Now, I know this is kind of off topic but I am just starting to catch the NBA (honestly, I'm not much of a follower until this) and watching Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks light up the Lakers tonight for 38 points. This guy's come up now with some of the greatest games for a new starter in NBA history.

Here's a stat: Jeremy Lin is the only player since LeBron James in 2003, and only 6 others since 1970, to have more than 20 points and at least 8 assists in his first 2 starts in the NBA. Everybody has made excuses thus far...he's played against bad competition, nobody knows him yet, etc. Now, they can't really say anything anymore.

This is a lot like what people said about Victor Cruz. It wasn't until the Philly game that he was tested by one of the league's best corners in Asomugha and still performed highly (2 TDs I do believe) that people started to recognize some greatness. As with Lin, people dismissed his starts but they're starting to run out of excuses as to why this guy has set the league ablaze. He just chalked up 38 on a team favorited to win the NBA championship.

The parallels are pretty uncanny. Both of these guys only started playing because of injuries depleting what they had in reserves. Both organizations realize how lucky they are to not cut or drop these guys because of what they THOUGHT they had in their talents. Both players turned in some exquisite performances to start their careers. Both of these players are playing in the best city in the world...NEW YORK!

Man, it's great to be a part of this town this year!

Bear with me because I have a lot to share about everything going on but have a limited time to do it.

Looking back at last week’s game against Green Bay, I was thoroughly expectant that the Giants would win that one. After the thrashing of Atlanta the week before, the Giants were brimming with confidence. They were playing the best ball of the season going into the playoffs and, starting with the Jets game, we started to see the defensive phase coming together.

Mostly, as we’ve seen, the injuries the defensive side of the ball has had to contend with this year has been extremely difficult to overcome. As the front has improved in health, so goes the defense.

Continue reading this post »

and the future looks bright.

I think we can rest easy, Giants fans. Lest ye forget, steer yourself to the link above. From what I understand, Victor Cruz has had another strong camp. I, as are you, am horribly disappointed in the untimely departure and seamy landing spot of one of our favorite players from the Super Bowl winning team. However, there's only so much pigskin to go around these days.

This is how we've got to see it: we are a ground and pound team. Always have been; always will be. We have optimistic reports about Will Beatty's current body of work, handling physical battles with JPP (the second half monster from last year). The line seems to be stronger than we thought, and this will allow our Earth and Fire duo the lanes they'll need to gain their yardage. However, if you're concerned about depth at WR, let's have a real look at it.

First, Hakeem Nicks is a stud. The guy had a solid season last year and many people are pointing at him to be the next Greg Jennings/Roddy White type receiver in the NFC. He's strong, athletic, fights for and wins jump balls...he looks a lot like a young Anquan Boldin. Next, we've got Mario Manningham on the other side. He's quick off the line, can move upfield fast, and has reliable hands. Our #3 isn't won outright yet, but a favorite has to be Victor Cruz. As I stated before, he's had another strong camp and while Dwight Lowery isn't Darelle Revis, he's no chump. If he's our #3 he'll, at best, be going against the #3 corner/FS/SS. The best in our division would probably be either Asante Samuel (Iggles #3 CB) or LaRon Landry (SS for the Hogs).

Let's not forget about possible 4 WR sets with speedster Jerrell Jernigan, and redzone situations with Beckum swinging out or Barden working through jump balls. We also have a reliable target in the back field with Bradshaw...heck, maybe even Jacobs could take those RB screens out to the sides and make minced meat out of the secondary.

It's safe to say that right now, our offense is quite formidable. If our O-Line holds up, we are a dangerous group of play makers.

If Osi can get back on the field, we've got a heck of a pass rush with him, Tuck, JPP, and even KIwi on our NASCAR line. Sintim could come in on blitz packages, and KP is a solid free safety with good range. T2 and CWeb are good cover corners, and if we can get the Fresh Prince back soon, we'll have a group that's younger and fresher than ones we'll face in the Beast.

I think we've went overboard watching the big splashes on the other side of the river. We've got a whole lot those Pigeons couldn't buy out yet and they know and have been in our system for some time now.

