Bears game review

Can't make too much of preseason games, of course, but there were some encouraging signs in this game. Finally we saw a Ramses Barden sighting. He looked very good, getting open against a very good CB, running very good routes, catching everything that was thrown his way and even drawing a PI penalty in the end zone when he beat the Bears CB so badly that he had to interfere with Barden.

Da'Rel Scott looked pretty good and blocked a punt also. Andre Brown did not have a good game and it may have sealed his fate.

The OL was a little better but still not great. There were some successful runs and the pass blocking was good enough for Eli to go 17-21, with 2 drops by WRs. But there were still too many completely unsuccessful running plays. There were too many times where the Bears DL broke down a block and blew up the play for 0 or negative yardage.

Eli looked great. He has become such an accurate passer and is underrated for how well he moves in the pocket. Not only his accuracy, but his ball placement is uncanny. His weapons are better than last year, with the addition of speed at RB inWilson and a legitmate threat at TE in Bennett. He may not pass for as many yards as last year because of more balance coming from the (hoped for) increased  production in the running game, but I am still looking for a big season from Eli.

David Wilson looked great. He has great speed, great vision and instincts and for a man who is considered a somewhat slight, speed RB, he can really break tackles against a defense that has the reputation for toughness. He is going to be a huge benefit to the Giants offense as the season goes along. I am not sure he shouldn't be starting and I would like to see his workload increase as he masters the offense.

Reuben Randle is a player. I love his smooth strides and even gait when he looks like he is not even trying. But he gets separation, has great hands and is a strong WR who can catch the ball in traffic and take a hit, still holding onto the ball.

I've said this before but Giants have among the best blocking WRs in football. Cruz gets himself in good position to engage the DB even though he's not big. Nicks is big and a great blocker and this week, Barden made a few very good blocks in the running game.

Last year one of the problems with the running game was the poor blocking by the FB and the TEs on the edge. Even though Ballard is big, he was simply not a good in line blocker and he was even worse when he got out into space. Pascoe is decent, but is not athletic and often did not line up the blocks properly when there was some movement necessary to get in position for the block. Hynoski was learning the game and the offense; was often late getting to lead the play in the hole. As the season went along Hynoski got better and better and was playing FB very well towards the end of the season - one of the reasons the run game picked up in the playoffs. Pascoe also got a little better as the season went along, but still not great. The good news for the Giants is how good Bennett has looked at TE. He is a superior blocker and may really help the running game and has looked like a perfect complementary piece for the passing game. He might be the most complete TE Giants have had since Bavaro. Even Shockey... he was a crazy athlete, but was not big body and not a great blocker.