Preview: Giants...

[IE]

from BigBlueInteractive


August 16, 2013




Approach to the Game: OK, things get more serious this week. Training camp is almost over. There are very few practices left before the start of the regular season. The starters usually play the entire first half of the second preseason game. This (expletive deleted) is about to get real.

With the limited number of practices and the reduced amount of contact within those practices under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the preseason games are now more important than ever before. The games are the only time you can really go full contact and practice fundamentals like hitting and tackling at full speed. It?s the only time you can really practice special teams at full speed, and the only time you really can practice goal-line and short-yardage offense and defense.

The second and third preseason games are always the most important. Coach Coughlin and his staff are looking for sharp play on offense, defense, and special teams.

Quarterbacks: As important as it is to make sure Eli Manning comes out of this game healthy, he needs real-game practice in order to get ready for the season. Where the Giants need to show improvement ? both passing and running ? is in the green zone. Last week, the Giants had first-and-goal from the 5-yard line and settled for a field goal. That was too reminiscent of last season. Brandon Myers and Victor Cruz should give most teams fits in this area, especially with Hakeem Nicks and Rueben Randle on the outside.

We learned this week that Curtis Painter actually has a chance to unseat David Carr. So obviously, this is a big game for one of these two. (My guess is one of these two will play this week and the other next week). Ryan Nassib will likely clean up, but 2013 is really going to be a redshirt year for him.

Running Backs: David Wilson wasn?t terribly productive last week so hopefully we see more from him against the Colts. Again, a critical aspect to watch will be his pass protection. Aside from the embarrassing fumble last week, Andre Brown ran tough.

The battle for the #3 job continues. Da?Rel Scott received most of the chances last week, but Michael Cox did more with his chances. We should see Ryan Torain, who missed the last game with a concussion, for the first time.

Wide Receivers: We should see Hakeem Nicks for the first time this preseason. It will be interesting to see how sharp he is. Rueben Randle was an early target for Eli against the Steelers, but they could only connect on one-of-three chances. Look for more plays to get these two in sync.

I?m hoping they get more work for Louis Murphy, who is the clear-cut #4 receiver.

Contrary to the team?s usual practice, I?m thinking the Giants may only carry five receivers this year in order to carry an extra tight end. We?ll see. The leading candidate for the #5 spot is Jerrel Jernigan, but missing practice this week with ?soreness? didn?t help. ?I thought he was excellent (against the Steelers),? said Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride. ?I thought he did a lot of good things, if the quarterback had a few more counts. He ran a hook and up that he was wide open. He ran a corner route where he was wide open. Just couldn?t get him the ball. Biggest thing is he?s got to stay healthy. Sure enough, he?s got to stay out there, do it on a consistent basis. I think he?s always shown glimpses, he?s always shown flashes. As a coach, that?s what?s frustrating because you see it there and you want to get it out on a play-in play-out, day-in day-out basis. I thought he played really well Saturday night, so hopefully that will continue.?

Tight Ends: This week, during interviews, Coach Coughlin and General Manager Jerry Reese kept mentioning not only Brandon Myers, but the two ?young, big tight ends? ? clearly meaning Adrien Robinson and Larry Donnell. It?s sounding more and more like the Giants will keep these three players plus Bear Pascoe. With Henry Hynoski possibly starting the season on the PUP, carrying four might be easier than it usually is. I?m hoping to see more out of Robinson and Donnell in the passing game this week.

Offensive Line: It will be interesting to see if Chris Snee (hip) plays. If he does, the starting OL will be on the field together for the first time in a game this season. The left side of the line ? Will Beatty and Kevin Boothe ? doesn?t concern me. But Baas and Snee are coming off of offseason surgeries, and David Diehl still has to prove that father time hasn?t diminished his skills to the point where he is a liability. The Giants need Baas and Snee to live up to their contracts.

We should see Justin Pugh this week for the first time, and maybe James Brewer. Both are coming off of concussions. But Chris DeGeare (ankle) won?t play. Brandon Mosley has been a pleasant surprise this camp, rapidly coming on. It appears that Pugh, Brewer, and Mosley will be the chief reserves. Who else will make the team? Is there room for a ninth offensive lineman?

Defensive Line: Justin Tuck should play this week. So we should see Cullen Jenkins back at defensive tackle with Linval Joseph. It will be interesting to see how well the supposedly reinvigorated Tuck plays. Mathias Kiwanuka wasn?t terrible impressive against the Steelers, and neither was Linval Joseph.

Will Damontre Moore (shoulder) play? Adrian Tracy seems to be the coaches? favorite for the final defensive end spot, but it will be interesting to see if Justin Trattou or Adewale Ojomo continue to make that decision more difficult.

