Preseason Game 1: Carolina Panthers vs. New York Giants
Tonight’s match-up is between the Carolina Panthers and the New York Giants at Giants Stadium. I’m hoping to see a more disciplined New York Football Giants team this year after the Soap Opera team of 2006. Michael Strahan is continuing his antics by not showing up. We finished 8-8 last year so we have something to prove. I don’t mean in the Preseason, but it begins here. I hope that Eli Manning plays really well this year so I don’t have to hear him say “We did some good things” after every game. Are you ready for this Die Hard Giants Fans?
1st Quarter:
The Giants received the opening kick-off and Ward returned it from the 5 yard line to the 29 yard line. Manning handed the ball off to Jacobs a few times on the offense’s first possession, and he had one completion. But on 3rd and 8 from their own 48 yard line, the Giants were stopped by Carolina’s defense, and the Giants had to punt. The Giants downed the Panthers at the 19 yard line. Now onto Carolina’s opening offensive possession. The Giants batted down the first pass by Delhomme. After a decent run and a decent pass, the Panthers are at the 32 yard line. Then the Giants made nice plays on the run and on the pass. So on 3rd and 7, the Giants committed a nuetral zone infraction, which is a 5-yard penalty and it’s 3rd and 2. Carolina picked up the first down with a passing play, and had a 9 yard run. So on 3rd and 1, Carolina picked up another 1st down. At the Giants 41 yard line, Foster broke open for 15 yards. Goings ran for 21 yards on the next play, and Big Blue’s run defense looks like shit right now. So on 1st and Goal at the 5 yard line, Jake Delhomme completes a pass to Steve Smith in the middle of the end zone. So the Panthers are up 7-0 with 5:04 left in the 1st Quarter.
Derrick Ward receives the kickoff at the 8 yard line and runs 67 yards down field to the 25 yard line. That was awesome. I hope to see more of that. So let’s see what Manning can do now that he only needs to work with only a quarter of the field to work with. Manning was sacked for a loss of 3 yards on 1st down. 2nd and 13 was an ‘end around’ and Moss picked up 4 yards. On 3rd and 9, Manning threw to Moss for a first down at the 13 yard line. Jacobs power rushes for 7 yards on 1st down. The Giants are at the 7 yard line, and Manning threw the ball incomplete as he was getting dragged down. At the 7 yard line, on 3rd and 3, Eli Manning connects with Jeremy Shockey in the middle of the end zone for a touchdown. So the Giants were able to capitalize on Ward’s 67-yard return. It’s 7-7 with 1:57 left in the 1st Quarter.
The Panthers return the ball at the 3 yard line and runs it back at the 33 yard line. They all seem to be shoving each other, and a couple of flags were thrown. There is a personal foul on Carolina for 15 yards. So it’s Panthers ball at the 15 yard line. Delhomme passes to Foster for 9 yards. On 2nd and 1, Delhomme hands it off to Foster who broke open again and he was tackled at the Giants’ 45 yard line. The Giants run defense still likes crap. Goings picks up 3-yards on 1st down, and the 1st Quarter comes to a close.
2nd Quarter:
On 2nd and 7 at the Giants’ 42 yard line, Carr replaces Delhomme and connects for 3-yards. Carr completes it to Rosario for 9-yards and a 1st down. Carr handed it off to Goings for 3-yards. Carr handed it off for 4-yards. On 3rd and 6 at the Giants 30 yard line, Carr drops back and threw it incomplete as Demps was dragging him down. They gave Will Demps the sack. So the Panthers are punting on 4th down, and it was kicked into the end zone.
The Giants will take over on offense at the 20 yard line with 11:26 left in the 2nd Quarter. Jared Lorenzon took over the QB position for Eli, and handed it off to Droughns for 5-yards. On 2nd and 5, Lorenzen over threw Steve Smith all the way down at the Panthers’ 30 yard line. On 3rd and 5 at the 25 yard line, Lorenzen ran it to the 41 yard line for a pick-up of 14 yards. It seemed like more because he started from shotgun. The fans are cheering him on at Giants Stadium right now. On 1st and 10, Lorenzen handed it off to Droughns and picked up no gain. On 2nd and 10, Lorenzen handed off to Jacobs who picked up 4-yards right up the middle. On 3rd and 3, Lorenzen’s pass to Smith was almost picked off by 2 Panthers. We got away with one there because the 2nd Panther almost had it. On 4th and 3, the Giants punted it out of bounds at the 30 yard line 8:34 left in the 2nd Quarter.
