New York Giants vs. Carolina Panthers: Week 1 Video Highlights
Sorry that the video has no sound, but if you want a nice sound track to listen to while enjoying this video, click the link below.
Drake “Miss me” featuring Bun B
Rant Sports TV: Week 1 NFL Recap by Aaron and Brett
Week 1 Recap by Rant Sports TV
Click the link above to see Aaron and Brett from Rant Sports break down Week 1 of the NFL season.
Giants TE Kevin Boss Out Against Colts, Brian Kehl Claimed by Rams
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The New York Giants have ruled out Kevin Boss for their Sunday Night Football matchup with the Indianapolis Colts. This was somewhat expected after they activated Bear Pascoe from the practice squad and waived Brian Kehl, who has been claimed by the St. Louis Rams.
This is a huge blow for the team, they cannot afford to lose Boss for an extended period of time because over the past three years Boss has been a nice safety blanket for Eli Manning, who frequently looks for Boss and Steve Smith on crucial downs.
Travis Beckum, drafted in the third round last year out of Wisconsin, is a special breed of tight end. He fits the new mold of the player who is fast enough to beat the linebackers across the middle and destroy zone coverage. However, he is also a terrible run blocker.
Enter Bear Pascoe.
Pascoe specializes in punishing people, so look for the Giants to use him a lot in run packages. The problem with this is that it makes the offense transparent. When one or the other is in the game, you can pretty much guess with a high probability what the play is going to be; pass with Beckum, run with Pascoe.
Pascoe’s catching ability is going to be an X-factor. If he can prove early on that he is not just there for run support and catch some passes, it will open up the offense. If he can’t it will spell disaster.
Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride has known to be predictable for most of his tenure, so he better mix things up or it will be a long day for the Giant offense.
Brian Kehl was claimed by the Rams and former defensive coordinator turned head coach Steve Spagnuolo. It was unfortunate that the team was forced to cut him, but I hope he finds success elsewhere. He was a very talented player who showed tons of promise.
In an unexpected move, the Broncos traded for Laurence Maroney and have released Andre Brown. It will be interesting to see if the Giants decided to sign him to the practice squad, which is what they had originally intended on doing when they cut him in the first place.
Giants Activate Bear Pascoe From Practice Sqaud, Waive Brian Kehl
[picappgallerysingle id="7420351"]In the wake of Kevin Boss and Will Beatty’s injuries, the Giants have activated TE Bear Pascoe, and in an unexpected move have waived former fourth round pick of 2008 Brian Kehl.
Pascoe is a blocking specialist at TE and should be able to provide much better run blocking than was show cased by Travis Beckum in last week’s win over Carolina.
Kehl has seen limited action at outside and middle linebacker and shown flashes of promise, but was directly responsible for the blocked punt this weekend and it seems like the coaching staff is showing little patience with the special teams.
At first glance, the move seems hasty, but maybe Gerris Wilkinson is recovering from his injury faster than originally thought. He is the player whom I thought would see the unemployment line before anyone else, but has lasted through three separate cuts.
Hopefully Pascoe and Beckum will fill in for Boss should he miss any time due to his concussion. Beckum is a terrific option in the passing game but did not get much of an opportunity to show case that in Week 1. The only pass he caught was called back on a penalty.
Bear Pascoe was a beast in training camp, if only for the fact that he was the only tight end that was healthy enough to stay on the field. He had to run the offensive plays for each string; one, two, and three. When you are pullin’ two-a-days in the summer heat, that is one tough cookie.
We’ll see if he translates that toughness to the field.
New York Giants Suffer Major Week 1 Casualties; Will Beatty and Kevin Boss Hurt
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Will Beatty and Kevin Boss suffered injuries yesterday in the week 1 victory against the Carolina Panthers, but how severe they are, is so far unclear.
The diagnosis for Beatty is a fractured foot, which could sideline him for two months or more. He could possibly be put on IR to make room for another spot on the roster.
This is a huge setback for the rising star who was expected to see a greatly expanded role in the offense at some point this season. He was put in the game yesterday due to the Giants not having a third backup tight end after Kevin Boss was injured on the third play of the game. More on Boss later.
