Giants Big Blue Blog

I Know It Is Preseason; But.......

Man this Giants team is in trouble. I am the most optimistic fan out there and I am deeply concerned. Last night they were flat out manhandled in an ugly 24-10 loss in Baltimore. Before you say "relax, it is only preseason" let me say I realize that.

However, three things concern me:

1) Lack of effort. I thought several players were dogging it and Coach Coughlin agreed as he stated in his post game press conference that the effort wasn't there from everybody.

2) The Giants are getting pushed around upfront! When this group won Super Bowl XLII it was largely due to the fact that their offensive and defensive lines flat out whipped people! Now they are getting pushed around with no problem and it is alarming! Yes, I realize they had people missing on the O line but still, this is a disturbing trend. The Giants no longer appear to be "physical" and that is worrisome. In preseason I don't worry about the Quarterback and receiver being on the same page, I don't worry about "timing" type issues because that stuff comes from playing together over time, but getting beaten up physically. Big problem!

3) Perry Fewell's new defense is not exactly inspiring confidence so far. The middle of the field was WIDE open last night. It seemed like Joe Flacco constantly had tight ends and backs running unchecked over the middle. This needs to get fixed right now! I also realize that the Giants in 2007 took a little time to adjust to Steve Spagnolo's defense so lets hope the same result will come here.

All in all, I am far less optimistic about the 2010 season then I was a month ago----they just look awful right now! 

Wounded Giants Travel To Baltimore...

The NY Giants were decimated by injury last season and, at least through training camp, it appears to be happening again. Key players missing tonight include Sean O'Hara, Chris Canty, Aaron Ross, Terrill Thomas, Chase Blackburn, Travis beckum and Ramses Barden.

It seems like the most active people in the Giants organization of late are the medical professionals they employ. The preceding list does not even mention the "walking wounded" on the Giants roster including Eli Manning. Safe to say I am VERY concerned about the Giants health. It is, in  my humble opinion, the main reason why 2009 was such a tragedy.

Anyhow, lets see what tonight brings. As we all know the third preseason game is the most important one and the Giants starters (at least those who are healthy) figure to get extended playing time against a very good Baltimore Ravens squad.....

Random Thoughts On The "Slugfest In The Swamp"

So the Ny Giants (rightful owners of the title "New York's football team") and the NY Jets finally had it out last night at the new and still unnamed stadium. Thank God! For all the trash talk (mostly coming from "Little Brother Jet") it was after all just a meaningless, first, preseason game! Yet it got almost playoff level hype! I know we are in a 24/7 news cycle; I know the media is clamoring for stories---I get it! But, this game meant crap!

Still, I watched it and here are a few of my thoughts:

-Eli Manning is tough! I know some uninformed pseudo football folks out there like to refer to him as "She-Li" and things of that nature. But consider, 89 straight NFL starts at the QB position! Not bad. Last night he suffers a 14 stitch cut to his forehead and from all reports, had this game actually counted, "She-Li" would have played. I would love to see his critics try that.

-The Jets defense is good---really good, even without Darelle Revis. The Giants had trouble punching in a gift from the newly aquired Antrel Rolle. Rolle gave Big Blue the ball at the Jets one yard line and I thought we would have to settle for a field goal!

-The Giants offense is way behind schedule. However, in fairness they were missing several key components.

-Where was the Giants pass rush?

-Who the hell is Victor Cruz and why was he not drafted? He was incredible last night!

-Lets hope Chase Blackburns MRI comes back negative.

-While I am fed up with the Jets constant chirping despite not having accomplished anything worth noting, Brandon Jacobs should pipe down as well. After the Giants 31-16 victory, Jacobs proclaimed the Giants as still being the Kings of the City. Come on Brandon, it was preseason and besides you did NOTHING!

Besides that, again, just a meaningless preseason game....

SSSSH! The Giants Are Practicing....

It has been an interesting off season around these parts as concerns our NY Giants. The Giants, clearly the number one football draw in the tri-state area despite Rex Ryan 's pronouncements to the contrary, have flown largely under the radar and I love it!

Tom Coughlin's merry little bunch have clearly accomplished more than their cross stadium rivals (sorry Rex, little things like Super Bowl rings matter more then words). Yet, turn on either the local news or the national NFL coverage and you would be hard pressed to find evidence that the Giants still play football!

This point was bought home recently by WFAN's Mike Francessa when he questioned Coughlin on not only the media coverage bestowed upon the Jets (and lacking for the Giants) as well as all the bravado coming from Mr. Ryan (who has yet to accomplish a damn thing as compared to Tom Coughlin). Coughlin, in his typical and refreshingly understated fashion, simply smiled and said "we are just preparing to play the 2010 season."

My point is this; the teams surrounding the Giants are getting lots of attention-----probably a distracting level of attention, while the Giants are just quietly going about their business. The Jets have coach blowhard Rex Ryan (who by the way looks alarmingly like he may have actually eaten the old Giants Stadium----I drove by the other Day and it is gone?????) running around town telling anybody who will listen that they are the cream of the NFL crop and should be favored to win the Super Bowl (you may want to study up on your Jets history Rex). They have their best player, Jerell Revis, locked in what looks like an ugly holdout. They are going to be featured on HBO's Hardknocks, and they have signed a number of high profile (but past their prime) egomaniacs to their roster. 

