SB Nation - Dave Tollefson

Breaking news: Wilkinson to IR; Giants sign DB

Ed Valentine — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:35:24 -0000

The New York Giants have placed injured linebacker Gerris Wilkinson on Injured Reserve and signed rookie defensive back Dominque 'D.J. Johnson off Denver's practice squad.

Here is Patricia Traina of Inside Football on Johnson.

Johnson, who transferred from Missouri after starting four games as a redshirt sophomore in 2006, was a A 2008 first-team All-SWAC pick after having intercepted 10 passes and deflecting 27 in his first two seasons with the Tigers.

Although the Giants seem pretty much set at corner, my gut feeling is that they brought Johnson on board not only because they play Denver in two weeks, but more importantly because he is a playmakerwho also happens to have experience playing free safety. He also was a standout on special teams for Missouri State, where he played prior to transferring to Jackson State.

Mike Garafolo offered a similar opinion.

Johnson is a corner by trade but played some safety in college. Plus, scouting reports before the draft indicated he might be better suited to play safety. The Giants need safety help, so perhaps that's where he's destined to play.

My take: Now don't go and think this kid will suddenly solve all of the Giants problems at safety, especially immediately. GM Jerry Reese has a history of plucking useful players off other teams during the season, though (think Dave Tollefson, Domenik Hixon, Madison Hedgecock among others). Maybe Johnson turns out to be the next one.

New York Giants news and notes: Raiders enjoyed Giants' loss

Ed Valentine — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:49:25 -0000

No chat with the Cardinals blogger yet. But, of course, an Arizona cheerleader.

Richard Seymour and the Oakland Raiders certainly had a great day last Sunday. Not only did they beat the Philadelphia Eagles, but they thoroughly enjoyed the pasting our New York Giants took at the hands of the New Orleans Saints.

Remember, Antonio Pierce's "felt like a scrimmage" comment about the Giants game against the Raiders? Seymour sure did.

"They got what they deserved this week," Seymour said Wednesday. "I’m not sure how many points the Saints scored on them, but if I’m not mistaken, it was half a hundred points. So, I think he got enough to chew on himself with that."

Talkin' with Tom

Here are a few highlights from Tom Coughlin's meeting with the media Wednesday.

On the struggles of the secondary to play the ball Sunday.

"It is always coachable. You challenge them to be in the right place, see the ball better. Have a sense for the ball and where the ball is and exactly where the defender is, what the defender is going to do. You can’t just play his eyes; you have to play his hands and the way in which he prepares himself when the ball comes."

By the way, TC hinted that 'Bad, Bad C.C. Brown' might lose some snaps to Aaron Rouse this week. Hooray!

On his team's missing pass rush last week.

"We are very much in need of all three phases to play well together and I’m talking about on defense, the front, the backers and the back end. But we need to pressure. We need to be there for the quarterback."

On Eli Manning's visible frustration against New Orleans.

"There was good reason to be frustrated on Sunday. Not just him. I wouldn’t make a big deal out of that. To try to get more responsibility on the quarterback you try to make sure – and he has done a good job of that. He has worked hard with those guys. And I think that for whatever reason the communication wasn’t as solid as it should have been. That is what frustrated him, not the play. It was just the fact that he couldn’t get the message across to him."

Other transcripts

About that pass rush

Giants defensive end Dave Tollefson says he and his cohorts on the defensive line need to get back to basics.

"Pass rushing is really elementary but a lot of people – pass rushers included – tend to complicate it," Tollefson said. "You have to do what you’re good at, and remember that the quarterback is the prize.

"We need to focus on beating the guy who’s blocking us," he said. "A lot of guys sometimes forget that and are too busy looking to see where the quarterback is and how many steps they need to take to get to him. But if you’re not focusing on your technique to beat the guy in front of you, what happens? You’re going to get blocked and you’re not going to get any pressure, let alone sacks."

I don't care how they do it. Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora and Co. need to get back to making life miserable for quarterbacks.

