Giants Daily Blitz Blog

Inside the Locker Room: Prepping for the Redskins

DE Justin Tuck: 
On a difficult matchup…
“The game is going to come down to the wire, a game we’re going to have to play our best ball to have a chance to win and they’re going to be motivated too…”

Safety Antrel Rolle: 
On containing the Redskins’ offensive weapons…
“You know they’re a great football team. They beat us twice last year and they’ll be a better football team this year, so we definitely have our work cut out for those guys. They bring a lot of things to the offensive board…”

WR Victor Cruz: 
On being motivated after two losses last year… 
“It’s a new year and it’s a new team and you should be motivated to play any division foe so I think that in itself should be motivation for us”

DE Jason Pierre-Paul:
On preventing big plays… 
“We’re going to make the play calls that try and stop everything they’re doing and you know, it’s going to be a hard game, like I said last week, it’s going to be a hard game. Each game that we play is hard so we’re just going to go out there and play our best football.”

Rolle’s 2 INT open up 20-point lead

THIRD QUARTER

15:00 — Giants receive to begin the second half.

David Wilson returns the ball 66 yards down the 49ers’ 32.

11:53 — TOUCHDOWN GIANTS. Ahmad Bradshaw dives in for a one-yard score. XP is GOOD. NEW YORK 17, SAN FRANCISCO 3 (Drive:  7 plays, 32 yards in 3:12)

*Bradshaw has taken all 16 rushing attempts for the Giants, totaling 46 yards so far.

10:17 — Antrel Rolle grabs the Giants’ second interception of the game. Giants take over on their

9:55 — FIELD GOAL GIANTS. Lawrence Tynes makes 30-yard attempt. NEW YORK 20, SAN FRANCISCO 3 (Drive: 4 plays, 0 yards in 0:16)

8:58 — Linval Joseph credited with the Giants’ second sack of the game for a loss of seven.

7:56 — Rolle comes up with another interception of Alex Smith. Giants take over at San Francisco’s 15.

6:13 — FIELD GOAL GIANTS. Lawrence Tynes makes 22-yard attempt. NEW YORK 23, SAN FRANCISCO 3 (Drive: 4 plays, 1 yards in 1:33)

4:32 — Pace is picking up. After a 55-yard completion to Randy Moss, Smith is sacked by Jason Pierre-Paul.

3:01 — 49ers fail to convert on fourth-and-15 and Giants take over on their own 27.

0:00 — GIANTS 23, 49ers 3

Giants take lead on Cruz TD

SECOND QUARTER

15:00 — Giants begin the second quarter with the ball on their own 28.

14:02 — Prince Amukamara INTERCEPTS Alex Smith’s deep pass intended for Walker. Giants take over on their own 33.

*The interception was Amukamara’s first of the season and second of his career. It was Smith’s second interception of 2012.

12:35 — Eli Manning goes deep on third-and-6 and hooks up with Domenik Hixon for a 39-yard gain.

10:08 — TOUCHDOWN GIANTS. Manning finds Victor Cruz in the end zone for a six-yard score. XP is GOOD. NEW YORK 7, SAN FRANCISCO 3 (Drive: 7 plays, 67 yards in 3:50)

8:10 — Jason Pierre-Paul stops the 49ers’ ensuing drive with a sack for a loss of nine yards on third down. He has 2.5 on the season.

6:53 – Back from injury, Hakeem Nicks hauls in his second catch of the game for a 16-yard gain.

3:04 — FIELD GOAL GIANTS. Lawrence Tynes makes a 34-yard attempt. NEW YORK 10, SAN FRANCISCO 3 (8 plays, 51 yards in 4:34)

1:47 — Deep pass intended for Mario Manningham falls incomplete. 49ers forced to punt and Giants take over on their own 21.

0:15 — Giants drive down to the 49ers’ 22, but Lawrence Tynes has his 40-yard field goal attempt blocked.

0:11 — Kaepernick completes a 36-yard pass to Manningham, setting up a field goal attempt before halftime.

0:02 — Akers misses his second field goal of the game, this time from 52 yards (wide left).

0:00 — GIANTS 10, 49ERS 3

Inside the Locker Room: Ready for a Tough Matchup

WR Victor Cruz
On Eli’s toughness in the NFC Championship game last year…
“It was inspirational for me, seeing him pick himself up off the ground time and time again and just being strong and going through the game and understanding that it’s going to be a knockdown fight and that we just have to keep pushing and keep going.”

