jason garrett

New York Giants: Corey Coleman talks health, receiving core, Jason Garrett

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New York Giants, Corey Coleman

The New York Giants re-signed wide receiver Corey Coleman to a one-year deal in free agency. The former first-round draft pick missed 2019 due to a torn ACL suffered in training camp.

The Giants signed Coleman to their practice squad in 2018, eventually promoting him to their active roster. He finished the season with five receptions for 71 yards. Coleman also served as the Giants’ primary kickoff returner in the second half of 2018. He averaged 26.0 yards per kickoff return.

Now healthy, Coleman says he’s “real good” and “grateful” for the Giants training staff (quotes per Giants.com).

“I had a great offseason. I worked hard thanks to the Giants training staff. I feel real good.”

“I’m very grateful. I love this organization and I’m excited to be a part of it, it’s something special. I’m really excited and thankful, to be honest.”

Coleman is part of a receiving core that includes Golden Tate, Sterling Shepard, and second-year player Darius Slayton.

Coleman thinks highly of his receiving comrades, as well as his quarterback, Daniel Jones.

“I think every receiver we have in the room has a great skillset. We’re all capable of making plays.”

“Daniel is an amazing guy. He’s a fun-loving guy. He’s great, he’s one of my close friends, too. We talk and stuff like that, he’s very important to me.”

Under new head coach Joe Judge is new offensive coordinator and former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett.

Coleman is enthusiastic about Garrett’s presence.

“It’s pretty amazing, he is such a great guy. He coaches us hard and it’s exciting to be with him. He’s a very smart man and he knows what he’s doing. I’m listening every step of the way trying to learn more from him. We’re excited to have him here.”

The Giants open the 2020 NFL season at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 14.

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’ OC Jason Garrett details approach, offensive line, more

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New York Giants, Jason Garrett

New York Giants offensive coordinator Jason Garrett held his first press conference of training camp on Tuesday afternoon, giving some details on his approach and first impressions of the team. He quickly dives into Daniel Jones, the second your passer for the Giants, who posted 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2019. Subsequently, Garrett was on the other side of the field for the first two times against Jones, but he will be coaching him in 2020 and beyond.

Of course, having Saquon Barkley on your side is much more advantageous than facing off against him. Garrett made sure to comment on how difficult it was to tackle him and stop him in the running game.

Let’s take a look at what Garrett had to say in his first press conference of the year.

Tweets and quotes by Dan Salomone of the New York Giants:

  • Jason Garrett on Saquon Barkley: “We had to try to tackle him in Dallas and all of our energy was put on that.” Like Daniel Jones, Jason Garrett praised Saquon’s approach. “Talk about a first-class person.”
  • Jason Garrett on OL Coach Marc Colombo: “Just a natural leader.”
  • Jason Garrett: “I love the game. I love every part of the game as a player and coach.” He said he and his wife felt coming to the Giants was too good an opportunity to pass up.
  • OC Jason Garrett on first impressions of Daniel Jones from preparing to go against him last year: “Playing as a rookie in the NFL is a challenge. Playing quarterback as a rookie quarterback is a real challenge…There is no question: He is a football guy.”
  • Jason Garrett on Daniel Jones: “The thing you just like so much about Daniel is his approach…He’s a ball guy. He works very hard at it…That’s what you get most excited about.”
  • What will the offense look like? Jason Garrett says they certainly have a system that has been around for a long time, but it evolves. The one thing is they want to attack defenses in different ways.
  • Jason Garrett says he’s learned a lot from Joe Judge and others in the organization. “That’s my mentality. I have my notebook open every day.”

New York Giants: Sterling Shepard, Leonard Williams, and Saquon Barkley Speak With Media

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New York Giants, Saquon Barkley

Training camp is here for the New York Giants and with that comes the first official player interviews of the 2020 NFL season. New head coach Joe Judge was the first to speak with the media, doing so on Wednesday. You can read those quotes here.

