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| What To Watch Tonight; Vacchiano | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 23 2008, 01:46 PM (118 Views) | |
| 27Hampton | Aug 23 2008, 01:46 PM Post #1 |
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August 23, 2008 What to watch tonight (Nos. 15-19) I got a text message at around 3 a.m. today saying that Barack Obama had chosen Brett Favre to be his vice presidential candidate. ... Obama-Favre '08. I mean, that was a joke, right? Wouldn't it have to be Favre-Obama? Anyway, they've got until November to figure that out. For the moment, Favre and his disciples in green have a preseason game tonight. Rumor has it they're playing the Giants. And with the Giants' starters likely to play at least until halftime, and maybe into the third quarter, I could probably list two dozen things for you to watch in tonight's Giants-Jets preseason game. But let's be honest: The top 14 things on the list are all the same: Favre. So after you're done watching Favre and basking in his greatness and picturing how he'll look holding up the Vince Lombardi Trophy in February and then, I suppose, simultaneously running for Mayor of New York, Governor of Mississippi and King of the World, while ending hunger in Africa, stopping global warming and uniting the planet in peace ... well, then you can watch old films of Favre in action. But after that, if you still have any interest in the Giants - who don't, by the way, have a Favre on their roster - here are the next five things you might want to pay attention to in tonight's game. I guess they're Nos. 15-19 on the list. And the focus is on the first-teamers, since this will be their last true tuneup before Opening Night, which - Holy Favre! - is now just 12 days away: 15. The Giants' receivers - It looks like Amani Toomer (knee), Steve Smith (groin/hamstring) and Mario Manningham (quad) will play and I'm very anxious to see Smith and Manningham. Don't worry about Toomer, obviously. There's no doubt he'll be able to step right in on Opening Night. But Smith is supposed to pick up a larger role in the offense this season, including some of Jeremy Shockey's old routes, and it would be nice to see him get in a little action before the opener. As for Manningham, he was supposed to be the Giants' big downfield threat, and they spent a ton of time early in camp working on those downfield passes. Is it too late for him to fill that role? Is this going to be a lost rookie season for him? With Dominek Hixon's play demanding playing time, and Sinorice Moss looking a little more consistent lately, it's in Manningham's best interest to show something tonight. 16. Danny Clark and the weakside linebackers - I liked what I saw in Clark in the last game, and given his play and the slowness of Gerris Wilkinson's recovery from knee issues, it seems like Clark has nailed down the weakside starter job. I'd still like to see a little more out of him. Plus, it's worth watching behind him, too. The coaches have given glowing reviews to rookie Bryan Kehl and if he continues to play well, Wilkinson could end up out of a job. You've got to figure they're going to keep the three starters (Clark, Antonio Pierce, Mathias Kiwanuka), Chase Blackburn and Zak DeOssie. That's five. Kehl isn't going anywhere, so that's six. Jonathan Goff (back) could end up on injured reserve, which would help the logjam. Will the Giants keep a seventh? Will it be Wilkinson? They like Tank Daniels too. I think they'd like to keep Wilkinson around, so I'm not saying he'll be cut. But given the numbers, he's got no guarantee. 17. The safeties - Kenny Phillips didn't appear to play much in the last game (though Tom Coughlin said he did). I'm still betting he'll see some first-team action before long. Athletically and instinctively, he's the best safety the Giants have. All that's not clear is how well he's picking up the defense, though by all accounts that's going well, too. James Butler and Michael Johnson have played reasonably well this summer, but Phillips' potential is demanding that he get a reasonably big role as quickly as possible. I suspect that before long, Butler and Phillips will be the safeties, meaning the pressure is up on Johnson to hold onto his job. And oh, by the way, veteran Sammy Knight is lurking in the background after a quiet summer, too. 18. The blocking of the tight ends - This game might mean a job (or no job) for somebody. Not Kevin Boss. He'll be on the roster, because he's the best receiver of the tight end group. But the Giants still aren't happy with the blocking coming from that group, which means they'll be keeping an eye on the waiver wire when teams start cutting players in case a decent blocker hits the streets. And a good blocking tight end landing on the waiver wire isn't just possible, it's likely, which means the pressure is up on Michael Matthews and Darcy Johnson and Jerome Collins to prove their worth. The blocking absolutely has to improve because it's a vital part of the Giants' rushing attack, which was