Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
2019 Week 10: Player by Player Review Plus a Look at the Strategy and the Play Calling
Closeup on Darius Slayton's Emergence
by Chris Pflum
The New York Giants are 2-8, a game worse than the 3-7 record they sported in 2018, and the same number of wins they had after 10 games in 2017.
This latest loss comes at the hands of the New York Jets, a team that was arguably the worst in the NFL before Sunday.
By almost any measure, the Jets have been playing bad football, and if you follow NFL Analytics Twitter, the Jets' offense has been laughably bad.
And the Giants just let them score 27 offensive points, and put up 34 total points, while losing to them.
There isn't much to feel great about with the Giants' right now. But despite it all, there was one shining bright spot to emerge from the game, and that was the breakout performance of rookie receiver Darius Slayton.
With tight end Evan Engram out with a foot injury and receiver Sterling Shepard in the concussion protocol, the Giants were going to have to rely on Golden Tate, Saquon Barkley, and Slayton to carry the load for them this game.
And with the Giants struggling to run the ball behind a healthy offensive line, the loss of center Jon Halapio and right tackle Mike Remmers made it unlikely they were going to have much of a ground game against a legitimately good Jets' run defense.
That is, of course, exactly what happened, and Barkley picked up one (1) yard on 13 carries.
If the Giants were going to move the ball and score points, it was going to be through the air. The offense was going to rest on Daniel Jones' right arm and in the hands of their best-remaining pass-catchers.
Tate made a couple plays for the Giants, but with Engram and Shepard sidelined, and Barkley an almost complete non-factor, it was Slayton who stepped up and injected life into the Giants offense.
Slayton finished the game with 10 receptions on 14 targets for 121 yards and a pair of touchdowns, by far the best stat line in the game for any player.
But it was when he caught the ball, and the plays he made with it in his hands that made this his breakout game.
Slayton didn't touch the ball until 12:26 in the second quarter, with the Giants on the Jets' 5-yard line following a trio of costly penalties.
That first touch was a 5-yard touchdown reception to put the Giants on the board and give them a spark of life after the Jets utterly dominated the first quarter.
Seven minutes (of game time) later, Slayton made the play of the game for the Giants when he turned a quick slant on a 4th-and-4 into a 39-yard touchdown catch and run.
The Giants failed to convert the extra point and still trailed 14-13, but Slayton's catch and run didn't just put the Giants' squarely back into the game, it energized the team and the stadium.
After that great 39-yard catch and run (which topped 20.15 miles per hour according to NextGen Stats), Slayton had catches of 9, 15, 14, and 12 yards.
In a season marked by injuries to pass catchers, Slayton has proven to be the Giants' most consistent, and dangerous, receiving option.
The rookie receiver was considered to be a raw, but explosively athletic, deep threat coming out of a rudimentary Auburn passing attack.
He has made definite strides as a receiver since being drafted, diversifying his route tree considerably, and showing strong fundamentals at the catch point.
In particular, his willingness to extend his arms, expand his catch radius, and pluck the ball out of the air well outside of his frame has been impressive.
That shows not only a good understanding of what he needs to do to help his quarterback put the ball where only he can make a play on it, but also confidence in his hand and himself as a receiver.
Even experienced receivers will resort to letting the ball into their chest-plate and “body-catching”. It is a good sign for Slayton's development that he is already so willing and comfortable to extend and attack the ball in the air.
Slayton is also showing good body-control and understanding of where he is on the field. That helps him contort and extend to maximize passing windows and position himself to catch the ball while shielding it from the defender.
There are, of course, areas in which Slayton still needs to improve. His route running is still a work in progress and he has a tendency to round off some of his routes. While that didn't matter against the Jets' secondary, it will allow better defensive backs to stay with him throughout the play.
The best receivers use their routes as weapons, setting defenders up and using their breaks to create separation. He has rare athleticism for the position, and eventually, he should be using that athleticism to unleash his skill as a receiver, rather than relying on that athleticism to out-run defenders.
It would be a lot to predict that Slayton will grow into a number one receiver, but he does have the potential to become a very good number two or a potentially great three receiver.
And if that is all he becomes, that is still a great thing for an offense to have – after all, how many defenses have three great cornerbacks to defend an opponent's three receivers?
But for now, the Giants have a reliable weapon in the passing game and a bright spot in an otherwise depressing season. And for now, that's all we could ask from a fifth-round pick.
Quarterback
Daniel Jones: The maturation process of a rookie is never linear. The ups and downs are inevitable, as they were for Jones this week.
We see mostly the good stuff and are encouraged by it. The ball security stuff is our biggest concern, but any quarterback being under siege week in and week out is going to have his hiccups.
