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NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS(2-1) atNEW YORK GIANTS* (1-2)
*Thurs., Sept. 2 2010 at 7:00 p.m. EDT
New Meadowlands Stadium (82,500)
The New England Patriots will close out the preseason against the New York Giants for the sixth straight season when they travel to face the Giants in the New Meadowlands Stadium. The game will be the first of two September visits to the New Meadowlands Stadium. New England will play at the Jets on Sept. 19. The Patriots closed out their history at Giants Stadium (1976-2009) with a 17-10 overall record against the New York Jets, a 2-1 record against the Giants in the regular-season and a 1-3 record against the Giants in preseason play. In last season's preseason finale, QB Brian Hoyer helped the Patriots overcome a 21-0 first quarter deficit by going 18-of-25 for 242 yards with a touchdown to rally the Patriots to a 38-27 win over the Giants at Gillette Stadium.
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 Eastern Canada, Alaska and Hawaii. The network's flagship station is WBZ-TV Channel 4 in Boston. Veteran CBS broadcaster Don Criquiprovides play-by-play and is joined by three-time NFL Pro Bowler and CBS analyst Randy Cross. Steve Burtonwill serve as the sideline reporter, while former Patriots QB Scott Zolakwill serve as an onfield analyst.
RADIO: 98.5 FM, The Sports Hub, is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network. A complete listing of the network's 36 stations can be found here. Play-by-play broadcaster Gil Santos is in his 34th season as the voice of the Patriots and will call the action along with Patriots Hall of Famer Gino Cappelletti. Santos and Cappelletti are celebrating their 27th season as a tandem.
FIRST NFL GAME TO BE BROADCAST IN 3DVerizon's local FiOS TV customers will be able to watch the game between the Patriots and Giants in 3D, provided that they have a 3D TV. It will be the first NFL game broadcast in 3D. "This is the next major step in our development of 3D experiences for our FiOS TV customers," said Terry Denson, vice president of content strategy and acquisition for Verizon. "Broadcasting the first 3D NFL game delivers on our promise to FiOS customers to provide superior TV offering, including 3D, HD and VOD programming, as well as interactivity that cable can't match." Since only a small number of customers own 3D TV sets, Verizon is setting up events for fans to watch the game on a 3D TV.
GILLETTE STADIUM UNVEILS HIGH DEF VIDEO BOARDSThe Patriots unveiled new high definition Daktronics LED video boards that were installed during the offseason to enhance the in-stadium game day experience. The two screens--41.5-by-164-feet in the south end zone and 45-by-100-feet in the north end zone--total five times the size of the original screens. It would take 1,700 televisions to fill those dimensions using a standard 37" HDTV. The new video boards also provide much greater resolution, with the ability to display more instant replays and an array of graphics, including live statistical updates and out-of-town scores. The video boards utilize more than 5 million individual LED pixels that offer superior brightness in direct sunlight, with the capability of showing up to 4.4 trillion shades of color. The image clarity also greatly enhances the wide-angle visibility of the screens from inside the stadium. "This type of video board simply didn't exist eight years ago when the stadium was built," said Patriots President Jonathan Kraft. "The resolution is incredible. It is amazing to see how far the video technology has come in the past decade."
SERIES HISTORYThe Patriots and Giants will meet for the 20th time in the preseason and for the sixth straight year in the preseason-finale. This week's game will be the Patriots first-ever visit to the New Meadowlands Stadium, which made its debut on Aug. 16 when the Giants played the Jets in a Jets home game. The Patriots will make their regularseason debut at New Meadowlands Stadium on Sept. 19 when they travel to face the Jets. Overall, the Giants hold a 11- 8 advantage in the preseason series. The Patriots claim a 5-3 edge in the regular season play and have won four straight regularseason games against the Giants since 1996. 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.
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 PATRIOTS-GIANTS MATCHUPS
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]()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.
Aug. 10, 2001 - New England began its first Super Bowl championship season with a 14-0 preseason shutout of the defending NFC champion Giants.
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.
CONNECTIONS
- Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick was a member of the Giants' coaching staff for 12 seasons, filling such roles as special teams and linebackers coach as well as defensive coordinator. He also won two Super Bowl Championships in 1986 and 1990, respectively.
- Belichick and Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin coached together with the Giants from 1988-1990. Coughlin was the team's wide receivers coach during his tenure.
- Patriots C Dan Koppen and Giants G Chris Snee and DE Mathias Kiwanuka were teammates at Boston College for the 2001-02 seasons.
- Kiwanuka was also a defensive teammate at Boston College with Patriots DT Ron Bracefrom 2004-05.
- Giants LB Zack DeOssie's father, Steve DeOssie, was a member of the Patriots defensive corps from 1994-95.
- Patriots CB Darius Butler and Giants T William Beatty were four-year teammates at the University of Connecticut from 2005-08.
- Patriots G Ryan Wendell and S James Sandersand Giants TE Bear Pascoewere teammates at Fresno State during the 2004 season.
- Patriots LB Eric Alexander and Giants CB Corey Websterwere defensive teammates at Louisiana State University from 2001-03.
- Patriots NT Vince Wilfork and S Brandon Meriweather and Giants S Antrel Rollewere Hurricanes teammates from 2002-03.
- Furthermore,Meriweather and Patriots WR Darnell Jenkins and Giants WR Sinorice Moss, DT Dwayne Hendricks, CB Bruce Johnsonand S Kenny Phillips spent time together on the Miami sidelines for the 2005 season.
- Patriots LB Pierre Woods and P Zoltan Mesko and Giants WR Mario Manninghamplayed together for the University of Michigan during the 2005 season.
- Patriots LB Derrick Burgessand Giants QB Eli Manning were teammates at Mississippi during the 2000 season.
- Patriots WR Sam Aiken and Giants FB Madison Hedgecock were members of the same offensive unit at North Carolina from 2001-02.
- Additionally, Patriots WR Brandon Tateand Giants WR Hakeem Nicks lined up together on offense from 2006-08.
- Patriots TE Alge Crumpler, Aikenand Nicksall served as a co-captain for the Tar Heels while attending the university.
- Patriots G Rich Ohrnbergerand Giants G Dennis Landoltand DT Jay Alfordall suited up for Penn State from 2005-06.
- Patriots DL Ty Warren and Giants DT Rocky Bernard lined up together on the Texas A&M defensive line from 1999-2001.
- Patriots LB Thomas Williams and Giants WR Steve Smith and CB Terrell Thomas were teammates at the University of Southern California 2004-06.
- Patriots CB Devin McCourty and Giants WR Tim Brownmatched up against one another at Rutgers' practices for four years, from 2006-09.
- Patriots LB Gary Guyton and DT Darryl Richard and Giants LB Gerris Wilkinson helped bolster Georgia Tech's defensive unit together from 2004-05.
MOST FREQUENT PRESEASON OPPONENTSThe Patriots and Giants will meet for the 20th time this week, tying the Giants with Washington as the Patriots' most common preseason opponent. The only team the Patriots have played more often in the preseason is the Redskins (20 times).
