According to multiple reports:

New York Giants  at  Baltimore Ravens
Name	Position	Injury	Practice Status	Game Status
NYG
Hakeem Nicks	WR	–	Limited Participation in Practice	Probable
Chris Snee	G	–	Did Not Participate In Practice	Questionable
Rueben Randle	WR	–	Limited Participation in Practice	Probable
Chris Canty	DT	–	Full Participation in Practice	IN
Ahmad Bradshaw	RB	–	Did Not Participate In Practice	Questionable
Tyler Sash	S	–	Limited Participation in Practice	Questionable
Justin Tuck	DE	–	Did Not Participate In Practice	Questionable
Prince Amukamara	CB	–	Limited Participation in Practice	Probable
David Baas	C	–	Did Not Participate In Practice	Questionable
Kenny Phillips	S	–	Limited Participation in Practice	Questionable

Oct 10, 2010; Houston, TX, USA; New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck (91) and defensive end Osi Umenyiora (72) react to a tackle against the Houston Texans in the third quarter at Reliant Stadium. The Giants defeated the Texans 34-10. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-US PRESSWIRE

Coming into this season the one constant that everyone agreed on was the Giants had the best front four In the NFL. It was said by many experts that collectively the Giants had the best pass rush in the game. And at the time how could anyone argue?

Well, after five weeks the 3-2 NY Giants pass rush is M.I.A. The big three have a total of 3.5 sacks, Umenyiora with 2, JPP with 1.5 and Tuck with 0. And they haven’t even gotten a whiff of the opposing QB the last two weeks. So, as I sit there and watch play after play of this I wonder what is going on.

TC is extremely dissatisfied by their lack of production, saying ” we didn’t touch the QB again” after their win over the 0-4 Browns. The players seem to be looking for answers to, with Tuck saying “we’ll just continue to pound it and guys are figuring us out, so we’ve got to do some different things to try and free our guys up.”

JPP is having a good season with 15 tackles, he just is not getting to the QB. Osi and Tuck though have been almost invisible out there. The only time I hear Osi’s name called is when he is losing contain and getting trapped inside while the ball carrier gets the edge on him again.

Here is an idea for the big three. Go out and beat the scheme that the “O” line is doing.Line up and beat the man in front of you. Your not all getting double teamed, your not all getting chipped, Your not all facing an all pro lineman every snap. Stop making excuses and waiting for Perry Fewell to come up with a way for you to get to the QB. Go out there and make a play! When you want a new contract I don’t hear excuses, I hear how you still are a key player and that you can make a difference in this game. Well, put your money where you mouth is and show us.

Witten suffered an injury to his spleen during the Cowboys first preseason game against Oakland, less than a week ago.

It’s unclear what Witten’s status will be for the opener, but he is out for the remainder of the pre-season.

“It’s a very serious injury and we’re really taking this thing day by day,” Garrett said. “He has to be very still and idle for the next week to 10 days, so you won’t see him out here on the practice field. He won’t play in the game this week or next week. We’ve just got to make sure he heals as well as possible, as quickly as possible.”

The hit, in which Witten supposedly was injured on, looked like an ordinary football play. It certainly wasn’t something you would sit back and think ‘Witten could be out for the year’.

The Giants have taken notice too. DE Justin Tuck, on a phone interview, wished his NFC foe a speedy recovery, just after week 1.

“You definitely don’t want to wish for anything but the best for your opponents in the NFL. Jason’s been a staple in that offense in the NFL. We do wish him a speedy recovery. (Pause) Hopefully it comes the week after we play them.” Tuck said.

As if Metlife Stadium wasn’t going to be hard enough to play in. Now, with a receiving core, already decimated by injuries and domestic violence’s, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys could have an even tougher time “beating the Giants asses!”

“The fact is, (the Giants) didn’t beat us; we beat ourselves,” Matthews claimed to Yahoo! Sports. “We picked the most inopportune time to play our worst ball”

This is the second time the Packers have chimed in to say they gave the NFC Divisional playoff game away, rather then recognizing the Giants flat out, played better on the bigger stage.

