NY Giants Recap

[NYC Pirate]

If the Giants don't make the playoffs this game may be the one that haunts them in the off season. I thought the defense was bending but not breaking most of the time. Two missed tackles in the secondary were costly. They were good on the defensive end, but not great. Missing Jackson and McKinney in that game was vital. The Commanders were without Chase Young though.

The offense? I thought they were so afraid to make mistakes and the play calling went quite conservative after several solid defensive stands in the second half. The two things that killed them were the offensive line again and being stubborn and force feeding the ball to Sequon in those very possessions in the second half that could have ended the game. Also, they could not cover Slayton, but they did not go to him enough. Granted we go back to the pass protection. Jones made one not great throw to Slayton late in the game, but it was still catchable in that spot. Absolutely, no creativity nor gadget plays of any type. I won't kill the coach for punting on the 4th down play although it went against his early season mentality. However, someone has to explain that last defensive series. Maybe I have it wrong. On first down you had the fantastic sack by Thibodeaux. Almost a huge turnover. Next play they run and fumble out of bounds. Plus, a penalty for a forward fumble by offense in last minute. Giants call timeout???? I may not know the rule, but could swear the clock does not start until next play? They did stop them on next play, but lost 30 seconds off clock. It was a huge difference. Giants still control their own destiny. Next week very difficult, but not impossible.

On a side note, this was my 3rd visit to Metlife Stadium. Many empty seats camouflaged by the grey seats for most important game in years. The crowd was good but not overwhelming I thought. Not an old school Giant crowd. Not blaming the crowd but I did note it. Also, do adults have to drink to the point of endangering themselves? 2 guys tumbled over their seats right next to me. Very lucky not to be injured. Kid down 2 rows collapses, and they had to put a neck collar on him as 4th quarter was concluding. Everyone F Bombing and cursing constantly including a few gals. A bit too much. Oh well.

 

[LeftCoastPirates]

If the Giants don't make the playoffs this game may be the one that haunts them in the off season. I thought the defense was bending but not breaking most of the time. Two missed tackles in the secondary were costly. They were good on the defensive end, but not great. Missing Jackson and McKinney in that game was vital. The Commanders were without Chase Young though.

The offense? I thought they were so afraid to make mistakes and the play calling went quite conservative after several solid defensive stands in the second half. The two things that killed them were the offensive line again and being stubborn and force feeding the ball to Sequon in those very possessions in the second half that could have ended the game. Also, they could not cover Slayton, but they did not go to him enough. Granted we go back to the pass protection. Jones made one not great throw to Slayton late in the game, but it was still catchable in that spot. Absolutely, no creativity nor gadget plays of any type. I won't kill the coach for punting on the 4th down play although it went against his early season mentality. However, someone has to explain that last defensive series. Maybe I have it wrong. On first down you had the fantastic sack by Thibodeaux. Almost a huge turnover. Next play they run and fumble out of bounds. Plus, a penalty for a forward fumble by offense in last minute. Giants call timeout???? I may not know the rule, but could swear the clock does not start until next play? They did stop them on next play, but lost 30 seconds off clock. It was a huge difference. Giants still control their own destiny. Next week very difficult, but not impossible.

On a side note, this was my 3rd visit to Metlife Stadium. Many empty seats camouflaged by the grey seats for most important game in years. The crowd was good but not overwhelming I thought. Not an old school Giant crowd. Not blaming the crowd but I did note it. Also, do adults have to drink to the point of endangering themselves? 2 guys tumbled over their seats right next to me. Very lucky not to be injured. Kid down 2 rows collapses, and they had to put a neck collar on him as 4th quarter was concluding. Everyone F Bombing and cursing constantly including a few gals. A bit too much. Oh well.

In regards to the use of the Giants final timeout. They had to. The offense player being tackled in the field of play can’t fumble the ball out of bounds to advance the ball or stop the clock.

This unfortunately worked against the Giants in this scenario as they were forced to use their 2nd and last timeout of OT to stop the clock with 1:23 to play.

