Ahmad Bradshaw: The biggest scare came in the first quarter when Bradshaw left with an apparent hand injury, but those fears were assuaged after the game. According to Bradshaw, he left as a result of popping a cyst in his left hand. “There was a little pain in it” he said, “It feels good. We’re just being precautious about it.” Bradshaw is the main ground option on an offense that had the fewest rushing yards in the league last year, and so an injury to him would be devastating. He may be the most important player on the offense outside of Eli Manning, so it’s very comforting to hear that his injury wasn’t serious.

Jayron Hosley: Hosley made a splash with his 77-yard interception return in the second quarter, but the story after the game was a toe injury that had him in a walking boot on his right foot. According to Coach Coughlin, Hosley suffered a “turf-toe type” of injury and it’s unclear how serious it will turn out to be. Turf-toe generally sidelines a player for about four weeks, so it’s possible that the injury will keep him off of the field into the regular season. This is a blow for the Giants, considering the uncertainty surrounding their cornerback situation in the wake of the injury to Terrell Thomas and how good Hosley had looked thus far. His injury means that, for now, Antrel Rolle is the Giants’ nickel cornerback. The team doesn’t have a choice at this point, but having the Giants’ leading tackler from a year ago playing out of position significantly weakens the defense.

Mark Herzlich: Herzlich suffered a hip pointer in the third quarter, but the injury does not appear to jeopardize his availability for the season opener. “Right now it’s not too bad,” he said of the injury. “I think getting ice on it right away was helpful. The swelling stayed low.” Herzlich may miss some practice time, however, which is important for a young player who is competing with Chase Blackburn for the starting middle linebacker position.

Adrian Tracy: Tracy was forced out of the game with a hamstring injury, but he is not expected to miss any playing time as a result.

Ahmad Bradshaw is obviously the leader of this group.  Drafted in 2007 and now the owner of two Super Bowl Rings, he is clearly the energy the Giants running game needs.  The problem with Bradshaw is can he stay healthy.  He has missed stretches in the past two years that have hurt the team.  His inability to practice has not hurt his effectiveness on game day, and actually might keep him fresher and healthier throughout the year.  Let’s hope he remains relatively healthy as he is the leader of this group.

D.J. Ware is now entering his 6th year in the NFL out of Georgia all with the New York Giants.  D.J. has found it hard to break into the starting line up, but might get more of a chance this year behind Bradshaw.  This is the guy that could make losing Brandon Jacobs no big deal.  At 6’0″ 225 he is a strong inside runner and could spell Bradshaw when necessary.

Da’rel Scott was a rookie last year that had the misfortune of coming into the league after the lock out.  He had a nice pre-season, but we all know that doesn’t always translate into the regular season.  Scott showed a lot of speed, and could be the natural late game back to take advantage of a tired defense.  They will need to integrate him into the passing game this off season, and see what he can do in space.  Scott is 5’11″ 210 and like we said possesses plenty of speed.

Andre Brown was originally a fourth round pick of the New York Giants in 2009.  He was waived by the team due to injury and knocked around the league.  The Giants re-signed him last year but did not play in any games.  He will need to show some strengths to separate himself in training camp.  Brown is listed at 6’0″ 227 and did not play in any gams this past season.

Joining this group is the impressive rookie out of Virginia Tech David Wilson.  Wilson is 5’9″ and weighs in at 205.  He has great strength and an uncanny ability to cut and spin away from tacklers.  He would be a combination of Tiki and Dave Meggett, but with a little more athleticism and speed than either one.  Adding him to the mix will be exciting this training camp.  Eli just might have that new weapon he needs.

Also on the team is Joe Martinek, a rookie from Rutgers at 6’0″ and 225.  Martinek might find a home at Special Teams first before getting too many carries on a game.

The Giants let Brandon Jacobs walk and that seems to sit fine with most people in the organization.  It’s time to make Bradshaw the leader and integrate the youngsters into this team.  Who will step up?  Training Camp is going to be fun for the Giants and their fans this year with plenty of competition and many positions.

OTAs will be held between the two camps: May 23-24, May 30-June 1, June 4-5 and June 7-8.

Clubs are permitted to hold a rookie minicamp on one of the first two weekends after the NFL Draft and conduct one mandatory minicamp for veteran players. Clubs with new head coaches, however, are permitted to conduct one additional voluntary minicamp for veteran players. There is no restriction on the number of minicamps a club may hold for rookie players.

So, let the talk begin…who will show for Mini Camp? What will it mean for the Giants season? Will Osi be a Giant? Can Ahmad Bradshaw ever get healthy?  Stay Tuned!

This opens the door for some competition for the spot behind Ahmad Bradshaw.  Currently on the roster are Andre Brown, D.J. Ware, and Da’Rel Scott.  Scott has tremendous speed at 5’11″ 195 and has shown some potential.  It looks like the Giants will probably draft a RB or two for depth in the middle to late rounds.  Expect the competition to be between these three mainly, with D.J. Ware having a slight edge starting out due mainly to his experience and tenure with the team.  However, if Da’Rel can stay healthy he can contribute in many ways.  Take a look at a few clips of Da’Rel’s work. Da’Rel Scott Fake Punt  Da’Rel Scott 97 Yard Run

Pretty impressive stuff…..Let’s see if he can take advantage of the situation.

The New York Football Giants practiced today for their upcoming appearance in the NFC Championship game this Sunday in San Francisco, and except for the standard resting of Ahmad Bradshaw, ALL players were in pads and participated. Mark Herzlich practiced for the first time since he hurt his ankle in the Saints game on November 28th.  Coach Coughlin must have a big smile on his face.

THE GIANTS ARE INDEED ALL IN!

