Giant Steps Taken

Sinorice Moss didn’t get the answers he was looking for from the Giants’ coaches earlier this week. So instead, he went out and provided some answers for himself.

The beleaguered receiver, perched squarely on the roster bubble, came up big in his final preseason showcase Thursday night, catching two passes for 35 yards, both of which went for touchdowns. That helped jump-start a revived passing offense that was outstanding early before fizzling late, as the Giants lost their preseason finale to the New England Patriots, 38-27.

However, it might not have been a loss for the 25-year-old Moss. Maybe he finally showed the coaches he deserves to stick around.

“I really wish I did,” Moss said. “I wish I did prove that when my number is called I’m able to go out there and I’m able to make plays. When my number was called tonight, I made plays for this team.”

Even Tom Coughlin admitted Moss – who is battling Derek Hagan and David Tyree for the sixth receiver spot – “looked good, played real good and made some nice plays.” The question now is: Was it good enough to earn him a place on the Giants’ 53-man roster, which is due tomorrow at 6 p.m.?

“I really don’t know about all that,” Moss said. “I feel like I’ve been on the bubble since I’ve been here, honestly. But I’ve just been working hard, trying to stay positive about my situation, and every time I step on the field I always try to go hard and do what I have to do to make some plays and prove myself to this team.”

Moss did that by catching a 23-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning and a 12-yard touchdown pass from David Carr in the first six minutes of the game. However, his mini-explosion came against the Patriots’ third-team defense, which included a wide receiver playing at safety.

The Patriots, in fact, rested almost all of their starters – including Tom Brady and Randy Moss – which helps explain why the Giants were up 21-0 less than 10minutes in. By the middle of the second quarter, the Giants’ passing offense was perfect – Manning was 3-for-3 for 76 yards and a touchdown, and backup Carr was 6-for-6 for 153 yards and two touchdowns, including a 64-yard scoring strike to first-round draft pick Hakeem Nicks, who strained his hip flexor later but said he came out of the game only for precautionary reasons.

“I thought we did well,” Manning said. “We did what we wanted to do in getting off to a great start. We were efficient and effective as a first unit. That’s what you want to see in the fourth preseason game.”

However, the offense stalled after that, behind shaky performances by Andre’ Woodson (6-for-19, 98 yards, one interception) and Rhett Bomar (2-for-7, 40 yards, one interception) as the Patriots came back and then pulled away.

Despite the ending, it was still a better night for Moss than last Saturday night, when he wasn’t used until late in the third quarter of the Giants’ 27-25 loss to the Jets. Last night, the Giants turned to him early and often – throwing in his direction six times in all.

“It felt real good to get out there and have the opportunity to make some plays,” Moss said. “I felt like I did my best.”

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/giants/2009/09/04/2009-09-04_sinorice_moss_scores_twice.html#ixzz0QxQdwLQ4

Popularity: 4% [?]