New York Jets 34 – New York Giants 27

 Posted by
Nov 102019
 

The Giants found their destiny.

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NEW YORK JETS 34 – NEW YORK GIANTS 27…
In a crapfest game to determine which team is the worst in New Jersey, the New York Giants earned that “honor” by falling to the New York Jets 34-27 at MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Giants have lost six games in a row and are now 2-8 on the season.

The Giants quickly fell behind 14-0 in the 1st quarter. The Jets drove the ball the length of the field on their opening drive, going 75 yards in 13 plays and finishing with a 2-yard touchdown run by quarterback Sam Darnold. After a three-and-out by the Giants, the Jets marched 50 yards in nine plays with Darnold throwing a 23-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jamison Crowder.

The Giants got back into the game in the 2nd quarter. The team drove 75 yards in eight plays on their second drive of the game, aided by a 15-yard pass interference penalty on 3rd-and-10. The possession ended with a 5-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Daniel Jones to wide receiver Darius Slayton. After forcing a punt by the Jets, the Giants scored again. On 4th-and-4 from the Jets’ 39-yard line, Jones hit Slayton over the middle on play that went the distance for a touchdown. Unfortunately, the extra point attempt was botched. Jets 14 – Giants 13.

Neither team scored the rest of the half. The Jets went three-and-out. At the 2-minute warning, Pat Shurmur decided to go for it on 4th-and-1 from his own 39-yard line. Jones was stuffed, turning the ball over on downs. However, the Jets could not take advantage of the Giants’ futility as they failed to pick up a first down and then missed the 54-yard field goal attempt. The Giants then went three-and-out and the half ended.

The Giants received the ball to start the 3rd quarter, but that ended with disaster when on the third play, safety Jamal Adams ripped the ball out of Daniel Jones’ hands and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown. Jets 21 – Giants 13.

The Giants quickly cut into that lead. On 3rd-and-9, Jones threw a screen pass to wide receiver Golden Tate who broke the play for a 61-yard touchdown. The 2-point conversion was called back due to an offensive pass interference penalty on Tate. Place kicker Aldrick Rosas then missed the extra point. Jets 21 – Giants 19.

For a brief moment, it looked like the Giants may pull the game out. The defense forced a three-and-out. The offense then drove 64 yards in nine plays, with Jones throwing his fourth touchdown of the game, this one from 15 yards out to Tate on 3rd-and-3. The 2-point conversion attempt to wide receiver Bennie Fowler succeeded and the Giants were up for the first time on the day, 27-21.

The Giants’ defense started to falter again, first giving up a 9-play, 46-yard drive that ended with a 53-yard field goal. The Giants now led 27-24. Not to be outdone, the Giants’ offense now came up small, going three-and-out. It only took the Jets three plays to travel 70 yards, the big play being a 33-yard pass interference penalty called against cornerback Deandre Baker. On the next play, running back Le’Veon Bell scored from one yard out. The Jets were back up for good, 31-27.

The Giants picked up one first down and then punted on 4th-and-2 from their own 44-yard line. Aided by a 47-pass play, the Jets got into field goal range and extended their lead to 34-27 on a 35-yard field goal with about seven and a half minutes remaining in the game.

Again, the Giants picked up one first down but were forced to punt. The Jets went three-and-out and the Giants got the ball back at their 12-yard line with 4:17 left to go. Pass protection was eroding and the Giants went three-and-out, punting on 4th-and-19 from their own 3-yard line. The Jets did not pick up a first down, but by the time the Giants got the ball back, there was only 18 seconds left in the game. The game ended with a fumble by Tate.

Offensively, Jones was 26-of-40 for 308 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. He was also the team’s leading rusher with just 20 yards. Jones’ fumble led to a defensive touchdown and he was sacked SIX times and hit 10 times. Running back Saquon Barkley was held to ONE yard rushing on 13 carries as the Giants only rushed for 23 yards as a team. Jones’ leading target was Slayton, who caught 10 passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns.

The defense allowed 27 points (three touchdowns, two interceptions) to a team that had struggled to score most of the season. The Jets rushed for 76 net yards and passed for 218 net yards. Nose tackle Dalvin Tomlinson and linebacker Markus Golden picked up sacks. But the defense did not force a turnover.

On special teams, the Giants failed on two extra point attempts.

Video highlights are available at Giants.com.

INACTIVES AND INJURY REPORT…
Inactive for the Giants were WR Sterling Shepard (concussion), tight end Evan Engram (foot), center Jon Halapio (hamstring), right tackle Mike Remmers (back), QB Alex Tanney, OT/OG Chad Slade, and LB Chris Peace.

Left tackle Nate Solder and cornerback Janoris Jenkins both left the game with concussions.

EVAN BROWN ADDED TO 53-MAN ROSTER, OLSEN PIERRE WAIVED…
On Saturday, the New York Giants signed center Evan Brown from the team’s Practice Squad. To make room for Brown on the 53-man roster, the team waived defensive end Olsen Pierre.

The Giants originally signed Brown as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2018 NFL Draft. While he made the team, Brown was never on the active, game-day roster in 2018. Brown has experience at guard and center.

The Giants signed Pierre as an unrestricted free agent from the Arizona Cardinals in March 2019. The 6’5”, 293-pound Pierre originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent with the Chicago Bears after the 2015 NFL Draft. The Bears cut him in August 2015 and he then signed with the Cardinals. In three seasons with the Cardinals, Pierre has played in 24 games with eight starts, accruing 42 tackles and 5.5 sacks. This year, Olsen played in nine games with the Giants with no starts, being credited with eight tackles and two sacks.

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

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
Head Coach Pat Shurmur will address the media by conference call on Monday. Select players will be available to the media on Tuesday.

Preview: New York Giants at New York Jets, November 10, 2019

 Posted by
Nov 082019
 

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Game Preview: New York Giants at New York Jets, November 10, 2019

THE STORYLINE

In the 1981 so-bad-it’s-a-classic movie “Clash of the Titans”, Zeus told his bastard son Perseus “Find and fulfill your destiny!”

In football, we often talk about measuring sticks or litmus test games against quality opponents. In a perverted, ass-backwards sense, the Giants will face a different kind of litmus test against three of their last seven opponents. The 1-7 Jets, 1-7 Dolphins, and the 1-8 Redskins. I am firmly convinced there is a element of the New York Giants fan base who are refusing to accept just how bad their beloved team has become. More importantly, I am especially convinced that New York Giants ownership and management can’t or won’t see it.

These three “Clash of the Titans” games, starting with the Jets on Sunday, could be quite shocking to these people. To use another movie analogy (“Planet of the Apes”), “Don’t look for (your destiny)… You may not like what you’ll find.”

THE INJURY REPORT

  • WR Sterling Shepard (concussion – out)
  • TE Evan Engram (foot – out)
  • OC Jon Halapio (hamstring – out)
  • RT Mike Remmers (back – doubtful)

NEW YORK GIANTS ON OFFENSE

The Giants just never could get the band all together in 2019. Golden Tate was suspended the first four games. When he came back, Sterling Shepard was lost due to two concussions, missing all but four games. Saquon Barkley suffered a high-ankle sprain, missed three games, and hasn’t looked right since he’s been back. Now Evan Engram is hurt again. He already missed a game earlier this season and will be out this Sunday and possibly longer. Those four ARE the team’s best play-makers. The team’s starting running back and best player, the team’s top two wide receivers, and the team’s top tight end. All missing extended time and never being on the field together as one unit. Pathetic and sad.

In hindsight, the 5-year, $43 million contract given to Shepard this past offseason was a big mistake. So was not trading the injury-prone, poor-blocking Evan Engram before the trading deadline despite reports that the Giants has seriously good offers for his services. But these are the types of mistakes that poorly-managed teams keep making. And the Giants have been an atrociously-managed team for years now.

It’s also become apparent that John Mara hired the wrong coaches to lead this team. Again. Pat Shurmur doesn’t appear to be an offensive guru, lacking any sort of imagination about getting Saquon Barkley in space in the passing game. His game management skills are pathetic as well. Shurmur is now 17-41 (.293). That would be a good batting average, but you can’t do much worse in terms of a W-L percentage. Reports of players-only meetings and Shurmur telling his team this week that it is “make-or-break time” just highlights his futility. And don’t get me started on James “let’s play only two defensive linemen against the Cowboys” Bettcher.

The Giants offense is going to suck again on Sunday, struggling to score even 20 points. (The team is averaging 19.5 points per game). I will be curious to see if Spencer Pulley and Nick Gates cause an uptick in performance on the offensive line, though Gates obviously will go through a lot of rough moments due to his inexperience.

What would I consider a win on Sunday? If Daniel Jones doesn’t fumble. This is what we’ve come to.

NEW YORK GIANTS ON DEFENSE

James Bettcher has them fooled. He looks and sounds the part. And the defenses associated with his name performed well in Arizona. But the guy is a clown. He has press corners playing off in coverage. He doesn’t use the high-value assets the Giants have given him up front to his defense’s advantage. The Giants have now allowed 27 points or more in all but one of their games this year. Five times, they have allowed 30 points or more.

I keep repeating myself: the Giants can’t stop the run, they can’t stop the pass, and they don’t force turnovers.

Sam Darnold has looked like dog shit for the Jets the last few games. But expect him to get well against the New York Giants. They all do.

(And oh by the way, Dave Gettleman should have traded Janoris Jenkins before the trade deadline too.)

NEW YORK GIANTS ON SPECIAL TEAMS

Aldrick Rosas has now missed two extra points. Time to start worrying.

FROM THE COACH’S MOUTH

Head Coach Pat Shurmur on his job security: “I’m built for this.”

THE FINAL WORD

The 2-7 Giants versus the 1-7 Jets in the nation’s largest media market! “Clash of the Titans” indeed.

The Giants score less than 20 points per game. Their opponents score about 30 points per game. The Giants lead the league in turnovers with 22. They have only forced 12. Do the math.

The sad question is this: is it better or worse for the Giants to win this game?

Good times.

Game Review: Dallas Cowboys 37 – New York Giants 18

 Posted by
Nov 072019
 
Cody Latimer, New York Giants (November 4, 2019)

Cody Latimer – © USA TODAY Sports

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Dallas Cowboys 37 – New York Giants 18

QUICK RECAP

A national primetime game against a division rival. Throwback all-white uniforms. A new defensive weapon acquired via trade. This was a game that generated at least some excitement in the middle of yet another failure of a season. It was hard to look past the fact this team had lost 5 in a row to Dallas and 11 of their past 15 NFC East match-ups, though. Even in the unfamiliar blue uniforms, the Cowboys entered this one as a 7-point road favorite with little fear of a broken NYG squad.

