2019 Week 15: Player by Player Review Plus a Look at the Strategy and the Play Calling

Life After Jackrabbit: The Young Defensive Secondary

By Chris Pflum

When the New York Giants took the field against the Miami Dolphins, they found themselves in a position which NFL teams generally try to avoid: They were heavily relying on a very young corps of defensive backs to hold down the back end of their defense.

The Giants are, for all intents and purposes, playing four rookies in their secondary after releasing Janoris Jenkins and with Jabrill Peppers now on injured reserve following a fracture in his back.

As we have seen this season, the defensive secondary has among the sharpest learning curves of any position on the field.

While teams routinely go into games with rookie defensive backs, no team wants to go into a game with three true rookies starting and a fourth starter who (thanks to injury) may as well be a rookie as well.

And with Dolphins' receivers DeVante Parker and Albert Wilson clearing the concussion protocol in time to be active, the Giants' rookie secondary was likely in for a tough fight.

The Dolphins struggled mightily to run the ball in the first half, but it looked as if the Dolphins' veteran quarterback and receivers were going to be able to have their way with the Giants' secondary.

The Giants played a mix of man and zone concepts in their secondary, largely staying true to the general pattern established through the first 13 games of the year.

DeAndre Baker and Sam Beal were generally playing fairly loose coverage on the outside, and the Giants seemed very concerned about being beaten deep.

It seemed as though, rather than maintain tight coverage, the Giants' defensive backs would bail whenever the Dolphins' receivers would press their stems into the defenders.

That allowed the receivers plenty of room to make easy catches. Miami's receivers were generally able to exploit the Giants' secondary, particularly on routes involving sharp breaks, such as out-routes. Likewise, the middle of the field proved vulnerable to tight ends Mike Gesicki and Clive Walford.

Through the first half, the Dolphins' receivers themselves (and their drops) were better at limiting the Ryan Fitzpatrick's effectiveness than the Giants' secondary.

With the game close through the first half and into the third quarter, the Giants were forced to defend Miami's entire playbook.

While Miami' running game was largely ineffective – the Dolphins did have over 122 yards rushing but no player had more than 46 yards on the ground – their use of the screen game was enough to slow the Giants' pass rush and force the secondary to keep an eye in the backfield.

Eventually, however, the Giants did what they have struggled to do this season and were able to give their defense some help – and their secondary in particular.

It started on the offensive side of the ball, with Eli Manning and the Giants' offense taking advantage of opportunities to score and scoring touchdowns instead of settling for field goals or missing scoring opportunities altogether.

With an assist from some disciplined run defense from Sam Beal resulting in a safety, the Giants jumped out to a two-score lead. That lead pushed the Dolphins' offense out of their game-plan and gave the Giants' defense much more freedom to attack the offense.

With the Dolphins' offense forced to play with urgency and throw more to try to make up ground on the Giants, the Giants were able to unleash their blitz packages.

The Giants were inconsistent in generating pressure in the first half, but the decision to play with more aggressiveness in the second half paid dividends.

While the Dolphins' offensive line was generally able to buy Fitzpatrick enough time against four-man rushes, he as harried and pressured when the Giants sent extra rushers.

That extra pressure forced Fitzpatrick to get rid of the ball early, not giving receivers the time to make those sharp cuts in the intermediate area of the field against which the Giants' defensive backs struggled in the first half.

Time and again, we saw Fitzpatrick scrambling and trying to make up for collapsing pass protection, only to throw the ball away to avoid taking a sack.

With the pass rush getting home and Fitzpatrick not able to time his throws as well, the Giants' young secondary began to play with more confidence. The growing confidence and the tighter coverage that resulted ultimately lead to Fitzpatrick's once-sterling stat line falling to a paltry 23 of 41 for 279 yards.

Overall, the Giants went into the game in an unenviable situation, relying on very young players to be the backstop for their defense.

They got off to a shaky start, but rather than collapsing completely, they were able to rally and play a big part in a complete team win.

The next step from here will be to build upon this play over the last two weeks, which will be played against better teams and division rivals. But at this point, the most important thing is that the Giants' rookie secondary has a positive outcome upon which to build.

