Die Hard Sports Fan

The best part of yesterday’s game between the Seahawks and the Giants was when the G-MEN roughed up Matt Hasselbeck on the first drive of the game making him ineffective and providing him with an early exit. It was similar to the last Giants game when they roughed up Carson Palmer, and the Cowboys should thank us for that since they squeaked by the Bengals yesterday. Imagine what a healthy Palmer would’ve done to the poor Cowboys defense. The Cowboys should also thank us for ending Drew Bledsoe’s time in Dallas because who knows when Tony Romo’s opportunity would’ve came if not for our nasty defense. The Road Warriors won their third home game in as many games in the early 2008 season. These are the Road Warriors that could barely win at home in ‘07.

Offense

Eli Manning had a pretty good game statistically. He went 19/25 which is a 76.00% completion percentage and threw for 267 yards and 2 TDs…in only 3 Quarters. David Carr was able to come in lead the team to a 4 Quarter Touch Down as well. The last time we saw Carr was against the Rams for a couple of minutes, but he played an entire quarter today. We knew that Eli was not going to have his favorite weapon in Plaxico so everybody needed to step up, and they did just that. Domenik Hixon, Amani Toomer, and Steve Smith led the team in Receptions. Hixon had 104 yards in the 1st Half before leaving the game at Halftime due to a concussion, and I would’ve loved to have seen what he could’ve done by playing the entire game. Surprisingly, Sinorice Moss had 2 TD Catches, and Domenik Hixon had 1 TD. Earth, Wind, and Fire had an outstanding day as they steamrolled the soft Seattle defense for 241 yards on 33 attempts which is an average of 7.3 yards per carry. WOW! Jacobs led in rushing yards with 136 and 2 TDs. The Giants’ offense put up 35 of the 44 points.

Defense

Mike Holmgren developed a pretty good game plan because Big Blue was only able to get 2 Sacks which is the lowest since the Giants opened up the season against the Redskins. With that said, the hit that Justin Tuck laid on Matt Hasselbeck on the first drive of the game, which wasn’t even a sack, was enough to make him a non-factor as the Seahawks didn’t score any touch downs. Mathias Kiwanuka and Dave Tollefson were the two players that actually got to Hasselbeck. I was extremely impressed with Kevin Dockery’s pick and 46 yard return. That was the last we saw of Hasselbeck. The Giants’ defense put up 0 of the 44 points.

Special Teams

John Carney was 3/3 in Field Goal Attempts, and he hasn’t missed a field goal yet this season. It will be interesting to see what the coaches do when Lawrence Tynes is healthy and ready to return. I would suggest that they ride out it out until he misses and then put Tynes in. The Giants’ special teams put up 9 of the 44 points.

So the Giants won their first four games which makes them perfect through the first quarter of the season. I picked them to do exactly that. The last time the Giants went 4-0 was in 1990 when they won Super Bowl XXV against the Bills. This game was over after the 1st Half. When was the last time you saw both starting Quarterbacks taken out of the game after the 3rd Quarter? The team that has so much trouble coming off of the bye week had no problem in 2008. The Giants travel to Cleveland next week to take on the Browns on Monday Night Football.

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The best part of yesterday’s game between the Giants and the Bengals was the simply the fact that the G-MEN won by a score of 26-23 in overtime. The Road Warriors won their second home game in as many games in the early 2008 season. These are the Road Warriors that could barely win at home in ‘07.

Offense

Eli Manning did not have a good game statistically. He went 26/43 which is a 60.47% completion percentage and threw for 289 yards and 1 TD. Even though Eli may not have helped out your fantasy team, he was able to counter every scoring drive that the Bengals had. If not with touch downs then with field goals. The Bengals played a much better game then I thought they were going to play, but I guess that’s how NFL teams are going to come to play the Champs. The Giants did not score on their opening drive in OT, but they did not go 3-and-out either. Manning was able to move the chains a bit before they were forced to punt. Eli also marched the Giants down the field when it mattered most during their second possession in overtime which set up the game winning field goal. Steve Smith and Amani Toomer both were key contributors in the Giants aerial attack as they combined for over 120 receiving yards. Manning hooked up with Kevin Boss for a TD to give the Giants the lead before the Bengals tied the game at the end of regulation. In OT, Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer made huge catches for gains of 30+ yards which allowed the Giants to attempt the game winning field goal. Earth, Wind, and Fire had a decent outing as they combined for 115. Derrick Ward had 80 yards on only 9 carries. The Giants’ offense put up 14 of the 26 points.

