GIANT NOTES
BALTIMORE – The squeeze is on. The final cutdown to 53 players must come by 4 p.m. on Sunday, meaning the Giants this weekend must remove 15 players from their roster. Many of the decisions have already been made, but today’s final preseason game against the Ravens will be a major factor for a handful of hopefuls.
The tightest competition appears to be on the defensive line, where Frank Ferrara, a spirited former practice squad player, and Lance Lagree, a rookie from Notre Dame, are vying for one job, with Lavell Ellis of Kent State also a possibility. Elsewhere, rookies Adam Wright and Anthony Green are competing for the backup fullback spot, although Wright sprained a knee during Wednesday’s practice.
At safety, it seems as if Dwayne Patmon of Michigan will make the team and on the offensive line Scott Kiernan has an outside shot. Marcellus Rivers, an undrafted rookie from Oklahoma State, seems a lock for the third tight end role, leaving Adam Young and Taman Bryant to fight for space on the practice squad.
Whether newly-signed Morten Andersen is ready today to assume the full-time kicking duties or not, this certainly will be the final game for John Markham, the fifth-round draft pick from Vanderbilt. Markham is expected to be cut Sunday and his hope remains in sticking on the practice squad.
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Perhaps for motivation, perhaps as a learning tool, the Giants’ offensive line has viewed tapes of the 34-7 loss to the Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV. It was easily the worst performance of the season for the unit. “[Offensive line coach] Jim McNally’s been torturing us for the past day or so, wanting to make us watch it,” C Dusty Zeigler said.
Zeigler, for one, is happy that he will not see any of Ravens DT Tony Siragusa, who will not play in the preseason after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery. Zeigler has haunting Super Bowl memories of the 340-pound Siragusa. “Now I don’t have to worry about that distinctive crackling noise when he falls on me,” Zeigler said. “I don’t know if it’s my bones or a bag of potato chips in his jersey.”
For what it’s worth, this is the 14th time in league history that two Super Bowl teams have faced each other the following preseason. The defending champs are 8-5 . . . The Giants had a brief walk-through yesterday morning, then attended their annual Kickoff Luncheon and then boarded an Amtrak train bound for Baltimore.