Quarterback

Eli Manning: Talk about vintage Eli Manning! Three interceptions (two of them incredibly careless) and the shortest of memories, afterward slinging the ball on time and downfield even more confidently and dare we say, daringly!

One thing can certainly be said about Eli Manning – the man has no fear. He plays the game of football with chutzpah, and if you can’t appreciate the mistakes that go with the big plays, then the need to take risks to win championships is just not in your DNA. It’s certainly in Manning’s.

There were other negative plays besides the interceptions which included a handful of terrible pocket reads that lead to a sack and a couple of incompletions.

But for the most part, he had a clean pocket to work with, primarily because he set up his protections so adroitly and because the Dolphins lack pass rushers.

Watching Manning stand back there, standing tall and scanning the field is a sight that we haven’t seen in quite a while.

Of course, with so much time to throw he was at times dynamic with the ball, showing off plenty of arm strength, timing, and accuracy to prove at least to some eyes that he can still lead an NFL offense.

As is his wont, he went to the right place with the ball whenever the Dolphins sent blitzes, and he looked particularly dangerous every time he took a snap under center.

Manning has always been the master of play action. This week, he put all of his favorite throws on full display. He hit tight end Kaden Smith up the seam for 27 yards; he drew a big pass interference flag on a perfect fly throw to a streaking Darius Slayton against pressure; he hit Golden Tate on a deep slant; he got the benefit of a hometown bounce for the 51-yard touchdown, and he constantly hit Sterling Shepard on the short slant like he was beating a drum.

His best throw of the day had to be his naked bootleg bullet on a corner route, Shepard making the 24-yard catch of the perfectly-placed ball at the 1-yard line.

Manning did it all, including keeping the Dolphins in the game with those classic bonehead interceptions. But this time, Manning had a running game to orchestrate, and a defense that actually made some stops.

This week's offense looked like a bonafide NFL offense, for perhaps the first time this year.

Again, give the Dolphins some negative credit for failing to put much pressure on Manning (one sack), but also give Manning tons of credit for his 20 of-28 for 283 yards, 2 touchdowns and 3 interception day which was vintage regular-season Manning in practically every way.

It was a wonderful flashback game, and if there was anyone who didn’t get misty-eyed when Coach Shurmur pulled him from the game and the sparse crowd gave him a tremendous standing ovation, we'd be shocked.

It was a wonderful send-off at home for a great New York Giant, a rare feel-good moment in this forgettable season.

Running Backs

Saquon Barkley: Making Manning’s job a whole lot easier was Barkley’s 112-yard rushing game on 24 carries. Barkley was rarely met in the backfield, thus providing him with enough time to pick his spots. For the most part, his decision-making was on the mark.

The Giants won the battle in the pit on both sides of the ball, Barkley’s blocking providing him with creases and the occasional space to burst through.

His longest run of the game was a mere 12 yards, which means the negative runs were kept to a bare minimum while the positive touches were plentiful.

Early on, Barkley bounced one electric run out wide which really caught Miami’s attention. Thereafter he kept most of his runs between the tackles which were consistently productive and positive.

Occasionally he would burst through one of these inside creases and earn the tough yards that he must learn to accept.

Though his first inclination is to run to daylight around an edge, he’s got to make an even greater future commitment to getting those tough inside yards to keep defenses honest.

The bounce-outs will be there once the gut is softened up, as they were in the red zone where both of Barkley’s touchdowns occurred, untouched, around the edge.

This week's play-calling had a classic northeast feel to it, which on a windy day made total sense. It should be a blueprint for how to utilize Barkley best.

Run it up in there a whole lot and wear down the defense. It’s a strategy that has worked a thousand times over in wintry locales.

Barkley has to continue to get major touches. Make the defense stop him, and then make the defense pay for stopping him. It’s the old Kevin Gilbride offense, and it sure looked familiar.

Buck Allen: Getting eight late-game touches and looking very much like the legit NFL running back that he is, the 28-year-old Allen’s best run was a scintillating 19-yard jaunt around right end that ended when his right foot touched out of bounds at the 1-yard line while he was powering his way into the end zone.

Not to be deterred, Allen scored the offense’s final touchdown of the day on the very next play and proceeded to do one of those high-energy end zone celebrations that even had a couple of referees grinning.

