Tag: Cam Fleming

Giants defeat Bengals: Winners, losers and those in between

Here are the winners, losers and those in between from the Giants Week 12 victory over the Bengals. 

Sunday’s game between the New York Giants and Cincinnati Bengals turned into a battle of the backups after Daniel Jones exited with a hamstring injury late in the third quarter.

That thrust backup Colt McCoy into the game and the Giants’ offense did not do much scoring for the rest of the afternoon.

A brutal holding penalty by Cam Fleming negated what would’ve been the game-ending first down for Wayne Gallman and a 29-yard punt return put the Bengals at mid-field down two points.

Luckily, Jabaal Sheard produced a strip sack to end it as Leonard Williams recovered the ball for the Giants slamming the door shut.

Despite a stagnant offense following the departure of Jones, the defense made the difference forcing three turnovers to seal the deal.

Here are the winners, losers and those in between from the Giants Week 12 victory over the Bengals.

 

Report: Giants’ Andrew Thomas will start vs. Eagles

First-round left tackle Andrew Thomas will start for the New York Giants in Week 7, one week after being benched for disciplinary reasons.

Not that there was really any doubt, but one week after being benched for disciplinary reasons, first-round offensive tackle Andrew Thomas will be back in the starting lineup for the New York Giants in Week 7.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, fresh off his own suspension, was the first to confirm what head coach Joe Judge had implied earlier this week.

Thomas had been benched to start a Week 6 game against the Washington Football Team after showing up late to a team meeting the night prior. In his place, third-round offensive tackle Matt Peart drew the start.

“There was nothing performance-based on that at all in that right there, no. I stress again with Andrew, obviously, this is something the guy made a mistake on a team policy. Again, I’d like to stress this guy is a great dude in the building,” Judge told reporters. “We love Andrew. Nothing disrespectful or malicious. He just made a mistake and there are consequences.”

In his first NFL start, Peart landed the Giants’ highest grade of the week courtesy of Pro Football Focus, which Judge said has “earned” him the right to play.

“Has he earned the right to be on the field and contribute? Absolutely. That’s why he’s going to be at the games for us,” Judge said of Peart.

Even with Thomas back and starting, expected to see Peart in a rotation with Thomas and, potentially, right tackle Cam Fleming.

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Giants refuse to blame officials for Week 5 loss

The New York Giants had several bad calls go against them in Week 5, but they refuse to blame officials for their latest loss.

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The New York Giants did a lot right on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, but they also did a lot wrong. They had multiple touchdowns called back due to penalties and in the end, they left Arlington with a 37-34 loss and an 0-5 record.

But there is reason to be frustrated beyond just the loss itself. The officials in Week 5 were horrendous and ticky-tacky, which is not uncommon for visiting teams in AT&T Stadium.

An illegal procedure call against offensive lineman Cam Fleming was among those that cost the Giants points, wiping away a touchdown pass from punter Riley Dixon to tight end Evan Engram on a brilliantly-called fake field goal.

It was the right call, but not one you often see.

“To be honest with you, I was mad at our execution that took points off the board. That was it, point blank. You prepare for something like that, you call it at a certain time, it came up, you want to see it work. We’ve got to clean that up,” head coach Joe Judge told reporters.

Later in the game, wide receiver Damion Ratley was penalized for an illegal pick that cost the Giants yet another touchdown. But it was clear to anyone watching, including CBS Sports analyst Tony Romo, that the pick was incidental and just a part of Ratley’s route.

“The play wasn’t designed to pick anybody. It was something that happened incidentally. I wasn’t expecting that, but it happens,” wide receiver Darius Slayton said.

On the opposite end of the coin, officials missed a clear holding call when defensive line B.J. Hill was mauled late in the fourth quarter. The lack of a penalty there would ultimately lead the Cowboys to victory.

“If the officials call it, I’m not going to get into a debate or any kind of public scrutiny of that right there. It is what it is, we’ve got to play through the situation of what it is,” Judge said.

As tough as that pill may be to swallow, the Giants blame only themselves for the loss. In their minds, if they have to beat the opposing team and the officials, well… that’s just the way it is sometimes.

“It’s football man. Calls go how they go,” safety Logan Ryan said. “We have to line up and we have to execute the plays. If there’s a penalty on it, somebody probably did something wrong. It hurts when there are 14 points off the board, but it’s football. Not every call goes your way. Not every ball bounces your way. What are you going to do about it?”

