Giants Get Reffed and Look Horrible at Home

The Giants are now 1 and 3.  Eli looked timid all day, and the playbook doesn't yet look like it's designed to feature OBJ and Saquon. The first play of the game was an end around to OBJ, then all creativity went out the window.  OBJ still doesn't have a TD. The Defense bent but didn't break in the first half, but then broke and couldn't bend in the second half.  The refs screwed the Giants no less than 5 times.  Also, Pat Shurmur doesn't know how to use timeouts.

This Week on the Blog

This week wound up on a high note as Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees secured homefield advantage for the Wild Card Game, the Rangers made final cuts, Knicks camp hit full swing, and the Giant went lookinf for their second win. Let's take a look.

Yankees: Yanks came through last night and clinched homefield on their first opportunity. They went from the Tampa hell hole, to the Fenway hell hole and still got it done.  That was good. Importantly, Sanchez, Stanton and Judge are showing signs of life. Andujar has stayed hot and Gleyber is playing his most complete game. They also got back Didi and Hicks and Hicks went yard. Voit has continued his timely amazingness. Their in good shape for the Wild Card and the playoffs should they move on. Let's go, Yankees.

UPDATE: Luis Severino is starting the WC game.  His swing has been back, so this looks like the right move.

Giants: The Giants IR's Jonathan Stewart yesterday and called up JaWill Davis from IR. So Penny becomes the 3rd RB for this one and Davis, most likely, becomes the 3rd WR. Giants have had some weird games against Drew Brees over his endless career.  Fortunately, this one is outdoors, and the Giant D is starting to jell. We still haven't seen a TD from OBJ, and tht's just weird, because that's what he does.  Nor have the Giants, yet, established a consistent running game. Let's see if they can get that done, because they should be all about big plays and ball control.

Rangers: The Rangers will start their regular season on Monday.  Under Quinn, they have looked different and at times, disorganized, through their preseason games.  Buchnevich and Chytil looked like their best players, and that's been encouraging. In final cuts, they kept Brett Howden and sent down Lias Andersson. Seems like they're okay with making Howden a 4th line C to start, but want Andersson playing first or second C and all specials for Harford. They also sent down Hajek, who looks like he could be really good.  They kept Tony DeAngelo and his right shot, and he has looked better with the new coaches.

Knicks: The Knick will start playing preseason games, I think, on Monday, as well. So we'll get our first look at Fizball and the new culture. I has all sounded great, and, certainly, Knocks and Robinson electrified us during summer league.  Should be a blast.

So there we are. We're cool with the Yanks till Wednesday, badly need another Giant win tomorrow, and must keep fingers crossed for the Ranger season and the Knicks pre-season.  Have a great one!

Knicks Camp Opens

David Fizdale opened his first official Knicks camp yesterday and the excitement was palpable.  Not really used to this for the Knicks, so we'll have to see what this is like.  There are 20 players present and 6 total coaches. Not a bad ratio.  Kristaps Porzignis is in the house, and I think it's important for the team's future that he feel and be a part of things while the kids are jelling or failing to.  There was a lot of buzz about Mitchell Robinson yesterday. The Knicks seem to think they got two lottery values in the draft, and we need hope that's so, because it really advances the rebuild clock.

Noah has not reported, nor has a stretch and buyout deal been announced.

The guards are going to be interesting.  They have 3 PG's; Trey Burke, Frank Ntilikina and Emmanuel Mudiay - all different and all former lottery picks. They have Tim Hardaway, Courtney Lee and a bunch of non-lottery, undistinguished guys like, Trier and Dotson.  Fizdale is saying whoever gets the ball first becomes the PG for any specific possession. That's what the Holzman used to do with his guards.  So yay.  Both Frank and Mudiay have the size to play wing when they don't have the ball, might be more problematic for Burke, but when he is on he's an scoring/assisting machine.

Regardless of the record, this should be the most fun Knicks season in years.

Giants Win!

