Apr 102019
 
New York Giants Helmet (September 8, 2013)

Photo by big d E

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NEW YORK GIANTS PRESEASON OPPONENTS ANNOUNCED…
The 2019 preseason opponents for the New York Giants have been announced. Specific times and dates have not yet been released.

  • August 8-12: New York Jets
  • August 15-19: Chicago Bears
  • August 22-25: at Cincinnati Bengals
  • August 29-30: at New England Patriots

The team’s 2019 regular-season opponents are listed in the Schedule section of the website.

NEW YORK GIANTS CUT QUADREE HENDERSON…
The New York Giants waived wide receiver/returner Quadree Henderson on April 4th. Henderson was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers after the 2018 NFL Draft. The Steelers waived him before the season started. The Giants signed Henderson to the Practice Squad and then the 53-man roster in October 2018, and then back to the Practice Squad and the 53-man roster again in November. The Giants placed Henderson on Injured Reserve in late November 2018 with a fractured shoulder. Henderson played in five games for the Giants and returned five kickoffs (22.4 yards per return average) and nine punts (7.6 yards per return average).

ARTICLES…

Mar 042019
 
Aldrick Rosas, New York Giants (December 2, 2018)

Aldrick Rosas – © USA TODAY Sports

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For years, the special teams of the New York Giants had been far from special, costing the team a number of games each season, often in painful fashion. New Head Coach Pat Shurmur chose not to bring back long-time special teams coordinator Tom Quinn and hired Thomas McGaughey to be the new coordinator and Anthony Blevins as his assistant. However, since McGaughey was diagnosed with cancer during the offseason, Quinn was retained as “assistant special teams coordinator.” Obviously, this was far from an ideal situation.

Making matters worse is the Giants were rolling the dice again on talented, but extremely inconsistent place kicker Aldrick Rosas, who only converted on 72 percent of his field goal attempts and 87 percent of his extra point attempts in 2017. The Giants cut Brad Wing in March and traded for another punter, Riley Dixon, in April. And it was anybody’s guess who would be returning kickoffs and punts.

Ironically, in the end, special teams ended up being the team’s strongest unit in 2018. Overshadowed by Saquon Barkley, Rosas had the best year of any place kicker in team history, only missing one field goal all season. Dixon finished 7th in net punting. The Giants were 7th in the NFL in kickoff returns (24.4 yards per return) and 28th in punt returns (6.2 yards per return). The Giants were also 2nd-best in defending kickoff returns (20.4 yards per return) and 7th-best in defending punt returns (6.6 yards per return). The Giants did not return a punt or kick for a touchdown and they did not allow a punt or kick to be returned against them for a touchdown.

Two Giants made the Pro Bowl as special teams players, Rosas and first-team alternate Michael Thomas, who led the team with 12 special teams tackles. Other leading tacklers included Kerry Wynn (8), Kenny Ladler (8), Nate Stupar (8), and Russell Shepard (6).

The Giants special teams held up their end of the bargain in 2018. Rosas also deserves far more attention than he received.

THE KICKERS

Perhaps the team’s biggest surprise in 2018 was the performance of place kicker Aldrick Rosas, who missed only one field goal all year and made the Pro Bowl. Rosas made 32-of-33 kicks (a franchise-record 97 percent). He also kicked a team-record 57-yard field goal. Rosas was 31-of-32 on extra point attempts. Fifty-one of his 85 kickoff attempts (60 percent) resulted in touchbacks. Rosas was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Tennessee Titans after the 2016 NFL Draft. He did not make the team. The Giants signed him to a reserve/futures contract in January 2017. He had a poor first season with the Giants, converting on just 72 percent of his field goals and 87 percent of his extra points. He also had four kicks blocked in 2017.

The Giants traded with the Denver Broncos for Riley Dixon in April 2018, giving the Broncos a conditional 7th-round draft pick. He had a solid inaugural year for the Giants, finishing 7th in net punting in the NFL (41.8 yards per punt). Dixon finished 11th in gross punting with 45.4 yards per punt. However, only 20 of his punts were pinned inside the 20-yard line. The 6’4”, 221-pound Dixon was originally drafted in the 7th round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Broncos. He was named to the All-Rookie team.

THE RETURNERS

Eight Giants returned a total of 45 kickoffs in 2018. Twenty-three of those were returned by Corey Coleman, who the Giants signed to the Practice Squad and then the 53-man roster in October. He ended up playing in eight games with one start, finishing with five catches for 71 yards. Coleman’s primary contribution came on special teams as as kickoff returner (averaging 26 yards per return). The 5’11”, 185-pound Coleman was originally drafted in the 1st round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. An explosive athlete but an injury-plagued bust in Cleveland, Coleman has also had brief stints with the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots in 2018. Coleman has played in 27 NFL games with 19 starts, accruing 61 catches for 789 yards and five touchdowns.