As important as his tough sledding was – Allen totaled only 9 yards on his other 7 carries – was his ball security.

Smartly, he kept two hands on the ball on every one of those carries. Allen showed quick feet and toughness between the tackles, but he’s certainly not a power back.

He has passed the inactive Wayne Gallman on the depth chart and did not look out of place in his relief of Barkley.

Elijhaa Penny: On the Giants' three short touchdown runs, Penny produced a key block on every one of them.

The Giants’ big lead today got Penny on the field more often, and he did well nearly every single snap.

His lone failure was a 3rd-and-1 carry that fooled no one, as he was engulfed two yards in the backfield.

It was nice to see the coaches line up with the quarterback over center and two backs in an I-formation, of which we’re a big fan and we think a keeper moving forward.

Tight Ends

Kaden Smith: Continuing to get major playing time with the lingering injuries to Evan Engram and Rhett Ellison, Smith has been out-playing the veteran Ellison and proving himself to be a reliable future starter in 2020.

It’s Smith’s blocking that has us most intrigued. He regularly takes on defensive ends and creates a stalemate on the edge, while also chipping in with the occasional combo block whenever a wide run is called.

Smith’s always on his feet and engaging, and getting downfield when possible. He does an awful lot of little things really well.

He caught three more balls today, none prettier than the seam catch that went for 27 yards and was executed perfectly by receiver and QB.

There’s not a lot that this kid can’t do other than run fast. He’s a quick decision-maker and doesn’t waste any steps in his patterns.

He’s also durable, handling a very heavy load these last few weeks and rarely coming off the field.

The more we see of him the more we think he’s got a solid future.

Scott Simonson: Getting about 12-15 snaps as the blocking tight end, Simonson was a positive blocker today and caught a late pass for one yard.

Receivers

Sterling Shepard: On the first offensive possession, Shepard ran a slant, got open and dropped the ball--not a very good start. Shepard hasn't had many drops this season--he's done a good job of cutting down on those--but we would still like to see him eliminate them from his game.

In the middle of the first quarter, Shepard caught an out pattern after a perfectly thrown ball and drew offensive pass interference on the play. We're not sure we saw much push-off, but the officials apparently did.

After the Giants recorded the safety, Manning went to Shepard over the middle and the receiver easily beat man-to-man coverage for a first down.

Then on the very next play, Shepard made a catch just shy of the goal line. It was a perfect throw and he did a superb job getting both feet in bounds to put the ball on the 1-yard line.

Sterling continued his good day late in the third quarter with a catch on a comeback route. Manning needed someone to throw the ball to and Shepard came back to the ball to make the catch.

Shepard’s eighth catch of the game came early in the fourth quarter when he was again able to beat man-to-man coverage underneath.

Golden Tate: Tate went over the middle early in the second quarter, but didn’t get much separation. The defender knocked the pass away, leaving the Giants to punt.

After the pass interference call against Darius Slayton, Tate made the catch over the middle and then broke a tackle for a 55-yard touchdown. Tate ran a good route here and got a step on the defender.

He was able to just get into the end zone before being tackled, though we didn't care for the showboating move he made toward the end of the run which nearly proved disastrous.

A veteran like Tate should know better than to engage in such bush-league nonsense.

Darius Slayton: In the middle of the second quarter, Slayton went deep down the sideline against cornerback Nate Brooks. It was his first target of Slayton, and there appeared to be pass interference.

We next heard from Slayton in the receiving game in the third quarter when he was wide open against Brooks for a first down.

On the same drive, Slayton ended up wide open in the end zone for a touchdown.

The play started on the 5-yard line and Slayton acted as if he was going to go inside then burst to the sideline and Brooks was nowhere to be found for the easy touchdown.

Cody Latimer: Got into the act early in the third quarter as he made the grab over the middle for an easy first down.

Latimer has shown flashes this season and we would like to have him see more action down the stretch.

Offensive Line

Nate Solder: The offense’s lone sack came when Solder flubbed a stunt handoff from Will Hernandez. Solder looked completely unprepared and totally surprised by it.

With that said, the sack came on a 3rd-and-16 so the Dolphins had their ears pinned back, so it’s hard to kill Solder on this one.

