The New York Giants losing streak hits seven games

The New York Giants had been playing miserable football most of the season.  They did play well against Dallas though in the last game and were looking forward to a so called softer schedule for the final few weeks.  They went into Jacksonville and lost to the 1 win Jaguars by a score of 25-24.  The Giants had scored on their first three possessions and held a 21-0 lead.  They were winning 21-3 at halftime but the second half was a different story.  The Giants statistically pretty much dominated the game but they fumbled the ball in the end zone and then later in the game they fumbled and the Jaguars returned it 41 yards for a touchdown.  The offense didn't play so well in the second half and the turnovers cost them dearly. 

Eli Manning was 24-34 for 247 yards and a touchdown.  Rashad Jenning led the rushing attack with 26 carries and 91 yards.  He also had two rushing touchdowns.  Odell Beckham Jr. led the receivers with seven catches for 90 yards. 

The difference in this game was the turnovers with the Giants have three of them and the Jaguars none.  The Giants defense was pretty good in this game, they had seven sacks.  They haven't been able to get much pressure on the quarterback all year. 

The Giants have now lost seven straight games after actually being 3-2 after five games.  This was their low point though as the Jaguars had one win coming into this game.  The Giants in some of these games though have played a very good first half and then never seem to make any adjustments while the other teams do and are able to win the game in the second half.  The Giants are not going anywhere and the only positive could be a high draft pick.  They will most likely change the coaching staff now and maybe even the general manager.  The big question will be what happens to first year offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo.  The Giants will head to Tennessee next week to take on the Titans. 

The New York Giants build a big lead, blow it and then hold on to win in Dallas

The New York Giants defeated the Dallas Cowboys by the score of 29-24. The game was played at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas. The Giants jumped out to a 23-0 lead and looked like world beaters but then Dallas came back and in the third quarter they actually took the lead. The Giants though somehow kept their composure and stuck with it. The Giants have Eli Manning and he didn’t have a great game again but he is there when you need him the most. The Giants defense started out really strong but then they looked pretty awful after that. 
Manning was 15-29 for 192 yards and no touchdowns with one interception. Ahmad Bradshaw rushed for 78 yards on 22 attempts. Andre Brown rushed for 21 yards on three attempts and one touchdown, Manning rushed for three yards on one carry and David Wilson rushed twice for one yard. Wilson is the main kick and punt returner. He returned four kicks for 86 yards which is a 21.5 average. Wilson has brought something to the Giants they have really been lacking which is a true kick return threat. Ruben Randle had the most yards receiving with 68 on two receptions. Hakeem Nicks caught four balls for 46 yards, Martellus Bennett caught four balls for 29 yards and Domenick Hixon caught three passes for 26 yards. Victor Cruz caught two balls for 23 yards. Lawrence Tynes was 5-5 on field goals and two for two on extra points. His long field goal was 43 yards.

The Giants defense had four interceptions with Stevie Brown having two, Corey Webster and Jason Pierre-Paul each had one interception. Paul had one touchdown. Stevie Brown also led the defense with six tackles along with Keith Rivers who had six tackles.

Tony Romo was 36-62 for 437 yards and one touchdown with four interceptions. Felix Jones rushed 13 times for 19 yards with one touchdown, Romo also had a rushing touchdown. Jason Witten led the receivers with 18 catches for 167 yards. Miles Austin had nine catches for 133 yards, Dez Bryant had five for 110 and John Phillips had three catches for 14 yards. Dan Bailey was 1-1 on field goals and three for three on extra points. His field goal was 51 yards. Dunbar returned six kicks for 142 yards which is an average of 23.7 yards.

The Cowboys had one interception and one fumble recovery. Brandon Carr was their leading tackler with five.

The Giants are in first place in the NFC East with a 6-2 record and the Cowboys are 3-4 and in third place in the NFC East. The Giants will play at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday afternoon.

