The Packers may want to test the Giants rookie safety, Gibril Wilson. So far Wilson has been a pleasant surprise: he's the first Giant since 1978 to ahve interceptions in consecutive games and he was the Giants leading tackler against the Browns. I'm voting for him to Rookie of the week. So far he's only got 15% of the vote so it looks like Roy Williams or Ben Roethlisberger is going to win. By the way, (not to sound like a braggart, but) just remember that I said I liked Roy Williams way back in April before the draft.
More on Gibril Wilson and other defensive backs comes from Mike Garafolo, who likes what he sees. He did get that 15 yard penalty for a helmet to helmet hit, but Coughlin probably should ahve challenged:
On the second situation, first-time starter Gibril Wilson leveled Brown receiver Quincy Morgan at the sideline on a 29-yard pass to the Giants' 17. But Morgan failed to hold onto the ball when he hit the ground.Here's a bit more. This is really from Giants.com, but theinsiders claim it as their own on http://story.theinsiders.com/a.z?s=123&p=2&c=299781 - I ahve no respect for them and will never quote from one of their articles again:Officials ruled a catch, however, and gave Wilson a 15-yard penalty for a personal foul on the hit. The play was replayed on the big screen at the stadium several times and it looked pretty obvious that Morgan neither came down in bounds nor held onto the ball.
Instead of challenging the catch, Coughlin let it go, and the Browns had a first-and-goal at the 8, which led to a touchdown.
''I didn't have enough information at the time,'' Coughlin said, ''and, to be honest with you, the flag distracted me a little bit, too. … I couldn't understand what they were trying to accomplish there.''
Mistakes, like turnovers, add up, and Coughlin was very lucky the mistakes didn't come back to haunt his Giants.
Q: How did Gibril Wilson look on tape after his first start?A: He did a good job, you know he had been situational and he handled that well…it wasn’t too big for him. He had an opportunity to play in all situations last week and he did well. He was at the line of scrimmage, they’re were some occasions where he was a little bit late or a little bit out of position here or there, but by and large he did a good job and Brent Alexander helped back there as well. Now Brent helped the understanding of the responsibilities, getting the calls out, making sure people were in the right spot…I give credit to Brent for that as well.
Q: What is your opinion on the hit that Gibril Wilson got called for unnecessary roughness?
A: I looked at it real hard on tape this morning and talked to the coaches about it and we thought it was shoulder pad to shoulder pad. These things happen so fast…for people that have to make calls, it’s a difficult job, nobody is saying that it isn’t. The thing that I try to refer to after the game is that you know you have a guy catching the ball right on the sideline and you have a safety flying off the hash attacking that guy who is about to catch the ball…the angles are sharp…the player is basically in a position where he is going insure that the receiver gets knocked out of bounds. He isn’t going to take a chance on leaving his feet or in most cases he’ll move to the sideline under control or with good balance and take the guy on high, and it was a shoulder to shoulder hit…is what we felt. An aggressive play on the part of Gibril and I don’t know how else you can teach it or enforce it.
From a recent comment on my post Giants Win = Credibility:
The short yardage game continues to be a problem, especially when Mike Cloud leapt right into the arms of a Brown near the goal line for a no gain.I am concerned too, but not beacuae of Cloud. I can't blame Cloud for that play at all. The offensive line was moving backwards, and there were no holes. Cloud had no chance but he tried anyway. And he did make his other short yardage run. I think the Giants have the right back; Cloud proved he can pick up tough yards with the Patriots. The line is improving but needs more work on short yardage...
By the way, I love comments so keep them coming!
Ralph Vacchiano details Seuberts efforts to return and notes that it must be decided by week 9. With the offensive line loking pretty good, Vacchiano wonders if there's even a spot for a healthy Seubert.
Steve Serby from the New York Post ads that the Giants have been answering some of their critics questions, but may have to answer the trash talk of Brett Farve. Farve is ready to play and the Giants offense will be ready according to Mike Garafolo who details the Giants success on first down. Paul Schwarz credits the progress made by the offensive line for much of the Giants offensive success. He reasons that the Giants will need to score a bunch of points to beat the Packers and that they may be able to.
One thing that can help them is field positions, which, as Ernie Palladino writes, means that Jeff Feagles is an important weapon. Stephen Edelson writes about how the Packers defense hasn't been too hot recently and how the Giants might be able to beat them and contend for a playoff spot. Just remember that I belived the Giants can win (and I mean compete for the playoffs) before any of these media guys.
