It’s been a long season for the New York Giants, but things are winding down. Not much has been accomplished thus far — just three wins in the first 14 games — but the players keep going and the coaches keep working.
This week, the Giants will travel down to Washington to face the Redskins, another 3-11 team seeking a path back to respectability. The game has some meaning to it. The winner gets to stay out of the NFC East basement while the winner betters their lot in the 2020 NFL Draft.
The Giants’ three coordinators briefed the media on their respective units as the next to last regular season game approaches.
Offensive coordinator Mike Shula
Rookie wide receiver Darius Slayton (44 receptions, 690 yards and three touchdowns) was considered a player who could “stretch the field’ out of college but the fifth-round draft pick out of Auburn has shown he is much more than that.
Shula was asked about Slayton’s route running and how surprised the Giants are at how advanced he is.
“I think Tyke (Tolbert) has done a great job with him. I think we probably didn’t give him enough credit as a route-runner coming out of college,” Shula said. “I know those guys are well-coached down there at Auburn. They have a little bit different offense than we do, but they still run a lot of the same routes. We saw a lot of big plays, just like everybody did, when he was coming out in the draft. But he’s really good at really running all of the routes for a young guy. For example, one of the easiest things, you would think it’s easy, but a lot of the time, especially for young guys, just getting the proper depth.
“He’s probably as good as any rookie as I’ve ever seen, as little as that is, at just getting depth because as we know, the timing is so important. If you’re short, the quarterback is going to be late with the ball. He’s done a good job with that.”
Defensive coordinator James Bettcher
Cornerback DeAndre Baker, selected 30th overall in this year’s NFL Draft, had a rough first half the season but the game has slowed down for him here in the second half. Bettcher spoke about the progress the rookie has made as the season has unfolded.
“I think it’s just a combination of a young player starting to understand where his eyes need to be, being square at the right times,” said Bettcher. “It really falls under what I was saying with the last question. Identifying the things you need to get better at and having really good intentional work to get better at them. About two or three weeks ago, I said it in front of the whole defense. It was a Friday practice and we do some production things during the week and we put it up on the boards every day.
“He had just a great week, he had a really good week of prep and it showed up on game day. Those kinds of things, stacking one rep in practice, stacking one position meeting and for rookies in this league first, second, third-year players to develop their skills sets, I think he’s progressing in regards to that. He has to continue to get better at some things.”
Special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey
Two weeks ago, the Giants committed to punter Riley Dixon with a three-year contract extension. Dixon has had a solid season and there were some predicting he could receive a Pro Bowl nod. That didn’t come this week (Washington’s Tress Way was selected), but McGaughey sees Dixon as a player of that caliber.
“He’s had a good year, he really has,” said McGaughey. “I think he’s turned a corner. He’s enjoying punting. I think today he might have hit 3,000 balls. He’s enjoying it, he’s enjoying his craft. He’s feeling himself turn that corner. Everything is starting to click for him a little bit more now.
“Last week, it was a little crazy with the conditions and the wind and stuff, but even with the conditions that we had, he did a good job of handling it. So, I think he’s definitely—the arrow is up for him. He’s moving in the right direction.”
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