The New York Giants (2-4) will host the Arizona Cardinals (2-3-1) at MetLife Stadium this Sunday in a matchup that has several subplots and backstories.
It is the first meeting of the top two quarterbacks selected in the 2019 NFL Draft (Kyler Murray and Daniel Jones) and also marks the first time several players and coaches — on both sides — will be facing their old teams.
Here is the Thursday update from the Giants three coordinators as they prepare for Sunday’s game.
Defensive coordinator James Bettcher
Bettcher spent the previous five seasons before joining the Giants in 2018 with the Cardinals from 2013-17. In his last three years he served as the team’s defensive coordinator.
“It’s not about that at all,” Bettcher said when asked if he had any extra emotion for Sunday’s game. “I have a ton or respect for Mr. Bidwell, Steve Keim, there’s a lot of people in that building that are just great people. My wife and I had a great five years in Arizona, it’s a great place to raise a family, but we’re lucky and fortunate to be New York Football Giants. We’re excited to be here and other than that, we are just getting ready to play a game.”
On facing the elusive rookie quarterback Kyler Murray:
“I think our guys are excited about this challenge, a quarterback that’s really dynamic. I have spent 10 games playing against Russell Wilson in Seattle, so I have seen some guys like this that can buy time with their feet who are accurate and can deliver the ball on time and on schedule, then create some off-schedule plays. They’ve created a good amount of explosives in the pass game off of that. Also, the read option, there’s designed quarterback runs where he is running it and there’s other plays where he is reading the scheme of the defense, tucking the ball and carrying it or giving it. It’s going to be a great challenge for our guys.”
Offensive coordinator Mike Shula
On offense, the Giants have yet to have all four their big ticket offensive weapons available to Jones. Wide receiver Golden Tate was still serving his suspension for Jones’ first two starts and running back Saquon Barkley has missed the last three games with an ankle sprain. Wide receiver Sterling Shepard (concussion) and tight end Evan Engram (knee) missed last week’s game in New England.
The four could all be in uniform for the Arizona game. Shula spoke about the challenge of seeing a game plan and calling plays with key players out of the lineup.
“It’s part of the game,” Shula said. “We talk about it a lot, and Coach Shurmur talks about it. You actually have to plan for that. Ideally, everyone stays healthy and you get everybody working in sync together through a lot of reps together. But it just doesn’t happen. We really spend almost as much time making sure the guys that we know are going to be called upon to step up are getting those same reps, physically or mentally. Is it a factor? I’d hate to say yes, because then it sounds like it’s an excuse. But we will say this. We welcome those guys back when they come back.”
Special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey
The Giants had a punt blocked and returned for a touchdown against New England when Nate Stupar (who has since been waived) was pushed back by the Patriots’ Brandon Bolden into punter Riley Dixon. The punted ball hit the back of Stupar’s helmet and caromed into the hands of Chase Winovich, who took it six yards for score.
“That’s exactly it. It’s one guy beating another guy,” McGaughey explained. “Brandon Bolden is a professional special teams player, as we call them in our realm. He does a great job. He’s a hell of a player, and he’s been one for the last seven to eight years. That’s just Brandon Bolden being Brandon Bolden. We just have to play with better leverage, better power, but it happened.”
Another issue McGaughey addressed with the media on Thursday was — you guessed it — the returner roles. With rookie Corey Ballentine in the concussion protocol, the Giants will once again have a new kick returner.
“We have a couple options back there,” he said. “Cody (Latimer) has done it before for us in the past, and we’ve been grooming a couple other guys. So, we’ll see.”
The main “other guy” is rookie Darius Slayton, who did not return kicks at Auburn. Another possibility is Jabrill Peppers, who could be returning punts as well as Golden Tate. The answer will likely come on game day.
