Tag: Aaron Robinson

Oshane Ximines, Andrew Thomas were highest-graded Giants in Week 1

New York Giants LB Oshane Ximines and LT Andrew Thomas earned the team’s highest Pro Football Focus grades in Week 1.

The New York Giants rallied from 13 points down to defeat the Tennessee Titans, 21-20, in Week 1. And while the team’s play was far from perfect, they performed well enough under a new coaching staff to get the job done.

On the defensive side of the ball, defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence had a noteworthy performance but he didn’t lead the unit in Pro Football Focus grades. That distinction went to edge rusher Oshane Ximines, who led the entire team with a grade of 86.0.

Lawrence earned a 79.1 and was followed up by cornerbacks Aaron Robinson (73.4) and Adoree’ Jackson (71.5), and defensive lineman Leonard Williams (71.2).

Other defensive grades worth mentioning include linebacker Jihad Ward (69.7), safety Xavier McKinney (63.1) and linebacker Tomon Fox (56.2).

The lowest-graded Giants defenders were defensive lineman Justin Ellis (37.4), and linebackers Tae Crowder (29.0) and Austin Calitro (28.9).

On the offensive side of the ball, left tackle Andrew Thomas led the way with a 79.9. He was followed by running back Saquon Barkley (74.8), wide receiver Sterling Shepard (69.0) and tight end Daniel Bellinger (67.1).

Additional offensive grades include wide receiver Richie James Jr. (62.2), quarterback Daniel Jones (57.4) and wide receiver Kenny Golladay (51.0).

The lowest grades on offense belong to center Jon Feliciano (49.4), right tackle Evan Neal (40.1) and guard Ben Bredeson (38.0).

It’s also worth pointing out that rookie guard Joshua Ezeudu earned a pass protection grade of 0.0. The second-worst pass protection grade for a lineman belonged to Bredeson (38.0).

Defensive back Nick McCloud earned the Giants’ highest special teams grade (80.2).

[lawrence-related id=697071,697050,697046]

[listicle id=697069]

Giants report card: How we graded Big Blue in Week 1 win

The New York Giants upset the Tennessee Titans, 21-20, in Week 1 and the Giants Wire team grades reflect that performance.

The New York Giants knocked off the Tennessee Titans, 21-20, in a last-second thriller on Sunday afternoon.

The Giants ended their first week woes as they traveled to Nashville and defeated the reigning AFC regular season champions. On the back of Saquon Barkley, the Giants were able to escape with an upset win that gave life to all Big Blue fans.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what we saw during the game and how we graded the Giants in this win.

Giants vs. Titans: 3 causes for concern in Week 1

The New York Giants square off in a Sunday battle against the Tennessee Titans in Week 1. Here are three reasons for concern.

The New York Giants open their 2022 regular season schedule with an interconference matchup with the Tennessee Titans in Nashville on Sunday afternoon at Nissan Stadium.

Here are three reasons for concern for the Giants in Week 1.

The Athletic names two Giants as second-year breakout candidates

The Athletic has pegged two members of the New York Giants as second-year breakout candidates and there’s one glaring omission.

New York Giants cornerback Aaron Robinson and edge rusher Quincy Roche have been identified as two second-year players who are ready to ‘break out’ in 2022 by The Athletic.

Roche was a sixth-round selection of the Pittsburgh Steelers last year who was waived during final cuts and picked up by the Giants. He played in 14 games for New York last season, starting three, recording five QB hits, five tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

He could turn into a sleeper. He’s a bouncy, nimble athlete on the edge, one who can change direction and retrack to the ball with a lot of speed and explosion. When he’s locked in, he can be a real problem against the run, as an edge-setter who’s just hard to move. However, he does get tired — it happened too much in 2021 — and that can limit his impact.

Still, there’s a lot to like here. Roche’s effort can be intense, and if he can find a way to keep that max energy longer, he’ll be a great addition up front. His situation is interesting, though. The Athletic’s Dan Duggan notes that he’s in a roster battle in New York, as the Giants also have talented young edge rushers in Azeez Ojulari and Kayvon Thibodeaux to think about (and they’re not going anywhere). If Roche can’t stick with New York, don’t be shocked if he shows up somewhere else and makes an impact. He can play.

Robinson, a third-round pick, missed the entire first half of the 2021 season with a foot injury but showed great strides as the season progressed.

Receivers have a really hard time separating from Robinson and beating him at the line of scrimmage. Robinson has good long speed, too, so he also challenges players who have second-level acceleration. He’s all-around fast and showed an ability to play without fear on an island last year as a rookie.

He got beat early in New York’s November win over the Eagles because he gave up on a route too soon, but Philadelphia went back at him repeatedly that game and never found success again. Robinson (6-0), ran stride-for-stride with speedy Jalen Reagor on a go-ball with the game on the line in the final minute to help the Giants preserve a win.

It’s not always perfect, though. Robinson can still get lost. He had some issues in coverage in a preseason game last week, in fact. There’s work to do here, but he’s still someone to keep an eye on.

The Athletic bypassed the Giants’ top two picks in last year’s draft — wide receiver Kadarius Toney and Azeez Ojulari. Most fans are eager to see them break out as well.

[pickup_prop id=”24935″]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbx61yex5whq8aq player_id=none image=https://giantswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[lawrence-related id=695684,695681,695675]

[vertical-gallery id=663678]

Giants open preseason with victory over Patriots: 3 takeaways

The New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots on Thursday night and here are three notable takeaways.

