Category: Giants Wire Features

7 candidates to replace Giants coach Pat Shurmur

The New York Giants are unlikely to fire head coach Pat Shurmur, but if they do, here are seven candidates to replace him.

The New York Giants have no plans to fire coach Pat Shurmur this year or at any point during the offseason, meaning that his job could be safe through 2020.

Of course, Giants ownership let similar information leak when it came to former coach Ben McAdoo, and we all know how that ended up playing out.

So while it’s unlikely the Giants move on from Shurmur over the next calendar year, there’s no denying he’s put himself firmly on the hot seat. Accordingly, we’re here to examine seven candidates who could eventually replace him.

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Tom Coughlin

Yep. We’re starting out in controversial fashion, but let’s not pretend that forcing Coughlin to step down wasn’t the first in a long string of poor decisions that led these Giants to where they are today. The real question would be whether or not Coughlin would want to come back to New York. Or, at this point, whether he even desires a return to the sideline at all.

Bottom line: The Giants need an old-school disciplinarian leading the way because the whole player-friendly thing is clearly not working.

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Bye week blues: What can Giants fans look forward to following the break?

What can New York Giants fans expect to see over the final seven weeks of the regular season and into the offseason?

The New York Giants have racked up a 2-8 record after 10 games, which is one game worse than they were at this time last season. With six games remaining, is there anything left for Giant fans to look forward to?

The answer is… not really. There will be some talk about draft position (they are currently third overall) and their schedule is not really a friendly one, so as November morphs into December, Giant fans will likely be tuning out as another losing season comes and goes.

Here is a quick snapshot of where the Giants are at right now and some other thoughts that I know many of you are thinking.

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The last six games

The Giants open up the final leg of the season in Chicago against the disappointing Bears, but that means nothing. The strength or weakness of their opponents matters not to a team that is poorly prepared, poorly coached and lacks discipline and direction. The Giants must learn not to beat themselves first before concentrating on beating another NFL team.

They have little to no shot to win either game against the surging Eagles — a team they’ve only beaten once since 2014 — and if they manage to win the game against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers there should be an investigation.

The only two games they could win are the ones against Washington (who they beat already) and Miami, a team who is said to be tanking but has been competitive in doing so.

That equals 4-12, folks. That’s a record that gets people fired in this league.

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Tiki Barber: Giants should not sit Saquon Barkley

Former New York Giants great Tiki Barber doesn’t believe that its beneficial to cut down star RB Saquon Barkley for the remainder of the season.

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With the 2-8 New York Giants going nowhere and star running back Saquon Barkley still dealing with the after effects of a high ankle sprain, the consensus from fans and pundits is that the Giants should either severely limit – or even bench – Barkley until he’s fully recovered to avoid further damage.

His performance against the Jets on Sunday (13 carries for 1 yard) has everyone wondering if Barkley is hurting more than the team is letting on and many would like to see Barkley play closer to 100% than what they’re seeing out of him now.

That isn’t going over well with Barkley and head coach Pat Shurmur, who have scoffed at the notion of putting the Pro Bowler on the shelf.

“I do not agree with that idea at all. One, that’s not fair to my teammates and, two, when you say running backs have so many carries, yes, the average career length of a running back is not as long as other players,” Barkley told reporters on Tuesday.

“The mindset of sitting me out and resting me for the rest of the season is beyond me. I do not agree with it and it won’t happen. I’m going to keep going until I can’t go anymore. That’s the type of player I am and I’m going to do it for my teammates.”

Giants’ Ring of Honoree Tiki Barber, the Giants’ all-time leading rusher. agrees Barkley needs to stay on the field.

From TMZ Sports:

When we saw Tiki in NYC — the best running back in franchise history — we asked him if Giants brass should force Barkley to hang up his cleats until next season.

His answer … hell no.

“I don’t think they should shut him down. I think that would be detrimental to his psyche, ’cause he wants to be out there playing,” Barber tells us.

“I think limiting his carries might be smart going forward. Get Wayne Gallman some runs, and try to keep [Saquon] as healthy as possible.”

When asked if he had any intention of shutting Barkley down for the season, Shurmur was pretty sure of his answer.

“Absolutely not,” he told reporters on a conference call on Monday. That doesn’t mean they won’t curtail his usage though. Barkley believes his recovery will accelerate with the Giants heading into their bye week.

“This week, I’m going to focus on watching film and obviously the opportunities we get in practice, take advantage, like watching film of myself,’ he said. “The time we do get off, I get to spend time with my family, I get to spend time with my teammates. When I come back, after that game, I can get back to who I am and have that mindset, no matter what happened the first half of the season, last week, I am the best player on the field and when I touch the ball I make things happen. I’m going to get back to that. ”

 

 

Could Nick Gates be the answer at right tackle for the Giants?

Nick Gates, an undrafted free agent offensive tackle out of Nebraska in 2018, has played his way into the starting lineup for the New York Giants.

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Nick Gates made his first NFL start for the New York Giants on Sunday when he filled in for the injured Mike Remmers at right tackle. Gates has been a Giant since last spring when they signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Nebraska.