Head coach Mike McCarthy said earlier this off-season “It’ll always bother me, I feel like we beat ourselves in this playoff game. Or better yet, we didn’t give ourselves a chance to win the game.”

Did Green Bay forget when they met in the regular season? That they needed an unbelievable drive to win with a field goal? If you didn’t watch football you would think the Packers beat the Giants by 50 the way they’re talking.

Giants Captain and Defensive end Justin Tuck has taken notice too. Tuck fired back at Matthews (a rarity for Tuck and the Giants this off-season).

“Thank you for giving us the game, Clay. I appreciate it a lot”

Tuck, who has been pretty mum on all the back and forth off-season delivered a little more context.

“When they fumbled the ball, I think it was us that stripped it out. We sacked them. It was us who beat their O-linemen and got to (Aaron) Rodgers”

Clay Matthews has some maturing to do if he ever wants to get back to the Super Bowl. I understand being upset when a 9-7 team comes into your stadium, under the lights, and beats your 15-1 football team on the way to another Super Bowl. But come on Clay, show a little class and take it like a man.

Chalk it up to another loser, picking at the Champs.

“I’m just happy, I’m happy all that’s over with,” said Umenyiora. “It’s time to get back to work. It was definitely frustrating (not being on the field this spring), but hearing some of the things they said, whether it was Kiwi or (Justin) Tuck or JPP (Jason Pierre-Paul) or Antrel (Rolle) – hearing the way they supported me, it made me want to come back even more and be around them. Those guys really stepped up for me. I really appreciate it and I’m happy to be here with them.”

This has been difficult for Osi because he loves the Giants and did not want to leave his teammates or the fans. 2012 will be his ninth season with the Giants and has played with no other team in the NFL.  Recently, other defensive players have been given contracts larger than the 2007 $41 million dollar extension he agreed to. This was the catalyst for Osi’s requests for more money. He was to make $3.975 million in the 2012 season. He has not been practicing with the team during the contract negotiations. Details of the new agreed have not yet been released.

“This gives me peace of mind, definitely,” Umenyiora said. “We just resolved a situation. It really was affecting me in a bad way. Because I didn’t like all the negativity that was surrounding the whole situation. I couldn’t stand it, because if you know me, you know I’m not that type of person. I’m just happy all that is over with and I’ll be there. I’ll play out this contract, I’ll play this year and I’ll play my heart out.”

“I appreciate Osi’s patience and effort through this process,” stated Giants GM Jerry Reese. “We talked it out, and it makes sense for everybody involved. We are very pleased, excited and looking forward to seeing number 72 on the field at Monday’s OTA.”

In his career, Umenyiora has made 333 tackles, 69 sacks, 30 forced fumbles, and recovered 13 fumbles. Last season he played 9 games and made 25 tackles, 9 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles.

Here are some of the Giants audio clips from Wenesday. Stay tuned to Gmenhq and twitter (@tom_brant) for GIANTS information leading up to the game.

Tom Silverstein with Mike Francesa on WFAN. Silverstein works for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel covering the Packers.

Justin Tuck with Mike Francesa on WFAN.

Paul Dottino with Joe and Evan on WFAN. Dottino covers the Giants for WFAN.

Greg Jennings with Joe and Evan on WFAN. Jennings is a WR for the Packers.

Antrel Rolle with Joe and Evan on WFAN.

JPP with Joe and Evan on WFAN.

We here at Fansided.com are lucky enough to have access to bloggers and fans from all 32 teams.  Jamie Kelly from BloggingDirty.com joined us this week for a little Q and A.

1. It’s been a roller coaster season for the Giants, having some highs with wins over the Cowboys amongst others and some lows with losses such as Washington at home a few weeks ago. How good are the Giants? Do they have a shot in the playoffs?

The Giants are as good as their health will allow them to be.  The Giants, like all teams have had injuries, but the timing of those injuries has been the key.  They lost their starting cornerback Terrell Thomas in the last pre-season game. They lost their starting middle linebacker three days before the opener in Washington.  They lost Osi, Ahmad Bradshaw, Michael Boley, and 5 players in the secondary, including their #1 pick, at different times.  They have played without Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham, TE Jake Ballard, starting center David Baas, and All Pro Guard Chris Snee during the season.  This is the first time everyone who is not on IR is back and playing their positions.  A healthy Giants team poses many problems to the opposition.  The Giants are fianlly as healthy as they can be.