The New York Giants opened their 2022 preseason schedule with a nationally televised 23-21 victory over the New England Patriots in Foxborough on Thursday night.

Here are three top takeaways from the victory.

Giants defeat Patriots: Winners, losers and those in between

Here are the winners, losers and those in between from the New York Giants’ preseason Week 1 victory over the New England Patriots.

The New York Giants opened up their 2022 preseason schedule with a jaunt up I-95 to New England to face the Patriots.

The Pats did not dress any of their starters in this game while the Giants decided to take a different approach.

Here’s some early winners and losers from Thursday’s 23-21 victory.

Giants release unofficial depth chart: 7 takeaways

The New York Giants have released their unofficial depth chart and here are seven notable takeaways.

The New York Giants released their unofficial depth chart ahead of Thursday’s preseason game against the New England Patriots.

It’s important to note that these early-preseason depth charts mean very little. They’re more about giving fans a structure and information so that they’re able to follow along throughout the course of the game.

Still, they do provide a slight indication into who is leading what training camp battle. And while they are obviously subject to change, they generate quite a bit of attention.

Here are seven quick takeaways from the Giants’ unofficial depth chart.

See it: Giants players, coaches involved in massive brawl during practice

Shortly after an aggressive run by Saquon Barkley during practice, New York Giants players and coaches erupted into a massive brawl.

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley lowered his shoulder and hit cornerback Aaron Robinson hard, sending him to the ground.

Barkley’s truck-stick hit was a bit more aggressive and physical than the standard of level play during camp practice — at least to date. And with temperatures again soaring near the triple digits (heat index), it was the spark that ignited the fire.

The subsequent two plays also featured a little back-and-forth and shoving. Then all hell broke lose.

Center Jon Feliciano and linebacker Tae Crowder got into a scuffle. That was followed by offensive coordinator Bobby Johnson shoving linebacker Cam Brown, which resulted in a sucker punch courtesy of Feliciano. Brown quickly threw a few haymakers of his own and before they even hit the ground, benches had cleared.

Players stormed the field and any remaining control was lost.

“This ain’t nothing. This jawn’s small,” linebacker Jihad Ward said after practice. “But I ain’t see nothing.”

Head coach Brian Daboll had the team separate after things eventually calmed down and they quickly returned to practice. No injuries were immediately reported.

[pickup_prop id=”24323″]

[lawrence-related id=695275,695273,695271]

[listicle id=695282]

Giants training camp: 10 takeaways from Day 10

The New York Giants wrapped up training camp practice No. 10 on Monday and it included a massive fight involving players and coaches.

The New York Giants were back on the practice field at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center on Monday preparing for their first preseason game.

It may be hard to believe, but the last week without football until February has come and gone. The Giants, of course, hope to be playing that long themselves.

In a break from recent tradition, head coach Brian Daboll did not hold a press conference on Monday morning. Instead, he appeared on WFAN and allowed his coordinators — Mike Kafka, Wink Martindale and Thomas McGaughey — to handle the media.

Here are 10 quick takeaways from training camp practice No. 10.

Adoree’ Jackson has confidence in Giants’ young cornerbacks

New York Giants CB Adoree’ Jackson, who is now the veteran in the room, has confidence in Aaron Robinson and Darnay Holmes.

The New York Giants were forced to let veteran Pro Bowl cornerback James Bradberry go this offseason due to salary cap constraints. That pushed the onus of the No. 1 cornerback duties to another young veteran, Adoree’ Jackson.

Jackson is the dean of the Giants’ cornerback room, which is all new to him as he is still just 26 years old this summer.

“That’s the strangest thing,” Jackson told reporters this week. “I mean I came in and they thought I was super young and now that the roles reversed, I’m not old but in the middle, and they are super young like 20, 21. It’s crazy just to see the difference in the age gap.”

Jackson will be flanked by second-year player Aaron Robinson and Darnay Holmes, who is entering his third NFL season with the Giants.

The Giants traded up in last year’s draft to select Robinson in the third round. He missed the first two month of his rookie season with a core muscle injury. When he finally hit the field in November, Robinson quickly distinguished himself. That hasn’t didn’t get past Jackson, who was in his first year with Big Blue.

“I have been liking A-Rob since I met him. I know when I came and signed here, then we drafted him, I just looked up his highlight tapes,” Jackson said. “I liked what I had seen from him and been liking him ever since. He works hard, he’s a guy that just goes out there and does what he has to do. I just appreciate A-Rob and his competitiveness.”

Holmes has served mainly as a slot and package corner in his first two seasons. This summer he is forcing the Giants’ hand to get him more involved.

Jackson has known Holmes for about a decade, going back to their days in Southern California. He likes what he’s seeing from Holmes this summer.

“I mean you all see it. He is out there doing his thing. Like I said, every day it’s not like he is worried about the past or the present. He is just trying to focus on the day by day and getting better,” Jackson said. “That’s what we preach. If you ever hear him talk or ever hear him speak, you know how he carries himself you can tell that’s a smart intelligent man. He goes out there and carries it the right way on the field and off.”

The Giants’ secondary is on trial this season. They need to come up big, almost surprise, if Big Blue’s defense is to flourish.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbx61yex5whq8aq player_id=none image=https://giantswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[pickup_prop id=”24935″]

[lawrence-related id=694994,695017,695011]

[listicle id=694974]