Tag: Darnay Holmes

Giants injury report: Jason Pinnock continues to miss practice

New York Giants safety Jason Pinnock missed his second day of practice on Thursday and seems unlikely to play in Week 18 against Philly.

The New York Giants returned to the field on Thursday for their first full practice of the week after conducting a walkthrough on Wednesday.

For the second consecutive day, safety Jason Pinnock was sidelined due to injury and appears unlikely to play on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. If he doesn’t, he’ll be spelled by Dane Belton, who registered three takeaways in Week 17.

Belton also missed practice on Thursday, but his absence was unrelated to injury.

Meanwhile, rookie center John Michael Schmitz returned to practice on a limited basis and could play in the team’s season finale.

The Giants’ full Thursday injury report can be found below:

Did not participate: S Jason Pinnock (toe), S Dane Belton (not injury-related/personal)

Limited participant: OL John Michael Schmitz (lower leg), CB Detone Banks (shoulder), LB Carter Coughlin (shoulder), CB Darnay Holmes (foot), QB Tyrod Taylor (back)

Full participant: N/A

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Giants injury report: John Michael Schmitz, Jason Pinnock not practicing

New York Giants rookie center John Michael Schmitz and safety Jason Pinnock did not participate in the team’s walkthrough on Wednesday.

The New York Giants returned to the field on Wednesday ahead of a Week 18 game against the Philadelphia Eagles — their regular season finale.

Similar to a week ago, the Giants opted to go with a Wednesday walkthrough as opposed to a full practice.

“We’re going to do similar to what we did last week, which will be more of a walkthrough,” head coach Brian Daboll told reporters.

The bad news was that two players were unable to participate in the walkthrough, indicating they are unlikely to play on Sunday afternoon.

“Pinnock will not do the walkthrough and John Michael won’t do the walkthrough,” Daboll said. “It’s more of (Pinnock’s) toe than it is his foot so we’ll see how it goes this week.

“Lower leg, ankle, kind of got leg-whipped a little bit in the game so we’ll see where (Schmitz) is at. Sore today.”

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

Did not participate: OL John Michael Schmitz (lower leg), S Jason Pinnock (toe)

Limited participant: CB Detone Banks (shoulder), LB Carter Coughlin (shoulder), CB Darnay Holmes (foot), QB Tyrod Taylor (back)

Full participant: N/A

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Giants’ Thomas McGaughey praises Darnay Holmes’ special teams prowess

New York Giants special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey praises CB Darnay Holmes for being one of the hardest workers on the team.

The New York Giants’ special teams has taken a huge step back this season and the pressure is on coordinator Thomas McGaughey to make lemonade out of the lemons he’s been left with.

The massive injury spate that has plagued the Giants this year has caused them to employ a slew of newer and inexperienced players on both offense and defense, which means on game day the special teams will be filled with players who haven’t played alongside one another for very long.

There have been some constants, however. The Giants’ coverage teams have been fairly solid despite the revolving door of players and the absence of veteran kicker Graham Gano.

Carter Coughlin and Cam Brown, two fourth-year linebackers, lead the team with seven special teams tackles apiece. Defensive backs Nick McCloud and Darnay Holmes are tied for second with six stops.

Holmes is also a contributor on defense in many sub packages. He is in the final year of his rookie contract but is making his mark as a versatile player with his play as the team’s gunner.

“Darnay has worked his tail off. Darnay is always one of the hardest working guys that we have and it’s starting to pay off for him,” McGaughey told reporters this week.

“When you look at our tackle chart, it’s Nick (McCloud), Darnay, Cam (Brown), Carter (Coughlin) and I think all of them have like seven tackles a piece, so all those guys are doing a really good job and Darnay, in particular, has really worked his tail off and he’s got a little momentum. The more plays you make, the more confidence you get, you go make more plays and he made a heck of a play the other night, so he’s getting better for sure.”

Since the Giants have beefed up their secondary in the past years, Holmes has seen his defensive snaps diminish. It was suggested that he is concentrating more on his special teams role these days as a result, that’s why’s flourishing.

“That’s part of it, definitely because he definitely stays after practice, he works on his angles to the ball and as guys are catching punts, he’ll work on different things but that happens,” McGaughey said. “I can remember 15 years ago when Corey Webster, there was a stretch in there during the season where he was a healthy scratch for like four weeks and then all of the sudden he starts playing gunner on the punt team and made a couple plays and it all kind of translated back over to defense and we ended up giving him like 20 million at the end of the year, so I mean it happens.

