MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – If the Giants are about to be led by Tyrod Taylor, it’s fair to wonder how long that Plan B can even last behind an abysmal offensive line.
The Giants could not protect Taylor in the final 12 minutes of Sunday’s 31-16 loss to the Dolphins any better than they have failed to keep safe Daniel Jones – their $160 million quarterback now suffering from a neck injury similar to the one that sidelined him for six games in 2021.
The end result was Taylor gasping for air during a fortuitously timed two-minute warning, while receiver Parris Campbell warmed up on the sideline as a potential wildcat quarterback.
“He had the wind knocked out of him,” head coach Brian Daboll said. “We were set with the play, with people in there to do it, but then he looked at me and said he was good. He said he needed one [play off] and then it was a long break, and then he said was good to go [without missing a play].”
It was reminiscent of last season’s game against the Bears when Jones injured his ankle, Taylor played 12 snaps before suffering a concussion, Saquon Barkley took a few direct snaps to cap a scoring drive and then a hobbled Jones finished the game by handing off.
Only this time, Jones wasn’t coming back and Barkley was dressed in street clothes because of a high-ankle sprain.
Because Taylor is a scrambler by nature, his instincts are quicker than even Jones’ to flee a collapsing pocket. And thus it is no coincidence that Taylor – who also has mopped up in three blowout losses this season – has been injured trying to make a play in each of the last two games that Jones has left injured.
“It’s tough,” tight end Darren Waller said when asked about watching Jones absorb hit after hit under 82 quarterback pressures. “Football is a violent game. I don’t think people take into account that if you make it healthy out of any game, it’s a blessing. Just praying that it’s not anything serious for him and we can get him back as soon as possible.”
The severity of Jones’ injury is not yet known after he underwent an X-Ray and scheduled an MRI for Monday.
But if the Giants need to turn to Taylor as the starter and elevate Tommy DeVito from the practice squad Sunday against the Bills, it’s clear that there better be a couple wildcat quarterbacks on call who are willing to take a beating.
Here are six other thoughts with the Giants’ season spiraling to a 1-4 start:
Offensive oversight
Through an entire cycle of free agency, the draft and post-training camp cuts, the Giants never upgraded their swing tackles. The plan to run it back with Tyre Phillips (five starts last season) and Matt Peart seemed like a small oversight, especially considering Andrew Thomas’ injury history and Evan Neal’s rookie struggles.
Well, it has turned out to be a massive oversight, especially when combined with the curious decision to release Phillips in late August.
After Thomas injured his hamstring in Week 1, the Giants bypassed Peart – raising the question of his role on the team and why he wasn’t swapped out for a viable swing tackle available after cut day – to move backup guard Josh Ezeudu to left tackle. In other words, Ezeudu – who couldn’t win one of two starting guard jobs in a training-camp competition slanted in his favor against Mark Glowinski (since-benched twice) – was called on to replace an All-Pro on the line’s most important position after not practicing at the spot all summer.
“Those guys have worked their tails off at practice,” Daboll said of Ezeudu and Peart. “They have certain skill sets. They’ve got quick feet. They’ve got some length. But it takes everybody.”
Ezeudu predictably has been overmatched, and it finally resulted in Jones’ injury and his own benching.
If none of the four injured offensive linemen – Thomas, center John Michael Schmitz, left guard Shane Lemieux and right guard Marcus McKethan – return in time to face the Bills, the Giants probably have to start Peart, Glowinski, Ben Bredeson, practice-squad elevation Jalen Mayfield and Neal (left to right).
Perhaps veteran Justin Pugh could be called up from the practice squad in his second week with the team. Or Phillips can be re-signed from the Eagles practice squad. Or maybe Ezeudu would be more comfortable back at guard – if his confidence hasn’t been completely shattered as appeared to be the case when he fought back tears in the locker room as he soaked in the gravity of the unenviable position he was put in.
‘Do a better job’
Daboll is fond of saying “we need to do a better job.” He said it – or a version of it – six times in less than eight minutes Sunday in his post-game press conference.
It mostly means nothing – a fancy way to no-comment – but he might want to consider doing “a better job” in those settings.
Less is not always more when thousands of frustrated Giants fans watch and listen to those interviews hoping for an explanation of what just happened and searching for reassurance that it won’t happen again. Instead, those looking for insights into possible personnel changes on the offensive line or reaction to a touchdown drought stretching back nearly 10 quarters or Daboll’s message to the team all were greeted with “we need to do a better job.”
Predecessor Joe Judge’s 2,614-word, 11-minute rant after a Week 16 loss in 2021 undoubtedly contributed to his dismissal weeks later, but there was no denying that he was as angry as the fans.
Daboll is a fireball on the sidelines – as television broadcasts like to highlight – but he has a well-thought-out reason for every decision, so his commitment to remaining stoic, not delivering a soundbite and not revealing any secrets in front of the microphone rings as quirky during good times but as hollow during bad.
7-percenters
Long before analytics were called analytics, Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells gathered research that showed teams that are plus-three in the turnover battle win 93 percent of the games. Who knows how much the odds increase when one of those takeaways also results in a touchdown?
The Giants’ defense gained two interceptions and recovered a fumble, while the offense was turnover-free. Plus-three.
The formula might not take into account a defense that simultaneously allows 524 yards, including six plays of 20 yards or more and two touchdowns covering more than 65 yards apiece.
No Gray area
It was refreshing to see rookie Eric Gray – who had zero carries in his first four NFL games – become the lead back in Saquon Barkley’s absence. At least for a moment, anyway.
For those who wondered why the Giants utilized veteran Matt Breida as the starter and Gary Brightwell as the backup – neither one of whom will be the running back of the future if Barkley is elsewhere next season – during the first two games without Barkley, see Exhibit A: Gray ran hard, but his fumbling issues from special teams carried over to offense. Ezeudu recovered after Gray lost control Sunday.
Gray finished with 12 carries for 25 yards, and the Giants averaged less than three yards per carry for the second time in three games without Barkley.
Meanwhile, Dolphins rookie De’Von Achane became the first NFL player during the Super Bowl era with seven touchdowns in his four career games. Achane was a third-round pick. Gray was a fifth-rounder.
So, that theory that Barkley is disposable and you can find productive running backs anywhere in the draft? You might want to rethink it unless the Giants are suddenly going to end up with the Eagles’ offensive line and the Dolphins’ speedy playmakers to create the type of open space that Barkley hasn’t seen during the last five years.
Defensive identity theft
The final tallies on the Giants’ blitzes and man-to-man coverage will be interesting.
It felt to the naked eye like the Giants played true to Wink Martindale’s patented style – with a couple personnel tweaks like fewer snaps with three defensive linemen, more for athletic inside linebacker Isaiah Simmons and fewer for cornerback Tre Hawkins (14) than Cor’Dale Flott (27) – but Dolphins offensive-minded head coach Mike McDaniel said he was expecting something else.
“We saw absolutely, positively an extreme version of an antithesis of the defense that we prepared for,” McDaniel said. “They came out in a different personnel package and played coverages they’ve never played before.”
Trade deadline
Will the Giants be sellers before the Oct. 31 deadline? Defensive tackle Leonard Williams, cornerback Adoree’ Jackson, safety Xavier McKinney and Barkley all are on expiring contracts.
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