The night started off in favor of NYG, as Dak Prescott threw an interception directly to safety Antoine Bethea, his first since 2017, on the very first play of the game. The Giants began their initial offensive drive inside the DAL 8-yard line but could only muster 3 points. Essentially they were starting this game over with the Giants getting a 3-point head start. DAL quickly tied the game back up after an 11-play drive that saw chunk gains from Ezekiel Elliott and the 37-year old Jason Witten. The same Jason Witten who has been torching NYG for what seems to be fifty years. The same Jason Witten who was a Monday Night Football color analyst at this time a year ago.

After a NYG three-and-out, DAL took the ball back into NYG territory and lined up kicker Brett Maher for a 54-yard field goal attempt. The wind pushed it wide left and NYG began their drive at their own 44-yard line. Two key plays that brought NYG down inside the DAL 5-yard line were a 16-yard run by Daniel Jones and a 17-yard pass to Golden Tate that converted a 3rd-and-14 situation. It took them three plays to get the one yard needed for a score, but a Jones-to-Cody Latimer pass put NYG back in the lead. Aldrick Rosas missed the extra point, thus the score was 9-3.

The momentum stayed on the NYG side, as receiver Randall Cobb had the ball jarred loose by a violent Jabrill Peppers hit and Bethea came up with his second turnover of the game. The next drive injected more and more juice into the stadium. Tate gained 16 yards on a reverse aided by a lead block by Jones, who got lit up on the play but he contributed to the yards and there is something about toughness that gets everyone excited. Evan Engram then exploded for 15-yard gain after a short pass. A black cat then ran onto the field and caused a delay. It was about a minute or two and it created the thought that maybe this would be one of those good-luck turning points. NYG would go onto win out, get to 10-6, and into the postseason because of this black cat. That idea rapidly disappeared as Saquon Barkley had a likely big-run stopped by his own center Jon Halapio, who for some unknown reason was just standing there not blocking anybody. The two collided and went down. It was Halapio’s best hit of the season. NYG got inside the DAL 10-yard line but couldn’t punch it in, relying on 3 points again off the foot of Rosas.

The score was 12-3, but the missed opportunities created an aura of pessimism. And with that, Prescott connected with tight end Blake Jarwin for a short gain that he turned into 42-yard touchdown. This is the same Blake Jarwin who scored 3 touchdowns against NYG last December and the same Blake Jarwin who scored a touchdown against NYG week 1. He has 6 career touchdowns in his 3-year career, 5 of which are against NYG.

Momentum was slipping through the fingers of NYG and they shot themselves in the foot on the next drive with under a minute left. A drop by Darius Slayton and an interception by Jones gave the ball back to DAL. They were able to get 3 more points on the scoreboard and entered the half with a 13-12 lead.

Latimer opened the half with a kick return that gave NYG starting field position at midfield. Penalties and a sack killed any hope of starting the second half with a score, but they forced a three-and-out when DAL got the ball. The offense didn’t take advantage of it though. I talked about Daniel Jones massive fumble issue during preseason and the only thing I can say about it now is that the issue is nearing catastrophic levels. On a 3rd-and-6, Jones scrambled up the middle and had the ball jarred loose as he approached the first down marker. The fumble was recovered by safety Darian Thompson, former NYG 3rd-round pick. This was Jones’ 7th fumble of the year, tied for the league lead.

DAL turned that into 3 more points, which put their lead at 16-12. Latimer once again had a big return that brought NYG to midfield. Overall, this was the best starting field position the team has had all year from a game-perspective. However, once again, NYG was only able to create 3 points out of it despite getting inside DAL 10-yard line.

The fourth quarter began with a DAL touchdown-scoring drive. Prescott found Michael Gallup near the sideline and the explosive 2nd-year pro made Janoris Jenkins miss, as Jenkins did on the Jarwin touchdown as well, and acrobatically made his way into the end zone. 23-15 DAL at this point.

Saquon Barkley, who was quiet for most of the game, brought NYG all the way to the DAL 11-yard line with a fresh set of downs. However, three straight incomplete passes and no looks to Barkley led to, you guessed it, another field goal by Rosas. NYG was down 5 and a stop on the ensuing drive was near-mandatory. However, a shaky-at-best pass interference call on Deandre Baker on a 3rd-down incompletion kept the drive alive. Six plays later, Baker or Bethea blew his coverage assignment, leaving the DAL number one receiver Amari Cooper wide open across the middle for a big gain and touchdown. NYG was now down 12 with under 8 minutes left and most hope had left the stadium.

NYG put together one more drive with time dwindling and the DAL defense in a prevent, half-effort approach. It would have made those who bet the +7 line happy at least to see NYG get a cheap touchdown but they couldn’t even do that. From the DAL 24-yard line, Jones was sacked and had the ball knocked loose. Jourdan Lewis scooped it up and returned it for a 63-yard touchdown. Jones left the night as the lone leader in the NFL with 8 fumbles.

NYG loses, 37-18.

QUARTERBACK

-Daniel Jones: 26/41 – 210 yards – 1 TD / 1 INT – 74.2 QBR. Jones also added a team-high 54 yards on the ground via 6 carries. Jones lost 2 fumbles, one of which was on a passing attempt, and threw an interception. It can be debated that that interception wasn’t solely on Jones, but at the end of the day he didn’t put it where it needed to be. Jones’ fumbles are going to lose games for this franchise if he doesn’t clean it up. While it may not be a big deal right now because expectations are so low, that can be a game changer and a season changer by itself. The guy who holds the ball the most can’t be giving it away like he is right now. His toughness and athletic ability did impress and he continues to show an even-keel approach, but those fumbles will end it for him and this team if it stays this way. Clean it up.

RUNNING BACK

-Saquon Barkley: 14 att / 28 yards – 6 rec / 67 yards. Don’t mistake the receiving line for anything impressive, one of those catches went for 65 yards. So his other 5 catches accrued 2 yards. That is actually hard to do if you think about it. As one of the biggest Barkley supporters during the 2018 draft, I will say this: Barkley is running soft and scared. Is it the fear of injury? Is it the offensive line? Is it being used to not getting to the line without defenders in his face? Or worse, is it him wanting to make it to his Zeke-contract, AKA avoid injury at all costs? I will give him credit for better blocking this week, much better, and the 65-yard gain was what this kid can do every time he touches the ball. But I want to see more grit in his game. Show it to me, kid. You haven’t accomplished that much yet.

WIDE RECEIVER

-Golden Tate: 6 rec / 42 yards – 1 rush / 16 yards. Tate caught all 6 of his targets, one of which was an incredible catch that he almost got into the end zone. I like how this guy competes and I can see why past fan bases of the teams he played on loved and hated him. Tate is who he is: a really good complimentary player but will never be THE guy. If anything, he may be best suited for the #3/#4 option on a good offense.

-Cody Latimer made a big impact and had this team scored on just a couple more touchdowns of their multiple redzone opportunities, we may be talking about him more. He caught the lone NYG touchdown and returned two kicks to midfield. His separation as a route runner has been minimal but I do think there are things you can do with him. There is a ton of straight line athletic ability and he has proven he can make the tough catch.

-Really poor night for the rookie Darius Slayton. He dropped a pass, allowed a TFL, and tracked the ball really poorly on the Jones interception. He could have been where the ball landed but he was late to turn and didn’t control his body well enough.

TIGHT END

-Evan Engram: 6 rec / 48 yards. Engram has regressed as a blocker. DAL has given him issues a few times in his young career, in particular DeMarcus Lawrence, but some of the tackles he allows are unacceptable. On a run to the opposite side, Engram’s man is coming across his face and still making the play. That isn’t a difficult assignment. Maybe TE should be elevated on the NYG needs list and Engram needs to be a wide receiver who, every now and then, starts the play on the line. Year 3 and he still stinks in there, that won’t change.

OFFENSIVE LINE

-Mike Remmers continues to show he can’t play right tackle in the NFL for a team that wants to compete. He allowed 2 sacks and 2 pressures. His run blocking received a below average grade and that adds up to, if you want to call it that, his second-worst grade of the year. He is regressing. Nate Solder actually had a decent game. He did allow a sack-fumble at the end, and he did allow a pressure, but he kept the blind side relatively quiet, in particular on the deep attempts.

-Will Hernandez spent most of the night fighting the entire DAL defense. He relishes the role of personal protector and bodyguard, which is fine. It seemed to get a little over the top and I would much rather see him not allow a TFL and sack against an interior DAL defensive line that is average at best. Kevin Zeitler also allowed a sack late in the game, although he was solid otherwise.

-Center Jon Halapio didn’t get any push against a defensive line that is known for being undersized. I’m not sure why he continues to get the nod even though I am not a fan of Spencer Pulley either. He just looks slow. DAL sent a couple long-developing stunts and blitzes right up the middle and he barely even acknowledged them. His reaction time isn’t good enough. I can’t imagine this OL going into 2020 with him on the roster.

EDGE

-Lorenzo Carter and Markus Golden both had 1 TFL and 1 pressure each. Neither were able to come up big on 3rd down, which is always the time I am looking for them to step up. In fact, Golden got called for offsides on a 3rd-and-7 that moved DAL up 5 yards which they converted. Carter was rangy against the run but he was far from stout. He and rookie Oshane Ximines were getting blown off the ball and easily moved, creating some of the massive running lanes Elliott was running through.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

-In his first game with NYG, Leonard Williams not only got the start but was also on the field more than both B.J. Hill and Dalvin Tomlinson. He had 3 tackles and 2 pressures, including a solid hit on Prescott that was just after he threw the ball. He didn’t do much to standout and he did get washed out a couple times on big Elliott gains. The one thing I see with him that the others don’t have is the ability to create on his own. Williams can bend, run, turn, and burst better than any of the other down linemen. I can see the attraction in him. Time will tell if he can turn it into consistent production.

-B.J. Hill appears to be the odd man out when it comes to playing time. He was on the field for about a quarter of the plays. Interesting to see but I think it has more to do with his position more so than his performance. Dalvin Tomlinson was in at the nose and they have repeatedly said that is a spot they just don’t want to see Hill play.

-Dexter Lawrence already looks to be the leader of the defensive line. From a performance and emotional standpoint, he is rising and rising as the year goes. He had 2 tackles and a QB hit. I re-watched him specifically to see if he was a culprit for Elliott running wild and he played just fine, it had more to do with the linebackers (again) and inconsistent play from Tomlinson.

