It is over the top to call it a crisis, but not unfair to characterize the time and place of the Giants right now as the first crossroads for Joe Judge.
The first-year head coach miscalculated with his decision to start an immobile Daniel Jones in Week 14 and the results were shambolic. Jones could not get the job done physically – taking his legs away left him unable to function – and, perhaps more damagingly, the mental toll heaped upon a 23-year old quarterback taking the field while debilitated was not properly taken into account.
It takes something special to compete while sick or ailing and Jones did not have it at all in the 26-7 loss to the Cardinals. The Giants knew there would be no designed runs for Jones, only two weeks removed from suffering a strained right hamstring, and believed they could devise a game plan to work around this significant subtraction from the offense. That belief was either wishful thinking or flat-out wrong.
Jones is responsible for his own performance, but Judge is responsible for signing off on Jones getting the start. Was this malpractice? Of course not. Jones was not close to 100 percent, but he was capable of functioning if everything – and we mean everything – around him operated at the highest of levels. That was not going to happen with an offense that struggles in the best of times to produce points, even when the athletic and speedy Jones has two good wheels.
Judge and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett thought they had an altered plan of attack capable of succeeding. That assessment was not accurate. On the first play, Jones stood upright in the pocket and completed a pass over the middle to Darius Slayton for 13 yards. Positive gain with a hint of foreshadowing. Jones barely stepped into the throw and it sailed behind Slayton, who had to reach back to make the catch. Jones was off and he never got on.
Jones did not arrive for his post-game Zoom interview for 20 minutes as he received treatment on his hamstring and what he called “general bumps and bruises.” Sometimes when a player favors one part of his body, he inadvertently overcompensates and puts too much stress on another part of his body. All this had to be considered when giving Jones the green light.
Would a more experienced coach have kept Jones on the sideline and gone with Colt McCoy, the veteran backup, for a second consecutive week? Most likely, no. Starters start unless there is no way they cannot start. McCoy, though, would have been able to move in and out of the pocket and it is hard to fathom the offense could have been less productive with him in charge. Still, Jones was sacked six times on 27 pass plays and McCoy was sacked twice in five pass plays. The Cardinals were the more forceful team, no matter who was in at quarterback wearing blue.
Judge, even after 0-5 and 1-7, lived through a honeymoon period as his team was organized and focused through the losing. As the Giants won four straight, Judge was nearly canonized. He gives off every indication he is the right man for the job and that he will be in the job for years to come. This was not a blunder by Judge, rushing Jones back, but it is a hit. The results bear that out. The 159 total yards was the lowest Giants total in more than seven years. The 81 net passing yards was the lowest total in more than 13 years, ever since Eli Manning had 49 net passing yards in the rain, mud and torn-up sod at Wembley Stadium in London.
Worse than the horrid numbers was the way Jones looked, which was awful. Not confused or frustrated. Just not right, at all. Judge should do all he can to figure out what went wrong.
More that came out of a rough performance in Week 14:
— Rookie Xavier McKinney got his first NFL start and was on the field for nearly half (38 of 79) of the defensive snaps, filling in for another rookie, Darnay Holmes, who missed the game with a knee injury. McKinney had four tackles and did not play much after halftime, as Julian Love (45 snaps) took over as the slot corner. Anything McKinney gets in the final month can be viewed as a bonus, considering he missed 10 games following foot surgery. Perhaps he can help some in the final few games, but this is more about setting him up for a prominent role in 2021.
— Sometimes a play sticks out as odd and everyone goes after the play-caller and it turns out the quarterback changed the play at the line of scrimmage. This was not the case on the third-and-1 deep pass to Sterling Shepard in the third quarter, with the Giants trailing 20-7. On the previous down, Wayne Gallman ran for 9 yards to the Giants 16-yard line, and so this definitely was not four-down territory. Gallman averaged 4.8 yards per rushing attempt – it is not as if he was stymied all day. He did not get enough carries (only 12) because the offense managed only 49 snaps. Jones and Judge both said the Giants got what they wanted on this play and they liked the matchup. Shepard lined up in the slot and saw cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick across from him. The feeling was this would be a one-on-one situation, and it was. Shepard cut hard to the outside and ran up the right sideline. Jones’ throw was not really off the mark – the ball dropped just in bounds at the 40-yard line. The problem was Shepard achieved not one inch of separation and, in fact, Kirkpatrick actually had a step on Shepard on the route. The matchup was there, but the player counted on to beat his man did not do it. Handing the ball to Gallman to try to pick up the first down was the prudent move. Throwing it deep makes sense only if you can count on winning the individual battle, which did not happen here.
— The offensive line rotation went off as usual. Center Nick Gates, right guard Kevin Zeitler and left tackle Andrew Thomas played all 49 snaps. Right tackle Cam Fleming and rookie left guard Shane Lemieux played 38 snaps – eight series – and rookie Matt Peart and Will Hernandez subbed in for 11 snaps – three series. The offense was on the field so sparingly – the 22:08 time of possession was the second-lowest of the season – that fatigue was not an issue. Lemieux seems set as a starter now and moving forward. Will the Giants make the move and insert Peart for Fleming with the starting unit? That is the significant question in the final weeks.
— Dion Lewis has not provided the spark expected of him as a kick returner. Trailing 6-0 in the second quarter, he decided to take off on a return from the goal line even though there was not much blocking setting up in front of him. First contact was made at the 15-yard line, making his decision a poor choice. He had no chance to get out beyond the 20 and approach the 25-yard line. Then disaster struck when he fumbled the ball away, giving the Cardinals the ball on the Giants’ 21-yard line. This was not a case of complete sloppiness by Lewis. It was more a case of bad luck. Linebacker Kylie Fitts was getting blocked off the play by Eli Penny when Fitts’ right leg swung out and his foot kicked the ball out of Lewis’ grasp. Lewis had the ball properly secured in his right hand and never saw the kick coming.
— Blake Martinez is not only a smart guy, a team guy, a leader and an excellent player. He is also a tough guy. He was slowed all week with a back issue and did not even practice at all on Friday. He ended up playing 74 of the ridiculously-high 79 snaps on defense, and the only five snaps he missed appeared to be situational – the Giants went with no linebackers and seven defensive backs – and not injury-related.
Read Again Brow https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiW2h0dHBzOi8vbnlwb3N0LmNvbS8yMDIwLzEyLzE0L2pvZS1qdWRnZS1hdC1maXJzdC1naWFudHMtY3Jvc3Nyb2Fkcy1hZnRlci1kYW5pZWwtam9uZXMtcmlzay_SAV9odHRwczovL255cG9zdC5jb20vMjAyMC8xMi8xNC9qb2UtanVkZ2UtYXQtZmlyc3QtZ2lhbnRzLWNyb3Nzcm9hZHMtYWZ0ZXItZGFuaWVsLWpvbmVzLXJpc2svYW1wLw?oc=5Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Joe Judge at first Giants crossroads after shambolic Daniel Jones risk - New York Post "
Post a Comment