Preseason Game Preview: New York Giants vs. New York Jets

• When: Saturday, August 24, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. ET
• TV: WNBC 4NY
• Radio: WCBS 101.1 FM
• Last regular-season meeting: Dec. 24, 2011 – Giants 29, Jets 14

The New York Giants opened up MetLife Stadium with a dismal showing against the Indianapolis Colts a week ago, losing 20-12. The defense appeared to improve, but the offense continued its struggles within the red zone.

The Giants will face another test Saturday, as the New York Jets have always been a top-flight defensive team since Rex Ryan took over as head coach. The Jets are coming off a 37-13 shellacking of the Jacksonville Jaguars, but rookie Geno Smith is making his first start at quarterback.

This meeting will be the 45th between the two franchises since the preseason series began in 1969. The Jets lead the series, 23-20-1.

 

What to expect from the Giants:  The Giants ran the football well last week against Indianapolis, but the first-team offense stalled four times inside the red zone and picked up field goals on three of those occasions (turning it over on downs on the other). Something has to change, quarterback Eli Manning and head coach Tom Coughlin have made that clear, but this has been recurring issue for the G-Men over the last few seasons.

The Giants are going to continue to run the football, and hopefully David Wilson will see a few more carries this week. He carried the ball eight times for 34 yards, but 21 came on one play. He needs to show he can pick up positive yardage more often and prove he’s worthy of being the No. 1 back.

On defense, the Giants are going to work on generating pressure on Geno Smith and Mark Sanchez. They need to attack the young quarterbacks, make them uncomfortable in the pocket and force them to make dangerous throws that could turn into turnovers for the defense.

 

What to expect from the Jets: Saturday is Geno Smith’s first big test as an NFL quarterback. Will he survive?

The offensive line will have its plate full, as it’s fair to assume that Big Blue will bring the house against Smith and Sanchez. Giants’ defensive ends DaMontre Moore and Jason Pierre-Paul are still out with injuries, but the G-Men did show some corner blitzes last week vs. the Colts, and Tuck did a nice job early on getting into the backfield.

The Jets’ defense was flat last week against the Jaguars and allowed quarterback Blaine Gabbert to get the better of them. If they can’t handle Gabbert, Manning will give them a lot of trouble Saturday night.

 

FIVE GIANTS TO WATCH

Eli Manning  – It hasn’t been pretty so far, save for his 57-yard touchdown connection with receiver Victor Cruz in the opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Manning is clearly rusty and he has not been on the same page as his receivers. He must make better reads and show that he’s ready for the regular season.

Dan Connor – The free-agent acquisition appears to be a lock for the middle linebacker position. He’s spent the past two weeks playing with the first-team defense following quality performances in the Giants’ first two preseason games. Can he keep it up? If so, you can count third-year man Mark Herzlich out for this position battle.

Jerrel Jernigan – Wide outs Victor Cruz, Louis Murphy and Ramses Barden are all expected to sit out for this game. That means Jerrel Jernigan should see a lot of playing time with the offense. The Giants have been waiting to see something, anything from the 2011 third-rounder, but he hasn’t done anything to date in three years with the team — he has just three receptions for 22 yards in his career. A good performance could finally earn him some playing time with the offense once the regular season gets underway.

Justin Pugh – The right tackle position is all his if he’ll take it. With veteran David Diehl out for the next six weeks, Pugh is the next man up. The rookie first rounder has been handed the starting role and the only thing he can do to relinquish it is have an absolutely atrocious showing vs. the Jets. Get used to this guy, Giants fans… the future is here and now for the offensive line.

Justin Tuck – The Giants’ defensive captain is expected to play after leaving the Colts game early with a hamstring injury. The defensive end had a good showing in his preseason debut last week, including a key bat-down on an Andrew Luck pass at the line of scrimmage. Tuck and linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka will be depended on to get in the Jets quarterbacks early.

 

Louis Musto is a reporter and sports talk host for the Sports Journey Broadcast Network. He is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow him on Twitter @LouisMusto.