Oshane Ximines

New York Giants: Why we should have faith in GM Dave Gettleman

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New York Giants, Dave Gettleman

The New York Giants elected to hire general manager Dave Gettleman one year ago after the reign of Jerry Reese came to an end.

Two Super Bowl’s later and a flurry of terrible drafts, the Giants decided it was time to move on towards bigger and better things. However, most were concerned about Gettleman and his past relationships with players. He is all business and no sympathy, but he has done a fantastic job piecing together a Giants team that has been lost for a decade.

Second drafts a charm for the New York Giants:

Drafting running back Saquon Barkley might have been the easiest decision in Dave’s career, and we shouldn’t give him the credit for selecting a player that was guaranteed to be a perennial Pro Bowler. Where Gettleman success comes into play is in the later rounds of the draft. Between rounds, 3-7 is where the new general manager has really shined.

Last season, the Giants drafted Lorenzo Carter and BJ Hill in the third round. Both will be starters in 2019. In the fifth round, they selected RJ McIntosh who will be a rotational player after dealing with a thyroid issue in 2018 that kept him out the entire season.

In the most recent draft, Gettleman selected DE Oshane Ximines in the third round, CB Julian Love in the fourth round, LB Ryan Connelly/WR Darius Slayton in the fifth round, and CB Corey Ballentine in the sixth round. In the seventh round, he selected OT George Asiago-Adjei, and DL Chris Slayton, defense of lineman from Syracuse.

Out of his seven picks between rounds 3-7, he has five potential starting players. The two outliers being the seventh-round picks who haven’t shown much this off-season so far. However, Love is competing for the slot corner position and Ximines will be a featured player on the defensive front.

Ryan Connelly has already been earning first-team reps over veteran BJ Goodson and Darius Slayton has been slotted in with the first team on numerous occasions. Corey Ballentine, division II cornerback, has looked fantastic at times, even recording an interception and two assisted tackles in the victory over the Jets in the first preseason game.

All in all, the Giants could have seven new starters by the end of the 2019 season who have less than two years of experience. Those are only players from rounds 3-7, which shows the quality of depth Dave Gettleman is building and how well he is drafting.

One other essential point I would like to make is that Dave does not hold on to his own pride. When it comes to free-agent signing’s, he has no problem releasing a player that simply isn’t panning out, which is something Jerry Reese failed to do over the years. Take Patrick Omameh for example, who signed a three-year, $15 million deal and was cut by week five last season.

The no-nonsense approach Gettleman and the Giants have adopted needed to be prioritized after Reese was fired. There were too many distractions and far too many wasted draft picks to anticipate success for the future. Gettleman has done a fantastic job piecing the team together thus far and we are already seeing the benefits of his decisions.

 

New York Giants: Training Camp and 2019 Season Thoughts

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The start of the New York Giants training camp is a time when most fans find a reason to be optimistic about the upcoming season for the football team they dedicate 17+ weeks to. It’s also necessary to pause and provide some introspection on the team and address some of the mainstream storylines that have circulated across the Giants message boards and Twitter.  Below are my thoughts at we conclude the first two weeks of training camp. 

