Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz (Image Credit: Andrew Mills/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports)

The New York Giants began preparations for the upcoming 2013 NFL season without two important pieces to their offense.

It’s deep into OTA’s and there is still no Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz around to catch passes from Eli Manning.

This would normally be enough to cause any normal professional football team with a pulse to bang the panic button. However, the Giants appear to be in no hurry to ease the fears of any fans. They also don’t seem to be in any hurry to address the contract status of Nicks and Cruz, their top two wide receivers.

While Cruz continues to quietly wait out a new contract, Nicks has clearly shown he’s aware that his current contract only has one year left on it and he’d like to start talking about a new deal. Both players have valid reasons to expect significant pay raises.

The OTA’s are voluntary so its not as if Cruz and Nicks have to be there right now. However, their absence is enough to at least raise an eyebrow. The longer these contract talks or the lack of talks go, the hotter the temperature will rise around town as far as the fans are concerned.

Nicks and Cruz are the two leading receivers on the team and together they keep Manning’s passing attack clicking. It can’t be too much longer before it draws the ire of head coach Tom Coughlin that his guys are not on the field yet. My gut feeling tells me that the Giants will find a way to take care of their two stud receivers, it just may take a little longer than fans may have hoped and the route maybe a different one than expected…

The Giants could very well go forward with giving Cruz his long-term deal this summer and then wait to see what Nicks does this season before addressing his contract status again. The reason for that being logical is because Nicks is coming off of an injury-plagued 2012 season and the Giants may want to see if he’s fully recovered and can have a bounce-back year before giving him a new deal. It would be a calculated risk if Nicks winds up hitting the free agent market in 2014.

With training camp right around the corner, fans are hoping to see the Giants take care of business and get back to being a playoff team. It has to first start with them taking care of their own.

According to the Newark Star-Ledger, Kiwanuka agreed to have a guaranteed $1.5 million portion of his base salary converted into a signing bonus that drops his cap number from $5.125 million to $4.125 million this season.

General Manager Jerry Reese knows that there is still more to be done with the Giants salary cap. The team has already saved more than $14 million in cap space with the cuts of running back Ahmad Bradshaw, linebacker Michael Boley, and defensive tackle Chris Canty. While they stand to be under the projected salary cap for 2013, the list of moves still pending seems to be daunting and makes it clear that more moves could be on the way in order to address them.

Martellus Bennett, Will Beatty, Kenny Phillips, Lawrence Tynes, and Osi Umenyiora are all unrestricted free agents while Victor Cruz, Stevie Brown and Andre Brown are restricted free agents. It’s also important to remember that Hakeem Nicks will be up for a new contract soon, his rookie deal expires after next season.

Reese has his hands full this offseason and while he may not be able to re-sign everyone on his agenda in 2013, he knows that he must take care of his key players if the Giants are going to field a competitive football team.

I have a feeling that Corey Webster’s phone is going to be ringing pretty soon if it hasn’t already to discuss his current contract. Webster is due in the final year of a six-year pact that is due to pay him $7.25 million. The Giants cornerback is coming off a difficult season that didn’t do much to justify him getting that amount of money from the Giants in 2013. Prince Amukamara and Jayron Hosley could be on deck as next season’s starting corners if Webster’s contract status isn’t addressed. He may have to restructure his deal or risk getting cut.

The Giants finished the 2012 season with a 9-7 record, one game back of the Redskins in the NFC East and shut out of the wild-card picture. It was a season that was plagued by inconsistency on both sides of the football.

Despite the way they faltered down the stretch in 2012, the Giants still shape up to be playoff contenders for the upcoming 2013 campaign. However, they must get consistency from their team leaders and core players.

On defense, the Giants pass rush was basically non-existent in 2012 and Justin Tuck is going to have to step it up. The Giants pride their defensive line on depth and Tuck is the heart of that line. Jason Pierre-Paul is a stud, however with Osi Umenyiora most likely leaving for free agency it will be crucial for Tuck to give the Giants much more production than he mustered up in 2012.

