David Syvertsen

David Syvertsen, aka Sy'56, has worked for Ourlads Scouting LLC since 2013, starting off as a college depth chart manager and now a lead scout for one the most-sold NFL draft guides year-in, year-out. He has been scouting for over 10 years and will compile anywhere from 400-600 scouting reports per season, with that number increasing year by year. He watches and studies game films 20-25 hours per week throughout the entire year with his main focus being NFL Draft prospects.

Oct 242023
 
Tyrod Taylor, New York Giants (October 22, 2023)

Tyrod Taylor – © USA TODAY Sports

QUARTERBACK

-Tyrod Taylor: 18/29 – 279 yards / 2 TD – 0 INT / 116.9 RAT / 25 rushing yards

Taylor started for the second straight week as Daniel Jones remains out with a neck injury. Once again, he was playing behind an offensive line missing multiple starters, with Justin Pugh playing left tackle, and another starter who was signed off someone else’s practice squad just days prior (Tyre Phillips). The line was overmatched by the Washington defensive line that features four first round picks, all of which have met expectations over the years of someone drafted that high. On paper, this did not look good. Taylor responded with the best game of his career since 2017, a 26-16 win over Trevor Siemian-led Denver in Week 3.

Taylor has a couple of standout traits in his game as a 34-year old, 13th-year veteran. His release is lightning quick. Some quarterbacks have it, some do not. Taylor can make his decision and get it out in such a sudden kind of way. The second trait I like centers around decision making. While the offensive line has stabilized a bit, do not make the mistake of thinking that group has turned things around. Taylor getting the ball out in a hurry hid some major matchup losses up front. Watching from the All-22 angle shows how often he threw guys open. He was not waiting for them to get open, he knew the coverage, where the leverage was, and got that ball out with great anticipation. There were several high-level throws that made me go back and watch them again. I am impressed with Taylor. He is 1-1, and about 2 inches away from 2-0.

RUNNING BACK

-Saquon Barkley: 21 att – 77 yards / 3 rec – 41 yards – 1 TD

Barkley’s stat line is solid, but nothing special. But this was one of the most impressive and influential performances we have seen out of him over the last dozen games. Barkley hyperextend his elbow in the first quarter. That is not a serious injury, but it does impede strength. The pulling muscles (bicep/forearm) are compromised. Not an ideal situation for a running back and it did end up leading to a lost fumble in the fourth quarter. But Barkley toughed this one out. He was constantly lowering his shoulder, constantly picking up some extra yards, and constantly breaking tackles. The touchdown followed a short pass in which he created most of the yards himself. Barkley, playing for a contract, pushed through a lot of discomfort, ran behind a bad offensive line, and was a key reason to this win even though he almost fumbled it away.

-Matt Breida played just 11 snaps, gaining just 9 yards on 4 touches. Rookie Eric Gray saw an early exit after muffing another punt and getting bent backward on his ankle as he got hit. More on that below but here is a hint. That experiment needs a new answer.

WIDE RECEIVER

-We have been discussing this for weeks. Here is a blurb from my Week 2 review in Arizona, the other win this year. “Hyatt is the key, here. A lot to be put on a third rounder but the way he moves and the way he is tracking the ball and how fast he can easily get over the top can change how defenses work the short to intermediate routes. Hyatt looks ready for more.” After that comment, Hyatt had a total of two passes thrown his way in three games (all losses with one offensive touchdown combined). Then? A near-upset win in Buffalo and this win against Washington which included 9 targets, totaling 96 yards. Hyatt is not just important; he is vital to NYG’s offensive success. Whomever plays quarterback needs to lean on that, hard. A 42-yard catch and a 33-yard catch. Both led to scoring opportunities (Gano missed a field goal / Barkley fumbled). He changes this team the more he gets involved.

-The rest of the receiver group combined for 60 yards on 5 catches. Isaiah Hodgins, Wan’Dale Robinson, Darius Slayton, and Sterling Shepard. The ball was properly spread out (only Hodgins had more than one catch), and there were no drops. I will touch on Shepard and his attempts at returning punts below, but it was ugly.

TIGHT END

-Darren Waller: 7 rec – 98 yards – 1 TD

Waller led the team in targets, catches, and yards. He is turning a corner after a slow start that centered around a sore hamstring. He had two grabs, one of which was his first touchdown as a Giant, where he displayed elite receiver-caliber ball skills. Do not underestimate how rare it for a player this size to turn his body in the air and pluck the ball with strong, accurate hands. He did this in traffic and in high-pressure situations. The blocking impact was a negative in standout fashion again, however.

-Speaking of poor blocking, Daniel Bellinger was abused up front. Having him help on a few select passing plays did help (although he did allow a sack), but he got messed up in the running game. Multiple times his missed assignment or sheer loss prevented Barkley from bursting through the initial traffic. His impact as a receiver is going to be limited with Waller on the roster, plain and simple. He needs to improve up front if this offense is going to work, plain and simple.

OFFENSIVE LINE

-Justin Pugh returned to tackle. Remember, that was his college and early pro career position, but not recently. He was matched up against Chase Young and took a beating in pass protection. He allowed 4 pressures and 2 sacks (1 of which was called off by a WAS penalty) and was also flagged for a hold. Pugh was a factor, however, as a run blocker. They moved him around often on outside zone runs where he pulled across the line and found work. He had key blocks on multiple positive runs. Tyre Phillips, signed off the PHI practice squad, manned the right tackle spot. He was the beneficiary of Taylor getting the ball out in a hurry a few times. He allowed a sack and a pressure, but the sack could easily be written off by the coaching staff if I saw it correctly. The blocking scheme on that play was clearly about cutting off the inside rush lane and simply stiff-arming the edge defender outside because the pass was supposed to be out quickly. Sterling Shepard fell, causing Taylor to hold onto the ball, and Phillips’ man went in for the easy sack. Overall, Phillips played arguably the best right tackle we have seen to this point all season but no, there is no controversy if Neal is healthy enough to play next week.

-Inside we saw the ship steadied, most notably in the passing game. Positive grades for both Ben Bredeson at center and Mark Glowinski at right guard were heavily engineered by their pass protection performances. Glowinski allowed just 1 pressure and Bredeson was clean.

-Markus McKethan saw a position change. He played left guard for the first time of his career. He did not play there even in college. I am curious to hear more about that decision but even though he finished with a negative grade overall, he played better than previous weeks. Young players take time to develop and there is at least some optimism that the shift to the left side (which likely had more to do with Glowinski playing his more natural right guard spot) will show us a different version of him. He allowed a TFL and 2 pressures on plays where he lost initially. Whiffs, oversetting, and inaccurate hands get him into positions where he just cannot athletically recover.

EDGE

-Kayvon Thibodeaux made an impact in two different ways, one of which obvious and the other not so much. He split three different sacks (1.5 total for him individually) and added 2 other pressures. He had a tackle and was credited for a pass break up (a gift-wrapped ball he should have caught and returned for a touchdown). A solid, productive game on a day where the Giants held to their opponent to just 7 points. The other impressive component here was the fact he played all but one snap. The injury to Azeez Ojulari and lack of options they have beyond him put this on the 2022 fifth overall pick. The 68 snaps were the third most of his career and watching the one-on-one wins against Washington left tackle Charles Leno, Jr. changed how they ran their passing game and protections up front. This defense and team needed Thibodeaux to step up, and he did.

-Jihad Ward saw another uptick in playing time for the third straight week. He added one tackle and one pressure. He and backup Boogie Basham did not stand out in any way, but they both set the edge for the entire game against the run. Physical and consistent. That helped funnel things inside where the defensive tackles and linebackers were dominating.

DEFENSIVE LINE

-Dexter Lawrence did it again. Please do not overlook how good these performances are simply because of how often he is doing it. This is what an All-Pro looks like. Former Giant and fan favorite Nick Gates was taken to school by Lawrence. He had 6 tackles, 2 sacks, and 3 pressures. More impressive than that was what he did on the Leonard Williams sack in the first quarter. They stunted the two and three guys tried to block Lawrence, two of which ended up on their backs, and Williams ended with the 3rd-down sack, forcing a punt.

-Speaking of Williams, as I mentioned, he had a 3rd-down sack and 2 pressures in addition to 2 tackles. Solid game up front for a guy who has been a tad quiet this season. His biggest play, however, was a blocked field goal early in the 4th quarter in a 14-7 game. Had he not gotten his hand on that, the entire tone of that last quarter would have been different. Huge play in an unlikely moment by the team’s most expensive player.

-Rakeem Nunez-Roches and A’Shawn Robinson were the two most-used backups inside. They both added a pressure and Robinson had 3 tackles. I’ve said this before, but I like the options this depth chart gives them to prevent too much of a workload for Lawrence and Williams.

LINEBACKER

-A game after one of the best single-game performances I have seen from a Giants linebacker, Bobby Okereke led the team with 11 tackles and a pass break up. Micah McFadden added a half-sack and a pressure along with 5 tackles. Between the two of them, they rushed the passer 17 times. Individually, they both blitzed the same number of times. I was surprised to see Washington not attack these two in coverage when the opportunities were there.

-Isaiah Simmons brings versatility to the table. In this game we saw him line up at outside linebacker a season-high 24 times, as snaps were needed for the injured Ojulari. In all games combined prior to this one, he lined up at outside linebacker 22 times. So, he more than doubled that alignment position. He added one pressure (a key play in the fourth quarter) and 3 tackles. A QB spy/hybrid pass rusher is the best spot for him.

CORNERBACK

-The Deonte Banks surge continues. The rookie intercepted the first pass of his career in the second quarter. Two plays later, Barkley scored the second touchdown and New York took a 14-0 lead. A turnover and an explosive play and a touchdown all within three snaps? It seemed like for six weeks the Giants couldn’t squeeze out any of those over the course of an entire game. The Banks play spurred everything. Banks got into it with Terry McLaurin early on and it may have come back to bite him a little in the second half. He was also flagged for a hold. But Banks made a big play and it can hide other issues. The other thing that I liked was how well he prevented yards after the catch. It means he is close, it means he can recover. Those are two basic, but must-have traits for the position.

-Adoree’ Jackson missed the game with a neck injury. This opened the door back up for rookie Tre Hawkins, who played a career-high 59 snaps. He and nickel Cor’Dale Flott both played a solid game against Jahan Dotson and Curtis Samuel. The two averaged about 7 yards per catch. Like Banks, these two did an excellent job at minimizing what happened after the catch. They combined for 10 tackles and Hawkins came up with a 3rd-down pass break-up.

SAFETY

-Yet another week, yet another game with both Xavier McKinney and Jason Pinnock on the field for every snap. Pinnock was a bit more active, finishing with 8 tackles, 1 TFL, and 1 sack where he went untouched. His play speed stands out. McKinney added 4 tackles. More importantly, the two of them did not miss a single tackle for the fourth-straight week. They combined for 9 missed tackles over the first three weeks. Since then? Zero. McKinney was flagged for a bogus penalty that I did not dock him for. It was a poor judgement call by the ref.

SPECIAL TEAMS

-K Graham Gano: 0/1 (missed 42)
-P Jamie Gillan: 8 punts / 49.4 avg – 45.3 net

Gillan is quietly having a strong year. He leads the league in fair catches and is third in net average.

3 STUDS

-DT Dexter Lawrence, DT Leonard Williams, OG Mark Glowinski

3 DUDS

-TE Daniel Bellinger, OT Justin Pugh, WR Sterling Shepard

3 THOUGHTS ON WAS

1. It is hard to be a believer in Sam Howell. From my 2021 scouting report summary: “He had very little integrity and feel in the pocket…He also played in a very simple offense even for college standards…Howell does not look like a pro to me…” Now, I will say this kid deserves more time to develop, as he’s started just 8 games to this point. But when looking at the college evaluation and watching his tape over those 8 starts, the optimism cannot be high. He is making this offensive line look worse than it is, he is not fully maximizing the weapons at his disposal. Washington not pursuing a different route at quarterback this past offseason puzzled me then and it puzzles me now.

2. Terry McLaurin is a very good receiver, and I would assume most people agree. But do we have any idea how good he is? Here are the quarterbacks he has caught passes from: Case Keenum, Dwayne Haskins, Colt McCoy, Alex Smith (post injury), Kyle Allen, Taylor Heinicke, Garrett Gilbert, Ryan Fitzpatrick (1 quarter), Carson Wentz, Sam Howell. Talk about a rough lineup that never gets over the hump. McLaurin is just another example of a guy we often see in sports over the years. Someone who has the ceiling of being elite but never gets even close because of the situation around him. He really can’t be cut or traded because of cap reasons until after 2024 and at that point he will be entering his age-30 season.

3. Chase Young or Montez Sweat? Who are you taking? Both of the Washington defensive ends are free agents next spring. Both are former first rounders. Young has the better pedigree. Remember when many fans were upset in 2019 when NYG won two of their final three games, pushing them out of reach for Young in the following draft? Unfortunately, NYG had to choose eventual All-Pro Andrew Thomas that year while Young has missed 24 out of 57 games. Example #1,000 why getting too happy or too upset draft weekend can make one look foolish. Sweat, on the other hand, has missed just 7 out of 73 games and is a top-10 edge defender in the NFL who very few talk about. Young’s upside was and probably still is higher. He is playing some of the best football of his career right now, but that injury history needs to be considered when paying someone a long and expensive second contract.

3 CLOSING THOUGHTS

1. A team that needs to scrape by to win games must ensure their special teams are on point. It can undoubtedly be the difference in multiple close matchups. Kicker Graham Gano is trustworthy, and Jamie Gillan is quietly having the best season of his career. Kick returners simply do not matter much. However, the punt returner can still be incredibly influential in either direction. New York has dropped the ball here, literally, and figuratively. The Eric Gray experiment is odd. He did not do it once in 2022 with Oklahoma and had minimal experience in that role at Tennessee. Shepard had never returned a punt (college or NFL) prior to this past Sunday. The blunder with Adoree’ Jackson last year still stands out. This needs to be figured out even if it means another off-the-couch signing. They got lucky their issues there did not cost them the game.

2. Winning this game was important. The first reason being obvious. They were 1-5 and they’ve created a minuscule margin for error from here on out. Two, the easier stretch of their schedule is here with a bunch of teams hovering around .500 coming up. A couple more games like this and yes, they’re back in the playoff hunt. Don’t believe me? Go look for yourself. They’re still in it and the reinforcements are coming.

3. This was a clean game by NYG. There were fewer missed tackles. There were fewer miscommunications along the offensive line. There were no drops. There were fewer penalties. They were dominant defensively on third down. They averaged just under 10 yards per pass attempt. Football is complex on many levels, but the results are usually rather simple. Avoid mistakes and you win almost every time. There will never be a mistake free player or team or game, but this team can compete like they did last year if those avoidable issues (listed above) are in the rear-view mirror. Whatever changes the coaches made in their preparation last week worked.

Oct 172023
 
Bobby Okereke, New York Giants (October 15, 2023)

Bobby Okereke – © USA TODAY Sports

QUARTERBACK

-Tyrod Taylor: 24/36 – 200 yards / 0 TD – 0 INT / 80.8 RAT

Taylor added 24 yards on 5 carries. The 180th pick (round 6) from Virginia Tech was drafted by the Ravens in 2011. He was later signed by Buffalo in 2015. At the time, Buffalo was ready to give up on 2013 first rounder E.J. Manuel and they had traded for New England backup Matt Cassel to add more intra-squad competition. Taylor won the job in preseason, earned a Pro Bowl nod, and was re-signed to a 5-year deal the following offseason. He was their guy. Taylor had an up-and-down three-year stint with team, but did lead them to 22-20 record over three seasons as the starter, including a playoff birth in 2017 before being let go as new management settled in.

This was Taylor’s first game back in Buffalo as the starter. The 34-year-old arrived as a Giant playing behind the league’s worst offensive line against a team that was top five defensively up front. A 15.5-point underdog. All these chips stacked against him, and I admire how well he played. He did not turn it over, he got it out on time, he knew where to go with the ball and when, and he took some shots downfield. The bar was not set high for Taylor, a guy I have always thought deserved another shot at a starting job. But there is no question his mental gaffe of checking to a run with :14 left and no timeouts from the BUF-1 yard line was a game-altering mistake. Experience or no experience, starter or backup, that was a juvenile error. I walked away with a positive vibe when it comes to Taylor, and Daniel Jones should learn a thing or two from him, but that mistake left a cloud over his performance.

RUNNING BACK

-Saquon Barkley: 24 att – 93 yards / 4 rec – 5 yards

After missing weeks three through five games with an ankle injury, Barkley was back on the field after a week of uncertainty. I expected him to be eased back in, but as I said last week, this offense absolutely needs to be run-heavy. Even more run-heavy than you think. He was not eased back in. Barkley played 60 out of 77 snaps, which comes out to 78% and that is right where his career average is on a per game basis. He had 24 out of the team’s 29 rushing attempts from the backfield. He’s touched that number in one game just five times over his pro career. Barkley ran hard, put his head down, stayed decisive, and create a lot on his own. This was the hungry version of 26 that we have seen sporadically, and it makes everything else better. Without looking too far into the future and getting ahead of ourselves, this is the version of Barkley this team needs to be competitive. The one negative was an allowed sack in pass protection.

-Matt Breida and Eric Gray added 15 yards on 5 carries and nothing in the passing game.

WIDE RECEIVER

-Subtly, this has been a tough group to study and write about over the first third of the season. The offense is broken, making it tough for them to get consistent looks. The most talented player, Jalin Hyatt, is rarely even looked at in the passing game; the offensive minds spent too much time force feeding Parris Campbell; and Daniel Jones has struggled to get them clean looks when the rare opportunities were there. In this game, their top three of Darius Slayton, Wan’Dale Robinson, and Hyatt combined for 18 targets, 15 catches, and 152 yards.

-Hyatt being involved (and the play-calling going run-heavy) made this offense feel different. While his box score stats do not jump off the screen, just the mere fact they were trying to go his way and he did come down with a 43-yard gain (called back by a bogus penalty on Evan Neal) changed how Buffalo played the receivers. Add in a 31-yard gain to Slayton and another shot downfield to him later (that he dropped), we now have proof this offense can make explosive plays happen in the passing game. Hopefully Jones took that in.

-Robinson is picking up steam. He was targeted 8 times, catching all 8. In fact, he has caught 22 of 25 targets this season. Out of the 95 receivers in the NFL with 14+ targets, Robinson has the highest catch percentage. While it is not anything to go crazy about (his 3.4 average depth of target ranks 93rd), I like how reliable he is becoming for an offense that will need a guy to be a 3rd-and-manageable weapon to keep moving the chains. His game is getting cleaner weekly.

TIGHT END

-Darren Waller caught 5 passes for 42 yards, 3 of which went for a first down. He was targeted on the final two plays of the game. The original plan of this offense was going to be very much about Waller and the impact he had on the passing game in the red zone. I liked the play call, I liked the ball placement, I liked the effort to go up and get it. He was clearly held by BUF nickel Taron Johnson and it prevented him from another few inches on his leap toward the ball. That could have and should have been his first touchdown of the season. Waller had a positive impact on the passing game but was a huge liability in the running game. He allowed 2 TFL and was constantly blown up by linebackers and defensive linemen. This is a tricky situation if NYG stays run-heavy. While I have seen worse from some of the receiving threats at the position in the trenches, Waller will be a major speed bump to the offensive progress if he is asked to block often.

-Daniel Bellinger played 41 snaps and was not looked at in the passing game. He was average as a run blocker, but they did use him for pass blocking support, and he did well in that role.

OFFENSIVE LINE

-In a comedy of errors, the offensive line hits kept on coming soon after the start of the game. Justin Pugh, “signed off the couch” as he put it, was the starting left guard and Josh Ezeudu started another game at left tackle as Andrew Thomas remains out with a hamstring injury. On the tenth offensive play of the game for NYG, Ezeudu went out with a toe injury and Pugh was now playing left tackle against future Hall of Famer Von Miller. He allowed 2 sacks and was flagged for 2 false starts. In a normal situation, Pugh would be on a fast track to the Dud List. But considering the circumstances, I’m not going to come down on a guy who likely was not supposed to see the field for another week or two, and certainly not left tackle (a spot he played 5 snaps at in 2021, and zero between then and 2015). It was fun watching the Giants’ 2013 first round pick. Physically, it is easy to tell he is a shell of what he was (an average offensive lineman). However, the know-how and quickness in his feet combined with accurate hands show what the basics can do for an offensive lineman. Hold the horses on considering him a savior to the offensive line; he is still going to see his fair share of losses up front. But tip of the cap to him and he feels safer than a Jalen Mayfield, Markus McKethan-type.