  • The Giants desperately need Lorenzo Carter to take a major leap. The Giants linebacking unit may be the worst in the league. Carter was their best cover linebacker last year and is the only player I trust to not be a liability on third down. It wouldn’t surprise me if B.J. Goodson and Alec Ogletree’s playing time was reduced in passing situations, both struggled in coverage last season. Carter might even be more valuable to the Giants playing out in space as he is rushing the passer.
  • The defense will likely stink again this season. The Giants had the 24th ranked defense by DVOA last year and is unlikely to improve this year. The Giants don’t have anyone on the roster that proved they could consistently rush the passer last season, their linebackers will struggle to defend the run and the pass and they don’t have any corners that played well in coverage last year. Furthermore, the Giants will be relying on a lot of young players (B.J. Hill, Carter, Dexter Lawrence, Sam Beal, DeAndre Baker, Grant Haley, Julian Love, and Oshane Ximines) to play well this year. It’s unrealistic to think that most of these young players can be impactful on a consistent basis.
  • Evan Engram is an upgrade over Golden Tate. The loss of Golden Tate will hurt the Giants, but not as much as people may think. Evan Engram will get more targets in Tate’s absence, and at this point of their careers, Engram is a more explosive receiver than Tate. Engram needs to improve his route running and struggles to shake from coverage, but Shurmur finally figured out how to use Engram in the second half of the season. Get him in space and let him run. I expect the Giants to use him more to stretch the field than they have in the past. 
  • The offense will not be better without Odell Beckham Jr. this year. For the first time since 2010, the Giants should have an above-average pass-blocking offensive line. However, don’t expect the Giants offense to be better than last year when they ranked 13th by DVOA. It’s too simple to look at the last four games of the season, wipe out the Titans game and come to the conclusion the Giants offense can thrive without Beckham. It can’t. Without Beckham, defenses can focus on containing Barkley and will have confidence their secondary can hold up against the Giants receivers. Shurmer will have to be extra creative with his scheme and play calling to help the Giants receiver get open against man coverage.
  • Daniel Jones needs first-team reps. The Giants can help Jones grow without sacrificing victories this season. He needs to be given first-team reps in training camp and the preseason. Eli Manning does not require 100% of the reps with the starters to get himself ready for the season. Giving Jones a portion of those reps will help Eli rest his arm while giving Jones valuable experience playing behind the first-string offensive line. The Giants will learn very little about the potential of their first-round pick if he’s spending camp and preseason running for his life. 

 

New York Giants: James Bettcher is building a vintage defense

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New York Giants, James Bettcher

When the New York Giants hired James Bettcher to take over the defensive duties, it was expected that the change would be significant. That expectation became a reality, as in his first season the unit saw fundamental struggles.

It is not easy to change the entire scheme of a defense and expect efficiency in year one, which is why 2019 should see a significant step forward in the productivity of the unit as a whole.

There will be challenges present due to the youth general manager Dave Gettleman has injected into the team, specifically the defense. Majority of the secondary has been overhauled — Drafting DeAndre Baker, Julian love, Corey Ballentine and signing, and Antoine Bethea. The team also acquired Jabrill Peppers, free safety, and the Odell Beckham Jr. trade.

Having two new safeties in Peppers and a Bethea should provide the Giants with an improved defensive backfield.

James Bettcher commented on how his defense is progressing:

“To develop young players now in this league, you need to teach them the process first. The process being, how can you take something from the meeting room and take it to walk-through. How can you take it from walk-through to your individual period? How can you take something from individual to team, and then run it full circle? To be able to do that on a Tuesday, on a Wednesday, on a Thursday, day after day for seven months to improve yourself as a player. I think their eagerness to learn, their ability to put their guard down and get coached, and know that it’s not about, Coach Shurmur always says, and I think he says it in a great way, ‘It’s not about attacking people, it’s attacking problems,’ and we’re trying to get better.”

The difference from college to the NFL is significant, especially when it comes to understanding playbooks and schemes. For rookies, it will take up a substantial portion of their time and focus as they learn how a defense operates at the professional level.

Luckily, the Giants have two established veterans in Janoris Jenkins and Antoine Bethea that have helped significantly in the rookies making the transition.

When asked about the youth and inexperience on his defense, Bettcher stated:

“I’ll answer that in two parts.”

“Because when I look at guys that don’t have experience I think about a lot of different things, and I’ve said this to our group. I call plays for the first time, so everybody that’s been something has done it for the first time. You wrote a story for the first time at one point in time, and although some people might have thought that you couldn’t do it, you were able to write something that was maybe beyond other people’s expectations. We will never be limited by expectations of others, whether we are playing our first game or our 100th game in the National Football League. We’re not going to be limited by expectations.”

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There will be hurdles the Giants face throughout the course of 2019, but they are essential ones that will make the team better in the long run. The quality of youth on the team is unlike anything we’ve seen in the past few years, especially in the secondary. The defensive line is also looking to take a major step forward with the drafting of Dexter Lawrence and Oshane Ximines.

 

New York Giants Practice Report, 7/31

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New York Giants, Julian Love, DeAndre Baker, Julian Love

The New York Giants held their second consecutive practice indoors yesterday due to extreme heat and thunder, 7/31.

