New York Jets 28 – New York Giants 7
Game Overview: The game wasn’t as bad as the score would indicate but there were some troubling signs. Most significant were the injuries QB Kerry Collins (shoulder) and HB Tiki Barber (hamstring). Both injuries are said not to be serious, but only time will tell. Also disconcerting has been the lack of a consistent pass rush from the starting front four on defense. The Jets’ offensive line pretty much kept these guys under wraps.
Quarterbacks: QB Kerry Collins (8/13 for 55 yards, 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions) was pretty efficient before he was forced to leave with a bruised shoulder. His first pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage and his second he had to throw into the ground as a screen to Tiki Barber was sniffed out by the defense. On 3rd-and-5, he made a nice throw to WR Amani Toomer for 8-yards and a first down. Later on the opening drive, he found Toomer again for 14 yards. On another 3rd-and-5, Ron Dixon dropped what would have been another first down. On 4th-and-5, Luke Petitgout missed the snap count and Collins was easily sacked.
On his second drive, Barber dropped the first pass. On 3rd-and-10, Collins found Toomer for 16 yards – Collins and Toomer seem to be more in sync than ever. Three plays later in 3rd-and-8, it was once again Collins-to-Toomer (this time on a slant pass) for 8 yards and a first down. The drive ended three plays later when on 3rd-and-11, the corner just barely broke up a pass intended for Toomer again. That was it for Collins.
Jason Garrett (7/9 for 28 yards, 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions) just seems very natural behind the center. However, his lack of arm strength really limits him in that he can’t really throw the deep out pass. Garrett did a nice job of hitting WR Ike Hilliard for seven yards on 3rd-and-5 on the Giants’ third drive, but this was the drive dominated by the running of Barber – not the passing of Garrett. On the Giants fourth drive (and last of the first half), Garrett hit Taman Bryant for 9 yards, but then tripped dropping back on 1st-and-10, putting the Giants in a 2nd-and-17 hole that they couldn’t recover from. Three short passes later, the Giants turned the ball over on downs.
In the second half, Garrett was hampered by the misfits on the back-up offensive line. But he also made a poor throw to Tim Carter on the play where Carter got nailed in the back again – the throw was too far behind Carter, thus exposing his sore area to another hit.
Palmer looked sharper and I think he deserves to be the #2 guy on his own merit. The Giants’ only touchdown drive of the game came when he entered the contest. He fumbled one snap from center, but he hit Jonathan Carter for 7 yards, Delvin Joyce for 11 yards, and Ron Dixon for 9 yards on the drive.
Offensive Line: The starting offensive line did a decent job again. There were a few mistakes, but it has been encouraging to see how well the group has played. Keep in mind all of the changes: Luke Petitgout moved all the way over to left tackle (the hardest line position to play), Rich Seubert is new at left guard, Chris Bober is new at center, Jason Whittle is new at right guard, and Mike Rosenthal is new at right tackle. Five new players at each position – the fact that they are playing this cohesively at this stage is a minor miracle.
The most encouraging thing to me has been the solid run blocking, especially between the tackles. The Giants have consistently gotten a good push up the middle all preseason and this was true against the Jets as well. The group was very strong on the Giants’ third drive of the first half when Tiki ran the ball seven times (runs of 2, 9, 4, 7, 4, 3, and 54 yards). The 54 yarder may have been the highlight, but on the lesser runs, the offensive line got a good surge. There were good blocks by Bober, Seubert, and Petitgout in particular (as well as two solid lead blocks from Charles Stackhouse and one by Darian Barnes). There was also some good run blocking on the first drive with Whittle and Bober opening up a big hole. The only big snafu in the run game was a play where Seubert and Bober allowed the DT who they were double teaming to squeeze between them and tackle Barber for no gain on the second drive.
The one lineman who is a little bit shaky at times is RT Mike Rosenthal. There was one play where he got bull-rushed right back into Collins again; and once again he looked clumsy on a pull to the right (where he got knocked on his ass by the linebacker). Earlier, on the first drive, he got beat to the outside and Collins was clobbered despite completing the pass to Stackhouse (I think this is the play where Collins bruised his shoulder).
Pass protection was generally solid. Luke Petitgout must have missed the snap count on the 4th-and-5 play on the first drive because he never got out of his stance as his man sacked Collins. That was a mental mistake – not a physical one. The one thing that is driving me nuts is the pass protection design on those plays where the Giants call upon the guards to pull to the opposite side and take on the outside rusher. It makes no sense to me to have Jason Whittle block the weakside end or Rich Seubert to block the strongside end. Inevitably the pass protection is shaky on these plays as it was twice on the second drive. I don’t blame the players – I blame the coaches.