If time management was going to be questioned, they should have thrown 8-10 yards to the middle of the field from the Washington 45 with 15 seconds to play. It would have been real close. But there should have been enough time to spike the ball with a second to play. Instead they only advanced the ball 3 yards on two sideline attempts. Leaving them just outside the kick range of Gano’s final attempt.

 

[SHallguy2]

Definitely a game that will haunt them if they don’t make the playoffs, but who thought we would even be talking playoffs. The crowds have never seemed as loud since they moved into the new stadium, granted been a lot of down years. I was thinking of going to a game this year but after reading your post will probably stay home or go to a bar.

 

[hallgrad80]

How many true Giant fans believed that the Giants would be in the conversation about making the playoffs this year , not many I would suggest . With weaknesses in the offensive line, at wide receiver and in the secondary still impacting on field results it’s been a year where they have exceeded expectations, have a front office , head coach and a solid staff of assistants that give reason that optimism for future success is not misplaced. Will they make the playoffs , probably not but this game did hurt the slim chances they had.

 

[PirateFan94]

If the Giants don't make the playoffs this game may be the one that haunts them in the off season. I thought the defense was bending but not breaking most of the time. Two missed tackles in the secondary were costly. They were good on the defensive end, but not great. Missing Jackson and McKinney in that game was vital. The Commanders were without Chase Young though.

The offense? I thought they were so afraid to make mistakes and the play calling went quite conservative after several solid defensive stands in the second half. The two things that killed them were the offensive line again and being stubborn and force feeding the ball to Sequon in those very possessions in the second half that could have ended the game. Also, they could not cover Slayton, but they did not go to him enough. Granted we go back to the pass protection. Jones made one not great throw to Slayton late in the game, but it was still catchable in that spot. Absolutely, no creativity nor gadget plays of any type. I won't kill the coach for punting on the 4th down play although it went against his early season mentality. However, someone has to explain that last defensive series. Maybe I have it wrong. On first down you had the fantastic sack by Thibodeaux. Almost a huge turnover. Next play they run and fumble out of bounds. Plus, a penalty for a forward fumble by offense in last minute. Giants call timeout???? I may not know the rule, but could swear the clock does not start until next play? They did stop them on next play, but lost 30 seconds off clock. It was a huge difference. Giants still control their own destiny. Next week very difficult, but not impossible.

On a side note, this was my 3rd visit to Metlife Stadium. Many empty seats camouflaged by the grey seats for most important game in years. The crowd was good but not overwhelming I thought. Not an old school Giant crowd. Not blaming the crowd but I did note it. Also, do adults have to drink to the point of endangering themselves? 2 guys tumbled over their seats right next to me. Very lucky not to be injured. Kid down 2 rows collapses, and they had to put a neck collar on him as 4th quarter was concluding. Everyone F Bombing and cursing constantly including a few gals. A bit too much. Oh well.

I agree with most of your points. Play calling on offense was prevent offense. I will disagree with the pass by Jones late to slayton. There was nothing wrong with that pass. Slayton misjudged the ball and mistimed his jump and still should have caught it. Overall bad ball adjustment. As defacto #1 receiver he has to make that catch. Any other #1 receiver makes that catch in stride and takes it to the house. You also failed to mention the STUPID taunting penalty on Feliciano. WTF is he thinking running down field to Flex in the Redskin's face? That play to Slayton had the Giants in FG position with under 5minutes left in the game and instead put them back at mid field. If Bredson is healthy next week, on MY team he's benched and Gates is the starting center moving forward. Despite the play calling, the dropped pass, THAT play cost them the game. They would have been up 2 scores with with Washington getting the ball under 3 minutes left.

 

[Burnsly]

Drop by Slayton & taunting penalty on Feliciano were killers. Dabol had to call a timeout there because the ref ruled he stayed in bounds & was down before the fumble. On the Giants last time out Dabol did wait to long to call it. He lost about 10 seconds which really would have come in handy.

#44 McCloud is a good special teams player but he's totally lost in the secondary. Hopefully Jackson & McKinney get back soon.

Feliciano is much better than Gates. Learn & move on.