Well here we go folks, the New York Giants are in the playoffs. After weeks of stressing and wondering: “Will the Giants collapse late in the season again?”, “Will Coughlin be fired?”, “Will they make a playoff run?”, we now know, the Giants have extended their season and have a shot at the crown, and based on what we have seen over the last couple of weeks, they should not be automatically counted out. There has been improvement on both sides of the ball, while some of the most reliable players continue to shine. So, let’s break this one down.

(more…)

Plan remains the same…No Herzlich, No Ballard.  Everyone else says they are ALL IN!

Here is the rather short and promising Giants early injury report.  The thought is the only players who will miss the game are Herzlich and Ballard.

Giants 100 yards rushing:  The Giants finally showed a semblance of a running game.  The re-made Offensive Line looked good, the tight ends blocked well, and the wide receivers got into the act also.  The difference Ahmad Bradshaw makes is palpable.  He even made Brandon Jacobs look like his old self.

Packers leading rusher is Rodgers: The Giants knocked RB Starks out of thegame, and held Ryan Grant to 13 carries for 29 yards.

Eli was 23/40 for 347 and 3 TD’s: Eli throws the long ball as good as anyone, and he used it all night to move the Giants down the field.  He also has great touch and chemistry near the goal line with Hakeem Nicks. Victor Cruz continues to impress as he went over 1,000 receiving tonight, and Jake Ballard is just tremendous at times.

Giants were 6/12 on offensive drives:  The Giants scored on 6 of their 12 offensive drives.

All in all the game WAS as close as the score:  The Giants had 447 total yards, The Packers had 449.   Third down conversions, one extra turnover, and having some inexperience on the field prevented a Giant win.  When the game was on the line Green Bay threw against a rookie linebacker, a third string corner that shouldn’t even be on the team in Wil Blackmon if everyone is healthy.  Give them credit, they had a minute to beat us and they did.  the Giants need to play with this focus, passion, and urgency on their last 4 games.  The Wild Card is still in play, and the Cowboys have beaten the Redskins in OT, beat Miami by one, and lost to Arizona in OT.  The Giants need to continue to show how good they can be.

GIANTS

NYG Ahmad Bradshaw RB Foot:    Out

Derrick Martin S Hamstring:    Out

Will Beatty T Eye:  Out

Michael Boley LB Hamstring:   Doubtful

Michael Clayton WR Knee:   Questionable

Mario Manningham WR Knee:   Questionable

Osi Umenyiora DE Knee:   Probable

Danny Ware RB Concussion:   Probable

Kareem McKenzie T Toe:   Probable

Justin Tuck DE Ankle :  Probable

SAINTS

Turk McBride DE Ankle:   Out

Jonathan Vilma LB Knee:   Questionable

Cameron Jordan DE Hand:   Probable

Patrick Robinson CB Stomach:   Probable

The offense:  Michael Vick appears to be out for the game tomorrow night, as does WR Jeremy Maclin.  In steps Vince Young who has thrown a total of one pass this season, and that was intercepted.  Which Vince Young do you get?  The one that can break open a game at any moment with his strength and speed?  The one that doesn’t go down so easy when hit?  Or the depressed, once great, washed up, indecisive Qb that was shipped out of Tennessee?  I believe the Giants will see both Vince Young and Mike Kafka tomorrow night if Vick indeed is inactive.  That leaves LeSean McCoy as the main weapon for the Eagles, and he is a formidable one.  On a team with Vick, DeSean Jackson, Maclin, Avant, and Celek, McCoy has managed to rush for 900 yards and 10 TD’s.  The Eagles LEAD the league in rushing averaging over 170 yards per game.  The Eagles are 3rd in total yards, but only 11th in scoring with a Net Point Differential of only 17. (more…)

Clipped from: www.footballoutsiders.com (share this clip)

Check it out:

Bradshaw’s most valuable run of the day was a 30-yarder in the fourth quarter. His next three most valuable runs were all 1-yard touchdowns. He had four other first downs on the day, two of which came on 11-yard runs. He also had a 17-yard gain on first-and-10 in the first quarter.

It’s not that he’s one of my favorite Giants of all time, it’s not that he runs with heart every single play, it’s not that he was leading rusher of Super Bowl 42 — Ahmad Bradshaw called his shot last weak and the Giants totally backed it up with stellar play against the Bills.

The run blocking has been awful, Bradshaw called his line out for it a week ago. No one thought the Giants were going to do anything on the ground against the Bills. Bradshaw basically said ‘let me put the game on my back and do what I do best’… and then executed.

Great misdirections, great cutbacks, great effort, great extra efforts — 3 TDs and 130 total yards with a game sealing 30 yard run to put the Giants in scoring position… it looks like the Giants feature back just helped Big Blue turn a corner in 2011.

1.  After an Ahmad Bradshaw fumble, the Cardinals started in the Red Zone (the Giants 16), and got three points.

2. After forcing the Giants to punt, Arizona got the ball at their own 48, and turned the ball over in the Red Zone( Giants 17).

3. 15 plays 80 yards 9 minutes of possession, and got three points.

The first half defense by the Giants, and their uncanny knack of denying points from point blank range, put the team in position to win the game in the end.

Last week I mentioned how statistically equal these two teams were.  Well yesterday did nothing to change that.  Here are some stats:

Total Plays: Giants 65  Cardinals 70

Total Yards: Giants 360 Cardinals 368

Turnovers: Two each

First Downs: Giants 24  Cardinals 22

The Cardinals had lost two games by a total of 4 points…now it’s three by 8 points.

Not much is different about these teams except the Giants have shown the ability to finish games this year, something the Cardinals still need to perfect.

Check out his interview here:

[clip via Giants.com]