He mishandled a couple of other protections but overall had a rare positive game protecting his quarterback's blindside.

This week's successful running game had a big hand in Solder looking better, as he’s a better run blocker than pass blocker at this point in his career, though neither skill is top shelf.

Mike Remmers: Getting plenty of help with his pass blocking once again, as he did last week, Remmers responded when isolated with positive results.

The Dolphins did not threaten Remmers’ edge much, preferring to attack the other edge with speed, leaving the veteran tackle to play a disciplined positioning game that kept his edge clean all night long.

Remmers’ run-blocking had its moments too when his reads were simplified and he could use his great size to get in his man’s way, but his inability to sustain a block remains a problem.

He’s physical upon first contact, but he falls off of that contact much too easily to be considered competent.

Nick Gates: Getting his second NFL start at right guard (his first start was several weeks ago at right tackle), Gates looked very much at home inside and sure looks like a long-term answer at that position.

Gates’ stated lack of interest in playing center makes us wonder if Kevin Zeitler might be an option over the ball next year, leaving Gates to man what looks to be his position, right guard.

He was the offensive line’s best player this week, as he brought his physicality to the fore on every snap. His best optic block was a pancake in space against a linebacker during Buck Allen’s 19-yard run, but his long pull to spring Saquon Barkley wide on the back’s 10-yard touchdown run was equally impressive.

We’ve considered Gates an inside brawler at best, but his ability to get out in space and finish out there is opening some eyes.

His brawling was quite sufficient this week, both in the run game and in his pass protection. He was sharp with everything he did, but it’s his blue-collar physicality that will always be his calling card.

Gates reminds us so much of Rich Seubert, it’s scary.

Will Hernandez: Somewhere along the way Hernandez has lost part of his game, and to our surprise, it’s the physical part.

He’s getting pushed around from time to time out there and that’s not what we expected to see from this wide body that's built so powerfully low to the ground.

Perhaps it’s a balance issue or perhaps he’s dealing with an injury but Hernandez is not the same player he was as a rookie, stumbling to the ground on occasion and getting pushed back into his quarterback's pocket at times.

He sure could use some work with his footwork, especially in pass protection.

We’re also not seeing him moving people like he had been as a rookie. He executed two pulls and looked to be moving well, even if he never did get his man.

Overall, the flaws may be troubling but for the most part, he’s a positive force out there, but the rookie road grader has taken a bit of a step back.

Jon Halapio: On a day where your running back goes for 112 yards, none of the runs going longer than 12 yards, there’s a lot of positive things going on between the tackles where so much of the yards were gained.

As mentioned, the Dolphins had a lot to do with that as they didn’t bring a whole lot of dynamism to their pit work, which matches up with Halapio’s similar lack thereof.

He was able to match bulk with bulk and stay on his feet with a bunch of legit seals, making quick reads and being where he was supposed to be all of the time.

There weren’t any big negatives out of Halapio’s game, and it may have been his best game of the year, which unfortunately isn’t saying much as he’s likely played his way off the future radar with his subpar 2019 game.

Spencer Pulley: The rare sight of Pulley lining up as a short-yardage blocking tight end on a handful of plays was as surprising to us as it must have been to all Giants fans.

Pulley hadn’t played since filling in for Halapio for one game at center. Otherwise, he’s been a blip on the radar.

This week, he got to hit people, and he did a solid job of it, throwing his body into his blocks with gusto and success. He got about a half dozen snaps and was a positive contributor.

Defensive Line

Leonard Williams: Continuing his contract push, Williams turned in another productive game up front that was at times disruptive and at times just plain nasty (particularly against the run).

We’re not sure if Williams has a single strength to his game; rather we see him playing more of a well-rounded game that still reminds us of Chris Canty, except he’s a better pass rusher than Canty ever was.

They are similar run defenders, though, Williams playing with a consistent physicality that combined with his athleticism makes him a tough guy to run at.

He makes as many hustle plays as he does dynamic ones. He just missed out on two sacks with heavy hits that the tough-to-sack Ryan Fitzpatrick found a way to get rid of the ball. He forced a turnover with a hustle hit in pursuit on a scrambling Fitzpatrick, one of the biggest plays of the game.

