Shawne Merriman’s departure from the Bills opens a door for Kyle Moore and Jarron Gilbert. The Dolphins cut FB Ryan Mahaffey after he slipped behind Jorvorskie Lane on the depth chart. Looking at Patriots RB Shane Vereen’s night as the team’s starting tailback. P T.J. Conley doesn’t expect the Jets to bring in competition for…
When the Jaguars (actually, when playing in England we’ll be calling them the “Shaguars”) host the first of four games at Wembley Stadium in 2013, they’ll obviously be playing a team other than, you know, the London Sillynannies. So who will it be? According to the 2012 Official NFL Record & Fact Book, the Jaguars…
The Jets’ offense has looked nothing short of terrible this preseason, but that doesn’t have the Jets’ quarterbacks feeling down. Both Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow told reporters today that they actually feel good about where the Jets’ offense is headed, and that they’ve demonstrated they can play well on the practice field, even if…
The Buffalo Bills, as it turns out, had four million reasons to not keep linebacker Shawne Merriman. Merriman was due to make a base salary of $4 million in 2012, which would have become guaranteed as a practical matter if he’d been on the Week One roster. ($3 million of it already was guaranteed for…
Wayne Hunter may not be the starting right tackle for the Jets this year. Stephon Heyer definitely won’t be. The Jets cut Heyer today. The five-year veteran signed with the Jets in May, after four seasons with the Redskins and one with the Raiders. Heyer has started in 31 of 65 career games. Heyer was…
After a terrible game against the Giants on Saturday, Jets right tackle Wayne Hunter may be in danger of losing his starting job — if the Jets can find anyone better to take his place. Although Jets’ offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo has defended Hunter this offseason as capable of manning the right tackle spot [...]
Jets quarterback Tim Tebow struggled on Saturday night, as did the entire offense in a 26-3 loss to the Giants. And the Giants said after the game that they could see Tebow was getting frustrated — which Tebow acknowledged. “I was probably just frustrated because we want to get on the same [page] and have [...]
Giants rookie cornerback Jayron Hosley made a big play on Saturday night when he picked off Mark Sanchez and took the ball 77 yards for a touchdown. He wound up in a walking boot at the end of the night because he “felt something” in his right foot. Coach Tom Coughlin addressed Hosley’s condition during…
Giants rookie cornerback Jayron Hosley made a big play on Saturday night when he picked off Mark Sanchez and took the ball 77 yards for a touchdown. He wound up in a walking boot at the end of the night because he “felt something” in his right foot. Coach Tom Coughlin addressed Hosley’s condition during…
The Jets have made it widely known that they’ll be using the Wildcat this year. But what if they actually won’t be using it at all? They’ve hired former Dolphins coach Tony Sparano, who four years ago bedeviled the Patriots with the surprise unveiling of the NFL’s version of the alternative attack, which works best [...]
When the Jets signed safety LaRon Landry as a free agent, they hoped that he’d be healthy enough to make an impact at safety after the team got dreadful play at the position in 2011. Landry showed some signs of that on Saturday night with an interception and a big hit on Giants receiver Victor [...]
from Jon Wagner, SNYGiants Sr. Columnist:
When it counted for real late last season, the New York Giants got a huge play from wide receiver Victor Cruz that drastically turned their own fortunes for the better and that of their MetLife Stadium co-tenants, the New York Jets, for the worse.
Cruz’s 99-yard touchdown catapulted the Giants (1-1, preseason) from mere playoff hopefuls to eventual Super Bowl champions, while a providing the key turning point in the Jets’ three-game, season-ending tailspin.
Although the stakes were of far less significance on the same field on Saturday night, rookie safety Jayron Hosley gave the Jets (0-2, preseason) some haunting reminders of what happened eight months earlier, with a 77-yard interception return for a touchdown that put the stamp on the Giants’ 26-3 rout of the Jets in the teams’ second preseason game of 2012.