New York Giants prepare for season opener on Wednesday night

Just six days before they host the Dallas Cowboys, the Giants today reached the 53-man regular-season roster limit and the lists of the players let go and those remaining included the usual assortment of minor surprises. Friday was the final cut down day and the setting of the roster as it will look on Wednesday for the regular season opener against the Dallas Cowboys at home.  This came courtesy of Giants.com and I added a couple of my own thoughts also. 

Terrell Thomas the fifth-year cornerback, and Shaun Rogers the 12-year veteran defensive tackle, were placed on injured reserve. D.J. Ware and Greg Jones were cut.
The Giants had to make 22 moves to get down to 53. In addition to placing Terrell Thomas and Rogers on IR, here’s what they did:

*Cornerback Bruce Johnson was waived/injured.

*Besides Ware’s, the contracts of four other veterans were terminated: cornerback Dante Hughes defensive tackle Marcus Thomaswide receiver Isaiah Stanback and offensive lineman Chris White.

*Thirteen players were waived: Jones, wide receivers David Douglas and Dan DePalma defensive ends Craig Marshall and Matt Broha defensive tackle Dwayne Hendricks linebacker Jake Muasau tight end Larry Donnell offensive linemen Matt McCants, Selvish Capers and Stephen Goodin quarterback Ryan Perrilloux and defensive back Laron Scott.

*Safety Tyler Sash has begun serving his four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. Sash can rejoin the team on Oct. 1.

“It’s always difficult to release players that have been here and have really worked hard and have earned our respect and our admiration,” coach Tom Coughlin said. “Those are guys like Dwayne Hendricks, who I have great respect for, and DePalma, who has worked hard for us for a couple of years and has done a good job. Isaiah Stanback is another guy who has done an outstanding job here and worked hard and really gained our respect.” It is tough but they have to let a certain number of guys go.

“Greg Jones was a very difficult decision to make,” Coughlin said. “Danny Ware was here for a while and any time you have those relationships with people, it’s tough to see them go. Fortunately, these are men and they understand that decisions have to be made.”


The current makeup of the team includes 16 players (30.2 percent) who were not on the 53-man roster when the Giants won Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5. The list includes five 2012 draft choices (Wilson, Randle, Hosley, Robinson and Kuhn); four veteran free agents (Bennett, Rivers, Locklear and Stevie Brown); Andre Brown (a 2009 Giants draft choice) and Tracy (a 2010 selection) who were on the practice squad for the entire 2011 season; Austin, who spent last season on injured reserve; Hill, a first-year free agent, and Ojomo, a rookie free agent; and Tryon and Coe, cornerbacks who played for the Giants last year before going on injured reserve.

“The roster turnover is always about one-third in my mind,” Coughlin said. “I don’t think the guys that have been here are turnover guys. They were on the team and they were injured. They have experience with us and I think that’s the way to look at it.”

Ojomo arrived at camp as a relative unknown – he started only 14 games at the University of Miami – but was relentless in his play and led the Giants with 4.0 sacks in the preseason.

“There is a perfect example of a young man for whom preparation meant opportunity and he succeeded,” Coughlin said. “He worked and he worked and he worked and he enjoyed playing. He got confident. He sized up the opponent and he made timely, timely plays throughout the entire preseason. He played on special teams. He earned the opportunity to have his spot.”

The Giants can still reshape their roster prior to the opener. But that might be less likely this year than in other seasons, because they play on Wednesday, four days before most teams begin their season.

Some of the players who were waived will be asked to join the eight-man practice squad, which the Giants can begin constructing at noon tomorrow.

Terrell Thomas and Rogers had held out hope that they would avoid injured reserve and be able to play this season.

Thomas spent the entire 2011 on I.R. after tearing his right ACL in a preseason game vs. Chicago on Aug. 22. He entered training camp last month looking to regain his starting right cornerback job but aggravated the repaired knee early in camp. Thomas said he expected to play this year, but the Giants believe that is not possible and placed him on injured reserve.

Rogers was diagnosed with a blood clot after the preseason opener in Jacksonville three weeks ago. Coughlin initially said Rogers would miss the entire season, then expressed a glimmer of hope he might get back on the field. That hope ended today.

