New York Giants Week 3 Report Card: A Failing Effort
No one was looking for the 2020 Giants to push for a playoff spot. Heck, even asking for at least a .500 record seems to be a bit of a tall order given where the franchise currently stands.
But is it too much to ask for some weekly improvement?
Well, given the Giants 36-9 beating at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers’ so-called “B-team”—a unit missing nearly a dozen starters on both sides of the ball due to injuries—apparently showing improvement every week is too much to ask for.
The Giants, who showed fight and grit in two losing efforts before this week’s debacle, started to show small signs that ultimately, everything was going to be okay, that the process wasn’t going to come together overnight as some hoped, but it was at least underway.
Then Sunday happened, and we’re once again faced with all kinds of questions, ranging from whether Dave Gettleman has suffered the same fate as George Young suffered years ago when any magic he had in building rosters suddenly flew out the window, to whether Daniel Jones is worthy of sitting in Eli Manning’s throne.
Whatever is going on up in East Rutherford isn't progress. I'm not sure who or what's to blame, but I am pretty sure--and it's been a while since I'vemind you--that this isn't what winning football looks like.
Rushing Offense: F
What run offense? Seriously, take away team rushing leader Daniel Jones’ 49 yards on five carries, and you’re left with three running backs—Wayne Gallman, Dion Lewis, and Devonta Freeman—who rushed ten times for 17 yards behind an offensive line that cannot seem to get any push up the middle whatsoever.
Passing Offense: F
The more one watches Daniel Jones, the more concerning he becomes.
Turnovers aside—and there were two of them this week—there appeared to be a few questionable protection calls and chances to audible out of some plays that, based on the looks, didn't stand a chance. Jones looked like a deer caught in the headlights, and it wasn’t pretty.
Run Defense: D
With the defense as a whole being on the field for nearly 40 minutes of play, they were bound to tire out. And they did.
Specific to the run defense, the Giants allowed three touchdowns on the ground despite holding the 49ers to an average of 2.7 yards per carry, this latter fact saving them from an F grade even though there weren’t any defining moments where this unit stepped up and said, “We’re in charge here.”
Passing Defense: F
With all due respect to Logan Ryan and James Bradberry, both of whom were solid, the Giants pass defense made Nick Mullens look like the second coming of Steve Young.
Rookie cornerback Darnay Holmes and third-year corner Isaac Yiadom were taken to school, both earning failing grades. Holmes’s illegal contact penalty on 3rd-and-22 hurt. Perhaps moving forward, the Giants will play more Ryan and Bradberry on the perimeter to stop the bleeding.
Special Teams: D
Riley Dixon and Graham Gano were bright spots, but Corey Ballentine, as the kickoff returner, only managed 17.3 yards per return on three opportunities.
The Giants badly lost the starting field position battle, with New York starting on their 25 and the 49ers beginning on their own 36. That’s a big difference.
Coaching: F
New week, same thing. The coaches continue to ask Evan Engram to block defensive ends, which is not a strength. They ran screens with Golden Tate, who is a possession receiver. And that fourth-down play call?
I didn’t have a problem with going for it there, but why try to force a run up the middle, where the Giants were getting zero push, and not hand the ball off to Freeman in the backfield?
If this team continues turning in clunkers like this week, it's going to be another long season folks.
