Feb 142023
 
Mike Kafka, New York Giants (October 7, 2022)

Mike Kafka – © USA TODAY Sports

GIANTS KEEP MIKE KAFKA…
Mike Kafka will be returning as the offensive coordinator of the New York Giants in 2023. The Arizona Cardinals have hired Philadelphia Eagles Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Gannon as their next head coach, passing on Kafka and Cincinnati Bengals Defensive Coordinator Lou Anarumo. Kafka had also interviewed with the Indianapolis Colts, Carolina Panthers, and Houston Texans for their now-filled head coaching vacancies. All of the open head-coaching vacancies have now been filled.

The Giants learned last week that Don “Wink” Martindale would also be remaining as the team’s defensive coordinator. He had interviewed twice with the Colts.

The 35-year old Kafka first became a coach with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2017, when he served an offensive quality control coach. He was then promoted by the Chiefs to quarterbacks coach (2018-2019) and then quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator (2020-2021).

GIANTS RE-SIGN LAWRENCE CAGER AND JACK ANDERSON…
The Giants have re-signed tight end Lawrence Cager and offensive guard Jack Anderson, both of whom were set to become exclusive rights free agents on March 15.

The Giants first signed Cager to the Practice Squad in October 2022 and the 53-man roster in November 2022. He ended up playing in six regular-season games with three starts, catching 13 passes for 118 yards and one touchdown. The 6’5”, 220-pound Cager was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the New York Jets after the 2020 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Jets (2020-2021, 2022) and Cleveland Browns (2021). The Jets cut him in mid-October 2022. Cager has played in 10 regular-season games with five starts.

The Giants claimed Anderson off of waivers from the Philadelphia Eagles in late August 2022. He played in 12 regular-season games with two starts, one at left guard against the Cowboys and one at right guard against the Eagles. He was a bit shaky against these top two defensive lines. The 6’4”, 314-pound Anderson was originally drafted in the 7th round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Bills. The Eagles signed Anderson off of Buffalo’s Practice Squad in September 2021. He played in two games with one start for Philadelphia. Anderson spent part of the 2021 season on Injured Reserve with a hamstring injury.

Nov 222022
 
Richie James, New York Giants (November 20, 2022)

Richie James – © USA TODAY Sports

NOVEMBER 22, 2022 NEW YORK GIANTS INJURY REPORT…
Since the Giants only held a walk-thru on Tuesday, the following is projection:

TE Daniel Bellinger (eye), OG Josh Ezeudu (neck), OC Jon Feliciano (neck), OG Shane Lemieux (toe), OT Andrew Thomas (illness), CB Adoree’ Jackson (knee), and CB Fabiran Moreau (oblique) did not practice.

WR Richie James (knee), OT Evan Neal (knee), OT Tyre Phillips (neck), S Dane Belton (clavicle), and S Jason Pinnock (jaw) were limited in practice.

ROSTER MOVES…
The Giants have signed tight end Lawrence Cager to the 53-man roster from the Practice Squad. The 6’5”, 220-pound Cager was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the New York Jets after the 2020 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Jets (2020-2021, 2022) and Cleveland Browns (2021). The Giants signed Cager to the Practice Squad in October 2022 after he was cut by the Jets. He has appeared in three games for the Giants this season.

The Giants also signed tight end Nick Vannett to the Practice Squad. The 29-year old, 6’6”, 261-pound Vannett was originally drafted in the 3rd round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks. He has spent time with the Seahawks (2016-2019), Pittsburgh Steelers (2019), Denver Broncos (2020), and New Orleans Saints (2021-2022). The Saints cut him last Saturday. Vannett has played in 80 regular-season games with 35 starts, accruing 86 catches for 832 yards and six touchdowns.

