Tom Coughlin was on the hot seat last season and all he did was win the Super Bowl getting fans and critics off of his back.  The Giants defeated the best three teams in football (Packers, Cowboys and Patriots) other than themselves on the way to glory.  Coughlin has now coached 4 years for the Giants and he has compiled a 35-29 record (54.7%) during the regular season and he is 4-2 with the Giants in the post season.  Coughlin is a taskmaster that often riles up his own team due to his stringent rules but the team responded to him when he really needed them to.  Coughlin has now coached in 12 seasons in the NFL and he has compiled a 103-89 (53.6%) record during the regular season and he’s 8-6 (57.1%) in his post season career.  Coughlin is a very underrated NFL head coach and his team will prove this season that the Giants weren’t a fluke last year.

The Giants have signed 27-year old safety Stuart Schweigert.  Schweigert had just recently been cut by the Redskins last week so he may have some secrets for Giants’ coaches.  Anyway, Schweigert played in 15 games with the Raiders last season and he made 68 tackles, defensed 4 passes and he picked off two passes.  Look for Schweigert to get a lot of playing time in dime and nickel packages plus he should help out on special teams.  He has now played in 63 games in his NFL career and he has made 316 tackles, has defensed 20 passes, has forced 2 fumbles and he has 4 interceptions.  This was a nice low risk signing for the Giants as Schweigert is a pretty decent safety.

The Giants didn’t look to interested in tonight’s preseason opener in Detroit.  Eli Manning made a quick exit after completing only 2 of 6 passes for 19 yards.  Anthony Wright followed Manning in the game and he was 9 of 13 passing for 116 yards.  David Carr led the Giants to the only TD they would score on the night hitting WR Craponso Thorpe with a 13-yard TD pass.  Carr was the most impressive QB of the night for the Giants as he completed 10 of 13 passes for 104 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 interceptions.   Brandon Jacobs led the Giants in rushing with 27 yards on only 2 carries (13.5 ypc).  WR Sinorice Moss might have woken up tonight knowing that he has to fight for a roster spot as he caught 2 passes for 55 yards (27.5 avg).  The Giants rushed for 79 yards in tonight’s game on 24 carries (3.3 ypc) and that’s not too good.  They also completed 21 of 32 passes for 231 yards.  They have a few things to work on before the season starts in September.

The defense was led by rookie safety Kenny Phillips with 8 tackles.  Linebacker Chase Blackburn of the powerful University of Akron finished up with 7 tackles.  The run defense was pretty solid for the Giants tonight as they held the Lions to 84 yards rushing on 35 carries (2.4 ypc).  They did have some issues however defending the pass as the Lions completed 19 of 24 passes for 214 yards.

30-year old Lawrence Tynes will be the placekicker for the Giants again in 2008 and they need him to have another good season.  Tynes played in all 16 games for the Giants last season and he connected on 23 of 27 field goals (85.2%).  Tynes also made 40 of 42 extra points last year.  Tynes sometimes loses his concentration and misses some easy kicks so the Giants’ special teams coach must keep him focused on the job at hand.  Tynes has now played in 64 games in his NFL career and he has made 91 of 114 field goals (79.8%).  Tynes has also nailed 177 of 183 extra points (96.7%) in his career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B-

With the way the Giants have loaded up at WR you have to think that the TE won’t get near as many passes thrown to them in 2008.  Still, 2nd year man Kevin Boss made some big plays for the Giants in the post season last year.  Boss is a big guy at 6′6″, 253 pounds and he has a solid set of hands.  He will likely catch whatever is thrown to him and he has a few moves to help him get down the field.  Boss played in 13 games for the Giants last season and he caught 9 passes for 118 yards (13.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs as a rookie.  He should have a good season in 2008 for the Giants.

6′4″, 270 pound Michael Matthews might play some fullback and some TE in 2008 for the Giants.  He is a good blocker but he doesn’t have the speed to get downfield in the passing game.  Matthews played in all 16 games for the Giants last season and he caught 6 passes for 28 yards (4.7 avg). 

The Giants like 25-year old Darcy Johnson but he hasn’t shown much in his NFL career to this point.  He has played in 1 game in his NFL career and he has yet to catch a pass.  Johnson does have upside so he could move up the depth chart this season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C-