LINEBACKER

–Alec Ogletree continues to be one of the most inconsistent players on this defense. He had 6 tackles and 1 missed attempt. But his play in coverage was tight and slow, as was David Mayo. These guys are attacked on 3rd down and neither are showing the ability to cover laterally. It is pretty easy to exploit and when a good offense needs to make something happen, they are easy targets.

-Deone Buccanon saw his playing time uptick a bit from last week, but he didn’t make much of an impact. Just one tackle and he allowed 2 receptions.

CORNERBACK

-Janoris Jenkins will take heat for the missed tackles and he should, but lets not act surprised here. His tackling has been a weak point since the day he signed with NYG. In addition, I don’t know many corners who would have been able to tackle Jarwin on that touchdown.

-Deandre Baker had a pretty typical night for a rookie. He was picked on early because of how much cushion he gave on the quick slant routes, then made a couple plays on the ball where his ball tracking and aggressiveness were on point, and then was beat deep and both mentally and physically when the game was on the line. More of the same with Baker, a kid who is trying to learn on the fly. It is easy to tell there are mental lapses that are inhibiting his physical ability.

-Corey Ballentine got the snaps at nickel and he moved really well. I like the speed he brings to the table and he has more size than Grant Haley. One of the things we can really keep an eye on in the next seven weeks is how well he can keep it together and improve, as it could cross off a need for the 2020 offseason.

SAFETY

-A quick look at the box score and one will think Antoine Bethea had a good game. Interception / fumble recovery / 9 tackles. Well, the interception was (literally) thrown right at him because Prescott didn’t know he was there, fumble recoveries are often luck-based, and the tackles don’t include his 2 misses and poor angles.

-Jabrill Peppers was a stud in this one. The up-and-down player had 12 tackles, a pass breakup, and a forced fumble. I’ll say this about Peppers, his versatility and value is overlooked because of how bad this team is. He brings a lot to the table and if this team were better elsewhere, I think many would be pointing to how much he impacts the game.

SPECIAL TEAMS

-K Aldrick Rosas: 4/4 (Made 21, 25, 26, 29). Rosas also missed an extra point, his second of the year.

-P Riley Dixon: 3 Punts – 47.3 avg / 39.3 net

-Cody Latimer returned 6 kicks for 181 yards

3 STUDS

-S Jabrill Peppers, WR Cody Latimer, WR Golden Tate

3 DUDS

-OT Mike Remmers, WR Darius Slayton, LB David Mayo

3 THOUGHTS ON DAL

  1. It’s hard not to admire what Ezekiel Elliott brings to the table. I don’t love who he is off the field but this guy balls as well as anyone in the league. He is so dependable as a runner with the way he runs with a forward lean, falls forward, and breaks through initial contact. But what I admire most about him is how dominant he is as a blocker and how consistent he is as a pass catcher. Barkley could learn a thing or seven from really studying his game.
  1. One assistant coach in the league who doesn’t get enough publicity in regard to future head coaching gigs is the DAL assistant defensive coordinator, Kris Richard. He was on the SEA staff when they were dominating the NFC and he has the kind of persona that really gets to the players and brings out the best. All of this talk about offense and getting a fresh voice for Daniel Jones can make you overlook a guy like Richard, someone who I think can be the next Mike Tomlin.
  1. How far can DAL go? Are they in the class of the NFC discussion? Other than PHI, they haven’t beat anyone good. Their other wins are against WAS and MIA, with losses to playoff contenders NO and GB. I think they are a playoff team, but I don’t trust them against a legit opponent. I still question their pass rush and Prescott still needs to prove himself in the biggest moments.

3 CLOSING THOUGHTS

  1. I don’t want to talk down on Barkley. As most of you know, I was the first and biggest supporter of drafting him early back in 2018. But I have to say the poor offensive line, the ankle injury, and his desire to score a touchdown every play is making his game a lot worse than what we saw last year. He can’t control the injury and the line, but he does need to improve his own performance. He is playing soft. There is no denying it. That can’t happen.
  1. Speaking of Barkley, how come NYG is the only team with a dynamic back like this that can’t seem to get him the ball in space? Go watch CAR, LAR, NO, MIN…and see how they get their dynamic backs the ball in several different spots on the field to maximize their talents. Barkley is at his best when there is plenty of green around him, yet the vast majority, borderline all touches, are either runs between the tackles and little dump offs/screens. Why not triangle route concepts? Why not up the seam? Why not slants from the slot? Maybe the situations make it tough, but Pat Shurmur you are an offensive-minded head coach being paid millions of dollars. Figure it out.
  1. Evan Engram is injured again. There is no denying the talent and upside he brings to the table and there are things he can do that no other tight end can. But at what point do you say he doesn’t fit the offense because of his poor blocking? At what point do you say now is the time to trade him and get back real value? He can be had at a very reasonable price because he won’t be an unrestricted free agent until 2022. Some team that runs a different offense could get a lot out of him for 2 years. I don’t like shipping out real talent like this, but guys, he hurts this offense as much as he helps it and now he can’t stay healthy? Something to ponder.

Dallas Cowboys 37 – New York Giants 18

 Posted by
Nov 052019
 
Pat Shurmur, New York Giants (November 4, 2019)

Pat Shurmur – © USA TODAY Sports

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DALLAS COWBOYS 37 – NEW YORK GIANTS 18…
It was a close game for a while, but the Dallas Cowboys pulled away late to defeat the New York Giants 37-18 on Monday night at MetLife Stadium. The Giants fell to 2-7 on the season, losing their fifth game in a row and sixth straight game to the Cowboys.

The key takeaway from this game was the Giants’ ineptitude in the red zone, as New York settled for short field goals on 4-of-5 trips inside the 20-yard line. The Cowboys also out-gained the Giants in total net yards (429 to 271), net yards rushing (172 to 100), and net yards passing (257 to 171).

On the game’s first snap from scrimmage, free safety Antoine Bethea intercepted Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott at the 15-yard line, returning the ball to the 8-yard line. Unfortunately, the Giants settled for a 21-yard field goal to go up 3-0 early. The Cowboys tied the game at 3-3 on their second possession by driving the ball 58 yards in 11 plays to set up a 35-yard field goal.

The Giants went three-and-out on their second possession. Although the Cowboys picked up 38 yards and three first downs on their third drive, they missed a 54-yard field goal attempt. The Giants responded with a 10-play, 56-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown pass on 3rd-and-goal from quarterback Daniel Jones to wide receiver Cody Latimer. However, place kicker Aldrick Rosas missed his second extra point of the season. The Giants led 9-3.

After the Cowboys picked up two first downs and 44 yards, the Giants got the ball back when strong safety Jabrill Peppers forced a fumble after at short pass to wide receiver Randall Cobb that Bethea recovered at the New York 20-yard line. The Giants then drove 73 yards in 12 plays, but once again were forced to settle for a short field goal, this time from 25 yards out. Nevertheless, with 2:50 left in the half, the Giants surprisingly led 12-3.

At this point, the game turned against New York. The Cowboys easily drove 75 yards in six plays, capping the drive with a 42-yard touchdown pass from Prescott to tight end Blake Jarwin, who has scored five of his six career touchdowns against New York. Giants 12 – Cowboys 10.

It got worse for the Giants before halftime. Facing a 3rd-and-10 from their own 26-yard line with 39 seconds left, Jones’ deep pass intended for wide receiver Darius Slayton was intercepted and returned 29 yards to the New York 39-yard line. Although the Cowboys only gained five yards, it was enough to set up a successful 52-yard field goal.

At the half, Dallas led 13-12.

Latimer returned the opening kickoff of the 3rd quarter 50 yards to the New York 48-yard line. Despite this great field position, the Giants could only pick up one first down and then punted. After a three-and-out by the Cowboys, Dallas got the ball right back when Daniel Jones fumbled the ball away after scrambling for a first down on 3rd-and-6. Dallas recovered near midfield and drove deep into Giants’ territory, but were forced to settle for a 28-yard field goal. Cowboys 16 – Giants 12.

Latimer returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards to the New York 48-yard line. The Giants once again drove inside the 20-yard line, setting up a 1st-and-10 from the 13, but settled for yet another short field goal, this time from 26 yards out. Dallas now led 16-15 as the quarter neared completion.

The Cowboys went up 23-15 early in the 4th quarter after a 9-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Prescott to wide receiver Michael Gallup. A huge 65-yard gain by running back Saquon Barkley on a screen pass set up the Giants at the Cowboys’ 11-yard line. New York could get no closer and kicked a 29-yard field goal. Cowboys 23 – Giants 18.

A pivotal moment came on the ensuing Cowboys’ drive. Cornerback Deandre Baker was flagged with a questionable 26-yard pass interference penalty on a 3rd-and-6 incomplete pass from the Dallas 15-yard line. Six plays later, on 3rd-and-12, wide receiver Amari Cooper was left wide open down the middle of the defense on a 45-yard scoring play that put Dallas up 30-18 with eight minutes left to play.

Both teams exchanged punts. The Giants got the ball back with 4:18 left to play in the game. A far-too-slow 2-minute drill ended up taking almost four minutes off of the clock. With 22 seconds left in the game, Jones was sacked while he was in the throwing motion, the loose ball was recovered by the Cowboys and returned 63 yards for a touchdown with just six seconds left in the game.

Daniel Jones completed 26-of-41 passes for 210 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He also fumbled twice and was the team’s leading rusher with 54 yards on six carries. Jones’ leading targets were Barkley (6 catches for 67 yards), tight end Evan Engram (6 catches for 48 yards), and wide receiver Golden Tate (6 catches for 42 yards). Barkley was held to a paltry 28 yards rushing on 14 carries. The Giants allowed five sacks.

The defense did not accrue a sack. The Giants picked off one pass and recovered one fumble.

Video highlights are available at Giants.com.

INACTIVES AND INJURY REPORT…
WR Sterling Shepard (concussion), QB Alex Tanney, OT Eric Smith, OT/OG Chad Slade, DE R.J. McIntosh, LB Chris Peace, and LB Devante Downs were inactive.

Shepard was originally expected to play but suffered a setback. “He practiced fully this week and was limited with no contact the two weeks before that,” said Head Coach Pat Shurmur in a written statement on Sunday. “He told (Senior Vice President Medical Services/Head Athletic Trainer) Ronnie (Barnes) last evening (Saturday) he didn’t feel well and was sent for examination and evaluation. When he arrived for work this morning, he still did not feel well. At that point, the decision was made to continue in the concussion protocol.”

