First Impressions – Giants @ Panthers

The New York Giants’ offense struggled to get going in the early parts of this game, as Eli Manning missed some key passes early on. Their offensive woes weren't all on him though, as receiver Hakeem Nicks dropped a long pass which would have changed his numbers dramatically. Perhaps the most positive thing for the Panthers was return specialist Armanti Edwards, as he looked extremely dangerous on punt returns.
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While neither team’s first round pick played with the first team, we did get a chance to see some guys who are set to be new starters in 2011.

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New York Giants
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●  With Barry Cofield’s surprising departure for Washington, 2010 second round pick Linval Joseph has a chance to step up at defensive tackle. The first run play of the game came right at him and he was sealed inside by Panthers’ right guard Mackenzy Bernadeau. On the next play, Joseph was moved off of the line of scrimmage by a strong double team from both Bernadeau and center Ryan Kalil. Joseph redeemed himself slightly when he rushed the passer, as he forced Bernadeau into the back-field with a nice bull rush. despite this, there was more bad news for Joseph on the Panthers’ second drive, as an 18 yard run by Deangelo Williams was predominantly due to the double team of Kalil and Wharton, which moved Joseph back 5 yards off of the line of scrimmage.
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●  Tackle William Beatty, has been given the first shot at claiming the left tackle spot, with T David Diehl has finally been moved to his better suited position at left guard. On the first play, Beatty looked a little confused, doubling the defensive tackle and allowing Panthers defensive end Everette Brown a free shot at his quarterback. He had better protection on a couple of quick passes from Manning, staying with Brown throughout. In the running game, Beatty allowed Everette Brown inside of him, but the run was to the right so his mistake did not affect the play. The next couple of passes went without a hiccup for Beatty, as he did not allow any kind of pressure.
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●  Antrel Rolle continued to struggle in coverage, as he was late coming over on the completion to Brandon Lafell. Rookie Tyler Sash, who is expected to take over the role of the departed Deon Grant, was also responsible for the Olsen touchdown. Rolle himself was fortunate that Clausen didn’t look to his left on the first play of the third Panthers drive, as he was beaten cleanly off the line by Olsen.
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Carolina Panthers
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●  Jimmy Clausen didn’t help solidify his case to start for Carolina this year as his play left much to be desired. While his first play was a nice strike to Brandon Lafell on a post route, his first third down attempt resulted in an interception that was returned for a touchdown. Although there was pressure on the play, the pass was well behind running back Deangelo Williams. On the next drive, Clausen looked a little gun shy and missed an open Tony Fiammeta high. He did manage to set up a screen later in the quarter, and came back with a red zone touchdown putting nice location on a throw to Greg Olsen. He showed nice touch on a pass to Lafell, but that was later negated by a penalty. Coming back for his final drive, Clausen held onto the ball for too long, and was eventually sacked by Jason Pierre-Paul.
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●  It’s been a while since Carolina has had a tight end of Olsen’s quality in the receiving game. This game was a mixed bag for Olsen in the running game, as he did manage to make a nice block on defensive end Justin Tuck, driving him back from the line of scrimmage on one play. With that being said, he completely whiffed on him the following play. When he was finally targeted by Clausen, Olsen hauled in his first touchdown for the Panthers. He ran a nice route and shielded rookie Tyler Sash well with his body. He also managed to put a nice cut block on Jason Pierre-Paul on a draw, knocking him to the ground.
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●  The starting defensive tackles for the Panthers in this game, were Corey Irvin and rookie Sione Fua. Fua really struggled on one running play where he was overpowered by OG Chris Snee, who knocked him to the ground. However, Irvin made a nice play on the next run, taking advantage of Beatty’s inability to sustain a block which resulted in a tackle for a loss. Neither defensive tackle got any pressure on the three passes of the first drive, but they both held their own on the first play of the Giants’ second drive as they helped stop a Bradshaw run for no gain. Fua flashed a nice first step on a wide receiver screen, but centre David Baas was definitely at fault for not getting his hands on the defensive tackle. Irvin was really overpowered on a later run by our top ranked right tackle from last year, Kareem McKenzie.

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