The Eagles lost another back, John Ritchie, their fullback. For the Eagles (as with most NFL teams) there's a big drop off in talent at fullback:
Rookie Thomas Tapeh, who was on the inactive list the last two games, is the only other fullback on Philadelphia's roster since the start of the season. The Eagles re-signed Josh Parry, who was cut from the practice squad last week, and placed Ritchie on injured reserve. Veteran Dorsey Levens also could play fullback in certain situations.Here's a run down on many injuries in the NFL. Scary how long the list is in week 3.
Before the Giants Browns game, Neil Best wrote that containing Jeff Garcia would give Tim Lewis some credibiltiy. The Giants did win and the defense looked good against Jeff Garcia and his receivers. Of course without Suggs, Tucker, and Winslow the Giants defense had to make the Browns look bad in order to look good themselves. Strahan had to have a big day against the Browns backups and he did. Gibril Wilson wasn't a huge liability starting for Shaun Williams. Garcia and the Browns receivers did get things going in the second half but it was too little too late.
It was also interesting to thear the announcers talking about Tom Coughlin during the game. It's harder to attack a coach with a winning record and the announcers sounded like they were in Coughlin's corner so to speak. As Mike Vacarro wrote before the game, the fans think Coughlin is just what New York needs. I think so. I want a coach who holds players accountable and makes them work hard. There's nothing worse than watching a team that looks like it isn't trying to win. Today Coughlin's Giants looked and played like they wanted to win. Since they had more talent than the injured Browns they did win.
Williams hurt a knee in practice and may miss significant time. Neil Best writes:
Losing Williams, a seventh- year pro who plays a variety of roles, would be a severe blow. The Giants already have lost Omar Stoutmire, the other starting safety last season, to a season-ending knee injury. If Williams can't play, the starters presumably would be Brent Alexander and Gibril Wilson, a rookie who made his NFL debut last weekend.Emmons, Green, and Dayne were upgraded to probable.
BBI has the best preview I've read so far. It gos into some interesting matchups like Ebenezer Ekuban (who is replacing Brown but is a bit banged up - sore groin) at left defensive end facing Giants RT David Diehl. He is reported to show flases as a speed rusher, but since David Diehl did reasonably well against Jevon Kearse, we can expect another strong game from him.
The main concern seems to be the Browns backs and receivers. If terrell Suggs is healthy he may be a problem and William Green is a solid back up. The Browns receivers have big play ability as does Jeff Garcia. While not much of a preview, Yahoo sports offers a history lesson masquerading as a preview that covers the Giants disaster caused by Garcia and San Francisco.
The SportsNetwork stresses how important the running game is to the Browns, but offers none of the matchup info that BBI does. Marla Ridenour offers an in depth analysis of Ryan Tucker's backup, who will be asked to block Strahan (with help from his friends).
MSNBC talks about how the Giants are trying not to look past this game.
Michael Eisen somehow mangaes to be far kinder while scouting the Browns than Tony Grossi was scouting the Giants. THough he finds lots of nice things to say abouth them, it would ahve to be considered a huge step back for the Giants defense if the Browns are able to move the football without Ryan Tucker (who was going to try blocking Strahan - now it will be 6-5, 315-pound Joaquin Gonzalez, a third-year pro who will make is fourth career start) and the tight end who is supposed to better than Shockey some day, Kellen Winslow.
With the starting left end and left tackle sidelined, the Giants should be able to give Warner more time. The offense will move the ball, but they need to find a way to do better in the red zone.
Here's a Browns perspective on the upcoming Giants Browns game. It's interesting, but it doesn't make any predictions about how the Browns and Giants will match up. Some interesting conclusions are that Warner is becoming a dump off artist due to a suspect offensive line (these shorter routes were supposed to be annoying Shockey and Toomer but Shockey seems OK now). Also interesting is that the Wills are "supposed" to be able to cover man to man but are beatable. We've certainly seen Giants defensive backs get beaten a few times but things seem to be improving.
Ron Dayne is not a particularly good short yardage back. He's not a happy one either. Neil Best points out that Dayne did get carries on first and second down but did nothing then either.