Six Giants returned a total of 37 punts in 2018, with Jawill Davis returning 12 punts and Quadree Henderson returning nine.

The Giants signed Davis as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2018 NFL Draft. He was signed to the Practice Squad after the final preseason cutdown and then signed to the 53-man roster in September. Davis injured his knee during the last practice of the year and was placed on Injured Reserve before the last game. Davis has average size, but he is a good athlete with excellent speed. He played in seven games for the Giants, catching four passes for 40 yards. He also returned 12 punts (7.4 yards per return) and seven kickoffs (24.4 yards per return).

The Giants placed Henderson on Injured Reserve in late November 2018 with a fractured shoulder. The 5’8”, 192-pound Henderson was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers after the 2018 NFL Draft. The Steelers waived him before the season started. The Giants signed Henderson to the Practice Squad and then the 53-man roster in October 2018, and then back to the Practice Squad and the 53-man roster again in November. Henderson played in five games for the Giants and returned five kickoffs (22.4 yards per return average) and nine punts (7.6 yards per return average).

Feb 152019
 
Odell Beckham, New York Giants (November 12, 2018)

Odell Beckham, Jr. – © USA TODAY Sports

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The 2018 New York Giants were a top heavy team, with some elite talent at a number of positions but with the overall quality of the rest of the roster rapidly falling off. And the wide receiver position was just one example of this issue. Coming out of training camp, the team’s top wideouts were Odell Beckham, Sterling Shepard, Cody Latimer, Kaelin Clay, and Russell Shepard. Injuries hit this position hard, including Beckham (4 games), Latimer (placed on IR and later returning, missing 10 games), and Clay (only playing in two games before being placed on IR and later waived). Thus began a revolving door at the position for much of the season at the 3rd, 4th, and 5th receiver spots. Those who later saw playing time at wide receiver and/or special teams included Bennie Fowler, Corey Coleman, Jawill Davis, Quadree Henderson (also ended up on IR), and Stacy Coley (waived after one game).

There was no better indicator of the sharp divide between Beckham (77 catches) and Sterling Shepard (66 catches) and the rest of the wide-receiving corps than the reception totals. No other wide receiver on the roster had more than 16 catches. And combined, the other receivers had a total of just 46 receptions. Part of this was a function of Eli Manning having other options, including running back Saquon Barkley (91 catches) and tight ends Evan Engram (45 catches) and Rhett Ellison (25 catches). But it was obvious that opposing defenses did not concern themselves too much with the other wideouts.

Of course, the primary headliner was Beckham, who was coming off a very serious fractured ankle that required surgery and which caused him to miss 12 games in 2017. While some contend that Beckham did not appear to be quite the same player, statistically-speaking, his numbers were on par with his 2016 season if adjusted for the four games he missed in 2018 due to a somewhat mysterious quad injury. What was missing were the eye-opening, huge, explosive plays. The good news is that despite the media’s goal of turning him into a click-bait lightning rod, Beckham did seem to mature and did not sulk as more team and fan attention shifted to Barkley.

Sterling Shepard is a very solid, complimentary piece as a slot receiver, but it has become pretty clear that he is not a consistent vertical threat. He has averaged 63 catches, 762 yards, and 4.7 touchdowns per year in his first three NFL seasons.

Overall, it is fair to say that more was expected from Beckham, Shepard, and Latimer than a total of 154 catches and just 11 touchdown receptions.

THE HEADLINERS

Despite missing the last four games of the season with a quad injury, Odell Beckham, Jr. accrued 77 receptions for 1,052 yards (13.7 yards per catch) and six touchdowns. It was Beckham’s fourth 1,000-yard season in his first five years in the NFL (Beckham missed 12 games in 2017 with a fractured ankle that required surgery). Beckham’s accolades already include Pro Football Writers of America “Rookie of the Year” (2014), second-team All-Pro (2015, 2016), and Pro Bowl (2014, 2015, 2016). All of this despite constant double teams by opposing defenses. Beckham was drafted in the 1st round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Giants. While Beckham lacks classic size, his long arms, big hands, and tremendous jumping ability give him a very good catch radius. Beckham is an explosive athlete with excellent speed, quickness, and agility. Beckham runs good routes, is very quick out of his breaks, adjusts exceptionally well to the football, and regularly makes the circus catch. He is very dangerous with the football in his hands after the catch. Competitive, passionate, and hard working.

In his third season with the Giants, Sterling Shepard started all 16 games, finishing with 66 catches for 872 yards and four touchdowns. Shepard was selected in the 2nd round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Giants. Shepard started all 16 regular-season games as a rookie, but missed five games in 2017 with various ailments. Shepard lacks ideal size and speed, but he is a fluid athlete with good quickness. Shepard runs good routes, is tough going over the middle, and adjusts well to the football. He is guilty of the occasional drop. Shepard is not a consistent deep threat, but more of a move-the-chains underneath target. He needs to make more big plays.

