I know it’s only the pre-season but Giants’ fans have to be a little worried about getting beaten by the scrubs that the Patriots were playing last night.  Eli Manning made a brief appearance completing 5 of 8 passes for 58 yards.  After Manning left Coach Coughlin wanted to get a good look at his backup QBs as he decides which two to keep.  Based off of last night’s game you would think that Anthony Wright would get one of the spots as he completed 5 of 8 passes for 70 yards.  Jared Lorenzen completed 10 of 16 passes for 53 yards but he had problems getting rid of the ball as the Patriots were sacking him at well.  Tim Hasselbeck finished up the game completing 3 of 6 passes for 31 yards with a interception.  Brandon Jacobs didn’t run too well last night as he carried the football 8 times for 21 yards (2.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Reuben Droughns had a solid game with 5 carries for 38 yards (7.6 ypc).  Derrick Ward had another solid game with 4 carries for 25 yards (6.3 ypc).  Rookie Ahmad Bradshaw had another stellar game with 6 carries for 46 yards (7.7 ypc).  2nd year receiver Kevin McMahan had a solid game with 3 grabs for 57 yards and TE Jeremy Shockey was also busy with 4 grabs for 47 yards.  The offense of the Giants looked pretty good as they finished with 144 yards rushing on 28 carries (5.1 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 28 passes for 175 yards.

The Giants defense wasn’t too bad against the run holding the Patriots to 95 yards rushing on 26 carries (3.7 ypc) but the Patriots threw the ball all over them.  Despite Tom Brady not playing a down, the Patriots completed 24 of 34 passes for 237 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270830017

The Giants have lost WR David Tyree for the next 4-6 weeks with a fractured wrist.  He was in line to be the #3 or #4 WR for the Giants this season.  Now rookie Steve Smith will likely be the #3 WR on the Giants as he caught 6 passes for 57 yards (9.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Anthony Mix has been solid all pre-season with 13 grabs for 98 yards (7.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs.

With starting fullback Robert Douglas out for several weeks with a torn meniscus in his knee the Giants have decided to move Reuben Droughns to fullback.  Droughns was carried the football 17 times for 51 yards (3.0 ypc) and he has caught 3 passes for 25 yards (8.3 avg) in the pre-season so far.  The Giants wanted to get Droughns and Brandon Jacobs on the field at the same time and this will cause opposing teams problems because both of these guys are excellent power runners.  It was smart of the Giants to make this move as Droughns definately is one of the Giants best 11 offensive players and he deserves to be on the football field.

The Giants moved the football and played solid defense despite losing this football game.  Eli Manning looked sharp completing 17 of 25 passes for 146 yards with 1 TD pass.  Backup Anthony Wright followed Manning in the game and he did not look good completing only 3 of 7 passes for 14 yards.  Tim Hasselbeck finished up the game completing 3 of 6 passes for 33 yards.  Brandon Jacobs got his work in carrying the football 11 times for 43 yards (3.9 ypc).  Rookie Ahmad Bradshaw continued his fine pre-season with 42 yards on 8 carries (5.3 ypc).  Reuben Droughns also pitched in with 22 yards rushing on 6 carries (3.7 ypc).  Amani Toomer (4 rec, 47 yards) and Anthony Mix (7 rec, 45 yards, TD) both did well catching the football against the Jets.  The Giants finished up with 30 carries for 136 yards (4.5 ypc) and they completed 23 of 38 passes for 175 yards.

The defense was solid despite the final score.  The Giants held the Jets to 85 yards rushing on 28 carries (3.0 ypc) and the Jets completed 13 of 22 passes for 194 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270825019

The Giants have lost reserve WR Michael Jennings for the season after he tore his ACL against the Ravens last Sunday Night.  This is a shame for Jennings as he was in a battle to not only make the Giants but to also move up the depth chart.  Last season as a rookie Jennings played in 8 games and he caught 5 passes for 49 yards (9.8 avg) and he also carried the ball 2 times for 12 yards (6.0 ypc).  Jennings had 3 grabs for 33 yards (11.0 avg) in the pre-season.

Safety Will Demps dislocated his elbow against the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday Night and he will miss a few weeks.  This will hurt the Giants defense some as Demps played pretty well last season for the Giants.  He played in 16 games last season and he made 100 tackles, had 1 sack, 2 interceptions and he defensed 5 passes.

The New York Giants grinded out a hard fought victory over the Ravens last night.  They did it with defense and running the football on offense.  Eli Manning looked solid when he was in the game as he completed 10 of 13 passes for 114 yards and a TD.  Jared Lorenzen followed Manning and he made just enough plays to keep the Giants in front.  He completed 4 of 8 passes for 34 yards and he also ran the football 2 times for 21 yards (10.5 ypc).  Tim Hasselbeck finished up completing 1 of 4 passes for 11 yards.  Rookie Ahmad Bradshaw was unstoppable last night as he rushed for 70 yards on 7 carries (10.0 ypc).  Ryan Grant (7 car, 31 yards) and Derrick Ward (4 car, 18 yards) could be battling for 1 roster spot and they both looked good last week.  Brandon Jacobs looked o.k. carrying the ball 6 times for 23 yards (3.8 ypc) but Reuben Droughns didn’t look good carrying the ball 6 times for only 11 yards (1.8 ypc).  Anthony Mix had another solid week at WR as he caught 5 passes for 43 yards (8.6 avg).  Rookie Steve Smith from USC caught 2 passes for 19 yards and one of them was for a TD from Eli Manning.  The Giants showed off a powerful running game as they carried the ball 34 times for 182 yards (5.4 ypc) and they completed 15 of 25 passes for 116 yards.  The Giants controlled the clock for 35:51 of the football game and that was a key factor in the victory.

