Loading ...The New York Giants took it to their cross-town rivals the Jets last night in their first game at the new Meadowlands stadium last night 31-16. Giants101′s Hazem Kiswani posted a in depth game analysis last night which can be found below, but I wanted to offer a few other thoughts on the GMen following their first on field action of 2010.
- First let me set the scene for you. I had my first fantasy football draft last night so I was at a bar (The Hill in Murray Hill) watching the action. Lots of Giants and Jets fans showed up for Monday night football. To tell you the truth I do not like or hate the Jets, they are just another team from New York to me, like the Buffalo Bills. I find Jets coach Rex Ryan very entertaining and I dislike all of the attention a team that snuck into the playoffs last season by beating two teams resting their starters, but I hate divisional rivals like the Redskins, Cowboys and Eagles much more than the Jets. However, when Giants quarterback Eli Manning ran into Brandon Jacobs and then was hit by a combination of Calvin Pace and Jim Leonhard causing his forehead to bust open like Ric Flair, the Jets fans started taunting me. They questioned Manning’s toughness and insulted him for leaving the game. Eli Manning has never missed an NFL start and has played through multiple injuries over his career. The only reason he left the game was because it was a meaningless preseason game, and the Giants decided to hold the face of their franchise out for precautionary reasons. After these comments, I wanted the win badly, to shut Jets fans up. I look forward to HBO’s Hard Knocks this week an watching Victor Cruz rip the Jets apart in a Giants win. Your 15 minutes of fame are not up yet, Cruz, welcome to the G101 Hall of Fame.
- Speaking of Victor Cruz, what a spectacular game for the undrafted rookie free agent from UMass. The Patterson, New Jersey native absolutely destroyed the Jets in the second half, catching 6 passes for 145 yards and 3 touchdowns. Giants head coach Tom Coughlin has raved about Cruz all training camp long, and I thought he was a likely practice squad candidate going into Monday night, but now fans and the media will have their eyes on Cruz for the rest of the preseason. It is clear that Cruz has to prove last night was not a fluke and he needs to establish himself on special teams and continue to work hard, but he now has a shot to make the active roster. Could he supplant Sinorice Moss on the Giants roster? Stay tuned.
- Eli Manning is luckily okay after receiving that gash on his forehead, which took 12 stitches to close. He feels fine today and is not experiencing any concussion symptoms, and the team does not expect him to miss any practice time.
- How nice is it to have capable safeties on the Giants roster? After watching the horrendous play of C.C. Brown and Aaron Rouse last season, upgrading the secondary was the Giants top off-season priority, and it looked to be a success last night. Antrel Rolle showed how dangerous he is with the ball in his hands, intercepting a Mark Sanchez pass and returning it 59 yards to the 1-yard line. Deon Grant, playing with the first unit in the absence of Kenny Phillips, looked great too and was in on many plays on the Jets first few drives. The upgraded safety position for Big Blue impressed me last night, and proved that last years nightmare is in the past.
- The other player who turned my head last night was middle linebacker Jonathan Goff. He looked like a totally different player than he did in 2009, and he is clearly much more confident and comfortable in the defense. If he continues to look this good, new acquisition Keith Bulluck will have a harder time supplanting Goff in the starting lineup than we once thought.
- The Giants offensive line play was troubling last night. The team was without Pro Bowl guard Chris Snee (leg) and Rich Seubert (hand) which likely caused some of their issues, but they were unable to get a push against the Jets defense. This is something to keep an eye on going forward.
- It seems like Ahmad Bradshaw is going to be the Giants top running back this season, and he showed his explosiveness on a dump off pass from Eli Manning that he took 51-yards. Brandon Jacobs looked sluggish again, but will likely be the Giants short yardage back. The Giants offensive line was not getting much of a push or opening holes for Jacobs, but he did not look good last night. I was also impressed by Andre Brown, it seems his Achilles tendon has healed well, and he could be valuable on passing downs.
- I was really looking for strong side linebacker Clint Sintim to make an impact last night, but he looked lost. Sintim got caught inside and swallowed up by blockers, he needs to do a better job of getting off of blocks.
- I was also disappointed in Ramses Barden, who had a bad drop of a Manning pass on the first series and failed to make much of an impact in the game, with just two receptions for 12 yards.
- Also impressive were rookie defensive lineman Linval Joseph, who made four tackles and looked as good as advertised and defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul who made three tackles and sacked Sanchez.
- I am extremely worried about special teams. Punter Matt Dodge had a punt blocked and averaged just 37.2 yards per attempt. It is pretty clear D.J. Ware is not the next Dante Hall as return man. I still do not like risking the injury prone Aaron Ross on punt returns and think this is a spot where Victor Cruz could make an impact.
- Gerris Wilkinson looked solid last night, leading the Giants in tackles, and making a nice play in the backfield for a loss. Expect him to be a top special teams performer again this season if he can stay healthy, which of course is a big if.
- You have to feel bad for reserve linebacker Chase Blackburn, who has been with the organization for six seasons. He injured his knee last night, and it is being called a sprain, but it looked pretty bad. Blackburn has an MRI today, and hopefully he will be alright.
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I dont put too much stock into the first preseason game because its soooo vanilla. I question management for even playing Eli behind that line. Beatty wasnt what I thought he would be protecting Eli’s blind side and I m thinking I had a mini-heart attack when that hit was placed on Eli. David Diehls creds just went up in my book. I mean come on, thats our franchise QB and he’s out there playing in his first preseason game vs an attention starved team thats blitzing on every play. STUPID!!!
I agree, Tuck doesnt seem like he does much from the DE position, I like him better at DT. Joseph looked good, Canty wasnt the BEAST I was expecting but didnt seem terrible. STUD=JPP, kid is gonna be an elite DE in this league. Kiwi, Cofield, Bernard, all average play. Overall I liked what I saw from the DL.
LB’s look to be an issue again, maybe next year our 4-7th round selection will prove to be a stud, why spend an early pick on one??? Liked how it was mentioned that Reese drafted a rush linebacker to have him cover. Real smart. Sintim was getting gobbled up in traffic constantly and while I m holding out hope, this disappointed me the most. We havnt heard much about him from camp, I m thinking we know why. Goff impressed though, looking much more confident. Wilks and Kehl had some nice plays. Overall this unit seemed pretty physical throughout the game.
Anyone else worried about jcharles??
FF55– you might be correct, but watching last year the O-line got way more physical way Beatty came in. Granted that had to do with the elder O-linesmen being injured (not “not physical enough”), just pointing out where that sentiment started…
UPDATE UP TOP UPDATE UP TOP….
I think Beatty might be better at handling Diehls one weak spot, Speed rushers. Other than that I agree, we are a better, more physical line without Beatty in there yet.
From Peter King’s Tuesday Morning Mailbag:
For Giants fans, file this prediction away from an analyst who nailed the success of the New Orleans Saints last season. “The Giants swept the Dallas Cowboys last year, their three receivers are no longer unknowns and I think they are going to be a lot better on defense,” said ESPN Monday Night Football analyst Jon Gruden. “I like their first four games (vs. Carolina, at Indy, vs. Tennessee, vs. Chicago) and three of them are at home. I think they’ll get off to a good start, and I think they are capable of winning 11 or 12 games.” They also might have discovered a gem in undrafted wide receiver Victor Cruz, who scored three second-half touchdowns and finished with six catches for 145 yards. The UMass rookie will be hard to keep off the roster.
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/richard_deitsch/08/17/5things.giants.jets/index.html#ixzz0wy2jEUk7