Ware was the longest-tenured player who was released. He had been with the team since 2007 and earned two Super Bowl rings. But the Giants chose to keep Scott and Andre Brown behind Bradshaw and Wilson.

“There was good competition at that running back spot,” Coughlin said. “Andre Brown and Da’Rel Scott have both earned the right and they’ve both proven that they can be special teams contributors as well, which is what we were looking for.”

Ware was signed by the Giants off the Jets’ practice squad on Dec. 4, 2007. In five seasons he played in 45 regular-season games with one start and played in four postseason games with one start. Ware’s regular-season totals included 81 rushing attempts for 324 yards (4.0-yard avg.) and one touchdown, 37 receptions for 252 yards and 25 kickoff returns for 486 yards (19.4-yard avg.). Ware has also scored twice on 2-point conversions. In the postseason, Ware had four rushing attempts for 10 yards and two receptions for 21 yards.

In 2011, Ware played in all 16 regular-season games for the first time with one start and played in all four postseason games with one start. He had career-high totals of 46 rushing attempts for 163 yards – both third on the team – with a long run of 17 yards, and 27 catches for 170 yards with a long reception of 22 yards.

Jones was a sixth-round draft choice in 2011, when he played in every game as a rookie, with five starts. He finished the regular season with 25 defensive tackles (22 solo) and six special teams tackles (four solo). In the postseason, he led the Giants with seven special teams tackles (six solo). Jones was the only Giants rookie to start the season opener at Washington on Sept. 11. He had four solo tackles, including one on the game’s first play. Jones was the first Giants rookie linebacker to start on opening day since Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor in 1981, the first defensive rookie to start an opener since tackle Barry Cofield in 2006 and the first rookie to start since tight end Michael Matthews in 2007. He also started the following week vs. St. Louis but his playing time diminished as the season wore on.

“There were a lot of numbers issues (at different positions) and you can’t keep everybody,” Coughlin said. “You don’t like to let a guy go that has played and contributed and done the things that Greg has done. However, the unfortunate part about it is you only have so many spots.”

Also waived was this year’s sixth-round draft choice, McCants, the tackle from Alabama-Birmingham. The team’s fourth-round selection, offensive lineman Brandon Mosley, was placed on injured reserve earlier this week with an ankle injury.

Stanback was signed on Nov. 30, 2011 to the Giants’ practice squad and spent the rest of the regular season and the postseason there. He caught three passes for 26 yards in the preseason and made the highlight play of the summer when he reached high to make a one-handed catch of a David Carr pass for a five-yard touchdown in Jacksonville.

Marcus Thomas, who played the previous five seasons for the Denver Broncos, was signed on August 16 after the Giants suffered a spate of injuries at defensive tackle. He recovered a fumble by New England’s Brian Hoyer Wednesday night to set up Lawrence Tynes’ game-winning field goal in the Giants’ 6-3 victory.

Hughes is a six-year veteran who was signed on May 24. He previously played for Indianapolis and San Diego.

White was in training camp with the Giants in 2011. He was let go in the final cutdown last year and re-signed on Feb. 13. White has previously played for Green Bay, Houston and Seattle.

Johnson, who hurt his shoulder last week and missed the preseason finale, was waived/injured. He missed the entire 2011 season after tearing his Achilles tendon in training camp. In 2010, Johnson was placed on I.R. after six games when he injured his knee.

Hendricks was on the Giants’ practice squad each of the last three seasons. In 2011, he was signed to the active roster on Oct. 15 and played in one game, at New England on Nov. 6.

Perrilloux was in training camp with the Giants in 2011. He was waived and re-signed to the practice squad 13 times during the regular season and postseason. This preseason, he completed eight of nine passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns.

Marshall was with the Giants in training camp last year and did two short stints on their practice squad in November. He had 2.5 sacks in the just-concluded preseason.

Broha, a rookie free agent from Louisiana Tech, was second on the team with 3.5 sacks in the preseason.

Muasau was a rookie free agent from Georgia State. He was signed after impressing the coaches while attending the rookie minicamp on a tryout basis. Muasau finished the preseason with three tackles after missing the opener with a hamstring injury.

