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Post by Yankin'It in Beantown on Sept 28, 2021 11:33:37 GMT -5
I'm so glad the yankees roared back to life so I don't have to think about this right now.
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Post by JohnM on Oct 3, 2021 13:01:14 GMT -5
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Post by JohnM on Oct 3, 2021 15:20:20 GMT -5
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Post by fordham on Oct 3, 2021 15:23:57 GMT -5
Hallelujah, the Giants finally win and the offense shows some life.
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Post by JohnM on Oct 3, 2021 15:30:37 GMT -5
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Post by Yankin'It in Beantown on Oct 3, 2021 18:50:56 GMT -5
thank you nfl jesus,
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Post by JohnM on Oct 3, 2021 19:03:03 GMT -5
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Post by JohnM on Oct 3, 2021 19:05:05 GMT -5
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Post by JohnM on Oct 3, 2021 19:10:13 GMT -5
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Post by JohnM on Oct 3, 2021 19:42:36 GMT -5
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Post by tomt on Oct 4, 2021 6:53:46 GMT -5
When is the last time that the Yankees, Giants and Jets (I believe) had walk off wins in the same day? My guess is never. This game saved the season for the GMen Now they have to take care of business with Dallas.
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Post by JohnM on Oct 4, 2021 7:25:59 GMT -5
Dan Duggan
NEW ORLEANS — Those within the New York Giants organization never miss an opportunity to rave about Daniel Jones. Whether it’s his work ethic in the offseason or his competitiveness on game day, the quarterback has ardent supporters throughout the Giants headquarters.
But outside skepticism has dogged Jones since the Giants surprisingly took him with the sixth pick in the 2019 draft. His rookie season showed flashes of brilliance with 24 touchdown passes … but there were the 18 fumbles. He cut down on his turnovers in his second season … but produced just 11 touchdown passes.
Through three games this season, Jones’ backers could point to signs of progress. But Jones hadn’t lit up scoreboards like other young quarterbacks around the league. And the Giants had an 0-3 record. So it was hard to sell him as a franchise quarterback in the absence of monster stats or wins.
Jones delivered both on Sunday, while also supplying all of the intangibles that are constantly referenced. Many players contributed to the Giants’ stunning 27-21 comeback win over the Saints. But there was no questioning who led the way.
“He showing what we’ve known, and hopefully y’all are starting to see it, too,” running back Saquon Barkley said of Jones. “Ever since the day he’s been drafted, he’s been criticized. That guy does nothing but come in and work and get better and lead every single day. He’s a competitor. He showed that he’s a special player. We knew he was a special player. We’re going to keep leaning on him and keep going every single day.”
Jones completed 28-of-40 passes for 402 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Jones’ career high in passing yards before Sunday was 352. He hadn’t topped 279 yards since Jason Garrett took over as offensive coordinator last year. The interception was Jones’ first in 124 attempts and it came on a Hail Mary at the end of the first half.
Sunday was Jones at his best. Unleashed from Garrett’s typically conservative approach, Jones fired dart after dart downfield. He hit speedy John Ross, making his Giants debut, on a 52-yard bomb in the second quarter that ended in a touchdown. Ross fumbled at the goal line on the wild play and then recovered the ball in the end zone.
Then with hope seemingly lost, Jones rallied the Giants by hitting Barkley down the left sideline for a 54-yard touchdown on the first play of a drive that started with 7:01 remaining in regulation. Jones’ two-point conversion run then closed the gap to 21-18.
Jones’ football IQ was on display on the Barkley touchdown, as they had run a similar play earlier in the game with the running back split wide against Saints No. 1 cornerback Marshon Lattimore. Barkley noticed that Lattimore was sitting on an out route, so he continued up the sideline when they ran the play again in the fourth quarter. Barkley was wide open and only had to make a safety miss after catching a strike from Jones.
“It’s kind of cool when you can see things before it happens,” Barkley said. “Me and (Jones) were on the same page.”
Trailing by three points, the Giants took over at their own 11-yard line with 3:01 left in the fourth quarter. Jones calmly drove the Giants into field goal range. A slant to wide receiver Kenny Golladay on third-and-7 turned into a 28-yard gain after the receiver broke a tackle. Graham Gano, who had a streak of 37 straight makes end in the second quarter, connected on a 48-yard field goal to send the game to overtime.
