Snap Chat: Thoughts About the Giants Week 8 Snap Counts

This will probably sound crazy, but the Giants running game, which has evolved into a by-committee approach, has functioned pretty well rather than relying too heavily on one guy (Saquon Barkley).

Could a committee approach be in the team’s future, even after Barkley recovers from his ACL surgery? And if so, does it make sense to hand out a blockbuster contract to Barkley if the Giants can get similar results in the running game by using a committee?

I have to admit that I wasn’t crazy about the idea of having rotating offensive linemen. Still, the Giants have made it work and have gotten their young players some valuable playing time in a season that probably isn’t going anywhere. Matt Peart split reps with Cam Fleming, and the Giants offensive line was no worse for the showing this week.

Speaking of offensive linemen, I found it interesting that Shane Lemieux, who had a solid outing in his first as a starter, didn’t receive any special teams snaps.

Usually, the starting offensive line is the line a team rolls with on some scoring plays, but Lemieux was not credited with any snaps, whereas Matt Peart was.

I was surprised to see that Alfred Morris got as many snaps as he did (21). I thought Wayne Gallman was in a groove during the game, and I would have liked to have seen him continue as the workhorse.

At the same time, I can appreciate the need to keep those backs fresh, which again leads me back to the question about Saquon Barkley’s future here.

Barkley is a dynamic talent who can be a threat in both the running and passing game, so assuming he’s fully recovered from his surgery, do the Giants, who seem to like a committee approach, go back to him as the workhorse or stick with what’s been working?

If you blinked, you missed Golden Tate’s little outburst after he caught his touchdown pass when he looked into the camera and shouted, “Throw me the ball!”

Regardless of what happens before the trade deadline, it’s pretty clear that Tate is on his way off this team. He’s seen his snaps decrease the last three weeks to an average of 33.6 per game, down from the 46.5 snaps per game he took (and that increase likely due to the absence of Sterling Shepard, who was on injured reserve).

Meanwhile, is there any doubt that Darius Slayton, who continues to see the lion’s share of snaps among the receivers, is making a pretty strong case to take the interim title of No. 1 receiver on this team?

There were no snaps for offensive lineman Chad Slade, brought up from the practice squad to round out the minimum requirements for offensive linemen what with Will Hernandez on the COVID-19 list.

Isaac Yiadom played all the snaps at the No. 2 cornerback.

Call it a hunch, but given how well (and how much) Kyler Fackrell is playing, I wouldn’t’ be surprised if the Giants take their time with bringing Oshane Ximines back from injured reserve.

Based on Darnay Holmes’ snaps the Giants were in their nickel package quite a bit this week certainly not unexpected given the Bucs’ passing game.

There were no snaps for defensive back Montre Hartage, brought up from the practice squad to provide some depth at cornerback following Ryan Lewis’ hamstring strain.

Offense (74)

RG Kevin Zeitler 74; C Nick Gates 74; LT Andrew Thomas 74; LG Shane Lemieux 74; QB Daniel Jones 74; WR Darius Slayton 68; TE Evan Engram 61; WR Sterling Shepard 52; RT Cam Fleming 51; TE Kaden Smith 42; WR Golden Tate 38; RB Wayne Gallman 32; RT Matt Peart 24; TE Levine Toilolo 21; RB Dion Lewis 21; RB Alfred Morris 21; WR Austin Mack 10; FB Eli Penny 3.

Defense (70)

CB James Bradberry 70; CB Isaac Yiadom 70; ILB Blake Martinez 70; FS Logan Ryan 68; SS Jabrill Peppers 66; OLB Kyler Fackrell 64; DL Leonard Williams 55; CB Darnay Holmes 49; DE Dexter Lawrence II 43; NY Dalvin Tomlinson 36; ILB David Mayo 35; FS Julian Love 35; DE Jabal Sheard; DL BJ Hill 27; OLB Trent Harris 15; ILB Devante Downs 14; NT Austin Johnson 7; OLB Cam Brown 4; CB Madre Harper 4; OLB Carter Coughlin 4

Special Teams

OLB Cam Brown 24; SS Nate Ebner 24; ILB David Mayo 23; ILB Devante Downs 22; FB Eli Penny 19; FS Julian Love 12; TE Kaden Smith 12; DB Madre Harper 12; ILB TJ Brunson 12; OLB Carter Coughlin 11; TE Levine Toilolo 11; DE Dexter Lawrence 10; NT Dalvin Tomlinson 8; K Graham Gano 8; DT Leonard Williams 7; OLB Trent Harris 7; LS Casey Kreiter 7; P Riley Dixon 7; RB Dion Lewis 7; CB James Bradberry 5; DL BJ Hill 5; CB Isaac Yiadom 3; SS Jabrill Peppers 3; TE Evan Engram 4; RG Kevin Zeitler 3; C Nick Gates 3; LT Andrew Thomas 3; RT Matt Peart 3; OT Cam Fleming 3; DT Austin Johnson 2; CB Darnay Holmes 1; WR Austin Mack 1

Add us as a preferred source on Google