Let's relax a little bit, step off the ledge, stop screaming for heads to roll, and let the cards play out right now. I know at the end of the day, cooler heads will prevail. I know at least one other guy who feels the same way and is willing to stick his neck out thinking it could happen, as well.

Word on the street says LeRon McClain wants to play for a team willing to give him the ball. Well, the Giants have two needs: someone to block for people carrying the ball and an extra body carrying the ball. McClain has demonstrated such an awesome, humble attitude in not going public about his misgivings with the carry distribution, unlike a certain someone, that I would love to have the guy on my team. McClain was a touchdown maker just 2 years ago, and I think if they hadn't phased him out this past year in order to give McGahee some playing time and Rice some goal line looks, it would've been the same.

The thought of having McClain on my team is an exciting one. What do you guys think?

On Sunday, the Giants seemed to have officially turned the corner in their special teams unit.

Dodge punted once...for a 50 yard net. Against Dallas, he had a 55 yard net avg. Now, even though his stats were in the middle of the pack prior to this, there were awful lapses in coverages as the Giants could not field and contain the returner effectively. These new stats say a lot about how far he and the punt coverage unit has done. It seems like things are falling into place.

Tynes, after not having touchbacks for the first few weeks of the season, has been kicking the seams off the ball. Coughlin himself said Tynes is "smooth as silk" in his FGs and kickoffs lately. There are some obvious changes in his mechanics and, at this point, he has become one of the better kickers in the league. Yesterday, we saw Tynes, outside of one return, take one of the best kick returners in the league out of the game.

Both of these players are young in terms of kickers/punters, and can remain solid for a long time going forward. While we have certainly ragged on Tom Quinn, deservedly so, for some time, we can be certain that this unit is coming into its own and may very well become a strength as the season progresses. Before we call Quinn out, as well, we need to understand a lot happens in every defensive return; there are a whole lot of things going on at once, and it might be difficult to point the finger at one guy - even if he is the coach.

I know this has been talked about; in fact, I think Ed mentioned it a bit ago but the Giants have the best trio of receivers in the league, hands down.

Steve Smith, even as a rookie, showed that he could be Eli's favorite target. I'm sure you all can remember that critical final drive in Super Bowl XLII when the Giants faced a 3rd and 11 at around the Patriots' 30 yard line. He showed hands, guts, smarts and quickness to be able to avoid Meriweathers' hit long enough to get to the marker and get out of bounds. Since then, Plaxico shot himself, went to prison, and Hakeem Nicks has emerged.

Hakeem Nicks showed flashes his rookie season towards the latter end when he merited some playing time. He showed hands, speed and an ability to fight through arm tackles. He demonstrated good down field vision and used his blockers well. He was often able to turn a simple swing pass into a 20, 40, or 60 yard reception. As this breakout season demonstrates, it was no fluke. He's tough to contain in single coverage and, depending on the matchup, he's a sure thing a lot of the time.

Manningham is very capable of making big plays and even though he isn't a huge part of this offense, it doesn't mean he couldn't be. He's relatively smaller than the other two and has a harder time fighting off press coverage; however, with Nicks and Smith receiving every play double coverage, it leaves a swift and agile receiver man to man on a 3rd CB or vulnerable safety at all times. The guy's going to find some plays to be made and he's got the ability to convert.

Here's the kicker...

In the beginning of the season, coverage was always rolling towards Steve Smith. You'd often see a linebacker on the inside or a safety over top with the cornerback in order to limit the balls thrown his way. Since the emergence of Hakeem Nicks, the opposing DC cannot figure out who to limit. So, every passing play the Giants have, there is going to be some one or some area on the field that we can exploit for gain. If our offensive line continues to play like they have, the Giants are a better team than the team that won the Super Bowl a couple years ago.

There is no team that has the trio of playmakers the Giants have at WR. The Colts were close until they lost Austin Collie indefinitely and Dallas Clark for the year. The Jets MIGHT be close with Edwards, Cotchery, and Holmes; until Mark Sanchez can show more accuracy and poise, however, we won't see that. The Broncos WR corps don't have the natural playmakers, outside of Brandon Lloyd's emergence, to match the Giants WR corps. No other team could be on that map.

