Matt Dodge (1 Viewer)

[Northbound Train]

Anybody else think this kid is getting a raw deal here

Sure he messed up and shouldn't have punted to D.JAx but come on man....how bout defending that play?

How bout playing some 2nd half D How bout putting a game ending drive together Eli

Coughlin and that NY media are making this poor kid the scapegoat. I blame COughlin, Giants DST, Eli and Dodge...in THAT order for that collossal meltdown

 

[nysportsfan]

He's been terrible all year. Not like he's a pro bowler

 

[AcerFC]

I think the team knows it wasn't his fault

Someone on the D said he didn't give up 94 rush yards to Vick in the 4th.

I still think he gets cut though

 

[Mr. Retukes]

The snap was pretty high so he probably didn't have as much time to aim out of bounds. I'll give him a small amount of credit there.

Nonetheless, the guy is paid 6 figures to kick a ball. He should have been prepared for anything, and he wasn't. Hell, I'd cut the guy just for blowing his coverage on the return.

 

[GroveDiesel]

As I understand it, he's been pretty bad all year, so I can see cutting him at this point to send a message.

It was definitely partially his fault, but there still would have been 7 or 8 seconds left on the clock. So the Eagles would have had one more play left if they wanted anyway to try to chuck it into the endzone. And the other 10 guys should have made the tackle.

 

[LAbronco]

scapegoat

 

[Northbound Train]

He's been terrible all year. Not like he's a pro bowler

How many of these stiffs are anyhow It's mind boggling to me how many of these guys continually punt the ball into the endzone for touchbacks....pretty much the most maddeening part of the game to me And when are we going to see a team that carries ONE K that can both punt and kick FGs....certainly it can't be that difficult to do both

 

[Mr. Retukes]

He's been terrible all year. Not like he's a pro bowler

How many of these stiffs are anyhow It's mind boggling to me how many of these guys continually punt the ball into the endzone for touchbacks....pretty much the most maddeening part of the game to me And when are we going to see a team that carries ONE K that can both punt and kick FGs....certainly it can't be that difficult to do both

Actually, Dodge had a fairly low number of touchbacks, but that could be a result of having more punts from deep in his own territory (he was 9th in yards-per-punt).Several teams have attempted to use guys who could perform ALL the kicking duties, but it has never worked in the modern era.

 

[nysportsfan]

He's been terrible all year. Not like he's a pro bowler

How many of these stiffs are anyhow It's mind boggling to me how many of these guys continually punt the ball into the endzone for touchbacks....pretty much the most maddeening part of the game to me

And when are we going to see a team that carries ONE K that can both punt and kick FGs....certainly it can't be that difficult to do both

He's done this at least once: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOJedzOz55EHe bobbles more snaps than anyone I've ever seen. He has a good leg, so they'll keep him, but here's to hoping he has a better second year.

 

[Go deep]

Dodge should have kicked the ball out of bounds, and Vick had a great game, but neither of those things happen if it wasnt for the Giants giving the game away in the 4rth quarter.

If Manningham doesnt fumble before going out of bounds, that games likely ends with the Giants winning by 20+. That was only the 2nd or 3rd worse thin the Giants did. Not expecting an onside kick when they should have clearly been prepared. Also, why not play the same defense in the 4th quater that they did in the first 3?

 

[Thanatos]

And when are we going to see a team that carries ONE K that can both punt and kick FGs....certainly it can't be that difficult to do both

The majority of teams use both a Kicker and Punter on the same team due to injury concerns.In the event that an injury happens during the course of the game to either your Kicker or your Punter, the other guy will be the most likely one to fill in for the rest of the game. While he may not be as effective as the original player, he will probably do a better job than have some other member of the squad attempt kickoffs or field goal attempts due to kicking the ball being their primary responsibility.

 

[Zigg]

And when are we going to see a team that carries ONE K that can both punt and kick FGs....certainly it can't be that difficult to do both

The majority of teams use both a Kicker and Punter on the same team due to injury concerns.In the event that an injury happens during the course of the game to either your Kicker or your Punter, the other guy will be the most likely one to fill in for the rest of the game. While he may not be as effective as the original player, he will probably do a better job than have some other member of the squad attempt kickoffs or field goal attempts due to kicking the ball being their primary responsibility.