THE MISFIT TOYS

The Giants signed Cody Latimer as an unrestricted free agent from the Denver Broncos in March 2018 and placed him on Injured Reserve with a hamstring injury in October 2018. The Giants activated him from IR in December. Latimer ended up playing in six games with two starts, catching just 11 passes for 190 yards and one touchdown. However, he really flashed in the regular-season finale with two spectacular, one-handed catches. The 6’2”, 215-pound Latimer was originally drafted in the 2nd round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Broncos. In four seasons with the Broncos, Latimer played in 45 regular-season games with three starts. He’s a big receiver who will fight for the football. Latimer is a good gunner on special teams and has experience returning kickoffs.

After signing late with the Giants in October 2018, Bennie Fowler surprisingly played in 10 games with five starts, finishing the year with 16 catches for 199 yards and one touchdown. The 6’1”, 212-pound Fowler originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent with the Denver Broncos after the 2014 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Broncos (2014-2017), Chicago Bears (2018), and New England Patriots (2018). Fowler has played in 55 regular-season games with 10 starts. He has 72 career catches for 897 yards and six touchdowns.

The Giants signed Russell Shepard in May 2018 after he was cut by the Carolina Panthers. He ended up playing in 12 games, with no starts, catching 12 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns. The 6’1”, 195-pound Shepard was originally signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as undrafted rookie free agent after the 2013 NFL Draft. Shepard has spent time with the Eagles (2013), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2013-2016), and Panthers (2017). He has 57 career catches for 822 yards and six touchdowns. Shepard is a good gunner on special teams.

The Giants signed Corey Coleman to the Practice Squad and then the 53-man roster in October 2018. He ended up playing in eight games with one start, finishing with five catches for 71 yards. Coleman’s primary contribution came on special teams as as kickoff returner (averaging 26 yards on 23 returns). The 5’11”, 185-pound Coleman was originally drafted in the 1st round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. An explosive athlete but an injury-plagued bust in Cleveland, Coleman has also had brief stints with the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots in 2018. Coleman has played in 27 NFL games with 19 starts, accruing 61 catches for 789 yards and five touchdowns.

The Giants signed Jawill Davis as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2018 NFL Draft. He was signed to the Practice Squad after the final preseason cutdown and then signed to the 53-man roster in September. Davis injured his knee during the last practice of the year and was placed on Injured Reserve before the last game. Davis has average size, but he is a good athlete with excellent speed. He played in seven games for the Giants, catching four passes for 40 yards. He also returned 12 punts (7.4 yards per return) and seven kickoffs (24.4 yards per return).

The Giants placed Quadree Henderson on Injured Reserve in late November 2018 with a fractured shoulder. The 5’8”, 192-pound Henderson was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers after the 2018 NFL Draft. The Steelers waived him before the season started. The Giants signed Henderson to the Practice Squad and then the 53-man roster in October 2018, and then back to the Practice Squad and the 53-man roster again in November. Henderson played in five games for the Giants and returned five kickoffs (22.4 yards per return average) and nine punts (7.6 yards per return average).

The Giants signed Alonzo Russell after he impressed as a tryout player during the May 2018 rookie mini-camp and then signed him to the Practice Squad in September. He was added to the 53-man roster before the last game of the season. The 6’3”, 206-pound Russell was originally signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2016 NFL Draft. He spent his rookie season on the Bengals’ Practice Squad. The Bengals waived him in September 2017 and he was signed to the Practice Squad of the Arizona Cardinals in November 2017. Russell has not caught a pass in a regular-season game.

Nov 262018
 
B.J. Hill, New York Giants (November 25, 2018)

B.J. Hill – © USA TODAY Sports

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GIANTS PLACE QUADREE HENDERSON ON IR…
The New York Giants have placed wide receiver/returner Quadree Henderson on Injured Reserve. Henderson fractured his shoulder during Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The 5’8”, 192-pound Henderson was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers after the 2018 NFL Draft. The Steelers waived him before the season started. The Giants signed Henderson to the Practice Squad and then the 53-man roster in October, and then back to the Practice Squad and the 53-man roster again in November. Henderson played in five games for the Giants and returned five kickoffs (22.4 yards per return average) and nine punts (7.6 yards per return average).

To fill the roster vacancy, the Giants signed tight end Garrett Dickerson, who the Giants signed as an undrafted rookie free agent in June. Dickerson began the season on the team’s Practice Squad, was added to the 53-man roster, re-signed to the Practice Squad, and cut from the Practice Squad last week. The 6’2”, 244-pound Dickerson is a versatile player who can play a variety of positions including tight end, fullback, and H-Back. Though he lacks ideal size, he is a good athlete with fine hands.

