Read More: Osi Umenyiora (DE – NYG), Ahmad Bradshaw (RB – NYG), Mario Manningham (WR – NYG), Hakeem Nicks (WR – NYG), Jake Ballard (TE – NYG), Mark Herzlich (LB – NYG), Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants

The New York Giants still have issues at the wide receiver position after Hakeem Nicks missed his second straight day of practice and Mario Manningham was once again limited. Giants head coach Tom Coughlin is hopeful that both will be available to play on Sunday. Nicks did some light running Thursday and assured reporters after practice that he would be on the field Sunday.

Running back Ahmad Bradshaw also sat out Thursday’s practice but he could return to the practice field on Friday.

Here is the full injury report for the New York Giants from Thursday, December 29:

Did not Participate
Jake Ballard (knee)
Ahmad Bradshaw (foot)
Mark Herzlich (ankle)
Hakeem Nicks (hamstring)

Limited Participation
Mario Manningham (knee)
Osi Umenyiora (ankle/knee)

For more on the Cowboys head over to Blogging the Boys, SB Nation’s Dallas Cowboys blog. For more on the Giants head over to Big Blue View, SB Nation’s New York Giants blog. For more on the NFL, visit SB Nation’s NFL news hub.

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What are your opinions.

By Pat Johnston

– Newsdesk contributor

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Dec 27, 2011 – The New York Giants had two players selected for the 2012 Pro Bowl (via Giants Twitter) which will take place on Jan. 29, 2012 in Honolulu, Hawaii at Aloha Stadium at 7 p.m. (TV:NBC).

Quarterback Eli Manning and defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul were named to the roster for the Pro Bowl. Manning will be making his second trip to the Pro Bowl. He is the first Giants quarterback to make two Pro Bowls since Phil Simms was picked in 1985 and 1993. This will be Jason Pierre-Paul’s first trip to the Pro Bowl.

There were no Giants in the lead at their position after the conclusion of the fan vote period.

Fan voting concluded on Dec. 19 but the official selections were announced on Dec. 27 at 7 p.m. on NFL Network’s NFL Total Access 2012 Pro Bowl Selection Show.

For more Giants coverage, visit our team page or our blog Big Blue View.

Read More: Eli Manning (QB – NYG), Jason Pierre-Paul (DE – NYG), New York Giants

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The New York Giants and Dallas
Cowboys will face off Jan. 1 for a spot in the National Football
League playoffs as the U.S.’s most-watched television sport
enters the final week of its regular season.

The Giants beat the New York Jets 29-14 on Dec. 24, setting
up a season finale against the Cowboys for the National Football
Conference East division title, with the loser eliminated from
postseason play. Both have 8-7 records. The Giants beat the
Cowboys 37-34 in Texas on Dec. 11.

“I did remind our team that a year ago we won down there
and lost at home,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said at a news
conference yesterday.

The Jets are among five teams still competing for a playoff
spot in the American Football Conference, along with the
Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders and
Tennessee Titans. The Jets can make the playoffs if they defeat
Miami, both the Bengals and Titans lose, and either Oakland or
Denver also gets beat.

“What I talked to the players about was that there’s hope
and possibilities,” Jets coach Rex Ryan told reporters
yesterday. “Obviously the game against Miami is critical. When
you look at all the factors involved, the most difficult thing
to happen, I think, is to beat the Dolphins.”

No. 1 Seeds

Aaron Rodgers threw five touchdown passes on Dec. 25 to
help the Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears, clinching the
top seed in the NFC and home field throughout the playoffs. The
New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons and
Detroit Lions have also locked up NFC playoff spots.

The Saints clinched the NFC South title last night with a
45-16 victory over the Falcons, as New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees set the NFL season passing record at 5,087 yards.

The New England Patriots, Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens
and Pittsburgh Steelers have all gained playoff berths in the
American Football Conference.

A New England win over the Buffalo Bills on New Year’s Day
would give the Patriots home field in the postseason, while
Baltimore can win home field by beating the Bengals if New
England loses.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Aaron Kuriloff in New York at
akuriloff@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net.

Leave any suggestions in the comment box.

The loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday is now behind the Dallas Cowboys and now it is time to look ahead to the New York Giants. The Eagles loss means nothing in the grand scheme of things but the Giants game will mean everything.

