Naughty By Nature about to release Remix of OPP "Down wit JPP"

Heres a tease of the up coming remix of OPP, the JPP version:




Apologies to "Naughty By Nature"

You down wit JPP?,
#yeahYouKnowMe
You down wit #TeamGrizz- alee
#yeahYouKnowMe
You down wit Antrel Rolle's abili- itee?
#yeahYouKnowMe

Who's down with JPP?
#EveryGiantHomie
Who's down wit Phillips-deep saftey?
#EveryGiantHomie
Who's down wit Kennedy
#EveryGiantHomie

JPP means something gifted, break it down East Orange.

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Play calling and head scratching

For the first time I'm going to question the play calling of Gilbride, Offense gets an A- cause of the firsthalf stumbles, but scored 15 pts in the last 6 minutes. thats more on Eli than Gilbride. Everyone else gets a B, defense should have had a C but for the last stop to give the ball back to Eli. Weathorford and Tynes were good, return unit needs work, or something.

Is it me or has the secondary taken a step back? Ross and Webster had 3 picks a piece and Rolle and Phillips chipped in 3 more, with at least 12 batted balls, all in the first half of the season. I realize injuries have caused players to be played out of their natural positions, causing communication issues. But we eed to stay in the plus area on turnovers. I'm not going to knock Fewell like I did Gilbride. because Fewell has been making due with guys off the bench and picking up guys off of waivers. I would just add, Fewell needs to mix up his pass rush schemes more than he has, but thats also reliant on the cover guys.

IF the Giants can play the same group in the secondary from here on out, we might see some improvement there. Good coverage can make that 3 man defensive front more viable, and keeping an opposing offense guessing about what they'll face, 3 man, 4 man, 5 man pass rush can tip the balance on the Giants favor.

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Giants/Dallas injury report Dec. 10th, 2011

Kenny Phillips, Osi Umenyiora, David Baas, Mark Herzlich and Spencer Paysinger did not make the trip to Dallas. Tyler Sash is expected to start in the place of Kenny Phillips.


From Mike Garafolo: Mario Manningham looked "quick" and "sharp" in practice earlier this week. Expect the same Offensive line as last week. Diehl @LT, Petrus @LG, Boothe @center, Snee @RG and McKenzie @ RT.


If Demarcus Ware plays for Dallas he may target McKenzie.

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2011 Game 1, div matchup: Dallas Cowboys vs NY Giants

Arizona sacked Tony Romo 5 times, twice from a 3 man front. Arizona linebackers filled gaps, while the blitz scheme mixed it up. With Chase Blackburns solid zone pass coverage (he follows a crossing receiver until Blackburn can hand the WR off to a safety), its not clear that Dallas TE Whitten will be wide open. And if Blackburn hands off Whitten to Tyler Sash, the former Iowa Star, Romo could be throwing to Whitten as Sash does what he did at Iowa, recognizes the ball and moves in. Tyler Sash add 13 interceptions at Iowa to go along with 392 return yards.

Last week vs Arizona Dez Bryant burnt the Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson repeatedly on comeback routes. I'm sure Dallas has film of Aaron Ross jumping those same routes, like the one he picked off in the Seattle game. Look for Tony Romo to target Prince Amukamara, specifically with his best receiver Dez Bryant who is 2 inches taller than the Prince. Perry Fewell hasn't put Prince Amukamara on the island yet, but if Dallas targets Prince Amukamara this might be the best test yet for the former first round pick, Amukamara.

And one of the things the Giants secondary worked on in practice was handing off receivers within zone or partial zone schemes. Something that didn't work out on the Driver TD in the Green Bay game. Last week vs Green Bay this is something that Chase Blackburn did very well and the secondary needs to iron out.

With Eli having his starting wide outs on the field, Mario Manningham, Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks presence on the field can open up the middle, and the Giants have some size to dominate the middle. TE Travis Beckum at 6'3" made the most of his one catch vs Green Bay, Ramses Barden & Bear Pascoe are both 6'5" and Jake Ballard (Mini Bavaro) is listed at 6'6".

The Giants will have the same O line personal as last week and hope to run the ball, with a meaningful run fake, making the Dallas linebackers bite for a second, Eli might have time for deeper routes and an opportunity to take advantage of Manninghams 4.38 speed.

Predictions:

Giants Defense forces Dallas into at least 3 field goal attempts, gets at least 4 stops, allows 4 trips to the redzone. 5 Sacks. Tyler Sash  & Prince Amukamara were both ball hawks in college and we know that when Tony Romo starts throwing picks, he doesn't throw just one in a game. I'm expecting Dallas field goals so numbers like 16, 20, 23 or 25 come to mind.

Jacobs and Brradshaw: Expect these guys to tear it up, 130 yards combined.

Offense, If we run the ball, that will keep the time of possession in our favor and reduces the shoot out potential. Even so I think the Giants score 28 to 35 points.

Dallas is favored by 3.5 points, the under over is 44.5. I'm taking the Gmen and the over.

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Giants Center David Baas, Injury rumors

Earlier today Coach Coughlin hinted that David Baas had something worse than just a headache and was undergoing tests. After the overall good performance of the Deihl, Snee, Boothe, Petrus and Mackenzie lineup in Sundays game against the Packers, many fans think Baas should sit and Boothe should play. The question may be moot soon with twitter rumors suggesting David Baas is headed for Injured reserve,



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Picture of Ballard TD, you tell me.

Is Ballards knee down inbounds?

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Injury plagued Giants face Packers

Osi Umenyiora and Mark Herzlich are out. Bradshaw and Boley are questionable but are expected to play, Bradshaw did practice on Friday. Mario Manningham has "stuff" floating in his knee, he is doubtful. The real question with Manningham is will he play again this year, or can rest allow him to play effectively?

With Boley back, can he keep the Giants rookie linebackers from being confused, can Boley will the unit to play well?

With Bradshaw back on the field the question will be, is he effective, and do we see the old one two punch of Bradshaw and Jacobs, if the O line is actually run blocking?





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Pride, Giants face Green Bay

The Giants must win out, yes they can lose to Green Bay and still make the playoffs. But without showing they can beat an elite team, the Giants cannot be expected to go anywhere. With Defensive coach Perry Fewell admonishing his unit to get after Aaron Rodgers this week, the giants defense needs to come out on fire.