“That’s just part of guys’ maturation process and everybody is different. And Darnay has done a good job of being diligent and then taking advantage of the opportunities that he’s gotten.”

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Studs and duds from Giants’ Week 10 loss vs. Cowboys

Here’s a look at the studs and duds (and studly duds) from a 49-17 loss for the New York Giants against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 10.

The New York Giants were entirely non-competitive on Sunday, falling to the Dallas Cowboys, 49-17, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Things were ugly from the moment Big Blue took the field and they never got any prettier. In addition to being humiliated on the field, the Giants continued to humiliate themselves off of it thanks to in-fighting and sideline tantrums (more on that shortly).

With the loss, the Giants fall to 2-8 on the season and are now tied with the New York Jets as the NFL’s most-losing franchise since 2017.

Here are a look at some of the studs and duds (and studly duds) from the Week 10 loss.

Lions pre-game mailbag: Getting ready for the Ravens

Lions pre-game mailbag: Getting ready for the Ravens and the trade deadline

Our Detroit Lions are 5-1 and are entering one of their toughest matchups on the year with the Baltimore Ravens on tap. Going on the road to Baltimore won’t be easy but the vibes are high in the Motor City right now. The Lions feel look like a team that can beat anyone so we’ll see what happens against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. With that, I wanted to open my Twitter to Lions fans to ask me anything for a pre-game mailbag prior to the Lions/Ravens tilt in week seven. Let’s dive into your questions!

Q: Who do you think the Lions keyed in today at Ohio State/Penn State? — @GodComplexion 

A: Love this question because there was so much talent in this game. Certainly, the Lions had their eyes on wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. It’s unlikely he ends up being selected by the Lions in the 2024 NFL Draft but crazier things have happened. Aside from him, they definitely were watching Kalen King from Penn State.

The talented cornerback is a Detroit native. He played high school football for Cass Tech and has been fantastic this year. Prior to this game, he had only given up 9 receptions for 93 yards this season. He seems like a potential first round corner that could fit the Lions.

Another top name is Penn State offensive tackle Olu Fashanu. There’s a chance he’s the first offensive tackle selected next spring but if he’s not and there’s a run on other players, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Lions targeted this long and powerful offensive tackle.

Lastly, the Lions should have definitely circled the name Adisa Isaac. The Penn State defensive end is listed at 6’4″ and 254 pounds. He’s got a blend of power and explosiveness to his game. If the Lions are looking for another edge rusher to pair with Hutchinson, this could be an underrated fit for them.

Q: All I hear is trade talk. There any realistic deals to be had for Holmes? — @legendjc13 

A: I love the speculation around the trade deadline. Most years, not much happens around the deadline. Recently, there’s been some deals that occur. The Lions have shown that with the Hockenson trade last season.

That said, I don’t see them making a trade for big names such as Brian Burns, Danielle Hunter or Davante Adams. We can just stop with that. I’d be surprised if the Broncos parted ways with Patrick Surtain II and I don’t think the Lions are interested in Jerry Jeudy.

That leaves a pool of players that could be damaged goods. However, if there’s any team that can get the most out of a player, it would be Detroit. Even if it’s for the second half of the season. If I had to guess on a player that could use a change of scenery, I’d say New York Giants cornerback Darnay Holmes.

During his tenure with the Giants, he’s been used sparingly and has only started 11 games over his four-year career. Currently, he’s on the final year of his four-year rookie contract. Going into this season, he took a pay cut to stay with the Giants. However, he’s only played 28 defensive snaps this season but he’s only given up two receptions so far. With Emmanuel Moseley being done for the year with a torn ACL, I wonder if the Lions would be interested in trying to add some depth to their secondary for the second half of the season.

Q: In your estimation, should the Lions get wins against the Ravens & Raiders to stretch the winning streak to 6 before the bye week? — @MrEd315

A: I do think the Lions win against the Ravens and the Raiders. They won’t be easy games by any means but I think the Lions can pull off wins in both games and enter their bye week with a 7-1 record.

Against the Ravens, the Lions obviously have to enter the mobility that Lamar Jackson has but if they can force him to make a few bad throws, it could be enough to force a turnover or two. Meanwhile, the Lions offense is clicking. It doesn’t matter who is on the field. They just get after it. I think Gibbs, LaPorta and Williams have strong performances against the Ravens.