The Giants received the overtime kickoff and Jones continued to pick apart a talented secondary. The drive started with a 17-yard comeback route to Ross that was released before the receiver even came out of his break. Then there was an 8-yard slant to Ross on an RPO. Faced with a second-and-14 from the Giants’ 48-yard line, Garrett perfectly timed a screen call to Barkley that gained 18 yards.
Faced with a third-and-5 on New Orleans’ 29-yard line, Jones didn’t get conservative. He waited until Golladay uncovered on a deep over route for a 23-yard gain. Barkley powered in for a 6-yard touchdown on the next play to cap a 17-0 closing run and give the Giants a much-needed win.
It was a statement game from Jones. He completed 11-of-15 passes for 176 yards on the final drives that produced 17 points.
“I see the work that he puts in, I see how great he wants to be,” Golladay said. “Today he went out there and was very competitive and had a day.”
Garrett and head coach Joe Judge should be emboldened to let the young quarterback cut it loose. The Giants have spent enough time trying to grind out wins. The results — 6-13 entering Sunday under Judge — haven’t been pretty.
Sunday’s win may not propel the Giants to anything — they still have a brutal upcoming schedule, leading off with a game at 3-1 Dallas next week. But if the Giants are going anywhere, it will be with Jones playing like he did on Sunday.
Here are six more takeaways from the dramatic win:
1. Sunday’s matchup was always going to be revealing about the makeup of the Giants. The team entered New Orleans with an 0-3 record on the heels of a pair of last-second losses. A fired-up Superdome crowd greeted the Giants with the prospect of a second consecutive 0-4 start a strong possibility.
The game went back and forth early, but the Saints appeared to take control when Taysom Hill charged through the Giants defense for his second touchdown to give New Orleans a 21-10 lead with 12:09 remaining. Things looked even bleaker after Judge elected to punt on fourth-and-8 from the Saints’ 47-yard line with 9:24 left.
That’s when Jones and the rest of the team refused to lose.
There were plenty of opportunities for this game to turn like so many others have in recent seasons. Even on the game-winning drive in overtime, there was the illegal substitution penalty on wide receiver Collin Johnson that set up the second-and-14 before the screen to Barkley.
On the next play, a spinning Barkley inexplicably lost the ball. It was just his second fumble on 712 career touches. With the way things have gone for the Giants, one would expect the Saints to not only recover the fumble but to return it for a touchdown. Instead, tight end Kyle Rudolph alertly fell on the ball. Jones hit Golladay two plays later to set up the winning score.
“Let’s just say I owe Kyle Rudolph dinner,” Barkley said.
2. It can’t be overlooked that Jones’ 402-yard day came with two of his top receivers, Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton, sidelined by hamstring injuries. It’s a positive sign that neither receiver was placed on injured reserve, as that indicates the team is hopeful they can return within the next two weeks.
The absence of two of Jones’ favorite targets allowed newcomers Golladay, Ross and Kadarius Toney to emerge.
Golladay was a beast with six catches for 116 yards. He looked like a No. 1 receiver for the first time since the Giants gave him a $72 million contract in the offseason.
Golladay was known as a deep threat when he arrived from Detroit, but he has shown more grittiness after the catch than was expected. His 28-yard catch and run on the tying drive at the end of the regulation was a tremendous individual effort. Jones still hasn’t connected with Golladay deep, but the duo has established a strong chemistry on intermediate routes.
Toney had six catches for 78 yards in a breakout performance by the first-round pick. Toney had four catches for 14 yards in his first three games as Garrett struggled to get the ball to the dynamic playmaker. Toney displayed his uncanny ability to make defenders miss repeatedly on Sunday. The training wheels should now be off of the rookie.
Ross was a revelation. A first-round bust with the Bengals, Ross signed with the Giants this offseason and then, as has been the case throughout his career, was shelved by an injury. Ross injured his hamstring midway through training camp and then spent seven weeks on the sideline. But the injuries at receiver forced Ross into a big role and his trademark speed was evident on the 52-yard touchdown. The tough catches in overtime were equally impressive for a player viewed mostly as a one-trick pony.
“We ain’t got time for that,” Judge said of the prospect of easing Ross in after an extended absence.
Golladay, Toney, Ross and Barkley (five catches for 74 yards and a touchdown) gave the Giants offense a dynamic look for the first time in a while. This should be a dangerous passing attack when all of the weapons are healthy if the offensive line can continue to hold up.
3. Offensive line coach Rob Sale deserves a game ball. The Giants were starting their fourth left guard in as many games, with Matt Skura stepping into a hostile environment that was deafening at times.
