jason garrett

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.”

Should New York Giants’ offensive coordinator Jason Garrett be on the hot-seat?

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New York Giants, Austin Mack, Jason Garrett

The New York Giants have a problem on offense, and locating the catalyst behind it is rather difficult. Some might blame quarterback Daniel Jones for the unit’s struggles, notably in the turnover category and his inability to go through his progressions at an efficient rate.

Some might blame the offensive line, who have been inconsistent this year and had one of the worst games of the season against the Arizona Cardinals this past weekend.

However, most would land on offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, who was fired by the Dallas Cowboys from their head coaching position and landed with the Giants this past offseason.

Garrett has a relationship with the Mara’s, which undoubtedly helped him land the job in the first place. He hadn’t called plays in years, but most thought he would bring over some of Kellen Moore’s elite offense. That hasn’t been the case, as the Giants currently rank 31st in the league, averaging 18.3 points per game.

You could come to Garrett’s defense in many ways, noting the lack of experienced talent in the trenches and slim pickings when it comes to the playmakers. The Giants have Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram, but they have been unable to dominate on a weekly basis, as the offense misses the attention Saquon Barkley draws.

Against Arizona, the wide receivers averaged below the league-average in yards of separation, indicating they simply can’t beat man coverage. The Cardinals manned up with them across-the-board, and with a lack of creative route running and schematics, the receivers were doomed from the start. It seems as if Darius Slayton is still working through injuries, and Shepard was unable to get anything going except for three completions totaling 35 yards.

From an outside perspective, the playcalling was disastrous, and the offensive line was a liability. Nonetheless, coaching should be able to mask some deficiencies, as we’ve seen on defense with Patrick Graham.

The New York Giants have two examples of good and bad coaching right in front of them:

Utilizing a bevy of rookies and practice squad level players, he’s managed to build one of the most dominant defenses in the NFL. They were unable to generate much pressure against Kyler Murray, but the secondary held up extremely well and nearly forced several turnovers.

It’s hard to blame any specific person or player for the lackluster production on offense, but Garrett’s scheme has been void of spark. The occasional deep ball hoisted up by Daniel Jones in single coverage works out, but they need more creativity and on the move decision making.

Everything seems to be telegraphed from pre-snap to post-snap, as Jones moves to his progressions without blinking an eye.

Sometimes, he gets stuck on a read and fails to move on, which we saw against Arizona when he missed Dion Lewis in the flat wide-open on third down.

Unfortunately, there are too many weaknesses to decipher at this point in the season, and the Giants are going to have to allocate more draft capital in free agency money toward bolstering the unit. There are players that provide sufficient value, but at this point in time, they lack true playmakers, with Saquon sitting on the bench due to a torn ACL.

I do believe Garrett should be on the hot seat for his inability to average over 20 points per game. He is a seasoned veteran and should have more up his sleeve, but teams have figured out his system, and the Cardinals acted as if they already knew the plays that were being called.

New York Giants: All aboard the Wayne Train

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New York Giants, Wayne Gallman

The New York Giants are 4-7, sitting atop the lowly NFC East and firmly in the playoff picture. The Giants’ defense has been the true strength of this team. Patrick Graham’s defense has been phenomenal all season long and has kept the Giants in games and even won them games this season.

But the Giants’ offense has improved drastically in recent weeks. After looking like a futile group in the first few weeks of the 2020 NFL season, Jason Garrett’s offense has really turned things around. The key to the offense’s improvement: an efficient running game.

Many presumed the Giants’ offense to be dead after losing Saquon Barkley in the second week of the 2020 NFL season. But, in actuality, the terrible loss of Saquon Barkley has opened things up for the emergence of Wayne Gallman. Gallman was drafted by the Giants in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He struggled to win meaningful reps in the first three seasons of his career. But, in 2020, with Saquon Barkley placed on injured reserve, Wayne Gallman has taken full advantage of his opportunity to flourish.

All Aboard the Wayne Train

Wayne Gallman has provided the Giants’ offense with the exact thing it was missing: efficiency. Gallman might not be the big, home-run hitter that other running backs may be. But Gallman is a strong, patient, and efficient runner that has been very productive as a starter this season.

