Giants Daily Blitz Blog

Hynoski teaches TD dance on-air

The set of Fox 5’s “Good Day New York” received a special demonstration Wednesday morning from Giants fullback Henry Hynoski, who showed off the touchdown dance he unveiled in the regular-season finale against Philadelphia.

It’s called the Hy-noceros, and all it takes is a horn, three kicks, and a roar.

“It’s pretty simple, but it worked out,” Hynoski said on the morning show.

Hynoski is one of five Giants taking over guest anchoring duties this week on the station. Defensive tackle Chris Canty and punter Steve Weatheford began the week, and tight end Martellus Bennett and safety Stevie Brown will help host on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

“We would much rather be playing football right now, believe me,” Weatherford said about watching the postseason. “I went through [winning the Super Bowl] one year ago. It’s so fresh in my mind…It wasn’t until right now that I really appreciated how special that really was.”

Anchoring the sports for @myfoxny with @DukeCastiglione and @rosannascotto n having an absolute blast! Thanks guys!! http://t.co/rirdzIRc—
Steve Weatherford (@Weatherford5) January 22, 2013

@chriscanty99 anchoring Good Day NY Sports @rosannascotto @myfoxny @giants http://t.co/Sx5hGfKc—
Duke Castiglione (@DukeCastiglione) January 21, 2013

1ST QTR: Giants fall behind early

The Giants and Atlanta Falcons meet for the 21st time in the regular season, with the series split, 10-10. In their last meeting, the Giants defeated the Falcons in their only postseason meeting, 24-2, in a 2011 NFC Wild card Game in MetLife Stadium. In their last regular season meeting, the Giants defeated the Falcons, 34-31 (OT), in Week 11 of the 2009 season.

Kickoff: 1 PM ET
Location: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Ga.
TV: FOX
Radio: WFAN 660AM/101.9FM

NYG Inactives
20 CB Prince Amukamara
21 S Kenny Phillips
39 S Tyler Sash
44 RB Ahmad Bradshaw
71 DE Adewale Ojomo
81 TE Adrien Robinson
96 DT Marvin Austin
NYG Lineup Changes: 28 Jayron Hosley will start for 20 Prince Amukamara at RCB; 22 David Wilson will start for 44 Ahmad Bradshaw at RB

ATL Inactives
4 QB Dominique Davis
17 WR Tim Toone
25 S William Moore
68 G Phillipkeith Manley
69 G Harland Gunn
86 TE Chase Coffman
90 DE Lawrence Sidbury
ATL Lineup changes: 24 Hope will start for 25 Moore at S

FIRST QUARTER

15:00 — Game Day Captains: C David Baas and DE Osi Umenyiora along with season captains Eli Manning, Justin Tuck, and Zak DeOssie. Giants win the toss and elect to receive.

*Rueben Randle back with David Wilson on kick return.

14:56 — Making his first NFL start, Wilson takes a handoff on the first play of the game for three yards.

14:16 — Asante Samuel intercepts Manning’s first pass of the game. Atlanta takes over on the Giants’ 16.

12:12 — TOUCHDOWN FALCONS. Atlanta capitalizes on the turnover and short field with a one-yard touchdown run by Michael Turner. XP is GOOD. ATLANTA 7, NEW YORK 0 (Drive: 4 plays, 16 yards in 1:51)

10:59 — Wilson converts a third-and-2 with a 25-yard run.

7:29 — Lawrence Tynes misses a 30-yard field goal attempt. Wide left.

1:43 — TOUCHDOWN FALCONS. Tony Gonzalez 12-yard catch from Matt Ryan. XP is GOOD. ATLANTA 14, NEW YORK 0 (Drive: 10 plays, 80 yards in 5:42)

0:54 — Manning is sacked on third-and-7 and Giants are forced to punt. Atlanta takes over on its own 25 after a 58-yard punt from Steve Weatherford.

0:00 — FALCONS 14, GIANTS 0

Official Game Program Cover

1ST QTR: Giants fall into early hole

The Giants and Cincinnati Bengals will meet for the ninth time, with the Bengals holding a 5-3 lead in the series. The two teams have never met in the postseason. In their last meeting, the Giants defeated the Bengals, 26-23 (OT), in Week 3 of the 2008 season.

Kickoff: 1 PM ET

Location: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

TV: FOX

Radio: 660AM/101.9FM

Weather: Partly cloudy. 66°F. Wind from SSW 16 mph.

New York Lineup Changes

» None

Cincinnati Lineup Changes

» 19 Tate for 85 Binns at WR
» 66 Robinson for 62 Finn at C
» 91 Geathers for 96 Dunlap at LDE
» 33 Crocker for 22 Clements at SS
» 26 Mays for 20 Nelson at FS

FIRST QUARTER

15:00 — Game Day Captains are Domenik Hixon and Chase Blackburn in addition to season captains Eli Manning, Justin Tuck and Zak DeOssie. Giants win the coin toss and defer.