Wheeler gave up 3 sacks, but otherwise he and Greco seemed to stabilize the line, and Omameh played much better when he didn't have to worry about Flowers. Wheeler had to play against one of the best players in football, and the Giants still got the win.  Saquon had anotner TD and lots of make you miss.  Eli had his best game in years - because he had an extra moment to throw. Kerry Wynn has finally found a system he can swim in and he was great.  Lorenzo Carter had his first sack and  BJ Hill had either his first or second. Snacks and Engram had to leave - Engram off a cheap shot, so let's hope he's okay, as well as Snack.  Really missed Eli Apple as they started to decimate our zone in the second half, so let's hope he's back next week.  Anyway, huge win and in the first half and final minutes the Giants looked like a good team.

UPDATE: Giants have promoted TE Garrett Dickerson from the Practice Squad. Don't know who was cut.

Flowers Out, Wheeler In

They say that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. The Giants decided to stop being crazy and benched, the hapless, feckless and possibly stupid Ereck Flowers in favor of last year's UDFA OT Chad Wheeler. You might recall the Giants were finally able to run the ball last year when Wheeler, Jones and Greco were forced to play. The knock on Wheeler last year was that he needed a year in an NFL weight room. Well, he's had that. The other issue has been that he's really more more of a left tackle, but I assume since they're going to play him today, he's caught up on the the right side. Let's see if he makes a positive difference.

Yanks Clinch a Wild Card

Aaron Hicks just hit a walkoff double in the 11th score Didi and send the Yanks to their latest postseason. The wild card is "not what you want" but with all of the injuries and slumps, it's a wonder they made it at all.  They have 8 games left and still need to clinch homefield advantage, if they can. Still between slumps, Hicks has been great at the plate, and proved his pinstripes once again by walking them off and into the playoffs.

This Week on the Blog

Okay, the Yanks showed some signs, the Giants looked like crap, the Rangers started their preseason schedule, and the Knicks got ready to start their camp. This week should be a little more interesting because the all four teams will be active again. Let's take a look.

Yankees: We expected more from the Yanks so this year, but injuries and subpar seasons from some star players, have them fighting to host a wild card game. They do have the ability to go on a long run, but some guys will have to get hot and the pitching will have to hold for that to happen.  So, hopefully, they'll use the last week of the season to lock up homefield for the playoff game, and get the guys rolling.

Giants: Talk about disappointing, it's getting late early for the Gmen.  We've been talking about their Offensive line for 6 or 7 years, and last Sunday in Dallas, it didn't look like they had one at all. Guys were literally standing around and not blocking anyone. Of course, Dallas was blitzing on every down, and that should have cost them, but it didn't.  In the old day Eli was money against the blitz, but these days he seesm to have the yips. And who can blame him?  He's been playing behdind a swiss cheese line since the last Super Bowl win. We'll see if they've figured anything out, tomorrow.

Rangrs: The Rangers play their third preseason game later today and it's been a pretty exciting camp. Buch and Chytil look like major weapons and Lias Andersson looks like he's been underrated, but like Chytil has only played in one game.  Quinn made quick cuts this week, so it doesn't look like any long shot will get a chance to make the team right out of camp. But at least he means business.  He's kind of like a mediagenic version of Torts, which could make him a very good coach.

Knicks: the Knicks start camp on Tuesday, and there's once again a palpable excitement around the long foundering franchise. That's because, they too have a mediagenic coach, and a front office that has said all the right things since Coach Fiz was hired.  They also look like they got 2 rotational pieces in the draft, and Knox might be a superstar. KP is back in town, but so far there's no set return date. As with everything else, the FO is saying all the right things, and treating KP like the cornerstone player that he is. Go Knicks!

So there we have it.  Have a great week!

Sevy Figuring Things Out?

Luis Severino, after a near meltdown in the first, finally seemed to figure things out and ended up pitching 7 innings of 1 run ball.  And was that ever needed.  Yanks ended up winning 10-1 and staving off divisional elimination for at least one more night,  Voit hit two more jacks and was 4-4.  Andujar had his 25th and his 41st double.  Judge finally had a hit.  And Justus Sheffield pitched a scroreless ninth.  After loading the bases with one out, he got Mookie Betts to GIDP.  Phew.  Let's go,  Yanks!

Knicks Town Hall

Okay, don't often link video, but if you didn't see the Knicks Town Hall last night, here it is. In it Mills, Perry and Coach Fiz, once again explain their proper plan. Good stuff.