MONDAY MEDIA SESSION WITH HEAD COACH PAT SHURMUR…
New York Giants Head Coach Pat Shurmur addressed the media on Monday to discuss the team’s 25-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles (the video is also available at Giants.com):

Opening Remarks: We’ll start with the significant injuries from yesterday. Quadree Henderson had a shoulder fracture, so he’ll be out a significant amount of time, there might be a roster move there. Evan Engram pulled his hamstring in warm-ups, I don’t know how long that’s going to be, we’re just going to have to see once that settles down. (B.J. Goodson) is questionable with a shoulder stinger, and just some game wear and tear. It’s a disappointing loss from the standpoint of we did a lot of things really well, felt like we had a good plan against them. Really at the end, we just couldn’t hold the lead. We had opportunities to score more points so that we could hold the lead better, but we didn’t and ended up losing. Ultimately, just didn’t make enough plays in the game to win it, and so that’s what happened. So we move on, we’ve already started working on the Bears here, getting ready to play them on Sunday and take it from there. I’ll take your questions.

Q: Odell (Beckham) said that he didn’t think there was enough in the game plan to attack the secondary down the field. What do you think of that?

A: I don’t know. We ran the ball 18 times and threw it 37. That’s twice as many throws as there were runs. We had seven explosive gains in the passing game. The only game we played that we had more was Carolina when we had eight. There’s many times when we tried to throw it to him, the long throw down the right sideline to Rhett (Ellison) was designed to go to Odell. They cushioned on him, we threw it to Rhett. You’ll have to ask him to define it after he watches the tape, but I felt like we were trying to do the things necessary to win the game. We still got production in the running game, had a couple third down calls in the red zone that were close. If it goes in, that’s a different story.

Q: Will Eli (Manning) start against the Bears?

A: Yes.

Q: What’s the balance there? The playoffs are mathematically impossible, and trying players-

A: You go into every week with giving your team the best opportunity to win the football game each week. That’s how you do this thing. This isn’t player tryouts, this is do everything in your power to win the next game. Today’s Monday, so we’re in the Monday phase of that process.

Q: On the two-point conversion to start the game, obviously you were going to kick it until the penalty, so when the ball is on the 1-yd line, does that change your play? Does it change your decision to go for it because it’s on the 1-yd line?

A: Absolutely. That’s why I did it.

Q: So the play was a designed pass?

A: Correct, a play action pass in a big formation, which is typically what you do.

Q: So you were trying to sucker them into thinking you’re just going to hand the ball to Saquon (Barkley)?

A: Yes, then throw a pass to a guy in the flat or a guy at the back pylon. What’s confusing about that?

Q: I’m just trying to have you say what (you wanted to do).

A: Yeah, so what happens is they give us the ball at the (1-yd line) instead of the (2-yd line). It’s the first score of the game, and it was an aggressive approach. I feel like we had something good there, we didn’t execute properly. Ultimately at the end of the game, at one point at the end of the game, it was 22-22. Because we didn’t make it, they start chasing points and they did a good job of scoring on their two-point conversions. That’s why I did it. And I’d do it again. I think that’s a good, aggressive approach. If they’re going to screw up on a try and give us the ball on the 1, I’ve got confidence in our guys to make sure – now, there could be something tactically about just making sure you get the (one point) at a certain stage of the game. This was the first drive of the game, and they did something that they didn’t want to do and gave us on the ball on the 1, so we took (a chance).

Q: Is giving the ball to Saquon there just not the right call?

A: It could’ve been a good choice. We have seven goal-line plays in that big formation. You’re just questioning whether it should’ve been Saquon or the other? It could’ve been a good choice.

Q: You also had a guy wide open in the end zone, so you could have flipped it to him. It’s not an argument, I just wanted to hear you say it.

A: (Shrugs shoulders) For the record, that was a shoulder shrug.

Q: I understand as a coach you have a weekly mindset, but isn’t there an obligation to look at the big picture if you aren’t going to make the playoffs?

A: Always looking at the big picture. What’s the big picture though?

Q: Pertaining to the quarterback. (John Mara) admitted the team made a mistake not getting a look at Davis Webb last year, so in your mind, wouldn’t seeing Kyle Lauletta be a priority at some point in the last five weeks?

A: Why are you jumping over (Alex) Tanney? There’s my point. What you try to do is win each game and then as we go forward here, you make your decision based on winning the game, and you base your decision on putting a team on the field that gives you the best chance to win the game. I get that, but as a coach, I stay in the moment. We certainly have conversations about what runs parallel, the short-term and the long-term. There’s conversations about that that happen all the time in any organization. You’re a big corporation, your short-term gains and, ‘ok, where the hell are we going?’ I’m not foolish enough to think that doesn’t happen.

Q: Is Tanney a potential long-term solution at quarterback compared to a guy like Lauletta?

A: Who knows? That’s where you’re getting bogged down here. Who knows?