-The team helped Evan Neal out by rolling away from him, getting the ball out fast, and providing help. While he did have a few wins on an island, there are still too many whiffs and too many instances of poor footwork. He allowed 3 TFL on plays where he needed to be faster laterally and/or to the second level. His best snaps were straight ahead run blocking where spacing was not as hard to manage. Overall, still a negative game grade and this is not including the phantom illegal blocking downfield penalty he was called for.

-Mark Glowinski ended positive, as he played both guard spots. Ben Bredeson finished with an average grade. They each allowed one TFL and one pressure. The negatives for them occurred on second-level blocks. They were both slow off the defensive lineman to peel up to the second level and BUF linebacker Terrel Bernard ran right by them multiple times. In relation to what we have seen this season, however, they were not bad.

-Markus McKethan lost his starting job to Pugh. However, following the injury to Ezeudu, he played nearly every snap. NYG did have more success running right than left and McKethan was a part of that. Like Neal, he is effective when run blocking because he can move guys off the ball and create some space. He allowed 2 pressures and graded out below average overall.

EDGE

-Kayvon Thibodeaux finished with 4 pressures, which led the team, and just 1 tackle. He had a missed tackle, which would have been a sack. Nearly all his pass rush wins were initial victories that stem from his get off and outside rushing ability. Once stonewalled, he had a hard time breaking free from contact.

-Jihad Ward played 41 snaps, second most of this season, as Azeez Ojulari was out with an ankle injury. He had 2 tackles and 1 pressure. Fellow ex-Buffalo Bill Boogie Basham had another quiet, ineffective night on 9 snaps.

DEFENSIVE LINE

-The Dexter Lawrence / Leonard Williams duo has not yet been what we saw last season, but both played 80+% of the defensive snaps for the first time in 2023. Williams was more active against the run, finishing with 6 tackles while Lawrence played more into the block-eater and pass rusher roles. He had 3 pressures. Both were flagged for personal fouls on a fight in the third quarter that I will discuss below.

-The backup trio Rakeem Nunez-Roches, A’Shawn Robinson, and rookie Jordon Riley saw limited snaps and we did not see much other than assists from any of them. Nunez-Roches saw the most snaps and had two plays where he was stout and slippery against the BUF double team. His upside is not high, but I do like the energy and attitude he brings.

LINEBACKER

-Bobby Okereke is on a hot streak. He has been on a steady ascent for three weeks with his best performance as a Giant coming in this game. He led the team with 11 tackles, 2 TFL, and 2 PD. He also forced a fumble that Micah McFadden recovered and tipped a pass that McFadden intercepted. He is making high-difficulty tackles in space and he also delivered a violent downhill blow to BUF running back Damien Harris that sent him to the hospital with a neck injury. I never, ever want to see a player taken off the field on a stretcher and I am glad to report it looks like everything checked out. But the impact Okereke made in this game was all over the field and as elite as you are going to find in this game. McFadden finished second with 7 tackles and added 2 pressures in addition to the two turnovers. Excellent and impactful game by these two.

-Isaiah Simmons saw his playing time regress to the mean (11 snaps vs. 54 a week ago). He spied Josh Allen, one of the best scrambling quarterbacks in the game, a couple of times and added 1 tackle, 1 pressure.

CORNERBACK

-Rookie first rounder Deonte Banks is an ascending player. I track all rookies for Ourlads and he is playing the best among rookies at the position over the past two weeks (now that Christian Gonzalez is on IR). His coverage against Stefon Diggs showed elite movement and improved feel. He still gets a little grabby, as he was flagged for illegal contact (it was declined), but the route anticipation and trust in his speed has come a long way. He looks like best corner on this team already.

-Another young corner who is showing encouraging signs is Cor’Dale Flott. There were a couple of negative plays but when looking at him from snap to snap from the slot, he gives this team the best shot to defend passes. His movement is clean and crisp, but he is late to find the ball at times and he is good for a missed tackle each week (he had one in the game). Nevertheless, the combination of him and Banks looks positive when projecting long term.

-Adoree’ Jackson was also flagged (yes, all three corners were) and missed some time with a neck injury. He did come back on the field though. His reliability in coverage seems to be dropping. He allowed all 4 targets thrown his way to be completed for 63 yards and he missed a tackle. He is trending in the wrong direction.

SAFETY

-Jason Pinnock and Xavier McKinney played every snap once again. If nothing else, these two are consistent and available this season when it comes to staying on the field. It is rare to see a starting safety duo six games into a season not miss a single snap, which they have done. They combined for 10 tackles (more importantly zero misses), 1 pressure, and just one reception allowed. McKinney was close on a couple of errant Allen passes. I smell a big play from him coming.

-Dane Belton played 14 snaps and left the game early with an injury. He allowed 2 of 3 targets in his direction to be completed and he finished with 2 tackles. He was mistake-free against the run in contrast to his multiple blunders last week in Miami.

SPECIAL TEAMS

-K Graham Gano: 3/3 (Made 29, 43, 29)
-P Jamie Gillan: 4 punts / 50.2 avg – 49.8 net

3 STUDS

-LB Bobby Okereke, CB Deonte Banks, WR Wan’Dale Robinson

3 DUDS

-CB Adoree’ Jackson, DL Jihad Ward, TE Darren Waller

3 THOUGHTS ON BUF

1. The Bills are an extremely volatile team. It should not surprise anyone because their quarterback is an extremely volatile player. He near single-handedly lost them the game in Week 1 against the Jets and we have seen this several time before out of him. In such a jam-packed AFC, they can beat anyone any given Sunday, but it seems so unlikely they will be able to string a bunch of positive performances together. Last year, they barely beat a Dolphins team in the postseason (by 3 points) with rookie 7th rounder Skylar Thompson playing quarterback. Allen turned the ball over three times in that game. They lost a week later by 17 at home to CIN in Allen’s lowest QB rating game of his career. Their defense had one of the most epic collapses in NFL history the year prior at Kansas City that ended their season. Buffalo is a good squad, but I do not trust them or their quarterback.

2. Defensive Tackle Ed Oliver is one of the most volatile players in the league. The ninth overall pick from the 2019 Draft flashes dominant performances every year. But when looking at the week-to-week, season-to-season contribution, he is very up-and-down. My scouting report on him coming out of Houston in 2019 read “…one of the more polarizing prospects in the class…I have never seen a DT move like him…won’t be able to handle NFL linemen…needs to improve his staying power and stay at home defense…” The Bills signed him to a big, 4-year extension this past offseason and I thought it was a terrible move considering they’re no longer in the cheap-quarterback tier. This team will need to spend on the offensive and defensive lines soon, but the money tied up into Oliver is going to make that a struggle. There is a reason why BUF can be run on up the middle. It’s him.

3. What is the barometer for coaching success in today’s NFL? Consistent production? Or a Super Bowl win? Or a Super Bowl appearance? How long does one get? Giants fans would likely sign on for a Sean McDermott run. He took over in 2017. Since then, they’ve won 70 games (third best), made the playoffs five times (missed once), and finished first place in the division three times. They’re extremely balanced offensively / defensively and they’re dominant at home (40-16). All of that and yet I do not see a team that can rise above their volatile play. Would BUF ever consider a move at head coach? It seems wild and I know the grass is not always greener on the other side, but their window is going to shrink yearly now that they’re paying a quarterback. I do think it is a fair question. Is McDermott the guy who will bring a Lombardi Trophy to Buffalo? Does it matter? I think it does.

3 CLOSING THOUGHTS

1. Daniel Jones had a front row seat to Taylor’s return to Buffalo. What did I see that Jones can try and learn from? Two things stand out. Taylor was MUCH better at getting the ball out. There was no hesitation, no fear in his game. Jones, on multiple occasions since that win in ARI, failed to do this consistently. Taylor was playing against a top-tier pass rush matched up against horrid offensive line, too. The OL did play a notch better than in previous weeks, but they were still getting beat almost every snap. We did not hear about it nearly as much and that was a result of who was playing quarterback. Two, Taylor keeping eyes downfield and throwing it deep (even on broken plays) changed the perception of the offensive threats. It did create explosive plays. It did soften the safeties against the run. It did keep some aggression by the defense at bay. Jones is the starter and should be the starter. But Taylor did a couple things better than what I have seen from Jones this season. Time to step up.

2. On one play, Dexter Lawrence, Leonard Williams, and Kayvon Thibodeaux all received personal fouls for their involvement in a fight against a trio of Buffalo offensive players. All penalties were offset, thus no negative result ensued. I think there is a time and place for actions like this. I also think certain players have more allowance for actions like this. Last year I spoke about the nucleus of this defense being those three (and Ojulari). And I’ll tell you what, I applaud all three for their action in that situation. They chose the right time and place, it was a result of Thibodeaux taking a late hit. BUF scored two plays later, though. They also scored on their next offensive drive. NYG held this team to 0 points through three quarters. The fight happened, BUF then scored 14 points in just over 10 minutes of game clock. I am all about a personal foul to show you have a teammate’s back. But the next step is to prevent the other team from getting the last laugh and stuffing it back in their face with a real game-altering result. Another sign this defense just isn’t there.

3. The rough patch of this schedule is over. Seven of their next eight games are against teams either .500 or worse. While that looks easier (as of now) on paper than what they’ve been up against over the first 6 weeks, it is no cake walk. And these are playoff contenders that view their matchup against NYG as an “easy” win. NYG put themselves in a tough spot by going 1-5 and this next stretch needs to produce at least five wins for them to enter the end of the year with a shot at contention. I’m not in the “fold your cards, start trading everyone” mode right now. But this start has made the middle third of their schedule a stretch where they have no margin for error. And it starts at home against the team Daniel Jones has had a ton of success against, if he plays.

Oct 102023
 
Jason Pinnock, New York Giants (October 8, 2023)

Jason Pinnock – © USA TODAY Sports

QUARTERBACK

-Daniel Jones: 14/20 – 119 yards / 0 TD – 0 INT / 85.2 RAT

Jones added 24 yards on 4 carries, including the team’s biggest gain on the ground of 11. He was knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter on a brutal blind side hit by Andrew Van Ginkel. The neck is an injury that needs to be closely monitored. In 2021, Jones suffered a neck injury that was “almost” serious. I will avoid getting ahead of myself here, but fingers are crossed for Jones that this will not be the same injury, but multiplied in severity. If it is, worst case scenario is on the table.

As for his play, Jones took another beating. Between the amount of pressure and hits he took in the pocket, he also took three big hits as a runner. And I know the QB-sneak is the new craze in the NFL right now, but watch Jones’ helmet on these plays and his neck takes a beating there too. During the Seattle game, I said to the people I was with, Jones is never going to last taking all these hits. Here we are, a week later and staring at another injury to the fifth-year pro. Beyond the beating, Jones started and ended with similar poor throws: third-down passes to the right flat to a speedy Wan’Dale Robinson that, if placed correctly, would have resulted in a first down. Both throws were poor (they were easy passes to make), both resulted in a punt instead of a fresh new set of downs. Jones is still hesitant post-snap on hot reads and there is a disconnect between him and the offensive line calls. Who’s fault is that? I’m not sure. But he is showing up to the fire with a can of gasoline, not a water hose.

-Tyrod Taylor played the majority of the fourth quarter. He completed 9 of 12 passes for 86 yards and added 14 yards on the ground. Pressure was in his face repeatedly as well. There is no debate on who the starter is and should be, but I will be intrigued to see how different this offense looks with him under center. He has better footwork/quickness and a faster release to physically get through a play faster than Jones. He is not built to take the hits Jones does. But if he can get the ball out faster like some of the surging quarterbacks in the NFL can, it may hide some issues and help Jones out in the long run. If Jones is out Sunday night, Taylor goes back to Buffalo to take on a franchise he led to the playoffs in 2017.

RUNNING BACK

-Eric Gray: 12 att – 25 yards / 1 rec – 1 yard

With Saquon Barkley still sidelined with an ankle injury, Eric Gray got his first real running back action. His initial contributions have come on special teams as a punt returner, a role he has not yet appeared comfortable with. He got off to a nice start early on, showing contact balance and late movement to get off arm tackles. His best run of the day was called back by a holding penalty. Gray also missed a crease in the third quarter and tried to bounce it outside. He was taken out and took an earful from the coach. Gray is quick, but he is not quick enough to forego sure yards to bounce it out for more. He needs to get downhill, stay downhill. He also fumbled and fortunately for him, it did not result in a turnover.

-Matt Breida added 21 yards on 9 carries. The slasher had two nice runs up the middle and keeps proving that if things can get initially blocked at the point-of-attack, his burst and aggression will make things happen. Breida began his career with San Francisco for three seasons, the first three seasons Mike McDaniel was the team’s run game coordinator. It is not a coincidence that was the best stretch of Breida’s career.

WIDE RECEIVER

-The group combined for 12 catches / 108 yards. Wan’Dale Robinson is still the focal point, leading them with 6 targets but the two misfires from Jones kept his production line to just 18 yards on 5 catches. Darius Slayton had the longest gain of the day, 20 yards, during garbage time. He was also a victim of a poor Jones throw on a ball he came down with downfield, but was out of bounds.

-The veterans Isaiah Hodgins, Parris Campbell, and Sterling Shepard were targeted 6 times. Jalin Hyatt? Zero. Since his big game in Arizona, the rookie has been on the field for 72 passing plays. He has been thrown to twice.

TIGHT END

-Darren Waller: 8 rec – 86 yards

I appreciate the grit and hustle from Waller, one of the oldest and most established players on the team. This was the most involved and productive we have seen him to this point. Jones threw two downfield passes to him, both on the money, both hitting his hands, neither ending up complete. I did not dock him with a drop, but those two plays could have changed the momentum of this game. Very few players could have come down with it, the best would have. Waller also got beat up in the running game as a blocker and allowed a pressure.

OFFENSIVE LINE

-It is always hard to know where to start. Nobody played well, multiple injuries and an in-game benching occurred, and we saw multiple plays where blockers were not even competitive. There are plays where the result would be the same had the blocker stayed in his stance. We have seen poor OL play for years. This is rock bottom.

-Evan Neal allowed 5 pressures and had a sack called off by a MIA illegal contact penalty. He fell apart in the second half. Plain and simple he looked tired, out of shape, and unathletic. After a rough week in which he insulted NYG fans, the people who provide the money for him to play a game (poorly), he only added to the notion that he cannot handle the speed of this league. Joshua Ezeudu was benched after allowing the sack that took Jones out. He did not even get hands on Van Ginkel, a major no-no for a blind side protector. Ezeudu was flagged three times on one drive, including two false starts on consecutive plays. The holding penalty was declined, but it was a bad look for a guy who is clearly on the ropes with this coaching staff. It is safe to say this experiment is over, but I still want to see looks at guard. I broke down every play as I normally do, and he had the most positives in the group as much as that may be hard to believe. His negatives were just, loud.

-Ben Bredeson had his worst game as a pro. He was abused by the power and speed of Miami’s interior. He allowed 2 sacks, a TFL, 2 pressures, and was flagged for a hold on a big play. The amount of complete whiffs at the point-of-attack concerns me. The book is out on him. He cannot adjust, he is not agile, and he cannot recover. He ends up on the ground too often and just seem overmatched. Mark Glowinski allowed a sack late but for the most part, played well enough. His 2 pressures had more to do with crisscross traffic caused by stunts and twists up front. The main issue I had, which prevented a positive grade, was the lack of push he got in the running game. It disrupted at least two plays where everything else was lined up.

-Guard Jalen Mayfield, tackle Matt Peart, and center Jaylon Thomas all saw action from backup roles. Mayfield saw the most playing time, just under half of the team’s offensive snaps and he struggled mightily. He allowed 3 pressures and was flagged for holding twice. Markus McKethan, who left the game after tweaking his knee, allowed 3 pressures. I’ll touch on the guard play below. Thomas was in at center for just three plays and allowed a TFL. Lastly, Peart saw 24 snaps, allowed 2 pressures, and was flagged for a false start.

EDGE

-Kayvon Thibodeaux made two big plays on a defense that has been starving for them. He recovered a fumble and recorded a sack, a nice win to the inside shoulder of backup Miami tackle Kendall Lamm. He added 2 pressures, one of which he was untouched. Thibodeaux was part of the problem, albeit not a glaring one, when examining why the defense allowed 9.7 yards per carry on the ground. It is almost assumed he will not come off the blocker and make a tackle. He does make hustle plays and I respect that, but I can count on one hand how many times he has made a stout play against the run over his career to this point.

-Azeez Ojulari is injured again, this time his ankle. Yet another lower body ding to a guy who has a game completely build on burst. He had zero impact over his 23 snaps.

-Jihad Ward and Boogie Basham are the two edge defenders Miami loves to play against. Get them moving sideways and they have no shot at impacting anything. Neither pressured the quarterback, both had multiple run game losses.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

-The best players on the defense, Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams, combined for one pressure and 2 tackles. Miami got so horizontal, making them chase action to the sideline and hiding their upfield prowess. Tua Tagovailoa was also getting the ball out on average 2.15 seconds, an incredibly quick number. Add those two together and it is easy to see why these two were nearly unheard of in this game.

-The backups A’Shawn Robinson, D.J. Davidson, and Rakeem Nunez-Roches are cut from similar cloths. Big and strong, but slow and ineffective in space. None of them came in and made an impact. The latter did have one pressure early in the game.

LINEBACKER

-Isaiah Simmons played a season-high 54 snaps because of the injury to Micah McFadden. It was clear to see why he cannot be an every-down inside guy. He is late to fill lanes, which creates creases and space for the fastest offense in football. He also gets crushed against linemen who get a clear shot at him. Multiple times he was airlifted and pushed backward by blockers on some of Miami’s big runs. He did have 9 tackles, but also missed 2.

-Bobby Okereke had another solid game, as he was a part of the two biggest plays of the game by the defense. He tipped a pass at the goal line that Jason Pinnock intercepted and returned for a touchdown. He then intercepted one himself that gave NYG the ball at the MIA 23-yard line. He led the team with 10 tackles, including one for a loss. The run defense has several issues, he is not one of them. And the fact he is making plays against the pass is a huge positive.

CORNERBACK

-I will start off with the positive in a young season that has so few. Rookie Deonte Banks has evolved in a short time. The All-22 angle is encouraging. He had several cover-wins against Jaylen Waddle and while it did not matter much from a game perspective, his route anticipation and reaction are meshing well. He broke up a pass in the end zone and made a great tackle on a 3rd-and-1 complete pass with no margin for error on an island. Miami punted because of it.

-Cor’Dale Flott had a nice cover win and pass defended against Tyreek Hill. The acceleration, his best trait, was tested and he passed. I trust him in man coverage as much as anyone on this team.

-Adoree’ Jackson and Tre Hawkins both allowed 100% completion rate. Hawkins got burned by Hill on a play where there might be two or three corners who could have prevented the play. He had pre-snap confusion, lining up on the wrong side. He got to Hill late, Tua knew, and it was over before it started. Such is life with young corners in this league.

SAFETY

-Once again, Xavier McKinney and Jason Pinnock played every snap. In a game where so much of the action went through the first two levels of the defense without any speed bumps, much was put on these two. McKinney stood out with 8 tackles, a pass break up in the end zone, and a forced fumble that NYG recovered. His sheer hustle was notable on several plays as well. Pinnock caught the deflection off Okereke and returned it for a touchdown, the only one of the game for NYG. He added 5 tackles, but also allowed a touchdown on a broken play while trying to shadow Waddle.

