Patricia Traina - Inside Football/The Maven - NY Giants
Inside Football's 2019 Week 1 Game Review
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I ON STRATEGY
By Mike Iannaconi & Patricia Traina
It’s not that the Giants lost their Week 1 game to the Dallas Cowboys 35-17; it was more about how the loss came about.
Defensively it was about as bad as it could get. The main problem was pass defense as the Giants could not get to Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, and the defensive backfield at times looked like it never got off the team bus.
Many teams including the Giants have opted not to blitz Prescott, but in the first half, the Giants did try nine blitzes against the Cowboys which went nowhere.
So the Giants shifted gears and dropped back in coverage, perhaps hoping that Prescott, who’s not the most accurate quarterback in the world, might make a mistake or struggle going deep down the field.
So with the pass rush sputtering, the Giants tried this strategy. The problem is if you’re going to take this approach, you better have your defensive secondary on its game. That was not the case.
There were gaps in the two-deep zone that left the middle of the field wide open.
Receivers were catching passes at times without a defender within 10 yards of them.
We are not sure why the safeties had so many issues in communication—perhaps the lack of playing time together in the preseason had something to do with that. But they better spend a lot of extra time this week working out those issues, because this was a first-degree debacle.
While the safeties were having communication problems, the cornerbacks were outmanned. Teams are just going to stay away from Janoris Jenkins and attack whoever else is on the field.
The Giants young corners—Antonio Hamilton and DeAndre Baker—could not play man-to-man coverage and had their share of issues when it came to tackling.
Why Corey Ballentine and Julian Love didn’t get more snaps at this spot given the struggles of Hamilton and Baker—two players who missed preseason snaps due to injuries—is beyond us.
After the coverage failed to work, the Giants tried again to blitz. This was probably the only move but made matters worse.
The front four could not get near Prescott and the blitzes could not either. This left the corners in man to man coverage which they were continually beaten off the snap.
The Cowboys made it difficult as they went to so many different targets throughout the game.
Prescott who, as we mentioned, often had trouble in the past going down the field had no trouble here as the receivers were wide open.
Overall the Giants front four needs to do better as this is one way to help this dismal secondary.
The Giants offense was respectable. However, when this team falls behind, it tends to take the presence of Saquon Barkley out of the game, which is a huge mistake.
On the first possession, the Giants expertly missed the run and the pass and used the play fake to keep the Cowboys off balance.
As soon as the Giants fell behind by two scores, the play fake no longer became a viable option.
On a positive note, the offensive line’s play was solid, and Barkley continues to play at as high of a level that is possible for a running back. We wish the coaches would use him more often, especially as the occasional downfield receiver, a role he’s shown in training camps he can not only do but do with success.
Another bright spot was the play of tight end Evan Engram. With all the injuries over the years, it seems Engram has played very few complete games.
This week, he played at a very high level, but again we had some issues with how he was deployed.
We would love to see him go deep up the seam as this will put a good deal of pressure on the opposing safeties.
The other thing we would like to see is Barkley in deeper routes down the field. He ran a wheel route in the third quarter, and Manning threw the ball at Barkley’s feet.
If Manning had waited, Barkley, matched against a linebacker, would have been open down the sideline.
The Giants’ two best weapons are Barkley and Engram right now, and they must get a lot of touches.
consQUARTERBACKS
Eli Manning: We will make this report a referendum on the horrid play-calling of head coach Pat Shurmur, especially as it applies to his starting quarterback, and say that this observer remains as livid postgame as he was in-game on this subject.
The head coach did his two-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback few favors by calling Manning’s number on the naked bootleg three times, each one in critical moments in the first half, and each result was as expected.
Putting Manning in these situations is in no way, shape, or form putting your most important player in a position to succeed. Putting Manning on the roll is Manning’s albatross.
It’s mean.
Manning is clunky in space, and he cannot make quick decisions with the ball when he’s out there. He’s a pocket passer.
But the head coach has his offense, and he’s not adjusting it to the talents of his players, and that’s just plain wrong. In fact, that’s just playing to lose.
As for Manning, his inability to produce on the run is not something he is built to do. He’s a pocket passer, and that’s it.
Yes, that fact will limit EVERY offense in today’s NFL, which is why Manning’s days are indeed numbered. But until he’s run out to pasture, the head coach owes it to the team to put him in his best position to succeed.
Manning still had his moments and was hardly the reason for this bad loss (the defense was atrocious). Manning’s numbers amounted to a modern-era ho-hum, good-enough-to-win optic, but watching the game, you knew it wasn’t.
He made a handful of big-time throws and finished with 30 of 44 for 306 yards and one touchdown (no interceptions), but without a defense, it was hardly enough.
Manning took only the one sack, was hurt by several terrible calls (and non-calls) and padded his stats through an erratic second half on a day when the only way this team wins this game is in a scoring avalanche.
