I was wrong last year when I said during the preseason the Giants would be competitive although the first games of the season had some people beleiving.
This year I go on record again saying the Giants are better than they get credit for. A prediction of 7-9 seems backwards so I go with 9-7. I say this because the defense has been playing as well as can be expected this preseason while the offense should find its stride when we see more Tiki Barber. We still haven't seen a huge passing game, but I'm confident it will come together with Manning, Shockey, Toomer, and Burress.
The Giants defense played real well against the Jets but it's hard to point out a defensive tackle (or a linebacker for that matter) that made it happen. It was very much a team effort although it was nice to see Justin Tuck stand out.
The Eagles have removed the franchise tag from Corey Simon (like they did with Trotter years ago), making him an unrestricted free agent. That guy is good, but I don't see the Giants finding cap room for him even though a stud defensive tackle would be real nice...
Mike Garafolo has an interesting article on the Giants offensive line that includes some good quotes from the players. I think we all expected a mistake free game from our new right tackle so that was a little worrying. On the other hand, I think we can blame the coaches for putting Shockey against Peppers one on one...
Considering that I complained aout the Giants not stopping the run against Carolina, I was surprised to see Mike Garafolo say this about the Giants running game:
The running game was just okay, nothing spectacular. The running backs averaged 4.3 yards per carry.Seems to me that 4.3 yards per carry is a little better than OK. Then consider that Tiki Barber had only 2 carries and you begin to think that the Giants have a few answers on the ground these days. I think I read somewhere that Caroline averaged 3.7 yards per carry against the Giants D by the way.
Manning was examined yesterday by Team Physician Dr. Russell Warren, who confirmed that Manning's elbow injury is a sprain. "Dr. Warren said that Eli's status will be week-to-week," Head Coach Tom Coughlin said. "He has a sprain and bruise to the inside of his elbow. We'll evaluate his situation on a week-to-week basis." Manning will not play in Friday night's preseason game against the Jets.
Will Peterson sprained his medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his knee and will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis.
Yes, we can all be happy about the turnovers, the special teams, and the win. But Carolina's defensive line did get some serious pass rush against our new and improved offensive line. We can't go too hard on McKenzie for getting beat by the best defensive lineman in the NFL (Peppers) but overall Manning saw a lot more pressure than we'd like.
The defensive line was better, but not good enough as carolina was able to run. The linebackers need to take some of the blame here too but run defense is a concern until we see real improvement from last year.
Our running game seems to be in decent shape with Jacobs looking good and Tiki saving his strength. The passing game had a few touchdowns which is a nice change from last year but until we see better pass protection...
It will be interesting to see if the Giants 1st team can play as well against the Panthers as they did against the Browns. After a strong perfprmance last week, manning should be competitive against the Panthers. Meanwhile Arthur Staple gives an overview of several competitions for spots on the Giants roster.
Pat Kirwan says that the Redskins and Cowboys are within reach of the Giants after watching a bit of camp. Considering how most journalists rank the Giants last in the NFC East, this is a step in the right direction.
Just a quick summary of training camp reports from Giants.com, Big Blue Wrecking Crew, Big Blue Interactive, and Inside Football. Curiously for a paid news service the Inside Football reports are not as interesting as one would expect. I hope the people who pay get better stuff than what they've got on their site.
Curtis Deloatch has impressed most observers and with our 2nd round pick holding out he has a good shot at becoming the #3 cornerback. Strahan and McKenzie have been battling well; this probably means Strahan is back since McKenzie is one of the biggest and best right tackles out there. William Joseph has been uninspiring. However, Osi has been getting some good press. Antonio Pierce is also practicing well.
Eli has also been impressing the observers, though the backup quarterbacks haven't been. The receivers look good; Toomer seems to be helaed and consistent. Burress has the observers talking about his size and determination. And the battles between Taylor, Carter, Tyree, Ponder, and Jennings has most observers convinced our receiving corps will be strong. Seubert is practicing and everyone is encouraged but reluctant to say all is well until they see more contact.