7 Keys to Victory in New York Giants' Week 4 Matchup
Forget about the playoffs; the New York Giants need to first focus on getting that elusive first win of the 2017 season.
It won’t be easy, though—it never is. The Giants have to travel down south to the still-sweltering state of Florida where they’ll meet the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday at 4:05 PM ET, a game that defines the very term “must win.”
Sort of.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever been in a game that’s not a must-win. I think every game is a must-win,” head coach Ben McAdoo said. “That’s what you do. That’s why you come to work every day. That’s why you’re here early. That’s why you stay late. You show up, you work hard to prepare to go win the ball game. It’s why we’re here.”
But let’s not kid anyone. if the Giants fail to win this game, any glimmer of hope they have in making a miraculous recovery and sneaking into the playoffs will all but be gone. What’s more, the fan base, which has already begun to dwindle, will likely start to tune out knowing that the Giants season is over before it ever had a chance to get started.
What does New York have to do to avoid this catastrophe and give itself a fighting chance? Read on for our keys.
Cut Down on the Pre- and Post-Snap Penalties
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Thus far, the Giants have 25 penalties in three games.
Of those penalties, 17 have come on offense and seven of those have killed scoring drives.
Taking the penalty total a step further, 13 have either occurred before the snap or after the snap, including two consecutive celebration related penalties that were deemed unsportsmanlike, by tight end Evan Engram in Week 2 and receiver Odell Beckham Jr. last week.
Simply put, a team isn't going to win many football games if it's that careless before or after the snap, according to McAdoo.
“We had 10 penalties in the football game (last week),” McAdoo said. "Penalties snap to whistle are penalties that happen, combative penalties in the game. You can clean those up with fundamentals.
"Pre-snap and post-snap penalties, we have to clean up, and that’s a part of it. Celebration penalties are things you can’t have. It’s a poor reflection on me, on the program and on the organization."
If the Giants can stop shooting themselves in the foot with these discipline-related penalties, they might just give themselves a chance.
Tackle Better
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After spending most of the summer engaging in padded practices in which live tackling is permitted, it seems that the further and further away from the summer we get, the faster the quality of the team’s tackling on defense becomes.
Take, for example, free safety Darian Thompson. Per Pro Football Focus’ weekly media notes, Thompson ended up missing half of his eight tackle attempts last week, three of which came against the run and one in pass coverage.
Thompson is only one of 11 on defense, but without question, his tackling effort was the worst on the team last week. The point, though, is that if the Giants are to give themselves a chance, they’ll need to do a better job bringing ball-carriers to the ground.
Get Shane Smith and Rhett Ellison More Involved in the Run Blocking
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For reasons only known to McAdoo, who doubles as the team’s play-caller, fullback Shane Smith and tight end Rhett Ellison have barely been used to help with run blocking this season.
Per Pro Football Focus, Smith has played just 12 offensive snaps this season—none last week on offense. Of his 12 snaps, six have come in the running game.
Ellison, who unlike Smith was a premium free agent signing in the offseason, has been used to run block 30 times, three times as a fullback (in Week 1), and 25 times as an in-line tight end.
Considering the Giants' offensive line has struggled to open creases for the running game, it’s a mystery as to why McAdoo isn’t devoting more resources to help the unit in this area, especially since he had a hand in keeping four tight ends and one fullback on the roster.
If the Giants want balance on offense, they’ll have to give the offensive line help with run blocking and see if that does the trick.
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Take Some Deep Shots Down the Field
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Last week, the Minnesota Vikings were able to successfully attack the Bucs’ defensive secondary deep, completing four big-play passes of 20 or more yards.
How did they do it?
“I think they did a nice job, not just down the field, but short to intermediate,” McAdoo said. “They came out, they did a good job completing the ball, getting quarterback Case (Keenum) some rhythm early in the ball game. That just carried over as they went through the ball game.
“But they got the quarterback in a rhythm early. They did a nice job of protection. If you’re going to throw the ball down the field, it always starts with protection. The rhythm and the confidence early in the football game is important.”
That, of course, means the Giants will have to ask their offensive line to hold their blocks longer.
Given the injuries the Bucs have up front—defensive ends Robert Ayers, Jacquies Smith and Noah Spence, and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, are all on the injury report this week for one reason or another—this week would be a good start for the offensive line to finally hunker down and give Eli Manning the protection he needs to throw a few deep pass attempts.
Keep the Bucs' Tight Ends out of the End Zone
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Giants fans might remember the name O.J. Howard.
Howard is the young tight end a number of Big Blue faithful were hoping would land with the team, only it wasn’t meant to be since the Bucs snapped up Howard with the 19th overall pick in the draft, leaving the Giants to “settle” for Evan Engram at No. 23.
While right now it looks as though the Giants got the better deal—Engram has 13 receptions for 138 yards and one touchdown whereas Howard has only two receptions for 29 yards and no touchdowns—in the first three games of the season, the opposing tight end has come alive against the Giants defense, scoring at least one touchdown catch in each game.
Despite his slow start, Howard is a talent just waiting to be unleashed. The Giants defense better have a plan in place to make sure this young specimen and Cameron Brate, who has six catches for 57 yards and a touchdown, don’t burn them as well.
Minimize the Damage Done by Receivers Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson
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One of the strengths of the Bucs’ offense is their top two receivers, Mike Evans and old friend DeSean Jackson.
The Bucs’ top two receivers have combined for 21 catches for 283 yards and two touchdowns in two games played so far. Jackson, showing thus far to have not lost a step, has three receptions for 20 or more yards and a knack for coming through when his team needs a first-down conversion.
“With Jackson, we know he’s a speed guy, he likes to go deep, and that’s one of their things,” cornerback Eli Apple said. “But he’s also been doing a little intermediate routes, too, so we’ve been watching that too.
“And then with Mike Evans, he’s a little bit more physical, a little bit bigger. So, in the red zone, they try to get him more fade opportunities and they try to set him up with that. He’s a bigger guy, he likes to push off at the top of the route and he’s strong. So, it’s something you’ve just got to account for.”
Last week against the Eagles, the Giants cornerbacks played sides rather than assign a specific starter to a receiver. This week, it’s unclear if they will continue that practice or assign Janoris Jenkins to cover Jackson and let Apple handle Mike Evans.
Given Apple's struggles so far, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Giants roll Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie into some plays on the outside This week, they might want to assign Janoris Jenkins to handle the shiftier Jackson and let Apple take on Evans.
Harass QB Jameis Winston
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The Bucs are ranked ninth in passing, averaging 255 yards per game. If the Giants want to slow down quarterback Jameis Winston, they might want to fire up the pass rush to get after him.
Per Pro Football Focus, Winston has been sacked four times out of 19 dropbacks when under pressure. He’s also 9-of-14 for 74 yards when under duress, logging a pedestrian 77.7 quarterback rating.
Thus far, the Giants' pass rush has recorded seven sacks in three games, with defensive end Olivier Vernon, who is nursing an ankle injury, leading the team with 2.0 sacks.
If the Giants can harass Winston just enough to disrupt his timing with his receivers, that will help the back end of the defense against receivers Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson.
Patricia Traina covers the New York Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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