E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he is one of only four sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls. Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

GIANTS LOSE RB ANDRE BROWN
AND LOSE TO PATS AS WELL, 28-20,
IN SUMMER'S FINAL EXHIBITION

By Dave Klein
The fact that the Giants lost their third straight game of the summer and finished the exhibition season with a 1-3 record is not the most significant fact coming from Thursday night's 28-20 loss to the New England Patriots.

Neither is the fact that their offense finally managed to break out just a little as quarterback Eli Manning led the first-team offense on a 91-yard drive that actually produced a touchdown.

And in the long run, nobody will care that Bill Belichick called for a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter -- with six seconds remaining – that created the final score. Bill does things like that, especially when he's playing Tom Coughlin's Giants. But Bill? It doesn't make up for losing two Super Bowls to the Giants in as many encounters, you know?

The major development for the Giants, who open the regular season a week from Sunday night in Dallas, was another horrendous injury. This time the victim was goal line running back Andre Brown, the 220-pounder who had been enjoying a quality summer, and now the team's running game is definitely under siege.

Let's see. There's David Wilson, all quickness and speed and angular moves. He's the starter, and he should be. But then there's ... well ... Ryan Torain and Da'Rel Scott and a rookie named Michael Cox. And that's it. Brown, who suffered the same broken left leg last summer, is likely gone for the season. And fellas, there are no other running backs on the roster.

But there might be. Rumors immediately began circulating that the Giants might have an interest in former Giant Brandon Jacobs, who left the team in 2012 to sign with the 49ers, then got hurt in training camp, got into several disputes with head coach Jim Harbaugh and finally got himself suspended and released. He is a 6-4, 260-pound player who might still have some speed. Most important is that he knows the offense and can impart his wisdom of such things as pickups and blocking techniques to the younger kids.

It's just a rumor.

And yes, Belichick called for a pass into the end zone from Tim Tebow, of all people, to Quentin Sims with just 0:06 remaining in the game, with the Giants depleted of timeout calls and with the Patriots holding a 21-20 lead. Oh, well, grudges appear to run deep.

As for the Giants, Coughlin started the "ones" for most of the first quarter and, to the surprise of many, the unit played well. Eli hit six of nine passes for 74 yards, threw a touchdown pass from within the red zone to wide receiver Hakeem Nicks (nice to see they're speaking again) and even got protection from yet another offensive line combination.

This one showed Kevin Boothe at center, top draft pick Justin Pugh at right tackle, Will Beatty at left tackle, Chris Snee at right guard and James Brewer at left guard. It worked well, minus Jim Cordle at center, and until David Baas comes back to reclaim that job, it might be Boothe and not Cordle snapping the ball to Eli.

"We saw some signs," said Coughlin, who was nevertheless disappointed in the team's overall performance and especially the penalties (the Giants managed to draw 11 yellow flags for a combined total of 75 yards penalized. By comparison, the Patriots were flagged four times for 26 yards lost.

But this wasn't a game that counted and Coughlin played it that way. He got to look at everyone on his 75-man roster, since final cuts are due by Saturday, when all teams must reach the in-season total of 53 players. He was going to have several monumental decisions anyway, but the running back situation is now complicating things.

He used all four quarterbacks but can't keep all of them. Eli stays. Ryan Nassib was the fourth draft pick and if the Giants can slip him through waivers he can join the practice squad for 2013. So it comes down to David Carr and Curtis Painter, and right now it would appear to be Painter slightly in the lead. He completed eight for 11 attempts for 94 yards and a touchdown – and since there are no plans for Eli to spend any time on the bench, that's good enough for a backup who probably won't play.

"With the last game of the summer, the main thing you want is to come out healthy," said defensive end Justin Tuck. "Defensively, I think we did, but it's a shame about Andre. He has gone through so much already."

Speaking of the defense, middle linebacker Mark Herzlich appears to have won the job from Dan Connor. He had eight tackles (four solo) and an interception and disrupted several New England running plays.

Belichick announced he would play no starters Thursday night and he didn't. But Coughlin wanted to see his group get at least the first quarter, and some of them went into the second quarter – such as Brown, after Wilson was given the rest of the night off. Brown was hurt with 1:37 remaining in the second quarter. The repercussions will continue to swirl and roil for weeks.

The starters who didn't play because of injuries and not coach's decision included wide receiver Victor Cruz, who will be ready for the Sept. 8 opener in Dallas. Others include cornerback Jayron Hosley, fullback Henry Hynoski, wide receiver Ramses Barden (if he makes the final roster) and center Dave Baas.

The important and almost certain absentee will be defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul. He underwent spinal surgery for a herniated disc prior to summer training camp and while he is back practicing with the team, he has not yet been given medical clearance to play.

Check out Dave's website at E-GIANTS where you can subscribe to his newsletters which run much more frequently than what is available here.
- Team Giants

NOW - Send a request to davesklein@aol.com for a free week's worth of news!

Stop in and visit "Mike's Keys to the Internet"
Links to every newspaper and magazine that's available on the net. 

Website by Mike