The fumble/touchdown by the Jets’ Jamal Adams was certainly not all on Jones, as the big safety steam-rolled Saquon Barkley on that one.
But with that said, there are a few snaps every game where Jones needs to have a better awareness of matchups that will never go his way--and Barkley trying to block any blitzer needs to be at the top of that list.
Jones needs to know what’s happening a bit better and needs to quicken the clock in his head at times, all of which should come in time with experience. His eyes are always downfield so he rarely has a sense of how his pocket is collapsing around him.
We’re not sure how much this part of Jones’ game will ever change. He’s most comfortable in a pocket, but eventually, he’s going to have to be more aware of how the defense is attacking and learn to get himself or the ball out of harm’s way faster.
His internal clock in the pocket is a bit of a problem but the bigger concern is the quality of the blocking in front of him, which continues to be at the lowest level in the league.
This kid never seems to be throwing from a comfortable pocket! On the few plays that he gets the chance to step into a throw, he’s making it look easy with accurate throws, oftentimes into tight windows.
We also don’t see the number of easy throws that every other quarterback seems to get throughout the league. Every throw seems to be contested not only the in secondary, but at the front of his pocket.
He’s also taking too many hits and we feat that eventually, they’re going to affect his game. He’s tougher than nails and continues to stand tall in the pocket.
Amazingly, after every sack and big hit that he takes, the next snap he’s right back there standing tall and looking downfield.
We greatly admire this kid’s internal fortitude, even when he’s missing blitzes and open receivers, he’s always getting right back up, never blaming anyone but himself, and never loses his belief in himself, the game plan, or his teammates.
He never stops fighting the good fight, and that’s a mental toughness that should take him far.
It’s the physical beatings that really concern us. It’s imperative that this coming off-season be devoted to improving the quality of the people in front of him. His lack of protection cannot keep up.
That he still managed to compile impressive numbers (26 of 40 for 308 yards, 4 touchdowns, and no interceptions) and lead the team in rushing (3 carries for 20 yards) for the second week in a row is astonishing.
He’s making a lot of things happen on his own, and he’s making the players around him better, but he can’t do anything about the lack of quality in front of him.
Running Backs
Saquon Barkley: Another player who should be suing for lack of support, Barkley didn’t have a chance out there this week on the ground, recording one yard 13 ground touches and getting his in the backfield on 11 of his 13 carries.
Try as we might, we couldn’t find a single snap where Barkley might have made a better decision or done something better with the ball. As mentioned, he never had a chance.
In the passing game, he had one big play of 22 yards, a neat defeat of a Jets linebacker in single coverage that got Barkley open along the sideline for this big gain.
However, his four other catches totaled eight yards. Is it that hard for the coaches to get Barkley the ball in space?
We’re waiting on some of the coaching creativity that we see throughout the league in freeing up playmakers, but these coaches can’t find a way to get one of the biggest weapons in the league in space the ball.
Barkley must be extremely frustrated by not only his coaches but his blocking (the lack thereof), but he’s not showing it and that’s to his credit. He is the epitome of a team leader who never throws his teammates under the bus, no matter how often they let him down.
On the negative side, Barkley’s blocking improved a bit this week but it was far from even reaching a middling level of competence. He was aggressive on a couple of blitz pickups early on by going low, but when he tried to square up and meet force head-on he was overrun like a freight train by Jets’ safety Jamal Adams on 3-4 confrontations, yielding two sacks himself and two fumbles, including the game-turning sack/fumble/touchdown return by Adams that opened the second half.
For a 230-pound back like Barkley to be run over regularly by a safety is an extremely troubling situation. Most backs in this league must block not only blitzing safeties but blitzing linebackers.
How is this player ever going to hold up to this most crucial of running back skills if he can’t stand his ground? If you can’t pass block in this league, you’re not going to be on the field in crucial situations.
Yes, Barkley still has that ankle injury excuse to fall back on, but he was just as soft last year in this regard, and pre-injury this year it was just as much an issue.
It’s a problem that has to get fixed. At Barkley’s size and with his thick legs, we naturally assumed he’d be a natural pass blocker, but we have yet to see him exhibit the required “taste” for the job, ergo toughness, that is very much needed to excel in this job.
Wayne Gallman: Getting his dozen or so snaps, Gallman got his one run for two yards, got his one catch for three yards, and did everything that was asked of him including pass-blocking smartly.
Elijhaa Penny: Getting 10-12 snaps, Penny threw his lead blocks economically and was routinely ignored whenever he bled out of the backfield into the flat, despite being consistently open.
Young Daniel Jones has to start spreading the ball around out there, especially taking what the defense is giving him.