This offense isn’t built for that, but to blame Manning solely for the loss? Sorry, not when the defense could not get off the field—not “Vintage Eli” would have won this game.
He was a bit above average, nothing more, but his limitations and his coach’s do-him-no-favors play-calling made it look worse than it was.
Bottom line: when big moments come along in a game, you do not roll out Manning and expect great things.
That’s just plain dumb.
Daniel Jones: Getting his first regular-season NFL action, Jones did not look the least bit overwhelmed.
He hit his first three passes, each of them right on the money, and looked sharp.
On his fourth drop back he was hit as he threw a deep flag pattern that the hit affected, the ball falling incomplete.
On his fifth drop back he was flushed out of the pocket, looked very good in space, but decided to lower his head and get the first down instead of running out of bounds.
The fumble that resulted is as bright a red flag as you will see from this kid, who also fumbled three times in the preseason.
This week was a good day to shine a light on that problem as it came in garbage time.
Yes, we all know it’s just a matter of time, but we wonder if Shurmur will survive the outcry if he continues to do wrong by his veteran quarterback until the reins are handed over for good.
We are as anxious as anybody to see Jones take over, but the coach has to be very careful with how he handles a New York City legend like Eli Manning.
RUNNING BACKS
Saquon Barkley: Besides his treatment of Manning, Coach Shurmur has a lot of explaining to do with how he handled Barkley’s touches.
Even while Barkley was ripping off 10 yards a touch, the coach kept calling for rollouts and check-downs, and yes even hand-offs to players not named Barkley.
We are all for not overworking this youngster as it’s a long season but giving him just 11 carries (at a whopping 11 yards a pop!) didn’t make sense.
There were several short-yardage moments where Barkley was ignored, and the play failed.
In the first half alone, Barkley ran the ball from scrimmage only five times, including a 59-yard burst, and caught two balls.
There were also gains of 8, 9, and 9 and 6 yards. Every time he touched the ball, there was a positive result. And yet, in several crucial spots, the head coach ignored him and instead kept calling for passing plays to inferior players.
Like the head coach’s treatment of his quarterback, Shurmur needs to answer a lot of questions about the lack of touches that Barkley received, not only in the first half but on the team’s first third-quarter possession where Barkley was targeted only twice in 10 snaps.
Soon the game got away from the Giants as the defense couldn’t stop a cold, so the head coach will get away with his questionable use of his best player.
He will point to Barkley’s 139 yards from scrimmage as a productive day, but when he only touches the ball 15 times and is used as a decoy for heaven’s sake, it’s just no way to win football games.
Barkley looked electric all game long, ripping off positive yards on nearly every single touch. He did put the ball on the ground on his first touch today, which was his first real contact since last season and can be excused.
When the ball was recovered by the Giants, Barkley responded with that 59-yard burst around left end, and just like that he had shaken off all the rust in his game.
He was spinning out of tackles, making tacklers miss, bursting through tight seams, and finishing off his runs. The lone mix-up was between him and his quarterback when he ran fly pattern out of the backfield, but Manning read back shoulder.
Barkley looked like he was shot out of a cannon and wanted to run it deep, but we could not see what Manning was seeing, which was likely a safety covering.
Wayne Gallman: Looking very much the part of the ideal back-up to a bell-cow back, Gallman stepped in throughout the day and played a sharp, effective game.
Gallman is always getting positive yardage out there, every one of his five touches today getting eight yards a pop.
His best run, a 15-yarder down to the 2-yard line, was averaged out by his 2-yard run into the end zone, stretching the ball over the goal line for the score.
Yes, most of his damage came in garbage time, but that wasn’t Gallman’s fault. When he was called upon, he delivered.
Elijhaa Penny: Getting maybe a dozen snaps, Penny’s biggest play was recovering Barkley’s early fumble, a play that was as big as they come.
Give Penny credit for hustling to the play and being alert enough to fall on the ball.
Oddly enough, on a day where Barkley was under-used, Penny was over-used.
He got two touches from scrimmage, for a total of three yards.
The one that was a real head-scratcher was the 3rd-and-2 midway through the 3rd quarter at the Dallas 8-yard line. Handing it off to Penny instead of Barkley made no sense.
This 1-yard failure set up the killer 4th-and-1 and another of those Manning roll-out failures. Sack, fumble, game over.
Penny’s lead-blocking, by the way, was solid.
TIGHT ENDS
Evan Engram: Leading the offense with 11 catches for 116 yards and one touchdown, Engram sure looked the part of a dangerous receiving tight end who can attack hurt the middle of a defense.
His ability to get downfield so quickly, and then to cut off his patterns shortly into open space, was electric all game long.
Eventually, teams are going to start doubling Engram, and his production will go down, but it will open up other avenues for his teammates.