Bon Jovi to open Giants-Jets stadium
Bon Jovi? You're kidding me? He's OK, but this gig should belong to Bruce Springsteen. After all, Giants Stadium has been his home base for decades now.

'Kudos & Wet Willies': Bring on the real teams

Ed Valentine — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:00:29 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning reacts after the Giants scored a touchdown against the Oakland Raiders in the first quarter during of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009, in East Rutherford, N.J. Eli on the field was a great sight for Giants' fans.

Browse more photos »

Thank goodness the Junior Varsity portion of the New York Giants' schedule is complete. I love winning, and I love total domination of the opposition. But, the Giants have barely been challenged for three weeks now and I am ready to see them match up with real NFL competition.

That will happen next weekend when the Giants travel to the Big Easy to taken on the New Orleans Saints. We will have all week to talk about that game, though, so let's not get ahead of ourselves.

For today, let's focus on Sunday's 44-7 pasting of the utterly inept Oakland Raiders. The best way to do that? Our traditional 'Kudos & Wet Willies' review, of course, so let's get on with it.

Kudos to ...

Eli Manning: After a week of wondering if he would play due to his plantar fasciitis, Manning was terrific. He led the Giants to four quick scores, then got out of the game to rest while David Carr and his teammates continued to beat up the Raiders. A 'kudos' to Tom Coughlin, too, for getting Eli out of there quickly and letting him rest.
Ahmad Bradshaw: Do we need to have an argument now about which guy is actually the best Giants' running back? Sunday was a great day for Bradshaw with 110 yards and two TD on 10 carries, plus a 55-yard catch and run on a perfectly executed screen pass (see, it is in KG's playbook!). Bradshaw has clearly been better than Brandon Jacobs thus far in 2009. The numbers don't lie. Bradshaw (58 carries, a team-high 375 yards, a 6.5 yards per carry average and 2 touchdowns. Jacobs (100 carries, 355 yards, 3.5 yards per carry, 1 touchdown). Clearly, when the Giants need a big play from their offense Bradshaw has to be on the field.
Justin Tuck: I think you can safely say Tuck is recovered from his shoulder injury. He was dominant Sunday with six tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Mathias Kiwanuka: Maybe Kiwi piled up some of his numbers mopping up for Tuck and Osi Umenyiora, but he had a nice day and showcased his athleticism. Five tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. Pretty good for a 'backup' defensive end.
Terrell Thomas: So, between a healthy Aaron Ross (you do remember him, right?) and Thomas who is the better player? My vote -- without question -- goes to Thomas. Yeah, the Raider offense is pitiful, but don't let that take away from how good Thomas was Sunday. The second-year corner back was all over the field, with a sack and forced fumble, a beautiful breakup of a long pass attempt, and four tackles.
Dave Tollefson: The ex-Raider practice squadder had a huge special teams tackle and absolutely crushed JaMarcus Russell for a sack. Yeah, he's not good enough to be on the Raiders' 53-man roster.
Jonathan Goff: Two or three huge hits by Goff on special teams. He is becoming quite a weapon on the coverage units for the Giants, joining guys like Chase Blackburn and Bryan Kehl in helping to turn a unit that used to be a weakness into a Giants strength.
Steve Smith: What was that about Smith not being able to catch the deep ball? That incredible catch he made on a 43-yard deep ball Sunday might put on end to that. He is having a Pro Bowl type season thus far.
Hakeem Nicks: A 17-yard touchdown catch, and four receptions for 49 yards. The No. 1 pick is quietly becoming a big piece of the Giants' passing attack.
Lawrence Tynes: Can't forget to give some props to the beleaguered kicker. After his struggles thus far in 2009, it was nice to see Tynes go 3-for-3. The kicks were of the short to mid-range variety -- 25, 33 and 37 yards -- and it was nice to see him make those comfortably. Hopefully, he can build on that and put his early-season misses behind him.

There are probably a bunch of other deserving players here, too. I can't go on forever, though, so this will have to be it.

Wet Willies to ...