Q: Do you have to design opportunities for them within the games now? Obviously they haven’t happened organically to this point, there’s been no lopsided games.

A: We’re going to try to do what we can to win the game, but along the way, we do keep a long-term mindset.

Q: The focus with Lauletta would be the fourth-round pick you invested in a young guy planning to develop.

A: At some point, regardless of where they’re picked, unless you’re one of those top-four quarterbacks, who cares where you’re picked? He’s a Giant. You went to college. If you were third in the class, you’re third. Are we going to worry about the other two? What’s the difference?

Q: My point is you signed him for four years, that’s the draft pick, and Tanney is on a one-year deal, he’s 30 years old.

A: But we drafted a lot of other players as well that are out there playing. Some are, some aren’t. We’re just trying to put the best team on the field. I get where you’re going. Trust me, I understand where you’re going, and I can appreciate you have a job to do, but that’s the coach’s view.

Q: If you’re looking to put the best team on the field, that has to be Eli at this point as your quarterback right?

A: Eli’s going to start the game against the Bears.

Q: Can you envision a scenario where you would start Alex Tanney rather than starting Kyle Lauletta?

A: If we felt like he was giving us the best chance to win. That’s the coach’s view.

Q: What have you seen from Alex that would make you think that he would give you the best chance to win over evaluating Kyle?

A: Doing what quarterbacks do. All along, he’s been our number-two guy. Aside from the fact that Kyle was drafted in the fourth-round, all along he’s been out number-two guy. He does the things that we think can help us win a game.

Q: You did have your rationale going into the season of why you wanted Alex to be the number-two quarterback. You talked a lot about the veteran presence, a guy who can come into games without much prep or snaps and be able to pick the team up, but it is a different story if you’re planning for a quarterback starting a game in 2019, 2018, whenever it is. I don’t know how you could ever get to the point this year where you look at your other quarterbacks from what you’ve seen on the field and say they are a better option to help the Giants win a football game than Eli Manning.

A: And we’ve got to evaluate that on every Monday as we get ready to play the next game.

Q: Is there any concern on Odell that there would ever even be that perception from him, that you weren’t attacking their weakness because they were so banged up in the secondary?

A: That was one man’s opinion after an emotional loss, but what happens is you get an opportunity to get a good night’s sleep, watch the tape, and maybe change his opinion.

Q: Do you feel the need to discuss it with him?

A: I discuss a lot of things with all the players.

Q: When you go back and watch the tape, you were up 19-3 at one point, 19-11, and Saquon only touched the ball five times in the second half. Were there missed opportunities to continue running the ball in that situation?

A: Yeah, really the part of the game that was disappointing for me was the first couple drives of the third quarter. We had three penalties in one drive. We had a dropped pass that got us back on schedule – would’ve gotten us back on schedule – and then we had the long third down situations, which certainly plays into the hands of the team that has an excellent pass rush. What happens is, they’re controlling the ball. The third quarter kind of goes away quickly, so what I would say is this, if we didn’t have those penalties, if we didn’t drop that pass, we would have been able to stay on the field and get to doing some of the things that we would have liked to have done in the third quarter that we did in the first and second. Then all the sudden, it’s in the fourth quarter. That can happen in a lot of games.

Q: When you decide to give Saquon a drive off like that, how early do you decide that? Is that at pre-game, is that at halftime, is that in the moment?

A: It’s a feel, but I don’t understand why everybody’s confused about that because (Wayne) Gallman went in and had productive runs. Is it more about Saquon or is it about Wayne? What’s the question here? It happened to be in the third quarter when we were doing a lot of other things that kept us from having more plays, so it’s a little bit of a perfect storm in the Saquon basket.

Q: Once Eli throws that interception, you can feel the game turning, Odell’s not on the field-

A: Who felt the game turning? I didn’t. We’re up by eight going into halftime, we’re going to come out and play another half of football. But you guys know I’m nuts, so it doesn’t matter. I didn’t feel the game turning. We were in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at halftime, right? What was the score? 19-11. And you come out, you keep swinging, you keep fighting and do what you can to score more points and keep them from scoring points. Done.

Q: For a team that’s won six games in the last 27, how important is it to create a belief that you can win, as opposed to who can play/who can’t play?

A: It’s huge, because I think we need to learn how to win again here. The last two weeks, we won one by coming back. A week ago, we won one by playing from the front. This week we got ahead on a team, and didn’t hold the lead, so there’s things to be learned in all three of those as you learn to win a game. We’re doing it with a lot of very young players, and a lot of really backup-type players from our initial roster, so it’s a great opportunity for them to help us win.

Q: I don’t want to limit this to just sacks, but other trackable numbers – hurries, pressures – is it concerning that you’re not getting more out of Olivier Vernon, given his resume?