There wasn’t one signature play out of Engram this week—his long was a 22-yard deep out where he beat the zone cover safety with room to spare. But every one of his catches was important, even the middle check-downs that limited his per-catch-average as he kept the Dallas linebackers honest.
Players like Engram and Barkley are legit playmakers, but they need a little more help out there.
Also of note was Engram’s fine block on Barkley’s 59-yard burst which came behind a neat inside seal by Engram on the backside.
Engram’s block was the key one that shook Barkley free.
Rhett Ellison: Getting the start and most of the snaps as the in-line tight end, Ellison was solid with his edge seals and got his requisite one catch for 8 yards on a give-up third-down throw.
Eric Tomlinson: The lone snap we spotted Tomlinson on the field for was him running wide open on one of those failed Eli Manning rollouts when Manning did not see him and/or react quickly enough while on the move to hit Tomlinson.
RECEIVERS
Sterling Shepard: Shepard made his first grab on a quick hitch pass in the right flat.
He wide open in the flat midway through the 2nd quarter as well but his biggest non-play came in the end zone on a slant pass early in the 3rd quarter.
The receiver could not get a step on the defender, and the pass was batted away.
We continue to be concerned about Shepard’s ability to separate consistently down the field, and this week’s showing didn’t help assuage our concerns.
Shepard was diagnosed with a concussion, his availability for Sunday’s game against the Bills uncertain.
Cody Latimer: Latimer got involved in the mix late in the first half with a catch on an out pattern. The Cowboys were in loose coverage as time was running out in the half.
Latimer delivered a big catch on the first play of the second half against defensive back Chidobe Awuzie, making the one-handed grab and continued to go forward after the catch.
On the same drive, Latimer was draped by Awuzie on a play that looked like pass interference but was not called.
Latimer made another big play late in the third quarter.
Manning scrambled out of trouble and found a wide-open Latimer on the sideline.
Latimer got called for pass interference for blocking before the ball was touched. We saw several calls like this throughout the league. It is good they are finally cracking down on this.
Latimer showed his big-play capability and was able to get separation throughout, and his downfield blocking made him one of the few bright spots in this one.
Bennie Fowler: Fowler also got in the mix with an underneath catch late in the 2nd quarter.
His prettiest reception might have been his sideline catch on 4th-and-8 when he did an Amani Toomer-like job of keeping both feet in bounds and getting beyond the marker.
Fowler continued to make plays as he caught a sideline route midway through the third quarter and just overall did a nice job of getting open throughout.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Nate Solder: There was nothing wrong with the offensive line this week. It’s a shame that their performance as a unit was not reflected on the scoreboard, as these guys did more than enough to win the game.
Solder had perhaps his best game as a Giant. He only allowed one red zone pressure in many sure passing-down snaps and protected his quarterback’s blind side with as clean a performance as we’ve seen from this veteran.
Solder’s run-blocking was just as efficient.
There’s going to be a lot of passing grades in this unit today, but we’re not sure anyone was as good as Solder out there.
Mike Remmers: Protecting his quarterback’s front side with equal aplomb, Remmers was a hit right from the start, initially with his consistently sharp retreat in pass protection, and then in the running game where he loves to mix it up.
We were most impressed, and admittedly surprised, with Remmers edge pass-blocking today as he did it in noisy enemy territory and still survived despite not always getting the jump against his defender.
He used his long, long arms to great effect when the edge was pressured, pushing his man out of harm’s way consistently, that is when he wasn’t stoning him with power against the bull rush.
If the coaches can keep this veteran on the field and playing at this level, this offense should be something with which to be reckoned.
We like Remmers’ overall game which is built off of his physicality. When he’s moving so well in pass pro, he’s a tough guy to beat.
Remmers was called for one false start, but we place that one on the quarterback who didn’t get the ball snapped in proper rhythm, which you need to do on the road.
Will Hernandez: Also playing lights out, Hernandez’ lone blip was a legit holding call in pass protection late in the game when the second-year player was surprised off the snap but still recovered well enough to get a piece of his man and keep him off of his quarterback.
Otherwise, Hernandez was a stone wall out there in every aspect, especially his double-teams in the run blocking arena.
He was physical when he needed to be and efficient with his positioning as required.
He nailed a smaller defender in space on a screen pass.
We want to see Hernandez used more in space as he’s got a lethal package out there, including unusual balance for a guy his size.
Kevin Zeitler: Also playing an amazingly consistent and efficient game out there, Zeitler’s game came as advertised.
His positioning off the snap was immaculate all game long.
He moved his feet like a dancer and was physical when the opportunities presented themselves.
His pass-blocking, including his stunt work with Mike Remmers, was superb. We thought he played a heck of a game and didn’t see him beat once.