Carolina attempted to throw the ball down field but their Receiver went out of bounds before coming back in bounds to try to catch the ball. There is a flag on the play, and it’s for pass interference on the Giants so Carolina gets the ball at the Giants’ 43 yard line. From here, Carr hands it off to Goings and the Giants defense completely shut him down for a loss of 1. On 2nd and 11, Carr handed off to Goings again who picked up 9-yards. On 3rd and 2, from the Giants 36 yard line, Carr passes to Robinson for a 1st down. The Panthers, from the 18 yard line, hand the ball off to Goings for 1-yard. On 2nd and 9, Carr’s pass was incomplete (not because of any Giants defender). On 3rd and 9, Carr handed the ball off to Goings who picked up another 1st down. The Panthers are at the 5 yard line, and the Giants were able to push Carolina back a yard. I just saw Tuck run off the field and he isn’t supposed to be playing tonight. On 2nd and Goal, the Giants pushed Carolina back another yard. On 3rd and Goal, from the 7 yard line, Carr scrambled and threw it out of bounds. Finally, the Giants’ defense was able to make a stop and where better to do that then in the red zone. On 4th and Goal, John Kasay is attempting a 24 yard Field Goal, and it’s…Good. So the Panthers take a 10-7 lead with 3:48 left in the 2nd Quarter.
Bradshaw returns the kick-off from within the end zone to the 35 yard line and breaks away from a few tackles. Lorenzen drops back and passes to Johnson and he dropped it. On 2nd and 10, Lorenzen threw a screen to Steve Smith and picks up 4-yards. In between plays, NBC posted Jared Lorenzen’s nicknames on the screen, and they are funny: Hefty Lefty, Quarter (Got) Back, Pillsbury Throwboy, J. Load, and Battleship Lorenzen. LMAO…Back to the game, on 3rd and 6, from the 39 yard line, Lorenzen from shotgun passes to Tyree for 16-yards. I’ve been waiting to see what Tyree would do because he’s actually becoming a veteran now and needs to step up his game by taking on a bigger role with the team. It’s 1st and 10 at the Panthers’ 44 yard line, and hands it off to Droughns who picks up 5 yards. On 2nd and 5, Lorenzen hands it off to Droughns who gets to the 38 yard line. We are at the 2:00 warning. On 3rd Down, the Panthers knocked down the pass attempt. On 4th and 5, at the 38 yard line, the Giants are lined up to go for it. Lorenzen in shotgun, passes to Droughns who picks up a huge 1st Down while running it down to the 6 yard line. The G-MEN, on 1st and Goal, hand the ball off to Ward for no gain. On 2nd and Goal, Lorenzen drops back and then tries to run it but only got back to the line of scrimmage. On 3rd and Goal, Lorenzen hands it off to Derrick Ward who runs it in for a Touchdown with 0:54 left in the 2nd Quarter. Ward continues to contribute tonight as the Giants take a 14-10 lead.
Houston returns the kickoff and gets the Panthers to the 27 yard line. On 1st Down, Carr completes the pass to Horn for a 1st Down as the Panthers move into a hurry-up offense. At the 37 yard line, Carr overthrew his Receiver, and the Giants picked up a flag. They called a personal foul on the Giants so the Panthers pick up 15-yards and a 1st down. At the Giants’ 47 yard line, Carr passes to Robinson who ran out of bounds at the 23 yard line. Once again, it’s 1st down and there’s 0:17 left. The Panthers ran it for a couple of yards and call time out. On 2nd and 9, David Carr passes to a wide open Taye Biddle in the end zone for a Touchdown. The Panthers take a 17-14 lead with 0:07 left in the 2nd Quarter.
The Giants simply downed the ball on the Kickoff at the 28 yard line. Lorenzen takes a knee and this concludes the 1st Half with the Panthers up 17-14.
