The Giants have signed 24-year old TE Martrez Milner to the practice squad.  Milner was recently let go by the Atlanta Falcons so the Giants decided to take a look at the 6’4″, 260 pounder.  Milner played in 8 games (2 starts) with the Falcons as a rookie last season and he caught 9 passes for 50 yards (5.6 avg).  This was a nice low risk signing for the Giants as Milner does have potential.

WR Plaxico Burress decided to take a day off of practice without calling off so the Giants have suspended him for one game and docked him two game checks.  This will hurt the Giants’ offense quite a bit as Burress was off to a outstanding start to the season.  He has caught 18 passes for 259 yards (14.4 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this season.  Domenik Hixon will start in the game that Burress is suspended for.  He has caught 6 passes for 89 yards (14.8 avg) so far this season.  Hixon is a decent player but there will be a dropoff in production until Burress is ready to return.

The Giants have signed 24-year old mighty mite (6’1″, 176 pounds) WR John Broussard to the practice squad.  Broussard was a rookie last season with the Jaguars and he played in 8 games catching 4 passes for 126 yards (31.5 avg) with a TD grab.  He also returned 1 kickoff for 20 yards last season.  He was signed for insurance reasons as the Giants are having some issues at WR.

The Giants had a tough time with the pesky Bengals last Sunday in New Jersey.  Eli Manning had a solid game completing 26 of 43 passes for 289 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 interceptions.  Derrick Ward had a very solid game leading the Giants in rushing with 80 yards on 9 carries (8.9 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 26 yards (8.7 avg).  Brandon Jacobs was also busy carrying the ball 14 times for 35 yards (2.5 ypc).  Steve Smith was the leading receiver in this game for the Giants with 7 catches for 60 yards (8.6 avg).  Amani Toomer (5 rec, 64 yards) and Kevin Boss (3 rec, 51 yards, TD) both also had decent games for the Giants.  The Giants finished up with 117 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.7 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 43 passes for 289 yards. 

The Giants’ defense didn’t not play a good game on Sunday but they tightened up when needed.  Linebacker Antonio Pierce led the way for the Giants’ D in this game with 13 tackles.  CB Kevin Dockery (9 tackles) and CB Corey Webster (8 tackles, sack) had solid games for the Giants.  The Bengals finished up with 102 yards rushing on 27 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 39 passes for 245 yards.  The Giants improve to 3-0 on the season with this impressive victory.

The Cincinnati Bengals and New York Giants are two teams heading in totally different directions right now.  The Bengals are 0-2 having been outscored 41-17 by the Ravens and Titans.  The Giants have won both of their games by a combined score of 57-20 over the Redskins and Rams.  The Bengals’ offense appears lost right now as they are averaging only 184.5 yards of offense per game.  The bad news for the kitties is that the Giants are only allowing 205.0 yards per game this season.  The Bengals should just come out passing against the Giants and try to get a lead on them.  Sure, Carson Palmer is off to a tough start but he could have success if given time to throw.  The Bengals have only allowed 3 sacks this season but the Giants have 7 already.  Still, T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson could give the Giants’ corners problems in this football game.

The Giants have to be foaming at the mouth watching the Bengals on film.  The Bengals are soft against the run as they are allowing 203.0 yards rushing per game and 4.7 ypc.  This means the Giants will try to push them around with Brandon Jacobs (209 yards rushing), Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw.  That doesn’t mean that Eli Manning won’t make the Bengals pay for sneaking up into the box to stop the run.  Manning has looked sharp this season and Plaxico Burress (15 rec, 214 yards, TD) is a huge mis-match for the secondary of the Bengals.

PREDICTION:  NEW YORK GIANTS 30, CINCINNATI BENGALS 13

The New York Giants continued to roll by pounding the Rams in St. Louis on Sunday.  Eli Manning had a super game as he completed 20 of 29 passes for 260 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 interceptions.  Brandon Jacobs had a solid effort again with 93 yards rushing on 15 carries (6.2 ypc).  Derrick Ward also got in on the action with 58 yards rushing on 8 carries (7.3 ypc).  Ahmad Bradshaw didn’t play until late in the game but he played really well.  He carried the ball 5 times for 52 yards (10.4 ypc) with a 31-yard TD run.  He also caught 1 pass for 18 yards and it went for a TD.  Plaxico Burress led the way for the Giants in the passing game with 81 yards receiving on 5 grabs (16.2 avg).  Burress scored a TD on a 33-yard reception from Eli Manning.  Amani Toomer was also busy in this game with 6 catches for 67 yards (11.2 avg) and he also scored a TD on a 10-yard pass.  WR Domenik Hixon had a solid game for the Giants with 3 grabs for 60 yards (20.0 avg).  The Giants finished this game with 200 yards rushing on 31 carries (6.5 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 29 passes for 241 yards.