Eli Manning is arguably already Hall of Fame bound and his two Super Bowl rings are reasons why. Despite making the Pro Bowl, Manning has to know that 2012 was not one if his better seasons. The Giants will need more consistency from Manning in leading the offense back to prominence.

Giants head coach Tom Coughlin did all he could in 2012 to motivate his team, however it wasn’t enough. A large portion of that team will be back for 2013 and the talent is strong enough to compete for a playoff spot  as long as they can avoid any major injuries. It all starts with leadership and production from the core and the heartbeat of the team.

Despite the Giants doing their part today, they still needed plenty of help to reach the playoffs this season and it turned out to be just too much to overcome. They were eliminated from playoff contention because of Chicago’s win over the Lions. (more…)

Here is a quick look at the first half at MetLife Stadium: (more…)

Atlanta wasted no time punching the Giants in the mouth to jump out to an early lead. Quarterback Eli Manning was picked off on the 2nd play of the Giants opening drive by Asante Samuel which set the Falcons up for great field position. They went right to Michael Turner and their run-game to captilize with a 1-yard touchdown run … The Giants had a chance to respond with points however Lawrence Tynes missed a 30-yard field goal which would give Atlanta the ball right back. Quarterback Matt Ryan drove the Falcons downfield against the very thin Giants secondary and capped off a nice drive with a touchdown pass to tight end Tony Gonzalez … Manning would throw another interception in the second quarter, this time it was safety Thomas DeCoud coming up with the nice pick. It eventually led to Atlanta getting a 38-yard field goal from ex-Giant Matt Bryant to give the Falcons a 17-0 lead.

• The Giants are getting solid play from their running backs today. David Wilson is making his first NFL start and so far has been solid on 8 carries for 46 yards although the Falcons held him check on kick returns. However, his blitz protection is still shaky. Kregg Lumpkin has given the Giants a surprising lift with some nice runs.
• Is it time to worry about Lawrence Tynes?  Tynes is struggling late in the season for the Giants with field goals that he normally converts. Today he missed a 30-yard field goal at a time where the Giants really could have used the points. Since then, head coach Tom Coughlin went for it on 4th down twice and failed to convert instead of going to Tynes for a chance at 3 points.
• Manning did not look sharp in the first half. Manning was 8 for 17 with 2 ints. The Giants are going to need him in the second half to turn things around and avoid mistakes. On the other side, Ryan put up 10 of 12 for 97 yards and a touchdown for the Falcons.

The Falcons are 6-0 at home this season and know that a win this week against the Giants would be a huge statement to the league that they are ready to take the next step this year once they reach the postseason. They are a team looking for respect around the league.  The Giants need this win to stay in control of their own destiny in the NFC East division.

Manning showed why he’s so dangerous with the football late in a half as he drove the Giants downfield on a 9-play drive that was capped off by a beautiful 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Domenik Hixon.

The Saints opened up the scoring with a 73-yard touchdown run by cornerback Elbert Mack after he intercepted Giants quarterback Eli Manning’s pass intended for wide receiver Jerrel Jernigan. However, the Giants responded right back with a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from David Wilson. Wilson already had come close to breaking one earlier in the quarter to open the game with a 58-yard kick return, however the Giants were unable to get any points from the drive. Wilson is electric whenever he touches the ball and he’s given the Giants excellent field position with his kick returns. The Saints are going to realize that perhaps it’s not a wise move to kick the ball in his direction.

Saftey Antrel Rolle backed up his talk during the week and came up big in the first half for the Giants defense with a fumble recovery on the first drive of the game for the Saints and a forced fumble on their second drive. The Giants would take advantage of that with a quick drive that was capped off by a 6-yard touchdown pass from Manning to tight end Martellus Bennett which put the Giants in front with a 14-7 lead.

Quarterback Drew Brees managed to get the Saints offense as he took them downfield on a nice 14-play drive in which they were able to get a 32-yard field goal by Garrett Hartley to trim the Giants lead to 14-10. The Saints would then get another chance as Brees drove them downfield to set up a 25-yard field goal from Hartley to pull within 14-13.