Jon Halapio: Also joining in with the rest of his mates on the plus side of the ledger, Halapio held up well to all of the games that the Cowboys front was playing, while handling all of his run-blocking duties with a high level of physicality and efficiency.
Halapio looked the part out there. The only glitch—and it’s a significant one—is how slow he is to get the ball snapped in hurry-up situations.
It’s okay to be as deliberate as he is with his head snap and all that when you’re trying to run the clock, but at the end of the half and in trail mode you have to get that ball snapped a lot faster. Halapio did not, and it hurt his offense’s chances to score late in the first half.
Now with a regular-season game under their belt, this unit needs to start clicking a bit quicker out there, and Halapio has to be the guy who leads the charge.
Nick Gates: Getting about a half dozen blocking tight end snaps, Gates was successful not only by playing his typically physical style on every one of them, but he drew a key late hit from a Cowboy when he finished his block to the whistle with bad intent, and the defense didn’t like it.
Gates gladly accepted the late hit and the 1st-and-goal it set up. Gates was a bit clumsy out there with his movement, but he took up space and battled people, and seemed to fit right in with the group.
DEFENSIVE LINE
B.J. Hill: It’s going to be hard to give anyone on this Giants front seven a passing grade this week.
We thought Hill was the most active of the Big 3 up front, getting all of his four tackles on runs on the edges. The defense did hold the Cowboys to 89 yards on the ground.
The problem was Dallas hardly tried to run the ball that much since they had such ease through the air.
Part of that ease was the complete and total lack of a pass rush, both inside and on the edge. Hill had a couple of decent upfield thrusts, but in the end, they were easily handled.
He was more successful tracking down running plays, using his mobility to get to places most everyone else was not. We’ll give him a passing grade, but just barely.
Dexter Lawrence: Getting his feet wet in his first NFL game, Lawrence looked the part of a floundering puppy in knee-deep water as he was slow to react to almost everything that was happening out there.
Like all good pit players, you’ve got to have a plan on every snap and go all hell-bent at the snap.
Instead, Lawrence was slow off the snap and confused by all the games the Cowboys were running up front.
He was being handled by single-blocking most of the night, albeit against a top-notch offensive line.
The kid’s lone appearance on the stat sheet was one measly assist.
We did spot a powerful inside pass rush early on, but that was it from this first-round draft choice who will experience growing pains as all rookies do.
It’s a gradual process for the rookie pit player. Let’s hope that Lawrence ramps up his game speed faster than most because this very bad defense will need all hands on deck playing hard and with purpose or this is going to be a very, very long season.
Dalvin Tomlinson: Playing one’s reads is one thing, but Tomlinson is now in his third season, and we think it’s time he starts playing with more instinct and anticipation than just absorbing and hanging around your gap.
He’s got to start making things happen.
This week, he was just one of many defensive players a step slow off the snap and flummoxed by that very good Dallas O-Line.
Tomlinson didn’t get a whiff of the pocket, which is not expected, but his inability to cause even a little disruption at the point of attack is disconcerting.
Tomlinson needs to show more skill and technique than wrestling with one man without disengaging a single-team block.
Yes, the defense did a good job of handling most of the between-the-tackles stuff today, but more is needed from everyone on this unit.
Getting your jock handed to you like the defense was handled this week is just not getting things done.
Olsen Pierre: Getting some second-unit snaps inside, Pierre had a bit of success with one penetration and mixed it up physically at times, but he fell off of one tackle, came up a big fat zero on the stat sheet, and did not create a scintilla of pressure on the pocket. Yes, another failing grade for sure.
R.J. McIntosh: We were surprised that McIntosh did not get more snaps than the handful of second-half (garbage time) snaps he did get.
He got in on one tackle against the run, played off of his solo blocking with those long arms of his, but did not disengage from the contact that essentially controlled his movement most of the time out there.
McIntosh has the most mobility of the D-Line’s big boys, which is why we’d like to see him get some early-game snaps, especially on passing downs.
He did not get any of those opportunities, but the coaches need to start pushing him in these situations as his height, and long arms can create problems, at the very least visually, inside.
If nobody’s getting a pocket push from the inside, at least a guy like McIntosh can disrupt some of those inside passing lanes that were killing the defense all game long.
EDGE RUSHERS
Markus Golden: Getting the start at one of the edge spots and getting a ton of snaps, to finish the game with one measly assist, zero pressure on the pocket, and an offside call on third down that essentially that helped the Cowboys extend one of their many long drives, that qualifies for invisible man status in our book.
Golden was slow off the mark and did not challenge his edge on the pass rush with any of his speed or power moves.
Even against the run, he did a fair job holding his edge physically but getting in on the play was another matter as he was always a step late.
Golden’s knee injury several years back has likely robbed him of the explosion he once had to make plays.
