T-Rock's Take on the Giants
News, commentary and inside info on the New York Giants
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- A little more from Jerry Reese on Barden and Ware
- Gameday Live 8: Giants at Eagles
- For Canty, Boley, questionable means 'definitely'
- Reese: Manning is "absolutely not" 100 percent
- Boss sharing thanks, tickets
- Boley and Canty still practicing
- Coughlin: "It's a one-game season for us"
- Live chat with Tom Rock
- The Giants are in
- Sitcom actor call out Giants for lack of toughness
- Oh no he din't!
- Westbrook is ...
- Linc-ed in
- Trick or treat
- A fine play by Boss, a fined play by Rolle
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A little more from Jerry Reese on Barden and Ware
Hopefully you've been able to read the article in today's Newsday or on newsday.com in which Giants GM Jerry Reese spoke about his concern for the team's direction, Eli Manning's foot, Brandon Jacobs' running style, CC Brown and how injuries have caught up to this team.
If you haven't, you can read it here.
Anyway, there were a few other things I spoke to Reese about when we sat down this week that I wanted to share and that could come into play in this game.
We spoke about the receivers, and I congratulated Jerry on being right about them. "Nobody’s even talking about the receivers anymore," he said. Of course, that wasn't the case during the offseason. But then he spoke not about Hakeem Nicks or Steve Smith but Ramses Barden.
"He's a kid we’re trying to get a jersey to but your numbers won't let you give him a suit at this point," Reese said. "At some point we’re hopefull to get him a suit and get him out there and get some reps and maybe have a chance to make some plays. I think he’ll have a chance to play before the year is out. You never know, you could have injuries quickly or we just might want to change the pace in some way and he might get a suit one weekend. Maybe this weekend. Who knows. We like his skill set and we think he’ll be able to help us in the near future."
The other player who came up in an unsolicited way was Danny Ware, who has touched the ball twice this season, both times on kickoff returns.
"We've got Danny Ware back, his legs look fresh, and we’re looking to get him in there some and instead of a two-man rotation have a three-man rotation," Reese said. "Bradshaw’s got the foot problem so he's banged up a little bit as well. Hopefully (Ware) can get in the rotation and help us out."
Two things to keep in mind today as you watch the game.
(Photo of Barden by Steve Jacobs)
Tags: Jerry Reese, Ramses Barden, Danny Ware
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For Canty, Boley, questionable means 'definitely'
Defensive tackle Chris Canty finally is ready to play for the first time since the opener after battling a calf injury the past seven weeks. But moments after he said he's "pretty sure" he's going against the Chargers Sunday at Giants Stadium, he was told coach Tom Coughlin listed him as questionable.
"Oh, well, I'm questionable then," Canty said with a laugh.
In truth, Canty and linebacker Michael Boley, who also is questionable with a knee injury, are going to get on the field on Sunday. Boley said he anticipates a starting role, "but as I said, how much I'll play in the game is really up to the coaches. Whatever they ask, I'll do it. I'm just trying to contribute."
After three straight losses in which the defense has allowed a total of 112 points and a bunch of big plays, the Giants' coaching staff wants everything it can get from a defense that is supposed to be the backbone of the team.Asked if it's an "all hands on deck" kind of week, Coughlin said, "It is the game before a bye week, so, you do have an opportunity to look at it that way as a 'one-game schedule' or however you want to do it. That is the way I kind of said it."
Coughlin acknowledged his plans to make a change at free safety, replacing C.C. Brown with Aaron Rouse with specific instructions to plug the leak against deep balls against the secondary. He communicated that sense of urgency to the Giants earlier in the week and was happy with the way they responded in practice."I think the energy was good," Coughlin said.
Canty said he was tired from the practice but anxious to get back in
the mix and add to the pass rush."I'm looking forward to it," Canty said. "That's going to provide me a whole lot more energy because I've been anticipating this moment for so long. It's been tough to watch the football team compete and not be a part of that. So, I'm excited."
San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers is on track for another 4,000-yard passing season, and with the variety of weapons available to him, the Giants have to get him on the ground as often as possible."I think the guys on the defensive line have been doing a good job of hitting the quarterback," Canty said. "We've just got to convert some of those doubles into home runs. We've got to hit home sometimes, and that will come. But guys are using tremendous technique, and I've learned a lot just watching them on tape and in practice. We have some tremendous pass-rush technicians, so, I'm learning a lot."