The most important thing for the Cowboys, and this is especially true of the Eagles loss, is to come into the Giants’ matchup at 100-percent. That means that losing to the Eagles, because they rested Tony Romo and Felix Jones, was exactly the right decision. Dallas also has to hope that defensive players, like cornerback Mike Jenkins and linebackers Sean Lee and DeMarcus Ware are also ready to go.

Tony Romo

Tony Romo injured his hand on this second pass attempt of the Eagles’ game when he knocked it against the helmet of a rushing Jason Babin. It was really the closest that Babin, the NFL sack leader, got to a Dallas quarterback in the game, which says great things about that maligned offensive line.

X-rays were negative and the hand bruised and swelled. It is thought to be broken vessels in the hand but it should be healed and ready to go for the big Giants’ game. The hope is that there is no soreness in the hand. Romo has not thrown an interception since Week 12 against Miami and he has eight touchdown passes since that game.

Felix Jones

Felix Jones had back-to-back 100-yard games heading into the Eagles matchup. However, early in the week he showed up on the injury report with a tight hamstring. When this started is unknown, but once Romo left the game and Dallas learned the Giants won, they pulled Jones out to allow him to rest his leg. There should be no worries here as Jones averaged 6-yards a carry before leaving the game.

Mike Jenkins

Mike Jenkins has been battling injuries all season but Dallas needs him in the lineup against the Giants. With the playmakers that New York has, and Eli Manning able to throw the ball all over the field, the Cowboys secondary needs all the help it can get.

DeMarcus Ware

You can’t get Ware out of the lineup. Even after Dallas learned that the Giants won, and the Eagles game meant nothing, he remained in the game and finished with two more sacks, moving his total to 18 on the season. He has been dealing with a neck injury but has not missed a game. He needs two more sacks to tie his own personal best.

Sean Lee

Sean Lee injured his hand in the first game with Philadelphia. He missed one week and has been playing with a cast ever since. In this game, he injured his hamstring. He says he could have come back into the game but didn’t because of the Giants win. He finished with five tackles before leaving the game. He says he will be ready for the Giants.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Dallas Cowboys’ fan since he was a child. His favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s and he enjoys talking about all Cowboys’ related news, good or bad

Source: dallascowboys.com

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According to a Yahoo! Sports report, the Christmas Eve clash between the New York Jets and New York Giants actually matters for a change. For all the history of these teams – the Jets have Joe Namath and Super Bowl III while the Giants have Lawrence Taylor, the David Tyree catch and three titles – none of it intersects. There is no moment that defines this rivalry, just 11 largely nondescript games over the past 42 years. In honor of the holiday season, here’s a look at the top five best active NFL players born on Christmas Eve.

Ogemdi Nwagbuo
wikimedia commons

Tim Jennings

Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings turns 28 on Dec. 24, 2011. Jennings, a former Indianapolis Colts standout, hasn’t spread much holiday cheer to opposing offenses this season, as he tallied a season-high 10 tackles against the Detroit Lions on Nov. 13 and notched five against the Denver Broncos on Dec. 11. Even though the Bears lost four games in a row, Jennings notched two or more tackles in each of those contests. He is a true warrior on the field just about every Sunday.

Ogemdi Nwagbuo

Carolina Panthers defensive end Ogemdi Nwagbuo tallied 42 career tackles, including three this year as a member of the San Diego Chargers and one with his new team. Nwagbuo, who turns 26 on Dec. 24, has excellent footwork, great field vision and superb work ethic. He’s still young enough to blossom into one of the top defensive ends in the league if he buckles down and puts the work in to make that happen.

Chris Kluwe

Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe turns 30 on Dec. 24. In his seven seasons in the NFL, he has been one of the most consistent kickers in the game, tallying 542 career punts for an average distance of 44.3 yards per kick. Kluwe has a big, strong leg with great accuracy and the occasional ability to drive punts longer than 60 yards.

Kevin Burnett

Miami Dolphins linebacker Kevin Burnett turns 29 this holiday season. He has enjoyed a breakout year in 2011, tallying 82 tackles and 2.5 sacks with one interception. At 6’3″, 240 pounds, Burnett uses his massive frame to be a big-time playmaker along the Dolphins’ defensive front. Burnett sets himself apart from the pack by getting off blocks quickly, and he consistently puts pressure on opposing passers.

Naaman Roosevelt

24-year-old wide receiver Naaman Roosevelt hasn’t quite made a name for himself at the NFL level, but he’s still young and certainly capable enough to learn the ins and outs of the Buffalo Bills’ offense. So far in 2011, he has 13 receptions for 228 yards and a touchdown. Recently he’s been nursing a tender shoulder, so he hasn’t been 100% healthy of late. Roosevelt doesn’t have the same blistering speed as some of the top receivers in the league, but he’s a solid weapon in the slot and has a huge upside.