The defense looked solid as they held the Ravens to 75 yards rushing on 21 carries (3.6 ypc) and they only allowed the Ravens to throw for 136 yards on 16 of 29 passing.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270819033

All of the pressure at tight end will be placed on Jeremy Shockey as his backup left for greener pastures.  Shockey will likely be Eli Manning’s #2 target in the passing game this season.  He played in 15 games (all starts) last season and he caught 66 passes for 623 yards (9.4 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  Look for those numbers to spike upwards in 2007.  He has now played in 69 games (68 starts) and he has caught 314 passes for 3,609 yards (11.5 avg) with 24 TD grabs in his career.

The Giants drafted Kevin Boss in the 5th round out of Western Oregon and they hope he will be able to back up Shockey and play in two tight end sets as a rookie.

The Giants hope that Plaxico Burress steps up a little bit, Amani Toomer stays healthy and either Sinorice Moss or rookie Steve Smith seizes the #3 WR job.  Can it all happen?  Sure it can but we won’t know if it will for a little while.   Plaxico Burress is now the undisputed #1 WR on the Giants.  He played in 15 games (all starts) last season and he caught 63 passes for 988 yards (15.7 avg) with 10 TD grabs.  He’s a teaser as he flashes his skills and then other times disappears and the Giants need him to be more consistent.  He has now played in 102 games (97 starts) and he has caught 400 passes for 6,366 yards (15.9 avg) with 39 TD grabs.

Amani Toomer was having a fine year until he tore his ACL after half of the season.  The Giants need him to rebound and he’s looking good so far in Training Camp.   Toomer played in 8 games (all starts) last season and he caught 32 passes for 360 yards (11.3 avg) with 3 TD grabs and he also carried the ball 1 time for 0 yards.  Toomer has had a fine career but the Giants hope he has a little left in the gas tank because they have no proven receivers behind him.  He has now played in 158 games (114 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 561 passes for 8,157 yards (14.5 avg) with 47 TD grabs and he has carried the ball 12 times for 110 yards (9.2 ypc) with 1 TD run.

Sinorice Moss had a lost rookie season and he will have to fend off rookie Steve Smith from USC for passes.  Moss played in only 6 games (0 starts) for the Giants last season and he only caught 5 passes for 25 yards (5.0 avg).  He also returned 10 kickoffs for 194 yards (19.4 avg).  Moss needs to get tougher or he will wind up nothing more than a special teams player.  Smith is stronger and tougher than Moss but he doesn’t quite have the same speed.  This will be an interesting battle to watch.

David Tyree is an extra receiver and an excellent special teams player.  He played in 16 games (1 start) last season for the Giants and he caught 19 passes for 197 yards (10.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs and he also made 15 tackles.  He will likely be the #4 or #5 WR because he’s so good at special teams.  He has now played in 61 games (5 starts) and he has caught 50 passes for 615 yards (12.3 avg) with 4 TD grabs and he has made 62 tackles in his career.

The Giants lost a tough battle last night with a good football team.  The Giants probably were disappointed with their defensive effort but they are probably smiling about their running game on offense.  Eli Manning started the game at QB and he completed 3 of 5 passes for 27 yards including a 7-yard TD strike to TE Jeremy Shockey.  Anthony Wright followed and he didn’t look too good.  He completed 5 of 11 passes for 49 yards and he carried the ball 3 times for 16 yards (5.3 ypc).  Jared Lorenzen finished up the game and he looked pretty good.  He completed 6 of 13 passes for 75 yards including a 10-yard TD pass to WR Anthony Mix.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 12 yards (6.0 ypc).  Brandon Jacobs (4 car, 15 yards) and Reuben Droughns (5 car, 17 yards….1 rec, 32 yards) each looked good running the ball in the first half.  Ryan Grant looked good as he carried the ball 5 times for 44 yards (8.8 ypc).  Derrick Ward missed almost all of last season with a foot injury but he looked good last night as he carried the ball 5 times for 29 yards (5.8 ypc) with a TD run.  Rookie Ahmad Bradshaw carried the ball 5 times for 19 yards (3.8 ypc) and he caught the ball 3 times for 22 yards (7.3 avg).  The Giants finished up the game rushing for 156 yards on 30 carries (5.2 ypc) and they completed 14 of 29 passes for 133 yards.

The Giants defense has a lot to work on after last night’s performance.  The Panthers carried the ball 31 times for 154 yards (5.0 ypc) and they completed 14 of 24 passes for 199 yards.  Still, the Giants had to be happy with what they saw on offense and they still have 3 weeks to tweak the defense.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/live/NFL_20070811_CAR@NYG