Sinorice Moss: Gave the Raiders their only opportunity of the day with a completely bone-headed fumble on a punt he never should have tried to field. Even when he catches the ball, Moss' speed seemingly never translates into big plays on returns. I can't wait until the Giants get healthy enough to get him out of that role.
Gartrell Johnson: Hey, Gartrell, going the wrong way and slamming into Carr is not the impression you want to leave on TC with Danny Ware almost ready to return from his elbow injury.

New York Giants training camp: Monday afternoon practice report

Ed Valentine — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:42:51 -0000

Here is your Monday afternoon practice report from New York Giants training camp at UAlbany.

Let's just say it was brutally obvious that the intensity was ratcheted up a few notches this afternoon, the first full practice since Saturday's embarrassing pre-season loss to Chicago. There was heavy hitting, and more pad-popping than at any time in camp.

Oh, and two fights. Or near fights. The first involved cornerback Bruce Johnson and wide receiver Shaun Bodiford when they got tangled up, went to the ground and came up mauling each other WWE style.

The second also involved Bruce Johnson. I didn't see what started it, but I did see tight end Darcy Johnson take a couple of swings at him, which drew a lot of players before Brandon Jacobs stepped in to play peacemaker.

Bruce Johnson, who is fighting for a roster spot, was obviously testy today. After the two fights, he knocked a pass away from David Tyree and gave the 'throat-slash' sign, which immediately drew the ire of the offense -- and the coaching staff.

Here are some other highlights of Monday's practice.

No 1 pick Hakeem Nicks has had a mostly quiet camp, fighting through a hamstring issue. Nothing quiet about Nicks' work Monday, though. He was, quite simply, the most dominant player on the field. Nicks made two leaping, one-handed catches Monday. One on a long ball down the right sideline from Rhett Bomar when he was well-covered by, who else, Bruce Johnson. The second was a red zone fade from Andre Woodson when he hauled in a pass in the corner of the end zone. Nicks also caught a long ball down the left sideline from Woodson when he ran by DeAndre Wright. Pretty obvious the coaches noticed Nicks' work. He ran with the first team in three-wide sets during the two-minute drill near the end of practice.
Mathias Kiwanuka made what is probably the defensive play of camp during 11-on-11 work. Lined up at left end, Kiwanuka picked off a bubble screen for Mario Manningham for what would have been a touchdown. Kiwanuka practically took the ball out of Eli Manning's hands. I don't know if Kiwi made a fabulous move, or Kareem McKenzie made a horrendous block, but it was an awesome athletic play.
Eli had three passes picked off today, incidentally. Oh, and there was a fumble on a handoff from Eli to Ahmad Bradshaw. Yuck! Not what you want to see this far into camp.
Derek Hagan, the Giants' practice superstar, made several nice grabs today. Now if he could only translate that to a game he might actually make the team.
Very few opportunities for Rhett Bomar, but he threw a few nice balls. A good sideline out to Taye Biddle was probably his best throw.
Rocky Bernard provided some good news on the defensive tackle front, making a couple of nice stops, including getting into the backfield to drop Danny Ware for a loss.
Dave Tollefson had what would have been a sack of David Carr when he beat William Beatty.
INJURY NOTES: Kenny Phillips, Aaron Ross, Chris Snee and Rich Seubert all worked today. Ross was limitied a bit, but the rest went fully. Antonio Pierce, Michael Boley and Danny Clark just did a few individual drills.

Today's Transcripts

Antonio Pierce
Running backs coach Jerald ingram
Quarterbacks coach Chris Palmer

Updated guess at the New York Giants season-opening 53-man roster

Ed Valentine — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 11:00:10 -0000

Now that I have watched most of New York Giants training camp in Albany -- and before the exhibition games start -- I thought I would take another guess at the possible 53-man roster. This will look a little different than my pre-camp roster. It will also look heavy in some positions and light in others. I tried to give you the guys I really think "should" make this team.

I have to tell you, the last two or three cuts on this list are excruciatingly difficult. The Giants will, as we thought, be making some good football players available to the other 31 NFL teams. I have gone 'outside the box' on a couple of these, and away from some of my original choices. Let's see what you think.

