Monday Night Football: Minnesota Vikings vs New York Giants

 

8:30 PM ET, October 21, 2013

MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ

 

50°

LOW

Mostly Clear

Chance of rain 10%

Wind: SSW at 9 mph

Humidity: 73%

Stats of the Day:

The New York Giants have the same amount of interceptions as Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers combined with 16.

Match Up to Watch:

Josh Freeman vs Struggling Giants defense:

Finally! We get the Josh Freeman era started!!!! It has only taken 1 week but that is how bad the quarterback situation is in Minnesota. It does help when you have the greatest running back in the NFL right now. Adrian Peterson can take so much pressure off Freeman with running ball and also bringing an 8 man box, making it easy to read the defense and make the play. Now two weeks seems a little quick to learn a playbook. Football is a reaction game and not a thinking game but since Freeman still learning the playbook, he will be thinking a lot. The key is don’t make the costly turnover and MANAGE the game. Yes, I said it….be a game manager!

Giants are just terrible in every phase of the game. Offense, defense and special teams. Offense is turning the ball over and defense is not creating any turnovers. No one player can save this team. It has to be collective effort. With the NFC east being so terrible, they still have a shot to win the division…YES WIN THE DIVISION!!!! Crazy thought. Perfect chance against a quarterback who has only been on the team for 2 weeks. If you can’t beat them then you don’t deserve to win any games.

Players to Watch:

Minnesota:

Defensive Tackle- Sharrif Floyd

Cornerback- Xavier Rhodes

Wide Receiver- Cordarrelle Patterson

New York:

Tackle- Justin Pugh

#95 Sharrif Floyd: 6’3 297, Florida

1^st round 23^rd pick, Position- Defensive Tackle

Strength:

+  Very quick off the ball. Really explodes out of his stance.

+  Has a great punch and hits his man in the chest.

+  Good football IQ. Reads the screen play well.

 

Needs Improvement:

–          Needs to learn other moves besides the swim.

–          Learn how to push a lineman down and beat the cut block. Don’t let them go through you.

–          Keep his head up so he can make a play on the ball.

–          If he does not win on first move then he gives up on the play too quick

–          Does not get his knees up because he is on the ground a lot

–          His shed blocking skills are okay. Doesn’t use hands enough, seems like he is attached to the blocker.

–          Poor technique against a double team. Gets driven back to the 2^nd level.

 

#29 Xavier Rhodes: 6’1 210,  Florida State

1^st round 25^th pick, Position- Cornerback

Strength:                             

+  Knows how to use his long arms and play the receiver.

+  Amazing job at high pointing the ball. Great timing and understanding where the ball or shallow route.

+  Has good hands, doesn’t drop a lot of interceptions.

 

Needs Improvement:

–          He is way too high when he tackles, Needs to learn how to break down the ball carrier and make a tackle.

–          Work on his footwork and break on the ball.

–          Lacks great speed so he gets beat a lot on a drag or shallow routes.

–          He is a MAJOR liability in the run game.

 

 

#84 Cordarrelle Patterson: 6’2 216,  Tennessee

1^st round 29^th pick, Position- Wide Receiver

Strength:                             

+  Great at kick returning. Moves away from the wedge to create a hole and breaks arm tackles.

+  He is a play maker. Get the ball in his hands and watch him go to work.

+  Can take on One on One coverage.

+  Even when team is losing by double digits, still goes out there and plays hard.

+  Can Snatch the ball in the air. Uses his hands well.

 

Needs Improvement:

–          Got to work on his route running, relies too much on his speed.

–          Learns when a pass is poorly thrown then he must become a defender and prevent the interceptions.

–          Work on using his body against the defender and don’t use your hands to push off.

–          Show a better effort when he is run blocking

 

 

 

#72 Justin Pugh: 6’4 301, Syracuse

1^st round 19^th pick, Position- Tackle

Strength:

+  Keeps a good solid base. Never is off balance.

