SB Nation - Chris Snee

New York Giants notes: Beatty says he's ready

Ed Valentine — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:10:42 -0000

Here are some of the stories regarding our New York Giants that are making news this morning around the Inter-Google.

Ernie Palladino figures rookie Will Beatty, starting at right tackle for the injured Kareem McKenzie, will have his hands full Monday night with Andre Carter.

Beatty, making his second start, is not nervous about his assignment.

"I got my first start jitters behind me," Beatty said today, "and now I can go with the rest of the vets and perform."

Not to give him any new jitters, but the Giants need him to do that in a big way when he plays right tackle against the Redskins in an NFC East game that will be critical to their postseason aspirations.

Beatty, the 2009 second-round draft choice from Connecticut, will step in for Kareem McKenzie, who sprained the medial collateral ligament in his knee in the 45-38 loss to Philadelphia last Sunday. Tom Coughlin said Monday that the team's medical staff said McKenzie would be sidelined "a couple weeks." Although Coughlin pointed out then that McKenzie is traditionally a fast healer, Coughlin said today nothing that has happened since then has changed that prognosis.

So Beatty looks to step up and play well in a big game. He started and played the entire game against Arizona on Oct. 25, which McKenzie missed because of a groin injury, and played the entire second half last week against the Eagles.

"I think I did pretty well," Beatty said. "I had (right guard) Chris Snee helping me a lot, more than anyone should be in a game. So now I need to make sure that I know what I am doing and I am making calls out there and am participating in the actual call making and things along those lines."

"He is a good, young football player," Coughlin said. "We have asked him to play a number of spots. He has played left tackle, he has played tight end, right tackle and has done a good job. He is going to have to do another good job.

With the struggles of the Giants' defense, the offense is well aware of the added pressure it faces.

"We don't know what's going to happen with the defense," receiver Steve Smith said. "We just know we want to score every time. We feel that's what we need to do. We want to be the phase of the game that picks up everybody else."

They may need to, considering the Giants are giving up 25.4 points per game - the fifth-worst average in the league. But the way Eli Manning and his receivers are playing, they are also confident they can beat anyone in a shootout. They're averaging 26.2 points (eighth best in the NFL) and have scored 30 or more in three of the last four games.

On Monday night, they will face a Washington Redskinsteam that has the NFL's seventh-best defense. But with all the big-play weapons the Giants have, they don't feel like they can be consistently stopped.

"Absolutely. We feel like we should be scoring every time," Smith said. "We're disappointed when we don't."

"We have a lot of confidence in one another right now," added left tackle David Diehl. "Just looking at last week, we did so many good things and we still left some things on the field."

Most of the confidence comes from Manning, who is on pace for his first 4,000-yard season. But he gives credit to his unheralded receivers, who have turned the Giants' passing attack into a quick-strike machine. Manning has completed 17 passes of 20 yards or more in the last four games. The Giants (7-6) are among the NFL leaders in big passing plays - tied for third with 51 passes of 20 yards or more.

"I knew that's something we really wanted to improve on in the offseason," Manning said. "I said back then I think we're going to have some more big plays just because we have more speed and explosiveness at the receiver position than we have in the past. Some of it is individual efforts. It's not like we're just throwing the ball deep. Some of it's short passes and the guys are breaking tackles and making big plays."

My take: That offensive explosiveness, and the relative youth at the skill positions, is one reason to feel good about the future of this team. Regardless of what happens in the last three games.

Other notes

Redskins can relate to the sorrow of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Mathias Kiwanuka honored as Good Guy.
Shaun O'Hara to appeal fine.
Eli Manning transcript

(E-mail Ed at bigblueview@gmail.com)

Trent Cole fined, but not suspended

JasonB — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:00:35 -0000

It was never likely that Trent Cole would be suspended for punching Giants' OL Shaun O'Hara and today it became official. Both he and O'Hara were fined and both will play this weekend.

Eagles defensive end Trent Cole told reporters in Philly Wednesday he was fined for punching Shaun O'Hara on Sunday night, though he refused to provide an amount.

According to someone informed of the fine from the league, the total was $15,000. The person, who requested anonymity because the league hasn't released the amount of the fine yet, said O'Hara was also fined $15,000 for ripping Cole's helmet off.

Jason Babin said that it was both Chris Snee & Shaun O'Hara who were taking cheap shots.

"I'm going to put O'Hara and Snee on the Babin family Christmas card list," Babin said, according to the Inquirer.

