Staying true to my laziness, I waited a full day after all the post-game analysis done by everyone else to post my thoughts. Really it was because I didn’t get to watch the game on Monday and I was just exhausted Tuesday.* But here are my thoughts as it stands on the very first preseason game:
*= I know, I know, you care.
First big play was the Sanchez interception. The pass was intended for LDT and he threw it into double coverage. My opinion on that play is, he was going to throw it to LDT on that play no matter what and the Giants had a guy covering him and another LB converging on him. The ball bounced off his shoulder pads and hung in the air long enough for new Giant Antrell Rolle (you know, the Giants made offseason moves too), to pick off the pass and take it all the way to the one. I think one of the biggest problems with the Giants last season was their safety play. CC Brown was poorly cast as a starting cover safety and the lack of depth at the safety position manifested itself when Kenny Phillips went down with arthiritis in his knee. Let me reiterate one thing for everyone: unless Kenny Phillips comes back, the Giants will continue to have problems in the secondary.
Underneath routes will be there all day for opponents of the G-Men, because the linebackers aren’t that quick and the cover corners aren’t all that great. Everything will once again hinge on how quickly the defense can ratchet up pressure. If the defensive line can not force its way into the quarterback’s face with regularity I can guarantee you that the Giants will have another season of disappointment. The Giants once again come into the season with perhaps the deepest rotation of defensive linemen in the league but, if they don’t perform it won’t matter. With the talent of wide recievers in the NFC East vastly improved with DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin (and maybe Riley Cooper who is emerging as a favorite receiver for new Eagles QB Kevin Kolb), and Miles Austin and Dez Bryant (he’s going to be like Randy Moss- teams are going to regret holding his character as means to not draft him).*
*= I know I left out the Redskins, but as much as I hate to admit this, McNabb being their QB will make that entire team’s receiving corps better.
– The Jets really tried to feature LDT in the passing game alot, perhaps hinting that they want to use him as a receiver more than just a runner. Which if that’s true, then that makes Shonn Greene a feature back, one of the few in a league that has gone to the two back system that most coaches favor. I think if you assign roles for both guys, it makes it interesting when it comes time for LDT to run and Shonn Greene to be a pass catcher. Eventually the Jets want Greene to do it all and I think he could, but he has to change his physical lowering his head, battering ram style of running. The shelf life of running backs is small to begin with, but you start playing like that it becomes even smaller. Greene however showed some moves in this game that could give him longevity in the game. Finding when to use the battering ram style and when to use finesse will be Greene’s biggest obstacle. LDT in the passing game makes a lot of sense.
– Antonio Cromartie dropped two sure fire interceptions. If this Revis thing doesn’t get resolved before the season, those kind of mistakes will not be accepted. The Jets were getting plenty of pressure on the Giants first team offensive line and alot of throws were going right to Cromartie, and I mean RIGHT to Cromartie, but he never made the play. Of course the initial reaction will be: if Revis were there, he would’ve made that play. Its going to be tough if this hold out goes beyond the preseason and into the season and Cromartie whiffs on those sure-fire interceptions. For the Jets to gain any more leverage in this than what they already have, the secondary must perform. One of the biggest plays that every Charger fan remembers from Cromartie’s last game with them was his lack of physicality on the Shonn Greene touchdown in the AFC Divisional round game. Cromartie dodged a tackle but then ran down Greene in the end zone in time to deliver a cheap shot with his elbow. If Cromartie shows those colors here in New York, you can bet that his value will significantly drop because those kinds of plays will not go unnoticed here in New York.
– Brandon Jacobs’ regression will be a major plot line during the pre-season. Let’s admit it, he’s taken a step back. Playing at 260 and being 6’4 is great and all but now teams are hitting him at the knees and its wearing the big man down. He used to wear teams down by the third and fourth quarters but since its the other way around, the Giants have to be concerned. I think the Giants had better hope Ahmad Bradshaw comes back healthy and with the kind of moves he flashed on the shovel pass by Eli in the second quarter. Bradshaw played with two broken ankles (i cry when I have one broken ankle, I have no idea how he was walking playing with two) and tried to gut out the season. I don’t think Bradshaw is a number one back in the league BUT he can be a really good complementary back. He is most effective as a 225-250 carry back in the league with about 50-75 catches. He can do wonders in space and I can’t help but feel that Kevin Gilbride, the Giants offensive coordinator, should look to use him in receiver formations to throw defenses a new wrinkle. He’s an effective screen back runner and the Giants usually do well in identifying excellent in-between the tackle rushers and the Giants should really look to get Andre Brown into that mix.
