More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

Hakeem Nicks could be looking at a big day against the Falcons struggling secondary. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

Browse more photos »

The Giants get back to action on Sunday after an excruciatingly long bye week on the heels of four straight losses. While the Giants were resting up, our fantasy teams were chugging along without them (and mine suffered its worst loss of the season - I need you Steve Smith!). What can we expect from them this weekend? Here's some advice:

Start

Brandon Jacobs, RB, NYG - Fully rested after the bye week and coming off four straight good performances only limited by the Giants not giving him the ball, I think the Juggernaut breaks free this weekend. The Falcons have the #25 ranked run defense, so there should be some holes for Jacobs to exploit. The only people that will stop Jacobs this Sunday are the Giants coaches.

Steve Smith, WR, NYG - Did you know Smith is the #6 receiver in points-per-receptions leagues and only drops to #10 in non p.p.r. leagues? Even in his "quiet" weeks he's been a solid option. The Falcons have the 28th ranked pass defense, so I expect another good week from Mr. 3rd Down.

Hakeem Nicks, WR, NYG - After scoring in four straight games, Nicks has quited down a bit, but everytime he touches the ball he's a threat to take it to the house. Call it a gut feeling, but against a bad pass defense I think the Giants will be able to spread the ball around a bit, and I think Nicks could actually have a better game than Smith.

Tony Gonzalez, TE, ATL - Maybe the best tight end in NFL history, the big guy's still got it. 44 catches for 501 yards and 4 TD's through 9 games - he's no longer the best TE in the league, but he's still in the top 10 and should be starting in almost any league.

Jason Snelling, RB, ATL - Just because the Giants shut down LaDanian Tomlinson's corpse doesn't mean I'm ready to trust their run D. They always seem to struggle against backup running backs (Tashard Choice & the Eagles fullback are just two of the more recent examples), so Snelling scares me a little bit.

Roddy White, WR, ATL - He's one of the best fantasy receivers in the league, and has really only had two subpar performances this year. He's coming off of two straight games without a TD, and I wouldn't be shocked if that changed against the Giants secondary.

Eli Manning, QB, NYG - I debated this one a bit. On the one hand, Eli had three terrible performances in a row before a very good game against the Chargers. On the other hand, he looked great against the Chargers, has had two weeks to rest up his foot, and is going against the #28 pass D in the league. Ultimately I felt like the pros outweighed the cons, so I think he'd be a good bet to start and at least have a passable game this Sunday.

Sit

Matt Ryan, QB, ATL - Ryan has thrown an interception in his last 6 games, and at least two INT's in 4 of those games. He definitely seems to have regressed after his brilliant rookie year and a strong start to this season. The Giants pass D is still statistically one of the best in the league (I know: lies, damn lies, and statistics), and looked a bit better without CC Brown against the Chargers (until the final drive, anyway). They're also should be getting Aaron Ross back. Matty Ice still has a great future ahead of him, but I don't think you'll be able to tell this weekend.

Ahmad Bradhsaw, RB, NYG - He's been pretty awful lately, averaging under 3.0 YPC over the past three games. I don't trust his ankle right now, and until he proves on the field that he's healthy and can make the cuts that make him so effective, I wouldn't start him.

Michael Jenkins, WR, ATL - He hasn't caught a TD all year and has been flat-out mediocre at best. That could change this weekend, but I wouldn't bank on it.

You might not be laughing about the state of the New York Giants these days. Head coach Tom Coughlin, though, showed Friday he still has a sense of humor.

Check out this exchange talking about how healthy his team is heading into Sunday's game.

Q. Everybody made it through the week healthy, all 53 guys?

A. So far. We haven’t showered yet.

Sarcastic, yes. But also funny.

Q. Everybody made it through the week healthy, all 53 guys?

A. So far. We haven’t showered yet.

Q. Aaron Ross?

A. He is making, as far as I can tell, he is making progress. He’s a long stretch everyday. When he comes out and runs around he hasn’t been set back that I know of. He hasn’t said a word of that.

