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Post by fordham on Sept 12, 2021 19:24:51 GMT -5
Daniel Jones is not an NFL quarterback and the Giants are not a good team. The Giants ought to go out and look around and see what quarterbacks are available. Does Cam Newton have something left?
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Post by tomt on Sept 13, 2021 8:04:31 GMT -5
I did not see the game as it was not available in my area. I did listen to the play by play on XM. Carl Banks raked the defense over the coals for their poor third down performances. Jones also sounded like he played poorly as there were several occasions when he missed passes he should have made, did not get the ball on passes to Barkley when he could have kept drives alive, and that costly fumble in the red zone. I was in Jones' camp but I fear the Giants and I were wrong about him. I hope they can improve on Thursday in an important division game (as I think our division will be bad again this year).
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Post by JohnM on Sept 13, 2021 8:42:52 GMT -5
I didn’t see Jones miss any passes. At least three were dropped that should have been catches. It was all on the defense. Giants hardly ran any offensive plays.
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Post by jimbue2 on Sept 13, 2021 8:49:54 GMT -5
Disappointed
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Post by fordham on Sept 13, 2021 8:53:07 GMT -5
What about Jones' fumble?
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Post by Yankin'It in Beantown on Sept 17, 2021 7:17:41 GMT -5
Game 2.
Jones played good.
Loss crushed me. I am taking up yoga.
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Post by tomt on Sept 17, 2021 16:05:40 GMT -5
JOnes, Sheppard, Gano, OLine (in the second half) played well. Defense is shoddy with no pass rush (you can't blitz all the time). I think we should have used Jones' legs after the interception, as everyone was looking at Barkley. I am crushed as well. Thursday Nightmare Football, ugh.
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Post by Lefteroo on Sept 17, 2021 16:27:17 GMT -5
Tom, you're right - we needed a TD after that interception - the Jones play around left end was working all night. Should have tried it. Probably afraid to pass because an interception would cost us a shot at the FG.
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Post by tomt on Sept 18, 2021 8:26:12 GMT -5
Lefty, I agree. We are too conservative in this situations. If he ran left and turned the corner it would have been a first down and we could have ran out the clock or a TD. We need to shake things up and utilize the athleticism of our guys. Oh well, 0-2 we are familiar with that record.
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Post by jimbue2 on Sept 19, 2021 9:43:50 GMT -5
Judge is not impressing me … team was unprepared for Denver I. A game we should win at home and his decision to run the ball and take 16 seconds off the clock was beyond stupid … and what happened to the defense…. We played soft coverage when we couldn’t afford to give up fg terrible game Mgnt…..Daniel Jones is gonna be a player
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Post by Yankin'It in Beantown on Sept 19, 2021 13:05:37 GMT -5
gotta win game 3 or the season will be lost and we will have nonstop finger pointing. i believe in jones and judge. to have to replace either would be a real setback.
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Post by rags on Sept 19, 2021 20:34:34 GMT -5
When I got disgusted with the Yankees today, I flipped the channel just to check out the Jets score. CBS was posting an odd but revealing statistic that the Giants and Jets were a combined 1-19 in the first two games of the season since 2017. And the one win went to the Jets, so the Giants are 0-10.
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Post by JohnM on Sept 26, 2021 12:44:53 GMT -5
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Post by JohnM on Sept 26, 2021 12:54:20 GMT -5
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Post by JohnM on Sept 26, 2021 13:13:21 GMT -5
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Post by fordham on Sept 26, 2021 15:19:20 GMT -5
The Maras should sell the team.
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Post by jimbue2 on Sept 26, 2021 19:02:22 GMT -5
What a horrific loss
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Post by roger on Sept 27, 2021 10:18:19 GMT -5
......if there was an Anti-Lombardi award for securing losses from the jaws of victory, these guys would win it hands out the last few seasons !!!
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Post by Yankin'It in Beantown on Sept 27, 2021 10:25:53 GMT -5
......if there was an Anti-Lombardi award for securing losses from the jaws of victory, these guys would win it hands out the last few seasons !!! No kidding, the tide has got to turn at some point. It's becoming weekly!