They are sure giving him Penny in the flat, but the glimpses of playmaking ability that Penny displayed last year out of the backfield have been uniformly ignored this year. That needs to change.
Tight Ends
Rhett Ellison: With Evan Engram out, Ellison continued to get the same high level of snaps, but per usual he got more targets in the passing game which he certainly made the most out of.
Ellison’s three catches for 42 yards included a 31-yard catch and run off of a naked bootleg that took the Jets defense completely by surprise.
Ellison did everything right including taking the ball up the sideline without hesitation and bleeding every yard out of the play.
Ellison’s blocking wasn’t nearly as successful, especially in the running game, but his help-blocking on passing downs was solid and productive.
Unfortunately, he suffered a concussion and will be in the protocol for the time being.
Kaden Smith: Smith caught his first NFL pass (for one yard) and was regularly over-powered whenever he attempted a running down block.
Receivers
Cody Latimer: The first offensive play was a quick out to Latimer. The pass was thrown high and fell incomplete.
Otherwise, it was a quiet week for Latimer, as Darius Slayton and Golden Tate received most of the targets.
Bennie Fowler: On third and long late on the first quarter Fowler did a nice job a good running an out pattern to pick up the first down. He separated well and then came back to the ball well.
The Giants went for two after the second Golden Tate score, and Daniel Jones waited patiently as Fowler crossed over the middle into the corner of the end zone for the conversion.
Darius Slayton: The rookie was the star of the receiving corps this week On 3rd-and-long early in the second quarter, Jonothan Harrison grabbed Slayton on an out pattern. The pass was incomplete but a pass interference penalty gave them the first down.
Slayton followed this up with a touchdown grab early in the second quarter. On the play, he was the second option and worked himself free to make the catch for the score.
Slayton made another catch in the middle of the second quarter on a slant pattern. It was a timing pattern and executed perfectly. On 4th-and-4 midway through the second quarter, Slayton made an out-and-in move leaving Harrison completely fooled.
From there Slayton did the rest as he sprinted into the end zone for his second touchdown.
Slayton picked up in the second half where he left off in the first with a solid catch on an out pattern early in the third quarter. He extended his hands perfectly and ran a very nice route.
He made yet another catch against zone coverage in the middle of the third quarter. The Jets were in soft coverage and Slayton was able to catch the pass in front of Adams.
His eighth catch of the game was a back-shoulder fade on third-and-long to give the Giants the first down. There was actually good coverage on the play but the rookie made a better pass and catch.
Slayton also made an underneath grab early in the fourth quarter. He made the grab but he was short of the first down, which forced a punt.
Golden Tate: Tate made his first grab of the game midway through the second quarter on a 3rd-and-10, but the pass was well short of the first down.
Early in the third quarter, it was Tate on a wide receiver screen. It was a well-designed play where the offensive lineman and tight end did a nice job getting in front of Tate to create the easy 61-yard touchdown.
Tate followed up this touchdown with another midway through the third quarter. It was a rub route that tied up Brian Poole just long enough to allow Tate to make the catch and the score.
On 3rd-and-long in the middle of the fourth quarter, Tate ran a slant route and got just enough to keep the chains moving.
Offensive Line
Nate Solder: Playing into the second quarter before leaving the game with a concussion, Solder was back to having himself walked back into his quarterback's lap on nearly every passing down, making the life in the pocket for Jones extremely uncomfortable.
Solder was not responsible for any of the six sacks that the offense yielded, but to say he was a positive performer wouldn't be accurate. His play was unacceptable while he was in there, which also included some ordinary run blocks as well.
We can't prove this, but we're pretty sure that Solder's surgically repaired ankle is likely at the root of his poor play. It's awfully hard to establish a base if you have a bum ankle.
Nick Gates: Gates passed the audition with a game-long positive performance on the right side in support of the injured Mike Remmers (back) that was aided and abetted by a bunch of coaching help.
The coaches slanted protections Gates’ way from time to time, and they provided him a lot of natural tight end help, and also lined up a running back on that side to further discourage a hard edge attack.
To Gates’ credit, he held his own on nearly every single solo confrontation that came his way and was not responsible for any of the six sacks.
In the running game, Gates was not afforded any help at all, and he received the offensive line's lone passing grade there.
Gates is a bit of a brawler, but we saw a ton of really good positional play and footwork in his game.
Gaining position quickly with his feet has not been something that we’ve seen from Gates in his short career as a backup, which is why it was so encouraging to see Gates perform so well in this regard.
We like that he has the physicality to handle all the rough stuff and the opposition’s power game, but it was this footwork that impressed us most.
Gates’ backpedal in pass pro was also consistently sharp and quick. He did duck his head a couple of times against a rusher coming around the edge and needs to use his arms and hands a lot better, but he also was able to push his guy past the pocket on the few times his edge was threatened.
