Loading ...It's the most highly anticipated preseason game – game number three, when the first team often plays well into the third quarter. In other words, Friday night will be the dress rehearsal for the New York Giants going into their week one showdown with division rival Dallas. The Giants have looked solid this preseason, but Head Coach Tom Coughlin would like to see less mistakes and more crisp play on both sides of the ball, but particularly so offensively.
Today we tell you what you should be watching for on Friday night as the Giants get one step closer to their 2012 NFL season.
The Passing Game
We've seen a little bit of Eli Manning, some flashes from Victor Cruz, a couple of nice plays from Martellus Bennett at tight end – but this is the game where it all has to come together. The Giants want to find out how close they are to regular season ready, and for a team heavily reliant on their franchise signal caller and passing game, this game is all about how well Eli Manning is protected and how sharp Manning his receivers look in extended action.
David Wilson … Again
Wilson has been relatively quiet this preseason, but with the stinker of a performance D.J. Ware had against the Jets in the last preseason game, and Ahmad Bradshaw's hand injury – Wilson once again has a huge opportunity to come out and show why he deserves touches early this season as a rookie. Look for the Giants to get the physically explosive playmaker in space and give him an opportunity to show off the skill set he brings to this offense. It's make or break for Wilson tonight – if he wants to have a shot at that number two running back spot going into the season he's going to really have to come out and outplay Ware in this football game.
The Cornerbacks
The Bears will threaten this Giants pass defense more than the Jets did last week, as Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall are quite the explosive duo, and Devin Hester will likely attempt to challenge this secondary vertically – where Cutler has the arm to deliver over the top. The Giants can be encouraged going into the season if they can do anything similar to what they did to the Jets offense last week to the Bears tonight. Prince Amukamara needs to step up and have a strong game on the outside.
Osi Umenyiora
Is anyone else noticing just how enthusiastic and explosive Umenyiora looks this August? Call me crazy, but with the way he's getting off the snap and the shape he's in along with the great attitude he's brought into this season, Umenyiora may be on the brink of one of the best seasons of his career – whether or not he's a "starter" by title.
The Run Blocking
This has been the most troubling aspect of the Giants preseason so far. They haven't been able to really put it together with the ground game – and to this point you can say we've only seen the starters get a few snaps together. They'll have their chance to buckle down and get some momentum going in this area. Chris Snee has to take the bull by the horns and get this group back on track to the gritty, tough running game they have been so used to as a franchise.
Photo Credit: Mike Gannon
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The run blocking has been putrid. Could be that there’s something to be said about the absence of Beatty, though I can’t for the life of me wrap my mind around him being any better than Locklear. But guys who many on here thought were “solid” or something resembling sure things–Snee, Baas, Boothe, Diehl–are putting the same sh*t performances on tape that they did for most of last season.
To clarify, I don’t believe Beatty would be any better at run blocking than Locklear. He’s definitely a better pass-blocker, though Locklear seems to have done a decent enough job thus far.
Snee has not been the pro bowl Snee since ’08
if you recall, he missed the entire ’09 pre-season with a knee and since then he just hasn’t been the same
Baas was terrible last year; JR’s biggest FA miss; unless it was nagging injuries ala Boley/Canty ’09; time will tell
Boothe has impressed as a sub, but now he is the starter which seems to be an indictment of Petrus; and Diehl has always been a workmanlike lineman – never truly terrible but never lights out
You’re right….so far. Let’s see how they do tonight against a very strong front seven.
I still insist this group will be good enough to run against the Cowboys in Week 1. They’re certainly not great, but they may prove adequate this season. And with this defense, and our improved special teams, “adequate” may be good enough. I’ve been insisting since April that the defense this season should dominate games and give us a chance to win every week. It doesn’t help that Canty, Boley and Thomas are currently unavailable and that Rogers is, for all practical purposes, gone. But they should still dominate most offenses. Haz is right that tonight will be a good test, but I have a lot of confidence in this defense even if they don’t do well tonight. Too many terrific players on that side of the ball to not get it right relatively early this season.
And I will caution you and everyone else that my annual advice that you cannot judge the team until November still is operative. Especially with this new CBA and the way lower number of practices, it will take some weeks into the season before teams even have their timing down, much less have discovered what they are best at doing and cannot do well. The O-line may look awful now but a lot better in a month. I’m not predicting that, just saying it’s always a real possibility.
you are right about when to judge the team
as it turns out our first 8 games are the easy part of the schedule — Cowboys, Bucks, Panthers, Eagles, Browns, 9ers, Skins, Boys –
even with our line, by all rights we ought to start 3-0 and should make the turn at no worse than 5-3; I could even see 7-1 or 8-0 as I have no respect for the 49′rs offense and Dallas and Philly have to show me before I’ll believe
but the second half is brutal — Steelers, Bengals, Packers, Skins, Saints, Falcons, Ravens, Eagles — 3-5 looks possible on paper
but who knows who will be what and when
right now we are likely to enter the season down 3 quality players (Canty, Boley, TT) but they are replaced by some young and promising talent (Kuhn/Austin, Rivers/Williams, Prince/Holesy). if we can get a full healthy season out of the big 3 — Tuck, JPP and Osi — the defense should be a force
That pretty much sums up the line. To me, specualtion of improvement is pointless until we wee some evidence. The line looks pretty much the way it has for the past year+. Adequate pass blocking. Horrific run blocking.