2012 started off on the right foot for the New York Giants and their fans as they defeated the Dallas Cowboys for the second time this season by a 31-14 margin to clinch the NFC East title, guaranteeing at least one more week of New York Giants football in perhaps the sweetest fashion possible. The Giants will face the Atlanta Falcons in New York next Sunday in the first round of the playoffs.

Thoughts from the game-

-Surprise, surprise- Victor Cruz came up big once again. What else is there left to say about him that hasn’t already been said?

-Hakeem Nicks get a lot of attention for his receiving talents (and rightly so). But he also deserves to get some props for the job that he does when it comes to blocking downfield for his teammates. If he doesn’t make the blocks that he did on Cruz’s touchdown catch and Ahmad Bradshaw’s first tally, those guys might not have scored.

-Travis Beckham really needs to work on his blocking. He struggled last week against the Jets and again tonight against Dallas. The Giants are definitely missing Jake Ballard in that regard.

-My fondness for Henry Hynoski continues to grow. It’s nice to have a fullback with hands, isn’t it?

-Eli Manning’s touchdown to Nicks was his fifteenth of the season in the fourth quarter- a new NFL record.

-Speaking of Eli Manning, it was mentioned tonight that his pocket awareness and movement has been so much better this year than in previous seasons, and that has a lot to do with his success this year. I could not agree more.

-It’s amazing how much better the entire Giants defense plays when the defensive line dominates. And it wasn’t just Jason Pierre-Paul getting pressure tonight. Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, Mathias Kiwanuka, and Chris Canty all contributed. New York managed six sacks tonight and Tony Romo never really got much of a chance to get comfortable.

-The Giants did manage to get a few breaks tonight, managing to recover one fumble and then DeMarcus Ware being flagged for jumping offsides when the Cowboys recovered another Giants fumble.

-The offensive line has consistently played well as a whole in the past week or two. Jay Ratliff and Ware hardly got a sniff at Manning all night. The Giants running game still isn’t a strong as I’d like but they’re definitely better off running the ball to Kevin Boothe’s side when he’s in at guard.

-It was, once again, an overall team effort, with both the offense and defense playing well. The defense managed to contain the Cowboys well and the offense was able to score when needed. The Giants are on a bit of a hot streak right now and if they play like they did tonight, they can beat just about any team they’re up against.

From Tom Coughlin, to Eli Manning, to Justin Tuck, and the suddenly vocal Mathias Kiwanuka, the Giants appear to be ALL IN.  Even Lawrence Taylor chimed in this week, saying only the Giants were capable of beating the Giants in this contest Sunday Night at Giants Stadium against the Cowboys of Arlington.  The Giants will hand out towels to all fans Sunday that have the phrase ALL IN Printed on them, and it seems to reflect the mood around Giant camp this week.

No bold predictions, but a confidence that they know if they play together, play smart, they can accomplish anything.  They are at home playing for a division title, they are coming off a dominant defensive win, their first of the year, and they think they can continue with that effort.  Let’s take a look at some of the match-ups.

Giants D-Line vs. Dallas O-Line:  The Giants will have a full complement of defensive linemen to rotate into the game Sunday Night.  Osi is back, Tuck is healthy, and J.P.P. has gotten better every week.  The rotation of healthy pass rushers and run stoppers is phenomenal.  Chris Canty, Rocky Benard, Linval Joseph and Dave Tollefson will all contribute.  The Cowboy offensive line is perhaps the weakest part of their team.  Costa at center has been injured, and is inconsistent at best.  Not just his blocking, but snapping the ball in shotgun formation is always an adventure.  Tony Romo, with his bruised hand, figures to be in shotgun a lot Sunday, so look for this to be factor at some point.  Montrae Holland, the starting left guard, was placed on IR last week ending his season.  J.P.P. lines up against Doug Free, who he beat repeatedly last time they met, and now next to him is either Daniel Loper or  rookie Kevin Kowalski.  Kosier and Smith are pretty good on the right side, but Justin Tuck missed most of the previous Dallas game, and he will be back in force to challenge this side of the line.  The Giants should have no problem getting pressure on Tony Romo Sunday night.

