Loading ...The New York Giants were mauled in Baltimore on Saturday night, as the team had its worst showing of the preseason in a game that is seen as a dress rehearsal for the regular season. New York dropped the game 24 – 10 , but more importantly – the first unit looked completely out of sync and was unable to find success on either side of the football. Eli Manning played through the first two quarters, but the Giants were unable to score an offensive touchdown in the first half with their starters in the game. The first unit defense gave up 17 points to Baltimore’s starting offense.
Game Positives
- The defensive end play continues to be a plus for this Giants defense. While not showing an elite pass rush in preseason, the Giants have gotten a good push from their defensive ends over the past two weeks and have been getting to the quarterback with more regularity than last season. Justin Tuck looks ready to have a pro-bowl caliber season for New York this season.
- For the most part, the Giants really did a good job containing the Ravens running game on Saturday night. Ray Rice was unable to get get going and no Ravens running back was able to break through the front seven for a big run into the secondary.
- Much better job punting by rookie Matt Dodge in this game. Dodge got better length and accuracy on his kicks throughout the game. Unfortunately for the Giants, he saw the field far too many times.
- Solid showing inside from new Giants signing Shawn Andrews, who will be one of the few guys coming out of this game feeling good about himself.
Game Negatives
- Zone coverage looks like a huge issue for this defense going into the regular season. The Giants secondary has been completely unable to communicate and close down holes in the zone, with opposing teams abusing them down the seams and over the middle. That continued against Baltimore.
- The depth at cornerback is almost non-existent for this team. Bruce Johnson has not played up to the standards the Giants expected of him going into camp, and Courtney Brown has been absolutely abused time and time again, week after week. Should an injury hit one of the G-Men’s top three corners, they can find themselves in real trouble in the regular season. The Giants may have to look around the league after team’s make their final cuts, for some kind of help in this area.
- The offensive line hasn’t been healthy all August, but that’s no excuse for the way they’ve protected the quarterback to this point. Eli Manning and the passing game could not get in sync as Ravens blitzers consistently found their way into the Giants backfield. The front five also struggled to get a good push in third and fourth and short situations, as they got pushed back off the ball repeatedly. Very troubling for Tom Coughlin just two weeks away from the start of the regular season.
- To add to Tom Coughlin’s headache, New York piled up several damaging penalties throughout the game whether it was the first unit or the second. So far, this certainly doesn’t look like a team that can shoot itself in the foot with penalties and get away with it.
- Where is the Giants return game, whether it be kicking or punting? New York is heading into the final game of the preseason, and there still has been almost zero production out of the return units outside of a big punt return from Aaron Ross in the second preseason game. Think the Giants want to risk putting Ross out there on punt returns with the play of their backup cornerbacks?
- Backup quarterback looks like an issue for New York. With Sorgi still out with an injury, Bomar once again struggled to consistently complete passes, and his lack of accuracy is certainly troubling considering the fact that he may be the Giants 2nd string quarterback in week one of the regular season by default due to the Sorgi injury.
- This game was almost a complete failure for the Giants, from start to finish. New York has struggled to get in rhythm this preseason on either side of the ball, and in their most important preseason game came out and layed an egg. Big Blue has to regroup and can’t let the sour taste in their mouths carry over to the start of the regular season.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES
TOP PERFORMERS
WR Victor Cruz : Who else did you expect to see on this list with the way this kid’s been performing? Although expected to compete primarily as a kick return when he signed with the Giants, the rookie has not only been impressive as a receiver, but has now not only put himself in position to win a roster spot with his play in the passing game, but he’s even thrown his name in the hat for the #4 wide receiver job in this Giants offense. Cruz scored the Giants lone touchdown against the Ravens, on a one-yard pass from Rhett Bomar. He finished the game with 4 grabs for 76 yards and the score.
