2007 New York Giants
The 2007 New York Giants season will be the 83rd season for the New York Giants in the National Football League. They will try to improve upon their 8-8 record in 2006 after finishing in third place in the NFC East.
[edit] Head Coach
Head coach Tom Coughlin will be entering his fourth year with the Giants.
[edit] Offseason
[edit] Free agents heading into the 2007 season
Players whose contracts expire become free agents, and are classified (or "tagged") according to the players' collective bargaining agreement as restricted free agents (RFA), unrestricted free agents (UFA), or exclusive-rights free agents (ERFA). Players listed in green were retained by the team, while those in red were signed by another franchise.
| Position | Player | Free agency tag | Date signed | 2007 team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OG | Lewis Kelly | UFA | ||
| C | Ryan Kuehl | UFA | February 27 | New York Giants |
| C | Shaun O'Hara | UFA | March 1 | New York Giants |
| C | Grey Ruegamer | UFA | ||
| TE | Visanthe Shiancoe | UFA | March 4 | Minnesota Vikings |
| OLB | Brandon Short | UFA | ||
| OLB | Reggie Torbor | RFATemplate:Ref label | ||
| CB | Frank Walker | UFA | March 13 | Green Bay Packers |
| RB | Derrick Ward | RFATemplate:Ref label | ||
| S | Gibril Wilson | RFATemplate:Ref label |
- Template:Note labelTorbor received a fourth-round tender meaning the Giants will get a fourth-round pick if he signs with another team.
- Template:Note labelWard received a seventh-round tender meaning the Giants will get a seventh-round pick if he signs with another team.
- Template:Note labelWilson received a second-round tender meaning the Giants will get a second-round pick if he signs with another team.
[edit] Regular season
The 2007 NFL regular season schedule has not yet been announced, but matchups were set at the end of the 2006 NFL regular season. Prior to Super Bowl XLI, it was announced that the Giants' road game against the Miami Dolphins would be played at Wembley Stadium in London on October 28, which will be week 8 of the NFL season. The game marks the first time a regular season game will be played outside North America. Both the Giants and Dolphins will have their bye weeks following this game.
Notes:
- Template:Note label All times in North American Eastern Time. (UTC–4 and UTC–5 starting November 4)
- Template:Note label Designated as a Giants home game
- Template:Note label Games airing on ESPN and NFL Network are also broadcast on WNBC-TV in New York City.
- Template:Note label Designated as a Dolphins home game.
- Template:Note label Sunday night game is subject to flexible-scheduling provisions.
[edit] Off the field
- Tom Coughlin has said that he expects his players to do less talking and more playing this season. Coughlin feels that talk ruined his team's chances last season.
- Eli Manning has thrown 44 interceptions while his brother, Peyton Manning, had 53 interceptions at this time in his career.
- Brandon Jacobs is listed as 6'4", 264 lbs. He is taller and heavier than every member of the Giants defense except for the two defensive linemen. Michael Strahan and Mathias Kiwanuka.
- The Giants secondary had only 2 interceptions in 2006 and no cornerback on the team has picked off more than two passes since 2001. To help remedy that problem the Giants drafted Aaron Ross with their first pick.
[edit] Regular Season
[edit] Week 1: at Dallas Cowboys
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Tot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giants | 6 | 10 | 3 | 16 | 35 |
| Cowboys | 3 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 45 |
at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
- Game time: 8:15 PM EDT
- Game weather: 78°F (Cloudy)
- Game attendance: 63,031
- Referee: Ed Hochuli
- TV announcers: (NBC): Al Michaels, John Madden, & Andrea Kremer
The Giants opened up their 2007 campaign with a 45-35 loss to the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium. For the second straight year, the Giants left Dallas with injuries to key starters including DE Osi Umenyiora, RB Brandon Jacobs, and QB Eli Manning. Before suffering a separated shoulder in the fourth quarter, Manning put on a stellar performance, completing 28 of 41 passes, for 312 yards, 4 touchdowns and just 1 interception. However, a horrid defensive persformance, overshadowed Eli's play.
The Giants got off to a fast start as Eli hit Plaxico Burress on a 60 yard touchdown pass off playaction to open up the scoring. Burress and Manning would connect for 3 touchdowns on the night. After a Dallas took a 17-6 lead late in the half, Eli led the Giants on another terrific drive, capped off to his second strike to Burress. Burress on the night caught 9 passes for over 100 receiving yards. The Giants closed to within one at half's end following a Lawrence Tynes field goal after a Dallas fumble.
The Cowboys took control in the second half as Tony Romo torched the Giants secondary for big plays all night long. Romo hit Terrell Owens on a 22 yard pass to give Dallas an 8 point lead. After the Giants cut the lead to five on another Tynes field goal, Dallas increased the margin to 12 as Romo capped off a quick four play drive with a 9 yard scamper. The Cowboys appeared to put the game away with yet another Romo touchdown, once again finding Terrell Owens on a wide open catch and run, upping margin to 38-22. Eli and the Giants responded with two straight scoring drives. One finished with a dumpoff touchdown pass from Manning to reserve running back Derrick Ward and the other with Burress' 3rd touchdown, cutting the Dallas lead to three.
But the Giants had no answers on defense for Tony Romo. On a crucial 3rd and seven late in the game, he hit backup wideout Sam Hurd for a 51 yard touchdown and the Giants were done. With Manning injuring his shoulder, backup Jared Lorenzen finished the game for the Giants at quarterback late in the fourth quarter. The poor defensive effort, coupled with injuries were the key factors in the opening night defeat. Amani Toomer in his return from a serious knee injury, notched 9 catches for 91 yards while Burress gained 144. Justin Tuck and Gibril Wilson recorded the Giants' only sack and interception of the night respectively in the 45-35 loss.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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