 

[Piratz]

It was a big missed opportunity to gain some space. Especially with 3 games against the Eagles (11-1) and Vikings (10-2) remaining on the schedule. At 7-4-1 the Giants are clinging for dear life with that 2nd wild card spot with the Seahawks (7-5) and Commanders (7-5-1) on their heels. One of those 3 will be left out obviously and the Giants already lost to the Seahawks, then have the return game at Washington in two weeks off the Commanders’ bye.

But it’s the same issues, right? The passing offense stinks and has all season. Overall their WR’s are bad and don’t create separation then the only one who does is know for drops (Slayton). The OL is still suspect. Plus I’m not sure they really trust Jones. That’s why Daboll has been trying to win with this rushing-led QB roll-out/play-action style with limiting turnovers. They blew yesterday, my God. So many plays here and there. How many dropped INT’s late? The PF on Feliciano was insane. Slayton’s drop? Sigh. Meanwhile Heinicke is converting 4th Downs off his backfoot. Frustrating. Also, the mindless injuries to Adoree Jackson and Xavier McKinney are killing them. Their d-backs are even worse than their WR’s.

But at least you saw the difference in having Ojulari/Williams/Lawrence/Thibodeaux together and healthy. They actually have a pass rush.

 

[Piratz]

How many true Giant fans believed that the Giants would be in the conversation about making the playoffs this year , not many I would suggest . With weaknesses in the offensive line, at wide receiver and in the secondary still impacting on field results it’s been a year where they have exceeded expectations, have a front office , head coach and a solid staff of assistants that give reason that optimism for future success is not misplaced. Will they make the playoffs , probably not but this game did hurt the slim chances they had.

This. They’ve done a brilliant coaching job this year getting this roster in these positions. Yeah, they are coaching around MAJOR limitations and have done it well. I put yesterday more on the players. There were a handful of basic football plays that went against them late which was really the only way the Commanders had a chance to tie anyway. After the initial 10-0 flurry by Washington, the Giants dominated that game but could not close. A tie is better than a loss, but whew.

 

[ed odowd]

Double bicep happens all the time with no taunting flag.The call yesterday really hurt at critical time.

 

[Section112]

Feliciano's penalty really hurt because the Giants were in FG range. Just play the game and lose the antics - you don't have to run ten yards down the field and give an official a chance to throw a dumb flag.

The conservative offensive approach in the 2nd half lost them the game IMO. The D held as firm as they could time after time and were on the field a lot (Wash time of possession was huge). Amazing what the D has done with so few players. Martindale has coached his butt off.

In the second half, I thought Kafka fell asleep at the wheel and they had great field position around the 50 for 3 or 4 possessions and did not get points on any of them with ultra conservative play calls. Why not throw a few swing passes to Barkley and get him the ball in space? Why not move the pocket and let DJ make a short pass or run the ball? How about a screen pass? None of that happened. All of a sudden they tried to get a little aggressive in OT but it was too late. The O line was clearly struggling but the play calling was not helping.

This team still needs players at so many positions. And big picture, DJ was not the best QB on the field yesterday. Getting to the playoffs was a long-shot but they missed an opportunity yesterday. Nice to be playing meaningful games in December though - exceeded my expectations.

 

[Section112]

To NYC Pirates initial comment about the stadium. The new stadium (not so new anymore) is so bad compared to old Giants Stadium. Noise level is not the same, hard to tailgate now and its a very poor design. This is one of the worst stadiums in the league IMO. I was a season ticket holder my whole life and selling my tix is the best decision I ever made.

 

[NYC Pirate]

Section 112 I agree with you and are on the same page as far as that anemic and un imaginative play calling during those several possessions in the second half. If you are on the road and the opposing crowd is intimidating your QB and offense maybe you reel it in. At home you have all the momentum with great field position as you said. Sequon had 3 yards in the second half. Some blame had to go on him with most on the OL. Not sure how many attempts other backs got. The coach didn’t have trust in anyone else and also his QB. End of first half he was afraid of a turnover too..

The Giants still control their destiny, but no window left. The Rams killed us by not holding the lead against Seattle. Also, the Giants need to win 3 games as I see it. I still believe they can. They’ve had two terrible games(Cowboys home and Lions home).