Q: How will Glenn scheme for Jackson? — @JosephPanteluk

A: This is the million dollar question this week. It’s well known that the Lions struggle with more mobile quarterbacks. But the Lions showed what can happen if they can contain quarterbacks that can move around and extend beyond the pocket with their 21-20 victory over the Chiefs this season. Patrick Mahomes was held to 45 yards rushing and he only had 226 yards passing.

For Lamar Jackson, he’s only hit that passing yardage (over 226 passing yards) total twice this season. The Lions defense gives up 221 yards passing per game so if they can keep him in the pocket and limit his ability to run, the Lions should be able to find success on defense.

The key will be having defensive ends playing with patience and at the heels of the offensive line to help contain the quarterback. Meanwhile, the Lions will need a second level defender to be able to patrol the middle with the ability to come down and meet Jackson in space. Could it be Brian Branch? I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the case. It’ll be tough but it’s manageable.

Q: Hey Russ, what do you think is the Lions biggest weakness? — @bdrfab

A: Really good question here and I’m going to go back to what I said during the summer. It was concerning when the Lions only carried two running backs on their roster. Regardless of how good the Bucs run defense was a week ago, we saw the drop off in talent with their backfield without Montgomery and Gibbs.

While I love what Craig Reynolds provides from short yardage to special teams, I think the Lions should have looked at adding another back to their roster in the off-season. They’ll run with what they have but with how run focused the Lions are, it’s somewhat concerning that Montgomery and Gibbs have both been banged up through six weeks. For that playoff push, the Lions will need that rushing attack. Let’s hope they can get healthy.

 

Studs and duds from Giants’ Week 3 loss vs. 49ers

Here’s a look at the studs and duds (and studly duds) from a 30-12 loss for the New York Giants against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 3.

The New York Giants fell to the San Francisco 49ers, 30-12, on Thursday night, dropping their record to 1-2 on the season. It was another ugly showing and the injury bug bit hard, so things look murky for the team moving forward.

There was a lot more bad than good on the night, so the next 10-plus days will be a bit rough for the Giants and their fans. National media is not going to take it easy.

Here’s a look at some studs and duds (and studly duds) from the game.

Report: Darnay Holmes takes pay cut, will remain with Giants

Cornerback Darnay Holmes has reportedly accepted a pay cut and will remain with the New York Giants in 2023.

With cutdown day now just 24 hours away, the New York Giants and general manager Joe Schoen remain hard at work making personnel decisions.

On Monday, they made 11 total transactions, which included the release of 10 players. Rookie wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton was also placed on season-ending injured reserve (IR) with a torn ACL.

With players off on Tuesday, there’s little in-person work to be done. However, that didn’t stop Schoen from dealing with on lingering contract situation.

Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports that cornerback Darnay Holmes has accepted a pay cut to remain with the team. He had been a potential salary cap casualty.

Holmes is in the final year of his rookie deal and was scheduled to account for $2.941 million against the cap in 2023. Cutting him would have saved the Giants more than $2.74 million.

It’s unclear how much of a pay cut Holmes took, but this is an ideal outcome for the Giants. They are short on cap space but also thin at cornerback, especially if veteran Adoree’ Jackson plays poorly on the inside or rookie Tre Hawkins struggles on the outside. This move allows the Giants to keep a veteran corner with experience in Wink Martindale’s system without eating up the extra cap space.

Put another feather in Joe Schoen’s cap.

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7 Giants to watch in Week 3 preseason game vs. Jets

The New York Giants close out the 2023 preseason on Saturday against the New York Jets and these seven players are worth keeping an eye on.

The New York Giants close out their 2023 preseason schedule this Saturday night against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey with roster spots — and some starting roles — still at stake.

Here are seven players to watch in the exhibition finale.

5 Giants with most to gain in preseason finale vs. Jets

The New York Giants close out their preseason against the New York Jets on Saturday night and these five players stand the most to gain.

The New York Giants close out their 2023 preseason schedule this Saturday night at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey against the New York Jets and jobs will be won — or lost — as a result.

Here are five players with the most to gain in the game, should they play.

Giants release second unofficial preseason depth chart: 5 takeaways

The New York Giants have released their unofficial depth chart ahead of the Carolina Panthers preseason game and here are five takeaways.

The New York Giants have released their second unofficial depth chart, this time in advance of their Week 2 preseason game against the Carolina Panthers.

The depth chart was released prior to several of the team’s Tuesday transactions and includes no changes from a week ago. Everything remains exactly the same.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t a few notable takeaways, however. Here are five.