Mike Cloud isn't too happy either. He's not playing, but he's actually good in short yardage situations:
...Cloud still led the team with five rushing touchdowns, four of which came in short-yardage situations. Overall, he was 6-for-9 when he needed two yards or less for a touchdown or first down.
So who's going to play? Well Paul Scwhartz notes that Ron Dayne is listed as questionable with a calf injury in his preview of the Giants - Browns game. Not surprisingly Coughlin isn't happy about short yardage either, "Not in Ron Dayne, not in blocking at the point, not in knocking people back off the ball."
Maybe it's time he tried a short yardage back in short yardage situations...
Mike Garafalo talks about how Warner promised his baby daughter a TD, which he delivered. When I first read the "baby soft hands" in the title of the article I chuckled because it wasn't that long ago that I heard Tim Carter described as a track star in pads whose strenght was speed not hands. Of course the title may ahve been more about his baby than his hands, but it's funny what a big game can do to change the way people think about you....
Neil Best has an interesting story about Tim Carter who is related to a former New York hero (Dwight Gooden) and a current one (Gary Sheffield). It talks about he was unwise in trying to play through past injuries but is healthy and confident now. Paul Scwhartz ads a few NFL relatives and a new quote but covers most of the smae stuff. Ernie Palladino adds some analysis of the timing that was evident between Carter and Warner. There are different quotes and is another good read. Tom Canavan also looks at the Warner-Carter dynamic and then shifts the focus from Tim Carter to Kurt Warner.
No grade lower than C from Paul Schwartz. Of course, C is pretty generous for a kicking game that consistently gave the Redskins good field position and went 2 for 4 on field goals. Sure the misses were from 47 and 51 yards, but it would be nice to know we had a shot from that range... At this point I would say the Giants kicking game is well below average.
I'd say the same for the running game (the backs got a generous C while the line got a C+). Dayne's 9 carries for 12 yards was pretty bad, and Barber's 18 carries for 43 yards. An average like that (around 2 yards a carry) means lots of three and longs. Below average if you ask me.
Sure the Giants defense played well, but it might be early to compare them to the 86 Giants.... A couple things I noticed:
1. Fred Robbins had a great game. An interception, forced fumble, some penetration, etc. I was surprised that Fred Robbins was more prominent than the other Giants linemen. Strahan was consistently double teamed, but still managed 5 tackles and a fumble recovery. Norman Hand had good penetration at times.
2. Barret Green left the game and after that the Giants looked a lot slower.
3. The Giants secondary had their moments (Will Peterson had 8 tackles and made a nice play to break up a pass to Coles) but got burned once or twice (Will Allen was beaten on a 51-yard pass from Patrick Ramsey to Rod Gardner) and were helped out by some Redskins drops. Shawn Alexander had 2 picks. Gibril Wilson had 1 (almost bobbled it). I'm not used to seeing our safeties catch the ball.
4. There was a nice team effort, but calling the Giants defense dominant, seems like a bit much.
Here's a list of sites that sell New York Giants football tickets. If you want your site listed here, please email gumpersag@yahoo.com
New York Giants Tickets - http://www.ticketlocator.com/newyorkgiants.htm
Here are a few articles from Washington's point of view. Some are happy that they held the Giants to 62 yards rushing and that Ray Brown did well enough against Strahan. Here's a writer who talks about all the mistakes. Imagaine for example if Portis's TD run hadn't been called back (the next play Washington turned the ball over). The Washington Post talks about a lack of intensity:
Q: The taunts of Giants fans are upon us. Why can't Washington win in the NFC East?Just remember that I predicted back in April that the Giants would have a better ecord that the Redskins.
A: As with most curses, there are fundamental, coincidental and psychological elements. For years now, the Redskins haven't maintained the necessary intensity to compete in division games. Of course, they haven't maintained the intensity to compete in a lot of other games, too. And over time, a sense of destiny sets in. Yesterday's loss means the team probably gives Gibbs his first below-.500 season in the NFC East since 1982.
JT the Brick thinks that Giants veterans will start buying into Coughlin's system since it produced a win. A more detailed examination of similar themes comes from Filip Bondy of the Daily News who feels that this win can repair some of the bad feelings between the Giants players and Giants coaches: "Coughlin already was in real trouble with this particular group of players. He needed to prove there was method to his meticulousness."
Rhoden from the New York Times argues that this win is not enough, that the "Giants are not playing heart and soul for Coughlin", and that "the tug of war between coach and veteran players will continue". Bob Glauber from Newsday agrees saying that the crisis is averted until next week. He has a detailed description of Strahan handing the ball to Coughlin.