By the way, the content may not start till about 10 or 15 minutes in.

Oh, and Knicks camp starts next Monday, and games start the following Monday.

Rangers Pre-Season

The Rangers start their preseason games tonight against the Devils, and they're doing it in Jersey. It's a split squad, so while Kreider, Lindqvist, Buchnevich and Andersson will play, Chytil, Skjei, and Hank are not playing.  They have a game every 2 days or so, so everyone will play, but what we'll be looking for is the "relentless" style of play Coach Quinn will be demanding.  I don't expect to see it tonight, but do expect it to develop over this schedule.  I'll refreshing this post, with the latest.

Game 2 is about an hour away. Rangers sent down six guys, including Sean Day yesterday.  Quinn's not playing around.

Overwhelmed Giants Lose Halapio

I would not be surprised to learn that the Cowboys had bugged the Giants comms last night and knew everything that was coming, when it was coming. At least, that's what it looked like. I think they'll figure it out. Anyway, Jon Halapio, their starting C broke his ankle and will be out for the season.  That probably means Spence Pulley, who's 25, but was the Chargers' starting C last year, or Evan Brown, a small school gem, who tested out as ELITE will be first up to take his place.  I suppose Greco is also in the mix, but who'd back up the G's if they made him the C.  And meanwhile if Pulley or Brown click, that's one less thing we we have to wonder about.

Yanks Call Up Justus Sheffield

The Yanks have called up Justus Sheffield. It's September 15, so even if he's great, I don't think he's eligible to pitch in the playoffs, should they last more than a game.  Seems sort of pointless that they made him into a reliever and didn't call him up till now.  Oh well.

This Week on the Blog

Alright, this past week saw the Yanks struggle, the Giants lose, the Rangers start camp and the Knicks talk about stretching Noah.  This week could be much better. Let's take a look.

Yankees: Yesterday, they activated Aaron Judge. Last night, Judge entered the game late as a defensive replacement in Right but did not get to bat.  He's not in the lineup today, but he will be at some poitn this week. His absence has proveb his worth. He very much is the Yankees.  So that's great news, and just like Judge, he gave a ball to a little girl in the stands after he was done warming up on defense.  Great guy, great player. Chapman is throwing a bullpen today and that's also good news.

Giants: The Giants lost the opener, but they looked much more like an unlucky team than like the bad team they were last year.  They'll still be without Vernon tomorrow, but Jackrabbit Jenkins made it back after leaving the team for a family matter earlier in the week. Tomorrow, they'll be in Dallas, where it won't be raining and where Eli has generally shined. We could see an even more open and exciting playbook. Unfortunately, it's a night game, so we're going to have to wait that much longer for our first win. Of course, they might lose, but as long as they don't look bad, we shouldn't get discouraged.

Rangers: The Rangers have had their physcals and fitness tests, so, today they're probably practicing, Afterall their preseason games start Monday. Since Quinn was hired he's stort of promised that they would play hard and practice hard, so I wonder what it's like today - and if they have dead legs Monday. Seriusly, no clue what this will look like.  Sort of like the Giants last week.

Knicks: The Knicks will start training camp this month, but I'm not sure when. It does look like they'll end up stretching Noah in a buyout. This looks like a bad idea, unless they have a very specific plan that they can only activate if they stretch Noah. Nothing comes to mind, so it might just be an overeagerness to dump the former player.

So there we are.  CC's toast. But wishing all of you a great new week.

Rangers Open Camp

Another one of our teams, another new coach.  Pat Quinn's first Ranger Camp is underway. Yesterday, they did  the physicals, and today, they did the conditioning work.  Most said it was harder than last year's, Kreider just said it was different. Everyone has been given a clean slate, but it will be interesting to see if the camp is a true meritocracy.  If it is, then kids like Brett Howden and Libor Hajek might get to start the season as part of a new young core. If it's same old, same old, some of the older players have already made the team and we'll be lucky to see Fil Chytil and Lias Andersson with the big club to start the season. This is suppposed to be a development year, but more of it might be taking place in the AHL and around the globe, then with the big team. Their first preseason game comes Monday.

