NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (2-1) at N.Y. Giants (4-0)
MetLife Stadium (82,566) at 7:30 p.m. ET
* Thurs., Aug. 28, 2014*
The New England Patriots and the New York Giants will meet for the 24th time in the preseason and for the 10th straight year in the preseason finale this Thursday night when they square off at MetLife Stadium. The clubs have been frequent preseason opponents recently, squaring off in the preseason openers for three straight years from 2001-03 and resuming the series in 2005 when they started to meet in the preseason finale.The Giants lead the preseason with a 14-9 advanatge in the previous meetings.
This week's game will mark the third straight preseason contest against a team the Patriots faced in a Super Bowl. having played Philadelphia (Super Bowl XXXIX and Carolina (Super Bowl XXXVIII) in the previous two preseason games. The Patriots and Giants met in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TELEVISION: This week's game will be broadcast by the Patriots Preseason Television Network and can be seen in every New England state as well as Hawaii. The preseason network's flagship station is WBZ-TV CBS in Boston. WBZ-TV's Dan Roche provides playby- play and is joined by former Patriots tight end Christian Fauria in the broadcast booth. Former Patriots linebacker Matt Chatham will provide sideline analysis along with WBZTV's Steve Burton. Patriots Football Weekly scribes Paul Perillo and Andy Hart will also provide insight and analysis.
PATRIOTS PRESEASON TELEVISION NETWORK
**
Massachusetts**
Boston, Mass. WBZ-TV Ch. 4
Springfield, Mass. WWLP-TV Ch. 22
Rhode Island
Providence, R.I. WPRI-TV Ch. 12
New Hampshire
Manchester, N.H. WMUR-TV Ch. 9
Connecticut
Hartford, Conn. WTNH-TV Ch. 8
Maine
Portland, Maine WMTW-TV Ch. 8
Bangor, Maine WVII-TV Ch. 7
Vermont
Burlington, Vt. WCAX-TV Ch. 3
Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii KFVE-TV Ch. 5
RADIO: 98.5 FM, The Sports Hub, is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network. Play-by-play broadcaster Bob Socci will call the action along with former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak, who will provide color analysis.
SERIES HISTORY
The Patriots and Giants will meet for the 24th time in the preseason and for the tenth straight year in the preseason-finale.
The clubs have been frequent preseason opponents recently, squaring off in the preseason openers for three straight years from 2001-03 and resuming the series in 2005 when they started to meet in the preseason-finale.
The teams played three times during the 2007 and 2011 seasons with meetings in the preseason, the regular season and in Super Bowl. Overall, the Giants hold a 14-9 advantage in the preseason series. The Patriots claim a 5-4 edge in the regular season play.
NEW ENGLAND TIES
In the decades leading up to the founding of the American Football League in 1960, many football fans in New England followed the Giants, a franchise founded in 1925. New England-based NFL outfits such as the Providence Steam Roller (1925-31), the Boston Redskins (1932-36) and the Boston Yanks (1944- 48) folded or moved away, leaving the Giants as the closest NFL team to New England until the Patriots franchise inaugurated play in the 1960 season.
MEMORABLE MATCHUPS
Aug. 15, 1971 - The Patriots defeated the Giants 20-14 in the opening preseason game at the old Foxboro Stadium.
Dec. 21, 1996 - The Patriots rallied from a 22-3 fourth-quarter deficit to clinch a first-round playoff bye with a 23-22 win at Giants Stadium.
Dec. 29, 2007 - The Patriots defeat the Giants by a thrilling 38-35 score to cap off the first 16-0 regular season in NFL history.
February 3, 2008 - The Patriots faced the Giants in Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Ariz. The Giants 17-14 win snapped the Patriots perfect season.
February 5, 2012 - The Patriots faced the Giants in Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, Ind. The Giants took a 21-17 lead when they scored with 57 seconds left in the game and held the Patriots on a final drive to secure the win.
CONNECTIONS
NEW ENGLAND TIES
- Giants President and Chief Executive Officer John K. Mara received a B.S. degree in marketing from Boston College, where he graduated with cum laude honors in 1976.
- Giants head coach Tom Coughlin was head coach of Boston College from 1991-93, following a previous stint as quarterbacks coach from 1981-83.
- Giants WR Victor Cruz played in 31 games with 22 starts at Massachusetts, where he was a two-time first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection and finished his career with 131 receptions for 1,958 yards and 11 touchdowns.