The second team offensive line was more of the same. Tam Hopkins appears to be the only real prospect and he even screwed up on one play. On the Giants first’ “drive” of the second half, he didn’t pick up a late blitz by the linebacker, Garrett was sacked and the ball was fumbled. However, Hopkins is a decent drive blocker and I got a big kick out of a play where he crushed his man and then hooped and hollered out there about doing it. At least he has some life to him. LT Ryan Deterding continued to struggle as both a run and pass blocker. He has no technique or strength to his game, although at times he makes decent blocks on pulls to his left. RT Andy Stensrud didn’t look bad on one pull to the right and seemed to do a decent job of engaging his man when run blocking on some plays.
Running Backs: Tiki Barber (13 carries for 96 yards; 1 catch for 2 yards) is still the Giants’ best offensive player (until Jeremy Shockey proves otherwise). He’s the guy that makes the other team nervous. There were two runs where I didn’t like his decision-making: instead of following his blocks inside, he chose to bounce it outside (and I thought prematurely). Tiki has to learn to trust this group of linemen more than last year’s group – they are much better run blockers. But aside from those two runs, Barber was pretty darn consistent with his inside runs, occasionally demonstrating that cutback style that makes him so dangerous. Then there was his spectacular 54-yard run that would have resulted in a touchdown if he had not strained him hamstring on the play. He swept right behind a great block from Darian Barnes, eluded some congestion, and then reversed his field. He avoiding a couple of tackles by leaping over them and allowed his blockers to set up in front of him down the field. However, Tiki never switched the ball to his opposite hand and was stripped from behind at the 1-yard line when he slowed down. Tiki did drop one pass.
HB Delvin Joyce (6 carries for 41 yards; 3 catches for 11 yards) impressed me with his quickness and moves as both a runner and receiver. He made some nice cutback runs and scored the sole touchdown on one such cutback. However, he still has a lot to learn on his blitz pick-ups, where his size is also a liability.
FB Charles Stackhouse (2 catches for 4 yards) is improving and made a number of nice lead blocks in the first half that helped to spring Tiki Barber. FB Darian Barnes got a very good block on Tiki’s big run in the first half and I thought he did a fine job in the second half against second teamers, especially on a drive near the end of the 3rd quarter with three good lead blocks. The Giants have a tough decision here.
Tight Ends/H-Backs: The Giants were really limited on offense by the fact that the only two true tight ends on the roster didn’t play (Jeremy Shockey and Dan Campbell) and that H-Back/TE Marcellus Rivers was also out. Taman Bryant (1 catch for 9 yards) played quite a bit and got a real nice down field block on Tiki’s long run as well as a 10-yard run by Tiki on the first drive. But I don’t think he has a chance to make the active roster.
Wide Receivers: Amani Toomer (5 catches for 50 yards) is having a real nice preseason and looks very confident out there. He was Collins’ go-to guy again in this game. If Toomer can have a big year, the Giants will be very difficult to defend with him, Barber, and Shockey on the field together. He was flagged with a false start penalty however.
Tim Carter got hit in the back right where his sore spot is and was limited after that – a bad twist of luck if you ask me. Jonathan Carter caught a pass, but also dropped one in traffic later in the game. Ron Dixon caught a short pass on the sole TD drive, but also was guilty of a bad drop on 3rd-and-5 on the Giants’ opening march.
Ike Hilliard (2 catches for 7 yards) could be the one guy that defenses forget about this year as they concentrate on others – and Ike can make them pay. I liked they way Ike worked at his run blocking against the Jets.
Defensive Line: I don’t think the front four starters on the line played very well this week. The pass rush was lacking and the run defense wasn’t that much better. It’s almost like these guys didn’t take this game very seriously. Strahan made some plays, but was too quiet. He got handled at the point-of-attack on a 3rd-and-1 play in the first quarter and was again on the next two plays that picked up 25 yards on the ground. Then, to his credit, he got a good pass rush that helped to force a quick throw. Two plays later, he combined with Brandon Short to stuff a run in his direction. It was interesting to note that on one pass play, the Jets had three men blocking Strahan – he draws that much attention even in the preseason.
Everyone else in the first half was practically invisible: DT Keith Hamilton, DT Cornelius Griffin, DE Kenny Holmes, and DE Frank Ferrara. There was one play where Hamilton got crushed by the double team – something you don’t see often. Ferrara made more plays against the back-ups in the second half. He had one sack, a pass pressure, and nice play against the run. However, he and CB David Mitchell badly missed a tackle on Laveranues Coles.
DT Ross Kolodziej made a couple of nice plays in the first half – once against the run and once on a pass rush. His solid play continued in the second half, especially during one series at the beginning of the 4th quarter. He had two back-to-back pass pressures on Chad Pennington and then followed that up with an excellent run defense where he played off a double-team and made the tackle. A few plays later, on Ferrara’s sack, Ross was in the vicinity too. Late in the game, Kolodziej seemed to wear down a bit as the Jets were able to run at him some while trying to run out the clock.
