Archives
Heroes
Victor Cruz
Cruz has been impressing coaches all week during training camp and really made a name for himself last night, catching six passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns. Cruz has put up a huge fight for a roster spot and it looks like he’s going to earn a spot on the 53-man roster. After his performance last night, there’s no way another team wouldn’t pick him up off of the waiver wire. Cruz’s best play came when he made a one handed 64-yard touchdown catch over the head of Dwight Lowery.
Eli Manning
Manning may not have had the sharpest performance of his career, but I have to give him a round of applause for his toughness. Any player that can take a hit like that, get up, and then just say “I’m fine” is a winner in my eyes. He finished 4/7 for 77 yards and a QB rating of 83.9. However, 51 of those yards came on a shovel pass to Ahmad Bradshaw. Manning did have to evade a lot of pressure on that play, though, which was impressive. Manning also had two passes that were nearly picked off by Antonio Cromartie. He also had an easy pass dropped by Ramses Barden.
Antrel Rolle
Antrel Rolle got things off to a good start in the first quarter when he intercepted a tipped pass from Mark Sanchez. Rolle returned the pick 59 yards all the way to the one-yard line.
Deon Grant
Grant had the tipped pass that led to Rolle’s interception. He looked like he’ll be fine as a starter if Kenny Phillips isn’t ready to go week one. I might just be excited because the safeties weren’t atrocious like last season.
Rhett Bomar
Bomar was very impressive, completing 6/7 passes for 67 yards and a touchdown. I actually was more impressed by Bomar than Jim Sorgi. Bomar also had a nice 23 yard scramble late in the game, too.
Duds
Matt Dodge
Dodge struggled greatly and the only thing saving his stat line is one 52-yard punt that just happened to take a really good bounce. His punts had no hangtime at all. One punt actually had a hangtime of .01 seconds. He also had one of his punts blocked, but that looked as if it could have been the fault of Andre Brown for missing a block. Dodge will really need to improve, though.
Kick Return team
Year after year the Giants can never figure out how to block for their kick returners. Andre Brown had three returns for 53 yards (17.7 avg) and Danny Ware had one return for 21 yards. The team will really need to work on its fear of getting past the 20 yard line. I hear it does wonders and the offense is usually very appreciative.
Ramses who? All of the talk as training camp opened was on Barden being a big difference maker this season. He hasn’t done anything yet. Many felt fine just handing the fourth receiver job off to Barden and making him Manning’s number one red zone threat, but that won’t be happening under the watch of this week’s hero, Victor Cruz. Barden only had two receptions for 12 yards last night. He dropped one pass on a slant route, too. It appeared that he heard footsteps coming and lost focus on the ball.
Running game
Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs combined for seven rush attempts and just one yard gained. I know there are a lot of injuries on the offensive line, but that’s simply atrocious for a team that once had the most feared rushing attack in football.
DJ Johnson
He had an interception late in the game, but that was a pick anyone could have made. Johnson blew a few assignments and was a liability in coverage. He stood out for the wrong reasons and struggled in one on one situations. Not good news, especially since the Giants really don’t have a fifth cornerback.
This article was originally posted here.
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In the matter of one offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers went from a thin linebacker corps to one that is potentially very deep with talent.
Several players showcased their abilities last week against the Detroit Lions and will hope to make a further impression this week against the New York Giants.
They will have to do so to solidify a roster spot because starters LaMarr Woodley, James Farrior, Lawrence Timmons, and James Harrison are all locks. It is also unlikely that the Steelers cut ties with backups Larry Foote, Keyaron Fox, and second round draft pick Jason Worilds.
Fox was particularly impressive against the Lions, particularly against the run, and finished with four solo tackles and a pass defended.
That may mean only one roster spot for fourth round selection Thaddeus Gibson and fifth round pick Stevenson Sylvester.
Each player has been a highlight throughout training camp in different ways.
Gibson flashed pass rushing ability throughout practices and demonstrated this last Saturday. He nearly recorded a sack, but the Lions’ quarterback was able to pick up a yard before being stopped by Gibson.
Given the severe lack of depth the Steelers had at outside linebacker last season, Gibson stepping up could be huge.
Though it is unlikely that he will see much, if any time in the base defense, Gibson’s presence could bode well for the future. As for this season, his likely contributions will come on special teams as he learns the defense.
Even so, Gibson stepping up is particularly important considering the injuries Worilds has experienced already and the lack of any backup veteran outside linebacker standing out.