Dallas running game vs. Giants D:  The Giants have struggled against the run all year.  Except for the odd play calling last week, the Giants really haven’t stopped anyone from running against them this season.  The Cowboys however are down to one healthy running back in Sammy Morris, and one that is listed as questionable in Felix Jones.  If the Giants can just limit the running game it will go a long way towards defeating the Cowboys.  Not having to drop the safeties down, or worry about the corners giving too much run support will help this defense perform better as a whole.

Both Passing Offenses vs Pass Defenses:  The last few times these teams have met they have scored plenty of points.  The passing games of both these teams can be lethal.  The pure speed of Miles Austin going one-on-one against Aaron Ross.  The height and strength of both Hakeem Nicks of the Giants and Dez Bryant of the Cowboys can be unstoppable.  The playmaking ability of Victor Cruz and Laurent Robinson can be devastating.  If these two quarterbacks get time, they WILL complete passes, and for big plays.

Giants running attack vs Dallas D:  The Giants running attack awoke three weeks ago in Dallas.  Brandon Jacobs always seems to run hard against Dallas.  I think he likes running over their undersized safeties and little corners.  Ahmad Bradshaw is fresh and running fierce.  D. J Ware has found a role as a pass catcher, a very good blocker, and two point specialist, and Henry Hynoski is healthy and opening holes.  If the Giants can have a balanced attack, and run the ball for a nice average, Eli will have a big day.

The weather seems like it will be a non-factor, of course the wind current will play games at times, but should only affect the kicking game.  Turnovers, Penalties, and Special Teams will be all important in this one as always.  Sunday Night at Home for all the marbles, and a chance to get into the playoffs and maybe make a nice run.  ALL IN!

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…)

Here is the early early look at the Giants and Redskins injuries for the week according to NFL.COM.  Good news for Giants fans is the participation of Kenny Phillips even on a limited basis.

Washington Redskins  at  New York Giants
Name	Position	Injury	Practice Status	Game Status
WAS
Jammal Brown	T	Groin	Did Not Participate In Practice	–
LaRon Landry	S	Groin	Did Not Participate In Practice	–
Mike Sellers	RB	Elbow	Did Not Participate In Practice	–
Donte’ Stallworth	WR	Illness	Did Not Participate In Practice	–
Stephen Bowen	DE	Knee	Limited Participation in Practice	–
Reed Doughty	S	Rib	Limited Participation in Practice	–
London Fletcher	LB	Ankle	Limited Participation in Practice	–
Saverio Rocca	P	left Ankle	Limited Participation in Practice	–
NYG
David Baas	C	Neck	Did Not Participate In Practice	–
Travis Beckum	TE	Chest	Did Not Participate In Practice	–
Ahmad Bradshaw	RB	Foot	Did Not Participate In Practice	–
Mark Herzlich	LB	Ankle	Did Not Participate In Practice	–
Derrick Martin	S	Back	Did Not Participate In Practice	–
Justin Tuck	DE	Toe	Did Not Participate In Practice	–
Osi Umenyiora	DE	Ankle	Did Not Participate In Practice	–
Spencer Paysinger	LB	Hamstring	Limited Participation in Practice	–
Kenny Phillips	S	Knee	Limited Participation in Practice	–

Here are some quick hits from around the NFL and the blog worlds today:

The Dolphins fire Tony Sparano. Read more here.

The Chiefs fire Todd Haley. Read more here.

Justin Tuck is a little bit beat up from last nights game. Listen to his interview on WFAN by clicking here. His gut feeling is that he will play.

Giants.com has an update from Tom Coughlin regarding the latest injury news, click here for that great information!

Bradshaw is keeping his mouth closed about his benching, you can read about that here.

Finally, our friends at Barstool Sports New York have an interesting take on Tebow, look here.

The Bavaro!

