My “non-emotional” thoughts from yesterday’s game. As always, feel free to argue with mine, add your own, etc…
Overview:
Giants 7, Bengals 17: Giants fall to 2-4 and maintain the status of last place in the NFC East, the good news is we have 11 games left, 4 against division opponents and are only two games back. The team is flashing signs here and there of good football, unfortunately they’re not consistent and sometimes it’s not both units on the same night. Last night was an example where I can speak glowingly about one side of the ball, but not the other. Holding this team to 17 points (7 of which were in borderline dead time) was quite a feat saying they were following outings of 33, 34 and 38. The Bengals are led by a top 3 QB and have arguably the best WR duo in the league, I also wouldn’t be shocked to see them go on a run after this game. Staying on the theme of one side of the ball outplaying the other, this Bengals team had just given up 38, 24 and 41 over the last 3 weeks so only scoring 7 was a horrible, horrible outing.
Something you’ll notice I repeat a lot is if you hold the other team under 20 in the NFL you should win the game. I’ll confidently make that comment about last night.
Offense:
1 – Starting with the OL. They’ve been good this year, very good compared to the past 12 years actually. Carmen Bricillo has quickly endeared himself to NY Giants fans and the additions amongst the line have all played well enough. With all that said, this was easily the offensive line’s worst game of the season. While Jones only took 2 sacks, he was under constant pressure all night and had a few balls tipped and batted from interior pressure. On top of this the running lanes weren’t there either. Altogether a bad showing which is odd since this may be the weakest front they’ve faced all year. Worth mentioning, Andrew Thomas had a poor game and as much as the OL has improved this year, is now on pace to have his worst season since his second. Something looks off with him, his punches don’t seem as strong and he’s giving more ground on bull rushes than normal, he may be fighting an injury, it may just be a bad season, worth monitoring.
2 – Jones looked more like the QB that his board is constantly complaining about. At this point in time, I think we all know he isn’t the long term answer and last night was a perfect example of why. Coming off his best game against a slightly better defense Jones followed it up with what I would call a “flat” performance at home in prime time. I was especially bothered by his interception in the red zone as it was very much a “rookie” play that he should have eaten. If Jones’ game is going to be short dink and dunks, you can’t make key mistakes like that. Though early in the game, even netting a field goal in this situation would have put us at a 10-10 tie going into the 4th quarter, and we would be looking at a different finish.
3 – With Nabers out there was a very valid question of “who would step up in his absence?” and after two games I think the answer isn’t another WR, its Tyrone Tracy. We’re the rushing stats good, not really, but there was nothing there for him most of the night yet he still found a way to impact the game positively. For starters, even though our OL was losing the battle in the trenches, Tracy found a way to minimize negative runs and consistently got back to the line of scrimmage even if facing a defender in the backfield. Second was that when there was a crease, he maximized the plays potential. Most importantly, from last night, he showed off his WR skills and wound up the team’s leading receiver. It was noticeable to me how much smoother Tracy was catching the ball and turning up the field in stride than our other RBs. Get him in the open field in these situations and he can be a legitimate weapon.
Defense:
1 – Originally, I found it curious that the game plan was to use Banks to cover Tee Higgins and a mix of Flott, Phillips and Jackson to cover Chase, however given the results I have give credit to Bowen for the game plan. While we didn’t exactly stop this duo, we didn’t let them wreck the game. Chase specifically is a player that can take over the game on his own and you happily take 5 for 72 from him any day of the week. I would still love to see another starting caliber CB added in the offseason, but this group has exceeded expectations this season and has not been the glaring weakness I thought they can be early in the year. Another good job by Jerome Henderson.
2 – Very much worth mentioning that with Kayvon Thibodeaux going on IR that both Brian Burns and Azeez Ojulari stepped up last night. Starting with Burns, I think he looks much more comfortable from the right side of the formation where Thibs would typically line up, worth watching for when he returns. As far as AO, possibly the best game we’ve seen in years from him. Where he would find a way to get sacks, the complaint with him was always that he would disappear between them. Last night he consistently won his match up and pressured the QB. Good game by him.
3 – I’m interested to see the blitz % numbers this morning (I do not go on Twitter or read any articles before writing these threads as I want uninfluenced thoughts). While typically I would make the comment that this defense plays better attacking, they managed to get consistent pressure yet didn’t seem to dial up the blitzes we’ve seen over the past few weeks. This is likely because Burrow can absolutely burn you in these situations and was the right move. If you were to tell me coming into the game, we’d hold him to 208 yards passing and his only TD would be a scramble, I’d sign up for it in a heartbeat.
Keep contain on one play and we’re having a different conversation this morning.
Coaching:
I’ve made my comments about Bowen and the defense (I thought they were good) so I’m going to focus mainly on Daboll and the offense in this section.
Since last night I’m going back and forth on whether I want to complain about the offensive game plan. The reality is that if this team doesn’t win the battle of the line of scrimmage to run the football, we don’t score. Teams know that Jones doesn’t throw the ball deep well at all and don’t respect it, if we’re not able to use the running game to create play action, we have no big plays. Where I have a bigger gripe with Daboll than the game plan is in the fact that this team again came out flat for another primetime game. Probably the most frustrating thing about following this team is that we don’t know what we’re going to get week to week. I’d like to see the team and the coaching staff do a little bit better of a job “seeing the blood in the water” and going for the kill shot. They just don’t seem to do it and it’s frustrating to watch.
Conclusion:
2-4 on the season and if we’re looking at the bright side, I can make an argument that if a few things bounce differently, we can be 5-1… I can also use this same argument to look at things from a negative light. However, I feel this team is in position to make a Texans style jump if you add a CJ Stroud in the next draft, to early to talk about that though.
