Webster had a terrible year at corner in 2012 and had to know this was coming…Im sure he and his family can survive with just 4 million coming in, that’s just $250,000 a week…time for the family budget meeting!

This is another step by an organization that knows what it will tolerate paying for each position…and not letting anyone get too comfortable. Perhaps the hunger will return.

We all know about the huge stats Kevin Olgetree put up on opening night against the dregs of a depleted cornerback group (lookin at you, Justin Tryon), but what’s been most concerning to me is the play of Corey Webster. After Amukamara’s injury, I said that Webster would have to hide the secondary’s deficiencies by locking up the other team’s best receiver every game. That hasn’t happened. In Week 1, Webster was mostly matched up with Dez Bryant, who torched him on slant after slant to the tune of 85 yards receiving. Against the Bucs, Webster allowed Vincent Jackson to amass 128 receiving yards, including a 29-yard touchdown.

The Giants’ secondary problem isn’t likely to fix itself, but what we can expect to see is an improvement against other teams’ second- and third- receivers. With  Amukamara or Jayron Hosley guarding Ogletree, rather than Michael Coe and Justin Tryon, there’s no way Ogletree would have totaled his ridiculous 114 yards and 2 touchdowns (for comparison, he had only 1 catch for 29 yards in Week 2 vs. the Seahawks). The more pressing long-term issue is the showing of Webster against the top guys. He was able to intercept Josh Freeman on Sunday, but that one play doesn’t excuse 2 games of otherwise sub-par performance.

As the only established cornerback on the team, Webster quietly might be the least replaceable player on the roster outside of Eli Manning. With games against Steve Smith and DeSean Jackson coming up, Giants fans have to cross our collective fingers that Webster will return to the level of play we’re accustomed to seeing from him soon. If not, expect to see a lot more shootouts like Sunday.

Once again, the G-men will be working through some defensive back issues. With Thomas gone Prince Amukamara will step into the starting role with Corey Webster playing the other side of the field. Prince Amukamara, 2011 first-round draft pick, is under pressure to perform this year. He missed the first nine games last year and didn’t play with the confidence required to be a NY Giants cornerback. Prince suffered a high-ankle sprain in the first preseason game this year and is expected to miss the season opener against Dallas on September 5. Michael Coe will play the right cornerback position until Amukamara’s return. Safety Tyler Sash is suspended for the first four games of the season for not requesting a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for his Adderall prescription. The current Giants depth chart lists Sash second to strong safety Kenny Phillips.

Prince Amukamara was the number one draft pick of the Giants last year and unfortunately missed training camp and the first 10 weeks of the season.  He showed flashes of his athleticism, but like most of his colleagues was playing out of position for most of his games.  ”The Prince” will benefit from a full off season.

Brandon Bing was a rookie from Rutgers.  He will be evaluated again this off season. Mainly a depth guy at this point, but he did turn a few heads in Mini camp this year.

The Giants have added Steve Brown a third year safety out of Michigan to compete in camp along with Will Hill from Florida.  Chris Horton a 5 year veteran out of UVLA will also get a chance to compete for a safety position.

Michael Coe was among the many injured players in the secondary for the Giants.  Michael possesses some great speed and could be a valuable member of this team if healthy.

Kenny Phillips looked more like the guy we drafted a few years back.  His health is imperative, and hopefully he can make it through camp unscathed and continue to get back to his true form.

Antrel Rolle deserves a lot of credit for playing basically out of position since he arrived here.  He should be the strong safety complimenting Kenny Phillips.

Tyler Sash was another of the rookies that contributed greatly on Special Teams and should again benefit from the off season training and preparation.

Corey Webster had a pro bowl season.  He is a top corner in this league and should be even better next season as the Giants and Perry Fewell tweak their defensive system.

Terrell Thomas is a free agent coming off a second knee surgery.  The Giants have met with Terrell and they say they are on the same page moving forward.  Hopefully Terrell can recover fully, he is very talented, has speed, size and is a real fan favorite.