Players who stood out:

As much as many are craving a QB competition this is Eli’s best camp in years, maybe ever. His arm has looked fine and his consistency is sharp. He had a nice connection with Golden Tate in the intermediate areas of the field yesterday.

Alonzo Russell continues to work with the second-team offense and certainly makes enough plays to get first-team reps. So far he looks like he might actually make the team considering he is the pass catcher Daniel Jones is most in sync with early on. Today the two connected for a touchdown in the red zone during a 2-minute drill.

Oshane Ximines hasn’t gotten to the quarterback a whole lot but he gets into the backfield and batted down a Daniel Jones pass which has been a trend for 3 straight practices. His quickness looks like a handful for offensive linemen.

Antoine Bethea doesn’t seem to get beat very often leading to some quiet stretches of practice but today he intercepted a pass from Manning intended for Barkley on a wheel route. Check it out:

First and Second team cornerbacks have been active since camp opened. Jenkins and Baker are expected to produce but guys like Julian Love, Grant Haley, Sam Beal, and Corey Ballentine make a lot of plays every day. Whether it’s interceptions or deflections they have all done more good than bad in camp so far. This will be a strong unit for the first time in a while.

Golden Tate has a hard time doing much deep down the field but he’s establishing a good connection with Eli in the intermediate areas of the field. Today he made some nice grabs in tight coverage.

Lorenzo Carter looks like he’s progressed again since the pads came on a few practices ago. He got into the backfield a little more than he has in the last few days. He was potentially in range for a couple of sacks but hard to tell until there’s a quarterback he can actually hit.

Camp Battles:

Oshane Ximines might be locked into pass rusher number four duties by default. There’s not much behind him and with Markus Golden on light duty, he saw a lot of time against the first-team offense. The good news is he’s more polished than your typical 3rd round pass rusher.

Alonzo Russell continues to work with the second-team but he looks worthy of a camp battle with Bennie Fowler. He’s routinely made plays with Daniel Jones in every practice and caught a touchdown pass from Jones during a two-minute drill. Keeping a receiver that connects well with your future quarterback always sounds like a smart move.

Tae Davis seems to have a lead on BJ Goodson at this point at inside linebacker but Ryan Connelly seems like he’s determined to make this a three-way battle. Connelly was active with the second-team defense with a pass deflection and a would-be sack on Jones.

Wayne Gallman remains ahead of Rod Smith in the race for the third running back spot. Paul Perkins seems like he’s already claimed the second spot.

Bumps and Bruises:

Sterling Shepard participated in team drills, he looks like he’s playing week 1 of the regular season barring a setback.

Sam Beal worked his way back into practice and had a nice performance with a pass deflection and excellent coverage against second-team receivers. Beal looks like one of the best reserve cornerbacks in the league.

Amba Etta-Tawo couldn’t practice due to an illness.

Markus Golden isn’t injured but had an easy day to manage his workload.

Significant injuries:

Big George is still in under the concussion protocol with hopes of being cleared before the first preseason game next week.

Mark McLaurin could potentially miss the entire season with a foot fracture.

Final Thoughts:

The secondary continues to be one of the main standouts from practice every day whether it’s the first-team or second-team. James Bettcher should have all of the pieces he needs on the backend to support an aggressive defense in 2019.

Can the New York Giants realistically make the playoffs in 2019?

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New York Giants quarterback, Eli Manning.

The present-day New York Giants seem to be exactly where the New York Knicks were in 2018, full of youth that’s in need of essential playing time.

Ensuring players like Daniel Jones, DeAndre Baker, Oshane Ximines, Dexter Lawrence, Julian Love and more earn live-action time is crucial. They are ultimately the future of the team and will require the opportunity to develop and refine their skill-sets. However, they can only do so with experience against NFL-level talent.

Football is a bit different than basketball, though, as the more physical sport is a bit more complicated when it comes to putting a roster together. In the NBA, five players start, in the NFL, 22 spots on the field must be filled. It’s not as easy to plug in veterans and expect them to perform, age hurts at the professional level at times, but it can also be a positive.

The Giants realistically aren’t in the best position to make a playoff appearance in 2019, but if we’ve realized anything over the years, it’s that anything can happen. Eli Manning will likely enjoy one final season in blue, and some of his vintage magic could still be out to good use on Sundays — One. Final. Time.