The OL is a leaky boat. It’s been patched and painted so many times there’s very little of the original left.
JR must be terrified. There’s no move they could make here that would surprise me. Easily the worst unit on the team … and far and away the worst ROI.
So let me leave you with an image. That leaking boat floats along serenely because JPP, Tuck, Osi, Joseph, Kiwi, Boley, Williams, Rivers, Webster, Hosley, Amukamara, Phillips, Rolle and Hill keep bailing it out with bright, shiny, buckets while Captain Manning and his mates Nicks and Cruz stands at the bow giving clear directions through the icebergs ahead, instilling confidence in the entire crew as they head toward safe harbor.
I think we are at the point where Eli is established so even with a bad game I’m not worried about the passing game. Plus we are without Nicks which completely changes how teams have to play Cruz, our other targets and even our running game.
I think this game is a good test for our defense. While we all see the talent we want them to perform even better over 16 games than they did the final 6 games last year. No JPP and no Tracy does change our pass rush. Chicago skill position wise is one of the top offenses in the NFL so this is an excellent test for our back 7 in coverage. Prince will definitely get tested so this game is exactly what he needs and hopefully he excels.
But really this game is more about firming up the final 10 or so roster spots. In going through the roster there are at least 40 roster locks so this is about the depth guys. I think the 3rd preseason game is a little overrated especially when you have key pieces that are not playing. Nicks, JPP, Holsey will all play week one. While players like Beatty, Canty and Boley should be ready soon as well.
not so sure about Beatty, Canty and Boley being ready soon
all three are suffering injuries that are taking far longer to heal than expected
we’ve seen this movie before — team asserts the time table for recovery, then it doubles, then ….
I did qualify it with “should”. And soon it this instance means by the end of September.
FF55 mentioned someone needs to fill Jacobs’ leadership role.
Youtube David Wilson and the intro to his highlight video is him emotionally leading Team USA into a game against Canada in which he nearly loses it saying he’d die foor his country and his teammates.
So there’s that…
Just to be clear, if the Giants were to do as Simon suggests, they would “release” TT, not “waive” him. He already has 4 seasons in the league so he would NOT go on the waiver wire and be subject to claim by other teams, according to the hierarchy. He would be a free agent.
I’m sure that’s what Simon meant. We tend to misuse the terms waive, cut, and release.
I think releasing TT might be the best move if they believe he won’t be ready until mid-season. Pay him his $1M up front and stay in constant contact with him and whoever they set him up to work/rehab with outside the facility. Make it clear that they expect him to be a part of the 2012 Giants, they just desperately need the roster spot to navigate the injuries during the first half of the season.
If they don’t have enough good will built up with him by now to prevent him from taking the first low ball offer some other team throws at him while he’s on his own, then we had little chance of retaining him next year anyway.
Regarding the o-line, I just don’t know what to think anymore. I’m not predicting anything. I think FF55 is correct in that we’ll be able to run against the Cowboys…I just don’t think that will actually tell us anything new. I do believe this team is good enough to survive the o-line playing like 2011 again, but it really hurts our chances and probably knocks an extra 2 months off of Eli’s life span.
Speaking of the passing game carrying us again though. Has anybody noticed that Cruz has been absolutely abusing the opposition so far? He’s been doing that with Ramses “Sheep in wolf’s fashionable clothing” Barden lined up opposite him. Can’t wait to see what defenses do with Nicks back on the field.
If Terrell Thomas isn’t ready by say week 5…then he should be released. I really like him and he’s plenty talented, but it’d be a waste of a roster spot to go like 8 weeks and pray he’s healthy then. We need players who offer more consistency and can actually play from day one. It’s as if we were cutting him early because unless he was an absolute stud this year then I didn’t see the Giants paying him the $6 mil next season. Use his roster spot to save a guy who should make the team, save some money in the process, and hope he’ll be 100% healthy next year.
And I won’t even begin to talk about the O-line/run blocking right now. Some of these guys are just going to have to step up. It’s their job and they need to prove that they’re the best ones suited for it. There’s always a trade that can be made or someone to pick up who will give a little more effort. Reese has a good eye so I’m sure he’d be able to find someone to help if these guys don’t all step up.