I'll be the first to admit that after watching the Colts absolutely maul this Giants team, I was jumping off the cliff. My exact thoughts were: getting ready for the draft....coaching change...watching the Jets paint themselves as the new annointed of New York (ugh).

I mean, think back. We got thrashed. A rookie WR scored against our secondary, Peyton carved up our defense, Freeney and Mathis set up camp in the backfield as our tackles could not even get in the way, Bradshaw was trying to create his own running lanes unsuccessfully; all against a rush defense that allowed the Houston Texans, of all teams, over 200 yards on the ground (of course, we now know that Arian Foster is one of the best RBs this year and is currently leading the league in rush yards). That being said, though; plain and simple, it was ugly.

But I am thinking now that the Giants learned from that beat down. They've shown us time and time again their resiliency; I'm sure they reviewed tapes of that game. Osi Umenyiora looked good before but it seems like he may have seen what Freeney and Mathis did to our guys and is now back to that Pro Bowl form. Now, I don't know if it was the coaches who took it apart, or the players, who realized that the beat down they received was the same type of play THEY were capable of inflicting on opponents. Who knows? All I know is that right now, this Giants team is a very different team from who they were two games in. It's cool to see all this happen. They're different. It feels like 2008. And that's a refreshing feeling.

Tuck did say a bit ago that he was starting to see similarities between this defense and the one that held the league's most prolific scoring offense ever to a mere 14 points in the Superbowl in 2008.

I wasn't sure how to take that.

The reason being is that Tuck said some things about hunger last year that just weren't a part of the overall Giants defense's vocabulary. He spoke it and it didn't show on game day. Perhaps now we're seeing the defense being what it should've been all along.

I did think coming in to this year that Perry Fewell was more qualified, prepared, and a better fit than Bill Sheridan whatshisname was from last year. Then again, so is our family's Brobee jack-o-lantern sitting lit outside right now. We're seeing the opportunistic defense come through from his Buffalo days but this defense is a whole lot better than the product Buffalo put on the field. The best Buffalo's defense ranked last year was 15th. They thrived on turnovers. We're considered #2 in the league right now based on yards. With those stats in perspective, I can't put my finger solely on the coordinator.

I think we can safely assume that any one of our defensive linemen, no matter where they are in the rotation, inside or outside, would be starters on any other NFL team. That would put some of the credit on Jerry Reese, as well. The guys are talented so, of course, you gotta put some of the credit on the players. Overall, it's exciting to think what could become of this year, provided our guys stay healthy.

My point is this: just as the Giants found motivation in playing hard and barely losing in New York on Week 17 in 2008 to an undefeated Patriots team, they also seem to have found that same motivation in an embarrassing loss in Indianapolis on Week 2 in 2010 to a not-so-undefeated Colts team.

If that's what it takes, then, so be it.

According to this breaking news update from ESPN, Sage Rosenfels is now the backup for Eli Manning entering this season. Granted, that isn't exactly definite depending on what Giants brass think but something tells me the Giants don't have complete confidence in Rhett Bomar's ability to adequately back up the franchise QB. Rosenfels has been the backup for the Minnesota Vikings after being traded from Houston as the backup to Matt Schaub. Rosenfels was expected to be the starter in Minnesota prior to Brett Favre's change of plans in 2008 but he was never given that opportunity. In limited action this preseason, Rosenfels put up 4 TDs this preseason and an avg. QB rating of 90.2.

I just think it's absolutely hilarious that there are Prilosec ads now on BigBlueView's homepage. I guess they really understand what it takes to be a diehard Giants fan. After seeing Eli and the rest of the Giants offense falter to Baltimore (yet again) and seeing the defense get picked apart by the great(?) Joe Flacco, we've got to hope we see lots of improvements and adjustments in the last preseason game. Otherwise, a bunch of us are going to need a nice big helping of this by midseason just to get through Sundays.

Good targeted advertisements, guys! Hats off to Ed and CJ for underscoring this site to advertisers!

I want to thank Ed Valentine, CJMulrain, and the other editors and posters for putting together some of the best NFL off season information and opinion the web has ever seen. If it weren't for the Big Blue View, I wouldn't know half the stuff I do right now about the Giants' prospects heading into the draft this year.