Q. He’s been working a little at safety?

A. There is only so many guys, so they play multiple spots and he’s a corner.

Q. In a game? is that just for practice?

A. It’s however we need to use a guy in practice. He is a cornerback, that is what he plays.

Q. So, he wouldn’t play safety in a game?

A. No, not at this point in time, but you never know.

Q. Game time decision?

A. I would think so.

Q. The fact that you are able to use the nickel more and play with the linebacker. When you look at him is it like we don’t have to necessarily rush him back because we don’t need as many corners?

A. Well, you never know. It just depends on what the other guy is doing. Boley can play in that spot, in the dime spot if you need him. Terrell is the nickel.

Q. Bradshaw, any set backs?

A. No, he took plays yesterday and today. He seemed to do okay. He doesn’t get overworked, but he does have his timing plays and that type of thing.

Q. You have had a lot of teams in your career in a stretch run towards the playoffs. Can it be overstated how important health is at this time?

A. You go through cycles of that. That’s why the other guys on your team have to be able to step up and do it. Early on we were able to do a lot of that with six defensive backs. We won quite a few games early on. You do have to have guys who do come in and play. It is good to be healthy right now. We are probably as healthy as we have been at any time, right now.

Q. The other side of that is that guys who might not have gotten experience have gotten good experience?

A:  That helps, that helps.  They have been in games; they have played in games.

Q:  You saw Tye Hill last here last year when he was with the Rams.  What are the similarities with him or any changes in him now?

A:  I don’t know that I see any changes.  He is still very athletic and very fast and does those kinds of things.  I think they are playing more than one person there at that spot.  But that’s not unusual. 

Q:  Your thoughts on how D.J. Johnson is coming along.

A:  It’s good to have him here.  He is really a bright, sharp young guy and has quite a background and open and honest.  And he seems like a very good kid.  He will be a nice addition.  We just need to spend more time with him.

Q:  Is it difficult to start figuring out who is not going to dress this weekend?

A:  Well, you know you just have to plan on the numbers.  Before you get too far along, you decide who goes down.  It is never easy.  It is never easy to tell a young guy that he is not going to dress.  But you have to kind of build up and see where you stand and what is best for your team.  You try to make young guys understand those special teams decisions – they are the decisions.  Those are the hard decisions. 

Q:  If Aaron Ross can’t go more than a handful of plays, is there a value just getting his feet wet in the game?

A:  We’ll see.  We’ll see.  If somebody dresses, you expect them to – they have to contribute.

Hating the Dallas Cowboys comes almost as naturally to New York Giants fans as rooting for our own team. In fact, it's pretty much a requirement.

So, when The Washington Post's football blog, The League, asked me to weigh in on why the Cowboys are one of the most loathed franchises in sports, I was only too happy to oblige.

Here is a small snippet of what I wrote for the Post.

Dallas hasn't won a playoff game since 1996. Yet, ask Cowboy fan and he will tell you his team was the best in the league each and every one of those seasons. Everybody else just got lucky. In the eyes of Cowboy fan, the team has not yet been created that deserves the privilege of stepping on the same field with Dallas.

(Read the full piece here.)

Continue reading this post »

Q:  Was it crowded out on the practice field today?

A:  It felt pretty good, yeah, to have everybody out there working.  That was a good sign.  We have enough room on the field to accommodate that, yeah. 

Q:  Were you surprised that Bradshaw worked today?

A:  No, I wasn’t surprised.  I’m not going to tell you that.  But I know that he was anxious.  And that is probably the only work he will get.  Hopefully he will get a little tomorrow.  But he did some today.  That was good.

Q:      ……get a feel for …….the ups and downs.

A:  No, not really.

Q:  The longer runs that you guys haven’t had as much of this year – is it a matter of the downfield blocking or maybe the second-level blocking not being what it should be at times?