With the Jets trailing 6-0 late in the second quarter, and starting quarterback Mark Sanchez (9-11, 59 yards, INT) driving his team deep into Giants’ territory and seemingly back into the game, Hosley, a third-round draft pick from Virginia Tech, stepped in front of wide receiver Patrick Turner and raced untouched for a game-turning score that much like Cruz’s touchdown last year, sent Big Blue on its was way to victory and Gang Green to defeat.
While the Giants were happy to see their first-year selection produce a big play, they were equally pleased with the continuation of a staple – quarterback pressure – of last year’s NFL title-winning team.
In all, the Giants battered and bruised Jet quarterbacks for seven sacks, including three by their fearsome trio of defensive ends (two by Jason Pierre-Paul and Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora each posting a half sack) against Sanchez.
After halftime, three young reserves – second-year safety Will Hill (a Jersey City product), and a pair of rookie defensive ends, Matt Broha and Adewale Ojomo – combined for four sacks (with Ojomo getting a pair) on the ever-overhyped backup quarterback Tim Tebow (5-14, 69 yards; 2 carries for five yards), who entered the game to an ovation during the Jets’ first series of the second half.
Hill would also recover a fumble in the fourth quarter that was correctly taken away via a replay reversal and in the second quarter, Tuck would have added one more sack to the Giants’ total if not for Umenyiora being flagged for an offsides penalty.
Earlier, defensive tackle Linval Joseph made a nice run stop on 3rd-and-2 to force a Jets punt on their first possession of the game, and the combinations of Tuck and linebacker Chase Blackburn, and then defensive tackle Rocky Bernard and linebacker Keith Rivers (the former Cincinnati Bengal, filling in for injured linebacker Michael Boley) stopped the Jets on consecutive runs on 3rd-and-1 and 4th-and-1 inside the Giants’ 40-yard line.
As the Giants kept the Jets’ offense in check, their own offense showed signs of the same thing that terrorized NFL defenses last year – starting quarterback Eli Manning (7-14, 62 yards, INT) maintaining his solid chemistry with Cruz, especially with starting wide receiver Hakeem Nicks still nursing a foot injury.
Coming out slinging and looking for Cruz right away, Manning unsuccessfully went deep on the Giants’ first offensive play from scrimmage, with Cruz catching a ball out of bounds, trying to beat all-pro cornerback Darrelle Revis up the right sideline.
But, the Jets helped the Giants out with a roughing the punter penalty, and two plays later, Manning completed to Cruz over the middle for 21 yards. He came right back to Cruz on the next play, for another nine yards, to the Jets’ 28-yard line.
Injury-prone running back Ahmad Bradshaw (three carries, two yards) kept the drive going with a powerful run of four yards on 3rd-and-3, before leaving for the locker room with a hand injury which yielded negative x-rays.
The Giants settled for a 3-0 lead on a field goal by kicker Lawrence Tynes, who was a perfect 4-for-4, making kicks from 35, 30, 40 and 45 yards, while also kicking the ball deep into the Jets’ end zone on all seven of his kickoffs, four times, for touchbacks.
Running back D.J. Ware ran for just 15 yards on 11 carries, but after some great kickoff coverage by the Giants pinned the Jets deep in their own end which forced a punt that gave the Giants good field position, Ware sandwiched an 8-yard completion from Manning to Cruz with a pair of seven-yard runs that led to another Manning-to-Cruz connection (of nine yards), one that set up Tynes’ second field goal, to give the Giants a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter –one play after Cruz seemed to have been interfered with in the end zone, an infraction that wasn’t called by the NFL’s current replacement referees.
Although Manning generally looked good will throwing to Cruz, he was awful on his next attempt, badly overthrowing rookie wide receiver Reuben Randle for an interception reminiscent of his earlier days as an unsure quarterback who was still learning to become the two-time Super Bowl MVP he is today.
Neither that mistake, nor a partially blocked punt off the leg of punter Steve Weatherford (on the Giants’ next possession) however, proved costly to the Giants on the scoreboard.
The teams traded field goal drives to start the second half, with backup David Carr (5-9, 83 yards) hitting Randle on a 49-yard pass down the middle that led to Tynes’ third field goal and 16-0 lead, before Tebow directed a time-consuming 14-play, 68-yard drive in 8:26, for the Jets’ only points, on a 30-yard field goal by kicker Josh Brown. Even that was tough to come by for the Jets, as Brown’s kick was barely good only after deflecting off of the right upright.
