Giants long-snapper Ryan Kuehl was placed on injured reserve Tuesday with a calf injury.
According to USA Today, "Rookie linebacker Zak DeOssie will handle the snaps on punts, and rookie defensive tackle Jay Aford will snap on field goals and extra points."
Considering that one bad snap can cost you a game, but also realizing that this frees up a roster spot, I suspect we'll see pretty mixed reactions on how this affects the Giants. naturally we're all sorry to see a guy get hurt, but does losing Kuehl really hurt the Giants much?
The articles on Justin Tuck have arrived. How three authors managed to write the same piece is a bit strange, but whatever.
Paul Schwartz talks about how Tuck is playing well but anxious for Strahan to return.
Arthur Staple makes most of the same points with most of the same quotes.
Vinny DiTriani also worte pretty much the same article.
Newsday's Arthur Staple seems mostly positive on the Giants performance against the Jets.
I guess I'm encouraged to. Other than the first play from scrimmage our first team D played real well, totally shutting down the Jets. On offense, Manning wasn't asked to do too much and he was fairly consistent. Field goals could be a problem though...
There's nothing official, but Strahan seems likely to return soon.
I don't know if he can make it through a full season, but I'd like to see him back anyway. Then again, maybe it's time for the Justin Tuck era to begin...
I loved the Corey Webster draft pick, but like most Giants fans have been waiting for him to make a bigger contribution. As Mike Garafolo says, now is the time for Webster: "Health, check. System, check. Opportunity, check. No more excuses for why the 2004 second-round pick can't be an effective NFL starter."
If Webster does become a solid NFL starting CB, the Giants should have a strong defense. The defensive line and the CBs would be strengths. The safeties and the linebackers should be reasonably good, but we can't expect greatness there. Our strength needs to come from our line first and then hopefully our corners.
One of the great things about the Web is the ability to cruise around from site to site and buy virtually anything. For instance, you can buy tickets to any sports game you can think of, from college football and college basketball, to pro sports like MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA, NASCAR, UFC, boxing, WWE, soccer tickets and even cricket! If you're a New York fan, then you can have New York Giants tickets, Jets tickets, Super Bowl tickets, Yankees tickets, Mets tix, Rangers, Sabres or Islanders tickets, Nets, or the New York Knicks tickets, you can find them all online.
I'm looking forward to this year's NFL season. A couple teams that are looking particularly good are the Cowboys and the Patriots. With the Tuna gone but TO and Romo still a major part of the team, Dallas looks strong. Of course Parcells built the team up over the last few years, so even though he's gone this year, the Cowboys are going to be benefitting for years to come becuase of the Tuna's acquisition strategies. Let's see if Tony Romo can truly become a franchise QB. The New England Patriots still have mastermind Bill Belicheck and the great Tom Brady AND made some awesome off-season moves, grabbing some great rookies and veteran Randy Moss. Now maybe Brady will have some targets to hit down field. I can't wait for this year's matchup between the Cowboys vs Patriots.
If you want to go to an NFL game this year and you know the game is sold out, try shopping here.
It was ahrd for Giants fans to celebrate after beating the Ravens since the injuries started coming early and often:
WR Michael Jennings tore his left Achilles' tendon and will miss the 2007 NFL season.
S Will Demps dislocated his right elbow.
CB Sam Madison pulled his left hamstring.
C Grey Ruegamer suffered a high right ankle sprain.
WR Steve Smith suffered a concussion.
TE Jeremy Shockey had his leg wrapped but this wasn't considered an injury.
Ouch!
I came away a bit disappointed but hey - it's only the preseason. It sounded like our first string offensive line played well enough against tough opposition (Carolina's defensive line is a strength for them).
Then I found this article on David Diehl with a really interesting note on his training:
At home in his native Chicago, Diehl began working two hours a day, six days a week with Tim Grover, a trainer who Diehl said formerly worked with Michael Jordan and LeBron James.For those of you watching on TV or seeing the action live did Diehl and his linemates play as well as I think they did?“It was a lot of agility, speed and footwork drills,” Diehl said. “You can translate playing left tackle into playing defense in basketball. The guy opposite you is the guy with the ball, and he’s trying to drive on you to the basket. He can fake, shake or try to bull right at you. You have to get in position to stop him.”
By the way, listening on the radio because I was in Boston for my sister's wedding got me in a bit of trouble, something about being anti-social. Which is crap - I invited some of the guys to listen with me but they wanted to party in the hotel lobby...
I can't watch. I'm in Boston for my sister's wedding and the TV here in the Hilton gets only a few channels and none have any football. I do at least get to listen online on wfan.com.
Interesting that Wilson starts at free safety and Butler at strong safety.
Anyway. We can all rejoice. Football season is here. Enjoy the game.
For me, one of the most important questions to answer this preseason is how well Mitchell - Pierce - Kiwanuka can play the Giants 3 linebacker spots.
Mitchell, of course, is the starter on the weakside. Wilkinson won't be back for a month.
Kiwanuka still has to prove he can cover.
So I'm not blogging as much as I normally would be because I'm in the Dominican Republic. Very busy sleeping on the beach here so I haven't had much time...
But I did want to comment on the Strahan craziness I've heard.
Seems that Strahan's agent has been talking to other teams without the Giants knowledge and this could be considered tampering. How great would it be to see a team like the Redskins penalized for tampering?
And why is it not surprising that no one wants to pay Strahan? You figure if you do pay him there's a good chance he'll miss a big chunk of time...