ARIZONA CARDINALS

Behind Enemy Lines: New York Giants

Sep 13, 2014, 10:49 PM | Updated: 10:49 pm

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Other than both playing on Monday night, the Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants had almost nothing in common when it comes to how they started their respective 2014 seasons.

The Cardinals earned a resilient 18-17 victory against the San Diego Chargers, proving they can pull out wins even when the team doesn’t have their best stuff. The team scored 12 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, capped off by a 91-yard touchdown drive to take the lead with less than three minutes left.

Meanwhile, the Giants squandered all hope after a promising preseason, getting blown out 35-14 by the Detroit Lions. The offense was supposed to impress with its new system and players, but the unit floundered, with quarterback Eli Manning throwing for 163 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions.

The Cardinals and Giants are set to face off on Sunday morning at 10 a.m., with one team looking to continue its momentum while another tries desperately to right the ship.

We’ll keep you prepared for the matchup all week with all the Giants’ news and updates.


Saturday, September 13

Vacchiano: Giants need to get Cruz the ball (NY Daily News)

Victor Cruz is not the type to pound his fist on the wall of his locker and demand the football, and that’s certainly not what he did this week. He made the very strong point, though, that the Giants’ success hinges on the ball being thrown in his direction, and in the direction of Rueben Randle, too.

Giants offense just needs to find a way to win (NY Daily News)

The more Eli Manning ponders this new Giants offense, the more he comes to that conclusion. The process of learning Ben McAdoo’s West Coast offense continues to be more confounding than anyone imagined, and if the rest of the league is to be believed, it’s a process that could continue for weeks.

Big Blue better step up to avoid another Giant hole (NY Post)

The “a whole lot of football” left to be played approach is not going to serve the Giants well, not at all. They saw last year how early a season can get late, and they are already 0-1 this season, functioning even worse than their greatest skeptics feared in a 35-14 beat-down in Detroit.

They are not favored Sunday afternoon to beat the Cardinals, coming clear across the country, in a home opener at MetLife Stadium that already drips of desperation and possible impending doom.

McAdoo: Giants counting on ‘chemistry’ (ESPN.com)

New York Giants offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo says he’s maintaining his faith that things will pick up for the team’s struggling offense. The first-year coordinator said Thursday that his faith is rooted in the “chemistry” his group has, and he believes that will eventually make things work better.

Friday, September 12

Giants’ lack of sacks continues to hold back the defense (NY Daily News)

Pressuring the quarterback is not the issue for New York’s defense, but rather finishing the pressure with a sack. Teams continue to burn the Giants’ defense through the air without the ability to take down the quarterback.

Giants’ coordinator is relying on chemistry for offense (ESPN.com)

With a newly implimented West Coast-style offense, footwork and timing are crucial for success. First-year Giants offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo is now just waiting for chemistry to start kicking in for the offense to roll.


Thursday, September 11

Starter at right guard is still unclear for the Giants (Chat Sports)

John Jerry earned the starting job for the Giants’ season opener, but the position is still wide open after Jerry’s struggles and the return of injured lineman Brandon Mosley.

A preview of Week 2’s tilt between the Giants and Cardinals (Big Blue View)

Cardinals wide receivers Michael Floyd and Larry Fitzgerald could be in for big days and the Giants may struggle to stop Arizona’s front seven, according to an early look at Sunday’s game.

The Giants’ offense is still looking for its identity (NJ.com)

The power running game no longer exists for the Giants, and their passing game has struggled with throwing it to the right team for a couple of years. As the Giants’ offense continues be in disarray, head coach Tom Coughlin is still unsure as to what should be their primary feature.

Eli Manning still hasn’t lost his confidence (ESPN.com)

The entire country has been criticizing Eli Manning’s ability at quarterback since he completed 54.5 percent of his passes and threw two interceptions against the Lions on Monday night. Despite his critics though, Manning has complete faith that he can still lead the Giants’ offense.

Weatherford wants to punt despite torn ligaments (Big Blue View)

“I’m cut from a different cloth,” said Giants punter Steve Weatherford. The punter may be a tough guy, but even he may not be able to come back from multiple torn ligaments to the ankle after just six days of rest.


Wednesday, September 10

Why New York Giants Must Feature Rashad Jennings, Running Game in Week 2 (BleacherReport.com)

In order for the Giants to recover from their Week 1 loss, they will need to incorporate more of a running game into their offense. Running back Rashad Jennings could be the answer to the Giants’ problems.

