and today, he was not bailed out by his receiver.

Jon Gruden also alluded many times that the Colts were playing their typical press-man coverage on the Giants receivers. McAdoo rarely called plays with motion or movement for his receivers, nor did he call for any bunch or trips formations, plays that gave the Colts numerous problems last week as Ben Roethlisberger destroyed their passing defense.

He also continued to put Preston Parker into the game, who could not connect whatsoever with Eli Manning dropping passes and running the wrong routes. McAdoo failed to use Larry Donnell properly except for his late touchdown where he was split out wide against , in any one-on-one situations. The Colts have struggled at times against tight ends this season and Donnell should have been used more out wide to create mismatches.

McAdoo and the Giants are privy to enough data to realize that Eli Manning has been awful on deep throws, as he’s only completed four of 26 passes that travel 20 or more yards in the air. That is atrocious and yet, they went 0 for 7 in the game and continued to try and fire deep. Manning has been terrible over the last two seasons on deep throws. Time to stop dialing them up.

McAdoo looks in over his head as a first-year offensive coordinator for the Giants. Eli Manning has not progressed well and the Giants offense has still not clicked consistently. It is starting to look like Aaron Rodgers is the cure to the supposed “mastery” that McAdoo possessed.

2. Vontae Davis has been a top-flight corner this season

Vontae Davis has had his best season as a pro  and should be considered among the best corners in the league. Pro Football Focus has Davis with a quarterback rating against of 37 on passes intended to him.  

NFL Media’s Jeff Darlington tweeted this during the game: “Davis has been targeted 33 times, allowing 15 catches. 45.5 percent of passes caught — that’s 3rd best in NFL.”Those are elite level numbers from a corner who was always on the cusp of becoming a top-flight player, but never has been able to completely put it together until this season.

He is a pure pressing corner who you can leave on an island. With the loss of Robert Mathis, the Colts have relied on Davis to provide the type of coverage that can mask a team not having an elite pass rush. They are also blitzing more this season having They are also blitzing more this season having done so on 39.1% of opponent dropbacks this season.

He was not shadowing one particular player, but any receiver that was on the left side of the formation had their hands full with Davis. Odell Beckham Jr. had the best game of any Giants wide receiver and his big gain of 59 yards and subsequent catches of 11 and 14 yards were against Greg Toler. We saw how badly the Steelers dismantled the Colts pass defense last week as Davis was taken out of the game due to injury. Against the Giants, the Colts proved that their pass defense can be dominant.

3. The Giants are out of the NFC East Race and virtually done from playoff contention

Since 1990, only seven of 135 teams that have started 3-5 ended up making the playoffs. This year, the Giants have already lost games to the Eagles and Cowboys and are 3-5. In contrast, the Eagles are 6-2 and the Cowboys are 6-3.

Barring an epic collapse, the Giants have no chance at winning the NFC East and a Wild Card spot is virtually an impossible task with teams like the Seahawks, Lions and the 2nd place NFC East team vying for two Wildcard spots. They have lost the likes of Victor Cruz, Prince Amukamara and Jon Beason for the season. Players such as Jason Pierre-Paul have not stepped up in areas where the Giants have needed them, most notably in the pass rush.

Their next eight games are: @Seattle, vs. San Francisco, vs. Dallas, @Jacksonville (who can pressure the quarterback), @Tennessee, vs. Washington, @St.Louis, vs.Philadelphia.

At best that is a 5-3 record and they would finish 8-8. Remember how the Cardinals at 11-5 did not make the playoffs last year. There is no way this Giants team is going 8-0 or even 7-1 in the next eight contests.

The Giants have not cleaned up their poor running game and sputtering passing offense and injuries have done them in as well. Looking at the playoffs contenders at this moment, what exactly can pundits say the Giants do well or close to better than any other team? Dallas and Philadelphia run the ball very well. Arizona blitzes the crap out of teams and stop the run like gangbusters. The Lions rush the passer like no tomorrow and the Packers and Seahawks (who they play next week) have elite quarterbacks. The Giants should worry soon about getting more of their young players work as their season is virtually done.