The Wayne Train has been running at full steam over the past five games. Wayne Gallman has reached the end zone in five consecutive games, the longest streak by a Giants player since Saquon Barkley scored touchdowns in five consecutive games from Sept. 23-Oct. 22, 2018. He is the first Giants player to rush for a touchdown in five consecutive games since Andre Brown had a streak of six straight games in 2012-13 (Giants.com).

Gallman is coming off of a career-day versus Cincinnati in Week 12. Wayne ran for a career-high 94 rushing yards on Sunday on 24 rushing attempts. He also added one rushing touchdown. This is the highest volume of single-game rushing attempts that Gallman has received in his young career and he took full advantage of it.

Wayne Gallman is averaging an impressive 4.0 yards per attempt this season. The Wayne Train has totaled 6 rushing touchdowns this season. Gallman has started each of the last four games for New York and has worked well as the lead back in the Giants’ running back by committee approach with Alfred Morris and Dion Lewis.

Gallman and the Giants’ offense have a tough matchup ahead of them, traveling to Seattle for an afternoon matchup with the Seahawks on Sunday. The Seahawks have a historically bad pass defense. But, their run defense has been one of the best in the NFL this year. Seattle is allowing only 89.3 rushing yards per game this season, the third-lowest average of any team in the league. New York needs more efficient and productive running out of the Wayne Train this week in order to come out of Seattle with an underdog victory.

New York Giants finding it hard to solve close game problem, says Garrett

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Going into their Monday Night Football matchup with the Bucs, some might expect a close game from the New York Giants. That’s because they’ve been in a number of close games already this season. But more often than not, they’ve come out with a loss instead of the result they were desiring.

It’s a problem that’s plagued the team this season and mention of that problem made its way to offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, who was asked on Friday about the team’s close game problem and had an in depth reply when asked about solving that problem.

“Well, I don’t know if you ever solve it. Every week in the NFL, these games come down to one possession. It’s really all across the league. If you look at the stats, the teams that make the playoffs, the teams that don’t make the playoffs, the number of one-score games, they’re pretty similar,” Garrett told reporters.

“All the stuff that you emphasize from day one throughout your football team, that’s the stuff that wins the game at the end of the game. At times this year, we’ve done a good job of that. Other times, we simply haven’t. We have to do a better job. Us as coaches, we always look at ourselves first,” the offensive coordinator continued.

It’s hard to say that the Giants coaching staff has performed at peak efficiency this season. But that’s not surprising, given how many new staff members there are compared to previous seasons. It seemed the team was close to figuring it out against Philadelphia, and then the end of the game ruined any momentum.

Against a good opponent like Tampa Bay, the Giants will definitely have a sink or swim moment ahead of them. To either get back that momentum, or sink further.

Giants’ OC Jason Garrett offers baffling response to offensive woes

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New York Giants, Jason Garrett

The New York Giants are currently averaging a measly 11.8 points per game so far during the 2020 regular season. Their inability to create points has been borderline mesmerizing, as they failed to even take one red zone snap in week three against the San Francisco 49ers.

They haven’t scored a touchdown in over two games, and Daniel Jones hasn’t thrown one since week 1 vs. the Steelers.

While many will blame Jones for this awful streak, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has to shoulder some of the blame. The scheme has been vanilla and basic since it’s inception against Pittsburgh.

Finding ways to be creative has been a struggle for the Giants, who lack play-makers in the receiver corps and running backs with diverse skill sets. Saquon Barkley was expected to be an influential factor in their scheme, but a torn ACL ended his season prematurely, forcing the Giants to go out and sign free agent running back Devonta Freeman.

Garrett spoke with reporters via Zoom on Thursday afternoon, and the statement he provided was borderline baffling.

Jason Garrett: “You certainly want to do the things that you’re good at and we’re trying to discover what those things are.”

Let’s get a few things out of the way, Garrett’s game has done nothing to maximize his players’ strengths. If you look over to the other side of the ball, the defense has been playing fantastic football, ranking fifth in yards allowed per-game and 13th and scoring. The offense ranks dead last in points for and has done nothing to prove that they are making positive steps forward.

