Preview: Giants @ Rams Week Two

New York Giants (1-0) @ St. Louis Rams (0-1)
1:00 PM Sunday, September 14th, 2008
Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Missouri
65-68°F 20% chance of rain, Winds 24 MPH WNW
TV: FOX

Giants Injury Report:
OUT: Terrell Thomas (hamstring), Lawrence Tynes (left knee)
QUESTIONABLE: R.W. McQuarters (calf)
PROBABLE: Jonathan Goff (back), Mathias Kiwanuka (ankle), Jerome McDougle (knee)

Rams Injury Report:
OUT: Drew Bennett (foot)
DOUBTFUL: Leonard Little (hamstring)
QUESTIONABLE: Jacob Bell (hamstring)
PROBABLE: Donnie Avery (knee), Donnie Jones (right knee), Travis Minor (thigh), James Hall (thigh)

The Rams (0-1) will host the Giants (1-0) at 1:00 this afternoon, following their embarrassing 38-3 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles last week. The Giants are well rested and haven’t played since their 16-7 victory over the Redskins on September 4th, 10 days ago. The Giants won the last time these two teams met in 2005 by a score of 44-24 in St. Louis.

The Giants will look to extend their road winning streak to 12 games.

New York really has the upper hand in this matchup and I really expect a win here, but anything can happen. St. Louis’ pass defense was atrocious last week and let up 414 passing yards. They also let up 522 total yards. Look for Plaxico Burress and Eli Manning to have big games. Burress hauled in 10 receptions for 204 yards and two touchdowns the last time the Giants played the Rams.

The Giants started the game off great last week on offense, but began to falter after just a few drives. They really altered their play calling a bit to play more conservatively, but I don’t expect them to that as much this week if they take an early lead.

Last week the Rams rushed for just 40 yards. 36 of those came from Steven Jackson, who averaged just 2.9 yards per carry. Jackson only had 14 carries, but he’ll need to step his game up and carry the load for this team. Jackson’s troubles were mostly because of his offensive line, who allowed quarterback Marc Bulger to be sacked four times. It’ll be tough for Jackson, considering the Giants held Clinton Portis in check for 84 rushing yards on 23 carries.

On the other hand, New York rushed for 154 yards on 32 carries. Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward both had excellent games, but look for them to get Ahmad Bradshaw more involved in the offense this week. Bradshaw didn’t carry the ball at all last week.

Go Giants!

Shockey would have been a distraction

Jeremy Shockey is still talking about the New York Giants, even though he was traded to the New Orleans Saints back in July.

He also says he wasn’t allowed to sit on the sideline with the team and he wasn’t invited to the Super Bowl parade.

“When it came time for the actual game, I was f***ed either way: if I went to the Super Bowl or if I didn’t,” Shockey writes. “I didn’t want to be a distraction. What good am I with a broken leg? The Giants already have cheerleaders – why would they need me? But I decided to go at the last minute. I flew myself out on a five- to six-hour flight in a middle seat. I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t do anything.

“Then the Giants wouldn’t let me sit on the sideline, so I sat upstairs during the game. I didn’t get invited to the parade or the party or the celebration, and that’s fine.”

Shockey also dispelled the theory many came up with after the Giants won the Super Bowl. Many said the Giants did it because they didn’t have Shockey as a distraction, which is something I completely disagree with.

“The thing is, people look at me like I act with that edge off the field, too. Come on, if I did that, I’d be in jail or out robbing a bank right now,” Shockey writes.

“I’m human like anyone else. So it’s not a good feeling if people view it that the Giants were better without me, that my attitude caused problems. That’s their opinion. Obviously, I don’t think it’s true. Look, I’m glad my teammates won everything.”

Shockey only seems to have a problem with the front office, not the players. I’m still a big Shockey fan and hope he does well in New Orleans.