I assume teams keep both a P and a K because it simply doesn't appear possible to be NFL quality in both, and special team are a huge part of the game.

 

[plyka]

He's been terrible all year. Not like he's a pro bowler

How many of these stiffs are anyhow It's mind boggling to me how many of these guys continually punt the ball into the endzone for touchbacks....pretty much the most maddeening part of the game to me And when are we going to see a team that carries ONE K that can both punt and kick FGs....certainly it can't be that difficult to do both

Ugh...posts like this just show you haven't played much football or care about the strategy at a high level. Despite their lack of respect, a Kicker/Punter are 2 of the most important positions on a team. One of the most important aspects of the game is field position. These guys determine field position, not to mention a majority of points scored for FG kickers. They perhaps are paid the least amount of money per how much they add to wins for each team. That's why there is a Punter and a Kicker on each team (the importance of the positions). You can find a guy that can do both, but they may not be as good at one vs the other. And since their benefit is so high vs their cost, they get guys who are elite at each. A guy that is elite at Punting and only ok at kicking is hired for punting, and a guy that's ok at punting and elite at kicking is hired for kicking.In fact, the evolution is going the opposite direction than you think it should go. Now they have place kickers, punters and FG kickers, lol.

 

[Neil Beaufort Zod]

Dodge is a joke, giving up 28 points at the end of the game like that.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Felt terrible for the kid and Giants fans. That was a historic error. A walk off punt return TD? Yikes.

J

 

[3C's]

Anybody else think this kid is getting a raw deal here Sure he messed up and shouldn't have punted to D.JAx but come on man....how bout defending that play?How bout playing some 2nd half D How bout putting a game ending drive together Eli Coughlin and that NY media are making this poor kid the scapegoat. I blame COughlin, Giants DST, Eli and Dodge...in THAT order for that collossal meltdown

How about being prepared for the onside kick? That one is squarely on the coaches. Recover that kick, run some time off, leave with a win. That punt had way less to do with them losing than several other failures on D and coaching.

 

[Sam Quentin]

I'd fire the special teams coach. the mental errors and blunders ultimately come down to lack of preparation.

 

[JuniorNB]

Coughlin running immediately to Dodge after the clock ran out was one of the biggest examples of pointing the finger and throwing someone undewr the bus that I have ever seen. Coughlin was trying to throw all the media and fan attention onto that punter. THE GIANTS blew a 31-10 lead with seven minutes left to play. Punting isn't a science. It's not like a pass. Sometimes you want it to go left, and it goes right.

Even after the game, Coughlin said something like, "I want to take the blame for what happened. Our young punter was supposed to kick it out of bounds but didn't" Yeah, it really sounds like you're taking the blame, Tom. Way to be a stand up guy and take a bullet for your players.

 

[Amused to Death]

Coughlin running immediately to Dodge after the clock ran out was one of the biggest examples of pointing the finger and throwing someone undewr the bus that I have ever seen. Coughlin was trying to throw all the media and fan attention onto that punter. THE GIANTS blew a 31-10 lead with seven minutes left to play. Punting isn't a science. It's not like a pass. Sometimes you want it to go left, and it goes right.

Even after the game, Coughlin said something like, "I want to take the blame for what happened. Our young punter was supposed to kick it out of bounds but didn't" Yeah, it really sounds like you're taking the blame, Tom. Way to be a stand up guy and take a bullet for your players.

Agreed. He starts off by wanting to take the blame, then proceeds to blame the punter. And if you listen to Coughlin, he says , "Our punter....our young punter, was supposed to kick it out of bounds but didn't." He made sure to emphasize 'young'.

