freddie kitchens

New York Giants: What should we expect from Freddie Kitchens as the offensive play-caller in week 15?

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New York Giants, Freddie Kitchens, Cleveland Browns

The New York Giants learned that offensive coordinator Jason Garrett tested positive for Covid on Thursday, which will force him out for the game against Cleveland on Sunday evening. In his absence, the Giants have tapped tight end coach Freddie Kitchens to call plays, and this could either be a revelation or a stagnation.

New York Giants official statement:

Giants Statement: Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett has tested positive for COVID-19. He will continue to work remotely. Tight ends coach Freddie Kitchens will serve as the team’s offensive play caller on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.

We are currently working with the league’s chief medical officer regarding close contacts. Because of the league’s most updated protocols, Giants coaches and players did not meet on either Monday or Tuesday, and the majority of the coaching staff worked remotely.

At this point, there appear to be no high risk close contacts. We are awaiting confirmation from the league. Out of an abundance of caution, the Giants will meet remotely and will not practice today.
In 2018 when Kitchens took over as the OC in week 8, Baker Mayfield saw his numbers skyrocket for the rest of the year: 70.7 completion % (fifth), 13 touchdowns (seventh), 5 INTs Averaged 8.66 yards per attempt (second only to Patrick Mahomes II), and a 109.3 passer rating (fifth).
The offense Kitchens will deploy will be similar to Garrett’s in terms of route combinations and run blocking, but the way he calls them will be different. Considering the offensive line just allowed eight sacks to the Arizona Cardinals this past weekend, kitchens will look to get the ball out of Colt McCoy or Daniel Jones’ hands quickly, avoiding instantaneous pressure and making easy first reads available.
Kitchens knows what the Cleveland Browns have on defense, especially in their pass rush. The threat they possess will force the Giants to get rid of the ball quickly and opt for running the ball more frequently.
One thing Kitchens did when he took over for the Browns in 2018 was ask his players what plays they liked the most. This allowed him to tailor specific plays to his player’s strengths, which theoretically is an obvious yet genius idea. What we’ve seen from Giants quarterbacks the first 14 weeks of the season is hesitancy in the pocket, not moving on from progressions, and failing to make decisive reads. Kitchens managed to decrease the hits Baker Mayfield took and sacks allowed significantly once he took over two years ago.
However, in 2019, Mayfield did not perform as well as most hoped under Kitchens. His offensive scheme fell apart when Odell Beckham Jr. joined the ranks. It seems as if the Browns experienced a similar reality to the Giants with Pat Shurmur.
Shurmur was a fantastic offensive coordinator but simply couldn’t handle the duties of being a head coach and calling offensive plays. Since Freddie will only be calling the plays on Sunday for the Giants, maybe we will see what he’s really capable of with less pressure on his back.

New York Giants offensive coordinator Jason Garrett tests positive for COVID-19

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New York Giants, Austin Mack, Jason Garrett

The New York Giants haven’t had too much serious trouble with COVID-19 this season, but that’s changing as offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has tested positive. This news comes a bit too close to the game with the Cleveland Browns for comfort, and Garrett won’t be out of isolation by the time the game happens.

The team isn’t going to leave anyone wondering about what the outcome of this will be, however. The Giants have already announced that tight ends coach Freddie Kitchens will take the spot of Garrett as the play caller for the Cleveland game.

Garrett will continue to work remotely but the temporary promotion of Kitchens will raise some eyebrows for multiple reasons. For one, the game against Cleveland is a revenge game for Kitchens as he was previously the head coach of the team. He was named the head coach in January 2019 but ended up fired only hours after the season finale that year. Kitchens also has offensive coordinator experience, as he served in the role for Cleveland before taking over as their coach.

Kitchens, who joined the Giants staff this year, is believed by some to be in the running for the Giants offensive coordinator spot if Jason Garrett leaves for a head coaching job or is fired this offseason. That situation makes it all the more interesting to see him call plays for the Giants offense on Sunday, in a possible preview of what the team could be getting.

“We are currently working with the league’s chief medical officer regarding close contacts…” the team said in a statement about Garrett. “Out of an abundance of caution, the Giants will meet remotely and will not practice today.”