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Blake Martinez, Cam Fleming were highest-graded Giants in Week 4

Linebacker Blake Martinez and tight tackle Cam Fleming earned the New York Giants’ highest Pro Football Focus grades in Week 4.

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The New York Giants were defeated by the Los Angeles Rams, 17-9, in what turned out to be an unexpected defensive battle in Week 4.

The Giants had a shot to tie the game with under 1:00 remaining in the fourth quarter, but second-year quarterback Daniel Jones tossed a game-sealing interception instead.

With the loss, the Giants fell to 0-4 on the season, but there are reasons for optimism despite what some would have you believe.

Linebacker Blake Martinez, who signed with the team as a free agent in March, is certainly one of those. He’s been the team’s highest-graded defender in three of their first four games, including this past Sunday when he earned a Pro Football Focus grade of 77.4.

If you were to lower the snap count threshold however, Martinez would have checked in second on defense. Defensive lineman Austin Johnson took just 13 snaps on Sunday, but maximized each, recording two tackles, one sack and one forced fumble. On the day, he earned an overall grade of 93.1.

Leonard Williams, Markus Golden, Kyler Fackrell and James Bradberry also each graded out above 71.0.

On the offensive side of the ball, right tackle Cam Fleming led the way for the Giants, earning a surprising grade of 74.8. He was the only Giant on offense to grade out above 70.0.

Wide receiver Damion Ratley earned the second-highest offensive grade with a 66.5, while Jones checked in with a 60.7 (73.3 rushing grade, which led the team).

The two lowest grades on the team went to linebacker Devante Downs (45.1, including a 28.7 tackling grade) and linebacker Lorenzo Carter (47.8). The lowest offensive grade belonged to wide receiver C.J. Board (48.2).

Giants hold intrasquad scrimmage: 7 takeaways

The New York Giants held a sloppy intrasquad scrimmage on Friday night in the rain, and here are seven takeaways.

The New York Giants held their Blue-White scrimmage on Friday night at MetLife Stadium and were undeterred by occasional heavy rain.

In the end, the Blue team defeated the White team, 23-22.

Here are seven key takeaways from the scrimmage.

AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Offensive line struggled

The Giants feel confident they have sufficiently rebuilt their offensive line with a group of Dave Gettleman’s famed hog mollies. But if Friday night is any indication, there’s still a long way to go.

The entire first-team offensive line struggled, but more specifically, it was offensive tackles Andrew Thomas, the team’s first-round pick, and Cam Fleming who played poorly.

Both players were beaten for at least one sack, while the interior offensive line had a rough time opening lanes for running back Saquon Barkley & Co.

“The offensive line, to be honest with you, it’s live competition. We’re going out there, there’s some different tools we can use to help these guys in games. We chose to keep this a little bit vanilla tonight so it takes a little bit of tools you can use through game planning away from it. We have to see more improvement in the one on one matchups and how they handle it across the board,” head coach Joe Judge told reporters.

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Giants’ Marc Colombo thinks Matt Peart is the (f) bomb

New York Giants offensive line coach Marc Colombo is a big bleeping fan of rookie tackle Matt Peart.

The New York Giants coaching staff, led by first-year head coach Joe Judge, is extremely intense. And perhaps no one better exemplified that intensity than retired offensive lineman and current offensive line coach Marc Colombo.

From his violent style of play to his love of death metal, Colombo doesn’t dial things down for anyone — his players or the media who cover the team.

That was evident during Colombo’s Zoom conference call on Wednesday when he dropped the very first f-bomb of training camp when discussing rookie offensive lineman Matt Peart.

“There’s just a lot to work with as an offensive line coach. We like what we’ve seen so far,” Colombo said, adding that Peart is a tremendous athlete. “He just looks like a [expletive] football player.”

The 6-foot-7, 318-pound Peart, who was selected in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft, was expected to be a long-term project for the Giants, but he arrived to training camp in remarkable shape and has looked every bit the dominant lineman experts projected him to be down the road.

That doesn’t necessarily means Peart will start, however. Similar to what Judge has said previously, Colombo anticipates the “best five” will start — whoever they may be.

One of those starters could very well end up being veteran Cam Fleming, who has already earned the trust of Judge.

Meanwhile, as Judge previously alluded to, the battle at center is in a dead heat between Spencer Pulley and Nick Gates, who is making the transition from his previous role as everyman.

It’s been a long time since the Giants had a formidable offensive line, but like Colombo, you’ve got to be happy and excited with the way things are shaping up if you’re a Big Blue fan.