Now I understand McClain might be taken before the Giants draft at #15 in a little over a week, but after watching highlights of both Rolando McClain and Sean Weatherspoon (highlights provided in links), I decided that having an honest, open discussion on both of these guys is the only true way to understand how they could contribute to the Giants vision this year. I know everyone seems to have their favorite, and it's understandable, but hopefully a guy like me (who generally had no clue until watching little more than 8 minutes of film on each player...still not much of an analysis at all) could contribute just a fraction of what the editors do.

From what I saw on the film of McClain, he uses his vision primarily. He regularly waits at the line of scrimmage for the play to develop in front of him. He's an opportunistic tackler and uses quickness to shed blocks regularly against slower and larger bodies. Has a harder time shedding nimble blockers (TEs, FBs, etc.). Puts himself in position to make plays. Strong upper body for blocking and tackling. Grasps schemes and knows where defense is on the field. Good coverage skills. Not often a blitzing LB. Strong presence against the run. Above average tackling ability. Tends to use his physicality to block and tackle in gaps.

Sean Weatherspoon relies on speed and agility. He's an attacker and is often used in blitzing schemes. He can make plays across the field. Aggresiveness can lead to overpursuing. Strong coverage skills. Above average tackling skills. Uses quickness to shed blocks. Can find seams to make plays from behind and stop gaps in line of scrimmage. Can defend all areas of the field. Regularly sacrifices the body in tackling. Can be an enforcer.

Honestly, after watching the films and developing these assessments (albeit uneducated layman assessments) I think that having both of these guys would be awesome. Taking McClain in the first and Weatherspoon in the second would be very surprising but it might instantly upgrade the unit and turn weakness into strength. I don't know if either would be available by the time the Giants draft in the first and second rounds but it certainly would make an interesting draft.

We already knew that McClain was the more natural Mike (ILB), while Weatherspoon looks more comfortable as a Will (WLB). With Goff, Sintim, and Kehl being the other young possibilities to start, we could really see some growth and development in our LB corps this summer. We know we need it. Why not?

I, like you, am excited to see the Giants and Saints square off against each other this Sunday. I would consider this the first actual "measuring stick" game the Giants have to play this year. The game against Dallas in Week 2 was too early on in the season for us to know enough about either team. But I'd like to bring to light some of the stats for us to get a glimpse of the Giants team and the Saints team thus far.

The opponent winning percentage against the Giants this year is an abysmal .240; in other words, the opponents haven't won 25% of the games they played, coming out to being about 1-4. Compare that with New Orleans strength of schedule thus far, and you will find that theirs hasn't been that much more difficult: .420. Their competition still has a winning percentage under .500, coming out to about 2-3.

On defense, the Giants have a slight advantage. Giants are 2nd in the league in average points against with 14.2 and 1st in the league in yardage allowed with only 210.6 average yards per game. Granted, going against some of the worst offenses in the league (TB: 26, KC: 30, OAK: 32) in consecutive weeks does help their cause. New Orleans has competed against some mediocre competition as well (DET: 21, BUF: 25, NYJ: 24), and put up some nice numbers. They are 7th in the league in average points allowed with 16.5 and 6th in the league in average yards allowed with 295.3 yards allowed.

Both teams have gone against one elite offense this year with the Giants facing #1 ranked Dallas and the Saints going up against a #7 ranked Eagles team. It is important to note, however, that the Eagles were minus the starting QB, Donovan McNabb, and Kevin Kolb put up almost 400 yards against them. He did get intercepted 3 times but Eli Manning won't be making mistakes like Kolb, forcing a ball into coverage on multiple occasions, the way he is playing this year. On defense, the edge goes to the Giants.

On offense, the Giants have earned an average of 30.2 points per game, good enough for 4th in the league. Drew Brees and the Saints, truly an elite NFL offense, average an astounding 36 points per game. The impressive part of this for the Big Easy is that they scored their highest point total of the season against the Eagles' 3rd ranked defense. This tells us that they can do whatever they need to in order to win. They can win games both on the ground (2nd) and through the air (12th), just like the Giants (4th and 10th, respectively). The Giants average just a bit more yards per game (almost a moot point, based on what was already stated) with 417.3 (2nd), versus the Saints 414.3 (3rd).

