UAlbany 2005 Giants Training Camp Schedule
July 30 - August 24 - The National Football League's New York Giants will conduct their tenth training camp on the University
at Albany campus in the summer of 2005. Camp is expected to run from July 29 through August 24. The camp attendance record was shattered in 2004, when 45,040 fans attended 21 practice days.
Eli Manning will lead the Giants in his second year as the starting quarterback.
Preseason Games
The Giants will begin preseason play at Cleveland against the Browns. Last season, the Giants defeated the Browns in the third week of the regular season,
27-10. The Browns are now coached by former Giants' assistant coach Romeo Crennel, more recently defensive coordinator in New England.
The Giants will then host the Carolina Panthers, coached by former Giants defensive coordinator John Fox. Carolina won last year's game in Charlotte, 27-20.
They also host the Jets, facing each other for the 37th consecutive preseason game, before playing the New England Patriots, who won their second straight Super
Bowl, and third in four years. That game in Gillette Stadium will be played on the final weekend of the preseason. New England won the most recent meeting between the teams, 26-6, on Aug.
7, 2003 in Foxboro.
| Date |
Opponent |
Time |
TV |
| Aug. 13 |
at Cleveland (Sat) |
8:00pm |
WNBC |
| Aug. 20 |
CAROLINA (Sat) |
8:00pm |
WNBC |
| Aug. 26 |
JETS (Fri) |
8:00pm |
WNBC |
| Sept. 1 |
at New England (Thur) |
8:00pm |
WNBC |
Regular Season Games
The Giants have no Monday
night appearances for the second consecutive year, but there are
two Sunday night games on the West Coast -- Game 3 at San Diego
and the Game 16 at Oakland.
The Giants open the season on Sept. 11 with a home game against
the Cardinals. Ironically former Giants quarterback Kurt Warner
will play his first game as Cardinals QB at the Meadowlands.
Then the Giants travel to New Orleans. Jesse Palmer got his first
quarterback start there back in December 2003, and the Giants took
a 45-7 pounding. This time, let's hope that when New Orleans receiver
Joe Horn pulls his cell phone out he's calling on his defense to
please stop Eli Manning.
Game 3 - San Diego had the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft last year
and were nationally embarrassed when Eli Manning said he did not
want to play there. The organization then made a draft-day trade
with the Giants. Hey, what's was wrong with the Chargers? They went
on to a 12-4 record without Manning. Anyway, this is a hot nationally
televised Sunday night game.
Next up is the Rams. Even though they faced each other 6 of the
last 7 seasons, the Rams skipped last year which would have been
much more exciting with Kurt Warner quarterbacking the Giants at
that time.
| Date |
Opponent |
Time |
TV |
| Sept. 11 |
ARIZONA |
4:15pm |
FOX |
| Sept. 19 |
NEW ORLEANS - rescheduled from 9/18 |
7:30pm |
ABC |
| Sept. 25 |
at San Diego |
8:30pm |
ESPN |
| Oct. 2 |
ST LOUIS |
1:00pm |
FOX |
| Oct. 9 |
BYE |
|
|
| Oct. 16 |
at Dallas |
1:00pm |
FOX |
| Oct. 23 |
DENVER |
4:15pm |
CBS |
| Oct. 30 |
WASHINGTON |
1:00pm |
FOX |
| Nov. 6 |
at San Francisco |
4:05pm |
FOX |
| Nov. 13 |
MINNESOTA |
1:00pm |
FOX |
| Nov. 20 |
PHILADELPHIA |
1:00pm |
FOX |
| Nov. 27 |
at Seattle |
4:15pm |
FOX |
| Dec. 4 |
DALLAS |
1:00pm |
FOX |
| Dec. 11 |
at Philadelphia |
4:05pm |
FOX |
| Dec. 17 |
KANSAS CITY (Sat) |
5:00pm |
CBS |
| Dec. 24 |
at Washington (Sat) |
1:00pm |
FOX |
| Dec. 31 |
at Oakland (Sat) |
8:00pm |
ESPN |
After the BYE week, it's on to the
Dallas Cowboys for the Giants first division game of the season.
Dallas will have already played against the Redskins and Eagles,
the week before. The Giants took both games from Dallas last season,
once by Warner and once by Manning and Bill Parcells was not too
happy about that. Will the Cowboy fans see their team go down
for the third time in a row? The Denver Broncos appear at the
Meadowlands the following week, and Ron Dayne plays for them now.
Washington shows up next and one of the Giants big offseason signings was Antonio Pierce, a linebacker, who Redskins coach Joe Gibbs identified as one of the "core players" he wanted to
keep.
Game 12 - Will Parcells catch the Giants looking ahead to their first battle with the Eagles the following week?
For season ticket holders, the Meadowlands season ends a bit early
this year. On Saturday Dec 17 the Giants play their last home
game at the stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs. After that
you have to catch them on Christmas Eve Saturday on DEC 24 at
1PM against Washington, and on New Year's Eve, DEC 31 at 8PM playing
against the Oakland raiders.