Shepard has suffered two concussions this season, one in the opener against the Cowboys and another in early October against the Vikings.

POST-GAME REACTION…
Transcripts of post-game media sessions with Head Coach Pat Shurmur and the following players are available in The Corner Forum:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
Head Coach Pat Shurmur will address the media by conference call on Tuesday.

Preview: Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants, November 4, 2019

 Posted by
Nov 022019
 
Markus Golden, New York Giants (September 8, 2019)

Markus Golden – © USA TODAY Sports

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Game Preview: Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants, November 4, 2019

THE STORYLINE

The 2019 New York Giants season is already all but officially over by the midway point. Again. With eight games left in another abysmal campaign, you’re going to keep hearing me harp on the following:

The Giants will not become a playoff contender again until:

  1. The defense gets MUCH better.
  2. The offensive line gets MUCH better.
  3. The coaching staff gets MUCH better.
  4. Management does a MUCH better job in free agency.

These four areas have been an issue for years, outside a brief defensive blip in 2016. The abysmal drafting performance of the Giants for much of the past decade was #1 on the list, but current management appears to be doing better in that area. However, when it comes to evaluating pro personnel already in the league, Dave Gettleman and Company have been dreadful. In the past two years, they have signed Kareem Martin, Nate Solder, Patrick Omameh, Curtis Riley, Cody Latimer, Connor Barwin, Jonathan Stewart, Nate Stupar, Antoine Bethea, Rod Smith, among many others already forgotten. And let’s not forget trading for Jabrill Peppers and Alec Ogletree. Signing Golden Tate (who was given a $37.5 million contract) and Markus Golden doesn’t offset all of those mistakes. Fingers are crossed that the Giants didn’t just blow two picks on Leonard Williams.

One of the reasons I bring this up is the Giants will have over $60 million in cap space in 2020. That sounds like a lot. And it is. But also keep in mind there will be other teams with even more cap space than the Giants, so competition for a few good players will be very intense and price tags could get ridiculous quickly. Two or three horrific Nate Solder-like contracts could screw the Giants for years. The Giants have to dramatically improve their ability evaluate pro personnel.

THE INJURY REPORT

  • WR Sterling Shepard (concussion)
  • CB Grant Haley (knee)
  • CB Corey Ballentine (concussion)

NEW YORK GIANTS ON OFFENSE

The focus remains the development of Daniel Jones. After a few rough games, he bounced back with his second 300-yard game of his young career and threw for four touchdowns. I keep saying it, but his progress won’t be linear. Expect ups and downs, especially this week as the New York Giants offensive line appears to be regressing and the Dallas Cowboys have one of the most formidable defensive front sevens in football.

Nate Solder has turned into a train wreck. In addition, the Giants once again misjudged their center position. Some of the offensive line breakdowns appear to be due to Jon Halapio not making the correct line calls. Will Hernandez has not taken the step forward that was anticipated and Kevin Zeitler may be playing hurt. Mike Remmers has been better than Chad Wheeler, but not by much. ONCE AGAIN, the Giants are going into an offseason desperate to find MULTIPLE new starters on the offensive line. It seems like the Giants just keep spinning their wheels here. I hope some of the back-ups see some time before the end of the season.

Three players to watch are Saquon Barkley, Sterling Shepard, and Darius Slayton. Barkley seems a bit out of it. Focus on the fundamentals (i.e., pass protection) and don’t try to make every play a highlight run. The big plays will come to him if he settles down. It will also be interesting to see if Shepard plays with more caution after suffering his second concussion this year. Will he be the same aggressive player catching balls over the middle and blocking for his teammates? Other than Jones, Slayton has been one of the few reasons to watch this year. But he needs to be more consistent and productive throughout the entire game in order to reach the next level.

NEW YORK GIANTS ON DEFENSE

The last time these two teams faced, the Cowboys scored 35 points in three quarters before calling off the dogs in the fourth quarter or Dallas may have scored 50 points. Dak Prescott only threw seven incompletions. Wide outs Michael Gallup, Amari Cooper, and Randall Cobb combined for 17 catches, 333 yards, and two touchdowns. And, ONCE AGAIN, Cowboys’ tight ends hurt the Giants, this time with another two touchdowns. The Giants couldn’t get any heat on Prescott. Deandre Baker, Antonio Hamilton, Grant Haley, the linebackers, and safeties were abused. And this was with Ezekiel Elliott coming off of holdout and not yet in game shape.

I keep hearing fans and media types saying that James Bettcher has nothing to work with. Yes, there are talent issues on this defense, but the Giants have also given Bettcher a lot of toys to play with, many of which, he undoubtedly lobbied for. They have spent a #1, #2, and #3 on the defensive line, and now have added former #1 Leonard Williams. The Giants also traded for two other #1 picks in Jabrill Peppers and Alec Ogletree. Lorenzo Carter and Oshane Ximines were both #3 picks. The Giants brought in former Cardinal “security blankets” Kareem Martin (now on IR), Deone Bucannon (another former #1), Olsen Pierre, Markus Golden (former #2), and Antoine Bethea. In the secondary, the Giants have two #1 picks starting (Peppers and Deandre Baker) and a former #2 pick who has been an All-Pro (Janoris Jenkins).

And yet this defense is once again near the bottom of the NFL. Enter Leonard Williams. All eyes will be on him.

NEW YORK GIANTS ON SPECIAL TEAMS

Aldrick Rosas has now missed an extra point and two of his six field goal attempts. Not good.

FROM THE COACH’S MOUTH

There may be a few more expletives from Coach Shurmur after this game is over.

THE FINAL WORD

The Cowboys have the NFL’s #1 offense and #8 defense. They have won 11 of the last 14 games against the Giants, and five straight against the Giants. The Giants are 3-6 in their last nine Monday night games. The Giants are a missed field goal away from being 1-7 and are officially vying with the Redskins, Dolphins, Falcons, Bengals, and Jets for worst team in the NFL.

Other than that, everything is peachy.

Game Review: Detroit Lions 31 – New York Giants 26

 Posted by
Oct 282019
 
Darius Slayton, New York Giants (October 27, 2019)

Darius Slayton – © USA TODAY Sports

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Detroit Lions 31 – New York Giants 26

QUICK RECAP

With the signs becoming more and more clear that the Giants 2019 season is a one-way street to the cellar yet again, Big Blue traveled to middle-of-the-pack Detroit just days after the Lions traded away their second best defensive back while also missing their top defensive back and starting running back. After an embarrassing loss at home against the Cardinals, NYG had to set the tone early and prove they were past it. Prove they are better than they were in 2018. Prove they are on the way up. All of that against a 2-3-1 team.

The Giants got the initial momentum with a Janoris Jenkins’ interception, his fourth of the year, from the volatile Matthew Stafford. However, as we have grown accustomed to, NYG turned it over just three plays later. The league-leader in turnovers, NYG has made this a habit we are all too familiar with. Jones was hit by an untouched blitzer who came directly up the middle, a major no-no for offensive line play, and the ball traveled backward out of his hand even though he was in a clear throwing position. Saquon Barkley didn’t seem to match the urgency going after the loose ball that former Giant Devon Kennard had. The result was a scoop-and-score for DET as the home team went up 7-0 early.

After a NYG 3-and-out, DET got the ball back and on a 3rd-and-15 from midfield, Stafford went deep to emerging big play threat Marvin Hall for a 49-yard touchdown as he got behind safety Michael Thomas. And just like that, NYG was losing by double digits in the first half for the fourth straight week and 7th time in 8 weeks.

As Daniel Jones has already proven multiple times, he was able to get this team back on track and stay unrattled. They opened the second quarter with a touchdown scoring drive, capped by a Jones-to-Darius Slayton pass. DET kicker Matt Prater missed a 53-yard attempt on the ensuing drive, giving NYG prime field position, and Jones once again connected with Slayton for the second score in as many drives. Kicker Aldrick Rosas missed the extra point, however, making the score 14-13 DET, but the momentum had clearly shifted.

The refs clearly hurt NYG with a poor call on the next drive. They forced a DET punt but David Mayo was flagged for running into the kicker. By running into the kicker, they actually meant he grazed the punter’s shoelace and thanks to an NBA-caliber flop job, the flag was thrown and DET had the ball back with a fresh set of downs at midfield. DET was able to move the ball up enough to give Prater another shot, this time from 52 yards, which he made to give DET a 17-13 halftime lead.

DET came out and scored on their opening drive in the second half. It was a 10-play drive that ended with a pass from Stafford to Kenny Golladay, one of the emerging young stars in the league. NYG was down 24-13 and if they were going to prove they had some fight, it had to be on this drive. NYG was aided by two DET penalties, one of which was on a failed 3rd-down conversion attempt that led to a Jones-to-Engram 2-yard pass for 6. With a 3-and-out forced on the next DET drive, NYG had their first real shot at taking the lead as the third quarter was closing out.

On 1st-and-10 from midfield, Jones hit Golden Tate for a 14-yard gain on a flea flicker. NYG was starting to step on the throat of DET, but the play was called back as Nate Solder, the second highest paid offensive tackle in football, was flagged for a hold. Instead of 1st-and-10 from the DET 38, it was 1st-and-20 from the NYG 38. The Giants punted three plays later.

DET took their shot at their own flea flicker/double pass-type trick play; they were able to convert it into a 41-yard touchdown. No holding on the left tackle, either. DET took a commanding 31-19 lead but there were still 12 minutes left in the game.

After a back-and-forth drive that included two sacks allowed by the second highest paid offensive tackle in football, NYG did cross into DET territory and were faced with a 4th-and-6 situation. Being down 12, they had to go for it because a long field goal would have still kept it a 2-score game. Jones was bombarded by a 7-man pass rush and threw an incomplete pass to Tate.

The defense remained stout as DET had issues getting a first down to keep the clock moving, but the Giants kept coming up short when it mattered most. Jones took two straight shots into the end zone to his man Slayton, neither of which was converted. Slayton was interfered with on the first attempt and even though the pass interference challenges almost never work, I thought it was puzzling why Pat Shurmur didn’t throw the red flag. That was a crucial play and not using the challenge was a poor decision.

NYG did get the ball back one more time, and thanks to a 25-yard pass interference penalty, they were able to get into the red zone. Jones connected with Barkley for a 4-yard touchdown, Jones’ fourth of the day. NYG got to within 5 but a failed onside-kick attempt led to a couple Stafford kneel-downs.

NYG lose 31-26.