Quarterbacks (3) -- Eli Manning, David Carr, Andre Woodson

Woodson and rookie fifth-round pick Rhett Bomar are pretty even in their competition for the third slot. I'm guessing the Giants don't want to lose either guy, and that Bomar will end up on the practice squad.

Running Backs (4) -- Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw, Danny Ware, Madison Hedgecock

The season-ending injury to rookie Andre Brown obviously changes things here. Allen Patrick is the only other tailback in camp, but I don't think he makes the squad. There are too many other good players in other positions.

Wide Receivers (7) -- Steve Smith, Domenik Hixon, Sinorice Moss, Ramses Barden, Mario Manningham, Hakeem Nicks, Derek Hagan

Sorry, David Tyree. An extremely tough, unkind cut, but all seven of these guys are better players than Tyree at this point. That has to be what matters, not sentimentality. Hagan is forcing his way onto this roster, though seven receivers is probably one more than the Giants would like to keep. The Giants talk repeatedly, though, about keeping the best players and not having a set formula. Hagan is earning it. And yes, these guys are in order of the playing time I think they would get if the regular season started today.

Tight Ends (3) -- Kevin Boss, Michael Matthews, Travis Beckum

Matthews has been working with the first unit in double-tight end situations. He will hold off Darcy Johnson and Lee Vickers to keep his roster spot.

Offensive Line (8) -- Starters -- David Diehl, Rich Seubert, Shaun O'Hara, Chris Snee, Kareem McKenzie. Backups -- Tutan Reyes, Kevin Boothe, William Beatty.

After Reyes, I am not comfortable with any of the backup linemen. I am also not comfortable with just eight linemen on the 53-man, but Koets hasn't done anything to earn a spot. We have talked repeatedly about his struggles to become a backup center, and it just isn't working. Boothe has been getting destroyed by defensive lineman at both guard and tackle most of camp. A name to watch for: Andrew Carnahan, a 6-foot-7, 305-pounder acquired from Kansas City on waivers (he was a 7th-round pick by Jacksonville in 2007) has done a good job at guard. He can also play tackle. I fully expect the Giants to pick up at least one veteran backup who can play multiple positions, including center, before the season starts.

Defensive linemen (8) -- Tackles -- Fred Robbins, Chris Canty, Barry Cofield, Rocky Bernard, Jay Alford. Ends -- Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, Mathias Kiwanuka.

The toughest cut here is Dave Tollefson, who has been schooling Beatty much of camp. But, with the depth the Giants have -- and the fact that undrafted free agent Maurice Evans is a shoo-in to at least make the practice squad -- Tollefson is unlikely to have a place on this team.

Linebackers (9) -- Antonio Pierce, Danny Clark, Bryan Kehl, Gerris Wilkinson, Chase Blackburn, Zak DeOssie, Clint Sintim, Michael Boley, Jonathan Goff

I have an inkling that something unexpected might happen with this group. I am just not sure what yet. After a couple of exhibition games the makeup of this group might change.

Defensive Backs (9) -- Cornerbacks -- Corey Webster, Aaron Ross, Terrell Thomas, Kevin Dockery, Stoney Woodson. Safeties -- Kenny Phillips, Michael Johnson, C.C. Brown, Sha'reef Rashad.

The fourth safety spot is between Rashad, Vince Anderson and Travonti Johnson. Right now, Johnson is working with the second group and the Rashad/Anderson combo is the third group. In reality, I have no idea which of the three will end up winning the job, but I had to pick one. I am going with Rashad simply because when I asked Merritt about the three youngsters on Friday, Rashad is the first player he mentioned. I think the Giants really like Anderson, though, and he should end up on the practice squad.

Kickers (2) -- Punter -- Jeff Feagles. Placekicker -- Lawrence Tynes

Football Outsiders Almanac, New York Giants, Part 1: The pass rush

Ed Valentine — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 11:00:12 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

Osi Umenyiora and Barry Cofield are two members of the Giants' impressive stable of defensive linemen.