Those points were given right back though, as wide receiver Jerrel Jernigan (2 catches, 26 yards) flashed some good speed on a 19-yard catch and run across the field, to set up Tynes’ final field goal, which put the Giants up 19-3 early in the fourth quarter.
Unable to respond, the Jets, who punted nine times in 13 possessions, punted on each of their final five trips, none of which produced any positive net yardage, as the Jets went three-and-out four times before running just four plays the last time they touched the ball. The best of those five fourth-quarter drives (to use the term loosely) finished with just two yards, while one had zero yards, and three others ended with negative yardage.
Two more rookies shined to close the scoring as wide receiver David Douglas made a great leaping catch down the middle for a 23-yard gain, and on the next play, New Jersey native and Rutgers University product, running back Joe Martinek took a short screen pass to the left and turned it into a 14-yard touchdown reception with 6:41 left in the game.
Each of those passes were the only attempts by third-string quarterback Ryan Perrilloux, who looked good while finishing out a preseason game for the Giants for the second straight week.
However, Perrilloux still managed to annoy head coach Tom Coughlin, who always the consummate professional, appeared in mid-season form, when even with a 26-3 lead in the waning moments of a Week 2 preseason game, was shaking his head with frustration, when the third quarterback on his depth chart allowed the Giants to take a delay of game penalty with 3:21 remaining.
Rookie running back David Wilson, who had an auspicious start in his first game as a pro last week, led the Giants with 26 rushing yards, but did so on eight carries, for an underwhelming 3.3 yards per carry, despite one run of seven yards.
Escaping another preseason week without any serious injuries, besides Bradshaw’s minor hand issue, linebacker Mark Herzlich (hip pointer) and defensive end Adrian Tracy (hamstring) each left the game with injuries that don’t appear to keep them out of action for a long time.
The victory was the Giants’ third in four tries over the Jets in the teams’ new shared stadium. Two years ago, the New Jersey-born Cruz, who starred at the FCS level at the University of Massachusetts, had his initial breakout moment as an NFL receiver with a three-touchdown, 145-yard performance in the Giants’ 31-16 preseason win in the first NFL game ever played at the then-named New Meadowlands Stadium. Last year in the preseason, the Jets returned the favor in the inaugural MetLife Bowl, by winning 17-3, to earn the rights to the Snoopy trophy that went along with that win.
Of course, the Giants had the last laugh four months later, by severely damaging the Jets’ playoff chances and beginning a six-game winning streak that culminated with a Super Bowl title after their Cruz-induced Week 16 regular season victory against the Jets last year.
Now, the Giants, who won’t allow anyone in the organization to wear their Super Bowl rings around their practice facility, as they try to focus on achieving a championship repeat this year, will have the honor of displaying their latest trophy in their facility– yes, the coveted Snoopy trophy.
Not exactly the cache that the name Lombardi carries in terms of trophies, but an honor nonetheless when it comes to New York football in August.
from Jon Wagner, SNYGiants Sr. Columnist:
When it counted for real late last season, the New York Giants got a huge play from wide receiver Victor Cruz that drastically turned their own fortunes for the better and that of their MetLife Stadium co-tenants, the New York Jets, for the worse.
Cruz’s 99-yard touchdown catapulted the Giants (1-1, preseason) from mere playoff hopefuls to eventual Super Bowl champions, while a providing the key turning point in the Jets’ three-game, season-ending tailspin.
Although the stakes were of far less significance on the same field on Saturday night, rookie safety Jayron Hosley gave the Jets (0-2, preseason) some haunting reminders of what happened eight months earlier, with a 77-yard interception return for a touchdown that put the stamp on the Giants’ 26-3 rout of the Jets in the teams’ second preseason game of 2012.