Gates also did well to get downfield and throw the key block on Golden Tate’s wide receiver screen that went 61 yards for a touchdown.
He pretty much did everything that was asked of him with power and efficiency, and that can’t be said for anyone who lined up in a three-point stance on offense this week.
Will Hernandez: Hernandez’s game really fell apart once Nate Solder left the field. Though he wasn’t a ball of fire by any means early on, Hernandez was surviving just fine but he really lost his edge as the game wore on, especially in his pass protection where Hernandez was lucky to have a sack that he yielded be overturned by a defensive penalty.
Throughout the second half, Hernandez was being pushed back too easily into his quarterback's pocket, and he was not doing enough to make any sort of a difference out there.
He was fine recognizing his stunts but just not always stout in meeting them. His run-blocking was indifferent, and we thought this was one of Hernandez’s worst games as a Giant.
Perhaps the loss of not only Solder but Jon Halapio to either side had an effect? It shouldn’t, but Hernandez’s game was certainly off and we hate to offer him the easy excuse of missing two veteran blockers, but Hernandez failed to pick up the slack and that was disappointing.
Kevin Zeitler: Also seemingly feeling the effects of the absence of his starting center as well as his starting right tackle, Zeitler was ineffective in the run game (which is not unusual) and unusually spotty in his pass protection.
The veteran allowed a handful of inside pressures against a Jets front that was notorious for not rushing the passer very well.
It was hard to tell by the unit-wide failures on passing downs, of which Zeitler was one of the numerous suspects whose game fell short.
There just wasn’t enough stout blocking from Zeitler in any part of his game. He wasn’t horrible by any means, but he was not a positive performer either.
Spencer Pulley: Getting the start for the injured Jon Halapio (hamstring), this veteran was an absolute train wreck on running downs, getting out-quicked with penetration when he wasn’t getting overpowered into the backfield.
It was the out-quicked part that surprised us the most as Pulley is noted more for his mobility than his power.
This week, the power game was obviously a problem, but failing to sustain any sort of contact throughout, while also whiffing on a good half dozen of his run blocks, was just hard to watch.
Pulley was the king of the underperformers; it was as ugly as it can get. His pass blocking was solid through a half, but in the second half, this part of his game also started to fall apart.
Pulley had a primary hand in three of today’s six sacks. He just didn’t seem prepared for the speed of today’s game. We will give him credit for making most of the line calls and getting all of his snaps out on time (except for one false snap of his), but his down-to-down performance was just not at an acceptable level.
Eric Smith: Stepping in for the injured Nate Solder midway through the second quarter, Smith failed his audition badly as he gave up two sacks, at least another half dozen pressures, and seemed over-matched on every single snap.
We shouldn't be surprised as after the game, we learned that Smith hasn't taken a single practice rep at left tackle all year, which we found to be outrageous. But we digress.
Smith’s run-blocking was sub-par, but it was his pass-blocking that didn’t come anywhere close to reaching an adequate NFL level.
Having to step into a tough situation, we give Smith credit for knowing his role and the game plan, but he just didn’t seem capable of keeping up with anything that was happening around him.
It was one of the uglier performances we’ve seen from a Giants tackle, and that’s saying a lot considering the low level of competence that this position has seen in the past decade.
With the Giants on a bye this week, perhaps Smith can use the time to better prepare himself for action and improve his game if Solder is unable to go. We will keep our fingers crossed.
Defensive Line
B.J. Hill: There’s no doubt that Hill is playing better football these last few weeks. This week, he was once again very stout at the point of attack and very active with his hands and feet.
There wasn’t much pocket penetration from Hill but against the run, he was doing his job on a down-to-down basis, controlling his man and funneling the flow of the play into traffic.
His two lonely assists don’t come close to telling the whole story, as Hill was solid.
Dalvin Tomlinson: The big guys seems to have had a fire lit under him these last two games, which just happen to be the two games that Leonard Williams has played.
Williams taking away so much attention has benefited the young pit players on this defense, no more than Tomlinson who this week played his best game as a pro.
Normally content to absorb blocks and set things up for others, Tomlinson took on the role of disruptor and boy was he up to the task of finishing plays. He earned one sack (he now has 2.5 on the year) and finished with a team-leading 9 tackles.
It was one of those days where Tomlinson kept finding the ball, but it was the benefit of a lot of hard and alert proactive play that saw him bringing it to the Jets when too often he’s been in absorb mode in the past.
We like this version of Tomlinson. He seems to be having more fun when he’s getting in on the action. The other benefit of Tomlinson’s productive game – other than the production -- is that he’s finishing plays with a 320-pound body that’s handing out a lot of hurt.