Yesterday, Daniel Jones, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Blake Martinez spoke with the media. Today, it was Sterling Shepard, Leonard Williams, and Saquon Barkley’s turns to speak. The three players each completed ten-minute interviews via Zoom today. Here are the highlights:

Sterling Shepard:

Sterling Shepard is the longest-tenured player on the New York Giants’ roster. Sterling was drafted by the Giants in 2016 and has played a prominent role in the team’s offense ever since. Could 2020 be the year the Shepard gets himself a Captain’s Badge? Shepard said he “be happy to wear that badge and take that role” if the team votes him a captain but whether he gets it or not, he will “find a way to lead” in “whichever role” they have him in.

“(I will) just set a good example for the young guys and kind of teach them about some of the different rivalries that we have and how important those games are to the New York Giants as an organization.” – Sterling Shepard via Giants.com

Shepard also expressed excitement for the Giants’ new offensive scheme, coached by Jason Garrett. Sterling noted that “it’s an offense that utilizes everyone’s skill set.” The fifth-year slot receiver also gave some insight into Joe Judge’s virtual offseason program: “When we were going through the OTA period on the Zoom calls, the coaches would have some trivia questions for us, so we did this Kahoot! challenge to kind of get guys going and understanding the history of the organization.”

Saquon Barkley:

Superstar running back Saquon Barkley spoke with the media today and gave some insight to his offseason. Barkley considers the Giants’ current regime and roster to be “a fresh new start,” explaining that this is a team of young players who “are learning every single day, on the offensive side, and on the defensive side. Learning a new scheme and system and trying to focus on the little things to get better every single day.”

Saquon made it clear that head coach Joe Judge is instilling a new culture for the Giants:

“The Giants are known for being tough, physical and doing the little things right. That’s something that coach Judge and all the coaches have made a focal point for us in the short time that we have been here. That’s what we try to attack every single day and try to get better every single day.” – Saquon Barkley via Giants.com

Barkley also discussed his teammate and quarterback, Daniel Jones, stating that he is “definitely excited for DJ.” Barkley said that they have grown closer and that they have been hanging out and working together.

Certainly, the most exciting part of Saquon Barkley’s media session came when he discussed his expectations for himself in the upcoming season. Barkley is only focused on improving, despite being one of the best running backs in the league already:

“What I want to seem from myself is just growth,” he said. “I feel like I have been saying this answer so much in my first two years. I’m really focused on trying to get better in every area of my game. I feel like I have so much more room to continue to grow and there is so much I can continue to add to my game. I would say some big focal points are pass pro(tection), in between the tackles, outside the tackles, catching the ball, ball security. Every single day try to focus and try to get better in every area of my game. I am a big stickler when it comes to stuff like that. Definitely when our coaches sat down, they really have us focused on the details and all the little things matter. That’s the focus and where I want to improve my game, which I guess you could say is everything.” – Saquon Barkley via Giants.com

Leonard Williams:

The Giants’ newly acquired defensive lineman, Leonard Williams, also spoke to the media today. Williams was acquired in the middle of the 2019 season via trade in what has been a controversial and polarizing move amongst the fanbase. The Giants placed the franchise tag on Leonard Williams this offseason after the two sides failed to come to an agreement on a long-term deal.

Williams discussed this, saying he thinks “it’s always in the player’s interest to get a long-term deal, but that’s something that worked itself out between my agents and the organization.” Leonard said he is not disappointed that there was no deal agreed upon, he is simply “looking at it as an opportunity.”

But Williams also made it clear that he is ” just happy to be here, play with this team again, and learn about the guys that I’ve been with since last year.”

The media asked Leonard Williams about his injury. The disruptive defensive lineman showed up to training camp with a hamstring injury and was placed on the non-football injury list. When asked about it, here is what Leonard Williams had to say:

We can’t really talk about injuries. If somebody wants to get more information on that, you might have to bring it up with Coach (Joe) Judge or someone else on the team. I’m definitely making strides on it and doing the best that I can to get out there with my teammates. – Leonard Williams via Giants.com

When asked about learning that new defensive scheme that Saquon Barkley mentioned earlier, Leonard Williams referred to new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham as a “genius.” Williams said he loves the new scheme and that he loves working with the team’s new defensive line coach, Sean Spencer.

Overall, the Giants’ three young stars sound excited about the upcoming 2020 NFL season. The players are optimistic about their new coaching staff and seem focused on improving after a disappointing 2019 season.

