Morning Donut with the Giants: game day edition
We haven’t had the Morning Donut in a while, but it is back in full swing for the New York Giants game day. The Giants play the Jacksonville Jaguars tonight in their second preseason game of the year. The starters should get a significant amount of time on the field, they need the work. This is the first of back to back home games for the Giants. The Giants end their preseason on the road against the New England Patriots.
Saturday is key night for Giants’ offensive line by Dan Graziano (ESPN)
"Schwartz is a key element to all of this. He was initially projected to be the Giants’ starting right guard this year, but he has struggled with the lingering effects of last season’s serious foot injury and hasn’t been able to practice as much as anticipated. Jerry has been the primary right guard throughout camp, and Newhouse the right tackle."
Graziano is absolutely correct. Geoff Schwartz is the key piece to the puzzle that is the Giants offensive line. When he returns healthily the offensive line will have some stability. The offensive line without Schwartz is like an ice cream cone without the ice cream. His return is going to be a sweet delight for the Giants.
Rueben Randle: Giants’ passing game will be “close to unstoppable” by Michael David Smith (Pro Football Talk)
"“I’d say close to unstoppable,” Randle told the New York Daily News. “Just the type of players we have on this side of the ball, if we can protect Eli, give us time to get open downfield, there’s not really a coverage you can put out there to stop us.”"
This is exactly what I want to hear from Rueben Randle. I love the confidence and hope he is right. And on paper he is correct. You take a look at the Giants roster and you see a well equipped passing game. But we still need to see it this season and the offensive line gives reason for concern.
Why Victor Cruz needs to play in at least one preseason game by Dan Graziano (ESPN)
"Cruz still hopes to get into at least one of the final two preseason games — Aug. 29 against the Jets or Sept. 3 in New England — so he can work at real game speed prior to the Sept. 13 regular-season opener in Dallas. And while the Giants won’t commit to putting him into one of those games, they really should try to do so."
It makes no sense to rush Cruz back into action so it isn’t shocking that he won’t play this preseason game. I’d argue that there isn’t really a need to see him in the preseason. It might mean that you don’t see the real Cruz for the first part of the season, but it would avoid further injury in an exhibition game.
Is Eli Manning asking for too much money? by Gregg Roesenthal (NFL.com)
"Manning is an extremely tricky case because he has two Super Bowl rings, but a career full of regular-season mediocrity. In our admittedly subjective year-end quarterback rankings, Manning has finished No. 12 and No. 20 in the last two years. He finished No. 11 in ESPN’s QBR rankings last year after finishing No. 29 the year before. Over his career, he’s usually around tenth in QBR."
Eli Manning is a very good quarterback that you can win a Super Bowl with. The fact that he has done it twice is what is raising his value. Is he worth more than any other quarterback is the wrong way to look at this. The quarterback market is a scary place and in it, the very good quarterback that Eli Manning is might just make the most money. This is a great example of “don’t hate the player, hate the game.”
Next: New York Giants: Things to watch for against Jaguars