Giants’ Freddie Kitchens raves about Joe Judge as new head coach

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New York Giants, Freddie Kitchens, Cleveland Browns

The New York Giants have undoubtedly overhauled their mentality and coaching staff since the hiring of head coach Joe Judge. Bringing in former head coaches Freddie Kitchens, and Jason Garrett was a positive move to help judge adapt to the NFL style.

Having served as the special-teams coordinator the past few seasons, Judge made the leap directly to head coach, which had been a rarity prior to this development. Co-owner John Mara didn’t need much convincing to hire the former Patriot coordinator, based on his immense attention to detail and the fundamentalist approach.

Having a young team with valuable draft capital helped Judge dive into the action and move forward with his style. Having people and players to support his mentality was a priority, and utilizing the fresh minds of his youth players is a priority.

Freddie Kitchens, who is most recently the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, had great things to say about Joe.

He primarily harped on Joe’s attention to positive habits. Holding people accountable and being extremely organized should promote a more successful team on game day. With the NFL regular season set to start in less than a month, things have to come together rather quickly.

The New York Giants are making progress:

Judge had plenty of positive things to say about his team’s Friday intrasquad scrimmage. The intensity and knowledge of the playbook have been apparent with a young nucleus of players, but a lot more work needs to be done before they are game ready. This off-season has been incredibly challenging for a first your head coach, but Judge has taken everything in stride and has instilled confidence in the fan-base up to this point.

With a rookie left tackle in Andrew Thomas and Xavier McKinney manning the free safety spot, I fully expect 2020 to be a developmental season. Judge understands that the rebuild is still underway, and he is approaching every day with that fact in mind.

New York Giants’ TE coach Freddie Kitchens raves about Evan Engram

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New York Giants, Giants, Evan Engram

The New York Giants are going into the 2020 season with a bevy of different tight ends to utilize. After Rhett Ellison suffered a concussion in 2019 that lead him toward retirement, Big Blue went out and signed former San Francisco tight end, Levine Toilolo. Currently, they have Evan Engram, Kaden Smith, and Toilolo as their primary options at the position. With pads going on players Monday, the Giants can finally begin to evaluate what they have and how they can utilize the talent available.

A brief summary of each:

Evan Engram is a primary pass-catching tight end that is great on mesh and seam routes but is not the most refined blocker. Given the lack of size, his ability to run routes and get open for Daniel Jones is how the Giants will likely utilize him moving forward.

Kaden Smith is another solid player coming off his rookie season in 2019. Showing off an ability to get open in the passing game and potential in run-blocking, he could be a multi-faceted player that is grouped in with Egram frequently in 12 personnel sets.

Toilolo is a primary run blocker, who can replace the duties of Ellison. While he has enjoyed some success as a receiver, he will be a primary lead blocker for Saquon Barkley.

However, Engram remains the number one tight end for the Giants, and new coach Freddie kitchens is excited to see what he can do.

Here’s what the New York Giants’ tight end coach had to say:

“He’s a team-oriented guy,” Kitchens said. “He’s been working his tail off to get better each and every day, and he’s done a good job of just staying in the moment, like we all should be doing. Just try to get a little better each day and see where you’re at in a couple of weeks.”

Engram is going into his fourth season in the NFL, and injuries have taken their toll on his development. He has seen his yardage totals decrease every season, but if he can stay healthy 2020, he could take the steps necessary to become a premier threat in the league. Kitchens believes he has progressed and taken steps forward this off-season.

“I think Evan is in the mindset that he should be in, and that’s just getting better today,” he said. “We’re trying to stay in the moment here with every position, with every player, with every coach, and keep our head down and just work to get better each and every day. Evan has done a good job up to this point in doing that. He did a hell of a job this summer in rehabbing and getting back to where he’s at right now, and just kind of taking it day to day and getting better with his releases, his hand placement, with everything.

“Every aspect of Evan’s game, we want to try to get better at each and every day. Evan’s done an unbelievable job in staying focused and concentrating on, even more specific to every day, just every rep. He’s done a good job and we’re just going to stay in the moment.”