Maybe, trading Odell Beckham Jr. was the recipe to a culture change that will benefit the organization as a whole. Maybe Manning will operate at a higher level with Saquon Barkley as the featured player and Beckham not luring his eyes towards triple coverage.

The number of times we have witnessed Manning heave passes into multi-coverage just to find Beckham has been astounding over the years. Those days are over, a new offense is on the horizon.

Take a look at the New York Giants schedule below:

The Giants have a sneakily difficult schedule in 2019. Facing off against the Cowboys, Eagles and Redskins twice a piece is never easy, especially with Washington gaining a quarterback in Dwayne Haskins, who wants his revenge.

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Additionally, the Giants will play a decent Bills team, the Vikings, Patriots, Jets, Chicago, and Green Bay. There are challenges scattered throughout the season which certainly puts a damper on their playoff hopes.

In conclusion, the Giants will not make the playoffs as expected, but their younger players will receive very beneficial playing time, making 2020 a more competitive campaign.

Breaking down the New York Giants rookies for training camp

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New York Giants rookie quarterback, Daniel Jones during voluntary OTAs.

The New York Giants have wrapped up their summer vacation, and we know what that means — football is nearly back!

With two weeks remaining until preseason and seven until the first regular-season game, it’s officially football season. It has been one long and boring offseason without the constant Odell Beckham Jr. drama to keep us occupied. That was about the only good thing that came from his media coverage.

Nonetheless–

Here are your New York Giants 2019 rookies:

(QB) Daniel Jones — The reality for Jones is simple. He’s expected to sit quietly behind Eli Manning and soak up as much knowledge as possible about preparation and the offensive scheme before eventually taking over. He could succeed Manning as soon as this year, or it could be in 2021, nobody really knows. The preseason, however, will give us our first look into his capabilities and what he’s learned so far this offseason. Our opinions will start to take form in just a couple of weeks.

(CB) DeAndre Baker — The Giants traded back up into the top of the first round to select Baker, a player whos tenacity at the cornerback position will make him a solid sidekick to Janoris Jenkins. He will hit some rookie speedbumps, but thus far, he’s looked fantastic on non-contact coverage drills. He has the ability to be the Giants’ best corner with some experience and likely take over for Jenkins in the future.

(DL) Dexter Lawrence — One of the more interesting picks by the Giants this year, Clemson standout Dexter Lawrence is a massive presence in the middle of the defense. Not only is he expected to help the run game, but he’s also capable of being a capable pass rusher. At his size, opposing offensive lineman will have their hands full, and if he can develop a pass rush, GM Dave Gettleman will look like a genius.

(OLB/DE) Oshane Ximines — The Giants’ third-round selection is expected to sign his rookie deal upon the start of camp, and it’s going to be an important one for him. The Giants think highly of him and his surprisingly developed pass-rush moves despite coming from a small school (Old Dominion). Ximines could very well earn starting time, but he’s a player that will need a few months to adapt to the speed and strength of the NFL. He’s worth keeping an eye on this training camp period.

(CB) Julian Love — When Love was still on the board in the fourth round, Gettleman made sure to select this feisty corner. Projected as a slot option who will compete with Grant Haley, Love is an exciting draft pick that has the quality to start on an every game basis. His position battle with Haley will be one of the better ones.

(ILB) Ryan Connelly — A four-year player at Wisconsin, Connelly is an interesting prospect. While his physical traits don’t stand out, he’s incredibly quick and instinctive. His confidence shows in his ability to shoot the gap with amazing speed and accuracy. He will need to work on his tackling at the next level, but he could find a way into the defense in specific packages. Expect him to be a special teams player for the time being.

(WR) Darius Slayton — Emerging as one of just two players to earn first-team reps during mini-camp, Slayton improved significantly over the course of the offseason. To start, he couldn’t hold onto a single ball, but it’s how you finish at the NFL level that matters. He’s quickly proving he can be an influential player for the Giants, but adapting to live-action will be the ultimate test for Darius.

(CB) Corey Ballentine — A player with elite athleticism, Ballentine has arms that dangle like ivy at the corner position. He’s fast, quick, and physical. The reality is, his physical traits stand out the most, but he’s still raw with his technique. Another solid draft pick with backup potential in 2019, I see him acting as a solid gunner on the punt unit for now.