Douglas was a free agent from Arizona who impressed early in training camp. But he was slowed by a quad injury that kept him out of the preseason opener. Douglas finished the preseason with one 23-yard reception and four punt returns for just two yards.

DePalma spent the entire 2011 season on the Giants’ practice squad and was signed to the active roster on Feb. 8. In the preseason, he caught three passes for 46 yards.

Donnell was a free agent from Grambling. He did not have a reception in the preseason.

Capers was signed to the Giants’ practice squad on Sept. 5, 2011 and was waived and re-signed to the squad nine times in the regular season and postseason.

Goodin was a rookie free agent from Nebraska-Kearney.

Scott was signed on Aug 16, soon after his release by the New Orleans Saints

The New York Giants defeat the Dallas Cowboys to win the NFC East

The New York Giants defeated the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night by the score of 31-14. The win gave the Giants the NFC East Championship and a spot in the postseason for the first time since 2008. The Giants will take on the Atlanta Falcons next Sunday at home in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Eli Manning was brilliant once again and Victor Cruz who has become a household name this season came up big again. The Giants defense which has been maligned for most of the season had another strong game especially rushing the passer. 
Manning was 24-33 for 346 yards, three touchdowns and he didn’t throw an interception. Ahmad Bradshaw rushed 16 times for 57 yards and a touchdown. Brandon Jacobs rushed seven times for 16 yards, D.J. Ware carried it twice for 19 yards and Manning rushed six times for 14 yards. The leading receiver was Cruz who caught six balls for 178 yards and a touchdown. Hakeem Nicks caught five passes for 76 yards and a touchdown. Henry Hynoski the fullback had four catches for 31 yards, Bear Pascoe had two catches for 14 yards and Devin Thomas had a catch for 14 yards. Travis Beckum had two catches for 13 yards, Bradshaw had three catches for 12 yards and a touchdown and Ware had one catch for eight yards. Lawrence Tynes made 1-2 field goals. He missed a 40 yard field goal.

The Giants had six sacks after they had five last week so the vaunted pass rush is coming back to life after not doing anything since the beginning of the season. The Giants have dealt with a lot of injuries and with their four main pass rushers playing together now they may be peaking at the right time. The sacks came from Jason Pierre-Paul, Jaquin Williams, Chris Canty, Justin Tuck and two from Osi Umenyiora who made his return after missing four straight games.

Tony Romo was 29-37 for 289 yards two touchdowns and an interception. Felix Jones rushed the ball 11 times for 30 yards, Sammy Morris rushed it three times for 16 yards and Romo had two rushes for three yards. Romo deserves a lot of credit as he was hurting from his hand and he was really getting beat up back there but he tried to rally the team from a 21 point defecit. Dez Bryant led the Cowboys receivers with six catches for 70 yards. Jason Witten caught seven passes for 69 yards, Jones caught seven passes for 47 yards and Laurent Robinson caught four passes for 61 yards and two touchdowns. Miles Austin caught two passes for 20 yards, Tony Fiammetta caught one pass for 14 yards. Bennett caught one pass for five yards and Morris one for three yards. The kicker missed his only field goal attempt which was from 56 yards.

The Cowboys defense was able to get a couple of sacks on Manning who has been so good at escaping pressure. Ware got 1 ½ sacks and Jason Hatcher had ½ a sack. Abram Elam led the team with nine tackles and an assist.

The Giants at 9-7 won the NFC East and will host the Atlanta Falcons in the first round of the playoffs next Sunday at 1:00PM. The Cowboys finish their season at 8-8 and will go home. If the Giants win that game then they will play either the Green Bay Packers or San Francisco 49ers away.

