On Saturday I polled the BBV community about which NY Giants WR would have the biggest day versus the Dallas Cowboys in their stadium opener.  There were 110 responses and no clear consensus:

Which NY Giants receiver (or TE) will have the biggest game Sunday night in Dallas?

26%   Steve Smith                29 votes
21%   Mario Manningham   24 votes
21%   Kevin Boss                 24 votes

17%   Ramses Barden       19 votes
10%   Domenik Hixon         12 votes

1%     Sinorice Moss              2 votes
0%     Derek Hagan                0 votes

We know how the game went.  Super Mario Manningham and Steve Smith each had 10 catches and a TD, while Kevin Boss was mostly relegated to pass protection.  Career days for both receivers.  More after the jump...

NYG		Rec	Yds	Avg.	Long	TD
M. Manningham		10	150	15.0	49	1
S. Smith		10	134	13.4	32	1
K. Boss		1	13	13.0	13	0
D. Hixon		1	13	13.0	13	0
D. Hagan		1	12	12.0	12	0
A. Bradshaw		2	8	4.0	6	0

What is most surprising to me is how Steve and Mario became pretty much "the only receiving options" for Eli Manning out of our huge corps of WR's, TE's and RB's. Dallas was geared to stop the run at the expense of WR pass defense.  As a result Eli, Steve and Mario put up big numbers.

Has Domenik Hixon lost his starting job? Has Derek Hagan jumped ahead of Sinorice Moss?

Mike Garafolo has some insight:

Mario Manningham, who made a terrific juggling catch for a 22-yard touchdown late in the second quarter and added a 49-yard bomb in the third quarter, replaced Hixon in the starting offense. Sinorice Moss came in for the first three-receiver set, as he lined up as part of a bunch formation. But the next time the Giants lined up in three wides, Derek Hagan joined Manningham and Steve Smith. Hagan remained the third receiver the rest of the night. With Hixon out, Ahmad Bradshaw returned punts.

The Starters

Last night's performance alone should make Manningham and Smith the starting WR's for the foreseeable future.  Add in Hixon's injury (which is hopefully very minor), and the case is made.  Then it gets tricky...

Who's number 3?

I think Domenik Hixon will probably be healthy enough to play, but has probably lost his starting job.  Is Hixon now the #3 receiver?  Or is it Sinorice Moss or Derek Hagan?  Was Moss pulled in favor of Hagan because of injury?  Did Moss screw up?  Hagan played most snaps at the end of the game, though he had only one catch and Moss had none.  Number 3 WR is not that big of a deal when you get production from your TE's and/or RB's, but we saw little of that in week 2.

Everyone else

So I made a big deal about Ramses Barden getting the first activation of his career.  (19 votes in the poll  - 17% - picked Barden to have the biggest game last night.  Crazy!!)  Coughlin said Barden would play and he did.  Sadly, we only saw him on special teams.  It would have been nice to see him in the Dread Zone, since we are now 'zero for eight' in 2 games.  Maybe he will get a chance soon?

It seems like the RB's and TE's were mostly used in pass protection or not open.  There were a few failed screens to FB Madison Hedgecock that just looked awful.  Ahmad Bradshaw had 2 catches for 8 yards and Brandon Jacobs was not thrown to.  Kevin Boss had one catch, and Travis Beckum is still looking for the first catch of his career.

Next up...

Giants next matchup is Sunday at 1pm in Tampa Bay.  The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 0-2 with one of the worst-ranked pass defenses in the NFL.  I'll post a WR preview for week 3 versus the Buc's later this week.

I hope everyone was as lucky with their picks this week as the Giants.  Don't make your picks like Jerry Jones!