Game 12: Packers at Giants - 3:15 p.m. - FOX
Posted: Sun Dec 4, 2011 3:06 pm
Mid 50's, weather is not a factor.
Bob McGinn's Five Things to Watch:
UNSUNG HERO: Last year, the Giants signed wide receiver Victor Cruz after the draft as a free agent from the University of Massachusetts. He made the team, played in three games and didn't catch a pass. This year, after failing to catch a pass in the opener, he has posted four 100-yard games and leads the team in receptions (55) and receiving yards (957). "Came out of nowhere," an assistant coach for a recent Giants opponent said. "This guy studied for a year. He filled Steve Smith's void. He can pluck (the ball). He doesn't need to see the ball very long. Good after the catch. Gets north and south. I think his speed is pretty good." Cruz is coming off a nine-catch, 157-yard game in New Orleans. "He's ascending and really talented," an executive in personnel said. "He's only going to get better. He's quicker than fast. He's a mid-4.5 guy, but he plays faster than that. Like a Greg Jennings kind of speed. You time Jennings, he wasn't as fast. But put him on the field and he just beats people and gets open."
LOOKING FOR MORE: Perry Fewell, the Giants' defensive coordinator, on Thursday went off on the slipshod performance of his unit against the Saints. "We need to play with more energy, we need to play with more passion," said Fewell. "That was a game against a playoff football team; we have aspirations of being a playoff football team. Sometimes it's just the will to get it done. And we didn't will ourselves to get it done." One of the worst offenders was DE Justin Tuck. "He has had injuries, but I don't think that's the reason why he's not playing well," one scout said. "I just don't see the effort and desire that he once had. Last year he played good. He got banged up in preseason this year and really hasn't done anything." As for playing against Aaron Rodgers, Fewell said: "More so than discipline, we just have to get after his (butt), OK? And if we do that and he scrambles, then that's the price he's going to have to pay. Because we're going to hit him."
SURPRISINGLY EFFECTIVE: When the Giants let TE Kevin Boss depart as an unrestricted free agent Aug. 5, the expectation was that third-year pro Travis Beckum would replace him. But when the coaches didn't gain confidence in the former Badger they turned to Jake Ballard, a second-year free agent from Ohio State who spent most of his rookie season on the practice squad. For the Buckeyes, he caught 34 passes for 377 yards and three touchdowns. This season, Ballard has 30 catches for 490 and three TDs. "His average (16.3) is out the roof for a guy that looks like that," an assistant coach said. "When you put on the tape it looks like he's going to be kind of lumbering. But he's such a big target. The quarterback likes him. He's just a really big guy with good hands. No fear over the middle or down the seam. Just seems to get a long play on everybody." As far as Ballard's blocking, one scout said: "He's not going to kill anybody. He's huge, so he gets in the way. He can wall people off."
BIG LITTLE MAN: With Ahmad Bradshaw (foot) iffy, it appears that Brandon Jacobs will handle the bulk of the ball-carrying load. In Jacobs' seven seasons, the Giants have played Green Bay three times. He missed the 2007 meeting in the regular season because of injury. In the NFC Championship Game that year, he helped the Giants control the tempo by carrying 21 times for 67 yards and one TD. Last December, he rushed eight times for 47. "He's the biggest guy on the field and he tries to run like a little back instead of hitting things up inside," one scout said. "He always tries to bounce things. He's still got the same skill set. It's in the mind and the heart. He can sniff the end zone and do that. But if you need it on a first and 10 or whatever, he just doesn't do it."
GOOD ALL OVER: The status of Mario Manningham (knee) remains up in the air. Even without Manningham, the Giants can present problems at wide receiver with Hakeem Nicks, Cruz and Ramses Barden. "This is the best receiving corps in football that nobody knows about," one assistant coach said. "They got three guys that can play. I don't think we've seen three guys that good all year. It's not one single guy. Together, it's a nice group. Nicks is a good big guy with great body skills. He's hard for undersized guys, really any-sized guys, to deal with. He's got buildup speed, but he (still) gets long plays. He kind of runs through somebody or breaks away from something. When big guys get behind you, they can shield you off."