The offensive line didn’t have any pre-snap penalties and there were no obvious communication breakdowns. Jones wasn’t sacked on 42 dropbacks and was only hit six times.
There isn’t much to write about an offensive line when it plays so well, but the undermanned unit deserves recognition for that performance under those circumstances.
4. It was an up-and-down day for the defense. A strong start was punctuated by defensive lineman Leonard Williams’ tackle of running back Alvin Kamara short of the first-down marker on fourth-and-3 in the first quarter.
But after the Giants took a 7-0 lead on Ross’ long touchdown midway through the second quarter, the defense allowed a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. The Saints methodically drove to the 15-yard line before tight end Juwan Johnson beat safety Jabrill Peppers for a touchdown.
Saints quarterback Jameis Winston opened the third quarter with a 58-yard bomb to wide receiver Marquez Callaway, who beat cornerback James Bradberry and got behind safety Logan Ryan. Two plays later, Taysom Hill took a direct snap and ran through the entire Giants defense for an 8-yard touchdown.
There was a huge swing on the Saints’ next possession after a 23-yard Gano field goal cut New Orleans’ lead to 14-10. Kenny Stills beat Xavier McKinney for a 46-yard touchdown, but tight end Adam Trautman was flagged for holding Williams. On the next play, Hill underthrew wide receiver Deonte Harris deep and Bradberry made a leaping interception.
The Saints bullied the Giants on an 11-play, 63-yard drive that was capped by another bruising 8-yard touchdown run by Hill. The Giants missed inside linebacker Blake Martinez, who is out for the season with a torn ACL, as Kamara gained 120 yards on 26 carries.
The defense forced a three-and-out after Judge’s decision to punt midway through the fourth quarter. The Barkley touchdown followed and the defense forced another punt to set up the game-tying field goal.
5. Peppers injured his hamstring a few plays before getting beaten for the touchdown. He didn’t play in the second half, but he still made a major contribution.
After calling tails and losing on the opening coin toss, Peppers bolted onto the field at the start of overtime determined to change the Giants’ luck. Peppers switched to heads and couldn’t contain his excitement when his call was correct.
“I said, ‘Boom!’ And then I said, ‘We want that MF-er!’ Peppers said.
The offense shared Peppers’ enthusiasm and promptly drove down to score the game-winning touchdown.
“Once we got it, our mindset was we were going to win this game,” Barkley said. “We knew we were going to win the game.”
6. Judge was obviously overjoyed after Barkley’s touchdown, but that emotion was long gone by the time the coach addressed reporters after the game. Judge re-emphasized the importance of avoiding riding the roller coaster of highs and lows during a season.
“I’m a believer in the process. I’m a believer in not looking at the result and thinking that justifies what you do,” Judge said. “Results are the most deceiving thing in mankind. If you keep focused with what’s away from you and forget about the steps you have to complete on the way there, you’ll never get to where you really want to be.”
It was the right tone for Judge to strike. He’s been maddeningly dispassionate after heartbreaking losses, so it would be disingenuous if he was rah-rah after a win.
The reality is the Giants are 1-3 and tied for last place in the NFC East. The buzz from this win will wear off quickly if they lose to the Cowboys next week.
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Post by tomt on Oct 4, 2021 12:14:11 GMT -5
Great comeback from the Giants yesterday. I only saw a condensed version of the game but I was impressed by the intensity and second efforts by Giant players. Hopefully they can bring some of that against the Cowboys on Sunday.
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Post by jimbue2 on Oct 4, 2021 13:27:52 GMT -5
Daniel Jones is gonna be terrific ..he’s a player
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Post by JohnM on Oct 4, 2021 13:29:09 GMT -5
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Post by JohnM on Oct 4, 2021 14:43:27 GMT -5
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Post by jimbue2 on Oct 4, 2021 15:30:04 GMT -5
Shame shoulda won vs Atlanta and Washington…..
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Post by Yankin'It in Beantown on Oct 4, 2021 18:04:44 GMT -5
Shame shoulda won vs Atlanta and Washington….. They did beat the skins for a couple seconds, that game still haunts me.
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Post by jimbue2 on Oct 5, 2021 7:25:39 GMT -5
Skins won’t be so lucky next time
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Post by JohnM on Oct 7, 2021 11:08:00 GMT -5
Daniel Jones has been impressive to the eye. Numbers are backing it up.
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