 

[matuski]

He's been terrible all year. Not like he's a pro bowler

How many of these stiffs are anyhow It's mind boggling to me how many of these guys continually punt the ball into the endzone for touchbacks....pretty much the most maddeening part of the game to me And when are we going to see a team that carries ONE K that can both punt and kick FGs....certainly it can't be that difficult to do both

Ugh...posts like this just show you haven't played much football or care about the strategy at a high level. Despite their lack of respect, a Kicker/Punter are 2 of the most important positions on a team. One of the most important aspects of the game is field position. These guys determine field position, not to mention a majority of points scored for FG kickers. They perhaps are paid the least amount of money per how much they add to wins for each team. That's why there is a Punter and a Kicker on each team (the importance of the positions). You can find a guy that can do both, but they may not be as good at one vs the other. And since their benefit is so high vs their cost, they get guys who are elite at each. A guy that is elite at Punting and only ok at kicking is hired for punting, and a guy that's ok at punting and elite at kicking is hired for kicking.In fact, the evolution is going the opposite direction than you think it should go. Now they have place kickers, punters and FG kickers, lol.

Watched Lechler single handedly dictate the course of games when I was at A&M. Never got enough credit.

 

[Ignoratio Elenchi]

Dodge has been awful all year. It's not his fault the Giants lost this Sunday, but that doesn't change the fact that he messed up and he's been messing up all year.

And when are we going to see a team that carries ONE K that can both punt and kick FGs....certainly it can't be that difficult to do both

I'm waiting for the Cy Young pitcher that also hits 30 HRs. It can't be that difficult to do both.

 

[Polar Dude]

How bout putting a game ending drive together Eli

Or at least eat some time off the clock.

 

[Area51Inhabitant]

Anybody else think this kid is getting a raw deal here

Sure he messed up and shouldn't have punted to D.JAx but come on man....how bout defending that play?

How bout playing some 2nd half D How bout putting a game ending drive together Eli

Coughlin and that NY media are making this poor kid the scapegoat. I blame COughlin, Giants DST, Eli and Dodge...in THAT order for that collossal meltdown

How about being prepared for the onside kick? That one is squarely on the coaches. Recover that kick, run some time off, leave with a win. That punt had way less to do with them losing than several other failures on D and coaching.

Exactly what I was thinking. I would place a heck of a lot more blame on the Special Teams coach for this loss than Dodge.

 

[Crusaderfan]

Coughlin running immediately to Dodge after the clock ran out was one of the biggest examples of pointing the finger and throwing someone undewr the bus that I have ever seen. Coughlin was trying to throw all the media and fan attention onto that punter. THE GIANTS blew a 31-10 lead with seven minutes left to play. Punting isn't a science. It's not like a pass. Sometimes you want it to go left, and it goes right.Even after the game, Coughlin said something like, "I want to take the blame for what happened. Our young punter was supposed to kick it out of bounds but didn't" Yeah, it really sounds like you're taking the blame, Tom. Way to be a stand up guy and take a bullet for your players.

Coughlin should have just held a sign up in the middle of the stadium stating "It wasn't my fault - it was his". The punt return was the final play, what happened to the rest of the lead? What about the other 10 guys on the coverage team? Was Dodge more at fault than the special teams coach on the onsides kick, or Manningham on the fumble?I enjoy watching Coughlin's whiny face on TV whenever anything goes wrong during Giants games since he is such a crybaby but I did not enjoy watching him embarrass the kid after the game. IMHO - totally classless.

 

[BobbyLayne]

He's been terrible all year. Not like he's a pro bowler

Understatement.

 

[Don Quixote]

He's been terrible all year. Not like he's a pro bowler

How many of these stiffs are anyhow It's mind boggling to me how many of these guys continually punt the ball into the endzone for touchbacks....pretty much the most maddeening part of the game to me And when are we going to see a team that carries ONE K that can both punt and kick FGs....certainly it can't be that difficult to do both

It is difficult to do both. There's just not enough practice time to specialize at both. Just taking Graham Gano with the Skins, for example. He was considered one of the best punters in the country at Florida State, in addition to best kicker, but is now solely a kicker in the NFL. When the Skins' punter got hurt, Gano had to fill-in, but there was a pretty clear drop-off.