Giants with a big come from behind victory to take over first place

The New York Giants defeated the Dallas Cowboys by the score of 37-34 on Sunday night. The Giants were trailing by 12 points with just over five minutes left in the game. The game was a back and forth game throughout and the only reason it reached a 12 point deficit is because as the Giants were driving they had a ball tipped and intercepted and then Dallas scored off of that. The Giants though have been resilient this season especially at the end of games. Eli Manning has played like an MVP and this game was no different as he led them to victory. 
Manning was 27-47 for 400 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Brandon Jacobs had a very good game running the ball. He ran for 101 yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns. Ahmad Bradshaw was benched for the first half due to a team disciplinary action. He rushed for 12 yards on eight carries. Hakeem Nicks was the Giants leading receiver with 163 yards on eight catches. Victor Cruz caught six passes for 74 yards, Mario Manningham caught two passes for 62 yards and a touchdown and Jake Ballard caught four passes for 52 yards and a touchdown. D.J. Ware caught three passes for 19 yards. Lawrence Tynes was 2-2 on field goals and his long was 26 yards, he also converted three extra points. The Giants defense was poor once again, they gave up 321 yards in the air and four touchdown passes. They gave up 139 rush yards. Jason Pierre Paul is basically the whole Giants defense, he had a great game with two sacks. He also had a sack for a safety, a forced fumble and blocked the potential game tying field goal to give the Giants the win at the end of regulation. He also had six tackles and two assists.

Tony Romo was 21-31 for 321 yards and four touchdowns. Felix Jones had to do the bulk of the rushing due to an injury to DeMarco Murray and rushed for 106 yards on 16 carries. Murray rushed for 25 yards on five carries. Miles Austin had one rush for five yards and Tony Fiammetta had three yards on two rushes. Laurent Robinson had 137 yards on four catches to lead the receivers and a touchdown. Austin had 63 yards on four receptions and a touchdown, Dez Bryant had one reception for 50 yards and a touchdown and Jones had six catches for 31 yards. John Phillips had one catch for 12 yards and a touchdown, Jason Witten had three catches for 12 yards and Tony Fiammetta had one catch for 10 yards. Murray had one catch for six yards. The Cowboys defense also was very poor, they did have an interception. They gave up 400 passing yards and 113 rushing yards.

The Giants with the win are tied with the Cowboys in record at 7-6. They are in first place though because of beating them head to head. The Giants will not leave their stadium for the final three games. They play Washington on Sunday afternoon, then the Jets on Christmas Eve and the Cowboys to finish it out. If they win two out of the last three and they are against the Redskins and Cowboys the Giants will win the division and make the playoffs. Them winning the division could save their coaches job, we will have to see how the playoffs would shake out and if they could win at least one game or make a run. The Giants right now have to take it one game at a time and if they win then they will be in the postseason.

Recap of Wildcard Weekend

Wildcard weekend lived up to it's name, it was wild. The Jets/Bengals game which started it all off and last nights Green Bay/Arizona game were the good ones. The Dallas Philly and NE/Balt games were pretty much blowouts. I will start with the Jets/Bengals game since the New York Jets are the home team for me. The New York Jets played a pretty dominant game, good defense and a solid running game. They also didn't turn the ball over and Mark Sanchez was good, they didn't make him throw it all that often which is a good thing. He really wasn't in any third and longs which is another way from limiting the mistakes that he could possibly make. The Bengals were awful especially there quarterback Carson Palmer who was overthrowing guys left and right. Chad Ochocinco once again was shut down and maybe he needs to learn how to shut his mouth and just play the game. I give the Jets credit for getting down 7-0 but not panicking and once they tied the game up they took control. It looked early on like the Jets could be in trouble but they weathered the storm and then were fine after that. They will now move on to play San Diego in San Diego on Sunday afternoon. The other AFC game between New England and Baltimore was a shocker. The Patriots were down 21-0 before you even blinked and they just couldn't catch up. I wonder if Tom Brady was really hurt as he played a terrible game, he wasn't helped by the offensive line which just let him get beat up back there. The Patriots are still a good team but are no longer the dominant team and have some work to do to get back there. Baltimore will travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts on Saturday. The NFC started off with the Dallas Cowboys once again dominating the Philadelphia Eagles. I guess you could say that Tony Romo and Wade Philips have the monkey off of their back now. They look like they are going to be a tough out the rest of the way. The offense is really rolling along with Romo looking sharp and their defense has been playing great. I really think Brett Favre and the Vikings are going to be in for a really tough battle. The last game of wildcard weekend turned out to be a really fun and entertaining shootout. The Arizona Cardinals got up big on the Green Bay Packers but to their credit they wouldn't quit and battled all the way back. Arizona had a chance to win it on a chip shot field goal in the closing seconds but missed it and the game went into OT. This was a game where it was back and forth and the teams kept matching each other score for score. There was basically no defense in this game and then when it is all said and done the game ends in OT with a fumble return for a TD by Arizona which will go on and play the Saints in New Orleans.