3rd Quarter:
NBC interviewed Coach Coughlin during Halftime, and Coughlin was not impressed with the tackling but he was impressed with the special teams unit. Robinson returns it from the goal-line and returns it to the 20 yard line. The Panthers committed Holding and now start from the 10 yard line. Basanez replaces Carr as the Quarterback, and scrambles for 2-yards. Basanez hands it off to Shelton for 3-yards. On 3rd and 5, Brett Basanez from shotgun threw it deep to Taye Biddlefor an 85-yard touchdown. Biddle now has 2 TDs tonight and the Panthers go up 24-14 with 13:25 left in the 3rd Quarter.
Bradshaw returned the Kickoff and brought the Giants to the 29 yard line. On 1st and 10, Lorenzen throws it to Steve Smith for 9-yards. On 2nd and 1, the Giants run it for a 1st down and get to the 39 yard line. Lorenzen hands it off to Ward who ran it for 19-yards while getting threw the crowd on the outside. At the Panthers 41 yard line, Lorenzen passes it incomplete to Boss. On 2nd and 10, Lorenzen hands it off to Ward again, and Ward picked up a yard. On 3rd and 8, the Giants were called for a false start and they have to back up 5-yards. Now it’s 3rd and13, and Lorenzen from shotgun passes incomplete. On 4th and 13, the Giants punt to the Panthers, and it’s a touchback.
The Panthers get the ball with 10:01 left in the 3rd Quarter, and Basanez hands it off to Shelton who picks up 6-yards. On 2nd and 4, Basanez attempts a pass that ricocheted off of the Panther’s Receiver and then off of a couple of Giants defenders. On 3rd and 4, Basanez threw it away. On 4th and 4, Carolina punts the ball to Jennings at the 24 yard line and he picks up 5-yards.
Lorenzen hands it off for a gain of a 7-yards with 8:19 left in the 3rd Quarter. On 2nd and 3, Lorenzen threw it to Matthews for a gain of 2. On 3rd and 1, Lorenzen hands it off to Grant who picked up a 1st down. At the 43 yard line, Lorenzen throws downfield and the pass hit the defender who was hanging on the Receiver. There are 2 fouls on the play: 1) Roughing the Passer and 2) Pass Interference. They choose Pass Interference and the Giants get the ball at the Panther’s 35 yard line. On 1st and 10, Lorenzen throws to the end zone but it was batted away by the defender. On 2nd and 10, Lorenzen hands it off to Grant who picks up a 1st down as he’s tackled at the 15 yard line. Carolina calls time-out…Lorenzen hands it off and Big Blue picks up 4 yards. On 2nd and 6, Jared Lorenzen completes a pass to Anthony Mixwho is in the right side of the end-zone. The Giants try to catch up to the Panthers and they are now down 24-21 with 5:11 remaining in the 3rd Quarter.
Robinson returns the punt and brings the Panthers to the 19 yard line. Basanez hands it off to Shelton for a gain of 3-yards. On 2nd and 7, Basanez passes it deep to Horn for a 13-yard gain. At the 39 yard line, Basanez hands it off to Shelton who picks up 6-yards. On 2nd and 4, Basanez throws it incomplete. On 3rd and 4, Basanez, got clobbered by a ton of blue shirts. That’s the first glimpse of the implementation of the Eagles offense. The Panthers punt to Jennings, and Jennings begins at the 9 yard line and only picks up 7-yards.
The Giants will start at the 15 yard line with 2:40 left in the 3rd Quarter. The Giants pick up 6 yards on 1st Down. Wright replaces Lorenzen as the Quarterback and he was sacked for a loss of 5-yards. On 3rd and 9, Wright from shotgun passes for a 8-yard pickup. The Giants punt to Carolina, and Robinson returns it to the 41 yard line.
Carolina takes over with 0:36 left in the 3rd Quarter, and Basanez hands it off to Shelton…again…and he picks up 4-yards. This concludes the 3rd Quarter.
4th Quarter:
On 2nd and 6, Basanez gets sacked by DeOssie. On 3rd and 6, Basanez from shotgun passes it deep but the Receiver couldn’t bring it in. The Panthers punt to Moss, and Moss loses a few yards.
The Giants will begin at the 20 yard line. Wright from shotgun hands it off to Bradshaw who picks up 5-yards. On 2nd and 5, Wright from shotgun threw it away as he was getting hit. On 3rd and 5, Wright from shotgun throws incomplete to London. The Giants punt to Horn and Horn picks up 4-yards bringing Carolina to the 40-yard line.
