Tue 29 Aug 2006
8/29 Daily Roundup
Posted by Greg under Uncategorized- First, parts 1 and 2 of my Jets game recap.
- A non-Giants item: The Eagles just got Donte Stallworth from the Saints for Mark Simoneau and a conditional draft choice. Don’t let last year’s 5-11 record fool you – they did that without McNabb and Westbrook. Last year, they had a young defense that was actually better than league-average. With their offensive playmakers back and with the addition of Stallworth, this team is gonna be scary. Ralph Vacchiano agrees.
- Hopes are high for the Giants D, writes Arthur Staple. My favorite quote in this article is from Gibril Wilson, who led the team with 110 tackles last year: “We’ve got a lot of playmakers, we run to the ball, and when we get there we have bad intentions.”
- Good article by John Branch on Brandon Jacobs. Unfortunately, the Giants still seem set on using him as their short-yardage/goal line guy. I’ve said this a thousand times, but Tiki should get these carries. Jacobs does not get good leverage in tight spaces; just because he’s big doesn’t mean that he’s a good short yardage runner (see Dayne, Ron). I would love to see Jacobs get more carries, but not as a pigeonholed short-yardage guy. But he needs to do a better job of holding onto the ball – he fumbled out of bounds in the Jets game, and can generally be a little careless with the rock.
- From the Times Health Section, many concussions would be prevented if trainers and coaches made sure that helmets fit properly. Apparently, there is a 10-step process to making sure that helmets fit, including checking if the facemask is two inches from the nose and that the chinstraps are an equal distance apart.
- I think Plax was a little easy on himself for his egregious two personal fouls in the Jets game. His rationale was basically: “Hey, it’s preseason. It won’t happen when the games count.” But come on. It’s still a game that the whole squad’s been working up to all week long. Also, Carlos Emmons is back. Shaun O’Hara and Luke Petitgout are back practicing, although limitedly. And E.J. Underwood, the promising free agent corner, will likely be placed on season-ending IR with a torn labrum. And Sinorice Moss is still out. Frustrating.
- Barry Cofield has been a quick study, and it looks like he’s earned the starting nose tackle spot. But realize that the Giants will still employ a four-man rotation at the defensive tackles: Cofield, Robbins, Jonas Seawright, and William Joseph. The G-Men are no longer interested in Brentson Buckner, which I suppose speaks well of Cofield’s progress.
- Bob Whitfield: Hip-hop mogul, Stanford alum, proud parent of five children, and an invaluable part of the Giants depth at offensive line. He and Grey Ruegamer did a great job Friday against the Jets in place of Luke Petitgout and Shaun O’Hara.
- Vinny DiTrani on cut day, when red tags are doled out to those unfortunate Gentrys of the world. The Giants carried only six linebackers last year, but given the depth problems that came to a head in the Panthers game, they will probably keep seven this year, DiTrani writes. They would be Pierce, Arrington, Wilkinson, Emmons, Short, Blackburn, and either Reggie Torbor, Tyson Smith, or Nick McNeil.
- Another detailed, comprehensive game write-up from Eric at Big Blue Interactive.
- Julian Garcia on Carlos Emmons, who was itching to get back to practice. Giants 101 opens up the forum for fans to say who they’d prefer at that weakside linebacker spot.