The following blog was being updated from the Press Box at New Meadowlands Stadium during the Giants/Patriots game on Thursday, Sept. 2.
› Postgame: I conducted interviews with the Patriots’ Bill Belichick, Darnell Jenkins and Brian Hoyer, as well as the Giants’ Rhett Bomar, Jonathan Goff and Michael Boley. Check back Friday morning for the full game story, including quotes. As always, ScottStanchak.com will have your audio.
› Fourth Quarter: 20-17, Giants - Let’s continue first where we left off in the third: the Patriots with a 4th-and-1. The Giants defense, however, stuffed them once again. That was New York’s best defensive series of the game.
The Patriots found the end zone later in the quarter though when Hoyer hit Darnell Jenkins a few yards in front of him. Jenkins ran the ball 66 yards to get New England’s second touchdown on the evening.
New York, however, wouldn’t pack it in. With the ball on their own 40 and less than two minutes remaining, Bomar got the ball to rookie receiver Duke Calhoun, who took it 60 yards for the game-winning score. Calhoun caught three passes for 76 yards tonight. The Giants then attempted their second two-point conversion of the game following the score, and this time they were successful.
Lastly, the third injury report of the night: Andre Brown did not play because of turf toe. If only the Giants played on grass… boo.
› Third Quarter: 12-10, Giants – Several Giant defensive players were still out there to start the second half, including Jonathan Goff and Kenny Phillips. Goff’s presence paid off for New York as he intercepted Hoyer’s pass intended for Lawrence Maroney at the 50-yard line. The Giants ended up eating about six minutes off the clock before taking the lead on Tynes 29-yard field goal.
New England sits with the ball on the Giants 1 yard line as we end the third quarter. The drive got this far on a 67-yard catch and run by Patriots wide receiver Rod Owens. The Giants have stopped the Patriots on two straight one-yard attempts and will enter the fourth with a 4th-and-1.
Giants linebacker Phillip Dillard has a hamstring injury and will not return tonight.
› Second Quarter: 10-9, Patriots – New York had three shots in the red zone to start the second quarter, but failed to reach the end zone. Their best chance at scoring came when Rhett Bomar targeted a slanting Victor Cruz right at the goal line, but he couldn’t haul it in. They had to settle for a Lawrence Tynes field goal.
While most of the Giants’ offensive starters were pulled after two series, many of their defensive first-stringers remained on the field for a good part of the second quarter. Mathais Kiwanuka had one of the highlights, sacking Patriots backup quarterback Brian Hoyer for an 11-yard loss. New England did score to close out the quarter, as Stephen Gostkowski nailed a 46 yarder that hit the upright but never looked to go past the crossbar. A side note to that: Gostkowski is my fantasy kicker this season, so him hitting a 46-yarder gives me added confidence.
On the injury front, Giants defensive back Courtney Brown left the game with an ankle injury. His return is questionable.
› First Quarter: 7-6, Patriots – The Giants made quick work of the Patriots’ first team, driving 76 yards in under five minutes on the game’s opening possession. Eli Manning found tight end Kevin Boss wide open on his left side for the 13-yard score. New York tried for a two-point conversion, but failed, leaving them with just six. Tom Brady countered with a touchdown pass of his own, as he connected with Rob Gronkowski (I wrote about him in the pregame notes as a difference maker) in traffic. The Patriots quarterback certainly doesn’t look like he’s going to take this game lightly. After his first pass was dropped by tight end Alge Crumpler, Brady began clapping his hands with an angry look on his face. This is the first preseason finale Brady has played in seven years.
The Giants defense played much better against Brady and the Pats’ offense on their second series. With just over a minute remaining in the quarter, Brady tried to go deep downfield to Moss, but underthrew him majorly and the ball landed in the arms of safety Antrel Rolle. The crowd seemed to enjoy that one.
