Thu 31 Aug 2006
- NYGMen gets some love from Deadspin.
- Final preseason game tonight against the Patriots, and the Giants have a chance to go undefeated for the first time since 1990. For that reason only, I hope they win tonight. Here are my observations on the three previous preseason games. (Ravens game, Chiefs game, Jets game parts 1 and 2)
- Fox Sports has the Giants going 11-5, finishing in first place and losing in the NFC Championship game.
- A unit-by-unit preview of the Giants from Fox Sports.
- Nice piece by Mike Garafolo on some guys on the bubble: Michael Jennings, Damane Duckett, Wade Fletcher, Nick McNeil, and Matthew Lentz.
- Arthur Staple on the same subject. “Bubble Boys” make the squad, “Costanzas” are gone.
- Garafolo gives us three things to watch for in tonight’s game against the Pats, including the backup QB job being in the line. He thinks that the Hefty Lefty can clinch it with a good performance. And so does Paul Schwartz.
- Don’t tell the guys on the bubble or the coaches that this last preseason game isn’t important, writes Arthur Staple. Also in the article, Bill Belichick had some flattering words about the G-Men, calling them “a playoff team that is really good on defense and has a lot of weapons on offense. They’re well coached.”
- Dan Benton gives his thoughts on tonight’s game.
- As the left corner, the progress of Corey Webster will be critically important to the success of the defense. “I’ve got to tell you he’s had a good camp,” said Colonel Tom. A good sign. Also, Sam Madison is taking Webster under his wing and is pleased with his progress. I didn’t know this, but apparently Webster played some receiver at LSU.
- Ralph Vacchiano writes that Colonel Tom will be coaching the Giants next year and for a while after that. “The organization loves the discipline, order, and most of all, winning,” Vacchiano writes.
- Really interesting piece by Peter King about each team’s “best case scenario.” He looks at the schedule and rates each team from everything from a certain win to a certain loss, and then he devises a best-case scenario from this. The best case scenario for the G-Men? 10-6. Hmmm. It’s hard to swallow that a best case scenario for a team that went 11-5 last year and clearly improved in the offseason will be a one win decline than last year, but I guess that’s the tough schedule for you. But I don’t buy it – Peter King will eat his words.
- FootballOutsiders’ Over-Unders take on the top half of the NFC. They’ve set the Giants at 9 wins: one guy has them over and one has them under. Very interesting commentary on all the teams. A suggested read. One of the guy’s points about the Giants is that the Will Demps acquisition didn’t make much sense because the Giants already have a run-stuffing safety in Gibril Wilson. He says that they would have been better served with a better pass defender to replace Alexander. Here’s my analysis of the pass defense. And, if you’re interested, the run defense, the return game, the punter, and the kicker.
- Plax is antsy to get the preseason over with. “It’s probably one of the longest preseasons I’ve ever been in because we’re so anxious and we’re anticipating going out and doing well. We just want to get the ball rolling. We’re so excited about the season that the preseason kind of dragged along for us.”