Eric Holden is a lifelong New York Jets fan and he is spending this Christmas Eve glued to his television set watching the big game against the Giants. Follow the author on Twitter @ericholden.

Sources

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/friv/birthdays.cgi?month=12&day=24, Pro-football-reference, Player birthdays

www.nfl.com, NFL, player and team stats

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The New York Giants and the New York Jets may share a home, but there’s no brotherly love between the two teams. The G-men battle Fireman Ed and Co. on a Saturday night game that will have a huge impact on whether either team makes it into the playoffs.

That’s all the news for today.

By Ed Valentine

– Regional Editor

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Dec 23, 2011 – Let’s continue our position-by-position look at the New York Giants and New York Jets with a look at the special teams units for each team.

Giants

When the Jets let punter Steve Weatherford go after last season the Giants snapped up the veteran free-agent punter to avoid the disastrous inconsistencies experienced a season ago with rookie punter Matt Dodge. Weatherford has responded with a career year. His 46.3 yards per punt average is the best of his career by nearly three yards and his net average of 40.0 puts the Giants seventh in the league, a vast improvement from a season ago. 

Placekicker Lawrence Tynes is having an excellent season. He is 16-of-20 on field-goal attempts, with two of his misses coming from outside 50 yards. Thirty-three of Tynes’ 70 kickoffs have been for touchbacks, a percentage of 47.1. That puts Tynes, historically near the bottom of the league in kickoffs, in the middle of the pack for NFL kickers.

The problem for the Giants has been in the return game, where they simply have not generated any big plays all season.

The Giants’ average of 23.0 yards per kickoff return is 19th in the league and they have only one return longer than 40 yards all season. Devin Thomas handled the job early in the season, and rookie speedsters Da’Rel Scott and Jerrel Jernigan have been the primary returners recently.

Punt return has been even worse. The Giants average just 7.4 yards per return, 28th in the league. Aaron Ross handled those duties early in the season and Will Blackmon has taken over recently. The Giants are one of only two NFL (Carolina being the other) that does not have a punt return of 20 yards or longer this season.

Jets

The Jets replaced Weatherford with T.J. Conley and the rookie from Idaho has done a decent job. He has a 43.0 yards per punt average. His net average of 38.7 puts the Jets 17th in the league. Conley leads the league in forcing fair catches, with 25.

Placekicker Nick Folk is 18-of-23 on field-goal attempts, including thee-of-six from more than 50 yards. Folk’s difficulty comes on kickoffs, where only 16 of his 73 kickoffs (20.9) have gone for touchbacks. That puts the Jets 31st in the league in that category.

Where the Jets are clearly superior to the Giants is in the return game.

The Jets are third in the league with an average of 26.8 yards per kickoff return, and have a league-best of seven returns of 40 yards or longer. Joe McKnight leads all regular NFL kick returners with a 32.3 yards per return average and has five of those 40+ yard runbacks. Antonio Cromartie has the other two.

The Jets average 8.6 yards per punt return. Rookie Jeremy Kerley has been the primary return man, averaging 9.4 yards per return.

Advantage: Jets … based purely on the quality of their return game

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Not much else going on in the NFL world today.

With former NFL Giants like Bill Ard, Stephen Baker, Chris
Calloway, Eric Dorsey, Sam Garnes and Rodney Hampton providing
support, the New York Giants Youth Football Camps will return next
summer to more than 27 locations, including a camp in Summit at the
Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child at 44 Blackburn Road.

A $40 discount is available for those who register today, Thursday,
Dec. 22, followed by a $30 discount for registrations through
February 2012.

New York Giants Youth Football Camps provide non-contact
instruction to young people from 6 to 14.

With professional coaches and New York Giants athletes, young
people learn to run, throw, catch, defend and compete “the Giants
way.”

All programs provide football non-contact instruction, athletic
skill development, and fitness and agility training.

‘Safe Environment’

“We are a great place for kids to learn football in a safe,
well-structured environment,” said camp Executive Director Thomas
Finks.

“Experienced players benefit from our Accelerated Skills program.
Newcomers gain skills and confidence from our Comprehensive Skills
program. And we even host a significant number of kids that use our
camps to cross-train for sports like hockey and baseball,” Finks
noted.