Interestingly, Ahmad Bradshaw got the starting nod over Brandon Jacobs. Considering Jacobs’ struggles this preseason, it looks like Bradshaw has finally supplanted him as New York’s top back. Bradshaw didn’t play the second drive, however, most of the other starters, including Manning, did. They were out by their third series though.
› Commute: I wanted to update everyone on the commute to the New Meadowlands Stadium via NJ Transit. There are, after all, very few, if any, reviews of the trip online. Typically, I get a parking pass, but when I don’t have time to pick one up or none are available, I need an alternative. That’s where the train comes into play.
I took the train from Clifton Station, which is about a 15 minute trip to Secaucus. The train wasn’t too packed at all. In Secaucus, the train had a lot more people and all the seats were filled. This was expected since a number of lines converge to bring folks to this hub. The trip from there was only 20 minutes. Here’s a big tip: If you are entering at the Pepsi Gate, which is where the media do, get off at the front of the train and walk around the stadium. The back of the stadium is blocked off and you’ll be disappointed you wasted some time. One thing I have to remember though is that today is a weekday and not a game-day Sunday. Depending on the crowd size tonight, I’ll be able to tell if this is the norm. I’m thinking the trip home might be more crowded, but at least I leave after a majority of the crowd once I’m done doing interviews.
Postgame Update: By the time I left the stadium, there were no lines waiting for the trains. Three were stationed at the platform, which is great news should it have been busy. Everything looks very organized there though. I got on at about 11 p.m. and pulled into Secaucus around 11:20 p.m. I had to wait until 12:05 a.m. to get the train to Clifton, so overall my trip home was about 1 hour, 30 minutes. The real pain is that the train to Clifton only runs every hour, so if you miss it, you’re stuck in Secaucus until the next one comes. I’ll definitely try this commute for a regular season game, when the stadium is completely sold out, for a better evaluation.
› Pregame: Thursday’s New York Giants game should be more exciting than a Brandon Spikes sex tape. Wait, I haven’t seen the video so how can I compare it to a Week Four preseason game?
Over the years, this final week of the preseason has become an audition for fringe players and the final NFL action for those on the chopping block. The allure of an NFL game just isn’t there. That trend will continue tonight at New Meadowlands Stadium.
Giants head coach Tom Coughlin has plans to play his starters for a series or two tonight. Eli Manning will start at quarterback before handing over the duties to Rhett Bomar. Bomar played okay in Saturday’s loss against the Baltimore Ravens, completing 10-of-20 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown. After Bomar, the Giants only have rookie Dominic Randolph left on the quarterback depth chart. The Holy Cross product will likely take center for at least a quarter.
I’m looking forward to seeing Victor Cruz in action for the first time. The undrafted rookie has been the Giants’ best receiver of this practice period, hauling in 12 catches for 251 yards and four touchdowns. If he doesn’t make this team, I don’t know what you have to do to catch a coach’s eye.
Defensively, the Giants will try to pressure New England’s quarterbacks. They’ve only compiled seven sacks over three games, more than half of them coming from Justin Tuck (2.5) and Rocky Bernard (2).
New England hasn’t had a bad preseason by any means. They’re 2-1 and averaging over 30 points a game. But head coach Bill Belichick wasn’t impressed with his team’s performance against a bad St. Louis Rams team last Tuesday, ending in a 36-35 loss. As a result, most of the New England starters, including the aforementioned Spikes, will start tonight. Belichick hasn’t said whether Tom Brady or Randy Moss are included in those “starters,” but it’s safe to assume they’re not.
Some lesser-known guys to watch out for on New England’s roster are receiver Rob Gronkowski (seven catches for 104 yards and three touchdowns) and defensive back Pat Chung (22 tackles). Spikes is third on the team with 17 tackles.
Two other notes: I’m actually taking NJ Transit to the game tonight. I’ve never done it before and wanted to test out this means of transportation ahead of the actual season. I’ll definitely provide you my fair assessment at some point.
Also, this game will be the first NFL action broadcast in 3D. Beginning at 7 p.m., those with expensive televisions and fancy glasses can partake in this monumental event.