The Giants drafted Jayron Hosley  from Virginia Tech.  A 5’10″ 178 athletic corner.  He should get a very serious look in training camp.

Filling out the roster are new additions and old friends like Dante Hughes (CB), Janzen Jackson (S), Bruce Johnson(CB), Antwaun Molden(CB), Jojo Nicolas (S), Justin Tryon (CB), and Brian Witherspoon (CB).

The Giants will need to add depth to this area again.  The injuries that the Giants suffered, placing 7 DB’s on IR throughout the year was devastating.  Hopefully some of those guys can return, and then be complimented by others.  This is another area of great competition to look for in Training Camp this year.

Thomas stated during an appearance and Chris Canty’s charity golf outing “I’ve said all along I’m ahead of schedule and doing good. My biggest thing is just protecting, keep building strength and to be ready for training camp and the opening game against Dallas.”

The Giants re-signed Thomas to a 4 year contract worth a reported $28 million in march. There is an option for the Giants after year one. After a year where a make shift secondary was exposed. Having Thomas back with Corey Webster on the other side could prove to be one of the better CB tandems in the league. Let’s all hope the knee is 100%.

The Giants will have everyone except Mark Herzlich available for Sunday Playoff game In Lambeau Filed.

With the NFC Wildcard showdown between the Giants vs. Falcons prepared to kick-off in a little more then 48 hours, the Giants have to be a little worried about the status of their top cornerback, Corey Webster.

Webster was an addition to the practice report on Thursday in a limited fashion and if he is hampered on Sunday it could prove to be a huge blow to the Giants defensive corps.

Webster did not get a pro-bowl nod this year, but he has certainly put out a valiant effort to be considered a top cornerback in at least the NFC. He has done all the little things right, and the less you hear his name, the better.

Webster is scheduled to have the task of going up against Atlanta’s stud receiever Roddy White in what was sure to be a physical battle. If Webster is not up to the task then rookie cornerback Prince Amukamara will most likely take over the reigns leaving Aaron Ross to cover Julio Jones. Amukamara was originally slated to cover Harry Douglas, brother of Knicks point guard, Toney Douglas.

Prince celebrating his first career interception with Webster

Amukamara was a highly touted college prospect who was once considered a top 10 pick in the NFL draft. He eventually fell to the Giants at 19th, but that was more along the lines of teams filling needs.

If Prince does indeed get the start, it will end up being the biggest game of his short career. Strong play by Prince could be the X-factor into leading the Giants to another Super Bowl run.

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I know that this is a late posting, but my computer got hit with a major virus, and this is the first chance that I’ve had to post. I apologize for my tardiness, but I hope that everyone understands.

The good news is that the G-Men won the battle of NY, and made everyone’s Christmas a little merrier, unless you’re a Jets fan. By virtue of the win, the Giants still control their own destiny (they would have anyway, with a win over Dallas this coming week), but the Giants’ emotional state is probably better for it. As is typical of the guys in blue, the game was a microcosm of the season: flashes of brilliance with periods of lackluster performance. More after the jump.From a statistical viewing, the game was somewhat even. The punting game was virtually equal, with each team punting 9 times. The Giants had a 43 yard average, while the Jets averaged 42 yards. Tynes drilled two field goals, while Coach Coughlin iced the Jets kicker, and Mr. Folk missed his one attempt. Offensively, the Giants running attack showed some signs of life in the second half. The rushing totals were ordinary, but after only 6 yards gained in the first half the G-Men came up with a respectable tally for the game. Both Jacobs and Bradshaw literally ran over people. 26 attempts for 115 yards versus 25 attempts and 105 yards for the Jets. About even, although it seemed as if the Jets secondary wanted no part of either of the Giants main backs. (more…)

So, The circus has left town, with it’s ring leader still selling his snake oil to anyone who is gullible enough to be listening.  The Giants now go back to work in the real world of the NFL.  The Giants and Cowboys will meet in what amounts to the NFC EAST CHAMPIONSHIP GAME.  Now, of course, the naysayers will scoff at a 9-7 team winning a division and getting a home game in the playoffs, but that’s how the NFL works.  It’s not baseball where an exhibition game determines home field for their Championship.  Winning your division is the purest test in sports.  The schedules for the two teams are for the most part identical, and therefore determines the best team against that competition.  The Giants and Cowboys, for all their faults, have survived to this point, and now have a chance to get into the tournament as they say, and see if they can make a run.

