Giants news, 9/30: Darius Slayton’s chance, Wink Martindale, Dexter Lawrence, more

New York Giants headlines for Friday

Good morning, New York Giants fans!

Scouting Report: Giants prep for run-heavy Bears | Giants.com

The Bears want to run the football. They lead the league in the first half, second half, and overall rush rate, coming in at over 62% in all of those categories. They also rush it 61% on first downs, but that only ranks fifth-highest in the NFL. The Bears run play-action 39% of the time, which ranks fifth in the NFL.

Giants’ Dexter Lawrence: Run defense was ‘unacceptable’ in Week 3 | USA Today

“That was unacceptable from all of us up front. They schemed us up well, got good leverage. We’ve just got to play harder and more disciplined with our techniques,” DT Dexter Lawrence said on Wednesday. “Honestly, they were just out-leveraging us on the edge. That’s kind of what you saw on film. We’ve just got to do a better job of knocking the guys back as a unit and pressing the running back hips just to get him down. They just did a really good job scheming us and it was a good team.”

Advanced analytics have DT Dexter Lawrence as one of the top interior pass rushers

Andrew Thomas’s development important to note when you watch Evan Neal | Big Blue View

Look across the line of scrimmage from Neal all the way to the other offensive tackle. Over there you will find the player currently graded by Pro Football Focus as the best offensive tackle in football. That’s Andrew Thomas. In his third season, Thomas is well on his way to establishing himself as an elite left tackle. If, that is, he hasn’t done so already.

Can the Giants’ offensive line fix its pass-blocking issues? | ESPN.com

The Giants (2-1) are a better run-blocking team than pass-blocking team this season. It was always expected given the personnel, which includes four newcomers. They are fourth in the NFL in rushing, averaging 169.3 yards per contest on the ground.

Their pass-blocking hasn’t been on the same level. New York has the 30th-ranked passing attack. It has allowed the third-most sacks (13) this season. Left tackle Andrew Thomas said that passing off twists and stunts is the offensive line’s biggest problem so far.

The NFL’s Most Overachieving And Underachieving Position Groups Through Three Weeks | Pro Football Network

Injuries have affected Big Blue’s receiving corps, and we won’t hold Sterling Shepard or second-round rookie Wan’Dale Robinson’s health issues against them. But 2021 first-round pick Kadarius Toney, who has two receptions and two rushing attempts on the year, didn’t look like part of New York’s plans even before a hamstring injury flared up. And Darius Slayton (700+ yards in each of his first two seasons) has apparently been exiled to Elba.

The Giants’ first-year regime didn’t sign Kenny Golladay and didn’t draft Toney, so there’s no telling if they’ll change their approach regarding playing time. But it’s apparent that New York isn’t getting its money’s worth from its wide receiver expenditures.

Ex-Giants star Carl Banks defends Daniel Jones while ripping receivers | nj.com

In response to a tweet from CBS host Adam Schein that QB Daniel Jones is “not a legit NFL starter,” Banks turned to Twitter for a rebuttal:

“Adam you are my guy, and with love I say this: These are great tv talking points.. However to say DJ has no feel is ignoring the blatant obvious.. HE HAS NOT A SINGLE WR THAT CAN SEPERATE! Oh, He has feel, he feels every hit while waiting for a wr to win. He rushed for 79yds

Darius Slayton could come back from Giants purgatory | New York Post

Darius Slayton has an opportunity to emerge from roster purgatory Sunday against the Bears because of the season-ending injury to Sterling Shepard, combined with the injury uncertainty around Kadarius Toney and Wan’Dale Robinson.

“Darius is a guy I have a lot of trust in, a lot of faith in, and I know he’s working hard,” QB Daniel Jones said. “As far as the game plan going forward, we’ll see how it works out.”

The Penn State product wearing a t-shirt inspired by Chad Powers

NY Giants have made progress under new regime, but have a long way to go | FOX Sports

FoxSports.com’s Ralph Vacchiano writes that nobody should be fooled by a couple of early wins. GM Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll certainly aren’t. They made it clear from the day they were hired that they’re playing the long game. And they’ve always known it would take more than a couple of early victories to flush out the stench from the Dave Gettleman Era.

