At the moment, four guys are vying for playing time behind Bradshaw, including rookie David Wilson, D.J. Ware, third-year back Andre Brown and last season’s seventh-rounder Da’Rel Scott.

Wilson has performed well thus far in training camp, but has made it very evident what he brings to the table is raw at best. His speed is undeniable, but his ability to protect the quarterback and catch the ball out of the backfield are two things he will need to improve on in the future.

The veteran Ware has had a strong camp as well, but the Giants know what they have with him. He can be useful on occasion in short-yardage situations and on passing downs, but he is not a primary option to do much out of the backfield. Despite this, the Giants have kept him on the roster and offensive Kevin Gilbride always makes use of him in at least one play every week.

The biggest surprise has been Andre Brown. Brown is an “every-down kind of guy”, as Giants running backs coach Jerald Ingram noted, with a desirable combination of power and speed. The former Wolfpack stud still has much to prove on gameday—he has carried the ball just twice in his NFL career for minus one yard.

And then there’s Da’Rel Scott. The former Maryland Terrapin saw the field primarily as a return man in 2011, carrying the football just five times for 16 yards—eight of which came on one run.

Despite Scott’s blistering speed and a battered running back group last season, the Giants did not trust in the rookie enough to allow him to see the field which has to make you wonder what they saw in practice from him. This season, he hasn’t helped his case much once again as he fights through injuries in training camp.

His abilities are still a big question mark. It was not an accident he fell to the seventh round, and unfortunately, he has been unable to prove he was worth much more on the field.

With four running backs in front of him performing better and fighting for their job, Scott could be on the chopping block. His role on special teams is vital, but the Giants have a handful of guys who could handle return duties and may be planning on doing so anyhow.

Scott’s inability to see the field in training camp because of two injuries could cost him his tenure with the defending NFL champions. Scott will have the remainder of camp and four preseason games to prove otherwise. The Giants must cut their roster down to 80 players by August 28th.

Louis Musto is a New York Giants Featured Columnist for www.RantSports.com. You can follow him on Twitter @LouisMusto.

There are not many surprises to be found, and if you missed me analyzing the offense you can find that article here.

Now we will move on to the defensive side of things. Let’s rock.

Defensive End (left to right)

Starters – Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul, Osi Umenyiora
Second String – Adrian Tracy, Justin Trattou
Third String – Craig Marshall, Matt Broha
Remaining – Adewale Ojomo

My Take: No, the Giants are not trotting three defensive ends out there in the starting lineup, but it is still nonetheless interesting that they listed both Umenyiora and JPP as starting right defensive ends on the depth chart. Tracy and Trattou are both fighting for the so-called “Dave Tollefson” spot behind the main four guys. Remember linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka will spend a considerable amount of downs with his hand in the dirt as well.

Broha and Marshall are likely both practice squad material, and Ojomo has some work to do to make the team.

Defensive Tackle

Starters – Linval Joseph, Rocky Bernard
Second String – Marvin Austin, Shaun Rogers
Third String – Martin Parker, Dwayne Hendricks
Remaining – Chris Canty, Markus Kuhn

My Take: Obviously when Canty comes off the PUP list, at some point, he will be reinstated as the starter in place of Bernard. The Giants finally re-signed Bernard just before camp, hoping his veteran presence can be counted on again this season. The young guns Austin and rookie Kuhn have looked solid in camp, and to be honest it is surprising to see Kuhn behind Parker and Hendricks. But being that he is a rookie, he’ll have to prove his worth in the preseason to move up, otherwise he could be a practice squad player his first year.

Linebackers

SAM – Mathias Kiwanuka, Keith Rivers, Greg Jones, Clint Sintim
Middle – Chase Blackburn, Mark Herzlich, Jake Muasau
WILL – Michael Boley, Jacquian Williams, Spencer Paysinger

My Take: No surprises here at all. The Giants have an incredibly deep group at linebacker, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see as many as seven different players see time at the position one way or another. All three backups in Rivers, Herzlich and Williams are pushing the starters in camp so far. It will be a very interesting position to keep your eye on all year long in terms of starting combinations.