NOVEMBER 22, 2022 BRIAN DABOLL PRESS CONFERENCE…
New York Giants Head Coach Brian Daboll addressed the media on Tuesday (VIDEO):

Daboll: Just had a walkthrough. Got another walkthrough. In terms of the injuries, which I know there will be a lot of questions about, here’s where we’re at with that. Belly (tight end Daniel Bellinger) won’t make it. (Cornerback) Adoree’ (Jackson) won’t make it. And everybody else is going to come right up to the last second what we decide to do – treatment, talk to the doctors, the athletic trainers. So, relative to where everybody else is at, it’s going to be a last second decision that we make.

Q: If that’s the case with all the other guys you’re talking about, that sounds like relatively good news with all these other guys if it’s a possibility.

A: It’s a possibility, but it’s also not a possibility. That’s what I’m saying. It’s going to go right to the end. We’ll see who we have healthy.

Q: Did you sign (tight end) Nick Vannett?

A: Practice squad.

Q: What’s your message to the guys with this situation being what it is as the injuries have piled up?

A: Prepare to play a game. It’s really that simple: prepare to play a game. (It’s) a short week; everybody plays them. So, do a good job in the walk throughs. Do a good job on studying the team that we’re playing, and make sure that we’re ready to go. Take care of our bodies and get ready to go to Dallas.

Q: Do you feel snake bitten, or do you feel like this is the league and this is what it is?

A: It’s the NFL; every team deals with injuries. So, next guy up. And let’s get ready to play.

Q: Have you sensed anything from (tackle) Evan (Neal) this week in terms of wanting to get back on the field? Not just to get back on the field, but to play the Cowboys again. He had kind of a clunker there.

A: Of course, he wants to get back on the field. I’d say what’s tough is just how we’re getting ready to play this game. Of course, he wants to be out there. We’ll see. Again, it’s more. It’s not necessarily, ‘Go out there and run around.’ It’s really treatment, talk to the trainers, talk to the player. And then we’ll make our decision. We’ll try to take it as long as we can. And if obviously someone says they just can’t go, then they can’t go. But all these other guys, we’re going to hold out hope to see who can make it.

Q: Is (outside linebacker) Azeez in that group? (Azeez) Ojulari – is he in that group?

A: No. He won’t go.

Q: (Cornerback Fabian) Moreau is in that group, right?

A: He is. Yep.

Q: Assuming the worst and he can’t, how do you feel about (defensive back Cor’Dale) Flott, (cornerback Nick) McCloud, (cornerback) Rodarius (Williams)?

A: Yeah, all those guys. All those guys are.

Q: How ready are they for the challenge of the Cowboys?

A: They’re preparing to be ready to play. That’s why they’re on the roster.

Q: How much do you have to change your defensive approach a little bit with so many guys possibly down in the secondary?

A: I think we do that a little bit each week. So, it’s really no different this week. Obviously, you try to do what you can do for the guys that are out there. You put them in the best positions. That’s really no different than any other week.

Q: Will you put Adoree’ on IR?

A: Not right now. He’s a lot better today.

Q: With the Cowboys, they kind of look a little bit different than the last time you played them with (Cowboys quarterback) Dak (Prescott) back. It seems like (running back Tony) Pollard is a lot more involved in the backfield than he was. How much has that offense changed in just the few weeks since you last saw them?

A: I think they’ve always been a good offense. They have a lot of good skill players. I think their roster construction has been really good with really offense, defense and the kicking game. This is a dynamic team, I’d say, in every area. They’ve got great skill players. When I say skill players, I also include defensive ends, who are skill players. Explosive – scored a lot of points, obviously, last week. (They had) seven sacks, 40 points against an 8-1 team at their place. It will be a huge challenge.

Q: I know you always want to run the ball, but with that pass rush and their defense in particular, how much maybe more important does that even become this week for you guys?

A: Really, I think it’s execution. If you get into passing situations against this team, I mean put on the tape, there’s a bunch of negative plays. So, if you’re playing the game in third-and-long or second-and-long, or if you get behind and you got to try to make up ground, that’s a bad spot to be in against this team.

Q: There’s an old axiom that the season really starts after Thanksgiving. Do you subscribe to that?