Bob McGinn's Five Things to Watch:
UNSUNG HERO: Last year, the Giants signed wide receiver Victor Cruz after the draft as a free agent from the University of Massachusetts. He made the team, played in three games and didn't catch a pass. This year, after failing to catch a pass in the opener, he has posted four 100-yard games and leads the team in receptions (55) and receiving yards (957). "Came out of nowhere," an assistant coach for a recent Giants opponent said. "This guy studied for a year. He filled Steve Smith's void. He can pluck (the ball). He doesn't need to see the ball very long. Good after the catch. Gets north and south. I think his speed is pretty good." Cruz is coming off a nine-catch, 157-yard game in New Orleans. "He's ascending and really talented," an executive in personnel said. "He's only going to get better. He's quicker than fast. He's a mid-4.5 guy, but he plays faster than that. Like a Greg Jennings kind of speed. You time Jennings, he wasn't as fast. But put him on the field and he just beats people and gets open."
LOOKING FOR MORE: Perry Fewell, the Giants' defensive coordinator, on Thursday went off on the slipshod performance of his unit against the Saints. "We need to play with more energy, we need to play with more passion," said Fewell. "That was a game against a playoff football team; we have aspirations of being a playoff football team. Sometimes it's just the will to get it done. And we didn't will ourselves to get it done." One of the worst offenders was DE Justin Tuck. "He has had injuries, but I don't think that's the reason why he's not playing well," one scout said. "I just don't see the effort and desire that he once had. Last year he played good. He got banged up in preseason this year and really hasn't done anything." As for playing against Aaron Rodgers, Fewell said: "More so than discipline, we just have to get after his (butt), OK? And if we do that and he scrambles, then that's the price he's going to have to pay. Because we're going to hit him."
SURPRISINGLY EFFECTIVE: When the Giants let TE Kevin Boss depart as an unrestricted free agent Aug. 5, the expectation was that third-year pro Travis Beckum would replace him. But when the coaches didn't gain confidence in the former Badger they turned to Jake Ballard, a second-year free agent from Ohio State who spent most of his rookie season on the practice squad. For the Buckeyes, he caught 34 passes for 377 yards and three touchdowns. This season, Ballard has 30 catches for 490 and three TDs. "His average (16.3) is out the roof for a guy that looks like that," an assistant coach said. "When you put on the tape it looks like he's going to be kind of lumbering. But he's such a big target. The quarterback likes him. He's just a really big guy with good hands. No fear over the middle or down the seam. Just seems to get a long play on everybody." As far as Ballard's blocking, one scout said: "He's not going to kill anybody. He's huge, so he gets in the way. He can wall people off."
BIG LITTLE MAN: With Ahmad Bradshaw (foot) iffy, it appears that Brandon Jacobs will handle the bulk of the ball-carrying load. In Jacobs' seven seasons, the Giants have played Green Bay three times. He missed the 2007 meeting in the regular season because of injury. In the NFC Championship Game that year, he helped the Giants control the tempo by carrying 21 times for 67 yards and one TD. Last December, he rushed eight times for 47. "He's the biggest guy on the field and he tries to run like a little back instead of hitting things up inside," one scout said. "He always tries to bounce things. He's still got the same skill set. It's in the mind and the heart. He can sniff the end zone and do that. But if you need it on a first and 10 or whatever, he just doesn't do it."
GOOD ALL OVER: The status of Mario Manningham (knee) remains up in the air. Even without Manningham, the Giants can present problems at wide receiver with Hakeem Nicks, Cruz and Ramses Barden. "This is the best receiving corps in football that nobody knows about," one assistant coach said. "They got three guys that can play. I don't think we've seen three guys that good all year. It's not one single guy. Together, it's a nice group. Nicks is a good big guy with great body skills. He's hard for undersized guys, really any-sized guys, to deal with. He's got buildup speed, but he (still) gets long plays. He kind of runs through somebody or breaks away from something. When big guys get behind you, they can shield you off."