the engine that made the offense go last year. There seems to be a confidence in the organization that all the current tight ends have the potential to be good-to-very-good blockers someday. Unfortunately, with Shockey gone, that someday has to be right now. 19. The running back rotation - The question I get asked the most by fantasy geeks (like me) is "How do you think the Giants will use their running backs this year?" My answer is usually a pretty non-committal one, because I haven't seen enough signs to be sure. I know that the Giants like the idea of using Jacobs early and often to soften the defense as much as possible (you try being hit by a 6-4, 256-pound bowling ball for 30 minutes or so and see if you're not back on your heels a little). And having Ahmad Bradshaw come in and take advantage of a flat-footed defense in the second half was a great weapon down the stretch. But how do you take Derrick Ward out of the rotation considering how well he played when he was healthy? And what about Reuben Droughns? The Giants like having a former 1,000-yard rusher on their roster, especially considering how injury prone their first three running backs are. But is there a role for him here? Can someone else be the short-yardage guy? And is there any way the Giants can keep Ryan Grant ... I mean, Danny Ware? Maybe tonight's game plan, such that it is, will offer a little clue. |
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| 27Hampton | Aug 23 2008, 02:32 PM Post #2 |
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I'm sorry, but if Rueben Droughns makes this team over Danny Ware, somebody needs to have their head examined. I never really considered that Wilkinson might not make the team. I love Kiehl, the kid is a player. So is Tank Johnson. I don't know....Gerris might indeed be ass out. Let's face it, if he really had game, he would have seen more time to this point in his career, and we wouldn't seek to sign a FA every year for that spot. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Boss could very well lose a substantial amount of playing time due to his inability to block. Maybe last week was worse than normal, but if you watched him individually like I did more than half the time, he's not a "decent" blocker...he's an atrocious blocker. I think some might want to retract the votes to Canton for this kid from the very small body of work we've seen, until he becomes a fully rounded player. Depending upon who shows up on the waiver wire, he could be in a little bit of trouble. It seems that the paradigm has shifted to a majority of TE's coming out of college are better receivers than blockers. Once again, why you bite your nose off to spite your face in giving in to Shockey's demands. I almost think we'd still be better off with a disgruntled Shockey than a Div. II tight end who can barely get in the way of defenders. Maybe I'm just more bothered by the fact that we get NOTHING this year in return for one of the most talented TE's in the league. I hate to beat a dead horse but |
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| Gene | Aug 23 2008, 03:04 PM Post #3 |
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Down & Out
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![]() ![]() ![]() Just gonna hold my breath as usual that we get out of this game unscathed............ Damn how I hate pre-season games! |
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| leatherhead | Aug 23 2008, 03:18 PM Post #4 |
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I remember posting my opinion a few weeks ago about the team looking to the waiver wire for an experienced blocking TE because of the fact that I didn't feel that the team would go into this season with that kind of a deficit, glad to see that others feel the same as I do . Its nice to have a guy like Boss who can go down field and create the mismatches that he does with his size and also be a damn good receiver but we simply have to have the blocking from that position. I really hope we find what we're looking for because right now a blocking TE is the missing ingredient that will complete the picture for this offense .... |
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| Hadron | Aug 23 2008, 06:06 PM Post #5 |
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When you have to pull your receiving TE out to put your blocking TE in, it kinda takes some of the steam out of the offense. An example I like to use since I live in Houston.. Texans take Owen Daniels (receiver type) out to put Mark Bruener (blocker) in. Geeze, I wonder what the Texans plan on doing? |
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| 27Hampton | Aug 23 2008, 07:19 PM Post #6 |
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David Diehl was absolutely abused the entire 1st half. |
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| 27Hampton | Aug 23 2008, 07:22 PM Post #7 |
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No doubt. And if you're in a two TE set, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out which way we're going to run. |