QUARTERBACK

-Daniel Jones: 28/41 – 322 yards – 4 TD / 0 INT – 124.2 QBR. Jones also added 13 yards on the ground. He fumbled the ball twice, both on hits that occurred as he was throwing, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Jones has ball security issues to clean up but neither of these fumbles can be put on him, as they weren’t an issue of holding onto the ball during and after contact. Jones kept NYG in this one with several throws into tight windows. His confidence is growing every week and he is proving to be a guy who plays with no fear. He dealt with a dirty pocket most of the game and after seeing someone like Sam Darnold completely alter his approach because of pressure, it is an encouraging sign to see Jones playing with toughness in the face of adversity so often.

RUNNING BACK

-Saquon Barkley: 19 att / 64 yards – 8 rec / 79 yards / 1 TD. Barkley was just an inch away from breaking off a big play on two occasions. Even with that, Barkley gained 143 yards from scrimmage, which is above his career average. Looking at the numbers, it was a productive day. However after re-watching the game, I came away saying Barkley left some out on the field. His blocking was atrocious on two straight plays where he allowed a pressure and then a sack. There seems to be a lot of hesitation in his game right now, perhaps he isn’t fully mentally back from the ankle injury. He gets a pass because he did gut out some tough runs in the second half but as the guy this team is going to build around, he needs to, at least, make more impact without the ball as a blocker.

-Wayne Gallman, on the other hand, quietly had a solid game in limited snaps. He had a 20-yard run on a 3rd-and-26 play that put NYG in position to convert a 4th own late (which they failed). But his biggest impact came as a blocker. He really stuck his nose in there on a couple of occasions that enabled big gains.

WIDE RECEIVER

-Golden Tate: 8 rec / 85 yards. Really gutsy performance by Tate. He has turned into quite the 3rd-down weapon for Jones. He is playing tough and hard nosed as he approaches the ball and after the catch.

-It looked like it would be a big day for rookie Darius Slayton, as he caught 2 touchdowns in the second quarter on consecutive drives. Both catches were great adjustments to the ball with a corner draped all over him. Those ended up being his only 2 catches of the day, however, and he dropped an easy catch later on. Slayton also allowed a TFL and did not block well overall.

-Cody Latimer had 2 rec / 28 yards and Bennie Fowler brought in 2 rec / 21 yards. Latimer is a guy I wish got more looks because it seems he can make big-time catches in traffic when given the opportunity. He had a really nice one-handed catch in this one. Fowler was flagged for an offensive pass interference but also came up with a clutch catch.

TIGHT END

-Evan Engram: 4 rec / 40 yards / 1 TD. Not a bad day for the inconsistent, but high-ceiling Engram. He continues to flash the elite ability we know he has on all fronts as a pass catcher. Quickness, explosion after the catch, route running…etc. However his blocking received a really poor grade in this one. Many will point to the middle of the offensive line when trying to figure out why NYG had so much trouble inside, but the Engram had a really hard time sealing the edge. He allowed a TFL, and on a few occasions got squeezed to the middle which gave Barkley no wiggle room when the lanes were clogged. Really poor day in the trenches for him.

OFFENSIVE LINE

-The ugly gets uglier for Nate Solder. He completely fell apart in the second half and it had a major impact on this team’s comeback effort. It is now at the point where this offense may need to alter its approach and shift constant help in his direction. He allowed 2 sacks and 1 pressure and was flagged for a big holding penalty. His balance and footwork are very poor right now and good pass rushers eat that up with ease.

-Mike Remmers graded out average, which is better than what we have seen lately. He allowed 1 pressure but had a couple of key blocks in the running game.

-The interior got pushed around all game, as NYG just couldn’t get the inside running game going. They also were schooled by delayed inside blitzes. You are NEVER supposed to see an untouched linebacker up the middle on passing plays and it happened multiple times. Jon Halapio allowed a pressure and a TFL. In addition, any communication issues need to come back to him. Kevin Zeitler and Will Hernandez were good in pass protection for the most part, but they got minimal-to-no push in the running game.

EDGE

-Lorenzo Carter and Markus Golden both registered a sack and two TFLs, respectively. They combined for 9 tackles and both are emerging as consistent, reliable, yet limited threats. Golden has a lot of “gamer” in him, finding the ball often and making impact on contact. Carter is still very much a work in progress that gets stifled and rendered ineffective too easily, too often, but his talent is making things happen on occasion nearly every week.

-Really quiet day for Oshane Ximines, who has been struggling these past 2 weeks. We have known this for awhile – the lack of power and strength is an issue and this offseason will be huge for him.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

-Overall the trio of B.J. Hill, Dexter Lawrence, and Dalvin Tomlinson held the point-of-attack well. They were up against a group of backup running backs as DET tries to get past the injury of Kerryon Johnson. Tomlinson was the highlight of the group, finishing with 3 tackles, 1 sack, and 2 TFLs. The interior of the DET offensive line has struggled this year but their center, Frank Ragnow, is a quality player. Tomlinson schooled him with quickness and effective arm-over techniques a few times.

LINEBACKER

-Alec Ogletree had 5 tackles and made solid physical impact on a few occasions. Most importantly, he played 100% of the snaps and the play of the front seven was better because of it. A healthy Ogletree may be limited in some fashion still, but I think we got a reminder just how much better he is than the replacement players we had behind him.

-The debut of the newly-signed Deone Buccanon was lackluster. He was on the field for just 11 plays and he finished with a tackle and a missed tackle.

CORNERBACK

-Janoris Jenkins brought in his NFC-leading 4th interception of the season on the opening DET drive. The Lions avoided him much of the day afterwards, and it led to a really quiet day by Marvin Jones.

-Deandre Baker continues to impress, which is obviously stemming from an increase in confidence which is making him faster and more balanced. He was tested deep a couple of times and he stayed right on his man. While he did allow a touchdown to Kenny Golladay, he actually got a hand on that ball and I can’t fault him for it. He had really tight coverage on the route. Baker finished with a team-high 8 tackles.

-Grant Haley, a week after he made the “stud” list, was up and down in this one. He was picked on early as DET targeted him multiple times on third down and succeeded. He did remain active though and made a couple of nice tackles in space. Haley also had a sack.

SAFETY

-The big passing day for Stafford was largely a result of all three safeties getting torched downfield. All three were responsible for long touchdowns and all three had missed tackles on the day. Poor game for Antoine Bethea, Jabrill Peppers, and Michael Thomas. The one positive was a forced fumble by Peppers and recovered by Bethea, however. So those two did save face to an extent.

SPECIAL TEAMS

-K Aldrick Rosas: No FG attempts. Missed 1 out of 4 extra point attempts.

-P Riley Dixon: 3 punts / 45.0 avg / 43.7 net

3 STUDS

-QB Daniel Jones, DT Dalvin Tomlinson, CB Janoris Jenkins

3 DUDS

-OT Nate Solder, OC Jon Halapio, S Antoine Bethea

3 THOUGHTS ON DET

  1. During the game and during the re-watch I came away with the same thought on DET receiver Kenny Golladay. This kid is heading towards superstardom. At 6’4+ / 220+ with good speed and ball skills that are approach the elite level, he may be the next uncoverable target in the Mike Evans mold. He came from a lower level of college football, thus it took some extra time to initially develop but he is in the midst of becoming the league’s next big thing.
  1. There is often debate with Pro Football Focus and their grading system. For the most part, fans use their grades as proof when it supports their opinion and they think it is useless when it goes against their opinion. I lean towards the latter, as there is too much missing information when they grade players. I do use them for snap counts and other objective information, though. I bring this up because they have been very hard on DET linebacker Jarrad Davis. I have seen DET 4 times this year and I think he is a top 10 ILB in this league, at worst. He was a wrecking crew in this game on multiple fronts.
  1. How close is DET to contention? They have the QB. They have the CB. They have an above average OL. They have a balanced and deep pass rushing attack. They have a budding superstar at WR. There are a lot of pieces in place but I think they need more dependability at running back which has been a sore spot for years (yes RBs are important) and another piece or 2 along the interior of the offensive line.

3 CLOSING THOUGHTS

  1. The trade winds are in full force now. NYG is 2-6 and all but out of this divisional race. As I type this, NYG is acquiring DT Leonard Williams for an 8-week rental to see if he fits the system and is worthy of being signed to a long-term deal. If not, they will get a compensatory pick back for him in 2021, which somewhat offsets the early 3rd they are sending to NYJ and a day three pick in 2021. Next up? I think a team will come in and offer a 3rd-round pick for Janoris Jenkins, leaving NYG with the same volume of picks they entered the week with.
  1. Of all the scouting I do weekly, and knowing I watch 8-9 NFL games each week, there is something I am beginning to notice with Saquon Barkley. He tries really hard to avoid contact and there are times that I think he does this too much. He isn’t a soft player, although it looks like the fear of injury combined with the desire for the big play, hurts his inside running at times. Rarely do you see him shoot out of a cannon and make a quick decision to drive himself into a hole and gain the extra yard or two. He doesn’t fall forward like Ezekiel Elliot does and I think it holds this offense back a tad.
  1. What to do at left tackle? I disagree with the notion that Nate Solder may be traded. I can’t see it happening because he stinks and he is really expensive. How many teams would he actually help ? Not many, especially not the teams that are winning and aiming for a playoff spot. I’m not opposed to making a change and giving one of their young guys a shot. Both Chad Slade and Nick Gates did impress during preseason and while I know they may be slight drop offs from Solder’s current level of play, it wouldn’t be much. And then there is the possibility they could actually be better, don’t forget that.

Detroit Lions 31 – New York Giants 26

 Posted by
Oct 272019
 
Daniel Jones, New York Giants (October 27, 2019)

Daniel Jones – © USA TODAY Sports

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DETROIT LIONS 31 – NEW YORK GIANTS 26…
The New York Giants lost their fourth game in a row, falling to 2-6 on the season, with their 31-26 loss to the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan on Sunday. On the plus side for the Giants, rookie quarterback Daniel Jones had a strong performance, throwing for 322 yards and four touchdowns.

The game started off in sloppy fashion. New York’s initial drive ended with a punt. The Lions responded by gaining 47 yards and moving to the Giants’ 40-yard line before cornerback Janoris Jenkins picked off an errant deep throw from quarterback Matthew Stafford. However, three plays later, Jones was hit as he attempted a throw to the flat to running back Saquon Barkley. The errant pass was ruled a lateral and returned for a touchdown by former Giants linebacker Devon Kennard.