The Giants opened the season against former quarterback Kurt Warner
and they close it against former quarterback Kerry Collins on
Dec. 31 in Oakland. Both quarterbacks will have had the same amount
of time to adjust to their new surroundings, so the comparisons
should be interesting.
2005 Draft
NFC draft needs: Team-by-team breakdown
Giants - Sportsline.com
A year ago the Giants solved the quarterback position with Eli Manning. Then they added the wide receiver they were missing in Plaxico Burress and a key offensive tackle in Kareem McKenzie.
But where's the power running back? The Giants could use one. They can use help on the defensive line, too, where they lost five players from last year's squad. One problem: They have only
four picks.
Needs in order: RB, DE, DT, LB
Giants - NEW York Post
The price for Eli Manning was steep: Last year's first (quarterback Philip Rivers) and third-round picks plus this year's first and fifth-round selections. That leaves the Giants with the
fewest number of picks -- four -- entering any draft in their history. The signings of linebacker Antonio Pierce, receiver Plaxico Burress and right tackle Kareem McKenzie in free agency
added three starters, filling several glaring needs.
The Giants do hope to upgrade three remaining areas: Cornerback, running back and defensive line. In all three, the Giants have the luxury of drafting for depth. At cornerback, the Giants
will have a shot at Justin Miller (Clemson), Eric Green (Virginia Tech), Stanford Routt (Houston) or Bryant McFadden (Florida State). At running back, they might be able to select from a
group that includes Ciatrick Faison (Florida), Eric Shelton (Louisville), J.J. Arrington (California) and Vernard Morancy (Oklahoma State). The options at defensive line could include Northwestern's
Luis Castillo (who has admitted to using steroids), Dan Cody (Oklahoma), Mike Patterson (USC) and Ronald Fields (Mississippi State).
Players - Giants 2005 Free Agency Signings
The Giants have improved at several positions with their offseason acquisitions. This year they have spent money on young, established players who
have their best years ahead of them rather than on older players who could deliver but may not be able to stay healthy in their later years. They signed middle linebacker Antonio Pierce
(Washington), offensive tackle Kareem McKenzie (Jets), kicker Jay Feely (Atlanta) and defensive tackle Kendrick Clancy (Pittsburgh), plus Burress.
"In the major phase of free agency, we wanted to sign a playmaker on each side of the ball, an offensive tackle and a kicker," GM Ernie Accorsi said. "We don't have a first
round draft choice, but we feel we signed three first-round talents. And very importantly, all three players and the kicker are all young. These are long-term commitments, not stop gaps.
Now it's up to them to get the job done."
QB
Jesse Palmer - Re-Signed
Jesse Palmer, a Giants fourth-round selection in the 2001 draft,
will compete with recently-signed Jim Miller for the backup roll
to Eli Manning. (UPDATE Jim Miller was cut - injury settlement.)
QB Tim Hasselbeck - Acquired from waivers.
WR Plaxico Burress - from the Pittsburgh Steelers
Plaxico Burress spent his first five NFL seasons with the Pittsburgh
Steelers. Burress, 6-5 and 226 pounds, was the eighth overall
pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. He has 262 career receptions and has
scored 22 touchdowns.
In 2004 Burress was catching passes from outstanding NFL rookie
quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger. He led the 15-1 Steelers with
5 touchdown catches among his 35 receptions for 698 yards (a 19.9-yard
average that was second in the NFL). Burress was hampered by a
hamstring injury that forced him to miss five of the last six
games.
DT Kendrick Clancy - from the Pittsburgh Steelers
QB JIM MILLER - from the New England Patriots
PK JAY FEELY - from the Atlanta Falcons
LB NICK GREISEN - Re-Signed
HB Mike Cloud - Re-signed
Mike Cloud, 5-10, 205-pounds, led the Super Bowl champion Patriots
in 2002 with a career-high 5 rushing touchdowns, despite playing
in only five games. He joined the Giants on Sept. 6, 2004, three
days after he was released by the New England Patriots. Cloud
played in 10 games and finished 2nd on the team with 3 rushing
touchdowns. He has a 21.3-yard average on 56 kickoff returns.
RT KAREEM McKENZIE - from the New York Jets
MLB Antonio Pierce - from the Washington Redskin
An undrafted rookie in 2001, Pierce made a big impression last
season filling in for an injured Mike Barrow. He had a direct
role in moving the Redskins' overall defense from 25th in 2003,
to No. 3. His career-high 160 tackles helped improve the run defense
to 2nd best in the league.
