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2024 PRESEASON PREVIEW: NEW YORK GIANTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2024/09/03
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Draft, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Rivals, Roster, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

 

MISSED playoffs, 6 – 10, 3rd place NFC East, 15.6 pspg/ 23.9 papg

New York headed into the 2023 season, looking to build off of their 2022 playoff appearance. Instead, they got out to a 1 – 5 start, which included an opening day 0 – 40 thrashing, in their own home, by division rival Dallas. Then their starting QB got hurt for the first of two times in the same season. It was an avalanche ride into a seemingly bottomless chasm, only stopped when they crashed into the immovable end of their schedule.

While most teams set their sights on trying to win the division, or make a deeper playoff run; the 2024 giants have to ask if they are going to need a new QB next year. Or maybe a new head coach. They’re in a state of trying to repair their ship, and seem less focused on if it’s ready to sail into war with the division.

OFFENSE:

QB: Starter Daniel Jones is coming off of an ACL injury, which cost him the last eight games of 2023, after he’d already missed three. That said, with a 1 – 5 record, and 2 TD’s vs 6 picks, he was already having an abysmal season prior to injury. His 22 – 36 – 1 record over five seasons, should have benched him, but his ridiculous 40M$ per year price tag, forces NY to keep starting him.

Tommy DeVito had six straight starts last year, with a three game win streak in the middle of those. The offense seemed to find something with him, and averaged 18.8 points in games he started, vs 13.9 points in games that he didn’t. (Remember, Jones makes 40M$ per year.) Free agent Drew Lock was brought in, but he’s never been anything special as a pro. (-)

RB: Saquo- Sorry. Force of habit. Devin Singletary heads up the giants backfield and that comes with a ton of concerns. Historically, the giants lean heavy on this position. As a result they tend towards bigger, workhorse body types. Singletary is 5’7” 203 pounds. Not exactly built to carry an offense, which is why Singletary never has. You expect your lead back to have at least 100 carries over his backup. Singletary has never done that.

There are two other players at this position. The first is Eric Gray. He’s a 5th round pick from 2023 who’s production makes it wonder that he made the 2024 roster. Then there’s Tyrone Tracy, a 5th round pick from this year. That’s it. That’s everything on the active roster. On their practice squad they have Dante “Lil Turbo” Miller, but he last played competitive football in 2022. (-)

TE: This team expected to have Darren Waller return, but he kicked his football habit and retired. What they do have, is Daniel Bellinger, and Chris Manhertz. Neither is much of a receiver. Manhertz has bounced around the NFL for nine years, and has all of 271 receiving yards, in his career, and has never caught more than 6 passes in a season. In 2021 he was targeted a career-high, 9 times. Not in a game. For the season. Nine times, in a season.

Theo Johnson is a rookie selected in the 4th round this year. Over three years in college, he posted 43 – 597 – 13.8 – 5. The giants have to be hoping that they found a diamond in a box of Cracker Jack. If not, it would mean the post-Draft retirement of Waller, has ripped a huge hole in the side of this franchise. (-)

WR: Malik Nabers was the sixth overall pick in this year’s Draft, and he’s expected to be the spark that brings this offense back to life. I have my doubts. He used to live off of the ‘Shake’ route; but it’s highly doubtful that NFL secondaries are going to be as easy to solve as that. He played slot in college. Wonder where he’ll play in the NFL.

Deep threat Darius Slayton is coming off of a career year in yardage. Strange how he seemed come alive last year, after his starting QB was injured. Wan’Dale Robinson’s yards per catch went from 9.9 in 2022, to 8.8 in 2023, with only 1 TD in each year. He needs a career year.

Last year, the up and downs in Jaylin Hyatt’s rookie season, suggested that the coaches didn’t know what their plan was for him. They need to figure that out in 2024. Gunner Olszewski is mostly a return man, who’s done most of his damage on punt returns. Aside from Slayton, no one at this position has been a threat to NFL defenses yet. (-)

OT: LT Andrew Thomas missed seven games last year with a hamstring issue. He finished strong, by starting the last nine games, while playing every offensive snap in eight of those. He also didn’t draw a single penalty during that span.

RT this year will be manned by former Raider, Jermaine Eluemunor. What he is, is a well traveled pro, who understands that his job is to win at the point of attack. What he is not, is flashy, nimble, or dominant. He’s instant mashed potatoes and Heinz Homestyle gravy. You won’t starve, but you won’t rave about the meal either.

Evan Neal started seven games last year, committing 4 accepted penalties for 24 yards. Whenever his name comes up, it’s never associated with anything good, but the giants keep him on the roster. Joshua Ezeudu is a swingman here. (+)

OG: This is where New York seemed to be focused in the offseason. They added three free agents at this position, despite the fact that only two will start. The biggest get, was Jon Runyan Jr., formerly of Green Bay. Coming in as 6th round pick, Runyan played his way into being a starter for the last three years, and now into a three year, 30M$ deal with the giants. (Not bad kid. Not bad.)