After a three-and-out on New York’s third “drive,” the Lions appeared to take command of the game by driving 71 yards in six plays, culminating with a 49-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open wide receiver Marvin Hall. Detroit now led 14-0.

The Giants got back into the game early in the second quarter on their fourth possession with a 10-play, 88-yard drive that ended with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Jones to rookie wide receiver Darius Slayton. After the Lions missed a 53-yard field goal, the Giants tightened the game even further with an 8-play, 57-yard effort that finished with another touchdown pass from Jones to Slayton, this one from 28 yards out on 3rd-and-7. However, place kicker Aldrick Rosas missed the extra point and the Giants trailed 14-13.

Unfortunately for New York, the Lions were able to extend their lead before halftime. After it had appeared the Giants had stopped Detroit near midfield, linebacker David Mayo was flagged with a bogus running-into-the-kicker penalty on 4th-and-4. This kept alive a 14-play, 41-yard drive that ended with a 52-yard field goal with 20 seconds left. The Giants returned the ensuing kickoff 30 yards and might have had a shot at a long field goal, but Slayton dropped a deep pass from Jones.

At the half, the Lions led 17-13.

The Lions once again appeared to take command of the game on their initial possession of the second half, driving 75 yards in 10 plays with Stafford throwing a 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Kenny Golladay. Lions 24 – Giants 13.

To New York’s credit, the team responsed with a 10-play, 78-yard effort of their own, with Jones throwing his third touchdown of the day, this one for two yards to tight end Evan Engram on 3rd-and-goal. However, the 2-point conversion failed. Lions 24 – Giants 19.

The Giants’ defense forced their first three-and-out of the day on Detroit’s second drive of the half. The Giants could not take advantage of the opportunity and punted the ball away as well. The Lions made the Giants pay by easily driving 80 yards in five plays, scoring on a 41-yard flea flicker from Stafford to Golladay. With just over 12 minutes to play, the Lions now led 31-19.

The Giants gained 52 yards in 11 plays on the ensuing drive but turned the ball over on downs at the Detroit 39-yard line with 6:25 left in the game. New York received a faint glimmer of hope when safety Jabrill Peppers forced Golladay to fumble, with safety Antoine Bethea recovering at the Detroit 38-yard line. However, the Giants once gain turned the ball over on downs, this time at the Detroit 14-yard line with 3:27 left to play.

After a three-and-out by the Lions, the Giants made things a little bit interesting by driving 50 yards in four plays with Jones throwing his fourth touchdown of the game, this one a 4-yarder to running back Saquon Barkley. With just over a minute left to play, the Giants onside attempt went out of bounds, effectively ending the game.

Offensively, the Giants gained 24 first downs and 370 net yards. Jones finished 28-of-41 for 322 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions, and a 124.2 quarterback rating. His leading targets were wide receiver Golden Tate (8 catches for 85 yards) and Barkley (8 catches for 79 yards). Barkley only rushed for 64 yards on 19 carries.

Defensively, the Giants allowed 17 first downs and 375 net yards, 316 of which came through the air. The Lions were 8-of-14 (57 percent) on 3rd-down conversions. The Giants did sack Stafford four times, with cornerback Grant Haley, linebacker Markus Golden, linebacker Lorenzo Carter, and defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson all picking up sacks. The Giants forced two turnovers, the interception by Jenkins and the forced fumble by Peppers.

Video highlights are available at Giants.com.

INACTIVES AND INJURY REPORT…
WR Sterling Shepard (concussion), CB Corey Ballentine (concussion), QB Alex Tanney, OT Eric Smith, OT/OG Chad Slade, LB Tae Davis, and LB Devante Downs were inactive.

POST-GAME REACTION…
Video clips of post-game media sessions with Head Coach Pat Shurmur and the following players are available at Giants.com:

  • Head Coach Pat Shurmur (Video)
  • QB Daniel Jones (Video)
  • WR Golden Tate (Video)
  • CB Janoris Jenkins (Video)
  • CB Deandre Baker (Video)
  • S Jabrill Peppers (Video)
  • S Antoine Bethea (Video)

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
Head Coach Pat Shurmur and select players will address the media on Monday. The players are off on Tuesday and return to practice on Wednesday.

Preview: New York Giants at Detroit Lions, October 27, 2019

 Posted by
Oct 252019
 
New York Giants Fans (October 20, 2019)

No Joy in Gotham – © USA TODAY Sports

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Game Preview: New York Giants at Detroit Lions, October 27, 2019

THE STORYLINE

I miss the old days where BBI game previews used to be about Xs and Os and match-ups against the opponent. Instead, for years now, the previews have become a status report on the current messy state of the once-proud franchise that only a few short years ago had won their eighth NFL Championship. At that time, it looked like Tom Coughlin was ensconced for life as the team’s head coach and Eli Manning was halfway through a sure-fire Hall of Fame career and destined for more post-season glory.

Fast forward to 2019 and the Giants are now back near the 1960s-1970s nadir of the franchise, with a 40-63 record since 2013 and a 10-29 record since 2017. Let me say that again, the Giants have won 10 games in three years.

On paper, the Giants may have two important parts: (1) a potential franchise quarterback and (2) an impact player at running back. However, after a fast start and despite continued flashes of brilliance, Daniel Jones has become a turnover machine. It remains to be seen if he can clean that up. And as we approach the midway point, Saquon Barkley is having a sophomore season to forget.

Two regimes now can’t seem to fix what has been holding this team back: (1) atrocious offensive line play, (2) atrocious defense, and (3) subpar coaching.

With respect to the latter, I wrote last week:

Brewing in the background is growing fan discontent with Pat Shurmur, who continues to make questionable in-game decisions. While it is difficult to see the Giants parting ways with their third coach in five years, especially given his “quarterback whisperer” relationship with Daniel Jones, the franchise must decide if Shurmur is capable of becoming a winning head coach. This is a big game for Pat Shurmur too.

Against an Arizona Cardinals team that had been the NFL’s worst team in 2018 and facing a must-win situation, Shurmur’s 2019 New York Giants were not ready to play, sleep walking through the 1st quarter and quickly finding themselves in a 17-0 hole that they could not recover from. In addition, once again, Shurmur made questionable game-management decisions. His offense only scored 14 points against one of the NFL’s worst defenses. And his defensive coordinator continues to look overmatched, as some no-name back-up running back did what Saquon Barkley should be doing to opposing teams.

I hate being a debbie downer. It sucks. But this team sucks. They have a coaching problem. But barring a complete collapse with multiple blowout losses, it’s pretty easy to predict what will happen this offseason. John Mara will use 2006 as a guide. Like he did with Tom Coughlin, he will force coaching changes on Shurmur, and possibly also take away his play-calling responsibilities. Mara will hope that lightening strikes twice. Coughlin looked like dead man walking after 2006 and turned it around with two Super Bowl wins. I was wrong about Coughlin back in 2006 and I could be wrong about Shurmur now. But I don’t think so. By the end of 2006, Coughlin was a .528 coach whose teams had made the playoffs six times. Shurmur’s .304 winning percentage is below that of Ray Handley and Ben McAdoo. A Shurmur-led team has yet to win more than five games in a season.

The Giants don’t have the luxury of time. I hope a year from now I am not writing the same type of game preview. I said it before and I’ll say it again, welcome to year 8 of the team’s 20-year rebuilding program.

THE INJURY REPORT

  • RB Saquon Barkley (ankle)
  • WR Sterling Shepard (concussion – out)
  • WR Cody Latimer (quad)
  • LB Lorenzo Carter (ankle)
  • CB Corey Ballentine (concussion – out)

NEW YORK GIANTS ON OFFENSE

Last week, I wrote “…as long as the offensive line does a reasonable job, Jones should be able to do some damage against the Arizona Cardinals’ 30th-ranked defense. This will be a nice change for the Giants’ offense after facing the Cowboys (9th), Bills (3rd), Vikings (5th), and Patriots (1st).”

The result? The Giants offense scored 14 points as Daniel Jones was sacked eight times. Against the Arizona Cardinals!

Once again, the offensive line is playing like dog shit. They can’t pass block. They can’t run block. It’s worse than the band-aid line that finished the 2018 season. The Giants should bench both starting tackles and start playing the young guys. Yeah, they may do worse. But Nate Solder and Mike Remmers are not the answer. It’s time to move on.

Daniel Jones continues to make enough “wow” throws to cause fans to be hopeful. However, while interceptions for a rookie quarterback are understandable, the fumbles are getting ridiculous. In five starts, he has six fumbles, losing five. In all, Jones has turned the ball over 12 times (7 interceptions, 5 fumbles), the chief reason why the Giants are leading the league in give-a-ways with 18. You can’t win like that.

Barkley’s 2019 season has been sabotaged by a high-ankle sprain. But I’m not convinced that Pat Shurmur and Mike Shula know how to use him properly either, especially in the passing game.

Tight end Evan Engram remains inconsistent, one week looking like an All-Pro, the next week being invisible and dropping passes.

Sterling Shepard, in the first year of his current 4-year, $41 million contract, is having yet another season to forget. He’s never accrued more than 900 yards in his four NFL seasons. Cody Latimer has 10 catches.

The Lions have the NFL’s 31st-ranked defense. So what? Arizona had the NFL’s 30th-ranked defense. Expect more misery.

NEW YORK GIANTS ON DEFENSE

Some guy named Chase Edmonds ran for 126 yards and three touchdowns against the New York Giants last Sunday. So in addition to New York’s superlative pass coverage (sarcasm off), the Giants are now making no-name back-ups household names in the running game.

The Giants can’t stop the run. They can’t stop the pass. And they have only forced eight turnovers all year.

Management keeps importing Arizona Cardinal defenders for James Bettcher. At some point, you have to come to the conclusion that the guy isn’t a very good coach.

The Lions have the NFL’s sixth-ranked passing offense. Expect more misery.

NEW YORK GIANTS ON SPECIAL TEAMS

For the past two seasons, the best part of this team has been the special teams unit. Thomas McGaughey is the best coach on the staff.

FROM THE COACH’S MOUTH

Meh. I’ve started to tune this guy out. The media is starting to get under Pat Shurmur’s skin. Look for him to lose his cool soon.

THE FINAL WORD

One of the most important predictors of team success – perhaps the most important – is turnover differential. The Giants are second-worst in the NFL with a -10 turnover differential. Only the Miami Dolphins are worse at -11.

The Detroit Lions are 2-3-1, the same record as the Cardinals last week. Teams get well playing the New York Giants. Expect more misery.