Hey, it's great that the Giants beat the Redskins, but I have some concerns.
1. How many teams will turn the ball over 7 times?
2. When we have a +6 turnover ratio, should fans be waiting until the final two minutes for the outcome of the game?
3. Why does the defense look so scarily bad sometimes (like on Washington's first drive?
4. Why couldn't the offense move the ball late in the game (like when taking a few minutes off the clock and scoring would have put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter)?
5. Why wasn't Shockey more involved in the offense?
6. Why does it seem like Barret Green is the only fast Giant (including safetites but not corners)?
7. Why is Ron Dayne still the short yardage back?
8. Why can't we convert on third down?
This Washington Post article talks about how the Redskins will have to play differently against the giants thean they did against Tampa Bay, but that there would still be plenty of pressure. It seems that Washington wants to ahve a different player star every week, like saftey Matt Bowen did last week. The Redskins defensive coordinator had this to say:
"We'll have to adapt when teams max protect more," Williams said. "For whatever reason Tampa chose not to max protect, and New York might, and if that happens then we're going to have to adapt."In other words, the reason they blitzed Tampa Bay 70% of the time was because Tampa Bay wouldn't do anything to make the blitz less effective. As a result Washington only used a few of the plays in their defensive book. Expect to see more variety tomorrow when they meet the Giants.
Michael Eisen from giants.com interviews Tom Coughlin, who talks about the importance of winning at home, making sure guys are confident, and tackling.
Perhaps the most important thing he talks about (besides tackling) involves the secondary and interceptions:
“It’s frustrating not to be more of a turnover team. It’s frustrating to go through an entire preseason and not have an interception. One of the things that is very important for our secondary in terms of their improvement is their ability to see the ball in the air. For whatever reason on a number of occasions, we find ourselves in a position where our head is down and we’re not even aware that the ball is arriving. That’s something that has to be improved upon.”
If you're going to the game Sunday, bring some new school supplies:
The Giants are encouraging fans to bring school supplies to Sunday’s game as they host their first Stuff the Bus school supply drive in conjunction with the New Jersey Resource Center. Fans attending the game are encouraged to drop off new, unused school supplies at any one of the four school buses that will be parked at each of the stadium entrance gates prior to the start of the game.All school supplies collected during the Giants Stuff the Bus school supply drive will be donated to the New Jersey Resource Center. The New Jersey Resource Center is a program of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey and provides brand new school and office supplies to teachers in New Jersey schools and after-school programs with 70% or greater participation in the Free & Reduced Price lunch program.
The Center is in its third year of operation and currently serves 136 schools and after-school programs with total enrollments in excess of 52,000 students grades Pre-K through 12.
School teachers and instructional staff members at qualifying schools in Newark, Elizabeth, Irvington, and Hillside are currently able to visit the FoodBank each school year to “shop” at the free store. Each teacher is allowed to go shopping at the Resource Center twice during the school year – once in the fall semester and once in the spring.
Some of the most needed items are:
• Pens
• Pencils
• Glue & Gluesticks
• Notebooks (single & multi-subject)
• Composition Books
• Crayons
• Markers (incl. dry erase)
• Filler Paper
• Copy Paper
• Staplers & staples
• Rulers
• Backpacks
Brian Lewis from the Post speculates that with Emmons missing practice we're likely to see Reggie Torbor play. Coughlin calls Emmons a game time decision, but are the Giants willing to risk playing Emmons which could aggravate the injury?
Ralph Vacchiano from the Daily News suggests that there's an even bigger problem on the defensive line. Though Strahan is listed as probable, if he doesn't play either Lance Legree or William Joseph will spend time at end to spell Keith Washington (taking Strahan's spot) and Osi Umenyiora.
Considering how badly the defense looked last week against Terrel Owens, I do worry about what's going to happen tomorrow against Clinton Portis and Laverneus Coles.
This article that predicts mediocirity at best for the Giants notes that Diehl struggled a bit against Kearse:
Right tackle David Diehl struggled to block defensive end Jevon Kearse at times but held Kearse without a sack. Kearse had three tackles, a batted pass and a recovered fumble, though.