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(OT) George Asafo-Adjei — Becoming a reliable backup tackle for the Giants should be “Big George’s” ultimate goal for now. He’s a raw prospect but earned good reps against Josh Allen while at Kentucky, a top 10 pick in the draft. With Chad Wheeler still in the mix, he will have to fight with everything he’s got to earn playing time this season.

(IDL) Chris Slayton — The Syracuse product is a good interior defender, but will have to beat out several others to earn playing time. R.J. McIntosh presents the biggest threat after missing 2018 with a thyroid issue. Slayton has been knocked for his effort at times. That’s something he will need to overcome at the NFL level.

New York Giants: Ximines Signing Leaves Daniel Jones As Last One Unsigned

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New York Giants rookie quarterback, Daniel Jones.

Signing players following the NFL Draft tends to be something rather routine, as most of the time the process happens without any major incident. Players are drafted, they sign with their teams, and then training camp begins… Or that’s how the process usually goes, anyway. There’s still a small amount of players that haven’t agreed to deals with their new teams and the New York Giants up until recently had two of those players.

But outside linebacker prospect and third round draft pick Oshane Ximines signed with the team very soon after our article about how the Giants should get the deal done and avoid future offseason drama, which leaves one player as the last unsigned rookie going into the final days before training camp.

That player, though, happens to be one of the more speculated upon members of the team this offseason. After being taken with the number six overall pick, Daniel Jones is still the odd man out in terms of agreeing to a deal.

It hasn’t turned into a real contract holdout just yet but it’s something to keep an eye on considering the start of training camp is this Friday and the negotiations are dragging out longer than they have for other draft picks both for the Giants and for the league in general.

It’s also easy to assume that nothing is going to come of this and that Jones is just going to sign as expected, albeit a bit later than other players. While there is a decent chance of that happening, just as Ximines agreed to a deal recently, it can’t be automatically assumed that this will be the outcome. The neighboring New York Jets, for example, are going through some troubles with their top draft pick Quinnen Williams, who didn’t report for camp with the rest of the team’s rookies.

Sam Darnold, taken by the Jets in the draft last year, also missed three training camp practices due to problems getting a contract sorted out in time.

The hope for the Giants, of course, is that this won’t happen and that Jones’ contract is simply taking longer than usual to get signed. But all of the possibilities can’t be discounted immediately, and if this stretches on, we might just end up with the first ‘drama’ of training camp.

New York Giants Might Have A New Pass Rusher… But They Must Sign A Deal

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New York Giants rookie, Oshane Ximines.

It’s safe to say that the New York Giants need help in the pass rushing aspect of their defense. The team finished near the bottom of the league in sacks and it’s a well known fact by now that it’s hard to win in the NFL – which is becoming more of a passing league with each year – without good play in that department. But the Giants haven’t recovered from the decline and trade of Jason Pierre-Paul, and Olivier Vernon was a disappointment last year before the team decided to move on from him this year, trading him to the Cleveland Browns for Kevin Zeitler.

It’s been a long time since other teams have worried about facing the Giants pass rush, and playing the team just isn’t intimidating these days for opposing quarterbacks. That’s something that should change if the team wants to return to the playoffs, and it looks like they may have made one of the right moves to head in that direction.

That would, of course, be spending a third round draft pick to address that part of the defense. While that pick, Oshane Ximines, isn’t the highest rated player in the world, it seems like the Giants managed to get a good value considering their main focus in the first and second rounds was other areas. They could have done far worse, but managed to come away with what looks like a productive player in round three.

Here’s a bit of what the Draft Network has to say about Ximines:

Has good lateral quickness to attack half-man on offensive tackles. Plays with balance and body control necessary to execute counter moves and adjust rush plans according to OT set and QB depth; has great recognition abilities in this regard. Has some bend to flatten and finish after clearing hands.

It looks like Ximines is going to fit into the defense as an outside linebacker, which could put him in competition with last season’s rookie OLB Lorenzo Carter. On the other side of Carter is new signing Markus Golden, but with Golden not having yet fully bounced back from past injury, it remains to be seen just who will start in that position. Ximines could see time as a rookie, but before that happens, the Giants will need to sign him.