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Post by JohnM on Sept 28, 2021 10:49:15 GMT -5
Dan Dugan
As painful as it is to revisit, here are 10 takeaways after reviewing the Giants’ 17-14 loss to the Falcons on Sunday:
1. Close your eyes and try to think of all the big plays the Giants have made this season. OK, now open them — I don’t want your coworkers thinking you’re asleep at your desk. The 0-3 Giants have deep problems, but some of them could have been masked if anyone had made a big play late in their last-second losses the past two weeks.
Even the few players playing reasonably well have failed to come through in big spots. That’s troubling for a team that has spent so much in free agency and invested so many premium draft picks.
The defense wasn’t bad against an anemic Falcons offense, but the unit failed to capitalize on multiple opportunities to make game-changing plays. Safety Logan Ryan had his worst game as a Giant, failing to grab two potential interceptions and allowing a 26-yard gain after getting stiff-armed by Cordarrelle Patterson early on Atlanta’s tying touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.
At least Ryan had a degree of difficulty on his potential interceptions. There was no excuse for cornerback Adoree’ Jackson failing to haul in a lollipop Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan threw up for grabs in the end zone one play before the tying touchdown.
As always, the bigger problems reside on offense, however. The mini-outburst in a 30-29 loss to Washington in Week 2 looks less impressive after WFT gave up 43 points to the Bills in a blowout Sunday.
The Giants managed just 14 points against a Falcons defense that was allowing 40 points per game. The Giants are averaging 18.7 points per game this season, which is an increase of just 1.2 points from last year despite making many upgrades to the personnel.
The Giants simply fail to generate enough explosive plays. They are tied for 22nd in the league with nine plays that have gained 20 or more yards this season.
So many of the Giants’ catches come with defensive backs draped all over receivers’ backs. Kenny Golladay didn’t earn a $72 million contract for his ability to run curl routes. During his breakout 2019 season in Detroit, Golladay’s average depth of target was 16.1 yards, and 31.9 percent of his targets were on throws of 20 yards or more. This season, Golladay’s average depth of target is 14.2 yards and just 10.5 percent of his targets have been on throws of 20 yards or more.
Quarterback Daniel Jones, who rated well as a deep passer last season, has only seven attempts of 20 yards or more this season. That’s just 6.7 percent of his attempts. Jones threw 20 yards or more on 11.8 percent of his attempts as a rookie in Pat Shurmur’s offense in 2019.
On Sunday, Jones attempted two deep passes: a 38-yard strike on third down to C.J. Board on the Giants’ first drive and an overthrown incompletion on a similar third-down attempt to Collin Johnson in the third quarter.
Jones has been solid this season, especially with limiting turnovers. But the Giants need more from the No. 6 pick in the 2019 draft. The Giants had the ball in a tie game with four minutes remaining Sunday and they were forced to punt to the Falcons, who promptly marched down the field for the game-winning field goal. The stalled series wasn’t all Jones’ fault, but it would have been a nice spot for a franchise quarterback to lead a game-winning drive.
2. The need for more explosive plays is heightened by the Giants’ tendency to commit killer mistakes at inopportune times. The Giants had three plays derail promising drives on Sunday:
• The Giants had an impressive opening drive, which hasn’t been uncommon despite their overall offensive woes. But the drive was sabotaged by a miscue, which is also not uncommon.
Left guard Ben Bredeson got toasted by Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett for a sack on second-and-goal from Atlanta’s 8-yard line. The 11-yard loss forced the Giants to settle for a field goal.
• The Giants were driving again in the second quarter with the ball on Atlanta’s 17 when a first-down snap inexplicably went through Jones’ hands. He fell on the loose ball for an 11-yard loss. The Giants were then content to throw short of the sticks and kick another field goal.