Giants 2005 Free Agency Losses
QB KURT WARNER - to the Arizona Cardinals
DE/DT LANCE LEGREE - to the New York Jets
HB RON DAYNE - to the Denver Broncos
TE MARCELLUS RIVERS - to the Houston Texans
S OMAR STOUTMIRE - to the Washington Redskins
RB DELVIN JOYCE - to the New York Jets
Released Players
Defensive lineman Keith Washington
Defensive tackle Norman Hand
Running back Clarence Farmer
Wide receiver Ike Hilliard
Safety Omar Stoutmire
Cornerback Terry Cousin
Defensive end Lorenzo Bromell
Defensive tackle Martin Chase
NFC East Overview
ESPN.com- June 7, 2005
Eagles - Philadelphia clearly remains the NFC East favorite despite off-field contract concerns. The Eagles' schedule is the third easiest in the
league, featuring teams with combined 2004 winning percentages of .453. They face only six teams that finished last season 8-8 or better, a league low. Terrell Owens helped carry the Eagles
to their first Super Bowl since XV. But will he be a distraction who hurts the team this season? With a seven-game margin over the rest of the division, it's unlikely Owens will bring the
team down. He might miss time at training camp in his futile effort to get a new contract, but no one expects him to miss regular-season games. In fact, his missing time in camp could actually
be a positive in some ways, allowing second-round choice Reggie Brown enough time to play and become a valuable fourth receiver. While Owens draws plenty of attention, Donovan McNabb makes
the Eagles go. As long as he doesn't get hurt, the Eagles remain the favorite to win the NFC East.
Washington - The success of the whole season could come down to Joe Gibbs' decision to switch the style of receivers in Washington. Going from Laveranues Coles and Rod Gardner
to Santana Moss and David Patten was a bold move. If it works, the Redskins' offense won't repeat its woeful ranking of No. 30 in the league. This is a make-or-break year for the Redskins.
They structured contracts to make a two-year run at a Super Bowl. A 6-10 first season wasn't what Gibbs expected. The key will be the offense – and don't expect Gibbs to be patient with his
quarterbacks, which could lead to QB controversies.
Dallas - Jerry Jones let Bill Parcells have his way. After trying to make Bill Parcells win the Jerry Jones way with Jerry Jones-type players, the aggressive Cowboys' owner let
Parcells bring in his type of players. Allowing him to switch to the 3-4 defense was the key. By doing that, the Cowboys had the best offseason in the division, and the second best offseason
in the NFL next to the Minnesota Vikings. After a disappointing 6-10 season, it would be a major disaster if the Cowboys don't improve by at least three games..
Giants - It took until December for Manning to get into a comfort zone after he took over for Kurt Warner at midseason. Coughlin expects dramatic progress from his second-year
quarterback this season. Tight end Jeremy Shockey has been working hard during the offseason in Miami to return to his Pro Bowl rookie form. Coughlin is designing more plays to get him into
passing routes on a more consistent basis. If Toomer can regain some of his speed with a healthy hamstring, Manning has a lot of offensive weapons to use. Toomer, Burress and Shockey are big
targets and good receivers. Running back Tiki Barber is coming off a 1,518-yard season and shows no signs of slowing down. The Giants could be the surprise team in the division, but everything
revolves around the development of Manning, the division's youngest quarterback.
NFC East Overview
Scout.com - March
28, 2005
Eagles - The class of the NFC East is undoubtedly the Philadelphia Eagles.
While the rest of the division has made improvements this offseason, the Eagles have also secured the talent to remain as the team to beat in 2005. The Eagles are a solid team with depth
and quality players at the critical positions. The re-signing of middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter was crucial to sustaining the defense's much-improved play against the run as well as
keeping Trotter's great locker-room presence. To reload for the future, Philadelphia will need to improve its overall talent and depth at wide receiver and linebacker. To improve this team
for 2005, the Eagles could use a pass-rushing defensive end to line up opposite Jevon Kearse, or a hybrid type of outside linebacker.
Behind the Eagles, the chase is wide open. Not one team appears to have an edge over the other.
Washington - The Washington Redskins have done little to solve their problems on offense and lost quality defensive players in free agency in linebacker Antonio Pierce and
cornerback Fred Smoot . Patrick Ramsey made significant strides during the second half of the 2004 season and is entrenched as the starting quarterback for head coach Joe Gibbs, but Washington's
unimaginative and predictable offense may have taken a step back at wide receiver with the Laveranues Coles-for-Santana Moss trade.
Dallas - Spending freely, the Cowboys signed quarterback Drew Bledsoe, defensive tackle Jason Ferguson, guard Marco Rivera and cornerback Anthony Henry. Bledsoe should solidify
the quarterback situation, but he still needs a playmaker at wide receiver and quality at right tackle. Henry gives the Cowboys a legitimate cornerback to team with Terence Newman after
Dallas struggled against the pass. Jason Ferguson is a favorite of Parcells and should provide plenty of run-stuffing ability for an at-times-overwhelmed Cowboys defense.
Giants - Being a factor again in the division has been the offseason quest of the New York Giants. Offensively challenged at times last season with rookie Eli Manning, the
Giants placed their primary focus on adding talent to help the young quarterback. Without a legitimate threat in the passing game outside of receiver Amani Toomer, New York capitalized on
a dry market by signing veteran wide receiver Plaxico Burress. A duo of Burress and Toomer should provide Manning a significant upgrade, but the Giants still lack depth at wide receiver.
Another area of concern is running back, where New York has All-Pro Tiki Barber but not much else in the backfield.
