jerseygiantfan
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Ugh that's it. Danny Dimes can't save this team
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We have watched many worse Giants games than this
True
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Jesus this is sad
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Giants activate WR Golden Tate from suspended list, cut Bennie Fowler
By Charles McDonaldNew York Daily News |Oct 01, 2019 | 2:38 PMThe Giants activated wide receiver Golden Tate from their suspended list to their active roster on Tuesday. To make room for Tate on the roster WR Bennie Fowler was released.
Tate will make his first regular season appearance for the Giants on Sunday at MetLife Stadium against the Minnesota Vikings after missing the first four games of the season due to a violation of the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. Tate was banned for taking a prescribed fertility treatment that was on the NFL’s list of prohibited substances.
Prior to joining the Giants on a four-year deal in the offseason to offset the loss of Odell Beckham Jr., via trade to the Browns, Tate racked up 7,214 career receiving yards in nine seasons as a member of the Seahawks, Lions and Eagles. His best season came in 2014 when he earned his lone Pro Bowl honors after a 99 catch, 1,331 yard season with the Lions.
Golden Tate is back in the mix for the Giants after 4-game PED ban. (Frank Franklin II / AP)During his suspension, Tate was working out at his home in San Diego, waiting for the opportunity to get back onto the field.
“No, there was no vacation.” Tate said in his press conference on Monday. “We live in San Diego, that’s where our home base is for me. I have trainers, massage therapists, and rehab people there. I just went back home and worked my tail off, tried to stay ready and get better and hang with the family.”
Tate will join Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram as the Giants’ third receiving option. His addition couldn’t come at a better time with the Giants starting to find an offensive identity behind rookie quarterback Daniel Jones. Tate said that he’s been pleased with Jones’ hot start to the season.
“I wouldn’t say I was surprised, I’m delighted, I’m liking what I’m seeing for sure.” Tate said. “He’s been handling the moment very well and hopefully he continues to improve each day and each game.”
Tate had four catches for 53 yards during the preseason. The Giants also released wide receiver TJ Jones and signed linebacker Josiah Tauaefa off of their practice squad.
Fowler, who started two games for Big Blue this season and had 12 catches for 99 yards, was targeted just five times since Jones took control of the offense with just two grabs for 8 yards.
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Jabrill Peppers and the Giants’ defense steal the show in Daniel Jones’ MetLife debut
By Pat LeonardNew York Daily News |Sep 29, 2019 | 4:06 PMDaniel Jones’ stoic calm is the face of the Giants’ turnaround. Jabrill Peppers’ swagger is its new edgy heartbeat.
Peppers saved his signature Giant performance for the day that the man he replaced, Washington’s Landon Collins, was at MetLife Stadium to see it in person.
Peppers, wearing Collins’ old No. 21 jersey, then sought out Collins after a 24-3 Giants win in Jones’ home debut and trash-talked so fiercely that the players had to be separated.
And Collins, a former Giants All-Pro, thought it was uncalled for as the Giants (2-2) won their second straight since Eli Manning’s benching to create separation from winless Washington (0-4) in the NFC East.
Essentially, Collins thought Peppers acted like he hadn’t been there before after not making many plays in the first three weeks of the Giants’ season.
“I was happy for the dude, and he was hyped and he had a good game, but for him to come start messing with me, that wasn’t the point,” Collins told the Daily News in the visitors’ locker room. “You don’t need to do that. What’s the point of saying it? You know I’m not the type of guy to do that. I back it up, though.”
Peppers played down the dust-up, saying: “It’s all love, man. That’s just football, man. I respect those guys. I respect his career. But this is football. It’s all love.”
Collins’ version was different. He said Peppers said “a bunch of stuff I can’t say.”
Jabrill Peppers made easy work of Washington. (Bill Kostroun/AP)Regardless, Peppers was out to make a statement and did it in Sunday’s third quarter with a game-sealing, 32-yard interception return for a touchdown of a pass thrown by Dwayne Haskins in the Washington rookie QB’s debut. The errant throw was forced by pressure from D-lineman Dalvin Tomlinson. Peppers also batted a pass down in the end zone on a goal-line stand.