Giants.com has posted videos for the new Ring of Honor Inductees, I watched all of them. What particularly struck me was a play in the Carl Banks video where Banks vaults over the opposing offensive line at the snap, and lands on the Quarterback before he can step back. Thats what Antrel Rolle calls a baller. Remember LT talking about a pack of wild dogs?

http://www.giants.com/media-vault/videos/Carl-Banks-Ring-of-Honor-Inductee/bf0eae8c-62fe-4d03-8274-92b04653d136


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NFL reinstates DT Jimmy Kennedy

After a 4 week ban for violating the league's policy on performance enhancing drugs, Jimmy Kennedy has been reinstated. The Giants would need to make room for Kennedy on the 53 man roster if they wanted to play Kennedy.

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Giants Vs 49ers week 9.

The Giants Offensive line moved the pile vs the Pats last week. On all but one running play Jacobs got positive yardage. Look at the Matchup of Justin Smith and David Diehl on passing downs. If the Giants are running effectively the run fake might help out Diehl in pass protection.

Alex Smith has a 60% accuracy percent when hes under pressure, expect the Giants Dee linemen to make it understood that Smith will see lots of pressure. I think the pressure on Smith will yield 2 picks and a number of batted balls.

The 49ers have one of the best running backs in the league in Frank Gore. Expect the Giants to play LB Greg Jones in running downs, check out Jones to see how he does, if he makes run reads and fills the gap Gore may have trouble making long runs. Deon Grant will be used as a hybrid Linebacker/Safety, playing close to the line of scrimmage. Grant is capable vs the run. Look to see Jones, Grant and Michael Boley to make timely run stops. This might tip the balance towards the Giants run Dee in containing Frank Gore.

Ramses Barden made 2 nice catches last week and was open 3 other times. Coach Coughlin praised Barden during the week and I think we can expect to Barden to be targeted more often. Nicks and Manningham look to be game day decisions.

The 49ers are very good in the redzone, the Giants need to force field goals, and I think the 49ers will settle for 2 or 3 field goals to add to 1 or 2 touchdowns.

If the Giants expose Alex Smith and can slow down Gore I see the potential for a solid win by the Giants: 31-20 or 24-16.


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Alex Smith is no Giant Killer

49ers quarterback Alex Smith has been a beneficiary to Coach Harbaugh's modified hot route scheme. A 1st round 2005 draft pick, Smith has spent 5 years as a borderline flop. But half way thru the 2011 season, Smith has a QB ranking of 106 in the 4th quarter, 4th in the league, he has the lowest percent of batted balls and picks. Bolstered by one of the best running games in the league Alex Smith has led the 49ers to a 7-1 record.

What Coach Harbaugh has done is to simplify the hot reads. Normally a receiver and a quarterback needs to learn 2 routes, the regular route and the hot read route, this requires recognizing the blitz and altering the route. What the 49ers receivers do is to run a route, say a 15 yard out, and during the route the receiver at say the 6 yard mark, turns to the QB to see if he has thrown the ball because of the blitz.

Alex Smith didn't suddenly get better this year, but instead he's running an offense that suits his skills. The question is whether the Giants can expose Smith's fundamental weakness thru their pass rush and coverage.

Heres  great article by Chris Brown explaining this in detail.

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Final predictions Giants vs Patriots.

The Giants pass rush will of course be key. Another important key will be to attack the heart of the Pats 3-4 defense, the Linebackers. Using a one back 2 TE set and Barden - throwing passes into the Pats Linebacking corp, will make the Pats LB's think pass. Then Running Jacobs from that same passing formation, with Barden and the receivers blocking might unleash the Giants running game. Eli throwing the occasional deep strike to Cruz & Manningham will then keep the Pats Defense off balance. If we run vs the Pats defense, I'm thinking 150 yards team rushing.

If the Giants can make the Pats LB's hesitate in filling run gaps, we'll be running. Then the run fake has meaning. Belicheck knows this and will preach maintaining run responsibility with his linebackers.

I'll be happy if Barden has 5 catches for 65 yards and converts 2 catches on 3rd down. I'm looking for a break out game for Manningham, regaining his big play form of last year, he stopped the juggling act and last week made nice clean catches except for one drop. Mario gains 120 yards and at least one TD.

The Pats suffer from declining points totals all season, in their first game they scored 38, its been downhill, last week they scored 17 pts. In the last 2 weeks the Pats have scored an average of 18.5 pts per game.

I'm thinking Amukamara sees time in the nickel, gets a batted ball, with Ross and Webster I like our corners vs the Pats receivers.

We get pressure without blitzing, the Pats cant, they bring a LB in 3 pt stance and Andre Cater in passing downs. Carter in the game means the opportunity to run, let Carter rush on the perimeter, past the run play.

Past will not cover the pts (9). If we run the ball, we win big, 31-17., if not a close game with ELi playing in the 4th quarter as a #1 ranked QB... we win the close game on Eli's arm, 20-17. Pats will not blow us out, we may blow them out. If the Pats lead us on takeaways, they win 24-21.

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Amukamara and Barden are on Active Roster

I checked the Giants roster at Giants.com/roster, and sure enough Prince Amukamara and Ramses Barden are on the active roster for the Patriots game.

I don't think the Giants want to expose Amukamara to too much Brady, he might see a limited role in the nickel. I'll predict that Prince tips a ball... to Cory Webster.

I'm going out on a limb and guess that we'll see a 2 TE set, Pascoe and Ballard will both see some balls. With Barden in the slot I'll be happy if he catches 5 for 65 yards. Net effect of 3 big receivers catching balls vs linebackers, the LB's start thinking pass, then you run Jacobs from a passing formation.

Great news for the Giants, I think they have a much better chance of beating the Pats. If Jacobs gets on track, Prince gets his feet wet, Barden makes the LB's think pass,  we might see a 31-17 win by the Giants.


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Giants scheme to run on the Pats

If you haven't heard by now Ramses Barden is on the active roster for the Patriots game. In a strange way Barden might help the run game. It goes like this: Barden, Pascoe and Ballard get sent across the middle early. This makes the Pats LB's think too much about coverage and they cheat on the pass, and in a 3-4 dee the LB's are the heart of the defense. If we can get the Pats LB's thinking pass, they are less likely to load the box or make quick run reds and fill the gaps, and without 8 or 9 in the box -then we run Jacobs from passing a formation.

As soon as the Pats go back to loading the box, we throw over the top.

Remember how the Pats 2 TE set causes problems for teams, in the same way we need to cause the same problem.

Our O line is not good enough to run block with 9 in the box, Coach has to figure a way to lure the Pats LB's into thinking coverage, making the Pats LB's think pass first can make then hesitate in run reads. If Jacobs gets into the gaps before the linebackers fill the gaps, they are yielding 5 yard runs.

If all of this happens, its off to the races for the Giants, with an effective run game the run fake will allow Eli to throw by design, not for desperation. The Pats Dee will be guessing run or pass all game and we'll win it running away.


