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 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.