If the Giants can finally extract the best out of Evan, their passing attack will be completely different. In recent years, they’ve been forced to utilize more 11 personnel without a quality tight end in the receiving game. After missing eight games last year due to a midfoot sprain, Kaden Smith received a majority of the reps. The potential he showed ultimately became a good thing for the Giants, and will likely factor into the offensive scheme in some way.

New York Giants: Is Evan Engram One Of The Best Tight Ends In The NFL?

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New York Giants, Giants, Evan Engram

The New York Giants had an offense loaded with playmakers who struggled to stay healthy in 2019. New York saw Daniel Jones, Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate, Darius Slayton, and Evan Engram all miss time with injury at one point or another. But the most polarizing player of that group has a history of missing games with injuries, despite being extremely talented. Evan Engram has all the talent imaginable at the tight end position, but fans have yet to see him hit his full potential as he has had his career held back by injuries.

In 2019, Evan Engram played in only 8 games, missing half of the season with a foot injury. Prior to going down with an injury, Engram looked like one of the best tight ends on the field. But too often has this been the case for the Ole Miss product. Now, entering his fourth season, Engram needs to stay healthy in a contract year to earn an extension with the Giants. If he manages to stay healthy, he could receive a lucrative contract paying him as one of the best tight ends in the NFL. But is that what he is? Pro Football Focus seems to think so.

Evan Engram – Top 15 Tight End?

Pro Football Focus released their list of the top fifteen tight ends in the NFL. Towards the top of the list are all players you would expect to see: Travis Kelce, George Kittle, Zach Ertz, and other proven stars. But placing on the lower portion of the list is New York Giants tight end Evan Engram. According to PFF, Engram is the twelfth-best tight end in the NFL.

You don’t see too many players listed at 230-plus pounds running 4.42-second 40-yard dashes. That has helped him become one of the top tight ends in the NFL with the ball in his hands after the catch, averaging 6.2 yards after the catch per reception across his first three NFL seasons. – Pro Football Focus on Evan Engram

It is undeniable that Evan Engram possesses rare athletic traits for a tight end- he moves like a wide receiver. But, as PFF acknowledges in their first sentence, “the biggest thing with Engram is health.” Evan Engram has missed fourteen games in three years. Engram has also struggled with drops in the past. The versatile playmaker has yet to put everything together, but could he do that in 2020?

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New York Giants: Freddie Kitchens officially joins staff as tight ends coach

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New York Giants, Freddie Kitchens, Cleveland Browns

The New York Giants have worked diligently to build out their coaching staff after hiring Joe Judge to replace Pat Shurmur as their head coach. The latest official word is that former Cleveland Browns’ HC Freddie Kitchens will join the Giants as their tight end coach.

Both Judge and Kitchens have experience with one another at Mississippi State, a place where Judge considered going as their head coach before signing on with Big Blue.

Kitchens has a sharp offensive mind and will bring a unique skill-set to the Giants, and his head coaching experience should help Judge adapt to the new role. Paired with Jason Garrett on offense, formerly of the Dallas Cowboys, the Giants have a strong offensive presence behind second-year quarterback, Daniel Jones.

 

BREAKING: New York Giants to hire Freddie Kitchens

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New York Giants, Freddie Kitchens, Cleveland Browns

The New York Giants are expected to hire former Cleveland Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens to their staff, per Matt Zenitz.

The role is not yet defined, but Kitchens and current Giants HC Joe Judge spent time together at Mississippi State. Kitchens tenure in Cleveland was short-lived after a disappointing 6-10 season.  Prior to being named the Browns head coach, Kitchens was given credit for improving the Browns offense and assisting then-rookie QB Baker Mayfield have a successful rookie season.

Prior to his time in Cleveland, Freddie Kitchens worked with the Arizona Cardinals.  He began his career in Arizona as the tight ends coach, which is the same position he held prior to joining the Cardinals with the Dallas Cowboys.  There is some speculation that this could be Freddie Kitchens’s role with the New York Giants.

