Preseason is pretend season. Still, those were The New York Football Giants on the field for those four tune-ups, and they did keep score. The scores said the Giants were 1-3, and as former coach, executive and noted sage (but to me a fat, dead guy since he went to the hated Dallas Cowboys) Bill Parcells once noted, “You are what your record says you are.” And 1-3 – nearly 0-4 – says “not good.”
Watching as much of the preseason as can be tolerated in August – half of the Carolina game, half of the Chicago, most of the Jets and Patriots – we saw some good things, and some not-so-good things.
The Good
Eli Manning: Played about five quarters total, as to be expected, but his reads and throws were crisp and precise. He looks ready to roll.
Offensive line: Starters likewise didn’t play much, but blasted holes and protected well when called on.
Special teams: Lawrence Tynes missed a FG, but otherwise looked solid. Jeff Feagles was his usual inside-the-20 self. Coverage teams were aggressive.
Receivers: Hakeem Nicks has huge upside potential, as does Mario Manningham. Steve Smith looks ready to step into an Amani Toomer, possession-type receiver role.
The Not So Good:
Defense: Couldn’t get the opposition off the field when they needed to, which has been a hallmark of Coughlin’s Giants teams save for the Super Bowl run in late 2007. Big free agent acquisitions Chris Canty and Rocky Bernard barely played. Let’s hope new coordinator Bill Sheridan is holding something back for the Redskins and beyond.
Receivers: The Jets game was a festival of dropped balls and bad routes. Rookie receivers (see Nicks and Ramses Barden, who didn’t do much in the preseason) have a terrible track record with the Giants. More importantly, clearly defined roles and a bona fide deep threat for Eli have yet to be identified.
The Giants are the consensus favorite to win the NFC East, and considered a threat to go deep into the playoffs. But until Coach Coughlin releases the hounds for real at 4:15 on Sunday, there are as always some unanswered questions.
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