Giants need to set the tone on the first drive.

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Hakeem Nicks likely out, Ramses Barden in?

Hakeem Nicks has not practiced this week and Ramses Brarden has been practicing as if the Coaches know Barden will play. Barden said he didn't know if he was traveling to New England, Barden said he would pack a bag just in case (as reported by the Star Ledger).

Kevin Gilbride made an interesting comment as reported by Mike Vorkunov:

“We’ve all been hanging on for Ramses to come back,” he said Thursday. “He and (Jerrel Jernigan), now are their chances, they’re going to be here.”

Did Jerrel Jernigan make some plays in practice that would cause Gilbride to make this comment?

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Evaluating the Patriots defense.

Albert Haynesworth has 3 tackles and no sacks. Gerald Warren has 5 tackles and no sacks. Vince Wilfork anchors the line at the nose tackle position with 19 tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Wilfork at 6'2" and 325 pounds is a force at the nose.

Are these the guys that are supposed to stop the Giants run blockers? While the rest of the Patriots run down field to cover Ballard, Cruz and Manningham. And I'm assuming Barden will play?

Giants are +5 in turnovers, 6th in the league. Pats are +2, 12th in the league.
Giants score 29.4 points a game for 10th place, Pats score 28.9 points, placing 5th. But have scored 37 points in the last 2 games (18.5 average). And the Patriots scoring has been declining all season.

Meanwhile the Pats Defense allows the most yards in the league, and is 30th in 1st downs allowed, but is more resilient in the red zone allowing the 17th least points.
Pats     32nd yds, 30th 1st Dwns, 17th points.
Giants 16th yds,  17th 1st Dwns, 21st points.

Defensively Bill Belicheck is going to have to choose his poison, either cover the Giants receivers, or blitz Eli Manning.


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Giants vs Pats week 8: Tom Brady, whats in your wallet?

I more than like the Gmens chances on Sunday. In fact I think the Pats cant blow us out, and we can blow them out. I think Vegas is gong to lose money on the 8 points they're giving, heres why:

Matchups:

I like our passing game vs the Pats passing defense. The Pats will be undermanned trying to cover our receivers if Coach brings in Barden to play. The Pats are near last against the pass, with Ballard and maybe Barden out of the slot, the Pats will be hard pressed to cover these 2, and with Cruz and Manningham going deep the Pats will have a choice, get beat over the middle or get beat deep.

I expect Billichek to keep 9 in the box on the Giants, but he has 2 choices,  1) Attack the Giants strength, the passing game with nickel and dime packages, which takes the risk of unleashing the Giants running game, or 2) leave 9 in the box to stop the run like everyone else has, except we know that the O Line pass protects real good, so Eli has lots of time to throw the deep strike.

I'm dreaming about a 4 receiver set,  Nicks, Barden, Cruz and Manningham , the Pats would have to pick their poison. But I doubt we'll see that.

I like Ross and Webster, and if Amukamara plays, our nickel might become what Perry Fewell dreams the 4-2-5 should be about, pressure on the quarterback and  bend but dont break secondary. The Pats have no true deep threat, with Amukamara, Ross, Webster on the field, with Phillips and Rolle over the top, those match ups are in our favor and the 4-2-5 comes alive. The longer developing plays for deep throws means the Pats pass protection has to give Brady time, I dont see that happening reliably.

Both teams are going to try and get pressure on the quarterback,  the Giants defensive line is better than the Pats O Line, and the Giants O Line knows how to pass protect. The Pats haven't been the scoring juggernaut during the 2 previous games as they have been earlier in the season. Long gone are the days of 450 yards passing. Does Dallas and Pittsburgh have really great defenses? Well, not really. Or is the Pats Offense off kilter?

I'm assuming Hicks and Bradshaw will not play, and the Prince and Barden will play, if so I like the Giants chances very much. If Brandon Jacobs delivers as promised that only is more bad news for the Patriots. Without the Prince, Antrell Rolle will continue as the nickel back and he has not worked with Aaron Ross well in that regard. Rolle is a fine safety and the Giants will do well to play the Prince as the nickel back.

If the personal moves work out for the good, we win by 10 or 14 points, If not, I dont see the Giants doing anything worse than losing by 3 points. I don't see the Pats covering 8 points, no way.

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Bradshaw has broken bone in foot

Mike Garafolo is reporting that Ahmad Bradsaw will be out indefinitely with a cracked bone in his foot. Bradshaw has previously had surgery to insert screws in his foot and may require surgery again.

3rd string RB D.J. Ware can pass protect, and is a good runner, but lacks the explosiveness that rookie Da'Rel Scott has with his 4.35 speed, but Scott has possibly not learned the ins and outs of pass protection, due in part to the shortened camp/preseason.

This week Brandon Jacobs has professed - I'll show you- when it comes to his production vs the Pats.

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Prince Amukamara had 2 tipped balls last week in practice, will he play Sunday?

In my gut I think Prince Amukamara will play Sunday against the Patriots. With the injury to Justin Tryon, the pressure to have Prince play is greater. Even with the Prince on the field the Giants will only have 3 legit corners, and cant play a legit dime, though the Giants will be able to play a legit nickel package. Most teams we face carry 5 or 6 corners on the roster, and our thinness at the position is extremely concerning.


Perry Fewell has been playing safeties in place of corners, sometimes Deon Grant will play down low, or Antrel Rolle will play corner on a slot receiver. Having Justin Tryon on the field meant Perry Fewell could have 3 legit corners line up with 2 or 3 safeties over the top in nickel and dime packages, and he could throw some different coverages out there to try and confuse the offense, and keeping the quarterback guessing as to weather he'll be throwing into man or zone coverages. This issue is part of the reason the Giants secondary has given up some big plays. On the other hand the secondary has shown that second half of the last 2 games.


I think we will see Prince Amukamara plat against slot receivers, especially in Nickel and dime situations. Coach Fewell likes that 4-2-5 alignment, and the Prince being on the field means Fewell can have his 4-2-5 and it can be effective.






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Antrel Rolle : “I think our schedule needs to worry about us.”

Mike Garafolo of the Star Ledger had a blog post today remarking on a new attitude in the Giants locker room. Antrel Rolle, noted for an occasional controversial quote seems to keeping it close the vest when it comes to the Patriots.

“I don’t worry about our schedule,” he said. “I think our schedule needs to worry about us.”

Mike Garafolo later comments about the new atitude:

There are a lot of times Rolle talks and I roll my eyes. Today was different. This was an impressive session with reporters from a confidence standpoint. 

Antrel continues on about Wes Welker:

“He’s a great receiver, you don’t take anything from him, but he’s human at the end of the day,” Rolle said. “The game has to be played on Sunday and I’ll answer more questions after the game.”

