CATEGORIES

George Martin: The Giants' underrated leader

In this issue we reflect on one of the most underrated leaders in the 96-year history of the New York Football Giants, defensive end George Martin.

Battle of the rookie head coaches

There will be plenty on the line for both teams when Daniel Jones and the Giants welcome Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns into MetLife Stadium for a pre-Christmas, high-stakes matchup.

ROOKIE REVIEW

Given the success the Raiders had with their 2019 draft class, expectations coming into 2020 were that general manager Mike Mayock and coach Jon Gruden would be able to come at least reasonably close with their new batch of draftees.

Where's Raiders pass rush?

Trying to figure out exactly what’s wrong with the Raiders defense can neatly be fit into three boxes: A lack of talent, poor schemes, or both.

‘Our interior three have played excellent football'

Raiders head coach Jon Gruden’s team reached the midpoint of the season with five wins and looking for more as the schedule hit mid-November. They did it despite numerous hurdles, including having all five starting offensive linemen quarantined at one point. Gruden addressed some of those issues, along with others, during his daily meetings with reporters.

Raiders' good, bad, ugly

Josh Jacobs’ second 100-yard game of the season couldn’t have come at a better time.

Violations cost Raiders draft pick

League strips Las Vegas of sixth-round selection

THE OL UNDERSTUDIES

Injuries force backup linemen into star roles

Booker boosts backfield

The Raiders are running the ball better than they did a year ago, which is not too surprising considering Josh Jacobs has managed to stay healthy and continues to be the productive back he was as a rookie.

Carr could be in conversation for MVP

The race for the NFL MVP award is lined with customary names like Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady.

AFC WEST ROUNDUP

WHAT’S UP DOC? Laurent Duvernay-Tardif opted out of the NFL season to put his medical degree to use.

Addition of Agholor adding up

When the Raiders used the 12th overall pick on speedy wide receiver Henry Ruggs III, coach Jon Gruden understood that he had to loosen the strings on his conservative offense and open up the passing attack more.

Who Was Albert F. Mitchell?

When somebody hears the words “Sharps rifle,” the first things that probably come to mind are the great buffalo hunts, the “Wild and Wooly West” and tales of long-range shots, Indian attacks, and hunters freezing in blizzards.

The Wyoming Schuetzen Union's “Center Shot”

The Leech Cup – Lost . . . and Found

Flat Top Follow Up

PRODUCT REVIEWS

BULLET HARDNESS for BLACK POWDER CARTRIDGE RIFLES

HISTORICAL INFORMATION ABOUT BLACK POWDER CARTRIDGE RIFLES

BLACK POWDER SHOTSHELLS

Easier Than You Might Think

2020 SMITHMOOR CUP

The annual championship Smithmoor Cup BPCR Silhouette match was held July 16-17, 2020.

NEWS & NOTES

No boarding the train or trade for Golden Tate

Ryan's Song: Safety ends emotional week with a game-saving interception for Giants, wife

Man, what a week for Giants safety Logan Ryan. The sign of a true professional is when he can somehow summon the courage he did not know he had. To look at adversity in the face and overcome it, to look at despair and not let your teammates know how much it hurts and continue to do your job.

Patience

Perhaps Aaron Rodgers said it best we told everyone to “RELAX” last season. In that vein I would like to implore “PATIENCE” to Giants fans everywhere.

Mr. Jones beats Washington again, and Eagles-Giants, 70s-style

If you were Daniel Jones, you would probably wish that there were only two teams in the NFL: the New York Football Giants, and the Washington Football Team. After all, four of Jones’ five career wins have come against Washington. It got me wondering if other Giants quarterbacks had such luck to start their careers against division rivals:

Looking at Gettleman's trades

Giants general manager Dave Gettleman has had a successful 2020 free agent signing class, but the same cannot be said for his trades in the three years he’s been Big Blue’s GM. Let’s take a look at the good and bad of each trade:

Leadership, prep, and even “gut” over analytics

The Giants are not far from breaking through as an organization. They have the right coach, by most accounts, and they have the right quarterback, by fewer accounts.

THE 12TH DIMENSION: Giants among wide receivers

I was born on November 19, 1974, exactly four years (to the day!) before Giants fans would have to forever live with the phrase “The Miracle of the Meadowlands.” My birth date is also just under two years after Mara Tech broke ground on Giants Stadium (November 30, 1972). I began watching the Giants, religiously, in 1983 and have never missed a game since. I was the annoying kid at family parties who would argue with adults that Rob Carpenter was better than John Riggins or that Earnest Gray was a superior talent to Art Monk.

Zak DeOssie: Only out of the NFL for one year, the Giants' long snapper is missed

This week’s flashback doesn’t take you back into the annals of Big Blue history (sorry, folks) but rather, it pays homage to a recent warrior and true-blue Giant who handled the under-the-radar, dirty jobs that don’t garner many accolades.

Giants head West for toughest opponent so far

The Giants will be faced with one of their biggest challenges of the season when they travel to Seattle to take on Russell Wilson and the Seahawks. Although the infamous “12th Man” will be absent in this matchup due to Coronavirus-related restrictions, pulling off a road win in Seattle is still going to be a very tough task for Joe Judge’s team. Now in his ninth season, Wilson is having a spectacular year and is well on his way to winning his first NFL MVP Award. Patrick Graham has the nearly impossible job of figuring out how to contain the Seahawks’ dynamic quarterback. The Giants’ front seven must continue to get in Wilson’s face and not let him escape and make big plays with his legs. They clearly have one of the league’s best offenses, but Seattle’s defense has struggled tremendously this season. Daniel Jones needs to continue to methodically move the ball down the field against this vulnerable Seahawks’ secondary and keep Wilson on the sideline. In order to slow down Wilson, the Giants’ secondary must figure out how to take away his two favorite targets, D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Here are TGI’s keys to victory against Seattle:

G-Men return to The Queen City

Joe Judge’s team will be faced with a difficult test when they travel to Cincinnati to take on 2019 Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow and the Bengals. After finishing with the league’s worst record in his first season as a head coach, Zac Taylor now appears to have his team heading in the right direction. The Giants must put a lot of pressure on Burrow and keep him in the pocket in this matchup. The first overall pick in this year’s draft is having an impressive rookie season and has already torched plenty of defenses so far in 2020. Offensively, Daniel Jones needs to take advantage of the vulnerabilities in the Bengals’ secondary. This area of their defense is not exactly their strongest, so Jones should take some deep shots with Darius Slayton and Golden Tate. With Cincinnati drafting Burrow, it appeared as though veteran A.J. Green could be in position for a huge bounce-back season. However, Tyler Boyd has really emerged as the top receiving option in the Bengals’ offense. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham must have a good game plan for taking Boyd away. Here are TGI’s keys to victory against Cincinnati:

TOP 10 Greatest LB units

When the 49ers traded veteran Kwon Alexander to the New Orleans Saints, Nov. 2, they broke up one of the best young groups of starting linebackers in today’s NFL, a group including Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw that played a significant role in lifting San Francisco into Super Bowl LIV last season.

MULLING OVER MULLENS

Time for 49ers to determine what they have in gritty QB