With the Jets trailing 6-0 late in the second quarter, and starting quarterback Mark Sanchez (9-11, 59 yards, INT) driving his team deep into Giants’ territory and seemingly back into the game, Hosley, a third-round draft pick from Virginia Tech, stepped in front of wide receiver Patrick Turner and raced untouched for a game-turning score that much like Cruz’s touchdown last year, sent Big Blue on its was way to victory and Gang Green to defeat.
While the Giants were happy to see their first-year selection produce a big play, they were equally pleased with the continuation of a staple – quarterback pressure – of last year’s NFL title-winning team.
In all, the Giants battered and bruised Jet quarterbacks for seven sacks, including three by their fearsome trio of defensive ends (two by Jason Pierre-Paul and Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora each posting a half sack) against Sanchez.
After halftime, three young reserves – second-year safety Will Hill (a Jersey City product), and a pair of rookie defensive ends, Matt Broha and Adewale Ojomo – combined for four sacks (with Ojomo getting a pair) on the ever-overhyped backup quarterback Tim Tebow (5-14, 69 yards; 2 carries for five yards), who entered the game to an ovation during the Jets’ first series of the second half.
Hill would also recover a fumble in the fourth quarter that was correctly taken away via a replay reversal and in the second quarter, Tuck would have added one more sack to the Giants’ total if not for Umenyiora being flagged for an offsides penalty.
Earlier, defensive tackle Linval Joseph made a nice run stop on 3rd-and-2 to force a Jets punt on their first possession of the game, and the combinations of Tuck and linebacker Chase Blackburn, and then defensive tackle Rocky Bernard and linebacker Keith Rivers (the former Cincinnati Bengal, filling in for injured linebacker Michael Boley) stopped the Jets on consecutive runs on 3rd-and-1 and 4th-and-1 inside the Giants’ 40-yard line.
As the Giants kept the Jets’ offense in check, their own offense showed signs of the same thing that terrorized NFL defenses last year – starting quarterback Eli Manning (7-14, 62 yards, INT) maintaining his solid chemistry with Cruz, especially with starting wide receiver Hakeem Nicks still nursing a foot injury.
Coming out slinging and looking for Cruz right away, Manning unsuccessfully went deep on the Giants’ first offensive play from scrimmage, with Cruz catching a ball out of bounds, trying to beat all-pro cornerback Darrelle Revis up the right sideline.
But, the Jets helped the Giants out with a roughing the punter penalty, and two plays later, Manning completed to Cruz over the middle for 21 yards. He came right back to Cruz on the next play, for another nine yards, to the Jets’ 28-yard line.
Injury-prone running back Ahmad Bradshaw (three carries, two yards) kept the drive going with a powerful run of four yards on 3rd-and-3, before leaving for the locker room with a hand injury which yielded negative x-rays.
The Giants settled for a 3-0 lead on a field goal by kicker Lawrence Tynes, who was a perfect 4-for-4, making kicks from 35, 30, 40 and 45 yards, while also kicking the ball deep into the Jets’ end zone on all seven of his kickoffs, four times, for touchbacks.
Running back D.J. Ware ran for just 15 yards on 11 carries, but after some great kickoff coverage by the Giants pinned the Jets deep in their own end which forced a punt that gave the Giants good field position, Ware sandwiched an 8-yard completion from Manning to Cruz with a pair of seven-yard runs that led to another Manning-to-Cruz connection (of nine yards), one that set up Tynes’ second field goal, to give the Giants a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter –one play after Cruz seemed to have been interfered with in the end zone, an infraction that wasn’t called by the NFL’s current replacement referees.
Although Manning generally looked good will throwing to Cruz, he was awful on his next attempt, badly overthrowing rookie wide receiver Reuben Randle for an interception reminiscent of his earlier days as an unsure quarterback who was still learning to become the two-time Super Bowl MVP he is today.
Neither that mistake, nor a partially blocked punt off the leg of punter Steve Weatherford (on the Giants’ next possession) however, proved costly to the Giants on the scoreboard.