Game Review: Arizona Cardinals 27 – New York Giants 21

 Posted by
Oct 212019
 

Michael Thomas, New York Giants (October 20, 2019)

Michael Thomas – © USA TODAY Sports

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Arizona Cardinals 27 – New York Giants 21

QUICK RECAP

Coming off of extra rest, coming back home, up against a rookie quarterback without his best skill position player behind him, up against a rookie head coach, up against a west coast team on a cool and rainy day. All of this with their star running back Saquon Barkley back from injury a few weeks earlier than originally projected, NYG was a near-4 point favorite against the 2-3-1 Arizona Cardinals.

As previously stated, the rain was coming down early and it remained at a steady pace for the entire game with short spurts of intensity. Any hope of this weather actually impacting Kyler Murray and the Cardinals went out the window right away. Before we could blink, it was 14-0. They scored on the opening drive via a 20-yard run by Chase Edmonds, and after a Daniel Jones interception, it took just three plays to get another 7 on the board via another 20-yard touchdown run by Edmonds. If you are wondering who Chase Edmonds is, don’t mistake him for Emmitt Smith based on this game. He is a second-year back from Fordham who, in the 24 games prior to this one, had 369 on 84 carries with 1 touchdown.

The second quarter began with ARI closing out their third drive, which can also be termed as their third scoring drive as Zane Gonzalez nailed a 47-yarder through the uprights. It was 17-0 and Jones hadn’t yet completed a pass beyond the line of scrimmage. If NYG was going to bounce back after a horrific start, it had to start at this moment, and it did.

Jones led a drive that consisted of a 20-yard run by Barkley and a 20-yard completion to Golden Tate. He lofted a ball downfield toward the end zone perfectly between layers of the defense and right into the bread basket of tight end Rhett Ellison who barreled over ARI safety Budda Baker for NYG’s first touchdown. As bad as the start to the game was, at least it was early and NYG finally showed a pulse. That pulse strengthened on the next ARI possession, as Michael Thomas blocked a punt that landed in the end zone with Elijhaa Penny landing on it just inches away from the boundary It was a special teams touchdown, exactly what NYG needed to formally get this team back in the game and within one score.

After forcing an ARI punt on the ensuing drive, NYG got the ball back on their own 20 with just under 6 minutes left in the second quarter. They were due to start the second half with the ball, so this was the opportunity to squeeze as they already had their hand on the throat of ARI. They inched their way up the field and actually got as far as the ARI 31. It was 2nd-and-4, well within Aldrick Rosas’ field goal range but the next two plays were a harsh but very real reminder that this team quite simply stinks. Barkley ran laterally and couldn’t find a lane, so he opted to run backwards and take a 6-yard loss. This was after he already turned a 2-yard loss in to an 8-yard loss earlier in the game. 2nd-and-4 became 3rd-and-10 from the ARI 37-yard line. NYG just needed a few yards to put them back in to field goal range. On an incomplete pass to Tate, right tackle Mike Remmers was flagged foe a holding penalty. It was now 3rd-and-20 from the 47. NYG ended up punting and went in to the half down 3.

NYG and ARI traded 3 and outs to begin the 3rd quarter. On the second Giants’ drive, they once again were approaching field goal territory. On a screen play design, Barkley was a bit late getting to his spot as the pass catcher and Daniel Jones held onto the ball for a hair too long, as Chandler Jones easily beat Evan Engram for the sack, jarring the ball loose which ARI recovered it. It seemed like the game was on repeat at this point, as Edmonds scored his third touchdown of the afternoon on the third play of the drive via a 22-yard run. ARI scored their second touchdown off a NYG turnover and the score was 24-14.

NYG continued to show they both still had some fight and they were able to move the ball on offense at this point. Once again they marched in to ARI territory. On a drive that consisted of a 15-yard gain on an unnecessary roughness penalty by ARI and a gutsy 4th-down catch and throw from Jones to Tate, NYG lined up for a 37-yard field goal to make it a one score game again. The ball came off right and it end up hitting the goal post, no good. NYG was still down by 10 as the 4th quarter approached.

After a stop, NYG put together their best drive of the day. It was 8 plays long with gains of 10-11-20-6-13-6-9-7, with the final play being a touchdown run by Barkley. NYG came up with yet another stop as Kyler Murray was making multiple rookie mistakes and the ARI offensive line began to falter. NYG had the ball back with over 4 minutes, down 3. On a day where they played awful on both sides of the ball, they had a real chance and were in the middle of a 21-7 run after their horrendous first quarter.

On the most important drive of the game, NYG lasted 5 plays and it consisted of 2 sacks and a lost fumble. NYG was faced with a 3rd-and-18 situation, and Pat Shurmur, who has been rightfully questioned for game management this season, opted for a draw that gained a few yards. NYG had the ball on the NYG 33, 4th-and-15. He stated he knew he was going for it on 4th down no matter what, which makes the draw play-call seem highly odd. On that 4th-and-15, NYG turned it over yet again and ARI turned it into 3 more points, making it 27-21.

NYG had the ball back, without any timeouts, starting at the NYG 12 yard line. The drive was 6 plays long and Jones was sacked twice and pressured twice. The ARI defense finished with 8 sacks on the afternoon, after averaging just over 2 sacks per game heading in to the contest.

ARI wins, 27-21.

QUARTERBACK

-Daniel Jones: 22/35 – 223 yards – 1 TD/1 INT – 78.6 QBR. Jones also added 35 yards on the ground but he did fumble 3 times, 2 of which resulted in turnovers. That is where we need to start with him, as turnovers can kill a QB and we can officially call this a legitimate problem for Jones, as some of you got upset with me calling this out in preseason. Jones isn’t holding onto the ball with two hands often enough and as I said a couple months ago, NFL defenders will know that and they WILL exploit it. As a passer, Jones often had his first read taken away and he had a hard time progressing elsewhere. Combine that with poor OL play and a rather limited WR group, it just ended up being the perfect storm. Jones made a couple of gutsy, high-level passes in this one but don’t let it overshadow that he played poorly. Rookie growing pains, we call them. And hopefully they are just that, only that.

RUNNING BACK

-Saquon Barkley: 18 att – 72 yards – 1 TD / 3 rec – 8 yards. It was Barkley’s first game back after missing 3+ games with an ankle injury suffered September 22. He seemed hesitant at first but he did rattle off a gain of 20 yard and also had a gain of 32 yards called back because of a hold. His speed was still there, but maybe the cutting was slightly hesitant. Barkley had a loss of 8 on a short pass and a loss of 6 on a short run. He needs to stop running backwards, period. Sure it may work out once every ten tries and NYG has themselves a highlight-reel run, but those two plays hurt the offense. Sometimes the mission isn’t to simply miss tacklers, it is t simply fall forward and take the gains ARI gives. Barkley also allowed a sack and may have been responsible for another, but it was hard to tell based on watching the all-22. I think we will see a really fired up and motivated and confident Barkley next week in Detroit now that he knows his ankle can handle it.

WIDE RECEIVER

-Sterling Shepard was out again with a concussion, thus Golden Tate took over the primary receiver job and, after a poor effort on a early pass over the middle, played outstanding. Tate made several “tough-guy” catches in traffic in key moments. He had 6 rec / 60 yards, with each one going for a first down including two on third down and one on fourth down. He was clutch and tough.

-This is where a lack of consistency and big play ability hurt NYG. Cody Latimer, Bennie Fowler, and Darius Slayton did combine for 10 receptions but it was only for 96 yards, under 10 yards per. Fowler added a drop.

TIGHT END

-It was a day to forget for Evan Engram. He was targeted 5 times but walked away with just 1 catch for 6 yards while dropping 2 balls. The rain may have been a precursor of what was to come but it didn’t seem to impact that many plays throughout the game. Engram has been among the league’s leaders in drops since he began his career on a per-game basis and if he is ever going to reach the ceiling we know he has, those need to stop. He also allowed a TFL and a sack.

-Rhett Ellison of all people came up with the biggest play of the game, a 28-yard touchdown catch. His blocking was above average in this one, but he did allow a TFL and a pressure. He made some key blocks later on, however, on big plays including the Barkley touchdown.

OFFENSIVE LINE

-Before I get into these guys individually, I have to say this group has been a woeful disappointment as a whole. It is the best group we’ve had up front in a few years, but that isn’t saying much and I still the line stinks. I can’t really think of another way to put it. It all starts outside.

-Nate Solder is proving he wasn’t, he isn’t, and he won’t be the answer at left tackle. The contract is monstrous and I have to believe he is here for at least another season and that is a tough one to swallow. He allowed 2 sacks (the first of which was more on Jones), 2 pressures, 1 TFL, and was called for a hold. Can we have one, just one game where he makes it all four quarters without a negative play? Mike Remmers was actually a bit worse if you can believe it. It’s great Greg Olsen thinks he was a good teammate in 2015 and all, but this guy is only playing because there is nothing on the roster behind him. Again. Remmers allowed a season-high for all OL on this team, 3 sacks along with 3 pressures and was called for a hold on a 32-yard Barkley run that would have put NYG close to the end zone. This was a Bobby Hart-caliber game from the guy Dave Gettleman and Pat Shurmur just had to have.

-The play inside wasn’t much better, but they had better moments here and there. Will Hernandez and Jon Halapio both allowed a pressure and Hernandez was flagged for a hold. Kevin Zeitler was off the radar in this one, earning the highest OL grade on the team for the 5th time in 7 weeks.

EDGE

–Markus Golden and Lorenzo Carter both had pretty active days against the lackluster ARI tackles. Also keep in mind that ARI only threw the ball 21 times plus the 6 passing plays that resulted in a Murray scramble. There weren’t a ton of looks for these guys when it came to traditional passing but they still impacted the game. Carter had 3 tackles and 2 pressures along with a pass break up. He did get flagged for a personal foul as he dove on top of Murray who was giving himself up – dumb penalty that led to an ARI touchdown. He also had a hard time defending the run. Golden added 2 pressures and 5 tackles, but also missed 2 tackles, one of which was on a play that ARI scored a touchdown on.

-When looking, and re-looking at the ARI touchdown runs, a few things went wrong for NYG obviously but the play of Oshane Ximines stands out the most. He was obliterated at the point-of-attack twice, just completely washed out and he didn’t have the power to either get off of the block or anchor his position. He had 1 pressure in this one.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

-If there is a quiet concern I have that I don’t see anyone else talking about, it is the defensive line and their lack of ability to create. It can be hard to measure the quality of B.J. Hill, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Dexter Lawrence because a lot of their value is dirty work, stuff you don’t see in box scores. But these guys, against a below average offensive line, played terrible as a group yesterday. The lateral movement wasn’t there and they weren’t getting off of blocks. Too many gaping holes and that wasn’t just on them, but part of the blame goes there.