New York Giants Youth Football Camps trained more than 2,000 young
people last summer. The Giants Youth Camps plan to expand program
options to meet the needs of even more participants next
summer.

“We will be announcing three new programs after the first of the
year,” Finks said. “The New York Giants have tremendous resources
and are truly committed to teaching kids through football.”

The camp next summer at the Oak Knoll School will be held from 9
a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, June 25, through Friday, June 29.

The price is $459, but a discounted price of $419 is available to
those who register today, Thursday, Dec. 22, after which a
discounted price of $429 will be available for registrations
through February.

For information and registration, visit www.NYGiantsCamps.com or
call (877) 226-9919.

If you like reading our blog, remember to bookmark it.

According to a Yahoo! Sports report, the Christmas Eve clash between the New York Giants and New York Jets actually matters for a change. “For all the history of these teams – the Jets have Joe Namath and Super Bowl III while the Giants have Lawrence Taylor, the David Tyree catch and three titles – none of it intersects,” says the author of the article, Jason Cole. But of the 11 times the teams played during the regular season over the past 42 years, five were highly entertaining and significant. Here’s a look back at the top five games in the Giants-Jets rivalry.

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning
wikimedia commons

1) Nov. 1, 1981

The Giants and Jets were both in the midst of the playoff race by the midway point of the season, and the early November matchup between the squads would determine who was the top team in New York in the 1981 season. The Jets, featuring legendary Sack Exchange players Mark Gastineau, Joe Klecko, Marty Lyons and Abdul Salaam, sacked Giants quarterback Phil Simms nine times and held their offense to just seven points. The Jets came away with a 26-7 win.

2) Dec. 18, 1988

The teams squared off in the season finale of the 1988 season, with the Jets coming away with a 27-21 victory to knock the 10-6 Giants out of the playoff race. The Jets, who finished 8-7-1, were already eliminated from the postseason, but they showed plenty of heart in the affair. The Jets held a 20-7 lead in the third quarter, but Phil Simms hit Stephen Baker and Lionel Manuel for touchdown passes to give the Giants a 21-20 advantage. But with time winding down, Jets wide receiver Al Toon caught a touchdown pass to seal the victory for the Jets and end the Giants’ playoff hopes.

3) Nov. 2, 2003

The Giants would win their third straight game against the Jets in a wildly entertaining overtime affair on Nov. 2, 2003. New York Jets quarterback Chad Pennington pushed the pace of the offense and led a late comeback charge, tying the game at 28-all in the waning minutes of regulation time. But Giants kicker Brett Conway booted a field game with four seconds left in overtime to earn a 31-28 victory for his team.

4) Oct. 7, 2007

The last time the Giants played the Jets in the regular season was in the 2007-08 season, the year they won the Super Bowl over the New England Patriots. The Giants would ultimately win their fourth consecutive game over the Jets in thrilling, come-from-behind fashion. The Giants found themselves behind, 24-14, but Eli Manning connected on touchdown passes to wide receivers Jeremy Shockey and Plaxico Burress to put his team back on top. Aaron Ross then sealed the victory with a game-changing interception, ultimately helping the Giants come out on top, 35-24.

5) Nov. 10, 1974

The Jets earned a 26-20 win over the Giants for their first ever regular-season overtime victory. It was also the first time any regular-season NFL game ended with an overtime win, as this was the year that the league instituted overtime to non-playoff games. It was a back-and-forth affair, with the Jets tying the game in the fourth quarter on a quarterback sneak from Joe Namath. In the overtime period, Namath connected with Emerson Boozer to seal the win for the Jets.

Eric Holden is a lifelong New York Jets fan and he will be pulling for his team to knock Big Blue out of the playoffs on Christmas Eve. Follow the author on Twitter @ericholden.

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That’s all the news for today.

The Philadelphia Eagles may still have hopes to win the NFC East, but they still need things to go absolutely perfect to win the division. Yet Eagles fans like myself can take solace in how the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants aren’t blowing everyone out of the water. In fact, if one looks at the last few weeks, the strongest teams in the NFC East lately have been the third-place Birds and last-place Washington Redskins.

Philadelphia only just got on track by winning two straight while Washington is still 5-9 after having a six-game losing streak earlier this year. But the Eagles and Redskins have shown more impressive stuff in recent weeks than the two teams closely fighting for first in the East.

The Giants, of course, have been decidedly unimpressive in losing five of their last six games. Meanwhile, the Cowboys at least showed some signs of being impressive by throttling the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Dec. 17 to retake first place. However, that didn’t excuse how Dallas blew its previous two games at the last second and has been extremely inconsistent every December.

