New York Giants

Giants News: Kenny Golladay yells at Jason Garrett, Kadarius Toney’s frustrations are boiling over

by
new york giants, kenny golladay

The New York Giants lost a nailbiter against the Washington Football Team on Thursday evening, with interior defender Dexter Lawrence jumping offside on a field goal attempt, they gave kicker Dustin Hopkins one more opportunity to win the game. Unfortunately for the Giants, Hopkins didn’t miss on his second attempt, sending Big Blue crashing down to an 0-2 record this season and the fan base into a frenzy.

With the negativity beginning to mount and head coach Joe Judge running out of answers, the interior of the team has begun to raise frustration, as star receiver Kenny Golladay was seen yelling at coordinator Jason Garrett toward the end of the contest.

Kenny Golladay screams at Jason Garrett as the team avoids him in the most important moments:

Golladay finished with three receptions for 38 yards in the loss, playing in 39 total passing snaps. Golladay was used rarely, as quarterback Daniel Jones targeted Sterling Shepard more frequently over the big money possession option.

Golladay has every right to be frustrated about his lack of usage, especially toward the latter portion of the game when the Giants needed to march down the field and score. At 6’4″ and 213 pounds, the Giants took only one deep shot to their big exterior receiver, which simply isn’t enough.

However, Kenny wasn’t the only receiver to expressed frustration after the defeat, as first-round pick Kadarius Toney took to social media to show his disappointment.

Kadarius Toney’s frustration is boiling over to social media:

Toney featured in just 19 total snaps against Washington, an increase of 14 compared to Week 1 against Denver. Toney failed to make an impact in the receiving game, not being targeted once by Jones. After the game, Tony posted on social media a meme, stating, “I don’t be mad, s—t just be lame to me.”

Some might compare the Giants’ lack of utility for Toney, like buying a sports car and failing to drive it. It is yet to be seen if coordinator Jason Garrett even has plays in his arsenal that are capable of maximizing Kadarius’s skill set.

Hopefully, they can get him more involved moving forward and not just utilize him as an end-around and jet sweep option. He is far more than just a gadget player, and if the Giants don’t get him involved quickly, Toney has a high probability of lashing out once again, and with Golliday already having a screaming match with Garrett on the sidelines, they need to get some of these players involved quickly.

New York Giants: Washington favored in pregame predictions for Thursday Night Football

by
New York Giants, Darius Slayton

The New York Giants opened the season as an underdog, and it looks like they will have similar circumstances in tonight’s Thursday Night Football matchup. The opponent is once again favored by the media, but this time the game carries higher stakes as it’s within the division and an 0-2 start is on the line.

Around the media, the general sentiment is that Washington has the advantage. ESPN in particular has a harsh assessment of the Giants, with only three analysts picking the Giants compared to eight predicting a Washington victory. Things weren’t much more favorable in USA Today, where all of the experts picked Washington.

These predictions come in spite of the fact that Washington will be stuck with backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke following Ryan Fitzpatrick’s injury. Heinicke is primarily known or starting one playoff game for Washington last season, but proved that he can be a servicable backup option by throwing for 306 yards with one touchdown and one interception, while also rushing for one touchdown.

The Giants still have their work cut out for them despite facing a backup. Their own offensive struggles will negate much of the advantage gained, if there isn’t an improvement from last time out.

And Evan Engram and Shane Lemieux missing this game is a reminder that the Giants are still dealing with injury problems. Even Saquon Barkley’s status is questionable going into this game, despite his important role in the offense.

Notably, the Giants have a chance to either get to .500 or succumb to yet another 0-2 start with this game.

While many are betting against them right now, it should be expected that the team will be aware of these stakes and play like they have their backs to the wall. If they fail to change the narrative by doing that and turning things around, we can expect the conversations between this game and their next outing to take an even more negative turn than they did following the opening loss.

New York Giants shift offensive line combination, here’s the projected starting unit for Week 2

by
new york giants, billy price

It has only been one week in, and the New York Giants are already shifting up their offensive line and testing different combinations. On a short week against the Washington Football Team on Thursday night football, the Giants have elected to move center Nick Gates over to left guard, where Shane Lemieux played just 17 snaps last week before being replaced by Ben Bredeson.