We thought this defense was more physical between the tackles than the Jets were, which helped hold the Jets to 76 yards on the ground (a third of which came on one quarterback scramble).
It’s a sound way to play defense, being stout from the inside out. All this front needs is one big-time edge disruptor and it can really make some noise. (Did someone say Chase Young?)
Dexter Lawrence: Playing perhaps his best game of the season, Lawrence pushed the middle of the pocket on every single passing down, taking away the front of the pocket by manhandling his solo blocking with his great strength and size, and just coming up short on getting to the quarterback before he got rid of the ball time and time again.
Even when Lawrence isn’t disrupting, he’s playing his keys smartly, which turned into two contain plays against the quarterback that helped force incompletions.
We’re telling you folks, this defensive front is on the verge of doing big things and it’s going to come through the power play of this big kid.
All this defense needs is to get a whole lot better on the edges. If that happens this off-season, it should be fun to watch.
Leonard Williams: For the second week in a row, Williams has made a difference in how this defensive front is playing.
With Williams attracting so much attention on almost every down, other big guys are getting solo blocking and suddenly they’re becoming more productive players.
Even with all the attention, Williams was the most active member of the Giants front line. He was the guy who was always getting a hit on Sam Darnold as he was releasing the ball, who was not only disruptive on his inside pass rush but making big plays in pursuit against the run.
One of his three tackles came with Williams leaping across the other side of the line like a 300-pound cat and making a great tackle in pursuit on a running play that was otherwise perfectly blocked. Williams turned a 20-yard run into a 2-yard run with this big play.
Of the many things we like about Williams’ game, finding and tracking the ball is one of them. He plays with his head up and eyes open, and he never stops moving his feet.
All of his pass pressures--we counted at least a half dozen--came on big-time inside moves. Combine this guy with a legit edge presence and he could really do some damage.
Right now, he’s the defensive front’s best player and it’s not even close. He drew another holding call that negated a big play, and he drew (and fought through) double-teams all day long. Williams is legit.
R.J. McIntosh: With he waiving of Olsen Pierre this week we still weren’t sure that McIntosh would see the field, so we were pleasantly surprised when he got some early snaps and proceeded to produce enough solid play against the run to stay in the game.
McIntosh has proven, as he did this week, that he can hold his water against double teams and play a tough enough inside game.
What we really want to see is this big kid getting off the mark on sure passing downs and given some legit opportunities to develop the inside pass rush that all good defenses need.
McIntosh managed one assist in 10-12 snaps, an encouraging number of rotation snaps that hopefully bodes well for the future, playing time-wise.
Edge Rushers
Markus Golden: We continue to very much admire Golden’s physical approach to the game but he’s not quite the dynamic edge player that we are wishing on this defense.
Golden lacks that extra gear to threaten the edge and is usually handled rather handily by opposing tackles one-on-one all game long.
We like how Golden never stops coming, but he lacks the explosiveness around the edge that all the big-time pass rushers have. Golden simply does not threaten the edge, which is something this defense desperately needs.
Golden did get another sack–that gives him 6.5 on the year–but it came on a blitz where he was unblocked.
Golden did create a couple of solid inside rushes, which is his go-to stunt move, but his edge-rushing was pretty much contained all game long.
He played hard as always against the run, always with a physical edge, but he’s crashing down so often on short-yardage plays that offenses are taking advantage of it and converting first downs behind him.
Golden finished with a solid four tackles (including the sack) and continues to play the type of mad-dog, physical game that we think is a winning style in this league.
Lorenzo Carter: After a couple of intriguing games the last two weeks, Carter came crashing back to earth a bit with a quiet game that did not include a single play of note.
Most every one of his pass rushes was easily thwarted – we spotted one nifty inside move that didn’t quite get home – while his edge contain against the run was decent-to-good, but rarely flash-worthy.
Carter does not play with physicality so he needs to contribute with his speed, length, and headiness. None of those were on display.
He finished with three tackles on the stat sheet and very little penetration, a quiet game from one of the defense’s two starting outside linebackers. The outside linebackers on this team need to disrupt, but Carter did not.
Oshane Ximines: Getting some rotation snaps at outside linebacker (which is just about where Ximines belongs right now in his development), we were pleasantly surprised to see the rookie react smartly and correctly to nearly every snap that he was on the field.
There were none of the deer-in-the-headlight looks from the kid as he got in on three tackles despite playing very limited snaps in what was perhaps the most productive game of his young career.
Though Ximines didn’t get much penetration on his few pass rushes, it was how he reacted to the running game that pleased us.
He didn’t take himself out of the picture on any one of his snaps, playing smart positioning and contain on every one.
