Approach to the Game – Houston Texans at New York Giants, August 5, 2002: Ahh, football is back and what a great treat to have the first preseason game nationally televised. Preseason football is only for the diehards – and the first preseason game in particular. For one, the starters only usually play about a quarter before 2nd and 3rd team players take over. Secondly, the first preseason game for all teams is usually a sloppy affair without a lot of excitement. The first preseason game is basically a glorified scrimmage. As long as you keep that in mind and don’t take the outcome too seriously, you will enjoy yourself.
The most important thing? Come out of the game with no injuries. Period. The Giants went 0-4 in the preseason two years ago and went to the Super Bowl. Wins and losses in the preseason simply don’t mean that much. For the vets, its sole purpose is to remove the rust and get into rhythm.
Also, coaches don’t game plan in the preseason and they certainly don’t use their best stuff on offense, defense, and special teams. They save that for the regular season. So don’t expect a lot of excitement…things will be kept pretty vanilla.
So why bother to watch? Well, it’s football. Also, it’s a great time to see the young players who may or may not see regular playing time when the season starts. A guy like Jeremy Shockey we’ll see plenty of; but the preseason will probably be the only time we see Jesse Palmer play. I personally like to watch the 3rd and 4th quarters just as much as the 1st quarter as I like to see how the young guys perform.
Giants on Offense: The eyes of the average fan will be on TE Jeremy Shockey, but the eyes of the diehard Giant worriers will be on the offensive line. The re-vamped offensive line is in a bit of mess right now due to injuries to starters OC Dusty Zeigler and RG Jason Whittle as well as reserve OT Jeff Hatch. The left side is intact and what we will see on opening day: Luke Petitgout at left tackle and Rich Seubert at left guard. It will be interesting to see how Luke pass blocks on that side…are his feet quick enough? Seubert is a guy who the vets love, but he will experience some growing pains – like all young players. Since Whittle is also the reserve center, the Giants are down to their third option, Chris Bober, who is supposed to be competing for the right tackle spot. Well, with Mike Rosenthal getting most of the reps in practice at right tackle, Mike is probably in the lead right now. It would have been nice to see how Hatch was measuring up as well, but he hasn’t practiced in quite a while and will not play on Monday night. Tam Hopkins will probably start at right guard until the mess gets sorted out. This is a great chance for him to impress the coaches.
Another area to watch is the wide receiving corps. As usual, Amani Toomer and Ike Hilliard will start. They are the best the Giants have right now due to their combination of experience and talent. But the reserves are the real explosive players with the speed to get deep – Ron Dixon, Tim Carter, Jonathan Carter, and Daryl Jones. Tim Carter was hurt in practice on Thursday and we still don’t know if he will play on Monday. It is important that at least one of these guys emerges as a viable third receiver, now that Joe Jurevicius is gone. It would also be great if one or more of these guys will start to show so much that they actually press Toomer and Hilliard for playing time. Keep in mind that Hilliard is not likely to be on the team next year.
At running back, I’d be surprised if Tiki Barber saw much action at all. Ron Dayne will probably see more but still also be pulled in the first half. The bulk of the carries will probably go to Damon Washington, Sean Bennett, and Delvin Joyce. Joyce is an interesting guy – he’s small, but very quick. He’ll have to beat out Washington for a roster spot however. The main contenders at fullback are Charles Stackhouse (who has missed some camp time due to injury) and Darian Barnes. But it is looking more likely that the Giants may use Dan Campbell and Jeremy Shockey in a hybrid TE/H-Back/FB-type of role. Still, Stackhouse and Barnes could have a future with the team and there is a need for a true blocking fullback.
At tight end/H-Back, Jeremy Shockey is the real deal. Just get him out of the game healthy. Dan Campbell will also make the team as a blocker as a tight end, H-Back, and FB. There is an intense battle for the third tight end spot between Marcellus Rivers, Taman Bryant, and Martin Maurer. Maurer is more of a true tight end; Rivers and Bryant receiving-types.
This will be a great chance to see Jesse Palmer finally get some extended playing time. Let’s just hope the second team offensive line can give him some time. But that might be asking for too much, especially when you consider that a couple of the second teamers will be starting with the first unit.
Final point. Don’t get too upset over penalties, sacks, sloppy play…it’s the norm for the preseason. Moreover, the offensive line has a lot of kinks to work out and has not played yet as a group in an actual game.
Giants on Defense: My focus will be on the defensive line as I am looking for Cornelius Griffen and Kenny Holmes to rebound from disappointing seasons. It will also be nice to see Keith Hamilton fully healthy again. The strength of the Giants’ defense is its front four and Mike Barrow. These guys set the tempo.
But just as important to me is that the Giants need some of the reserves on the defensive line to step up. The Giants were not able to address this area in the draft and lost promising rookie free agent DE Sean Guthrie for the season. It is absolutely critical that guys such as DE Cedric Scott, DE Frank Ferrara, DT Lance Legree, and DT Ross Kolodziej step it up. If at least two of these guys don’t, the Giants will have a real depth problem on the DL.
At linebacker, Dhani Jones has missed a lot of practice time with a hamstring injury and will probably not play on Monday. That’s too bad because he needs the experience. Kevin Lewis will start in his place, and like Tam Hopkins, Kevin has been provided a wonderful opportunity to show his mettle. It will be fun to see how the three draft picks – Quincy Monk, Nick Greisen, and Wes Mallard – also do. However, keep in mind that they are rookies and are bound to make mistakes (especially in coverage).
In the secondary, with Jason Sehorn (knee) out, we probably will be previewing the future secondary for years to come with the exception of Omar Stoutmire. Will Peterson will start in place of Sehorn. Will Allen retains his left corner job. Shaun Williams has been moved to his more natural position at strong safety. It will be interesting to see how Stoutmire performs. If he struggles, the Giants will have to keep their eye on the waiver wire.
There are a few interesting reserves to watch. Ralph Brown is having a strong camp and he could be thrust into a very important role if Sehorn doesn’t return soon. There are also three young safeties – Clarence LeBlanc, Ryan Clark, and DeWayne Patmon – worth watching.
There is virtually no experienced depth on defense. The Giants need their young players to grow up fast.
Giants on Special Teams: New Special Teams Coach Bruce Read will make a world of difference in the intermediate- to long-term, but expect more shenanigans in the short-term. As Read told BBIin a recent interview, “When you get to the season you have 46 guys and you have a core of 15 guys, and they make up your specials, and that is it. You don’t have very far too look. But now all of a sudden you have 80 plus guys and it can be a personnel nightmare in some ways. So we try to keep it organized the best we can.”
In other words, expect some craziness. What you can look for are those young players who are excited to make an impact as a headhunter covering kicks and punts. Also, there are two big battles brewing for both kicking jobs: Gabe Lindstrom versus Rodney Williams for the punting job and Matt Bryant versus Owen Pochman for the place kicking job. Also, if his teammates will give him some blocking, it will be interesting to watch Daryl Jones returning punts. There are a number of guys vying for the kick returning job – including the injured Tim Carter (who may not play).