Of course, some are anxious to remind us that overall the offensive line is still cause for concern: "Warner rarely got the time to throw. The "new" offensive line played like an ad for a famine within the immediate orbit of the Eagles' goal posts." What it means is that the Giants offensive line is to blame for the poor performance in the red zone. Perhaps we are laying too much blame on Ron Dayne here.
Here's an article about Warner and Strahan's optimism for the rest of the season. Thye think the Giants will learn from their mistakes.
In the most ridiculous news I've read all day, some giants are protesting 500 dollar fines levied for not being 5 minutes early to a meeting. Barret Green, Carlos Emmons, and Terry Cousin are going to have to play a lot better before many Giants fans will sympathize with these millionaires.
So I just finished writing about the Giants so called defense against the Eagles, but the offense has issues too, starting with Kurt Warner's inconsistency and the leaky offensive line. This Newsday article would seem to agree, arguing that the Giants have nothing to look forward to until Manning is ready to play and win. This one talks about Coughlin's commitment to running Dayne inside and Shockey's rust. Like the defense, the offense seems to need a lot fo help...
Here's an article lamenting the Giants lack of pressure as McNabb, Owens, & co. destroyed the Giants D:
By halftime McNabb had completed 14 of 18 passes, good for 204 yards and three touchdowns. But the frightening part was how easy it looked.The ball to Terrell Owens, who beat Will Allen on the first touchdown, the bomb to Todd Pinkston when he got behind Will Peterson, the 22-yarder to Freddie Mitchell when he beat Terry Cousin, the touchdown to L.J. Smith . . . it was ridiculous, target practice.
If the Giants pass rush and the secondary don't get a lot better we're in big trouble. And it would be nice if we could stop Westbrook who rushed 17 times for 119 yards.
Here's an interview with Amani Toomer who says the Giants QBs are the best and talks about how dismal last season was. One thing that made me laugh were his comments on Deion Sanders:
I played against him my whole career. He was in Dallas, then I faced him twice when he was with Washington. Earlier in his career, I wasn't playing much. Later in his career, when I started playing, he wasn't the same player he used to be. But I remember the first time we went down to Dallas my rookie year, our whole offense was geared around, 'Look for 21' and then go the other way. And if we're running it, go to 21.You should also read what he has to say about Dave Brown.
Here's an article about Ron Dayne looking forward to playing the Eagles. It seems that Coughlin said Dayne was the short yardage back, but that was probably before signing Mike Cloud. There are some interesting stats here about how Dayne's first seasons compare to other backs from the Giants. Also lots of quotes from Dayne.
Andy Reid says the Giants offensive line is OK. O'Hara says there's lots of room to improve an that it can only happen over time. One key is the Diehl-Kearse match up. Another key will be how well other Giants handle the blitz. We'll see soon enough...
Most questions have been answered. On the offensive line we have Petigout, Whittle, O'Hara, Snee, Diehl (Diehl will have to block Jevon Kearse). Shockey should play but Jamaar Taylor will probably sit (hamstring). On defense, Kevin Lewis should start at MLB and not because of Greisen's hamstring. Safety is a bit more of a question mark with Brent Alexander, Omar Stoutmire and Shaun Williams expected to share time at the two safety spots. I would expect to Stoutmire in on running downs and Alexander on passing downs (not because he's fast, but because he occasionally comes up with an interception). Will Allen is listed as questionable but says he can play. Coughlin says that will be a game time decision.
This Newsday article discusses how Jason Whittle and the Bucs handled the Eagles last season and what the Giants need to do opening day. As I keep saying, the offensive line will be fine. Presuming I'm right about the line, here's what has to happen:
1. The backs have to do a better job picking up the blitz.
2. Toomer and Hilliard have to embarass the Eagles coreners man to man.
3. Warner has to get rid of the ball quickly, hopefully to Shockey.
In this interview, Tom Coughlin talks about how he approaches opening day. Coughlin said, "I never had a team that gave up three touchdown to the defense in the preseason. We created some problems for ourselves. We have to erase that completely." But he didn't promise that it would be erased. He talked about crowd noise and feeling anxious (but not anxiety) before a game.
This preview talks about how desparate the Eagles are to win and how the Giants aren't expected to improve much on last season's record. A few things ring true: The Giants offensive line needs to give Kurt Warner time. A pressured Warner is no better than a pressured Collins. If Warner has time, the Giants need to take advantage of the inexperienced Eagle secondary.
