Photo By Wendy Greco

The New York Football Giants and the New York Jets renew their rivalry once again for their annual preseason game.  This is their first meeting since Christmas Eve when Big Blue silenced the big mouth of Jets head coach Rex Ryan. The preseason week 2 showdown begins Saturday at 7 p.m. EST.

During the offseason, you could make the case that the Giants improved while the Jets didn’t do too much to help their situation.  Unless you think that Tebow really is the second coming.    

In the 2011 season, the Giants had the most injuries in the NFL. Now most of those injuries are healed and they drafted offensive weapons like running back David Wilson and wide receiver Rueben Randel and signing tight-end Martellus Bennett.

The Jets did not do much to help their horrific looking offensive line.  Last year the Jets were 25^th in total offense, which was worst finish in Rex’s head coaching career. Their star player, wide receiver Santonio Holmes, is out with a rib injury and unsure of his return. Another player with no timetable for return is WR Jeremy Curly.  This leaves the Jets hoping that rookie Steven Hill can fill those shoes or maybe be the ring leader of this circus. At this point, Rex is trying out corner back Cromarti the receiver position. Cromarti is not a Deion Sanders or Roy Green. He does not have the hands to be taken as a serious threat on offense.   I wouldn’t be surprised if Webster, Rolle, and the rest of the secondary make it a mission to double team and collide with Cromarti. This position switch shows the lack of confidence that the Jets currently have on offense. 

With performance questions surrounding Terrell Thomas and Shaun Rogers out for the season, there are some areas of concern on defense for the Giants. Prince Amukamara is being reminded by Giants brass that he is a first round pick and needs to perform as such. Offensively, the Giants are happy that Hakeem Nicks is off the PUP list. Eli has a very strong receiving core with a battle to replace the recently departed Super Bowl Hero Mario Manningham. The Giants have a running back battle between David Wilson and D.J. Ware who seem to be neck to neck to fill the 2^nd spot.  Overall the Giants are returning a strong veteran core and have picked up some nice young pieces.  Their offensive line is not top notch, however with the shifting of some tackles the Giants usually figure out a way.

One of the biggest stories in the NFL is the quarterback situation with the Jets. The SB champs haven’t received much media attention during this sage, but as we all know, the Giants do not care for media attention.  They are focused on preparing for the regular season. They have their quarterback situation clearly under control and there is no discussion if Eli is Elite anymore. The Jets are another story. Tim Tebow was brought in from Denver to play second-string quarterback.   Although Rex and the Jets claim that Mark is their franchise quarterback, there is still debate about how to split snaps between the two QBs.  The controversy has even extended to locker room.  It will be very interesting to see how this plays out on Saturday night and into the season.

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Written by Wendy

One could say sports has been instilled upon me since birth, being born on a Superbowl Sunday in 1979. From day one I was bleeding Giants blue. My father brought me up to become a women writer and broadcaster for men professional sports. Women seldom did such a thing, and he wanted me to be one of the few. The New York Football Giants was a religion in my home, so much so that we had to pray to a Giants plaque before every game. Die hard enough to the extent of having the Giants helmet tattooed to back of my neck with the Superbowl wins written on the sides of it. Growing up with an older brother, he and his friends let me play street football, baseball, and basketball with them. I’ve done internships with News 12 sports New York, ABC sports New York, 1050 AM ESPN New York, and while attending Queens College hosted the football radio show.