Giants: Takeaways From Battle Of New York
The NY Giants lost to the Jets in the preseason finale. First, the Giants lost their backup QB to injury. Next, Daniel Bellinger was impressive and proved the Giants don’t need to upgrade at that position. Finally, Austin Calirto showed he could be an outstanding backup linebacker for the Giants.
The NY Giants lost to the Jets in the crosstown preseason finale, 31-27. While the NY Giants did lose the game, there were some positive outcomes to take with the disappointing result. First, Daniel Bellinger was very impressive in his limited play. Bellinger had three catches for 37 yards. He caught all the passes that were intended for him. While that is not an extremely impressive stat line, Bellinger showed that he could provide the type of tight end that Brian Daboll’s system needs. In today’s matchup, he showed that he runs the flat routes very well (these are the tight-end routes that Daboll uses in his system).
Tyrod Taylor Injured
While Bellinger was solid in limited reps for the NY Giants in their preseason finale, the team did lose Tyrod Taylor to injury. Tyrod Taylor was the starter for today’s game, as Daniel Jones had the day off. In the first half of the game, Taylor got walloped by Michael Clemons after completing a pass to Bellinger. It appears he injured his back on the play. He did not return to the game. Taylor did walk off in his power but needed a cart to get to the locker room after getting to the sideline. Hopefully, he can return sooner than later.
Daniel Bellinger with a 25 yard catch but Tyrod Taylor goes down pic.twitter.com/JXBuk9F4Oo — Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) August 28, 2022
While he would not be the week one starter, he could replace Jones later in the season (from injury or repeatable bad performances). He can’t do that if he is injured for a considerable chunk of the season. It seems like Taylor will be fine going forward, as Daboll said in his post-game press conference, but they are waiting for more tests to be fully confirmed.
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Tyrod Taylor “should be OK,” per coach Brian Daboll. He was back on the sidelines in street clothes for the second half. — Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) August 28, 2022
Promising NY Giants Depth
In more positive news, Austin Carlito had a fantastic game. The backup linebacker forced a fumble and had a pick-six and one tackle for loss. Considering that Micah Mcfadden has also had a strong training camp, the middle linebacker position for the NY Giants seems to be very deep. The middle linebacker position for the NY Giants will be crucial for this defense (considering the state of the secondary. NY Giants fans should be very confident about the Giants’ middle linebacker players because of the solid middle linebacker rotation of Blake Martinez, Tae Crowder, Micah Mcfadden, and Austin Carlito.
Kenny Golladay started the 3rd game of the preseason just to do this (nothing) on the first offensive snap pic.twitter.com/inORZJKRCL — Kevin Boilard (@KevinBoilard) August 28, 2022
NY Giants Golladay is Still an Issue
In minor news for the squad, Kenny Golladay had a very embarrassing first play of the game. During the game’s first play, Golladay didn’t even attempt to block the corner. This was embarrassing for the veteran wide receiver as fans roasted him online about it. G-Men fans are already frustrated with Golladay because he hasn’t played up to his contract.
At the same time, some of that criticism can sometimes be a little much time (and honestly, Big Blue should blame former GM Dave Gettleman for offering/signing him to that contract. (especially offering those guarantees in the later years of the deal) this play (obviously) He doesn’t make NY Giants fans look more favorable on Golladay. Instead, it makes them look even less favorably on him.
Asked Brian Daboll if Kenny Golladay’s roster spot is in question. “All those receivers are competing … Joe and I will sit back and talk about everything,” he said. Golladay played Sunday b/c Giants played all healthy WRs. Daboll brought up it’s a competitive group. #giants — Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) August 28, 2022
While he will probably not be cut due to his high contract, his play has warranted questions about his future with the NY Giants. While his play has been foul, it will be tough to get rid of soon as the dead cap hit of 14 million this year and 6 million next year (with 14 million dollars in dead money next year, so quite simply, the NY Giants would lose 8 million dollars of cap space next year if they cut him). So while he might not be cut anytime soon, his playing time might suffer. Daboll has said that the NY Giants’ expansive receiver room is “a competitive group.”
Finally, the NY Giants lost this game after leading late. Chris Streveler led the Jets on a touchdown drive late to win the game. He threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson to win the game. The Giants were not able to respond and lost the game. This year, the NY Giants’ record in the preseason was 2-1. The NY Giants go on the road to face the Tennesse Titans in their season opener in two weeks.