The 6-foot-6, 318-pound Gates spent his rookie season on injured reserve and made the team out of camp this season after an impressive showing at training camp and in preseason games. He basically was added to the roster as depth until general manager Dave Gettleman can fill out the offensive line with some his beloved “hog mollies”.

But Gates might end up being one of those hog mollies. He had a decent showing against the Jets on Sunday and the Giants might keep him in the starting lineup for the remainder of the season with Nate Solder going through the concussion protocol and Remmers dealing with a back issue.

“I thought he played well,” Shurmur said. “Listen, he’s a tough, competitive guy. We were looking forward to seeing him play because we feel like he has a chance to be a good player. He battled. One thing about Nick Gates, he’s tough, he’s competitive and he tries to do things the right way. He had a lot of really good plays out there.”

Gates went undrafted in 2018 for a reason. He wasn’t deemed physically gifted enough for a team to burn a draft pick on. But how many times have we heard this story over the years? Here is what Rotoworld.com had to say about Gates last year:

“Gates turned pro as a redshirt junior after making 35 career starts, moving from right tackle to left tackle for his final two seasons. He only earned honorable mention All-Big Ten in 2017. Short armed (32″) and a lowly second-percentile SPARQ athlete, Gates isn’t built to play tackle in the NFL and isn’t a good enough blocker to excel inside.”

That’s pretty damning analysis. It did not keep the Giants from extending a flier on him last April. Since then, Gates has done the rest. The Giants aren’t deep on the offensive line and the hard-working Gates has played his way into their plans. For the short term, anyway.

“What I like about Nick Gates as a player is, first of all, he’s a tough guy, he plays with athleticism and balance,” offensive line coach Hal Hunter said last week. “He’s a conceptual player, he kind of does everything you ask him to do. I like everything about him. I think he’s got the mental makeup and he’s got some physical tools. What he needs the most, as any young player, he needs to play more. He needs to play. What he did in the preseason, and all of the different positions he played– he played all five positions in the preseason. He shows a lot of promise, and I’m glad we have him.”

Players surprise all the time. The Giants are hoping they mined a gem here with Gates.

What we learned from Giants’ 34-27 loss to Jets

The New York Giants lost to the New York Jets, 34-27, in Week 10 and here’s some of what we learned from that loss.

The New York Giants faced the New York Jets on Sunday in a game where the Giants were expected to fare much better than they did. The 34-27 loss was horrific and really hard to watch.

The Giants appear to be imploding at this point in the season, and there are still six games left. That said, here’s what we learned from the Giants loss on Sunday:

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Saquon Barkley should be shut down for the season

Barkley missed three games this season with an ankle sprain and since his return, he hasn’t been himself. Against the Jets on Sunday, he had just one rushing yard on 13 attempts and five receptions for 30 yards, and that’s not even touching his pass protection. He scored zero touchdowns in what was by far his worst game of his career. Now he has a shoulder injury to boot.

The Giants have no shot at making the playoffs this year, and Barkley’s sophomore season isn’t going as planned, so it’s better to just sit him now. Let him heal and be ready for next season instead of risking a serious injury.

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Stock up, down after Giants’ 34-27 loss to Jets

Whose stock is up and whose is down following the New York Giants’ loss to the New York Jets in Week 10?

The emotions are still settling in after the New York Giants lost to their equally inept co-tenants, the New York Jets, 34-27, on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

Several players flashed while others crashed. Here’s quick rundown from Sunday’s game.

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Stock Up: Wide receiver Darius Slayton

Slayton, coming off a down week against Dallas (one reception for six yards), exploded all over the Jets’ secondary grabbing 10 of 14 targets for 121 yards and two touchdowns.

Slayton, a fifth round pick out of Auburn in this year’s NFL Draft has forged a sold rapport with quarterback Daniel Jones and now has five receiving touchdowns on the season, tied for the NFL lead among rookies.

Stock Down: Running back Saquon Barkley

No question Barkley’s performance is concerning. He’s been back from his high ankle sprain for three games now and does not appear to have fully recovered from the injury.

Barkley carried the football 13 times against the Jets, gaining just one yard and his pass blocking, an aspect of his game he prides himself in, has taken a step back. He was blown up twice by Jets safety Jamal Adams, with both plays resulting in fumbles by Daniel Jones. One was recovered by Barkley. The other was taken on for a touchdown by Adams.

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3 takeaways from Giants’ Week 10 loss to Jets

Here are three takeaways from the New York Giants’ Week 10 loss to the New York Jets, which dropped Big Blue to 2-8.

The New York Giants fell to the New York Jets, 34-27, on Sunday dropping their record to 2-8 on the season.

Here are three takeaways from the loss.

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Although it is warranted, no one will be fired

Losing to the Jets a team that couldn’t get out of its own way for the first eight games gave fans a sinking feeling and left them wondering if this coaching staff is the right one for the team to move forward with. Head coach Pat Shurmur was asked about the state of the team.

“The state?” he’s asked. “We are disappointed we haven’t been able to win a game for six, right? That’s the way it works. We’re disappointed that we didn’t win this game. That’s where it’s at. The state of the team, that’s where we’re at.”

Losing to a lesser team leads to all type of questions, but the Giants, even though CEO John Mara was visibly angry over the loss, won’t be doing anything drastic — yet.

Shurmur said after the game that there will be no staff changes.

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