New York Giants News & Notes: Giants Have a Little Swagger Back

cjmulrain — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:00:28 -0000

Fred Robbins posts on his blog about the Giants win over the Cowboys and their upcoming game against the Eagles. He mentions that the Giants have their swagger back after excelling in all 3 phases of the game on Sunday.
Domenik Hixon was a big part of the reason the Giants Special Teams performed well, returning a key punt for a touchdown. For his efforts, he has been named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. Amazingly, that was the Giants first punt return touchdown since Chad Morton returned one against the Cardinals back in 2005.
Another key to the Giants performance against the Cowboys was how well the defense responded to the shuffling starting lineups on the defensive line. Osi Umenyiora should especially be commended for taking his demotion in stride, and coming up with a huge fumble recovery. For that, maybe we should thank LaVar Arrington. He was a bust as a free agent for the Giants a few years ago, but if his pep talk really helped Osi get his head right, I'll be forever grateful.
In perhaps the best news of the week, Chris Snee's knee is "very sore," but not seriously injured. It's still undecided if he will be able to play on Sunday, but it's at least good news that he won't miss significant time. Snee is the best player on the Giants offensive line and they're gonna need him down the stretch.
The Giants will have revenge on their minds Sunday against the Eagles. The Eagles have beaten the Giants in 3 straight meetings and have handed the Giants their last two playoff losses (of course, a Super Bowl Championship was squeezed in between, so we can't complain too much). I heard a lot about the revenge angle when these teams met a few weeks ago, and the Giants got killed. At this point, I don't care about revenge, I just want the Giants to win the damn game and get back into first place in the NFC East.
Steve Serby talks about "Hate Bowl II" and looks at the remaining schedules for the Giants and their playoff spot competition. On paper it looks good for the Giants, as long as they can beat the Eagles. That said, "any given Sunday" - which is why I hate looking ahead on the schedule. As the 2007 (and 2008) Mets proved, you can lose tro anyone down the stretch.
I joked about this in the comments a few days ago, but Plaxico Burress is looking for a work furlough to get him out of prison parttime. I'm extremely happy with our current crop of wide receivers & I know Plax left a bitter taste in a lot of mouths, but I'd be willing to take him back just for this weeks game against the Eagles & let him run a few plays. He always dominated the Eagles, and the Super Bowl run showed that he really doesn't need to practice. I'm only half-joking about this.
Finally, the NY Times 5th Down Blog continues its look at the 10 greatest Giants moments at Giants Stadium with their 41-0 NFC Championship Game beatdown of the Minnesota Vikings. It's really a shame they cancelled the Super Bowl that year, I really think after that performance the Giants would have absolutely destroyed the Ravens. I mean, Trent Dilfer...c'mon!

Run, Giants run! Or, why can't the Giants run anymore?

Ed Valentine — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:00:13 -0000

More photos » by Chris O'Meara - AP

What is wrong with the New York Giants running game? Plenty, but one big thing is that we just have not seen enough of this -- Brandon Jacobs with the football.

Browse more photos »

What is wrong with the New York Giants' running game? Everyone seems to have an opinion, so here is mine.

I think the answer is two-fold.

The offensive line is not playing as well as it has the past couple of seasons.
Philosophically, the Giants are now a pass-first team and not a 'punish the defense with a physical ground game' first team.

First, let's lay out the numbers.

The Giants are averaging 126.8 yards rushing per game, ninth in the league. That is waaaay down from the league-leading 157.4 per game they averaged in 2008. It is also their worst rushing performance since they averaged just 119 yards per game in 2004. Not coincidentally, that is also the last time the Giants missed the playoffs.

On a per-carry basis, they average 4.3 yards. Respectable, but hardly the dominant 5.0 per carry they ripped off last season.

They have a paltry six rushing plays for 20 or more yards, none for 40 or more. In 2008, they had 24 runs of 20+ and three runs of 40+.

The Offensive Line

We have talked about the offensive line's troubles before. We need to do it again, though, because the disappointing work by the guys up front is a big part of why the Giants have been unable to run consistently. I turned to my newfound favorite stat site, Pro Football Focus, for data on the play of the Giants offensive linemen. As of Saturday, these numbers are still through only 10 games. Yet, good enough to give you an idea what is going on.

The chart below gives you PFF's run-blocking scores for each lineman for 2008 and 2009. I put Madison Hedgecock and Kevin Boss in there because they are key components of the run-blocking schemes.

