Approach to the Game – Baltimore Ravens at New York Giants, August 29, 2002: I’ve never seen a more meaningless preseason game for the Giants in my life. Any Giants fan who makes too much out of the outcome of this game is nuts. Look who is not playing:
QB Kerry Collins, HB Tiki Barber, TE Jeremy Shockey, WR Tim Carter, WR Daryl Jones, OC Dusty Zeigler, SLB Brandon Short, and SS Shaun Williams. HB Ron Dayne and CB Jason Sehorn may not play as well. MLB Mike Barrow will only see a few snaps, if that.
Simply put, the Giants are missing many of their best players and Head Coach Jim Fassel is in no mood to put anymore of them at significant risk. Thus, not only will the Giants be talent-depleted, but they will likely pull their starters pretty quickly. Only some of the players who need the work (i.e., the young guys on the offensive line, LB Dhani Jones, DE Kenny Holmes, etc.) will probably see extended playing time.
The most important thing is to get out of the game healthy. Period. I don’t care if the Giants lose 40-0. (Well I care, but I’m not going to lose any sleep over it). Second most important thing is to show improvement on special teams.
Giants on Offense: It will be interesting to see Jesse Palmer with the first unit. He will have better pass protection and more consistent receivers to throw to. TE Dan Campbell is back, but I hope he doesn’t play long as I don’t want him to put that ankle at risk.
This will be the last dress rehearsal for the offensive line of Luke Petitgout, Rich Seubert, Chris Bober, Jason Whittle, and Mike Rosenthal. OC Dusty Zeigler started running this week without a lot of pain. That is good news, but we still don’t know when he will return.
This will also be the final round of Ron Dixon versus Jonathan Carter for the third wideout job. Daryl Jones and Tim Carter have great ability, but they could never stay healthy this summer.
Final round for Antonio Warren versus Delvin Joyce this week as well. If Barber and Dayne both do not play, each should see a lot of touches. Darian Barnes was held out of a practice with a tight hamstring. He needs to play to hold off Charles Stackhouse for the fullback spot.
Giants on Defense: Get Michael Strahan, Keith Hamilton, and Cornelius Griffin out of the game fast. Don’t risk them. Frank Ferrara moves up with the first unit and has the unenviable job of facing Jonathan Odgen in his first start. It will be interesting to see how Kenny Holmes responds with the second teamers.
At defensive tackle, Ross Kolodziej, Matt Mitrione, and Dwight Johnson are most likely all battling for one roster spot. Mitrione has made more plays, but needs to be more consistent. We also need to see improved play from DE Cedric Scott since he will be the player who gives Michael Strahan a breather this year.
At linebacker, it would be nice to see Brandon Short rebound from a rough game against the Jets. Wes Mallard returns after missing last week’s game. Do both Kevin Lewis and Quincy Monk make the team?
In the secondary, it will be interesting to see if Jason Sehorn plays. Ralph Brown needs to bounce back from a rough game against the Jets. Nate Coggins appears to be fighting Ryan Clark for a roster spot – I believe the latter has the upper hand. Do the Giants see enough in CB David Mitchell to keep him?
Giants on Special Teams: The Giants will have a new long snapper (DE Bob Jones) and punter (Matt Allen) for this game. Neither is guaranteed a roster spot. Owen Pochman’s knee is acting up and he may be on his way out. Matt Bryant has no chance of sticking.
My chief concern – as always – is punt and kick-off coverage. I want to see continued improvement there.
The return game has been sabotaged by the injuries to Tim Carter and Daryl Jones. Who is going to return kicks and punts on opening night?