We liked how active he was on the pass rush, attacking mostly from the inside. When he lines up at defensive end, he plays more of a contain pass rush role, which he did not do a lot of this week.

Dalvin Tomlinson: Talk about improving from week to week--if this keeps up Tomlinson will be All-Pro by season’s end!

That may be an exaggeration, but this third-year pro is weekly making the disruptive plays that we’ve been waiting for.

He earned one of today’s three sacks on Fitzpatrick with a hard upfield surge and throw-down of the quarterback, but it was his play in short-yardage that was truly dynamic.

He stopped one 4th-and-1 with the tackle, he blew up two other short-yardage plays, one of which became a safety, another huge play in this game.

What Tomlinson is doing is getting off the snap like a rocket and attacking a gap with previously-unseen upfield quicks. He got into the backfield on a good half dozen snaps, and that’s just tremendous production.

He finished with just three tackles on the sheet but his disruptiveness was hard to miss on a ton of other snaps.

He’s turning himself into a dominant force, which nobody saw coming in his first two years. Give credit to the young player for raising his game.

Dexter Lawrence II: This rookie continues to look the part as well as play the part throughout his sparkling season.

His power presence against the run is consistently creating logjams between the tackles, while his power pass push is consistently taking away the front of the pocket.

Lawrence laid two really heavy hits on Fitzpatrick while the quarterback was trying to escape the pocket. The mobility combined with the power is going to make this kid a real force once he starts to learn the game. Right now he’s just going on natural ability.

Once he starts reading and anticipating things better, the sky’s the limit. He’s a bright kid and a tough kid.

He didn’t flash on any one particular play, it was just a constant grind of power and taking away space that makes him such a force as a rookie.

B.J. Hill: On the Giants' safety, Hill was dragged down in the backfield but the flag never came. That would have meant a safety, too.

Hill also did well on a couple of proper run disciplines that lead to one heavy tackle and a lot of active presence even outside the tackles.

As a rotation player Hill has real value, but he’s come back to earth a bit this year after his unexpectedly productive rookie season.

He’s still bringing positives to the field, just not in as flashy of a way.

R.J. McIntosh: Getting some field time finally after a couple of very quiet weeks, in limited snaps, McIntosh still managed to get into the action.

He finished off one short run with a heavy hit that had us rewinding the tape to see who delivered the slobber-knocker; it was indeed McIntosh.

He was then rewarded for his effort when Fitzpatrick slithered out of a Markus Golden sack into McIntosh’s pursuing arms, McIntosh finishing off the cheap sack that Golden’s pressure had forced.

In a half dozen or so snaps, McIntosh had himself quite a little game, the sack becoming his second on the year.

Edge Rushers

Markus Golden: The "Mr. Reliable" of this defense, Golden has produced every single week for this team.

This week, he was once again around the ball an awful lot. His half-sack could have been three solos if not for the slippery play of Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Golden’s run defense wasn’t always there today but his physicality was. He never passed up a hit and threw his body into piles and the action without hesitation.

We really like how he plays short-yardage, knifing into the action and only rarely getting beaten around his edge.

His best pass rush is rarely around the edge, but knifing inside. He just loves being in the middle of the action.

His three tackles in no way represent his impact on the game. Golden was once again solid with flashes of the spectacular.

He’s got 9.0 sacks on the year and could have so much more with a little better luck.

Lorenzo Carter: On the other edge, Carter has settled down into a non-impactful role that is bringing very little to the defense.

His lone assist and a lone deflected pass was about it. Yes, he plays a disciplined edge game but once again, it’s neither impactful nor physical.

He was consistently handled with solo blocking, often from a tight end, and is useless on the pass rush.

He should either be shadowing a mobile quarterback or falling off into coverage, which now seems to be the ultimate strength of his game.

Carter’s open-field speed, agility, smarts, and height should make him a weapon in some defensive schemes, we’re not sure if he’s a match here.

He’s still just a second-year pro so there could be development and/or a position change in his future (our suggestion was a move to inside linebacker, and we’re not backing off of it).

Carter’s got enough tools to stay on the field; he’s just got to be used in a role that best uses them.

Oshane Ximines: This rookie is doing more with limited snaps than he ever did earlier in the season when he had to play major snaps, and failed miserably.