Ten texts with Kenny Phillips

Over at ProFootballTalk.com, Mike Florio has posted a conversation he recently had with Kenny Phillips via text messaging. Florio intends to make this a weekly feature on his site.

Here’s just one of the ten questions Phillips was asked.

Q: There’s a lot of talk about you becoming a starter soon. Are you anxious to break into the starting lineup?

A: Yes. The goal in camp was to compete for the starting job and I’m going to continue to do so until that happens but right now both safeties are playing well so I’ll play my role until I earn another one.

I personally like this new feature at PFT a lot. Phillips seems like a really good guy.

I like that Phillips is anxious to see playing time as a starter. He should be in there by the time the season is over.

Goff back to practice, Kiwi back tomorrow

LB Jonathan Goff returned to practice today for the first time since suffering an injury in the Giants preseason loss to the Detroit Lions. His status for Sunday’s game against the Rams is still uncertain, though.

DE Mathias Kiwanuka is expected to return to practice tomorrow, according to Mike Garafolo of The Star Ledger.

Post Game: Redskins @ Giants Week One

The Giants (1-0) beat the Redskins (0-1) 17-6 Thursday night. They have now won 11 of their last 16 against Washington.

New York dominated the first half on both offense and defense, but was unable to pull away because they were held to three field goals. John Carney was called on to hit 24 yard field goal in the first quarter, a 25 yard field goal in the second, and a 47 yard field goal also in the second.

Eli Manning and Plaxico Burress were on the same page all night. Burress had 10 receptions for 133 yards, while Manning passed for 216 yards and went 19/35.

Steve Smith was Manning’s go-to-guy on third down, but didn’t see much action other than that.

Kevin Boss wasn’t involved in the passing game at all, which has me a bit worried. Boss only had two catches during the preseason, too.

New York’s offense started the game off sharp, scoring on their first four possessions. They were sluggish after that and started calling plays conservatively and didn’t score again.

Brandon Jacobs looked very strong. Just ask LaRon Landry, who took a huge hit and had to take a play off just to catch his breath. Jacobs rushed for 116 yards on 21 carries. However, Jacobs picked up where he left last year and struggled catching the ball. He had at least three drops in the first half. Derrick Ward also played and had 9 carries for 39 yards. Interestingly, Ahmad Bradshaw didn’t receive any carries after struggling a bit during the preseason.

The defense looked very sharp. Justin Tuck broke into the backfield to take down Jason Campbell for the sack on Washington’s first offensive play of the game. So much for the defensive line being weak without Osi and Strahan. By the way, the introduction by Strahan was simply amazing. It was great to see him lift the Lombardi trophy.

Mathias Kiwanuka was injured on the last play of the game, but it’s reported that he will be ok. Chris Samuels grabbed Kiwanuka’s leg when Kiwanuka was in pursuit of Campbell. It looked like an unnecessary play by Samuels and Justin Tuck agrees.

“I wish I could repeat the words that were coming out of my mouth, but you can’t put them on TV,” said Tuck. “The last thing we can have is a very important guy like Kiwanuka go out. To see him up and walking around was encouraging.”

Jason Campbell was completely shut down in the first half. Campbell completed his first pass of the night with 1:19 left in the second quarter on a 13 yard pass to Antwaan Randle El.

Aaron Ross was great in coverage. He ran step for step with Santana Moss in single coverage downfield and was able to swat away a long pass from Campbell.

Clinton Portis was held to 84 yards on 23 carries, which I consider a great accomplishment with the way he was played against us in the past.

The Giants will play the St. Louis Rams next week on Sunday, September 13th at 1:00.

Burress signs 5 year, $35 million extension

The Giants have reached a deal with star receiver Plaxico Burress. The team reached a five year, $35 million extension with the receiver just hours before tonight’s game against the Redskins.

The first year of the deal is worth $11 million.

There were three years left on Burress’ previous contract and he would’ve earned $3.25 million this season.