Browse more photos »

Thanks to the gurus here at SB Nation I have been handed a copy of the 2009 Football Outsiders' Almanac. As you might expect, the Almanac is filled with good stuff to discuss about our New York Giants.

There are way too many goodies in the Almanac to cover in one post. I will break this down into four or five posts. Let's begin by examining what FOA says about the defensive line.

Outsiders has been consistent since the end of the 2008 season in saying that it was the collapse of the defense, not the loss of Plaxico Burress, that was the reason for the Giants downfall at the end of last season. That continued in the Almanac.

What drove the Giants’ demise was the defense. Unless you want to pin the blame on Antonio Pierce’s extracurricular issues related to the Burress incident, Burress had nothing to do with the decline. Instead, it was a regression in the team’s sack rate that correlated well with the team’s dip in performance, culminating in the playoff game versus the Eagles in which— despite playing behind an offensive line missing multiple starters — Donovan McNabb was not sacked once (although a hurry led to an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone). While Justin Tuck had 8.5 sacks over the first ten games of the season and a respectable 3.5 more in the final seven games of the year (from Arizona on), everyone else disappeared. Mathias Kiwanuka had 8.5 sacks by the Cardinals game and 1.5 after. Fred Robbins, Dave Tollefson, and Barry Cofield combined for 11 sacks before the trip to Glendale and all of one sack afterwards.

It’s impossible to pinpoint the exact cause of the precipitous drop. ... There’s no sign that the scheme of newly-departed defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo stagnated or was "figured out" by opposing offenses.

The working theory of the Giants organization is simpler: The front seven got tired.

We know how the Giants addressed that issue. Adding free-agent tackles Chris Canty and Rocky Bernard, and getting Osi Umenyiora back from injury. The Giants have an eight-man rotation up front that should be the envy of the league.

Outsiders expects new defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan to use that impressive front to move away from some of Spagnuolo's more extravagant blitz packages.

Sheridan’s ascension to the role following Spagnuolo’s departure for St. Louis will come with some changes. Spagnuolo’s blitz-happy scheme relied on a combination of speed and deception; a typical play, for example, might involve lining up Kiwanuka and Tuck on the same side of the field, only to have them drop back while the overload blitz came from the other side. Perhaps owing to the increased depth allowed him by the free agent acquisitions, Sheridan has said that he will move away from the Jim Johnson-influenced subterfuge and employ simpler blitz schemes, relying on fresher players to get past tired blockers.

I think the beginning of training camp has shown that some of that will be true. Sheridan, however, will not be a 'vanilla' coordinator. The 5-1-5 alignment the Giants have unveiled shows that. There is no doubt this will still be a pressure-based defense. And the depth of the line should be a huge advantage.

Buy the Almanac

This year's useless try at predicting the Giants' season-opening 53-man roster

Ed Valentine — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:00:11 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, left, runs a drill with Rhett Bomar (5) and Andre Woodson during mini-camp last month. The competition for a roster spot between Bomar and Woodson will be one of training camp's most interesting.

Browse more photos »

OK, so with training camp only days away it is time to take a stab at predicting the season-opening 53-man roster. It's an exercise in complete futility. I mean, there is no way to predict injuries, and no guessing what veterans might get picked up right before the season starts.

But, I will take a stab at it anyway. Before Week 1 I will have to remember to look back and see how close I got.

Quarterbacks: Starter -- Eli Manning. Backup -- David Carr, Andre Woodson, Rhett Bomar.

The obvious fight here is between Bomar and Woodson for the third slot. Bomar, this year's fifth-round pick, was better than Woodson, last season's sixth-round pick, in the mini-camps. There is very little reason to think that won't still be the case in training camp. The Giants kept only two quarterbacks on the 53-man last season. Most teams keep three, and I am going to base this choice on Tom Coughlin keeping three.

The picks (3) -- Manning, Carr, Bomar

Running Backs: Starters -- RB Brandon Jacobs, FB Madison Hedgecock. Backup -- RB Ahmad Bradshaw, RB Danny Ware, RB Andre Brown, RB Allen Patrick, RB Dwayne Wright.