New York Giants: Daniel Jones talks new offense and progress

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New York Giants, Daniel Jones

The New York Giants have reported to East Rutherford, New Jersey for NFL Training Camp. Among the many storylines surrounding the Giants is the progression of quarterback Daniel Jones.

Jones impressed in his rookie season under center for Big Blue. Across 13 games, 12 of which were starts, Jones threw for 3,027 yards while posting a 24:12 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Jones also ran for 279 yards and two touchdowns.

The Duke product is learning a new offense with former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett taking over as offensive coordinator under new head coach Joe Judge.

Jones finds Garrett to be “extremely detailed” (quotes are all courtesy of tweets by Giants.com’s Dan Salomone).

“He’s extremely detailed in his teaching and what he expects on the field.”

Jones says he and the Giants are taking training camp “day to day.”

“We’re taking it day by day, install by install, trying to learn [the offense] as quickly as we can.”

“My focus is on this camp and making sure I’m prepared mentally. … My focus is what we’re doing day to day here.”

Jones mentions how he has grown stronger.

“I feel like I’m as strong as I’ve been. … I wanted to get stronger.”

Jones’ receiving core is headlined by veterans Golden Tate and Sterling Shepard and the second-year Darius Slayton, who lead the Giants in receiving yards (740) and touchdowns (8) last season.

Jones commends what Slayton brings to the table.

“He’s a guy that comes to work every day and knows what to do…He can really get out and run, a big frame, a big target…I know he’s excited going into this year.”

The Giants have a lot of new faces on their offensive line: rookie tackles Andrew Thomas (4) and Matt Peart (99), rookie guard Shane Lemieux (150) and former Cowboys tackle Cam Fleming.

Veteran tackle Nate Solder, though, opted out of the 2020 NFL season. Jones supports Solder’s decision.

“He’s got an extremely tough circumstance. He’s got to do what’s best for him and his family. All the respect and support to him.”

New York Giants: Could Evan Engram Total 1,000 Yards In Jason Garrett’s Offense?

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New York Giants, Giants, Evan Engram

The New York Giants made a splash hiring on their coaching staff this offseason, hiring former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett as their offensive coordinator. Garrett spent ten years as the head coach of the Cowboys. The Cowboys had a top offense in the league nearly every season with Jason Garrett running the show.

One of the key components to Jason Garrett’s offense is the emphasis on the tight end position. Garrett was fortunate enough to have Jason Witten as his tight end in Dallas for all those years and the two collaborated on some of the best seasons by a tight end in NFL history. In 2012, Jason Witten received a career-high 147 targets in Garrett’s offense. 2012 was the last season that Garrett called plays for Dallas.

Calling plays for the Giants in 2020, could Jason Garrett feature Evan Engram in such a prominent role?

Jason Garrett and The Tight End Position

Witten, as the long-time tight end of the Cowboys, received 80 or more targets every year he played under Garrett, including multiple 120+ target seasons.

Between the ages of 25 and 31, Jason Witten was targeted in the Cowboys offense an average of 127 times a year–and that was despite their having a legitimate No. 1 receiver and a top rushing attack. – Gene Clemons of Giants County

Jason Witten had four 1,000 yard seasons in his career with the Cowboys. In each of those seasons, he received a total of targets greater than 120. Evan Engram will inevitably see his role expand with Garrett in town, and could see over 120 targets. But is he ready for an expanded role?

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New York Giants: How Jason Garrett can get really creative on offense

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New York Giants, Jason Garrett

Watching the New York Giants‘ offense the past two seasons has been like watching paint dry. Aside from Saquon Barkley creating something out of nothing, the excitement of the offense has been held to a minimum. Former head coach and offensive play-caller Pat Shurmur did an underwhelming job in 2019, failing to entertain fans with a high profile scheme. In his defense, rookie quarterback Daniel Jones didn’t enjoy a single game with all of his playmakers available.

Games missed:

Sterling Shepard (6 games missed)

Saquon Barkley (3 games missed)

Darius Slayton (2 games missed)

Evan Engram (8 games missed)

Golden Tate (5 games missed)

Considering the Giants won only four games last season, upper management decided to move on from Shurmur in favor of former Dallas Cowboys head coach, Jason Garrett.

What should the New York Giants expect from Jason Garrett?

