Well folks, it has been about seven months since the Giants have played a game on national television. The Giants take on the New England Patriots in Foxboro at 7:00 pm eastern time. Although it is only preseason, it feels great to finally have Giants football back. There are many feelings going into tonight, excitement, nervousness, hope, and much more. Fans are wondering if the Giants will make them feel any different heading into a season then years past, and hopefully the Giants bring fans that hope after tonight. However, if the Giants struggle tonight, don’t jump ship just yet. There is still a season to be played come September.
Head coach Brian Daboll did mention the Giants starters should see action tonight. With that being said, here’s five Giants to keep an eye on tonight.
Kavon Thibodeaux
Kavon has had a strong camp thus far, disrupting the back field on the regular. With the Giants searching for the dominate pass rusher they have been lacking for years, look for Kavon to make his presence felt tonight.
Richie James
This one is more surprising, but he has had an interesting camp. James has been lined up in the backfield at times, and also had worked with the first team at wide receiver occasionally. Known as a return guy, this preseason will be important for James to embark himself as a wide receiver, to make the roster as a do-it-all player. I think at least one time James will take a handoff or run a jet sweep.
Evan Neal
Giants fans have been getting nervous after Neal’s up and down training camp. There have been videos of Neal falling down during one-on-ones. What I will say to any Giants fans that might be worrying about this guy….don’t be. He has all the tools, skills, and potential to be a real threat as a right tackle for this Giants offense. Neal has started adjusting to the speed of the game. There may be a few times Neal gets beat tonight, but that is all part of the preseason. Neal is going to be dangerous in the run game blocking, and we may see that here tonight.
Andrew Adams
With Belton going down with a broken collar bone, the Giants are searching for their number three safety. Adams returns for his second stint with the Giants after spending time in Tampa Bay. Adams has quickly moved up the depth chart this summer, and it will be interesting to see how he plays tonight. Adams has natural ball skills and is a good tackler. I would expect to see him make some plays here tonight.
Saquon Barkley
We might not see a whole lot from Saquon tonight as far as playing time, but watch how he cuts and sprints in the holes tonight. This will be a different version of Saquon we have seen the last couple of seasons. Barkley has been fully healthy this summer, and is in his second year since the ACL injury in Chicago. Saquon has looked more comfortable running the football this summer and has seemed to regain his burst. Even though it caused an uproar at practice, seeing Saquon lower his shoulder into teammate Aaron Robinson convinced me that he’s back. Let’s hope this season Barkley stays healthy and gets back on track to being a threat at running back.
Other players to keep an eye on are:
-LB Darrian Beavers
-WR Wan’Dale Robinson
-S Yusuf Corker
Photo credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WFT_vs.Giants(51499218402).jpg