The Giants were unable to fully captilize on the great field position they were getting from Wilson’s kick returns. Wilson had three big returns and scored on one of them, however the Giants failed to get points on the other two drives including a missed 32-yard field goal from Lawrence Tynes who’s normally automatic.

Ahmad Bradshaw was in and out of the game with what was listed as a knee injury. The run game was non existent in the first half for the Giants. Wide receiver Victor Cruz also left the game briefly to have his shoulder looked at, however retunred to the game and has looked effective alongside Hakeem Nicks and Bennett in the passing game.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Giants look to get more from their run game in the second half. They tried to do that last week against the Redskins and instead they came off as being too conservative.

This is an important game for the Giants in the division standings. Dallas and Washington have both won their games, so the Giants must get a win today to stay a step ahead of them for first place in the NFC east.

Phillips was listed as doubtful going into the game, he saw limited action last Monday night against the Washington Redskins.  In the Giants win over Green Bay on November 25th, Phillips aggravated an MCL injury that kept him out for most of the seasons’s first half. He’s been laboring since then.

The Giants were solid on their opening drive until a false start penalty on RT Sean Locklear stalled it and led to a 39-yard field goal from Lawrence Tynes. The kick gave the Giants a 3-0 lead.

The Redskins came right back with the unpredictable RG3 running a triple option that pretty much caught everyone by surprise. However Griffin fumbled before hitting the ground and the ball ended up in the hands of Joshua Morgan who ran it 13 yards to the end zone for a touchdown and gave Washington a 7-3 lead.

That triple option was just another example of the unorthodox offense that the Redskins have run this season with RG3 at quarterback. Griffin had the option to hand off to running back Alfred Morris, however he kept the ball and rolled to the left with Morgan as his wing man. Instead of pitching the ball to Morgan, he kept it himself and appeared to be in the act of sliding when he fumbled the ball. Fortunately for the Redskins, Morgan was in the area and he was alert.

Manning and the Giants would then put together a monster 13-play, 85-yard drive that was capped off with a 4 yard touchdown pass to Martellius Bennett. This put the Giants back on top 10-7. The Redskins would come right back down the field to even the score at 10 on a Kai Forbath 33-yard field goal. However, Manning was able to drive the Giants into position for a Tynes 40-yard field goal to close out the half with a 13-10 lead.

Penalties threatened to kill any momentum the Giants offense was gathering in the first half. The Giants racked up 6 penalties in the first half for 45 yards.

The Giants dominated time of possesion in the first half … The Redskins paid a great deal of attention on wide receivers Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz, meanwhile Manning was able to take advantage with tight end Martellius Bennett on big pass plays downfield.

1st Half Notables, Giants

Manning – 14 of 22 187 yards, touchdown

Ahmad Bradshaw, 15 carries, 77 yards

Martellius Bennett – 5 catches, 82 yards, 1 TD

Kimberly Jones of the NFL Network reported that head coach Tom Coughlin said that Phillips and Pierre-Paul will be ready to play tonight. Phillips had come into today listed as “Doubtful” after hurting his knee last week in the Giants win over Green Bay. Pierre-Paul missed two days of practice last week because of  back problems, however was listed as questionable for tonight’s game. The Giants felt more confident about his chances of playing than they were about Phillips.

Here is the full Injury / Inactive List for the Giants tonight …

QUESTIONABLE: RT David Diehl (shoulder)

PROBABLE: C David Baas (shoulder), RB Ahmad Bradshaw (foot), CB Jayron Hosley (shoulder), S Antrel Rolle (illness), DE Justin Tuck (foot.).

INACTIVES: LB Jacquian Williams (knee), TE Travis Beckum (knee), RB Ryan Torain, DE Adewale Ojomo, TE Adrien Robinson, DT Marvin Austin and WR Domenik Hixon (ankle).

