The Arizona Cardinals are set to take on the New York Giants on the road in Week 7. The team has already made the trip. It is an important game for both teams. The Cardinals could win their third straight game and improve to 3-3-1, while the Giants can keep in the NFC East race with a win and improve to 3-4.
As we typically do each week, we collaborated with the sister site for the opposing team to find out more about the team. This week I connected with Giants Wire managing editor Dan Benton.
He answered a few questions and gives us some perspective from a different point of view.
Here are the questions and answers:
What are the early returns on Daniel Jones? How confident are people that he can be a successful successor to Eli Manning?
The confidence level is extremely high for Jones. Early on, he’s displayed remarkably impressive footwork, a quick release, pinpoint accuracy and a unique ability to change a play with his legs, which the Giants have not had since Y.A. Tittle. Of course, with the good comes the bad and Jones has had his fair share of rookie mistakes in recent weeks as well. The good news is that he doesn’t make the same mistake twice and has learned to quickly flush away bad plays and move onto the next. He’s at the point now where defenses have seen his strengths and are beginning to adjust to him, so the onus now falls on the rookie to readjust and remain a step ahead of his opponents.
Cardinals fans will remember Giants DC James Bettcher, who was the Cardinals’ DC from 2015-2017. How is his system working? The statistical numbers don’t look good overall. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Giants defense?
The entire process to move from a 4-3 defense to James Bettcher’s 3-4 defense has been an extremely slow burn. The Giants still don’t necessarily have the correct personnel in place to truly excel in Bettcher’s system, but they are much further along than they were a year ago. In recent weeks, the pass rush has come on strong, but there are still quirks that need to be ironed out, especially in the secondary. One of the biggest issues early on has been the cornerbacks playing entirely too far off of their receivers, but they’ve begun to tighten that up to some degree. Unfortunately, there’s still quite a bit of work to do, so I don’t think anyone will see the high point of Bettcher’s system until sometime next season.
How much different will things be with Saquon Barkley and Evan Engram returning to the lineup?
It will be a 180. Barkley and Engram are focal points No. 1 and No. 2 for the Giants on offense, so being without them has forced the team to completely adjust their approach. They still won’t be at full strength given that WR Sterling Shepard is out with a concussion, but Barkley and Engram account for upwards of 45-50 percent of the team’s offensive production. The Cardinals, obviously, have struggled against the tight end this season, so Engram should be able to create some substantial mismatches that Arizona will struggle to counter because then it opens the door for Barkley to make a stink out of the backfield. And, of course, on the ground, there are precious few as dangerous as Barkley.
What matchups are you most excited about? Which ones are you most worried about?
As I mentioned earlier, Engram vs. anyone on the Cardinals defense is a matchup I feel the Giants should absolutely exploit. Engram is a tight end who is capable of playing like a wide receiver, speed included, so I would go to that well early and often if I were the man calling plays. On the opposite end of that spectrum, I am concerned about Larry Fitzgerald (or basically any Cardinals receiver) against a Giants secondary that is giving up the third-most yards per game and the most big plays through the air this season. It’s entirely possible that Senior Fitz has a career game, and that’s saying something. Also, not that this is a strong or weak matchup, but watching Markus Golden battle D.J. Humphries — two friends — should be entertaining.
Who are some under-the-radar players who are contributing?
Rookie wide receiver Darius Slayton is a player who immediately comes to find. He has a few flash plays every game and has obviously developed quite a rapport with Daniel Jones. The fifth-round pick can only get better from here. Another player to keep an eye on is linebacker Lorenzo Carter, who’s box score numbers won’t leap off the screen, but he has generated the sixth-most quarterback hits in the league this season and might be the guy tasked with making sure Kyler Murray doesn’t take off running. Also, while Dexter Lawrence has dominated the headlines in recent weeks, don’t sleep on Dalvin Tomlinson, who is routinely eating up multiple blockers.
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