Bredeson was traded from the Baltimore Ravens to the Giants several weeks ago. Big Blue sent over a fourth-round pick in exchange for Bredeson, a fifth and seventh-round selection. However, Bredeson is still learning the system and struggled in some facets in his first action with his new team. With that being the case, the Giants feel better moving Gates over to the left side.

Gates has never played left guard before, spending his rookie season at right guard and right tackle before making the full move to center. While he has been cross-training at both spots this off-season, there’s no guarantee he will be an adequate option.

Expected starting unit for the New York Giants against Washington:

LT: Andrew Thomas

LG: Nick Gates

C: Billy Price

RG: Will Hernandez

RT: Nate Solder

The Giants expressed confidence all off-season regarding their OL, indicating they had enough talent on the roster to get the job done. However, trading for two different players doesn’t exactly scream confidence and efficiency, but rather desperation.

With Billy Price taking over at center, the former first-round pick will undoubtedly have his work cut out for him. Price has 698 total snaps at the position, with the majority coming in his rookie year back in 2018. His best numbers came at center, which provide some sort of optimism against Washington for the Giants.

The coaching staff is treading above water right now, but they could quickly begin to sink if things don’t go well on Thursday night.

Giants’ safety Jabrill Peppers has strong words ahead of Thursday night battle in Washington

by
New York Giants, Jabrill Peppers

The New York Giants are gearing up for a big Week 2 matchup against the Washington Football Team, and most are coining it a “must-win” game for both teams. After a disappointing loss in Week 1 to the Denver Broncos, the Giants are trying to bounce back in a strong way as they take on backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke.

After Ryan Fitzpatrick suffered a hip injury that put him on injured reserve, Heinicke stepped into the game. Over 15 passing attempts, Heinicke tallied 122 yards and a touchdown, recording a 70.1 QBR. Overall, he had a solid performance against Los Angeles, but with subpar arm talent, the Giants have the personnel to take advantage.

On the defensive side, the Giants blitzed more in Week 1 than in any game last year, showcasing a shift in strategy. With Patrick Graham attempting to substitute to a more man-coverage-based scheme, the goal will be to get after Heinicke and put him under immediate pressure.

One of the Giants’ key defenders, Jabrill Peppers, struggled in the opening game of the season, as he allowed four receptions on four targets for 34 yards. Peppers gave up several third-down conversions and catches in the red zone, which forced Graham to go in a different direction defensively.

“Subpar,” Peppers said. “I gave up two big third downs. I gave up a catch in the red zone … the standard I hold myself to, those are the routes I usually cover in my sleep. It is what it is, man. I gotta go back to the drawing board, hone in and get better.”

However, Peppers is resilient player and is eyeing a bounce-back against Washington on Thursday evening. Last season, Peppers emerged as one of the Giants’ best playmakers, playing a career-high 912 snaps, tallying 62 tackles, and posting seven pass breakups.
Peppers used some of that fiery energy to express the importance of this upcoming game, which attest to the notion that this is a must-win contest for both teams.

“Well, every game is important. This is a division game. We don’t like them. They don’t like us,” Peppers said. “So that’s where my head’s at right now.”

The Giants have beaten Washington four consecutive times since Daniel Jones took over as the starting quarterback. They will be looking to extend that streak, as Washington’s signal-caller issues presents Big Blue with a great opportunity to smooth over the fan base after an embarrassing loss to Denver.

New York Giants offensive line needs to prove that Week One was not a fluke

by
New York Giants, Nick Gates

The New York Giants offensive line was the biggest concern surrounding the team entering the 2021 NFL season. Question marks surrounded nearly every lineman in the unit. In 2020, according to ESPN, the Giants’ pass-block win rate ranked dead-last in the NFL at 46%. Their run-block win rate ranked 18th at 70%, which is about average or slightly below. Despite this, the team made no major moves to upgrade their offensive line in the 2021 offseason until just this week.

