Takeaways from Giants Pre Season loss to the Jets
By Jesse Connor
The Giants lackluster pre season continued last night as Big Blue did very little against the cross field rival New York Jets.
The Giants offense struggled to move the ball. The defense generated zero pass rush, created zero turnovers and had difficulty setting the edge to contain running lanes to the inside. With that being said the Giants were down 4 starters and several more key reserves.
The injuries list got larger too. Defensive end Robert Ayers got hurt during warm up and 7th round draft pick Bobby Hart needed to be helped off the field in the 3rd quarter. Hart had been playing well to this point.
Offense
Eli Manning improved on his completions this week going 12 for 16 on pass attempts. Unfortunately he threw an Alex Smith like 91 yards. Manning threw a pick 6 to Antonio Cromartie just before the first half expired. With the exception of one very good drive in which the Giants drove 85 yards on 14 plays to eat 8 minutes of clock the first team offense was rather quiet.
Ryan Nassib played well again. He completed 11 of 18 passes for 122 yards and 1 touchdown. Nassib showed his ability to run well
Aug 9, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants quarterback Ryan Nassib (9) passes against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
again as he took off and ran 3 times for 30 yards, leading the Giants in rushing.
James Jones and Odell Beckham each had 5 receptions a piece. Jerome Cunningham played a good game with 2 catches for 30 yards and a touchdown. Cunningham blocked well from the tight end spot and blocked well lined up at fullback as well. He is making a very strong push to be the 3rd tight end on the Giants roster.
The run game failed to get much going. Rashad Jennings, Shane Vereen, and Orleans Darkwa all averaged 3 yards per carry while Andre Williams carried the ball twice for 0 yards. Vereen also had 3 catches for 30 yards.
The offensive line allowed the Jets to sack the Giants quarterbacks 3 times.
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Defense
Jayron Hosley wasted no time negatively influencing the defense. On the Jets second drive they ran off tack to the right side of the field. Hosely failed to contain Jet running back Chris Ivory as he ran for a 12 yard gain.
Unai Unga played very well again. He led the Giants with 8 tackles.
Safety Cooper Taylor had his second sack of the pre season, similar to his first one against the Bengals, Taylor reacted to the quarterback leaving the pocket to run, he has excellent closing speed and displayed it here.
Cornerback Trevin Wade continued his up and down play. Wade played well with 5 tackles but missed a few chances too. One in particular that stands out to me was a missed tackle on Walter Powell’s touchdown return. Wade came in on a terrible angle, did not break down, and simply whiffed on Powell.
Victor Butler looked to be outmatched all game. He was blown back numerous times, including on an attempted tackle where he was carried about 5 yards.
Jameel McClain played a good game with 5 tackles. McClain will be on the field a lot this season, either as a reserve or spot starter so it was nice to see him contributing especially with Jon Beason and Mark Herzlich being out for the game.
Jet quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 2 touchdowns. The first was an 18 yarder to Eric Decker. Safety Jeromy Miles came up way too close to the line of scrimmage and offered zero help over the top of the defense as Fitzpatrick made an easy throw for the score.
The second touchdown came on a 24 yard screen play to Zac Stacy. Stacy was wide open as the enitre defense followed Fitzpatrick’s eyes to the opposite side of the field. Only one Giant was in position to make a tackle on Stacy, That Giant was Brandon Merriweather. Instead of trying to make a form tackle before the endzone Merriweather came in out of control and tried to drop a shoulder on the running back. Stacy instead leaped over Merriweather into the endzone for the score. It worries me that Merriweather, the only proven veteran in the secondary, is more concerned with the big hit then making the play.
Special Teams
Josh Brown’s only field goal attempt of 48 yards was good.
Steve Weatherford punted the ball 3 times, pinning two inside the 20. His competition, Robert Malone punted the ball twice for an average of 32 yards including one that was taken back to the house by Jet return man Walter Powell.
Orleans Darkwa proved his worth on special teams as he threw an excellent block as the upback in punt formation. The punt however was returned for a touchdown due to a lack of lane discipline, terrible angles, and poor tackling. Darkwa continues to make a strong case to be the 4th running back.
Dwayne Harris and Akeem Hunt handled the kickoff returns, each returning 2 kicks. Harris averaged 29 yards per return while Hunt averaged 26 yards per return.