Player	2008	2009
David Diehl	-4.5	-0.2
Rich Seubert	+18.3	-4.9
Shaun O'Hara	+7.5	+13.5
Chris Snee	+21.2	+14.0
Kareem McKenzie	+7.7	+9.7
Kevin Boss	+5.1	+12.9
Madison Hedgecock	+0.3	-0.9

Anyone else see what I see? Look at Rich Seubert's numbers. Using PFF's method of a zero for doing what is expected, gaining points for doing more than expected and losing points for doing less than expected, Seubert has dropped more than 23 points from last season. Is he hurt? I don't know. I do know Seubert has not been good.

David Diehl is slightly better in 2009 than 2008, but still in negative numbers. So, basically, that means the Giants cannot run to the left. Watch the clip below, and you will notice that Brandon Jacobs likes running left. If the Giants can't block that side, that is a huge problem.

Look a little deeper. I have had the impression that Hedgecock, the blocking fullback, has not been having a great year. PFF's numbers confirm it. When you have a blocking fullback whose numbers as a blocker are below average, that is another huge problem. Even Chris Snee, acknowledged as the best lineman, has good numbers. But, not as good as 2008.

So, the left side of the Giants line is below par in run blocking. And they are not getting good work from the blocking back. A pretty ugly combination.

The philosophy

After Thursday night's blowout loss to the Broncos coach Tom Coughlin had this to say.

"Football to me is that you have to run the ball and stop the run. Those are the first things you do have to do to put yourself in a position to be able to take advantage of the various aspects of your plans and your talent."

I think, overall, Coughlin is a terrific head coach. He has a Super Bowl ring, and I hope he coaches the Giants as long as he wants to. To be brutally honest, though, you have wonder sometimes if those are just words to the veteran head coach. At least in terms of how the Giants approach offense, that is.

I really hate to do this, but I can't help it. Because I can't stop thinking about it. Turn the clock all the way back to 2006, back to the days when Tiki Barber was openly challenging Coughlin and openly questioning the strategy being employed. What was Barber's chief complaint in those days, when John Hufnagel was calling the plays?

His chief complaint was that the Giants abandoned the run too quickly, failing to take full advantage of their best player. Which happened to be Barber.

Fast forward to 2009. What was O'Hara saying to reporters the other day? That he feels the Giants are abandoning the run too quickly.

"I think really as a unit we are probably frustrated with the run game. It has come so easy for us the last few years. Running the football has really been an afterthought. Yeah, we will get six, seven yards, no big deal. We’ll get 150 yards rushing without even blinking an eye. Things are a little bit tougher; it’s tougher sledding.

"The only way, in my eyes, to get back on track is to keep doing it and do it more. I think, as offensive linemen, we are always going to complain that we aren’t running the football enough. That is kind of our M.O. We want to run the ball more. Quarterbacks and receivers, we are going to have discussions with them every single day, they want to throw it, we want to run it. That is a constant battle. I am not going to be happy until we have 35-40 carries in a game."

I will bet you a nickel Tiki enjoyed reading that.

The overall stats leave little doubt that the Giants have gone from balanced to pass happy. They show that the Giants have run the ball an average of 29.8 times per game this season vs. 31.4 last season, a slight difference. Pass attempts, though, are up from 30.7 attempts per game last season to 34.4 per game in 2009. So, in 2009 the Giants are passing the ball 54 percent of the time. In 2008, they passed 49 percent of the time.

It doesn't seem like a big difference, but in truth it is.

Here are the numbers during the last six games, in which we know the Giants have won just once.

Opponent	Passes	Runs
New Orleans	36	19
Arizona	37	26
Philadelphia	39	32
San Diego	33	28
Atlanta	39	26
Denver	40	16

Total them, and that is 224 pass plays, and just 147 running plays, or 60.3 percent passing plays. A far cry from the balance the Giants have always said they strive for in their offense.

Now, a small percentage of that can be explained by the Giants trailing big late in a couple of those games. Yet, that isn't the whole explanation.

During their five-game win streak at the beginning of the season, the Giants ran the ball 180 times and passed it 154, or 54% of the time. Yes, slightly skewed by the blowouts against Tampa Bay and Oakland in which the Giants were running out the clock at the end of the games. Yet, to me, clearly an indication that the Giants are better served when they remember to run the football.

It's plain to see that the Giants have become a team that uses the run to protect the lead, but not to go and get it. Coughlin and Kevin Gilbride quite obviously want to put the ball in the air when the game is in doubt.

What is the big problem with that? The NFL is clearly now a passing league, and analyst after analyst will tell you that you have to throw to score touchdowns.

Sure, except the one offensive player the Giants have who is feared by opposing defenses is the 6-foot-4, 270-pound Jacobs. The guy no one in the league likes to tackle.