A:  We have had some pretty good blocking by the receivers downfield.  I wouldn’t know.  That is probably one of the categories.  But we have had – in the first five games we had a ton of big plays.  I think we had 45 big plays in the first five and only 25 in the last four. 

Q:  Particularly with the running game, I know Brandon had a bunch of long ones the last couple of years.  He doesn’t seem to be getting as much.  A lot of focus has been on him, but there have to be other reasons as well, no?

A:  I’m sure there are.  There is not as much opportunity.  He (hasn’t) perhaps had as many clear shots.

Q:  That’s what I’m saying – is it a matter of extra blocking?

A:  That’s what I’m --- I’m trying to give you an answer but I don’t have the facts for that.  I know on some of the big plays we have had, we have had outstanding blocking out of the receivers. 

Q:  Do you have any sense on how much Aaron Ross will be able to play?

A:  We are just going to go and watch him practice; let him put a few practices together.

Q:  How much did he do today?

A:  He does probably less than one-half.  But he works good when he is in there. 

Q:  That is a position where you can help, right?

A:  He could, yes. 

Q: 

A:  Well, he needs the reps.  He hasn’t practiced.  He needs time on the field.

Q:  Terrell Thomas – how do you think he has been playing this year?

A:  I think he has done well.  He has played well.  He has done a nice job at the nickel spot; done a good job.

Q. With the Falcons, Cowboys and Eagles losing last week, destiny went back into your own hands. How important is that?

A. It’s only as important as we make it. We still have to come out and play ball on Sunday, and if we don’t take advantage of it, then those guys losing doesn’t mean anything. For us, we have to take care of ourselves and our team first before any of that matters. We can look back at the end of the season and say that really was the turning point for us.

Q. Did you sense that everybody came back from the break with a hungrier attitude?

A. No question, I did and I know guys around me did.  We had a good two days of practice, very, very solid preparation. Guys are on point, a lot of energy and we hope that carries right into Sunday.

Q. Danny Ware is getting back into things. You guys have been successful as the three-headed monster at time here. Can you guys be that way again?

A. Yeah, no question. I think Danny (Ware) is doing the best he could, learning as much as he can and he is doing a good job translating what he’s done in the meeting room on to the field. We have to wait and find out to see how things pan out in the game. I am sure he will do fine, he is a very talented guy and he wants to win.

Q. It looks to me that the running game in the last couple games has been effective but just not as many runs as you would like to maybe get the numbers up. Do you sense that the runs have been efficient?

A. Yeah, we have been averaging close to five yards a carry over the last month or so. Things change in the football game where you have to do something different and that’s what happens. I think Coach Gilbride has done a great job all year long of calling plays and getting us into things that we need to be in. We can go out there and run and it’s up to us to execute.

Q. The recent efficiency with the running game gives you reason to believe that you guys could dominate with the running game in the second half of the season?

A. Oh, no question, it’s going to be nice and cold. The ball is going to be really hard and we just have to be ready to carry as many times as they are going to give it to me.

Q. Do you like that?

A. I love it. I love when you are out playing the game in the outdoors with those elements. It makes it good for us because we can step our game up knowing that our team is going to need us in order to win the game, to move the ball. I like putting everything on my back.

Q. I asked you a couple weeks ago would you be surprised if I told you at the beginning of the year that you wouldn’t have a 100-yard game and you said you would be really surprised. You have 20 carries once this year, would that have surprised you, too, if you only carried the ball 20 times once in a game so far?

A. Yes, that would surprise me, too. It is what it is; we have a lot of guys who are capable. Ahmad (Bradshaw) has been doing a really good job for us, Danny (Ware) is going to come in for the second half of the season and will do a really good job. I don’t really care as long as we win and guys are getting hooked up because I am not getting as many carries is all that matters.

Q. The only thing is you guys haven’t been winning.

A. If you give me the ball eight or nine more times, it’s the possibility that I still wouldn’t change that. I’m one man and this is the National Football League, guys are getting paid to. I am confident that I could do it, no question about it, but another five or six carries probably wouldn’t change anything.

