New York Giants WR Victor Cruz Dominating Preseason
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The New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz has been lighting up the second half of preseason games so far this year, but will he have done enough to make the team?
I’d like to think so. He leads the preseason in yards, touchdowns, and is second behind Jordan Shipley in receptions.
He really turned heads against the Jets’ backups when he turned in three touchdowns, completely dominating anyone the Jets through at him. The night was highlighted by an unbelievable one handed catch that made every NFL GM wonder why he wasn’t drafted.
But the real question is this: Is Cruz a diamond in the rough, or just a preseason performer?
With so many options at the wide receiver position, someone talented will be getting their pink slip, if you will, and have to look for work somewhere else.
It seems like the Giants have been in this place before. In 2007, when the Giants featured the three headed monster of Derrick Ward, Brandon Jacobs, and Ahmad Bradshaw, Ryan Grant was forced down the depth chart and onto the practice squad.
The Green Bay Packers must have been watching because he wasn’t there for long. They snatched him up and he has been great for them ever since, amassing two straight 1200 yard seasons in the process.
I get the feeling this would be the route Victor Cruz would take were he not to make the team. The Giants had better realize what they have in him. Taking into account this has been one of the best run organizations since Jerry Reese took over, they probably won’t make the same mistake twice.
Cruz’s future with the team is a little less doubtful with the news of Sinorice Moss heading to IR, which should pave the way for the Giants to have six wide receivers.
Steve Smith, Mario Manningham, Hakeem Nicks, Ramses Barden, Derek Hagan, and Cruz should be the six. With Hagan being such an asset in special teams they can afford to have this many wide outs.
The loss of Moss and Domenik Hixon to season ending injuries could be a blessing in disguise for this young rookie.
Top Five Fantasy Football Players on The New York Giants
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5. Ahmad Bradshaw
Bradshaw will be of high fantasy value if you’re in a league with three running backs, but I would try to secure better options earlier if you can, especially if you only have two spots. Although he is getting the first string reps in camp, I believe Jacobs is still the man in New York.
That being said, it is still a two-back system and Bradshaw will be used frequently. He is a home run threat on any play and is effective in the passing game.
4. Eli Manning
If you can solidify great players at the WR and RB positions in the first five or six rounds, then having Eli as a consolation prize won’t be so bad considering his ranking in most leagues would allow you to get him in round 6 or 7.
Some people like to take elite QBs early to get the best, but if you get the All Star wide outs and backs, then you should be able to win your league with Eli at the helm.
That’s not to say Eli won’t be a fine option himself, he had over 4000 yards and 27 TDs last season.
3. Steve Smith
You may be a bit surprised here since Steve Smith was without a doubt the most productive Giants player last season, especially if you were in a league with receptions as a category. He had 107 catches and 1220 yards and seven touchdowns, but he may be reduced in his role this season with the emergence of some younger receivers.
He should still get his 1000 yards and 90+ catches, but the touchdowns will not be as plentiful as Eli will now be looking for Ramses Barden and Travis Beckum in the end zone as well as Hakeem Nicks and Kevin Boss.
I’d stay away from Smith unless he is around for your third wide receiver position.
2. Brandon Jacobs
Brandon Jacobs is looking to rebound from a shaky 2009 season where he had less than 1000 yards for the first time since he became the starter. He played with injuries and had surgery in the offseason to fix those problems, so he should be back to his old self.
Kickin a** and taking names. Welcome back bruiser.
1. Hakeem Nicks
Looking for that breakout player that’s going to propel you to the championship? Hakeem Nicks is going to be one of those players. He has the deep play threat and Eli is going to trust him more this season after he did his thing his rookie year.
Nicks won the starting job towards the middle of last season and hasn’t given it back, so a full year as a starter is going to do wonders to his yards and touchdowns. At one point last year he had a touchdown in four straight games.
With his ability to make plays in traffic, go deep, and catch the fade routes in the end zone, Nicks is going to be a top 10 fantasy producer at wide receiver, mark my words.
New York Giants Sign Pro Bowl Guard Shawn Andrews
[picappgallerysingle id="6130102"]The New York Giants have added depth to their offensive line with the signing of Shawn Andrews, a former two-time pro bowl guard.
After having basically not played since 2007 due to injuries, the Eagles gave up on the struggling former star and the Giants decided to take a chance. Andrews is exciting about being in New York, so maybe the change of scenery will rejuvenate his career.
He can’t wait to get back to battling in the NFC East again.
“I guess they kind of picked me, but I picked them as well,” Andrews said. “I just like the atmosphere. The guys that I met, I can tell genuine people when I see them. And it’s right up the road in the NFC, same division where I come from and it’s real intense and I like that.”
General Manager Jerry Reese is real excited about the prospect of having another pro bowler on the team, and gives all the credit in the world to his staff for noticing his desire to play again and seeing that he is ready to come in and work hard no matter what the position.
“Our personnel staff has been monitoring Shawn’s progress for awhile now,” Reese said. “He looks great and had a very good workout for us yesterday. He can play both guard and both tackle positions. We just have to take him slow for the rest of the preseason to get him into game shape. Shawn is very excited and grateful for this opportunity to play for the New York Giants.”
This move comes most likely in direct correlation to both Chris Snee and Rich Seubert—the starting guards—being out due to an injury. Both are expected to miss the second pre season game this Saturday, but neither injury is considered serious.
The universal theme from both Andrews and the organization is that they see he is eager to get back out on the field and prove to everyone that he is still the same player. He is very hungry.
They also notice that for being out for two seasons, he is in surprisingly great shape, so playing in the third pre season game may not be out of the question.