The roster spots here are easy to pick. The fight that will develop for carries behind Jacobs is not. I haven't got a clue who will emerge as the true backup behind Jacobs. I know, however, that between Bradshaw, Ware and the rookie Brown I'm not worried about it.

The picks (5) -- Jacobs, Hedgecock, Bradshaw, Ware, Brown.

Tight Ends: Starter -- Kevin Boss. Backup -- Michael Matthews, Darcy Johnson, Lee Vickers, Travis Beckum.

Third-round pick Travis Beckum wasn't drafted to block. Kevin Boss can block, but he is a pass-catcher. That means the third tight end has to be a big-time blocker, and that's what Matthews is.

The picks (3) -- Boss, Beckum, Matthews.

Wide Receivers: Starters -- Steve Smith, Domenik Hixon. Backups -- Mario Manningham, Sinorice Moss, David Tyree, Taye Biddle, Shaun Bodiford, Derek Hagan, Micah Rucker, Hakeem Nicks, Ramses Barden.

There are likely six roster spots to be had out of this group, and barring injury or trade it is pretty clear who will get them. That means a sad goodbye to Super Bowl 42 hero David Tyree. It also means cult hero Micah Rucker is likely playing for a spot on the practice squad.

The picks (6) -- Smith, Hixon, Manningham, Moss, Nicks, Barden.

Offensive Linemen: Starters -- LT David Diehl, LG Rich Seubert, C Shaun O’Hara, RG Chris Snee, RT Kareem McKenzie. Backups -- T Guy Whimper, T/C Adam Koets, T Andrew Carnahan, G/T Kevin Boothe, T Cliff Louis, G/T Terrance Pennington, G Tutan Reyes, G/T Orrin Thompson, T Will Beatty.

Each and every Giants' fan should pray that this starting offensive line, one of the league's best, continues to stay healthy. There isn't much in the way of dependable backups.

Second-round pick William Beatty should make the team. Veteran guard Tutan Reyes is likely in. The versatility of being able to play guard and tackle probably gets Kevin Boothe a slot. There has to be a backup center, so Adam Koets probably also sneaks onto the roster.

The picks (9) -- Diehl, Seubert, O'Hara, Snee, McKenzie, Beatty, Reyes, Boothe, Koets.

Defensive Linemen: Starters -- LE Justin Tuck, LT Barry Cofield, RT Fred Robbins, RE Osi Umenyiora. Backups -- DE Mathias Kiwanuka, DE/DT Chris Canty, DT Rocky Bernard, DT Jay Alford, DE Dave Tollefson, DE Maurice Evans, DT Anthony Bryant, DT Jeremy Clark, DT Leger Douzable, DE Robert Henderson, DE Tommie Hill.

If everyone gets through camp healthy, some very good football players will wind up being available to the NFL's other teams. I doubt there is another unit in the league that is this talented and this deep. The hardest cut out of this group will be Dave Tollefson, a popular player who has played well at times in sporadic opportunities. But with all this depth, with Jay Alford doubling as snapper on field goals and PATs, and with the talented Maurice Evans likely ending up on the practice squad I don't know how Tollefson sticks around.

The picks (8) -- Tuck, Cofield, Robbins, Umenyiora, Kiwanuka, Canty, Bernard, Alford.

Linebackers: Starter -- SLB Danny Clark , MLB Antonio Pierce , WLB Michael Boley. Backup -- MLB Chase Blackburn, MLB Jonathan Goff, WLB Bryan Kehl, WLB Gerris Wilkinson, SLB Zak DeOssie, SLB Kenny Ingram, SLB Clint Sintim, MLB Kelvin Smith.

The picks (8) -- Clark, Pierce, Boley, Blackburn, Goff, Kehl, DeOssie, Sintim

Defensive Backs: Starter -- LCB Aaron Ross, RCB Corey Webster, FS Michael Johnson, SS Kenny Phillips. Backup -- CB Vince Anderson, SS C.C. Brown, SS/FS Steve Cargile, CB Kevin Dockery, CB Bruce Johnson, CB Travonti Johnson, FS Sha’reff Rashad, CB Terrell Thomas, CB Stoney Woodson, CB DeAndre Wright.

