Tag: Azeez Ojulari

Giants still waiting for their pass rush to arrive

The New York Giants desperately need their pass rush to step up and they hope that Azeez Ojulari’s Monday night return provides a spark.

The New York Giants have invested heavily in pass rushers over the past few years — an investment they are still waiting to reap the benefits of.

In 2021, they selected Georgia outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari with the 50th overall pick. After a promising inaugural season in which he set a franchise record for sacks by a rookie, Ojulari has been besieged by injuries, playing in just seven games last season and one this year.

Ojulari has missed the past two games with a hamstring injury.

The Giants drafted Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux with the fifth overall pick last year to pair with Ojulari, as bookends of sorts, but that plan has not fully manifested itself as of yet.

Thibodeaux has had some ‘a-ha’ moments but has largely struggled at times. He has five sacks in 17 games as a Giant.

This season, the Giants have recorded only two sacks with 16 pressures and have the lowest quarterback-hurry rate in the NFL (2.1 percent of dropbacks).

Ojulari and Thibodeaux should be on the field together on Monday night when the Giants host the Seattle Seahawks at MetLife Stadium.

“He’s a good player for us,” head coach Brian Daboll said of Ojulari. “We’ve got to get him into those situations where we can utilize his skillset, which he does a good job of rushing the passer, but we’ve got to play good team defense, good team football in order to get to some of those situations.”

Truer words have never been spoken. The Giants have been behind in games for all but 19 seconds this season. That has to change.

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Giants vs. Seahawks: 5 biggest storylines for Week 4

The New York Giants face the Seattle Seahawks in Week 4. Here are the five biggest storylines to follow for this contest.

The New York Giants (1-2) host the Seattle Seahawks (2-1) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Monday Night Football in Week 4 of the 2023 NFL season.

Here are five storylines we are following.

Giants injury report: Andrew Thomas misses practice

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll wouldn’t call it a setback but LT Andrew Thomas (hamstring) missed practice on Friday.

The New York Giants were back at practice on Friday, this time working inside the field house with Mother Nature dumping buckets of water on the northeast.

The concerning development for the Giants was the status of left tackle Andrew Thomas (hamstring), who appeared to take a step backward. He did not participate on Friday after being limited in practice on Thursday.

However, head coach Brian Daboll refused to say Thomas suffered a “setback” and wouldn’t address his chances of playing on Monday night.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Daboll said of Thomas not practicing, adding that the left tackle received treatment.

In more positive injury-related news, running back Saquon Barkley (ankle) practiced for the second consecutive day, as did linebacker Azeez Ojulari (hamstring).

The Giants’ Friday injury report can be found below:

Did not participate: OL Andrew Thomas (hamstring)

Limited participant: LB Azeez Ojulari (hamstring), RB Saquon Barkley (ankle), TE Daniel Bellinger (neck), DL Davidson (elbow)

Full participant: OL Ben Bredeson (concussion)

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Giants injury report: Saquon Barkley, Ben Bredeson return to practice

The New York Giants did not have anyone miss practice on Thursday with RB Saquon Barkley and OL Ben Bredeson returning.

The New York Giants returned to the practice field for the first time (save for walkthroughs) in more than a week on Thursday and it provided an opportunity to see where several of the team’s injured players are at.

As head coach Brian Daboll alluded to earlier in the week, left guard Ben Bredeson has cleared concussion protocol and appears to be a go in Week 4. Left tackle Andrew Thomas also appears to be on the mend.

They weren’t alone as the entire team practiced in some capacity, even running back Saquon Barkley, who is nursing a high-ankle sprain.

“So, everybody will practice today. Some in a limited role, but we’ll see where they go from individual, team, but they’re all practicing today,” head coach Brian Daboll said.

Things appear to be trending in the right direction and that’s something Big Blue needs as they head into a must-win game against the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night.

The Giants’ Thursday injury report can be found below:

Did not participate: N/A

Limited participant: LB Azeez Ojulari (hamstring), OL Andrew Thomas (hamstring), RB Saquon Barkley (ankle), TE Daniel Bellinger (neck), DL Davidson (elbow)

Full participant: OL Ben Bredeson (concussion)

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7 things Giants must improve upon in Week 4

The New York Giants are 1-2 after three weeks of the season and need to improve in these seven areas ahead of a Week 4 game vs. Seattle.

The New York Giants just came off a stretch of three games in the span of 12 days to open their 2023 regular season schedule.

They went 1-2 in the three games, getting shut out miserably by the Dallas Cowboys in the Sunday night opener before heading out west to play the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers in a five-day span.

They needed a historic comeback to take down the Cardinals and then were vastly exposed by the powerful Niners in another nationally televised horror show.

Here are seven things the Giants must do better in their next game, which will be played versus Seattle on Monday night, October 2 at MetLife Stadium.

Two former Georgia Bulldogs ruled out for TNF

Two former Georgia bulldogs on the New York Giants will miss Thursday Night Football…

The New York Giants have ruled out former Georgia Bulldogs Andrew Thomas and outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari for Thursday’s matchup versus the San Francisco 49ers, per NFL insider Ian Rapoport.

