Is Giants' Decision to Go Back to Drew Lock the Right One?

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll’s decision to go back to Drew Lock comes as somewhat of a surprise considering Lock’s health and, perhaps more importantly, his performance versus that of what Tim Boyle showed in his first extensive action in Sunday's loss against the Ravens.

Lock, who missed last week’s game due to heel and elbow issues, has had his challenges under center. In his last start (against the Saints), he was under pressure on exactly 50% of his drop backs, 37.5% of those pressures coming from the blitz.

And yes, he didn’t have much help from the running game, but that all said, Lock’s decision making was erratic, his throws often late and off-target, and an overall lack of aggressiveness.

Boyle, on the other hand, showed something that Giants fans haven’t really seen a lot of since the days of Eli Manning: he threw with anticipation, feel, awareness and accuracy.

Boyle found single-covered receivers and threw it up for them to go get it, drawing three interference penalties in the process that worked to the Giants’ advantage. HE also moved well in the pocket and showed himself to be in sync with his receivers despite having not worked with them in practice.

Although his numbers were “meh” (12-of-24, 123 yards, 1 touchdown and one interception), factor in the 40 penalty yards and assume those penalties would have been completed and his numbers actually look a lot better for one-half’s worth of play.

Lock, who told reporters on Wednesday that there was no wy he would have been ready to play last week given where he was in his recovery, said he's improved significantly and is looking forward to working on improving his game this week.

"My biggest one was just being exact and being precise with my feet," he said of what he hopes to improve. "The element that I've kind of always brought to the game is being able to make plays, being able to scramble and get out of the pocket. The part that needs to be honed in a little bit from the film that I've watched, is just being precise with our feet.

"The plays will come to you when they're there. Don't need to get out and run all the time. But, if they're there, take it. Just be perfect in the pocket with your feet, get through your reads and be an NFL quarterback."

It appears that Daboll is confident that Lock will be able to accomplish that goal, which is one of the reasons why he's likely getting the opportunity ahead of Boyle. That said, Boyle played well enough in our estimation to get another crack at the job, and if DeVito doesn't clear the protocol in time, the backup position will be in good hands this weekend.

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