- Giants LS Zak DeOssie attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., where he served as team captain as a senior and was an All-New England Prep Team selection. DeOssie played his college football at Brown, where he started 29 of 36 games and earned first-team All-Ivy League honors as a senior in 2006. His father, Steve, played linebacker for the Patriots from 1994-95, appearing in 32 games.
- Giants LB Mark Herzlich attended Boston College, where he was a firstteam All-American and ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2008.
- Giants DE Mathias Kiwanuka attended Boston College, where he started 38 of 49 games and set a school record with 37.5 career sacks.
- Giants RB Andre Williams attended Boston College, where he recorded school records for rushing attempts (355) and rushing yards (2,177) as a senior in 2013 and earned the Doak Walker Award given annually to the nation's premier running back.
- Giants offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo served as offensive line/tight ends coach at Fairfield (Conn.) University in 2002.
- Giants special teams coordinator Tom Quinn served as the defensive coordinator for Boston College in 1995 before moving on to become defensive coordinator at Holy Cross from 1996-98.
- Giants wide receivers coach Sean Ryan was a graduate assistant for Boston College from 2001-02 and also served as the recruiting coordinator, running backs coach and head coach of the junior varsity at Harvard in 2006.
- Giants offensive assistant Ryan Roeder was wide receivers coach at the University of Rhode Island in 2009. He previously served as running backs coach at Holy Cross in 2004.
- Giants secondary coach Peter Giunta is a native of Salem, Mass., and a graduate of Northeastern University, where he was a defensive back and running back from 1974-77. He launched his coaching career as an assistant at Swampscott HS from 1978-80 before moving on to coach at Brown University in various roles from 1984-87.
- Giants OL Will Beatty played in 39 games with 35 starts at Connecticut, where he was a first-team All-Big East selection as a senior in 2008.
NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY TIES
- Patriots Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Kraft graduated from Columbia University in 1963 with a degree in history and economics and was inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.
- Patriots S Devin McCourty attended Saint Joseph's HS in Montvale, N.J., where he was an all-league first-team defensive back his final two seasons. McCourty went on to play college football at Rutgers, where he started 39 of 52 games at cornerback and was an Academic All-Big East selection in 2006 and 2007.
- Patriots DB Logan Ryan attended Eastern HS in Voorhees, N.J. before playing college football at Rutgers, where he started 27 of 37 games at cornerback and was a first-team All-American selection as a senior by Pro Football Weekly.
- Patriots LB Steve Beauharnais is a Saddle Brook, N.J. native who attended Saint Joseph's HS in Montvale, N.J. for one season. He also attended Rutgers, where he started 41 of 51 games and was selected captain by his teammates his senior season.
- Patriots DL Dominique Easley attended Curtis HS in Staten Island, N.Y. and was named Most Valuable Player at the 2010 Under Armour All-American Game.
- Patriots S Duron Harmon started 27 of 50 games at Rutgers, earning first-team All-Big East honors as a junior and senior.
FORMER PATRIOTS
- Giants assistant special teams coach Larry Izzo played in 127 games at linebacker for the Patriots from 2001-08 and served as a special teams captain in all eight of his seasons in New England. Izzo won three Super Bowl rings with the Patriots and was named to the Pro Bowl in 2002 and 2004. He and his wife, Mara, have a son, Boston.
- Giants assistant strength and conditioning coach Markus Paul served in the same capacity for the Patriots from 2000-04, earning three Super Bowl rings as a member of the coaching staff.
FORMER GIANTS
- Patriots head coach Bill Belichick served in various roles on the Giants' coaching staff from 1979-90: special teams (1979-80), special teams/linebackers (1981-82), linebackers (1983-84), defensive coordinator (1985-88) and defensive coordinator/secondary (1989-90). He helped the Giants capture Super Bowl titles in 1986 and 1990.
- Patriots offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo served as assistant offensive line/quality control for the Giants in 2004 and then as assistant offensive line coach from 2005-08.
FORMER COLLEGE TEAMMATES
- Patriots DL Vince Wilfork and Giants S Antrel Rolle were defensive teammates at Miami (FL) from 2001-03, helping the Hurricanes capture the 2001 BCS National Championship.
- Patriots DB Alfonzo Dennard and Giants CB Prince Amukamara played together in the defensive backfield for Nebraska from 2008-10. In 2010, Dennard was a first-team All-Big 12 selection while Amukamara was a unanimous All-America selection and garnered Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors.
- Patriots RB Stevan Ridley, WR Brandon LaFell, Giants WR Rueben Randle and WR Trindon Holliday were offensive teammates at LSU in 2009.