Also added, were Aaron Stinnie from Tampa, and Greg Van Roten from Las Vegas. Van Roten would allow the giants to team him with Eleumunor, and reconstitute the right side that helped the Raiders only allow 40 sacks last year, vs the 85 that the giants allowed. Stinnie is a six year veteran, but he has less than a season’s worth of starts in his career. (+)

C: John Michael Schmitz started thirteen games, after being selected in the 2nd round of the 2023 Draft. Got hurt a couple of times last year, and missed four games, but that’s football. He moves well getting out on second level defenders. What is concerning, is that he’s sort of controllable for linemen at the point of attack. He has no backup on the active roster. (-)

In A Nutshell: A shitty QB; skill players who are mid-tier or lower; and an offensive line that would be better if the system were built around a powerback. Which they don’t have on their roster.

DEFENSE:

DE: Officially the giants roster doesn’t list any players at this position. Everyone is designated as a Defensive Lineman. Their depth chart on the other hand, lists two players, Brian Burns and Boogie Basham. They are however, listed as OLB’s on the giants roster, so they will be covered in that section, here. (NA)

DT: Officially the giants roster doesn’t list any players at this position. Everyone is designated as a Defensive Lineman. Alright, fine. So let’s list their defensive linemen.

DT Dexter Lawerence from a little while back

Dexter Lawrence is a menace on the inside. He’s a massive dude, who requires the attention of more than one gentleman caller at a time. Rakeem Nunez-Roches joined the giants last season, but seems to be in line for an expanded role in 2024. With a name pronounced ‘roaches’, this dude has to be tough. As depth, D.J. Davidson and Elijah Chatman have been issued helmets with the team logo on them. Lawrence had better stay healthy. (-)

OLB: At the top of the food chain, is Kayvon Thibodeaux. He racked up 11.5 sacks last year, but only 3 of them came in the second half of the season. It has yet to be determined if he’s a difference maker, or an overdrafted situational player who gets too many snaps.

Brian Burns spent the previous five seasons racking up 46 sacks, on a Carolina team that never reached .500. So he took a five year 141M$ deal, to get sacks in the Big Apple. Boogie Basham’s career went in the other direction. With no starts and 4.5 career sacks, he’s expected to backup Burns. Backups Azeez Ojulari, Tomon Fox, and Benton Whitley combine to form Reflector. (That’s a G1 Transformers nod.) They’re basically bodies for depth at all the LB spots. (+)

ILB: Bobby Okereke played every defensive snap last season, racking up 149 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 2 picks, and 4 FF. He was a beast. Micah McFadden is less of a playmaker, and more of scrape and sift through traffic, type of player. He fits his role. Carter Coughlin is depth. (+)

S: Jason Pinnock was awarded the starting role in 2023, and put up 85 tackles, 6TFL, 2 sacks, 2 picks, and 2FF. Safe to say he earned his 2024 starting role. Dane Belton however, is huge question mark. He has 7 career starts, with 7 career takeaways, but just 686 career snaps played. So there’s still a learning curve, with 2nd round rookie, Tyler Nubin, breathing down the back of Belton’s neck.

Isaiah Simmons endured the worst year of his career while switching position from ILB to S, last year. Whether or not the move will pay off in 2024, is still a question. Gerrvarius Owens and Raheem Layne, make up the remainder of this position. (+)

CB Deonte Banks arriving way too early

CB: Deonte Banks started fifteen games as a rookie, last year. So it should come as no surprise that he’s getting the nod again in 2024. Cordale Flott is going from part-time starter, to full-time guy on the outside. It seems that 3rd round rookie Andru Phillips will get the Nickel job.

Behind that group of very young guys, are a couple more young guys in Nick McCloud and Tre Hawkins. This much youth could grow together into a rock solid corp. They could also come apart, when their lack of experience makes it hard to solve problems in real time, at game speed. Especially since they were not well coached last year. (-)

In A Nutshell: If the LB’s aren’t amazing this year, this defense is doomed.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

LS: Casey Kreiter has been here four years without becoming “famous” for anything. (+)

P: Jamie Gillan while his average punt dropped from 46.8 in 2022, to 46.0 in 2023, his net rose from 39.7 in 2022, to 42.2 in 2023. Subtle improvements here, can mean more often winning the hidden yardage battle, which helps lead to wins. (+)

K: Graham Gano is coming off his worst season as a pro, with a 64.7% accuracy mark on his field goals. If he doesn’t get his act together, he probably won’t finish the season as a giant. (-)

In A Nutshell: If they can fix the field goal issue, this should be a solid, but not flashy unit. (+)

BOTTOM LINE:

Maaaaaan, Daniel Jones be trippin’!

