Good morning, New York Giants fans! Let's review Friday night's 35-24 victory over the New York Jets in our traditional 'Kudos & Wet Willies' style.
Kudos
Ryan Nassib -- If there was any doubt remaining that Nassib will be the Giants' No. 2 quarterback this season the second-year man from Syracuse removed it Friday night. He went 8-for-12 for 103 yards and three touchdowns while playing the entire second half. Nassib's 39-yard touchdown strike to Preston Parker and his 31-yard scoring pass to Corey Washington were both beautiful throws. Curtis Painter did not play, which was very telling.
Damontre Moore -- Damonster continues to dominate backup offensive linemen. He got two third-quarter sacks and a fumble recovery at the Jets' 16-yard line. Mooe had two other quarterback pressures. His run defense was equally as impressive. Of his four tackles, three were for loss.
Victor Cruz -- Finally! Eli Manning got the ball to Cruz four times for a total of 61 yards, Cruz's first receptions of the preseason.
Jacquian Williams -- Had six tackles, impressing for the second straight week. Perhaps all the chatter about Williams, now in his fourth season, finally learning to play against the run is more than just talk. Williams has a team-high 19 tackles in four preseason games.
Rashad Jennings -- Jennings carried 13 times for 67 yards, 5.2 yards per carry. He had a nice 23-yard run and continues to prove that while he might not be a superstar he is a quality NFL back.
Steve Weatherford -- Weatherford had another busy, productive night. He punted seven times and averaged 45.0 yards per punt, with an impressive net average of 43.3. Weatherford placed three punts inside the 20-yard line. Weatherford has already punted 26 times this preseason, averaging 47.3 yards per punt with a 41.1-yard net average.
Preston Parker -- Yours truly has believed for weeks now that the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver has a good opportunity to score one of the reserve wide receiver spots on the 53-man roster. Parker certainly helped his cause against the Jets. He caught a 39-yard touchdown pass and ended the night with three catches for 52 yards. He handled all of the punt return duties. Parker also had a 29-yard kickoff return, with only a stumble preventing him from going much further. With Friday night's injury to Marcus Harris and with Mario Manning continuing to show little Parker's chance to make the roster improved dramatically.
Wet Willies
Jason Pierre-Paul -- Maybe I am picking on the guy, but Pierre-Paul played the first half and the only place his name appears on the stat sheet is under 'snaps played.' He missed a tackle at the line of scrimmage that turned into an 18-yard run for Chris Ivory. JPP keeps promising that he will be a force when the regular season starts. Maybe he will be, but it would have been nice if he had shown at least a little bit more in the preseason.
The Injury Monster -- The Giants lost Geoff Schwartz to a toe injury and Marcus Harris to a shoulder injury. There has been no official word on how long both will be out, but it's possible both will miss several weeks.
Giants Pass Blocking -- I can't pick out a single individual here. The first-team offensive line was bad all the way around in this category. Schwartz got run over by Muhammad Wilkerson. Brandon Mosley got run over once. Jason Babin left Will Beatty flat-footed with an inside move. Weston Richburg appeared to miss an assignment on a blitz. It is a good thing Ryan Nassib is showing improvement because if the Giants pass protect like this all season Eli Manning won't make it to the end healthy.
Kwillies
Eli Manning -- The Giants quarterback finally completed some passes, going 12-for-21 for 139 yards and one touchdown. He finally led an impressive drive, taking the Giants 91 yards in 11 plays for a score at the end of the first half. He survived getting pounded throughout the first half as the Giants offensive line -- with Geoff Schwartz and without him after his toe injury -- constantly left Manning in danger.
Manning, though, made several bad plays. Twice while trying to escape the Jets pass rush he failed to protect the ball and had it knocked away. Fortunately, the Giants recovered both fumbles. Manning threw two incredibly poor passes that should have been interceptions. One was a simple 5-yard out that has pick 6 written all over it, except that Darrin Wells dropped it. Another was a ball Manning tried to force to Victor Cruz along the sideline while rolling to his right. Wilson caught the ball for the interception, but replay overturned it because Wilson was ruled to have been out of bounds before making the catch.
Manning also underthrew Reuben Randle on a deep ball during the Giants first possession, missing a scoring chance. He felt a little pressure on the play and back-footed the throw, coming up short.
Did I leave anyone out, Giants fans?