A: Yeah, all the places I’ve been. Again, you put yourself in a position at this time of year. Every game matters – the games we play in the beginning. As it gets closer to the end, you got to treat it the same as you treat every other game. And we have a division game that we’re playing a team that’s really good.

Q: What happened with (wide receiver) Richie James? He’s listed on the injury report.

A: His knee was bothering him. So, he’s kind of another guy in that boat. We’ll see where he’s at.

Q: Did he hurt it making the tackle on that interception?

A: I don’t know exactly when it happened. I think he’ll be fine. Again, we’ll take it all the way to the end. I think he’ll be fine. I think he will be ready to go. I just don’t want to say one hundred percent.

Q: If he’s not ready to go, I guess the punt returner situation kind of keeps going in flux?

A: Yeah, we’ll have the next guy ready to go.

Q: What do you see from your guys? I think you’ll probably agree that was your worst game of the year against Detroit. You have an opportunity now, they have an opportunity – everybody watches pretty much on Thanksgiving, everyone will be sitting there watching – big opportunity for you guys?

A: Yeah. I mean look, every week is a new week. Whether you win or whether you lose, you try not to focus on results – you focus on the things you can do to get better whether you win or lose. I’ve said that from the get-go and that’s been our approach. That’ll always be our approach.

Q: With Dallas’ ability to rush the passer and make negative plays on defense – how much is (quarterback) Daniel’s (Jones) mobility and ability to get out of there an asset?

A: Yeah, I think any time you have an athletic quarterback… Look, they’re very athletic, they’ve created a bunch of them, they get after the quarterback. Again, I think it’s more about the situation and they force them. They’re really good in those situations and, unfortunately, they’re really good on early downs, too. Being able to produce positive plays is going to be a key thing for us. We get into those situations, they’ve done it to everybody – they did it to us the first game, they did it last week. They’ve done it to everybody. They have dynamic players, and they get after the passer. To have a guy that can use his legs to get out of it, it’s certainly a little bit different than just a guy that stands back there.

Q: When you went back and looked at (running back) Saquon’s (Barkley) day, was there anything that you didn’t know before watching that you do now?

A: Which one?

Q: This last game.

A: No. Pretty much what I said. It takes everybody.

Q: Will the result of this game, after your conversations with (general manager) Joe Schoen and throughout this week, will the result of this game impact how aggressive you would or wouldn’t be in adding players?

A: No, I think we’d do the same stuff every week – try to be consistent regardless of results and do what’s best for our team.

Q: You’ve talked all year about you just never know in this league because any week you can be humbled. Do you feel like this team was humbled a bit on Sunday?

A: No, we lost the game. We were 3-0 on turnover ratio. Teams that do that this year are 1-18. There are some certain things we could have coached better, played better. We want to win every game; we didn’t do enough to win that game and you got to move on quickly – particularly when you got a short week.

Q: Do you like your team, the way you’ve built it, to respond on a short week with all the circumstances that you’ve had?

A: I’ve liked everything about the guys since I got here. They work hard, they’re humble guys, they do everything we ask them to do. They go out there, they play as hard as they can play. Again, we don’t always like the results, but these guys are putting everything they’ve got into it – everybody is putting everything they got into it, and we’ll always do that.

Q: What does it mean to you and your team to have this opportunity to play on Thanksgiving?

A: This is the sixth time that I’ve been part of this game, not necessarily against Dallas – third time against Dallas, I think. It’s great, it’s a great tribute – you know? You remember when you’re a kid, sitting down and watching television and the games and Madden and turducken and all those type of things. Again, we got a big challenge ahead of us in Dallas and that’s where we got to keep it.

Q: With that time slot, everybody on Thanksgiving seems to watch that game. Do you talk to your players about this is an opportunity as a showcase to show the country how good you are?

A: I don’t. I don’t because we play Sunday nights, Monday nights. I think you got to keep the focus the focus and, again, with the short week, there’s not a lot of time so we got to do everything we can do to get ready.

Q: Have you had a turducken before?

A: I have not. Might look like I did, but I didn’t.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and on YouTube:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
There is no media availability to the Giants on Wednesday as the team travels to Texas. The Giants play the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving.