Unless Daniel Jones suddenly proves a LOT of people wrong, the offense is going to suck. I’d guess their ceiling to be around 19 points per game this year. If that’s the case, their defense will need to be stellar, which is unlikely, because 3 – 4 bases tend to wear down over the year.

As for 2024: Let’s call it 7 – 9. This is by no means a winning team, but they play a few teams with issues of their own. In a battle between dysfunctional losers (like Week One vs the Vikings), I’ll take the NFC East team, every time.

BEST OF THE NFC EAST: QUARTERBACKS

Posted by The BEAST on 2024/04/07
Posted in: breakdown, Conversations, Draft, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, Offense, Players, Reviews, Roster, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

DRAFT Day is April 25th. Well actually it’s three days 25th, 26th and 27th, but you get the idea. Over the coming month, I’m going to do a position by position breakdown, of each team in the division. Just to compare known players apples to apples, and get everyone on the same page, before we start adding rookies, which can include anything from 1st round busts, to 6th round sure-fire Hall Of Famers.

Today we breakdown (cities are in alphabetical order): The Triggermen

DALLAS: Dak Prescott started every game last year and went 12 – 5 in the process. His 36 touchdown passes led the NFL last year, contrasted against just 9 picks. Many would call it a bounce back year, but I said last year, that the media was over-blowing the 15 picks he threw in 2022.

Judging his abilities, and not weighing any pieces around him, Prescott can make every NFL throw, and has the experience to diagnose coverages. He doesn’t have dangerous mobility, but he can get himself out of most trouble, and make a play here and there. His arm however, doesn’t always react to his eyes in real-time, resulting in picks that seem like head scratchers.

Cooper Rush will someday own a bar, where his regulars extrapolate his limited career stats, into a HOF career “if only he got to play more”. He’s a cerebral back-up, with a mid-level arm. Two season’s ago vs the Eagles, he missed his only shot at stardom.

Now, Rush will be making room for Trey Lance, who is trying to resurrect his career, after just two years as a pro. Lance is seen as a reclamation project with high upside; and with Dallas electing to not extend Prescott, Lance could end up becoming the Cowboys starter in 2025.

NEW YORK: It’s been said that when he’s healed from his 2023 ACL tear, that Daniel Jones is the starter. His entire tenure as a giant, has been a dumpster fire that keeps re-igniting itself. BUT, he’s a personal favorite of the owner. He played 6 games last year, lost five and ended the season on I.R. (Injured Reserve), for the second time in his short career.

QB Daniel Jones on an 80 yard run, being tackled by the grass.

In five seasons, he’s thrown 20+ touchdowns, just once (24 as a rookie). His remaining 48 career scoring strikes, are spread out over four years! (Read that last sentence again.) His mobility and moxie helps him make plays with his legs, but it’s also costing him chunks of seasons. If his mobility is any way diminished, he becomes a statue who’s passing is an outright liability.

If not for Jones’s bloated and over-guaranteed contract, Tommy DeVito would probably open up this season as the guy. He plays like a guy who’s trying to get noticed and earn something. Which is more than can be said for a quarter of the players in the league. But again, Jones’s 40M per year contract, cannot be ignored.

At the third string, somehow, Drew Lock is still drawing NFL paychecks. What his role is expected to be, is anybody’s guess. If the idea was to sign a veteran player, the giants nailed it. If they were hoping for a special player that they could turn into a project… Swing and a miss! So much mediocrity here.

PHILADELPHIA: Jalen Hurts started every game last season, went 11 – 6, threw for career-highs in both yardage (3858), and TD’s (23). He also rushed for a career-high 15 scores. Yet, it was easy to see, that he regressed badly last year. Did I mention that he also threw a career-high 15 interceptions? I didn’t? My bad. He also threw a career-high 15 interceptions.

Some of that is likely due to a lingering lower leg injury that he suffered early last season. It robbed him of his explosiveness as a runner. So opponents stopped regarding his running as dangerous, and played to limit his passing options. His reads and inability to handle the blitz (as 3rd year starter!) were exposed, and the Eagles Achilles Heel became front page news.

Kenny Pickett was recently added, via a trade with the Steelers. He was the 20th overall pick in the 2022 Draft, but nothing in his pro game, says that he should have been. From everything I’ve seen so far, he looks like an average QB. A very average QB. Tanner McKee is the third stringer, at the moment.

WASHINGTON: At this moment in time, this position has only two quarterbacks and Jake Fromm, on the Commanders roster. The best one of them, is Marcus Mariota; and he doesn’t even have a picture on the roster page of their website.