The Giants’ Defense was all over the Rams like a cheap suit.  Safety Michael Johnson led the way for the Giants’ with 5 tackles against the Rams.  DT Fred Robbins was very solid in this game for the Giants as he finished with 4 tackles and 2 sacks.  DE Justin Tuck was the player that made the biggest impact for the Giants’ in this game on defense as he finished with 3 tackles, 2 sacks and he returned a interception 41 yards for a TD.  The Rams finished up with 68 yards rushing on 16 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 32 passes for 133 yards.  The Giants are 2-0 on the season right now and they definately look like an elite team.

This game appears to be a huge mis-match both on paper and on game film.  The Giants have had 10 days to prepare for a Rams team that was throttled 38-3 in the season opener against the Eagles.  The Giants will likely come out running the football with Brandon Jacobs (116 yards rushing) and Derrick Ward (39 yards rushing) against a Rams’ defense which allowed 108 yards rushing against the Eagles.  The Eagles had three 100+ yard receivers against the Rams so look for Eli Manning to attack the Rams deep with Plaxico Burress  (10 rec, 133 yards) and company. 

The Rams are going to attempt to run the ball against the Giants to control the clock and slow the Giants’ impressive pass rush.  Steven Jackson showed up late this season to training camp so he might not be ready to carry the kind of load that the Rams need him to if they have any hope of winning this football game.  Look for the Rams to force the ball to Torry Holt (1 rec, 9 yards) despite the Giants definately double covering him all game long.  TE Randy McMichael was targeted quite often (5 rec, 77 yards) last week by Marc Bulger but the Giants’ safeties did a great job against the Redskins’ Chris Cooley last week.

PREDICTION:  NEW YORK GIANTS 27, ST. LOUIS RAMS 10

The Giants served notice in the season opener on Thursday Night that they intend to repeat.  They were very physical and they intimidated some of the Redskins.  Eli Manning started out hot but he couldn’t sustain it in this game throwing way too many passes up for grabs.  Manning completed 19 of 35 passes for 216 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 interception.  He also scored on a 1-yard TD run in the first quarter.  Brandon Jacobs was a force in this game as he rushed for 116 yards on 21 carries (5.5 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 8 yards.  But the play that set the tone in this game was when Jacobs ran right over Redskins’ safety LaRon Landry sending a message.  Derrick Ward stepped in when Jacobs needed a blow as he carried the football 9 times for 39 yards (4.3 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 21 yards.  WR Plaxico Burress was catching anything that came close to his fingers in this game as he caught 10 passes for 133 yards.  The Giants finished up this game with 154 yards rushing on 32 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 35 passes for 200 yards.  The Giants dominated the football possessing it for an amazing 35:43 in this game.

The defense was also intimidating for the Giants in this football game.  CB Aaron Ross led the Giants in tackles in this game with 8.  DE Justin Tuck was his usual disruptive self in this game with 6 tackles and a sack.  The Redskins finshed up this game with 84 yards rushing on 24 carries (3.5 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 27 passes for 125 yards.

44-year old kicker John Carney was also an important factor for the Giants in this game as he put 10 points on the board.  He nailed three field goals including a impressive 47-yarder. 

This was a very impressive win to start the season for the Giants.

The Giants have signed DE Jerome McDougle to a 1-year, $1 million dollar contract.  McDougle played pretty well in the preseason for the Eagles but they just didn’t have room on the roster for him.  He played in all 4 preseason games and he made 8 tackles, had 2.5 sacks and he defensed 2 passes.  Still, McDougle has never really played well with the lights on for real.  He has played in 33 games in his NFL career and he has made 35 tackles, has 3 sacks and he has defensed 4 passes.  With all of the injuries the Giants have on the defensive line signing McDougle was worth the risk.

The New York Giants have signed rookie WR Marcus Monk to the practice squad.  He’s a big receiver at 6’4″, 212 pounds but he’s not the fastest guy around running around a 4.6 40.  Monk was a very productive player in his college career at Arkansas so he was worth a low risk gamble.  Monk played in 43 games (36 starts) in his career and Arkansas and he caught 138 passes for 2,151 yards (15.6 avg) with 27 TD grabs.  Monk played in 3 preseason games for the Bears catching only 1 pass for 14 yards.