 

[njherdfan]

He's been terrible all year. Not like he's a pro bowler

How many of these stiffs are anyhow It's mind boggling to me how many of these guys continually punt the ball into the endzone for touchbacks....pretty much the most maddeening part of the game to me And when are we going to see a team that carries ONE K that can both punt and kick FGs....certainly it can't be that difficult to do both

Ugh...posts like this just show you haven't played much football or care about the strategy at a high level. Despite their lack of respect, a Kicker/Punter are 2 of the most important positions on a team. One of the most important aspects of the game is field position. These guys determine field position, not to mention a majority of points scored for FG kickers. They perhaps are paid the least amount of money per how much they add to wins for each team. That's why there is a Punter and a Kicker on each team (the importance of the positions). You can find a guy that can do both, but they may not be as good at one vs the other. And since their benefit is so high vs their cost, they get guys who are elite at each. A guy that is elite at Punting and only ok at kicking is hired for punting, and a guy that's ok at punting and elite at kicking is hired for kicking.In fact, the evolution is going the opposite direction than you think it should go. Now they have place kickers, punters and FG kickers, lol.

Watched Lechler single handedly dictate the course of games when I was at A&M. Never got enough credit.

Mike Scifres in that playoff game against Indy two or three years ago comes to mind as well.

 

[Avery]

Coughlin running immediately to Dodge after the clock ran out was one of the biggest examples of pointing the finger and throwing someone undewr the bus that I have ever seen. Coughlin was trying to throw all the media and fan attention onto that punter. THE GIANTS blew a 31-10 lead with seven minutes left to play. Punting isn't a science. It's not like a pass. Sometimes you want it to go left, and it goes right.

Even after the game, Coughlin said something like, "I want to take the blame for what happened. Our young punter was supposed to kick it out of bounds but didn't" Yeah, it really sounds like you're taking the blame, Tom. Way to be a stand up guy and take a bullet for your players.

Coughlin should have just held a sign up in the middle of the stadium stating "It wasn't my fault - it was his". The punt return was the final play, what happened to the rest of the lead? What about the other 10 guys on the coverage team? Was Dodge more at fault than the special teams coach on the onsides kick, or Manningham on the fumble?I enjoy watching Coughlin's whiny face on TV whenever anything goes wrong during Giants games since he is such a crybaby but I did not enjoy watching him embarrass the kid after the game. IMHO - totally classless.

I assume you didn't actually watch his press conference:"I lose the games, the players win them. Blame me. I can handle it."

On Dodge: "He's no more to blame than anybody else. He's going to have to learn from it."

But don't let the reality of the situation get in the way of your perception of Coughlin.

Edit to add: Dodge has been terrible most of the year and Coughlin has publicly had his back at just about every turn.

 

[Snotbubbles]

Once the Giants went up 31-10 they mentally shut it down. Once they did that, there is no way to turn it back on.

Kenny Phillips going for the INT on the Celek TD instead of the tackle. Dumb.

Not putting a hands team out there when by your own coaches admission you were expecting an onsides kick. Dumb.

Punting to one of the leagues most lethal punt returners. Dumb.

 

[FootballGuy22]

This guy has been inconsistent all year, dropped snaps, bobbled snaps, shanked punts but also has a strong leg which he has shown. But that snap was not that high, if he is going to fold under pressure from that I don't think you want him punting from your own end zone late in a close game. Some people handle pressure better than others and from watching the majority of Giants games this year this guy doesn't have it. People who say cutting him is an overreaction are looking at the single incident and not the whole season to date.

If it was just that single play I would be in agreement that it wouldn't be right to cut him, but based on his season's worth of work I can definitely see the case for cutting him.

 

[Crusaderfan]

Coughlin running immediately to Dodge after the clock ran out was one of the biggest examples of pointing the finger and throwing someone undewr the bus that I have ever seen. Coughlin was trying to throw all the media and fan attention onto that punter. THE GIANTS blew a 31-10 lead with seven minutes left to play. Punting isn't a science. It's not like a pass. Sometimes you want it to go left, and it goes right.

Even after the game, Coughlin said something like, "I want to take the blame for what happened. Our young punter was supposed to kick it out of bounds but didn't" Yeah, it really sounds like you're taking the blame, Tom. Way to be a stand up guy and take a bullet for your players.

