The New York Giants refuse to be worried about their unimpressive performances so far in preseason, which include Eli Manning looking off in so many ways, but the real concerning issue are the injuries that are starting to pick up, including Victor Cruz who left early in what might turn out to be a bit more serious than initially thought.

Manning himself finished with 8-of-17 for 91 yards, an interception and getting sacked once. The Giants lost 12-20 to the Indianapolis Colts and besides Cruz leaving the game with a a heel bruise, which could have been very worrying if his X-Rays wouldn’t have turned out negative, they also to be careful with center David Baas, who also left the game at around the same time, but his X-Ray also turned up negative results.

It wasn’t all bad at MetLife stadium, with David Wilson continuing to impress as the running back on the first two downs, finishing with 34 yards on 8 carries. It’s interesting to see the Giants simply refuse to use him in third down situations, afraid of his blocking ability, or lack there of.

For those situations Andre Brown takes the field, although his running ability was enough to get him touches, as he finished with 36 yards on 8 carries. Like everything about the Giants at this stage of the season, it couldn’t come without some bad news, as the two, and the Giants in general, couldn’t get into the Colts’ red zone.

Michael Cox seems like a very solid choice as their third running back, even if his actual running (two carries, four yards) wasn’t too impressive. He did have two receptions out of the backfield for 48 yards, and might give the Giants some options for less traditional looks with their running backs.

Justin Tuck was another player who left the game early holding on to his hamstring. Tuck might be the most important player for the Giants in their declining frontline, but that won’t happen without his health issues disappearing.

In other areas of the field, the Giants continue to try out many players in the linebacker position, with Dan Connor and Mark Herzlich battling for the middle linebacker position. Jacquian Williams, who is mostly used as a cover linebacker on passing downs seems like a more certain thing of his role on the team, doing a good job whenever any pass sailed by him.

The Giants offensive line continues to be a troubling issue; injuries to Baas and right tackle Chris Snee, who is on his way back from one instead of the other way round. The Giants aren’t in a hurry to let their first round pick, Justin Pugh, start getting some serious playing time, which leaves David Diehl in a position to get beaten quite badly time and time again.

Eli Manning will probably look better once the season begins, and there’s plenty of optimism about the Giants’ running situation, but if their defensive line and offensive line aren’t set by the time the season begins, not to mention getting at least one premier healthy wide receiver by the time the season begins, it’s going to be a very rough start to the season.

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