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We'll have our conference call with Tom Coughlin later this afternoon. In the meantime, a few additional thoughts from last night's game.
* Victor Cruz looked wonderful again in stiff-arming the cornerback on his way to a 21-yard completion. But he didn't do himself any favors in the punt return race with Aaron Ross when he muffed one at the Giants' 1. It's becoming more and more evident that Ross will be the guy back on punt returns, while every effort is being made to have Andre Brown the main guy on kickoffs. Brown actually didn't look bad after taking some criticism last week. "They got on me last week about it, so this game I just wanted to show my burst," Brown said.
* Adrian Tracy, though playing against the second and third-stringers, played a very strong game. He had nine tackles overall, two for losses. Now, none of that secures a spot on the roster for him, but it was an encouraging sign from someone who only had occasional mention in the daily training camp reports.
* Whether it was because Rhett Bomar was in charge, or whether Kevin Gilbride was hiding some stuff, but the goal line offense looked like it needed a lot more work and a lot more imagination. Once they got down to the 2, it took them five plays, helped along by an unnecessary roughness and a pass interference call, for Brown to punch in from the 1. There was the possibility of seeing a Victor Cruz scoring fade, but Bomar's throw was too high. But that was negated anyway by the interference call.
* Coughlin said afterward that he saw improvement in Matt Dodge's punting. But, wow! The more I see him, the more I see Rodney Williams. That's not a good thing, folks. He hit six punts for a 43.2-yard gross, but only a 36-yard net. Those two big hits of 53 and 60 yards were brought back for healthy returns because they didn't hang up there long enough for the coverage to get down there. And then, when the Giants were pinned inside their 10, he hit a perfectly atrocious punt out of the end zone. The good thing is, you can get a punter anytime, so Coughlin and Tom Quinn will probably put up with Dodge's inconsistency until the end of camp and evaluate the situation from there. He's got a long way to go.
Any other observations out there?
EP
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Good comments EP.
ReplyDeleteGiants basically "won" the first half with a 3rd string QB. It took Leftwich to Wallace (two guys who are quasi-1st team) against the Giants 4th CB to give Pitt the lead.
I didn't see Tracey on ST, but if he can become a contributor there, he might make the team. He's athletic and aggressive. I hope they can hide him on the practice team if they can't carry him.
matt dodge is being over coached, he was just fine at ECU ...he'll be fine
ReplyDeleteThe punter better get some consistency soon, otherwise Giants will lose the field position battle each week
ReplyDelete"but the goal line offense looked like it needed a lot more work and a lot more imagination."
ReplyDeleteHasn't that been a consistent complaint for years? I have to put that on Gilbride's shoulders because I have seen the same problem when Eli is in there. Why Boss isn't used more in those situations is beyond me. How many times have the Giants been burned by a TE that threw a block and then released into the endzone? You would swear that Gilbride has never heard of such a play. I didn't get to see the game, just the highlights. Was Barden in there since last week's attempt at the endzone "jump ball" never got a chance to develop? Did he even play? Is he injured? Now is the time of the year to find out if he can be threat down there. It would be really nice if Eli had that jump ball play back in his arsenal. He and Plax did that so well.
The Hixon injury is looking like it's going to haunt this team. It's amazing how much he was able to do with the lack of blocking he got he got in the past couple of years.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Dodge goes, the Giants fans will be patient with him if he's learning to pooch and angle punts but we'll lose patience quickly if he continues to flat-out shank balls off of his shin like he did from the end zone last night. All he does is punt and he can't drop it on his foot? What's to learn?
I'm not even willing to let this team lose games because of the hidden yardage he's GOING to cost us. Bring in someone who doesn't gag at the thought of kicking a football and try him out. Please.
come one dweez, you're better than that. First, Barden couldn't catch anything last week and this week he didn't play because he has a back injury.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the punter, but it's tough to find someone, and plus this guys a rookie. I agree with looking at someone else, but let him continue to try and improve. We were lucky with Feagles, let's give this guy another few weeks to improve.
Coffee + an Ernie game recap = bliss....football is back
ReplyDeleteA Rodney Williams reference....oh good god, we need Feagles back.
Bradshaw looked solid again last night. That 9(?) yard TD run to the outside is something we should see a lot of. Just get him in space. I really want to see more screen passes to him this year. It's looking like the bulk of the carries should tilt his way and if Jacobs is on the field for the first offensive drive against Carolina, I'll be shocked.....and annoyed.
I like what I'm seeing from Brown, but I'm worried once the season rolls around, contract and seniority will mean Jacobs takes more carries that might be better spent on Brown.
The deep pass to Smith was a nice reminder that Cruz or no Cruz, we have a solid #1 who can apparently be a deep threat on occasion.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Hakeem Nicks. Getting ejected from a PRESEASON game is an absolutely BRILLIANT way to keep yourself healthy for the year. Kudos...
Great coverage and live blog last night Ern!! This great community filled me in on the first half I missed and after watching some highlights and reading the blog I have a good idea what I missed. I really hope those dopes at the new Meadowlands get those internet issues fixed because last night was gloriuos. U rule and so does this blog Ern. Thanx to all for being there in my time of need.
ReplyDeleteDan - one drop in the first preseason game means he can't catch anything? He did catch the next two that came his way. What would have happened on the endzone play, obviously, we will never know. I'm willing to give him a couple of more chances. As the old basketball saying goes, you can't teach height. My son is turning ten on Tuesday, so we were celebrating his b-day all yesterday. My bad for posting before looking over the injury report. I did admit that I didn't see the game, though.
ReplyDelete