-Dane Belton played 21 snaps over 4 games prior to the matchup in Miami. He played 39 in this game. He plays fast and aggressively, but he is such a hit or miss defender. Two times he exploded downhill as the Miami running play was getting horizontal. He overshot the lane and was the culprit on big gains. He finished with 4 tackles, 2 missed tackles, and allowed completions on all four passes thrown his way.

SPECIAL TEAMS

-K Graham Gano: 3/4 (Made 49, 37, 51 / Missed 55)
-P Jamie Gillan: 4 Punts / 40.3 avg – 40.3 net

3 STUDS

-LB Bobby Okereke, S Xavier McKinney, CB Deonte Banks

3 DUDS

-LB Isaiah Simmons, OC Ben Bredeson, OG Markus McKethan

3 THOUGHTS ON MIA

1. Prior to the season, I picked two teams to finish with 14 wins. One, Philadelphia. Two, Miami. The combination of the fastest and most dangerous offense in football paired with Vic Fangio calling the defense (without their best player, Jalen Ramsey), is going to get a ton of wins on the board. Why did not I not pick them to win the Super Bowl? Or even reach the AFC Championship? We do not know how well this offense can operate in cold/poor weather and there are a lot of questions surrounding the durability and take-over ability of their quarterback. We also know that postseason football experience is worth something, which they have very little of.

2. Speed kills. We know. Copycat league. We know. The game now favors offense. We know. Miami’s team speed is unlike anything I have seen before. Mostert, Achane, and Hill have been measured as the fastest players in the league this season. They’re all on the same team and they’re all football players, not just track stars. It is a formula that appears to be working but it only happens when the engineer at the top (McDaniel) knows how to use it. And that he does. Teams will try to replicate this, but they’ll need the right coach.

3. Christian Wilkins may be thrown into the discussion when listing the best interior defensive linemen in the league. It was not a quick, smooth ride. Here is the final note I have from my report on him in 2019: “Wilkins can be a stud. Top notch kid and a culture-builder.” We can discuss several positions that need to be upgraded and guys who need to be let go, but I think the key is to find more Wilkins’ type players. They do not grow on trees, I know. But what I mean is getting your best football players to also be the most influential leaders and culture pillars. Also, a fun note. Quinnen Williams, Dexter Lawrence, Jeffrey Simmons, and Wilkins all come from the same draft class. Those are 4 of the best 5 or 6 DTs in the league.

3 CLOSING THOUGHTS

1. In 2021, Miami rated dead last in the league in pass block win rate. In 2022? 24th. So far in 2023? 16th. Is there anything NYG can do (this season) to help hide the mismatches they are working with in the trenches every play? Besides Andrew Thomas getting back on the field, the only applicable takeaway I have in relation to Miami is running the ball more. Basic, I know. But when Jones drops back, the risk/reward is heavily tilted to the negative. NYG can run the ball with success on a more consistent basis. The likelihood of penalties is less and so are the 3-4-5+ yard losses that just kill the drive. I think Daboll and Kafka need to go Arthur Smith (Atlanta) style and run the ball 30-40 times next week in Buffalo.

2. So the Giants are now hoping for the best with linemen signed off the street. Jalen Mayfield, Jaylon Thomas, Justin Pugh. It is more likely we continue to see the major communication and assignment mishaps. That aside, what kind of blocker needs to be on the field? Mayfield was hard to watch, yes. But seeing how many times McKethan can’t get hands on his opponent and watching Bredeson allow pressures under 1.5 seconds leads me to the notion they have to put the best athletes out there if they are going to remain pass-heavy. If you can’t move your feet, you cannot block.

3. The Giants had no answers for the MIA speed. Their players are big and slow up front. Their pass rushers are not quick enough to impact the passer. They have confusion on the back end. Is Wink Martindale stuck in the past? We are seeing younger, fresher, more modern minds taking over coaching staffs and front offices league wide. I am looking around the league and seeing similar trends to other “old school” coaches (check out what is going on in NE). Martindale appears to be a step below the guys he is up against. Harbaugh saw it in 2022 when he parted ways with him.

Oct 042023
 
Brian Daboll and Daniel Jones, New York Giants (October 2, 2023)

Brian Daboll and Daniel Jones – © USA TODAY Sports

QUARTERBACK

-Daniel Jones: 27/34 – 203 yards / 0 TD – 2 NT / 67.0 RAT

Jones was also the leading rusher with 66 yards on 10 carries. The Giants seemed to protect him against San Francisco ten days ago with very few designed runs and an incredibly quick passing game by design. That approach changed against Seattle. With Saquon Barkley still on the sideline and an offensive line that continues to be a constant unobstructed funnel to the quarterback, Jones took more hits in one game than he’s ever had. He will not last much longer if this continues to be the case. However, on the other hand, him running is by far the most efficient and consistent form of offense this team has.

Jones put this team on his back for most of the game. He did not have time to throw the ball deep. Not once. He took over 20 hits and was one sack away from tying an NFL record. The lack of reliability up front has undoubtedly shaken up his confidence and ability to progress through reads. The receivers had a tough time getting off the line and through initial coverage in a hurry. The offense appears predictable (more on that below) and defenses are not being fooled any longer. All the above are true. And so is the fact Jones appears to have taken a step down the ladder. His interception from the five-yard line that ended in a pick six by a rookie cornerback was the nail in the coffin for both him and this team in their Week 4 matchup. As that rookie cornerback said after the game, he knew where Jones was going to go with the pass before Jones threw it. The play design had created space for the number one acquisition of the offseason for this team, Darren Waller, as he ran toward the back corner of the end zone with enough room. Jones panicked and was responsible for sucking the life out of the comeback effort. The second interception left the coaching staff disgusted. And before both of those, there was a lost fumble that landed SEA inside the NYG ten-yard line and set them up for their first touchdown. Again, a tough play for a quarterback to make but those excuses are no longer valid. Jones, in a rainstorm that was quickly flooding the basement, forgot to turn the pump on. Instead of two inches of standing water that required a quick clean up, the project now started with two feet of standing water.

RUNNING BACK

-Matt Breida stepped in for the injured Barkley again. While he gained just 30 yards on 14 carries, he did lead the team with 5 catches and 48 yards. The 22-yard gain on a broken play, a pass from a scrambling Jones, was the longest gain by the offense. Breida also stuck his nose in there as a pass blocker against the blitz multiple times, allowing zero pressures on 11 pass blocking opportunities.

-Gary Brightwell saw about a quarter of the snaps at running back, gaining just 9 yards on 4 carries. He was flagged twice on special teams, one of which held up. That one was a killer, a personal foul that pushed the putrid offense back to their own 10-yard line to start a drive. Unfortunately, on a team like this in a situation like this, a dumb mental mistake like that feels even bigger.

WIDE RECEIVER

-Seven receivers saw the field for NYG. There was a slight shift in playing time toward the youngest and most explosive playmakers, the two guys who were drafted by this regime on day two (one in ’22, one in ’23). Wan’Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt were on the field for 48 and 45 snaps, respectively. Darius Slayton is still the number one guy when it comes to playing time, but I sense a shift toward the young guns coming.

-Robinson was the one consistent positive on this offense. I know the bar is set low there, but he did play a big game. He had 5 catches for 40 yards and had a rush for another 7 yards. So, 6 touches, just under 8 yards per on average, and five first downs. Robinson’s skill set is unique. Even though the size will limit him in some situations, this is the kind of role player who can move the chains and make the offense more versatile. One of the smallest players in the NFL broke two tackles and gained 30 yards after the catch total. The stutter step quickness and natural vision can be lethal combinations if the scheme can direct attention to other players. He can crush one-on-one coverage and win against lone open field tacklers.

-Isaiah Hodgins had 24 yards on 3 catches (3 targets), Slayton added 23 yards on 2 catches, Hyatt was thrown at twice underneath for 10 yards on two catches, Parris Campbell had 15 yards on 3 catches, and Sterling Shepard had one catch for 6 yards. Combined from all receivers? 20 targets, 16 catches, 118 yards (longest of which went for 12 yards). The lack of production here has much more to do with the offensive line and Jones, but the shift toward younger players and speed is coming if it is not already here.

TIGHT END

-The most dominant player of the NYG training camp, Darren Waller, can’t seem to get off the ground in this offense. The thoughts of Mike Kafka turning him into the NYG version of Travis Kelce floated in the air throughout August. Perhaps it was a bit too lofty. Through four games, we are still waiting for an impactful game. He was targeted three times and he ended with 21 yards on 3 catches. Again, I put blame on the situation more than the player here (many keep repeating that line over and over by the way), but at some point, that will not be good enough. Waller is the guy I want to see this passing game revolve around early in games. Lastly, I credit Waller for his downfield blocking and sheer effort. This is a good example of a guy who does not have the tool or skill set to make an impact as a blocker, but effort can win a lot of battles.

-Daniel Bellinger left the game early with an injury after adding 1 catch for 6 yards. He was hurt on the failed QB sneak.

OFFENSIVE LINE

-The offensive line has been a reminder for the game and for life that, “Things could always be worse.” The line, especially without left tackle Andrew Thomas, has been the kryptonite to this offense through four games. The dosage of that kryptonite compounded against the Seahawks in a game where they sacked Jones 11 times, one shy of tying an all-time NFL record.

-Joshua Ezeudu got off to a solid start, but the second half brought his demise into the light. 4 sacks and 2 pressures for the former guard who many were holding out hope for. Evan Neal continues to look overmatched in pass protection. He allowed 5 pressures, one of which was a QB hit. We are seeing whiffs, awful footwork (which is getting worse), and poor balance. Next to him is Markus McKethan (3 pressures, 2 sacks) and it is hard to watch. Neither of these guys can recover, which is an essential component to offensive line evaluation. You cannot expect these guys to win off the ball every time, nobody does. But recovery tactics are a huge part of the margin between good and bad linemen. The two guys on the right side of this line look completely overmatched and incapable in their current state.

-Rookie center John Michael-Schmitz tweaked his ankle on the first play of the game and then suffered a shoulder injury on the failed 4th-and-1 QB sneak attempt. His injury created two problems on the line. Ben Bredeson struggled at center as his replacement. He allowed 2 pressures, a TFL, and was flagged for a hold. He was responsible for a couple of poor shotgun snaps and proved to be incapable of getting across a fast upfield three-tech. The other problem that arose after the Schmitz injury was the fact Shane Lemieux had to step in at guard. He got rag-dolled in the running game by Mario Edwards, creating a stop for the defense and was completely missing the Seattle linebackers in space. He, too, suffered an injury which brought Mark Glowinski in for 25 snaps. Those 25 snaps, by the way, were positive for the group’s most experienced veteran.

EDGE

-For just the fourth time since Kayvon Thibodeaux was drafted, both he and Azeez Ojulari played 40+ snaps in the same game. And right on cue, they combined to have an impactful performance this defense desperately needed. They pressured the quarterback a combined 6 times and Thibodeaux ended the game with 2 sacks. They were both matched up against backups, as starters Charles Cross (toe) and Abraham Lucas (knee) were out with injuries. The glaring positive within their impact was the fact they were beating one-on-one blocking, forcing penalties, and creating opportunities for their teammates. The main defensive takeaway from this game was the fact these two play a full load of snaps and made an impact from start to finish.

-With the emergence of those two, Jihad Ward play just 19 snaps, the lowest in a game since signing with the Giants prior to 2022. This was a must, and it still is. Ward’s lack of athleticism in space and mere average ability against the run this season should keep him in a backup role. I would not even mind seeing him as an interior pass rusher in certain looks but even in this game where we saw him in space against a banged-up Geno Smith on a bootleg, it is obvious his movement traits are going to hurt this defense more than help it.

DEFENSIVE LINE

-Chalk up yet another big day for the All-Pro Dexter Lawrence who appears to be on that same track yet again. He had 2 pressures and a QB hit, one of which forced a hold. He is top three league wide in pressures and hits from the inside and just like 2022, he is the only one near the top in the league lining up in the A-gap. In fact, Lawrence has 130 snaps from that alignment so far this season. The next highest? 89. The sixth highest? 79. That is easily the most overlooked variable to Lawrence’s performance, and it makes him even more impressive. Leonard Williams added 2 pressures and 2 tackles, but was flagged for a personal foul after getting into a scuffle with a rookie SEA lineman following a SEA touchdown on a play he was clearly beat.

-A’Shawn Robinson, D.J. Davidson and Rakeem Nunez-Roches all impressed in their backup duties. Robinson’s penetration caused tackles for loss on two separate occasions, and it is important to see him clicking now after he barely saw live action in August. Davidson was the overlooked stud of the game. On just 19 snaps, he finished with a TFL and 2 pass break ups. His feel for the play and sheer power were difference makers.

LINEBACKER

-If you look at the stat sheet, Bobby Okereke had a monster game. 10 tackles, 3 TFL, a pass break up, and a pressure. Collectively, it was his best game as a Giant to this point. However, two missed tackles, one of which was a horrific display on the 51-yard Noah Fant catch and run, are the plays that stand out the most. As I have said about other players on this team (and it generates an odd feeling of responsibility to defend for some), players who are paid to be the best and most impactful are held to a higher standard. That was a whiff by Okereke that cannot happen, plain and simple. On a defense that is undoubtedly struggling to tackle, Okereke needs to step up and stop adding to the problem. I do like the fact he made multiple stops that were indeed big plays in the second half, but they need a complete clean game from him.

-Micah McFadden and Isaiah Simmons added 4 solo tackles apiece, one of which went for a loss by Simmons. He seems to be getting more comfortable in the scheme and it is allowing for faster football.

CORNERBACK

-Adoree’ Jackson was back outside for the demoted Tre Hawkins after a couple of tough games for the rookie. Jackson was not much better. He missed two tackles and was flagged for a pass interference. Rookie Deonte Banks was beat by D.K. Metcalf for a first down on a couple of occasions, but the physicality and aggression he showed are the traits we want to see consistently at this stage. The one area I want to see improvement is the ball location. Geno Smith hit Metcalf for a touchdown on a broken play where Banks did cover well initially, but completely lost his spacial and play awareness. The ball was thrown his way and completed to the receiver he was covering without Banks ever knowing the play was filtering in his direction.

-Cor’Dale Flott saw his first action of the season at nickel. The difficult tackle in space he made against Jaxon Smith-Njigba was exactly what this team needs from that spot that Jackson did not bring. After just one game, I feel much better about this corner combination than what they opted to roll out there weeks 1-3.

SAFETY

-Jason Pinnock and Xavier McKinney played the majority of the snaps again. Both were quiet, combining for 5 tackles (one missed by Pinnock) and neither we challenged much in coverage. The SEA passing game attacked the outside and they did not need to look in the direction of these two enough to note.

SPECIAL TEAMS

-K Graham Gano: 1/1 (Made 55)
-P Jamie Gillan: 5 punts / 53.6 avg – 45.0 net

3 STUDS

-WR Wan’Dale Robinson, DT D.J. Davidson, EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux

3 DUDS

-OT Joshua Ezeudu, OT Evan Neal, CB Adoree’ Jackson

3 THOUGHTS ON SEA

1. Seattle was without 4 of their 5 starters along the offensive line. While their backups did not exactly play well, it was rather easy to see the difference between “good enough” and “non-competitive.” Are their backups that much better? I think the result had more to do with scheme and situational awareness. Their play-calling was hard to predict. They had a quarterback who understood the situation he was in. And their cohesion appeared to be cleaner.

2. Pete Carroll has my respect as much as any Head Coach in the game. You may not love his style (you would if he were coaching NYG), but the fact he is doing what he is with the ingredients he has without getting away from his principles has been impressive. Sustaining competitiveness like this is incredibly rare. He became the Head Coach in 2010. That was the year Tom Coughlin coached the Giants to a 10-6 season, Ahmad Bradshaw led the team in rushing, Hakeem Nicks broke 1,000 yards receiving for the first time, Terrell Thomas led the team in passes defended, and Matt Dodge accidentally punted to DeSean Jackson which resulted in a game winning touchdown in the fourth quarter of a Week 15 game in year one of the New Giants Stadium (not yet called MetLife). A lot has happened since then, hasn’t it? Carroll has been there ever since with 10 playoff appearances.

3. No team has used more draft picks on running backs since 2016 than SEA (9). They have quietly accepted the idea that investing in young backs (a lot of them) is the way to build the backfield. While they have lacked consistent star power, there is a revolving door of production stemming from the backfield and it is a template I bet many teams wish they used since that time. Their current backfield is, in my opinion, the best they’ve had when it comes to ceiling and potential production.

3 CLOSING THOUGHTS

1. Bill Parcells once said the quickest way to improve a football team (and win 1-2 more games per year) is on special teams. It moves the needle more than the general fan and media understand. On the flip side, a poor special teams unit can swing the needle downward in a hurry. Hidden yards, penalties, points. They all add up. NYG is set at kicker, and punter Jamie Gillan is playing much better as well. But the number of mistakes we are seeing from this unit is utterly pitiful. I will not pretend to know how the schematics are impacting the result, but Special Teams Coach Thomas McGaughey needs to be put on notice. What his group is doing is simply unacceptable. Through all the NYG coaching turmoil since 2018, he remains. Makes one think.

2. The multiple instances of Brian Daboll’s disdain for Daniel Jones on national TV were telling. The re-watch of the tape was telling. With things falling apart all around him, the starting quarterback is only throwing fuel on the dumpster fire. He is not bringing a hose full of water. He is increasing the size of the early season disaster that is historically bad. The interceptions were on him. At least three of the sacks were on him. And multiple missed opportunities were on him. It can no longer be hidden by the excuses. We know the situation around him is dire. We know he is fighting uphill. But even the Head Coach is fed up with what Jones is, and is not, doing. There is no debate here. Jones is not raising his play to a higher level. Case closed, chapter over. Fortunately for him, the book still has another 21+ games left where he can turn it around. The physical ability is there, but the mental game needs to catch up or this will go down as one of the biggest disappointments in franchise history. That is the magnitude of the situation.

3. Does NYG need to make big changes? Like what? Fire coaches? Cut players? Make trades? Unfortunately, I do not think any of the above will help. What they need is Andrew Thomas and Saquon Barkley. Their two best offensive players can create at least some stability and playmaking. But the downfall of this team is a lack of depth. It did not get tested like this a year ago and with the schedule that is much tougher, it is getting exposed on a much deeper level than expected. Roll with the punches will be the only avenue to take. The coaches are the ones who need to adjust, as the league has appeared to adjust to them. The most vital stage and the margin between bad coaching and good coaching is response to adversity. The season is still young, but so far that ingredient is a major failure by this staff. If they cannot respond to adversity, we will soon be scouring the league for the next “big time assistant”.

Sep 232023
 
Daniel Jones, New York Giants (September 21, 2023)

Daniel Jones – © USA TODAY Sports

QUARTERBACK

-Daniel Jones: 22/32 – 137 yards / 0 TD – 2 INT / 64.2 RAT

Jones added 5 yards on the ground. This was a matchup nightmare on paper. The Niners ability to put “quick pressure” on the passer, the makeshift offensive line, and not having their two best offensive players on the field made the margin for error miniscule. Jones had to play perfect and everyone around him had to play bigger than the sum of their respective parts for this to be competitive. The game-plan was full of dinks and dunks and I estimate about 50% usage of the full playbook even being an option. There were not a lot of positives to take away from this game when it comes to Jones. The few times where the team needed a play (and he had things working around him), he did not come through. The 3rd-and-11 miss to Waller in the fourth quarter with the score at 23-12 was the standout negative. Waller does not escape his share of the blame (I will discuss this in the tight end analysis), but that is an easy throw that needs to be made 99 out of 100 times. We’ve heard and saw all summer just how big and long Waller is, how he towers above everyone else. Jones had that target wide open (NFL standards) for a first down and he air-mailed it above his outstretched hands.

The positives remain the same. He stood tall in the face of pressure in a situation that had ‘loss’ written all over it. He went through progressions, he did not abandon mechanics, and he was accurate on almost all throws. While I will not call him Joe Montana when it comes to ball placement, he threw strikes most of the night on the quick-release throws. For the second time in three weeks, he was fighting uphill in mud, nothing to gain traction on and slowly having the ground slip from underneath him. He is now 1-11 in primetime games and while that is more of a correlation between the quality of opponents + the poor state of the NYG roster than the time of day that present his struggles, it is hard to get past the notion he is not rising to a better version of himself in situations like this. Daniel Jones just….is.