DE Justin Tuck: Two sacks of Flacco in the first half for Tuck, who gave Giants fans a scare when he went down awkwardly on his hand in the second quarter. Tuck did return to the game. The veteran defensive end looks ready to be the leader for this Giants defense this season, as he’s been the only starting defensive linemen to consistently play well for Perry Fewell’s defense to this point.
CB Corey Webster : With the massacre around him in the secondary, Webster did a heck of a job keeping his concentration and focus in coverage. He did a great job when matched up one on one with Derrick Mason, and intercepted Flacco on a play where the pressure up front forced a bad throw, bringing the pick back 37 yards into Ravens territory late in the second quarter.
DT Linval Joseph: Good penetration inside from the rookie, who did a good job eating up space against the Ravens run game. Joseph also found his way into the backfield for a sack.
P Matt Dodge : At least punting is one aspect the Giants can say they improved upon in this game. Nice bounce-back performance for the rookie after two shaky performances in the prior games.
ROUGH NIGHT FOR..
CB Courtney Brown: Yes, for the third straight game Brown makes this list. There is absolutely no way the Giants can go into the season having to rely on Courtney Brown to cover NFL receivers. Brown has been targeted and abused by every offense the Giants have faced this August, and the chances of him making this roster seem to be next to none. Brown was undressed when matched up with Anquan Boldin, and found himself unable to even compete with Ravens wideouts downfield.
OL Will Beatty: Very tough night for Beatty, who came into this season as one of the Giants most promising young offensive assets. The team saw the second-year man out of Penn State as its possible left tackle of the future going into camp, and he sure didn’t look to fit that title against Baltimore. Beatty has to do a better job being aware of blitzers coming his way, and doesn’t look stout when facing the bull rush.
S Antrel Rolle: After playing very well for the Giants to this point, Rolle had a tough time dealing with Ravens tight end Todd Heap. Rolle gave up several receptions in coverage, and had a costly penalty on one of the several drives that ended with touchdowns for the Ravens first unit offense.
CB Bruce Johnson: If Johnson struggles in coverage like this during the regular season, the Giants are going to be in serious trouble against teams that like to spread the field and pass the football. He continues to give up way too many completions his way.
QB Eli Manning: Manning could not get in sync behind a struggling, undermanned offensive line that just did not allow him to get comfortable in the pocket. He hit on just 50% of his passes, and was only able to get small gains in the air, as his 9 completions went for just 63 yards.
RB Andre Brown: Brown did little as a return man on Saturday night, outside of dropping a kickoff (although he did recover, only to return it 12 yards), and his three carries went for just 8 yards.
OVERALL PERFORMANCE GRADE: D
The Giants can not go into the regular season this out of sync on offense and in the secondary. There has been very little success from the first unit offense, and that continued on Saturday night as the Ravens absolutely dominated the Giants up front – making it almost impossible for Eli Manning to make plays down the football field. The return game looks very unimpressive, and the Giants are giving up a ton of big plays over the middle and down the seams in the passing game. Outside of a couple of individual performances and Matt Dodge’s punting, this was a very disappointing performance for Big Blue just a couple of weeks away from their opening game against the Panthers.
Related Videos
Returning Soon!!!!No related posts.
Short URL: http://www.giants101.com/3rdand1/co
Man, Some of you guys are funny. Did anyone catch what Antrel Rolle said? That Fewell ran about 4 different plays? Yeah. Also, weres the guys who said you can win any preseason game if you want to? And that youd be embarrassed if we did all that creative blitzing and stunting ish in the pre season.
Yes it didnt look good, but neither did Spags against the worst team in the history of the league. We are also adjusting to a new scheme. Anyone remember Spags first two games? Couldnt stop a nosebleed and Kawika Mitchell was almost chased out of town.
If we look like this when it matters against Carolina you are allowed to freak out. But untill then you might want to keep your cockgarage closed.
Man that was fun lol.
Speaking of fun, hey BigBluepussy! How bout that James Toney? LMFAO. When push came to show he just laid there like a b!tch and tapped out. reminds me of some of the posters on this site.