The New York Giants have done the opposite on defense compared to offense:

Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has done a fantastic job activating his players‘ strengths, notably Blake Martinez and James Bradberry. Martinez has been injected into the run game and has done a stellar job flying around the field and making plays. They have taken them out of coverage and utilized him as a run-stopping first linebacker. However, Garrett has failed to recognize what his offense of playmakers are capable of doing.

As we know, second-year receiver Darius Slayton is primarily active in the deep secondary. Taking shots down-field is a necessity, which extends the defense and forces them to drop into coverage, which opens up the running game. While the offensive line is undoubtedly to blame for most of their struggles, there are ways to stretch the field and keep defenses on their toes.

Opponents are simply stacking the box and keeping things in front of them, while Garrett deploys Slayton in an intermediate route scheme. In addition, Golden Tate is best used in space, which means wide receiver screens could be a good way to maximize him. The Giants have failed to get him the ball and prioritize yards after catch.

Looking at Evan Engram, who has taken a significant step backward in 2020, Garrett has utilized him on short hooks, mesh, ins and out routes. While he does excel in those scenarios, they need to extend the field with his speed and get him into open space. In week four against the Los Angeles Rams, Engram didn’t run a single route more than 15 yards downfield. That is simply malpractice and something that needs to change moving forward.

So, we can see that Garrett’s scheme has significantly limited his players’ potential, and if he listens to some of the points I’ve made in this article, we should see the offense open up a bit more.

New York Giants: Week four stock report, ups and downs

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New York Giants, Austin Johnson

The New York Giants lost to the Los Angeles Rams in a defensive slugfest on Sunday.

The final score of the game was 17-9, and practically the whole game was a defensive battle. Even with the loss, there were still many positives as the Giants bounced back from a week three blowout defeat.

Here’s how this defeat affected the stock of various aspects of New York’s team.

Stock up for the New York Giants: 

Blake Martinez, LB

Martinez had a monster game once again on Sunday. He recorded 13 tackles (8 solo) and one tackle for loss as he was a menace all over the field. His performance boosted his Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade to 79.4 which is 5th out of all linebackers in the league. His run defensive grade of 90.8 is also first in the NFL among linebackers. These first four games have firmly shown that the Giants were wise in singing Blake Martinez this offseason.

Kyler Fackrell, LB

Kyler Fackrell, another Giants linebacker signed from Green Bay, also showed out in Los Angeles. The EDGE defender recorded four solo tackles, three tackles for loss, and one sack. This was a strong outing for Fackrell and definitely boosted his stock on this team.

Giants Run Game

Big Blue’s run game was able to have the best game of the season against a solid Rams defense. The Giants were able to rush for a season-high 136 yards on an average of 5.4 yards per tote. Daniel Jones added 45 of these yards as he showed off his athleticism in the run game. This was a good sign as the lack of run game has been severely detrimental to the Giants offensive attack. If the Giants can run effectively going forward then they will have a chance to maybe put up more than 20 points against a very bad Cowboys defense.

Austin Johnson, DT

Austin Johnson had the best game of his short career in week four. In this game, Johnson recorded two solo tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble. This was the first forced fumble of the Penn State graduate’s career and the third sack of his career. He likely will not play a big factor in the future of the Giants but this one performance definitely increased his stock.

Patrick Graham, Defensive Coordinator

As you can see with three defensive players on this stock up list, the Giants defense vastly overperformed expectations on Sunday. They were able to have their best game of the season holding a potent Rams offense to next to nothing. Much of this is due to the elaborate and successful scheme by Patrick Graham which kept Sean McVay (arguably the best offensive mind in football) offense in check. The Rams only threw for 200 yards and rushed for 58 more—both season lows. 

This defensive masterpiece by Graham with one of the league’s worst defenses, talent-wise at least, was truly impressive. If the Giants can keep him long term and give him some playmakers Big Blue could have a very scary defense.

Stock Down

Daniel Jones, QB

Once again, Daniel Jones’ stock dropped.