He also closed down in pursuit that the proper angle and earned each of his three tackles by maintaining his discipline while tracking the ball.
Off-Ball Linebackers
Alec Ogletree: Playing his best game since his return from injury a few weeks back, it’s probably no secret that on Ogletree’s positive night he was sent on the blitz at least a half dozen times.
Ogletree not only enjoys blitzing, but he’s also good at it. He can be physical, which he loves, and he can be aggressive, another positive trait of his.
Also, Ogletree doesn’t have to do a lot of thinking when he blitzes, and that’s to his benefit as well. Though he never got home on his blitzes, the good vibes seemed to carry over to his linebacking where he made proper reads all night long which got him to the ball in plenty of time.
Ogletree accrued seven tackles and also knocked away a pass against receiver coverage. He did get beat by one of the Jets numerous crossing routes for a touchdown but it’s hard to blame Ogletree on this very difficult matchup.
Pass coverage is very definitely the least of Ogletree’s favorite things to do. He’s not very good at it, especially when he has to make decisions in middle zone coverage where he too often ends up in a no-man’s land while open spaces are exploited nearby.
Ogletree is much better moving forward which is why he’s best used blitzing. We wouldn’t mind seeing him play some outside linebacker on this defense but with the paucity of options at inside linebacker right now, he’s needed there.
David Mayo: Getting the start and most of the snaps alongside Ogletree inside, Mayo had a decent four-tackle game that included a fair bunch of solid run reads between the tackles.
He used his good size to muck up the works and stand up blockers. Two of Mayo’s four tackles came in coverage.
He played tough between the tackles but did not get to the edges particularly well. He played his reads well but he was a bit slow to get to his spots.
Deone Bucannon: Bucannon did his thing on several snaps by taking on blockers in order to set up a tackle and limit yardage. He continued to show fine instincts playing a team defensive concept, but watching Bucannon struggle to react in space is not a fun watch.
For instance, on Sam Darnold’s 3rd quarter, 3-and-long 24-yard scramble right up the gut of a pass rush, it was Bucannon who was set up on the blitz and came right up the gut but he was dominated by a running back blitz pickup and ridden right out of the hole that Darnold exploited for the big gain.
Bucannon is not a physical player. We like his coverage ability against backs out of the backfield, but as a blitzer, he leaves a whole lot to be desired. He’s not especially dynamic playing a run-and-hit position that cries out for dynamic play.
Defensive Backs
Janoris Jenkins: The first play from scrimmage was an out pass to Demaryius Thomas and Jenkins gave up too much cushion here which made it an easy reception by the receiver.
Late in the first quarter, Sam Darnold hit Robby Anderson over the middle for a first down. Jenkins was in coverage and again Anderson had too much room, especially considering the fact that the Giants had a blitz on the play.
Thomas went over the middle against Jenkins in the middle of the third quarter. Jenkins got his hands in there just at the right time to knock the ball away causing an incompletion.
Jenkins left the game in the fourth quarter with a concussion.
Antoine Bethea: On the first possession, Thomas came back with another catch on a short out pattern. This time Bethea had underneath coverage but was late getting to the spot and then whiffed on the tackle.
On an out pattern to Chris Herndon late in the first quarter, Bethea came over in coverage and made a tackle short of the first down. It was a nice tackle, but the Jets went for it on 4th down and picked up the first down.
On Jamison Crowder’s touchdown late in the first quarter, the linebackers could not stay with him underneath but again the safeties were too deep in coverage. Bethea needed to be up closer to make a play on Crowder.
Good coverage early in the third quarter on an out pattern to Anderson. This time Bethea closed on the pass quickly and knocked the pass away as Anderson went to the ground.
As usual, Bethea continues to be too slow to make a consistent impact.
Michael Thomas: On 3rd-and-10 early in the first quarter, Jamison Crowder found a spot in the zone between the safeties and the cornerbacks. The pass was thrown perfectly and Thomas could not get over to make the play.
As has been the case all season there was just too much room between the underneath coverage and the deep safeties.
Jabrill Peppers: On the first possession, Peppers came up on two occasions to make a nice tackle on Le’Veon Bell. He did a good job wrapping him up and bringing him down as Bell can be a difficult customer to tackle.
Peppers was active blitzing in this game. On 3rd-and-8 late in the third quarter, he and Alec Ogletree timed the blitz perfectly, getting to Darnold immediately and forcing him to throw the ball away.
DeAndre Baker: Early in the 2nd quarter, Baker was covering Anderson and did a nice job jamming Anderson at the line of scrimmage, but held the receiver resulting in a defensive penalty.
On an out pattern to Thomas late in the second quarter Baker was all over Thomas on what ended up being a short gain.