Q. The Falcons gave up a lot of yardage on the ground to the Panthers last week. There were two big runs by the Panthers. When you watch that game do you see maybe an opportunity for that?

A. No question. The way the Falcons play, they are very fast. They do a lot of twisting and looping on the defensive front. Their linebackers do a good job of running and cutting off plays. When you are good at something like that it always leaves room for error. There is always room for error for any style of running you play. If you are a guy that likes to play downhill and stuff up the hole, there is room for error there, having a back that can get to the outside and leave that big pile inside. I think it’s open; they haven’t really given up too much except for that game.

Q. How about the weapons that the Falcons have on offense, especially Roddy White and his big play ability?

A. Yeah, he is as good as any receiver we have played against this year so far. The other thing is that they do a great job of running the ball. That probably sounds pretty routine for everybody you play, but this is really an exceptional rushing offense. I think they put a lot of time and thought into their running game each week. You see little different kinds of schemes and formations that they use and that is a challenge in itself. Plus they have a quality running back, and I know he sprained his ankle but we expect him to play. He is a big, thick, quick kid who is a load just to get down on the ground. White is an excellent receiver and he is as explosive as anybody we have played so far.

Q. The challenge of playing against Tony Gonzalez?

A. Yes, he is a tough matchup. He is a big third down guy for them. He is used to being covered by safeties, so that is not going to be anything different for him, and he is used to being double-covered a lot on third down. You see almost everybody they play against forms some kind of a double bracket on him on third down. None of that stuff is foreign to him and he still does a good job of shaking people off and getting to the first down marker and catching the ball. He is a tough matchup.

Q. How do you think the changes at safety worked out in the last game?

A. I think it worked out well. I think it worked out well the way we did it. C.C (Brown) is still in the fold and he is ready to go and he still gets practice reps and he is still ready to play. I think Aaron (Rouse) and Michael (Johnson) did a solid job.

Q. Aaron Ross is coming back. Will he play safety or corner or a little of both?

A. He will be ready to play either or. He is a corner for us. He has been away from it for so long this is really his first week of practicing everyday and ready to go and taking the regular practice reps. We are hoping he is going to be in a position to contribute on Sunday. He could play both, but he is a corner for us.

Q. How is his mood? How is he psychologically doing?

A. He is great. He has been away from it for so long it is just refreshing for him to be out there and be able to run around and take the reps. He is very enthused.

Q. Just to clarify, you are saying that Ross could play safety, but in the long term plans he is still a corner?

A. He is a corner for us. Like all the players, we try to have backups ready at all the different positions because you are probably only going to dress maybe seven DBs for the game. When you get into the sub-personnel grouping you’ve got five or six guys out there and you’ve only got seven guys dressed. So everybody is ready to back up a bunch of different positions. But, in our mind, he is a corner for us.

Q. Why is a hamstring injury so difficult for someone at his position to recover from?

A. I don’t know. I don’t know the medical magical answer for that, but it did seem to take a long time. I know if they are torn it just takes time to heal up, it’s a muscle tear. It just takes weeks and weeks to heal up obviously.

Q. Was his a tear?

A. I don’t know exactly the specifics of that. Ronnie Barnes would be handling those types of questions, I am hoping.

Q. In the self-scout, did you pick up tendencies that maybe you will change up over the course of the second half of the season?

A. Yeah. We try to do that every week but when you can take a nine-game look at yourself it is a bigger picture. You get a feel for what you are actually doing on certain downs and distances and in certain personnel groups. But we try to do a real conscious job of that every week for like the last four or five games. It is interesting to see how you look after a nine-game self-scout. You get a few ideas of maybe you are doing too much of something or not enough in certain situations from a pressure standpoint.