Rangers Acquire D Adam McQuaid

I guess they don't want anyone messing with the kids.  Not only is McQuaid a decent RHD, he's a big tough guy who fights.  The Rangers traded Steven Kampfer, and 4th and a conditional 7th for McQuaid. The 7th is probably conditional because McQuaid has has lost time to injuries throughout his career.  They also picked up Cody McLeod, earlier who also stands up for teammates.  They've fought in the past. For a team that looks to be so young, they sure are tight against the cap, which is weird, even with Hank and his salary.

UPDATE: Camp physicals are today.  On ice starts tomorrow.  Chytil, Andersson, Libor and one or two others are healthy scractches for the last Traverse City game, because they are expected to have heavy workloads in Camp.  Also, the Rangers may or may not have released Tim Gettinger, which would be weird. They didn't. It was someone's attempt at a joke.

The Giants are Slavageable

So, the Giants lost yesterday but it wasn't like they didn't give themselves plenty of chances to win. If Eli hadn't missed OBJ twice in the endzone, that's 14 more points. If Eric Engram didn't have a bunch of drive killing drops, or Shep hadn't had one....  You see.  It's salvageable.  Eli cannot miss OBJ deep. That's why they get paid so much. Also, the OL, has to play better and create time and space for Eli and Shaquon. After a really bumpy start, especially for Flowers, they played a little better in the second half. Hernandez will continue to impove, and Solder is a much better player than he showed yesterday,  The D was fine, even though it was without Olivier Vernon, Josh Mauro and RJ McIntosh.  Eli Apple finally looked like a first round stud.  And BJ Hill and Lorenzo Carter made plays and looked like possible core. So, the big concerns at this point are - can Eli still hit OBJ deep, and can the OL succeed with Erik Flowers or can they find a replacement?

This Week on the Blog

Alright, the Yanks had another up and down week, the Giants moved pieces around at the bottom of their roster, the Rangers kids hit Traverse City, and the Knicks just chilled.  Let's take a look at the coming week.

Yankees: Aaron Judge is swinging a bat again.  That's great news, and we could even see him back later this week. Masahiro Tanaka is looking like and ACE again, which is super great, becaue Luis Severino still isn't.  JA Happ is also looking pretty terrific, and Luke Voit is pulling a Shane Spencer. We'll see what kind of effect getting Judge back will have, but the Yanks are still probably looking at a Wild Card game.  Make sure it's at the Stadium.

Giants: The Giants start the Pat Shurmur era tomorrow at Met-Life. As such, and because they kept the O and D pretty vanilla during the preseason games - we have no idea what they'll look like. This is really the first time since Jim Fassel took over, that we'll go into game one having no clue. The other big factor that's been missing is that OBJ and Saquon, their two best players will finally be full go. The D; however, will be missing Olivier Vernon, and that will have to be schemed, somehow.  Likewise, pass coverage was scary bad in the preseason, and that, too, will have to be schemed. So we have no idea what to expect, though the culture appears to be about a million times better than it was last year - and that's an important start.

Rangers: Many, but not all of the Rangers best prospects, are in Traverse City, Michigan, for the annual prospect tournament.  They played their first game yesterday, and it was a back and forth affair, that they lost. But they did score 2 power play goals. Many of their best prospects are still in Russia, Sweden or College, so this really wasn't a measure of the system.  Also, Lias scored a goal and doesn't seem to have thrown anything into the crowd. Training camp probably opens this week.

Knicks:  The Knicks are still chilling.  And it seems like Puma is pretty desperate to sign up Kevin Knox, and that would be cool given their historical link to Clyde. I think their camp starts closer to October 1, though it seems like they've been practicing all summer.

So there it is.  Yanks need to take care of business. The Giants need to get on the good foot.  The Rangers need to build chemistry in Traverse City, and the Knicks need to keep cool.  Have a great week!

Lauletta

So, yesterday, the Giants cut Davis Webb and kept Kyle Lauletta.  Though I thought they'd find a trade for Webb, whose big arm is an old school carrying tool, I always thought Lauletta would outplay him and he did. While I thought Webb had upside due to his interesting story - lost his starting job at A+M through injury after beating out Mahomes and Mayfield as a Frosh, finally moved onto California and had a strong year before winning the MVP at the 2017 Senior Bowl. He also had helium before the draft and some even thought he'd sneak into the back end of the first round.  But, the vast instability of his tenure with the Giants didn't lead him to greatness.  He looked shaky in his first preseason action, then didn't look like he'd developed his accuracy much at all over his 2 camps and 3 mini-camps with the Giants.