A: We look at that. Certainly getting pressure on the quarterback is important. We want all of our really good players to get production. He’s out there, he’s contributing. You don’t sack the quarterback or the quarterback has a pretty good day throwing the ball. Certainly part of it is the rush.

Q: Why don’t you think it’s happened for him this year then, at least to the level people expected?

A: He got a little bit of a slow start, missed six games.

Q: You don’t see teams putting more attention towards him?

A: No, not really. Again, this is my first exposure to OV. You know way more about him than I do in terms of his history here with the Giants. But no, I don’t see teams spending extra resources to block him.

Q: What’s your level of concern with the defense at this point? Do you think there’s any carryover from almost letting the Bucs get back into it and letting the Eagles back into it?

A: No, when you look at it, I think it comes down to isolated plays. You always start when a team has some success running the ball like they did with run fits. Obviously, stopping the run is a team thing. We’ve just got to make sure we’re good there, and then when they drop back to pass, whether we’re playing in zone, we’ve got to disrupt when they’re throwing or if it’s man, we’ve got to cover down real well and then get pressure as we just alluded to. We’ve got to just keep working on all those things. We’ve got a lot of young, new players in there playing and we’ve just got to continue to get better in all areas.

Q: Is there more of an attitude that needs to be clear on defense to finish these games off, as opposed to just X’s and O’s and classroom stuff?

A: This game didn’t work out in the way we wanted it to. Two weeks prior, it did. They had the ball, the two games that we’ve won, the team we were playing had the ball at the end and we didn’t let them in the end zone. That was good. Yesterday was not.

Q: After the 1-7 start, you had the break, then you won two games and there was a sense that guys were juiced up by that.

A: You called it a little buzz, right?

A: Yes, a little buzz. Do you think now that they’ve lost this difficult game on the road in the division, it changes the way the records look a little bit, do you need to speak to them or get them back up? Because they did have that little buzz.

A: It’s just like he was worried about the feeling when we were winning 19-11, the buzz thing – no. You get back to work, and you put a team on the field to beat the Bears, and you create that buzz by winning the game.

Q: Do you have to guard against guys checking out? You win that game, you’re two games out of first place, a lot more to fight for. Do you feel like losing that game, it’s a challenge to keep guys invested?

A: Guard against? No. Just watch behavior. Do your job, be a good teammate, bust your ass, do what you have to do to help win a game. You don’t guard against it, you coach it back.

Q: Should there have been a penalty on that last play on the tripping (leg whip)?

A: No, I don’t think you’re allowed to trip (leg whip). I did the math on that though. If that is in fact a penalty, then we would have been kicking with the wind for a 62-yarder with a strong-legged kicker.

Q: Tripping is a 15-yard penalty?

A: I think tripping is 15. Then that would have given us – we had a 63-yarder made against us. So, who knows?

Q: Sterling (Shepard) only has 11 targets coming out of the bye in the last three weeks. Is that just a byproduct of committing more to the run?

A: He actually had a couple yesterday that were designed to go to Odell, that deep ball. He’s had some good production. I thought yesterday he had the deep two he caught, he caught a naked, so he’s had production. It’s good when we throw it to him. He does a good job.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

NOTES…
The Giants are 0-4 in the NFC East.

The Giants have lost five in a row, nine of the last 10, and 18 of their last 22 games against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Giants have lost five consecutive games in Lincoln Financial Field.

The Giants did not force a turnover for the fourth time this season. They are 0-4 this season and have lost their last nine games in which they did not have a takeaway.

The 100-yard rushing games was Saquon Barkley’s fourth of the season, a record for a Giants rookie. He had been tied with Eddie Price, who ran for more than 100 yards in three games in 1950.

Barkley increased his season total to 829 rushing yards. That moved him ahead of Ron Dayne (770 yards in 2000) and into second place on the Giants’ single-season rookie list, just one yard shy of the record-holder, Hall of Famer Tuffy Leemans, who rushed for 830 yards in 1936.

Barkley has scored 12 touchdowns, tying the Giants’ rookie record set by Bill Paschal in 1943, and matched by Odell Beckham, Jr. in 2014.

Barkley increased his yards from scrimmage total to 1,410 (829 rushing, 581 receiving). That is also a Giants rookie record. Beckham had held the mark with 1,340 yards from scrimmage in 2014.

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The players are off on Tuesday and return to practice on Wednesday.

Nov 102018
 
Patrick Omameh, New York Giants (October 7, 2018)

Patrick Omameh – © USA TODAY Sports

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NEW YORK GIANTS CUT PATRICK OMAMEH…
The New York Giants have waived offensive guard Patrick Omameh, who was signed by the team in free agency to a 3-year, $15 million contract. Omameh started the first six regular season games at right guard for the Giants before being benched. Cutting Omameh is expected to cost about $3 million in dead money against the 2019 salary cap.