-I found interesting that B.J. Hill and Olsen Pierre basically split snaps with each other. Was that an indictment on Hill? Was it more based on this week’s game plan and match-ups? Hill has been better than his numbers suggest but Pierre did have an active game. He was twitchy and around the action often, finishing with one of NYG’s 2 sacks. Certainly something to keep an eye on moving forward.

LINEBACKER

-Alec Ogletee was the lone bright spot of the group, finishing with 8 tackles / 1 TFL. He was the one guy on this entire defense who was playing a physical brand, knocking back blockers and actually making an impact on tackles. He was around the ball often and didn’t have any misses.

-David Mayo was credited with a sack on a group effort and also had a pass break up. Beyond that, I was disappointed with his play. He was slow to fill lanes and it resulted in two of Edmonds’ three touchdowns. The hesitation and lack of quick speed in his game was a perfect match for what ARI was trying to do on offense. He was a target in zone coverage as well.

CORNERBACK

-Grant Haley has been on the wrong side of these evaluations all season but I have to tip my cap here, he played his butt off. He made several plays behind the line of scrimmage that, had he not, would have resulted in big plays. He finished with 7 tackles and 1 TFL in addition to forcing action three other times that led to TFL or no-gain plays.

-Deandre Baker had 4 tackles and a deep pass break up. He seems more confident in his reads and assignments, but I’m not so sure he is going to be a productive run defender. He clearly chose not to fill a gap on two occasions and while I understand a lot of corners do that in today’s NFL, I still hate to see it.

-Janoris Jenkins wasn’t challenged much but the one time he was, he got flagged for a downfield pass interference. The flag was challenged by Shurmur and even though the call was upheld, I don’t think it was a penalty.

SAFETY

-Don’t be fooled by the box score, as Antoine Bethea and Jabrill Peppers combined for 17 tackles / 1 TFL / 1 PD. Both played poorly with an extra spotlight on Bethea, who keeps taking poor angles to the action and his lack of speed makes it impossible for him to make up for it. Peppers was a victim of others getting washed out directly into his path a few times, but he too missed a couple tackles and was beat on 3rd down a couple times. Very poor game for these guys.

-Michael Thomas had a productive game, recording 4 tackles, 1 TFL, and a blocked punt that resulted in a touchdown for NYG.

SPECIAL TEAMS

-K Aldrick Rosas: 0/1 (Missed 37)

-P Riley Dixon: 3 punts / 37.3 avg – 36.3 net

-Golden Tate and Darius Slayton handled return duties.

3 STUDS

-WR Golden Tate, CB Grant Haley, LB Alec Ogletree

3 DUDS

-OT Mike Remmers, TE Evan Engram, S Antoine Bethea

3 THOUGHTS ON ARI

  1. Put me in the group that didn’t think it would work for Kingsbury in the NFL. But after 7 games, I have to give him a lot of credit here especially considering they went winless over the first 4 weeks. Now I won’t crown them in any regard just yet, as the combined record of the three teams that beat are 3-18 but I do think they are out of the basement in the league. Kingsbury is a creative mind and isn’t afraid to improvise to keep the defense guessing. He has made adjustments each week and even though not all have worked out, one can easily note the difference between an offensive mind that can be a hybrid rather than one that has a hard time changing.
  1. In regard to Kyler Murray, I have seen 5 of his games this year and I am not yet convinced it is going to work out for him. He has a hard time seeing things mentally, and physically all the talk about his height was credible. From the All-22 tape, it is evident he just can’t clearly locate defenders and receivers over the line. His game is very dependent, maybe too much so, on running around and I have never liked that in QBs. Too much risk. I will admit he is a very tough guy to defend, though.
  1. How far is this team from legitimate contention? Well let’s not even talk about this season. I think the NFC West is the best division in football and ARI can’t hang with any of the three teams above them. They have a really tough schedule from here on out and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them with a 5-10-1 record at the end of the year. I do think they are a step ahead of NYG when it comes to personnel but their offensive line needs work and their best defenders are on the wrong side of 30 next season. Not ideal timing considering the strength of the division, but I expect them to be one of the more aggressive teams in the 2020 offseason.

3 CLOSING THOUGHTS

  1. Did Dave Gettleman get fooled by NE? Nate Solder was signed to a long-term, monstrous contract prior to 2018 and almost all of us were happy with it. I think most fans don’t truly know about guys on other teams, thus the assumption that anyone who started for NE for a long time should be good enough, no? Fans can have the out, but Gettleman cannot. He has been nothing short of terrible since the day he began playing for NYG and I think it’s an indictment on the Pro Personnel staff for not seeing these issues and being fooled by the fact that Tom Brady makes blockers look way better than they are. It is one of the special traits to his game. That signing alone can really hold this team back for multiple years.
  1. I think we can officially put Pat Shurmur on the hot seat. I went back and looked at my game reviews from 2018 and a lot of problems I see now are what we talked about last year. Lack of innovation. Lack of ability to get the ball in the hands of key players. Lack of offensive line blocking adjustments. I do think the camaraderie and overall hustle/passion is better than what we have seen in recent years, but I never go into a week thinking Shurmur gives NYG the coaching edge. While two seasons may not be a fair amount of time for a coach that has weak personnel, now is the time to do it (by now I mean end of 2019). Let Daniel Jones grow up with a new voice, don’t change things on him 2-3 years from now.
  1. At what point does NYG start getting active on the trade market? Are there pieces on this roster that other teams want? Does it send a bad message to the team? They have one more week. Janoris Jenkins is the only piece that I can see getting anything better than a 4th-round pick. The Saints and Seahawks are two teams I would be targeting with him.

Arizona Cardinals 27 – New York Giants 21

 Posted by
Oct 202019
 

Daniel Jones, New York Giants (October 20, 2019)

Daniel Jones – © USA TODAY Sports

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ARIZONA CARDINALS 27 – NEW YORK GIANTS 21…
The New York Giants saw their season all but officially slip away on Sunday by losing 27-21 to the Arizona Cardinals at a rainy MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Giants are now 2-5 on the season, losing their last three games.

The Giants sleepwalked through the first quarter and quickly found themselves in a 17-0 hole at the start of the second quarter. The Cardinals drove 75 yards in 13 plays on their opening drive, converting on a 4th-and-3 at the Giants’ 35-yard line, and finishing up with a 20-yard touchdown run by running back Chase Edmonds. The Giants then gave the ball right back to the Cardinals on quarterback Daniel Jones’ interception into double coverage, returning the ball to the Giants’ 32-yard line. Three plays later, Edmonds scored his second 20-yard touchdown run. New York went three-and-out on their second drive and the Cardinals gained 54 yards in nine plays to set up a successful 47-yard field goal.

Down by 17, the Giants quickly got back into the game. First, New York drove 79 yards in just four plays, including a 20-yard run by running back Saquon Barkley, a 20-yard reception by wide receiver Golden Tate, and then a 28-yard touchdown pass from Jones to tight end Rhett Ellison.

The Cardinals muffed the ensuing kickoff and began their drive at the 14-yard line. On 3rd-and-5, quarterback Kyle Murray was sacked by defensive lineman Olsen Pierre for a 15-yard loss. Arizona attempted to punt out of the endzone, but safety Michael Thomas came clean up the middle and blocked a punt that running back Elijhaa Penny recovered in the endzone for a touchdown. All of the sudden, the game had tightened to 17-14.

Both teams had long drives before halftime, but neither got close enough to attempt a field goal. At the half, the Cardinals continued to lead by three points, 17-14.

Both teams exchanged three-and-outs to start the third quarter. On New York’s second possession of the half, the Giants reached the Arizona 37-yard line. But on 2nd-and-8, Daniel Jones was sacked for a 12-yard loss, losing the ball to Arizona in the process near midfield. Three plays later, Edmonds scored his third touchdown of the day, this time from 22 yards out. The Cardinals were now up 24-14.

The Giants responded with a 12-play, 49-yard drive that included a 4th-and-6 conversion on a 15-yard pass from Jones to Tate. Unfortunately, the possession ended with a missed 37-yard field goal by place kicker Aldrick Rosas as the third quarter was closing out.

New York got the ball back with just under 13 minutes left to play and tightened the game again with an 8-play, 82-yard drive. Barkley scored from seven yards out to cut the score to 24-21 with just over eight minutes left.

The Cardinals gained one first down but then were forced to punt. The Giants were only down by three points with 4:23 left on the clock. However, a porous offensive line that allowed eight Cardinals’ sacks on the day, could not protect Jones. Head Coach Pat Shurmur oddly called a running play on 3rd-and-18, and followed that up with a 4th-and-15 pass attempt that resulted in another strip-sack fumble recovery at the New York 17-yard line. The Cardinals settled for a 35-yard field goal with just over two minutes left in the game.

The Giants had one final shot to win the game. But nothing went right. Wideout Darius Slayton only reached the 12-yard line on the kickoff return. Jones was sacked two more times and the game ended with a 4th-and-29 incompletion.

Against what had been the NFL’s 30th-ranked defense, the Giants only gained 263 net yards and scored 14 offensive points. The Giants were 4-of-12 on third down and 1-of-3 on fourth down. Jones completed 22-of-35 passes for 223 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. He was also sacked eight times (hit 12 times), losing 67 yards and fumbling three times in the process (two of which were recovered by the Cardinals). In addition to the sacks, Cardinals also had seven tackles for losses. Tate was the leading receiver, with six catches for 80 yards. No other receiver had more than 35 yards. Barkley carried the ball 18 times for 72 yards and a touchdown.

The defense “only” allowed 245 net yards, including 89 net yards passing. But the Cardinals rushed for 156 yards and had three easy 20+ yard touchdown runs by Edmonds. The Giants did not force a turnover on defense. Olsen and linebacker David Mayo had the only sacks for the Giants.

Video highlights are available at Giants.com.

INACTIVES AND INJURY REPORT…
WR Sterling Shepard (concussion), CB Corey Ballentine (concussion), QB Alex Tanney, TE Garrett Dickerson, OT Eric Smith, OT/OG Chad Slade, and LB Chris Peace were inactive.

LB Lorenzo Carter injured his ankle but returned to the game.

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

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
Head Coach Pat Shurmur and select players will address the media on Monday. The players are off on Tuesday and return to practice on Wednesday.

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