Cornerbacks

Starters – Corey Webster, Prince Amukamara
Second String – Michael Coe, Justin Tryon
Third String – Jayron Hosley, Brandon Bing
Remaining – Bruce Johnson, Antwaun Molden, Terrell Thomas, Dante Hughes

My Take: The Giants got some great news when Dr. James Andrews did not find an ACL tear in Terrell Thomas’ knee. He will rehab and could be back some time early this season, but the Giants will not rush him back. Amukamara gets the start in his place, but there is a big time battle for playing time after that. Coe, Tryon, Bing and Johnson have all looked solid in camp, and Hosley and Molden are new additions that the Giants love as well. It will be interesting to see who is on the outside looking in come September.

Safeties

Starters – Kenny Phillips, Antrel Rolle
Second String – Tyler Sash, Will Hill
Third String – Steve Brown, Jojo Nicolas
Remaining – Chris Horton, Janzen Jackson

My Take: There are a ton of special interest stories at the safety position, mainly the three undrafted free agents who are fighting for their proverbial lives. Hill, Nicolas and Jackson have all impressed at some point in camp, but Hill looks like he has a real chance for playing time this year. With Sash missing the first four games due to a suspension, Hill and whomever emerges as the fifth best will be important. Phillips and Rolle were rocks at the back end of the defense last year, but when Rolle was forced to move to the Nickel corner spot it hurt the team. With so many talented bodies at corner, hopefully that won’t be necessary.

Jeff is an NFL Featured Columnist for www.RantSports.com. He contributes mainly to the New York Giants and NFL Rumors pages. He also will occasionally touch on the NBA and humorous videos involving all sports.

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1.  The Running Game:  Last season the Giants ranked dead last in the NFL in rushing with an 89.2 yard per game average despite having two former 1,000 yard backs on their roster in Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs.  Jacobs is now gone but the questions about the Giants running game remain.  The Giants selected David Wilson from Virginia Tech in the first round in the hopes of replacing Jacobs as well as hoping Wilson is their running back of the future.  However, running backs tend to be only as good as the offensive line blocking in front of them allows them to be.  That is where the real issue is with the Giants.

Injuries on the offensive line kept things in the trenches in a state of flux.  Will Beatty, the left tackle, was lost for the season after getting poked in the eye and requiring surgery to reattach his retina.  Beatty has not participated much in camp so far this summer as he has been battling back issues and Sean Locklear, a free agent signee, has been getting some looks at left tackle.  The Giants will need a healthy year from Beatty, as well as one from center David Baas who spent quite a bit of time on the sidelines last season dealing with neck and head issues.  David Diehl will also need to step up his game, whether it is at left tackle, or right tackle.  Last season he struggled at times after shuffling over to fill in for Beatty.  He is much better suited for the right side but has looked like a man out to prove something so far in camp.

As much as the offensive line is the key to the running game the Giants need to know who will be helping Ahmad Bradshaw carry the load.  Wilson will get plenty of snaps this preseason as the Giants try to see how much he contribute when the games count.  They will also lean heavily on Da’Rel Scott who was dynamic last year in the preseason but rarely saw the field in the regular season.  Scott has home run ability and should push Wilson for playing time.  There are also two veterans in the fight, D.J. Ware and Andre Brown.  Ware is trying to expand his role after being the team’s third down back last season.  He is adept at catching the ball out of the backfield and is excellent at picking up the blitz but he wants to make his mark in the NFL and time is running out.  Brown is just trying to keep his NFL hopes alive at this point.  Injuries derailed the former fourth-round pick his rookie year and he has not been able to stick on an NFL roster since then.

There is plenty to watch in the backfield and up front on the line.  While nothing will be decided in the first preseason game it will set the tone for the remaining three games and give the Giants coaching staff an idea of what they have in real game conditions.

What I expect:  I expect to see the Giants run the ball early and often.  They already know what they have in Eli Manning and company as far as starting wide receivers.  They need to see if the running backs in camp are going to make an impact and improve the offense.  Given their ability, this could easily turn into the Scott and Wilson Show.