Early in the fourth quarter it was Baker called for pass interference in the end zone on a pass intended for Anderson. It was good coverage but when you do not turn back to the ball you will usually get this call against you.
Thomas was working across the field in the middle of the fourth quarter. It seemed like the Giants were in zone coverage but when Thomas went across the field not one picked him up. We think Baker might have been the guilty party here.
Overall Baker is playing better in coverage but still having some issues which have led to big penalties and big plays. The bye week will do him good.
Corey Ballentine: At the end of the third quarter, Crowder beat Ballentine on a crossing pattern before making his way to the sideline for a nice gain. It wasn’t terrible coverage but Crowder did get a step on Ballentine.
On an out pattern to Bell late in the fourth quarter, Ballentine came up quickly to keep him short of the first down.
Sam Beal: Beal got about 10 snaps after Jenkins left with a concussion late int he fourth quarter. We didn't see any egregious mistakes, so we'll give him a passing grade.
Special Teams
Aldrick Rosas: What’s going on with the Giants extra point operation? Rosas has now missed extra points in three successive games (including this week), while another extra point was missed because of a bad snap that could not be handled.
The snapping has not been particularly consistent this year, but the misses extra points are ultimately on Rosas who has had good balls to kick on all three of those misses.
In a lost season, maybe it doesn’t matter if your kicker, coming off a great year, suffers the same malaise that has infected every other unit on the team.
It’s been pretty much a quietly-lost year for Rosas, who hasn’t had much activity on the field goal front but has come up short much too often on the extra point front.
With so many bad players wearing Giants blue this year, we didn’t expect this place kicker being one of them.
On kickoffs, Rosas had three touchbacks while his two mortar kicks were returned to the 27 and 19, which is solid production.
Riley Dixon: We were disappointed but not surprised that Dixon could not tee up one of the low extra point snaps. Dixon’s hands have been superb in his two years with the team, having to handle too many off-line snaps for our liking.
This week, finally, one of those bad snaps just couldn’t be put down. Dixon did all he could to scoop up the loose ball and get off a decent pass into the end zone in his attempt to get the two points, but the ball fell incomplete.
Dixon was kept busy with his punting duties, punting six times for a 53.5 gross, and a 45.5 net thanks to having to punt out of his own territory a few too times, leading to 28 yards in returns.
Dixon’s lone touchback came on a 54-yarder at the end of the first half that was inconsequential. We didn’t spot a single clunker in the bunch as he continued his fine, consistent season of punting the ball.
Zak DeOssie: Without Riley Dixon bailing him out once again, one of DeOssie’s weekly low place kick snaps could not be handled and turned into a lost point when the loose ball could not be converted.
DeOssie’s snapping has been underwhelming this year, to say the least. In a year where so many players in blue are underperforming, the veteran snapper (for the first time in his career) is falling short of expectations.
His punt snaps continue to be some of the slowest-moving snaps in the league, while his place kick snaps have been inconsistent from the get-go.
It is time that the Giants organization starts their search for a young snapper as DeOssie’s age (35) may finally be catching up with him.
He’s been a good player for a long time, but like his fellow Super Bowl vet Eli Manning, time waits for no man.
Golden Tate: Getting the punt return duties once again, Tate fair-caught two punts (one was returnable and thus a bit of a mistake) and returned his lone legit chance for 8 inconsequential yards.
Of the two punts Tate could not field, one was out of bounds and one was too short.
Cody Latimer: The Jets were just the latest team unafraid to mortar their kickoffs to the Giants. Latimer returned his lone returnable kickoff to the 15-yard line. That’s certainly unacceptable.
Latimer didn’t have much running room on this one while also showing not enough speed or much inclination to threaten the coverage.
Corey Ballantine: With Latimer looking so uninspired on kickoff returns, the coaches decided to give this speedy rookie a chance late to make a play.
Ballantine’s lone return wasn’t much better as he returned his chance from two yards deep in the end zone to the Giants 17-yard line.
At least Ballantine broke one tackle and avoided another before being brought down, showing at least a passing interest in trying to make a difference.
Antonio Hamilton: Getting one of the gunner jobs, Hamilton did his job every time, beating his solo blocking and getting downfield in very good stead to contribute to the coverage.
Hamilton made one of the team’s three punt return tackles .
Cody Core: Playing most of the gunner snaps opposite Hamilton on punts, Core made a punt coverage tackle as well as a kickoff return tackle.
These two gunners are as good as it gets in this league right now.
Bennie Fowler: On the Giants' punt at the end of the first half we were surprised to see Fowler lined up at gunner.
Fowler beat his man downfield and very nearly downed a ball at the goal line just after it bounded into the end zone.