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Giants’ Joe Judge has confidence in Cam Fleming at right tackle

New York Giants head coach Joe Judge has confidence in Cam Fleming at right tackle, saying he can win the team some games there.

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New York Giants head coach Joe Judge knows free agent offensive tackle Cameron Fleming very well. So does the Giants new offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and offensive line coach Marc Colombo.

Fleming was a fourth round pick out of Stanford by the New England Patriots in 2014 and played four seasons in Foxborough, where Judge was an assistant on Bill Belichick’s staff. The Patriots won two Super Bowls and three AFC Championships during that period.

When Fleming became a free agent in 2018, he was inked to a one-year deal by the Dallas Cowboys where Garrett was the head coach and Colombo the O-line coach. He was re-signed to a two-year contract before the 2019 season.

Garrett’s contract ran out after last season and he left Dallas, signing on as Judge’s offensive coordinator here in New York, taking Colombo with him.

Fleming’s option for 2020 was not picked up by the Cowboys and he was a natural fit for the Giants. He has been a swing tackle most of his career but played well enough in his 26 NFL starts to convince the Giants’ new brass to take a chance on him.

With the Giants revamping their offensive line this summer, Fleming is suddenly in the mix for a starting role, most likely at right tackle as first round pick Andrew Thomas appears to be in the lead for the left tackle job.

“I’ve played in a lot of big games with Cam Fleming starting at right tackle for us and we came out on the right end of that,” Judge told reporters on Monday. “I have a lot of confidence in Cam. He comes to work every day and works hard. He’s familiar with the system and he plays with the right demeanor. I have a lot of confidence in Cam, I don’t care what his history has been because I have been there for part of his history and we won a lot of big games together.”

Fleming, who was also a teammate of Giants’ left tackle Nate Solder, is prepared for anything the coaches want to throw at him. Solder opted out of the 2020 season due to coronavirus concerns.

“Whatever position they decide to put me in, I’m ready for it,” Fleming told reporters on Monday. “I’ve always been ready. I’m just here to work. Hopefully we have a great season this year.”

Playing for familiar faces should help Fleming’s transition and give him an advantage, but he doesn’t see it that way.

“I wouldn’t say it’s an advantage,” Fleming said. “I think it’s good that I can try to be a veteran leader and try to help everybody along, especially with the offense. I have previous knowledge of the offense, so I’m trying to help the o-line just move forward so we can be the best we can be this year.”

Fleming is a typical former Patriot, providing very little information to the media. He would not comment any of the Giants’ offensive schemes, shutting the door on any strategy questions. Instead, he spoke only of how hard he and his teammates were working and that Garrett hasn’t changed much from his days in Dallas.

“Coach Garrett is Coach Garrett,” he said. “He’s the same guy as he was in Dallas as he is here. He’s just a good coach, he’s ready to work, and he’s trying to keep us accountable and make us better.”

And that’s all that really counts in the end.

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A new Giants reality: Effort, nastiness are ‘non-negotiable’

It’s a new age in East Rutherford and for this version of the New York Giants, effort and nastiness are “non-negotiable.”

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The New York Giants have been longing for a dominant offensive line for some time now. Many critics point to the offensive line as the poster child for all of the Giants’ recent woes.

While some of that may be true, the Giants have taken measures this offseason to address the line by using three of their five first draft picks this season on linemen and also signed veteran swing tackle Cam Fleming, a former Cowboy and Patriot.

Perhaps the biggest boost the Giants gave to the effort of reviving their offensive line has been the hiring of Marc Colombo has the unit coach.

Colombo, a former NFL offensive lineman who stands 6-feet-8, was a first round pick of the Chicago Bears in 2002 but it wasn’t until he got to Dallas in 2005 that his career took off.

The head coach in Dallas at the time was a man named Bill Parcells, who Colombo credits with “reviving his career.” Colombo takes a piece of what learned from the Hall of Fame coach with his to New Jersey these days and to this day says he’d still “run through a wall for him.”

Hopefully his players will be willing to do that for him someday. Colombo does not only consider himself the O-line coach, he also considers himself part of the unit.

“I’m an O-line guy,” he said. “Close that O-line door and we’re a unit together and that’s what we’re trying to build around here.”

So, what can Giant fans expect out of the offensive line this season? Colombo told the Giants beat pool via a video conference call on Friday to expect a nasty, competitive group.

“I think it’s work ethic, it’s a nasty attitude, going out there and just kind of imposing our will on the defense. Flying around, that’s non-negotiable,” Colombo said.