+  Fantastic in goal line plays. Stays low and drives the defender back.

+  Good football IQ. Understands blitzes and when to switch.

+  In the early part of the season, he has played very well even when the offense has been so poor.

+  The coaches realize that the right side is strong when he plays RT so they run it to that side.

+  Stays in front of his block really well. Moves his feet well

 

Needs Improvement:

–          Very weak at the second level. Unable to square up the linebacker.

–          Hands tend to slip outside the defender so could be called for holding.

–          Not very athletic and has trouble going out for screen passes.

Post Game NFL Thursday Night Football: New York Giants vs Chicago Bears

Giants: 21 Bears: 27

Leaders:

Passing- (CHI) Jay Cutler 24/36 262 2 TDs

Rushing- (NYG) Brandon Jacobs 22 Car 109 yards 2 TDs

Receiving- (CHI) 9 Rec 87 yards 2 TDs

WTF Moment of the Game:

1. When did the New York Giants switch bodies with the New York Jets??? Just seem like a mess there. Eli Manning threw 3 INTs in the game. This is not a Tom Coughlin team when they keep shooting themselves in the foot.

2. Rueben Randell is lucky that he didn’t get called for fumbling the football when he caught the ball and slipped on the ground. Now he wasn’t touched but he was so mad for slipping and falling so he slammed the ball on the ground. Got bailed out by the ref calling him “giving himself up” Just more reasons for the Giants downfall.

3. WHY DID THE BEARS GO FOR IT ON 4TH DOWN?!?! It is the 1st quarter and your defense just got an INT to put you in good field position. Take the 3 points. You knew coming into the week, that the Giants offense has been a struggle, don’t let them have momentum. Doesn’t matter in the scheme of things since they won the game but that could have been a big turning point.

Great Moments of the Game:

1. Brandon Jacobs still got it! He ran all over the depleted Bears offensive line. It was like, he got in a time machine and brought back the old Jacobs. For a moment there, it seemed like the Giants were going to have their old ways back but fell short in the end. Even in the loss, that doesn’t take away from what he did in the game.

2. Another BRANDON! This time, his last name is Marshall. One of those games, where you think Marshall is unstoppable. Even the Giants CB played well against him but he was still catching ball. No wonder why Marshall is Cutler favorite target. Just throw the ball up for him and he will get it.

3. Brandon Marshall bright green shoes. When i first saw this I was like, “Oh no, here is another attention grabbing moment for Marshall” but when i dig deeper, there is a story about this. If you don’t know, Brandon Marshall has borderline personality disorder and he wore these shoes to promote awareness about it. Also the NFL will fine him for not wearing proper shoes but he says he will match that fine to a charity about borderline personality disorder. A nice story and good for Brandon Marshall.

Preview of Preseason game Indianapolis Colts vs New York Giants

Indianapolis Colts Rookie Scouting Report:

#92 Bjoern Werner: 6’3 266, Florida State

1^st round 24^th pick, Position- Defensive End

Strength:                                 Needs Improvement:

+ Has an unbelievable                             – Will get high and stop his

motor. Reminds me of                               feet.

a Jared Allen.                                           – Work on his hands so he

+ 4 point stance is so                                  get off from blockers

low and explodes out.                             – Not very athletic and

+ Great football recognition.                     won’t “wow” you with

Reads a play and stops it.                          combine numbers.

What to Watch for:

1. Does he transition well to a OLB and standing up
2. Was he able to get pressure on the quarterback
3. Did he get his hands in the passing lane

#69 Hugh Thornton: 6’3 320, Illinois

3^rd round 86^th pick, Position- Guard

Strength:                                 Needs Improvement:

+ Quick, short steps                                  – Struggles to reanchor and

make him able to react                             and reload his hips.

well.                                                            – His stance is flawed. Way

+ Great at pulling and                                 too high.

getting to the second                              – Weak at the tackle because

level.                                                             of a slow kickslide.

