Tag: Alex Bachman

Giants sported one of NFL’s top offenses during 2022 preseason

Preseason results mean little but it’s still worth noting that the New York Giants sported one of the NFL’s best offenses this summer.

The New York Giants went 2-1 during the 2022 preseason with victories over the New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals followed by a last-minute loss to the New York Jets last Sunday.

Those performances were encouraging signs as their new regime under general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll.

The Giants led the NFL in several categories this summer:

  • Total offense (yards per game) with a 382.7 average buoyed by 272.7 yards per game passing. They also led all teams in completions with 102.
  • They led all NFC teams in pass attempts (143) and all teams in sacks allowed with three.
  • In individual stats, Giants wide receiver Alex Bachman led all players with 19 receptions.

While few hold any stock in the preseason, there are some takeaways Giants fans can revel in. Their offense looks like it will be an upbeat, creative effort that won’t crawl into a shell. They will compete.

That is the swagger Daboll and new offensive coordinator Mike Kafka have brought this season.

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Giants’ Collin Johnson out for season after suffering torn Achilles

New York Giants WR Collin Johnson suffered a torn Achilles on Wednesday and will miss the 2022 regular season.

The New York Giants are dealing with an unprecedented amount of injuries and the trend does not appear to be slowing down.

Midway through Wednesday’s practice, wide receiver Collin Johnson was carted off the field with what appeared to be a significant lower leg injury. The reaction from his teammates seemed to support that notion.

Johnson had been a star throughout training camp and the preseason, even drawing recent praise from head coach Brian Daboll.

“The guys that have been out there and producing, Collin Johnson, David Sills, they’ve stepped their game up. And they’re right in the mix, not just to make a team but to play,” Daboll told reporters on Monday. “Everybody’s got to earn their job, earn their role, do a good job of the things they need to do, and make the most of their opportunities when they get them.”

The Giants later confirmed that Johnson had suffered a torn Achilles and will miss the 2022 season.

In addition to Johnson, fellow wide receiver Alex Bachman was also injured during Wednesday’s practice.

The injuries to Johnson and Bachman come on the same day the Giants activated veteran wide receiver Sterling Shepard (Achilles) off of the PUP list.

Finally, running back Matt Breida was forced to leave practice due to what appeared to be overheating/dehydration issues.

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Giants’ David Sills, Collin Johnson may earn more than roster spots

New York Giants coach Brian Daboll says David Sills and Collin Johnson aren’t just playing their way onto the roster, but into a legit role.

The New York Giants have to be pleased with their depth at wide receiver this summer. While their top-end depth of Kenny Golladay, Kadarius Toney and Wan’Dale Robinson have been injured or underperforming, the back-end of their roster has not.

Collin Johnson, David Sills and Alex Bachman have all flashed throughout training camp and the preseason, and head coach Brian Daboll is beginning to envision significant roles for them.

“The guys that have been out there and producing, Collin Johnson, David Sills, they’ve stepped their game up. And they’re right in the mix, not just to make a team but to play,” Daboll told reporters on Monday. “Everybody’s got to earn their job, earn their role, do a good job of the things they need to do, and make the most of their opportunities when they get them.”

Given the numbers at wide receiver, it may be tricky to find space for Johnson and Sills. Or Bachman and Richie James Jr. One may earn a spot at the expense of wide receiver Darius Slayton, who has been considered a potential trade piece or cap causality this summer, but what about the rest?

Sterling Shepard is inching closer to a return which only further bloats those numbers. But Johnson, Sills and Bachman have all proven to be tough, smart and dependable — exactly what Daboll is looking for in his players.

“That’s definitely something that’s awesome to hear, but there’s constant competition in training camp. I think we’ve had good competition in our room this whole training camp,” Sills said. “We’ve got another week of competing against the Jets and have a joint practice with them so I’m just going to try to put my best foot forward this week, and carry it into the game.

“Hopefully everything will work its way out from that. I’m just going to continue do the same thing that I’ve been doing this whole training camp and try to go out there and like I said, make plays and put my best foot forward.”

Sills has the added benefit of being close with quarterback Daniel Jones. The two regularly spend time together in the offseason with Sills often tagging along wherever Jones goes.

“I definitely don’t think it hurts,” Sills said with a laugh. “We have been able to build a good connection over the last couple years. I think it’s been paying off out there in practice and in the game the other day. He kind of knows where I’m going to be, I know where the ball is going to be. So, it’s something that I had put a lot of time in to get to this point, but like I said earlier it’s not like the job is finished.”