Defense

Big Blue was able to apply pressure on Carson Palmer all day, but Palmer kept on fighting to get the Bengals points and stay in the game. Fred Robbins was the beast of the day and finished the day with 3 Tackles, 2 Sacks, and a few batted balls at the line of scrimmage. Corey Webster, Barry Cofield, Mathias Kiwanuka, and Dave Tollefson were all able to get to Palmer as well. The Giants defense had 6 sacks for the second game in a row which is sweet. Antonio Pierce was all over the place as he ended up with 10 tackles. Even though the Giants were able to get to Carson all game, the Bengals were able to put up a bunch of points. Palmer took the hits and kept on going kind of like Tom Brady in Super Bowl XLII. The Big Blue Wrecking Crew were able to make some keys stops at the right time which made it easier for the Giants’ offense to keep pace with the Bengals. The Giants did not allow the Bengals to score in the 3rd Quarter, but you can see how hard they were trying to force the Bengals to punt. The Giants’ defense put up 0 of the 26 points.

Special Teams

John Carney was 4/4 in Field Goal Attempts. Reuben Droughns was effective on kickoff and punt coverage. Domenik Hixon was solid returning Kickoffs and Punts. The Giants’ special teams put up 12 of the 26 points.

So the Giants won their first three games. The last time the Giants went 3-0 was in 2000 when they lost Super Bowl XXXV to the Ravens. Do you remember last year when nobody knew if the Patriots got the good Randy Moss or the bad Randy Moss? After the Pats went 3-0, all of that undefeated chatter began. I haven’t seen a Sports Illustrated cover stating that the Giants are going undefeated. Our boys in blue get less respect than Rodney Dangerfield. This game was a back-and-forth offensive showdown that Big Blue was able to pull out in overtime. The Giants have a Bye Week in Week 4 so next on the schedule are the Seattle Seahawks.

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The Giants had to go back to work today, unfortunately. Below you will find a bunch of notes and reports assembled by a variety of beat writers. The Giants play their first game on Thursday so make sure you watch it.

The Star-Ledger

• Since Plaxico Burress has been unable to practice, he is contributing as an adviser to the Giants’ young receivers. Plax is taking on the mentor role even if the young guys don’t ask for it.
• Mike Garafolo assembled an in-depth 8/3 morning practice report worth checking out. Below is a sample of the entire report. There’s much more where that came from so go check out the source.
  • DEs Justin Tuck (foot) and Osi Umenyiora (hip), WRs Plaxico Burress (ankle), Amani Toomer (leg), Mario Manningham (groin) and David Tyree (knee/PUP), LBs Zak DeOssie (back) and Gerris Wilkinson (knee/PUP), CB Sam Madison (sports hernia), RT Shane Olivea and S Craig Dahl (knee) did not practice.
  • There we go again: first play of team drills was a bomb. Again from QB Eli Manning to WR Domenik Hixon. Great tackle on the play by CB Aaron Ross. Too bad it was way before the ball got there. That’s a 40-yard pass interference penalty on Ross.
  • QB Anthony Wright and WR Michael Jennings hooked up for deep in.
  • WR Craphonso Thorpe got the crowd excited with a spinning, toe-tapping catch on a fade to the left side from Wright. Dockery was in coverage on the play.
  • Hall ran a nice route to catch a hook from QB Andre’ Woodson in front of Webster. Hall later went deep on Pope, but the ball from Wright was overthrown and out of bounds.
• Mike Garafolo assembled an in-depth 8/3 evening practice report also worth checking out. Below is a sample of the entire report. There’s much more where that came from so go check out the source.
  • WRs Plaxico Burress (ankle), Steve Smith (groin), David Tyree (knee/PUP) and Mario Manninghan (groin), LBs Gerris Wilkinson (knee/PUP) and Danny Clark (sports hernia), CB Sam Madison (sports hernia) and OT Shane Olivea (back) did not practice..
  • CB Corey Webster would have none of WR Domenik Hixon catching a fade on the left side. He stayed all over Hixon and knocked the ball away. Webster also stayed stride for stride on a go from QB David Carr to WR Sinorice Moss. Webster had such good position it almost looked like he was the intended receiver. Webster knocked it away for a PD.
  • Hixon ran a perfect comeback to get separation from CB R.W. McQuarters and make a diving catch. McQuarters bounced back with a PD a few plays later when WR Craphonso Thorpe ran the same pattern.
  • LB Chase Blackburn keeps making plays. I mean, this guy couldn’t get a job after the draft a few years ago and now he’s a steady backup in my mind. Tonight, he stayed with Boss on a post into the end zone and wrestled with him to grab a ball from Wright for an INT.
  • WR Brandon London made his first nice grab in a few days on a skinny post over CB Kevin Dockery. Not a bad ball at all from Woodson. London then did a great job of accelerating to at least get his hands on a deep incompletion from Manning. The ball was overcooked and I didn’t think London had a prayer of getting there, but he dove and almost made the catch after getting past CB Terrell Thomas.
• Plaxico Burress did some light running for the first time since training camp.