Antrel on the Steelers beating the Patriots last Sunday:

“They played ball, man. They didn’t do anything spectacular,” Rolle said. “They weren’t double-teaming, they weren’t doing anything. They just lined up and they kicked their (butt). Bottom line.” 

One thing for sure, the Giants secondary is going to have to be near perfect against the Patriots on Sunday. And with Justin Tryon being in IR, the pressure for Coach Coughlin to play the Prince will be great.

I tweeted to Patricia Traina:

Gut feeling, Barden yup. Tryon's loss=pressure to play Prince. Dont have enuf corners to play dime


She responded:

 I agree

Mike Garafolo tweeted

I'm telling you, Antrel Rolle feels disrespected: "I don’t worry about our schedule; I think our schedule needs to worry about us." #nyg

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Justin Tryon suffers broken arm vs Miami

The young 4 year cornerback the Giants picked off of the Colts waiver wire Justin Tryon broke his arm while tackling Reggie Bush on Sunday. I'm guessing Tryon made an impact with Perry Fewell, enough so that the Giants signed Tryon and released 10 yr veteran Brian Williams. Tryon has been an undersized but solid corner for Washington and the Colts, playing man and zone coverage as well as being a gunner on special teams. In the 2010 Colts Jets game Tryon had 3 tackles and a pick for the Colts. Justin earned the trust of Perry Fewell and saw significant snaps in his 2nd and 3rd game with the Giants. Against Miami Justin had a very nice batted ball early in the game, before the injury.

From the Star Ledger:

"The gunners, as you know, in that situation have not always come through for us, and this kid did,” Coughlin said. “The other thing I appreciated and I take my hat off to him is I was standing close by as the doctors were showing him and talking to him about his injury, he didn’t want to hear about it. He said, ‘When can I play? Can I play again? Just put a cast on it and I’ll play.’ That was something to hear a young man talk like that, how badly he wanted to play.”

Coach has to love this guys attitude. And it gets better, Justin tweeted a picture of his x-ray at about 7pm EST. And at about 8pm he tweeted again.

2weeks to heal this bs... 1week get my legs back underneath me. I'm COMING BACK. Can heal doing the offseason not now! SORRY just not me!!

https://twitter.com/#!/JTryon30/status/131166904332201984

So Gaints fans, Justin Tryon is saying he'll be back in 3 weeks! And Justin the Giants need you back. Most teams carry 5-6 CB's on the roster, currently we have Aaron Ross, Cory Webster and Micheal Coe. Coe plays specials. Which means we cant play nickel or dime packages without moving Safeties into corner positions. And as good as Antrel Rolle is, hes not a corner, neither is Deon Grant. IF the Giants are going to make a playoff run we have to have 4 legit corners, so if Tryon comes back, the Prince will probably play in 2 weeks, we will have 4 corners the last month of the season.

Yes I know, the Patriots released Leigh Bodden and he cleared waivers. But according to Evan @WFAN the Giants are about 30k under the cap and Bodden signed a 4 year 22 million dollar contract in 2010. Can the Giants restructure enough money (maybe 2.2 million just for this season) to sign Bodden and stay under the cap. The Giants can go over the cap but will be penalized in the outgoing years. Bodden is solid corner and would give us depth.


Justin, get healthy, see you in 3 weeks.

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Justin Tryon plays larger roll vs Buffalo

I traded emails with Mike Garafolo of the Star Ledger concerning Justin Tryon. Mike told me that the play Tryon was credited with a tackle was a blown coverage by Antrel Rolle in corner roll, Rolle had the inside receiver, Tryon had the outside receiver. Tryon saw the throw going to the inside receiver, left his man and moved in to tackle the receiver right after making the catch, for a 14 yard gain. Justin saved some run after the catch, a heads up play by Tryon.

From Mike Garafolo.....Final 30 seconds of the first quarter:

As for the 60-yard TD pass from Fitzpatrick to WR Naaman Roosevelt, the Giants were trying to show man coverage and then rotate into a reverse Cover-2 look. By reverse, I mean Rolle jumped down to the cornerback spot in the flat and CB Justin Tryon became the safety. 

I missed seeing that Tryon was in the game this early, and as Mike Garafolo points out Perry Fewell was moving him around, this might be more responsibility than Brians WIlliams was given before being let go. This may speak to a higher level of trust, that Tryon is a smart guy and generated some trust right away with Perry Fewell.

The defense found trouble early on when they tried to mix up the looks. On one play, they showed Cover-2 and then rolled into Cover-3. It didn’t work. Later, they showed man and converted into a reverse Cover-2. It was a disaster. (See below.) Finally, Fewell trusted his DBs and allowed them to play tight, aggressive man coverage, even on the final drive when teams often drop back and play soft zones.

Theres a few things going on here, in the past we've gone into the nickel by having Antrel Rolle leave his deep safety spot and move to corner, lining up on the line of scrimmage. A linebacker goes out, and safety Deon Grant comes in.

Thats whats on film, teams know we do this, so we to try to confuse the opposing offense. This is what I thikn Garafolo is describing. Rolle comes to the line of scrimmage, but no LB comes in, Justin Tryon is in and plays deep. Rolling from a cover 2, to a cover 3 means somebody rolls out to deep cover so there are 3 deep safeties instead of 2.

Cover 3 in a nickle situation leaves 2 players up front and 3 deep, so the underneath throw might be a better choice for the QB. Unlike the standard Cover 2 nickle where you would see 3 corners up close and 2 safeties deep.

Hopefully what happens is you bait the quarterback to throw to an area he thinks has coverage he can take advantage of. And instead the quarterback throws into the strength of the secondary, possibly for a pick. Well it didn't work, so Perry Fewell went to man coverage.

And so early in the 3rd quarter, Rolle playing out of position, just like against Seattle when Aaron Ross and Antrel Rolle had a miscommunication, Rolle lets the receiver past him, the quarterback saw it and threw for a completion but Justin Tryon saw the throw and moved over to make the tackle, preventing some serious run after the catch.

I think Perry Fewell is liking what we've seen from Tryon, that 1) we can trust Tryon to perform to confuse coverages, and 2) maybe Tryon should be the standard nickle back, not Rolle. This keeps Rolle at his natural position safety, and allows the Giants to line up 3 competent cornerbacks at the line and bump and run in man coverage while keeping the Kenny Phillips Antrel Rolle tandam over the top, where both are excelling. The 4-2-5 cover 2 might, for some defenses, leave a vulnerability deep. But Kenny Phillips and Antrel Rolle are fast and make good reads. Having these 2 guys deep for the Giants might be as good as a cover 3 for other teams that dont have 2 quality safeties, because our 2 guys can cover a lot ground.