Thomas, who signed a record five-year $117.5 million deal this offseason, missed last week’s matchup with the Arizona Cardinals after injuring his hamstring in Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys.

Ojulari is also dealing with a hamstring injury, stemming from the Giants’ 40-0 loss against Dallas, that kept him out against the Cardinals.

Ojulari missed 10 games last season due to various injuries, including a calf strain that landed him on the injured reserve.

Both Thomas and Ojulari are important pieces for a New York team that is coming off of an impressive 31-28 comeback win over Arizona.

The Giants are 1-1 and have a difficult game against 2-0 San Francisco.

Giants’ Saquon Barkley, Andrew Thomas among 4 out vs. 49ers

The New York Giants will be without RB Saquon Barkley, LT Andrew Thomas and two other starters against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 3.

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The New York Giants picked up and departed Arizona today en route for Santa Clara where they will take on the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday Night Football.

The Giants enter the game far more banged up than the 49ers, but they have a couple of injury concerns of their own — namely wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (shoulder).

It was already a foregone conclusion that Giants guard Ben Bredeson (concussion) would miss the game but head coach Brian Daboll left the door open for running back Saquon Barkley to play.

“I’m not saying that he’s out yet. He’s a quick healer. I’m not saying he’s in (or) he’s out. We are going to take it all the way up with him to Thursday, but he feels a lot better today. I just talked to him. So, we will see where we are at,” Daboll said on Tuesday.

Ultimately, that proved to be a little pie-in-the-sky. Barkley and Bredeson were among four who won’t suit up in Week 3.

Full injury reports for both the Giants and 49ers can be found below:

Giants injury report: Saquon Barkley has made ‘considerable progress’

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll says RB Saquon Barkley (ankle) has made “considerable progress” and could play Thursday night.

The New York Giants remain in Arizona ahead of Wednesday’s travel day to San Francisco, where they’ll take on the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Week 4.

Entering the day, expectations were that running back Saquon Barkley, who suffered an “ordinary” ankle sprain last Sunday against the Cardinals, would be forced to sit this one out. However, Giants head coach Brian Daboll is suggesting we pump the brakes on that assumption.

“I’m not saying that he’s out yet. He’s a quick healer,” Daboll told reporters during a Zoom call. “We’re going to take it all the way up to Thursday with him.

“He feels a lot better today. I just talked to him. We’ll see where we’re at.”

Daboll added that Barkley has made “considerable progress” over the past 24 hours.

Whether or not that is pure gamesmanship on the part of Daboll is unclear but Barkley does return from injury quicker than the average NFL player. And given that it wasn’t a high-ankle sprain, it would be possible for him to beat the three-week window.

Meanwhile, the Giants conducted their second walkthrough on Tuesday.

The Giants’ (projected) Tuesday injury report can be found below:

Did not participate: RB Saquon Barkley (ankle), OL Ben Bredeson (concussion)

Limited participant: LB Micah McFadden (neck), LB Azeez Ojulari (hamstring), WR Wan’Dale Robinson (knee), OL Andrew Thomas (hamstring)

Full participant: N/A

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Giants’ Azeez Ojulari doubtful, Andrew Thomas questionable vs. Cardinals

New York Giants LB Azeez Ojulari is doubtful and LT Andrew Thomas is questionable for a Week 2 game against the Arizona Cardinals.

The New York Giants begin their West Coast road trip this Sunday when they take on the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium in Glendale before a quick turnaround and a game against the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday night.

The team’s daily injury report was lengthy this week and included the additions of left tackle Andrew Thomas (hamstring) and linebacker Azeez Ojulari (hamstring).

Both of those players practiced on Friday on at least a limited basis, as did the remainder of the team. No one sat out but game statuses were still very much up in the air.

“Everybody’s practicing, and we’ll reevaluate after practice,” Daboll told reporters. “Those are discussions we have after practice today.”

Following practice, it became quickly apparent who stood the best chance at playing in Week 2 and who was likely to sit out.

Full injury reports for both the Giants and Cardinals can be found below:

Giants injury report: Andrew Thomas, Azeez Ojulari limited

New York Giants LT Andrew Thomas and LB Azeez Ojulari were limited on Thursday and their status for Sunday’s game is up in the air.

The New York Giants returned to the practice field on Thursday following a scary scene the day prior. Practice squad cornerback Amani Oruwariye was injured on a kickoff drill and was taken by ambulance to a local hospital.

Thankfully, Oruwariye was back at team facilities for the team’s second practice of the week and had full function in his extremities.

Meanwhile, left tackle Andrew Thomas and right end Darren Waller each returned to practice.

The Giants’ Thursday injury report can be found below:

Did not participate: WR Sterling Shepard (rest)

Limited participant: OL Andrew Thomas (hamstring), K Graham Gano (ankle), WR Wan’Dale Robinson (knee), CB Deonte Banks (calf), LB Cam Brown (ankle), CB Cor’Dale Flott (hamstring), LB Azeez Ojulari (hamstring), S Gervarrius Owens (hamstring), OL Matt Peart (elbow), TE Darren Waller (hamstring/rest)

Full participant: N/A

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