The addition is another experienced presence being added to Joe Judge’s staff in New York.  Kitchens will join other experienced assistants in Jason Garrett (offensive coordinator), Patrick Graham (defensive coordinator/assistant head coach), Jerry Schuplinski (quarterbacks coach), Burton Burns (running backs coach), Thomas McGaughey (special teams coordinator), Bret Bielema (expected defensive line coach) and Jerome Henderson (defensive backs coach).

New York Giants: Two options to consider at offensive coordinator

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New York Giants considering Jay Gruden at offensive coordinator?

With the hiring of New York Giants‘ head coach Joe Judge, several changes to the coaching staff will accompany. Over the weekend, Judge hired defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, formerly of the Miami Dolphins. That hiring subsequently leads to the firing of James Bettcher, who served as the Giants’ defensive coordinator for the past two seasons. Having ranked in the bottom five defenses in the league over the last two years, a change at DC was needed.

Graham brings minimal experience as a DC, but his familiarity with Judge gives him an advantage.

Having little talent with the dolphins last year, Graham’s overall rankings shouldn’t be held against him. As for offensive coordinators, I imagine the Giants will go with an option that has head-coaching experience, helping Judge improve upon his tactics and adapt to the role more efficiently.

Here are two offense of coordinators the New York Giants will heavily consider:

1.) Freddie Kitchens

Kitchens is an interesting option for Judge, as his style predominately uses 12 personnel — he ranks sixth in the league in overall usage of that scheme. He favors tight ends and frequently uses one running back and three wide receivers. He also dabbles with play-action, which Daniel Jones excelled in as a rookie. He completed 69.4% of his passes out of the play-action, which ranked ninth in the NFL in 2019.

Kitchens’ experience as a head coach would be beneficial for Judge, even though he failed to succeed in the role. However, the personalities and new faces were hard to manage in Cleveland, especially after so many years of moral defeats. Freddie might be a reliable option for the Giants at the vacant offensive coordinator position, as Mike Shula will undoubtedly be out, and the Pat Shurmur era will officially be over.

2. Jay Gruden

Another name some have been calling for is Jay Gruden, formally the head coach of the Washington Redskins. Gruden was fired after starting the season 0-5. He typically calls play out of the 10 or 11 personnel, which would mean the Giants would likely add a few talented receivers in the upcoming draft. There are plenty of talented options in this year’s draft class. Gruden’s head-coaching experience would also be crucial to Judge’s adaptability.

I believe Gruden’s system would work well with Daniel Jones, as it would open up the field for Saquon Barkley and the play-action game. With wide receivers like Golden Tate, Sterling Shepard, and Darius Slayton, the overall efficiency of the offense would likely see an increase. Another factor would be his ability to develop quarterbacks, considering his work with Alex Smith, Kirk cousins, and Andy Dalton. With offense becoming ever more principal in the NFL, Gruden’s creative mind would fit perfectly alongside the young minds of Jones and Barkley.

 

New York Giants: Three Offensive Coordinator Candidates For Joe Judge’s Staff

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New York Giants, Freddie Kitchens, Cleveland Browns

The New York Giants introduced Joe Judge today as the franchise’s nineteenth head coach. Judge was a darkhorse candidate that ended up blowing the Giants away during his interview and securing the coveted job. Since then, Joe Judge has been working on assembling his coaching staff behind the scenes.

A few names have come up in the rumor mill for Judge’s offensive coordinator position. In this article, I will break down the top three offensive coordinator candidates that have come up in association with Joe Judge.

Freddie Kitchens

News broke Thursday morning that Joe Judge is expected to reach out to former Cleveland Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens to discuss a job within the Giants’ coaching staff (via Jordan Raanan of ESPN). The two worked together at Mississippi State in 2005 when Kitchens served as the program’s running backs coach.

A brief anecdotal story from Joe Judge regarding a swing set the new Giants head coach built for Freddie’s children led some to connect the dots on a potential reunion in New Jersey. Since then, the speculators have been proven right as reports have indicated that Kitchens is being considered for a job on Joe Judge’s staff.