This could be the most highly regarded Giants game this season, depending on how the Broncos fair in the coming weeks. I am looking forward to this match up because this will be a REAL battle; a true test of class in the NFC. The story lines have been nice, too, talking about how this is a sort of homecoming for Eli. Of course, we cannot forget Jeremy Shockey wanting to stick it to the organization who traded him after their Super Bowl win without him, most likely considering it an addition by subtraction roster move.

Here's to an instant classic...or the Giants beating the garbage out of them for 60 minutes. That would be nice, too.

The score and stats are not indicative of what truly occured on Sunday; I think we all could agree that the Giants dominated the Redskins. The first touchdown the Redskins scored was on a trick play that really should've been defended better (note that the next time the Redskins kicked a field goal, our defenders did not rush on the edge to protect against such gadgetry). The second touchdown was probably considered an afterthought after a dominating performance and was more an act of desperation by the Redskins than good play and playcalling.

Let's think, though, about what the Giants really did in Week 1. First, they have already placed themselves into first position in the East. Though the same could be said about the Eagles' and the Cowboys' dominating wins, the Giants did it in the division. And we can't forget that this team they played was considered a dark horse in the Beast. Some outsiders couldn't pin this team in the division, not knowing where they may end up at the end of the year.

Like Ed said, Corey Webster was unbelievable yesterday. Santana Moss isn't a first tier #1 WR in this league, but he is close. He plays hard and finds ways to get open. Campbell couldn't find him yesterday...at all. Corey Webster is already a star in this league, it's just not common knowledge yet. Before mid-season, Webster will have punched his ticket to the Pro Bowl.

I am really looking forward to what the Giants will do this year. Barring injuries, the Giants could show that last year was a fluke. It's exciting to see after just one week, what could happen this year.

Redskins vs Giants coverage

With the Broncos recently losing their franchise quarterback, you would've thought that off-season commotion for them would be finally over. It appears, however, that Josh McDaniels does not mind rubbing more than one franchise player the wrong way.

Now, I know the Giants are "happy" with their wide receiver situation but getting a guy like Brandon Marshall, despite off field antics, would sure be an interesting idea. According to the Denver Post, this might very well be a serious situation, as Marshall was seen leaving "carrying packed boxes."

There is a market for him I am sure but if the Giants were unwilling to trade for Anquan Boldin nor Braylon Edwards, this is an extreme long shot. I threw it out there for kicks, though, so I want to hear your opinion.

On February 3, 2008, Plaxico Burress was officially a hero in the metropolitan-NYC area. He finally found the right "fit." He finally found a place where he was loved, accepted, and valued for being the receiver he always knew he was in his heart of hearts. That was the beginning of his problems.

Plaxico became demanding. Demanding to the organization which was so willing to forgive and allow his irresponsible and negligent behaviors from Monday through Saturday to continue while his job performance flourished on Sunday. The organization eventually, and literally, bought in to Plax: Plaxico accepted a deal for $35 million for 5 years. I'm sure he thought "this is only the beginning of what I will do." He had all the good intentions in the world, but "the road to hell is paved with good intentions."

Plaxico quickly lost himself. It seems after the contract, he wasn't the same guy. He got what he wanted...think of it as a man (Organization) on a donkey (Plax) holding a carrot on a string...if he gave the donkey the carrot, the donkey doesn't have anywhere else to go in the donkey's mind. The money, it seems, disillusioned Plax. Instead of competition driving Plax to succeed, money became the motivation; once he got it, nothing else mattered.

If we JUST look at numbers, it is plainly obvious. From 2005 to 2007, he averaged about 69 yard per game. In that same time, he averaged .6 TDs per game. In 2008 post-contract, Plaxico averaged about 45 yards per game and .4 TDs per game. JUST based on those numbers alone, Plaxico was not the same.