During the past six games, Jacobs has averaged just 12.3 carries per game. Sorry, but whether he is running as well as last year or not, offensive line struggles or not, Jacobs cannot do what he is paid to do with that puny workload.

Jacobs' job is to wear out defenses. To set a physical tone and tire out defenders, making it easier for Ahmad Bradshaw or D.J. Ware to find holes late in the game. And for Eli Manning to throw without pass rushers draped all over him.

The Giants are not allowing him to do that. And failing to give Jacobs 18-20 carries per game means they are not playing to their strength, as much as I love Eli and the receiving corps. Remember, too, that Jacobs alone is doling out that physical punishment this season. Derrick Ward was 230 pounds and could also punish defenders. Bradshaw can make them miss, but he can't make them hurt.

TC has been talking a lot lately about winning the physical battle. Well, to do that TC and KG have got to remember to take full advantage of the Giants most physical player.

Not much nice to say about the Giants effort, or lack thereof

Ed Valentine — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:50:43 -0000

Here is a little of what is being written and said in the aftermath of the Giants 26-6 debacle last night against the Denver Broncos.

Here is a very damning statement from running back Brandon Jacobs.

"I'm angry for the simple reason, it doesn't bother me that my numbers weren't there," Jacobs said. "I just want to win football games. We didn't give us ourselves a chance. We gave the game away. We went out, and we didn't play hard and they took it. ...

"We didn't want it bad enough, they wanted it more, and they came out and outplayed us."

Guard Chris Snee agreed with Jacobs. Here is part of a column by Steve Serby of The New York Post.

It wasn't the altitude that sucked the air out of the 6-5 Giants. It's the attitude. They don't have any. They don't have any meanness, they don't have any toughness and they don't have any clue, and if they keep playing like this, they will not have any hope.

Snee was asked what was missing.

"It seemed like there was no fire," he said. "It just flat-out seemed like they wanted it more. You'd be hard-pressed to find one or two games where you could say that about this team."

The Giants Football Blog had this to say.

The only redeeming quality about last night’s mail-order performance by the Giants is that it was broadcast on the NFL Network, so millions across the country were spared the anguish.

Tim Smith of the New York Daily News says the Thanksgiving Day lack of effort was a disgrace.

With so much on the line, and looking to build on their victory overAtlantalast Sunday - one that snapped a four-game losing streak - the Giants came out flat, listless and disinterested. ... There were better games of football played by fat guys on the lawn after Thanksgiving dinner than the what Giants displayed against the Broncos Thursday night.

From The Sporting News.

The Giants were manhandled on both sides off the ball ... The Giants (6-5) looked almost unprepared for the Broncos' intensity. Having snapped a four-game losing streak the week before, the Giants saw things on film they could take advantage of.

"The list of how to go about defeating the Broncos was really very simple," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "Over the last four games, people would rush the ball on them, they would win the turnover battle, they would win the time of possession, (and) they would score in the green zone."

Here is one more from Coughlin.

"We didn’t have any tempo and we didn’t make any plays," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "We keep talking about winning the physical battle and controlling the line of scrimmage. We thought this would be the night and it wasn’t."

New York Giants News & Notes: Jeff Feagles a Pro Bowler?

cjmulrain — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:15:21 -0000

The 2007 Giants and Cowboys will both tell you that Pro Bowl balloting is a meaningless honor, but it's pretty funny that the only Giant who is currently leading his position in voting is punter Jeff Feagles, who has not been having his best season, to say the least. The Giants are a 5-4 team desperately clinging to their playoff hopes, so they shouldn't do as well as they did in Pro Bowl voting last year, but I have to think at least one of Chris Snee, Shaun O'Hara, or Justin Tuck deserves to be a starter.

Giants Enjoy Bye Week

With the Eagles and Cowboys losing and the Michael Turner injury, the Giants had their best Sunday in over a month. Ralph Vachianno recaps.

The bye also helped the Giants get refreshed, with reports that practice this week has been sharp.

Perhaps most importantly, Justin Tuck and Eli Manning were able to use the bye week to heal up some of their injuries. The Giants need those two as healthy as they can be if they want to contend for the Super Bowl this year.

Other Notes

The Giants are lodging a complaint about having to travel to Denver to play on Thanksgiving on a shortened week.
The NY Times 5th Down Blog continues its countdown of the top Giants moments at Giants Stadium with Tiki Barber's 206-yard game against the Redskins the Sunday after Wellington Mara passed away.