Coughlin should have just held a sign up in the middle of the stadium stating "It wasn't my fault - it was his". The punt return was the final play, what happened to the rest of the lead? What about the other 10 guys on the coverage team? Was Dodge more at fault than the special teams coach on the onsides kick, or Manningham on the fumble?I enjoy watching Coughlin's whiny face on TV whenever anything goes wrong during Giants games since he is such a crybaby but I did not enjoy watching him embarrass the kid after the game. IMHO - totally classless.

I assume you didn't actually watch his press conference:"I lose the games, the players win them. Blame me. I can handle it."

On Dodge: "He's no more to blame than anybody else. He's going to have to learn from it."

But don't let the reality of the situation get in the way of your perception of Coughlin.

Edit to add: Dodge has been terrible most of the year and Coughlin has publicly had his back at just about every turn.

The reality of the situation was - when under fire Coughlan tore the guy up in the middle of the field in front of everybody. Anybody can do the classy thing AFTER they regain their composure. What was important to me was - how did he react in the heat of the battle? That was my reality - can't speak for yours.

 

[Ignoratio Elenchi]

This guy has been inconsistent all year, dropped snaps, bobbled snaps, shanked punts but also has a strong leg which he has shown. But that snap was not that high, if he is going to fold under pressure from that I don't think you want him punting from your own end zone late in a close game. Some people handle pressure better than others and from watching the majority of Giants games this year this guy doesn't have it. People who say cutting him is an overreaction are looking at the single incident and not the whole season to date.If it was just that single play I would be in agreement that it wouldn't be right to cut him, but based on his season's worth of work I can definitely see the case for cutting him.

They could have cut him before last week and no one would have batted an eye. He hasn't been good.

 

[TommyGilmore]

Felt terrible for the kid and Giants fans. That was a historic error.

Would you still say that if the Giants had recovered Jackson's fumble and then kicked a game-winning field goal?

 

[scoobygang]

The reality of the situation was - when under fire Coughlan tore the guy up in the middle of the field in front of everybody. Anybody can do the classy thing AFTER they regain their composure. What was important to me was - how did he react in the heat of the battle? That was my reality - can't speak for yours.

Is it really that rare for the coach to rip a player who screws up when he screws up? Is it classless to rip a player on the sideline who just threw a lousy interception or who missed an easy tackle? Coaches do that all the time. Is it somehow different at the end of the game? Coughlin isn't Tony Dungy or Jim Caldwell. He's always yelled at players when they screw up. I'm not sure why anyone would think this would be different.

 

[Chase Stuart]

The reality of the situation was - when under fire Coughlan tore the guy up in the middle of the field in front of everybody. Anybody can do the classy thing AFTER they regain their composure. What was important to me was - how did he react in the heat of the battle? That was my reality - can't speak for yours.

Is it really that rare for the coach to rip a player who screws up when he screws up? Is it classless to rip a player on the sideline who just threw a lousy interception or who missed an easy tackle? Coaches do that all the time. Is it somehow different at the end of the game? Coughlin isn't Tony Dungy or Jim Caldwell. He's always yelled at players when they screw up. I'm not sure why anyone would think this would be different.

Yeah, I don't see the problem, either. It's not like Lombardi and Parcells didn't chew out people who messed up all the time.

 

[JuniorNB]

Coughlin running immediately to Dodge after the clock ran out was one of the biggest examples of pointing the finger and throwing someone undewr the bus that I have ever seen. Coughlin was trying to throw all the media and fan attention onto that punter. THE GIANTS blew a 31-10 lead with seven minutes left to play. Punting isn't a science. It's not like a pass. Sometimes you want it to go left, and it goes right.

Even after the game, Coughlin said something like, "I want to take the blame for what happened. Our young punter was supposed to kick it out of bounds but didn't" Yeah, it really sounds like you're taking the blame, Tom. Way to be a stand up guy and take a bullet for your players.

