Giant Football Blog

Giants' starters look sharp in preseason loss

On offense Thursday night, the Giants dominated the Patriots' backups. On the other side of the ball, it was even uglier for New England.

In two drives, the Giants' starters held the Pats to minus-6 yards of total offense and they recorded two sacks -- one by cornerback Terrell Thomas and one for defensive end Justin Tuck, who was able to get on the board before the preseason ended.

Both players got to quarterback Brian Hoyer untouched -- Thomas off the edge and Tuck up the middle on a stunt.

"With this being the fourth preseason game, we knew our time would be limited, so we wanted to go out and accomplish our goals quickly," Tuck said. "We did just that as the first team defense with two three-and-outs. We rushed the passer and stopped the run, and that's what you want to be doing at the end of the preseason." Continue

Giants WRs not special vs Jets 1st team

It wasn't just déjà vu. It was a recurring nightmare.

It happened early in Saturday night's game, on the second series, which started out with so much promise.Steve Smith got wide open, far behind the Jets' defense. And Eli Manning hit him with a perfect pass.

It would've been the moment that eased everyone's fears about the Giants' unheralded receivers.

That is, until the ball bounced right out of Smith's hands.

"I'm sick right now," Smith said after the Giants' 27-25 loss to the Jets. "You've got to make the clutch plays. You've got to make the ones that count." Continue

Passing game sub par in Giants' loss

The Giants hoped to learn at least a little something about their wide receivers Saturday night, but once again they weren't able to do it.

The truth is they weren't able to learn anything good about their team at all.

Consider their second preseason game a failure on all fronts as they were "embarrassed," in the words of an angry Tom Coughlin, by the way they lost, 17-3, to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. It wasn't just the receivers either, it was the defense, the protection and the special teams, too.

Nobody was safe from Coughlin's wrath after the game.

"We got beat," he said. "We have no excuses. There isn't one phase of the game where I thought we played well. We weren't physical at all. We came in with some objectives and we really didn't accomplish any of them." Continue

Rbs and Defense shine in Giant win

One game into the post-Plaxico Burress era, the Giants' receivers are still an unknown quantity. But it appears that without Derrick Ward, the running backs will be just fine.

At least that's the way it looked when, in the first preseason game, the Giants' 1-2 punch of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw picked up where Jacobs-Ward left off last season. Jacobs rushed four times for 31 yards and Bradshaw rushed five times for 35 yards.

That included a 19-yard touchdown by Bradshaw that got the Giants started on what eventually turned into a 24-17 win Monday night in the Meadowlands. The game was not decided until the final play, when defensive tackle Leger Douzable forced a fumble that defensive end Tommie Hill recovered and ran back 18 yards for a touchdown.Continue

Tom Coughlin gives Giants break in pre-season win over Patriots

Tom Coughlin wants to win every game he coaches, but even he knows a completely meaningless game when he's in one. So the hard-driving coach loosened the reins Thursday night and turned the Giants' final preseason game over to his reserves. And with Eli Manning, Plaxico Burress and most of the starters either out or gone after the first series, the Giants beat the New England Patriots, 19-14. But more importantly, nobody got hurt. Continue

Osi Umenyiora hurts left knee in Giants' 10-7 loss to Jets, awaits MRI

Replacing their Hall of Fame defensive end was going to be tough enough for the Giants. Now they may have to replace their Pro Bowl defensive end, too. Osi Umenyiora, who started opposite Michael Strahan for the last three seasons, injured his left knee Saturday night in the Giants' 10-7 preseason loss to the Jets when it "locked up" early in the second quarter. X-rays were negative, and Tom Coughlin said the doctors discovered no ligament damage through their initial exams. Continue

Domenik Hixon leads Giants with three TDs in mistake-filled win over Browns

Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer and Steve Smith were all stuck on the Giants' sidelines Monday night. So at least they had a nice view of the Domenik Hixon show.

Hixon, a third-year pro who was scraped off the waiver wire last October, took advantage of his teammates' absences with a breakout performance in the defending champs' return to Giants Stadium. He scored three touchdowns in the first quarter - including one on an 82-yard kick return - as the Giants beat the Cleveland Browns in their preseason home opener, 37-34. Continue

Eddie Johnson's 31-yard field goal pushes Lions past Giants, 13-10

The New York Giants couldn't put together another last-minute road win. This time, they didn't care. With Eli Manning on the bench and Super Bowl heroes David Tyree and Plaxico Burress back home, David Carr and the Giants couldn't come from behind in a 13-10 exhibition loss to the Detroit Lions on Thursday night.

"It's too bad. It would have been nice for us to finish off the game," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "But the idea is to improve from the first preseason game to the second. We've got a lot to work on." Continue

Jets 20, Giants 12

The Giants dominated on the field but not on the scoreboard last night while their starters were in action against the Jets. It was a 12-6 Giants lead at halftime before the reserves finished up and faltered in a 20-12 preseason loss to the Jets at humid and sweaty Giants Stadium.

After the Jets struck suddenly for a 79-yard touchdown on the very first play, the Giants dominated the remainder of the first half, outgaining the Jets 201 to minus-13 in yardage. Playing the first half, Eli Manning (17 of 35, 146 yards, 1 TD) was solid but not especially productive. Continue

Preseason win is a Giant pain

The Giants' performance was better last night. The body count was worse. Any joy the Giants felt from their 13-12 preseason win over the Baltimore Ravens was tempered by the fact that they lost at least six players to injury, including one - receiver Michael Jennings - for the entire season. Safety Will Demps, tight end Jeremy Shockey, rookie receiver Steve Smith, cornerback Sam Madison and backup offensive lineman Grey Ruegamer all were hurt in the game.

Jennings is facing season-ending surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon. Of the others, Demps' dislocated right elbow appeared to be the most serious, though he's optimistic he'll be sidelined for only two weeks. Continue