That is seemingly the most frustrating aspect of the whole situation, that they could have avoided disaster by bringing Bear Pascoe on the team and let go Gerris Wilkinson, who has been injury prone since he was drafted.
The reasoning for Beatty even being in the game was Kevin Boss suffered a neck injury and a concussion on the third play of the game, when Eli Manning overthrew him and the defensive back punished him when the ball went sailing over their heads.
No unnecessary roughness for hitting a defenseless receiver was called on the play.
Some unnerving news came out when the team released information that Boss has had concussions in the past, and this could be, at the most, his third concussion.
The NFL and the team will have to be very cautious when allowing him to play again, the NFLPA has been very watchful about guys who suffer multiple concussions in terms of their life after football.
I hope Beatty can possibly be ready for the playoffs, should the Giants make it. Bear Pascoe and Travis Beckum will have to be enough to replace Boss, for now.
New York Giants-Carolina Panthers: Giants D “Fewell’s” Win
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OK, so I finally decided to succumb to the defensive coordinator’s last name and use it in reference to ‘fuel,’ but the defense of the New York Giants is the reason they beat the Carolina Panthers in the grand opening of their new stadium.
In the first half, the running game was basically non-existent with the offensive line almost refusing to open up holes for the backs. I can recall at least 4 runs that were -5 yards or worse.
The receivers were doing their best T.O. impression and dropping nearly every somewhat difficult ball that came their way, resulting in two first half interceptions that had everyone in the stadium booing. Eli took the classy road and took the blame for all three picks he had in the game, but none were his fault.
The only thing that kept the Panthers from opening up a can of whoop-a** on the Giants was the defense not allowing any points off the turnovers. In both instances in the first half, the defense intercepted Matt Moore and then forced a Carolina punt.
In fact (here’s a crazy stat), on all four of the Giants turnovers yesterday, the Panthers scored zero points off of them, forcing two punts and grabbing two interceptions. If that’s not the defense winning the game in spite of the offense I don’t know what is.
The defense completely dominated in the second half and shut down the Panthers vaunted run game from the very beginning. Double Trouble, Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams’ nickname, didn’t cause any trouble for the Giants.
Deon Grant made probably the play of the game when he soared over a Panther receiver to intercept a pass in the end zone. He played extremely well and was in the game plenty despite being demoted to a backup.
But I would have to say the game ball would go to Kenny Phillips. The fact that he was in the game alone was miraculous, but he also had two touchdown saving plays in the game. The first was a shoestring tackle on a third and goal on DeAngelo Williams; had he not made the play Williams walks in to the end zone. The second was the Giants third interception in the end zone, saving yet another TD.
Antrel Rolle made little impact in the game and it seemed like Fewell is more comfortable having the three safeties in the game in Nickel packages, rather than an extra corner back.
I cannot stress how worried I am about the offense, they just looked simply anemic until the second half, when the offensive line finally began to open holes for the running game. Luckily they were still able to pass the ball in the first half and only be down by two at halftime.
The biggest worry to me was on special teams. To put it lightly, I felt like I was watching high school players when they were on the field.
Matt Dodge has to figure out how to kick the ball higher than 15 yards above the ground, and the kick coverage had better shape up, better offenses would have taken advantage of an average starting point of around midfield (only allowed 16 points on defense???).
This was about as disgusting a win as I have ever seen, but it still is a win, and Hakeem Nicks emerged as a star with three touchdown receptions.
On to the next one. Manning Bowl II next Sunday night.
New York Giants Announce Captains; Manning, Tuck, Blackburn
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The New York Giants elected their captains Wednesday, and will do things a little differently than in the past.
Eli Manning and Justin Tuck are the offensive and defensive captains, while Chase Blackburn was selected for the Special Teams captain. For the first time in a while, the Giants will go with a captain on special teams that is not the punter or the kicker.
Jeff Feagles was the captain last season, and Justin Tuck replaces Antonio Pierce on defense. Both Tuck and Blackburn are captains for the first time, and coach Tom Coughlin said he will have two additional captains each week, depending on how things go.
Manning is the offensive captain for the fourth year in a row; he was only not the captain of the offense in Tiki Barber’s last season.
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The Giants released DBs Sha’reff Rashad and Seth Williams from their practice squad, and signed DBs Brian Jackson and Brandon Hughes.