Coughlin should have just held a sign up in the middle of the stadium stating "It wasn't my fault - it was his". The punt return was the final play, what happened to the rest of the lead? What about the other 10 guys on the coverage team? Was Dodge more at fault than the special teams coach on the onsides kick, or Manningham on the fumble?I enjoy watching Coughlin's whiny face on TV whenever anything goes wrong during Giants games since he is such a crybaby but I did not enjoy watching him embarrass the kid after the game. IMHO - totally classless.

I assume you didn't actually watch his press conference:"I lose the games, the players win them. Blame me. I can handle it."

On Dodge: "He's no more to blame than anybody else. He's going to have to learn from it."

But don't let the reality of the situation get in the way of your perception of Coughlin.

Edit to add: Dodge has been terrible most of the year and Coughlin has publicly had his back at just about every turn.

The reality of the situation was - when under fire Coughlan tore the guy up in the middle of the field in front of everybody. Anybody can do the classy thing AFTER they regain their composure. What was important to me was - how did he react in the heat of the battle? That was my reality - can't speak for yours.

Exactly! That was simply Coughlin in backpedal mode. His first reaction was to post a big neon sign to the fans and media that said "I told him to punt it out of bounds. But he sucked". You don't think he knew the cameras and all eyes were on him thre? Please.Dodge didn't fumble. Dodge didn't have a bunch of three and outs. Dodge didn't fail to contain Vick.

That exhibition with Dodge was one of the most classless things I've ever seen a coach do to one of his own players. Disgusting. And then to continue it in the post-game interviews is even more embarrassing. Under the guise of "I take the blame" When?

 

[Avery]

Coughlin running immediately to Dodge after the clock ran out was one of the biggest examples of pointing the finger and throwing someone undewr the bus that I have ever seen. Coughlin was trying to throw all the media and fan attention onto that punter. THE GIANTS blew a 31-10 lead with seven minutes left to play. Punting isn't a science. It's not like a pass. Sometimes you want it to go left, and it goes right.

Even after the game, Coughlin said something like, "I want to take the blame for what happened. Our young punter was supposed to kick it out of bounds but didn't" Yeah, it really sounds like you're taking the blame, Tom. Way to be a stand up guy and take a bullet for your players.

Coughlin should have just held a sign up in the middle of the stadium stating "It wasn't my fault - it was his". The punt return was the final play, what happened to the rest of the lead? What about the other 10 guys on the coverage team? Was Dodge more at fault than the special teams coach on the onsides kick, or Manningham on the fumble?I enjoy watching Coughlin's whiny face on TV whenever anything goes wrong during Giants games since he is such a crybaby but I did not enjoy watching him embarrass the kid after the game. IMHO - totally classless.

I assume you didn't actually watch his press conference:"I lose the games, the players win them. Blame me. I can handle it."

On Dodge: "He's no more to blame than anybody else. He's going to have to learn from it."

But don't let the reality of the situation get in the way of your perception of Coughlin.

Edit to add: Dodge has been terrible most of the year and Coughlin has publicly had his back at just about every turn.

The reality of the situation was - when under fire Coughlan tore the guy up in the middle of the field in front of everybody. Anybody can do the classy thing AFTER they regain their composure. What was important to me was - how did he react in the heat of the battle? That was my reality - can't speak for yours.

Exactly! That was simply Coughlin in backpedal mode. His first reaction was to post a big neon sign to the fans and media that said "I told him to punt it out of bounds. But he sucked". You don't think he knew the cameras and all eyes were on him thre? Please.Dodge didn't fumble. Dodge didn't have a bunch of three and outs. Dodge didn't fail to contain Vick.

That exhibition with Dodge was one of the most classless things I've ever seen a coach do to one of his own players. Disgusting. And then to continue it in the post-game interviews is even more embarrassing. Under the guise of "I take the blame" When?

You have got to be friggin' kidding me.He dressed down a player that screwed up at the time of the screw up. Happens all the time.

When asked questions by reporters, he neither threw Dodge under the bus or diverted the blame from himself as head coach.

Perhaps nothing to be commended for, but "most classing things I've ever seen"? Seriously?

 

[Ignoratio Elenchi]

Perhaps nothing to be commended for, but "most classing things I've ever seen"? Seriously?

It's two guys from Eagles country agreeing about how terrible the Giants coach is.