Giants Preseason Report Card: Grading Every Running Back and Quarterback vs. Vikings

New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh certainly had a lot to look at in the team’s preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings.

The one unit that was perhaps of greatest interest was the offense, which has struggled to find consistency dating back to the spring and continues to find its groove ahead of the regular season.

Preseason stats don’t mean a whole lot given that it’s more about player evaluation, but we still need to mention that the Giants offense came up with 201 yards overall, 28th among teams, and averaged just 2.6 rushing yards, which was tied for last.

Again, this is not to get too excited about stats; right now, the goal is to evaluate players in live action, which cannot be simulated in practice. There was a lot to like from an individual perspective and some that left one shaking their head.

With that said here are our grades of the quarterbacks and running backs.

Quarterbacks

Jaxson Dart

Dart received the start and played in two series as he continues adapting to a whole new way of doing things at his position, specifically becoming more of a pocket thrower and lining up under center more often than he ever has.

All but one of his first-down snaps came under center. Each snap under center was a handoff; no play action throws at all. Snapping under center will certainly help the running game, which is a coaching focus.

Dart’s first series produced one third-down shotgun conversion, a sack and a punt. His second series seemed like a replay of his rookie season—a third-down conversion out of the shotgun.

The second sack of the night resulted in Dart being buzzed off the field by the spotter for a concussion check. For what it’s worth, Dart needs to be able to sense better and/or read blitzers, or he’s going to become a bigger target for them, though on this one, Tyrone Tracy’s missed block of a blitzer was to blame.

After missing two snaps, Dart returned on 2nd-&-12 from the Vikings' 15 and immediately went into broken play mode. He scrambled to his left and flicked a dime (while running to his left, mind you) into the end zone to WR Malachi Fields for the touchdown.

It was a spectacular play, a highlight play, and a smart play: finding the mismatch in the crowded confines of the red zone under duress and then making an unreal throw right on the money.

Dart’s improvisational abilities were what got Giants fans so excited. This kid knows how to score points. However, there’s no denying that QB (and team) long-term success in the NFL comes from having the QB making most of his plays from the pocket.

We are curious to see how quickly Dart adapts to that coaching focus. It’s great to have that improvisational gene in his DNA, but there’s more to playing the position than playing playground football.

Jameis Winston

Winston’s first snap (after replacing Dart following his removal for a concussion check) was a perfectly executed 3rd-&-23 screen pass that went for 40 yards. It looked like a simple play, but give Winston credit for keeping it simple and timing it perfectly.

After Dart’s TD throw, Winston took over and played into the 3Q, going a very economical 8-of-9 for 89 yards and moving the offense smoothly. He got his team to a 10-3 halftime lead but couldn’t do anything with the team’s first second-half possession.

There was nothing special about Winston’s performance other than how quickly he made decisions, got the ball out of his hands, and threw the ball accurately. He missed a couple of reads, but the Vikings blitzes kept the quarterbacks limited to their first reads.

Brandon Allen

Watching this 10-year veteran play the quarterback position was painful. Allen looked completely overmatched, throwing two terrible interceptions, several other inexplicable throws, and giving his offense zero chance to win.

His first offensive snap was his initial interception, which was thrown into middle traffic and simply unforgivable, as it led to a Vikings touchdown that gave them the lead.

Sadly, this has been Allen's story since the spring, which raises the question: why didn’t the Giants look for a younger quarterback to develop?

Certainly the connection to quarterbacks coach Brian Callahan has something to do with it, and we also suspect the pickings were slim in this year’s class. We’d venture to guess that come next year, and with a deeper quarterback talent pool in the draft, this situation will be rectified.

Running Backs

Cam Skattebo

Skattebo got the start and played in just five snaps as he continues to work back into playing shape after last season’s ankle issue. He ran four times for 19 yards, bouncing several runs outside to positive effect.

“Yeah, you know, I was excited about it because I thought I saw the Cam Skattebo that you guys all know and saw last year,” Harbaugh said after the game.

“I don't know that he's 100% twitchy and explosive yet, but he's getting there. He's come a long way in the last two, three weeks.”

Tyrone Tracy

Tracy had himself a rough afternoon. He had two whiffs on blitz pickups, a continuation of last season’s problems with holding up to this very important part of his job.

If he’s not going to be able to protect his quarterback– it was his whiff on blitzing Vikings safety Jay Ward that sent Dart to the medical tent–then there’s no reason for him to be out there.

What was particularly concerning is that both pickup misses included mental breakdowns, with Tracy looking as though he was caught off guard. If a running back can’t pass block, then that’s a problem.

Tracy, by the way, gained five yards on two carries.

Devin Singletary

When it comes to pass protection, Singletary does not make mental mistakes. He’s the best pass blocker on this team and never misses an assignment, and it’s not even close.

He’s not particularly electric with the ball in his hands, but he does bleed every yard out of every touch. His 9-yard run right up the gut is what the coaches want to see out of this offense, and he’s also a solid short-yardage runner.

And what about his execution of the second quarter, 3rd-&-23 screen pass that gained 40 yards with some textbook open-field running? That was textbook execution of a screen pass.

Not to be ignored is Singletary’s simple execution of every aspect of the play up until he started cutting back against the grain into open field.

Eric Gray

Getting most of the third-team running back snaps, Gray ended up leading the offense with 20 rushing yards, while also chipping in with two catches for 17 yards.

That said, it’s hard to envision him getting a roster spot. Twice, he had to be told where to line up and what to do, and that doesn’t bode well as a rule for any player.

Dante Miller

We thought Miller took a step back from last year’s preseason production. He looked too straight-lined whenever he had the ball in his hands, with minimal vision and an inability to create with his feet or eyes.

He’s still got that straight-line speed and a good feel for playing specials, but Miller is not roster material. He took a shot to the ribs, which ended his night early.

Damon Bankston

This undersized UDFA running back gained six yards on three carries and didn’t get the chance to make a big splash. We’d like to see him as a kickoff returner, but the Giants have guys ahead of him that they clearly want to see in the role.

Fullbacks

Patrick Ricard

Getting most of his five game snaps as an offset fullback lined up in the backfield, Ricard handled all of his blocking responsibilities with physicality.

Grant Finley

Getting a bunch of fullback snaps with the third-unit, Finley looked the part physically and seems to be very much in the same physical league as Patrick Ricard, which would make Finley an ideal candidate for the practice squad.

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