We don’t know if he’s going to make his way back, but this week’s lack of production was not a harbinger of good things to come.
Lorenzo Carter: Starting at the other edge, this second-year man managed to get in the quarterback’s face once and hit him another time, but that was about it from his edge where he was facing All-World OT Tyron Smith.
Carter’s best penetrations came on the inside stunt when he has a little time to get up to speed and attacks the pocket.
He made a nice play in coverage against an out-and-up when, beaten by a TE up the sideline, he recovered well enough that the ball hit him in the helmet, falling incomplete.
Carter did a good job not to be called for interference while waving his long arms in trail mode.
Against the run, Carter got in on only two tackles, and that’s not enough production from your edge starter. As always, he hustled in pursuit which helped to contain the Dallas running game, but without producing any semblance of an edge presence on the pass rush, Carter was one of many who allowed the Dallas offense to dominate today’s game.
Kareem Martin: Getting his snaps on running downs primarily, the physical Martin worked his way into two run-game tackles but failed to use his power to collapse the pocket on the edges.
Martin will never threaten the edge with speed’ it has to be with power.
The best he did was contain the mobile Dak Prescott, who did all of his damage tonight from the pocket where he was barely touched.
Martin appeared to suffer a knee injury in the second half and did not return to the game.
Oshane Ximines: Both of the defense’s tackles-for-loss came from rookies, and both came in the second half with the game far out of reach.
Ximines hung in there with his contain on his nice wrap-up tackle on the edge. It was the only tackle he was able to get in on.
His maiden NFL action came against the afore-mentioned OT Smith, who handled his occasional pass rushes with ease.
Most of Ximines’ field time was spent defending the run and showing solid discipline and fight against much bigger blockers.
We like how he uses his hands, and he seems to use them play well, but he’s out there for his pass-rushing skills, which he did not get much of a chance to test out today as it was garbage time and therefore the Cowboys were content to run out the clock on the ground.
OFF-BALL LINEBACKERS
Alec Ogletree: The only other player to get a passing grade today was this veteran inside linebacker who looked the part of an NFL defensive player, one of the few out there who saw what was happening and did what he could to limit the damages.
Ogletree finished with six total tackles and was a constant presence against the run, a career-long strength of his.
Ogletree showed fine instinct and vision to track down ball carriers on the cutback and was in the right place most of the time out there.
He was alert in zone coverage and didn’t seem to be at fault on any of the egregious miscommunications that were happening in coverage all night long.
Ogletree’s the vet out there, and he’s desperately needed to keep this unit from completely falling apart.
He was solid throughout, finishing tackles and earning one of the few passes defensed against a tight end.
Ogletree is this defense’s best player, but he sure needs a lot more help than he got out there.
This defense is desperate for some dynamic playmakers.
Ogletree is a playmaker to an extent, he’s a legit starter in this league and could play for almost any team out there.
We like his game, but as we said, he needs a lot more help.
It will be up to him to pull this sad-looking unit together. He’s their captain and leader. A lot rests on his shoulders if this season is going to be salvaged.
Tae Davis: Davis had several moments that spoke towards his talent. When he arrives on the scene, when he makes a proper read, he can explode into a tackle.
He finished with three tackles, including one of the rare pressures and hits on the quarterback on a nicely-times blitz.
However—and that’s a big, however—Davis, a converted safety who is still developing a feel for the linebacker position, is sorely lacking in the mental part of the game and it’s a huge, huge problem for this defense.
On the wide-open tight end touchdown catch, there was Davis completely over-reacting to play-action and completely ignoring his man up the seam for the too-easy score.
Later on, the defense facing a 2nd-and-20, he grabbed hold of that same tight end and handed over an easy first down from the obvious illegal contact.
On Zeke Elliot’s touchdown run, Davis took the wrong gap, leaving a wide-open hole for Elliot to exploit.
Whenever you see somebody wide open or a gap uncovered, dollars to donuts it’s Davis with another mental gaffe. He is the master of the false step and is constantly putting himself into chase mode.
He also never seems to know where his help is, and thus he reacts to movement that isn’t his responsibility, thus giving up a play the other way.
Physically, he’s got it all. Mentally, he’s got a long way to go, making us question if he’s starting material right now.
Ryan Connelly: When the coaches finally tired of Davis’ mental gaffes and inserted this rookie into the line-up, things started to get a little interesting out there.
Connelly looked the part playing alongside Alec Ogletree, as he seemed to know the defense like the back of his hand and was where he was supposed to be on nearly every play.
He filled gaps, stayed home, and mucked up the works on a couple of runs between the tackles with quick, low fills. He made a real nice tackle on the edge on a run that looked like it might turn the corner.
Several of his blitzes (about a half dozen in total) were effective. He got a hand on the quarterback’s leg to force a bad throw, and he was tackled on another blitz that was correctly flagged for holding.