RUNNING BACK

-With Saquon Barkley out again with another lower body joint injury (the story of his career so far unfortunately), the NYG backfield barely moved the needle. Matt Breida did score the lone NYG touchdown of the night on an impressive, aggressive downhill run of 8 yards. He had just 4 total carries for 17 yards and 3 catches for 1 yard. Gary Brightwell added 5 yards on 4 carries and had the team’s biggest gain of the night (18 yards) on a dump-off pass, but also dropped a pass. His sample size was small, but his overall impact was positive economically, just like in previous games where he has contributed.

WIDE RECEIVER

-Wan’Dale Robinson was back on the field for the first time since tearing his ACL 10 months ago. That is an impressive turnaround from the second-year gadget receiver from Kentucky. He had 4 catches for 21 yards while fellow slot receiver Parris Campbell led the team with 6 catches, netting just 24 yards. The limitations of the offense overall made them key focal points underneath because their skill sets can get them open in a hurry and both are supposed to be effective after the catch. They struggled to break tackles, though. Neither made an impact there, neither stepped up to make plays on their own, which was a vital ingredient to any potential success they were hoping to have.

-Darius Slayton appears to be the number one receiver on this team. He is the guy who has the most experience with Jones, he is the guy with the most contractual commitment to the team, and he is the only player who is being targeted more than 9 yards downfield on average (minimum 4 targets). He ended with 3 catches for 32 yards and had a couple of open looks deep that did not come to fruition because of poor blocking. He is playing hard and confident right now, and with his speed, that matters.

-I am disappointed we, A) barely saw Jalin Hyatt (16 out of 50 snaps) and B) he did not get a single target. I know we should temper expectations from the rookie receiver, as I even said myself last spring following the draft his impact in 2023 would likely be minimal. Even with that in mind, not one target? The one guy on this team (with Barkley out) who can strike fear into the defense? The guy who made two the biggest non-touchdown plays in their historic comeback last week? If he truly is more than just a vertical threat, then the argument that Jones simply not having enough time is not good enough for me. He should have been given at least two or three looks.

TIGHT END

-Darren Waller led the team with 7 targets, but he caught just 3 of them for 20 yards. He added a drop that led to an interception. After a summer full of optimism and beat reporters salivating when discussing how much of a threat he appeared to be, three games in and I am down on what his upside can be here. Sure, the underneath threat and security blanket component to his game are there and it will be all season. But there is a significant difference in his movement from what I saw from 2019-2021. Jones misfired on two throws in his direction, they were more on the passer. However, Waller’s attempt at what I call “late movement,” a reaction-based attempt to the ball looked like it belonged to a 275-pound blocking tight end. No abrupt, explosive leap to go up and get it. No sudden change of direction to snare the ball that hit his hands. Effort is not the issue from what I see, just a simple lack of ability. Perhaps the hamstring is a tighter constraint than I initially thought. My true fear is the 31-year-old does not, and will not, have the special athletic traits that made him a household name and we are simply looking at an average underneath threat. Not a bad thing, but not what some believed it would be.

-Daniel Bellinger played 30 snaps and seems to be having trouble finding his role within this team. One of the biggest surprises from the 2023 Rookie Class has taken a back seat to Waller for obvious reasons. He had 1 catch for 8 yards. He has seen 2 passes thrown his way in 3 games. His value is a guy who splits a blocker/receiver role, but because of Waller’s presence he has been way more biased toward the former and he simply is not good enough there. He allowed a sack, a hold, and was flagged for a false start. This two tight end package has been one of the more subtle disappointments for the offense through three games.

OFFENSIVE LINE

-A few days ago, I warned everyone to temper the enthusiasm regarding former Tar Heels Joshua Ezeudu at left tackle and Markus McKethan at right guard. Performing well against Arizona did carry some weight, but the truth is that defensive line can make a case to be the worst in football. I wanted to see what the line, and these two in particular, would bring to the table against one of the best fronts in football. Just a solid game against them would go a long way. It did not turn out well. Ezeudu allowed 5 pressures and was flagged for a face-mask penalty. He was clearly overmatched when he faced off against Nick Bosa. They offered help a few times from Bellinger, but big picture, Ezeudu cannot compete against the best in the league. McKethan struggled even more. He was charged with 4 pressures and a sack in addition to a holding penalty. His size and length appear to be weapons that can win a lot of battles, but it is a complete hit or miss due to a lower half that does not have enough shiftiness to it. Growing pains are allowed and we will need to see if these guys can improve with consistent snaps week to week.

-Despite a couple of ugly losses to Javon Hargrave, I ended with a positive grade on rookie center John Michael Schmitz. He allowed one pressure was driven back badly on an outside zone run (again) that caused a TFL. Besides that, I thought he moved well to the second level, provided quality help in pass protection, and anchored well. From my perspective re-watching the game, there appeared to be minimal communication issues up front. I credit that to Schmitz. Execution has not been good, we know, but the assignments have seemed cleaner than I remember over the past two-three years.

-A lot of eyes are on Evan Neal, and rightfully so. The 2022 seventh overall pick has not been good through 18 games. He allowed a sack on the two-point conversion attempt and two pressures. The bar has been set low, but I do believe this was an overall positive performance compared to what Neal has been putting out there. While it is not good enough and I still want to see substantial improvement, I did not walk out of this game lowering his status even further. Hopefully he can use this as a springboard to better play, more consistently. After all, that is what this comes down to.

-Shane Lemieux got the start over Mark Glowinski, something I did not see coming. He allowed 3 pressures and a sack, and the disheartening note I have from the live game was: “Not even competitive.” No anchor, minimal range in the running game, and inability to recover when beat.

EDGE

-Kayvon Thibodeaux was on the field for 72 snaps. He finished with 3 tackles, 1 sack, and 2 hurries. Overall, it was a game that lacked impact. He was flagged for a questionable illegal contact penalty which I did not mark against him, as I thought it was within five yards from the line of scrimmage. The issue was a lack of feel, lack of flow to the action, and slight hesitation. That and the obvious fact he is not winning one-on-one battles. I am not comparing him to Bosa by any means, but the difference I see in those two off the ball is completely night and day. Bosa has tunnel vision. Thibodeaux has hesitation. Does he play scared? Does he lack situational awareness? I see both. And no, I am not seeing improvement (at all) despite a couple positives in the traditional box score. I will say it again. He needs to play better, period.

-Jihad Ward, Oshane Ximines, and Boogie Basham were the other rotational edge defenders. None within the trio has stepped up with Azeez Ojulari out. Ward can set the edge against the run, but the next time he comes off a blocker to make a big stop will be the first. Basham has been unimpressive in action since the trade from BUF, as he looks like the JV version of Ward. And we know what Ximines is. He did add a pressure with 2 tackles. I think it is time we see Tomon Fox on the field.

DEFENSIVE LINE

-Dexter Lawrence had another Dexter Lawrence game, finishing with 7 tackles, 3 pressures, and a TFL. Leonard Williams came to play as well, at least more so than the previous two weeks, and finished with a half-sack, 6 tackles, and 2 QB hits. He was flagged for a roughing penalty that was correct when looking at the rulebook, but it is the one I just do not support. I am all about protecting quarterbacks but expecting a guy to fall a certain way while moving at full speed is a garbage way of making life impossible for defenders.

-D.J. Davidson got the look over rookie Jordon Riley again, and he showed why. On just 19 snaps (9 run / 10 pass) he finished with a half-sack, 2 pressures, and a pass break up at the line. He was injured on a dirty play by Jake Brendel, a play he should be fined for. Davidson was pushing the interior SF linemen around every time he got on the field. The injury to the elbow appeared to be fairly serious.

-A’Shawn Robinson and Rakeem Nunez-Roches are, at least, playing physical and prideful. They are getting beat initially at the point-of-attack and they do not have the recovery quicks to make up for it. They are clearly frustrated because of the part they are playing in the defense getting beat up front against the run. Robinson did end up with 5 tackles and pursues the action with a lot of hustle. I am still holding onto hope the line can turn things around. The size, power, and effort are all there from all of the guys.

LINEBACKER

-Micah McFadden had a game. He led the team with 10 tackles, including 4 for a loss. He missed a tackle early on and I thought “here we go again”. But he made several tackles on plays away from the ball. He read the screen game exceptionally well and I guarantee other teams will be using his performance on film as “teach tape” throughout the season. He remains an easy target in the passing game but if he gets this kind of results downhill, they can deal with him being weak in backwards coverage.

-Bobby Okereke does not seem fully comfortable in the scheme. I say that because when he fills downhill hard, he is an absolute menace. But there still seems to be a lack of consistency to that part of his game and it is causing significant issues against the run. If I had to come up with a single catalyst to the issues the defense has there, it is him. He did finish with 9 tackles and 2 pressures (both untouched) but 3 missed tackles are way too many for a leader of the defense, the green dot.

-Isaiah Simmons saw a slight uptick in playing time, finishing with 4 tackles. His lack of feel for angles and blocking on a 3rd-and-13 conversion was an absolute killer. The speed and range are great assets but only valuable if he knows that to do. Very poor situational awareness by him on that play.

CORNERBACK

-Another rough night for the rookie corners. Deonte Banks suffered an arm injury and at the time of this writing, we do not have the MRI results. Tre Hawkins missed 2 (of his 3 on the night) tackles on the same play, something you could go an entire season never seeing. He got flagged for holding and allowed every target in his direction to be completed. He looked lost, unsure, and tight. He may not be the best fit for the number of snaps he is seeing and after three weeks (and as many penalties), it may be worth moving someone else into his starting spot.

-Adoree’ Jackson saw most of his snaps outside again, the spot I think he simply works best. He did allow a long touchdown pass to Deebo Samuel late in the game but I thought his coverage was solid most of the night. He broke up a pass over the middle on a great corner play.

-Darnay Holmes moved into the slot when Jackson went outside. He finished with two impact plays, a pass break up and a TFL on a screen, but he was also flagged for a hold on a third down stop. The issue we have seen since his rookie season continues to be his kryptonite and what simply makes him unreliable.

SAFETY

-Xavier McKinney and Jason Pinnock both played every snap again. They combined for 12 tackles and 3 missed tackles. They were targeted often, especially with SF tight end George Kittle. Pinnock made the biggest blunder of the night on the 3rd-and-14 conversion where they had everything lined up, he simply needed to make the tackle. He did not come close. He turned it up a bit in the second half with 2 pressures. McKinney seemed a bit lost. He was not anticipating routes and the precision of the SF passing game kept exposing it.

SPECIAL TEAMS

-K Graham Gano: 2/2 (Made 44, 57). The 57-yarder ties his career-long with NYG.
-Jamie Gillan: 6 punts / 52.7 avg – 49.0 net

3 STUDS

-LB Micah McFadden, DT Leonard Williams, K Graham Gano

3 DUDS

-CB Tre Hawkins, OG Markus McKethan, S Xavier McKinney

3 THOUGHTS ON SF

1. The best coach in football is Kyle Shanahan. That’s where I stand with him, and I know I’m not alone. What he has done over the years despite such injury turmoil (especially at QB) is something most (if not all) coaches would crumble under. He is a magician and trend setter when it comes to finding ways to play efficient football. Early down passing, motion pre-snap, versatile personnel packaging, etc. The scheme itself is fun to watch no matter who they play. Since 2017, they have been the 10th, 4th, 6th, 1st, 3rd, and 9th most injured team in the league, respectively. They made the NFC Championship despite zero games with their QB1, RB1, TE1, WR1, WR2 all healthy at the same time last season. How many teams could pull that off? I don’t think any. Coaching made the difference.

2. SF had 196 yards after the catch in this game alone. The Giants total net yards were 150. The thing is, SF is always among the league’s best in yards after the catch. They’re also near the top in explosive run plays. How come? Scheme is one, but also the kind of players they go after. They’re all strong and powerful relative to their positions and maybe the most overlooked component to their success is how hard they block downfield for each other. It is such a difference maker.

3. SF is one of the two or three best teams in the NFC. How did they get there? You may be surprised to see their early draft results in recent years. Since John Lynch took over in 2017, here are their first-round picks: DT Solomon Thomas (#3), OT Mike McGlinchey (#9), DE Nick Bosa (#2), DT Javon Kinlaw (#14), QB Trey Lance (#3). To be blunt, that is a terrible looking list outside of Bosa (the highest paid defender in the NFL). Only Kinlaw remains on the team. How is Lynch considered one of the top GMs in football and what can NYG learn from it? If you go back to 2017 and start going through their day 2/3 picks, you’re going to be wowed. TE George Kittle, DT D.J. Jones, CB D.J. Reed, LB Fred Warner, LB Dre Greenlaw, WR Jauan Jennings, OT Colton McKivitz, RB Elijah Mitchell, S Talanoa Hufanga, QB Brock Purdy, OG Spencer Burford. These guys in combination with the aggressive trades for OT Trent Williams and RB Christian McCaffrey are the catalysts to this being such a well-balanced team. Keep this in mind in the coming years with the NYG regime led by Joe Schoen. Even when you miss in the first, the doors are open later on to build the nucleus. You must find the right guys there.

3 CLOSING THOUGHTS

1. So let’s not beat the dead horses. Is Daniel Jones worth the money? Are the #5 and #7 picks from the 2022 draft going to step up? Save it for another time, I’m sure history will repeat itself. Let’s turn the attention to Defensive Coordinator Wink Martindale. It is hard to fully diagnose what is going on, but the results are scary. 98 points allowed in 3 games (let’s take off 14 for the special teams + defensive TDs from week 1). So, 84 points allowed. Sixth worst in yards per play allowed. Last in turnovers. Fourth most in yards per pass allowed. 14th most yards per rush allowed. Second worst in pressure percentage. Sixth most missed tackles. Seventh worst on third down. The personnel was upgraded. There are 7 returning starters. And everything has gone backwards. Has the league figured out Martindale? It is something that needs to be considered.

2. I’m not a fan of the “must win” label some put on games unless is mathematically eliminates someone from contention. So, no, Week 4 against Seattle is not a must win. But getting a 3-day rest advantage over a 1-1 team that is flying from the West Coast is one of the easier set ups they have and not taking advantage of it would be such a major blow to the vibe of this team.

3. The one time NYG scored a touchdown came on a drive where they had the biggest gain of the day. A 22-yard pass interference call on a deep ball to Waller. Getting the ball more vertical like this creates so many more opportunities for the offense. You can get that cheap penalty, which when it comes to results end up being the same as a long completion. It puts things on tape and in memories of defenders that needs to be accounted for, opening space up underneath. And it can change the entire mojo of a team. NYG needs to find ways to push the ball downfield at least a handful of times week in, week out. They have the speed.

Sep 192023
 
Daniel Jones, New York Giants (September 17, 2023)

Daniel Jones – © USA TODAY Sports

QUARTERBACK

Daniel Jones: 26/37 – 321 yards / 2 TD – 1 INT / 103.5 RAT

Check this out. With 1:09 left in the 2nd quarter, Jones was 6/12 – 43 yards / 0 TD – 1 INT. Now go take another look at the final stat line. From that moment he went 20/25 – 278 yards / 2 TD – 0 INT. Jones also had 59 yards on the ground with a rushing touchdown. You want a real-life look at a quarterback who has put a team on his shoulders to lead the best comeback this franchise has had in the modern era? This was it. We have seen the toughness Jones exudes since his rookie year. We have seen him make big time throws in the second half to all three levels. We have seen him make plays with his legs that, maybe, five other starting quarterbacks in the NFL can make. But we have never seen it all together in one half throughout a three-score comeback. This goes in the top five list of Jones’ best performances. What was so different in the second half? Three things came to mind after the two re-watches.

One, his targets stopped dropping balls. More support from the surrounding cast, which he had very little of in the first six quarters of the season, will always open the door to better potential results. The Waller/Barkley drops in the first half especially were killers. Two, Jones looked much more decisive and brave in the pocket. He abandoned the play too soon three times in the first half rather than stepping up and keeping his eyes downfield. Once he had some momentum build upon the third quarter (the long Hyatt completion was so key for that), he maneuvered the pocket with more precision and/or opted to tuck and run north. His time-to-decision was evidently faster. Three, his accuracy and timing were near-perfect. The underneath-to-intermediate throws were on the money, properly setting up his targets to allow them to move upfield right away after the completion. Jones made over a handful of big-time throws, the kind of throws everyone in the media would be pointing out if it were Joe Burrow (0-2) or Justin Herbert (0-2). Jones had the look of a winner in this one. Whatever it takes, whatever the situation. A lot went against him, and he rose up and led this team to a huge win.

RUNNING BACK

-Saquon Barkley: 17 att – 63 yards – 1 TD / 6 rec – 29 yards – 1 TD

Unfortunately, Barkley on the second to last play of the game got caught between a pile of linemen and a defender coming in from the side, trapping his foot underneath a lineman while being twisted in the other direction. He will miss time, possibly a month.

As for his performance in this game, he was Robin to Jones’ Batman. A duo who came up with the big plays in key moments, the plays you pay these guys to make. The 3rd-and-9 touchdown pass was execution by both at the highest level we see in the sport. That was Mahomes-Kelce caliber, a score that very few pass catchers could make in this league. Barkley’s performance did come with a few warts. For the second straight week, he dropped a ball he should have held onto that resulted in an interception. For the second straight week, I have multiple runs where he danced/stutter stepped in the backfield while a crease was there (or about to be there) for the taking. 2nd-and-1 he turns sideways/runs backwards. These things cannot happen, and more situational awareness and better vision are needed. I’ll touch more on his replacement while injured at the bottom.

-Matt Breida had one carry for 5 yards, the play before Graham Gano’s winning-field goal. Eric Gray deserves credit for a 14-yard punt return in the fourth quarter to start the NYG possession that ended up tying the game at 28 in the fourth quarter. Both will be in for big roles just two days from now.

WIDE RECEIVER

-I discussed how much this offense needs to generate more explosive plays from the passing game. It is near-essential for the team to take the next step. Enter Darius Slayton and Jalin Hyatt. Slayton had 3 catches for 62 yards. His completions were 29, 18, and 15 yards. Hyatt had just 2 catches, both resulting in explosive plays (one for 58 yards, one for 31 yards) and were the two longest plays of the afternoon. Slayton also had a catch in the fourth quarter where he (barely) landed out of bounds that would have been an all-time highlight had the field been a few inches wider. Jones also underthrew him in the first half on a play where he had 2-3 steps on the corner. Hyatt is the key, here. A lot to be put on a third rounder but the way he moves and way he is tracking the ball and how fast he can easily get over the top can change how defenses work the short to intermediate routes. Hyatt looks ready for more.

-Isaiah Hodgins did not contribute much from a volume perspective, but he did come down with the game-tying touchdown on a brilliant catch that was very high-difficulty. I did charge him with a drop in the third quarter on a fade pass from Jones, but I will admit it could have gone either way. Regardless, Hodgins is going to benefit the most if teams have to start respecting the deep passing game.

-Parris Campbell added a drop and was flagged for a false start on a potentially controversial two-point conversion attempt, which valid arguments could be made both for and against. After the penalty, Daboll opted to simply go for the extra point to make it 28-21 rather than the conversion in an effort to make it 28-22. Maybe it was one of those good mistakes. Sterling Shepard had 1 catch for 4 yards. He played just 10 snaps.

TIGHT END

-We saw some of the biggest value Waller brings to the table in the second half. He finished with 6 catches for 76 yards (5/64 were in quarters three-four). Four of those went for a first down, which led the team and tied for the league-high among tight ends in Week 2. Watching the All-22 angle and everything makes simple sense. More vertical pressure on the secondary because of Slayton + Hyatt combined with linebackers who cannot hang with Waller creates separation and space. He seems to already have a strong chemistry with Jones and I expect it to further improve in time. The two negatives were a first quarter drop (knocked out by a defender) and the fact he does seem to struggle with stride length. The hamstring/nerve issue is real, and it may inhibit some of what I thought he could offer as a seam pusher up the field.

