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


Tweet

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.

Tweet

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.

Tweet

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.

Tweet

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.

Tweet

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.



Tweet

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.

Tweet

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

Tweet

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....

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.

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.