Now he’s getting onto the field on sure passing downs, rushing the passer being his strength. He’s really starting to show a nice feel for setting up a tackle and attacking him.

He earned himself another half-sack with an inside close-down that was electric, but what surprised us most today was how well he played a run to his side of the field.

Opposing offenses have been attacking him all year with success, but today he fought off a double team, maintained lane integrity, and trusted his corner support to handle the wide edge.

This left him waiting in the hole to close down the run for little gain. We truly think that Ximines is going to be one of the edge-rushing answers to this defense, as he’s showing a real good feel for attacking an edge.

Kareem Martin: Getting a few token snaps after last week’s forgettable six-snap appearance in the veteran’s return from IR, Martin was even more invisible today, if that’s possible. He lined up inside on a handful of passing downs and did not get in on any of the action.

Off-ball Linebackers

Alec Ogletree: The stat sheet is a funny thing. Ogletree can accumulate scores of tackles and play poorly, or he can accrue just three tackles today and have as big an impact on a game as he’s had all year.

Why? Because of how he was used.

It’s been obvious to these eyes all year that the strength of Ogletree’s game is attacking the pocket.

His numerous blitzes consistently created havoc and had us pondering once again why a move to the edge has never been considered for this overmatched inside backer.

Ogletree is never more engaged than when he’s in attack mode and doesn’t have to think too much. He’s aggressive on his pocket attack, and regularly beats his man’s blitz pickup.

He’d likely not be as productive going up against tackles on the edge on a regular basis, but his athleticism and physicality are being wasted in the cerebral role that he is being asked to handle inside.

He failed miserably in one flat pass coverage, arriving late and at a terrible angle, and he was called for defensive holding when he was fooled by a screen.

But he was sent on the blitz nearly a dozen times, and it seemed each and every one of them caused some level of havoc.

We’d love to roll out Ogletree on passing downs in some sort of rotation, but not at his dollars.

At his contract and for what he does, it’s a very long shot that he’ll be back next year, but this week, he was a force and one of the defense’s better players, all because in the way that he was used.

David Mayo: Accruing six solo tackles, Mayo was very quick to diagnose, beat his blocker to the punch, and fill holes with power.

He was a run defense force, even getting to the edges to finish off a couple of those tackles.

Alas, in the passing game Mayo was a disaster. Dolphins receivers and running backs were running around him willy-nilly as he kept getting caught with his pants down in wide-open spaces, which are places he just doesn’t belong.

The missed tackles likely outnumbered his solo tackles. Even when he had the angle he couldn’t finish off the play.

Mayo remains very much what he is: a two-down linebacker with limitations.

Deone Bucannon: Getting most of his snaps in the sure passing situations of the fourth quarter with his team having the big lead, Bucannon’s great nose for the football got him into the action on numerous draws and short completions.

Bucannon is a good closer who can tackle smaller players well. He lacks the size to handle bigger ball carriers, which is why he’s not on the field as often as David Mayo is.

Defensive Backs

Julian Love: On the first play from scrimmage, Love came up to make the tackle on an off-tackle play.

A few plays later, Love came up again to take down Patrick Laird for a loss on the play. We liked the way he knifed into the line of scrimmage and that he made a solid tackle.

Albert Wilson made a catch in front of Love early in the second quarter. He could have stopped him for a short gain but Love could not finish the tackle which led to a first down and a touchdown on the next play.

Love seems to be getting more comfortable each week and we like the way he is playing.

DeAndre Baker: Baker was on Devante Parker most of the afternoon and on the first possession Parker got off the line easily and caught an in cut over the middle.

Late in the first quarter, Baker WAS in coverage against Parker. Parker went to the corner of the end zone but Baker was right with him and as soon as he went for the ball, Baker knocked the pass away.

Early in the second quarter, Baker came up strong and took down running back Myles Gaskin for a short gain.

On 3rd-and-2 late in the second quarter, Parker tried to go over the middle on Baker. The cornerback was right there to knock the pass away to prevent a first down.

Baker left the game with a knee injury in the middle of the third quarter, but he returned.

Michael Thomas: On the first possession, Thomas was on tight end Mike Gesicki, who was going down the sideline.

