New York Giants Week 16 Stock Report
Hall of Fame head coach Bill Parcells, who once roamed the New York Giants sideline, had a saying that there were “no medals for trying,” words that later became the title of a very interesting book penned by longtime sportswriter Jerry Izenberg.
Apparently Tom Coughlin, the current head coach of the Giants who came from that Parcells coaching tree, didn’t get the memo.
On Monday during a conference call with reporters, Coughlin began his opening monologue by sharing with reporters what he said to his team, which was as follows:
“I thought it was too bad that today in the world of sports and from everything that I hear from the outside that the discussion going on is about the personal battle that took place between Odell Beckham and Josh Norman, and not about a team that’s 14-0, or a game which was, at one point, 35-7 and ended up 35 all, and then a drive at the end of the game with a long field goal to settle the score."
It's also too bad that the Giants can’t seem to figure out how to finish games, something that has hurt them all season long and has cost them the right to control their own destiny with the NFC East still up for grabs.
As usual, this week’s stock report takes a look at the good and the bad in what’s been a season in which the Giants have come up short time and again.
Stock Up: The Offensive Line
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You know an offensive line has had a good day when it keeps its quarterback’s jersey pristine.
Such was the accomplishment of the Giants’ offensive line that featured a hobbled Ereck Flowers (ankle) at left tackle, John Jerry at right guard and the embattled Marshall Newhouse at right tackle.
Per Pro Football Focus, the starting five allowed nine quarterback pressures, none of which resulted in a sack. That’s pretty good.
Want another reason to applaud the fabulous five for last week's effort?
The rushing game racked up a season-high 161 rushing yards on 27 carries, with Rashad Jennings becoming the first 100-yard rusher for the Giants since Andre Williams ran for 110 yards on 26 carries in Week 16 of last season.
Stock Down: The Safeties
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Early in the season, teams really didn’t test the Giants safeties deep down the field.
Gradually, though, that changed, and what’s more, teams have been having success at an alarming rate, with the Panthers being the most recent team to enjoy success against the Giants safeties.
According to Pro Football Focus, the Giants safeties—Landon Collins, Craig Dahl and Cooper Taylor—allowed four of six passes to be completed for 60 yards and three touchdowns.
This week, the unit could potentially be without Taylor, who suffered a concussion in the game, which would leave Dahl and Collins to fend for themselves, though the Giants could bring in another safety (maybe Brandon Meriweather, whom they cut a couple weeks ago since he knows he system), if Odell Beckham Jr.’s suspension stands.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, meanwhile, is probably hoping to wake up on Christmas morning to find a pass rush underneath his tree because, as was the case in 2007 when his safeties weren’t top of the line talent, nothing covers up a weakness in the back end like a strong defensive front.
Stock Up: DEs Robert Ayers & Jason Pierre-Paul
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The Giants' defensive front hasn’t exactly been a bright spot this season, but the play of ends Robert Ayers and Jason Pierre-Paul of late has certainly gone a long way toward saving this unit from complete embarrassment.
Per Pro Football Focus, Ayers and Pierre-Paul did a solid job protecting the edges, combining for nine quarterback pressures, one batted pass, seven tackles, and eight stops for zero or negative yardage. Each man also got involved with a sack.
More importantly, the Panthers had little success running to the edges, as Ayers and Pierre-Paul (and Kerry Wynn for that matter since he was in on running downs) held the Panthers to nine carries for 38 yards on rushes outside of the tackles.
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Stock Down: WR Odell Beckham Jr.
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First and foremost, Panthers cornerback Josh Norman is not innocent in the fiasco involving Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. this past weekend.
Flagged for a personal foul penalty, Norman probably should have been called for a lot more, something that vice president of officiating Dean Blandino admitted during a stint on the NFL Network (h/t the Sporting News, emphasis added):
"It's certainly an accumulation of instances and not just on Beckham. There was (sic) some things on the other side, too, and I think both parties were involved. The officials, if you asked them, they would agree after looking at the tape that ejections were warranted."
Let's turn to Beckham. Former NFL great Deion Sanders, appearing on the Rich Eisen Podcast, alleged that Norman “said he’d end (Beckham's) career and made sexual slurs” toward the receiver during the pregame warm-ups (h/t Chris Law).
Those alleged threats apparently were enough to rattle Beckham to the point where he just wasn’t himself in a big game. He dropped two passes (including one that should have been a touchdown) and racked up three unsportsmanlike penalties which led to a one-game league-imposed suspension.
In football, there is always chatter, and I can pretty much guarantee that in the heat of the battle, the athletes aren’t exchanging pleasantries nor are they complimenting each other on how they look.
With that said, Beckham needs to remember that sticks and stones may break his bones, but names cannot hurt him.
If something along the lines Sanders suggested was said or implied by the Panthers, Beckham let the bully win.
Something was clearly off with the star receiver Sunday, and perhaps the Panthers' words or actions caused Beckham, a good kid, by the way, to self-destruct to the point where if his one-game suspension isn't overturned, he won't be available to his team for a game that could very well end up deciding whether they stay alive in the NFC East playoff hunt another week.
Stock Up: Offensive Coordinator Ben McAdoo
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It took several weeks, but offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo finally did some things that outsiders have been begging to see for weeks.
The first is he abandoned the four-man running back committee for the second week in a row, and it’s paid dividends because it’s helped to open up the play-action.
What’s more, by showing that they can actually run the ball, defenses now have to respect that when lining up against the Giants.
The second thing McAdoo did last week that he’ll hopefully do the rest of the season is he got running back Shane Vereen involved out of the backfield. Per Pro Football Focus, Vereen was targeted nine times, matching his season high from Week 8 at New Orleans.
He caught eight of his targets this week for 43 yards and a touchdown, you know, just as the plan was supposed to be.
Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.
Follow me on Twitter @Patricia_Traina.
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