The Giants come up small

The New York Giants played their final home game ever at Giants Stadium. They unbelievably didn't bother showing up to the swan song of the stadium. The Giants looked great on their opening drive and then had a touchdown called back because of holding, a couple of plays later Eli Manning converted a third down pass that was good enough for a first down but Mario Manningham fumbled it away. The Carolina Panthers stormed right down the field and kicked a field goal but all the life seemed to come out of the Giants as they couldn't do much else offensively their next couple of possessions and in the meantime their defense couldn't make one stop as Carolina scored everytime they had the ball and before you knew it, it was 24-0. This was a embarrassing performance and the fans let the home team hear it. Tom Coughlin had to be utterly disgusted and I am sure he let his team know after the game. The Giants were officially eliminated late last night when Dallas won their game in Washington 17-0. I am sure this will earn first year defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan a trip to the unemployment line. I wouldn't be suprised either if there were some other changes like the offensive coordinator and maybe Osi Uminyora won't be back like he indicated after the game. I wonder also if the Giants will try and trade Brandon Jacobs. I know one thing for sure they need some good linebackers and they need a new defensive coordinator to clean up this mess. I am going to say in a early guess that Dick Jauron the former Bills coach who was fired a couple of weeks ago will be the Giants new defensive coordinator next season.

New York Giants come up Giant

The New York Giants rose to the occasion and defeated the Dallas Cowboys this afternoon in a game they had to win. The final score was 31-24, the Giants defense was much better today and played with a passion and intensity we haven't seen since early in the season. There were some changes on the defense at least with the starters and it seemed to have worked. Dallas running game got nothing going after torching the Giants defense in their first meeting earlier in the season. The Giants offense looked much better especially running the ball, they just seemed to have an extra jump in their steps and this is how they should be playing every week. Eli Manning wasn't great but also his receivers did drop a few passes, when the weather gets cold usually the passing game isn't as good but the offense did a good job. Hakeem Nicks had a touchdown catch and Brandon Jacobs had a huge touchdown run after getting a short pass in the 4th quarter. The Giants will remain at home and play another divisional foe next week in the Philadelphia Eagles. The Giants are now 7-5 and one game behind the Eagles and Cowboys who are both 8-4, if the Giants defeat the Eagles next week and the Cowboys lose things will really get interesting in the NFC East with all three teams having the same record. I think the Giants defense learned a lot from this game and they should be able to keep up this intensity for the rest of the season and hopefully the postseason.

NFL Week 12

The New York Giants will play the Dallas Cowboys at home tomorrow afternoon at 4. This is the Giants season, the way they have played especially their defense any Giants fan can't be too confident. There may be some changes according to published reports Osi Umenyora and Fred Robbins may be benched in favor of Chris Canty and Mathias Kiwanuka. We already know that middle linebacker Chase Blackburn is being replaced by Jonathan Goff. The one piece of good news on the injury front the Giants received is that it looks like running back Ahmad Bradshaw will be able to play of course who knows how effective he will be. I think the Giants are going to come out with a lot of passion and this will be a very good game but I don't see the Giants defense being able to stop the Cowboys. I think the Cowboys are going to win this game 31-28. I am going to pick Atlanta to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles at home. I just don't think the NFC East is that good this season and I think the Falcons need a big win as they have been slumping lately and have had some injuries. I think they will win this game by the score of 21-17.