• The Giants were nearing field-goal range after the Falcons tied the score with 4:13 remaining. With the ball at their own 49-yard line, they needed six more yards to match the distance for the longest field goal of Graham Gano’s career. Another 12 yards would have put the Giants comfortably in range for a long field-goal attempt.
But on second-and-10, right tackle Nate Solder was beat for a strip sack by Dante Fowler. Jones was fortunate to recover the fumble, but the 9-yard loss led to a punt.
The Giants need explosive plays because they simply aren’t good enough to execute at the level necessary to sustain lengthy drives. Even if things don’t stall early, they rank 27th in the league in red-zone scoring percentage, and their three red-zone touchdowns are tied for 26th. This isn’t a new problem. The Giants ranked 25th in red-zone scoring percentage and 31st in red-zone touchdowns last season.
3. Bredeson was flagged for a holding penalty on a third-and-4 incompletion from Atlanta’s 39-yard line midway through the third quarter. Seemingly without hesitation, Falcons coach Arthur Smith declined the penalty.
Smith appeared confident that Giants coach Joe Judge would punt rather than be aggressive in that spot. Sure enough, Judge sent the punt team onto the field and a good boot by Riley Dixon gave the Falcons the ball at their 5-yard line.
“It was simple,” Judge said of his decision-making process. “I wanted to make sure we maintained the field position at that point. … You’re almost ensured of playing on a short field if you can go ahead and hold them on defense.”
Of course, if the aim is favorable field position and a short field, another means to achieving those objectives would be going for it on fourth-and-short from the opponent’s 39-yard line. Judge continues to coach ultra-conservatively, and it’s just not working with an offense that struggles so much to generate scoring opportunities.
4. The Giants didn’t take my advice. You may look at the box score and see that Jones had eight carries for 39 yards and mistakenly believe that the Giants continued to utilize him as a runner after he torched Washington for 95 yards on the ground. But all of Jones’ rushing attempts came on scrambles, with a kneel-down and a sneak mixed in. There wasn’t a single zone-read keeper.
Jones did give the ball to Saquon Barkley on a few zone reads, but it’s hard to understand why the play isn’t a bigger part of the offense every week.
5. All offseason the question was how long it would take Barkley to return to pre-injury form. The troubling answer is that Barkley looks like the healthy version of himself and these are the results.
Barkley has played 84 percent and 86 percent of the offensive snaps, respectively, in the past two games. His workload certainly would be more limited if there were concerns about his knee. Barkley is averaging 3.4 yards per carry and 6.2 yards per catch, which are both significantly lower than his career averages.
Giants radio analyst Carl Banks was imploring Barkley to follow his blockers and get up field during Sunday’s game. But Barkley was running how he has throughout his career.
There were a few instances when Barkley put his shoulder down and maximized the yardage that was available — a 7-yard run in the first quarter stands out. But Barkley either isn’t disciplined or patient enough to stick with that style. He invariably reverts to dancing behind the line as he searches for the opportunity to hit a home run. The irony is that most of Barkley’s biggest runs have come when he’s burst through the line and then cut away from players at the second level. He almost never breaks a run after stopping his feet behind the line.
Barkley’s lack of patience was costly on the Giants’ final offensive play. He caught a screen and had two offensive linemen in front of him. Picking up all 19 yards necessary for a first down was a long shot, but Barkley got no more than the minimum yardage available by cutting into the lone defensive player in the vicinity. Barkley picked up 10 yards and the Giants punted on fourth-and-9 from the 50-yard line.
6. It’s not known how much time wide receiver Sterling Shepard will miss with a hamstring injury. Any absence will leave a sizable void because Shepard has been the Giants’ best player this season.
On the flip side, an opportunity will be afforded to rookie Kadarius Toney if Shepard is out. There were reports that Toney was going to be more involved on Sunday … and then he had two catches for 16 yards on three targets. Toney played 66 percent of the offensive snaps, but even with Shepard and Darius Slayton leaving early with hamstring injuries, he didn’t have a single target in the second half.
There were glimpses of the first-round pick’s shiftiness on Sunday, when he made defenders miss after making short catches. Judge said Monday that getting Toney the ball more is a focus.