The Cowboys entered the last game these two played just three weeks ago as “Healthy as they have been all year”  They enter this one in not such great shape.  In the last meeting they lost RB DeMarco Murray for the year. Last week they lost OL Montrae Holland for the season, had Tony Romo leave the game with a badly bruised hand, and RB Felix Jones is also nursing a few injuries.  The Cowboys are dangerously close to having no running game to compliment Tony Romo.  The slowing of Jones would allow the Giants to play defense the way they want…rush the passer, and cover the short routes tight.

The Giants on the other hand might be getting some guys back for this one.  Jake Ballard who missed last weeks game might make his return, and Mario Manningham hopefully will be available.  It will all depend on who is able to practice this week.  A good story that came out this morning concerning the Giants.  It seems the Special Teams Unit  was going to be short handed due to injuries, Coach Coughlin asked the veterans for volunteers to take a few more snaps.  Antrel Rolle, JPP, and Corey Webster all stepped up and said they wanted to be part of it.  The result was each participated in over 100 plays in the game.  A nice sign from a team many have said might have some locker room issues.

Just a final note on last weeks contest…..The Jets said they were New York’s best when the new stadium opened.  They then went on to:

Lose the first pre-season game between the two teams in the new stadium (Thanks to one Victor Cruz).

Lose the opening “prime time” game in the new stadium, while the Giants had defeated the Panthers in the first day game.

Make the playoffs in two seasons, but failing to win a division title received NO home games.

Lose the first Regular Season meeting between the Jets and Giants (Thanks to one Victor Cruz).

And now have to go to Miami, a team they are 2-3 against the previous two seasons, win that game and then watch to see if Cincinnati, Tennessee, AND Oakland or Denver lose. Kings they ain’t!

Both teams are fighting for their playoff lives and for the Giants it is nothing short of a must win.

Christmas is a time of gathering and relaxation for families all over the country, but in New York, there will be no relaxing until the clock hits 0:00 in the 4th.

Most Giants fans are well aware of the struggles in the secondary. Prince is not ready for prime time, Grant looks old, and Rolle takes no blame for blown coverage. The only player who has looked somewhat decent has been Corey Webster.

Here is a haunting stat in regards to this that should make fans quiver. The Giants have allowed opposing wide outs to score 11 touchdowns in the past five weeks. Ouch.

Touchdowns aside, the Giants need to make sure that Santonio Holmes is in check. In 15 weeks this season, Holmes has yet to eclipse over 100 yds receiving. The Giants do not want to give Holmes an early Christmas present by allowing him to get over that mark.

A sight into the future?

The Giants are hoping that their secondary ends up on the nice list rather than the naughty list for this coming Christmas. (I’m sorry, I had to)

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It appears that last week’s game against the Packers proved to be the moral victory that the Giants needed if they’re to avoid another late-season collapse and make the playoffs.

This game was a must-win for the Giants, and they rose to the occasion. It wasn’t a pretty victory, but you don’t get any style points in the NFL. A win is a win, and this was a particularly thrilling and satisfying one. Their 37-34 win (another fourth quarter comeback!) over the Cowboys gave them a half  game lead over Dallas in the NFC East.

Looks like the Giants-Cowboys showdown in the final week of the season is going to be a very significant one.

Observations from the game:

-There was, of course, lots of buzz about the fact that Ahmad Bradshaw didn’t start or play in the entire first half for disciplinary reasons. It sounded like he was late to curfew. I didn’t think it was as big a deal as so many people were making it out to be. Nothing wrong with Tom Coughlin sticking to his guns. And honestly, Brandon Jacobs played so well throughout the entire game- averaging close to six yards per carry- that the Giants didn’t really miss him too much.