Brandon Hughes was a 5th round pick of the Chargers last season out of Oregon State, and Brian Jackson went undrafted out of Oklahoma.
Jackson was cut by the Jets after they re-signed veteran FB Tony Richardson, so looks like he won’t have to go very far to his new team.
Brandon Jacobs Ignores Questions About Role With Team
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Right around the time Deon Grant was accepting his role as the backup like a man, Brandon Jacobs was ignoring questions about his possibly reduced role and storming off like a child.
Brandon Jacobs \”answers\” questions
As soon as someone brought up the statements he made after last Thursday’s preseason game he said “next question, man” and proceeded to ignore the rest of the follow up questions. He even sarcastically resumed answering questions when someone else asked a question with a different subject.
When someone brought up the situation again, he said “you must think I’m stupid,” and walked off. Is this the end of it or can we expect to see some drama in the locker room in the future?
Jacobs had apparently gotten over the lack of carries in the preseason when he told the media they had blown everything out of proportion, but it seems like a front when you see him acting like he did today.
On the other hand, he could just be tired of the media members constantly bringing it up, and wanting to avoid further controversy, he is simply keeping his mouth shut.
I’d like to believe the ladder, because if Terrell Owens has taught us anything, it is you cannot win Super Bowls in this league when you split a locker room in two.
Like I mentioned in a previous post, the most likely scenario is that he is waiting to see if coach Coughlin was just trying to make him happy by holding the meeting between the two. Waiting to see the true nature of his role with the offense in the first month of the season, then he will decide whether or not he is OK with it.
New York Giants Kenny Phillips To Start at Safety
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Safety Kenny Phillips informed the media after practice today that he has been “penciled in” as the starter opposite Antrel Rolle. This is terrific news for the New York Giants.
Nearly a year after hitting the injured reserve, the player that was poised for a breakout 2009 campaign will get a chance to test out his knee for a full 60 minutes.
Let’s hope it holds up.
While Deon Grant may not be very happy with being the backup, he stepped up and faced the media like a great teammate should, even though he admitted it would be tough to watch most of the games from the bench.
“On this level, it’s about establishing yourself, winning that ring and any personal goals you have,” Grant said. “My goal was to come into the league and to play and to start, and to start, and to start until it gets to the point where I can’t start anymore. I’ve been doing that up to this point. If it doesn’t happen, yeah, it’s going to be hard to swallow.”
Grant will continue to play the role of established veteran and help the young Phillips in any way that he can, for now.
If Grant does accept his role it will be great for the Giants, but I can’t imagine him being completely confined to the bench, he is too talented for that.
Perry Fewell being a defensive coordinator with the secondary as his specialty, he will find a way for Grant to contribute.
Brandon Jacobs Happy; Says Comments Were Blown Out Of Proportion
[picappgallerysingle id="9560904"]Brandon Jacobs of the New York Giants was reported as being very unhappy with his role with the team after the last preseason game against the New England Patriots.
He was quoted as saying “this is a backstabbing business” and referred to the league as “cutthroat.” Very strong words from the former 1000 yard rusher.
In training camp and in games, Bradshaw was seeing the bulk of the action with the first team, but the coaching staff still insisted they were going to share the load equally.
He has since refuted those statements, saying they were only about the game and not his role with the team. He only saw four snaps on offense, and did not receive a single carry.
“Those [comments] were about the game, the last preseason game, only having four reps,” Jacobs said. “That’s where that whole thing came from. I didn’t have any carries at all, not one. I had a catch. I just wanted a few more snaps to try to get the ball.”
Jacobs is reported OK with his role with the team, claiming he is just here to help the team win.
“I’m happy. People get different things confused through words. That’s not the case. The case is I’m here to win football games and ride it on out with my teammates.”
Tom Coughlin and Jacobs had a meeting last Friday, and Jacobs said he now has a full understanding of his role with the team, but shouldn’t he have known that already?
If I’m being skeptical, he is being a good teammate and holding everything inside about his unhappiness until the first couple games. If there is a definite discrepancy in the carries, he will not keep quiet.
This is a good thing for now because a drama free locker room means chemistry on the field, which is just as important as the X’s and O’s factor.
We’ll see how it works out when Carolina comes to town this Sunday.
