Six New York Giants Story Lines for Week 6

The Giants are back home after their trip across the pond for a Week 6 meeting against the Baltimore Ravens. Let's see what storylines we should be watching out for this week.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Oct 12, 2022 10:56 AM EDT

In this story:

Baltimore Ravens

New York Giants

After their whirlwind trip abroad to London, the high-flying New York Giants are back in town this weekend, where they upset the Green Bay Packers 27-22. But things aren't getting any easier for the Giants, whose by week doesn't come until Week 9.

Before we get to that point, the Giants have three more games at home this weekend against the Baltimore Ravens and then back-to-back road games against the Jaguars and Seahawks.

But as head coach Brian Daboll always preaches, let's take it one game at a time and look at some of the storylines ahead of the Giants' game against the Ravens, which is the next one on the schedule.

The Giants Energy Level

The Giants, who, as we all know, played in London last week, opted not to take a bye week following the trip across the pond, the reason being that the team's brass felt it was too early in the season for the bye (theirs comes in Week 9, which is the halfway mark of the season).

In the meantime, head coach Brian Daboll and director of coaching operations Laura Young tried to create a schedule that mimicked the Giants' normal work week as best as possible. That schedule included flying to London on a Thursday night and holding a light practice on Friday despite the time zone difference. Then after the game, the Giants wasted no time in flying back to the States, where they received Monday and Tuesday off to rest and recover.

While it sounds like the Giants took care to ensure plenty of rest for the players, we'll see how well the plans worked this week. Daboll has the team back on its regular practice schedule and will no doubt be closely monitoring the energy level and adjusting accordingly if the team shows the slightest hint of sluggishness.

Wink's Revenge Game

Don't be surprised if Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale has this week's game circled in red on his calendar. Martindale was with the Ravens since 2012, first as the team's linebackers coach and then as its defensive coordinator from 2018-2021.

After last season, the Ravens released a statement on behalf of head coach John Harbaugh announcing that the two sides had mutually agreed to part ways.

While some suggest it was a firing, the fact remains that the highly motivated Martindale, who landed on his feet in New York, will probably put a little extra spice into this week's game plan.

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Keeping Lamar Jackson in Check

The Ravens' offense is averaging a robust 6.05 yards per play, the fourth-best mark in the league, and 5.33 yards per rush, the third-best average in the league.

At the core of the offense is quarterback Lamar Jackson, who leads NFL quarterbacks in rushing yardage (374) and is second (behind Buffalo's Josh Allen) in yards after contact (152). The 6-foot-2, 230-pound Jackson will almost certainly draw a spy from the defense to keep him from using his legs to gash the Giants on the ground.

Jackson is averaging 7.6 yards per rushing attempt this season, the best mark of his career. As other teams have seen with the Giants and Daniel Jones, when one has to account for the quarterback as a runner, that's another thing for the defense to worry about.

If the Giants have any hope of winning this game, they will need to be disciplined, not bite on fakes, and stay true to their assignments. Above all, they need to force Jackson to throw the ball instead of running with it.

Will Landon Collins Be Activated This Week?

The Giants currently have an opening on their 53-man roster following their decision to place rookie defensive lineman D.J. Davidson on injured reserve.

Could the Giants, if they decide to use a spy on Jackson, call up safety Landon Collins from the practice squad for the role? That depends on how quickly Collins picks up the Giants' playbook and what the team's injury situation looks like at the end of the week.

Jason Pierre Paul Returns

The Giants will see an old friend Sunday in the form of defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, their 2010 first-round draft pick and last legitimate homegrown pass rusher before the drafting of Azeez Ojulari.

Pierre-Paul was famously traded to Tampa after the 2017 season when the Giants' management misjudged how much he had left in him. From 2018-2021, Pierre-Paul started 52 of 54 games in which he appeared and recorded 33 of his 92.5 career sacks.

Piere-Paul signed a one-year deal with the Ravens last month after injuries started piling up on the Baltimore defense. Although the regime that shipped Pierre-Paul out of town is long gone, don't be surprised if he comes into this weekend's game with a bit extra juice.

Injury Update

Another week, another round of guessing who's in and who's out for Sunday. We'll have to get through the rest of the week before gaining clarity. Still, the initial belief is that defensive lineman Leonard Williams and receiver Wan'Dale Robinson, both of whom have sprained MCLs, have the best chance of being in the lineup. In contrast, receiver Kadarius Toney (hamstring), outside linebacker Azeez Oulari (calf), receiver Kenny Golladay (knee), and cornerback CorDale Flott (calf) look like they'll be longshots, while cornerback Adoree' Jackson (knee/neck) and runing back Saquon Barkley (shoulder) are to be determined.

This is also Week 2 of Nick Gates's 21-day window. I'd be surprised if a decision is made on him one way or another this week, but it will all depend on how he gets through the week.