If you’ve watched the Cowboys for over 12 years, and I imagine you probably haven’t if you’re a Giants fan, you would know that Jason Garrett was once a catalyst for Dallas on offense. When he started out as an offensive coordinator in his first season, the Cowboys finished 13-3 and were the No. 1 seed in the NFC. They lead the NFC in points scored and trailed only the New England Patriots in the entire league. Their point total was the second-most in franchise history, and Tony Romo benefited exponentially from Garrett’s style.

A young Daniel Jones should learn a massive amount from Garrett, soaking in his knowledge and experience of the game. The team also featured two running back’s in Julius Jones and Marion Barber. Barber earned a Pro Bowl selection that season. Saquon Barkley is a vastly superior running back, which means Garrett could unlock a potential we didn’t even know existed.

Garrett does not like playmakers, as he will gain back all of the ones mentioned above. Jones, who is coming off a rookie season where he threw for over 3,000 yards and 24 touchdowns, should assist in Garrett’s success moving forward.

Garrett gets a lot of the blame for the Cowboys’ struggles the past few seasons, but the reality is, they had a good team with weaknesses at key positions. Their offense was always a strong point, as they ranked in the top-10 in nearly every category in 2019. Having him focused on the offense is exactly what the Giants need to take that next step, and I expect to see a heavy dosage of running the football and activating tight ends in the passing game.

I would also love to see more 22 personnel, where Barkley and Dion Lewis are activated in the backfield. This would also incorporate two tight ends — a blend of Engram, Kaden Smith, and Levine Toilolo. The mismatches the Giants could create with that set is undeniable.

New York Giants: Shaun O’Hara breaks down why Jason Garrett will excel with Big Blue

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New York Giants, Jason Garrett

The New York Giants made significant changes in their coaching staff this off-season after they fired Pat Shurmur, Mike Shula, and James Bettcher. Management went out and brought in former New England Patriots special-teams coordinator Joe Judge, former Dallas head coach Jason Garrett, and former Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator, Patrick Graham.

The expectations are that the new staff will bring a bit more stability to the franchise. Shurmur was incapable of managing the entire team, with his focus primarily aimed at the offense. Calling plays was simply too much of a difficult task to handle in cohesion with the remainder of his duties.

The offense should benefit from having a strict offensive coordinator who knows the game like the back of his hand. Garrett spent 13 years with the Cowboys but was fired at the end of last season for under-performing.

One former New York Giants player believes he will be a massive upgrade:

O’Hara referenced via Giants.com a play the Cowboys utilizing the past called “scissors.” Mainly, it relies on misdirection with two running back’s in the backfield and having both guards swing into space to block for the ball carrier. He mentions that the Giants have used this play in the past, but it has been quite some time. He believes Garrett will re-invoke the specific play, and it should help the Giants’ offense succeed.

“I fully expect to see this play resurface for the Giants,” O’Hara said on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football. “I think Saquon (Barkley) is the perfect running back, just like Zeke Elliott, who ran it exceptionally well down in Dallas. Obviously, it helps when you have good offensive linemen, which he does down there. But the patience to let those blocks develop and to set them up, that’s something Saquon does a really good job of. Because he has that speed and that burst, he can maintain the patience with that.

“So, what is Jason Garrett going to do? Well smartly, he brought along Marc Colombo, who was down with him in Dallas, who is now the offensive line coach. He has another guy to help instill this and show them how to block it and show them all the intricacies of this play. What makes it work and what it struggles with. But I think when you look at this offense with Jason Garrett as the offensive coordinator, the accountability factor is going to be through the roof.”

The offensive line remains the most important unit for the Giants, regarding development. They drafted Andrew Thomas with the fourth overall pick to be the heir at left tackle. O’Hara mentions “accountability” will be a significant portion of Judge’s mentality as a head coach.

Every player has a job to do, and they must do it well. Harping on fundamentals and the minor details is what makes a team great. Hopefully, all of these factors combined translates to a better performance in 2020.

New York Giants: Will FB Elijhaa Penny See An Expanded Role In 2020?

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The fullback position is dying in the NFL. Every year, NFL teams utilize the fullback position in their offense less and less. Last season, the New York Giants ran 21-personnel on just 5% of their offensive snaps. Pat Shurmur’s offense featured a heavy dosage of 11-personnel, operating out of that grouping 74% of the time (2nd-highest rate in the NFL).