As for Philadelphia, it has suddenly become the scariest team in the NFC East although it is still a long shot to get out of it. It would take wins over the Cowboys and Redskins, a Giants loss to the New York Jets on Dec. 24 and a Cowboys loss to the Giants on Jan. 1 to win the division on an 8-8 tiebreaker. Yet that doesn’t seem out of the question, due to both the Eagles’ improvement and mainly to the Cowboys and Giants’ inconsistency and occasional incompetence.

Washington has actually looked a lot better in losing its games lately than Dallas and New York has. The Redskins have come very close to beating the Cowboys, New York Jets and New England Patriots in recent weeks, have beaten the Seattle Seahawks before they got hot, and finally broke through by throttling the Giants on the road on Dec. 18. At 5-9, the Redskins have to kick themselves because they could have been right in this race with a few breaks, just like the Eagles could have been.

Philadelphia and Washington are finishing this season with more style than Dallas and New York are, if only by comparison. Of course, if the Eagles and Redskins showed this improvement in October and November, they would be the ones fighting for first place. Instead, the Cowboys and Giants are setting the low bar in the NFC East, even though they’ve been playing like the third and last place clubs in the division for a while now.

If or when either Dallas or New York takes the division by default, Washington and Philadelphia will have a whole offseason to wonder what could have been. The Eagles and Redskins have been the NFC East’s scariest teams in December – but being like that in October and November as well would have been much better.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.

Other stories by this contributor

Steelers have no faith without Roethlisberger, divisional title

NFL power rankings after Week 15 inch Eagles up again

Eagles, Chargers wait too long again to get hot

Eagles save Reid’s job by destroying Jets

Eagles, Jets matchup of big disappointments

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That’s all for today.

Redskins at giants

Posted: December 18
Updated: Today at 3:30 AM

TOM CANAVAN AP Sports Writer

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — After grabbing first place in the NFC East from the Dallas Cowboys with yet another fourth-quarter comeback, the New York Giants head into the final three weeks of the season in control of their playoff fate.

All they have to do is finish, which has been Tom Coughlin’s rallying cry from Day 1 of training camp after late-season collapses cost New York trips to the postseason the past two years.

The playoff scenario for the Giants (7-6) is simple.

Win three games and they are in. Win two of three, and make sure one of the victories is Dallas (7-6) on the final weekend, and that also leads to the postseason.

It all starts today with Washington (4-9), a team that has nothing to play for but the usual non-contender laments of a job next season, pride and just the desire to win.

However, this also is the same team that made the Giants and Eli Manning look miserable in a season-opening 28-14 victory.

Rex Grossman threw for 305 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions and Washington’s defense held New York to one third-down conversion in 10 tries.

“We are not overlooking the Redskins,” said safety Antrel Rolle, who recently said the Giants would beat the Redskins 99 out of 100 times.

“We have respect for each NFL opponent that we face but at the end of the day, I know what we bring to the table and how good we are. I know what the outcome of the game should be come Sunday. It is up to us to go out there and put it on film and make sure the outcome is what we plan.”

Former Giants and current Redskins defensive tackle Barry Cofield expects more from New York this time around.

“I think they may have been confident going into the first game, but I know we shook that confidence by beating them the way we beat them,” Cofield said. “And I think they’ve got a lot of respect for us now, especially the way we’ve been playing the last couple of weeks.”

While they have lost 8 of 9 games, the Redskins have played hard during most of that span.

Last week was no different in a 34-27 loss to the New England Patriots. Washington posted a season-high 463 yards despite playing without tight end Fred Davis and left tackle Trent Williams. Both were out because of season-ending suspensions for violating the NFL’s drugs policy.

An apparent late game-tying touchdown was called back because of an offensive pass interference call against Redskins receiver Santana Moss.

Grossman isn’t interested in playing the role of a spoiler.

“I play this game to win,” he said. “You put so much energy and effort into each week that winning the game and feeling good after the game each Sunday and being proud of what you accomplished, that is plenty of motivation. You are playing for pride and going out there and trying to win and that’s really all the motivation you need as far as I am concerned. If we are spoilers in the process, it doesn’t give you any gratification. It is good to go win.”

In facing the Giants, Grossman will be going against a defense that has given up 121 points and 1,498 yards in its past three games against New Orleans, Green Bay and Dallas.

Grossman downplayed the big numbers.