2.  Domenik Hixon’s Knees and the Number Three Receiver Spot:  Hixon is coming off of his second torn ACL in as many seasons.  He was slotted to be the Giants number two receiver last year but by Week 2 he was out for the season, tearing his ACL on an acrobatic touchdown catch against the St. Louis Rams.  Hixon’s injury opened the door for Victor Cruz to set Giants records as a receiver and now Hixon is fighting for the third receiver spot.  He will have some competition.  Ramses Barden, Jerrel Jernigan, and Rueben Randle are all going to be playing for time in the regular season and all want to take Hixon’s job away from him.  It won’t be easy.  Hixon has a history with the coaching staff who has seen what he can do when healthy.  That, however, is the key.  When healthy.  Hixon has missed basically two years because of knee injuries and that has to be somewhere in the back of his mind.  A third injury could ruin his career.  The Giants love Hixon and will allow him to push himself as far as he feels comfortable.  It will take a lot for the other three receivers to supplant Hixon.  However, all eyes will be on his knees and see how he handles his routes in real-game situations.  While this won’t be the only test for Hixon it will be his first.  Practice is one thing.  Scrimmage is yet another.  However, a real game is a much different animal.

What I expect:  I expect Hixon to show some initial timidity out there.  It would be only natural.  However, I also expect the competitor in Hixon to eventually take over and he will push himself to be the Hixon of old.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the Giants coaching staff sits him down for long spells to limit his chances of pushing too hard.  I also expect the Giants to limit the amount of cutting required of Hixon on his routes so I wouldn’t be shocked if there were some straight routes where Hixon might be able to blow past a defender and avoid as much contact as possible.

3.  Mark Herzlich Will Put on a Show:  I often wonder to myself if anyone was more pumped for camp to start than Mark Herzlich.  Herzlich was an undrafted free agent who made the team last year and ended up as the starting middle linebacker at one point before an ankle injury put the kibosh on that.  Herzlich believes the middle linebacker spot is his to lose.  He could be on the depth chart as a punter, no offense Steve Weatherford, and think he was still the starting middle linebacker.  He wants the job and wants it bad.  He came into camp in better shape than he was last year and he is also another year removed from bone cancer in his leg.  One important aspect to keep an eye on will be every time he drops into coverage.  Herzlich has been beastly in coverage in camp and I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t continue to be so in the preseason.  There are also nine other linebackers around him pushing for a spot at the table and Herzlich would start at all three linebacker spots at once if it were physically possible.  If you can’t read the numbers and names on the jersey, Herzlich will be the one that appears as a white blur on your television screen.

What I expect:  This is the first step in Herzlich claiming the middle linebacker spot.  The talent was always there and now the strength is there to go with it.  Cancer be damned, cancer ran away from Herzlich for fear of getting hit by Herzlich.  The Giants might have a future all-pro on their hands, and yes, I believe he will see more than one Pro Bowl.

The Giants had other plans.

You could feel the confidence exuding from the entire team during that week leading up to the game. They had just come off a dominating 24-2 win over the Atlanta Falcons the week before, and comparisons to the 2007 team that came out of nowhere to win the Super Bowl seemed to feed that confidence.

Young stud defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul even went as far as to guarantee a victory.

The Packers laughed most of the talk off. They were reasonably confident considering they beat the Giants 38-35 in the regular season about two months prior.

So when the Giants dominated the Packers 37-20, mostly on the heels of mistakes made by the Packers, it came as the ultimate shock to most.

But not to the Giants.

The funny part is the score should not have even been that close. The refs botched a fumble call which gave the ball back to the Packers when in fact it should have been Giants ball. The Packers scored a touchdown on the drive.

It was a dominating performance by the Giants, especially on offense. Eli Manning picked apart that Green Bay defense, who had set the record for most passing yards allowed in one season in 2011. Manning ended the night with 330 yards, three touchdowns and a 114.5 QB rating. By and large, the offensive line kept him upright allowing just one sack by linebacker Brad Jones.

Which brings me to Clay Matthews III, who apparently told Green Bay beat reporters that the Packers beat themselves, the Giants did not beat them. Honestly, I could see why someone on the offensive side of the ball would say that. They were the best offensive team in the league and uncharacteristically turned the ball over four times (should have been five) and dropped many passes.

