New York Giants Week 10 Stock Report
The good news is the New York Giants managed to pull out a win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a 32-18 decision that they really needed to get in order to stay in first place in the NFC East and help erase the bitter taste of the previous week’s wild ride against the New Orleans Saints from their mouths.
The bad news is that, for most of the game, it was closer than it needed to be.
Other than one game, that being in Week 4 against the Buffalo Bills, the Giants have yet to show they have that killer instinct that enables them to put teams away early once they have them against the ropes.
That’s a trait they better find this week and in a hurry. The New England Patriots are undefeated, one of three teams left in the NFL able to make that claim (the Carolina Panthers and Cincinnati Bengals being the other two). And the Patriots are led by a football genius in Bill Belichick, who is simply masterful at finding ways to exploit his opponent’s weaknesses.
As we look at this week’s Giants stock report, let’s spin it forward to this weekend’s showdown at MetLife Stadium as the anticipation builds and the game plans from both teams continue to take shape.
Stock Up: The Linebackers
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When a team's top three leading tacklers in a game are its starting linebackers, as was the case for the Giants Sunday when MLB Jasper Brinkley, WLB Jonathan Casillas and SLB Devon Kennard finished first, second and third respectively for 19 of the team's 46 tackles, that's a solid showing.
No, the performance wasn't perfect—Casillas looked to be part of the problem on Charles Sims' 59-yard run—but considering this unit was missing two of its three starters (Jon Beason in the middle and J.T. Thomas on the weak side), this was as solid of a performance as the Giants linebackers have put forth in a long, long time.
If the linebackers can duplicate that performance, it would go a long way toward potentially slowing down one of the Patriots' biggest receiving weapons, tight end Rob Gronkowski, who has four 100-yard receiving games this year and has scored at least one touchdown in three of his last four games.
Stock Down: The Safeties
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Last week, safeties Landon Collins and Brandon Meriweather just so happened to be Pro Football Focus’s lowest-graded Giants defenders.
While some might question how PFF arrives at its grades, what can’t be questioned is that lately teams are attacking the Giants safeties down the field with success.
Against the Bucs, Meriweather finished with an 118.8 rating, having been burned for a 25-yard pass, 11 yards going for after the catch.
Collins was also burned deep, allowing two of three pass targets to be complete for 86 yards (50 after the catch) and a long of 68 yards when he took a poor angle to a tackle. His showing earned him a 116.7 NFL rating.
Simply put, the safeties have to do a better job, especially when all-world tight end Rob Gronkowski comes trucking across the middle or up the seam.
If the safeties take poor angles as they did at times last week, it could make for a long afternoon.
Stock Up: DE Jason Pierre-Paul
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Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul wants everyone to know he came through his first live game action of 2015 just fine, and he does not have any pain in his right hand.
“I felt good. I’ll be better this week than last week,” he said. “I was a little bit rusty, but each day is a day for me to get better, so I’m up for the challenge.”
If last week was the “dress rehearsal” for Pierre-Paul, then this week will be the main show.
That’s because this week more than ever, the pass rush must find a way to consistently get after Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
Although Pierre-Paul and the Giants defense didn’t’ come up with any sacks last week against the Bucs, they were finally able to get pressure on the quarterback, including two plays in the fourth quarter that were instrumental in the Giants snuffing out a potential game-winning drive by the Bucs.
This week, Pierre-Paul, who, per Spotrac, has sack incentives built into his one-year contract, spoke confidently about getting to Tom Brady.
“We’re going to get to the quarterback—I know I am, I know others guys as well,” he said. “We have to do whatever it takes, it’s a big game. Like I say, they’re undefeated, but they have to come through here first.”
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Stock Down: The Injury Bug
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Yes, football is a violent sport, and yes, injuries are unfortunately a staple of said sport.
With that said, the alarming number of injuries the Giants seem to have—especially injuries to key players—has been ridiculous.
What's even more ridiculous is that every year there seems to be a specific "flavor" of the season. Last year. for example, it was a toe injury, which contributed to Jon Beason, Cooper Taylor and Geoff Schwartz all missing time.
This year, the seasonal injury seems to be a calf issue, contributing to Victor Cruz, George Selvie, Jonathan Casillas and Johnathan Hankins all either missing games or missing practice time; and pectoral issues, contributing to Will Beatty, Prince Amukamara and Johnathan Hankins all having abbreviated 2015 campaigns.
Toss in the usual staples such as hamstrings (Odell Beckham Jr., Rueben Randle, Devon Kennard and Owa Odighizuwa) and the freaky rarities such as MRSA (Daniel Fells) and it's come to a point where instead of actually seeing what this team could have done at full strength, we can only imagine what might have been.
Stock Up: K Josh Brown
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At 36 years of age, kicker Josh Brown is the oldest member of the Giants and among the most seasoned of the active kickers in the league, joining Adam Vinatieri of the Indianapolis Colts, Stephen Gostkowski of the New England Patriots and Matt Bryant of the Atlanta Falcons.
Yet every year, Brown somehow finds a way to reinvent his game, this year being no exception.
After converting a career-high 92.3 percent of his field goals last year, Brown is 19-of-19 in 2015, one of four kickers in the league (Gostkowski, Dan Bailey of Dallas, Travis Coons of Cleveland and Matt Prater of Detroit being the others) who has yet to miss a field goal attempt.
Brown also continues to etch his name in the Giants franchise record book. He has made his last 23 field goal attempts, a new club record (and career high), which according to the Giants’ daily notes, is also the NFL’s second-longest active streak, behind Gostkowski’s 28 in a row.
Brown probably doesn’t get enough recognition for being the scoring threat he is, but given his ability to split the uprights from 55 yards inward, Brown’s truly been one of the most underrated assets this
Giants team has.
All quotes for this article via Giants.com. Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.
Follow me on Twitter, @Patricia_Traina.
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