Jones did not do much right in week four as he only threw for 190 yards and recorded a season-low QBR of 42.6. Daniel Jones also threw a game-ending interception that crushed the heart of Giants’ fans. However, this interception was stereotypical of Jones as he has yet to be able to take care of the ball throughout his whole career.

Julian Love, FS

Love has not been great this whole season but on Sunday was definitely not his day. He was not really active in many plays. Love also let up the game losing touchdown in man-to-man coverage with Cooper Kupp. Julian Love got burnt overtop for 55 yards making the Giants need a touchdown to tie instead of a field goal to win.
Jason Garrett, Offensive Coordinator

Jason Garrett proved a lot of his doubters right against the Rams as he once again was unable to get the Giants to do anything offensively. The offense looked putrid as they were not able to convert any of their four red-zone trips into touchdowns. 

The lack of touchdowns for Garrett’s team is a very serious concern as they have yet to score one in two straight games. Over these two games, they have also only averaged nine points which are obviously not even close enough to get by in the NFL.

Golden Tate, WR

Golden Tate was very quiet on Sunday as he only recorded 20 yards on four catches. Golden Tate also dropped his only other two targets, one which was a high throw from Daniel Jones would have made a crucial first down. Tate has yet to produce for the Giants and his lack of numbers brings concerns to his long-term spot in East Rutherford.

New York Giants: A More Creative Rushing Attack Is The Key To A Win Against Chicago

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New York Giants, Austin Mack, Jason Garrett

The New York Giants‘ rushing attack was shut down in Week One of the 2020 NFL season. The Giants were handed a disappointing loss on Monday night against the stout Pittsburgh Steelers defense. Pittsburgh has one of the best defenses in the league and they absolutely suffocated Saquon Barkley and the Giants’ offensive line.

Saquon Barkley is under criticism this week for his performance as a pass-blocker in Week One. But all are aware of the fact that Saquon is one of the best running backs in the NFL when his offensive line does their job. On Monday night, they did not do their job, and the Giants’ offense suffered from the offensive line’s poor performance.

But is it fair to put all of the blame on the offensive line? This line features a rookie left tackle, a starting center who has never before played that position, and a newly-signed swing tackle starting at right tackle. The lack of continuity across the offensive line led to a multitude of negative rushing attempts. But the offensive line does not deserve all of the blame for the team’s pitiful rushing attack in Week One. Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett deserves some blame, too, and he needs to implement a more creative rushing attack in order to beat the Chicago Bears in Week Two.

A Lack Of Creativity

The Giants’ rushing attack in Week One lacked creativity. New York’s running plays were predictable, which is why the Steelers seemed to be in the backfield often before the ball was handed off.

Saquon Barkley was given fifteen rushing attempts in Week One. Of these fifteen attempts, eight of them went wide right and five of them went inside right (according to Next Gen Stats). The Giants barely ran the ball to the left side of the line. One attempt went inside left and one attempt went wide left. For the Giants to only run the ball to the left side of the offensive line twice on fifteen attempts is almost inexplicable.

On the left side of the line are arguably the Giants’ two best run-blocking offensive linemen. Andrew Thomas was an elite run-blocker at Georgia and Will Hernandez is now a veteran left guard. Only thirteen percent of Saquon’s rushing attempts followed these two excellent run-blockers.

An even more perplexing statistic relates to the Giants’ usage of pre-snap motion. Across the NFL, the teams with the best rushing attacks emphasize the usage of pre-snap motion (the Ravens, Chiefs, and 49ers are known to lead the league in pre-snap motion percentage). On Monday night, the Giants utilized snap motion on only 1.6% of their offensive snaps. They used all forms of pre-snap motion on a league-lowest 9.4% of the time.

This lack of creativity in the run-game led to a 15 attempt, 6-yard rushing performance by Saquon Barkley. Saquon is an uber-talented player, but he will only go as far as his offensive line and offensive coordinator allow him. In need of a win in Week Two, the Giants need to emphasize the utilization of a more creative rushing attack in order to allow Saquon Barkley to dominate the Bears’ defense.