Ximines is one of the few rookie players to not have signed a deal yet, along with fellow Giant Daniel Jones, who is the more notable one right now in the conversation about Giants rookies not signing their rookie contracts yet. Still, it’s definitely relevant.

It doesn’t look like a contract holdout is necessarily going to happen at this point – as a third round pick, after all, Ximines has less leverage to negotiate than Daniel Jones does as the sixth pick in the draft. But with days left until the start of training camp, one must also ask this: what exactly is the holdup?

The Giants managed to cut down on drama during this year’s offseason activities… One can hope the trend continues and that both Ximines and Jones can be signed before training camp begins.

New York Giants News, 7/17 – Where’s the Giants’ primary weakness?

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New York Giants rookie, Oshane Ximines.

Good Morning, New York Giants Fans!

Expecting the Giants to be a playoff team in 2019 might be a stretch. Why? Because they have injected a ton of youth at important positions and are unproven in live-action.

While players like DeAndre Baker, Julian Love, Dexter Lawrence and more are primed to be influential rookies, knowing if they will succeed or not is simply impossible at this time. The secondary is completely rebuilt and will likely be filled with holes and inexperience.

The defensive line is good in some facets, but if we look at the outside linebacker unit specifically, you can see that there’s a ton of uncertainty. Relying on Markus Golden, a player who hasn’t had a productive season in three years and is coming off a major injury, is ludicrous. Expecting Oshane Ximines to blossom into a star coming out of a bottom-tier division one school also doesn’t make much sense.

This is certainly a negative viewpoint, but some might call this realistic. In a perfect world, the Giants will get some sort of production out of Ximines and Golden will revert back to his past self where he racked up 12.5 sacks in a single season and forced four fumbles.

It will be interesting to see how they develop and if they can be as good Dave Gettleman seems to think they are.

Nonetheless–

Your top news of the day!

Paul Schwartz (New York Post) – Corey Coleman brings intrigue to Giants’ new-look receiving group

Chris Pflum (Big Blue View) – Giants’ Pat Shurmur ranked 26th among head coaches by NFL.com

Ethan Sears (New York Post) – When Phil Simms thinks the Giants will turn to Daniel Jones

John Fennelly (Giants Wire) – 2019 Giants training camp preview: Offensive line

Alexander Wilson (Empire Sports Media) – New York Giants: BJ Hill Preparing to take major leap in 2019

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Check out yesterday’s news!

New York Giants News, 7/16 – Saquon Barkley earns an unfair Madden rating

New York Giants: Can Oshane Ximines crack the starting roster in 2019?

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New York Giants, Oshane Ximines

The New York Giants spent their third round pick on pass-rusher Oshane Ximines this past NFL Draft, and a lot is weighing down on the defender as he theoretically replaces Olivier Vernon.

Vernon, who was an extremely effective player while on the field, struggled with injuries in recent years. However, he did manage to squeeze out a Pro Bowl appearance last season. Ximines has big shoes to fill, but many NFL executives were high on him coming out of college.

Old Dominion isn’t a top tier school for football, considering Oshane was their first ever draft pick. It was interesting, though, that the Giants didn’t select a pass-rusher in the first round when they had three picks. Waiting until the third round to address a position of weakness could backfire this upcoming season, but it’s yet to be seen what type of influence Ximines has on the defense.

In 2018, the Old Dominion product was fantastic, picking up 58 total tackles, 11.5 sacks, and 18 tackles for a loss. He also forced four fumbles, two passes defended, and an interception. His playmaking ability can translate to the next level, he will need to adapt to the speed and physicality of professional athletes.

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What will Oshane Ximines’ biggest hurdle be with the New York Giants?

The obstacle Oshane will face with Big Blue is changing positions from defensive end to outside linebacker. He will be forced to learn coverage packages and cover running backs at times and drop back into zone. It will be interesting to see his adaptation and if he can succeed in a revised role.

I anticipate Ximines will be a rotational pass-rusher in 2019 and will focus on developing his abilities. Earning 55 pressures last season, he’s more than capable of providing value in his rookie season. The offseason and training camp will be important to how impactful he can be.