For the next 11 games we need to find a way to create big plays if we want to win, period. Nabers getting back is going to be a huge help to this, but remember we only won one game that he played in, we can’t rely on a rookie to be the entire time. Run the ball, use play-action and dear god spend some time with Jones each practice just having him throw deep balls. If you don’t do that games will look a lot like last night, safeties up way in the box, CBs jumping on the first move etc… Our longest play was 15 yards last night, you don’t win games in the NFL like that. The defense is playing good enough for us to win, we have an offensive head coach and an all-world rookie WR and a possible new weapon in Tyrone Tracy. It’s your turn offense, put up or shut up.
2. Banks needs to go a better job tackling
3. Our TE’s seem to be open but not targeted enough by Jones
4. Missed fumble recovery near the end of the game was huge.
Could have been a game changer.
5. RG is still a big problem.
Hill owned VanRoten
It appeared that he was pre-determining where the ball was going prior to the snap and trying to force the ball into a player that was just not open too often and in key spots.
Hard to run a successful offense like that.
But he had talked to David Cutcliffe who told him he was just like Peyton and Eli Manning. Hard worker, great teammate, and a heap of sugar-free vanilla ice cream with the meadia.
That is what full bloom love looks like for an idiot.
There is no upside to playing Jones only downside due to the injury clause.
I appreciate his courage, but that injury contract status should be a legit concern.
I appreciate his courage, but that injury contract status should be a legit concern.
Agreed, I'm not sure he lasts the year playing like this.
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has taken some absolute SHOTS the last two weeks.
I appreciate his courage, but that injury contract status should be a legit concern.
Agreed, I'm not sure he lasts the year playing like this.
I think he's trying to collect that injury settlement.
Last millions he'll make.
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In comment 16647009 Dnew15 said:
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has taken some absolute SHOTS the last two weeks.
I appreciate his courage, but that injury contract status should be a legit concern.
Agreed, I'm not sure he lasts the year playing like this.
I think he's trying to collect that injury settlement.
Last millions he'll make.
I don't think he wants to be in a wheelchair the rest of his life..What good is money,if your not healthy enough to spend it..That's crazy to say he wants to collect that settlement..
Play Lock or DeVito, I don't care which one. They can't be any worse. We might even see a pass for 15 yards on 3rd and 10. Who knows?
But how can someone say Daboll played not to lose? He went for 4th down on his own 38 yard line with one read, noodle arm Jones trying to convert it. What more do you want him to do besides bench Jones which might not be his call.
The OL was a major disappointment and it seems that something has been off with Thomas this year. Perhaps it is an injury that he is trying to play through. Not yet convinced with the interior of the OL other than Runyan. Disappointed with the playcalling in short yardage situations when the OL is obviously not getting any movement. Seems to have lacked creativity.
Also grateful for you acknowledging what was an overall strong performance from the defense. Really disappointed in the kicking game and think it should be a priority to find someone who can give us more consistency from deep.
Senior Bowl MVPs
2016 - Dak Prescott
2017 - Davis Webb
2018 - Kyle Lauletta
2019 - Daniel Jones
2020 - Justin Herbert
So this strategy wasn't the problem - we just started too late and/or quit too early lol.
Now Reese was GM in 2017 and Gettleman was GM for 2018 and 2019, so who else in the front office was driving this strategy across GM tenures?
See how that works both ways?
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Didn’t see Jones in person until the Senior Bowl, where you can blitz and can only play cover 2
Senior Bowl MVPs
2016 - Dak Prescott
2017 - Davis Webb
2018 - Kyle Lauletta
2019 - Daniel Jones
2020 - Justin Herbert
So this strategy wasn't the problem - we just started too late and/or quit too early lol.
Now Reese was GM in 2017 and Gettleman was GM for 2018 and 2019, so who else in the front office was driving this strategy across GM tenures?
What’s interesting is that I think Gettleman had an eye for top level talent. Being a GM is a lot more than talent evaluation.
Something happened when he came back as GM. There was a whole lot of ego there. Not all scouts make good GMs. He was arrogant beyond words from day 1 word one. Something about having the final say and running the shop doesn't fit for everyone in every line of work.
Gettleman is a lot dumber than most of his peers now, which puts him at a huge disadvantage. But the killer is the arrogance. You have to adapt and learn and he knows everything already.
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In comment 16646740 Kanavis said:
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Lost in all of the comments about the quality of DJ's play last night is his continued inability to protect himself.
So now we have 1. A coaching staff that is desperate to win. 2. A coaching staff that feels DJ gives them the best chance to win (even if limited) 3. A QB who cannot protect himself or get down normally. 4. A coaching staff that inexplicably calls for a lot of designed runs and doesn't even use 2nd and inches to run a regular play and 5. An injury clause that will kick in and hamper the team next year.
No matter what you think of DJ's play, and most of us know it isn't good enough, he was bowling into people like Earl Campbell yesterday. I applaud the toughness, but it has to stop. I know all QBs take shots and perhaps Burrow had it worse last night. But DJ leads with his head and has had neck injuries. Because of the injury clause he should be pulled sooner rather than later.
IMO it's not toughness.
It's stupidity. IMO, Jones is just not intelligent enough to play QB in the NFL.
When the bullets fly, he panics and does what comes naturally to him- run straight ahead.
He cannot process anything. Even protecting himself.
You touched on something here. For as much as we hear about how tough Jones is, he seems to wilt under any amount of pressure. I'd also make the comment that despite the fact we also hear about how smart he is, his play on the field has never reflected that. I'd actually say he has a very low football IQ for a QB.
I think the Duke pedigree and way he handles himself in the media have garnered him credit for qualities that aren't actually there.
This is so well said. I think Jones is a really dumb football player.