-Uneventful game for Daniel Bellinger, who played under half the snaps as the team was very heavy on 11 personnel usage (3 WR). He had two losses as a blocker that were a result of poor initial footwork, but he did throw a key block on Barkley’s touchdown run as he lined up in the backfield.

OFFENSIVE LINE

-Here is a good sign. The days and hours leading up to the game, Joshua Ezeudu and Markus McKethan were the main talking points. With Andrew Thomas being declared out with a hamstring injury early on, Ezeudu was placed into the left tackle spot over Matt Peart. He played 508 snaps in college there, but none in the NFL and almost zero practice time. McKethan, who was Ezeudu’s teammate at North Carolina, missed all of 2022 (his rookie season) after tearing his ACL during a scrimmage in training camp last August and would be taking his first pro snaps for the benched Mark Glowinski. The best part? All that pre-game chatter about the changes and it was the last time we heard anything about them.

How did they play? Ezeudu was flagged for a false start prior to the first play and allowed a one-yard sack on the second drive that was not a bad beat. From there? Nearly flawless. McKethan allowed a half-sack and 2 pressures. He struggled with two separate blitz pickups and getting to the linebackers at the second level. But what impressed me was how he never abandoned techniques. This guy is very big and long for a guard. His 35.5” arms and 85.5”wingspan are top five in the history of the position. Seeing him long-arm guys (even with his feet in the wrong spot) got him a few extra wins. Excellent firsts for both former Tar Heels and I will touch on the OL more below.

-Center John Michael Schmitz was rock solid all game. I still see him losing too much ground on these aggressive outside zone runs but he isn’t getting beat and that is what’s most important. I also saw him make a couple instinctive moves that I only see a handful of centers make in the league. Combine that with the perfect grade in pass protection and two QB sneak successes, his grade was very good.

-Ben Bredeson took a nasty blow to the head and was quickly diagnosed with a concussion. He allowed a TFL before exiting. Mark Glowinski came off the bench to play left guard, a spot he hadn’t played since 2017 with Seattle. After allowing a TFL right away, he also provided above average play.

-Evan Neal did look better than he did in week one but was still the one guy with a negative grade up front. He allowed 2 pressures, was flagged for a hold (that wiped out a touchdown), a false start, and received a ton of help throughout the game. I did note how important that help would be for the offense, but I still can’t get behind him as a player yet. Remember, I was very high on him as a prospect, and I still believe he can be a good player. But taking my bias out, Neal still struggles in pass protection way too much.

EDGE

-Kayvon Thibodeaux has a lot of eyes on him, rightfully so. He was the 5th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He is 0-for-2 this season on hitting just the minimum standard for what is expected of him. He had 1 pressure which resulted in a QB hit and even that was on a stunt where ARI left him unblocked up the middle. I was also disappointed on the lack of backside pursuit on the ARI outside zone runs. Two blockers in front of him pulling to the opposite side and he did not react fast enough. Now, it is possible he was playing assignment football and I do not question his effort. Thibodeaux plays hard. He simply does not always have the quick and natural football sense against the run on complex running plays. The conclusion here is that he has been a no-show through two weeks to start off the year.

-Azeez Ojulari missed the game with a soft tissue injury again (hamstring). He has now missed 11 of his last 18 games and that does not include playing under 20% of the snaps in their two playoff games last year.

-Oshane Ximines was activated and had a QB hit and a half-TFL on a play he went unblocked. He had one tackle and a missed tackle. Boogie Basham played a very quiet 13 snaps. The depth looks poor, the starters look poor. Nothing is set in stone, but that is the cold hard truth with the first 10% of the season now in the rear view mirror.

DEFENSIVE LINE

-Another week of solid rotations. Another week of solid Dexter Lawrence play. Another week of overall underwhelming group performance. Lawrence did end up shining and came up big when the team needed him the most. 4 tackles, one TFL (two separate half-TFL plays), and 3 pressures. Just another day at the office for the All-Pro. His impact on stuffing the run, even the outside runs, has been near make or break. When he gets doubled and neutralized, bad things are likely to happen. When ARI tried to single-man him, his push shrunk the creases to near-nonexistent.

-Leonard Williams added 2 pressures but finished with no tackles. I expect more out of him, to be blunt. He is getting moved too easily in the running game and he has not been getting off blocks like he did last year. He needs to find his groove after playing just 12 snaps in preseason. Lawrence is doing his part, Williams needs to step up and do his. It will impact multiple facets of the defense.

-The trio of accessories all had stretches of solid play, but they’re all limited. Hence why they are backups, I suppose. A’Shawn Robinson finished with three tackles and a half-TFL. D.J .Davidson was active in place of Jordon Riley, which I like because these two will be competing for snaps all season and that will bring the best out them respectively. He added one tackle. Rakeem Nunez-Roches struggled to make any sort of impact besides giving Williams the occasional breather. He was overwhelmed by double teams on running plays. These three guys combined for 31 pass rush snaps, and they did not accrue a single pressure. On a team that is struggling to get to the passer, it is a bigger deal in my eyes than it admittedly probably should be. Somebody needs to step up there. And it’s not like they’re doing well against the run. They’re averaging 6th-most yards per carry allowed among the 28 teams that have played two games so far.

LINEBACKER

-Add Bobby Okereke to the list of guys who looked like completely different players in the second half than the first. Almost as if the real one showed up at halftime and put on the #58 jersey before they came back out of the tunnel. He finished with 8 tackles, one for a loss. Early on, Okereke was not filling his gap hard or fast enough. But when the team needed big stops, he rose to the occasion especially in the third quarter. On the flip side, he was flagged for a pass interference that called off an interception, he was flagged for a personal foul for hitting the quarterback’s helmet, and he abandoned his gap on the Dobbs rushing touchdown. Too many killer plays for one guy, the green dot guy. But he was a big factor in the second half and it took him off the dud list.

-Micah McFadden got on that list early as well but stayed on it, unfortunately. He had four missed tackles. One of them resulted in a touchdown, one of them would have been a take down for a short loss, and another one would have resulted in a major loss. We know what he is at this point. He is effective in traffic because he is quick, low to the ground, and powerful. He is not even half as good in space and/or while moving laterally. The missed tackles need to stop, it changes drives.

-Isaiah Simmons played 13 snaps, again as expected, nine of which he dropped into coverage. He finished with 2 tackles and a pressure on a scramble. The speed showed up and made a difference in two occasions. Do I expect him to play more? Not yet. Do I expect him to take over for McFadden? Absolutely not. That isn’t his position.

CORNERBACK

-Rookie Deonte Banks played all 64 snaps, a positive considering he left Week One early with cramps. He is a work in progress, which is stating the obvious. He flashes excellent sheer talent and ability. He is physical and his coverage is borderline too grabby. He was flagged for illegal contact for the second straight week. His biggest negatives came against the run. While it is not priority A or B for a corner, Banks needs to stop missing tackles (2) and losing track of his edge responsibilities. The game is too fast to make up for a bad initial read.

-Adoree’ Jackson also missed a tackle, playing every snap. He finished with 5 tackles and allowed 4 catches on 6 targets. Most of those passes were incredibly tough assignments on quick strikes but he did come up with two big pass breakups. He looks more comfortable in coverage, but as I said a few weeks ago, his lack of presence in tackling from nickel will be an issue this defense needs to cope with.

-Rookie Tre Hawkins was not involved much on his 40 snaps. He came up with an impressive deep ball pass break up where he stayed on top of the assignment and was inches away from the interception. He, too, missed a tackle and he also made a bad read on the Marquis Brown short touchdown catch. He looked hesitant and unsure, and like Banks, the game is too fast for that. He was taken off the field on their two-corner looks, where Jackson went back to the outside.

SAFETY

-Xavier McKinney played all 64 snaps and Jason Pinnock missed just one play while he had a contact lens replaced. The former had 7 tackles and a pass break up. He missed a tackle and was a flagged for a questionable personal foul in the first half. It was a solid game for a guy who may be the best blitzer on the team. Pinnock led the team with 10 tackles, but also missed 3. He plays so fast that at times it is too fast for his own good. I’ll take the fast mistakes though; you can live with those. He had an interception that was called back, he had 1.5 TFL, and easily looks like the fastest reactive player on the defense. This unit is not creating turnovers but if/when they do, the two safeties will be involved. I still think they miss Julian Love (off to a tough start in SEA), but the group overall is not even close to one of the concerns defensively.

-Bobby McCain and Dane Belton combined for just 8 snaps and made no impact.

SPECIAL TEAMS

K Graham Gano: 1/1 (made 34 and a long extra point)
P Jamie Gillan: 3 punts / 37.0 avg – 37.0 net

3 STUDS

-QB Daniel Jones, OT Joshua Ezeudu, DT Dexter Lawrence

3 DUDS

-LB Micah McFadden, ED Kayvon Thibodeux, OT Evan Neal

3 THOUGHTS ON ARI

1. The talk surrounding ARI, for months, has centered around tanking for the 2024 NFL Draft. This franchise has their own pick (expected to be top 5) and the Texans pick (acquired in a draft-day trade, also expected to be top 5). That is realistically going to probably land them two top 5 picks. You can even set a solid market on them being two of the top three picks. They traded away a solid OL depth / starting guard in Josh Jones right before the season (again to HOU) and they traded Simmons to NYG. They cut DeAndre Hopkins. They traded for their starting quarterback in the final week of August. Who knows what they are doing with Kyler Murray? All of this in a year where the next big thing at quarterback is likely to declare for the 2024 Draft AND there is a generational wide receiver likely to be there as well. No, I do not think this team cares about the loss yesterday.

2. About 14 months ago, quarterback Kyler Murray signed a 5-year/$230 million extension with the club. $160 million guaranteed. Can they actually move on from this deal without crippling the team’s ability to spend? In short, yes. They could move him next offseason and absorb $46.2 million in dead money. Yes, a lot of money but we have seen worse. Atlanta recently did something in that tier with Matt Ryan. They could wait until after June 1 to trade him and absorb $13 million dead cap in 2023, $33.3 million in 2025. Considering what I know about General Manager Monti Ossenfort, I think they will make the move as soon as possible. The interesting debate is how much he plays in 2023. They may not want to fall into accidental wins (Murray can still take over a game backyard football style), but they do want to increase his value to QB-hungry teams that are ready to win. This will be incredibly interesting to follow.

3. Prior to 2023, here is the list of the first draft picks this team has made since 2014: TE Trey McBride, LB Zaven Collins, LB Isaiah Simmons, QB Kyler Murray, QB Josh Rosen (I was very wrong on him too), Haason Reddick, Robert Nkemdiche, D.J. Humphries, Deone Bucannon. There is more to a draft class than the first rounder, NYG fans know that. But that many misses in that short span of a time (including 5 picks in the front half of round 1) is the quickest way to getting fired. To be frank, I am surprised some guys in that front office have held onto their jobs for that long. But with some of the things I know about the management within that organization behind the scenes, I can’t say I am surprised. Not everyone in the NFL has a job because they truly deserve it. Previous ARI front offices (and even some coaches) are prime examples of that. Better days ahead.

4 CLOSING THOUGHTS

1. The Saquon Barkley injury is, unfortunately, something we have grown somewhat used to over the years on a season-to-season basis. The multiple serious injuries (those that cause multiple consecutive games missed) suffered to the lower body are such a killer for a back who has a game built on shiftiness and burst. Instead of harping on him and running back contracts, the better discussion centers around how to replace the production. Nobody on this roster is replacing Barkley. But the Moneyball approach is where to go in discussion; how do they replace his yards and touchdowns? It needs to be a team effort, one that is so much more doable than the previous times this has happened because of better depth. Sure, Matt Breida and Eric Gray and Gary Brightwell will get the carries, but nobody needs to be the guy. Maybe Jones gets more designed (but safe) carries. Maybe we see more dump offs to Campbell and (eventually) Wan’Dale Robinson. Maybe Gray excels where Barkley struggles (vision, feel, decision making). Maybe they get more aggressive downhill burst from Breida/Brightwell. The options are plenty and it should not crush the offense.

2. Million dollar question. What is the ideal offensive line configuration now? Let’s discuss this from the perspective that Andrew Thomas is back, and Ben Bredeson is healthy. Both may be out Thursday, though. When they’re ready to go, I think they roll with Thomas-Ezeudu-Schmitz-McKethan-Neal for the time being. Glowinski and Bredeson off the bench are above average when considering depth around the league. Peart is the gameday swing tackle, but Ezeudu is the number one backup outside. I am not going down the path of replacing Neal with Ezeudu, it’s not even a thought. I am not considering Neal to guard, it’s not even a thought. The question I have is about Ezeudu. His snaps at guard have not been very good so far, but he was great at left tackle in his pro debut. As pleased as I was with his game, let’s not forget the Arizona group of pass rushers is a strong contender for worst in the NFL. We will have a clearer picture after the game Thursday night.

3. This defense just looks terrible. While they did step up in the second half, I am considering the entire game within my evaluation. They’re one of four teams that have played 2 games as of this writing that has not forced a turnover (Dallas has forced 7 and Philadelphia has forced 6). They are the ONLY team in the league without a single sack. They’re second to last in pressure rate. What is the solution? It seems Martindale is hesitant to blitz. His rate is middle of the league right now (after leading the NFL in 2022). The blitzes on pass plays resulted in 50% completion rate against ARI. Is he afraid of leaving the young corners on a true island play to play? Is he trying to play the game of deception when everyone plans for more blitzing? The front can’t get home with four pass rushers. The results can’t be too much worse than they are right now. I suggest Martindale go back to his roots and force things to happen.

4. A 38-7 loss against the Eagles in the Divisional Playoffs. A 40-0 loss to the Cowboys week one. A 20-0 deficit to one of the worst teams in the NFL after two quarters of football. That is a 10-quarter span where this team was being outscored 98-7. That is historically bad. Not just bad; historic. This brought back a memory that many have chosen to forget. In year one of the Ben McAdoo era, NYG went 11-5 and lost a closer playoff game to the Packers. Eli Manning threw for 4,000+ yards, Landon Collins and Damon Harrison both made the All-Pro Team, and Odell Beckham finished third in the NFL in both catches and yards. Things were looking better than they had in 5 years. Fast forward to the very next season (2017), NYG started off 0-5, 1-8, and 2-13. McAdoo was fired in early December. The results on the field here in 2023 were appearing like something we have seen. Building momentum under a new Head Coach just to see it fall off a cliff. But as I, and many others, have said, this regime is different. Simply, different. I hate the “must win” label a game has in Week 2, but I will say I think this win will have a spillover impact very much like Week 1 in Tennessee did last season when NYG went for 2 instead of tying it up with an extra point. But there is more to be done, more to prove. The Giants have played some of the worst football league wide in 6 of 8 quarters. And this coaching staff called consecutive timeouts in the 4th quarter (resulting in a penalty). The short week is a big test.

Sep 122023
 
New York Giants (September 10, 2023)

© USA TODAY Sports

QUARTERBACK

Daniel Jones: 15/28 – 104 yards / 0 TD – 2 INT / 32.4 RAT

Jones also ran the ball 13 times and gained 43 yards on the ground. He fumbled twice, neither of which were recovered by DAL. It was a night to forget for too many reasons to count. Part of the expectation after signing the 4 year / $160 Million contract this offseason includes him playing better and creating more with what he is given. Jones was under pressure the entire night, he dealt with poor snaps in the shotgun that threw off timing and ball security, and it was wet. Add that to the fact he played against one of the top defenses in football and it all adds up to facing a wall. How did Jones respond to that wall? Did he scale it? Did he at least put a dent in it? No, he did not. The first interception was not on him, as Saquon Barkley should have held on to that ball. The second interception? The near-third? All on Jones and the play where he was running out of bounds and threw it back into traffic where more DAL defenders than NYG targets were, on first down, was about as bad as it gets. We saw Bryce Young and CJ Stroud and Anthony Richardson make those mistakes in their rookie debuts. Jones, a fifth year-veteran and $40 million quarterback absolutely cannot make that mistake.

A shutout cannot be solely placed on Jones’ shoulders. There are multiple components that led to one of the worst Week 1 losses the NFL has ever seen. But 0 points? Missed throws? Bad decisions? The same bad decisions he needs to be past by now? There are lot of people in this organization that need to look themselves in the mirror. Jones is, without question, one of them. Poor performance and not halfway up to par for a $40 million QB.

RUNNING BACK

Saquon Barkley: 12 att – 51 yards / 3 rec – 12 yards

Barkley was charged with a drop (that turned into a Jones interception / pick six for the defense). It could have been charged a fumble. Either way, a major blow to the offense and team overall as it put seven points on the board for Dallas. Beyond that, Barkley looked solid early on pushing piles and putting his shoulder down. The issue I have is what he left on the field. I watched the game from the end zone and he had three different runs where the cutback lane was there, and he did not take it. The best-vision backs can anticipate those lanes, the good-vision backs can react to those lanes. The poor-vision backs never see it. Barkley went 0-for-3 there.

-Matt Breida added 9 yards on 2 carries and Gary Brightwell saw time late when things were out of hand, gaining 5 yards on his lone carry.

WIDE RECEIVER

-It was a tough game to evaluate the wide receiver play between the weather and the time available in the passing game. Most of the Jones drop backs did not even allow the receivers to get into their routes. Darius Slayton had 3 rec / 15 yards, Paris Campbell had one catch for 2 yards and a drop, and Isaiah Hodgins had 1 catch for 24 yards that resulted in a lost fumble. Those were the receivers who played the most. As much as we discuss better targets in the arsenal for Jones and the offense, it still looks like an underwhelming group, does it not?

-Jalin Hyatt had one target in his debut, a poor throw by Jones but it should have been brought in by the rookie. He dropped a ball that hit both his hands and that was the last we saw of him. The league is already fearful of the speed. DAL corner Trevon Diggs was providing a lot of space underneath on routes when he was on Hyatt to protect from getting beat over the top. Unfortunately, Hyatt’s true impact will only be felt when the line does its job.

TIGHT END

-Darren Waller: 3 rec – 36 yards

-Waller led the team in yards and targets, playing just over half the snaps. He was on a pitch count because of an aggravated hamstring, something to monitor. This is not the first time. He made two nice hand-grabs on balls away from his body. On the opening drive, Waller was going to be targeted on the 3rd-and-2 false start by Andrew Thomas. It was set up well for an easy touchdown. They are doing a lot to get him open underneath and over the middle. The few times he lined up with his hand in the dirt and was asked to block did not go well. He was the reason NYG failed a 3rd-and-2 conversion attempt on a Jones outside run. That isn’t why he is here, but for this offense to remain efficient with two tight ends on the field in the running game, he needs to show more there.

-Daniel Bellinger played almost two-thirds of the team’s offensive snaps, most on the team for the position. He did not receive a single target and graded poorly as a blocker. He allowed a sack to Demarcus Lawrence on a play where he was tossed to the ground as if he were a 180-pound receiver, a complete non-factor. There was talk about his strength gains among many in the media because they saw a picture with his shirt sleeve rolled up and his bicep looked big. It does not work that way. Bellinger’s power in the trenches was a problem. He did not look effective in that role at all.

-Lawrence Cager got a few snaps toward the end of the game and brought in 2 catches for 17 yards.

OFFENSIVE LINE

-Tough to figure out where to start. The newly signed Andrew Thomas pulled his hamstring early (on the blocked field goal) and gutted out 53 snaps the rest of the game. He was clearly playing through a lot of pain and at the time of this writing, we are waiting on MRI results. Regarding the game itself, Thomas was not the reliable force that he was in 2022. The 3rd-and-2 false start was one of the biggest plays of the night. He was also flagged for hold that got declined and he allowed 3 pressures, one of which caused a sack, and a half-TFL. I applaud and respect the effort, but the performance itself was not up to par. Unfortunately, 65% of Thomas is better than 100% of anyone else they can put in at left tackle.