Connelly’s sharpest play was a great gap-shoot out wide, showing fine aggressiveness and instinct, and ran down the back to trip him up for the defense’s biggest negative-yardage play of the game.
Alas, it came in garbage time, but it was a good sign that at least one of the Giants rookies while getting his feet wet, looked like he belonged.
We don’t think it will be long before Connelly is starting full-time alongside Ogletree.
We do worry about his lack of size. His are not the arms of a full-time linebacker. We’re not sure he can get any bigger, but it seems like he will have to if he’s to survive the pit battles every week out there.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Janoris Jenkins: It was mostly a quiet day for Jenkins, as Dallas went after whoever was on the opposite side of him.
With that said, Amari Cooper managed to get in front of Jenkins on the first play of the game. The Cowboys came out in a two-tight end, two wide receiver set, and Cooper was given a lot of room.
Cooper challenged Jenkins again in the 4th quarter, and this time Jenkins was able to break up the play.
Jenkins is going to have some quiet afternoons as teams will continue to pick on the rest of the secondary.
Antoine Bethea: On the first possession, Amari Cooper caught a quick slant in front of Bethea by getting inside to make the catch.
The Giants blitzed at the start of the third quarter, and Bethea could not stay with Cooper on a deep post.
If the Giants are going to blitz this way, they must get more pressure on the quarterback.
Grant Haley: Amari Cooper made a catch in front of Grant early in the 2nd quarter, thanks largely to Haley giving the receiver way too much cushion here. Haley and the other defensive backs other than Jenkins had about as bad a game as a group can have.
DeAndre Baker: Michael Gallup made the grab on the sideline against Baker, against whom he got a step. Baker, who didn’t jam Gallup, also didn’t make up any ground when the ball was in the air.
Late in the 2nd quarter Cooped, easily beat Baker in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown. The Giants tried to blitz, but Cooper was open immediately, again because in part of a lack of a jam.
Gallup easily beat Baker on a post pattern late in the 3rd quarter and soon the coaches were pulling him and Hamilton for Corey Ballentine.
Antonio Hamilton: Hamilton did a poor job in man-to-man coverage against Randall Cobb. While his coverage was good, his tackling was not, as he was unable to make the tackle after the catch which resulted in a first down and then an eventual touchdown.
Gallup made a catch in front of Hamilton midway through the second quarter. Hamilton, as he did throughout most of the game, gave up too much cushion.
On the very next play, Cobb went in motion across the field, and Hamilton was in man-to-man coverage with him. Hamilton could not stay with the veteran Cobb, and it was an easy first down.
You start to wonder who is going to start in the Giants secondary next week. Will Corey Ballentine get a chance? He saw some action late in the game. Oddly though, Julian Love did not, but we wonder if he’ll get some opportunities next week.
Michael Thomas: The Giant thorn, tight end Jason Witten, picked up right where he left off.
He sold the run near the goal line. Thomas completely bought it, and Jason slipped into the end zone for the easy touchdown.
Thomas needed to read his keys here. He cannot just watch his man. If he had read the offensive lineman, he would have realized that the play was a pass. This was a surprising mental breakdown by an otherwise solid veteran safety.
Jabrill Peppers: Tavon Austin made a catch in front of Peppers for another first down in the second quarter in what was just a string of horrible play by the secondary.
The safeties were just horrendous in this game.
The middle of the field was wide open throughout. It was tough to tell who was at fault at times as there was often not a defender even near a receiver, especially on pass plays over the middle.
Needless to say, the Giants better tighten this up moving forward.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Aldrick Rosas: Rosas hit his lone field goal attempt from 28 yards, both of his extra points (stress-free), and knocked all of his kick-offs through the end zone for touchbacks save one, a high but short pooch kick-off late in the game that did not catch the Cowboys by surprise and was fair-caught smartly by the Cowboys for no return.
Thus, Rosas did not yield any return yardage on kick-offs and was clean as a whistle with his place-kicking.
Riley Dixon: After a struggle this preseason, Dixon responded to the bright lights of the regular season with a fine punting night that forced three fair catches and one punt out of bounds.
All of Dixon’s punts had height and distance without needing to out-kick his coverage.
He did not have to punt from deep inside his territory, and thus three of his four points ended up inside-the-20, without yielding a single return yard. That’s good production.
His best effort was his 47-yarder in the 4th quarter that was unfortunately interfered with by a gunner, but it had especially fine height.
Dixon didn’t have a single clunker, which has been his history, especially his initial punts of the night being somewhat adventurous.
Zak DeOssie: Continuing his odyssey towards middle age on the NFL gridiron, and continuing to play at a high level, DeOssie’s snapping was sharp and true once again.
Jabrill Peppers: Getting the starting punt return job, Peppers looked extremely smooth tracking and securing four punts.