So yeah. The level of that team’s commitment to him, is apparent. The other placeholders are the oft traveled Jake Driskel, and Fromm, who hasn’t been on an active roster since 2021.

This is it! No joke. If the season started tomorrow, this is their QB room. So you can bet your ass, that this team is drafting a QB on the 25th of April. If he turns out to suck, the NFL might be morally obligated to black-out Washington’s games, until a messiah is born unto them. This is bad. I cannot recall seeing a worse QB situation, and that includes the expansion teams.

SO WHO’S THE BEST?

Right now, the nod has to go to DALLAS. Their starter has a clear command of his system, his weapons, and the same Offensive Coordinator as last year. Hurts is close, but he going to have a new OC, and his inability to handle the blitz is an outright liability. Until he shows that he’s gotten that problem solved, Hurts can’t be said to be elite, or even possess all the tools of a pro.

Dallas also has a proven back-up who can win them games. That gives them the deepest QB room going into 2024. In addition to that, they may have their next long-term starting QB already on the roster. The Eagles might also claim this, but Pickett doesn’t have nearly Lance’s upside.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: DIVISIONAL ROUND: GIANTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/01/22
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFC Championship, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Rivals, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
RB Kenneth Gainwell rips off 35 yard touchdown run on a day where he was also a giant killer

TOLD you we wouldn’t lose.

EAGLES 38 – giants 7

EAGLES STATS:

Categories include an EXCLUSIVE weekly Offensive Line Report (Rushing TD’s (6 points) + 3rd downs converted by handoffs (1 point) + sacks allowed (-2 points) = score); as well as Drive Killer (Int – FR – 4th down Tackles – FF – TD).

New Category Ace is for Kick return TD’s, Returners run-down, kicks blocked, etc.

Passing :(S) QB Jalen Hurts (16/24 – 66.6% – 154 – 2 – 0)

Rushing : (B) RB Kenneth Gainwell (12 – 112 – 9.3 –1 – 0)

Receiving :(S) WR Devonta Smith (10 – 6 – 61 – 10.1 – 1)

Offensive Line Report/Enforcer : (3 (18) + 5 (5) – 1 (-2) = 21) RT Lane Johnson

Drive Killer : (S) CB James Bradberry (1 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0)

Sack Leader : (S) DE Josh Sweat (2 – 1.5 – 0 – 1)

Ace : N/A

****

I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these Four Things articles. It’s to point out what we need to address BEFORE the game. Then AFTER the game, there’s a no-bullshit assessment of whether or not the Eagles did any of what they needed to do, to ensure the win.

So how much of what I mentioned in Four Things: GIANTS did the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:

1) Feed Miles Sanders: Early on the Eagles made a point of feeding RB Miles Sanders (17 – 90 – 5.2 – 0 – 0), who led the team in carries. It wasn’t until the 4th drive that Philadelphia began using Sanders to impose our will on New York, but once we did, a tone was set, and then the volume was cranked way up.

We ran for 268 yards on those scrubs. Kenneth Gainwell led the team with 112 yards, but RB Boston Scott (6 – 32 – 5.3 – 1 – 0) also chipped in. Our run game allowed us to control the clock for 35:43 of the 60 minute contest. As a result our defense was well rested, and able to play fast and relentless. We used one side of the ball to enhance another. Excellent! (DONE)

2) Time for the Kerrigan Plan: Getting the ball to TE Dallas Goedert (5 – 5 – 58 – 11.6 – 1) worked like a charm! We were able to get it to him at will. Though we surely left some money on the table, the run game was too efficient to turn away from.

In the meantime, covering Goedert popped the giants defense open like a steamed clam. Since the run game kept chewing up real estate, there was no need to overdo things. That said, next week’s opponent won’t be getting much sleep this week. (DONE)

3) Set those edges HARD: We were a lot better about this in the middle of the game. We started slow and finished slow with this, but we did enough to make their run game unreliable, which was the entire point. (DONE)

4) You Shall Not Pass: Show everyone EXACTLY who QB Daniel Jones (15/27 – 55.5% – 135 – 0 – 1) really is. For weeks now, we’ve been hearing how awesome this awful QB is. The idea was to take away the run (CHECK!), put the game on his shoulders (CHECK!), and see just how great this overblown bust really is.

OLB Haason Reddick chops down QB Daniel Jones

We spent the game harassing him, and sacking him 5 times. He was not up to the pressure of the moment, and in no way resembled the QB who tore into a fraudulent Vikings team last week. See his numbers? See that final score? (DONE)

****

This week we hit ALL FOUR THINGS, and how! Next week some other poor sucker has to make the trip to Philadelphia for the NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, just to be put on a plane, and sent home to clean out their lockers. No clue who they’ll be, but with any luck it’ll be San Francisco.