+ Hook block is nice.

Able to get outside

leverage on his block.

What to Watch for:

1. Where did he play? Tackle or Guard
2. Did he win one on one battles with a defensive line
3. In goal line situations, was able to get a push

New York Giants Rookie Scouting Report:

#72 Justin Pugh: 6’4 301, Syracuse

1^st round 19^th pick, Position- Guard

Strength:                                          Needs Improvement:

+ Keeps a good solid                                – Very weak at the second level.

base. Never is off balance.                        Can’t square up the linebacker.

+ Fantastic in goal line plays.                  – Hands tend to slip outside the

Stays low and drives the                             defender so could be called for

defender back.                                              holding.

+ Good football IQ. Understands            – Not very athletic so has trouble

blitzes and when to switch.                        going out for screen passes.

 

#74 Johnathan Hankins: 6’2 320, Ohio State

2^nd round 49^th pick, Position- Defensive Tackle

Strength:                                          Needs Improvement:

+ Causes trouble for the                          – Too high at times and will be

double team. Does not                               on his tippy toes. Can’t create

allow them to push him                              much push.

back.                                                             – Slow off the snap. Got to get

+ Uses leverage really well                           lower in his stance to shoot

and causes problems for                               out.

the lineman.                                                – On the ground too much. Must

+ Punches his man right into                        pick up his knees.

the chest and puts them

on their heels.

 

 

#79 Damontre Moore: 6’5 250, Texas A

3^rd round 81^st pick, Position- Defensive End

Strength:                                          Needs Improvement:

+ Stays upright when he                          – Tackling skills are below

gets cut blocked                                           average. Breaking down

+ Really uses leverage                                  the ball carrier needs

well and makes up for                                  some work.

the lack of strength.                                   – Must stay parallel to the

+ High motor, will go                                     line of scrimmage when

sideline to sideline and                                 moving to the sidelines.

make a tackle.                                              – Giants coaching will teach

+ Amazing job at using his                              him on getting his hands

hands and keeping the block                          in the passing lane.

off of him.

Justin Pugh #19 pick for the New York Giants

Position: Offensive lineman

Height: 6’4 Weight: 307 Arms: 32 Hands: 10 1/4

All the talk about Justin Pugh, “his arms are too short.” “He can’t play left tackle because he has T-Rex arms.” So when I hear this then I think he must have 28 inch arms or shorter……no he has 32 inch arms…. So I did some research on how effective a short arm offensive lineman are:

Born in Holland, Pennsylvania. He was honored with awards in defense and in offense at his high school. He decided to attend Syracuse University from 2009 to 2012. He declared for the 2013 NFL Draft in his junior year but since he already graduated, so he could attend the Senior Bowl which allowed more scouts to see him and rise up the board.

Strength

+ Keeps a good, solid base. Never is off balance.

+ Fantastic on the goal line. Stays low and drives a defender back.

+ Does a good job at hook blocking. Really shields the edge well.

+ Good football IQ. Understands blitzes and when to switch off the defenders.

+ Handles all pass rushes, the power rush and speed rush. Knows how to re anchor to take on a bull rush but also has a quick enough kick slide to stay with the speed rush.

Needs Improvement

– Very weak at the second level. Can’t seem to square up a linebacker.

– His hands tend to slip outside the defender so could get called for holding quite a bit.

– Weak in the zone blocking scheme. Needs to do a better job sliding down.

– Not very smooth in the hips to go out on screen passes. Always behind they play, not ahead of it.

Summary

This is just a typical New York Giants pick. One of those tough nose player who just loves the game of football. This is not a sexy pick but this is how the Giants won 2 Super Bowls in 2008 and in 2012. Justin is really good on goal line situations and in pass protection. On one tape, I saw him in 3rd and goal and he pushed two defenders back into the GOAL POST! Everyone talks about his arm length, this and that but he is a football player. He will do fine, even if with his T-Rex arms.