– It brings us to the Eli Manning hit which of course was shown on loop on ESPN. Seeing it for the first time it looked gruesome, but with more replays you realized the mix up on the play (Brandon Jacobs said Eli called a running play but Eli changed the play at the line of scrimmage) and the bump by Jacobs loosened the helmet which came flying off at the end of the play thanks to Calvin Pace’s hit. The blood came gushing out thanks to the face mask of Jim Leonhard who converged from the other side seeing the ball loose. It was totally coincidental contact on Leonhard’s part which cut Manning on the forehead. Either way, it was kind of cool to see that kind of physicality from a preseason game.
– Preseason games get a bad rap in terms of intensity, thanks to back ups being in by basically the second quarter, but there was Eli playing in the second, there was LDT and Mark Sanchez playing the entire half. I loved the intensity from both sides. Clearly both teams came to win the game, so how do I grade both first teams? I thought the first team defense of the Jets was the best unit on the field hands down. Eli never had much time and Rex Ryan threw some blitzes to mix up timing. Maybe not as much as Rex would but certainly the natural pressure they got affected Eli’s timing. Here are other winners and losers:
1. Victor Cruz- Pre Season games are not meant for guys with contracts and set in stone positions on the team. They are for the, oh i don’t know, undrafted rookies out of UMASS just trying to get noticed and if you’ve been following the tweets and reports from Giants camp like I have, Monday was NOT the first time you heard the kid’s name. Cruz has been impressive in practice and showed on the field that perhaps the Giants plucked another gem. Cruz’ work ethic and overall demeanor will certainly gain him favor when it comes time for coaches to make those tough decisions at the end of camp of who to go to the regular season with. All his catches seemingly were passes lofted to him where he had to make a play on the ball and he came down with the ball. With injuries befalling the Giants depth chart at receiver and tight end, it leaves spots that can be earned and clearly Victor Cruz (a local product from Patterson, NJ) is taking advantage.
2. Jason Pierre Paul- Remember, he’s still a work in progress. He JUST started playing organized football during his senior year of football. He walked on to South Florida last year at this time and vaulted himself to first round status. He’s a freak of nature and he showed. Right now, he needs coaching on technique and how to use his unbelievable physical talents but when he understands what’s going on in front of him and how to leverage the offensive linemen, this guy could be a force. In college they basically threw him out there in every part of the defensive line and basically handed him instructions to get to the QB and that he did. This is just one guy’s opinion but with enough reps, he could average a sack per game. He’s just that naturally gifted that if he had 10 snaps per game to start off, I predict he could easily get one sack per game. His wing span is that of a 7 footer which means that if he gets his hands underneath the offensive lineman’s hands, the offensive lineman better start trying his best to put the brakes on because he’s going to get pushed back.
3. John Connor- The Terminator. Loved him on Hard Knocks and I have to admit I was watching him play on the field. He’s behind Tony Richardson one of the best fullbacks of all time and he stands to gain alot of knowledge about hustle and everything else but what a pro to be behind. He already has mastered the one key component of a fullback: “the I am not afraid to get hit” part of being one. On the LDT rushing TD that was negated by a holding penalty, Connor bulldozed Jonathan Goff and LDT blasted through the zone. I think LDT is going to love running behind the rookie. Speaking of which…
4. LaDanian Tomlinson- I’ve never been a huge LDT fan. I think the guy quit on his team in just about every single playoff game they lost. He pouts when he doesn’t get the ball despite the fact that it became obviously clear that in the last two seasons Darren Sproles became the Chargers better running option. I think it was a stupid move for the Jets to let Thomas Jones and his hard working, leadership go for what turns out to be pennies, and recruited LDT to come in and take over the mentoring role for Shonn Greene. I believe Chargers like Philip Rivers (who I’ve made no bones about being one of my favorite players in the league) told you a lot about the atmosphere around the Chargers with LDT saying “everyone can breathe now.” But, Mike Tannenbaum took a roll of the dice and went all in for the 2010 season with the moves he did make and this represents one of his biggest gambles (other than that staring contest with Darrelle Revis’ agent) as GM. What this game proved is that the Jets have one of the best offensive lines in all of football so it stands to reason that LDT could see a renewal here in NY. If LDT is any kind of competitor, then you can best believe he will use this as momentum. What I worry about is the LDT that shows up in January. Jets fans will murder him if they see him sitting on the sidelines with the helmet with the tinted face mask and arms crossed. I think he will have a good season behind this offensive line.