Two of them were fair catches, while the other two resulted in returns of three and five yards.
It was a stress-free performance from this starting safety, who looks the part of a legit returner who needs a little more space to make things happen.
Corey Ballentine: Getting the starting kick-off return job, Ballentine flubbed his first returnable kick-off (he did the same thing with his first returnable kick-off in preseason) and had to accept the touchback, though we sure would have wished a bit more urgency downing the ball that had slipped through his grasp and was rolling around in the end zone.
After several accepted touchbacks, Ballentine was given the green light and returned two second-half kicks.
His first return was his best, breaking one tackled and nearly breaking another (a missed Elijaah Penny block prevented an even bigger return).
This one went for 28 yards, Ballentine showing off his breakaway speed as he put it into second gear while attempting to run to daylight.
We like what he brings to the table out there.
His second return was less successful as the kick was a little higher and deeper, and the coverage a little quicker. Ballentine was tackled at his own 13, but we applaud his eagerness to try and make a play.
Michael Thomas: On the negative side, Thomas was called for a holding penalty on the positive Ballentine kick-off return, bringing it back from the 27 to the Giants own 17.
This week was not one of Thomas’ more memorable games as he did not respond well on defense, either.
Cody Core: The team’s gunner play was really good, despite the penalty that Core absorbed for interference against a Dallas fair catch.
Core got down there in good stead and was in the process of pulling up short right in front of the returner when a Dallas blocker brushed Core and pushed him into the punt returner, encouraging his momentum into the returner, causing the muff and the resulting flag.
Calling Core for interference was the right call, but we liked how he got downfield so well and was aware enough to break down, just not quite enough.
Bennie Fowler: Also looking good as a gunner, Fowler easily beat his solo blocker to get down under another punt and force the fair catch.
This special teams group sure looks like it’s going to be a good one; there is the right kind of talent and depth throughout.
OFFENSIVE SCHEME REVIEW
By Chris Pflum
When a car company is preparing to debut a new model – or make a major change to the styling of an existing car – they go to great lengths to keep the secret from both consumers and competitors.
The cars are wrapped and disguised when they have to be outside and are being transported. When the new model is on the test track, they will paint concepts and test models in a kind of camouflage to create illusions and make it difficult to see the lines of the car in pictures.
Whether by accident or design, the New York Giants have applied the same level of secrecy to their offense over the month leading up to the start of the regulars season.
Neither Sterling Shepard nor Saquon Barkley took a snap in the preseason, while Evan Engram only saw a single drive in a single game.
Granted, Shepard's absence from the field was forced by injury, but it also seems likely that he wouldn't have seen the field much (if at all) given how the team used Barkley and Engram.
The Giants likely limited the snaps of Engram and Barkley knowing how hard it would be to run an offense without their two most explosive weapons on offense and missing their most reliable receiver wouldn't have helped matters either.
But the side effect of going to great lengths to keep their star players healthy is that the Giants couldn't possibly have tipped their hand if they had been planning any radical changes to their tendencies in how they deployed their best players.
For the most part, the Giants tended to gravitate back toward the basics of their offense in 2018.
They would play more aggressively when they had to, relying on big plays to move the ball and score points, which resulted in their having the best offense in the NFC East.
However, they wanted to play a more methodical ball control offense, distributing the ball widely and relying on yards after the catch to pick up yards with minimal risk.
But at the end of the year, we saw something of a shift in the Giants offensive philosophy as they incorporated more misdirection and looked to find Barkley and Engram further down the field.
And early in the game, before things got out of hand, we did see more and varied looks from the Giants' offense.
The team showed a willingness to get fullback Elijhaa Penny involved in the offense, though it didn't work out for them.
The team showed an interesting formation on an early second and short, lining Barkley up as an H-back while Penny lined up as the running back.
The play wasn't successful, but the formation has the potential for creating confusion and creating an opportunity for Barkley in the passing game.
Early in the game, the Giants substituted freely, frequently playing with heavy sets – multiple tight ends or backs – until they went into their two-minute drill at the end of the first half.
Curiously, the team took Engram off the field multiple times on their first drives, playing Rhett Ellison in a 21-personnel set, and at times Ellison and Eric Tomlinson in 12-personnel sets.
But perhaps the best moment for the offense came on a touchdown for Engram. The Giants lined up in a 23-personnel package (2 backs, three tight ends), only to throw to Engram on a play-action as he slipped out into a corner route after faking a run block. The play worked, and Engram was wide open for an easy touchdown.
Ultimately the Giants began to lean on Engram as their top receiving threat as the game progressed, targeting him a team-high 14 times.
The third-year tight end responded with 11 catches for 116 yards and the aforementioned touchdown.