-Ben Bredeson and rookie John Michael Schmitz both played all 70 snaps, and both graded out well below average. Bredeson allowed a pressure and a TFL. He was also flagged for a holding penalty. While he is the top left guard on this team, he has too many snaps where he looks like he is better suited for the interior backup role. The lack of bend and adjustment speed are issues against a fast defense like this. He looks the part in the running game, and he gets movement off the ball, but I am concerned about any potential progress he can make as a pass blocker. Schmitz is a step behind the power component to pro tackles. He wound up getting pushed back 3-4 yards on plays he needed to get lateral. It completely threw off the vital timing variables to the outside zone NYG likes to use. He, too, was better in the power game going downhill.

-Now, we move on the right side. The combination of Mark Glowinski and Evan Neal in this game was the worst one-side performances I have seen, possibly ever, in my personal history of watching the Giants. Glowinski allowed 3 sacks (and had another called off by a penalty) and 4 pressures. The 31-year old was signed last year to give the team a solid, yet unspectacular, veteran presence who at least had a high floor. There is a hole in the floor. His knee bend was not there, and he is not a very big, powerful guy. He can’t afford to play with poor bend. Another game like that and he should be put on the bench. Absolutely atrocious game and clearly unacceptable.

-As for Evan Neal. I’ve been vocal about him being the most important player on offense not named Daniel Jones. NYG was dead last in the league in explosive passing plays in 2022. Chicago was better. Houston was better. Improved pieces are in place but if Evan Neal cannot be trusted to maintain pass protection for 3 seconds, maybe even 4, they will be near or at the bottom again. Week 1 was a nightmare result of the biggest variable in this discussion. 5 pressures, 2 sacks, and 1 TFL for the 7th overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft. No injuries to lean on for an excuse. No new positions. No new schemes. No new coaching. Just bad football by a player who will run out of excuses by November if he keeps this up. Don’t ask about a move to guard right now. The question is how long he can hold on to a starting role if he does not improve. Year 2, you’re on notice.

-We saw backups Matt Peart and Joshua Ezeudu get on the field late. Peart played 4 snaps before getting injured and Ezeudu saw 14 snaps at left tackle, a position he played in college. Ezeudu’s biggest gaffe was the missed block that led to the blocked field goal. The ONE thing you cannot do as the outside blocker is allow an untouched defender go through inside. That’s exactly what he did, and the result was, well you know.

EDGE

-Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari combined for 74 snaps, 36 of which were rushing the passer. There was not one pressure accrued from them. Thibodeaux added 4 tackles and played some solid run defense, but Ojulari did not factor there. The concern I have with the 5th overall pick from the 2022 NFL Draft, Thibodeaux, is the lack of power in his game. I discussed this during training camp last summer, I brought it up again during the season, and it is still worry number one. His anchor and sheer strength are a notch below average. You have almost no chance at being a big-time pass rusher without a power element to your game. Look around the league and you will see what I mean.

-Newly acquired Boogie Basham saw most of his snaps late in the game. He, too, did not apply any pressure and added just one tackle. He and Jihad Ward, the one edge defender who did get a pressure (literally one), are the same player. Stout and strong, but slow and limited.

DEFENSIVE LINE

-Dexter Lawrence began his year where he left off in January. The best player on this defense was a bright spot, finishing with 4 tackles and 4 pressures, 2 of which were QB hits. Leonard Williams added a pressure and 2 tackles. Something to keep an eye on is the snap share. Lawrence played 64% of the snaps, Williams 55%. While this game is not the best gauge for what to expect, I do foresee this being closer to the norm than what we saw in 2022 where they were playing 80-90% of the snaps week in, week out.

-The rotational pieces all showed what they can do, albeit lacking some consistency against the run. Jordon Riley had a TFL on an impressive play usually reserved for Lawrence. I continue to be impressed with his play at his size. Veterans Rakeem Nunez-Roches and A’Shawn Robinson both gathered 3 tackles. Robinson looked rustier than anything after not playing a single snap in preseason. Although it is hard to be optimistic about anything right now, the Giants defensive front can still be viewed as a strong unit, and they showed enough against DAL.

LINEBACKER

-During preseason, I discussed how big of a difference I felt Bobby Okereke can make for the Martindale scheme. While he was not close to the biggest issue in this loss, like what I said about expectations that are now on Daniel Jones because of the contract, a similar argument can be made about Okereke. He found himself on the wrong side of the blocks way too often. He had 5 tackles, and he did force a fumble on a downfield play (recovered by DAL), but re-watching the tape showed late movement and awareness. We can chalk it up to a new scheme and new surroundings, but he cannot have many more performances like that.

-Micah McFadden, on the other hand, came to play. He had 10 tackles, the team lead, one of which went for a loss and one coming on special teams. The inside linebacker spot next to Okereke has been a topic of discussion and McFadden tightened his choke hold on it.

-Potential difference maker Isaiah Simmons played exactly the amount I have projected he would. I said 15-20 snaps per game, he played 15 snaps. He rushed the passer on 6, he dropped into coverage on 5, and defended the run on 4. He finished with 1 tackle and looked good in coverage. He covers a ton of ground in a hurry.

CORNERBACK

-For the first time since 2008, a team opened week one with two rookies starting at outside corner. How did Deonte Banks and Tre Hawkins fare in their debuts? They were the two players on the defense that were flagged. Hawkins twice, one of which was a pass interference on a 3rd-and-12 stop that resulted in a 37-yard gain for the Dallas offense. He did finish with 7 tackles and showed a physical brand, which will be a difference maker, but his coverage looked grabby and unsure. Banks looked crisper and more confident with his technique and ability to read routes, but left the game early with cramps.

-Adoree’ Jackson’s debut as a starting nickel had mixed results. He was the biggest culprit on the longest play of the game, a 49-yard gain on a play where Jackson did not feel the unofficial pick coming and ended on the ground in man coverage against the Cowboys best receiver, a place you never want to be. Jackson’s ability is a solid, not great, fit for nickel. However, there are elements you have to deal with, such as traffic like he saw on that play, that he does not have a ton of experience with.

-Nick McCloud saw some action after Banks went down and Darnay Holmes played just 4 snaps. Neither made anything notable happen.

SAFETY

-Another bright spot can be the play of Xavier McKinney. He was on the field for all 58 snaps with 4 tackles and 2 pass breakups. He also showed some very smart play with chips on receivers that were crossing his face while he was moving downhill. I don’t see that often when watching safeties. It stems from incredible on-field IQ and fast reaction times. Jason Pinnock also played all 58 snaps, finishing with 5 tackles and a missed tackle.

-Dane Belton was the only other safety to play, and he was on the field for just 6 plays. He lost the edge on Tony Pollard’s second touchdown creating a walk-in.

SPECIAL TEAMS

-K Graham Gano: 0/1 (Missed 36)
-P Jamie Gillan: 3 Punts / 53.3 avg – 47.7 net

3 STUDS

-S Xavier McKinney, LB Micah McFadden, DT Dexter Lawrence

3 DUDS

-OG Mark Glowinski, OT Evan Neal, OLB Azeez Ojulari

3 THOUGHTS ON DAL

1. What made this Dallas defense so dominant? It is never one answer, it is never one player. But if you want the start of something that is too long-winded to write here, here you go. The speed and power of their front seven with Micah Parsons looking like he is on a different level than a year ago (which is potentially very bad news) is where I start. They did not do anything overly complex up front. Some stunts and twists, some blitzing, some alignment changes for #11. But it was not anything extreme, it was something we see often across multiple defenses. They simply beat NYG blockers to spots over and over. And the few times those blockers engaged resulted in physical beat downs. Tough to compete with a defense that is both faster and stronger than you, plain and simple.

2. Part of my reason for my Dallas skepticism has centered around how reliant their defense and team overall has been on the turnover margin. They are +25 over the past two seasons. The second highest league wide? +15. Fifth highest? +9. A three-year run at this pace of 10+ per year would be historic. One game in, they’re +4. If they are indeed this level of elite, my 8-9 projection will likely be one of my biggest misses. And I hate to say it, but their speed and the fact they have the game’s top defensive player opens the door to that turnover number.

3. Where is the Achilles’ heel on this offense? We know the defense will be very good. In the NFC, the door is open to the point if you are dominant in one element, you can be merely average in the other and you’re in the postseason. Dak Prescott is what he is (and that is good enough). CeeDee Lamb now has a credible number two in Brandin Cooks. Tony Pollard is a potential star. I see the offensive line and Mike McCarthy holding the keys. Tyron Smith is still good, but he missed 15 games in 2020, 6 in 2021, and 16 in 2022. Their depth is an unknown. With Kellen Moore in Los Angeles now, McCarthy needs to prove he can avoid silly game management mistakes and not run Pollard into the ground, a guy who has never been an every down player.

3 CLOSING THOUGHTS

1. My yearly reminder: Week 1 does not matter as much as you think it does. I would say the same thing if the Giants were on the opposite side of this debacle. The objective value of a week one loss is the same as a week 18 loss that prevents a team from making the playoffs, yes. But to change the perceived trajectory of a team based on one game, especially so early in the year, is foolish. Cincinnati isn’t doing it. Kansas City isn’t doing it. Different tiers of teams, I know. But the point remains that this 40-point loss counts the same as an overtime loss. I would rather see this week one than in week eight. Plus, I think this opens the door to learning what this entire roster and coaching staff have under the hood deep inside when they take the field in Arizona next week.

2. We can sit here and talk badly about the players, deservedly so. They got trounced all three phases from start to finish in embarrassing fashion. They will need to acknowledge and own it until they are on the field against the Cardinals. But what about the coaching staff? I am always hesitant to point the finger at coaching unless I know the facts of what is going on inside the building. Even with that, it is hard to walk away from this without putting at least some of the blame on the coaches. Daboll, Kafka, Martindale, McGaughey were disassembled on national TV. They were THE difference last year. But this is the NFL and innovation only lasts so long. Dallas had the response and speed ready for the bootlegs. They knew how to keep Prescott clean blitz or no blitz, and they simply had their players ready. Coaches, step it up. Success last year means absolutely nothing. Your last two games were against division rivals Philadelphia and Dallas. The combined score was 78-7.

3. The biggest issue, once again, is the offensive line. Captain Obvious. Do you make a move right away? What is the move? The answer partially resides in the Andrew Thomas MRI report. If he is out, are they relying on Matt Peart? Is he even healthy? What is plan C? Joshua Ezeudu? What if he needs to step in at right guard for Glowinski? The constants appear to be Neal at RT (you are not moving him this year), Schmitz at OC, and Bredeson at LG. If a move is coming, it will be Bredeson to RG and Ezeudu inserted into left guard after an underwhelming preseason. But as I said above, we will find an objective answer what is inside these players and I want Glowinski to be a part of that. No knee jerk reactions from me. I want the same five out there (pending the Thomas injury) to see what these guys are all about. They play the San Francisco front in 10 days, too.

Aug 282023
 
Eric Gray, New York Giants (August 26, 2023)

Eric Gray – © USA TODAY Sports

QUARTERBACKS

-Daniel Jones did not play, giving Tyrod Taylor his second start of the preseason. He stayed on the field for just 9 snaps. He was under pressure quickly, as the NYJ starting defense faced off against the backup NYG offensive line. He threw two deep balls up the right side to rookie Jalin Hyatt. One was inaccurate, landing out of bounds and the other was broken up by Sauce Gardner. Both were underthrown.

-Tommy DeVito: 19/29 – 210 yards / 1 TD – 1 INT / 84.0 RAT

DeVito played nearly the entire game. He is right up there with the league’s leaders in snaps by quarterbacks this preseason and has been one of team’s top pleasant surprises. The interception resulted in a pick-six for the Jets. It was a play that showed his inexperience. The Jets defense did not bite on a play fake, leaving multiple defenders in the intended passing lane to the backside. DeVito did not have his plan B on demand. He stared down the intention, hesitated before getting it out, and threw where he shouldn’t have. Sills did not run a great route either. Beyond that play, he put together another impressive performance. I went back and looked at some of my college summaries on him and found a couple of interesting parallels.

“…DeVito plays the position with unusual competitive energy. He needs to control it on the tempo throws that need to be layered over levels of the defense…he will struggle to make multiple reads from within the pocket… DeVito projects as a roster-hopeful but will likely bounce around practice squads because of the intriguing arm, but lack of development in his overall skill set”.

This kid has developed the skill set more than I thought he would at such an early stage. The issues are still there, but when I consider some of the recent third stringers NYG has employed (Davis Webb, Clayton Thorson, Kyle Lauletta), I look back at DeVito and come away with the fact this kid needs to be kept around. The question is, will it need to be on the 53?

RUNNING BACK

-James Robinson, who did not make the final 53, saw the most action in a game since week 9 of last year while he was with the Jets. He had an impressive 55 yards on 10 carries including 41 yards after contact. He broke 5 tackles and ran with tremendous pop and pad level. He will be on a roster at some point this year. This was an important game for him.

-Eric Gray had another quiet game on the ground but his 48 yards on 4 catches (two of which he displayed ability to get to the ball away from his frame) were key. His hands were something I noted during the pre-draft process, very underrated component to his game. Throw in the fact they trust him on punt returns, this is where I think most of his value will be early on. But I did not see enough as a ball carrier as it looks like he hasn’t adjusted to the speed of the league yet.

-Jashaun Corbin’s final attempt to make an impression for the 53-man roster was quiet. He had just 6 yards on 6 carries and 2 catches for another 11 yards. The numbers game will likely land him on the practice squad, but he showed enough to warrant a spot if an injury pops up at running back.

WIDE RECEIVER

-Jalin Hyatt got the start and was matched up against Sauce Gardner two times on plays where he ran deep routes. He was targeted both times, however both passes were not placed where they needed to be. But the positive I took from it was the fact he clearly had 2+ steps on the All-Pro corner on the first one. He then had a step on Gardner the second time, but he did not lengthen the separation because he had to gear down to track the underthrow. Gardner also got away with a little hold on that second one too. Hyatt won’t face a corner better than that, thus I took it as a significant positive.

-David Sills led the team with 81 yards and 6 catches, including a touchdown. He really is an impressive player during preseason, and he does a lot of the little things right. His ball skills are outstanding when it comes to framing the ball and getting through traffic. The issue, and it pops up every time he plays, is he can’t separate. The speed and quicks simply are not there and that is why he won’t ever be more than he is; a backup who gets stashed but will provide locker room and practice value.

-Jamison Crowder and Jaydon Mickens added 2 catches apiece. Crowder also got a look as a punt returner, reminding us there is some extra value he can add if he squeezes onto the roster. Wan’Dale Robinson’s end to the PUP list will likely coincide to Crowder being shown the door. That will likely happen this week.

TIGHT END

-Lawrence Cager, who truly moves like a big wide receiver, caught all three of his targets for 24 yards. This is still a guy who is hard to peg in relation to the 53-man roster. He is a unique talent and I cannot imagine a scenario he where remains on the practice squad if he is placed there. Multiple teams will want him. The depth at receiver and lack of blocking impact may leave him off the roster though.

-Chris Myarick saw 11 snaps but was forced to leave early due to a hand injury. This opened the door for PS-hopeful Ryan Jones. He was on the field for 56 snaps. He added 2 more catches but also dropped one.

OFFENSIVE LINE

-With Tyre Phillips still unable to play as he rehabs his injury, Matt Peart and Korey Cunningham played the entire game. Peart started off as bad as it gets and ended with a line of 2 sacks, 2 pressures, and 2 penalties. The Jets pass rush is one of the best in football. What he put on tape over the first few drives is what I expect to see during live games if either Andrew Thomas or Evan Neal were to go down. The more I watch, the more important their health as a pair is vital to this team’s success. Peart did settle down after the first three drives; however that was against the third and fourth stringers. 147 of 148 preseason snaps were at left tackle, none were at right tackle. Does that really sound like the team’s swing tackle plan? I don’t think so. Cunningham on the other hand split time between right guard and right tackle. He allowed 2 pressures. I trust him as a backup more than I do Peart. The difference in balance, overall footwork, and sheer hustle is easy to see.

-Julién Davenport, who has 19 career starts in the league, appears to be near the end of his career. He showed terrible bend, inaccurate feet, and JV-caliber strength. He allowed a sack and a TFL in addition to 3 pressures. He was simply brought in to be a camp body and was the worst OL on the field in this game.

-This was a big game for Shane Lemieux. He had a solid start to preseason in week one, however the shift to OC in week 2 produced some ugly tape. He returned to guard and looked much more comfortable. I think he still has enough to offer at that spot. Does the fact he looks so much worse playing center significantly hurt his chances? NYG has a starter in Schmitz. They have a capable number two in Bredeson. Considering the lack of established depth inside, I still think it is worth keeping him around a bit longer. But it is safe to say, the four year starter at guard in college simply cannot be depended on to start plays with the ball in his hand. That could force him out.

-Marcus McKethan saw his first live game action against another team for the first time since being drafted in 2022. His size and strength were notable, but the two issues I had with him in college are still there. First, he plays way too high. The lack of knee bend at his size in combination with the lack of recovery quickness is going to make life very difficult as a zone blocker in the running game. He was slow to get across defenders laterally and the lack of consistency in his footwork created multiple early losses. He did settle in a bit and the upside he presents is worth keeping around, but part of me thinks he should be kept on the practice squad for the time being. He is not game-ready, not even close.

-Wyatt Davis was taken off the field on the cart with an ankle injury and Josh Ezeudu played just 8 snaps. I believe that will be the last we see of the former.

EDGE

-Tomon Fox is going to be the number one backup on the edge for this team. He brings the power presence and versatility that the others do not. While he does not seem overly fluid in space, his hand-fighting and sheer power gets him a lot of wins initially. He had 2 tackles and 3 pressures. If he had just a little more juice, he could be a credible threat off the edge. But at the very least he can set the edge and grind his way to applying pressure. He still has some more to chew off when it comes to his upside too.

-Did any of Tashawn Bower, Oshane Ximines, or Habakkuk Baldonado show enough to warrant the final depth job at outside linebacker? Simply put, if they need another body outside, they will need to look at the cuts from around the league. Once cuts become public, I will write up a few suggestions. Ximines has the inside track because the staff did get some quality football out of him a year ago. He had a QB hit in this game, but we know what he is by this point. The depth can be better. Bower and Baldonado are practice squad options at best, as neither stood out in this game.

DEFENSIVE LINE

-Watching Leonard Williams, Dexter Lawrence, and A’Shawn Robinson stand next to each other on the sideline was a nice reminder. NYG will have the biggest starting defensive line in football.

-None of the above played, rightfully so. Rakeem Nunez-Roches got his first live snaps in the first quarter. He had one pressure and a tackle. He is a high energy, hustler type. It was not enough to fully evaluate his game but that is fine. We know what NYG has in him based on his previous years with Tampa Bay and he is here for depth. Speaking of depth, Jordon Riley played early on and was taken out to keep him fresh for week one against Dallas. Between him and starting a 6th rounder at outside corner, I can’t say I saw this coming at all. Snap your finger and NYG all the sudden is loaded with depth along the defensive front. If they all stick and stay healthy, the rewards that stem from that will be huge.

-Once again, the trio of Kevin Atkins, Donovan Jeter, and Brandin Bryant failed to maintain gap integrity against the run, and none made an impact as a pass rusher. Kobe Smith added 2 tackles and is the one I want to see kept on the practice squad.

LINEBACKER

-While he only played 6 snaps, the story of the night was the newly acquired Isaiah Simmons. The 8th overall pick from the 2020 defense was purchased for a 7th rounder in next spring’s draft. I will touch on this more below, but this move could change the defense in a big way. He had a pressure and a missed tackle, spending most of his time lined up on the line of scrimmage.

-Carter Coughlin may have had a job secured on the 53-man roster before camp, maybe he did not. His play through the three games stood out to me, especially in this one. He had 2 TFL where he displayed excellent diagnosing and reaction speed. The angles to the ball carrier, the power presence upon contact with his target, and ability to finish were all impressive. Throw in his special teams prowess, he is a near lock to make this team.

-Game two for Darrian Beavers ended with just one tackle and some struggle to get to the action clean. He appears to be just a step slow post-snap and throw in some hip tightness; he just can’t get to point B fast enough yet. His contributions will be on special teams early, but he does have some potential as a package defender when they want to use the blitz on passing downs. Remember, he played all over the defensive front seven in college.