The Giants are in an odd and unexpected spot. It’s been years since they were forced to release good players prior to the start of the regular season, but that’s where they currently find themselves. Unless they decide to do the unthinkable and part ways with Golladay, someone who has played well this summer is going to be cut loose.

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Giants have several uncharacteristic special teams issues that need fixing

During a down era for the organization, the New York Giants special teams unit has played well but inconsistency is beginning to creep in.

The New York Giants have had little to crow about the past has-decade or so, but the one area in which they have prided themselves in is special teams.

Guided by coordinator Thomas McGaughey, the Giants’ special teams unit has been among the league’s best. But this summer, things have not been going as swimmingly as in years past.

On Sunday night against the Cincinnati Bengals in their second preseason game, the ‘teams’ had several uncharacteristic breakdowns.

They allowed a 73-yard kickoff return to running back Chris Evans, a play in which placekicker Graham Gano suffered a concussion attempting to tackle Evans.

Returner C.J. Board fumbled a kickoff return after taking a hard hit. The Bengals recovered and Board left the game with injured ribs.

There’s not much upside to the performance of the special teams but there were some encouraging signs. Punter Jamie Gillan filled in for Gano without a hitch, slamming a 31-yard field goal, an extra point and two of his three kickoffs for touchbacks,

Defensive back Julian Love continued to display his increasing versatility filling in for Gillan as the holder on kicks.

Alex Bachman not only was the star of the game on offense, he made a key tackle on a late fourth quarter kickoff and ran back a punt for 11 yards.

The inconsistency of the ‘teams’ is perhaps a result of all of the injuries the team has been experiencing this summer. As McGaughey has told us consistently over the years, he does not know from game to game who he will have available to work with. That has been increasing prevalent this summer. It is something that should improve once the team cuts it’s roster down to 53 players next week.

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Alex Bachman’s do-it-all performance encourages Giants

Drawing on what he’s learned from Cole Beasley and Danny Amendola, WR Alex Bachman is carving out a key role for the New York Giants.

Before Sunday night’s preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals, New York Giants reserve wide receiver/returner Alex Bachman was a player on the roster bubble.

After a breakout 11-catch, 122-yard performance that saw him score two fourth quarter touchdowns and make a key stop on special teams, the Giants are going to have to find a spot for him.

Bachman looked very Julian Edelman-like on Sunday night, making catch after catch and showing a prowess to get yards after the catch and into the end zone.

Actually, Bachman was being compared after the game more to Cole Beasley, who played the past three seasons under current Giants head coach Brian Daboll in Buffalo.

“I happen to share the same agent as Cole Beasley,” Bachman told reporters. “Cole lives in Austin, Texas with me. He and Danny Amendola, I’ve picked their brain; I’ve picked the slots brain. I have a high football IQ, I can read ‘zone’ and ‘man,’ and things like that. Like I said, we were on the same page, been on the same page, built that in practice and so we really made it work tonight and glad we did.”

If Bachman had told us that last week, we would have sloughed it off. After Sunday night, we can see the residual effects of him working out with those players and how they have rubbed off on him.

“All this guy’s done is the right thing since he’s been here,” said head coach Daboll. “He’s showed up in the spring and worked as hard as he possibly could and got better each day. He’s one of the first guys in the weight room each day. He was down, down on the depth chart, rep chart if you will, and all he does is compete and play hard. And I appreciate guys like that. I think his teammates do, too. It was good to see him have some success out there. He’ll get more chances.”

When Bachman found out that Daboll was coming over as the Giants’ new head coach, he immediately turned to Beasley for insight.

“I picked his brain, there were a couple times where Dabs facetimed in and we were just talking,” said Bachman, “But, I just picked his brain around different things and what he’s looking for and how to run one route 10 different ways because sometimes you’re going to run and the same plays are going to be called, and you’ve got to make it look different for the defense.

“So, I’ve been learning more about how route running can turn into a chess game really, I can give one look and set it up for the next one. So specifically, obviously those two touchdowns tonight, I kind of knew we were going to score on them or be successful at least because of a previous play that already happened. I’m like ‘alright this is perfect; I’ve already set them up for this play to work.’ I’m just thankful and appreciate the opportunity to go out there and play football.”

And he will get more chances based on what we’ve seen from him. With the Giants’ wide receiver group constantly in flux, it could be Bachman that finally adds some stability to the unit.

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Giants defeat Bengals: Winners, losers and those in between

Here are the winners, losers and those in between from the New York Giants’ preseason Week 2 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

After a solid showing against the New England Patriots in Week 1 of the preseason, the New York Giants were back at it on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

Already down 18 players due to injury, the Giants quickly inflated that total. There were several notable injuries throughout the game, including to rookie edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux.