It wasn’t exactly a walk in the park for the Giants when they hosted the Redskins (5-6) at MetLife Stadium  back in week 7. It took a 77-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Victor Cruz as well as a fumble by Redskins wide receiver Santana Moss in the final two minutes of the game to secure a victory for Big Blue.

The Redskins would go on to lose their next two games, however since returning from their bye week have defeated Philadelphia and Dallas respectiviely. Those were two big wins against division opponents and they have helped set the stage for their Monday night rematch with the Giants.

The Giants defense struggled to contain Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III in Week 7 and based on what he’s been doing lately, they are going to be in for another hard-fought battle on Monday night. RGIII is progressing rapidly, the accuracy and poise he’s shown this season combined with his ability to run with the football has made him a human highlight film waiting to happen.

The Redskins have a quarterback who’s put up 8 touchdowns in the last two games. RGIII has a hot hand and he’s playing with confidence that’s growing by the week. The Giants may have kept Green Bay and their superstar quarterback Aaron Rogers in check, however they are facing an entirely different type of monster this week in Griffin and a team that believes they can make a run at the playoffs.

Washington has found a healthy run-pass balance in their offense that’s also benefited Griffin’s progession this season.  Albert Morris has been a pleasant surprise at running back for Washington and he gave the Giants absolute fits in their week 7 matchup. (22 carries for 120 yards)

The Giants are gonna have to take away the run game and force RGIII to beat them or make him uncomfortable early and get ahead on the scoreboard before Washington can get into any type of offensive rhythm. Easier said than done.

One look at the remainder of the schedule for the Giants and this is a game they need to have. New Orleans, Atlanta, and Baltimore will each be big-time showdowns on the calendar and if the Giants stumble in Washington it could very well take away what little breathing room they do have in the playoff push.

WHAT HAPPENED

The Bengals wasted no time punching the Giants right in the mouth by jumping out to a 14-0 first quarter lead. The Giants showed signs of life towards the end of the first half and were able to trim the lead to 17-6 at the half, however they could not get anything going in the 3rd quarter and two crucial turnovers by Ahmad Bradshaw (fumble) and Eli Manning (interception) were cashed in for 14 points from the Bengals. That pretty much was the ballgame as the Bengals took a commanding 31-6 lead heading into the 4th quarter. A late 2-yard touchdown run by Andre Brown gave the Giants at least something to feel good about on offense, however this game was already over.

Eli Manning has now gone three straight games without a touchdown pass. He came close to getting one in the second half, however Victor Cruz dropped a beautifully thrown pass to him in the end zone. It pretty much was symbolic of how things went for the Giants on offense today. Cruz was a non factor in this game with 3 catches for 26 yards.

Andy Dalton was electric in the first quarter for the Bengals at quarterback, and threw a career high 4 touchdowns in the game. Big play wide receiver AJ Green backed up his observations of the Giants defense by finding the holes in the secondary. Green finished with 7 catches for 85 yards, 56 of those yards came on a touchdown pass from Dalton in the opening drive of the game that got the Bengals off and running.

Manning was sacked 4 times today and Ahmad Bradshaw again could not deliver a solid running game for the Giants. Throw in a few dropped passes and the Giants just looked like they were just going through the motions out there and the result was the final score.

OUTLOOK

The Giants lost to a team that came into today losers of 4 straight games and clearly on the verge of being knocked out of the playoff picture. This lost hurts just as much the one last week to the Steelers and the case can be made that it hurts even more. Head coach Tom Coughlin already went out and called his defense “Soft” and they went out today and did nothing to challenge that assessment. This team needs to go back to the drawing board and figure out what is it going to take to fix what’s gone wrong over the last month. They had a golden opportunity the last two weeks to put a choke hold on the NFC east division and failed to do so. They’ve went from a team being talked about as the best in the league to fighting off the growing thought across the league that they are on the verge of another November where they struggle.

WHAT’S NEXT

If there is team that should be happy to see the bye week, it’s the Giants. They look tired and mentally may just need the time off to recharge. They’ll have to figure things out now because when they return in two weeks, Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers will be waiting for them.