But what in the hell is Matthews complaining about? Not only was he held in check the entire game, but the defense got their asses handed to them. The defensive players should count their lucky stars Aaron Rodgers could get them where he did in the first place.

The offense bailed out the defense on multiple occasions last season. Matthews needs to take a good, long look in the mirror before he starts pointing fingers, even if those fingers are directed at his team. He needs to give credit where credit is due. The Giants forced those turnovers.

It seems as if the Packers will never get over this, and I cannot understand why Greg Jennings is the only Packer to acknowledge the Giants were the better team that day. It is the truth, and the box score reflects that.

Giants defensive captain Justin Tuck had some choice words for Matthews, claiming he is in “fantasy land.”

“Obviously you’d believe that success would breed reality, right? I guess people love living in Fantasy Land and want to make excuses for the situation.”

“Thank you for giving us the game, Clay. I appreciate it a lot.”

Chris Snee, a three time Pro Bowler, also had an awesome response.

“If that’s what Clay thinks, so be it. I have a brand new ring and we earned every bit of it. We went in there and beat them. He was a non-factor. Maybe that’s what he means.”

You cannot fault the Giants players for being partially upset. This is the second time they’ve won a Super Bowl by getting “hot” at the right time. The word choice I choose to use is “healthy,” but that is normally identified as an excuse.

So since they came out of nowhere to most people, the fact that they won the Super Bowl is often called an act of luck. Well, call me crazy, but you don’t win two road playoff games and beat a 13-3 New England Patriots team by being lucky.

Maybe some day the Giants will get the credit they deserve. Until then, they’ll just have to enjoy looking the ring on their finger.

Jeff is an NFL Featured Columnist for www.RantSports.com. He contributes mainly to the New York Giants and NFL Rumors pages. He also will occasionally touch on the NBA and humorous videos involving all sports.

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The Rookies: All of the the Giants rookies will be making their debut tomorrow. David Wilson and Rueben Randle are going to be important cogs in the Giants machine this year. Wilson could even start at running back this year. You always like to see the rookies out there to see what you have and what you can look forward to this season.

Offensive Line: The key to the Giants is their offensive line. When the Giants run they ball they are a completely different team. Look at their playoff run last year. The offense and team got going when they could run the ball. I’m curious to see if they can show a similar physical presence to what they had at the end last year.

The Secondary: With all the injuries to the secondary, I’m curious to see how some of the new players perform. There’s a lot of competition for the backup safety spot, especially with all the undrafted free agents that were brought in to compete for the position. With the uncertainty of Terrell Thomas, a lot of the younger corners need to step up and it starts tomorrow.

Preseason games record wise don’t mean a whole lot. You want to win at least one of course, but the more important thing is to come out of it healthy.

Currently, free agent signee Martellus Bennett is listed as the second tight end on the New York Giants depth chart, behind Bear Pascoe, as he learns the new offense.  Even though the depth chart in training camp and the preseason means nothing and can change quickly, it is interesting to see Pascoe listed ahead of Bennett.  The Giants play a lot of two-tight end formations so even if Bennett stays as the backup he will see the field a lot more than he did with the Dallas Cowboys.

However, what is really intriguing is what tight ends coach Mike Pope said to the media regarding Bear Pascoe.  “A year ago at this time we didn’t know any more about Jake Ballard than we really know about Bear Pascoe in that role right now,” Pope said.  “If Bear can do what Jake was able to do and be a good player at the point of attack and be someone that the quarterback can trust and have chemistry with, then anything can happen.”

Ballard, of course, came out of virtually nowhere to replace the departed Kevin Boss who signed with the Oakland Raiders.  Ballard went on to become a major factor in the Giants’ offense and caught 38 passes for 604 yards and 4 TDs across 14 games, including 13 starts.

Seeing Pascoe, 26, emerge as the starting tight end wouldn’t be surprising, even if Bennett was the Giants’ lone big free agent splash.  Pascoe seemed to gain quarterback Eli Manning’s trust a little more each week and Pascoe began to emerge from unknown to option in the passing game.  In the Super Bowl after Ballard and Travis Beckum went down with ACL injuries, Pascoe stepped in and caught 4 passes for 33 yards.  He also caught his first NFL touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game.

