Luck? Fate? Hard work? Giants ponder why things happen
The Jaguars' last two victories have been pretty exciting. A Hail Mary pass that was knocked straight into the hands of receiver Mike Thomas two weeks ago against the Texans, then a 75-yard screen pass and run by Maurice Jones-Drew to help overcome a six-turnover performance against the Browns last week.
The Jaguars got two Ws out of those games. But some might think they were more L-like. As in "lucky."
Now the Jaguars face the Giants today. Two teams with 6-4 records. The difference is that the Jaguars seem to be winning in spite of themselves lately while the Giants have spent the last two weeks tripping over their own feet.
Why is that? Why is one team able to overcome mistakes while another can't?
"Luck plays a lot into it," Giants cornerback Terrell Thomas said. "Great teams get lucky along the way. Look at the Saints last year. They had a great run, they're a great team, but they got lucky along the way. In the NFL, you take it any way you can get it."
Not everyone on the field believes in luck. Former Brooklyn Dodgers executive Branch Rickey said luck is the residue of design, and that might be even more true in today's world of football than it was in Rickey's time and sport.
"I'm a real big God-fearing man, and I don't believe in luck," veteran safety Deon Grant said. "You go out there and work hard at it and go at it and guys have the confidence to know everything they're going to go through, nine times out of 10 you're going to come through with it."
It's hard to not consider a Hail Mary knocked straight into the hands of a receiver lucky, but Grant insists that it is not. What he saw when he watched the play was flawed defense and solid offensive execution.
"Guys came in and said, 'See, that's why you should catch the ball, that's why you shouldn't knock the ball down,' " Grant said. "You can look at it like that. But he didn't bat it down. He batted it back towards the offense."
Grant also noted that Thomas was not boxed out of the play, which is how the Giants' defensive backs are taught to defend the deep, desperation throw.
"If they did their job, that ball would have went straight past him to the ground," Grant said. "So you can't say it's luck. [Thomas] did his job by running all the way to the ball. The defense didn't do their job by not boxing out. So at the end of the day, it's all about executing, and they executed.
"Nah, I don't think it was luck," Grant continued. "It happened the way it's supposed to happen."
Whatever it is that has allowed the Jaguars to win their last two games, the Giants hope it runs out today. Both teams come in hurting, particularly on offense, so it should wind up being a defensive game. The Giants' defense - relatively unscathed by the injuries that have blistered the offensive line and wide receiver groups - knows that it needs to pick up some of the slack.
And if the game comes down to a Hail Mary, will Terrell Thomas try to catch the ball for an interception?
"We're still going to knock it down, but we're going to knock it down at a 30-degree angle," Thomas said. "If we need luck, we'll take it. But we have to fix things in-house, and that's what we're doing."
Andrews out of hospital. Left tackle Shawn Andrews, who spent two days in the Hospital for Special Surgery this week tending to back troubles, was released from there Saturday morning. Although Andrews is still officially listed as doubtful and has not been ruled out for today's game, there remains very little chance he will be able to play. Will Beatty is expected to start in his place.
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