Tags: Chris Canty, Michael Boley
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Reese: Manning is "absolutely not" 100 percent
Had a chance to sit down with Giants GM Jerry Reese for a midseason review this week and most of what we discussed will appear in a Sunday article in Newsday and on newsday.com. But since the subject of Eli Manning's foot injury and its affect on him has come up today (Phil Simms has done a few interviews and suggested that the injury is at least part of the reason for the inconsistency of late), I thought I'd pass along what Reese told me about it.
"I don’t think there’s any question that the injury has affected him,” Reese said. “I think it has affected his rhythm some. It may have affected his mechanics to a degree. But when you go out there and take the reps at practice, we expect you to go make the plays. He’s taken the reps at practice. Is he 100 percent? Absolutely not."
“I think he’s feeling better as the weeks have progressed," Reese continued. "But has the foot bothered him some? I would imagine so because it’s not an easy injury to overcome, especially for a quarterback.”
Reese said he appreciates that Manning has not used the injury as an excuse. He played through the early parts of the season with plantar fasciatis but against the Chiefs he left the game with an injury to his plantar fascia. He didn't miss any games, but besides a nearly perfect half of work against the Raiders, he has not been the same quarterback since.
"He hasn't said that one time, 'I'm hurt,'" Reese said. In fact, this week, Manning was adamant that his foot is fine and is not the cause of his struggles. But Reese disagrees.
"It may affect quarterbacks more than it would affect an offensive guard if you’re banged up some (in the foot)," Reese said. "A quarterback has to plant his feet and the machanics of that position, your feet are a big part of what you’re trying to do. You can't just arm everything, you have to set your feet and step and throw."
Here, by the way, is what Simms said in a release from CBS today (Simms, by the way, is calling the game on Sunday):
"It’s everything: Being under pressure, bad throws, and then just bad decisions. I think that three blitzing teams have hurt the Giants. Eli has never made one excuse, but anytime you hurt the knee, the ankle, the foot of an NFL quarterback, it’s a problem. So it’s going to affect his throwing and lots of things. It’s going to affect his accuracy. It’s going to affect the stress on his arm. It’s going to affect practice time. So you know no matter what anybody says – it’s a factor. I know. I played."
(Photo: AP)
Tags: Jerry Reese, Eli Manning, Phil Simms
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Boss sharing thanks, tickets
Kevin Boss will be busy on Thanksgiving Day, preparing for and playing against the Broncos in Denver that day. But before that trip he's trying to share a little of his turkey with some lucky (and thankful) fans.
For the second year in a row, fans can email Boss telling him why they are thankful and have a chance to win a pretty cool package that includes tickets to the Nov. 22 game against the Falcons, a stay at the Renaissance Meadowlands Hotel the night before the game, and a few other cool amenities. Last year he even brought the winners into the postgame locker room, which was a cool experience for them. Here's an article about last year's winners.
You can send your story of thanks to Kevin at thanks@kevinbossman.com and keep checking his website for details about the contest and, I'm sure, the announcement of this year's winner.
Maybe I'll even see YOU in the postgame locker room on Nov. 22!
(Photo: AP)
Tags: Kevin Boss, Thanksgiving
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Boley and Canty still practicing
Two of the three mainstays of the injury report for the last month -- Chris Canty and Michael Boley who are partners in the firm of Canty, Boley and Ross -- were back at practice today. Weren't they back yesterday? Well, yes. But it's a significant step that they practiced the day after practicing. That means there were no setbacks (at least no major ones) and it clears a broader path for their return to actual game play on Sunday.
Aaron Ross was still sidelined. And Ahmad Bradshaw was keeping him company, although he'll likely shed his boot tomorrow and take a few reps as has been his routine for most of the season.
"Even though we try to hit in practice and get physical in practice, there's nothing like game speed and nothing like game hitting," Canty said of preparing for Sunday. "I'm anticipating playing this weekend, but it's up to the coaches and training staff."
Canty also downplayed expectations of him a bit.
"I'm excited about contributing to this football team any way that I can," he said. "This football team has a lot of tremendous talent. I'm not a savior or anything by any stretch of the imagination. I'm just a piece of the puzzle that is trying to contribute."