Back on the field, New York’s reserves struggled against the Cincinnati Bengals initially, but rebounded strong and closed things out on another Davis Webb comeback.

2022 Giants training camp preview: Wide receivers

The New York Giants have a deep and talented group of wide receivers but there are still many questions and concerns.

The New York Giants wide receivers group is currently a huge question mark at the moment. Injuries, inconsistency and a poor offensive game plan plagued the unit lat season.

This year, with a new approach on offense under first-year head coach Brian Daboll and coordinator Mike Kafka, the air is said to be clear again to throw the football.

The unit has a new position coach in Mike Groh, who will try to marshal up this once promising group.

Here is a quick preview heading into training camp.

Giants’ Alex Bachman heaps praise on teammate Julian Love

New York Giants WR Alex Bachman says teammate Julian Love is completely selfless and wildly underrated.

Julian Love has served as the jack of all trades for the New York Giants since being selected in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL draft.

Like many on this current Giants squad, Love has seen a plethora of changes. He’s on his third head coach and third defensive coordinator here in 2022, which has meant multiple position changes. He’s lined up at strong safety, free safety, slot corner and outside cornerback during this three seasons.

And to Love’s credit, he’s played all of them well. That’s why former Giants head coach Joe Judge referred to him as “duct tape” — the guy can do it all.

But beyond Love’s underappreciated value on the field, he’s also an excellent teammate and asset in the locker-room. He’s loved and respected by those around him, which was expressed by wide receiver Alex Bachman over the weekend.

Love is likely poised for an increased role in 2022. The Giants are short in the secondary — at both safety and corner — and the safeties are often who control the calls for defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.

If Love does, indeed, have to take on added responsibility, he’s ready for it.

“All I know is we’re going to have a lot of fun with me this year,” Love told Newsday’s Tom Rock last week. “I’ve always felt like I was a guy who was kind of selfless in his role, to do whatever was needed, and now I’m excited to take charge and make plays and put myself in positions where I can succeed.”

The Giants are lucky to have a guy like Love on their roster.

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Giants’ Alex Bachman working out with Baker Mayfield

New York Giants WR Alex Bachman is working out with QB Baker Mayfield and WR Cole Beasley this spring.

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The Cleveland Browns are in the process of moving on from quarterback Baker Mayfield following the acquisition of fellow quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Where Mayfield ultimately lands remains to be seen but in the interim, he’s staying ready by throwing to several current and former NFL wide receivers. And among them just so happens to be Alex Bachman of the New York Giants.

Bachman, who was signed by the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent out of Wake Forest in 2019, joined the Giants that same year. He was signed to Big Blue’s practice squad roughly a month after L.A. waived him with an injury settlement.

In his three years with the Giants, Bachman has spent time on and off of both the practice squad and active roster. He’s appeared in four games, including three last season, but has yet to draw a target. He has, however, returned four kickoffs for 94 yards and one punt for 16 yards.

Back in January, the Giants signed Bachman to a reserve/futures deal.

Bachman working with Mayfield is of little consequence, but the fact that he’s also working alongside wide receiver Cole Beasley is somewhat interesting. Beasley, a current free agent, has a lengthy history with Giants general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll, and could become a potential option for the team somewhere down the line.

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Giants protect Evan Boehm, three other practice squad players

The New York Giants have protected four practice squad players and terminated the contract of TE Jake Hausmann.

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The New York Giants have announced their practice squad protections ahead of a Week 16 game with the Philadelphia Eagles and center Evan Boehm was among the four.

Signed by the Giants last week, the 28-year-old Boehm was originally a fourth-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals in the 2016 NFL draft. He became a journeyman after that, spending time with the Los Angeles Rams (2018), Indianapolis Colts (2018), Miami Dolphins (2019, 2021), Buffalo Bills (2020), Jacksonville Jaguars (2020) and Detroit Lions (2021).

Boehm has appeared in 55 career games with 21 starts. He’s taken snaps at both left and right guard in addition to center.

This is Boehm’s first time being protected by the team.

In addition to Boehm, the Giants also protected wide receiver/return man Pharoh Cooper, wide receiver Alex Bachman and defensive lineman David Moa.

Moa has been a regular protection all year and even saw action in Week 15 as a COVID-19 replacement. Cooper, meanwhile, is the team’s starting return man and is a guaranteed elevation come Sunday.

Lastly, the Giants announced that they have terminated the practice squad contract of tight end Jake Hausmann.

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