The running game has looked much better in the past two weeks, which is an encouraging sign for a team that has struggled with running the ball all year, and needs to win big down the stretch.

-I wish Kevin Gilbride knew that he’s allowed to call a play in the red zone that’s not a fade in the back corner of the endzone. We all know that it’s coming at this point. Variety is the spice of life, so mix it up a little please.

-That’s not the only bone to pick with Gilbride’s play calling either. Towards both the end of the second quarter and a little more than halfway through the fourth, the Giants had a third and short around midfield and both times, Gilbride had Eli Manning take a shot downfield. Why would you not focus on getting the first down there? There’s the “they were trying to catch the defense off-guard” argument, but Dallas didn’t look fooled on either play to me. (more…)

In his postgame interview, New York Giants’ LT David Diehl said,

“It’s a determination. We knew in order to win this football game, you can’t settle for field goals down there. So, we had that determination – “Hey we get it down there, we’re putting touchdowns up” and that was the case today. It was an awesome win.”

There is bittersweet irony in that statement. The obvious, the Giants were forced into kicking 3 FGs yesterday against a solid Buffalo Bills defense, one of which was blocked from 50 yards out. The not so obvious, the Gmen are dead LAST in the FG department throughout the league. That might sound jarring, if it were any other category. But our Boys In Blue have been very successful down in the red zone thus far in the season and have been registering more touchdowns this year than those, quite often, disappointing 3 pointers. Is this the secret to their overwhelming, under the radar success? Read on my friends.
(more…)

For the second consecutive meeting at the University Of Phoenix Stadium, the New York Giants defeated the Arizona Cardinals. Prior to these last two games, the Cardinals had a 7 game winning streak, in Arizona, against the Giants. While the numbers were high for Larry Fitzgerald and company, the points on the scoreboard were not high enough.
(more…)

I am definitely a fan of this move. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I strongly believe the Giants needed to sign a corner with experience to have any semblance of depth in the secondary this season.

Last season with the Falcons, Williams was the nickel corner, and, from talking to Falcons fans, did a real nice job for a team that went 13-3 in the regular season. He was injured for their only playoff game, and several fans believe that was part of the reason the Packers were able to torch them through the air. (So I guess that can be seen as good news and bad news. Good news that he had a true impact on a 13-3 team as their nickel corner, but bad news that the guy has had injury problems when he is coming in to fortify a position because of our injury problems.) While he filled the role nicely in Atlanta last season, I am not sure Fewell is planning on naming Williams as the nickel corner this year. I still believe Fewell favors the three-safety set he implemented last season, and will likely allow Grant to fill that role again. This doesn’t mean Williams role is going to be limited to “security blanket.” All good teams need six good defensive backs, and Williams will be the sixth man in this unit. Think of him in the same role Aaron Ross played last season.

Speaking of Aaron Ross, I think he has a good chance of stepping up this season. Back in 2007 he made a major impact for the team. During the week 3 comeback against the Redskins, one of the key changes to the defense was the insertion of Ross into the starting lineup. He had a stellar season that year, and continued his success in 2008 when he and Corey Webster formed one of the best corner duos in the NFL. The following season he was hurt and Thomas took his spot. Thomas played terrific, and, due to problems at safety, when Ross was healthy he was forced to play out of position. He was healthy all of last season, but was buried on the depth chart, and struggled when assigned to cover the slot receiver.

