OK, preseason is over and aren't we all glad.
Sure, with the Giants going 0-4, but now everything is reset to zero, all the teams play for real, and I guess the question is what is real on the Giants these days? Did we see the real Ron Dayne in preseason play? If so, it didn't seem to be quite up to what people were hoping for. Still Ron seemed to get a little better week after week, showing us just a little bit more each time like a big 260-pound tease.
Was he stringing us along to build up the tension like some weekly CBS Survivor Series? Is Ron the real thing, tougher than Sue and more crafty than Richard? Well, opening day will be the equivalent of the last put up or shut up episode. If the Giants are to "survive" this year, Ron will have to come up with some of the same stuff that won him the Heisman trophy.
The Giants showed last week the value of having a power running back. The Ravens had to respect the run because of Ron bashing away at them play after play, and when they play faked to Ron, Collins hit Hilliard for 20 yards, and a first-and-goal. Suddenly the Giants were able to enjoy the results of maybe having a versatile offense. If Ron can grind out the yardage, the Giants can use him as a decoy, and add an extra measure of unpredictability to their offense.

More tricks
The Giants are using their speedster Ron Dixon on special teams. He had that kickoff return for a touchdown last week, that brought all the stadium fans to their feet. It would have been nicer if there was a real crowd there for that last meaningless preseason game, but I'm sure Ron enjoyed whatever adulation the small crowd could muster up. I know that Gamegirl cheered him on. Maybe he even heard her call his name.
When Ron's not busy doing kickoff returns, he's the point man on kickoffs. Ron, the Giants second round draft pick, is fast and elusive and gets downfield in a hurry. He's been effective in scaring the opposing teams to take fair catches, which is a good thing, since Ron is 6' 0" and only 176 pounds. Hopefully no returner calls his bluff for an actual tackle attempt, because after Ron bounces off, he might then have to chase him all the way back the other way.

Even more tricks?
The Giants will be wearing their "away" white jerseys against Arizona, even though they are playing at home. Jim Fassel says, "It promises to be a hot day, so we'll be better off wearing the white." Obviously this is just a clever ploy by the head coach to confuse the Cards, who will be trying to overcome leftover jet-lag as it is, mixed with wearing their red uniforms, and facing the Giants in their new ones. Expect lots of missed tackles and laterals to the wrong players as the confused Cards try to cope with all this on opening day.

New fangled football.
In an effort to keep his team harmony going, head coach Jim Fassel has named Tiki Barber and Ron Dayne as the starting running backs. Both running backs have their own unique styles, and will be used in different play strategies. Now why didn't Jim think of this last year, when he could have named both Kent Graham and Kerry Collins as starting quarterbacks and have avoided all that controversy?

New players will have to step up.
The newcomers to this team, and there are plenty of them, will be looked on to provide a boost to this 7-9 team. Which players will step up this Sunday? We already talked about RB Ron Dayne who plowed his way to 60 yards on 15 carries last week. He wound up carrying the ball more than any back in the league in preseason, running 61 times for 211 yards.
Third round pick, WR Ron Dixon also showed us some of his stuff with his three catches for 48 yards and a 90 yard kickoff return last week.
WR Thabiti Davis beat out Brian Alford, the Giants 1998 third-round draft pick, to become the fifth receiver for the Giants. Over preseason he led the receivers with 11 catches and had a team-high four special-teams tackles.
On defense, Cornelius Griffin, the second round pick, has been moved to defensive end because he's fast and strong, and can rush the passer. He had two sacks and knocked down a pass in the preseason opener.

Some newcomers have a bit more experience.
Eight-year veteran Mike Barrow is expected to add an additional jolt of speed to the defensive front line. He led the Panthers in tackles all three seasons he was in Carolina.
Dave Thomas, at 6-3 and 218 pounds, is the largest cornerback in the NFL. He looked a little shaky on some preseason plays learning the Giants system, but is a seven-year veteran, who started for two years for the Jaguars before being supplanted by a first-round draft choice.
Backup QB Jason Garrett has done the job very well in Dallas before.
The offensive line has three newcomers, left tackle Lomas Brown, 37, left guard Glenn Parker, 34, and center Dusty Zeigler. There's lots of experience here, and during preseason, in 72 pass attempts, Kerry Collins was sacked only once operating behind the starting line.