The teams traded field goal drives to start the second half, with backup David Carr (5-9, 83 yards) hitting Randle on a 49-yard pass down the middle that led to Tynes’ third field goal and 16-0 lead, before Tebow directed a time-consuming 14-play, 68-yard drive in 8:26, for the Jets’ only points, on a 30-yard field goal by kicker Josh Brown. Even that was tough to come by for the Jets, as Brown’s kick was barely good only after deflecting off of the right upright.
Those points were given right back though, as wide receiver Jerrel Jernigan (2 catches, 26 yards) flashed some good speed on a 19-yard catch and run across the field, to set up Tynes’ final field goal, which put the Giants up 19-3 early in the fourth quarter.
Unable to respond, the Jets, who punted nine times in 13 possessions, punted on each of their final five trips, none of which produced any positive net yardage, as the Jets went three-and-out four times before running just four plays the last time they touched the ball. The best of those five fourth-quarter drives (to use the term loosely) finished with just two yards, while one had zero yards, and three others ended with negative yardage.
Two more rookies shined to close the scoring as wide receiver David Douglas made a great leaping catch down the middle for a 23-yard gain, and on the next play, New Jersey native and Rutgers University product, running back Joe Martinek took a short screen pass to the left and turned it into a 14-yard touchdown reception with 6:41 left in the game.
Each of those passes were the only attempts by third-string quarterback Ryan Perrilloux, who looked good while finishing out a preseason game for the Giants for the second straight week.
However, Perrilloux still managed to annoy head coach Tom Coughlin, who always the consummate professional, appeared in mid-season form, when even with a 26-3 lead in the waning moments of a Week 2 preseason game, was shaking his head with frustration, when the third quarterback on his depth chart allowed the Giants to take a delay of game penalty with 3:21 remaining.
Rookie running back David Wilson, who had an auspicious start in his first game as a pro last week, led the Giants with 26 rushing yards, but did so on eight carries, for an underwhelming 3.3 yards per carry, despite one run of seven yards.
Escaping another preseason week without any serious injuries, besides Bradshaw’s minor hand issue, linebacker Mark Herzlich (hip pointer) and defensive end Adrian Tracy (hamstring) each left the game with injuries that don’t appear to keep them out of action for a long time.
The victory was the Giants’ third in four tries over the Jets in the teams’ new shared stadium. Two years ago, the New Jersey-born Cruz, who starred at the FCS level at the University of Massachusetts, had his initial breakout moment as an NFL receiver with a three-touchdown, 145-yard performance in the Giants’ 31-16 preseason win in the first NFL game ever played at the then-named New Meadowlands Stadium. Last year in the preseason, the Jets returned the favor in the inaugural MetLife Bowl, by winning 17-3, to earn the rights to the Snoopy trophy that went along with that win.
Of course, the Giants had the last laugh four months later, by severely damaging the Jets’ playoff chances and beginning a six-game winning streak that culminated with a Super Bowl title after their Cruz-induced Week 16 regular season victory against the Jets last year.
Now, the Giants, who won’t allow anyone in the organization to wear their Super Bowl rings around their practice facility, as they try to focus on achieving a championship repeat this year, will have the honor of displaying their latest trophy in their facility– yes, the coveted Snoopy trophy.
Not exactly the cache that the name Lombardi carries in terms of trophies, but an honor nonetheless when it comes to New York football in August.
S Delano Howell is making a bid for more playing time with the Bills. Dolphins coach Joe Philbin deemed T Jonathan Martin’s play not “God awful” against the Panthers. Five Olympic medalists will be honored at the Patriots’ game on Monday night. RB Shonn Greene is frustrated with the Jets offense continually shooting itself in…
The good news for Giants cornerback Jayron Hosley is that the rookie third-rounder intercepted a Mark Sanchez interception and returned it 77 yards for a touchdown, helping Hosley’s team secure a bronze trophy of, um, Snoopy? The bad news is that the game meant nothing, notwithstanding the bronze Snoopy trophy. The worst news is that…
Look, Jets right tackle Wayne Hunter impersonating a turnstile barely qualifies as news. But his Saturday night show against the city rival Giants might be the thing that finally spurs the Jets to do something about it. Hunter allowed two sacks in the first half, and a third was wiped out by penalty, as the…
It’s only the second preseason game, but you have to be impressed with what you’re seeing from this Giants defense. Rookie CB Jayron Hosley had the play of the night when he stepped in front of Jets WR Patrick Turner and returned a Mark Sanchez delivery 77 yards to the house. The Giants recorded seven sacks and harassed Tim Tebow endlessly in his MetLife debut.