Jason Garrett Addresses Tiki Barber’s Criticism of Saquon Barkley

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New York Giants, Austin Mack, Jason Garrett

Former New York Giants great Tiki Barber’s comments regarding Saquon Barkley’s ability to block preventing him from becoming a complete back did not go unnoticed by the team, the fans and surely did not get past offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.

Garrett, who was a backup quarterback for the Giants for four seasons in the early 2000s, was a teammate of Barbers and knows the criticism of Barkley is likely constructive. Garrett was asked on Thursday about Barber’s assessment that if Barkley can’t sufficiently block, he has to come off the field on third downs.

“Great respect for Tiki, first of all,” Garrett said. “He was a teammate of mine. I’ve known him for a long time and I really respect him as a person and as a player in this league. Having said that, we really try to focus on what we need to do with our guys and do internal evaluations of how they play.”

Class answer from a class guy. Garrett then delve into he root of the problem identified by Barber, who unfortunately, is likely correct in his analysis.

“One of the things we love about Saquon is his desire to be a complete back. That’s running the football, both inside and outside, as a pass receiver and also as a pass protector. Having said that, he can improve in all areas. That’s something that we like so much about him, is his desire to come in and get better and strive to be a complete back. There were some examples of him blocking well in the passing game the other night. There were some examples of him not blocking as well as he needs to. He knows that. We’re working on that, we’re trying to get him better in that area. But we love his approach, we love his desire to be a complete back, and that’s going to help him and our team going forward.”

We’ll see if Barkley picks up his game. The Steelers’ rush was non-stop on Monday night and everyone on the line struggled to pick up blitzes and blew assignments. Barkley was as guilty as any of them. The Giants will need that to change of they are to have any chance at turning their fortunes around.

New York Giants: Best & Worst Case Scenarios For The 2020 Season

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New York Giants, Daniel Jones, Lorenzo Carter

Football is almost here. The 2020 NFL season is set to kick off in just a little over a week from today. The New York Giants are entering the new season with a brand new coaching staff and a revamped roster.

Much has been said about the Giants’ offseason moves. They put a heavy emphasis on the defensive secondary and offensive line, but there were other positions they did not address with as much priority.

Regardless of the team’s roster-building strategies, there are two ways that this season can go: good or bad. But what does good and bad look like for the 2020 New York Giants?

Best-Case Scenarios (GOOD)

Obviously, the best-case scenario for any NFL team is to win the Super Bowl. But, realistically, the Giants are not likely to get that far, coming off of a 4-12 season with a new coaching staff implementing new schemes in the middle of a world pandemic. So there is the best-case scenario where the Giants add their fifth Lombardi Trophy to the locker room, and then there is the realistic best-case scenario.

Realistically, the Giants competing for a playoff spot in December is their best-case scenario. New York has been eliminated in November for years now, never truly competing for a playoff spot throughout the season. That needs to change in 2020.

Giants fans are tired of losing. Giants players who have been on the time for more than one season are tired of losing. Losing has become the new normal for the New York Giants, despite being one of the most historic franchises in the NFL.

In order for the Giants to be a competitive team during the final weeks of the season, a few things need to happen. Firstly, the team needs to end the season with seven or more wins. That has not happened since 2016, four years ago, nearly half a decade ago.

Secondly, the Giants need to see their second-year quarterback develop. Daniel Jones showed a lot of promise and potential in his 2019 rookie campaign. But, he was a rookie, and he made plenty of rookie mistakes. Hopefully, Daniel and Jason Garret iron out those mistakes and mold a more polished quarterback in 2020.

Thirdly, the Giants’ defense simply has to be better. They were really bad defensively in 2019. Just be better. Seeing some improvement in the secondary and out of the pass-rushers will be a big step in the right direction for this young Giants football team.

Worst Case Scenarios (BAD)

The best-case scenarios are not completely realistic for the Giants this year. This is not a team that anyone should expect to see win the Super Bowl. But the worst-case scenarios, on the other hand, are considered by some to be very realistic.