Coordinator James Bettcher’s maligned defense ruled the day with four total interceptions, including three influenced by veteran corner Janoris Jenkins in a bounce back effort.
Jenkins intercepted Haskins twice in the second half, after tipping a Case Keenum pass on Washington’s first drive to Ryan Connelly for the rookie linebacker’s second pick in two games.
Washington benched Keenum in the second quarter after he missed receiver Trey Quinn deep on two plays where Quinn had got past corner Grant Haley. Haskins also missed an open Vernon Davis for a TD.
Still, the Giants held an opponent to three points for the first time in almost seven years (Oct. 14, 2012, at San Francisco) and for the first time at home in almost nine years (Oct. 3, 2010).
Peppers was required to take a random drug test after the game.
“This was a great game for me to come out here and maybe change the narrative a little bit, both for me as a person and us as a whole defense,” said Peppers, who is out not only to replace Collins but to validate his inclusion in Cleveland’s Odell Beckham trade.
Jones, meanwhile, was far from perfect, throwing two interceptions to Washington corner Quinton Dunbar on back-to-back pass attempts to Sterling Shepard in the second quarter.
He was never going to match his historic Week 3 debut start in Tampa, when he became the first rookie ever to throw for at least 300 yards, pass for two TDs and run for two more.
However, the Giants’ sixth overall pick showed plenty signs of how much further he is along than Washington’s 15th overall selection, Haskins.
Jones opened up a 14-0 Giants lead with 32-yard and 94-yard scoring drives capped by two Wayne Gallman touchdowns, who filled in admirably for the injured Saquon Barkley.
Daniel Jones improves to 2-0 as the Giants starter. (Adam Hunger/AP)Jones rebounded from his two picks to lead a 63-yard drive before half to set up an Aldrick Rosas field goal. And in the third quarter he had the offense knocking on Washington’s door at the 5-yard line before rookie running back Jon Hilliman fumbled.
That’s when Peppers lifted Big Blue to sure victory, jumping a Haskins pass intended for tight end Jeremy Sprinkle and making a house call for six points.
“We got bogged down with those turnovers, and we were kind of grinding it out there for a while, so that (interception return) was a big boost for us,” head coach Pat Shurmur said.
“(Jabrill) is a playmaker,” Jenkins said. “It’s just all about getting the ball in our hands, and when he’s got it in his hands, you see what he can do.”
Keeping perspective, Shurmur pointed out that “a team that’s got more firepower” than Washington had Sunday would have turned second half fumbles by Hilliman and Gallman into “two scores.”
Washington was missing five offensive starters: top receiver Terry McLaurin, tight end Jordan Reed, running back Derrius Guice, center Chase Roullier and guard Brandon Scherff.
The Giant defense’s big day also came at a price: Connelly was on crutches after suffering a non-contact injury to his right knee in the fourth quarter and may be out long-term.
The bottom line, though, even with the Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots on deck, is that the Giants are 2-0 behind Jones and have a .500 record or better after four weeks for the first time since 2016 under Ben McAdoo.
The hope Jones has created in East Rutherford stands in stark contrast to Washington’s fortunes.
Coach Jay Gruden, who had NFL-high 3-to-1 odds of being fired in August, is officially on the hot seat after his winless team was whistled for 12 accepted penalties.
Shurmur, on the other hand, had the NFL’s second-highest preseason odds to be fired at 5-to-1 and has surged toward respectability with a team led by a couple of intriguing contrasts.
At quarterback he has Jones, who entered the stadium Sunday dressed plainly in a button down and khakis, looking like a Duke fraternity brother working on Wall Street.
And on defense he has Peppers, who departed in a stylish maroon suit, black sunglasses and black loafers, strutting like a Hollywood star who’d just stepped off the set of HBO’s “Ballers.”
“I’m always going to come out there and play like my hair is on fire,” Peppers said.
There’s a thing about fire, too: it spreads.