Big Blue Morning: Picking up the pieces (ESPN.com)

When a team has as many new players as the Giants, questions arise about the locker room mentality. But head coach Tom Coughlin is not going to use that as an excuse for the team’s performance against Detroit. “It’s perhaps a reality, but we need to perform better, no matter what the new parts are,” Coughlin said on a conference call.

Giants hope start of season isn’t repeat of 2013 (ChicagoTribune.com)

Memories of last year’s 0-6 start linger in the minds of the New York Giants. While players like safety Antrel Rolle and linebacker Jon Beason are concerned with the team’s performance, no one is panicked just yet.

Notes: JPP expected to practice Wednesday (ESPN.com)

Pierre-Paul exited Monday night’s loss to the Detroit Lions with an injury to the neck/shoulder area but did return to the game, finishing with four tackles.

Victor Cruz: Get me more involved (ESPN.com)

“In order for us to be successful I think there needs to be an increased number of targets in my direction,” Cruz said, on a conference call with reporters. “And other playmakers’ directions, just like Rueben Randle as well, in my opinion.”

Giants offensive line plays like patchwork unit (NY Post)

It’s a mishmash five-man group. Geoff Schwartz is on short-term injured reserve, forcing rookie second-round pick Weston Richburg to move in at left guard. With Chris Snee’s retirement, Brandon Mosley was supposed to be the new right guard, but Mosley’s back spasms forced John Jerry, a former Dolphins starter, to take over at right guard. J.D. Walton is the new center, and the former Broncos starter played in his first game in two years.

This Giant was the lone bright spot in ugly opening-night loss (NY Post)

“I think Larry Donnell had a great game and made some big catches for us on a third-and-long situation to continue to move the chains,” said receiver Victor Cruz, who was targeted six times and had just two catches.

It’s still early, but this has potential to turn into a big crisis for NY Giants (NY Daily News)

It’s been only one week, of course, and the panic button is still hidden in Tom Coughlin’s desk, but the Giants managed to pack a lot of drama into the first game of the season — a disastrous 35-14 loss in Detroit.

Giants need to ease up on WC offense transition (SNY Giants)

Tom Coughlin is walking on new terrain out in East Rutherford these days. In years past, he had a talent base to draw from when times got hard. Now, he’s like a gunfighter down to his last bullet: undermanned, overmatched and eventually, doomed.

WATCH: Giants fan burns Eli Manning jersey, says QB ‘needs to go‘ (NJ.com)

The Giants have played exactly one regular season game in 2014, a 35-14 loss to the Lions. They’ve also won two Super Bowl rings with quarterback Eli Manning under center.

Still, that didn’t stop one fan from taking his Manning jersey to a flaming fire pit (thanks to Giants101.com for posting), declaring the QB needed to be benched and tossing the threads in the blaze.


Tuesday, September 9

“Revamped” Giants looked tired and unimproved (NYTimes.com)

The Giants were supposed to have a new and improved team that would look vastly different from their mess last season. Their 35-14 loss to the Lions on Monday night showed that things may not be any different in 2014.

Notes from the Giants’ loss on Monday night (ESPN.com)

Quarterback Eli Manning and the Giants’ locker room are trying to learn from the loss, while key players Jason Pierre-Paul and Steve Weatherford get updates on their injuries.

Cruz promises a better performance after blowout loss (NYPost.com)

Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz vows that the team will be better than they were against the Lions. Cruz and Eli Manning struggled on Monday, connecting on only two passes for 24 yards and giving away an interception on a ball intended for Cruz.

Giants No. 26 in this week’s ESPN NFL power rankings (ESPN.com)

The Giants fell six spots to No. 26 in Week 2’s power rankings after being ranked No. 20 in last week’s poll. The Giants continue to move in the wrong direction after ranking No. 19 in the preseason poll. The Cardinals stayed even at No. 14 after their win in Week 1.

Damontre Moore disappoints in important opportunity (NJ.com)

The second-year defensive end was supposed to wow his coaches in the first significant playing opportunity of his career. Instead, Moore missed a sack on a big Lions’ touchdown and lost the trust of his coaches.

Eli Manning needs help for the Giants to improve (ESPN.com)

Manning threw two interceptions and consistently had issues completing the ball on Monday night, but the Giants did very little to assist the quarterback. The team may not have enough star players to bounce back after their latest defeat.

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Behind Enemy Lines: New York Giants