****

On The Whole:

This game was worse than the 48 – 22 blowout from a few weeks ago. Not only was the point margin larger, but we dominated across the board. Anyone in the giants organization who doesn’t now see that the giants are years behind the Eagles, doesn’t have an opinion worth listening to.

FOUR THINGS: PLAYOFFS: DIVISIONAL ROUND: EAGLES – GIANTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/01/19
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFC Championship, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Preview, Rivals, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

DEFEATING the giants was enough to earn us the NFC East, the 1st seed in the NFC, and a bye week. Well apparently, sweeping them isn’t enough to convince their fans, nor the national sports media, that in this third match-up, they’re still thoroughly outclassed by us, this season.

We blew them out 48 – 22 in Week 14. They played their back-ups in Week 18, and the score was closer at 22 – 16. Because their second loss wasn’t as embarrassing, it has given their fans hope for a different result in these playoffs.

Understand, they have hope because no one is mentioning that we were up 19 – 0 in the third, realized that we had the NFC East in the bag, and started to pack it in.

No one mentions our injuries, or that we scarcely used some starters.

No one mentions how vanilla, how almost preseason level, our gameplan was.

Their fans ignore these things, so they can keep their playoff hopes on life support.

One of these teams won 14 games and swept the other. It’s high time we reminded these “giants”, of just who is who. As for their hopes, I can only say:

Winning sends us to the NFC Championship game.

There will be no losing.

****

The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics would give our Eagles the best chance to win this game. So here are the Four Things that we need to focus on this week, versus the: giants.

1) Feed Miles Sanders: The Biggest difference between our 48 – 22 win and our 22 – 16 win was that in the blowout, we fed RB Miles Sanders early and set a tone for the game. He had a career high 144 rushing yards that day. (Read that last sentence one more time.) In the second game we sprinkled him in here and there. He never got a rhythm, and the Offense was lopsided. (For a few reasons to be fair.)

No pitch counts. No worrying about tomorrow. Feed him. Set a physical tone and use the run game to give our Defense enough of a breather between drives. The giants are going to want to control the clock with ball control. However, if we burn time from our side too, they won’t be able to stick with it, once we’re holding the lead.

2) Time for the Kerrigan Plan: For those who want a deeper explanation, details of the Kerrigan Plan are  HERE. For other who just want me to nutshell it: The giants basically run a 5-2 scheme. So they can be exploited by certain routes. This is partly why RB Boston Scott has mangled that team during his career.

They giants make a point of occupying the TE with one ILB, so the RB has an easier time hitting holes and getting open. With Scott’s small stature, the remaining ILB has to be right when guessing where Scott will pop out of. (Like a high stress game of Whack-A-Mole.) The giants can be right on 8 carries, but it only takes being wrong once for this to happen:

3) Set those edges HARD: Funnel their RB’s back inside, toward waiting MLB T.J. Edwards. We’ve done it in both prior games, and it’s taken the teeth out of their run game both times. If it ain’t broke, LEAVE ‘LONE! LEAVE ‘LONE!

Also, QB Daniel Jones has become a very enthusiastic runner of the football over his last couple of games. Good for him! He really seems to have found his bliss. So yeah, we need to tone that down for him. Again, T.J. will be sitting back there. Being affectionate as always.

4) You Shall Not Pass: People have gotten carried away with the last couple of games by Daniel Jones. So the Eagles should remind everyone of exactly who he is. This is a man, who is in his best year as a pro, having thrown just 15 touchdowns in 16 games. (Folks, if I start talking about the double standard, my face will melt off.)

Meanwhile, the national media has the nerve to talk like the giants have a chance here. We managed to curb-stomp this guy in a game in which he didn’t even turn the ball over; and this is how they act?! Oh no, hell no! We are NOT running from this son-of-a-bitch! Take away the run game, and make this fraud play with his team draped across his shoulders.

****

If the Eagles do these Four Things, then we’ll be virtually impossible to beat. That being said…

Nothing is an automatic. That’s why the games are played. Still, the Eagles are the far superior team, so this game should be feeding sheep to lions. The narrative that the giants have a chance, is entirely borne out of the final score from two weeks ago, and not how the game went.

Allow me to read from the Book of Eaglemaniacal and take you back:

Miles Sanders who played 45 snaps in the blowout, only played 29 in the second match-up. This was even though the Eagles coaches weren’t running QB Jalen Hurts. So our early ground game was practically nil. Despite that, our drives netted us a touchdown and four field goals, putting us up 19 – 0. That score again was 19 to crickets.