With basically the same unit from last year carrying over, expectations were low for the Giants’ front line. In Week One, the Giants’ offensive line exceeded all expectations. The line was not the reason for the Giants’ offensive failures. The unit put together a good performance but needs to keep the momentum going in Week Two in order to prove that this first game was not a fluke.

New York Giants offensive line exceeds expectations

The New York Giants offensive line did a great job protecting Daniel Jones in Week One. Daniel Jones was kept clean on 74.4% of his dropbacks versus the Broncos, 2nd highest in his career (PFF). Granted, Jones and the offense did not have a stellar performance, but the blame seems to need to be placed on the play-calling, rather than the blocking.

According to ESPN, the Giants had the fourth-best pass-block win rate in the NFL in Week One. This is an astronomical improvement from 2020 when the unit ranked dead last in that regard.

In Week Two, the New York Giants will face the Washington Football Team and their ferocious, young defensive line. However, that frightening defensive front is coming off of a sluggish and disappointing performance in Week One. Washington recorded 2 sacks as Justin Herbert frequently found himself throwing in a comfortable pocket.

The Giants’ offensive line exceeded expectations while the Football Team’s defensive line failed to meet expectations. The Los Angeles Chargers totaled over 400 all-purpose yards against Washington on Sunday.

Washington’s defensive line is looking for a bounce-back performance. Inversely, the Giants’ offensive line is looking to string together two strong performances in a row and set the tone for their season. On Thursday night, this crucial matchup will take place and could decide the game between the New York Giants and the Washington Football Team.

New York Giants: Evan Engram out and Saquon Barkley questionable

by
New York Giants, Evan Engram

Even going into the second game of the season, the New York Giants might not have all of their offensive weapons on the field. The team was missing Evan Engram in the season opener and Engram was confirmed today as set to miss his second straight game with a calf injury from before the start of the season.

He’s not the only player that will miss the Thursday Night Football appearance against Washington. In slightly more minor news, special teamer Cam Brown and guard Shane Lemieux will also miss the game.

Saquon Barkley hasn’t been ruled out of the game like these other players. Despite that, he’s listed as questionable and there’s also no guarantee that he will play. While Barkley played in the opener, it’s clear that the staff are taking a cautious approach with him and that he wasn’t playing at his best while coming back from injury.

While some of the poor performance can be attributed to bad run blocking from the offensive line, a theory which is backed up by the lack of performance from alternative option Devontae Booker, Barkley ultimately didn’t utilize much of his unique skillset in the loss.

He looked like any replacement level running back in the league, and while Barkley himself refused to use his injury as a crutch, we may have to consider the possibility that his return was a bit too quick.

Devontae Booker is still waiting in the wings to take a larger role if Barkley is held back to recover longer before being brought back into the fold fully, but based on his own poor numbers from last Sunday, that may not be the most encouraging prospect for those hoping to see an improvement in the rushing attack against Washington.

How should the New York Giants game-plan around Washington QB Taylor Heinicke?

by
New York Giants, James Bradberry, logan ryan

The New York Giants are preparing to take on the Washington Football Team in Week 2 on Thursday evening. After a disappointing loss in Week 1 to the Denver Broncos, head coach Joe Judge and Co. are looking to bounce back with a strong performance, especially on defense.

Fortunately for the Giants, Washington lost starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick due to a hip injury, placing him on injured reserve. They will feature Taylor Heinicke as his replacement on Thursday, as the backup attempted 15 passes, completing 11 for 112 yards and a score after Fitzpatrick went down.

Heinicke presents himself as a mobile quarterback who is capable of maneuvering in the pocket and making intelligent throws. While his arm talent is subpar, he has solid accuracy in the short/intermediate range, making him a threat if the Giants play soft zone coverage.

Washington will likely rely heavily on running back Antonio Gibson to shoulder the majority of the load, but Heinicke looked fearless against Los Angeles, so the Giants will have to scare him straight if they want to take advantage of his inexperience.

Last week against Denver, the Giants tried to play more man-coverage, which is a bit different than their zone coverage scheme they deployed in 2020, which worked quite well. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has roots in Cover-1, which relies on man-coverage and allows the defense to blitz more effectively, getting after the quarterback.