The stadium is what it is. Next week will be tough with all the Eagle fans there. Not an impossible game.

 

[TheHall87]

The other big play that cost the Giants was the no-call on offensive pass interference when McCloud had an INT chance.

2nd and four from the WC 27 with 2:57 left, McCloud had position on Dotson who grabbed him before the ball got there. Give me that call and you push WC back to the 14 for a 2nd and 17.

Maybe they still get the first down and ultimately score but I would have liked to take my chances there.

 

[SHU_Pirate1]

To NYC Pirates initial comment about the stadium. The new stadium (not so new anymore) is so bad compared to old Giants Stadium. Noise level is not the same, hard to tailgate now and its a very poor design. This is one of the worst stadiums in the league IMO. I was a season ticket holder my whole life and selling my tix is the best decision I ever made.

The world’s largest central air conditioning unit is one of the ugliest arenas in all of professional sports. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wrong.

 

[PirateFan94]

Drop by Slayton & taunting penalty on Feliciano were killers. Dabol had to call a timeout there because the ref ruled he stayed in bounds & was down before the fumble. On the Giants last time out Dabol did wait to long to call it. He lost about 10 seconds which really would have come in handy.

#44 McCloud is a good special teams player but he's totally lost in the secondary. Hopefully Jackson & McKinney get back soon.

Feliciano is much better than Gates. Learn & move on.

Disagree with last point. Gates against the Cowboys graded higher than Feliciano did in any game this season. He's a better center than guard and better than Feliciano who should be no more than a backup.

 

[TomD82]

To NYC Pirates initial comment about the stadium. The new stadium (not so new anymore) is so bad compared to old Giants Stadium. Noise level is not the same, hard to tailgate now and its a very poor design. This is one of the worst stadiums in the league IMO. I was a season ticket holder my whole life and selling my tix is the best decision I ever made.

Crowds have been much better than the previous years since the decline, but there were was a lot of empty seats for the Lions game too. I once had a guy fall 2-3 rows right into my back and I broke his fall helping him from not getting hurt. Another time back in the day a guy fell onto another fan (female) and my father and his friends confronted the guy who had the seats at the next home game and said you need to watch who you sell or give your tickets to. It is par for the course at any NFL game like NYC Pirate said and it is not just the visiting team fans starting trouble.

We gave up the PSLs 2 years ago. They were still contacting us asking if we wanted to renew. You would think they would have realized my father would be 101 years old. They did give him a pin for the Giants HOF as almost 70 yr season ticket holder. PSLs are worthless but there are people who bought them at pennies on the dollar and go to the games and do just the things NYC Pirate reported.

Section 112 Rodger Goodell still claims PSLs are a good investment! I am enjoying the season, but it is really smoke and mirrors that Daboll is doing. Maybe if the roster was healthy you could see real progress and make a real assertion about the team.

Hard to build around Barkley and Jones on max contracts, but a total reset of the offense without either is going to be difficult to do to move forward. No rookie QB where the Giants will be drafting or marginal veteran is going to be a game manager and be able to win with this team.

 

[Jerry1992]

Took my son to his first Giants game yesterday. I thought atmosphere was decent. Of course, several clowns in stands but nothing out of hand in our section. Probably typical for most NFL games. We had a great time and was a fairly entertaining game. Both teams got conservative in overtime leading to the tie. Giants playoff chances might depend on second Washington game. Need to win that one. Probably not beating Eagles but anything is possible in NFL this year. Btw. We are Steelers fans so outcome of tie was fine with us. But rather have giants pulled it out on the long field goal 😀

 

[hallgrad80]

Crowds have been much better than the previous years since the decline, but there were was a lot of empty seats for the Lions game too. I once had a guy fall 2-3 rows right into my back and I broke his fall helping him from not getting hurt. Another time back in the day a guy fell onto another fan (female) and my father and his friends confronted the guy who had the seats at the next home game and said you need to watch who you sell or give your tickets to. It is par for the course at any NFL game like NYC Pirate said and it is not just the visiting team fans starting trouble.

