Things We Learned: Jets-Giants

By Brett Malamud

Last night, the Jets and Giants battled it out for bragging rights in the preseason and a silly trophy named the Snoopy Trophy (yes, hilarious). In the end, the Giants came out on top 35-24 but there was more to the game than the Snoopy Trophy (still hilarious).

Although he’s the backup, Chris Ivory is a threat on the ground that the Jets can use this season (Via USA Today)

From the Giants side:

• The Giants first team offensive line still needs work. There were countless mistakes, especially on the left side of the line. Sure they were facing Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson, but there’s still no excuse. Eli Manning had a lot of pressure from the Jets D-Line all night. Will Beatty and Geoff Schwartz (left the game with a dislocated toe) must step up.
• The first team defense must also improve if they want to compete in the NFC East. The first quarter saw the Jets march down the field twice. The secondary got burned a few times and will need to work to improve that. The Giants also lost DT Markus Kuhn and CB Zack Bowman. Jason Pierre-Paul got taken out after hurting his knee but returned back to action. I’d still keep an eye on him though, as he’s the heart of the defense.
• A promising young quarterback in Ryan Nassib was present. Nassib was 8-12 for 103 yards and three touchdowns. He’ll make a good backup to Eli Manning.

From the Jets side:

• Geno Smith was great. He was 9-14 for 137 yards with a touchdown. He led the Jets down the field twice on two great drives. He’s the winner in what was really not a competition for the starting QB position. Michael Vick played well too, as did Matt Simms.
• The running backs look like they’ll help a lot on the offensive end of the field. My bold prediction is that Chris Johnson will have a great year. He had a lot of open space in this one, and showed what he could do when given space. Johnson finished the game with 42 yards on nine carries. The speedy Chris Ivory also had a great game. He finished the game with 50 yards on six carries. Look for the two to pair for an impressive tag team.
• The screen plays are back! The Jets had three huge gains on screen plays. It should definitely be a sign of things to come this season, especially against a schedule of teams that are heavy on blitzing.

Brett Malamud is a Computer Science Major at Binghamton University. He is the co-founder of dabuzzza.com. His favorite athletes are Derek Jeter and Todd Bertuzzi. You can follow him on twitter at @brettnyy