LOL! I seem to remember a very wise man predictng that..Also be careful, BBP is both a brown and a pink or blue belt or something..
Last night’s game was pretty bad, but I agree that it’s crazy to get excited about pre-season games. No major injuries is a real positive. Also the punting by Dodge was great last night, and that was a real concern of mine. Gosh, I think I even saw one or two of Tynes kicks make it to the end zone, Hooray! I still think this team has a lot of talent, and will be just fine.
Im still in awe by that 71 yard punt. That was epic.
Exactly; Dodge makes an excellent case study here.
One week ago, he was a wasted seventh round pick. 75% of this blog were ready to tar and feather the guy and were screaming for Reese to put in a phone call to Mother Flannery’s Home for Aged Punters to see if Reggie Roby were still alive and available to suit up.
Today, the guy looks like he could actually be – can you believe it – a bona fide NFL punter! In his case, it was simply a matter of time… getting over the rookie jitters, adjusting to the speed of the NFL game and becoming comfortable with his role.
With a new coordinator and new system in place… and a first team that haven’t really had any time to find cohesiveness as a unit, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a similar progression to take place among th team as a whole.
keepp telling yourself that guys — we play good teams who try and they crush us
we don’t try as a team because we are “smart”
none of preseason, including practice, matters
why risk injury by pracicing at all?
everyone should just rest until September 12
look, the team may surprise me and go 9-7 or better
but unlike FF, DEMO and the other self righteous, brave, courageous, real men on this blog, I choose to rely on evidence before I get excited
all the talent FF says exist on this, the most talented Giant team in its 87 year existence, has yet to show us a thing. Tuck has showed a little; Bradshaw a little more; Webster a bit. Anyone else of the vets? Not that I can see.
as for hiding everything we have in our bag of tricks — really? have we ever seen Gilbride pull anything out from his sleeve other than the shotgun draw? (although I can tell his new favorite play is the pseudo-screen over the middle to Jacobs which Eli so far either overthrows or Jacobs drops
maybe Fewel has all sorts of exotic defensive schemes to dazzle us and opposing teams with
seems like you’d like to try one or 2 of them out just to see
after all, after he uses them in Week 1, they won’t be surprises any more
I’ll stop there because my wife is yelling at me more loudly than you guys
Go ahead, take my pussified head off, I’ll look forward to reading the assaults from the few, the proud, the “real” Giants fans later.
Whatever James Toney
LOL!
Eeoree strikes back!
I remember the preseason under Spags and it was much worse than this. I dont put much stock in overall performances when everything is so vanilla. Individuals being tested before cuts is basically what this game stood for.
any news on tracy?
saw where stallworth broke his foot
Sure… a team can get an identity… catch fire… turn it all around. And we all hope it happens. But what do we see now that leads us to believe that it will?
Nothing.
Which is, more or less, as much as we saw in the preseason – and the first two regular season – games of 2007.
I agree. I hope the 2010 team is the best ever and 2007 caught us by suprise but so far we don’t look very hopeful. We lack depth at key positions and as Tuck and Coughlin put it, no “energy”
http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/coughlin-and-tuck-concerned-about-energy/
the NY on the helmets…….. always keeps me positive.
What I mean by that is: One thing that makes me proud to be a Giants fan is that this is always a Team team, not an Individual Player team. The teams that play and think as a team always seem to have more heart. In my opinion.. HEART is what drove us to that last SB.
From Pat Traina’s game notes:
* I know it’s preseason and no one really game plans in these games (though is it me or does it seem like the Jets and now the Ravens seemed to have a loose ‘game plan’ in place when they met the Giants?)
Anyway, I find it very disturbing that the tight ends are still managing to get open against the defense. In the last three games, the first team tight ends for the Jets, Steelers, and Ravens have combined for 11 receptions for 121 yards and one touchdowns. It’s almost as though the middle linebacker is reluctant to lay a finger on the tight end.