We needed to either win that game, or have the Dallas Cowboys lose, in order to clinch our division. A bit of scoreboard watching, revealed that Washington was already cooking Dallas. So of course, we mentally shrugged midway through the third quarter. We were up 19 – 0 and our actual competition, wasn’t even in the game we were playing. I seriously think if the lead hit 20, our starters would have been pulled.

Gambling with house money, with nothing to lose, the giants took chances with the ball, and let it all hang out. They finally got 3 points on the board with 50 seconds left in the third. Put bluntly: They didn’t check in, until we were already checking out. So their points were essentially scored in garbage time.

This, lads and lasses, is what has fools thinking the giants will leave Philadelphia with anything other than the scratches and bruises from our brooms.

****

Prediction: EAGLES 28 – giants 13

WARNING: I don’t have the faintest clue as to what a point spread is, and I know even less about how it works. I know football and that’s IT. If you use Four Things as a gambling tool, you are trying to lose your money, and will deserve it when you do.

Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how this game went.

2021 NEW YORK giants

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/04/19
Posted in: breakdown, Defense, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, Offense, Players, Preview, Roster, Special Teams, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

LAST year the giants finished 6 – 10 overall, and 4 – 2 in the division. They went out whining. Crying like entitled toddlers because the Eagles, in their final game (against Washington) tanked for better Draft position. This gave Washington the division, whereas an Eagles win would have given the division to New York. (And lowered the Eagles Draft position in every round.) Pointing the finger at Philadelphia, instead of their own 6 – 10 record, isn’t a sign of a team that holds itself accountable. Which sort of explains the 6 – 10 record.

In any case, this is where the giants roster currently stands in the week prior to the 2021 NFL Draft.

OFFENSE

QB: Daniel Jones has lost 9 games in each of his two pro seasons, for a career mark of 8 – 18. In 2020, his 10 interceptions were 2 fewer than in his rookie year. Unfortunately, his 11 TD’s were less than half his rookie year’s (24). While many things worked to trip him up last year,

he’s probably run out of benefit of the doubt, and has to produce 9 wins to remain the starter in 2022. Mike Glennon is the back-up. Over his 7 year career, he’s been on 5 teams, and when he plays, he’s been the human equivalent to waving a white flag. (-)

RB: Saquon Barkley is back from the torn ACL that ended a 2020 season that was already pretty bad for him. Prior to his injury, in two starts, he’d racked up 34 yards on 19 carries for a 1.8 yard per carry average. Everyone who filled in last year, is gone. The back-up this year is Devontae Booker. He’s a sneaky-smart addition who could be a problem for opponents as part of a 1 – 2 punch, or a credible first option, if Barkley has setbacks. Even with all the turnover at this position in 2020, Elijhaa Penny was trusted with just 6 carries.

Jordan Chunn is also on the roster. In any case, Barkley struggled even before being hurt, so this group gets a side-eye until they show better. (-)

WR: Darius Slayton is a solid number two, pushed into being a low-end one. Though he’s good for 745 yards per season, and 15 yards per catch, he adds more value than that. He has speed to threaten deep, and helps by opening things up behind him. Sterling Shepard is a possession receiver. He’s FAR better suited to the Slot than the outside, but until the giants can find someone for that other end, Shepard will keep being lined up out there. Which is likey why they added free agent, Kenny Golladay. He’s made some circus grabs over the years, but he’s going to find that landing on New Yorks cold ground is different than the controlled 70 degree dome in Detroit. He also doesn’t have Matt Stafford throwing to him anymore. Also added was John Ross, who is touted as having speed to burn. That said, he’s played in only 27 of a possible 64 career games, meaning he’s missed 37. That includes 13 missed games in 2020. All in all, the talent is credible here. (+)

TE: Remember when everyone was certain that Evan Engram would be the next Tony Gonzalez? Just in case you missed it, he posted a 57% catch rate last year. Newly added Kyle Rudolph’s blocking should help the run game. He also should add some value as a red zone threat. Due to volume of targets, Engram will produce numbers. However, there’s a real question now, of whether his targets would be better spent elsewhere. Put another way, folks are actively starting to wonder if he’s holding the offense back. (-)

OT: Nate Solder and Andrew Thomas comprise the bookends. Solder sat out 2020. Thomas was a 16 game starter as a rookie, playing 95% of the offensive snaps. Matt Peart is waiting in the wings, drafted as a project. However, this off-season’s re-signing of Solder to a 4 year deal, doesn’t indicate that Peart has captured the confidence of the coaching staff. After a bad 2020, this position has a lot to prove. (-)

G: As a rookie, Shane Lemieux started 9 games to finish the season. The question now is, with the release of Kevin Zeitler, does Lemieux stay at LG or slide to RG? Will Hernandez has seen his star dim recently, but a chance to play could brighten it up again. Zeitler’s departure all but guarantees Hernandez a role as a starter if he stays healthy. The question is, does he go back to LG, or is he a RG? Former Texan, Zach Fulton comes over to provide veteran depth, but given how often his last QB had to save himself from his protection, it’s shallow depth indeed. Especially since there no solid answer for who plays where. (-)