The Giants were rarely using the fullback position despite having a pretty talented player on the roster at that position. Elijhaa Penny has been with the Giants since 2018. But in both of his seasons with the Giants, Penny played 12% of the team’s offensive snaps.

In 2018, Penny finished the season as the 4th highest graded fullback with a 68.6 overall grade according to Pro Football Focus. Penny’s PFF grade dropped to 57.7 overall in 2019, but the Giants’ offense as a whole saw a decline in performance.

Why Elijhaa Penny Should Be Utilized More In 2020

Pat Shurmur was a fan of Elijhaa Penny, but he never really utilized him in the Giants’ offense. Shurmur spent the vast majority of the Giants’ snaps in 11-personnel. The Giants’ wide receiver-heavy offense struggled the past two seasons. But the Giants now have a new offensive coordinator and a new offensive scheme to implement.

The Giants’ new offensive coordinator is Jason Garrett. Garrett was the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys since 2010 and served as their offensive coordinator for three years prior. He has not called plays on offense since 2012, however, the offensive coordinators on his staff have been running Garrett’s offensive system. Garrett’s system has been highly efficient for the Cowboys as they had six top-ten finishes over the years.

Jason Garrett’s offense has a strong emphasis on the running game. In 2019, Dallas ran the ball on average 28.1 times per game (9th highest rate in the NFL). Pat Shurmur’s offense in New York averaged 22.6 rushing attempts per game (4th fewest). The Cowboys also utilized 21-personnel far more often than the Giants.

As previously mentioned, the Giants ran 21-personnel on just 5% of their offensive snaps (21st highest frequency). The Dallas Cowboys utilized 21-personnel on 9% of their offensive snaps (13th highest frequency). Under Jason Garrett, the Giants are likely to run more 21-personnel and utilize the fullback position at a higher rate. This could mean an expanded role is in store for Elijhaa Penny in 2020.

New York Giants: Kaden Smith Has Breakout Potential In 2020

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New York Giants, Kaden Smith

The New York Giants will likely run a lot more twelve-personnel in 2020. With the recent hiring of Jason Garrett as offensive coordinator, the team’s offense is set to emphasize a heavy usage of the tight end position.

Luckily for the Giants, they have just the personnel to run two-tight end sets. The Gmen have two capable tight ends on their roster: Evan Engram and Kaden Smith. Engram is an explosive, versatile receiving threat who can be a matchup-nightmare at the tight end position. Kaden Smith is quite the opposite, however, his playstyle might be even more fitting to the Giants’ new offensive scheme.

Kaden Smith Stats and Highlights

Kaden Smith is a solid, reliable tight end. He is not the fastest guy nor the best route runner, but he has dependable hands and good run-blocking skills. Jason Garret utilizes a run-heavy offensive scheme that leans on the tight ends to make key blocks. Evan Engram has struggled as a run-blocker in his career, but Kaden Smith might flourish in this role.

Kaden Smith, the undrafted rookie out of Standford, is an excellent blocker from the tight end position. He did a superb job as a lead blocker once he was put into the starting lineup in Week 12. Take this block against the Washington Redskins as a perfect example:

Jason Garrett is a bright offensive mind and he will carve out a defined role for Evan Engram in 2020. This role will maximize his athleticism and receiving talents. But a role will also be carved out for Kaden Smith as he enters his second season. Throughout Garrett’s time in Dallas, he coached one of the greatest tight ends to ever play the sport: Jason Witten.

Witten was never an extraordinary athlete or explosive route runner. But he was always a dependable receiver with a high football IQ that allowed him to find soft spots in defenses and get open. Witten was also an excellent run-blocker. This is similar to Kaden Smith’s playing style. He could fit that Witten role in Garrett’s offense with the Giants.

In his 5 games as a starter in 2019, Kaden Smith caught 22 of his 30 targets (73% catch rate) for 170 yards and 3 touchdowns. He was one of the most dependable receivers on the field for the Giants. Likely receiving an expanded role in 2020, Kaden Smith could have a breakout season in store for the Giants.

Be sure to check out our Kaden Smith highlight video on YouTube here:

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