'Kudos & Wet Willies:' Rough day for Giants fans edition

Ed Valentine — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:49:17 -0000

by Julie Jacobson - AP

San Diego Chargers wide receiver Vincent Jackson (83) makes a catch for the go-ahead touchdown against New York Giants cornerback Corey Webster (23) in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009, in East Rutherford, N.J. The Chargers won 21-20.

View full size photo »

This morning's 'Kudos & Wet Willies' is not exactly fun to do. Sunday's game is one the Giants should have won, it just didn't happen.

The season is hardly over. A lot can happen in seven more games, and I still believe the Giants can be a playoff team. They certainly have no more margin for error, though.

Anyway, on with the 'Kudos & Wet Willies.' I'm sure some of my choices today will generate some disagreement.

'Kudos' to ..

Eli Manning: Well, we have a lot to complain about today. The play of Manning is not one of those things, however.
The Defensive Line: Big plays from Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, Mathias Kiwanuka and Fred Robbins. This group didn't always get to Philip Rivers, but they were in attack mode all day. The Chargers only totaled 34 yards rushing, largely due to improved work by the front four.
Terrell Thomas: Nine tackles and what should have been a game-clinching interception.
Bruce Johnson: It was nice to see Johnson on the field in passing situations instead of Kevin Dockery, and Johnson paid dividends by breaking up a trio of passes when Rivers and the Chargers tested him.
Steve Smith: Eight catches, including one for a touchdown and a few more third-down grabs. Smith continues to be the guy Eli can rely on when he needs to complete a pass.
Mario Manningham: Six catches and no drops for Manningham. The Giants really no longer have an issue at wide receiver, and Manningham is a big part of the reason why.
Kevin Boss: You just have to love this guy. How much tougher could be be? A brilliant catch early in the game when he got absolutely crushed coming across the middle of the field. I know my first thought was 'concussion.' Yet, there he was making a touchdown reception in the fourth quarter to put the Giants ahead. He is, undeniably, one of my favorite Giants.
Brandon Jacobs: Once again, Jacobs ran hard and well (11 carries, 67 yards, a 6.1 yards per carry average). Once again, though, probably not enough opportunities. Ahmad Bradshaw (14 carries, 39 yards, 2.8 YPC) wasn't getting it done, and I wish Jacobs had gotten more opportunities.
Michael Boley: Seven tackles and a pass defensed in his return from knee surgery. When he has been healthy Boley has shown speed and athleticism the Giants linebacking group sorely needs.
Kevin Gilbride: This one will send many of you into an outright uproar, I know that. But, I think the often-vilified offensive coordinator belongs here, anyway. The Giants put together two long, time-consuming drives, albeit we can argue about the wisdom of slamming Bradshaw up the middle on short yardage. KG used screens, play-action, slants, a reverse, a direct snap to Jacobs. Shoot, he even got Danny Ware in the game and got him the ball a couple of times. He pretty much emptied the tank. The conservative red/green zone series at the end is on Coughlin, not KG. That's the kind of game-changing decision that comes from the head coach.

'Wet Willies' to ...

