New York Giants Week 1 Stock Report
The New York Giants will open the 2015 season Sunday night in Dallas with a roster that is significantly younger and still somewhat unsettled despite the team having had five weeks of preseason to sort through some of its burning questions.
On the plus side, some of the answers did present themselves as head coach Tom Coughlin got a good look at who was serious about contributing to the cause versus who was just tagging along for the ride.
On the flipside, there were some questions raised due to injury or other circumstances that now leave the team wondering what the next step will be.
Let’s take a quick look at those who raised their stock versus those who saw their stock drop.
Stock Up: Nikita Whitlock
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Go on and raise your hand if you truly believed that first-year fullback Nikita Whitlock had a legitimate chance of beating out incumbent Henry Hynoski?
You’re not alone. However, all Whitlock did time and time again was make plays on offense and special teams and even a couple on defense at defensive tackle, his college position.
In the end, Whitlock made it difficult for the coaching staff to ignore his contributions, and now Whitlock is ready to roll up his sleeves and get to work for the Giants.
“I want to do it all, but that’s completely up to them,” he told me for Inside Football. “I’m just trying to be the best at what I do. I’m just trying to play ball. So whatever they tell me they want me to do, I’m going to come out here and practice hard.”
While it remains to be seen if Whitlock will see more snaps at fullback than Hynoski’s 209 snaps last year, one area where the 24-year-old Wylie, Texas, native can certainly expect to see a lot of face time is on special teams where head coach Tom Coughlin praised the youngster for his contributions.
“That’s the thing. He’s a four-core special teamer (playing on the punt and punt-return, kickoff and kickoff-return teams). He’s had them all and knows full well why he’s here,” Coughlin said.
It’s time for Whitlock to justify the Giants’ faith in him with more of the same hard-nosed play he delivered during the summer.
Stock Down: DE Jason Pierre-Paul
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Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole reported that Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul could be prepared to walk away from the team if he doesn’t get what he wants in his next contract, which, per Cole, is every penny of the $14.8 million that the 2015 franchise tag would have provided.
Alas, Pierre-Paul continues to be the recipient of poor advice.
First, there was no way that the Giants were going to have a contract waiting for Pierre-Paul’s signature as soon as he walked in the door without first conducting their own examination of Pierre-Paul’s right hand, injured in a July 4 fireworks accident.
Second, for Pierre-Paul and/or his advisors to expect the full $14.8 million is not only naive, but it’s also foolish. Right now, there is no guarantee that Pierre-Paul will ever be the same player he was in 2011, when he registered 16.5 sacks.
What’s more, as Tom Rock and Bob Glauber of Newsday reported, it doesn’t sound as though Pierre-Paul is remotely close to returning to the field. What’s more, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported Pierre-Paul’s hand is not quite ready and that it could be “more than a month” before it is.
Thus to expect the Giants to pay him the full franchise tender regardless of how many games he’s actually able to play is just flat-out shortsighted.
Pierre-Paul is, quite frankly, lucky the Giants have not revoked the franchise tag given how his unfortunate situation following a July 4 fireworks accident has unfolded.
Stock Up: DE Owa Odighizuwa
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The last couple of years, the Giants’ third-round draft picks haven’t really contributed much in their rookie campaigns.
This year’s third-round pick, defensive end Owa Odighizuwa, looks like he might snap that streak.
With Jason Pierre-Paul still not ready to return from a July 4 fireworks accident that severely injured his right hand, and with defensive end Robert Ayers nursing an Achilles and ankle injury, Odighizuwa, out of UCLA, could very well have a role in the Giants’ pass-rushing package.
Odighizuwa, who finished tied with starting weak-side linebacker J.T. Thomas, with eight total tackles, also posted one tackle for a loss, one quarterback hit and one pass defensed in the preseason. With the Giants looking to launch a consistent pass rush, Odighizuwa projects to be a key piece to that puzzle.
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Stock Down: WR Victor Cruz
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It’s almost unfair to downgrade the stock of a player dealing with an injury because injuries are beyond one’s control.
In the case of receiver Victor Cruz, what was initially thought to be a minor calf injury due to dehydration is now in its fourth week, with the accompanying concern increasing.
On Monday, head coach Tom Coughlin told reporters that as far as he knew, Cruz had run on an underwater treadmill, which, while progress was made, would not seem to be enough progress made for him to make his triumphant return to the playing field Sunday.
Cruz, who per TMZ was the guest of honor at a massive “Return” party thrown by family and close friends this past weekend at his New Jersey home, told reporters that calves are tricky.
“I think we’re just being careful, cautious with it,” he said during an August 31 press gathering. “Once they feel healed and once they feel OK, you can go out here and mess it up again. So you want to make sure that it’s fully healed and fully recovered once you step back out there on the field.”
While the cautious approach is understandable, it is believed that Cruz has not run on grass since the calf issue developed, which is something he is obviously going to have to do for a few days before he can even think of returning to the field.
What’s more, the Giants' medical staff will need to determine if the calf problem in his left leg is somehow related to his surgically repaired right knee and if there is a way to ensure that the problem doesn’t pop up again.
Stock Up: WR Preston Parker
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When the Giants released their initial 53-man roster Sunday, one of the many surprises included the release of receiver James Jones, who led New York, with 15 receptions for 187 yards, in the preseason.
Instead, the Giants held on to Preston Parker, who finished with two receptions for 19 yards. Not only was Parker unspectacular in the preseason, but it also looked all but certain that the arrival of Dwayne Harris, the new return specialist, might spell the end of Parker’s short tenure with the Giants.
Somehow, Parker made the cut, however, and with Victor Cruz unlikely to play Sunday, Parker, who caught just two of the eight pass targets sent his way, could see time as the slot receiver against the Cowboys, ahead of Harris and rookie Geremy Davis.
If statistics were the deciding factor, Parker should have been an easy cut.
However, the coaching staff apparently sees value in having Parker on the roster as both a backup receiver and return specialist, all of which helped boost his previously sagging stock.
Advanced stats courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.
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