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I keep hoping the Browns lose. Tired of their and their fans' yapping.
nope.
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Love these refs!!
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New York Giants: Eli Manning deserved better than team's benching
Mike Jones, USA TODAY17 hrs agoEli Manning deserved better than this.
So what if his skills have started to decline? So what that he will receive $17 million to make two starts this season and now will become the backup to rookie Daniel Jones with the New York Giants off to an 0-2 start?
When you’ve carried a franchise to two Super Bowl victories, you deserve to go out in better style. You deserve to avoid the dizzying ways of indecision that have engulfed the Giants franchise over the course of the last two-plus years.
The Giants should have put the quarterback out of his misery long before Tuesday morning, when coach Pat Shurmur informed Manning the team is turning to Jones – the Duke product drafted New York drafted sixth overall in April with intentions of grooming him for the future.
As the second-year head coach told reporters, “Eli was obviously disappointed, as you would expect, but he said he would be what he has always been, a good teammate, and continue to prepare to help this team win games.”
Of course he would be disappointed to be stuck with all this.
In the last calendar year, his bosses have expressed a commitment to him and to winning. Yet their actions have suggested otherwise. Just months after giving wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. a long-term contract last August, they shipped the three-time Pro Bowler while failing to replace him with a comparable top weapon. The Giants also opted against re-signing one of their top defensive players (safety Landon Collins). They made efforts to reconfigure their offensive line, yet it remains as ineffective as ever.
The Giants have clearly been in rebuilding mode, yet they haven’t wanted to acknowledge it. They’ve wanted to keep Manning in their jersey for the entirety of his career, yet they’ve failed to adequately support him or make it worth it for him to stick around.
Now, with an 0-2 record and the squad plagued by ineffective play on multiple fronts, they’re making Eli the fall guy and hoping that Jones can give them a spark.
Spoiler alert: This move will not save the Giants’ season. Outside of running back Saquon Barkley, there’s very little to work with on this roster.
Jones may have a little more zip on his passes, and he might be a little more fleet of foot. But he is going to be just as swarmed and overwhelmed by pass rushers as Manning was, just as frustrated by the dropped passes of his wide receivers and just as betrayed by a defense that ranks among the worst in the league in both yards and points allowed.
At best, Jones gains some experience playing at an NFL pace and gets a head start on next year, when hopefully, for his sake, the Giants have better stocked this roster with legitimate talent.
At worst, Jones either gets hurt or looks awful, develops bad habits and has his confidence shot entering Year 2. Hey, at least he’ll have the good solider Eli with whom he can commiserate.
But for Manning, it should’ve never come to this. He shouldn’t even be here. When the Giants decided to hit the reset button and part with what little upper-echelon talent they had, they should have said goodbye to Manning as well.
In truth, they probably should have made that move in the 2018 offseason.
Somewhere, Ben McAdoo is shaking his head and chuckling.
He was right, was he not? That’s essentially what the Giants have conceded now that they have officially ended the Manning era. But when McAdoo tried to position the franchise to plan for the future by benching Manning late in the 2017 season, he wound up losing his job the very next week.
Giants co-owner John Mara wanted to remain loyal to Manning. He made changes to their front office and coaching staff while sticking with his quarterback. But he hired a general manager in Dave Gettleman who possessed the vision of stripping this roster down and building it back up again with young, affordable talent.
And so, while that restoration project got underway, Manning remained and continued to toil away as the same undesirable conditions he had endured in recent years only worsened.
If Mara really wanted to properly support Manning, he should have ordered moves that would have dramatically upgraded this roster on both sides of the ball. He shouldn’t have allowed the Giants’ roster to deteriorate to the point that it had in the first place. You don’t see the Patriots or the Saints letting Tom Brady’s or Drew Brees’ supporting cast reach such levels of incompetency.
But the Giants’ roster did reach that point. It was indeed a mess and in need of an overhaul.
It’s OK to admit that it’s time for a change. It’s OK to say, “Thanks, but this is the end. It’s not you, it’s me.”
That’s what the Giants should have done for Manning: Given him his freedom so he could sign with a contender-level team that simply lacked a competent quarterback.