*Kudos to CB Corey Webster, DT Rocky Bernard, DE Justin Tuck, and P Matt Dodge, four guys that I think are definitely game ball worth. Webster of course had the big interception to set up the Giants’ only score in the first half. Bernard had two sacks, while Tuck had one, and Dodge punted as well as I can remember seeing him.
*If I’m handing out “misses,” I have to give them to CB Seth Williams, T William Beatty, WR Duke Calhoun, and Gartrell Johnson. Williams had two illegal contact penalties and was burned a couple of times at least. Beatty never really looked like he got into a rhythm, and while I want to watch the tape to confirm, on first glance, it looked like he had some trouble holding up on the right side. Calhoun failed to down Dodge’s best punt of the night inside of the five, and Johnson muffed a handoff while finishing with two carries for five yards.
* Finally, I always advise readers to pay attention to the healthy scratches in this game because those are usually (but not always) part of the first round of cuts. For those who missed it, those scratches included WR Nyan Boeteng, QB Dom Randolph, FB Jerome Johnson, and OL Dennis Landolt. The Giants, like all NFL teams, will need to trim five players from their roster by 4:00 PM ET on Tuesday.
http://trainathought.insidefootball.com/2010/08/baltimore-24-giants-10-random-musings.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Train-aThought+(Inside+Football‘s+%22Train-a+Thought%22)
She’s right… we need to get Jerome Johnson out of camp. Fullbacks are not supposed to run with the ball or catch it.
Yeah, that ones a real head scratcher (or maybe it isn’t, considering the well established tendencies of the Giants head coach)
Based on what I’ve seen Jerome Johnson looks to be every bit the blocker that Hedgecock is. When you factor in the bonus of his having shown good hands and an ability to run with the football, it would seem that he should have been given a much longer look than what he appears to have gotten.
Pity; I was really hoping he’d be afforded the chance to honestly compete for the fullback job. But I guess the outcome of that competition had been rigged from the git go.
I agree. My question is: Why bring him in when they know its rigged and he’ll be cut?
As an extra body so Hedgecock doesn’t get too beat up right away.
You’re right and it’s too bad.
Are you saying we should only bring in guys that will or have a good chance of making the roster? That would be crazy
No, I not saying that at all. I’m saying it shouldn’t be rigged. If a guy competes and is better or has more tools, he should be able to win the job.
I think that’s how things frequently work on other teams.
But it’s never been the Coughlin M.O. He has “his guys” and he sticks with them until they receive their first solicitation letter from AARP in the mail.
Too bad. I guess I’m a little idealistic, I believe in the best man for the job.
Wasnt Hedgecock a monster in 07 and 08? and didnt he play the whole year last year with a torn Labrum? Let me guess…Johnson is now the fullback version of Mix, London and DJ Hall?
I really don’t know if Johnson would be better than Hedgecock. My argument is; why have it be predetermined? Let players compete and keep the best guys. If that happens to be Hedgecock, then great.
I guess this is just another instance of the coaches being all-wise and all-knowing and being able to “see things in practice that the average fan isn’t privy to.”
or that very few teams use even one full back anymore and carrying would be completely ridicolous unless one or both are special team MONSTERS!
uh…you bring in 80 guys knowing 27 wont make it every year..What do you suggest? Just bringig 53 guys? You think we have injury issues now?
No, but you should know ahead of time which 27 won’t make it, at least not all of the 27. Competition is good. Let them compete instead of predetermining which 27 will go. And I’m not saying it isn’t okay to have an idea which 27 will go, just give them the opportunity to compete and prove people wrong.
Hedge was great for us when our power running game was working. But once the league figured it out then his lack of versatility made him a liability.
One of the ways to negate a stacked line is to use the fullback as a surprise weapon. Either pop him up the middle on a quick hitter, or screen to him.
Because hedge can’t do either of those things he ends up making matters worse. And as we’ve seen over the last 2 years, teams simply load up the line of scrimmage. We run into it like blind mice for little or no gain.
Predictability is death in the NFL.