Q. What is the most important thing when you are facing a zone blocking running game?

A. We are a gap control team, so whether we are playing a seven-man front or an eight-man front we have guys that are maintaining their gap leverage on different blocks they are engaged in. That is probably the biggest thing. If you get two guys in the same gap or you have an undefended gap, that is inevitably where the ball finds itself and that is where they rip through your front seven. The main thing is maintaining gap integrity.

Q. When was the last time you guys faced a zone blocking team or someone who does as much zone blocking as Atlanta?

A. Everybody does a certain amount of it; that is their bread and butter. That is their rushing offense. They have a lot of window dressing of moving guys around, but they are a zone blocking team. They run some off-tackle power play, too, with the gap scheme, but everybody does a bit of it. For them, it is their bread and butter and they are really good at it.

Q. How does it feel to have everybody?

A. It’s great, it’s great. I know the players are fired up, too, especially the guys coming back. It’s good, feels like you have your regular team.

Q. Expectations for Aaron Ross?

A. I am hoping he is in a position to contribute. This is the first week that he has actually taken a week’s worth of reps. He seems to be fine physically. I know we are hoping he is in a position to contribute. He isn’t going to go in there and play sixty snaps. But, he looks good out there and he is ready to go and feels good. Hoping he is in a position to contribute.

Q. You could see him getting 10-15 plays?

A. Oh gosh, yeah. I see him getting into the game but like I said he is not just going to walk out and play the next 60 snaps. But, yeah, I anticipate him being ready to go.

Q. His experience, athleticism, those are things that you haven’t had back there from that spot?

A. At least he has those and it is an addition and it will help us for sure.

Q. You interested in seeing how Michael Boley’s emotional state is?

A. Yeah. It is interesting, I was talking to him the other day, just asking him about some insight into their personnel. Him having been around those guys for a couple years and he had some interesting things. He still stays in touch with those guys. You know, players talk. But, I am sure that he will be very fired up.

Q. You think you are going to have to calm him down?

A. No, no. He is kind of an even keel guy. But I am sure he will be wired up and ready to go. Especially because of the circumstance of playing against his old team.

Q. What about having Clint (Sintim) and Danny (Clark) rotate?

A. We will do that. We started doing that a little bit last week and plan on doing the same because we want Clint to be in position to contribute.

Q. How do you weigh that as being the positive and possibly breaking up the flow as the negative?

A. That is a good question. Really both of those guys for us are more first and second down guys, you know. Clint is going to be a sub-pass rusher down the road. But right now, they are playing on first and second down. It is a fair question. I know for a guy like Danny, who is used to being a starter and playing all the first and second down snaps, it probably breaks him up a little bit. But he has a great attitude towards it and he is actually trying to mentor Clint and bring him along. They are in and out of the game anyway. It is not like they are playing every snap. They are rotating on some series. We might say ‘Clint, you are going to go this next series.’ It probably shouldn’t be too much of an issue, and I don’t think it has been.

Q. The big play runs haven’t seemed to be there this year. Is that mainly due to that second tier not being blocked as well, is that part of it?

A. I wish there was one thing because then it would be so easy and you could devote all your attention to correcting that. I think it is a combination of a lot of things. I think it’s occasionally we are not blocking it as well on the second level, which allows the back to get to the secondary. Often it is blocked well and the back is not making the right read, not breaking, getting tripped up at the line, which has happened a bunch. Sometimes it is not the right call against the front and the coverage. It is not one thing or another. The wideouts generally do a great job blocking down field, to be honest with you. When we get it to their block it is usually a pretty good thing. But, again, it sounds like I am being evasive, and I guess I am, but truthfully it is not one thing that you can single out and say ‘Hey, if we just correct this, if we run this a little differently, the running style adjusts a little bit or modify, or we block it a little bit better here…’ One time is this, one time is something else, so it is a combination of all.