Tom Coughlin: The Giants played with heart, taking TC's "one-game season" pronouncement to heart and playing with a lot of emotion. Coughlin, though, is the head coach of a team that has gone seriously off track, and right now he doesn't seem to have the answers. Two questionable Coughlin decisions had a lot to do with Sunday's loss. First, the choice to run the ball up three points in the red zone with more than two minutes to play. Settling for the field goal, instead of trusting your star quarterback and going for the knockout blow, is a bad mistake. I have thought about this one a lot, and as much as I love TC not trusting Eli and going for the knockout blow is inexcusable. Also, don't forget that the Giants passed up a chance to go for it on 4th-and-1 at the San Diego 21 the first time they had the ball. That, of course, resulted in the botched field goal and no points.
Corey Webster: We can stop now with the discussion of whether or not Webster should be considered an elite "shut down" corner back. Vincent Jackson (5 catches, 58 yards, 2 TDs) had his way with Webster Sunday. On the game-winning touchdown, Jackson beat Webster badly. C-Web didn't even seem to know the ball was in the air. That's awful. Maybe he should not have been in single coverage, but Webster is supposed to be one of the best cover corners in the league. A guy of his stature simply cannot get torched like that with the game on the line.
The Special Teams: Week in and week out, the only thing 'special' about the Giants' special teams is how especially bad they are. As much as anything, horrible special teams play cost the Giants a victory Sunday. A botched field goal in which Lawrence Tynes didn't even try to kick it. Horrible punting by Jeff Feagles that left the Giants defending a short field the entire game, and a non-existent return game. Are we sure Sinorice Moss hasn't stolen Domenik Hixon's uniform? Kevin Dockery had a stupid penalty that handed the Chargers 15 yards. Hey, Kevin, how can you have no clue where the return man is?
Bill Sheridan: I thought the defensive coordinator did a lot of good things Sunday. The defensive line was active. The Giants blitzed more, and did not sit back in 'prevent' on the last drive. The run defense was excellent. Having Michael Johnson and Aaron Rouse switch responsibilities worked out well. Bruce Johnson played a lot of nickel instead of Kevin Dockery or C.C. Brown. Clint Sintim saw some time at linebacker. The zone blitz, though, a remnant of the Steve Spagnuolo era Sheridan promised to get rid of, has to go. Justin Tuck cannot cover tight ends and should not be asked to. And why was there single coverage in the end zone on the final drive? C'mon, that's just asking for trouble. Which is what the Giants got.
The Offensive Line: Argue all you want about the Giants decision to run the ball on third down from the San Diego 14 while leading 17-14. The Giants don't have to make that decision without the killer holding penalty on Chris Snee. The line as a whole did not play well, in my mind. San Diego blitzers ran free much of the game and Eli was sacked five times and ran for his life at least a half-dozen other times. The dirty little secret with the Giants offense is that this offensive line, dominant for so long, is beginning to show some cracks. How can Shawne Merriman -- Merriman, of all people -- get a free, unblocked run at Manning on the final play of the game? In the run game, there were a few holes. But, not consistently.
Fans calling for immediate firings: You guys know that isn't going to happen. C'mon, gang! TC is a terrific coach who made a decision that ended up backfiring Sunday. Sheridan did some good things and some bad ones Sunday. As for Gilbride, I'd think people would get tired of calling for his head. The Giants have had a lot of success the past few seasons, and they have hit a rough patch. It happens. No reason to want everybody gone. Think they wouldn't love to have TC and his staff in Washington? Or Oakland? Or a lot of other places?

Final - 11.8.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
San Diego Chargers	0	7	7	7	21
New York Giants	0	7	0	13	20

Complete Coverage >

Land of the Giants: Football on today's menu

Ed Valentine — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:00:26 -0000

After we seemingly debuted the Big Blue View Food Channel Thursday (Don't know what I'm talking about? See the comments in this post) I hope you guys are ready to get back to football today. I have a whole plateful of it for you.

With the rash of recent offensive coordinator firings around the NFL I know some of you secretly (or not so secretly) have been wishing Kevin Gilbride would join the list of the unemployed. Well, KG's not going anywhere. At least, he's pretty sure he isn't. (Oh, and I know I have just opened myself up to a slew of 'Fire KillDrive' comments).

"I checked the fine print of my contract to make sure that it was OK," Gilbride said.

KG was also asked what head coach Tom Coughlin said to him about the firings.

"He said, 'Just make sure you mind your p’s and q’s. You could be next.' (laughs) No, he didn’t say that," Gilbride said. "From a coach’s point of view it is somewhat disturbing because they haven’t even played a game, you gotta give them a chance, but that is the way it is. You just don’t know – it’s like a relationship between a man and a woman. Behind closed doors you don’t know what is going on."

Giants' middle linebacker Antonio Pierce was his typical, testy self in a meeting with reporters Thursday. Short answers, not much in the way of helpful quotes. He was much more expansive in a one-on-one chat with Michael Eisen of Giants.com, though. Here is a snippet of Eisen's conversation with Pierce, in which AP is probably more candid than he has been about his performance in a long time.

"Physically, mentally and emotionally, I am as ready for this season as I have ever been," Pierce said today. "Physically, I feel great, no problems with my foot or whatever that was (in the preseason). Mentally, I feel like I'm very sharp. It seems like the more and more the years go on, the game is slower and slower. It's like I am in the matrix sometimes in my head, I can just see things a lot slower. Being in the same defense for three years and working with the same group of guys in this locker room on defense, it makes everything easier, because I know my surroundings. It's not an uncomfortable situation, like when I came in here in '05 - for one, fitting in and two, figuring out the guys around me."

Pierce led the Giants in tackles each of the last three seasons. It would certainly be four in a row had he not suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the 13th game of the 2005 season. He was a Pro Bowler in 2006 and a catalyst on a Super Bowl champion the following season. But Pierce is well aware of the perception some share that he has declined.

"I thought about it hard this offseason," he said. "I went back and I watched all 16 games I played in (he missed one game with a quad injury) and it's one of those things where I can't let two or three plays dictate my whole season. I asked was I consistent, did I give my team a chance to win every week? Hey, you don't win every play. There is not a player on this team that succeeds 100 percent in a game.