Michael Kay and 1050 ESPN NY will get things started off right, with a live broadcast of The Michael Kay Show from 3-6:30pm, so be sure to arrive early.

Steiner Sports presents:
New York defensive end Justin Tuck who will sign a complimentary copy of his new children’s book Home Field Advantage with any Nautica purchase.**

Hang out and play video games with New York wide receiver Victor Cruz in the Perry Ellis shop*

Enter the GQ and Black Brown 1826 Putting Competition for a chance to score the ultimate Big Game experience in Indianapolis, February 2012

Receive a 16G Apple® iPad2 with any $1000 qualifying men’s purchase from 6-9pm.*

With a Lacoste purchase of $50 or more, score a screen printed t-shirt with one of several Lacoste-inspired designs. Choose your own combination and placement to create a masterpiece.

Stay Cool under all those layers with temperature regulating tanks, tees and underwear for all season comfort by Jockey. Receive a complimentary Stay Cool Jockey shirt.

Receive complimentary engraving with any Ravi Ratan cuff link purchase. Main Floor

5% of all proceeds from Men’s sales during the event will benefit The V Foundation

*Due to time limitations and large turnout, sponsor cannot guarantee all individuals the opportunity to interact with/meet our special guests. One per customer; while supplies last. Some exclusions apply to the 25% off. See store for details. All events subject to change or cancellation.

Luckily, the Dallas Cowboys also lost to the Arizona Cardinals so the Giants remain only a game behind them in the NFC East, making next week’s showdown that much bigger.

A few observations from the game:

-Congratulations to Victor Cruz for reaching 1,000 receiving yards! Cruz came into the game with 957 receiving yards and his 43 yard reception in the first quarter put him over the 1,000 yards mark. He now has 1,076 on the season. Not bad for  a guy who went undrafted, huh?

-Cruz hinted earlier this week that he was planning on using double moves to take advantage of Woodson aggressiveness and draw penalties and it showed.

-Speaking of Woodson, it seems like he can’t tackle any of the Giants running backs without getting run over. Every time I see him, I think of Brandon Jacobs bowling him over in the infamous 2008 NFC Championship game in Green Bay, and Bradshaw knocking him over in the fourth quarter was eerily similar.

-We all know that the Giants have had to overcome a ridiculous amount of injuries again this season, and with David Bass and Will Beatty hurt, today’s game marked the fifth different offensive line combination used this season. That just makes the season that Eli Manning is having that much more impressive.

-Chase Blackburn solidified his welcome back with a huge interception of Aaron Rodgers deep in Packers territory. He looked pretty good in pass coverage too, an area where most of the Giants linebackers have struggled this year. But between Michael Boley and Blackburn’s returns to the lineup, they looked much better in that respect than they did last week (not that that was hard to do).

-What was up with those two plays that Coughlin challenged? It was very clear that neither of those plays were getting overturned and he wasted both of his challenges and two timeouts. Coughlin is normally one of the best coaches in the NFL when it comes to winning challenges, but he’s now lost his last four.

-Kenny Phillips left the game with a sprained knee- the same one that cost him his season last year- and did not return. Is it too much to ask for the Giants to make it through one game without someone getting hurt?

-Another monster of a game from Jason Pierre-Paul. New York needed him to set up in a big way with Osi Umenyiora out and he did just that. It’s hard to believe that he doesn’t even have two full NFL seasons under his belt. Imagine what a dominate player he’ll be in a few more years.

Bradshaw Practices

I read the following tweet this morning from @TheJRob:

Ahmad Bradshaw practices for first time since suffering stress fracture in his foot Oct. 30 vs. Dolphins Maybe he will play after all.

This is great news for everyone concerned.  Brandon Jacobs can be the other back now and not have the weight of the world on his shoulders.  Maybe Eli can have an effective running game to go along with his passing game, allowing for play action, draws, screens, etc.

In other injury news: Hakeem Nicks, Justin Tuck, Victor Cruz, and Derrick Martin all practiced, and Michael Boley particiated in individual drills.  Mario Manningham however was limited to riding the bike and seems doubtful for Sunday.

Lets see where the weekend takes us.