Inside, Johnathan Hankins is a sure bet to make the team. Shaun Rogers has been playing with the second-team, and sometimes the first-team. The coaches have said they have seen progress from Marvin Austin, but want to see more.

Linebackers: This unit wasn?t very impressive last week in Pittsburgh. Perhaps too much is being expected from a bunch of castoffs and undrafted players? Or maybe the coaching staff isn?t doing such a great job of getting these guys ready? It will be Mark Herzlich versus Dan Connor ? round two. Spencer Paysinger and Keith Rivers have to make some plays, not just run around out there. Jacquian Williams is a good cover linebacker, but he has to play the run too. I?d like to see more snaps from Aaron Curry in order to get a better read on him.

Defensive Backs: Prince Amukamara and Jayron Hosley are improving. The key for both is to stay healthy. Corey Webster has been missing some practices with nagging injuries again. Hopefully that stops soon. Aaron Ross seems sure to make the team and fingers remain crossed with Terrell Thomas (ACL) who probably will be kept out at least one more week. I liked what I saw from Trumaine McBride last week.

At safety, we?ll get a chance to see if the praise for Ryan Mundy has been justified since Antrel Rolle (ankle) is out. Both Mundy and Stevie Brown have to prove they can consistently patrol the middle of the field. Unfortunately, Cooper Taylor (hamstring) has been out all week again so he?s not likely to play. Tyler Sash stood out last week and we?ll have to see if he can perform well two weeks in a row. This is a big game for Will Hill, who may be on the bubble.

Special Teams: The returners didn?t get much of a chance to demonstrate their skills last week and hopefully they get more chances in this game. The return game is a big question mark for the Giants right now. Josh Brown missed a very makeable attempt last week, while nailing the longer chance.

 

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Colts, Giants to meet looking for improvements

| Associated Press





? Heading into the second week of the preseason, Giants coach Tom Coughlin and Colts coach Chuck Pagano, whose team was embarrassed 44-20 by Buffalo, want to see their teams make progress when New York plays host to Indianapolis tonight at Metlife Stadium. So does Colts owner Jim Irsay.

Irsay was miffed with his backups after Andrew Luck and Co. helped Indianapolis take a 10-0 lead, and he let the team know he wasn?t happy after spending $140 million on free agents, seeing Luck sacked, and his defense and special teams embarrassed.

Linebacker Robert Mathis didn?t show up in the right frame of mind.

Pagano plans to play his starters about a half, which is fine with Luck.

?Yeah, I think you got to keep improving and get more comfortable with the plays,? Luck said. ?We?ve got one game under the belt now, so to speak, and so yeah we should improve. We should play faster, a little more confidently and again, we?ll have to see what happens in the game.?

Coughlin plans to give quarterback Eli Manning about 20 plays and follow with backup David Carr and rookie Ryan Nassib. Former Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter, a former Colt, will not play until next week when Carr sits.

Giants cornerback Terrell Thomas has been waiting for almost two years to get back on the field and play in an NFL game, any type of game.

It just won?t be tonight.

Thomas has missed the last two seasons with anterior cruciate ligament injuries. The 28-year-old started camp on the physically unable to perform list and was activated less than two weeks ago.

He has looked good in practice and appears to be close to playing, possibly next week against the Jets.

?I?m still just building blocks and just trying to knock ?em down,? said Thomas, who was the Giants? leading tackler in the two seasons before being hurt. ?I?m taking big steps every day. Trying to get better, you know, with my technique getting my feet underneath me, keep building confidence.?

One clear indication that Thomas is getting closer has been watching him work against Victor Cruz in practice. He has held his own against one of the league?s top receivers.

?We love the competition,? Thomas said. ?I made a couple plays on him and vice versa. We talked about it in the locker room, give each other, gassed each other up a little bit. But it?s fun. It?s fun to get me back out there.?

Cruz, who caught a 57-yard scoring pass in the 18-13 win over Pittsburgh last weekend, said Thomas is definitely making progress.

?You can still see him getting his feet under him and working on his lateral movement,? Cruz said. ?But he looks good, he looks quick, he looks fluid out there. He jammed me up pretty good one day out there, I?m not going to lie. But I got him back. There?s a little back and forth, just a little competitive stuff to get each other better. But I definitely see him moving in the right direction.?

The Giants? Hakeem Nicks, who missed the preseason opener, is expected back on the field, as is defensive end Justin Tuck. First-round draft pick and tackle Justin Pugh will play after missing the preseason opener with a concussion.

 

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Giants working to perfect no-huddle offense


By The Star-Ledger




The call comes in randomly during practice.

