Tag: Dion Lewis

Giants report card: How we graded Big Blue in Week 9 win

The New York Giants defeated the Washington Football Team, 23-20, in Week 9 and the Giants Wire team grades reflect that performance.

[sendtonews_embed video_id=”OibqdpHOtV-1030449-7498″]

The New York Giants were able to get a win in a heated divisional game against the Washington Football Team on Sunday afternoon.

The 23-20 success marked the fifth straight game for New York where the final score was within three points. Luckily for the Giants and their fans, this game went their way and Big Blue was able to get their second win of the season.

The Giants now stand at 2-7 and in fourth in the NFC East. However, a playoff trip is not totally out of the question for this team as they are only a 1.5 games back from first place.

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

Giants miffed over blown call at end of Buccaneers game

The New York Giants are not at all pleased with an horrendous blown call that cost them a Week 8 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

[sendtonews_embed video_id=”F1BQlPRmyE-1023676-7498″]

The New York Giants fought and they clawed for four quarters on Monday night and although it wasn’t exactly pretty at times, they positioned themselves to tie the game and take it into overtime.

Ultimately however, Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were able to walk away victorious when officials picked up a flag on an obvious pass interference penalty at the end of the fourth quarter.

Bucs safety Antoine Winfield Jr. ran straight into Giants running back Dion Lewis before the ball arrived on a two-point conversion — it was clear as day. In fact, the officials saw it and threw the flag initially, but after gathering together and discussing it, they picked the flag up.

Guess they weren’t interested in overtime and just wanted to go home.

“I thought (the official) made the right call when he threw the flag. I’m not sure why it got picked up, we had a pretty good view. I know they can’t use the jumbotron to replay. We had a pretty clear view of that as well,” head coach Joe Judge told reporters after the game. “That’s all I’m going to say about the officiating.”

Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians, as you might expect, sided with the referees. He clearly enjoys the Tom Brady treatment.

“Well the ball hit Antoine in the back. To me there was no pass interference — I thought it was a good call,” Arians said. “I don’t know why it took so long, but he had his hands out, there was no contact and the ball hit him in the back.”

The ball, of course, hit Winfield in the back because he was all over Lewis long before the pass arrived. By every official definition in the NFL, that’s pass interference.

But compounding the issue is that Giants tight end Evan Engram was also held — darn near tackled — in the end zone on the same play. Even if the pass interference gets picked up, it should have been defensive holding, giving the Giants a second opportunity at the conversion.

The referees blew both calls.

“The side judge [Eugene Hall] had the flag thrown on the play and came to the down judge [Jerod Phillips] who was on that side of the goal line,” referee Brad Rogers said. “The communication between the side judge and the down judge was that the defender contacted the receiver simultaneously as the ball came in. And in order to have defensive pass interference, it has to be clearly early and hinder the receiver’s ability to make the catch.”

Although not as drastic, a similar call in the 2018 NFL Championship Game resulted in the NFL putting a greater emphasis on getting these calls right. Two years later, they still aren’t.

“I thought it was pass interference,” Daniel Jones said. “I was surprised when they picked it up. We’ll watch it and learn from it, I guess. See what they saw, but tough break.

“I was certainly surprised. You don’t see that often. I was surprised.”

It’s not the first time this season the Giants got the short end of the stick when it comes to a bad call, so they can expect yet another apology letter from the NFL later this week. They can add it to the growing pile.

[vertical-gallery id=658771]

Giants-Buccaneers Week 8: Offense, defense and special teams snap counts

The New York Giants lost their Week 8 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Here are the snap counts on offense, defense and special teams.

The New York Giants were expected to be blown out of the water on Monday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but it was a blown call that ultimately saved Tom Brady & Co.

However, that matters not as the Giants now fall to 1-7 on the season and find themselves in line for another high draft pick. Frustration is beginning to boil over for some, but that’s a topic for another day.

Here’s a look at the snap counts that attributed to the Giants’ seventh loss of the season.

Offensive snaps: 74
Defensive snaps: 70
Special teams snaps: 27

After being called up from the practice squad, veteran running back Alfred Morris saw a pretty good chunk of snaps and carries — right on par with veteran Dion Lewis. And how about fullback Eli Penny? The guy sees a small handful of snaps each week and makes an impact every time. When will he get more playing time?

On the defensive side of the ball, rookie cornerback Darnay Holmes saw plenty of snaps coming off his injury, while rookie linebacker Carter Coughlin made his presence felt with just four snaps.