5. Mark Sanchez- He was impressive. Stepped into throws, showed the zip and he was more comfortable in the system that Brian Schottenheimer has installed. Frankly I still think he’s going to have those moments like that LDT interception where you see the replay and you scratch your head but he won’t have the 12 TD 20 INT line that he had last year. Last year, he was given a bike with training wheels. This year, they souped up the bike and are hoping to take off the training wheels, added Santonio Holmes to the group of receivers. I would put Holmes in the winners list, but he’s out for the first four games thanks to a league suspension for violating the substance abuse policy, so he gets penalized.
Losers:
1. Giants identity- What is it? The Jets remind me of the Giants from 2007 which won the Super Bowl. Great line play on both sides and a team built on the running game. The Giants have the runners but clearly Brandon Jacobs has lost a step and Ahmad Bradshaw is recovering from ankle problems. There’s a shift that the Giants are going through, they want William Beatty their 2nd round draft pick from a year ago to take over on the offensive line for Rich Seubert who was injured during training camp and will miss a few weeks. So that continuity isn’t there, which coincidentally the Jets took over that streak when the Giants had a few injuries last year, but one which the Jets won’t have either thanks to Alan Faneca not being resigned. I think the Giants have to go back to 50/50 run/pass and can not expect Eli Manning to put up 4,000 yards of passing every year. They need to do it on the ground and get back to the formula of success that has been almost a hallmark of the franchise. Power running games keep the team fresher and allow the QB to stay up right which is what you want more than anything.
2. Giants Special teams- Right now, Matt Dodge looks like an absolute failure as the replacement for long time safety net Jeff Feagles who retired after 100 years in the NFL. Dodge has been shanking punts and hitting line drives which any 9 year old kid with Madden can tell you is a no-no. With Domenik Hixon out for the regular season with a torn ACL (thanks to the Meadowlands new turf), the return game is a big question mark as well and the Giants trotted out Aaron Ross, Andre Brown, Duke Calhoun to name a few. No one stood out and that could be a problem. The last few years have shown how important the field battle can be an important one to win. If the Giants dont fix this problem, there may not be much the defense can do.
3. Antonio Cromartie, Jets corners- The Jets had better hope that the reputation that Cromartie left the Chargers with, (Being soft, afraid of contact, not a hard worker) don’t come to fruition here in New York. Cromartie is playing under brighter lights especially considering all the attention the Jets are getting with Hard Knocks and all the pre season Super Bowl talk. Add to that the whole Revis hold out, there is a ton of pressure on Cromartie to compete and hold the fort down. IF this holdout goes into the regular season, the secondary’s play will be scrutinized and may play a role in negotiations. Clearly Cromartie right now is the Jets best corner with Revis out and if the Jets get thrown on early and often and can’t stop the pass with regularity, it could become a situation in which the Jets will lose their leverage with Revis and may force the Jets into resigning Revis. For those wondering the Jets first five games are against Baltimore, New England, Miami, Buffalo and Minnesota, so it will be paramount that the Jets secondary hold their own when Sexy Rexy throws those zero protection blitzes. For those counting, Cromartie dropped 2 gimme interceptions.
4. Nick Folk- Another decision that made me scratch my head. Jay Feely has a reputation for being one of the least likable locker room guys and maybe that will help, but Folk has been a wreck after his rookie year. He made 3 of 4 field goals, but that 46 yard field goal makes you wonder about his head. Feely hit those 46 yarders with regularity despite being a prick. Maybe some decisions should be based on talent alone. This coming from the guy who talks all day about team unity.
5. Chris Canty- He’s the guy that got the huge free agent contract with all that guaranteed money and he’s been guaranteed to be on the sideline with an injury or ineffectiveness. For what its worth, reports from camp have been that he’s been dominant but if what I saw is true, that’s more on the offensive line being ineffective. He’s the one guy I’m going to look at to make an impact and he didn’t do jack in the Jet game. I’m hoping he shows up at some point during real live games because you know, thats what the Giants paid him for.
A few other small non-football related nuggets:
-Loved the fight between the jackass Giant fan who made Fireman Ed get off his post to do his customary J-E-T-S call. Remember, this was a Jet home game. Firemen Ed, clearly livid, elbowed the guy a few times and then led a more spirited than necessary for a pre season game rendition of the J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS chant. I’m a Giants fan but Fireman Ed is a part of New York sports. He’s crafted a legacy for himself that he hopes to carry into this new stadium which Jets fans will call Meadowlands Stadium and Giants fans will call the New Giants Stadium.
– Can we get Woody Johnson a new white shirt and green tie, or is his wardrobe completely filled with that combo? I mean, come on, i’m sure if he wore a green shirt and white tie, it would be a hit.
– Can’t wait for the next episode of Hard Knocks. Just one thought relating to HBO docu-series: Rex Ryan was MADE for television.
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