Shurmur is looking for his QB's to complete 70% of their throws and that was never going to be Webb. It could be Lauletta. People bitch about Lauletta's arm strength, but acccuracy, touch and decision making are all talents he has.  Plus FEET, as we saw when he juked two Lions at the goal line to score against Detroit. Plus, his arm strength isn't bad. He throws the same 52 that Sam Darnold does and they'll both throw harder with NFL training and as Lauletta continues to gain distance from his 2016 ACL tear.

The NFL, with it's crosspollination between the old WCO, the newer spread, and "basketball on turf,"  now favors distributors like Lauletta over Lamonica's like Webb, more than it ever has before.  At his presser today, Shurmur called Lauletta a "gamer" and that is high praise indeed and just what Shurmur and the NFL are looking for.  He has a very good chance to succeed Eli.

Crazy Day in Giants Land

The Giants claimed 6 players off of waivers earlier, and to make room for the cut QB Alex Tanney and waived QB Davis Webb. Webb was the big armed 3rd round pick from Jerry Reese's last draft.  He looked a bit like an old school Kerry Collins type, but that, apparently is not what Shurmur and Gettleman want.  Kyle Lauletta looks like a playmaker, and that seems to be what they favor. It will be a bit surprising if they don't add another QB, either to the 53 or the PSquad, but WOW.

The added players are DE Mario Edwards, WR/RS Clay Kaelin, DB's Antonio Hamilton, Michael Jordan, and Kamrin Moore, plus C Spencer Pulley.

Hunter Sharp, Evan Brown and Josh Banks, were also cut.  Practice squad is coming together.

UPDATE: John Jerry was also cut.

It's unclear whether Tanney has been cut or not.

UPDATE: William Gay has also been cut.

UPDATE: Jerrell Adams, too.  He deserved it, if he had caught that ball that hit him on the numbers after Lauletta had scrambled free the other night, everyone would understand what's going on today.

This Week on the Blog

Yanks pulled one out last night, and have to start winning easy again.  The Giants have to make their cuts today. The Knicks are off and chilling and the Rangers are off, but some of their prospects are playing. Let's take a look at what's to come.

Yankees: MLB expands rosters today and the Yanks have called up LHP Stephen Tarpley,  UT Tyler Wade, Cessa and Chance Adams. Tarpley is a kid who was a pop-up prospect last year and now he's getting the all over Justus Sheffield. Meanwhile, Andrew McCutchen should make a his Yankee debut today, and I can't remember if they were at 39 on the 40 or if they'll have to cut someone. Since they cut someone for Hechevarria, I suppose we'll see another cut (unless Cutch was already added).  Yanks can keep adding players, but that don't have to do it all at once.

UPDATE: McCutchen is batting first and Gardy is batting ninth! And El Gary is batting 5th!

UPDATE: The Yanks have recalled Johnny Lasagna!

Giants: It's cutdown day. This is a brutal day for those cut, and a day of massive gratitude for those who make teams. The Giants new regime has already cut Anthony Adams and Mark Herzlich, as well  as over 20 others. They have to get to 53 by 4pm. Not sure when the waiver period begins, but the Giants have the #2 claim until game 4, so they should be able to improve. Hopefully, it will be by way of OL, S, CB, and WR. We'll see how they do. And we'll have more on them as they do.

Rangers: Some of the overseas Ranger prospects are starting their regular season and couple of the major junior kids are starting their preseasons.  Both RW Riley Hughes and D Joey Keane, decided not to go to college, and have been lighting it up. Nico Gross is also playing, and Vitaly Kravstov was named Best Forward in the U20 Four Nations Tourney. Taverse City tournament will be later this month, then Qunn's first Camp will open.

Knicks: A lot of the Knicks have been working all summer, but camp begins toward the end of September.  Let's hope their hard work pays off with wins.

So there it it, big day for the Yanks and Giants, and more of the same for the Knicks and Rangers.   Have a great one!