Goff

Another day and another injury to a starting defensive player on the Giants. Goff was starting to play better at MLB and looked comfortable back there. He was very solid on stopping the run and this year in the preseason, we actually saw him get his hands on a pass and knock it down. That might have been the first time it happened in about 5 years. I really liked the 4 rookie LBs the Giants signed as substitutes behind the starters because they had great speed, energy and football IQ. I guess we'll see if they can play now. Giants will probably sign a veteran to hold down the fort and play more 3-safety looks to compensate for this.

Almost as important as the actual loss of Goff's on the field contributions might be the deflating morale and dispiriting nature of all the injuries. On the performance side, the Giants have now lost 8 defensive players that were either starters or prominent players that were penciled in to be in the regular defensive rotation. The list is: Terrel Thomas, Bruce Johnson, Amukamara and Witherspoon at CB, Marvin Austin and Osi at DL, Sintim and now Goff at LB. Osi and Amukamara will come back relatively soon, but that is still a lot of talent to take off the field. From the team spirit point of view, at what point do the Giants players start thinking to themselves that with all these injuries, their season is washed out and they may not play as hard.