DE Jason Pierre-Paul
On facing the 49ers again….
“You know, they’re motivated to beat us. I know, they’ve got a chip on their shoulders…after all we did beat them in the conference championship game and we’re going to go back there and they’re going to give us their all and we’re going to get ready for it and it’s going to be a fight. [They’re] probably the toughest team we’re going to play this year. It’s going to be a good game.”

Tackle Will Beatty
On being overlooked….
“It happens a lot with us, you see we have injuries, Giants are up and down and it’s like no one really sees it and then we go out there and it’s like we, we know what we got in this locker room and we’re just going out there and playing for each other.”

WR Domenik Hixon
On returning to San Francisco…
“It’s going to be a physical, four quarter game. There’s no doubt about it and we’re coming in with that mindset, that it’s going to be physical for four quarters.”

Daily Blitz: Eli moves up to No. 3 in QB rankings

At the quarter pole of the NFL season, Eli Manning has moved up to become the third best quarterback in the league, according to Ron Jaworski.

The former quarterback and longtime ESPN analyst updated his QB rankings from the offseason and placed the two-time Super Bowl MVP at No. 3, sliding him up two spots.

Entering Week 5, Manning is 103 of 160 passing for 1,320 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions.

“Manning made a poor decision against the Eagles by throwing a costly interception in the end zone, but he otherwise has been very solid all season,” Jaworski wrote. “With Hakeem Nicks sidelined and Ahmad Bradshaw also missing time, the Giants’ offense has been shorthanded, and Manning has raised his game to compensate. Whether it’s Ramses Barden or someone else stepping into the Giants’ scheme, he doesn’t miss a beat. He continues to improve in all phases of the game — particularly with his pre- and post-snap decisions and his accuracy. I don’t think the Giants would stand at 2-2 without Manning’s strong early play.”

Aaron Rodgers finished at the top, followed by Tom Brady as runner up. Peyton Manning and Drew Brees rounded out the top five. As for the NFC East, Tony Romo and Michael Vick went back-to-back at 11 and 12, respectively, while rookie Robert Griffin III came in at No. 17.

QUICK HITS

» WATCH: The evolution of the New York Giants’ iconic blue and red uniforms, from the origin of the look in the 1940s to their current, more modern appearance.

» CB Corey Webster and secondary face injuries

» DE Jason Pierre-Paul ready for breakout performance

» Giants vs. Browns Scouting Report

» WATCH: Markus Kuhn answers fan questions and breaks down the matchup with the Cleveland Browns on Big Blue Hits

Inside the Locker Room: Tuck, Bradshaw, Pierre-Paul

As the Giants move closer to Sunday, player speak about facing their Week 5 opponent, the Cleveland Browns…

DE Justin Tuck
On 2008 loss to the Browns…
“We definitely didn’t forget about it, that’s a good lesson for us to learn, I think a lot of people look at that record and see an 0-4 team and that this is going to be a cake walk and that couldn’t be farther than the truth, five or six plays and they could be 4-0.”

DE Jason Pierre-Paul
On how he’s feeling on the field…
“I feel like I’m kind of stressed a little bit, I made an oath to myself to go out there and have fun. I’m going to go out there and have fun like last year, just running around like a little kid.”

RB Ahmad Bradshaw
On getting the ground game going…
“I mean that’s just the key, we want to go in early and start fast. If we can do that, I think we’ll be succesful. We work hard, we finish on this team. If we can just get it to the end we’ll be fine.”

Giants vs. Panthers Live Blog: 4th QTR

FINAL: Giants 36, Panthers 7

6:36 — Stevie Brown intercepts Cam Newton and returns it 44 yards.

9:42 — TOUCHDOWN GIANTS. Andre Brown scores his second touchdown of the night on a one-yard dive into the end zone. XP is GOOD. NEW YORK 33, CAROLINA 7 (Drive: 8 plays, 48 yards in 3:50)

13:42 — Boley snags his third interception of the season in as many games.

13:47 — Jason Pierre-Paul teams up with Michael Boley for the Giants’ second sack of the game.

15:00 — Panthers start the fourth quarter with the ball on their own 45.

Giants vs. Panthers Live Blog: 2nd QTR

0:00 — GIANTS 20, PANTHERS 0 

1:29 — Jayron Hosley intercepts Cam Newton.

