Approach to the Game – New York Giants at Green Bay Packers, August 22, 1997: This final preseason game will be as about meaningless as you can get and the most important thing for the Giants is to ensure that all of their key personnel get out of this game healthy and ready to play Philadelphia on August 31st. The starters on both offense and defense are expected to play only about a quarter and it would be nice for them to leave the game after making a positive impression — for no other reason than their own self-confidence. However, playing the World Champion Packers on their own turf will be no easy task. As for Head Coach Jim Fassel, he still has several tough roster decisions to make as well as some difficult decisions in terms of starting jobs — most notably at halfback, wide receiver, left guard, center, and strong safety.
Giants on Offense: Great test this week for the slowly improving offensive line: Scott Gragg versus Reggie White, Ron Stone versus Santana Dotson, Derek Engler and Greg Bishop versus Gilbert Brown, and Roman Oben versus Gabe Wilkins. In particular, it will be interesting to see how Gragg responds to a top player. Will he get rattled? Will he be able to hold his own? At the other tackle spot, hopefully Oben will continue to improve after having a mostly up-and-down preseason. In two weeks, it’s for real as Oben faces Eagle DE Mike Mamula. The Packers are tough to run on because of their size up front as well as their active linebackers. The Giants’ run-blocking has been somewhat disappointing this preseason and it isn’t likely to get much better against the Pack. The only real roster question mark here is whether or not the Giants will carry three guards or four. In other words, will Bishop, Smith, or Zatechka be cut? More importantly, Fassel must decide who starts at left guard (Bishop or Smith) and center (Engler or Reynolds).
Wide receiver — who starts on opening day? Ike Hilliard has been impressive, but he still hasn’t moved into the starting lineup. Chris Calloway has had a good camp and preseason. Amani Toomer looked real sharp early at camp, but hasn’t been thrown much to in the preseason. We’d like to see him get a lot of work against the Pack. Despite his bad game last week, Thomas Lewis has made real strides this preseason in terms of his route running. Lewis and Calloway are the current starters. If Ike starts, who does he replace? What role will Toomer play this year? As for roster decisions, Kevin Alexander has clearly outperformed David Patten, but how much will special teams play in this decision. Patten plays on a number of special teams units; Alexander does not.
What kind of role will the tight ends play this season? Based on what we’ve seen in the preseason, it looks like they won’t be much more involved than they were last year. Are the Giants saving something for the regular season or is this a real indication of Fassel’s lack of confidence in the unit? Howard Cross successfully kept his starting job from Aaron Pierce. It would be nice to see Pierce making some plays on Friday. All three tight ends currently on the roster will make the team.
Charles Way is set at fullback, but who will see the bulk of the playing time at halfback on opening day? One gets the sense that Fassel is just looking for a reason to start Tiki Barber — a personal favorite of his. Tyrone Wheatley will finally have a real opportunity here with Hampton out. But he has to prove to Fassel that he can stay healthy, hold onto the ball, and run low and run tough on a consistent basis. Wheatley had better do all of these things against the Packers or Fassel just may start Barber against Philadelphia. Eric Lane, who beat out Matt Calhoun for the back-up job behind Way, should play a lot against Green Bay. Robert Walker may see a lot of action Friday, but he’s not likely to make the team.
Lastly, believe it or not, the quarterback spot is one of the more settled positions on the team. When Jim Fassel was named head coach, his first decision was to name Dave Brown his unquestioned starter. In hindsight, that move was clearly the correct decision as Brown outplayed Danny Kanell in camp and in the preseason. Brown has been truly impressive, but he will have to do it on a consistent basis when the games count in order to convince the naysayers. Hopefully, Brown’s outing against the Pack on Friday will not damper his growing confidence.
Giants on Defense: The first team run defense is improving, but the pass defense (both the pass rush and coverage) has been woefully inadequate this preseason. The Giants can’t and shouldn’t live by the blitz in 1997. Michael Strahan, Robert Harris, Keith Hamilton, Chad Bratzke, Jamal Duff, Christian Peter, Peter Holsey, and Cedric Jones need to do a much better job of getting after the quarterback on a consistent basis. Most disappointing this preseason has been the play of Duff, Peter, and Jones; while Harris and Bratzke have been quite ordinary. If these gentlemen don’t start playing better soon, the Giants’ defense will be in trouble. Same story with the secondary. More is expected out of Phillippi Sparks and Jason Sehorn — both of whom have been beaten in man-to-man coverage in the preseason. Thomas Randolph and Conrad Hamilton are excellent back-ups. All four will be tested against Green Bay, especially if the pass rush doesn’t get into gear.
The real battle in Green Bay will be for the starting strong safety job. If rookie Sam Garnes plays well, he may not only cost Maurice Douglass his starting job, but also a spot on the roster. This also may be a big game for Rodney Young. Is his roster status in jeopardy? Tito Wooten has played very well this preseason and successfully staved off any challenge from Percy Ellsworth. Fassel clearly likes FS Brandon Sanders, who is also a good special teams player, but can they find room for him on the roster?
The linebackers have been relatively quiet this preseason and one gets the sense that Defensive Coordinator John Fox is largely responsible for this. He hasn’t blitzed as much as he will in the preseason with this group. Regardless, Corey Miller, Corey Widmer, and Jessie Armstead are very solid and shouldn’t disappoint when the games begin to count. Scott Galyon and Marcus Buckley have looked good on the second unit — unfortunately, they both back-up the same guy (Armstead) and are thus competing against each other. More has been expected from Ryan Phillips, Pete Monty, and Doug Colman — all three have been steady, but not spectacular. The second unit has played with little fire in the three preseason games and the back-up linebackers must share a lot of the responsibility. They all get one more chance on Friday night. All eight of these guys should make the team.
Special Teams: In Brad Daluiso and Brad Maynard, the Giants field two young, strong-legged talents who will only get better. Amani Toomer is a decent punt returner and Tiki Barber is an excellent back-up. Punt coverage has been respectable — in large part because of the excellent hang-time of Maynard (and Scott Player, who will likely be punting with another team soon). Where the Giants have big question marks in the kick return game and kick coverage. It appears as if Thomas Lewis will be the main kick returner, beating out David Patten. Lewis can be explosive returning kicks (he almost scored on one return last week), but he needs to protect the ball better. He also needs better blocking from his teammates. Kick coverage was better against the Jets, but was that an anomaly? If so, opposing kick returns could cost the Giants a couple of games in 1997.
Overview: Get the starters out healthy. Don’t risk important back-ups/future starters such as Hilliard and Barber too much either. The gravy would be if the starters play well before they leave the game — the Giants still need more confidence.