5 New York Giants Who Need to Get More Playing Time

The New York Giants took care of business on Sunday against the Houston Texans, steadying a ship that was oh so close to sinking.

While there was quite a bit to like about last week’s game, it appears as though certain positions are still in need of a new face or two.

In this slideshow, we’ll look at five players who haven’t seen much in the way of playing time thus far. An increase in reps might behoove their respective units moving forward.

RB Andre Williams

Alex Trautwig/Getty Images

For as good as Rashad Jennings was last week, it’s probably unrealistic to expect him to take a weekly workload of 30-plus carries.

Enter Andre Williams, who is currently the No. 2 running back on the depth chart.

Thus far, the rookie fourth-round pick has taken just 56 snaps on offense (subscription required).

Why hasn’t he been on the field more? Watching him on film, his biggest issue seems to be exhibiting patience in letting his blocks develop. Williams, who also continues to work on improving his receiving skills from the backfield, tends to run into his blockers instead of letting them properly set things up on the play.

Historically, head coach Tom Coughlin has been squeamish about putting rookie running backs on the field before they’re ready, which is why we generally don’t see much of them until later in the season.

However, if the Giants are going to limit Peyton Hillis to special teams duty, then it might not be a bad idea to try to get Williams more live snaps beyond what he might be getting in practice—especially if he’s showing an understanding of what needs to be done.

This way, if the day should ever come when Jennings can’t carry the load, the transition to Williams would be seamless.

S Nat Berhe

Uncredited/Associated Press

Safety Stevie Brown is one of the defensive secondary’s hardest workers, a guy who fought his way back from an ACL tear suffered last year.

Therein lies part of the problem. Brown hasn’t looked quite like the player he was in 2012, when he led the Giants with eight interceptions.

Of late, Brown has appeared to be a step too late in coverage, something that head coach Tom Coughlin alluded to in his press conference with reporters last week.

“We referred to Stevie Brown as kind of a ball-hawking guy in center field when he had that opportunity,” the coach said. “He’s just not there yet; he’s not back yet to where he was a couple of years ago. Let’s hope he gets there.”

When a lack of speed is compounded with mental mistakes, such as what happened on Texans receiver Damaris Johnson’s 44-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter—Brown appeared to incorrectly guess which route was being run—there’s only so much that the coaching staff will tolerate before a change is made.

That’s precisely what happened, as Brown was benched immediately following that gaffe. Coughlin confirmed that during his latest conference call with reporters.

“We made a position change there,” he said of Brown, who finished with a minus-1.5 grade (subscription required) in pass coverage. “That's all I'm going to say about that. (Brown) was not hurt."

Whether Brown’s exile to the bench is long-term remains to be seen. Even if it’s not, the coaching staff might want to take a closer look at what it has in rookie Nat Berhe, one of the team's two fifth-round draft picks from this year whom safeties coach David Merritt described to reporters as a missile.

That Berhe was put on the field after the Giants' lead was cut to seven points says a lot about how the rookie has progressed.

Of course, in the 19 snaps he took against the Texans, 16 came in coverage (subscription required), where he really wasn’t tested much.

With both Brown and Quintin Demps on one-year contracts, and Antrel Rolle in the final year of his deal, Berhe is probably one of the future starting safeties for this team.

LB Spencer Paysinger

Rich Schultz/Getty Images

One of the biggest mysteries on this Giants team involves the disappearance of linebacker Spencer Paysinger’s snaps on defense.

Thus far, the four-year veteran has been mostly limited to special teams duty, getting just two snaps on defense (subscription required) in these first three games.

That’s a major drop in snaps from last year, when Paysinger not only received 707 snaps (subscription required), but he also started 10 of the 15 games in which he played.

Paysinger, whose most ideal role is on the weak side, has had to yield his snaps to Jacquian Williams, who thus far has taken every snap (subscription required) on defense for the Giants on the weak side.

The problem, though, is that for all the athleticism and skill that Williams has, he has yet to make a statement in a game due to what appears to be a lack of instincts.

For example, he was victimized on Texans running back Alfred Blue’s longest run of the game.

Had Williams not reacted too late to the 46-yard dash, Williams might very well have been able to use his skill set to blow up the play. Instead, Williams was neutralized by a tight end as Blue dashed by.

Paysinger might not have the skill set that Williams has, but one thing he has shown is football smarts, which is half of the battle.

DE Damontre Moore

Al Bello/Getty Images

Defensive end Damontre Moore might only be in his second year in the league, but the young man out of Texas A&M is brimming with all kinds of potential.

Moore's 9.4 pass-rushing productivity (subscription required) is second on the team behind fellow defensive end Robert Ayers, Jr.

In other words, Moore is creating some kind of pressure on most of his defensive plays from scrimmage.

Where Moore has been most effective in this regard, though, has been from the left defensive end, where his 18.8 PRP is the best mark on the team (subscription required)—ahead of Mathias Kiwanuka, the current starting left defensive end.

Even when it comes to playing run defense, which has been the reason why Moore has yet to see more snaps per game, he’s shown that he can make the most of his chances when they do come.

In 13 run defense snaps, Moore has stopped 15.4 percent (subscription required) of the rushing plays toward his side of the field. That’s better than Kiwanuka’ s 3.7 percent grade in 54 snaps.

What seems to be holding Moore back has been consistency, as defensive coordinator Perry Fewell noted in a recent press conference with reporters.

“If he can be consistent, (if) he has taken responsibility for his actions and his assignments on the field and that keeps getting better, the best man is going to win the job,” Fewell said.  

“So if he keeps getting better and better, then that makes our defense better. The eye in the sky doesn’t lie, so if he rises to the top and he becomes the guy because of the stat sheet with what he is doing, then he will push somebody out.”

DE Robert Ayers, Jr.

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Defensive end Robert Ayers, Jr. doesn’t get many mentions during the course of a game, but he’s quietly been one of the most consistent and best defensive players on this team thus far.

A rotational type who’s first off the bench in that defensive end rotation, Ayers currently leads the Giants in quarterback hurries (seven), is tied for the team lead in sacks (2.0) with Jason Pierre-Paul and is second on the team behind JPP in stops for zero or negative yardage (five).

The amazing thing where Ayers is concerned is that he’s only participated in 95 plays (subscription required), much less than Pierre-Paul’s 166 snaps and Kiwanuka’s 159.

Simply put, Ayers, who lines up at both defensive end and defensive tackle, is making the most of his rotational snaps.

Not surprisingly, he’s the top-graded defensive lineman (subscription required) on the Giants by a wide margin, besting Pierre-Paul plus-6.5 to plus-5.2.

So why isn’t Ayers starting ahead of Kiwanuka, whose minus-1.8 grade is second-last lowest on the Giants?

Only defensive coordinator Perry Fewell knows the answer to that question. However, after three games, Ayers certainly seems to have made a strong case for more playing time.

Advanced statistics courtesy of Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Patricia Traina is the senior editor for Inside Football. All quotes and information obtained firsthand, unless otherwise noted. Follow me on Twitter, @Patricia_Traina.