CORNERBACK

-This game was the final effort for several back-end corners to potentially swallow up the last spot on the cornerback depth chart. This is the one huge question mark on this entire team that many I have spoken to on the outside are focused on. Some NYG fans are excited about the future of the first rounder Deonte Banks and the surprise of camp, Tre Hawkins. Perhaps they will be cornerstone players down the road. 2023? The fact they are so easily put into starting roles should easily tell us something about the position group as a whole.

-Gemon Green, Darren Evans, and Amani Oruwariye all allowed 100+ passer ratings. As a trio, Jets passers went 15/19 for 169 yards and 2 touchdowns against them. Oruwariye likely gets the nod (if any of them) because of his veteran experience, and he continued to show he is the best tackler and most physical of the three. Zyon Gilbert left the game early with an injury after struggling against NYJ first stringers as well.

-A razor thin group of corners with not one but TWO rookies starting is about as risky as it gets in today’s NFL on the back end. Darnay Holmes played in the first half and will likely keep his spot as a rotational nickel. The staff still likes the 2024 free agent.

-Remember – NYG made two pickups off the street/waivers (Fabian Moreau / Nick McCloud) around this time last year. I get a sense we will see that kind of move again.

SAFETY

-I was looking forward to seeing some more Bobby McCain against the starting Jets offense. He took a cheap shot from Randall Cobb that left him concussed, thus playing just 2 snaps.

-Rookies Alex Cook and Gervarrius Owens played most of the game on the back end. They finished with 6 and 5 tackles, respectively. Owens added a QB hit. There is something about him I see that is different, to be blunt. This is always a dangerous thing to say in any sort of scouting assignment. But looking at his snap alignments through 3 games (23 snaps on the line, 41 in the box, 56 at FS, 23 outside the box), zero missed tackles, just one allowed reception, and just the gut feeling I have. Owens is going to be a big part this defense at some point.

SPECIAL TEAMS

-K Graham Gano: 3/3 (made 57, 40, 56)
-P Jamie Gillan: 5 punts / 49.2 avg / 44.0 net

3 STUDS

-WR David Sills, LB Carter Coughlin, K Graham Gano

3 DUDS

-OT Julién Davenport, CB Germon Green, DT Brandin Bryant

3 THOUGHTS ON NYJ

1. We’ve seen this before. Preseason hype around the Jets because of offseason acquisitions. We’ve even seen it with a future Hall of Famer coming to town from Green Bay when Brett Favre arrived in 2008 (they went 9-7 and missed the playoffs). Intra-city rivalry aside, I think this time is different for two reasons. Favre in 2008 had one of the worst seasons of his career and the supporting cast just wasn’t there. He did go on to MIN the next year, winning a playoff game. They had a top 5 defense and an All-Pro running back, however. Bring that back to Rodgers. He won the MVP in 2020 and 2021. He is on a team with a top 5 defense and the 2022 Offensive AND Defensive Rookies of the Year. Running back Breece Hall would have been a contender for that award that Garrett Wilson (man I wanted him in the ’22 draft) won. Point is this situation is set up well for Rodgers coming to NY. This team is going to the playoffs.

2. What is the one factor that can easily derail my projection? Like most teams, the offensive line. The issue they have, that several others do not, is the fact this group is not established yet. Everyone knows this is where they are potentially weak. Everyone knows this is how you minimize the benefit of adding Rodgers to the offense. Mekhi Becton is the NYJ version of Evan Neal. If he does not step up (and stay healthy) – the path to the peak is going to be filled with roadblocks.

3. Garrett Wilson. I am not huge into fantasy football, but I am very much aware how big of a market it is. For those who play (and have not drafted yet) – I am looking at him the same way I look at Justin Jefferson right now. I said it back when NYG was drafting #5 and #7 in 2022, and I am saying it now, this kid is going to be a production machine.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

1. The cornerback and edge group need help. Isaiah Simmons may alter my opinion a bit, but because of the hybrid-ness to his role, I still think the front office will need to try and find another guy who can factor out there. Does a blitz-heavy scheme make it less than vital? Sure. But let’s keep in mind what this team is doing at corner. It would be a huge deal to find a pass rusher who shakes loose in the coming days. And as I said earlier, this corner group is an injury away from playing guys that do not belong in every down duty. If you think you’re a contender to win 10-11 games, that needs to be addressed.

2. The Isaiah Simmons trade. I said back in 2020 that whoever drafts him needs a specific plan. Not to force him into roles, but force roles around him. Be patient, develop. Hide the weaknesses (he has a few), exemplify his strengths. After watching the current NYG coaching staff work for a year-plus and knowing some behind the scenes things about the ARI organization, this move can be an absolute game changer or the team. I see a Derwin James type more than a Micah Parsons. Not the same caliber (yet), but the same kind of role. It will take a few weeks, but at the very least this kid can impact the pass rush. I’ve always wanted to see him rush the passer more. He has 239 rushes over his career with 32 pressures. The rate of 13.4% would be right up there with the top 20 edge rushers in football if sustained for a season.

3. My prediction for the 2023 season is 11 wins. The increase in weapons for the offense and year two of one of the top coaching staffs in football are the two key reasons. They have a kicker who will win games in close matchups. They have a better offensive line than what was put out there in 2022. Their best player is hungry on a prove-it deal. They have year-2 players (where we see the biggest gains in margin in guys) playing key spots. They have a credible inside linebacker who the scheme needs. Their depth is twice as good as it was a year ago. And most importantly I expect a step up a notch by the quarterback being in the same system with real talent and innovative minds calling the shots. They’re not on par with the Eagles yet, but they’re gaining ground and the entire organization is hungry. It feels different.

Here is my prediction for the 53:

QB (2): Daniel Jones, Tyrod Taylor
RB (4): Saquon Barkley, Matt Breida, Eric Gray, Gary Brightwell
WR (6): Isaiah Hodgins, Darius Slayton, Paris Campbell, Jalin Hyatt, Sterling Shepard, Wan’Dale Robinson
TE (3): Darren Waller, Daniel Bellinger, Tommy Sweeney
OT (4): Andrew Thomas, Evan Neal, Tyre Phillips, Matt Peart
OG (4): Mark Glowinski, Ben Bredeson, Joshua Ezeudu, Marcus McKethan
OC (1): John Michael-Schmitz

EDGE (4): Kayvon Thibodeaux, Azeez Ojulari, Jihad Ward, Tomon Fox
DT (6): Dexter Lawrence, Leonard Williams, A’Shawn Robinson, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Jordon Riley, D.J. Davidson
LB (5): Bobby Okereke, Micah McFadden, Darian Beavers, Carter Coughlin, Isaiah Simmons
CB (5): Adoree’ Jackson, Deonte Banks, Tre Hawkins, Darnay Holmes, Cor’Dale Flott
S (6): Xavier McKinney, Jason Pinnock, Dane Belton, Bobby McCain, Gervarrius Owens, Nick McCloud
ST (3): Graham Gano, Jamie Gillan, Casey Kreiter

PUP: CB Aaron Robinson

Key Cuts:

WR Jamison Crowder
OT Korey Cunningham
OG Shane Lemieux
TE Lawrence Cager
RB Jashaun Corbin
ED Oshane Ximines
DL Ryder Anderson
LB Cam Brown

Aug 202023
 
Isaiah Hodgins, New York Giants (August 18, 2023)

Isaiah Hodgins – © USA TODAY Sports

QUARTERBACK

-Daniel Jones: 8/9 – 69 yards / 1 TD / 0 INT / 135.6 6 RAT

The only incompletion came on a Darren Waller drop. Jones was near flawless. A slight misthrow to Parris Campbell near the end zone was the only real blemish within the one drive he spent on the field. If that was the main weak point to his performance, it is going to be a fun season. Jones executed his ball fakes and overall footwork at a high level. It translated to accurate ball placement and well-timed progressions. He was in complete sync with the scheme and play calls. This offense turned the corner from an efficiency standpoint in 2022. They avoided third down (a key metric to the best/winningest teams over multiple years) and the sixth-best rate last year, after finishing second worst in 2021. Of the ten plays on this opening drive, just once did third down come up.

-Both backup quarterbacks, Tyrod Taylor and Tommy DeVito, completed 9 passes for 90 and 88 yards respectively. Taylor, the unquestioned second stringer, also led the team with 21 yards rushing and threw a 33-yard touchdown. Taylor has been the same guy for years. He shows enough flashes to make you think he really can be a starting caliber quarterback. The consistency with his mechanics is not there, and it leads to erratic ball placement. DeVito looks like he is on a fast track to confidence in the pocket, but he still needs work on getting the ball out faster. He has a cannon.

RUNNING BACK

-Saquon Barkley was in pads for warmups, but he did not play in the game.

-There seems to be an interesting competition between rookie Eric Gray and second-year veteran Jashaun Corbin. On paper, the fact this regime just spent a draft pick on Gray – along with Corbin being undrafted a year ago – and they keep trying to force him into the return role says Gray will be the guy. On film? Corbin is making it a discussion. He gained 22 yards on 3 catches and his 9-yard run displayed the hunger and urgency he moves with. He also had a 17-yard run that was negated by a penalty. Gray, while he had an impressive 9-yard run that resulted in a touchdown, is struggling to consistently get downhill quickly enough. The biggest issue right now, however, is often overlooked by fans but I can guarantee you the coaches are going to be all over him about it. If Gray does not improve his blocking, he will barely see the field on offense. He allowed two hurries and a QB hit. So far this preseason, Gray has been asked to pass block 8 times. He has allowed 6 pressures.

WIDE RECEIVER

-From last week’s review: “Personally, I would like to see Hyatt more involved. They need to try and script a couple deep shots to him so they can see how he tracks the ball, fights for it, and plays the body position game in real live situations.”

-Hyatt went from just one target in the first game to five in this one. And Kafka/Daboll scripted a deep ball to him which resulted in a 33-yard touchdown. The fifth gear he has was on display. Carolina safety Eric Rowe had absolutely no shot at catching up once Hyatt had an inch of vertical space on him. You think he is moving at his top rate and then he hits the next level of fast forward. Fun play and a glimpse of what to expect from an offense that was starving for plays like this a year ago. Next up on the list, and this will be a big one, is getting more consistent at framing the football as a pass catcher on lateral routes. He had a drop on the play prior to the touchdown that stemmed from that particular ball skill.

-Parris Campbell caught all three targets for 23 yards and Isaiah Hodgins added 45 yards on two catches. Those two, along with Darius Slayton, Sterling Shepard (1 rec / 6 yards), Jamison Crowder (2 rec / 18 yards), and Wan’Dale Robinson (PUP) make this receiver room arguably one of the top jumps in overall quality and depth at the position league-wide from 2022.

-Bryce Ford-Wheaton is the third/fourth stringer you can’t keep your eyes off of. He caught both of his targets for 24 yards. We know the size and speed are off the chart. We know his ball skills and route running need work. The power to his game is what stands out upon second look. Both as a gunner and off the line as a receiver. His rate of movement and sheer size add up to be very D.K. Metcalf-like. No, not even close to that level, but my point is how rare the combination is. The snaps he had as a gunner were very good. A team like this may have to find a spot for him as a special teamer because he won’t last long on the practice squad, as all 31 teams can snag him at any point.

TIGHT END

-The quality Daniel Jones performance left a nice taste in everyone’s mouth. Darren Waller, however, was my favorite ingredient to the entrée. He played 8 snaps. He was targeted 4 times, caught 3, and had one jarred loose by safety Vonn Bell. The goal of that initial first-string drive was to get him the ball early. He took a couple big hits too. They coaching staff was smart to get him out when they did. Mission accomplished and Waller has the look of a focal point to this passing game.

-Daniel Bellinger, one of the top rookie tight ends in football a year ago, caught a touchdown from a unique 12-personnel look. Even with all the depth at receiver, the options that Waller and Bellinger present when on the field together can make this passing game even more efficient. The touchdown was the highlight, but the blocking was on point. His impact on contact is sending a different jolt to the defender than I remember. That was a key component to the Eric Gray touchdown run. All the talk surrounding Waller is warranted. Don’t forget about Bellinger. He is going to make some key plays this season.

-There is some difference in opinion surrounding the third tight end. I lean toward Tommy Sweeney (who did not play). Lawrence Cager (1 rec / 4 yards) does bring more to the table as a receiver, but as mentioned above, the weapons are now deep. The presence in the trenches would be of more service to the offense. Cager continues to get tossed around in that department.

OFFENSIVE LINE

-The story of the night was Evan Neal. After missing the better part of two weeks with a concussion, he both started and tied for the second most snaps on offense. He really had just one blemish. He failed to recognize a twist upfront and the defensive tackle worked around his outside shoulder and recorded a sack. It was Neal’s fault, no question. But when it came to breaking down his physical performance, I was pleased. He looks lighter on his feet and simply cleaner. He is showing a better first three steps and we already knew how stout he is. It is all about position and balance for him. If both get check marks, he is tough to beat. Encouraging night from the guy who may be the most important variable to NYG wanting to throw downfield more often.

-The one player who saw more snaps was Matt Peart, who continues to prove he cannot handle pro edge defenders. He allowed 2 pressures and was flagged for 2 holding penalties. Korey Cunningham had a bounce back performance and recent signing Julién Davenport got his feet wet. None of the above proved to be a solution for the issue this team has at backup tackle. The classic tell from all three is the simple but difficult ability to stay square. Quality defenders can get them to fall from the waist on up, making secondary rush moves much more effective.

-Inside, we saw Ben Bredeson and Joshua Ezeudu rotate at left guard, the one spot that is up for grabs in the starting lineup. If the decision was based solely on this game alone, Bredeson is the winner. He played a clean game with a strong latch. Ezeudu’s footwork (or lack thereof) made it hard for him to mirror his man. When he gets a guy in a phone booth, his power is notable. But space is not his friend and right now he cannot be trusted in pass protection on an island.

-At center, John Michael Schmitz appears to have the stating center job locked up, as expected. This was a pass-heavy game while he was in there (29:5 actually) and he allowed one pressure. That play was a poor display of foot speed and recovery. The one concern I have with him is exactly that. But the run-game impact and mere fact he is a rookie with a high floor lessens the concern.

-Shane Lemieux, after a solid week one in Detroit, saw 18 snaps at center and struggled mightily. He clearly was not comfortable in that role. His hand techniques were all over the place and he never found his anchor. He allowed a TFL and was flagged for a hold, as was third stringer Jack Anderson.

-Wyatt Davis, after a horrific experiment at tackle last week, returned to guard for just 13 plays. His comfort and skill set are much better inside, but there is still a lot more to be desired from his sustainability and reaction speed.

EDGE

-Kayvon Thibodeaux played the first two drives before spending the rest of the night on the sideline. We saw him win against Ikem Ekwonu on an impressive rush move where he played low, stifled with a violent punch, and ripped under the outside shoulder to hit Bryce Young as he was throwing the ball. He also beat the 2022 All-Rookie tackle for a sack on a play where some confusion up front gave the explosive Thibodeaux a clear path to Young. He looks faster and twitchier, a sign the confidence is growing. On the negative side, he lost the edge twice in the running game and on both occasions the lack of a true anchor was obvious. He needs to be more disciplined there, as his natural size below the waist is below average.

-Azeez Ojulari and Jihad Ward had quiet games. Ward had a QB hit and a hurry, playing an even split between outside and inside. That is where his true value is. Last year he played a 7:1 ratio outside to inside. I like his first step quickness against interior blockers as his movement issues show up in space.

-The backup edge defenders had a night. They were constantly putting pressure on the backup Carolina quarterbacks (albeit against a poor OL that was crushed last week as well). Tashawn Bower led the group with 3 pressures. Both Oshane Ximines and Tomon Fox recorded two themselves. Fox still seems to be the leader in the clubhouse, as he had 4 tackles and a half-sack. Habakkuk Baldonado added a QB hit and a tackle late in the game.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

-Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams got the start and played 12 snaps a piece. Both are already in mid-season form. These two are the best players on this defense and the Carolina OL had no shot against them. They both did what they wanted and went where they wanted. The interior of the Carolina OL is a weakness, one of the most glaring ones in the league, but it was obvious Lawrence is simply on a different level. He did get flagged for offsides and a roughing the passer penalty (on a 3rd down stop) after an errant swipe for the pass, which also happened to be where Bryce Young’s head was. Man, he is small.

-The defensive game ball award goes to the draft pick I barely spent any time scouting last fall. Jordon Riley got an opportunity with A’Shawn Robinson, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, and D.J. Davidson sitting this one out. He had some snaps with the first-string defense and balled out. He had 3 tackles, 1 TFL, and a fourth-down run stop that was all him. He got movement off the ball, bench pressed the blocker off him, located the ball, and engulfed him at the point-of-attack. It was such a clean rep, and he went on to put a ton of quality tape together the rest of the night. He was abusing center Justin McCray, an eight-year veteran with starting experience.

-The back-end guys, Kobe Smith and Donovan Jeter, struggled in their second game of preseason. Neither held their gaps in the running game and neither pressured the quarterback on a combined 19 opportunities.

LINEBACKER

-What a refreshing sight to see Bobby Okereke on the field. I will touch on this more below, but the 2023 big ticket free agent addition played into the second quarter and led the team with 7 tackles. The power, instincts, and quick burst all showed up on multiple occasions. He will not turn around the run defense by himself, but it was easy to see how important he will be for the front seven. This is the classic NYG inside linebacker this defense has lacked for so long.

-Darrian Beavers was back on the field. His size and speed are similar to what they have in Okereke, but his reaction time and lack of precision with his footwork and overall techniques were the stark differences. He finished with 4 tackles and showed good range. His contact is what I call heavy. A classic thumper who will need to show some more progress with the ability to read and cover especially. I still think there is a good shot he starts by the end of the year over Micah McFadden, who finished with 1 tackle.

CORNERBACK

-Playing Adoree’ Jackson in the slot appears to be a real thing. Of his 21 snaps, he played inside on 16 of them. I feel confident with him anywhere on the field, but the one issue I can see with him at nickel is the lack of physical presence against more physical targets and the running game. He had a missed tackle on the night and has never been strong there.

-Rookies Deonte Banks and Tre Hawkins continue to start on the outside and the 6th rounder from Old Dominion continues to play like the better player. Even Joe Schoen sounds surprised by how well he is playing this early on. The speed he is playing with, the run-game assignments he is executing at a high level, and the easy vertical burst at his size are all major attributes for this scheme.

-Cor’Dale Flott is playing good football. While his route anticipation is a step behind, his coverage is constantly right there underneath. I initially believed it was a battle between him and Darnay Holmes for the nickel job. The development of the rookie guys outside, which can shift Jackson inside, will likely push Flott into the versatile number four job. He can play both, but his run defense is a liability. He also missed a tackle and lost the edge twice.

-Darren Evans allowed a touchdown after getting beat off the line and failing to locate the ball.

SAFETY

-Xavier McKinney had a disruptive couple of plays and looked fast in coverage. He is the top dog in a deep safety group, but I still think he needs to show a full season of good football before even considering a long-term contract. Remember, there is not as much cap room now with the recent big signings. At his best, McKinney is the best safety NYG has had in a long time and would round out such a strong middle of the defense if he sticks around. He just needs to stay on the field.

-Dane Belton had 2 TFL, showing great instincts and downhill explosion. The winner of the night among the backups was rookie Gervarrius Owens, though. He also had 7 tackles and broke up a pass with picture-perfect technique and timing. He is such a natural on the back end, one who can wear every hat in the versatile safety scheme. He won’t be rushed into action, but it would be a crime to keep this kid off the field because of his draft status. This dude is a player who can defend the run and cover. His special teams impact will be strong as well. He had the most versatile alignment among all safeties in this game.