While those stats guarantee nothing, it does show Manning’s willingness to look for him in the biggest game of the year which says something about Pascoe’s reliability, if not his ability.  It is hard not to remember Pascoe’s leap over cornerback Terrance Newman on a screen pass with the Giants on their own five-yard line against the Cowboys in Week 17 that saved the Giants from punting out of their own end zone.

Don’t be surprised if Pascoe’s standing knowledge of the offense keeps him slightly ahead of Bennett and 2012 fourth-round draft pick Adrien Robinson on the depth chart.  Bennett will get himself plenty of options in the passing game regardless of where he lines up.  However, I’ve already written about Bear Pascoe’s potential once earlier this offseason here so don’t say I didn’t warn you, and now Mike Pope as well, about the possible emergence of Bear Pascoe.

“Thank you for giving us the game, Clay,” Tuck shot back.  “I appreciate it a lot.”  Not exactly locker room fodder but enough to keep what has become a fairly decent rivalry over the last five years on life support.

This has become a recurring theme among teams that the Giants beat in order to get to, and eventually win the Super Bowl.  The Giants might just be the least respected defending Super Bowl Champion in the history of the NFL.  Nobody believes the Giants, who finished 9-7 last year and squeaked into the playoffs, were truly capable of winning the Super Bowl.

Yes, the Giants lost some tough games, like two games to the Washington Redskins and one against the Seattle Seahawks that they truly had no business losing.  However, forgotten is the fact that the Giants came within centimeters of beating the Packers during the regular season.  If the referee correctly called Jake Ballard’s knee in the endzone and not out of bounds, the Giants would have beaten the Packers.

However, guys like Clay Matthews don’t seem to want to give the Giants any credit.  They don’t want to believe that the Giants, winners of two Super Bowls in the last five years, are really that good.  In their minds, the Giants didn’t beat them, they just didn’t play their best.  Whatever helps you sleep at night, Clay.

Tuck took a good approach to the matter.  He fired back and made it known that he will take the win anyway the win comes because ultimately it was the Giants who were playing in the NFC Championship game after, then the Super Bowl.  Tuck’s words shouldn’t escalate the situation into a war of words but it was a well-placed comeback.  The only reason Justin Tuck can’t sleep at night is if his two Super Bowl rings catch the glow from the streetlights outside his window.  It’s time the Giants start getting a little respect for their accomplishments.  Until then, the Giants will just write the names down in a little area in the back of their minds and once again get ready to meet the haters.

Nicks has begun running routes and catching passes from the Giants’ training staff. This is the first instance in which Nicks is doing something other than running in straight lines non-strenuous circles, according to CBSSports.com.

“I’ve been doing hills, getting my endurance back up,” Nicks told CBS Sports’ Alex Raskin. “Just doing everything I need to do to make sure I’m back in shape before I step back out there.”

Nicks is coming off an outstanding season for the Giants in 2011. He caught 76 passes for 1,192 yards and seven touchdowns while combining with Victor Cruz to form one of the NFL’s most lethal receiving duos.

239 of those yards came against the Dallas Cowboys, the team hopes to make his return against in the September 5th opener. Nicks’ progress is a positive sign that he will back in time to line up opposite Cruz at 100 percent.

With some improvement running routes with the training staff, Nicks could move up to finally practicing with the Giants’ quarterbacks. Eli Manning has always been able to be successful with whomever he is given to work with, but timing and practice is always key to success in the passing game. That is something Nicks and Manning will need time to work on before the regular season gets underway.

Louis Musto is a New York Giants Featured Columnist for www.RantSports.com. You can follow him on Twitter @LouisMusto.

“We picked the most inopportune time to play our worst ball,” Matthews told Yahoo! Sports’ Mike Silver. “The fact is, [the Giants] didn’t beat us; we beat ourselves. We need to play our best ball when it counts. This year, I expect us to be right back where we should be.”

The Packers finished the NFL regular season on a tear and was easily the best team at 15-1. But a streaking Giants team roared into Lambeau Field with Eli Manning slinging the football with elite ability and the Giants defense stifled Green Bay’s high-powered offense, something the defense simply wasn’t used to.