C: Nick Gates started 16 games at the pivot in 2020, and was the only lineman to play 100% of the 2020 season’s snaps. Also on the roster is recently signed, seasoned veteran Jonotthan Harrison. (+)

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IN A NUTSHELL: Not all the pieces to this puzzle were ever meant to go together. That’s why over the years it keeps not fitting. Drafting a TE who doesn’t block, was a mistake. Drafting a big back who doesn’t run big, without giving him a dominant blocker at TE or a FB, was a mistake. Drafting QB because of personal history, was a mistake. The giants front office has been stacking unforced errors for nearly half a decade now. Now there’s going to be a shuffle in the protection directly in front of the QB. So much of this unit is broken at the conceptual level. That’s why it keeps failing. And it’s also why no draft pick can save this mess. (-)

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DEFENSE

DE: Leonard Williams racked up career highs of 11.5 sacks and 30 QB hits last year while notching 57 tackles. Dexter Lawrence isn’t a pass rusher, but at 342 he’s a big’un, and he’s too quick for opponents to get cute with their blocking assignments. To bolster the pass rush, the giants signed Ifeadi Odenigbo. At 258 Odenigbo may not line up at this position since they bill themselves as “Multiple”, but favored a 3-4 alignment last year. B.J. Hill is a big (311), veteran rotational player. He’s not top-tier talent, but he plays assignment sound football. (+)

Dexter Lawrence

NT: With the loss of Dalvin Tomlinson to Minnesota, Austin Johnson becomes the new man in the middle with Danny Shelton backing him up. While New York may pick up teaspoon of interior pass rush, they just lost a cup of run support. (-)

OLB: Kyler Fackrell is a situational player who saw too much playing time last year. He started off very hot for about 6 weeks. After which he got exposed, and then got injured. Lorenzo Carter played 5 games last year and then tore his Achilles tendon. He wasn’t exactly a star before his injury. Oshane Ximines started 3 games, played 110 snaps, and recorded a total of 5 tackles. Even if Ifeadi Odenigbo moves out here, the giants still lack a single player who can play backwards, not just forward. That means RB’s and TE’s are going to tear this team up. (-)

ILB: I still can’t figure out how Blake Martinez was allowed to leave Green Bay. This guy is the genuine article. Starts every game, makes tackles (151), adds pass rush (3 sacks), and is equally adept in zone coverage (5 passes defensed). Tae Crowder had an up and down rookie season, but that’s what a rookie season is for. While Devante Downs started the season as the starter, Crowder finished with the role. During a (failed) playoff push. This tells you who the organization is pulling for. Newly signed Reggie Ragland adds size to the second level and will help push Crowder. In any case, young guys who know the system, competing at a position, that usually helps sharpen the hell out of it. (+)

Jabrill Peppers yet again struggling in coverage. Here he is giving up the game winning touchdown pass to Eagles RB Boston Scott.

S: Jabrill Peppers recorded the 4th interception of his four year career last year. He also forced a fumble. Because he’s, you know…a difference maker. Logan Ryan made the switch from Corner to Free last year, and he pulled it off without a hitch success. In many ways 2020 was one of his worst as a pro. But it’s keeping him paid! So there’s that. Xavier McKinney started the last 4 games of 2020, playing an increasing percentage of the defense’s downs in every single game. He’s the reason one of the aforementioned players will be riding pine in 2021. Julian Love is a tweener who managed 6 starts in 2020. Expect solid run support from this group. You can also expect them to get routinely cornholed on intermediate routes over the middle. (-)

CB: James Bradberry earned himself a Pro Bowl nod, after having a career year, during his first as a giant. Isaac Yiadom started 10 games last year, and allowed QB’s a 120 passer rating when throwing his way. That’s 40 points higher than the 80 passer rating allowed by Bradberry. And so the giants added Adoree Jackson to shore up the other side. Whether that works out depends on with version of him they get. Since 2019, Jackson has been on Injured Reserve or deactivated 17 times in his last 25 possible games. Buyer beware. Julian Love is the top back-up here. At spots 5 and 6 are maybe Sam Beal and Darnay Holmes, both drafted by the team. That said, their spots are far from safe. They have a good one, but it’s just one. (-)

IN A NUTSHELL: Expect this team to be tough to run on, but to also hemorrhage passing yardage. The OLB’s are pass rushers (won’t have to cover), and the Safeties have trouble with speed. With passing on this team being so easy, opponents may not even opt to run the ball much vs the giants. That will artificially drive up the ranking on their rushing yards allowed, but it will be hollow, since they won’t face as many attempts. The flaws on this unit are glaring, and aside from possibly drafting a savior at CB or FS, this unit will regress in 2021. (-)