The regulars on offense.
QB Kerry Collins had a great training camp and preseason, finishing with a quarterback rating of 86.1. Turnovers were low and completions were high. Look for short dumps intermixed with bombs away on the menu.
RB Tiki Barber was great last year, and looking even better this year. He carried just 20 times for 156 yards and also caught 13 passes in the preseason. Add in Ron Dayne for some plays as a "minor" distraction when Tiki's on the field, and the Giants are suddenly very dangerous.
WR Amani Toomer, Ike Hilliard, and Joe Jurevicius, opposing teams, what can we say? Watch out!!

The regulars on defense.
DE Michael Strahan, who is regularly double teamed, says he understands his role better now, and he and Jessie Armstead are always tough when healthy. They will enjoy the benefits of the new defensive players.
CB Jason Sehorn is all tuned up. He had a nice preseason and teams are already starting to throw to the other side, in fear of him.

Late addition.
Newly signed, but experienced free safety Omar Stoutmire is now the fourth safety, behind Lyle West. Omar started five games as a Jet in 1999 and 12 for the Cowboys in 1998. Lyle West has never started a game, and for that matter, neither has the starting free safety Shaun Williams, who did not play any preseason games because of a sprained toe.

Cards are hurting.
The Giants are catching the Cards, 6-10 last season, at a disadvantage. They will be without both of their top defensive ends. Simeon Rice, a holdout, and Andre Wadsworth isn't expected back for another month after offseason knee surgery. In addition, the Cards lost star receiver Rob Moore to a season-ending knee injury two weeks ago against the Vikings.
Cardinals have had four players sustain season-ending knee injuries (torn ACLs) in their past two appearances on artificial turf. They will be playing on a grass field in Giants stadium.

Last season, QB Jake Plummer threw only 9 TD passes and had 24 interceptions. Somehow he managed three touchdowns and no interceptions against the Giants. Jake sat out the final preseason game because of a sore right shoulder, but he says he's fine.

Coach Vince Tobin announced Monday that rookie running back Thomas Jones, who was drafted four slots ahead of Ron Dayne, will start Sunday over Michael Pittman. Pittman had started all four preseason games. Jones had 100 yards in 31 carries during preseason.

Not Playing.
Giants DE Jeremiah Parker (neck), CB Andre Weathers (knee) and TE Pete Mitchell (knee).
Giants running back Sean Bennett (torn medial collateral ligament and other damage to his right knee), is out for the season.
Rookie linebacker sixth-round pick Dhani Jones (torn left ACL), is out for the season.

Cards defensive ends Andre Wadsworth (knee), Thomas Burke (knee) and center Mark Gruttadauria (knee).
WR Rob Moore, special teams player J.J. McCleskey, and DB Coby Rhinehart are out for the season.

Notes
Giants were 0-4 in preseason, but the starters left all the games with a lead.

Giants won the NFC East title in 1997, after going 1-3 in the preseason.

Giants are 17-5 against the Cardinals at Giants Stadium.

Cards were 6-10 last season, with 2 wins coming from the 7-9 Giants

Giants got swept by Arizona last year for the first time since 1979.

QB Kerry Collins threw 4 interceptions in those two Arizona victories last year.

Giants have not lost to the Cardinals at home, and reached the playoffs in the same season since 1963.

Giants have won the previous three season openers under Fassel, and then lost their next two games.

Kerry Collins will be the fourth opening day starting QB in Jim Fassel's four seasons. Previous starters were Kent Graham, Danny Kanell and Dave Brown, currently playing for Arizona.

Next Game
Opening Day - Sept 3, Arizona at Giants 1PM FOX

For those very organized fans.
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Last Week's review, Jets 27 - Giants 24

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