Q. Has Danny Ware caught up enough to where he can be your third down back now?

A. We are hopeful. I think we are certainly going to try and see. See if he can do it. It was something we had aspired to have done at the beginning of the year. We thought it would make us a more complete team. He’s rusty and all of that stuff. I think physically he is healthy, it is just a matter of the speed of the game and do the things that you have to do first and foremost on third down, which is protect the quarterback and that is where the complexity of the blitzes are so much different and so much more complicated and can you do the things that you have to do to protect the quarterback. If you do, then I think he can give us a running dimension, I think he can give us a passing dimension out of the backfield and do some things that will enhance what we are trying to do on third down. There is no question, first things first, and you have to be a protector first. It is not that he won’t physically do it, it is just can you see the things at the speed that they are going to be happening. We ask a lot, we ask the back to do a lot of things. Often it isn’t just, ‘I have that defender.’ We put them into a scan mode on certain calls and he has got to see where the blitz is coming from, the overload and get himself in a position to help. Then, if not, we also ask him to be a chipper. To be able to do it sounds easy, it is not as easy as it seems because you have to take care of your responsibilities, you have to see where the secondary potential blitzer is and then still not move where you can’t help where we are asking you to help on that week, whether it’s the guard, the tackle, the center, whatever. We certainly are going to give him a chance to prove that. We’ve got our fingers crossed that he will.

Q. Jerald Ingram said last week that the absence of Ward and Ware maybe forced you to use Jacobs in roles that he is not as comfortable in. Do you agree with that?

A. I saw the comment, I asked Jerald what he meant by it, because I really didn’t know what he meant. Did we ask him to be the third down back more? Yes. But again, that was really more for protection purposes. The runs haven’t changed and some of his best runs have been from that personnel grouping. I just think he is running better. He has done a good job. He is being physical, he is being more confident, he is trusting himself a little bit more. I think I mentioned earlier on, I just thought he was trying so hard to be perfect that it was actually affecting him in a negative way. He is having a little success now. So you get into that cycle of success where you think ‘I feel good,’ and you trust your first initial read and bang it up there and maybe capitalize and take advantage of his greatest strengths, which are his speed, his power and his toughness. I think that more than anything else.

Q. When you did the self-scouting, did you notice that the wide receivers were having trouble getting off the line of scrimmage when they were pressed?

A. No, no more than usual.

Q. The Falcons have given up the most plays over twenty yards. Do you see things there that you can take advantage of?

A. I don’t think it is anything scheme. I think it is certain guys have gotten beat, on certain plays they have gone against some good receivers who have made some good plays on some good throws. Hopefully we will be able to do the same. I don’t see any inherent weakness in a coverage or in one player that is a bad football player. They look like a pretty good football team. I know their ranking isn’t as high as some of the teams we have faced. I think they are a pretty good team.

Good Morning Giants fans, only 3 more days until the Giants take the field and get this whole thing turned around.
Here is your morning news and notes from the world of the New York Giants:

In speaking with the media yesterday, Eli Manning said the bye week gave the Giants time to take a fresh look at this season: (click link for full transcript)

We looked at the whole season. You look at the good things, you look at the bad things. You make some corrections, you see what you are doing well and what you need to improve on. You learn from all those things. It is a good time to analyze your play and where you can improve and what you need to fix for the next seven weeks.

If Tom Coughlin is excited to finally have almost his whole defense back and ready to go: (click link for full transcript)

Well, obviously we have had some injuries and we have had guys we have had to get back.  We have got them back.  So we are excited about that.  Now let’s hope we can build some endurance and some opportunities on the practice field to get these guys ready to play. 

Atlanta coach Mike Smith talked about whether or not Matt Ryan is going through a sophomore slump: (click link for full transcript)

I think his numbers are comparable when you start talking about completion percentage and touchdowns to where they were at this time last year. Of course, Matt had an outstanding rookie season and playing quarterback in the NFL, to me, is one of the most difficult positions there is. We know that Matt has got to play better. He knows that he has got to play better. But there is a learning curve and it is not something that happens in a very short time. It is something that you have to experience and Matt is going through those experiences right now.

More after the jump.......

Continue reading this post »