While Domenik Hixon is listed as the starting wide receiver for the Giants opposite Steve Smith, that spot doesn’t figure to be his for long.

With Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham waiting in the wings, Hixon, a fourth round choice for Denver in 2006, will have a tough time hanging on to his starting role.

Hixon’s stand out game came against Seattle last season. He had 102 receiving yards, and 8 catches. He also had a touchdown in the game. However Seattle wasn’t a very good football team.

His play was mixed, however, during the rest of the year. Who can forget the pass he missed when he was wide open against the Eagles? Hixon has admitted that he needs to put previous plays behind him and concentrate on the current play at hand.

I believe Nicks or Manningham will get the starting nod over Hixon when the Giants play the Redskins in their opener. I see Hixon as more of a third wide receiver. He’s got the speed, but he doesn’t seem to have the concentration, or the body type to be a number one guy.

As far as Ramses Barden; he’s the wild card. I can see him helping in the red zone and some passing situations, but unless he learns the system quickly, it will take him time to step onto the field.

If the Giants were so happy with Hixon at the receiver position, why did they draft Nicks, and Barden, not to mention Travis Beckum, who appears to be in Big Blue’s plans this season?

Hixon is a good player, but I’d rather see him as a third wide receiver and a return specialist. Let’s give the other guys a chance.

Last season Eli Manning had two starting WRs well over 6ft. Plaxico Burress was 6-5 and Amani Toomer was 6-3.

This year he has Domenik Hixon who is 6-2 slated to start on one side, and the 5-11 Steve Smith on the other. Sinorice Moss who is set to play in the slot is only 5-8.

Eli Manning says there are some things he can’t do as easily with this group of receivers that he could with last year’s crop,

“Naturally, you just see them and you have to put it in a spot,” Manning said. “Some throws we threw to Plaxico, we might not be able to throw to these guys — some back-shoulder, high balls.”

On the other hand, some different throws should open up for Manning. He explains,

“But these guys will be able to run by some guys and get deep on them. So what you lose in something, you gain somewhere else.”

Hixon, Moss, and Mario Manningham can fly, but Hakeem Nicks, and Smith don’t have that kind of speed. What they can do is run nifty routes, and hang onto the ball.

It appears the Giants have a good mix at the wide receiver position. Don’t forget about Ramses Barden, who is 6-6 and should see some playing time this season, especially in the red zone.

So what can we expect from Manning and his new look receivers this year?

I think we will see them take more shots down the field. The reason being so they can keep opposing team’s safeties out of the box to open up the running game. Big Blue will look to use play action to hit medium and short range throws.

Manning went on to say,

“Some of the receivers might be a little smaller than what we’ve had in the past, but they have a lot more speed,” Manning said. “They can get deep on the corner backs and get over the top of them. That’s exciting. That kind of takes a lot of the reads out of things.

“You just say, ‘You’ve got a go-route. Let’s go win. Let’s go back to a little backstreet football and let’s see if we’re better than the other guys.’”

There will be an offensive challenge for the Giants this year, but they do have the talent at the wide receiver position. Also they have training camp and the preseason to work out the kinks.

Of course all that doesn’t matter until September.

CB Corey Webster (shoulder), DT Fred Robbins (knee), DT Barry Cofield (knee), OT William Beatty (hamstring), DT Rocky Bernard (shoulder), WR Taye Biddle (finger), TE Travis Beckum (hamstring), and TE Lee Vickers (unknown) did not practice. LB Clint Sintim (hamstring) was limited. WR David Tyree (hamstring) started to practice, but left after a few plays.

From The Giants Afternoon Practice:

• Sinorice Moss strained a hamstring in a 2:00 drill to end practice. He did make a diving catch on the ball thrown by David Carr.
• Lawrence Tynes was 3-4 on field goal attempts.
• Hakeem Nicks made a nice grab on 7-on-7 drills

Gerris Wilkinson is fighting to remain with Big Blue. He hopes to put questions on his ability to play for the Giants behind him:

“I feel like I’ve definitely been improving,” he added. “Now I’m just trying to work on the details. I’m pretty comfortable with his defense. I’ve been in it for three years now. And I’m comfortable with the coaches and the team and everything. It’s just a matter of focusing on details and staying healthy.”

Terrell Thomas On Sinorice Moss:

“I think his back is against the wall. We drafted two wide receivers and he really hasn’t played to the potential that he has. He’s one of my good friends and we talk about it all the time. He’s just waiting for his opportunity. He’s a hard-worker and I think it’s really starting to show. Plus he’s in a contract year this year and for some reason when people are in contract years they play better.”

Morning Big Blue Practice:

• Sinorice Moss (there’s that name again) made a pair of nifty over-the-shoulder catches on deep passes
• Kevin Boss made a nice play in the end zone, pinning the ball to his butt with his right hand on a pass from Eli Manning
• Hakeem Nicks made some nice catches
• David Carr looked sharp
• Mario Manningham made a nice over-the-shoulder catch with Terrell Thomas in close coverage.

That’s it for today. Stay tuned for more New York Giants news.

The OTA was a little over an hour, and there were no 11 on 11 drills.

Both Barry Coefield and Fred Robbins sat out due to their knee surgeries. Also missing some time where Aaron Ross with a sprained ankle, and Corey Webster with a shoulder injury. Ross looked fine after practice.

Sinorice Moss had a good practice, as well as Mario Manningham. Moss made a nice over-the-shoulder catch on a deep pass by Eli Manning.

Manningham made a couple of difficut catches.

Ahmad Bradshaw, Kevin Dockery, Sinorice Moss, and Domenik Hixon lined up as kick returners.

Quarterbacks and receivers worked on deep passes after practice. It looks like the Giants really want to take some shots long this season. Manning was often off by just a touch last year when he threw deep.

Hopefully this year we’ll connect on a few of those passes.