I think there are two players you can compare Ross to. First is Osi Umenyiora. He was injured in 2008, and healthy in 2009, but failed to make his usual impact. In 2010 he returned to form, and many people believed it was because he needed a full season to recover. If that is true, then 2010 was Ross’ season to recover. The second player is Corey Webster. Webster was a talented corner who lost his confidence early on in his career. He had a stellar game against the Bucs in the playoffs in 2007 and has completely turned it around. Forcing Ross to play out of position in 2009 and, to an extent, in 2010 could have hurt his confidence. With the coaching staff granting Ross’ wish to stay on the outside receiver, he has seemed way more confident this camp. Hopefully that confidence will help with the turnaround. (Yes, by this point it is fairly obvious that by compare, I meant make excuses for. Still I think there is enough reason to believe that either one, or some combination of both of those was the reason he has kind of fallen off a bit from his first two seasons.) He got off to a nice start against the Bears this past Monday, and hopefully he can continue to build on that

Side note: as horrible as this is, this might be the perfect situation for Ross. Both Thomas and Ross are in contract years. Before the injury, there was no way Ross would be kept over Thomas. Now, if Ross has a stellar year, the Giants might have a hard time deciding which one to keep. Webster is still costing a lot against the cap, so I have my doubts the front office will be able to keep them both. Personally, I hope they bring Thomas back over Ross because I believe Thomas has turned into one of the leaders on this team, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is an amazing opportunity for Ross.

So, with this signing, and possibly another pick-up after roster cuts, the Giants should have enough talent at corner to make a playoff push, especially if Prince Amukamara comes back and plays well this season.

The talent is there. I know we lost Steve Smith, Kevin Boss and Barry Cofield in the offseason, but that doesn’t change that fact. (honestly, I think everyone is freaking out WAY too much about this. Aside from Steve Smith I don’t think we lost any player that was above average. And in Steve Smith’s case, we lost a player at a position that we have an abundance of talent)

Focusing on the defense, I think we can all agree that the Giants showed how dominant of a unit they could be at times last season. Remember, for a while they were ranked as the number one unit in terms of total yards allowed, and they finished the season with the most takeaways in the league. So why don’t we remember how dominant they were? Because they choked down the stretch and gave up a billion points in the time it took to blink. (those numbers were only slightly exaggerated)

This season the Giants will have the same defensive system and coordinator for the first time in three years. A system and coordinator that the players like and respect. If they can keep themselves motivated they have a chance of replicating what the Ravens did back when they terrorized Kerry Collins for 60 minutes. (and subsequently made us forget how magnificent he was against the Vikings a game before)

Now I could bullet the reasons why the defense should be dominant, but I think they showed that at times last year. Instead let’s look at the reasons this defense could fail to live up to these lofty expectations.

1. Poor depth in the secondary

This is something that troubled me last season, as I thought they only had three starting caliber corners (Webster, Thomas, and Ross) and a single injury would leave them exposed. Luckily the Giants did not have a single significant injury in the secondary last season. The problem is, with Prince injured the Giants are in the same predicament. Bringing back Deon Grant helps stabilize the safeties, but the corners are once again an injury away from getting torched on a weekly basis.

2. Lack of talent at linebacker

Right now the three starting linebackers are Michael Boley, Jonathan Goff and Mathias Kiwanuka. While Kiwi spent some time at linebacker before, he is more a defensive end than a linebacker. Boley has been with the team for two seasons and has failed to make a big impact. Finally, Goff was average at best in his role, and did so little to impress the coaches last season that his spot hasn’t even been guaranteed.

3. Without Osi and Cofield the defensive line won’t be as dominant

Osi recently elected to have surgery (so he gets a second opinion, is told he is cleared to play. tells everyone he is going to play so he doesn’t let his teammates and coaches down, then has a surgery that will keep him off the field for weeks, and let his teammates and coaches down. I don’t get it. Either say right after the second opinion I’m going to have the surgery, or don’t have the surgery. Don’t claim you are going to be the bigger man, then a few days later act like a child in a pissing match with your parents) and Cofield left in free agency. Those two players were two of the most productive players on the line, how do the Giants replace their production?