Thomas displayed good coverage. He did not turn back to the ball and it was close but there was no pass interference called.

On the fumble from Fitzpatrick early in the third quarter, Alec Ogletree made a big hit from the front and it was Thomas coming from behind and making a hit on Fitzpatrick.

Nice aggressive defensive play here that created the fumble.

Antoine Bethea: In the middle of the first quarter, Clive Walford made the catch in front of Bethea, who gave way too much cushion underneath thus giving up the easy first down.

The Dolphins did not test the Giants often so Bethea otherwise had a quieter afternoon.

Corey Ballentine: In the middle of the first quarter on a rollout pass, Ryan Fitzpatrick hit Albert Wilson on an out pattern.

Ballentine was off a bit in coverage giving Wilson the room he needed. Isaiah Ford made a catch on an out pattern early in the second quarter and he was right there to take him down after the catch.

Midway through the second quarter, Parker easily beat Ballentine off the line of scrimmage and then made the grab in the end zone.

Since he got off the line of scrimmage so easily there was no time for Bethea to get over and help on the play. Anyway, Parker made the catch in front of Ballentine late in the second quarter, as Ballentine was way too loose in coverage.

Sam Beal: In the middle of the second quarter, Fitzpatrick hit Gesicki on a seam route for a first down. The Giants were in zone coverage and the seam was wide open.

The Giants continue to struggle with covering receivers when in zone coverage. They tend to just cover space instead of latching onto a receiver in their coverage area. This has been a problem all year.

Isaiah Ford tried to beat Beal to the end zone late in the second quarter, but Beal was all over him and was able to knock the pass away. Beal had very nice aggressive coverage on this one that prevented a touchdown.

On the next play, Allen Hurns made the catch in front of Beal but Beal made the tackle immediately thus stopping a first down and forcing the Dolphins to kick a field goal.

Beal then delivered a really nice tackle against Laird in the end zone for the safety. On the play, Laird tried to bounce it outside but Beal caught him for safety.

Special Teams

Aldrick Rosas: It was a relatively quiet day on special teams today. The offense didn’t settle for a single field goal, which is a very odd occurrence but indicative of Rosas’ relatively quiet season on the field goal stage.

He converted four of his five extra points, the last one getting pulled left in the windy conditions.

On kickoffs, Rosas produced four touchbacks and two very good mortar quicks, but his coverage remains very much a work in progress and nowhere the level of last year’s coverage group.

Riley Dixon: Of Dixon’s five punts, one was fair-caught, two were downed inside the 20, one bounced out of bounds, and none of them were returned. His 41.8 average was more than solid in today’s difficult conditions.

Per usual, Dixon did a really good job with his holds, all of which he got down with aplomb. He, in fact, had more difficulty tracking and latching onto his punt snaps which were being affected by the wind, but he managed, unsurprisingly so.

Colin Holba: It was a tough day for the deep snappers with the wind as bad as it’s been in this stadium.

Holba managed to get all of his snaps back with enough speed and accuracy. This young player has done a fine job since taking over for Zak DeOssie.

Da’Mari Scott: Continuing to look a bit out of sorts in his return role, the speedy Scott did handle his lone punt opportunity, a bouncer, just fine and returned it aggressively for nine yards.

He had much better luck with the free kick he managed to haul in – again, the winds were swirling and tough to handle, so give the kid credit – and then showed some legit flash and dash with an electric 34-yard return that included a couple of broken tackles and a serious, north-south, run-to-daylight approach.

The kid needs polish but there’s no denying the speed. After this return, we’re wondering why the coaches aren’t using him on kickoff returns as well as punts.

He’s young and has a very live body. Let’s see what he’s got out there.

Cody Latimer: Continuing in his role of kickoff returner that he has filled the last few weeks, this was the first time we saw a glimmer of aggressiveness out of any of Latimer’s returns.

He averaged 24.5 yards on today’s two returns, both of which were more positive than any of his returns previously. This has the feel of the same late-season surge that Latimer produced last year, giving Giants fans hope.

We’d advise Giants fans not to get too excited by the raise in Latimer’s play, especially when it matters least.

He also made a nice solo kickoff tackle, something he’s not been doing previously. We are always suspicious of late-season excellence from prime time absentees.