“They didn’t play as well as they normally do, but those offenses present problems to everybody,” Grossman said. “We have to go out and execute our offense and be the best that we can be and focus on our execution. I really don’t worry about how well or how good the defense is. I just worry about how I can execute our plays the best that I can.”

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Now that the New York Giants have ended their losing streak, they have a
clear path to the NFC East title.

The next step comes Sunday at home and the Giants will have to contend with
a number of injury problems as they try to avenge a season-opening defeat to the
Washington Redskins.

New York (7-6) held a two-game division lead after starting 6-2, then fell a
game behind Dallas thanks to a four-game slide. Eli Manning, however, guided the
Giants to two touchdowns in the final 3:14 to rally them to a 37-34 road victory
over the Cowboys last Sunday and a share of first place before Dallas’ win at
Tampa Bay on Saturday dropped New York one-half game back.

“We knew that we couldn’t afford to fall further behind Dallas when we went
into the game,” offensive lineman Kevin Boothe said. “We are in a playoff-type
atmosphere from here on out. We have a big division game this week and we have
to take it one game at a time and see what happens. We have to give Washington
our best shot.”

New York can clinch the division by winning one of its next two games along
with the regular-season finale at home against Dallas.

The Giants, though, are dealing with numerous injuries.

Pro Bowler Justin Tuck failed to record a tackle against the Cowboys and
could sit out with a toe injury while fellow defensive end Osi Umenyiora could
miss a third straight game with a sprained ankle. Safety Kenny Phillips missed
the Dallas game with a sprained left knee.

Tuck and Umenyiora were both injured when they sat out a 28-14 loss at
Washington (4-9) in the opener. Rex Grossman continued his success against the
Giants with 305 yards passing and two touchdowns as the Redskins ended a
six-game slide in the series.

That loss didn’t stop Giants safety Antrel Rolle from saying earlier this
week that New York could beat Washington 99 out of 100 times.

“I know what the outcome of the game should be come Sunday,” Rolle said. “It
is up to us to go out there and put it on film and make sure the outcome is what
we plan.”

Three of Grossman’s six best games in terms of passing yards have come
against New York. He didn’t sound too worried about Rolle’s comments.

“It is the NFL and nobody is going to beat anyone 99 out of 100 times,”
Grossman said. “I am confident about where we are. We haven’t finished games
lately and we need to finish and everything should take care of itself.”

Grossman was sacked four times in the first meeting, twice by Jason
Pierre-Paul. The Giants defensive end had two more last week to bring his season
total to 12 1/2, and he blocked Dan Bailey’s tying field-goal attempt near the
end of regulation.

Pierre-Paul has come on strong after he registered 4 1/2 sacks in 2010 as a
rookie.

“I’m not thinking as much as I was last year,” Pierre-Paul said. “Last year,
I was on and off and I wasn’t sure about all of the calls so I was playing
slow.”

Pierre-Paul and the Giants’ pass rush will be looking at a patchwork
Washington offensive line that is far different from what they saw in Week 1.
Right tackle Jammal Brown missed last week’s 34-27 loss to New England with a
groin injury as Tyler Polumbus replaced him while left tackle Trent Williams
continues to serve his suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse
policy.

Manning failed to throw a touchdown pass against Washington in the opener -
one of two times that has happened this year. He recorded his third 400-yard
effort of the season last Sunday and is fourth in the league with a career-high
4,105 passing yards and sixth with 25 TD passes.

Manning has totaled 1,153 yards with seven touchdowns and three
interceptions over his last three games.

“Eli has taken it upon himself to throw the ball well, and exceptionally
well for the last three games,” Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said. “But he’s
played well the whole year.”

A major reason why Manning’s numbers are up is that New York owns the NFL’s
worst rushing attack at 85.8 yards per game.

There is reason for optimism. With Ahmad Bradshaw suspended for the start of
last week’s game due to a violation of team rules, Brandon Jacobs gained a
season-high 101 yards on 19 carries with two scores.

“Nobody wants to hit that guy running like he’s running other than they have
to,” said Giants coach Tom Coughlin about Jacobs. “It’s the right message and
when you see him north and south as hard as he can go and the pile’s going
forward, we’re all cheering.”

Washington has the league’s second-worst rushing attack at 93.8 yards per
game, but rookie Roy Helu has reached 100 for three straight weeks. Helu had a
season-high 126 last week.

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

by Bob McManaman – Dec. 17, 2011 02:07 PM
The Arizona Republic

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.