Nov 132022
 
Jaylon Smith and Dexter Lawrence, New York Giants (November 13, 2022)

Jaylon Smith and Dexter Lawrence – © USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK GIANTS 24 – HOUSTON TEXANS 16…
The New York Giants defeated the Houston Texans 24-16 on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. With the win, the surprising Giants are now 7-2 on the season.

In terms of overall team statistics, the Texans actually held advantages in first downs (22 to 19), total net yards (387 to 367), and net yards passing (286 to 176). But the Giants were better on 3rd down (50% to 30%), rushing the ball (191 to 101), and time of possession (33:20 to 26:40). The Giants also won the turnover battle 2 to 0.

The New York defense completely shut down the Texans in the 1st quarter, forcing three separate 3-and-outs as Houston was held to -3 yards. Meanwhile, the Giants took an early 7-0 lead that they never relinquished by driving 68 yards in 10 plays on their first drive. Aside from two short third-down conversions, the big play on this drive was a 36-yard completion from quarterback Daniel Jones to wide receiver Darius Slayton. Two plays later, Jones connected with tight end Lawrence Cager for the 9-yard touchdown pass.

After that impressive opening drive, the New York offense slept walk for the remainder of the first half. The Giants punted four straight times before having their final possession of the half end with a sack. Houston wasn’t much better, punting two more times for a total of five times in six drives. However, early in the 2nd quarter running back Dameon Pierce broke off a 44-yard run. This set up a 38-yard field goal.

At the half, the Giants led 7-3.

After combining for just 10 points in the first half, both teams exploded for three straight touchdowns in the 3rd quarter. The Giants received the football after halftime and they needed just five plays to travel 75 yards for the score. On 3rd-and-9 from the New York 46-yard line, Jones threw a short pass to Slayton, who made man miss e route to a 54-yard catch-and-run score. Giants 14 – Texans 3.

But just as it seemed like the Giants had finally taken control of the game, Houston responded with a 7-play, 75-yard effort. The drive ended with a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Davis Mills to wide receiver Nico Collins. Giants 14 – Texans 10.

Back came the Giants, this time driving 74 yards in 12 plays. New York converted on two 3rd-and-7 yard situations, the first being an 11-yard pass to wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson and the second a 26-yard pass to wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins. Running back Saquon Barkley finished the possession with a 2-yard touchdown run. Giants 21 – Texans 10.

The Giants’ defense began to bend again on the ensuing possession with tight end Jordan Akins breaking off a 46-yard catch-and-run as the 3rd quarter ended. But two plays later, on 2nd-and-goal from the 10-yard line, defensive lineman Leonard Williams forced Pierce to fumble. The loose ball was recovered by inside linebacker Jaylon Smith. The Giants went three-and-out with a 13-yard punt by Jamie Gillan. A 19-yard Houston touchdown pass was wiped out by a holding penalty against defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence. On the very next snap, Lawrence pressured the quarterback and his pass was intercepted in the end zone by safety Dane Belton.

The Giants picked up a couple of first downs and then punted. Starting from their own 8-yard line, Houston drove 76 yards in 12 plays, but could get no closer than the 16-yard line. The Texans settled for a 34-yard field goal with 2:22 left in the game. Giants 21 – Texans 13.

The ensuing onside kick was recovered by the Giants. The Giants did not pick up a first down, but they forced the Texans to use their remaining time outs and place kicker Graham Gano nailed the 49-yard field goal to extend the lead to 24-13 with less than two minutes to play.

The Texans gained 58 yards on three straight passes, but then Mills was sacked by safety Jason Pinnock on 1st-and-10 from the New York 17-yard line.With just 11 seconds on the clock, the Texans kicked the 46-yard field goal. They attempted another onside kick, but the Giants recovered that as well and the game ended on a kneel down by Jones.