“It’s always hard when you release a veteran, especially a guy like Pat,” said Head Coach Pat Shurmur. “Probably one of my favorite people that I’ve met doing this. Sometimes, it’s about the player. Sometimes, it’s about the situation, the numbers, and all that, but we wish Pat well… Pat came in and to his credit, he’s been a good soldier. We moved him around. We brought him in. We were going to play him at left guard. We signed him before we knew we were going to draft Will (Hernandez), so he moved over to right guard. He battled for us. You just make changes, and that’s just the way it goes. We’re constantly looking to try to get the right combination of guys.”

The 6’4”, 327-pound Omameh was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the San Francisco 49ers after the 2013 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the 49ers (2013), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2013-2014), Chicago Bears (2015), and Jaguars (2016-2017).

To fill Omameh’s roster spot, the Giants signed wide receiver/returner Quadree Henderson from the team’s Practice Squad. The Giants had cut Henderson from the 53-man roster on Tuesday.

The 5’8”, 192-pound Henderson was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers after the 2018 NFL Draft. The Steelers waived him before the season started. The Giants signed Henderson to the Practice Squad and then the 53-man roster in October 2018.

NEW YORK GIANTS INJURY REPORT…
Wide receiver Jawill Davis (concussion), offensive tackle Chad Wheeler (ankle), and linebacker Alec Ogletree (hamstring) fully practiced on Saturday. All three are expected to be available to play on Monday against the San Francisco 49ers.

THE COACHES SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following coaches are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
There is no media availability to the Giants on Sunday. The team plays the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night.

Nov 082018
 
Lorenzo Carter, New York Giants (October 22, 2018)

Lorenzo Carter – © USA TODAY Sports

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NEW YORK GIANTS INJURY REPORT…
Wide receiver Jawill Davis (concussion) practiced on a limited basis on Thursday. Offensive tackle Chad Wheeler (ankle) and linebacker Alec Ogletree (hamstring) fully practiced.

PRACTICE SQUAD MOVES…
The New York Giants have signed wide receiver/returner Quadree Henderson to the Practice Squad. Henderson was waived from the 53-man roster on Tuesday. To make room for Henderson, the Giants terminated the Practice Squad contract of running back Jhurell Pressley.

HEAD COACH PAT SHURMUR…
The transcript of Pat Shurmur’s press conference on Thursday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available at Giants.com.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The Giants practice on Friday and Saturday in preparation for Monday night’s road game against the San Francisco 49ers. The team’s coordinators address the media on Friday.

Nov 062018
 
Saquon Barkley, New York Giants (October 28, 2018)

Saquon Barkley – © USA TODAY Sports

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NEW YORK GIANTS ACTIVATE R.J MCINTOSH…
The New York Giants have activated defensive end R.J. McIntosh from the Reserve/Non-Football Illness List. To make room for McIntosh on the 53-man roster, the Giants waived wide receiver/returner Quadree Henderson. McIntosh was drafted by the Giants in the 5th round of the 2018 NFL Draft. An undisclosed ailment prevented him from practicing all spring and summer. McIntosh finally began to practice on October 16. Today was the deadline for the Giants to active him, or McIntosh would have been forced to miss his whole rookie season.

HEAD COACH PAT SHURMUR…
The transcript of Pat Shurmur’s press conference on Tuesday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available at Giants.com.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The players are off on Wednesday and return to practice on Thursday.

Oct 232018
 

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ATLANTA FALCONS 23 – NEW YORK GIANTS 20…
In a game that was not as close as the final score would suggest, the New York Giants fell to the Atlanta Falcons 23-20 on Monday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. With the defeat, the Giants overall record dropped to 1-6.

Once again, the Giants were done in by their inability to score sufficient points. Perhaps the most telling and decisive statistic of the game was that the Giants were 2-of-5 in red zone opportunities.

New York had four first-half offensive possessions. The first three ended with punts. The fourth was an 11-play, 77-yard drive that stalled at the Atlanta 9-yard line, and only resulted in a 31-yard field goal with four minutes to go before halftime.

Meanwhile, the Falcons also struggled to move the ball on their first three possessions, each ending with a punt. However, a quick, 3-play, 86-yard drive late in the 2nd quarter gave Atlanta a 7-0 advantage. The score came on a 47-yard pass from quarterback Matt Ryan to wide receiver Marvin Hall against cornerback Janoris Jenkins. The Falcons followed this up with a 6-play, 53-yard possession right before halftime that set up a successful 40-yard field goal.

At the half, the Falcons led 10-3.

The Giants opened the second half with a promising drive, as New York moved the ball from their own 25-yard line to the Falcons’ 1-yard line. However, on 3rd-and-goal, running back Saquon Barkley was stuffed. On 4th-and-goal, quarterback Eli Manning’s pass intended for tight end Scott Simonson fell incomplete. The Giants came away with no points.