But nostalgia can cloud judgement.
Now, the Giants’ restoration project is delayed by a year or two. Manning has already wasted the 2018 season in Giants colors, and he'll waste another as he watches from the sidelines for the next 15 weeks.
By season’s end, he’ll be days away from his 39th birthday with his free agency prospects — and possibly his desire to start over again — diminished further than they would have been the last two years.
Meanwhile, the Giants will try once again to get it right. But based on the indecision that has plagued them for years now, it’s anyone’s guess how that attempt to get this thing back on track will go.
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Giants’ Manning reportedly won’t waive no-trade clause
Zach Links, Pro Football Rumors12 hrs agoEli Manning might not be happy about being benched for Daniel Jones, but it doesn’t sound like he’ll ask for a trade. The Giants quarterback has no immediate plans to waive his no-trade clause and facilitate a deal, sources close to the QB tell SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano.
There are plenty of reasons for Eli to stay – New York has been his home for 16 years, he has a small family with four kids, and it’s also unlikely that another team would be willing to take on his contract. Many of Manning’s struggles could be blamed on the Giants’ lack of talent and never-ending string of injuries in recent years, but it’s clear that the veteran is a shell of the player he once was.
Considering Manning's $23.2 million salary this year and his poor showing in the first two games of the season, there’s no obvious fit for him anywhere in the league. Of course, if Manning finds himself itching to play, and a QB-needy team is willing to try to turn back the clock, things could change between now and the NFL's Oct. 29 trade deadline.
The Giants would probably like to see Manning retire a Giant and continue to mentor Jones in the interim. Still, it’d be hard for them to say no if Manning asked for a trade.
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Eli Manning limping to a finish that should end soon
Yahoo SportsSep 15, 2019, 7:54 PM
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – It’s not Eli Manning’s fault that on a second-and-20 in a one-touchdown game, Buffalo Bills receiver Cole Beasley gave DeAndre Baker, the New York Giants rookie cornerback, the slip and turned what should have been a modest gain into a 51-yard game changer.
It’s not Eli Manning’s fault that on a chip-shot field goal that would have given the Bills a perfectly surmountable 24-14 lead with just about 12 minutes to play, Giants tackle Dexter Lawrence chose to smack Buffalo long snapper Reid Ferguson upside the head, giving the Bills a new set of downs from the New York 2-yard line and, two plays later, scored a touchdown to give them a 28-14 lead.
It’s not Eli Manning’s fault that his Buffalo counterpart, Josh Allen, is 15 years younger than him, faster on his feet, stronger in his arm and infinitely more capable of firing accurate darts from a dead run.
It’s not Eli Manning’s fault that Aldrick Rosas yanked a 48-year field-goal attempt that would have cut the Bills lead to 21-10 right before the end of the first half, or that just prior to that, the Giants defense had allowed Allen to shred it for a 98-year touchdown drive.
And it’s not Eli Manning’s fault that his two best receivers, Sterling Shepard and Golden Tate, were on the sidelines for the game with a concussion and a drug suspension, respectively.
There were, however, things that were Eli Manning’s fault.
Such as, the uncanny ability of his passes to find the upraised hands of defensive linemen, his sometimes puzzling inability to locate open receivers, and the dispiriting fact that he can no longer throw the ball down the field with any real precision.
There was the bad overthrow of a wide-open T.J. Jones heading for the end zone in the fourth quarter … and another desperation heave on the next series that Bills safety Jordan Poyer pulled in as if he were the intended receiver. There was the swing pass he spiked into Saquon Barkley’s feet, the pass that sailed several yards wide of Jones that drew the jeers of the crowd … and the tipped-pass interception when the Giants were on the move late in the first half that left head coach Pat Shurmur staring in disbelief.
And on three straight third-quarter possessions, the Giants defense stopped the Bills cold and turned it back to the Giants offense, which could not manage to score a single point in response.
That also may not have been totally Eli Manning’s fault.