Now, we can argue that he drew more double coverage or the passing game was not as important as the running game, and some of that might be true. We know that Eli made 50 less attempts last year, however, the fact that Plaxico only played 10 games would cause an obvious limitation on the offense for the remainder of the season. There were certainly plays that were drawn up specifically for Plaxico. For a player who has been a focal point in the offense to just disappear like that demonstrates my point.

Now, I don't know if anyone else is feeling this way but I am getting tired of all the talk and hub-bub over Plaxico Burress. Plaxico has done nothing since the Superbowl but further humiliate and alienate himself from all social and professional organizations. He has lost all credibility. He has lost all the hope and promise he had gained after that Superbowl win. In what could have become a Hall of Fame career, I truly believe that the gunshot wound he sustained was merely one big crunch in between many of a high speed slalom skier tumbling over and over down a steeply pitched hill. Unfortunately, it is still going. I long for the day when I do not have to see his name anymore about his court case, or even about football for that matter. What a sad, sad waste of talent.

This week has been one of intrigue. It is impossible really to tell what will happen this week and the upcoming draft day. When the Giants said "adios" to Plaxico Burress, there really started to be more questions than answers, and those questions that are yet to be answered will most likely not be answered until at least the 7th pick in the draft.

The good news is that Tom Cable is looking to rebuild...a lot. This may allow the Giants to throw a good number of picks his way so that they could jump on the much heralded young receiver, Jeremy Maclin. A lot in his scouting report says the guy may even be a safer bet for the Giants than the other guy. However, as the prevous links state, Al Davis rarely moves down in the draft...he brings his team down, instead (ouch). Well, besides that point, there might be a possibility of this but the Giants would probably have to pay a king's ransom for it and it may not be seen as worth it.

Of course, we've heard rumors about the Giants trading for either Chad Ochocinco, Braylon Edwards, or Anquan Boldin by draft day. So far, nothing's happened (or we wouldn't be talking about it) but I would like to briefly hit on these options.

First of all, everyone has ragged on the Giants for even considering Chad 8-5. This all may be moot but it must be noted that the receiver does not have a criminal record (a plus at this point), is a big time player, and does not put up a fuss if he doesn't get the ball. He consistently draws double coverage (partly why T.J. was able to get the big deal in the first place at the age of 32) which is what the Giants need to open up the running game, and at his age (31) he is still a versatile play maker. While he is a prankster, Coughlin would gladly put up with that so long as the guy shows up on time and is respectful to his coaching staff and teammates (we've heard of no problems there in Cincinnati).

Braylon Edwards...let's be honest, he's dropped a lot of perfectly catchable balls. But unlike Johnson, he's got plenty of prime years ahead of him and if we can't look at it any other way, he's an upgrade over Amani Toomer (who also had cement hands on and off in his career). He also is a silky smooth route runner who can quickly break away from the second level; he requires press, bump and run coverage; and he often requires a safety to roll coverage over the top. This would be ideal for the Giants system. Just like the Raiders' option, it might look too rich for the Giants but with Cleveland picking fourth and Crabtree most likely there for the taking, it may be a win-win for the Jints and the new-look Browns staff.

Of course, we cannot overlook the idea of Boldin trading in his red sweater for a nice shade of blue but this seems least likely. While most Giants fans are licking their chops to have him join Big Blue, according to most articles, he might be too expensive (both in draft picks and in a contract) for the Giants to be willing to trade for him. Not only this, but with rumors about a lingering hip problem, he may not have as many prime years of playing time ahead of him to outlive his contract. He's also not a prototypical, "stretch the field" #1, with most of his potential coming from yards after the catch. This would lead to dump-offs, screens, and leading plays where defenders will have him play in front of him. This is not what the Giants are looking for when/if they trade for a WR.

Lastly, the Giants may choose not to address the WR position with the 1st round pick, and instead throw it at a still available ILB/OLB. These guys are hoping on that. Who could blame them? Besides, Smith has been Mr. Clutch, and if Hixon didn't drop what could've been a wide open TD pass in an extremely poorly played game (Hixon aside) against Philadelphia, Giants fans might be, instead, thinking of this flashback as his future painted in blue.

Thankfully, we will see soon, and the questions we've all been pondering will be answered. Until then, what do you think?