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Not the Prettiest Win, but we'll take it

What can I say about Cory Webster? Webster had what is probably his best game as a 7 year pro. 3 batted balls, 4 solo tackles and 2 picks. Aaron Ross had a quite day, 1 pass defense and 2 solo tackles. I saw Justin Tryon play early in the second half, he was covering the outside receiver, saw the ball being thrown to the inside receiver and moved over to make the tackle. IIRC I saw him play in at least 2 more plays.

And what can I say about Jake Ballard? Ballard has 15 catches for 273 yards, on track for over 800 yards and 6 touchdowns. Ballard has averaged a stunning 18.2 yards per catch, and has started to draw comparisons to Mark Bavaro as far as Ballards ability to carry 1-2-3 defensive players for extra yards.


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Giants vs Bills

I haven't felt like writing after last weeks loss to Seattle.

The Giants actually match up quite well with the Bills, except for our running game, the Bills have rushed for 691 yards while Giants have rushed for 419 yards. The Giants linebackers have to fill gaps stopping the RB near the line. They cannot wait for the RB to come to them, Seattle ran up the middle on us and ran wide, and our containment was often not present.

On Paper the Giants passing offense is better than the Bills, we have 3 fine receivers and a better quarterback.

The Giants pass defense is ranked 20th, the Bills 30th so we should be able to shred their secondary. Our rush defense is ranked 21st the Bills 29th. There is no reason the giants cannot beat the Bills, on paper.

Look fors:

Look for a defense that bends, but doesn't break. If we win, you'll see our secondary performing well, our cornerbacks overacheiving. At times our secondary has looked great, I thought Aaron Ross's pick in the Seattle game was great, in the sense he earned it. Ross was behind the receivers right shoulder, got an early look at the throw,  read it, and just flat out beat his man to the ball. Ross's 2 picks against the Eagles were nice but particularly his was Ross's best overall pick in a  long time. Against Arizona Cory Webster had 2 really great batted balls, his first against Larry Fitzgerald to kill a drive. Antrell Rolle had a pick and a fine batted ball.

Look for the Giants to use both DJ Ware and Da'rell Scott. 160 yrds rushing if we win.

Starting LT for the BIlls Demetrius Bell will not play. Chris Hairston will face Osi.
Mike Garafolo wrote:

But the one thing I noticed, and I'm sure Giants DE Osi Umenyiora noticed as well, is Hairston's feet looked awfully slow out there. He had problems dealing with DE Darryl Tapp's speed moves.....So this weekend, Umenyiora could create massive problems for the Bills. And I mean big-time problems. The way he's been moving and getting off the line, he figures to give Hairston fits.

How the Bills deal with this remains to be seen, as they did last week they can run the screen pass, and give the LT help, maybe with a TE. If Osi gets off to fast start it can only be good for the Giants.

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Giants by 10 pts vs Seattle

I doubt there will a let down by the Giants, considering they did well against Arizona in a potential let down game right after the emotional high of beating the Eagles, the GMen will do well vs Seattle. This game has the potential to be a blowout, I would not be surprised to see the score run up and offensive records for the young season set.

It looks like Brandon Jacobs will not play, look for DJ Ware who is a combination of Bradshaw and Jacobs, and we might even see some Da'Rel Scott who logged a 4.35 at the Combine. Proof of Da'Rel's speed came during the preseason when he ripped off a 97 yard run from scrimmage for a touchdown.

Justin Tuck is out, as is Free Agent center David Bass, Kevin Boothe who is a guard who also plays center, will start in place of Baas. Cordle just moved up from the practice squad, will back up at center.

Look fors:
Last week I thought Mario Manningham would be the star, he was not. Look for Eli to hook up with MM for at least a touchdown some good yardage.

With a good lead in the 4th quarter, we may get to see Da'Rel Scott, it may not take too many touches for him to flash his speed. We'll see. With a good lead do we see David Carr at the end of the game?

Look for 4-6 sacks, Osi, Tollefson and JPP are likely to team up for pressures, hits, and sacks. I really want to see the defensive line stuff the run. 80 yards rushing from Seattle.

Look for 160 yards team rushing.

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Flurry of roster moves for Giants

The Giants signed 4 year veteran cornerback Justin Tryon, Jim Cordle was moved from the practice Squad to the active roster. Receiver Brandon Stokely was released with an injury settlement while QB Sage Rosenfels was also let go. The Giants then signed 2nd year OT Selvish Capers to the practice squad.

This leaves the Giants with 54 players and they need to get down to 53 tomorrow.

I might regret going out on this limb by Wednesday, but here goes. At the end of preseason Coach Coughlin kept 2 tight ends, Travis Beckham a 3rd year pass catching TE and 2nd year TE Jake Ballard who is a sound blocker. Some Teams like to use a 1 RB, 2 TE set, some teams like the Giants last year used a lot of 2 RB sets, and if the blitz comes, the 2 RB's protect, if not at least one will go out for a pass route. If the Giants had wanted to run a 2 tight end set, I think Coach would have taken at least 3 true tight ends, Bear Pascoe is a good blocker, but more of a H-back slash tight end.

So if Coach is good with the single tight end set, Travis Beckham is expendable considering Jake Ballards production of late. In Arizona Ballard caught 3 passes for 33 yards and a touchdown catch in the corner of the endzone. Ballard almost had 2 touchdowns, if you remember the play- his knee was down and the ball was a foot or 2 short of the goal line. Ballard is on track for 28 catches and 480 yards, Kevin Boss like numbers, Boss last year had 30 catches and 500 yards.

If my logic holds true thru to Wednesday Beckham will be released.

Jim Cordle Played center at Ohio State and was on the Giants practice squad last year, so he's a known quantity and is a true center vs Kevin Boothe who filled in against Arizona when David Baas left the game. Boothe is a guard who can play center, so Cordle gives the Giants better experience at the center position should David Baas nor be able to go on Sunday.

 Justin Tryon is a 4 year veteran cornerback. He's 5'9" has 4.41 speed and a 35 inch vertical leap who has played for Washington and Indianapolis. The Colts waived Tryon last week. Tryon gives the Giants some sorely needed depth and can play nickel probably against a slot receiver. Tryon is just too short to go against taller outside receivers.


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EDIT: Veteran Cornerback Brian Williams was released Wednesday monrning. This makes sense after the Giants signed a younger corner Justin Tryon.

Arizona Review and then on to Seattle next week

Before the game I had these thoughts.