The Giants are deep and talented at cornerback, a fact that is incredibly important in today's pass and blitz-happy NFL. They aren't so deep at safety, and I think that might leave room for undrafted free-agent Sha'reff Rashad to sneak onto the roster.

The picks (9) -- Ross, Webster, Johnson, Phillips, Brown, Dockery, Rashad, Thomas, Wright.

Kickers (2): P Jeff Feagles, K Lawrence Tynes

Feagles is the best in the business at what he does. Tynes makes many Giants' fans nervous, but he is a perfectly acceptable veteran kicker.

-- New York Giants schedule

Getting to Know the Enemy: Big Blue View

Chris Pokorny — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 23:14:09 -0000

I was pleased to be joined by Ed, our New York Giants affiliate, who has the pleasure of running Big Blue View, to preview Monday's game. We did a question-and-answer segment in the preseason, so I tried as best as I could to differ the questions a little bit this time. Enjoy!

Chris: "The Giants lost Osi Umenyiora in the preseason, and many people projected the defensive line to suffer a dropoff. However, the line still seems as strong as ever, no matter who the Giants throw in there. Is this simply a matter of great coaching? Because the Browns have been searching for a solid defensive lineman since returning to the league."

Ed: "Really, it's simply that too many "experts" did not look closely enough at how much talent was still there. Justin Tuck is playing at a Pro Bowl level and Mathias Kiwanuka is right at home back at defensive end, the position he was drafted to play. On top of that, DT Fred Robbins (4 sacks) is playing very well. Barry Cofield is the other DT, and he is solid, if unspectacular. Also, there is great depth with Jay Alford, Jerome McDougle and Dave Tollefson. It's really the same with the entire team. Talent and depth everywhere."

Chris: "Although I watched the game when the Giants battled the Bengals, I'm curious as to what your take is (briefly) on why it was such a competitive game instead of a blowout. Was there a strategy the Bengals used that the Browns could use this Monday?"

Ed: "Well, you can't blow out every team. The Bengals played well. They used lots of short crossing routes to negate the Giants blitz. Those left the Giants corners, in man coverage, trailing and resulted in some big plays. I have no idea if Seattle tried that last week -- the Seahawks couldn't get out of their own way on offense and couldn't cover anybody on defense."

Chris: "WR Domenik Hixon made a name for himself by catching three touchdowns in the preseason against the Browns. Then, in his first start with Plaxico Burress suspended last week, he had over 100 yards receiving along with a touchdown. How much playing time is this potential "Browns killer" going to see with Burress returning?"

Ed: "I am not sure how much of Hixon you will see. He did suffer a concussion Sunday. If he is ready to go, you will definitely see him returning punts, where he excels. Offensively, he will get time in 4-receiver sets, that's all."

Chris: "The Giants are first in the league on offense, and third in the league on defense, so I'm not even going to bother asking what weakness the Browns should attack. However, I will ask this: which starting player are you most disappointed with on the Giants this year, either on offense or defense?"

Ed: "Plaxico Burress. I am disappointed by his suspension, and by his seeming lack of remorse -- One beat writer said he is "30 going on 13," and that is probably accurate. I don't see any short-term impact on the team -- the players are solidly behind Tom Coughlin and have said repeatedly that Burress deserved what he got. Long-term, I am wondering whether Plax will be a Giant at the end of the 5-year contract he just signed."

Chris: "This will be the Browns' first Monday Nighter in a few years. Predict the final score, and please feel free to be as lopsided as you'd like."

Ed: "900-0!! No, seriously, I don't see the Giants putting a Seattle-like beating on the Browns. That game was fun, but it won't happen every week.
Giants 31, Browns 17"

Once again, I'd like to thank Ed for taking the time to answer my questions this week. We plan on doing another little feature later on this week, and I'll also be answering five of his questions about the Browns soon.