Big Blue Blog

• Paul Schwartz assembled his own morning practice notes. Below is a sample of his notes, but there are not too many more.
  • On Manning’s second pass, Ross made another aggressive play, storming in to bat away a pass in the flat. Unfortunately for Ross, the ball was picked out of the air by RB Derrick Ward for a completion.
  • David Carr could not have thrown a better pass on a deep toss to Sinorice Moss, who had a step on two rookies, S Kenny Phillips and CB Terrell Thomas. The ball floated down perfectly to Moss … who watched as it slid right through his arms and to the grass. Moss looked up to the sky in bewilderment.
  • TE Kevin Boss, who has caught virtually everything thus far in camp, could not make the grab on a lunging attempt from Manning over the middle.

Inside the Giants

• Tom Rock believes that Sinorice Moss is basically playing for his Giants career in this camp so he’s been under the microscope this first week and a half. That means every drop is written about, and to be fair, there have been a lot of them. Moss had a pretty good practice tonight.

The Blue Screen

• Mike Garafolo put together another morning report and another evening report.

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Keith Kidd of Scouts Inc. ranked the Wide Receiving Corps for all NFL teams. The New York Football Giants ended up being No. 11 on the list. Here’s Kidd’s analysis…

Plaxico Burress was dominant last season despite struggling with injuries. Burress is a huge, athletic receiver with long arms and physical play strength. He has good hands, can out-jump defenders downfield and is valuable in the red zone. Amani Toomer is a solid possession receiver with outstanding experience. He is a good route-runner with good catching skills and can be effective in the short and intermediate areas. Steve Smith displayed good receiving skills late in 2007 after dealing with injuries throughout his rookie season. Sinorice Moss has been disappointing in his development but David Tyree was amazing in the Super Bowl. Tyree is a solid No. 4/5 receiver with tremendous value on special teams coverage units. Incoming rookie Mario Manningham could be a steal as a third-round pick, depending on how he matures and learns the Giants’ complicated offense.

I consider that to be one of the most accurate analyses that I’ve read in a while.

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Over at CBSSportsline, Pete Prisco released the third and final part of his Breakout Players list for 2008. Atop the list is Bengals Tackle Stacy Andrews. The only Giant to make the list was Wide Receiver Steve Smith, and here’s what Prisco wrote about him…

After missing 11 games in his rookie season with an injury, Smith had 14 catches in the postseason to emerge as an important part of the Giants’ run to the Super Bowl. Watch for him to become a factor in the middle of the field for the Giants’ offense in 2008, possibly catching as many as 60 passes.

Obviously, I believe that Smith will have the opportunity to become more involved in the offense in ‘08. The only thing I don’t like about Smith is his size. He’s 5′ 11″ and weighs in at 195 which is a heavier version of me. I do believe that the Giants have a good mix in size and ability when it comes to their Receivers. Smith had a lot more success in the Playoffs when Eli hit him over the middle and a little bit on the sidelines. During the Regular Season, the Giants were using Smith as the home run guy which didn’t work out too well. Now that Kevin Gilbride knows how to use Smith effectively, we should expect better out of him. At the same time, the more touches he gets the more the opposition will focus on him. His size may make it easier for the opposition to handle him unlike somebody like Plaxico.

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Everything should be smooth and calm in Giants land after they are coming off of a Super Bowl Victory.  However, the Jints still have some clowns to deal with.  The media has been speculating all week as to whether or not Shockey would show up to the mandatory mini camp.  He has, but he’s not participating.  He’s the only injured player not participating.  Mike Garafolo of The Star-Ledger wrote this, “When asked if there was a reason Shockey wasn’t on the field, Coughlin said, “Well, not really.” Asked if he was supposed to be on the field, Coughlin said it would remain “between Shockey and I.”"  It seems like I get more and more pissed off everytime Shockey does something stupid, which is pretty often.  He really needs to figure it all out.  Even after not playing for a while, he still hasn’t matured.  The other clown is Burress who all of a sudden is holding out from mandatory mini camp.  Simply put, he wants a contract extension.  Does he deserve a raise?  It can be justified.  He had a great year last season on one leg.  He was huge in the NFC Championship game and he caught the game winning touch down in the Super Bowl.  At the same time, he was underachieving prior to last season.  He had one great year and a couple of subpar years.  He’s asking for the extension after the great year.  It would be funny if teams asked players for a refund after the subpay years.  Anyway, his request can be justified.  However, I don’t understand the holdout.  You signed the contract so show up and play.  Let your agent do his job.  Honor your conract whether they grant you your request or not.

Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com reported that some of the Giants’ Super Bowl XLII rings were stolen some time last weekend.  Thieves broke into an E.A. Dion Jewelry store in Attleboro, MA., and took about $2 million worth of merchandise.  The police are currently investingating the situation.

Michael Fabiano of NFL.com takes a look at soon-to-be third year wideouts to unearth potential sleepers in the world of fantasy football.  Fabiano made a list of 10 receivers, and Steve Smith made the list.  This was Fabiano’s analysis:

While he missed much of the regular season with an injured shoulder, the “other” Steve Smith did make his presence felt throughout the Giants’ postseason run. With some NFL experience under his belt and a more confident Eli Manning under center, Smith could develop into one of the better No. 3 wideouts in the league. He will have to contend with Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer, but Smith still has the potential to catch 50-plus passes in 2008.

Giants.com:

Strahan goes out on top

Reaction to Strahan retirement - A compilation of excerpts from various people in the NFL.

Transcript: Coach Tom Coughlin - Michael Eisen had a Q&A Session with Tom Coughlin about the first day of the mandatory mini camp.

Papa’s Perspective (Video) - Giants Play by Play Announcer Bob Papa will give his latest thoughts on Strahan’s Giants career.

Coach Tom Coughlin Presser - (Video) - Coughlin introduced Strahan in the Press Conference.

Michael Strahan Presser Part 1 (Video) - Part 1 of Strahan’s retirement Press Conference.

Michael Strahan Presser Part 2 (Video) - Part 2 of Strahan’s retirement Press Conference.

Michael Strahan Presser Part 3 (Video) - Part 3 of Strahan’s retirement Press Conference.

Giants GM Jerry Reese (Video) - Jerry Reese answers questions from the media about Strahan.

Giants President John Mara (Video) - John Mara answers questions from the media about Strahan.

In My Own Words: Strahan Part 1 (Video) - Strahan talks about his early childhood memories up through his rookie season in 1993 playing with L.T.

In My Own Words: Strahan Part 2 (Video) - Strahan discusses offensive formations.

In My Own Words: Strahan Part 3 (Video) - Strahan teaches viewers a few of his moves as a Defensive End.

Newsday:

Strahan makes retirement official

Some famous un-retirements - Babara Barker wonders if Strahan is serious about his retirement and made a list of 10 athletes that came out of retirement.

Giants lose a leader in Strahan

Strahan blessed to go out as Super Bowl champ

New York Daily News:

Plaxico: No new contract, no minicamp - Ralph Vacchiano reported that Plaxico Burress is holding out from mandatory mini camp until he gets a new contract.

Michael Strahan retires after Hall of Fame career with the Giants

Without Michael Strahan, road to repeat will be tougher for Giants

Jerry Reese at ready with Giant plan

Michael Strahan gets push for Hall of Fame from co-owner John Mara

New York Post:

TRUE BLUE MIKE ‘A GIANT FOR LIFE’

A STRA DOG, BUT WITH PERSONALITY

WITHOUT NO. 92, SOME ENOURMOUS SHOES TO FILL

RING-ING IN A NEW CAREER - Phil Simms had this to say about Strahan as he heads into his broadcasting career, “Michael Strahan’s naturally a very outgoing guy. He’s a lot of fun. He’s a professional athlete who’s had tremendous success. He’s somebody who can succeed in television, no question. He’ll bring his perspective and I think we all know he’s not gonna be afraid to speak about it.”

ELI: GOAL TO GET BETTER, NOT REPEAT - Eli Manning stated, “We’ve said we’re not going to talk about repeating or doing that, just becoming a better team. We have a lot of work to do. You look at a lot of things from last year that we did not do well. From an offensive standpoint, there’s a lot of things.”

STRAHAN LEAVES AS A CHAMPION

New York Times:

Strahan Flashes a Smile as a Giant for the Last Time

Manning Says the Focus Is on Improving

Super Bowl Ring in Hand, Strahan Says He’s Retiring

The Star-Ledger:

And then there’s Shockey… - The Star-Ledger snapped a picture of Shockey.

Rosenhaus on Shockey and Burress - Mike Garafolo provided the brief conference Drew Rosenhaus just had about Shockey and Burress.  As usual, Rosenhaus had nothing to say about either one of them.  Think back to T.O.

More from Plax Pt. 2

More from Plax Pt. 1

Burress sitting out in contract dispute

Shockey’s in Jersey, but not practicing

Strahan’s last play: A glittering goodbye

Strahan played for passion, fans

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