On the other hand, the offense did not score a TD until the 4th quarter when rookie RB Joe Martinek took a swing pass from Ryan Perrilloux and sailed over the pylon for a questionable score from 14 yards out. K Lawrence Tynes kicked FGs of 30, 35, 40 and 45 yards. Rookie WR Rueben Randle had the longest gain of the night for the Giants, a 49-yard pass play down the middle of the field from David Carr.
Tom Coughlin: “I thought that Lawrence Tynes performed very, very well tonight. I thought that both defenses, the Jets defense and the Giants defense, played very well. Certainly I was pleased to win the game, that’s the idea. We got a chance to play a lot of people again. I was not pleased with the interception. I was not pleased with the blocked punt. We’re going to have to go back and work on that. We certainly have a lot of work to do and a long way to go. Some people had a chance to step up tonight and played very well, particularly on the defensive side of the ball with some individual plays that stood out, offensively as well. For the second preseason game I was glad to see the improvement, particularly we saw improvement on the defensive side of the ball, but we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
RB Ahmad Bradshaw injured his right hand in the first quarter. Initial X-rays were negative, but he will be evaluated further. LB Mark Herzlich left the game with a hip pointer and DE Adrian Tracy suffered a hamstring strain.
From Geico SportsNite:
http://web.sny.tv/media/video.jsp?content_id=24024997&topic_id=6479520&tcid=vpp_copy_24024997&v=3
(AP Photo: Bill Kostroun via WashingtonPost.com)
There were several lowlights for the New York Jets in their ugly 26-3 pre-season loss to the Giants tonight. Mark Sanchez’ general confusion and lack of production as the starting quarterback, or Wayne Hunter‘s impression of a turnstile in giving up 4 sacks are certainly at the top of the list for Rex Ryan and company.
But there was one play by Tim Tebow that epitomized one of the harsh realities Jets fans are going to have to come to terms with sooner or later: the guy just can’t throw the ball. For all the larger-than-life golden boy persona and nonstop ESPN coverage, Tebow has never had – nor will he ever have – an NFL-caliber throwing arm. He can make all sorts of things happen on the field with his legs, leadership, and even short-to-intermediate passes to (wide open) receivers … but you’ll never be able to count on him to make that difficult pinpoint throw in the clutch.
Starting the second half of tonight’s contest for the Jets, Tebow led his team into Giants territory on their best drive of the night, including several pass completions and one first down run. But facing 2nd and 20 from the 29-yard-line, Tebow had rookie WR Stephen Hill all alone in the end zone, thanks to a busted coverage by the Giants secondary. As he drifted to his right, Tebow never set his feet and uncorked a duck that landed well short of its intended target, bouncing harmlessly to the turf.
The Jets would end up settling for a field goal, and the Giants put the game away from that point forward. Granted, this is pre-season, so the result doesn’t really matter. But we’re talking about a throw that any professional quarterback needs to make. And its indicative of the type of play the Jets can expect to see out of Tebow … at least for 3-and-a-half quarters until Jesus takes over, that is.
You can find less-than-HD video of the play HERE, courtesy of @JimmyTraina of SI.com’s HotClicks … and coincidentally, The Onion posted a spot-on satire piece yesterday, titled “Ground emerges as Tim Tebow’s favorite target”:
“He just loves throwing it right to the ground,” Mangold added. “It doesn’t matter if the defense comes out in man coverage or an overload blitz. Tebow seems to know exactly where the ground will be and hits the wide-open turf every time.”
The Jets have limped through a pair of preseason games on offense, with no touchdowns generated in eight quarters of football. But quarterback Mark Sanchez says it’s too early to get too nervous. “It’s not time to hit the panic button,” Sanchez told the media after the 26-3 loss to the Giants, via comments transcribed [...]