But when you are the face of a franchise that has begun its season with two humiliating losses, and the leader of an offense that has managed to score just 31 points in those two games, pretty much everything is perceived to be your fault.
And whether it is fair or not, that is where the fingers of many of the 74,569 fans were being pointed on Sunday at Met Life Stadium.
Not only were the fingers pointed, but so were the questions.
After the Giants’ 28-14 loss to the Bills — the only undefeated New York football team — Shurmur was asked point blank if it was time to think about taking a shot with Daniel Jones, who the Giants chose with the No. 6 pick in this year’s draft.
“I don’t think that’s a conversation for right now,” Shurmur said. “Everybody’s got to get better.”
With that deft non-answer, the Giants’ second-year coach at least proved himself move elusive than his 38-year-old quarterback.
Asked to assess Manning’s performance, Shurmur said, “I think his play is indicative of how our team played. There were some really good plays in there and there were some things we need to improve.”
The full-blown New York quarterback controversy, every tabloid headline writer and talk-show host’s dream, may not have begun yet. But it is certainly on the way.
The truth is, while it is hardly only Eli Manning’s fault that the Giants have started the season so poorly, the 15-year veteran and two-time Super Bowl MVP is certainly part of the problem.
“I’ve got to make better throws and better decisions and find a way to convert on third downs,” Manning said. “That’s a quarterback’s job.”
Too often on Sunday, it appeared as if Manning was no longer up to that job. It was obvious from the opening drive of the game, when the Giants used five straight running plays, including a 20-yard end around by Bennie Fowler, a backup wideout pressed into service due to all the injuries to the regulars, and a 27-yard burst by Saquon Barkley that gave the Giants an early 7-0 lead.
In fact, Manning did not even get to attempt a pass until the Giants’ seventh offensive play of the game, and did not complete one until there were nearly two minutes gone in the second quarter. It was almost as if Shurmur was trying to keep the ball out of Manning’s hands for as long as possible.
“We wanted to get Saquon involved as much as we could until the score got to the way it was,” Shurmur said. “Ultimately we didn’t make enough plays to win.”
That also might have been Manning’s fault. He did throw a couple of good passes, especially the perfectly lofted pass to T.J. Jones in the back of the end zone early in the fourth quarter that cut Buffalo’s lead to 21-14.
But he would miss on his next five passes, and after that touchdown, the Giants would manage just three more first downs. Manning finished 26 for 45 for 250 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Clearly, he is no longer a feared playmaker in the Giants offense.
That is now the sole territory of Barkley, who rushed for over 100 yards – 107 on 18 carries – for the second straight game. But once Buffalo figured out the obvious, that if you stop Barkley you stop the Giants offense, the game was as good as over.
The Bills held Barkley to 38 yards on nine carries in the second half.
“You could see they were a little more focused on the running game,” Barkley said. “That’s life. I think a lot of teams will do that the rest of the season. They’ll try to take away our running game. I think Eli did a great job of answering but we just got to answer better.”
At this stage of his career, Eli Manning may no longer be able to come up with those answers.
Asked to describe his feelings about the beginning of the Giants season, Manning said, “It’s not the way you want to start.”
As he nears the end of an admirable career, Eli Manning might have added this: It’s not the way you want to finish, either.
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And that's it
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This team can't stop shooting themselves in the foot
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Oh.my.god.
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This team sucks
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Giants getting their ass beat
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Dak Prescott and the Cowboys feasted on the miscommunication and inexperience of the Giants’ defense
By Pat LeonardNew York Daily News |Sep 08, 2019 | 11:40 PMARLINGTON, Tex. — This defense needs help.
The Giants generated almost no pressure on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott with edge rushers Lorenzo Carter and Markus Golden complementing the interior of Dexter Lawrence, Dalvin Tomlinson and B.J. Hill.
And with all day to throw, Prescott picked apart the Giants’ linebackers and secondary, throwing frequently at corners Antonio Hamilton and DeAndre Baker, and victimizing several defensive breakdowns on the back end.