"I didn't look at this year as a redemption year. I look at it like I want to be considered as I always do, as one of the top five linebackers. You have to go out there and shoot for perfection. At the end of the day you know you are not going to get that in a game, but I have to set my standards and my goals a lot higher."

Good stuff from Eisen and, finally, from Pierce.

Back to Gilbride for a second. He was, of course, asked if the process of evaluating wide receivers is still ongoing.

"It definitely is. And I think certainly a lot of questions have been answered in our minds – I don’t want to necessarily announce it to them – exactly what we are doing and who is going to be where. But I think some things have clarified themselves. Some things are still definitely ongoing," Gilbride said. " And quite candidly, I think some guys are in a position they will probably play more this Sunday but as the year goes on maybe other guys will become more and more an integral part of what we are doing. At least, that’s kind of what I think is going to happen. ...

" I think we kind of feel like they all have their strengths and they all have their areas that we still need to get better at. And so that is why, as I said, I can see certain guys right now we think are ahead, but maybe in another five or six weeks maybe some other guys that we think maybe physically can be better at that."

That's a long-winded way of saying you could see a whole lot of Domenik Hixon and Steve Smith now. And, maybe, a whole lot of Hakeem Nicks and Ramses Barden later.

The Sporting News recently put together a panel that selected the top 100 players in the league. From ESPN's Matt Mosley, here are the Giants who made the list and his thoughts on them (my thoughts are italicized).

28. DE Osi Umenyiora -- Maybe the ballots were passed out immediately after the Giants' Super Bowl win.(Agreed. No way he is the Giants' best player).

46. DE Justin Tuck -- Way too low. At this point, I'd rank him ahead of Umenyiora. He's the most respected voice in the Giants' locker room. (Once again I agree. Osi still has the big rep, but I stand by my belief that Tuck is right now the better player).

50. QB Eli Manning -- I'd have him at least 20 spots earlier. And I'd probably put him ahead of McNabb.(Matt Mosley, you are my hero today. There is no way you can put Eli at 50 and McNabb at 22. I can see putting them in the same neighborhood, but I guess Eli will always be a guy who doesn't put up numbers and doesn't get much love).

53. G Chris Snee -- He's quietly emerged as one of the best in the league. Good to see him get recognized.(Snee is the best player on a Giants line better as a unit than as individuals).

RealClearSports aggregates NFL power rankings from a variety of sources and comes up with the Giants as the third-ranked team in the league by their formula.
Mosley also has five things to watch in Sunday's Giants-Redskins game.
Chase Blackburn will start Sunday in Michael Boley's spot.
Coughlin lends support to Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

From the Giants:

When the Giants open the season at home Sunday against the Washington Redskins, Coughlin will wear a pin to help increase the public recognition about Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. The pin depicts a gold ribbon.

"It’s just my way of recognizing children who have cancer and what their families go through and how much support, both financial and emotional, is needed to help families that are in this predicament," Coughlin said Thursday. "There are so many wonderful and great causes. But this is one that is very close to our family. If in some way we can call greater attention to it by some small thing that we do, then so be it. I want the significance of the pin to be recognized."

'Kudos & Wet Willies:' Wide receiver edition

Ed Valentine — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:03:21 -0000

More photos » by Tim Larsen - AP

New York Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks runs past New York Jets cornerback James Ihedigbo for a 71-yard touchdown during the second half Saturday night.

Browse more photos »

If you watched last night's 27-25 loss by our New York Giants to the New York Jets you should be able to guess that today's 'Kudos & Wet Willies' will be dominated by two things.

Discussion of wide receivers, both good and bad.
How easily you can be misled by simply looking at the box score.

So, with that little preamble out of the way let's get to the good stuff. And, since we like good news before bad we will hand out 'Kudos' first.

Kudos to ...