Unfortunately, as the game progressed, the Giants' play-calling regressed. By the end of the game, we saw the Giants again relying on quick passes. And as we saw last year, while the quick high-percentage passes were relatively safe and helped to keep Manning's uniform clean, the offense spun its wheels rather than make progress on the field.
The flow of the game didn't allow the Giants to play the game they might have planned during the week, and weeks, leading up to Sunday.
We only got a brief look at what the Giants had up their sleeves with Shepard, Engram, and Barkley on the sideline throughout the preseason.
We saw some interesting concepts from the Giants early in the game, before they were forced out of their game plan.
While they might want to keep Engram on the field as much as possible going forward and look to get he and Barkley involved further down the field than they were against Dallas, there was enough to warrant another look in the weeks to come.
DEFENSIVE SCHEME REVIEW
By Chris Pflum
Just what are the New York Giants doing on defense?
That question dominated the offseason as they traded Olivier Vernon to the Browns and let Landon Collins take a ride down I-95 to Washington.
The Giants went on to largely bypass a highly anticipated class of pass rushers while selecting three cornerbacks from a class which was not widely heralded – ultimately adding selecting four corners in one draft if we count the selection of Sam Beal in the 2018 supplemental draft.
In one off-season the Giants had turned decades of G-Men dogma on its head and “You can never have enough pass rushers” seemingly went out the window.
To a certain extent, it made sense on the face of it. Defensive coordinator James Bettcher was a very aggressive defensive coordinator with the Arizona Cardinals,
His three years in Arizona he blitzed 47 percent of the time in 2015, 41 percent in 2016, and 37 percent of the time in 2017. The first two years, he led the league in blitz percentage and slipped to a lowly fifth in 2017.
In 2018 the Giants blitzed just 26.3 percent of the time, good for 22nd most in the NFL.
The problem with blitzing is that it takes players out of coverage to rush the passer, putting greater pressure for the remaining coverage players.
Fewer players still need to hold up and give the pass rushers time to get to the quarterback or capitalize on any mistakes made.
As well, the limitations of Curtis Riley and B.W. Webb also put constraints on the kinds of coverages which Bettcher could call.
So then, exit Vernon (and a full quarter of the Giants' pressures in 2018), and enter a quartet of rookie corners, third-year safety/linebacker Jabrill Peppers, and veteran safety Antoine Bethea. Just what has Bettcher been cooking up with an almost completely revamped defense?
In all honesty, it's somewhat difficult to say because the Giants' defense was a mess against the Cowboys.
Early in the game, we saw some signs of Bettcher's aggressiveness, with the Giants playing a variety of fronts and sub-packages.
The Giants mostly played out of a nickel personnel, primarily with three cornerbacks on the field, though they did play “Big Nickel” packages as well as their “base” defense.
The Giants also moved freely between fronts with three down linemen, four down linemen, and more exotic fronts with two or five down linemen.
The Giants also blitzed fairly frequently before the game got away from them. They sent pressure from across the defense, sending both linebackers and defensive backs as pass rushers. As well, they played a mix of man and zone defenses and a variety of coverage shells.
And on the opening drive of the game, the Giants' defense was effective, quickly forcing Dallas off the field on the game's opening possession. But that's where the good times stopped rolling for the Giants.
The Giants struggled to mount much of a pass rush with their defensive line and EDGE players, which put more pressure on Bettcher to try and scheme a pass rush with his blitzers.
That, in turn, put more pressure on the Giants' young secondary who predictably played like young cornerbacks.
To try and help their secondary in coverage, and create confusion, Bettcher tried dialing up some zone blitzes. Rather than just sending extra pass rushers, these blitzes sought to create confusion and help cover receiving options.
Replacing rushers on zone blitzes isn't a novel concept, it dates back to the Miami Dolphins in the 1970s but seeing Markus Golden in coverage on a wide receiver or Lorenzo Carter running down the field in coverage on a fullback is certainly eye-catching.
Ultimately, the Giants' defense was limited by the lack of a pass rush up front, communication breakdowns on the back end, and the natural struggles of young corners as they acclimate to life in the NFL. Neither the Giants' offense nor defense made much noise beyond opening drives of the game.
Hopefully, as the young players settle in on both sides of the ball, we will get more opportunities to see what the coordinators had planned over the summer. We caught glimpses of the dynamic defense we have hoped to see since last year, but so far it was only that: glimpses.
We'll have to keep an eye on the defense to see if they can sustain that play and show off their scheme more as the year goes on.
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Inside Football is an independent publication that is neither sponsored by, nor affiliated with, the New York Football Giants or the National Football League (NFL). Publisher: Inside Football LLC. Senior Editor: Patricia Traina (member, Pro Football Writers of America). Senior Analysts: Mike Iannaconi, Bob Folger. Analyst: Chris Pflum. Copyright 2019.
