Former Giants WR Derek Hagan had a stellar preseason game with his new team, the Oakland Raiders.

Photo: Paul Sakuma / AP

Hagan caught 6 passes for 120 yards and 1 35 yard TD from QB Jason Campbell in a very impressive preseason display, and perhaps the lone bright spot from the Raider offense in a 40-20 blowout by the New Orleans Saints.

Here’s a great quote about via the San Francisco Chronicle:

“It definitely comes down to film study,” said Hagan, who is playing for his third NFL team in six seasons. “We knew coming into the game the Saints were going to be in single man coverage. We knew if you just give ‘em one move and break the tackle, there was nobody left. Just a simple hitch route, Jason threw it out there, I made the guy miss, that’s all she wrote.”

Now, I’m actually kind of surprised that the Giants didn’t try and get Hagan to stick around this year. You may remember in 2009, Hagan was signed due to a lack of depth at WR and shined in special teams, and made a great 4th option at WR when asked. In 2010, he was cut and then re-signed off his couch midway through the season when the Giants WR core was depleted by injuries. Hagan had a slow start to shake off the rust, admittedly, but he looked good by season’s end. Particularly against the Redskins when he was the starting #2 in a must win game.

Somehow, I thought the Giants would appreciate his contribution last year when the organization was between a rock and a hard place and figure out a way to keep him on the roster… or even better utilize him going forward. Looks like Oakland is going to be reaping the benefits from all the prep work the Giants were involved with.

*** In Other News ***

Rhett Bomar, who hasn’t played a preseason game for Minnesota, was waived by the Vikings today.

Two weeks ago I wrote an article about the “New York Giants And The Roman Numeral V.” Five has been a recurring number throughout the Giants’ season and this week is no exception. The Philadelphia Eagles have won five straight games against the G-Men. They have also won their last 5 consecutive games. Big Blue looks to end these streaks on Sunday.

By now, most readers know that Steve Smith is out for the season. After being sidelined with a pectoral injury for four weeks, Smith returned back to action against the Minnesota Vikings. He was targeted 3 times but only caught 1 pass for 12 yards. The Giants have gone 2-2 in his absence. Being down a Pro Bowl receiver certainly doesn’t help matters much for a team that has had to grapple with injuries all year long. Can they pull out their biggest win of the season without Steve Smith? Let’s crunch some numbers and find out.
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