The Falcons then moved the ball from the shadow of their own goal line to the New York 32-yard line. But then Jenkins forced a fumble that was recovered by cornerback Eli Apple at the 20-yard line. A 51-yard pass from Manning to wide receiver Odell Beckham helped to set up the Giants at the Falcons’ 18-yard line. But the Giants could get no closer after three straight incompletions by Manning. Place kicker Aldrick Rosas kicked a 36-yard field goal to cut the score to 10-6.

The Falcons responded with a 7-play, 43-yard drive that set up a successful 50-yard field goal and the Falcons were once again up by seven points early in the 4th quarter. After the Giants went three-and-out, the  Falcons drove the ball 65 yards in nine plays, culminating with a 30-yard touchdown run by running back Tevin Coleman. The Falcons now led 20-6 midway through the final period.

As has been the Giants’ modus operandi this season, the Giants scored a touchdown when the game was all but officially over. New York drove the ball 78 yards in nine plays, finishing with a 2-yard touchdown run by Barkley. Oddly, Head Coach Pat Shurmur decided to go for a 2-point conversion that failed. The Giants trailed 20-12 with less than five minutes to play.

The Giants’ defense could not force a quick three-and-out as Atlanta gained 37 yards in eight plays. Worse, the Falcons converted on a risky 56-yard field goal attempt. Atlanta now had a two-score advantage at 23-12 with less than two minutes to play.

Again, with the game all but over, New York scored a touchdown. But they wasted valuable time with two back-to-back quarterback sneaks at the 1-yard line. The final score – a Manning to Beckham touchdown pass – came with only five seconds left in the game. The 2-point conversion attempt succeeded. The game ended after the ensuing failed onside kick attempt.

Offensively, Manning finished the game 27-of-38 for 399 yards, 1 touchdown, and no interceptions. His leading targets were Barkley (9 catches for 51 yards), Beckham (8 catches for 143 yards and 1 touchdown), and wide receiver Sterling Shepard (5 catches for 167 yards). Barkley was limited to 43 rushing yards on 14 attempts.

Defensively, the Giants allowed 423 total net yards (67 rushing and 356 passing). The Giants did sack Ryan three times, with one sack each by linebacker Lorenzo Carter, defensive end Kerry Wynn, and cornerback B.W. Webb. The Giants forced one turnover, the fumble recovery by Apple caused by Jenkins.

Video highlights are available at Giants.com.

INACTIVE LIST AND INJURY REPORT…
Inactive for the New York Giants were right guard Patrick Omameh (knee), wide receiver Russell Shepard (neck), wide receiver Jawill Davis (concussion), quarterback Kyle Lauletta, defensive tackle John Jenkins, cornerback Mike Jordan, and safety Kamrin Moore.

Cornerback Eli Apple injured his ankle, but returned to the game.

ROSTER MOVES…
On Sunday, the New York Giants signed wide receiver Quadree Henderson to the 53-man roster from the team’s Practice Squad. To make room for Henderson, the team waived tight end Garrett Dickerson. The 5’8”, 192-pound Henderson was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2018 NFL Draft. The Steelers waived him before the season started. Henderson has experience as a returner.

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 Eli Manning (Video)
  • RB Saquon Barkley (Video)
  • WR Odell Beckham, Jr. (Video)
  • WR Sterling Shepard (Video)
  • TE Evan Engram (Video)
  • CB Janoris Jenkins (Video)

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

Oct 042018
 
Mike Shula, New York Giants (September 30, 2018)

Mike Shula – © USA TODAY Sports

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NEW YORK GIANTS INJURY REPORT…
The only player not to practice on Thursday was tight end Evan Engram (knee).

Nose tackle Damon Harrison (knee) and linebacker Olivier Vernon (ankle) were limited in practice.

Wide receiver Sterling Shepard (back), wide receiver Cody Latimer (knee), linebacker Connor Barwin (knee), cornerback Eli Apple (groin), and cornerback Antonio Hamilton (groin) fully practiced.

GIANTS SIGN QUADREE HENDERSON TO PRACTICE SQUAD…
The New York Giants have signed wide receiver/returner Quadree Henderson to the team’s Practice Squad. The 22-year old, 5’8”, 192-pound Henderson was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2018 NFL Draft. The Steelers waived him before the season started.

“Production (as a return man) – he’s a sure-handed guy,” said Special Teams Coordinator Thomas McGaughey. “He obviously had a lot of production in college and we like what we saw on tape and his pro day, like we saw there, so he has a lot of potential like any young guy that had a lot of production in college. We’d like to see what he does at the next level.”

To make room for Henderson, the Giants terminated the Practice Squad contract of wide receiver Amba Etta-Tawo, who was signed to the Practice Squad on September 26th.

THE COACHES SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following coaches are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The Giants practice on Friday in preparation for Sunday’s away game against the Carolina Panthers.