Die Hard Fan Analysis from Final Preseason Win against the Patriots

A lot happened last night in the Giants games that I think should be noted.  First and foremost, Ahmad Bradshaw not only has cemented himself as the clear cut #1 running back on the Giants, but he looks like he is going to have a tremendous season.  If you are a fantasy football junkie like myself, make sure you draft him or trade for him as soon as you can.  Most people don't think that Bradshaw can carry the load for the Giants.  I disagree completely.  I think Bradshaw has all the tools to be the full time back as long as you limit him to no more than 20 carries in a game.  His foot quickness is off the charts and on many plays this preseason, you have seen Bradshaw break tackle after tackle.  Get ready for a huge dose of the former 7th round pick out of Marshall this season.


I believe Rhett Bomar has played well enough to be the number 2 QB behind Eli Manning this year.  I think the Giants will keep their eyes and ears open to possible alternatives but in the end, I think Bomar will take the reigns.  However, hopefully we don't have to see him on the field for the entire season.


There might be a major problem looming for the Giants in the upcoming weeks.  Brandon Jacobs has finally realized that he has lost his starting job to Ahmad Bradshaw and he is not taking it well.  He believes that the Giants have turned their back on him.  Hopefully he uses this demotion as a challenge to regain his starting job, otherwise the Giants might be facing a huge issue on their hands.  Everyone thought Osi Umenyiora was going to cause a problem this year about him being the starting defensive end but it might in fact be Brandon Jacobs that causes a problem.

There should be no question in anybodies mind that Victor Cruz has earned a spot on the 53 man roster for the 2010 season.  Cruz might even have overtaken Ramses Barden as the 5th receiver on the team too.  Derek Hagan looks like he is the "David Tyree" fill in as the 4th receiver/special teams gunner this season.  Duke Calhoun made a strong case to make the Giants roster last night vs. the Patriots, not only for his tremendous 60 yard touchdown but also for his fantastic special teams plays as well.  The only problem is that I don't expect the Giants to carry 7 wide receivers this season.


Osi Umenyiora looks to be back on track even if he isn't the starting defensive end along with Justin Tuck this season.  He made a speech a few nights ago to the team that fired everyone up and also put him back in a leadership position that everyone expected him to fill when Strahan retired a few years back.  I am looking for him to have a huge bounce back season.


For anyone that attended the Giants game last night saw a Giants Stadium crowd rise to their feet for a 4th and 1 goal line stop by the defense that got a tremendous ovation from the crowd.  I haven't seen this much excitement in a preseason game in all my years going to Giants preseason games.  I think that defensive stop, as meaningless as it was in the big picture, was a huge lift for the defense and you can start to see that fire that the Giants defenses of the past have always had.  I am looking forward to this defense molding to Perry Fewell's system.

There are two specific plays that stand out from last nights game.  The first was Antrel Rolle intercepting a Tom Brady bomb intended for Randy Moss that he tracked perfectly.  From only 4 preseason games in a Giants uniform, you can already see that Antrel Rolle can flat out play.  He loves to hit people as we all saw in the Steelers game and he has a nose for the ball, picking up 2 interceptions in 4 games during the preseason.  The other play from last nights game that stands out is the Brian Hoyer pass to Aaron Hernandez over the middle, which was a perfect throw and catch, where Kenny Phillips came out of nowhere to completely drill Hernandez.  That play is something the Giants were lacking last year after Phillips went down.  This fearlessness is a huge factor in the Giants defense and he is not afraid to throw his entire body into a bone crushing hit.  Phillips is getting back to where he was at the beginning of last season and I see him being a major factor in the defense this year with Antrel Rolle. 


On another note, for those that have been watching closely, the Giants defense has gotten better each game during this preseason under Perry Fewell.  Game action is the only way to get a good feel for the areas that need improvement and which players fit the system best.  Without these four preseason games, the Giants would have never gotten this opportunity and leads me to my point that as meaningless as these games are, four preseason games are the perfect number and should not be reduced to two.  I am very much against this change and I really hope it doesn't happen.  With that said, the Giants look ready to go for the regular season and I couldn't be more excited to open the new "Giants" Stadium next Sunday!!! Go GMEN!

Die Hard Fan - InReeseWeTrust.com 9/3/10