Look fors:Look for TE Jake Ballard to see continued time as a run blocker, Eli will probably throw to Ballard at least twice, as he's been a reliable target so far this year with 4 catches for 87 yards. If Gilbride has anything extra in store for Ballard, that there's something he thinks the TE can take advantage of, then that increases the odds of the big man (275 lbs.) rumbling thru the Arizona secondary. If Ballard continues to catch the ball he's on track to gain about 450 yards for the season.

If you didn't know, we have a tight end, his name is Jake Ballard. The fact that Ballard was used in the red zone offense means the staff has confidence in Ballard, and Jake was only a foot or so from having 2 touch downs. We'll see number 85 gain, no doubt.

Look for Victor Cruz to not be the star, 75 yards and one touchdown.

Well I was off a little bit, 98 yards no touchdown and an incredibly lucky break with the "player gave himself up" call. We'll take it. Cruz won't make that mistake gain.

Look for Osi, Tuck and JPP to crush Kevin Kolb, as long as they're healthy. Good pressure on the QB can lead to an interception, but it wont be Aaron Ross.

Osi Umenyiora and David Tollefson had 2 sacks each, and I was right Ross didn't have a pick.

Look for Aaron Ross to try and show he can be consistent, no picks but a defended ball on 3rd down to end a drive.

I'm guilty of wishful thinking. :~ )

Look for Mario Manningham to try and make Giants fans forget about the Salsa dancing of Victor Cruz, he'll lead all Giants receivers with a big day. But Cruz will laydown a downfield block for MM.

The Cardinals busted up a play with Bradshaw running right (1st half), Cruz was lined up on the right side, at the snap of the ball he ran to his left and was poised to run block for Bradshaw, except for the Cardinals reading it and stopping it. Manningham only had one catch and it was Hakeem Nicks who lit the night up.

Rotoworld: 
Nicks was a beast, dominating.... blew by.... monster fantasy day....on pace for 96 receptions, 1,388 yards and 12 touchdowns.... is locked-and-loaded as a WR1.


The Huddle said:
...had a blazing hot end of the game.


Yeah, we like him too......


Corey Webster had 2 real nice batted balls, one on Larry Fitz who was wide open, (was). And Antrel Rolle had an off game, only 6 tackles (and a pick :~ )). I was a little skeptical about seeing Rolle used to cover in the nickel. Rolle started his NFL career as a corner, and moved to safety, I wondered how good of a corner he was. Well Rolle has continued his overall good play and that includes his more recent efforts in the nickel.


At this point in the season Eli does have some stats that are better than Tom Brady, again, I'll take it.



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Week 4: Arizona Cardinals

Arizona drafted Dan Williams in 2010 as their nose tackle in the 3-4, Williams backed up 13 year vet Bryan Robinson. Neither had a sack in 2010. Now as the starter at Nose tackle, Williams and rookie David Carter have no sacks.  So far Arizona has been rushing 3 down linemen and blitzing, and they seem to use everyone to get to the quarterback, linebackers and DB's. Defensive coordinator Ray Horton likes to pressure  and blitz opposing quarterbacks and has not yet installed all of his defense, early in his first season.

Rookie Corner Patrick Peterson has 14 tackles and a pick 6 and will likely cover Hakeem Nicks, though last week budding star Victor Cruz saw time on both the left and right side.

Offensively Tight End Jeff King has gotten off to a good start for the Cardinals, catching 4 balls for 97 yards and 2 touchdowns while starting TE Todd Heap is injured. King might be a worry because of his ability to work deeper into the Giants secondary, so our linebackers will have to execute well in coverage to hopefully not let King loose in what is an already weakened secondary.

Vegas had this game at 3 pts, I think its down to 1.5, so Vegas is thinking a trap game for the Giants. If the Giants are to continue to show weekly improvement, they need to focus against a somewhat improved Cardinal team they should beat by 14 to 17 points.

Look fors:
Look for TE Jake Ballard to see continued time as a run blocker, Eli will probably throw to Ballard at least twice, as he's been a reliable target so far this year with 4 catches for 87 yards. If Gilbride has anything extra in store for Ballard, that there's something he thinks the TE can take advantage of, then that increases the odds of the big man (275 lbs.) rumbling thru the Arizona secondary. If Ballard continues to catch the ball he's on track to gain about 450 yards for the season.

Look for Victor Cruz to not be the star, 75 yards and one touchdown.

Look for Osi, Tuck and JPP to crush Kevin Kolb, as long as they're healthy. Good pressure on the QB can lead to an interception, but it wont be Aaron Ross.

Look for Aaron Ross to try and show he can be consistent, no picks but a defended ball on 3rd down to end a drive.

Look for Mario Manningham to try and make Giants fans forget about the Salsa dancing of Victor Cruz, he'll lead all Giants receivers with a big day. But Cruz will laydown a downfield block for MM.



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Solid win in Philly, on to Arizona

So far this season Kevin Kolb is passing at a 62.5% completion rate, a slight improvement over last years 60.8%, but has thrown 5 touchdowns in the games along with 3 picks (2010 @ Philly 7-Tds/7Ints). Going 5-11 in 2010 Cardinals offense scored 289 points (18.1/g), ranked 26th out of 32nd in the NFL. 


The Cardinals drafted 2 running backs in 2011 along with 4 defensive players that include the 5th overall pick in the draft, CB Patrick Peterson out of LSU. With starter RB Beanie Wells injured last week (hamstring),  Chester Taylor got the start but was ineffective and Alfonso Smith finished the game (17 carries/54 yards)


Larry Fitzgerald is still a threat and both he and Jeff King have caught 2 touchdowns each, while 7th round 2011 pick from San Diego State, DeMarco Sampson at 6'2" has yet to make a catch.


There's just not a lot of offensive power in Arizona, and after seeing the Giants Redzone Defense stop the Eagles 5 out of 6 times, will there be a defensive letdown after the emotional high on Sunday?

To give the Cardinals credit their defense is currently ranked 8th vs last years finish of 30th. Kolb has thrown fewer picks in 3 games and the offense that was ranked 30th last year, after 3 games is ranked , 22nd.  The Giants aren't yet a powerhouse team and they will go on the road to Arizona looking to get on a roll and beat a team they should beat.

Victor Cruz can - well...... he can cruise.

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During the 2010 preseason Victor Cruz was  the second best rookie receiver next to Dez Bryant. With Eli Manning out, Bret Bohmar played nearly 3 games, repeatedly hooking up with Cruz. Except for making the hot read and blocking downfield Victor Cruz looked NFL ready.

Incidental contact is just that incidental contact, Cruz doesn't get distracted and maintains good body control.