12:43 — TOUCHDOWN BENGALS. QB Andy Dalton hooks up with WR A.J. Green for a 56-yard score. XP is GOOD. CINCINNATI 7, NEW YORK 0 (Drive: 5 plays, 79 yards in 2:26)

11:49 — Giants go three-and-out on their opening drive.

11:34 — After a player out of bounds penalty, Steve Weatherford is forced to punt again and Adam Jones returns is 68 yards. This is the second straight game the Giant shave given up a return of 60 yards or more.

10:53 — TOUCHDOWN BENGALS. Andrew Hawkins hauls in an 11-yard score from Dalton. XP is GOOD. CINCINNATI 14, NEW YORK 0 (Drive: 3 plays, 11 yards in 0:18)

9:14 — Eli Manning is sacked for just the ninth time this season and the Giants are forced to punt.

8:45 — On the return, Chase Blackburn and Will Hill combine on a hit to force Brandon Tate to fumble. Hill recovers at Cincinnati’s 27.

5:38 — FIELD GOAL GIANTS. Lawrence Tynes makes a 23-yard attempt. CINCINNATI 14, NEW YORK 3 (Drive: 6 plays, 22 yards in 3:00)

0:00 — BENGALS 14, GIANTS 3

4TH QTR: Steelers score 14 unanswered

15:00 — Pittsburgh begins fourth quarter second-and-8 on New York’s 46.

14:16 — TOUCHDOWN STEELERS. Roethlisberger to Wallace for a 51-yard score. XP is GOOD. NEW YORK 20, PITTSBURGH 17 (Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards in 2:27)

13:18 — Eli Manning is sacked for just the seventh time this season.

12:56 — Punter Steve Weatherford saves a touchdown by tackling Emmanuel Sanders at New York’s 12 after a 63-yard return.

10:44 — Pittsburgh runs a fake field goal, but Michael Coe is there to tackle Suisham for a loss of one yard. Giants take over on downs on their own four-yard line.

4:08 — TOUCHDOWN STEELERS. Redman carries for a one-yard touchdown. XP is GOOD. PITTSBURGH 24, NEW YORK 20 (Drive: 9 plays, 51 yards in 4:53)

3:55 — After a holding call on the ensuing kickoff, the Giants begin at their own 12.

3:45 — Manning is sacked for a loss of nine yards and fumbles the ball. Kevin Boothe recovers and the Giants are forced to punt.

0:00 — STEELERS 24, GIANTS 20

1ST QTR: Defensive struggle early on

This week’s game is the 76th meeting between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Giants. The Giants lead the series, 44-28-3. The two teams have never met in the postseason. In their last meeting, the Giants defeated the Steelers, 21-14, in Week 8 of the 2008 season.

Kickoff: 4:25 PM ET

Location: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ

Weather: Partly cloudy. 49°F. Wind: W 14mph, gusting to 24 mph

Lineup changes:

NEW YORK

1ST QTR: Giants defense holds the line

This week’s game is the 159th regular season meeting between the two teams, with the Giants leading the series, 91-63-4. The two teams have met twice in the postseason, with the series tied, 1-1. In 2011, the Redskins swept the season series for the first time since 1999, winning 28-14 in Week 1 and 23-10 in Week 15. Prior to the 2011 season, the Giants had won nine of the previous 10 meetings.

Kickoff: 1 PM ET

Location: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.

TV: FOX

Weather: Sunny. 60°F, WNW 10mph

CLICK HERE FOR GIANTS VS. REDSKINS INACTIVES

Flip Card Changes:

NEW YORK

» 78 Markus Kuhn for 95 Rocky Bernard at RDT

» Remove 33 RB Da’Rel Scott

» Add 99 DT Chris Canty

WASHINGTON

» 15 Joshua Morgan for 88 Pierre Garçon at WR

FIRST QUARTER

15:00 — Game Day Captains: Chris Snee and Antrel Rolle along with season captains Eli Manning, Justin Tuck and Zak DeOssie. Redskins win coin toss and defer. The Giants receive the ball to start the game.

14:48 — Eli Manning completes a 14-yard pass to Hakeem Nicks on the first play of the game.

11:45 — The Giants attempt to go for it on fourth-and-inches but are called for a false start penalty. Punter Steve Weatherford came on and pinned the Redskins back at their own five-yard line.

10:04 — Washington opens up with three straight run plays to running back Alfred Morris.

4:55 — A 35-yard touchdown from Robert Griffin III to Morgan is nullified by an illegal shift penalty on Fred Davis.