One thing the Giants will have to be careful of is not to overwork is back. The Eagles claimed Andrews failed a physical back in march and that was the reasoning for the termination of his contract.
Now we all wait in limbo to see how coach Tom Coughlin is going to shuffle the offensive line around, a unit that took much flack in 2009 for falling off in their run blocking.
Hopefully Andrews provides the solution.
New York Giants’ Kenny Phillips: The Fallen Hero Returns
[picappgallerysingle id="2174496"]First off, the hero thing is simply me being facetious due to the affectionate nick name his fellow teammates have given him.
When Kenny Phillips returned to his limited role on Monday—the team plans on being extremely cautious with his return—his teammates proclaimed “Superman has returned.”
He is fond of the nick name, but prefers to be called Clark Kent at the moment, since he has not played football in 11 months.
When Phillips went down last season, there seemed to be nothing wrong as the team ripped off three wins immediately after. However, after getting dismantled by the Saints, the wheels started to fall off.
His importance to the team was clearly evident with the horrendous play of C.C. Brown and Aaron Rouse. Not only was he gaining confidence in his play after a solid rookie season, but he was also becoming a leader in the secondary.
If Phillips returns to form and shows no effects from the knee condition he had surgery for, the Giants can be sure to have one of the best secondaries in the NFL.
The addition of Antrel Rolle already immediately made it one of the better groups, as well as one of the deepest. However, Kenny Phillips was playing extremely well in the first two games of the 2009 season and was primed for a breakout year, so his return is possibly one of the most exciting things for the defense at the moment.
Hopefully Phillips doesn’t get a case of the injury bug that seems to be making its way through camp, because that would be yet another devastating blow to the young player. The knee condition he has brought up questions about his career, he did not know whether he would play again.
To say his return to camp sends an uplifting message is an understatement. Welcome back.
New York Giants Training Camp Update: Injuries Piling Up
[picappgallerysingle id="1210285"]The New York Giants are coming off a year where they not only severely under performed on both sides of the ball, but where they were faced with injuries that called their depth into question.
That depth may be tested this season yet again.
As of Friday, the Giants had several players out or left practice due to injury that they just cannot afford to lose. Steve Smith is the latest victim, leaving today’s practice with a groin injury with an MRI scheduled for tomorrow.
With Domenik Hixon already out for the season, the Giants could ill afford to lose any of the wide receivers, let alone a 100 plus reception player.
The offensive line is struggling to stay afloat as well, with Shaun O’Hara missing time with a condition in his ankle and Rich Seubert breaking his hand on Thursday, showing up to Friday’s practice with his hand in a splint.
This is bad news for Seubert since he was already fighting to keep his job. The Giants already have second round pick Will Beatty waiting to take over for David Diehl at left tackle, which would allow Diehl to return to his natural position of left guard. Mitch Petrus has been given more reps in the absence of Seubert, and could provide a possible replacement if Beatty does not pan out.
Kenny Philips still has not practiced this year after the knee injury that kept him out last season forced him to be placed on the physically unable to perform list to start this year’s camp. Deon Grant also missed Friday’s practice with a groin injury.
The safety position was the weakest link in the secondary last year, maybe even the whole defense, and if the depth issues continue to be a problem nothing Perry Fewell can scheme will be able to combat that problem.
Out with the Old, In with the “Few”
One common theme of this year’s camp seems to be that the players on defense are responding well to Fewell’s fiery nature. He is able to motivate them and keep them on their toes at the same time.
Osi Umenyiora’s change in attitude is one indicator of this. Last season, he walked out on a meeting with then defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan and it appeared he never truly bought into what Sheridan was selling.
He voiced his problems with being benched at the end of last season and vowed he would retire if he was forced to come off the bench this season.
He has since rescinded those comments, saying he will be “the best damn player” he can be, and if the team feels he will best help the team coming off the bench then so be it. One can only assume that this means he has either had some personal epiphany, or that a new influence has been brought in and he has taken a liking to it.
I’ll bet on the ladder.
The Giants have a steep hill to climb next week to get over these injuries, hopefully they overcome them.
New York Giants Enter Camp With All Draft Picks Signed
[picappgallerysingle id="4749344"]As of the night before camp opened, the New York Giants have signed everyone of their draft picks.
Jason Pierre-Paul signed a five-year, $20.05 million deal with 11.6 million guaranteed to go along with Linval Joseph who signed earlier in the evening to a four-year, $4.2 million deal with $2.7 million guaranteed.
This is great news for the Giants as they will have all of their draft picks in uniform ready to go as camp gets underway today.
Pierre-Paul (or JPP as I will now refer to him as) is a pass rushing specialist with enormous potential, but few believe he will see the field that often with three proven defensive ends in front of him.
Make no mistake JPP should see at least some action, especially on third downs, but it makes sense for the Giants to ease him into the lineup considering he only played one year of Division I college ball, so he is still very raw.
The worst thing the Giants could do is rush him out there with poor fundamentals and let him develop poor habits. Those are hard habits to overcome.
Linval Joseph, on the other hand, is expected to make an immediate impact, especially if Chris Canty plays like he did last season (albeit he was hurt for most of the year).
The Giants rank in terms of rush defense was not terrible, but that was due to the fact that everyone could pass all day on them and didn’t have to establish the run to do so. Joseph is the type of player Fred Robbins was in his prime, a run stuffer.
He should be able to plug up the middle like a man child and make every one behind him better, including newly acquired middle linebacker Keith Bulluck.
As with every year, the rookies will have a lot of the attention placed on them at camp, but with the opening at the linebacker spots, new coaches on both sides of the ball and some new faces on defense, there won’t be a shortage of topics to cover during this two-week period at the University of Albany.
Stay tuned for more updates.