Many times Cruz got in front of the defender and looked for the ball twice, first time in case he needed to adjust to the ball, and catches the ball clean with his arms extended

Run after the catch. Yeah he does that, he knows where he is on the field and where the defenders are.

Its hard to find any good info on Cruzs' 40 yard times, I haven't found anything conclusive, just he ran  a 4.47 on his proday. Cruz runs good routes, and if his rookie habit of looking for the ball release first and then second looking the ball into his hands can consistently be combined with looking out for the blitz and making the hot read, Cruz can make the vaunted Free Agent Secondary of the Eagles forget about Mario Manningham, and make the Giants forget about Steve Smith.

A prediction: When the Giants offense lines up, if we see Cruz on the right side with Hakeem Nicks on the left side, that means the Giants will looking for Cruz to make those nice deep plays that Manningham is noted for. Note- Manningham ran a 4.38 on his proday. Cruz with 4.47 speed is not a true speester, but his speed is deceptive. Like Manningham, and former Giant Steve Smith, Cruz has the ability to accelerate to gain separation. then the double look at the ball is vital, first time to verify the release and vector, this tells Cruz where the ball is headed and when its going to arrive. Many cornerbacks read the receivers eyes to judge when to turn to the ball, but Cruzs' first look can give Cruz an advantage by knowing exactly when to break, cut, juke, use a burst of speed to get open. Then Cruz looks the ball into his hands.

Cruz has the tools and talent to take advantage of the opportunity on Sunday. There is no question Cruz will get better, the question is how fast does he get better.

Week 3, Eagles vs Giants

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Nervous isn't the word. The Giants face a good quarterback in Michael Vick, with a secondary thats been decimated with injures. The Giants offense is a question mark, though showing some improvement in the Rams game.

Against the Rams the second half running game seemed to get on a roll. Having Jacobs pounding his way into the Eagles secondary late in the game will be a good sign.

Victor Cruz caught a ball last week, on a hot read no less. II was Coach, I would have practiced some longer routes for Cruz, he cane motor. As a Rookie Cruz brought some ready for the NFL skills. I would not be surprised to see Cruz expand on last weeks performance, and maybe snag a long throw.

Jake Ballard, at 275 and 6'5" Eli saw Ballard downfield against Washington for a good play. The Eagles have possibly the best triad at corner in the league, but those small guys don't want to see Ballard roaming in the secondary, or for that matter Brandon Jacobs.

Perry Fewell pretty much wrote the book last year on how to handle Michael Vick, but given a lead the Defense can't let Vick back in the game, they have to contain, and blitz, and make the Secondary look good. Victor Cruz played DB and receiver in high school.... just sayin....

You got to Rolle with it baby.....

Giants starting safety Antrel Rolle is always good for a few comments, this week was no different. The Giants didn't have a sense of urgency, didn't feel like we had the energy, we're better than that.

“Just watching the film, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was, but it can definitely get a whole lot better. And next time we face them, I can pretty much guarantee the outcome will be different.”

Mike Garafolo of the Star Ledger:

Maybe, as I noted in my game review, the Giants should get back to playing more man coverage. For whatever reason, they played a lot of zone after being a predominantly man-coverage team during Perry Fewell’s first season as defensive coordinator.

The results were less than spectacular, with Rolle giving too much of a cushion on a fourth-and-5, the linebackers struggling at times to provide coverage support underneath and rookie safety Tyler Sash late to break up on a ball thrown up the seam.

I have to agree. Rex Grossman has all to often fallen prey to a good defensive scheme, mixing up coverages, blitzing and covering out of the same personal package can and has led to a pick or 2 of Rex. At the very least play man on the 2 wideouts within zone coverage. 20 years ago Quarterbacks were taught at the college level to see the seam in the zone coverage and how to take advantage. Its no surprise a career journeyman, Grossman, fed a steady diet of zone coverage, ate it up.

The Giants would like to be able to blitz and cover out of the same personal package, facing an offense in a hurry up scheme you dont want to let substitutions tell the offense what you're going to do. Unfortunately the Giants may not have much of a choice, going from the base dee, to a nickel or dime package may require substitutions. Antrel Rolle did play a little corner in college, but he's just not that good, his forte is playing a safety who likes to do little freelancing, and Rolle flourishes as a blitzer, run stop, safety over the top guy. He's also the perfect compliment to Kenny Philips, who has the speed to cover deep passes from sideline to sideline and reads the run very well, and with his speed gets up on the line for a run stop as good as anybody in the league.

So my advice, hey Coach, leave Rolle as a safety.... Maybe a corner will come off of someone's practice squad, no one of any quality most likely, but a body, maybe competent in nickel and dime packages, can help add some depth.

Antrel Rolle can be used as a linebacker, hes a fearsome hitter defending the run, has the speed and moxie to blitz, and get to the quarterback. Its gonna take the linebackers helping out with good execution on the underneath plays, and better than average man coverage from Ross and Wester as well as solid play from 10 year vet Brian Williams, who at 5'11" might see time as a nickel back,  or 4 year man, the 6 ft Michael Coe.

Interesting note, Kenny Phillips and Deon Grant are both 6'2" making them easily the 2 tallest members of a secondary that otherwise is a bit short, at 6 foot and 5'11".

Week 2: Giants vs Rams

Giants signed 13 year veteran wide receiver Brandon Stokely, who is an experienced at the slot position.

“Football is football. Routes are routes. At some point, you just got to go out there and play. I learned that you can’t really overthink when you get on the field. You have to let your ability take over, and so that’s what we’re trying to do if I’m playing on Monday.”

Victor Cruz has not lived up to his potential in the slot position on Stokely's signing:

“We had to put that game to bed. That game is over. There is nothing we can do about that ballgame. What we can do is come to work. We can come to work focused, intense in our focus, be sharper in our practices, be sharper in our meetings so we can give ourselves a better opportunity to be successful on Monday.”

From Giants.com 

Coughlin has been impressed with several of Stokley’s attributes.

“His maneuverability,” Coughlin said. “His ability to put his body in the right position and once he gets real sharp, he catches pretty much everything. He is something a quarterback can count on.”

From Giants.com

Obviously after Rex Brossamn lit up the Giants for 300+ yards last week, the secondary was as we thought it would be with all the injuries, very suspect. The Giants played a lot of zone and it may be that Perry Fewell wanted to keep it simple against the Redskins.

Giants Rookie Greg Jones played Ok, aginst the Redskins, recording 4 tackles, as the defense sacked Grossman 4 times and limited Hightower to 76 yards and 2.8 yard average. Carl Banks gave the Rookie a passing grade, acknowledging Jones must play better in coverage. If the young linebacker corp can execute against the pass, they can lend a hand to the depleted secondary by not having any mistakes in the way of a completed pass in the area of the linebackers responsibility, and the receiver making into the defensive secondary.