For some unknown reason Luke Petigout is touted as the only returning offensive lineman from last year, so obviously this wasn't written by a Giants fan as we all have high hopes for Diehl. Lucier may not start, but he's also returning. They also have the "key matchup" as Toomer vs. Pinkston. I can't explain that either.
Newsday doesn't give the Giants much of a chance. This article claims that the Eagles corners are good enough and that while Emmons will be missed the addition of Kearse is more important. I'd also like to note that the Eagles are so worried about losing Westbrook (their last good running back after injuries to Buckhalter and Staley) that he won't be returning punts.
Here's another article that treats things a little more fairly in my view but still concludes that the Eagles will win because there are fewer new pieces to fit into place. With so many new Giants learning Coughlin's new system, I can't help but worry about how well all the new Giants can work together. If they do come together as a team, they have the talent to match up against and beat the Eagles.
I don't understand all the doom & gloom. Last season the Giants were expected to be contenders. Injuries and poor defensive coaching messed that up. Are the Giants any worse on paper going into this season than they were going into last season? NO!
If there were superbowl hopes last season, why not now? The defensive line looks better than it did at this point last season with Osi and William Joseph benefitting from experience and Norman Hand and co. more than making up for the loss of Cornelius Griffin. The linebackers look to be better. Barrow's leadership will be missed, but Emmons and Barret Green are clearly upgrades. The secondary remains largely intact. The addition of Terry Cousins is nice, and Stoutmire might be better when rotating with Brent Alexander. More important than any personnel, is that the defensive coordinator will know what he's doing.
On offense, there's no doubt that Kerry Collins will be missed, and that since we expected to have Seubert last season the offensive line looks weaker than it did at the beginning of last preseason. Still the offensive line looks OK and Kurt Warner seems fine. The skill players are still there. Clearly a healthy Shockey is key. Barber seems to have stopped fumbling, Dayne averaged 7 yards a carry during the preseason, and we picked up a viable short yardage back. The receivers remain strong with Toomer and Hilliard leading the way.
Special teams will have to improve. Kickoffs are still a concern. We'll have to wait and see if our coverage and return teams step it up. One could reasonably expect them too with Coughlin's attention to special teams.
Anyway, either last year everyone who thought the Giants would do well has no idea how to analyze football OR there's a good chance the Giants will be competitive this year.
With Barry Stokes on injured reserve, and Solomon Page cut, The Giants might put together something like this:
Luke Petitgout, Wayne Lucier / Jason Whittle, Shaun O'Hara, Chris Snee, David Diehl.
Brandon Winey and Marques Sullivan will be back ups along with either Lucier or Whittle.
I see a pretty good line, but not a dominant one.
The Giants signed Mike Cloud. He was released by the Patriots and I know the Pats didn't have a brilliant running game last season, but I like this signing a lot.
1. He can get tough yards, unlike Ron Dayne. Cloud had 5 touchdowns in 5 games last season.
2. He never fumbles. At least he has never lost a fumble in an NFL game.
3. He had 19 carries for 93 yards when the Patriots played the Jaguars in their last preseason game.
Other things that make me happy: Ian Allen is gone. The Giants picked up DT Kenderick Allen (Saints), T Marques Sullivan (Bills) and WR Mark Jones (Buccaneers). Waived are T Ian Allen, WR Avion Black and DT Mario Monds.
The Giants found a new kick returner (not to be confused with the Giants new kicker):
Rookie receiver Mark Jones is good enough to play in the NFL. Just not for the Bucs....The Bucs had hoped to sign Jones to their eight-man practice squad Monday and he was prepared to re-sign until learning that the Giants had claimed him on their 53-man roster.
Jones, who caught two passes for 32 yards and returned two kickoffs for 41 yards in the preseason, is expected to serve as the Giants kick returner....
Former Giants defensive end Issac Hilton, however, visited One Buc Place and is expected to sign.
One wonders where Jones will fit into the Giants wide receivers corp.
The Giants waived France and signed Steve Christie. Christie is accurate with extra points and made 15 out of 20 field goals last season. The only problem is that he never forces a touchback. Does anyone know why the Giants waived Mark Gould? I really miss seeing opponents take a knee in the end zone.
Here's some AP writer who loves the Eagles but says the Giants are going nowhere. He admits that the injury bug has hurt the Eagles, forcing Westbrook to be the #1 back. He fails to mention that the Eagles offensive line has no depth; you would think that everyone would have learned a lesson from the Giants last season.