Now that we’ve outlined the three biggest problems surrounding the Giants defense why don’t we show why they aren’t a big deal. Let’s start with the easiest one. The Linebackers:

This is another issue I think is talked about way too much. With the way the Giants like to play defense, the linebackers are not impact players. For starters, teams almost always trot out three wide receivers, which means three corners and two linebackers. Keith Bullock was the third linebacker last year and he barely saw the field. Secondly, the Giants prefer to play with three safeties than three linebackers. For those two reasons, it is rare to have more than two linebackers on the field, and there are plenty of formations with just one. But what about the lack of talent? Michael Boley is a better player than people give him credit for. He was hurt his first season, and actually played pretty well last year. Boley, combined with the play of Grant and the safeties, were the reason why the Giants defended the tight end position so well. For Kiwanuka, he looked fantastic in this same role early last season. He had four sacks in the first three games before getting injured. I remember I was so excited about his development last season, and it was a huge blow when he was injured. I am not worried about his play at all. For Goff, he had a solid season. I’ll admit it wasn’t great, but it was leaps and bounds better than what I thought he would do. With a season under his belt I expect him to play even better than he did last year. In short, I am not saying the Giants have amazing linebackers. What I am saying is I don’t see the position as this great weakness that will hinder the Giants potential to be a dominating defense.

Now the second easiest question, the defensive line:

Yes, Cofield and Osi played well last season. No, their contributions won’t be impossible to replace. For one, I don’t see Cofield as being anything special. He is a good player, but good players are replaceable. Linval Joseph and Marvin Austin are more talented than Cofield was. Will they be able to showcase those talents on the field? We’ll see. I strongly believe at least one of them will, and let’s not forget, we still have Chris Canty, who has played well for the Giants. For Osi, he will be back with the team probably before the midpoint of the season. In the meantime, JPP has looked great. (While I say this I am terrified he is going to have some freak injury that costs him the season. It seems to happen every year with a player that is about to breakout. Kenny Phillips, Victor Cruz, Kiwanuka…twice) While it would be ideal to have Osi in the rotation, I don’t think it will destroy the team to be without him for part of the season.

Finally the hardest question, the secondary depth:

This is probably the thing that worries me the most. If there is an injury to Corey Webster or Terrell Thomas, I have no idea how the Giants will fare. I guess we’ll have to watch the rest of the preseason to see if someone emerges, but for now it worries me. Prince should be back at some point this season, so hopefully he can come back and add some much needed depth. (or perhaps his injury appeased the sports gods enough that we don’t need to lose another player to injury?) I am worried about a corner coming in without any training camp and having a screw in his foot, but on the bright side, how well do you need to know the playbook to play man-to-man, and if he is cleared to play hopefully that injured foot isn’t bothering him. Still I can’t help but think of this issue as the biggest problem the Giants face.

Still, looking back on these issues and last year’s performance, I think it is fair to say that if the Giants can stay motivated, they can be a top 5 unit in the NFL. Basically, just like Dan said in his article, the biggest thing keeping the Giants from being a top unit is themselves. So this season will tell us one of two things: the coaching staff is incapable of motivating these players, or the Giants have a bad locker room and need to completely overhaul their roster. Something tells me the coaches will go first.

I will leave you to pore over the rankings yourself if you so choose, but I wanted to highlight a few things myself.

Chris Snee, with an overall 96, is the highest rated player, followed by Justin Tuck at 92 and Shaun O’Hara at 91. Corey Webster and Eli Manning both tie with 89.  The player rating team in Madden 2011 didn’t seem to know how to handicap the race opposite Tuck for Defensive End, as both frontrunners for the position, Osi Umenyiora and Mathias Kiwanuka both scored 83 overall.

Derek Hagan and Ramses Barden have beat out Sinorice Moss as the roster’s last two WRs.  After Domenik Hixon, Antrel Rolle, Aaron Ross, and Steve Smith all tie for the highest Return rating on the team.  Matt Dodge, the punter currently tasked with taking over for the retired Jeff Feagles, is at 66.  Manningham and Hixon both have Jeremy Shockey disease according to the game, which much higher rating for their spectacular catches as opposed to catches in traffic.

Antrel Rolle, Brandon Jacobs, Hakeem Nicks, and Mario Manningham all have 88s in the all important swagger rating, the highest on the team.

There’s lots of other meaningless other ratings on there that are fun to look at (Eli is a better run blocker than pass blocker, evidently), so take some time out of your day and look around.