Bridgewater was able to maneuver in the pocket and get the ball out quickly to his big targets, like tight end Noah Fant. Washington similarly has a big TE in Logan Thomas, who hauled three receptions for 30 yards last week, including a touchdown on a jump ball in man-coverage.

What to expect from the New York Giants’ defense against Washington’s offense:

Expect to see plenty of short screens to Gibson and the wide receivers, including crossing routes and underneath concepts. This will likely be a West Coast-style unit for Washington moving forward until Fitzpatrick returns, so expect the ball to come out quickly and the Giants to be limiting yardage between the sticks.

For the Giants’ defense, the mantra of the game will be to get off the field on third down. Expect Washington to use all of their available plays. The Giants gave up three 4th down conversions and 24 first downs, including seven on 3rd down in Week 1. Looking over at Washington, they converted just three 3rd downs and one 4th down conversion on one attempt.

Overall, this is a favorable matchup for the Giants, who should look to blitz Heinicke early and often to keep him flustered and off-balance. This will ultimately allow them to disguise some coverages in the secondary and create mistakes as he tries to find his receivers in traffic. The interior defensive line must have a solid performance, and with Washington’s line mostly looking good against the Chargers, it won’t be an easy task. They should look to target rookie right tackle Samuel Cosmi in pass protection. He allowed a sack, two hurries, and four pressures against Los Angeles in the loss.

New York Jets to add former Giants LB (Report)

by
New York Giants linebacker, B.J. Goodson.

The New York Jets have begun to address their medically-induced defensive woes through the signing of former Giants starter B.J. Goodson.

B.J. Goodson is reportedly back in the New York groove, albeit in new colors.

The former New York Giants draft pick is coming back to the metropolitan area as one of four additions to the New York Jets’ active roster. Gang Green has picked up Goodson and punter Thomas Morestead from the free agency market while blocker Isaiah Williams and safety Jarrod Wilson were called up from the practice squad. These moves are in conjunction with the placement of Mekhi Becton, Blake Cashman, Lamarcus Joyner, and Braden Mann onto the injured reserve list.

Goodson originally donned blue in New York as a fourth-round pick out of Clemson in 2016. He spent three seasons with the Giants before spent the past two campaigns in Green Bay and Cleveland. The linebacker played a sizable role in the Browns’ playoff push last year, leading the team with 91 tackles and two interceptions. Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Goodson’s one-year deal is worth $2.1 million.

In addition to Cashman, the Jets are also missing offseason arrival Jarrad Davis, who is not expected to play prior to the Jets’ bye in Week 6. Head coach Robert Saleh also said that another linebacker, rookie Jamien Sherwood (sprained ankle), will miss the next two weeks.

Morestead, a 2012 Pro Bowler, joins the Jets after 12 seasons in New Orleans. He’ll relieve Mann for at least the next four weeks after the 2020 draft pick suffered a knee injury on his second Sunday kick in Carolina. Placekicker Matt Ammendola took over for the remainder of the game before Morestead’s arrivals.

Williams will provide depth on the offensive line George Fant relieves Becton on the blindside and Morgan Moses takes over Fant’s regular duties on the right. The Akron alum has yet to appear in a regular season NFL game but joined the Jets’ practice squad after appearing in their preseason finale against Philadelphia. He had spent time on either a practice squad or training camp in seven different NFL locales and earned professional starting experience with the Alliance of American Football’s Atlanta Legends and the XFL’s Tampa Bay Vipers.

Wilson arrives as reinforcement to the Jets’ secondary after injuries to Joyner and Ashtyn Davis left Marcus Maye and newcomers Sheldrick Redwine and Adrian Colbert as the only healthy safeties on the roster. Formerly of Jacksonville, Wilson has seen action in 75 games since entering the league as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan in 2016. Sunday starter Lamarcus Joyner (torn triceps) is out for the season.

In addition to the moves on the active roster, the Jets restocked their practice squad with the additions of blocker Elijah Nkansah and linebacker Noah Dawkins. The latter returns to the Jets after appearing in five games with the team last season.