New Jersey Nets set record they don't want

The New Jersey Nets set the NBA record tonight for most losses to start a season. They are now 0-18. The GM Kiki Vandeweghe will take over coaching duties starting tomorrow. I know they weren't supposed to be good this year but this is really embarrassing. The New York Knicks aren't much better and the local football teams are pretty much done. When does spring training start?? Since I mentioned the Giants if it couldn't get any worse for them well it did. It looks like Brandon Jacobs will be the only healthy running back Sunday against the Cowboys. Danny Ware and Ahmad Bradshaw are both hurt and it doesn't look like either will play. I think if the Giants lose this game they should just shut down QB Eli Manning also as he has been dealing with a foot issue for most of the season and it could lead to a stress fracture.

NFL Thanksgiving Games

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I am going to do a special Thanksgiving edition of the picks. The New York Giants play on Thanksgiving night so that is a treat. The afternoon games are the Green Bay Packers at the Detroit Lions and the Oakland Raiders at the Dallas Cowboys. The afternoon games really aren't that appealing the Packers should go into Detroit and beat them I am going to say the score will be Green Bay 28 Detroit 14. Oakland at Dallas on paper is a complete mismatch but Dallas has really struggled offensively the last couple of games. I think they will be pumped up playing on Thanksgiving as they always do and will hand it to Oakland. Dallas 28 Oakland 10. The night game is the New York Giants at the Denver Broncos at 8:20 PM. The Giants are coming off a much needed win last Sunday against the Falcons but they still have their problems. The Giants are 6-4 and right in the thick of the playoff race but their defense especially in crunch time has been a disaster lately, if they want to do anything this year that has to change. I am one that believes it has to do with the new coach. It seems to me that the Giants sit back too much when they have the lead and are trying to close games out, they need to continue to be aggressive and pressure the QB. The Giants strength should be the pass rush and it hasn't been. I think Eli Manning was in a great groove on Sunday and will continue to be as his foot has healed. I look for the Giants to get their running game going with Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw is out so Danny Ware will get his first significant playing time. I think the receiving corps really has the confidence now. I think the Giants are going to play their best game they have played in quite a while and will win this game. Giants 31 Broncos 24. Everyone enjoy your thanksgiving and enjoy the football games. I will recap the game at some point tomorrow night or early Friday morning.

NFL Week 9

The New York Giants will play at home against the San Diego Chargers and the New York Jets have a bye week. The Giants have lost 3 in a row and have looked terrible especially defensively. Eli Manning has looked bad and you have to wonder about his foot although he say's he is fine. They really need a win this week. I am going to say they are going to win this game because San Diego doesn't travel well and although they are talented they are a flawed team. I am going with Giants 24- Chargers 17. I think the Giants will go back to what they do best running the ball and playing good hard defense. I think the defense will be helped by getting Aaron Ross, Chris Canty and Michael Boley back and will really be upset and flying around the field. The Jets are off this week so nothing to go over there. I have to find another game and I am going to go with Dallas defeating Philadelphia, I don't think Philly is as good as they looked against the Giants and the Cowboys are playing really well. I am going to say Dallas 30- Philly 21.

New York Football off to a good start

The New York Jets and New York Giants both defeated their big rivals yesterday. The Jets beat the Patriots at Giants Stadium by the score of 16-9 and the Giants beat Dallas in Dallas by the score of 33-31. The Giants won on a last second field goal and the Jets stopped the Patriots late rally. The Jets have a rookie head coach who was known for defense and to this point the Jets look as though they have the best defense in the league. They have not allowed a touchdown in either game. The Giants played bad defense but their recievers mainly Steve Smith and Mario Manningham who each had 10 catches really stepped it up. Eli Manning is proving more and more that he is one of the best in the two minute drills. He just always seems to get the job done. The Giants also have not been able to run the ball at all. I expect the running game will get better once the defenses pay more attention to the wide recievers and the defense will be ok once they have all their players back. Justin Tuck left the game in the 2nd quarter with a injury and Chris Canty and a couple of the safties were also hurt which doesn't help. The bottom line is the Giants are 2-0 and in first place as well as the Jets and there is room for improvement. The football teams are both in good shape at this point in time and have people dreaming big.