Giants Country

New York Giants Mailbag: Adoree Jackson, Daniel Jones, Offensive Line and More

Answering the latest questions from New York Giants readers.
Patricia Traina|
New York Giants Mailbag
New York Giants Mailbag | Patricia Traina | New York Giants on SI

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New York Giants

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Cornerback. Adoree’ Jackson is here on a one-year contract, making the deal more of a band-aid than a long-term solution. So cornerback has to be a top priority to address next offseason. 

If you’re talking short-term, I remain curious to see if Gunner Olszewski will be ready by next week. Feld position is so important, and if he isn’t ready to return punts, then what do the Giants do?

Simple Andrew. Are they getting better each week or are they having the same problems week after week? Take, for example, the offensive line. Last year, that unit couldn’t pick up a stunt to save its collective lives in Week 1, and by Week 18, they still couldn’t pick up a stunt. That, in my eyes, is a failure.

Progress is never linear–you’re going to see peaks and valleys, but the key to knowing that a franchise is truly on the right track is if you see fewer valleys and more peaks as the season goes on.

Jermaine Eluemunor, unless he's injured.

Ed, I’m sorry, but I’m not doing grades without seeing this team play and determining if the arrow is pointing up. If you want to see grades, we’ll do weekly report cards on the various units, but I’m not counting the chickens before they hatch. I hope you understand.

I like it--who wouldn't? Slayton is a true pro who does everything right and who has the right attitude. I think he is an outstanding mentor for Nabers and I hope Nabers incorporates as much knowledge as he can from Slayton.

Probably not. Cornerback wasn’t the only concern I had about this team. That said, I would love to see them do better than 8-9. I’d happily take the loss there if I’m wrong.

Well for starters, Ezeudu played tackle at North Carolina–508 snaps at left tackle and 171 at right tackle to be precise. But he also played the bulk of his snaps (1,247) at left guard. So my guess is that the Giants at the time threw caution to the wind and figured that since Ezeudu played tackle in college, he could, with some coaching, do so at the pro level.

That all being said, the whole approach to the offensive line last year was one big mess, and not just with how Ezeudu was handled. 

Who says they’re kicking the tires on Farley? The guy has been injured a lot in his career–most recently with a hamstring issue. Do you really want to see them spend money on a guy with an injury history that has limited him to 12 games over the last three seasons?

I like it. I’ve been screaming for months about the depth at cornerback and how the Giants, despite saying how happy they were about their young depth, contradicted themselves with their actions or attempted actions. I think now the Giants have a little more depth in place and I just hope Adoree’ stays healthy.

I wouldn’t go that far right now. Look, can we both agree that the coaching of the unit last year was a complete disaster? If one young guy isn’t progressing, then you blame that one the player, but when you have several who are out there and who look like they haven’t a clue as to what they’re doing, you look at the coaches.

Neal–and I know people don’t want to hear this, but I’m going to say it anyway–is a decent run blocker. If Carmen Bricillo can get him comfortable in his pass-blocking set and smooth out his clunkiness and footwork, they might have something there. 

Ezeudu’s problem, I suspect, has been his confidence. He really beats himself up when he screws up and he needs to get better at letting go of things and realizing that mistakes are why there are erasers on the end of pencils. It would also help if the coaches left him to play guard instead of shoe-horning him at tackle (a position he played in college).

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones
Aug 24, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) looks on before the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. | Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Who is responsible for the mess made by this organization? Daniel Jones never showed better than middle-tier skills. Why not tag Jones and pay Barkley? Now you have to sit Jones because if he gets hurt, he has to be paid. Where is the common sense? I am ashamed of the sheer stupidity of this organization lately. Took all the joy out of football for me. -- Richard V.

Richard, I understand how you feel. I think there are a lot of people who share your feelings. This franchise's decline is a cumulation of various factors over several years, from poor drafts and questionable free agency strategies to mismanagement of the cap, to the revolving door of coaching staffs. 

Why not tag Jones? Richard, why do you think the Giants tried to get Barkley signed during the bye week BEFORE he hit free agency? Why do you think we were hearing about offers to Barkley before we heard about them even talking to Jones? 

I’ll tell you why. They wanted to get him under contract so they could tag Jones. Unfortunately, Saquon’s side didn’t want to play nice, whereas Daniel’s side was ready to dance, so the Giants got him signed and used the tag on Barkley. 

Why do you think they put an escape hatch in Jones’s contract? Again I’ll tell you why: they had doubts and needed to see if he was more than a one-year wonder for them in this system. 

Hang in there Richard. I think the worst is pretty much behind us–at least, I hope so.

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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