The New York Giants’ 2024 preseason is thankfully over. The Giants lost 10-6 to the New York Jets. Over the next 48 hours, general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll will be hard at work assembling an initial 53-man roster that still needs a lot of work in some areas.
Before we get into this week’s thoughts, a few words about the Giants’ overall preseason preparation.
For the second year in a row, head coach Brian Daboll insisted on leaving his starters out of every practice session – he did so this year against the Lions and again against the Jets – believing that if they could make good plays during practice sessions, everything would be rosy.
With all due respect to Daboll, this is a very flawed approach. A collective practice is conducted in a controlled environment. The quarterback cannot be hit and often plays that should have ended in sacks continue, creating a false sense of success.
There are no live tackles. And unlike a faster-paced game where anything is possible, the joint training sessions are often planned so that coaches focus on something specific they want to see, rather than the bigger picture.
Despite these concerns, Daboll told reporters after the game that he was happy with the current composition of the squad.
“I think we are mentally and physically strong enough. We still have a week of training camp ahead of us,” he said. “I told the guys there that we are still focused on the New York Giants and that we will have a lot of good phases.”
“We’ll have another protective gear day next week. The first day back, it’ll just be the 53 guys because the guys from the training team can’t be there, so that’ll be reduced. But there will be protective gear, competition phases and things we still need to clean up. But I like the direction we’re going.”
Again, Daboll has been coaching for a long time and I’m sure he has his reasons for doing what he does, but I really wish he would rethink his approach to preseason games, especially when you have a team whose core was 6-11 last year and you now have a new offensive line, new weapons on offense and a new defensive coordinator.
You don’t have to let the starters play a full game – even a quarter of the work would have been enough. And you don’t have to be put off by the fact that your starters would be playing against the Jets’ reserves. It’s about getting them the work they need to be ready for the start of the 2024 season.
Maybe that’s much ado about nothing, but it’s the same approach they took last year, and we all know what happened. Hopefully the Giants get off to a good start this year — they can’t afford to go 0-2 to start the season. But if not, check off the approach Daboll took this summer as a possible reason.
Here are some other takeaways from this less than impressive performance. The Giants’ reserve players were no match for the Jets’ reserve players in a 10-6 loss.
If you know it, you know it
You know you’ve made the squad when you get the chance to watch the final preseason game as a spectator, an honor usually reserved for an established starter or key reserve player.
But when you’re Elijah Chatman, an undrafted rookie free agent who had to earn an invite to training camp in the spring, and you get the night off, well, that just speaks to the hard work and effort this former SMU defenseman has put into his game.
Chatman has been the surprise of the summer for the Giants. In 72 snaps in the preseason, he has recorded five pressures (one sack) and has one run stop and one missed tackle among his five total tackles. Whether he plays in the regular season remains to be seen, but congratulations to the young man who worked his ass off and earned a spot on the roster.
A few snapshots for the starters
Although the Giants left most of their regular players on the bench, they made a point of giving some work to the guys who had missed large portions of practice or had performed poorly this summer.
The two most notable players in this category were both offensive linemen. Center John Michael Schmitz, who missed 10 practices with a shoulder injury (the same shoulder that kept him out three games last year), was on a pitch count that ended early when someone rolled on his ankle.
Schmitz declined to elaborate on his injury, saying he is fine and that things like that happen in football, but it will be interesting to see if he misses practice over the next two weeks before the season opens.
When asked why Schmitz got some snaps, Daboll said, “He needs it. Offensive linemen have to lean on people, pass, run and be in the trenches. He’s a second-year player that we expect to be in the starting lineup for us, and he hasn’t been on the field yet.”
“The guys up front that were out there had a lot of effort and he had to get them. (Tackle) Evan (Neal) had to get them. Guys that aren’t out there need them. Availability is important.”
The same applies to continuity, especially within a unit whose likely starting eleven has not yet played a live game together.
Offensive tackle Evan Neal also received playing time. Neal, who underwent season-ending ankle surgery last November and suffered a setback in the spring, began the summer on the PUP list. His buildup has been slow, as he didn’t get live snaps in the Giants’ first two preseason games, so this week should be a good test for him.
He was a mixed bag at first glance before his night ended prematurely when someone rolled on his surgically treated ankle. Neal remains a solid run blocker, but his pass blocking was once again mixed.
Neal, who was on the pitch count list – he played 21 of the 25 snaps he was scheduled to play against the Jets – told reporters after the game that he would undergo tests in the morning but sounded confident it was nothing serious.
Do the Giants have a swing tackle?
If anything happens to starting tackles Andrew Thomas and Jermaine Eluemunor, the Giants could be in big trouble.
Backup tackles Matt Nelson, Josh Ezeudu and Evan Neal all had rough nights in the season finale. Of them, Neal, the former first-round draft pick, will likely be the best swing tackle, but his pass blocking remains questionable.
The main problem with Neal’s pass blocking is that he can’t keep up with his speed. Against the Jets, his footwork and angles were off, leaving them too much space around his side. He eventually got back in the game before his ankle problem forced him out of the game, but this inconsistency is annoying.
One name to watch is Tyree Phillips. Phillips is reportedly recovering from a quadriceps injury that required season-ending surgery. make great progressand might be ready to help an NFL team in need.
You know, like the Giants, who could use a more reliable swing tackle.
Alarming statistics
The Giants passing game has recorded ZERO touchdowns on 89 pass attempts this preseason. This is up from last season when the Giants managed just 15 touchdowns on 518 pass attempts. I mean, I understand that this is the preseason and it’s nothing to be concerned about because teams aren’t showing their full range of plays and strategies, but you’d still like to see some points.
For anyone who’s interested, the Giants averaged 10 points per game on offense, ranking 31st in the league. Only the Atlanta Falcons had a worse average scoring rate (8.3 points per game).
Another alarming statistic
We hope every year that this will change, but it always seems to stay the same. I’m talking about the run defense, of course. The Giants allowed 122.3 rushing yards per game this preseason, 22nd in the NFL.
And what about the pass defense? Believe it or not, opponents haven’t attacked the Giants’ pass defense that much. New York allowed 172.7 yards through the air per game, 13th in the league. But the bottom line is that they need to get a better handle on their run defense, because if they can’t stop the run, it could be another long year for the Giants.
A tough guy
Aaron Wellman, the Giants’ executive director of player performance, was caught in the line of fire on a third-quarter play when a Jets player ran into him on the sideline. Wellman immediately jumped back up as if nothing had happened.