We gave up the PSLs 2 years ago. They were still contacting us asking if we wanted to renew. You would think they would have realized my father would be 101 years old. They did give him a pin for the Giants HOF as almost 70 yr season ticket holder. PSLs are worthless but there are people who bought them at pennies on the dollar and go to the games and do just the things NYC Pirate reported.

Section 112 Rodger Goodell still claims PSLs are a good investment! I am enjoying the season, but it is really smoke and mirrors that Daboll is doing. Maybe if the roster was healthy you could see real progress and make a real assertion about the team.

Hard to build around Barkley and Jones on max contracts, but a total reset of the offense without either is going to be difficult to do to move forward. No rookie QB where the Giants will be drafting or marginal veteran is going to be a game manager and be able to win with this team.

Crowds have been much better than the previous years since the decline, but there were was a lot of empty seats for the Lions game too. I once had a guy fall 2-3 rows right into my back and I broke his fall helping him from not getting hurt. Another time back in the day a guy fell onto another fan (female) and my father and his friends confronted the guy who had the seats at the next home game and said you need to watch who you sell or give your tickets to. It is par for the course at any NFL game like NYC Pirate said and it is not just the visiting team fans starting trouble.

We gave up the PSLs 2 years ago. They were still contacting us asking if we wanted to renew. You would think they would have realized my father would be 101 years old. They did give him a pin for the Giants HOF as almost 70 yr season ticket holder. PSLs are worthless but there are people who bought them at pennies on the dollar and go to the games and do just the things NYC Pirate reported.

Section 112 Rodger Goodell still claims PSLs are a good investment! I am enjoying the season, but it is really smoke and mirrors that Daboll is doing. Maybe if the roster was healthy you could see real progress and make a real assertion about the team.

Hard to build around Barkley and Jones on max contracts, but a total reset of the offense without either is going to be difficult to do to move forward. No rookie QB where the Giants will be drafting or marginal veteran is going to be a game manager and be able to win with this team.

I was not a fan of getting involved with OBJ as his contract would be too expensive and limit what we need to do to address the team weaknesses of which the receiving position is one and with 9 picks in the draft that was a better way to go. I see the Giants signing Jones but can’t figure what they’ll do with Barkley unless he’s willing to give the Giants a discount.

 

[Burnsly]

Disagree with last point. Gates against the Cowboys graded higher than Feliciano did in any game this season. He's a better center than guard and better than Feliciano who should be no more than a backup.

Just watch Gates on a few plays. He gets totally manhandled on a regular basis; more so at center. RG Glowinski is no box of chocolates either.

Thinking outside of the box, I'd like them to try Neal at LG & start Peart at RT. He did a decent job the game he filled in.

 

[NYC Pirate]

So I think it doesn’t have to be one or the other. The coaching staff and GM are doing a fine job out of the gate. On the other hand it’s still possible the rookie coach has made some blunders here and there. Players lost game on the specific plays all of us have pointed out. However, some of the plays called by the coaching staff were baffling., D. Jones was delivering the ball when he had protection. The pass blocking was not great and and the run blocking was atrocious. Not sure why they went away from those easy screens to Barkley. Those trap plays to Barkley are not working these last games.

 

[Piratz]

Washington also has arguably the best defensive interior in the sport. The Giants need OG Bredesen back desperately. He was playing well, much better than the revolving door they’ve had at OG since. Glowinksi has been awful, especially in pass protection. Ezeudu is probably the long-term solution.

The game at Washington next week on SNF is probably an elimination game. The Giants need to win that game and beat the Colts at home on New Year’s Day. That’ll get them to 9-7-1 and likely in. I can’t see them beating the Eagles or winning in Minnesota.

Funny if the Eagles rest their starters in the regular season finale in Philadelphia after all that fuss two years ago with them probably costing the 6-10 Giants the division under Joe Judge, lmao.

 

[NYC Pirate]

So, Sunday is a big day for Seton Hall and the Giants. Wins by both would really help any post season aspirations. Losing won’t be a death nail, but will make it tough.