Preview: Redskins @ Giants Week One

Washington Redskins (0-0) @ New York Giants (0-0)
7:00 PM Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008
Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
79-82°F 10% chance of rain, Winds 7 MPH SSE
TV: NBC

Giants injury report: OUT: LB Jonathan Goff (back), CB Terrell Thomas (hamstring), K Lawrence Tynes (knee) QUESTIONABLE: WR Domenik Hixon (back) PROBABLE: RB Ahmad Bradshaw (calf)

Redskins injury report: OUT: WR Malcolm Kelly (knee) DOUBTFUL: S Kareem Moore (hamstring) QUESTIONABLE: DE Jason Taylor (knee) PROBABLE: LB Khary Campbell (thigh), CB Shawn Springs (shin)

The defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants will open up the NFL season by hosting the Washington Redskins Thursday night, starting at 7:00 PM.

The Giants and Redskins split last season’s series. New York lost 22-10 at home, but won 24-17 in Washington. However, the Giants have won 10 of their last 15 meetings against the Redskins.

Look for the Giants to pound the ball early on to tire out the Redskins defense and test the health of Jason Taylor. Brandon Jacobs rushed for 130 yards on 25 carries the last time these two teams met.

Eli Manning should play well tonight. I expect the Giants to air the ball out a bit more this year with more receiving options. Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer, Steve Smith, and Kevin Boss give Manning good targets. Boss has also struggled blocking throughout his career, so the playcalling may involve more plays where he goes out for a pass.

New York’s pass defense was feared all last season, but Osi Umenyiora’s season ending injury has placed doubt in many people on whether or not the unit can replicate their success. The opening game of the season gives them the perfect opportunity to quiet the haters. Justin Tuck will face Stephon Heyer most of the night, who was an undrafted rookie last season. He recently replaced Jon Jansen as the starting right tackle. Heyer is a player that has gone under the radar a bit and has played very well, but ultimately I don’t think Heyer and the rest of Washington’s offensive line will handle the New York rush well.

Washington will run a new offense under their new head coach, Jim Zorn. Zorn will run the West Coast Offense, which relies on quick dropbacks and throws from the quarterback. Jason Campbell will have to be very smart with the ball. Kenny Phillips is a ballhawk that has the ability to make big plays, get to the ball and change the game. Campbell will have to be prepared for that.

New York’s run stopping defense has been excellent throughout the entire preseason. I know it’s just the preseason, but the sense of urgency and run stopping by the line really had me excited. Clinton Portis is a talented running back and I don’t want to count him out, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Giants completely took away their running game. Portis played well against the Giants last season, rushing for 186 yards on 39 carries in two games.

This should be a close game won by the team that can limit turnovers and control the clock well. I can’t wait for Thursday night to finally get my football fix. As always, Go Giants!

Kenny Phillips won’t start, but will receive playing time

Kenny Phillips has had an outstanding camp, but his role over the course of the preseason diminished as each game passed by.

Michael Johnson will be the Giants starting free safety, but Phillips has said he will play with the first nickle defense, according to the Daily News. This means he’ll mainly be in to defend the pass. Ralph Vacchiano speculates that he thinks Phillips will see most of the playing time even though he’s not starting.

“Michael had a pretty good preseason,” Phillips said. “It’s not right to move him, even though I was playing well.“Michael had a pretty good preseason,” Phillips said. “It’s not right to move him, even though I was playing well.

Team captains announced

The Giants have announced Eli Manning, Amani Toomer, Antonio Pierce, Fred Robbins, and Jeff Feagles will be this season’s team captains.

Center Shaun O’Hara, who was a captain last season, was replaced by Toomer. Robbins replaced former captain Michael Strahan.

Practice squad moves made

The Giants have cut CB Geoffrey Pope from the practice squad and replaced him with CB Rashad Barksdale.

Tight End Eric Butler was re-signed to the practice squad, giving the Giants a full eight men on the practice squad now.