Dallas finished with 494 yards of offense and scored touchdowns on five consecutive drives. Prescott had a perfect 158.3 quarterback rating. Receivers Michael Gallup (158 yards) and Amari Cooper (106) both went into triple digits, and four different players caught TD passes from Prescott: Cooper, Randall Cobb, Blake Jarwin and Jason Witten.
Dak Prescott had a field day with the Giants secondary on Sunday. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)“When you sit back and look at the big picture, it’s like five or six plays where either they made plays or there was a miscommunication on our end,” said veteran free safety and defensive co-captain Antoine Bethea of the Cowboys’ seven pass plays of 20 or more yards.
Asked if the Giants’ youth is a factor, including first-round picks Lawrence and Baker, Bethea added: “Some of it is inexperience, but we can’t have any excuses. … We can’t have that excuse that we’re young. Yeah we’re young, but we get paid to do a job, and we’ve got to do our job.”
Baker, who was credited with only one touchdown surrendered in his entire college career at Georgia, was beaten easily by Cooper on a 21-yard touchdown catch.
“It don’t feel good, just got to watch the film and see what I can do better, make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Baker said. “He made a great release, caught the ball. Great play by him.”
Baker had been dealing with a knee injury but insisted he was healthy. “Yes sir,” he said.
Defensive coordinator James Bettcher started Hamilton and rotated him and Baker, then also played them together at points. He also rotated linebackers Tae Davis and rookie Ryan Connelly, playing the Wisconsin product a good amount. But the Giants D had no answers.
Coverage breakdowns happened in the deep middle of the field a few times, with Bethea, Jabrill Peppers and Alec Ogletree in the vicinity.
Baker essentially spoke for every player on the defense when he said: “This is just an opportunity for me to bounce back and show what I can do. Just show I can fight through adversity. I didn’t have the game I wanted to have, but now I show I can bounce back and do what I do next week.”
SAQUON’S FIRST FUMBLESaquon Barkley fumbled on his first touch of his second NFL season on Sunday, marking his first ever fumble in an NFL game. He followed it up with a 59-yard run to pace the Giants’ game-opening touchdown drive.
And he was grateful to teammate Eli Penny for recovering the ball and giving him a second chance, which he took deep into Cowboy territory thanks to blocks by Nate Solder, Evan Engram and Cody Latimer.
“We started off with a fumble. Eli Penny saved me,” Barkley said. “The next play we blocked it up perfect and I got a run on the safety. We found a way to score … But we’ve got to find a way to get back to it.”
RULES ARE RULESPat Shurmur threw his red challenge flag on the Giants’ Hail Mary prior to halftime, seeking to challenge for defensive pass interference. The NFL implemented this new rule for 2019 prompted by the egregious blown non-call on a Rams pass interference against the Saints in last year’s NFC Championship Game.
But only the NFL’s New York officiating office can challenge for defensive pass interference in the final two minutes. Plus, a team needs to have at least one timeout remaining to challenge a play on the field, and the Giants had none left. So Shurmur wasn’t granted a review.
The coach explained his reasoning for throwing the flag anyway.
“I do. I know the rule,” he said. “You can’t, but I was just making a point to the official that they should take a good look and see if that was P.I. or not. So that was what that conversation was about. I wanted to make sure they came over and talked to me about it because I want to make sure those are all officiated the right way.”
THE INACTIVE LISTThe Giants’ inactive list included offensive tackles Chad Slade and Eric Smith, running back Paul Perkins, quarterback Alex Tanney, injured wide receiver Darius Slayton (hamstring) and tight end Garrett Dickerson (quad). The Cowboys sat offensive linemen Adam Redmond and Brandon Knight, defensive linemen Trysten Hill and Taco Charlton, and injured safeties Darian Thompson and Donovan Wilson and linebacker Luke Gifford (all ankle).