The more interesting prospect, though, has been Sylvester.
The college tape of Sylvester showed that he had a lot of the skills necessary to be a successful NFL player. So far he has not disappointed.
After watching Sylvester in camp and the first preseason game, the Steelers will have to give serious consideration to keeping nine linebackers on the roster instead of eight.
Sylvester, as he showed in camp, was around the ball carrier, always in position to make the stop and finished with a game high seven tackles, four being solo.
One knock on Sylvester was his technique. He easily could have had an additional two or three tackles, but bounced right off of the runner. Improvement in wrapping up the runner is imperative if he is to ever be an every down linebacker.
Adding extra weight should help.
At 6-2 231 pounds, Sylvester has the appearance of being slightly undersized and has room to add some more bulk. In many ways, this is reminiscent of Larry Foote as a rookie, a smart ball player who had trouble tackling in part because he was slightly undersized.
It is unlikely that the Steelers will be able to sneak Sylvester on the practice squad and it would be worth the risk to keep him on as a ninth linebacker. He will also be able to contribute on special teams.
The Pittsburgh Steelers defense is about allowing the linebackers to make the plays. They currently have four very good ones starting. With the emergence of the rookies, the proud tradition looks to be in good hands.
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When Houston Texans’ linebacker Brian Cushing was notified in May of a failed drug test he took last September, he refused to believe the results came out correctly. There was no way the test could be right.
There must have been some mistake, Cushing thought.
Cushing vehemently denied testing positive for HCG, a fertility drug commonly used in conjunction with steroid cycles to help restart testosterone production. He said he never injected or digested any form of steroids and would stand by that conclusion.
In the end, though, it just didn’t matter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. A positive test is a positive test.
Per the NFL’s rules, Cushing became automatically ineligible for this season’s first four games after his positive test became public knowledge approximately three months ago.
Cushing appealed, but on Thursday Goodell upheld the suspension, which will keep the former USC Trojan out until Oct. 10 when Houston hosts the New York Giants.
The NFL issued this statement: “At the request of Texans owner Bob McNair, Commissioner Goodell reviewed additional medical information presented on behalf of Brian Cushing.
“The club and Cushing were notified today that after carefully considering all the information, including a review by outside medical experts, the Commissioner finds no basis for changing the decision that Mr. Cushing’s suspension for the first four games of the regular season remains in place.”
Cushing was not available for comment Thursday.
The sad part about all of this is that there is a case in Cushing’s favor. It wouldn’t be hard to stop for a minute and think about believing him.
Cushing said he took numerous drug tests after the one he failed in September, and all of those came up clean. Cushing believed that he was completely innocent, to the point that he even offered to take a lie detector test to rid himself of the steroid-user label that will now follow him around.
Cushing took the test and passed it.
The problem is that there are just too many holes in the story for Goodell to believe it. The fact that Cushing said he played his “best football” after the September test is irrelevant.
What’s worse is Cushing’s reported explanation for his positive test. He offered up the alibi that he tested positive because he “over-trained.” According to Cushing, he worked out so hard that he experienced spikes in testosterone, which in return triggered the positive test.
In this day and age of medical intelligence, health, and drug awareness, that reasoning wasn’t going to go over too well. There have been too many, “I didn’t knowingly take steroids” sob stories in recent years to believe anything as loosely described as “over-training.”
This is not to say, however, that Cushing did indeed use steroids, because for all we know, he may be telling the truth.
A positive test is a positive test, but a passed polygraph is a passed polygraph. So who knows?
Cushing has faced steroid allegations since his high school days, which could not have helped his case here, at least not in the public’s eye.
Many people thought Cushing ballooned as a linebacker at USC after leaving his home in New Jersey, but there’s never been any evidence to suggest that Cushing used steroids at Southern California.
Unfortunately for Cushing, Goodell had to make the difficult (maybe not so difficult if you asked Goodell) choice and refuse to rescind Cushing’s suspension.
Goodell had no other choice simply because he would have granted a way out for other steroid users if he granted Cushing his freedom.
The precedent that would have been set in Cushing’s case was much too dangerous for a guy who, after all, didn’t have inconclusive evidence stacked in his favor.
Fairly or unfairly, Cushing had to be a scapegoat.
If over-training has become a valid excuse for a positive drug test, then it could theoretically be applied to every professional athlete that tests positive in the future.
