The New York Giants (1-2) will face the Washington Redskins (0-3) this Sunday at MetLife Stadium. A victory would make them .500 on the season and would the first time they haven’t sported a losing record since the end of the 2016 season.
Every Thursday, the team’s three coordinators meet the media pool to update and discuss the state of their individual units.
Offensive coordinator Mike Shula
The Giants found their mojo on offense behind rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, who took the bull by the horns in the second half in Tampa and led the Giants to victory. The win did not come without a price, however. Star running back Saquon Barkley suffered an ankle injury that threatens to keep him sidelined for four-to-eight weeks.
Shula was asked how the loss of Barkley will change the game plan as they decided to go forward with his backup, Wayne Gallman.
“We are still going to run our stuff,” said Shula. “Wayne runs the ball differently than Saquon, but we still have our things that we want to hang our hat on. Then we’ll tweak them week to week based on personnel or based on the defense we are playing. We feel like we want to try to have good balance each and every week and do the things that keep you out of long-yardage situations, and then obviously get the ball in the end zone when you get close to the goal line.”
Defensive coordinator James Bettcher
The Giants defense, most notably their pass coverage, has been downright awful through the first three weeks. Most have been pointing to rookie Deandre Baker, who quarterbacks have exploited to the tune of a 137.4 rating. But it is veteran Janoris Jenkins who is equally to blame. He is getting torched at 140.7 rate.
On Sunday in Tampa, Jenkins had his worst game as a Giant, allowing the Bucs’ Mike Evans to burn him for 190 yards on seven catches, three of them touchdowns.
“Honestly, I don’t have concern, I don’t have concern about any of our players, as long as they are working the process,” Bettcher said when asked if he was concerned about Jenkins. “I think Jack is doing that, I think he is coming to practice, I saw it today, he’s diving to knock balls away, he’s competing, he’s working on fundamentals and techniques in individual, he’s all in on fixing what he needs to fix. The truth is, he’s not the only one. On some of those snaps, his technique might not have been as good as he would want it to be, but there’s maybe a rusher or two that their technique wasn’t as good, either. We’re coaching all of those guys, not just one.”
Special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey
The Giants lead the NFL in punt return average (15.8) with thanks to TJ Jones, who has a 60-yard return to his credit this season. The punting coverage team continues to be one of the league’s best, allowing just 2.1 yards per return.
“Guys just play hard,” McGaughey said when asked what the secret of covering punts was. “During the week, obviously we watch the opponent. Just the way we go about our coverage units, period. We take a very serious attitude when it comes to it. We give them the freedom just to play and play fast. We don’t give them a whole lot of responsibilities. They understand leverage and lanes and all that stuff. But at the end of the day, it’s about playing hard and playing fast. When you give guys, schematically, a lot to think about, it slows them down. But when you take away that cloud, they get a chance to really shine. We really just focus on just playing fast. That’s it.”
Two weeks ago, rookie defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence was flagged for a personal foul on a Buffalo field goal attempt, which was good. He was too aggressive with the center, who the officials felt was vulnerable on the play. The Bills took the points off the board and then scored a touchdown.
Last week, Lawrence surged up the middle again against Tampa Bay. This time, he got his hand on a PAT which ended up being the difference in a one-point Giant win.
“Dexter’s a big man. A very big man. 6-foot-5, 340 pounds,” said McGaughey. “If you don’t play with good leverage against Dex, you could have a long day. He’s one of the biggest men I’ve ever coached in my life, if not the biggest. But he is very powerful. A very powerful man. He understands leverage. He really does. He knows that once he gets underneath people, he can make people move.”