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Ugh this is unwatchable
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What's up everyone! If you guys ever need a link to any sports games and events Reddit has amazing live streams
reddit is great! but i think your in the wrong topic
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Giants Preview: 5 questions before underdogs see first game action
By Stefan BondyNew York Daily News |Aug 07, 2019 | 5:07 PMApologies to Dave Gettleman’s resume — just ask him, he’ll tell you all about it — but expectations are low for the Giants this season. The holes and question marks are aplenty, especially at quarterback, wide receiver and secondary. Vegas pegs their over/under at six wins, which, if correct, would leave the Giants out of the playoffs for the seventh time in the last eight years.
So they’re embracing the underdog role.
“We relish that. Use that as motivation,” safety Antoine Bethea told the Daily News. “Anybody, in any form of your life, if they’re doubting you, I think you use that as motivation. But here, we’re going to come to work, we’re going to do what we need to do. Everybody is counting us out. The only people that believe in us is the people in this building. We just believe in one another. I think we can do a lot of good things.”
Daniel Jones' NFL debut might be the most interesting part of Thursday's game. (Frank Franklin II/AP)We’ll see. Recent history suggests Eli Manning moves like molasses and it’s a huge liability. Unfortunately, there won’t be much clarity in preseason game No. 1 on Thursday against the Jets.
Coach Pat Shurmur acknowledged Tuesday the opener is more about evaluating players and getting feet wet than playing toward matchups or trying to win. Don’t expect much from the regular starters.
Here are five Giant questions for Thursday:
WHO IS GOING TO PLAY?Since everything in the NFL is a state secret, Shurmur declined to reveal who he’ll make available. He acknowledged there’ll be some healthy scratches, and over the years the coach has accepted the importance of rest in the preseason. Manning and Saquon Barkley are candidates to sit, but we’ll have to wait until closer to kickoff.
Last year Shurmur kept the starters on the field for the first two series of the preseason opener against the Browns. However, that was also in the first year of implementing Shurmur’s offense and the need for reps was more pressing.
“I don’t have a final answer on any of that yet, although I do have some strong ideas who may not [play],” the coach said. “I’ll just leave it at that.”
WHAT WILL BE DANIEL JONES’ FIRST IMPRESSION?Jones is definitely going to play and he’ll be front-and-center as the sixth overall pick. The 22-year-old QB has impressed in training camp, but facing Gregg Williams’ live defense will represent his greatest test yet. If he’s starts, getting reps with the first teamers will help but he’ll also be going against Jets starters.
“It’s the next real step in his process, so to speak,” Shurmur said. “We’re looking forward to seeing him go out and execute.”
WHO WILL CATCH THE BALL?Odell Beckham is gone. Sterling Shepard is out with a broken thumb. Veteran Golden Tate is eligible for the preseason but is expected to serve a four-game PED suspension once the regular season begins. After Tate and Shepard, the Giants depth chart at receiver lists Bennie Fowler (16 receptions last season), Russell Shepard (10), Alonzo Russell (0), Brittan Golden (0), Da’Mari Scott (0) and Reggie White Jr. (undrafted rookie). The Giants would love for somebody to emerge as a threat in the preseason.
WHO WILL STOP SAM DARNOLD?The defensive line was awful last season (tied for second-worst in the NFL with 30 sacks), and Gettleman revamped it by trading Damon Harrison and Olivier Vernon. The new group is young and unproven with fears they’ll be overwhelmed. There are even more concerns about the linebackers. First-round pick Dexter Lawrence has the greatest upside at defensive tackle.
In the secondary, Gettleman ditched his best safety — Landon Collins — and brought in Bethea, Jabrill Peppers, DeAndre Baker, Julian Love and Corey Ballentine. Again, young and unproven, with the exception of Bethea. There is a starting CB spot up for grabs opposite Janoris Jenkins, and a lot to be gained in the preseason from individuals in the secondary.
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CAN THE REVAMPED O-LINE BE BETTER THAN THE LAST ONE?Supposedly this is Manning’s best line since the 2011 Super Bowl. It’s certainly more experienced than the last couple iterations. But before we get crazy, none of the projected starters have been named to a Pro Bowl. The first preseason game won’t be a fair judgement as the offensive line, more than any other area, improves with familiarity and reps.
The totally unofficial gameday thread week 5.
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I'm done