Pat's Perspectives: Wrapping Up the New York Giants Preseason

The New York Giants starters made their cameo appearance last week against the Carolina Panthers, a team they won't see this season. But with the New York Jets, a team that they WILL be seeing later this year, up next on the preseason schedule, well, don't expect to see many, if any, Giants starters.

It's not necessarily because the Giants have nothing more to prove (though with the starters, they likely don't have to prove anything further to head coach Brian Daboll). It's just a matter of why give the Jets any headstart on hints as to what they might see in regular-season meetings regarding personnel combinations. It's also a matter of protecting key starters who might be sitting ducks for that extra hard hit or two in a game that's part of a historic rival.

(That's also likely why the planned joint practice between the two clubs this summer never came to fruition. But I digress.)

The fact is that Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen will be using this opportunity to evaluate those last few remaining roster spots. And thanks to the Jets planning to play their starters for however long they plan to play them, this will be about as good of a test as any for those players on the bubble.

If they can hold their own against the Jets starters, they will help their case for a roster spot. And if they can't, then the Turk likely awaits them over the ensuing 24-48 hours.

Thoughts on The Simmons Trade

One day after the Giants made the stunning trade with the Cardinals to acquire linebacker Isaiah Simmons from the Arizona Cardinals for a seventh-round pick, I'm still surprised to see there are people out there who are bashing the Giants for making this move for a player they perceive to be a bust.

Let's clear up a few misconceptions. One, Simmons was on a Cardinals team with not only multiple coaching staffs but also none that knew exactly how to deploy him. I recently wrote about the Giants and how the synergy between the coaching staff and front office has this franchise headed in the right direction. As simple as that sounds, not every franchise can say that is the case every year.

Second, and with apologies to past, current, and future NFL seventh-round draft picks everywhere. However, Simmons, as a Top-10 draft pick, still hasn't reached his potential. He's still way more talented and NFL-ready than any seventh-round pick a team is likely to uncover.

Third, and perhaps most important, Giants general manager Joe Schoen is smart enough to know that for the first three weeks of the 2023 regular season, the Giants spot in the waiver order is 25th, the same spot as where they were originally slated to draft in April.

Schoen is also smart enough to know that talented young and inexpensive players like Simmons will probably not (assuming their teams released them) make it down to the Giants at No. 25.

So why not flip a seventh-round draft pick to ensure you get a guy that your team's defensive coordinator wants and who fits your locker room?

Fourth: Simmons, in the final year of his rookie deal (the Cardinals declined his fifth-year option), will cost the Giants only $1.01 million (his base salary). That's a low-cost investment to determine if he has a long-term future with the club.

Super Saquon

Training camp might not be the long, drawn-out affair it was back when two practices per day were the norm. But the longer days in the hot weather can take a toll on a player, especially an older veteran with an injury history.

So it's pretty amazing that running back Saquon Barkley, who, after some initial contract drama, decided to come to camp on time, didn't get or ask for a single veteran's rest day from the coaching/training staffs.

According to head coach Brian Daboll, Barkley's "veteran's day off" came in the form of not having to play in the preseason.

It's a smart move taken by the coaching staff. Why expose Barkley to meaningless preseason game pounding where an overzealous young defender might be looking to impress his coaches and thus deliver a harder blow to the runner? It is best to keep Barkley in a controlled environment as he gets into football shape, which is what the coaches have done.

And it's also best to reduce some of the poundings he'll take in the regular season, such as on third-down blitz pickups and the like so that he stays fresh for the long haul.

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