There were a few creative wrinkles involving Toney on Sunday. On one play, he and Barkley lined up in the backfield flanking Jones in the shotgun. Toney went in motion to the right and Barkley took a handoff to the left for a 4-yard gain. There were two plays with no running backs on the field — just tight end Evan Engram and four wide receivers. Those two plays generated 30 yards on a 12-yard Jones scramble and an 18-yard completion to Golladay.
7. Engram is a good guy and his struggles on the field aren’t the result of him not being dedicated or anything like that. But he’s become the poster child for an athlete who needs a change of scenery.
Engram fumbled on his second catch on Sunday after missing the first two games of the season with a calf injury. Engram was involved in an ordinate amount of turnovers last season, so he was the target of a restless fanbase’s frustration for the rest of the game.
Engram was booed when he failed to catch two off-target passes later in the game. Then the ultimate indignity came when the crowd gave Engram a Bronx cheer when he was subbed out after those incompletions.
The situation has become totally toxic. It’s hard to see things turning around in Engram’s fifth season. And since his contract is up after this season, the Giants should be looking to make a trade. A fresh start would be best for all involved.
8. The Giants’ offensive line hasn’t been as disastrous as feared, but it feels like the unit is hanging by a thread. Bredeson had a brutal game on Sunday, surrendering the sack that forced the Giants to settle for a field goal on their opening drive, getting flagged for a holding penalty and generally struggling.
The Giants signed Wes Martin off Washington’s practice squad on Monday. A 2019 fourth-round pick, Martin made 10 starts in two seasons for Washington. He could work into the mix quickly if Bredeson doesn’t make drastic improvements. The Giants also may need to consider giving Matt Skura a shot at center if Billy Price continues to struggle.
Solder has been underwhelming at right tackle, giving up the strip-sack on the Giants’ final possession, which killed the drive and led to a punt. It’s alarming that second-year right tackle Matt Peart hasn’t played an offensive snap in the past two games.
Left tackle Andrew Thomas has been a bright spot and that bodes well for the future. But it’s hard to get excited about much on the offense right now.
9. Inside linebacker Blake Martinez is out for the season with a torn ACL. That’s a crushing blow for the defense.
Tae Crowder took over as the defensive signal caller in Martinez’s absence Sunday and figures to continue in that role. That’s an obvious downgrade, but the Giants don’t have any better options. One thing they may consider: moving Jabrill Peppers to the other inside linebacker spot.
The Giants have a logjam at safety, which has led to Peppers playing only 65 percent of the snaps this season. Peppers has had a rough start to the season, but his struggles in coverage would be easier to hide at linebacker.
It might seem drastic to play a 215-pounder at inside linebacker, but Peppers is at his best in the box. Moving him to linebacker would allow the Giants to get their best 11 defensive players on the field more. Backup linebacker Reggie Ragland is the alternative, and he’ll get exposed in an expanded role.
10. The Giants drafted Aaron Robinson in the third round with the expectation that he’d immediately claim the slot cornerback job. But Robinson has been sidelined since the spring by a core muscle injury and he must miss at least three more weeks since he opened the season on the physically unable to perform list.
Drafting Robinson was a priority because the front office and coaching staff knew 2020 fourth-round pick Darnay Holmes wasn’t the answer in the slot. That belief was confirmed in the first two weeks, so Holmes was benched on Sunday.
The Giants mostly played a big nickel package with Peppers or safety Julian Love serving as the fifth defensive back. Rookie cornerback Rodarius Williams played over Holmes in the Giants’ dime package. Interestingly, Jackson moved into the slot and Williams played outside on some of those snaps.
Matt Ryan went after Williams a few times in big spots. Williams committed pass interference on third down on Atlanta’s first possession and he gave up a 6-yard completion on third-and-4 on the tying touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. Finally, Ryan hit Patterson on a wide receiver screen and he broke a Williams tackle before racing 28 yards to get the Falcons rolling on their final drive to set up a game-winning field goal.
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