SPECIAL TEAMS

-P Jame Gillan: 3 punts / 43.0 avg – 36.3 net

3 STUDS

-DT Jordon Riley, QB Daniel Jones, LB Bobby Okereke

3 DUDS

-DT Kobe Smith, OT Matt Peart, OC Shane Lemieux

3 THOUGHTS ON CAR

1. The story surrounding this team is the #1 overall pick, quarterback Bryce Young. Not only because of where he was drafted, but what the front office had to do to get him. After failing to come up with the strong-enough trade offer for Russell Wilson, Matthew Stafford, and Deshaun Watson…after failing to move up in the draft for the likes of Justin Herbert and Tua Tagovailoa…after failing to select Justin Fields when he was available, David Tepper was stuck watching the likes of Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, P.J. Walker, Cam Newton (v2), and Teddy Bridgewater for the first few seasons of his ownership. After firing Matt Rhule, he put an end to that by sending the #9 overall, #61 overall, a 2024 1st, a 2025 2nd, and wide receiver D.J. Moore to Chicago so they could get whoever they wanted in the draft. They end up with a Seneca Wallace-body type but in an era where Young’s style of play fits the current style of NFL football the best. Throw in the intangibles, something very important to Head Coach Frank Reich, and Carolina thinks they have their guy.

2. I’m not sure if I live under a rock or if there really is a lack of chatter around Carolina’s new Defensive Coordinator Ejiro Evero. He is one of the best young defensive minds in the game. He came over from Denver and prior to that he was with the Rams where he won a Super Bowl. He specializes in pass defense and the team has one of the top young corners in Jaycee Horn. The rest of the personnel lacks depth but there are a few pieces that can make this defense as a whole very good in 2023.

3. Just how far can Carolina take this in 2023? Not far. It will be a tough year. I project New Orleans and Atlanta to finish 1-2. Considering the fact Reich has been all-time bad at winning games early in the year and they start off @ATL, vs NO, @SEA, vs MIN, @DET, @MIA with a rookie quarterback and shaky offensive line, I see them starting in a deep hole and unable to get out. This franchise should be looking at 2024.

3 CLOSING THOUGHTS

1. One could not ask for a much better drive out of the Daniel Jones-led offense. Would it have been nice to see a downfield pass? Sure. But when I watched the All-22, it was easy to see Carolina was protecting the back end with a shell. The best offenses simply take advantage of what is provided by the defensive personnel and alignment. Efficient offenses avoid third down. They kill you with a thousand paper cuts. And they protect the ball. NYG struggled to score points early in games and I like how hot they started in this one.

2. I’ve been banging the table for a linebacker for far too long. While some teams league-wide view it as a position to piece together cheaply (with success), I’ve always thought it was the missing piece (or a missing piece) to a defense that has been a roller coaster for two decades. They have not been top-16 in points allowed two straight seasons since 2002. Let that sit for a little. I always roll my eyes when media-types talk about Giants being an old school defensive-biased franchise. In all honestly, they haven’t been consistent on that side of the ball since Parcells/Belichick in the late 80’s. Almost 40 years! But before I go down that rabbit hole even deeper, my point remains this team has lacked the identity in the middle. Antonio Pierce gave them a glimpse. Okereke is the best they’ve had there since then and I’m all about it. The force he moves with, the diagnostic nature about his game, and the every-down ability will make a huge difference for this team.

3. Once game left. What to expect? There are several spots on this roster up for grabs. The backup receivers and running backs are interesting. Who gets the final OL/DL spots are interesting. The abundance of talent they have at safety is interesting. I do not want to see the key guys out there for more than 2-3 drives. I want to see the roster-competition spots filling most of the snaps because there are some very tough decisions to be made. I hope to have a projected 53-man roster out the morning after the final preseason game.

Aug 142023
 
Jason Pinnock, New York Giants (August 11, 2023)

Jason Pinnock – © USA TODAY Sports

QUARTERBACK

-Daniel Jones did not dress, giving the start to Tyrod Taylor. He played just two drives (8 snaps), completing three of four passing attempts for seven yards and gaining another seven yards on the ground. There was not much to evaluate here and barring injury, there is no question he will be the unmatched number two this season. This game, at quarterback, was all about Tommy DeVito.

-DeVito, a North Jersey local, passed for 155 yards on 15/24 passing. He threw 1 touchdown, 1 interception, and was sacked 5 times. While the pass protection was poor overall, as we see often in preseason football across the league, I saw a couple of things I liked. First, DeVito improved in-game and moving through reads in a hurry. The All-22 tape told the story there. Progression to progression, layer to layer. Now, he did miss a few throws and early on his internal clock was too delayed. However, I like how he responded to a few big hits. He is a tough kid with sneaky athletic ability. He warrants the “let’s see more” label.

RUNNING BACK

-Saquon Barkley did not dress and Matt Breida barely saw the field. Rookie Eric Gray and Jashaun Corbin saw the most snaps, but James Robinson got a few looks before them. He had an unimpressive 9 yards on 6 carries. It will be interesting to see how much his experience (and possible trustworthiness in pass protection) weighs when coaches knock the roster down. Gray and Corbin have a lot to prove before they can be relied upon. While their talent and youthfulness can make the decision look easy, the coaches need to trust they can get the job done outside of carrying the ball.

-Gray handled all return duties in addition to leading the position group in snaps. First, on offense, he lacked innovation and comfort to put himself off schedule when the Detroit front was owning the point of attack. I saw two carries where the cutback lane was there, Gray did not see it. He gained just 9 yards on 5 carries and added 2 catches for 10 yards. As a returner, Gray looked uncomfortable to say the least. But keep in mind, he barely did it in college and both of his punt return attempts in 2021 (the last time he did this in a game) resulted in muffs. My thought is they know he will not be the number two back right away (and he is competing for number three), thus they need to find other ways for him to contribute.

-Corbin looked more comfortable and ran with quicker tempo. It was easy to tell the difference between the two. His 33-yard run in the fourth quarter was the biggest play of the game for the NYG offense. Remember, this is an offensive scheme that produced the fourth best explosive rush percentage in the NFL last year. The play design (and Corbin’s tempo) was outstanding. When the execution is there, they will create big plays on the ground.

WIDE RECEIVER

-The following receivers did not dress: Darius Slayton, Paris Campbell, Sterling Shepard, and Wan’Dale Robinson (PUP)

-With all of the hype from camp surrounding their first real deep threat in quite some time, Jalin Hyatt, I was hoping to see a long ball tossed his way at some point. It did not happen. His only target was a screen pass that ended up in a four-yard loss after he ran backwards. Two subtle observations on him. He did not line up in the slot at all (his primary spot in college). That is a good sign, it is too crowded in there for him. Second, his route running looks easy and smooth. He did struggle to fight through some cheap contact, but I was impressed by the joint fluidity from his hips down through the ankles. He came off the field so some of the fringe-guys could play more.

-To be blunt, I have no idea what the plan is at slot receiver. The two best NYG receivers were Cole Beasley (4 rec / 33 yards) and Jamison Crowder (2 rec / 32 yards). Between them and Shepard/Robinson, I simply cannot see a scenario where all of them are on this roster come week one. Beasley has the best route running and burst post-catch. He knows how to read a defender and can provide what Richie James did last season. Crowder stood out though. He has more presence against contact, and I trust his hands more. Perhaps they are just a hedge if there are physical issues with the guys mentioned above and I know they were matched up against backups. No need to get excited, but the floor is high with either of them.

-David Sills caught 2 passes for 36 yards, including a nice, contested catch for the biggest gain of the day for NYG via the air (22 yards). Mr. Reliable when it comes to backup roles, locker room presence, and familiarity. With all the competition at the position now, however, and the fact I expect to see Hyatt/Campbell outside, Sills is fighting uphill.

-Undrafted rookie Bryce Ford-Wheaton could end up challenging veteran Collin Johnson if the team wants more speed with the size. My guess is they both end up on the practice squad. The first NFL game action did not go well for him. He dropped a third down conversion pass, as he tried to body trap it for no reason. While he had some of the most impressive triangle numbers in the 2023 receiver draft class, his skill set (particularly ball skills) was bumpy. I also did not like some of the urgency / effort upon second look at the tape with some of his routes. He is straight line fast, but he is not very sudden. He needs to improve where he can as a route runner. The little things matter.

TIGHT END

-Both Darren Waller and Daniel Bellinger did not dress. Expect to see NYG rank top seven in the league in 12 personnel (2 tight ends / 1 back) if they stay healthy.

-The battle for the number three job is Tommy Sweeney’s to lose, another North Jersey local. He scored the lone touchdown of the night on a 14-yard pass from DeVito. I keyed in on his blocking more than anything because that is where his biggest contributions will come. The NYG offense has struggled here for awhile. With Bellinger entering year two and the presence of Sweeney, I expect an uptick in impact. He did a nice job in the running game, but he did allow a pressure in pass protection.

-Undrafted rookie Ryan Jones is an interesting practice squad candidate. He had a 10-yard reception, 5 of which came after the catch with an impressive, sudden burst upfield. I had a draftable grade on Jones out of East Carolina. The 6’1/240 body simply does not fit at receiver of tight end. Can this scheme find a role for him? He can create. Among all tight ends in FBS last season, Jones ranked third in missed tackles forced. More than Sam LaPorta, more than Michael Mayer, more than Brock Bowers. On less catches.

OFFENSIVE LINE

-If there was a negative takeaway from the game itself, it came from the backup offensive linemen, specifically outside. Before that causes a panic, you’ll find the same from over 25 other teams in the league. The lack in supply of quality backup offensive linemen in the NFL is one of the most glaring deficits. Andrew Thomas, Mark Glowinski, and Evan Neal (concussion) did not play. Backup Tyre Phillips did not play either.

-We can start with the positive. Rookie center John Michael Schmitz did have two bad losses, one of which resulted in a tackle for loss, but his overall performance was solid. His transitions and ability to stay attached proved how much movement he can get in the running game. Creating creases on multiple levels in the middle of the defense for a back like Barkley will be a difference maker. Is he overly strong and powerful? Detroit rookie defensive tackle did not think so. Is overly fast and agile? The Detroit linebackers did not think so. But the intelligence, technique, and smoothness to his footwork can get the most out of what he has. I was encouraged by his first pro action, and I expect him to start week one.

-The next best takeaway from the game was Shane Lemieux, who came in at left guard in the second half. There is open competition between Joshua Ezeudu and Ben Bredeson (the leader in my eyes) at left guard. Did we push Lemieux out of the picture too soon? The game tape says yes. He was excellent and was the best at staying latched on with good positioning and bend. Most of his issues have been health related.

-The nightmare we saw at tackle was alarming. Wyatt Davis at right tackle absolutely cannot be a potential solution. This is an odd experiment to me. Davis played 1,707 snaps in college. All 1,707 of them were at right guard. He has one career snap at right tackle as a pro. One. I cannot imagine he is a credible candidate for a backup tackle spot and the 2-sack, 3-pressure, 2-penalty performance on just 27 snaps is about as bad as it gets. He was not even close to competitive. Fellow backup hopeful Korey Cunningham was not much better. He led the offense in snaps played, splitting time between both sides of the line, and allowed 2 sacks and 4 pressures. Lastly, Matt Peart (hanging on for dear life) allowed a pressure and was torched in the running game. The speed of the NFL is too much for him and I am afraid to say the same issues we saw with his fluidity as a rookie are still there. The Giants have a problem (possibly a significant one) at backup tackle.

EDGE

-With the position group thinner than most want to believe, the trio of Kayvon Thibodeaux, Azeez Ojulari, and Jihad Ward all sat this one out.

-There is room for another edge defender, and it looks like it could end up being a close competition over the next two weeks with a possible solution currently on the street. The leader in the clubhouse if we are using this game only? Habakkuk Baldonado. Something about this franchise and names that are hard to pronounce on the edge. He had a 2 pressures and the team’s only sack. There was a nice string of plays in the fourth quarter where he sacked Adrian Martinez (canceled out by a questionable roughing penalty), just to record another one two plays later. The wins were technique and bend-based, both good signs.

-Tomon Fox hit the quarterback twice on 14 pass rush attempts, the first one aiding in the interception by Jason Pinnock. His power game has always been effective, and I have to think the defensive coaching staff (especially one led by Martindale) wants that behind the starters.

-Tashawn Bower and Oshane Ximines both graded out well. Ximines hit the quarterback twice but was beat on the edge in the running game twice. The fact we have seen him play a lot of football leaves out at least some potential hope, but I am interested to see how he responds to multiple guys on his level. Bower played a better, more well-rounded game against second/third stringers. He finished with 5 tackles, 1 TFL, and 2 pressures. This guy came into the league in 2017 from LSU. He has stuck around quite impressively and performs his best in hybrid fronts. I can’t say I’ve seen a fifth-year backup that has already been on four teams fight for a spot at such an important position. They see something in him.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

-Inside is where the nucleus of this defense resides. I spoke of this a few times last year and I am glad that not only did both Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams return, but the A’Shawn Robinson and Rakeem Nunez-Roches signings give them such a strong spike in depth. None of the four played in this game.

-Rookie seventh rounder Jordon Riley played 43 snaps, third most on the defense. Ironically, I just got done watching two of 2022 Oregon defensive tapes for some 2024 NFL Draft work. Never thought I’d be watching three games of Riley’s within two days. The body is pro-caliber and when his leverage is on point, the upper body lockout and push can get the job done. This is a massive frame with good enough bend and forward lean to turn into a stout run defender. While I don’t think there is much to work with as a pass rusher, D.J. Davidson better realize his roster spot may not be there for long. Riley had a couple of ugly losses (again, stemmed from pad level) where he was trampled by a double team. But the one stop where he helped stuff the run after peeling off the block displayed what he can do at his size. There is real talent here on a frame that stands out.

– The trio of Donovan Jeter, Kobe Smith, and Brandin Bryant will likely produce one or two guys for the practice squad. Based on this game tape alone, Smith is the one that I am intrigued by the most. He has some penetrating skills from the 3-tech spot (where he played most of the night) and that is an area I think could use another body.

LINEBACKER

-The biggest free agency addition Bobby Okereke did not play, nor did Darrian Beavers.

-Micah McFadden got the start next to the versatile special teamer Carter Coughlin. Both are what they are until I see otherwise. Smart and physical but limited in space with minimal passing game impact.

-If there was a winner of the night from the position, it was Dyontae Johnson, an undrafted rookie. All of his action came against backups, and we see linebackers/safeties make plenty of tackles and impressive plays against the run with each preseason game. Johnson’s question will be like what we saw out of Tae Crowder. Can he make faster reads, and will he get off blockers? He did not look fluid in coverage either.

CORNERBACK

-Adoree’ Jackson did not dress for the game, as he remains one of the most important players on this team because there isn’t anything trustworthy behind him yet. In even better news, they did not have him return any punts either.

-Speaking of behind Jackson on the depth chart, the chatter is rightfully positive surrounding their two draft picks. First rounder Deonte Banks and sixth rounder Tre Hawkins got the starting nods on the outside. Take where they were selected out, and it was hard to see who the better player was. Hawkins really has started on the right foot and Banks showed the speed traits we know this team was hot after draft weekend. In this man-heavy scheme, both looked at home. Banks can clean up his ball location and Hawkins was a late to anticipate routes (more so in zone), but a very positive first look for both.

-Cor’Dale Flott and Darnay Holmes are going to be battling it out for the nickel spot, I think. Part of it could depend on the team’s plans for the first rounder Banks. Both Holmes and Flott saw most of their snaps inside and by this time, we know what Holmes is. If you can live with the inevitable penalties, he is a solid option. Watching Flott’s footwork and recovery speed with such little wasted motion was encouraging. He is undoubtedly more “natural” at covering receivers than Holmes.

-The fringe guys at the position need to be worried. The likes of Rodarius Williams and Zyon Gilbert are going to have a hard time making this team. Even former Lion Amari Oruwariye looked slow in pursuit after losing leverage on a crossing route. Aaron Robinson on the PUP will help one of their causes, but I also would not rule out another free agent being signed after preseason (like how they brought in Fabian Moreau and Nick McCloud last season).

SAFETY

-Xavier McKinney and Nick McCloud both did not play. I’m not sure how high the staff really is on McCloud, but these other safeties are making a name for themselves.

-If there was one position group that “won” the intra-roster position battle, it was right here. On just FIVE snaps, Jason Pinnock broke up two passes, intercepting one and breaking up a third down attempt on the other, and had a TFL. Talk about impact. There was not a single defender that played less than him, but he was the group’s top playmaker. He is an ascending player.

-Beyond him, it stayed strong. Undrafted rookie Alex Cook led the team with 7 tackles, 2 of which were near the line of scrimmage. Seventh round rookie Gervarrius Owens broke up a pass and added 2 tackles. His break up was a result of a fast read and react that had a break on the ball start before it was thrown. His size complements his game well.

-Bobby McCain is the closest thing to Julian Love this team has right now. While he does not (and the defense does not) need to fill those shoes the exact way Love did, McCain played multiple spots in the secondary and looked fast. He had 5 tackles and brings a physical brand. He is not as big and does not tackle like Love did, but this tape showed the quick reactions and ability to both close and cover in multiple forms.

-I hope nobody is overlooking Dane Belton. He added 2 tackles and an interception. The 2022 team leader in interceptions (along with Love) saw his share of ups and downs as a rookie, but now healthy and with a year under his belt, I would bet he is a huge part of the plans for the defense. I cannot remember a time with such a deep and versatile safety group on one NYG roster. This gives them such advantages week to week based on matchups.

SPECIAL TEAMS

K Graham Gano: 2/2 (Made 42, 47).
P Jamie Gillan: 5 punts / 47.6 avg – 28.2 net

3 STUDS

-S Jason Pinnock, CB Deonte Banks, OG Shane Lemieux

3 DUDS

-WR Bryce Ford Wheaton, OT Wyatt Davis, OT Korey Cunningham

3 THOUGHTS ON DET

1. Remember the name Ben Johnson. At this time next year, he will be a Head Coach in the NFL. The Offensive Coordinator for Detroit is just 37 years old and when it comes to getting the most out of personnel, there may not have been a more economic play caller in the league than him last season. Unless he falls apart in 2023, he will be the next young offensive-minded hire in the league. Washington seems like a real possibility to me, unfortunately. He has a few connections to that front office.

2. In the same breath, Detroit will not sneak up on anyone this season. And I question how smart the construction process of the roster was this past offseason. Running backs Jamaal Williams and DeAndre Swift? Gone. Wide receiver Jameson Williams is suspended 6 games. They are going to rely on a rookie tight end (odds are this will not work well) after trading T.J. Hockenson away last summer. Jared Goff has hit a peak and come crashing down a year later before. Can he create enough with the questions they have in the passing game?

3. Detroit is the hot pick to win the NFC North. We all know Minnesota was not near what their record said they were last season. Aaron Rodgers is finally out of Green Bay. Chicago was the second worst team in football last year. I believe the NFC North will be as close as any divisional race in football. I’m not ready to anoint the Lions yet, however. It’s been 20 years (!) since they won the North. The fact remains, this team was 3-6 against teams with winning records last year. They were 30th against the run. Their pass rush ranked 25th. They allowed the most first downs per game in the NFL. A few free agent signings won’t change all of that. I am keeping them in the 8-9 to 9-8 tier.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

1. The rule of preseason football: Do not react strong to anything (besides injuries). These games almost never mean anything at the end of the day. They can confirm a few things (like the thin offensive line) but they will not answer nearly as much as people think. Watch some new players, start to take in their skill sets, and check for surprises. Do not make the mistake of over-thinking a rookie (good or bad). They still have such a long way to go.

2. Someone asked me what position group excites me the most. Right now, it is the secondary (little cheating there, I know). Between the group of safeties that credibly goes six-deep (maybe seven) along with some promising young guys on the perimeter has to get you amped up. That is how a defense can win games, and with a pass rush, I expect the Giants to be top half of the league. We are not even close to the best version of defensive football under this new regime. They are going to be fun to watch.

3. What are the improvements or changes we want to see from preseason game one to game two? Personally, I would like to see Hyatt more involved. They need to try and script a couple deep shots to him so they can see how he tracks the ball, fights for it, and plays the body position game in real live situations. Defensively, seeing a few different personnel packages on third down would be my next thing. Whether the starters play or not isn’t as important. I want to see some of the edge guys shift inside, some of the defensive backs come up on the edge, and some of the inside linebackers blitz. Nobody plays as aggressive as Martindale and watching the Jets get home against Carolina in week one preseason opens the door for NYG to do the same.