It is the same, more importantly, in the Giants division. The Eagles are facing a HUGE transition away from the Donovan McNabb era and into the Kevin Kolb era. Will it work? Who knows? But I do know this much; the Eagles players are being peppered with questions about it on a daily basis. You can say what you like but that gets annoying after a while.

The Washington Redskins also face a bit of drama in their camp. Not only are they adjusting to life under a new coach in Mike Shanahan (an unquestionable upgrade over clueless Jim Zorn) but they also have a new QB in the aforementioned Mr. McNabb. Did I forget to mention the Albert Hainesworth mess? Looks like he is just the latest in a string of high priced mistakes by owner Daniel Snyder. Fat Albert just yesterday, after several failed attempts, was able to pass the mandatory fitness test. By the way, to add insult to injury, ESPN's Mike Golic, retired for fifteen seasons and not exactly the picture of fitness, passed it easily last week!

The Dallas Cowboys; need I say more? You know the circus will commence there soon enough as Jerry Jones would sell his first born to be able to be the first franchise to play in a Super Bowl in their own building.  

My point is this; if you are a devoted fan of Big Blue do not fret over the lack of coverage or the somewhat boring camp they are having. It will serve them well in 2010....

Giants Dodge A Bullet!

No pun intended to the Plaxico Burress situation with my title to this post, but trust me, the Giants did dodge a bullet today.

The bullet to which I refer is the hyper-extended knee suffered yesterday by talented young wide out Hakeem Nicks. I was starting to have visions of a repeat of 2009 when I first heard the news. After last seasons decimation by injury to Big Blue who could blame me for fearing the worst upon hearing the news?

I immediately called up a friend of mine more well versed in the area of knee injuries than I and he told me it could be a two month injury. Luckily, the MRI results today proved negative and "the Playmaker" as I like to call him (sorry MIchael Irvin) will be back at practice tomorrow.

Whew......

Training Camp Has Begun....

The NY Giants kicked off their 2010 training camp yesterday in Albany. It has been by all accounts pretty uneventful so far, a good thing. My biggest concern is health. The 2009 campaign was, in my opinion, killed by the Giants rash of injuries.

It is not uncommon for players to go down for the season during camp, lets hope the G-Men can avoid that fate.

There are not too many battles of note for starting jobs this year except of course at left Tackle where veteran David Diehl and second year man William Beatty are having a battle.

Stay tuned for any breaking news from Giants camp....

3 Giant Questions As We Prepare For Camp!!!

In a sure sign that football (and mercifully cooler weather) all almost upon us realize that the NY Giants head to Albany to open camp for the 2010 season Sunday, August 1st.

Yes, it is hard to believe as we sit here enduring brutal temperatures hovering around 100 with intense humidity that football is almost here, but take heart; it is!

As the Giants open camp there are a few major questions that I would like answered:

1) Kenny Phillips. Just  how healthy is the standout safety from Miami coming off season ending knee surgery? The answer to this question will go a long way to answering the question of whether Big Blue's defense can bounce back from an atrocious 2009 campaign.

2) Offensive Line. The Giants had one of the most brutally effective run blocking O-lines in the NFL---until 2009. Their play last season dropped off significantly due, hopefully, to injury. It will be interesting to see if the likes of Chris Snee and Sean O'Hara can bounce back. Also I am curious to see if William Beatty can crack the starting lineup. If so it likely spells the end of the rich Suebert era.

3) Defensive Line.  This group is the primary reason that a 3rd Vince Lombardi trophy resides in the halls of Giants Stadium (I know, new stadium, new name, but to me it will ALWAYS be GIANTS Stadium). They fell off significantly last year and we desperately need them back!

So, we are just a week away from starting to get answers to these questions..... 

17th??? Really? Are You Kidding Me?

So, ESPN came out with their pre season NFL Power rankings. Of course it really doesn't mean squat but I was a little surprised to see our NY Giants in the bottom half at number seventeen.

Now don't get me wrong; I am painfully well aware of the debacle that was the 2009 season. Trust me!

However, this team is just two seasons removed from a Super Bowl title that they followed up with an impressive 12-4 mark in 2008. They did not suddenly get bad!

I am not looking at it through colored glasses but I truly feel the Giants problem last year was mainly injury.

If Big Blue comes in relatively healthy I fully expect them to compete for the NFC East and make a run in the playoffs....

Some Good News For Mr. Jones.....

This obviously has been a brutal time for NY Giants 3rd round draft pick Chad Jones. As you will recall, Chad was involved in a serious car accident eight days ago in which he was the driver. He suffered season ending and possibly even career ending leg injuries. It was also rumored (as so often happens in cases like this) that he may  been under the influence of alcohol.

Luckily, such is not the case. That would clearly have made his legal as well as NFL situations more dire. Now the rookie Safety can focus his efforts on rehabbing his injured leg.

My only question is exactly when will the Giants catch a break with these off season-season ending injuries???? Think about it, over the past three seasons we have lost Osi Umenyiora, Jay Alford, Kenny Phillips (okay, so technically KP went down in week two but still....). Now it is Chad Jones.

Are the Giants cursed????

Giants Rookie Chad Jones Involved In Serious Accident...

NY Giants rookie safety Chad Jones was involved in a serious car accident. Reports are that he suffered major leg damage and that amputation is a remote possibility.

We will give you more information as we receive it. For now lets hope and pray that Chad will pull through.