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| cyberstorm | Aug 23 2008, 07:55 PM Post #8 |
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Most Metal Giants fan
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0-0?(zero point zero....) uhhh......I have not been following,but why the impotent offense,was it Diel getting raped?Turnovers?Drops?Manning?All of the above?Penalties? The good news is that I assume our defense is playing great. Noticed a missed FG atempt |
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| BlueHeart | Aug 23 2008, 08:24 PM Post #9 |
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Gifted, But, Twisted Fearless Leader
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Just ugliness all around. You're not missing much. |
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| G1.. | Aug 24 2008, 06:27 AM Post #10 |
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G1
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Didn't get to see it,I did see the Redskins starters look like shit,Jason Taylor out with a sprained knee. |
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| 27Hampton | Aug 24 2008, 09:57 AM Post #11 |
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The Oline got their collective asses kicked, that was the main issue with the offense. That includes the TEs. I don't think Diehl blocked one guy effectively who he was one on one with last night. I may have missed some, but from what I saw, he got his ass handed to him the entire first half. Manning had some really nice throws, Jacobs and Ward had a couple of decent runs when there was a hole....but that was that. Huston missed a makeable FG, I forget the distance, I think it was 37-40 yards. It would have been a chip shot if it wasn't for the 15 yard sack that Manning took on 3rd down. Big mistake by him, but damn...he had 2 seconds to throw, then a jail break. It's not a good sign that our Oline played like that in the final "real" preseason game against one of the worst teams in the league last year. Phillips was way out of position on a TD pass by Favre that was called back. The first bad thing I've seen from the kid thus far. Our other backup safeties are horrible, look for Sweigert (sp?) to make the team. The fact that Michael Johnson is a starter right now, is a joke. He's not one of the guys I'm referring to, but he's not a starting safety in this league right now. Moss ran a few crisp routes, had a catch or two...then of course drops one that would have been a TD. I must admit when I'm wrong. David Carr is abysmal. One of the guys on TV put it accurately...."he's just not functional". He's afraid to throw the ball, he's a mess. And Woodson? Nice arm, nice accuracy, but would break the league record for INT's because of staring down receivers (ok...he's a rookie) and the throwing motion that give DBs that extra second where they know the direction of the pass. Hence falling to the 6th round...something I called when he was a junior and everybody was calling for him to be a top 10 pick. |
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| 27Hampton | Aug 24 2008, 10:12 AM Post #12 |
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Oh and Steve Smith looked like garbage last night. Dropped at least one ball right between the numbers on a 7 yard pass. C'mon dude. I think he dropped a second but I'm not sure. Looked sluggish in a route or two that they showed during a replay. Not happy. Hixon looked good. Toomer seemed to be on the field for the first play of the game, and that's all. Manningham had a few catches in the last minutes of the game. Nothing too spectacular. |
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| 27Hampton | Aug 24 2008, 10:16 AM Post #13 |
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Danny Clark left the game with a strained groin. I didn't realize that. He's been playing pretty well too. A groin can be a constant issue, I hope it's not. |
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| cyberstorm | Aug 24 2008, 11:38 AM Post #14 |
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Most Metal Giants fan
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So Woodson sounds like Dave Brown,long throwing motion and staring down recievers. Glad Manning got out of there un injured(say a few highlites,looked like Manning got sacked a lot. The good news is that the defense looked pretty good. I think our O line will be fine |
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| 27Hampton | Aug 24 2008, 12:23 PM Post #15 |
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Yep. Our oline needs work against heavy blitzes and Diehl needs to learn how to block somebody with a spin move. |
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![]](http://z1.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)
And is there any way the Giants can keep Ryan Grant ... I mean, Danny Ware? Maybe tonight's game plan, such that it is, will offer a little clue.






9:04 AM Jul 11