Jones finished the game 13-of-17 for 197 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 153.3. Slayton had three catches for 95 yards and a touchdown. Barkley rushed 35 times for 152 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, the Giants accrued four sacks: 1.5 by Pinnock, one each by Lawrence and outside linebacker Jihad Ward, and 0.5 sacks by Williams. Lawrence had a monster game, being credited with 5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss, 5 quarterback hits, and 1 pass defense. Williams had 9 tackles, 0.5 sacks, and 1 forced fumble. Cornerback Adoree’ Jackson had 6 tackles and 2 pass defenses.

GAME VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS are available on YouTube.

ROSTER MOVES, PRACTICE SQUAD ACTIVATIONS, INACTIVES, AND INJURY REPORT…
On Saturday, the Giants activated OT Matt Peart from the Reserve/Physically-Unable-to-Perform List. Peart tore his left ACL in December 2021 and only returned to practice on October 25.

The Giants activated (standard elevation) TE Lawrence Cager and DL Henry Mondeaux from the Practice Squad to the 53-man roster on the same day.

Inactive for the game were TE Daniel Bellinger (eye), RT Evan Neal (knee), WR David Sills, OT Devery Hamilton, ILB Austin Calitro, and OLB Quincy Roche.

POST-GAME REACTION…
Transcripts and video clips of post-game media sessions with Head Coach Brian Daboll and the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
Head Coach Brian Daboll and select players will address the media by conference call on Monday.

Oct 192022
 
Marcus Johnson, New York Giants (October 16, 2022)

Marcus Johnson – © USA TODAY Sports

GIANTS SIGN MARCUS JOHNSON TO 53-MAN ROSTER…
The New York Giants signed wide receiver Marcus Johnson to the 53-man roster on Tuesday. Johnson had been elevated to the game-day roster for the past three games, catching five passes for 60 yards.

The 6’1”, 207-pound Johnson was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Philadelphia Eagles after the 2016 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Eagles (2016-2017), Seattle Seahawks (2018), Indianapolis Colts (2018–2020), Tennessee Titans (2021), and San Francisco 49ers (2022). The Giants signed him to the Practice Squad in early September. Johnson has played in 44 regular-season games with 14 starts, catching 56 passes for 899 yards and three touchdowns.

PRACTICE SQUAD MOVES…
On Tuesday, the Giants signed offensive tackle Korey Cunningham and tight end Lawrence Cager to the Practice Squad. The team also terminated the Practice Squad contract of tight end Austin Allen.

The Giants terminated the contract of Cunningham in July 2022 with a non-football injury. The 27-year old, 6’6”, 311-pound Cunningham was originally drafted in the 7th round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals. He was traded to the New England Patriots in August 2019. The Patriots cut Cunningham in late August 2021. The Giants signed Cunningham was signed to the Practice Squad in early September 2021 and the 53-man roster in October 2021. He ended up playing in 12 games with no starts. His only significant playing time came in Week 16 at right tackle, filling in for the injured Matt Peart. In four NFL seasons, Cunningham has played in 30 regular-season games, with six starts, all with the Cardinals in 2018. He has experience at both tackle positions.

The 25-year-old, 6’5”, 220-pound Cager was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the New York Jets after the 2020 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Jets (2020-2021, 2022) and Cleveland Browns (2021). The Jets cut him on Saturday. Cager has played in four regular-season games with two starts, catching two passes for 35 yards.

Allen was signed by the Giants as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2022 NFL Draft.

OCTOBER 19, 2022 NEW YORK GIANTS INJURY REPORT…
WR Kenny Golladay (knee), WR Kadarius Toney (hamstring), OLB Oshane Ximines (quad), CB Cor’Dale Flott (calf), and S Jason Pinnock (ankle) did not practice on Wednesday.

RB Saquon Barkley (shoulder), OT Andrew Thomas (elbow), OC Jon Feliciano (groin), and OLB Azeez Ojulari (calf) practiced on a limited basis.

HEAD COACH BRIAN DABOLL…
The transcript of Brian Daboll’s press conference on Wednesday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available on YouTube.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and on YouTube:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The Giants practice on Thursday afternoon (12:45-2:45PM). The coordinators and select players will also address the media.