It has not been confirmed what job Kitchens is being considered for, but the offensive coordinator job is a possible fit. Freddie Kitchens was fired this offseason after serving as head coach of the Cleveland Browns for one season. The browns underperformed at 6-10, leading to the rookie head coach’s firing after one season. Before his promotion as head coach, Kitchens was the Browns’ offensive coordinator in 2018.

Freddie Kitchens received much credit for the quick development of quarterback Baker Mayfield in his rookie season. In 2018, Mayfield was the runner up for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award after breaking the rookie touchdown pass record with 27 total.

Jay Gruden

Another former head coach, Jay Gruden was fired this past season by the Washington Redskins. Gruden is one of the NFL’s brightest offensive minds, and Joe Judge could benefit from Gruden’s experience. Gruden was head coach of the Redskins from 2014 to 2019.

Jay Gruden has an interesting connection to the New York Giants. It was reported in October that Gruden never wanted the Redskins to draft quarterback Dwayne Haskins (via Bleacher Report). Instead, Gruden wanted Daniel Jones, the Giants’ first-round quarterback. Judge could use Daniel Jones to lure Gruden onto his coaching staff.

Jay Gruden is a former quarterback who got into coaching. He has worked as an offensive coordinator and as a head coach. Gruden is an experienced coach that has overseen the development of numerous young quarterbacks. He helped turn Robert Griffin III into an electric dual-threat during his rookie season in 2012. He also developed Andy Dalton into the Bengals’ starter as they went to the playoffs three straight years together.

Jason Garrett

The Dallas Cowboys, like the Redskins and Giants, fired their head coach this season. Jason Garrett had served as Dallas’s head coach from 2011 to 2019. The Giants expressed interest in Garrett as head coach before striking a deal with Joe Judge. But if they like what they see from Garret schematically, he could receive consideration as the team’s offensive coordinator. 

Jason Garrett has had a top ten offense seven times in the past thirteen years, and only three seasons with an offense ranked worse than the fifteenth. The Giants could see Garrett as a potential upgrade on offense. He has an excellent track record with quarterbacks, turning to unknowns into competent starters.

Dak Prescott was a fourth-round pick in 2016. Garrett developed Dak into a Pro Bowl talent. Before Prescott, the Cowboys’ quarterback was Tony Romo. Tony Romo was an undrafted free agent that was expected to be- at best- a career backup. Romo’s career began in 2003, long before Jason Garrett was with the Cowboys. But it was not until Garrett became the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator that Romo made himself a household name.

In 2007, the Cowboys hired Jason Garrett as their offensive coordinator. Dallas went 13-3 that season as Romo threw a career-best 36 touchdown passes. This was a significant improvement over the 19 touchdowns Romo recorded in 2006. From then on, Garrett continued to have consistent success on offense as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.

Jason Garrett’s offensive success and head coaching experience make him the top candidate for the Giants’ offensive coordinator job. He also has an excellent track record developing young quarterbacks, which would be hugely beneficial for Daniel Jones and the Giants.

New York Giants HC Joe Judge to speak with Freddie Kitchens about offensive coordinator job

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New York Giants, Freddie Kitchens, Cleveland Browns

The New York Giants hiring Joe Judge to be their head coach moving forward was undoubtedly a surprise, but the idea that Freddie Kitchens, former head coach of the Cleveland Browns, could end up as the offensive coordinator for Big Blue, well, that’s another shot in the dark.

Kitchens boasted a solid offense in 2018 before Baker Mayfield degraded in front of our eyes. Credit his demise to the offensive line or the curse of Odell Beckham Jr., but Kitchens has proven he can be a capable offensive play-caller. Again, he suffered a similar fate as Pat Shurmur did — too many responsibilities.

Jordan Raanan reported that Judge would speak with Kitchens, and I don’t necessarily hate this move. There’s no guarantee he will be selected to feature as the OC, but speaking with different options is never a bad idea.

Kitchens and Judge worked together while at Mississippi State, where they curated a connection. Bringing in coaches that are familiar with the head coach’s personality and attention to detail is a positive thing. This could be a solid grab for the Giants and Judge if they don’t land Jason Garrett or Jay Gruden.