DE Cedric Scott was too aggressive on one play and didn’t contain on the backside on a play that Curtis Martin cutback for 7 yards. However, on the very next play, he did a good job of fighting off the block, keeping contain, and teaming with Nick Greisen to limit Martin to a 3-yard gain (Will Allen was in on this tackle as well).
Linebackers: The Giants had some problems covering the backs out of the backfield. They had better get that sorted out because the 49ers will eat them alive in that department. On one play, no one bother to cover the back coming out of the backfield. I also don’t understand why teams such as the Giants let a tight end escape the line of scrimmage without a quick jam. There was one play to start the second half where facing a 3rd-and-2, the Jets easily converted on a short pass to the tight end against Nick Greisen. Greisen never had a chance because all the tight end had to do was run a couple of steps, turn, and catch the ball. It was too easy.
SLB Brandon Short played a very poor game, especially on the Jets’ first drive of the game. On two of those right-side runs where Strahan got taken out, Short was also blocked out of the play effectively. Then to make matter worse, he looked terrible in pass coverage: getting beat by the fullback on 3rd-and-2 for the first down and then getting beat again by the fullback for a 16 yard touchdown. In the 3rd quarter, he combined with Ferrara on a nice run stop, but then really hurt the team by being flagged for defensive holding on an incompleted pass on 3rd-and-7. Instead of punting, the Jets went on to score a touchdown on that drive.
WLB Dhani Jones played decently. He is much faster than Jessie Armstead and he does a good job of reading plays, but he does need to finish better (he is missing too many tackles and tries to make too many ankle tackles). The good news is that he seems to have a feel for the game. He did a good job of stuffing Curtis Martin for a 1-yard loss on 1st-and-goal from the 5-yard line. Later, he tackled Martin for no gain on a flat pass.
Nick Greisen started and played fairly well. I still see a few plays where he gets blocked such as Martin’s 19-yard run where Strahan and Short also got handled. On Martin touchdown run that got called back due to a penalty, Greisen, Short, and Holmes also got taken out. In the 2nd quarter, he made a real nice play in the hole on a run to left. Greisen made another excellent play midway through the 3rd quarter when he scrapped off a block and nailed Lamont Jordan.
Quincy Monk was pretty quiet. He made a sure tackle after a short pass to the back. Kevin Lewis got fooled pretty badly on a bootleg pass to the left after misdirection to the right. This led to a 7-yard completion on 3rd-and-2.
Defensive Backs: The starting defensive backs played decently. SS Shaun Williams would have ended the Jets’ first drive with an interception had FS Omar Stoutmire not run into him.
Will Allen had nice coverage on two deep passes against him in the first half – on one the receiver had to break up what almost was an interception. He later almost came down with another inception on a crossing route over the middle – excellent coverage. However, Allen missed a tackle on a short pass to the halfback. At the start of the second half, Allen missed another tackle. He was then beat by Wayne Chrebet for 32 yards down to the 1-yard line. However, Allen had excellent coverage on the play and he just missed swatting the ball away on a perfect throw.
Will Peterson got beat on a crossing pattern over the middle by Santana Moss for 17 yards. Later in the first half, he had solid coverage on Moss on a pass that fell incomplete. At the start of the second half, he had good coverage on Laveranues Coles who fell down.
Ralph Brown had a rough game. On the Jets’ second drive of the second half, he got beat by Moss for 20 yards. A few plays later, he was badly beaten by Moss for an 18-yard touchdown. On their third drive, Kevin Swayne beat Brown for 15 yards on 3rd-and-9, thus keeping the drive alive. On 3rd-and-11, Swayne then beat Brown for a 24-yard touchdown. Brown had good coverage on the play, but once again didn’t make a play on the ball. You see the potential there in Brown, but he needs to make more plays on the ball.
Special Teams: On kick returns, Jonathan Carter is more decisive than Ron Dixon. His only return went for 23 yards, but at least he took it straight up the field. Dixon’s only return went for 12 yards. Despite his injuries, you can see the explosiveness in Tim Carter. His return went for 23 yards as well, but he looked very fast. Antonio Warren fell down on his one return (19 yards). Sean Riley had the best return of the night (35 yards), but he was released after the game.
The only punt returned by the Giants was fumbled away by Antonio Warren at the end of the game.
Rodney Williams’ first punt was a had no hang-time, but it was well-covered. His second punt was much better, but the Giants’ coverage team did a poor job and Santana Moss returned the ball 33 yards. Gabe Lindstrom’s sole punt was pretty bad – no hang-time, short, and low.
The Giants only kicked off twice. The first kickoff was by Matt Bryant to the 10 yard line and the Giants did a bad job of covering the kick as the returner picked up 34 yards. The second kickoff was returned 24 yards.
The Giants had two many men on the field during a botched extra point attempt by the Jets, giving them a second chance to kick the extra point.