His biggest knock on the Giants is that the offensive line doesn't seem much better than it was last year. I disagree. They played well against the Ravens and the Ravens have a pretty good defense...
When the Giants play the Eagles, they should have Jeremy Shockey on the field. That is presuming the coaches agree with Shockey when he says he's ready to play. Him and Warner seem confidsent that not practicing together will be no problem. As eveidence Shockey notes that he didn't practice much with Collins either. That was his rookie year and second year, so if anything, he should be better mentally prepared (now in his third year). I just hope he's right when he says he's physically ready.
In his analysis of the Giants loss to the Ravens, Steven St. Lawrence offers some criticism of Coughlin, who is trying to fit a round peg into a square hole by forcing Dayne into power back situations. Dayne is not a power back.
Another concern mentioned here, is that the Giants haven't come up with any interceptions this preseason. Coughlin talks about winning the turnover battle, but that's hard to do when you have zero interceptions.
He also predicts that Tim Carter will be cut for dropping a bomb from Jessie Palmer. The question then would become who are the Giants four receivers?
Still he manages to predict an optimistic 10-6 record with a playoff berth...
This article predicts that Coughlin will last just long enough to make it into the tabloids. Most of the article is about new rules in the NFL, including the third instant replay challenge, the illegal contact rule, and the restrictions on celebrating on the field.
This article speculates that Taylor may have made the team as the fourth receiver (behind Toomer, Hilliard, and Carter). It also notes that the three Ravens sacks were coverage sacks rather than poor offensive line play. Hey, it's not like many teams can hold the Ravens to no sacks, so I'm not going to worry too much about the line and yesterday I discussed an article that says we just need Warner to last until week 5. Of course, neither Warner nor Manning has thrown a touchdown in recent memory... Fassel had a few nice things to say about the Giants before the game.
The Ravens were happy after soundly beating the Giants. If I had to look for bright spots, Greisen's 13 tackles might tell me that the Giants have a middle linebacker. Problem is they didn't have much of a defense against the Ravens.
On offense, Jamaar Taylor's four catches for 135 yards (a 33.8 yard average) might tell me that the late draft choice is some kind of receiving threat. Still, the Giants could on;y score touchdonws against the Ravens backups (one of those a 42 yarder from Jessie Palmer to Jamaar Taylor).
I don't write much about fantasy footabll, but when I saw this advice about not picking Shockeye because he'll never stay healthy I just had to link to it. And hope it's completely wrong, but we'll see.
Don Banks discusses one question facing each team. For the Giants it's how long can Warner last. He thinks the Giants want to start playing Manning around week 5 and hope Warner plays well enough to start until then.
For the Cowboys it's how long can Testavered last. No Quincy Carter means Drew Henson will have to play if Vinny doesn't make it through the season.
For the Eagles it's Terrell Owens who hasn't done much in the preseason.
Banks likes the way things seem to be going in New England...
This article has lots of quotes from Warner and other Giants. (This is from the Washington Post so you'll need to be registered). We get Warner's take on what people think about him, returnging to Arena football and the competition with Manning. Coughlin wishes he had some competition at every position and Amani Toomer is happy with the way Warner is throwing.
This article from the Post notes that Warner and Shockey have never played together. The rest of the article talks about how Shockey can make the Giants better but how the Giants have to be patient with their "fragile" tight end.
People in Florida are happy to be rid of Jason Whittle:
Jason Whittle was so plagued by injuries after signing with the Bucs as a free agent two years ago, he could've come with a fragile warning label. On Monday, the veteran guard was returned to sender.The Bucs traded Whittle for an undisclosed draft pick to the New York Giants, where he began his career...
I'm not convinced that this is the best guy to replace the injured Barry Stokes, but at least he can long snap. The Bucs had him listed as a backup center so I hope we didn't give up much of a draft pick.
Still, considering how hard it is to find an offensive lineman with experience and how badly the Giants needed one, I won't complain about this move.
Todd France is going to be the Giants kicker. Bryant was cut a long time ago and Grammatica has been hurt, so France gets the job. The Giants still don't have someone who can really blast kick offs into the end zone consistently, but at least France made a 51 yarder this preseason...
Also interesting is that Coughlin seems to have more confidence in France than the Giants kicker himself...