New York Giants Notes: One Down, Three To Go Edition

I had the pleasure of being able to watch the Packers/Browns game in real time and the Giants/Panthers game the next afternoon courtesy of NFL Network. I'm being sarcastic of course, but if I'm paying all that money for Sunday Ticket, why the heck does NFL Network hold me hostage during the preseason? Oh well. All I can say about the game, however, as Ed pointed out, is that we can't put too much stock into a game after 11 practices. We just can't.

New York Giants' Jason Pierre-Paul seizes moment with Osi Umenyiora on sidelines - ESPN New York
While Osi Umenyiora haggled with the New York Giants over his contract and remained a spectator in practice, Jason Pierre-Paul took full advantage of the situation. He received valuable first-team reps in Perry Fewell's defense and has been telling everyone that he will play even faster than he did last year, due to his grasp of Fewell's defense. That's kind of like saying a Lamborghini can go even faster than it does already.

It's hard not to get excited about watching JPP, isn't it? Who knows how the rest of the preseason will shake out, though, and how much playing time the second year first-round pick will see once the real games kick off.

It's early, but Panthers create energy | CharlotteObserver.com & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper
You can't manufacture the energy the Carolina Panthers had in their first exhibition Saturday night - a 20-10 win against the New York Giants. It is either there, or it isn't. "Energy" was the word new Panthers coach Ron Rivera kept using in his postgame news conference. And it fit on a night that felt like the Panthers clicked a light switch and saw it brighten the room for the first time in a year.

I think this is the elephant in the room, if there is one--that the Panthers had a lot of energy, and the Giants -- for the most part -- did not.

Lockout to blame for rise in preseason NFL injuries - NFL News | FOX Sports on MSN
Since the end of the NFL lockout, a stunning 10 players already have seen their season ruined before the first exhibition game by torn Achilles, an injury that experts say is nowhere near this common in a normal league year, the New York Post reported Sunday. Considering that the labor stoppage kept players away from their teams -- and team doctors and team athletic trainers and multimillion-dollar team weight rooms -- for five months, this rash of injuries overall, and Achilles tears in particular, seems predictable to those in the know.

Camp Confidential: Giants - NFC East Blog - ESPN
It's funny to say this about a team that plays where they play, but the New York Giants like it when nobody notices them. They like being forgotten, underestimated, treated as an afterthought. They're OK with the Jets getting all the back-page-tabloid attention and the Eagles being the big offseason story because of their free-agent shopping spree. The Giants believe in their own way of doing things, and if that means lying in the weeds while people on the outside are distracted by other teams that are hot at the moment, that's fine with them.

Commentary: Hanlon the new ‘knucklehead’ on Twitter
Not quite sure where calling a fan a "knucklehead" ranks in the pantheon of front-office faux pas, but it just proves athletes aren’t the only ones at whose fingertips social media can be dangerous.

I still think it's hilarious that Hanlon keeps doing this, but the perception from around the league is portraying Hanlon as the old man yelling at kids to get off his lawn.

Eagles' Steve Smith on physically unable to perform list - pressofAtlanticCity.com: Sports
Newly acquired wide receiver Steve Smith will not be practicing with the Philadelphia Eagles for a while. Smith, a former Pro Bowler with the New York Giants, was placed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list Saturday. Smith is recovering from a knee injury suffered last season that required microfracture surgery last December. Because it is still training camp, Smith can be activated at any time during the preseason. If he is still on PUP at the start of the regular season, however, he will miss at least the first six games.

Smith signed a one-year deal, so it should be interesting to see how much of that will result in the Eagles receiving their money's worth.

Smith has yet to meet McCoy | Philadelphia Inquirer | 08/15/2011
It's bound to be an awkward moment. When the Eagles acquired free agent Steve Smith on Wednesday, a reporter brought up the former New York Giants receiver's involvement in the war of words between now-former teammate Osi Umenyiora and new teammate LeSean McCoy. As the running back and defensive end were exchanging insults - McCoy called Umenyiora "overrated" and "soft" on Twitter, Umenyiora called McCoy "Lady Gaga" to a reporter - Smith chimed in with a Twitter post about "youngins running their mouth" with a link to a picture of an empty Eagles trophy case.

If McCoy forgot about that, the Inquirer just reminded him of it.

Jags sign LB Wilkinson - Sacramento Sports - Kings, 49ers, Raiders, High School Sports | Sacramento Bee
The Jacksonville Jaguars signed linebacker Gerris Wilkinson and punter Brent Bowden on Saturday. Wilkinson spent the past five seasons with the New York Giants, who drafted him in the third round of the 2006 draft out of Georgia Tech

2011 NFL Predictions: New York Giants 2011 Football Preview
there are question marks back there, and ultimately, the team needs to forget about talent and numbers and just keep winning games they should win. If they stop hurting themselves, then you have to consider the Giants one of the better teams out there as you complete 2011 NFL football predictions.

That's the theme, isn't it? Stop shooting ourselves in the foot, and we'll be fine. With one preseason game in the books and three to go, and with a seriously disappointing season in the rear view mirror, that's the only way the Giants can look toward the 2011 regular season.