2:17 — FIELD GOAL REDSKINS. Forbath makes a 20-yard attempt after the Giants hold the Redskins on third-and-goal from the three-yard line. REDSKINS 3, GIANTS 0 (Drive 17 plays, 93 yards in 9:11)

INJURY UPDATE: Redskins TE Fred Davis is out with an Achilles injury.

0:27 — Relatively quiet the past three weeks, TE Martellus Bennett makes a 31-yard diving catch, bringing the Giants down to Washington’s 21.

0:00 — REDSKINS 3, GIANTS 0

Blackburn, punt team’s last line of defense

Worry not, Steve Weatherford is in safe hands.

In his seventh season and with 449 punts under his belt, Weatherford has never been on the wrong end of what happened to Brad Nortman last week against Tampa Bay – having one blocked.

In the Bucs’ Week 1 victory over the Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay cornerback Aqib Talib broke free on the edge and got to the rookie punter. The Bucs recovered and kicked a field goal on the ensuing drive for a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter.

Making sure that won’t happen to Weatherford this week is Chase Blackburn, who has taken over the role of personal protector so far this season. Otherwise known as the fullback on the punt team, it was Tyler Sash’s position last season. The second-year safety was suspended for the first four games of 2012 by the NFL.

Blackburn, once the special teams captain back in 2010, has Weatherford covered as the last line of defense.

“He knows it better than anybody,” Weatherford said of Blackburn, an eight-year veteran. “I think he knows it probably even better than Sash, and that’s Sash’s position. Chase is extremely intelligent and he’s skilled, too. I feel 100 percent confident that he’ll make the right calls and make the blocks he needs to make. So we’re confident going into it. We don’t want to relax or anything, it’s pedal to the floor right now, but we’re excited for the challenge.”

Tom Quinn, who has been the Giants’ special teams coordinator since 2007, sees the same thing from the multifaceted Blackburn.

“He’s done that before for us,” Quinn said. “One game, I think it was 2010, he played guard one snap, fullback the next snap, the other guard the other snap. So he’s really versatile and he’s been here a long time and understands what we want.”

Quinn then broke down what he saw from Tampa’s special teams outfit under Bob Ligashesky, one of many new hires this season in Greg Schiano’s regime.

“It was well schemed and well executed,” Quinn said. “They are a very good punt-blocking team and they have speed and power. So it will be a big test for us protection-wise.”

Weatherford gets a workout

Final preseason game. Starters on the bench. A 6-3 final score.

Steve Weatherford is jacked.

While a combined three field goals in 60 minutes of play might not be everyone’s favorite brand of football, it did give the punters a workout on Wednesday night as the preseason drew to a close.

There were 18 total punts in the defending champs’ victory, split evenly between the Giants’ Weatherford and the Patriots’ Zoltan Mesko. Weatherford punted nine times (seven in the first half alone) for a 52.0-yard average and a long of 64. He also had boots of 59, 52, 55, and 58 yards, with two downed inside the 20-yard line.

“Having a performance like that going into the regular season, it’s actually a boost of confidence,” he said after the game. “I was confident going into this game, but coming out of this game, I thought I punted really well. There are still some things I want to work on, but for the most part I’m happy walking out of here.”

The amount of punts wasn’t shocking to Weatherford not only because it was the final exhibition game, but also because it was against the Patriots. Despite two elite quarterbacks on each side, a matchup between two teams with a lot of history together often equates to a field position battle.

Case in point: Weatherford punted eight times in last year’s Week 9 matchup, pinning five inside the 20. Then again in Super Bowl XLVI, Weatherford had four punts, three of which were downed inside the 20.

“It was a field position game,” Weatherford said. “It usually is when we play these guys. I think about the last couple times I played them, we both have great quarterbacks – obviously Tom Brady wasn’t playing tonight – but when he is, it’s a field position battle. So tonight they relied on me a little bit, and I was happy with the outcome.”

Punting isn’t his only duty, though. Weatherford held Lawrence Tynes’ late 32-yard field goal, which wound up being the clincher in Wednesday night’s victory. It wasn’t exactly in the mud at Candlestick Park to win the NFC Championship, but it was good to get the rep in before the regular season kicks off in less than a week.

“Tynes has hit some bigger ones than that one,” Weatherford joked. “But it was fun to be a part of.”

Giants vs. Patriots Live Blog: 4th QTR

0:00 — FINAL: GIANTS 6, PATRIOTS 3

1:07 — FIELD GOAL: GIANTS. Lawrence Tynes knocks in a 32-yard field goal, giving the Giants a 6-3 lead late in the game.

4:31 — Dan DePalma gets in on the action and makes a 10-yard grab while taking a hard hit.

*Paid attendance announced: 75,530

13:29 — Ojomo moves the pile and helps stop RB Jeff Demps for a loss of 1 at the New England 6.

13:38 — Weatherford downs his seventh punt inside the 20-yard line, his second of the game. Patriots take over at their own 10.