The Jets (0-1) return to action on Sunday afternoon in their home opener against the New England Patriots (1 p.m. ET, CBS).

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

New York Giants will face backup quarterback in Week Two

by
taylor heinicke, giants, washington

The New York Giants are coming off of an embarrassing Week One loss to the Denver Broncos. The team will travel to play the Washington Football Team on Thursday. A short week and a small amount of time for the team to make a crucial turnaround.

The Washington Football Team will be without its starting quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick, for Thursday’s matchup. Fitzpatrick went down with a hip injury during the team’s Week One loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Ryan Fitzpatrick suffered a hip subluxation and is being placed on injured reserve. He is expected to miss 6-8 weeks. Taylor Heinicke will start in his place on Thursday night.

Taylor Heinicke stats and highlights

Taylor Heinicke took over for Ryan Fitzpatrick after he went down with a hip injury in the second quarter of the team’s first regular-season game.

Filling in for Fitz, Taylor Heinicke went 11-of-15 for 122 yards and one touchdown as the Football Team fought hard but came up short against the Chargers. Heinicke has been in the NFL since 2017 but has only one career start to his name. He has played for three teams but has shown some potential in various moments as a backup.

Taylor Heinicke got the start for Washington last year in the 2020 NFL playoffs against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Many were impressed with Heinicke as he fought hard and put together a surprisingly decent performance as a fill-in. Heinicke threw 44 passes with 26 completions, one passing touchdown, one interception, and one heroic touchdown run:

When it comes to backup quarterbacks in the NFL, Taylor Heinicke is one of the better options in the league. The Giants need not underestimate their opponent this week. Washington will be without Ryan Fitzpatrick, but Taylor Heinicke played well in relief of the starter and will pose a threat to a Giants’ defense that allowed 27 points on Sunday.

The New York Giants need to win this crucial, divisional matchup on Thursday to turn their season around. Facing a backup quarterback could make that goal much easier to accomplish.

New York Giants: Joe Judge stands by Daniel Jones amid rising pressure

by
new york giants, joe judge

This season, there’s no New York Giants player with more pressure than Daniel Jones. Patience is wearing thin in Jones’ third season in the league, and a week 1 loss where Jones fumbled the ball once and only managed one touchdown before garbage time has left many feeling restless in the wait for an improvement.

Despite the circumstances, the Giants organization has been nothing but supportive of Jones. That trend began this offseason when figures associated with the staff and front office repeatedly affirmed their faith in Jones, and has continued more recently with Joe Judge restating his confidence in the quarterback even after the recent loss.

The subject came up once again when Judge was asked if his experience being around Tom Brady in the Patriots organization has influenced his coaching of Jones.

Joe Judge stands by Daniel Jones’ preparation

“Obviously, we share experiences with all of our players from places we’ve been. You’ve got to use your experience with other players in terms of things that may have helped them along the way. I don’t try to live in the past. I don’t want to walk into anything and say, ‘this is how somebody else did it. You do it that way.’ You can’t emulate and imitate anybody,” Judge told reporters.

He would go on to praise Jones for the skills he’s worked to establish in his two seasons, including preparation.

“Daniel goes out there and practices hard every day. He goes out there and we have confidence in him because of the way he prepares on a weekly basis, doing everything it takes to be ready for the game… Do I walk in and I say, ‘Hey, I’ve had the opportunity to be around really good players at other positions. You should do it this way’? Absolutely not. Everyone’s a unique player.”

It’s clear the organization’s leaders have faith in Jones’ skills and his potential as a player, but that will become harder and harder to publicly justify if the performances don’t pick up.

Regardless of how well Jones prepares and how much he takes away from studying film, the loudest criticisms of his game have usually been about his decision making and failure to process the game fast enough.

With patience largely running out and some highly rated quarterbacks coming out of college in next year’s draft, the window for Jones to figure it out and justify the staff’s faith in him appears to be shrinking by the week. For now, the official lines are the same as always. But that might not be the case forever.