(Photo: AP)
Tags: Michael Boley, Chris Canty, Aaron Ross
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Coughlin: "It's a one-game season for us"
That's how important this game is for the Giants. After losing three straight and staring ahead at a bye, they are putting everything they have into this contest against the Chargers.
Coughlin has pulled out all the stops, challenging the leaders on the team, focusing on fundamentals in practice, and trying to convey a sense of urgency. Not that he needs to. The players know that this is as close to a must-win game as they've faced in the regular season in a few years. The question is, how will they respond?
They can't just sit back and wait for things to go back to normal. Eli Manning said as much on Monday.
"Sometimes you can fall into the fact that you think it’s just going to happen,” Manning said. “(You think) ‘Hey, we played bad last week, we are just going to play better.’ Especially how well we played the first five weeks, it almost seemed easy, and it’s not … We can’t go with the easy approach saying, ‘Hey, this is going to turn around.’ We have to make it turn around.”
Just a few other notes: LB Michael Boley and DT Chris Canty were practicing, although Boley seemed to be a lot more active than Canty. I wouldn't be surprised if Boley is starting on Sunday. That will help the defense tremendously ... Ahmad Bradshaw (ankle/foot) and Aaron Ross (hamstring) did not practice ... TE Kevin Boss (ankle) came off to the side to have some extra tape wrapped around his ankle but returned to practice ... WR Mario Manningham (shoulder) was practicing ... Don't expect any roster moves to help stop the three-game slide. "They're our 53, they're our team," Coughlin said. "We have to get it done."
(Photo: Getty Images)
Tags: Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning, Michael Boley, Chris Canty
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The Giants are in
In the story I wrote for the Monday paper I noted a big "if" at the halfway point of the season. That was: If the season had ended on Sunday, the Giants would not be in the playoffs.
Well, you can thank the Saints for that no longer being true.
Because New Orleans beat the Falcons last night, the Giants backed into the final spot of the hypothetical halfway playoffs. Whew!
It's still a little wonky to figure out since not every team has had its bye yet (the Giants, for instance), but if the season did end today, here are your NFC playoff teams:
Division leaders: Saints (7-0), Vikings (6-1), Cardinals (4-3) and Eagles (5-2)
Wildcards: Cowboys (5-2) and Giants (5-3)
The Packers, Bears and Falcons are all a half game behind the Giants for that final playoff spot at 4-3.
Of course, all of this gets a lot simpler to figure out after Week 10 when the Giants get their bye. Finally. And there are no more half games to try to calculate.
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Live chat with Tom Rock
Tom Rock talks Giants and answers your questions today in a live chat at noon.
Tags: Giants
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Sitcom actor call out Giants for lack of toughness
On the FOX postgame show, Michael Strahan essentially said that the Giants have no heart and no mental toughness.
"The Giants are playing like a team that has no sense of urgency," he said. "When they get down a little bit, they’re not a mentally tough team right now. If they get down, they say, ‘Oh this is over.’ You've got to believe that maybe they can take a page out of the Green Bay-Minnesota game to see a team that wouldn’t quit.”
(Thanks to Neil Best for passing the quote along while mired in World Series coverage!)
Interesting that Strahan should say that because Justin Tuck said just about the same thing in today's locker room talking about the team's lack of "swagger."
"When they got up on their lead, I don’t know if we honestly believed we had the capability of coming back on them on that day,” Tuck said. “Maybe I’m just completely off base in saying that. I don’t know if there is doubt. But it feels that way.”
Doubt is a very dangerous thing in a football locker room, as evidenced by this quote from Shaun O'Hara:
"Confidence can vary and waiver from day to day. The one thing this team has is faith and you can't break faith. To me faith is more valuable than confidence."
Now that the Giants -- or at least Justin Tuck -- has let doubt slip in, it will be even more difficult for them to believe that this swoon will be turned around. But they have to do more than just believe it. They have to grab the steering wheel and turn it themselves.
“Sometimes you can fall into the fact that you think it’s just going to happen,” Eli Manning said. “(You think) ‘Hey, we played bad last week, we are just going to play better.’ Especially how well we played the first five weeks, it almost seemed easy, and it’s not … We can’t go with the easy approach saying, ‘Hey, this is going to turn around.’ We have to make it turn around.”
(Photo: Getty Images)
Tags: Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck, Shaun O'Hara, Eli Manning, Neil Best