Hakeem Nicks: Unquestionably the star of the game for the Giants. Just about the time you thought a Giants' wide receiver was NEVER going to make a play, the No. 1 draft pick showed up. He hauled in fourth-quarter touchdown passes of 22 yards (an amazing diving, left-handed grab in the back of the end zone while well covered), and 71 yards from David Carr. He made four other catches and finished his night with six grabs for 144 yards. Nicks' numbers don't lie -- he had a terrific game.
David Carr: Carr has not had a great pre-season, but he looked solid Saturday night. Twelve-for-21 for 181 yards and two TDs, including an impressive late scoring drive. He also ran for a pair of first downs. Carr, most impressively to me, fought his instincts to bail out of the pocket, stayed in there and made some plays. After that performance I feel better about him.
Eli Manning: Look at his numbers (9-for-21, 91 yards, one touchdown, one interception, a 51.9 rating) and you would think I was nuts putting him here. If you watched the game you know better. His day looks a lot different if Steve Smith doesn't drop a 90-yard touchdown pass, and Domenik Hixon hangs on to an easy catch that turned into a game-changing interception. Even Eli's misses were thrown properly, out of the reach of defenders. He threw the ball well. His receivers, though, didn't catch it well.
Lawrence Tynes: Made a 38-yard field goal and missed just short from 51. Can't kill him for a miss from tha distance. Tynes gets 'kudos,' primarily for his kickoffs, though. I don't remember any that weren't inside the 5-yard line, and he did get at least one kickoff into the end zone. Hopefully, he can continue that.
Danny Ware: This kid is a player. He had nine carries for 43 yards, a lot of that gained on his own, The most impressive thing he did all night was a great fourth-quarter blitz pickup to save Carr from annihilation. Don't know who Ware picked up, but he stopped the guy in his tracks.
Ahmad Bradshaw: The guy just looks dangerous. He had eight carries for 47 yards, including a 27-yarder.
Mathias Kiwanuka: His sack of Mark Sanchez was a thing of beauty, chasing him down from behind and swallowing him up like a certain No. 56 used to do. Kiwi will have a huge season spelling Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck.
Jonathan Goff: Five solo tackles for the second-year middle linebacker. That is two impressive games in a row for him.
Kevin Dockery: Played well starting at right corner for the injured Aaron Ross. Three tackles for Dockery and two passes defensed.
Derek Hagan: Two catches, both on wide receiver screens. Hagan showed the ability to get some yards after catch on both plays, ending up with 25 yards. He also worked hard to get out of bounds on one catch as the Giants were trying to rally for a late score. Finally, Hagan flashed a little of what he has been showing during practice in a real game.
Fred Robbins: Four tackles for the big defensive tackle, who looks like he is rounding into form nicely after micro-fracture knee surgery in the off season.
The first-team offensive line: Good work by that group, keeping Manning protected and opening some running lanes. Nice to see Rich Seubert and Chris Snee back on the field.

OK, now that we have gone through the good we have to get to the bad. If you watched the game, you know there was plenty of ugly stuff. Let's get to it.

Wet Willies to ...

Steve Smith: Steve, I luv ya baby, but you cannot drop perfectly thrown potential 90-yard touchdown passes when you are two steps beyond the defense. Especially not when you have been clamoring for chances to get out of the slot, and be given the opportunity to run some deep routes. Smith has shown great hands for two seasons now, but I saw him drop a couple of deep balls during camp at UAlbany. Steve, if you want the opportunity to run those routes when it counts you have to make those plays.
Domenik Hixon: A bad drop on a quick in that turned into an interception deep in Giants' territory and led to a Jets' touchdown. The miscues by the two starting receivers turned what should have been a 14-0 Giants' lead into a 7-7 tie.
Mario Manningham: I have said it before, but he has a split personality. Manningham did have four catches for 41 yards, ran some nice routes and made some nice plays. But he dropped a beautiful pass from Carr that hit him right in the numbers and should have been a 30-40-yard gain, and nearly misjudged a punt he had to make an awkward catch. Mario seems to be a 'kwillie,' player -- a thrill-a-minute guy who can keep both teams in the game at the same time.
C.C. Brown: Can we please, please, PRETTY PLEASE Uncle Coughlin, find a way to get this guy off the team? For the love of good defense. And my blood pressure! This guy is AWFUL! Sure, he had five tackles. If he had made all the tackles he should have, however, he would have had eight or nine. On top of which, he is clueless in pass coverage. Brown was waaayyy out of position on Mark Sanchez' 31-yard touchdown pass to Chansi Stuckey, leaving him wide open. Then, of course, missing the tackle when he finally did get there. Paging Sha'reef Rashad. Or Vince Anderson. Or anyone else, for that matter.
DeAndre Wright: The rookie sixth-round pick got himself all turned around, then fell on the field in a heap on Erik Ainge 70-yard touchdown pass to Aundrae Allison late in the fourth quarter. Probably appropriate, though, since I think Wright's chance to make the team crashed to the ground as soon as he did.
Sinorice Moss: I don't remember him doing anything well. I do remember him failing to catch a punt at the 20-yard line that ended up rolling dead at the 1.

-- Jets vs Giants recap

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