Giants position players are not aware that there?s a fast-paced, no-huddle period on the schedule, which is part of the point. When the situation dictates, they need to be ready. When a defense is wary, they want to have the ability to spring into the quick set.

"MACH! MACH! MACH!"

The call forces everyone out of their drills and into an 11-on-11 situation in which Eli Manning and the offense pilot a non-two-minute, no-huddle drill. The goal is to rob the defense of any adjustment time and manipulate the clock to their advantage.

"I think we?re trying to integrate that more into our offense with the Mach," second-year wideout Rueben Randle told The Star-Ledger this week. "We?re getting a few more snaps in and keeping the defense on the sideline, letting them rest a little bit.

"We?re slowly integrating into that more fast-paced (offense), so there will may be a little bit more of that happening this season."

Last year, the Giants took just 968 snaps on offense, which was the second-lowest number in the NFL. The Patriots, by comparison, took 1,191 snaps ? a difference that equates to almost three games? worth of plays.

Teams around the league are looking to increase their snap counts to mimic New England?s rapid-fire no-huddle attack inspired by now-Eagles coach Chip Kelly?s system at the University of Oregon. The benefits ? more scoring opportunities, additional chunk-play chances and restricting defensive substitutions ? are well-established.

It seems to be perfectly suited for a team that has a heady quarterback, speedy wideouts with knowledge of the system and a versatile tight end.

In other words ?

"I think we can," Giants receiver Victor Cruz said. "We?ve dabbled with it in certain situations, I think we have all the tools to do so, and I think if that?s something Coach (Tom Coughlin) wants to talk more about, I think we can get it done."

SNEAK ATTACK

The conversation with tight end Brandon Myers was brief.

How has the Mach been going in practice?

"Um, It?s good."

Is it chaotic, everyone running around like that?

"It shouldn?t be, no."

Wait. Are you not allowed to be talking about this?

"I don?t think we probably should be, no."

How much the Giants plan on using the Mach remains under wraps.

Myers smiled, half-jokingly, before addressing the benefits of the no-huddle, and how having a tight end platoon like the Giants ? one that includes Adrien Robinson, an above-average blocker, and Myers, who says his blocking has improved ? could allow the team to be more diverse in its up-tempo play calls.

"It?s all about playing to everybody?s strength, putting a guy in the right position to make plays," Myers said. "It?s all about finding out what guys can do, and playing to their strengths."

At the least, the Giants are hoping to improve on their snap count from last year. Myers, along with Randle, said the coaching staff discussed the importance of getting more plays off, and thus, increasing their chances of scoring more points.

Part of that will depend on Myers? ability to shore up his run blocking. Part of it, according to other players, will be an increased focus on conditioning and another will be whether or not it makes sense to use the no-huddle situationally.

"I think any time you?re on the field, you want to have a good tempo and move the ball," Myers said. "You don?t just want to be lethargic and take up a bunch of time, you want to move the ball down the field and put points on the board."

NEGATING ELI?S STRENGTH?

The Giants have traditionally been one of the league?s best two-minute drill teams but have struggled with a no-huddle outside of that specific moment in a game. It?s a point of contention for offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, who is still considering the overall value.

"We tried it against Cincinnati starting the game, and that was maybe the worst game, certainly one of the two worst games we had last year," Gilbride said. "Just because you go no huddle doesn?t do anything, it just means you?re not huddling."

One of the main reasons the Giants haven?t used it in the past is because of Eli Manning?s greatest strength: The ability to adjust plays at the line.

Some of the Giants? biggest gains have come from alterations made by Manning once he sees the defense?s coverage and tinkers with the protection and routes. Cruz can attest to that fact, and has said that he can now see a step ahead of Manning sometimes, and know when a play is going to change.

Going no-huddle the way New England did last year would rob Manning of any time at the line. The play that?s sent in would have to be run, and part of the rapport he has built with the rest of the offense will be pocketed.

"You negate the smart quarterback," Gilbride said. "You?re not allowing him to change the play. Three quarters of the training that we do with Manning is to keep educating him on what we want, maybe this is a better play, this is the look we want."

Manning, though, sees the advantages as well as the drawbacks. While he hasn?t studied the Patriots offense specifically, seeing the way they can force a defense into a corner is attractive.

"If it simplifies what a defense is doing, or gets them to declare what they?re doing a little sooner," Manning told The Star-Ledger last week. "There?s some disadvantages if you?re not getting first downs, you?re not controlling the clock much, but if you can get more plays and can get into your full offense at a fast pace it can be an advantage."

Whether or not Gilbride wants to chance it again, though, remains to be seen.

Until then, the Giants will keep the formation handy at their hip, ready to spring it on their players with one unsuspecting "MACH!"