Basanaz, with 13:06 left in the game, completes a 13-yard pass. At the Giants 47 yard line, Basanez hands it off for a one yard loss. On 2nd and 11, Basanez hands it off to Shelton who picks up 6-yards. On 3rd and 5, Basanez passes it incomplete. The Panthers punt to Moss and the Panthers down the ball at the 1-yard line.
So with 11:00 remaining, Big Blue has to get much better field position than this. Wright hands it off for a gain of a yard. On 2nd and 9, Wright throws it deep but the Panthers batted it down. On 3rd and 9, Wright completes a pass in the end zone and Bradshaw ran it out to the 13 yard line. So it’s 1st Down, and Wright throws it incomplete and there’s another flag. They called it illegal formation on the Giants, it backed up the Giants 5-yards. Wright hands the ball of to Bradshaw who picks up 10-yards and a 1st Down. The Giants, from the 23-yards line run it for no gain. On 2nd and 10, Wright over throws his Receiver and he just looks way off whenever he attempts a pass. On 3rd and 10, Wright from shotgun throws it deep down the middle of the field to Thomas for a 19-yard gain. That was right after I said something about his accuracy. I should’ve said something long ago. From the 42 yard line, Wright hands it off to Bradshaw who lost a yard. On 2nd and 11, Wright runs it himself for a 1st Down. From the Panthers’ 48 yard line, Wright from shotgun throws a hail mary to Mix at the 10 yard line but it was incomplete. Mix almost brought it in. On 2nd and 10, Wright from shotgun threw a short quick incomplete pass to Mix. On 3rd and 10, Wright picks up a bad snap and scrambles for 5-yards. Giants fans are booing the offense for that play (during a Preseason game). The Giants punt it to the end-zone and it’s a touch-back.
Carolina, up 24-21, begins at the 20 yard line with 5:16 left in the 4th Quarter. Basanez hands it off for a pick-up of 4 yards. On 2nd and 6, Basanez hands it off for no gain. That was a nice stop by the Giants. On 3rd and 6, Basanez hands it off for 2-yards. This is another nice stop by the Giants and they should get better field position. The Panthers punt to Moss and he brings it to the 27 yard line.
With 2:55 remaining in the 4th Quarter, Wright from shotgun takes a bad snap and he gets sacked for a loss of 7-yards. On 2nd and 17, Wright tosses it to Bradshaw while the getting pressured. It’s the 2:00 warning. The Giants have to go down-field and score a touchdown to win or kick a Field Goal to tie. This is a huge 3rd down for the Giants. On 3rd and 9, Wright gets sacked for a loss of 7-yards. The Giants punt to Horn who picks up a few yards. There is a flag, and it’s for…player out of bounds on the Giants.
Carolina begins at their own 43 yard line with 1:12 left in the game, Carolina just ran the ball a few times. On 3rd and 9, Basanez scrambles and ends up just short of the 1st Down marker. On 4th and 1, Carolina punts to the end-zone.
The Giants get one more shot at this because Coach Coughlin used all of the team’s time-outs to save the clock. With 0:42 left in the game from the 20 yard line, Wright from shotgun flicks it Bradshaw as he’s getting creamed and starts to run and loses the ball at the 25 yard line…So it’s Carolina’s ball, and Basanez takes a knee with 0:28 remaining. That’s the game, and Carolina with the game 24-21. The Recap, from NFL.com, is attached.
Giants Studs:
Derrick Ward had a monster night finishing with 29 Rushing Yards and 91 Return Yards. He was responsible for getting the Giants down to the 25 yard line and Manning was able to cash in on it with a pass to Shockey. Jared Lorenzen had a good night, but he would not be considered a Giants stud. He went 6-13 with 75-yards and 1 TD.
Giants Duds:
The Giants run defense was just awful. The Panthers continually found the holes to run through and took advantage of it all night. Later in the game, the Giants offensive line fell apart. Wright looked like crap out there, but the ‘O’ line wasn’t helping him at all. The Center had 2 bad snaps in the 4th Quarter. The first one bounced off of the ground before bouncing up to Wright, and the other one was completely to the right of Wright and this was the play that led to the fumble at the end of the game.