I am a believer in Daniel Jones. I think he will improve this year. But not everyone is a believer in our team’s young quarterback. And, I’m never wrong, but what if I do turn out to be wrong about this one? What if the nonbelievers are right? If Daniel Jones goes through a sophomore slump, the Giants are going to be put in a really awkward position.

If for whatever reason, Daniel Jones actually plays worse this season, there is a good chance the Giants, given the state of the rest of the roster, could end up with the top pick in next year’s draft. Now, no one wants to see Daniel Jones fail (except for Pro Football Focus). We all want to see him succeed with the Giants and be the next face of the franchise. But the Giants are in a tricky position this year.

A hectic offseason impacted by COVID-19, a general manager (who drafted Jones) on the hot seat, and a young roster with plenty of injuries scares already piling up. That is what the Giants are dealing with heading into 2020. If all of this culminates into the perfect storm, the Giants could somewhat realistically see their season go straight down the toilet. In this worst-case scenario, New York could find itself with the first overall pick in 2021.

The first overall pick in 2021 will be Trevor Lawrence, no matter who is picking, as long as he declares. If the Giants end up with that pick, that likely means Daniel Jones played really poorly in 2020 and Trevor Lawrence will probably be too good to pass up next offseason. Lawrence is the next generational quarterback prospect, according to most analysts. Those are so rare- Joh Elway, Peyton Manning, and Andrew Luck are the only collegiate quarterback prospects that consistently receive the “generational” tag. In this worst-case scenario for the Giants, there is no choice but to move on from our beloved Danny Dimes.

Good thing this is just a scenario. This will not happen, I am certain of it (though there are some people pretty convinced that this will happen). The Giants are an improved team with an improved coaching staff this season. I expect to see them have a season closer to the best-case scenario than to the worst-case scenario.

Giants’ Coordinators Graham, Garrett Discuss Ivy League Connection

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New York Giants, Austin Mack, Jason Garrett

When the New York Giants hired Joe Judge to be their head coach in January, many felt it was a risk. Judge was a longtime assistant in New England under Bill Belichick but had never been a head man anywhere in his 37 years on Earth.

That is why Judge and the Giants decided to stock the coaching ranks with veteran faces. They kept special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey and wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert but filled the other roles with familiar, accomplished faces from the outside.

The offensive coordinator, Jason Garrett, was the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys for the past decade. The Giants know him well and in turn, he knows them well. Garrett also played for Big Blue as a backup quarterback to Kerry Collins from 2000-2003.

Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham worked with Judge in New England and also had a stint with the Giants as their defensive line coach under Ben McAdoo a few years back. What many don’t know is that both men began their football journeys as players in the Ivy League. It is a bond that both men are building on.

Graham was a defensive lineman at Yale in the early 2000s. By admission, he wasn’t much of a player but knew of Garrett, the former Princeton QB, and his accomplishments. Ivy Leaguers stick together.

Garrett, 54, was a star at Princeton in the 1980s, going undrafted in 1989. His  15-year odyssey took him from New Orleans to the World League of American Football to the CFL before landing back in the NFL. Before his time with the Giants as a player, Garrett won two Super Bowl rings as Troy Aikman’s backup in Dallas.

As a coach, Garrett began his career as the Dolphins’ quarterback coach in the mid 2000s under Nick Saban in Miami. He soon moved onto Dallas where he became the offensive coordinator and then head coach. He told reporters on Tuesday about his respect for Graham.

“In regards to Patrick, just a great experience for me getting to know him. Obviously, I’ve known him from afar,” said Garrett. “Different people who have been around him have great respect for him. In the time we’ve been together, I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and how smart of a football guy he is, the different experiences that he’s had, and the ability to work together. When you’re a coordinator, often times you have to work together with the other coordinator to help get the practice to function the way you want it to function and how you can compete against each other. But also work together to put your units in the best situation you can. He’s been a real joy to work with right now despite the fact that he’s a Yale guy.”

With the Giants, Garrett is on the same page with Graham, asking players to be more aware and disciplined. Graham is dressing fundamentals while Garrett said “tolerate” is not a word in a coaches’s vocabulary.