To hinge all credit for the Giants’ success on the Packers defense, as Matthews did, is disrespectful. The defense may have been more laid back than they should have been with high expectations for Rodgers and the offense, but the Giants were not going to be beat. They rolled through three of the NFL’s best teams to win their second Super Bowl in five seasons.

Manning was 21-of-33 passing for 330 yards and three touchdowns, including an astounding hail mary completion to Hakeem Nicks that only the Giants could have achieved at that point last season. The Packers inability to play strong defense could not be blamed there, where Green Bay was as tight as they had been all day—Nicks just made the play.

The Giants and Packers meet again this year during the regular season in Week 13 at MetLife Stadium on Sunday Night Football. We’ll see if Clay Matthews and the Packers find a way to beat themselves again.

Louis Musto is a New York Giants Featured Columnist for www.RantSports.com. You can follow him on Twitter @LouisMusto.

We’ll start with the offense.

Quarterback

Starter – Eli Manning
Backups – David Carr, Ryan Perrilloux

My Take: Nothing to see here. The Giants will bring two quarterbacks for the regular season, leaving Perrilloux to make the practice squad. But Perriloux has not done much with his opportunities in camp, so the Giants just may cut him outright in September.

Wide Receivers

Starters – Victor Cruz, Domenik Hixon
Second String – Jerrel Jernigan, Ramses Barden
Third String – Rueben Randle, Isaiah Stanback
Remaining – Brandon Collins, David Douglas, Dan DePalma, Hakeem Nicks, Julian Talley

My Take: Nicks is saying he plans on playing week one, so don’t freak out about him not even being listed on the third string. He likely will not play Friday. Randle may be behind Jernigan and Barden, but he is a rookie and he’ll have to earn the team’s respect before he gets serious consideration for the second string. Jernigan and Barden have apparently looked good in camp, so this first game will be a test for them to impress the coaches.

Runningbacks

Starter – Ahmad Bradshaw
Second String – David Wilson
Third String – D.J. Ware
Remaining – Da’Rel Scott, Andre Brown, Joe Martinek
Fullback – Henry Hynoski, (Joe Martinek)

My Take: I’m actually surprised to see Wilson as Bradshaw’s backup, not because of lack of ability but because he is a rookie and I did not think he would be the backup until some point midway through the season. Obviously what he’s done in camp has impressed enough to gain the coaches confidence.

Tight Ends

Starter – Bear Pascoe
Second String – Martellus Bennett
Third String – Adrien Robinson
Remaining – Christian Hopkins, Ryan Purvis, Larry Donnell, Travis Beckum

My Take: I’m still surprised to see Pascoe ahead of Bennett on the depth chart, but I expect that to change at some point during camp or the preseason. Jerry Reese raved about how good of a blocker Bennett is, even going so far as to compare him to former Giants tight end Howard Cross. Robinson still has a long way to go, but it is encouraging to see him ahead of Hopkins.

Offensive Line (Starter to Third String)

LT – Will Beatty, James Brewer, Matt McCants
LG – Kevin Boothe, Selvish Capers, Brandon Mosley
C – David Baas, Chris White, Jim Cordie
RG – Chris Snee, Mitch Petrus, Steve Goodin
RT – David Diehl, Sean Locklear, Joel Reinders

My Take: No surprises at all from the starters standpoint, though with Beatty’s injury concerns I’m surprised they are going to play him Friday. Both Locklear and Brewer have seen time behind Beatty, so it’s anyone’s guess as to who will start if Beatty misses time. My money is on Locklear, since he has more experience.

It is also very much a surprise to see Petrus behind Snee instead of Boothe, though that could be just to keep things consistent on the site. Petrus is likely the backup for both guard spots. It also is clear that fourth round pick Mosley is making the move to guard despite playing right tackle in college. The Giants like his versatility, so he should make the final roster.

Jeff is an NFL Featured Columnist for www.RantSports.com. He contributes mainly to the New York Giants and NFL Rumors pages. He also will occasionally touch on the NBA and humorous videos involving all sports.

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Follow Jeff on Twitter @Jeff_Shull