List of the top NFL head coach candidates for 2023 | Sports Illustrated

SI’s Conor Orr compiled a list of the top head coaching candidates for 2023 that includes a pair of New York Giants coordinators: defensive coordinator Wink Martindale and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, offensive coordinator.

Orr observes that Martindale is a new-school thinker who connects well with his locker room, while Kafka is already making his mark by letting loose Saquon Barkley and helping repair the damage sustained by Daniel Jones after a few rough seasons.

This week’s opponent

Bears aim to generate more takeaways | ChicagoBears.com

The Bears are in the top half of the league in total turnovers forced, but against Houston, the defense still left multiple takeaway opportunities on the field.

“We have what we call a city fumble and a country fumble,” head coach Matt Eberflus said. “A city fumble, picture yourself in downtown Chicago. It’s all crowded in there. There’s a way to dive on that. Then a country fumble is wide open spaces. That’s when you bend your ankles, knees and hips and scoop and score and then go up the numbers. We always have a wall return up the numbers. There’s a lot that goes into it.”

Bears RB Khalil Herbert wins FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week | Windy City Gridiron

Bears running back Khalil Herbert has been named the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week for Week 3. Herbert stepped in as the main back in Chicago’s backfield after David Montgomery suffered an early injury against the Texans last Sunday. He exploded for a career-high 157 yards on 20 carries, scoring two touchdowns in the process. Of note, 112 of those yards came after contact, and his total rushing yards and touchdowns both led the NFL for Week 3.

No Thursday practice for David Montgomery | ProFootballTalk

Running back David Montgomery missed his second consecutive practice on Thursday. He’s listed on Chicago’s injury report with ankle and knee injuries. Head coach Matt Eberflus said earlier this week that Montgomery is day-to-day.

Around the league

Kansas City Chiefs-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game to remain in Tampa after Hurricane Ian | ESPN.com

The NFL had selected U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis as a contingency site for the game after the Bucs had evacuated the area because of Hurricane Ian.

“Our thoughts and prayers remain with the many thousands in the Southwest Florida region who have been severely impacted by Hurricane Ian,” the Bucs said in a statement Thursday. “We are also very thankful that the Tampa Bay area was spared the most damaging consequences of this powerful storm. We have informed the NFL, after consulting with local and state agencies, that we are ready to play Sunday night’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Raymond James Stadium as originally scheduled.”

Saints QB Jameis Winston (back/ankle) misses second consecutive practice | NFL.com

Winston did not participate in New Orleans’ practice on Thursday for a second straight day. Despite the consecutive absences, the Saints’ stance on their starting quarterback remains the same.

“I think they’re just making what was the best decision for him today, and then obviously it was a plan last week kind of where he was going to be limited throughout the week, and so we’ll see where we are at tomorrow,” Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael said Thursday. “I think the plan was just kind of see where he was at day to day and then see if we could get him out there. So hopefully, that happens (Friday).”

Colts’ Jonathan Taylor misses practice | CBSSports.com

Jonathan Taylor has already established himself as one of the league’s best at his position. He’s also one of the healthiest. The star running back sat out Wednesday’s Colts practice while battling toe soreness. And it was, according to Taylor, the first time in his entire football career—dating all the way back to high school—that he’d ever missed a practice due to injury.

Dolphins used 12 offensive players while practicing to fool onlookers | NFL.com

A number of clips from the Miami Dolphins’ Wednesday practice at the University of Cincinnati circulated online in the past 24 hours, raising questions about whether there was a breach in security or their plan for last night’s game against the Bengals had been exposed.

The Dolphins noticed that people were observing their walkthrough session, so head coach Mike McDaniel and company deliberately inserted a 12th player into offensive sets so that nothing would be spoiled on video. The playing field at Nippert Stadium, home of the Cincinnati Bearcats, can be easily viewed by the public.

In case you missed it

• NFL Week 4 picks, predictions: A bad sign for the Giants?
• Wink Martindale: LB Jaylon Smith could help the Giants, and soon
• NFL Week 4 picks, predictions: A bad sign for the Giants?
• Giants vs. Bears, Week 4: 5 good questions with Windy City Gridiron

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