Colombo had some praise for starting left guard Will Hernandez and rookie center prospect Shane Lemieux, both of whom he lauded for their toughness. But his highest praise was for Nick Gates, the versatile third-year swing-man who the team just signed to a contract extension.

Colombo said he loves Gates at center, calling him an “alpha male” when he slides into the position. He also said he prefers a big center and Gates stands at 6-foot-5.

“We like big centers,” Colombo said. “I worked with Travis Frederick in Dallas and he’s a big center. Big, athletic, strong. We’re looking for centers that can anchor the middle. One of the biggest things is getting depth right off the bat at center, just so he can kind of be the ultimate helper in there.”

Colombo’s biggest task will be finding left tackle and perhaps he has to look no further than first-round pick Andrew Thomas, who experts believe will a turnkey solution for the Giants at left tackle now that veteran Nate Solder opted out due to coronavirus concerns. Colombo said Thomas needs doom fine tuning but the talent is there.

“Andrew is a tremendous football player. At this level, it’s about fine-tuning some of those details,” Colombo said. “I love where Andrew is heading. Again, we have a long way to go. But he has the right mindset, he’s smart, he knows where some of his deficiencies are right now and he’s working every day to get better. There are not a lot of deficiencies.”

The main thing Colombo is stressing is righteous of Joe Judge’s book — attention to detail. That is something the Giants’ line has been lacking for some time.

“They know it wasn’t right previously. It never is when you lose a coaching staff,” Colombo said. “When you come back this year, they’re hungry. Having a conversation with each one of them, they want to get better. It’s our job as coaches to put them in a position to succeed. That’s my job, just trying to get in there, again, and just hammer them with every little detail and make them understand why. Why this is the right way to do it. They’ve bought in so far, and they’ll continue to keep buying in. We’re just going to keep pressing every single day to get as good as we possibly can, as quickly as we can.”

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Is O-Line now the Giants’ biggest liability?

The New York Giants have worked hard to repair their offensive line, but does it remain their biggest liability headed into the season?

Every NFL team has their assets as well as their liabilities and for the New York Giants, their offensive line has been a liability for quite some time.

In his latest piece on each team’s biggest liability going into this season, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox identifies the O-Line as the Giants’ most glaring question mark this summer.

We agree, even though the defense was probably the biggest concern coming out of the season last December. The Giants have just one known entity on their offensive line at the moment — right guard Kevin Zeitler — after left guard Will Hernandez endured a disappointing second season and left tackle Nate Solder opted out due to coronavirus concerns.

The Giants have, however, taken steps to address the unit through the NFL Draft and free agency, along with bringing in Dallas Cowboys line coach Marc Colombo to head the group, but it’s a huge ask for this bunch to form some cohesiveness in such a short period of time.

“The Giants will now likely rely on some combination of rookie fourth overall pick Andrew Thomas, rookie third-round pick Matt Peart and former Cowboys and Patriots backup Cameron Fleming at tackle,” writes Knox. “Could this group of tackles prove capable of protecting quarterback Daniel Jones? Sure. With no preseason, however, it could take them some time into the regular season to jell. Given Jones’ struggles with pocket awareness and fumbling—he had 18 fumbles in 13 games last season—this could be a major issue in 2020.”

That is the fear. Too many rookies and new faces on the line could prove to be too challenging at the outset but many see it as a step in the right direction.

Thomas and Peart were both coveted by many teams in the draft and Fleming, having played for Colombo last season in Dallas should help make for a smoother transition.

In addition, the Giants are looking to make a change at center where veteran Spencer Pulley will face challenges from Nick Gates and rookie Shane Lemieux.

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2020 Giants training camp: Position battles to watch

As the New York Giants ready themselves for padded training camp practices, here are some key positional battles to watch.

Every summer brings NFL training camps and every training camp has their share of roster battles.

With a new coaching staff and a load of new faces to pit against some unproven old faces, the New York Giants’ camp will have quite a number of battles for key positions this year.

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Offensive tackle

Nate Solder was going to have to prove that he was still left tackle timber this summer before he opted out for the season. So, left tackle was very much in play. Now, it’s their priority.

The Giants are hopeful that first round pick Andrew Thomas slides right in and starts from Day 1. That could still happen. He’ll have plenty of company, though. Third round pick Matt Peart will now be thrust into the mix for the left tackle spot as well.

Right tackle is even more wide open. The loser of the left tackle role will have to fend off veteran free agent Cam Fleming and the Giants’ everyman, Nick Gates. These are the two biggest question marks of the summer.

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