Sam Beal: On that same end-of-half punt, Beal was given the gunner job opposite Fowler and also did well to beat his man downfield, but Beal was beaten to the bouncing ball by Fowler.
Julian Love: This rookie who has slowly started to show some flash on special teams made a kickoff tackle.
Devante Downs: Earning his first appearance on an NFL stat sheet, Downs got an assist on a punt return tackle and played on most every special teams unit this week.
I on Strategy
by Mike Iannaconi
The battle of New York was really a war of attrition as both teams had significant injuries to contend with. We bring up this point as it is tough to blame the significant Giant injuries for the cause of the loss because the Jets were faced with the same dilemma.
Saquon Barkley finished the game with one-yard rushing. The patchwork offensive line could not get any push against the Jets front.
With all the trouble the Jets have had this season, the one thing they can do is play run defense. Since they knew they could stop the run, the Jets often only had five or six defenders in this box.
This allowed them to keep a number of defenders back in pass coverage which helped protect a lot of issues they had due to injuries in the secondary.
That being said it is hard to believe that Barkley could finish the game with one yard and that the offensive line couldn't get any push.
The other thing keeping players back did was allow the Jets the opportunity to send some exotic blitzes at Daniel Jones.
The Jets logged six sacks with the biggest of which being Jamal Adams' tackle early in the third quarter when he simply took the ball away from Jones and walked into the end zone.
Barkley tried to block Adams on this play but Adams ran right through him. Perhaps Barkley’s injury is making it difficult for him to anchor down and pass block. If that was the case, they need to take Barkley out on third and long and bring in Wayne Gallman to pass block.
Also the Giant receivers were doing well getting open down the field. Why not use more two-tight end sets to help protect Jones more?
The Giants needed to help the tackles more in this one and the two-tight end set might have been the answer.
Rhett Ellison is a good blocker. He made some impact in the passing game but may have been more useful protecting the passer.
The defense continues to have gaping holes in the secondary. There is entirely too much space between the underneath defenders and the deep safeties and when opposing receivers are crossing the field there seems to be transition of one man giving up the coverage and the next defender picking the receiver up.
Demaryius Thomas went over the middle in the 4th quarter. DeAndre Baker had coverage on one side of the field and when Thomas crossed, no other defender picked him up.
There seems to be little communication among the defenders and an overall lack of cohesiveness, and this is alarming that it's happening after 10 games.
One way a defense can be effective is to create turnovers. You cannot create interceptions if you are not close to a receiver in coverage.
This Giant secondary does not play tight coverage and is poor at reacting and anticipating where the ball is going to be thrown.
They did hold Le’Veon Bell to 34 yards rushing. Bell is a patient runner which at times can play to a defenses advantage because the back does not hit the line of scrimmage quickly thus giving the defense time to read and react.
A player like Bell is much better against aggressive defenses that often over commit.
The Giants blitzed a lot with Markus Golden which had some effectiveness. It just seemed that with all the issues that Darnold has had of late it would have been better to mix up the blitz packages.
Sending Golden time and again took away the surprise and gave the offensive line an easier time at reading what the Giants are doing.
Darnold has been having so many issues to date that we would have liked to have seen a number of different coverages and blitzes thrown at him.
This is especially the case when you consider the Giants were able to easily stop the run.
The Official Review
There wasn't much in the way of the officiating this week, but I would still like to offer a few thoughts.
I've never been able to understand how a defensive player on the end of the line can line up in the neutral zone.
If he looks to the outside, the wing official shows him where the line of scrimmage is. If he looks to the inside, he can see the ball. So why Markus Golden lined up well in the neutral zone is beyond me.
On the play that was originally called a false start against the Giants before being reversed to offsides by the Jets, I felt the Giants got a break.
To my eye, Kevin Zeitler moved a fraction before the Jets player came across and as such, the original call should have stood.
There was a play where a Jets player grabbed Daniel Jones' face mask and there was no call.
As the action did not involve twisting, turning or pulling of the face mask and the Jet player got his hand off of the mask quickly, this was a good non-call.
The OPI call against Golden Tate in the end zone was a good call as he pushed off with his arm to give himself the necessary separation.
The DPI call on DeAndre Baker was a good call as he never looked for the ball and made contact with the receiver before the ball arrived.
The incomplete pass call (as opposed to a fumble by Jones) late in the game was actually an easy and correct call as his hand was obviously coming forward before the ball went squirrely in his hand.
Why Referee John Hussey mentioned that contact had been made by the defensive player was beyond me as that is only important if the ball goes sideways/backward.
In this case, it clearly went forward and hit the ground. Thus, it was just incomplete.
Service Reminder
There will be no issue during the bye week.