What makes Cushing’s reasoning so dangerous is the obvious question: What exactly constitutes over-training? How does an athlete determine when he is over-training, and how would doctors and trainers know the exact affects that stem from excess physical exertion?
It’s a muddy issue, an alibi that is impossible to defend because of its fluidity.
For years, it seemed as if the NFL simply turned its back on steroid use in its sport. The men who carried the NFL brand every week grew to become unfathomably strong, explosive, and powerful. How human bodies could withstand that kind of beating routinely, nobody knew.
And, more importantly, nobody cared.
The NFL was a juggernaut, the glistening diamond of American sport. Fans enjoyed the violence of the sport, physical damage to those involved be damned. Give us our Sundays, give us our football, and get the hell out of the way.
But as the years passed and baseball became essentially known as the grandfather sport of steroid use, we became more aware of the long-term dangers of steroids, and things changed.
Health became important. Safety became important.
The NFL has made great progress in the diagnosis and handling of concussions and head-related injuries. The same should be done for steroid use, and to the NFL’s credit, the league is doing that.
If Goodell let Cushing play in Week One this fall, the NFL would never have a compelling case in the fight against steroid use. One soft excuse would lead to others, and players and agents would always point back to Cushing.
We probably will never know if Cushing took steroids or not. It would be a shame if he really didn’t and serves a suspension. It’s already sad that a guy passes a polygraph test and, because of the history of our sporting society, we find it incredibly hard to believe him.
But Roger Goodell had to do it.
In the end, four games for Brian Cushing is a small price to pay for keeping the integrity of the NFL, and its case against steroid use, intact.
Follow Teddy Mitrosilis on Twitter. You can reach him at tm4000@yahoo.com.
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Eli Manning isn’t the only Giants quarterback who will miss New York’s preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Scratch backup Jim Sorgi, too. Sorgi had an MRI on Thursday and was diagnosed with a torn capsule in his right shoulder that will sideline him two to three weeks, said Matt Brei, his agent.
The New York Giants started the 2009 season strong, getting out of the gate 5-0, but they couldn’t sustain their early-season form. They won just three games the rest of the way to place third in the NFC East. The season was a major letdown after winning 12 games and the NFC East title in 2008. The offense did its part, scoring 25.1 points per game (eighth in the NFL), but a defense that allowed 26.7 points per contest (30th in the NFL) severely disappointed. The Giants must play much better defense in 2010 if they hope to challenge for an NFC East title.
Offense: Led by Eli Manning, New York put a pretty explosive offensive unit on the field in 2009. Manning threw for 4,021 yards and 27 touchdowns, helping the Giants boast one of the best passing attacks in the NFC.
Pro Bowler Steve Smith joined with Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham to form a very productive receiving unit. The trio combined for 211 catches, 2,832 yards, and 18 touchdowns. The Giants also got solid production from tight end Kevin Boss, and Travis Beckum figures to play a bigger role this year.
The Giants became more of a pass-first team last season, but head coach Tom Coughlin prefers to set up the pass with the run, just as he did when the Giants won Super Bowl XLII. As long as Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw can stay healthy, the Giants can get back to running the football behind one of the better lines in the league.
Defense: After the defense gave up 40 or more points in five different games last season, it was time for Bill Sheridan to move on. The organization is very excited about new defensive coordinator Perry Fewell and his aggressive scheme. With Fewell calling the defensive signals, we should see New York’s pass rush come back to life.
It was New York’s ferocious pass rush that did in Tom Brady and the Patriots on Super Bowl Sunday a few short seasons ago. That season, the Giants totaled an impressive 53 sacks. They got after the quarterback again in 2008 with 42 sacks. But last season, New York only tallied 32 quarterback sacks. Fewell is going to do all he can to have New York living in the backfield again. Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck will both be looking for bounce-back campaigns, and they’ll be aided by first round draft pick Jason Pierre-Paul.
If the pass rush comes back, the pass defense should be rock-solid now that safety Antrel Rolle joins a quality defensive backfield.
Prediction: 2nd place in the NFC East—The Dallas Cowboys appear to be ahead of the Giants as the 2010 season nears, but New York has enough pieces to be right in the mix for an NFC East crown come December. I ultimately have the Giants coming up just short, but this is a team with the potential to do some damage as a Wild Card, just as they did when they won the Super Bowl three years ago. Be sure to check out my 2010 NFL predictions to see which teams I have winning the other seven divisions.
Jimmy Boyd’s expert picks will keep you beating the NFL odds all season long!
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