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SPECIAL TEAMS

K: Graham Gano connected on 31/32 GF (96.8%) including 5/6 from 50 or longer. He did however, miss on two extra point conversions (21/23), and of his 73 kickoffs, only 30 were downed in the end zone. That means opponents attempted returns, nearly 60% of the time. (+)

P: Riley Dixon averaged a career-low 44.8 yard per punt, with a career-low 39.4 yards net. Though only 25 of his 65 punts were returned, the 232 return yards (9.2 avg) indicates that he’s giving return men time and room to pick their spots. (-)

IN A NUTSHELL: Gano is a liability to the Defense, but he was reliable as a point scorer. That’s no easy feat in Rutherford, New Jersey once the weather turns. Dixon is costing the giants the hidden yardage/field position battle. Neither his distance nor his hang-time are helping his coverage unit. As a result, whenever the ball is kicked to the opponent, the giants are doing worse than average. (-)

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BOTTOM LINE: Head Coach Joe Judge has focused on coaching work ethic in his players. From a mental standpoint, the giants are clearly better as a team than they were at the end of 2019. So their front office, got the right man.

The problem is that, that same front office, hasn’t changed the method of how they build a roster. They have players who’s style and talent runs counter to other players on the very same unit. In short, this team is not complementary. It’s awkward. It’s misshapen. Grotesque.

Between a QB who hasn’t mastered throwing, and Safeties who cover more like Linebackers, the whole damned thing is a head scratcher. Before they can beat other teams to win the division, they’ll have to stop beating themselves. Otherwise, they’ll have to keep hoping for rivals to send them to the playoffs.

SAQUON BARKLEY’S BIG 2019

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/06/15
Posted in: Conversations, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, Rivals, Roster, stats, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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giants fans are bullish on Saquon Barkley in 2019.

WHEN giants head coach Pat Shurmur said rookie QB Daniel Jones is “on track with the goal to be ready to play day one”, he inadvertently made it clear (to anyone with common sense), that even if Jones doesn’t get the week one nod, he will start at some point in this 2019 season.

Which means that he also inadvertently made it clear that RB Saquon Barkley, is about to see a ton of work, since the best friend of a young QB, is a running game. Well actually it’s any QB’s best friend, but even more so, for a young one. That means when Jones takes over at QB, at lot of the load will fall on Barkley, who will be relied on primarily for two key things.

First, getting yards on early downs, in order to keep 3rd downs manageable, and expose the young tyke to fewer blitz situations, where he has to hold the ball while receivers uncover.

Second, Barkley will be key in helping Jones identify where the blitzes are coming from, as well as physically picking them up, to give Jones the confidence to know that in the future, he can operate without worry. This has giants fans expecting GIANT things.

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Barkley has more than enough talent and experience to these things. So this has giants fans bullish about Barkley’s upcoming season. However, it’s possible, even highly probable, that if Jones isn’t a transformative talent, this might be the start of Barkley’s demise as a player.

This season Barkley will log a lot of heavy-use downs, where his body takes more abuse than he did last year. As Jones opens as next years starter and tries to set his feet vs teams with tape on him, Barkley will also see heavy-use, next season. At a stout 5’11 233 pounds, Barkley is physically built for it. Then again so was 5’11 220 pound Rodney Hampton, back in 1994 to 96.

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Rodney Hampton vs (then) division rival and annual doormat, Phoenix Cardinals. Back when the NFC East had FIVE teams in it.

For giants fans I’m about to use two dirty words. Sorry, but I have to. QB Dave Brown. Brown is the reason that Hampton went from being age 25 to age 40 in just two seasons. To give Brown a stable platform, the giants offense was hung around Hampton’s neck like bling from the planet Krypton.

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To put it in flat numerical terms, in 1994 Hampton had 327 rushes to Brown’s 350 pass attempts. And Hampton only played in 14 games that year! The workload was too much.

Since Brown never panned out as a starter (1994 -96: 47 starts, 20W – 27L, 35TD – 46Int), the load was never shifted off of Hampton, and he had to carry the offense, for three straight years. The giants essentially took an up and coming star, and ran him into the ground. (In four seasons with Brown at QB, Hampton had 963 touches and just one play of 30 yards or more.)

So it stands to reason that the giants may want to take a lesson from history, and monitor closely how much of their offense is run through Barkley. There is no denying his talent. He is definitely a special player. So while as a division rival, I root for seeing him contained, it would be sad to see him sacrificed on the altar of, “Trying to Legitimize Daniel Jones”.

Unfortunately, that seems to be what’s on the menu for 2019.

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