The travails of the Giants first team offense have been a consistent storyline throughout preseason and they will have another chance to work out the kinks on Thursday against the Patriots.
Giants coach Tom Coughlin said Monday, via Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News, that the team’s starters would play 15-18 snaps during the preseason finale. Coughlin had threatened the starters with such a scenario if their play didn’t improve in last Friday’s game against the Jets.
There were some signs of life during that game, but it was still an uneven performance at best for Eli Manning and company. Complicating matters was the loss of left guard Geoff Schwartz to a dislocated toe, which will force the Giants to shuffle rookie Weston Richburg into the lineup. Right guard Brandon Mosley didn’t practice on Monday after his back tightened up on Sunday, an injury that could force the team to dig even deeper into the depth chart just before the start of the season.
Wide receiver Odell Beckham won’t be joining the starters on the field Thursday. He hasn’t returned to practice since a brief return from hamstring woes last week, something that would seem to be an important prerequisite for a player who has barely seen the practice field since the Giants made him a first-round pick in May.