Basically, it’s 4 teams vying for 2 playoff spots (Giants, Washington, Seattle and the Lions) . The Lions would have to run the table and probably have to win last 5. They have tough games including at the Jets. Not too realistic. SF should be able to get in despite the QB injury. Both Seattle and Washington still have a matchup with SF. If we narrow down the focus to Washington and the Giants it’s going to be interesting. In the recent past Sunday and Monday Night Football have produced awful demoralizing losses for the Giants. Hopefully, not this time. Something that could come into play is the last week of the season. Will Philly have something to play for and Dallas may have no chance for improvement either. They finish with Washington. No reason Giants can’t win at home against Philly., but as you say that Washington game is vital.

 

[ponyfoot19]

Over the last too many seasons it seems to me the Giant QB consistently has less time to throw than his opposing QB does. Giant receivers don't seem to get separation, and we have the recurring problem of getting the first. down running the ball in short yardage situations. The OL is better, but still has a lot of room for improvement. Stay away from Beckham. At best, he is a short term answer, and the Giants should be looking to next season and beyond. Draft like they did this past season, and augment areas of need through free agency

 

[hallgrad80]

The Giants will likely have a much lower pick in the draft then they have had in recent drafts and they can’t miss with their top pick, or any of their premier picks in the second , third or fourth round if their rebuild is to make progress . While I agree that the new regime had a good draft I didn’t like them taking their second round pick at 36 and trading it to the Jets and getting the Jets pick at 43 and reaching by selecting Wandale Robinson .

 

[HALL28]

I didn't like the Wandale pick at all, but he showed enough for me to have some belief that he will be very good for Daboll's offense. Seems like Daboll really wanted him and they chose to reach rather than lose him before their next pick. That said, he needs to get on the field next year because George Pickens (who many wanted on draft day) looks like he's going to become a star for the Steelers and they whiffed on a first- round WR in '21.

It'd be fun to see the Giants get the last playoff spot, get some players back healthy and take a shot against an overblown 2 seed Vikings team in the first round. Normally I'd say this team has no chance even if they make the playoffs, but Minnesota is totally beatable.

 

[Burnsly]

they can’t miss with their top pick, or any of their premier picks in the second , third or fourth round if their rebuild is to make progress .

We've been saying this for 6 years now & I finally have confidence it will happen.

 

[Section112]

I did not like how they traded down early in the 2nd round - there were a lot of good players there especially at CB (Moore and Booth), WR (Pickens) and O line they could have used in that spot. I know it was because of the cap but I wish they found a way to make that work and we might have had another long-term player on the roster.

 

[Piratz]

They will also have cap health and a ton of space. My guess is they're going to offer both Jones and Barkley contracts, but not top of market.

 

[hallgrad80]

What we’ll have to wait for is what expiring contracts they pick up to see just how much cap space they have to use in the free agent market beginning with Jones and Barkley. With most mock drafts predicting the Giants using their first round pick on a CB then WR and the interior OL look like the next draft priority unless they address those in free agency.

 

[NYC Pirate]

Giants need more help on the OL. Jones will play incrementally better with better protection.. They need a an impact LB too. If the can’t miss WR is there yes of course. Go free agency for the CB. I believe these next several games will make the decision on Barkley. Jones not as much..

Making the playoffs this year would be an excellent achievement all things considered. They need to go for it full throttle now. Build that winning culture. It will be ironic if Giants lose 2 playoff births over a few years as the result of an Evan Engram drop and a Feliciano bicep taunting penalty.

 

[PirateFan94]

Just watch Gates on a few plays. He gets totally manhandled on a regular basis; more so at center. RG Glowinski is no box of chocolates either.

Thinking outside of the box, I'd like them to try Neal at LG & start Peart at RT. He did a decent job the game he filled in.

Not sure what you watched. He graded out at 82 at center vs Dallas. He was bad at Guard against one of the best d-lines in football. If Bredson is back I’m starting Gates at center. Instant upgrade. Glowinski has beef up and down all year. He’s been good of late until last game. I’ll give him a pass considering the Redskins d-line.