3:17 — FIELD GOAL GIANTS. Lawrence Tynes makes a 49-yarder, the longest of his season. NEW YORK 20, CAROLINA 0 (Drive: 11 plays, 57 yards in 5:59)

6:45 — With that 23-yard catch, Barden eclipses the century mark in the first half with 107 yards.

9:49 — Osi Umenyiora sacks Newton for a loss of nine yards. It was Umenyioa’s first of the year.

11:57 — Pierre-Paul bats down another Newton pass. Newton is 1/6 for 23 yards  so far.

12:08 — TOUCHDOWN GIANTS. Giants capitalize on the goal line as Brown pushes in for a one-yard score. XP is GOOD. NEW YORK 17, CAROLINA 0 (Drive: 9 plays, 72 yards in 4:39)

13:50 — Barden picks up his fourth catch of the night, totaling 63 yards. Barden one of many capitalizing on opportunities early in the game.

15:00 — Giants will begin the second quarter with the ball on the Carolina 45.

Giants vs. Panthers Live Blog: 1st QTR

0:00 — GIANTS 10, PANTHERS 0 (key stat: Giants offense has gained 158 yards to Panthers’ 56)

2:00 — Rookie CB Jayron Hosley flushes Cam Newton out of the pocket and forces an incomplete pass on third down.

3:50 — FIELD GOAL GIANTS. Lawrence Tynes makes a 47-yarder. NEW YORK 10, CAROLINA 0 (drive: 9 plays, 51 yards in 4:44)

*Tynes is a perfect 6/6 on the season.

4:36 — Manning showing his precision and begins 9 for 10 passing, including rookie Rueben Randle’s first catch of his career (a 4-yard gain).

8:30 — FB Henry Hynoski clears the way for Brown, who powers for another 16 yards on the ground.

9:13 — Jason Pierre-Paul takes down Cam Newton on third down as the quarterback was trying to get to the left edge, forcing the Panthers to punt.

11:42 — TOUCHDOWN GIANTS. TE Martellus Bennett catches a 14-yard pass in the end zone from Manning. XP is GOOD. NEW YORK 7, CAROLINA 0 (drive: 8 plays, 80 yards in 3:22)

13:21 — RB Brown, starting in place of Ahmad Bradshaw breaks an arm tackle and breaks down the sideline for 31 yards. First-time starters on offense are making the most of it so far.

14:26 — With the receiving corps banged up, WR Ramses Barden hauls in an early catch for an eight-yard gain.

15:00 — Game Day Captains: CB Corey Webster and G Kevin Boothe in addition to season captains QB Eli Manning, DE Justin Tuck and LS Zak DeOssie. Giants win coin toss, elect to receive. Panthers elect to defend the west goal.

This week’s game will be the seventh regular season meeting between the two teams, with the series tied, 3-3. In the last meeting, the Giants defeated the Panthers, 31-18, in Week 1 of the 2010 season in the first regular season game in MetLife Stadium.

Kickoff: 8:20 P.M. ET

Location: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C.

TV: NFL Network/WPIX 11

Weather: Scattered clouds. Warm. 77 °F, Wind: 3.45 mph/N

Giants vs. Bucs Live Blog: 3rd QTR

0:00 — BUCCANEERS 27, GIANTS 16

0:34 — Kenny Phillips puts a hard hit on WR Vincent Jackson, forcing an incomplete pass. The play seemed to have energized the crowd and sideline as Corey Webster comes up with an interception on the next down.

0:44 — FIELD GOAL GIANTS. Tynes’ 36-yard attempt is GOOD. TAMPA BAY 27, NEW YORK 16 (drive: 13 plays, 64 yards in 5:40)

*Paid attendance announced: 76,964

7:09 — Giants needed a stop and the defense did exactly that as Jason Pierre-Paul and Markus Kuhn ganged up to tackle Doug Martin for a loss of 1, forcing the Buccaneers to punt.

13:14 — David Wilson spins for a 44-yard kickoff return.

*He’s averaging 28.7 yards on three returns in this game.

13:19 — FIELD GOAL BUCCANEERS (52 Yards). TAMPA BAY 27, NEW YORK 13 (drive: 5 plays, 14 yards in 1:46)

15:00 — Giants will kickoff to begin the second half.