Shurmur Not Planning Any Coaching Staff Changes

That and other takeaways from the head coach's conference call with reporters on Monday.

Giants head coach Pat Shurmur knows that the quality of football the Giants have put on the field this season isn't acceptable.

But from after having a chance to sleep on things following perhaps their most embarrassing loss of the 2019 campaign, that being a 34-27 loss to the Jets, Shurmur sounds like he's digging in and hoping that the players and coaches find a way to turn things around.

"Having slept on it, no, I am not going to make any coaching changes," he said during his conference call with reporters Monday.

"It’s important that we coach and play better, period. In terms of coaching changes during the season, I think you have to look at each one independently. Some situations they help, others they don’t."

Shurmur, like his players, keeps mentioning the mistakes that are being made every week as the primary catalyst for the team's failure to show measurable progress.

He did so again during his call.

"We’ve just got to take advantage of this time we have here, go back and look at some of the things that we’ve done well because there were a lot of things we did well," he said.

"But, we certainly made mistakes in that game that cost you, and we’ve got to find a way to eliminate those. We’ve got to keep getting some of these guys that are out there playing for the first time to be more consistent throughout the game. So, that’s where we’re at."

For now, at any rate. Shurmur noted that at the time of the call, not even 24 hours had passed since the game ended, and he seemed to hint that there hadn't been time to have conversations with general manager Dave Gettleman and/or ownership.

Even if those conversations did already take place, Shurmur reiterated that he wouldn't reveal that.

"If I would’ve had that conversation, it’s not obviously something that I would share publicly.

What Shurmur did share publicly is his objectives over the next several days. He said the team would practice Tuesday and Wednesday before taking the CBA-mandated break for the bye.

And during that practice time, Shurmur hopes to address some of the issues that keep costing the team games.

"Obviously, you dig into the situational football," he said. "We, as coaches, always reflect on where you’re at and where you want to go.

"I’m always looking for things that I can do better to help motivate the team to play in a way where we play winning football. Each year, you’re faced with different challenges. We have some unique ones this year. We’ve got to fight through it and put an effort on the field to win."

The Future Gloved One?

Shurmur said the plan for rookie quarterback Daniel Jones is to break down his play in terms of situational football.

"He’ll go through all the situational football, and he’ll look at the things he’s done well. He’ll look at the eight interceptions, and look at the fumbles," he said. "You go through everything that you’ve done, and you try to sit back, take a breath, and try to do the things you need to do to correct them. Which we’ve been working on all along, you are just able to sit back and do it in total."

As far as the fumbles, Shurmur seemed intrigued by a question suggesting that Jones consider wearing a glob on his non-throwing hand to help with ball security, much like Eli Manning has done.

"I have never heard of that in terms of the ball security piece," he said. "The ball got ripped out of his hand the other night. He has to certainly secure it, though. I guess it’s something to think about. Since you brought it up, I will mention it to him. Some guys are just more comfortable wearing a glove, and some guys aren’t. Regardless, he has to secure the ball."

Positive Returns

While the outside world waits to see what, if any, changes Shurmur does make after the bye week, something to keep an eye on is a potential for increased reps for some younger players.

Offensive tackle Nick Gates, who played for Mike Remmers (back) had a positive debut. Per Pro Football Focus, Gates was tied with Golden Tate as the Giants' fifth-highest graded player on offense this week. In 70 snaps, Gates was charged with allowing just two pressures.

"I thought he played well," Shurmur said of Gates. "Listen, he’s a tough, competitive guy. We were looking forward to seeing him play because we feel like he has a chance to be a good player. He battled.

"One thing about Nick Gates, he’s tough, he’s competitive, and he tries to do things the right way. He had a lot of really good plays out there."

Another player who received positive reviews for his first NFL action was cornerback Sam Beal, who received ten snaps after Janoris Jenkins left the game with a concussion. Beal recorded two tackles, including one for a stop, and was not targeted in coverage. He also competed o special teams but was not credited with any tackles.

"He actually did a pretty good job the first time back, competing on special teams a little bit," Shurmur said.

Shurmur hinted that moving forward, there could be more opportunity for those younger players int eh defensive secondary to see more time.

"When Beal was in there, our starting three corners were a guy that didn’t play last year and two rookies. Certainly, Julian Love gets work at safety for us. We’ll see as we move forward."

Injury Updates

Shurmur said that running back Saquon Barkley, who last night was spotted heading to the X-ray room across the hall from the Giants locker room, is already on the mend.

"Yeah, he was in today. He’s feeling much better. He’s fine," Shurmur said before proceeding to shoot down a question about potentially shutting Barkley down for the season.

Cornerback Janoris Jenkins and offensive tackle Nate Solder are both presumably in the protocol after leaving yesterday's game with concussions. The hope is that both will be ready to go when the Giants start their preparations for the Chicago Bears in a week.

And speaking of the protocol, receiver Sterling Shepard is still in the protocol. "He’ll be out there practicing (non-contact)," Shurmur said.

Tight end Rhett Ellison was also admitted into the protocol, the Giants announced.