Week 1: NY Giants at Washington Redskins

Coach Mike Shanahan likes "everything about" Tim Hightower.
"He's a good blocker, excellent runner," said Shanahan. "He's been very productive." Coordinator Kyle Shanahan is just as excited, adding, "He's the exact type of runner we look for, and when he puts that foot down, he's violent, and when someone's in his way he's trying to run him over."
From Rotoworld

The Giants will have 7 defensive linemen and 7 linebackers waiting to stuff Tim Hightower. Hightower runs with power and can catch a pass, but the 3 years he played at Arizona don't say too much on paper, 4.8 yards per carry, 5 Td's, 736 yards, and 4 fumbles last year, he had 4 fumbles in 2010 too.

Washington Coach Mike Shanahan has sais that who starts at quarterback against the Giants will be game day decision. John Beck an unproven 30 year old who started 5 games for Miami 4 years ago, or Rex Grossman whose best season was last year when he played 5 games for Washington and he had his best touchdown pick ratio, 7 Td's and 4 picks. Grossman played his only ful season with Chicago in 2006, throwing 23 touchdowns and 20 picks.

The Line looks like 3 or 3 1/2 pts with an over under of 39 pts.

If the Giants play with some consistency on both sides of the ball, Washington will have very long day, if the Giants do what they are capable of, the Redskins are completely outclassed. The Giants showed in the preseason they can score 41 points, if Washington wants to avoid that they will have to get some pressure on Eli, stuff the run, if not at the line close to it, keeping the Giants offense off the field and scoring some points themselves..

The question is will the Giants find a reason to let Washington into the game, if the Dee holds them to 14 points, I see the Giants winning by 9 or 10 points.

NY Giants September 4th practice squad signings.

Jeff Roberts reports that the Giants have signed 7 practice squads players today. One slot remains.

—DE Justin Trattou, according to his agent, Brian Mackler

—C Jim Cordle, according to his agent. Joe Flanagan

—DT Dwayne Hendricks, reported by The Star-Ledger

—TE Christian Hopkins, reported by the NY Daily News

—RB Andre Brown, reported by The Star-Ledger

—LB Adrian Tracy, reported by The Star-Ledger

—QB Ryan Perrilloux, according to the Giants

Giants set to run the ball like no one else.

Its time to run the ball, right up the middle. The Giants Offensive line is now younger than it has been a few years, the retooling that started last season has continued with addition of Baas at center, and 2010 draft pick Mitch Petrus. It appears the Giants released 2009 4th round pick running back Andre Brown only to give him a spot practice squad.

Brown had 4.4 speed in College, but suffered a torn Achilles in 2009. Reports out of Giants camp this year have Brown doing well, not showing hesitancy making cuts and hitting gaps, while using his speed.

This video shows 3 nice plays Brown made in while in High School during 2003. Good speed, good vision seeing the field, and refusal to be brought down on first contact.

NY Giants 53 man roster for 2011

The Numbers game and a little surprise.
The question in my mind was do the Giants keep 8 Dee linemen and 8 receivers, if so, how many tightends and how many running backs do they keep, and that has meant very few linebackers the last 2 years.

Da'rel Scott makes the team, he's a burner and brings some sorely needed speed to the offense. Imagine Scott blocking in a 2 back set with Amhad Bradshaw, if the rush comes he blocks, if the defense covers, he moves past the DE, into an open area and catches a pass. Scary thoughts. Brown is released. They keep 4 backs.

Coach Coughlin decided to only keep 7 receivers, in recent years he had kept 8. The 6'6" project Ramses Barden is PUP, Nicks, Manningham, Hixon, Cruz, Thomas and Jerrigen will start the season. Nicks, Manningham, Hixon are all proven or potential 1000 yard receivers. I personally like Cruz, he may not be as fast as Da'rel Scott, but Cruz can, well cruise, Cruz needs to show he can make the hot read, and block downfield. Last year Cruz nearly always turned his head to look for the ball well before the DB, and consistently made better adjustments to the ball than the DB covering him, because of that.

Coach kept 2 tight ends. Travis Beckum and Jake Ballard.2 Fullbacks   Bear Pascoe who is a good blocking tight end and Henry Hynoski who is huge and low at 6'1" 266,  it looks like coach wants some blocking for the running game. 


Heres where I was surprised, Linebackers. Coach Coughlin saves a roster spot with Pascoe, and by keeping 6 receivers instead of 8, that makes 3 spots. With the injury to Clint Sintim. Jacquian Williams gets 3 sacks and 7 tackles in the final preseason game and probably makes the team based on that performance in 2 quarters of play. In addition to Willims,  Mark Herzlich, Greg Jones and Spencer Paysinger join Kiwi, Goff, and Michael Boley who may end up inheriting AP's spot. 7 Linebackers on a team that plays the 4-3?.Interesting.


As I thought, the Giants will keep 8 Defensive Linemen, Perry Fewells Scheme requires 8 big guys to shuffle in and out, keeping everyone fresh and opposing offenses shaking in their boots. 9 year veteran Jimmy Kennedy, a small surprise, makes the squad. At 6'4" and 320 he should be a welcome addition at the Dt spot,  clogging the middle on run plays, something Barry Cofield did in college playing the nose tackle in a 3-4, and did for the Giants in their 4-3, but with Cofield gone, there was a spot to fill.


At corner the Giants brought in 10 year vet Brian Williams to help, after the injuries to Thomas and the Prince, so the Giants will play with 4 corners until the Prince comes back from his injury. At safety Rookie Tyler Sash joins Phillips, Rolle,  Grant and veteran pick up Derrick Martin. Long gone are the 2  mid round draft picks at safety from 2010.


Davis Carr will back up Eli. The O line, traditionally a good unit looks to get better with a mix of vets and young guys David Diehl, Chris Snee, Kareem McKenzie, Will Beatty, free agent acquisition David Bass, Stacy Andrews, 2nd year man Mitch Petrus, James Brewer, Kevin Boothe.


Dodge is gone, Offensive Tackle Adam Koets is on the PUP. 
Tynes is the kicker.


This is a team with a defense that will destroy the running 
game, depth at the Dee line and at backer should give the 
Giants enough talent to shut down everyone. The question 
is cornerback, if Rolle can slide over and play some 
corner in nickel or dime, and our backers cover, we should 
be ok.


I dont see 4000 yards passing from Eli like the last 2 years, 
with 4 quality running backs and a younger O line, 
I expect to see more run plays, but that should open 
up the passing game by the 4th quarter.