Michael Thomas: The special teams captain came up big with two tackles out there, both coming on kickoff returns. Thomas is one of those prime time performers who comes to play every week and is a legit team leader, at least on special teams.

Cody Core: Fighting through his double team block as a gunner several times, we continue to be impressed by this special teamer who always gives effort and shows toughness, attributes we’re always on the lookout for.

I on Strategy

By Mike Iannaconi

Despite Saquon Barkley getting back on track with 112 yards on the ground, the story was Eli Manning who threw for 283 yards and two touchdowns.

The nice thing here was the offensive line protected him throughout. We saw a little more of the tight end helping the offensive tackles block the opposing defensive ends which helped keep a clean pocket for Manning.

The other thing that helped is the Dolphins have a lot of young defensive backs that play a lot of man-to-man coverage. With Manning having had time to throw, it was only a matter of time until a receiver would break free.

Sterling Shepard who ended up with 9 catches for 111 yards did a very good job of continuing to work down the field until he broke free.

Also it was important what Barkley was able to do. He looked like he had a better burst this week and was getting cooperation from an offensive line who was able to get a good push on a consistent basis.

A lot of the running plays this week were straight up the gut, which gave Saquon the option of staying to the inside or bouncing it to the outside.

Also, offensive linemen like when they are able to blast off the ball and drive the defensive linemen.

Barkley was one of the better players on the field in this one and it made sense to get him the ball early and often.

On the receiving end, he was targeted five times for four catches. It would still be nice to see Barkley work down the field as we really think he can do damage working against a linebacker down the sideline.

We were surprised that the Giants did not go to Darius Slayton more down the field as he was matched up with Nate Brooks, a rookie cornerback playing his first game.

The pass interference call against Brooks in the first half when he was covered by Slayton helped to set up a Giant score.

What we always liked about Manning is how well he did at throwing the ball down the field and all the opportunities it presents.

In an era where pass interference is being called and at times inconsistently at that, constantly going deep provides more opportunities to get a call that can help move the ball.

On the defensive side, it wasn’t perfect but it was much better. There were still times when receivers were running free down the field against zone coverage.

The continual problem is the defensive backs do not latch onto the defender in their zone. They instead play an area instead of a player in the zone.

The off-ball linebackers, David Mayo and Alec Ogletree continue to be a step too slow in getting to their coverage responsibility and were not able to break down in front of the receiver and made a tackle in space which created issues early in the game.

The group that was tackling was the young defensive backs. We were not thrilled with the play of Sam Beal last week but this week he coverage and especially his tackling was very good.

He did a nice job holding his ground near the Dolphins' goal line to record the safety.

It was good to see the cornerbacks aggressive in coverage and playing tight man to man coverage.

A player that must be singled out is DeAndre Baker who had a horrible start to the season but over the last few weeks has continued to improve.

This week he was matched against Devante Parker for most of the afternoon and he was more than up for the task. Parker has been a solid player and he had a hard time breaking free of Baker’s man-to-man coverage.

We love the way he has hung in there and is now playing very good football. That is what it is all about when a season goes bad. You need to see players that are on the improve and Baker is definitely one of them.

The Official Review

What a difference a week makes for Jerome Boger's crew. Last week in New England, the Down Judge (Patrick Holt) on this crew was blocked out on a run down the sideline and the Side Judge (Jonah Monroe) was left to make the call at the goal line (which turned out wrong) thanks to the poor position.

This week on almost the exact same play, Holt had an excellent look at the play and correctly ruled the runner out of bounds at about the 3-yard line. Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you do not.

The one problem with the crew this week was that they made a few calls based on what they thought they saw and not what actually happened.

In my opinion, two such calls were the OPI on Sterling Shepherd and the holding call on Will Hernandez.

However, not all calls went against the Giants, as I felt that early in the game, there should have been DPI called against Giants defensive back Michael Thomas on a long pass by the Dolphins.

The call on Shepard's attempt to get into the end zone at the pylon was an excellent call in that although Shepard ended up hitting the pylon, the ball crossed the sideline at about the two-foot line and was correctly ruled as such.

Finally, the DPI call against DeAndre Baker was correct as he arrived a bit too soon and made significant contact with the receiver before the ball arrived.

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