Also, Jabaal Sheard and Trent Harris took a good amount of snaps and seem to be working their way into more significant roles.

[vertical-gallery id=658771]

Your call: Pass interference or no on Giants’ 2-point conversion attempt?

Antoine Winfield Jr. with the big play and the Bucs hang on against the New York Giants

Daniel Jones had found Golden Tate with a 19-yard pass to bring the Giants within 25-23 with 28 seconds left. A two-point conversion stood between Big Blue and a tie score with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Dion Lewis was the target. The Monday Night Football booth drilled home that it should have been pitch-and-catch.

Jones was late with the release and Antoine Winfield Jr. was flying toward the Giants’ running back and the ball.

Winfield hits Lewis and separates him from the ball. At some point, a penalty flag appeared … late.

Did he get there too early? Was it DPI? What would the officials do?

After a conference, heaven forbid an instant decision, the officials ruled there was no foul on the play and the Giants suffered another brutal loss.

What do you think?

Watch: Dion Lewis makes pretty, sliding catch for Giants’ touchdown

Dion Lewis with a great catch off a Daniel Jones pass for a Giants’ touchdown.

The New York Giants were big-time underdogs against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Monday night. Big Blue capitalized on the recovery of a Ronald Jones fumble in the first quarter and scored a TD on the ensuing drive.

Watch as Daniel Jones looks for Dion Lewis on the wheel route out of the backfield on a third-and-five.

Lewis

Why the Bears should trade for Giants RB Dion Lewis

Giants RB Dion Lewis can fill a need in the Bears backfield, giving Matt Nagy and QB Nick Foles another weapon to work with.

[jwplayer wclxJvAM-ThvAeFxT]

It was just a week ago when it was announced the New York Jets would be releasing former Pro-Bowl running back Le’Veon Bell. When the news came out, Bears fans everywhere flocked to social media and begged general manager Ryan Pace and the team to sign the maligned playmaker, as is tradition when someone hits the open market.

The bell tolled for the Bears and 30 other teams as bell winded up signing with the Kansas City Chiefs a few days later. While many were disappointed, there is still a running back in the Meadowlands who may be available for an inexpensive price and would fill the Bears needs arguably better than Bell. It’s New York Giants running back Dion Lewis.

Lewis, who signed a one-year deal this offseason with the Giants as the team’s change-of-pace back, has seemingly fallen out of the rotation following the injury to running back Saquon Barkley.

After signing free agent Devonta Freeman to take the reins, Lewis has seen his usage diminish in three of the last four Giants games. He did see an uptick in usage when Freeman left the game with an injury in Thursday’s loss, but backup running back Wayne Gallman was the primary beneficiary of those touches. With those two more involved, Lewis is becoming a non-factor in the Giants offense. But he could become one in the Bears offense.

Lewis is in his 10th season in the league and may not be the player he once was, but he’s been an effective player in the pass game in the past. He possesses many skills that injured back Tarik Cohen has, who tore his ACL in week three against the Atlanta Falcons on a punt return, and would be a logical choice to take some of the snaps he would have had.

Since the Falcons game, the Bears have failed to eclipse 300 total yards in three-straight games. Head coach Matt Nagy loves to use Cohen in many different ways and he would get that type of weapon back in Lewis. Considering he’s a free agent at the end of the year, it also wouldn’t cost much in a trade.

Backup running backs like Lewis on cheap contracts would likely only cost a conditional seventh-round draft pick. For reference, last year the Miami Dolphins dealt running back Kenyan Drake to the Arizona Cardinals for a conditional sixth round pick, that later became a fifth. Furthermore, the Giants are setting themselves up for a liquidation sale, trading outside linebacker Markus Golden to the Cardinals on Friday and appear open to dealing other veterans.

Lewis can fill a need in the Bears backfield, giving Nagy and quarterback Nick Foles another weapon to work with. He’s no Bell and this won’t fix all the problems on the offense, but he’s a serviceable back who can be a mismatch coming out of the backfield. The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, November 3rd at 3:00 p.m. CT.

Giants injury report: C.J. Board, Adrian Colbert out

The New York Giants will be without WR C.J. Board and S Adrian Colbert vs. the Philadelphia Eagles, who ruled six players out.

The New York Giants (1-5) and Philadelphia Eagles (1-4-1) square off on Thursday Night Football in Week 7 and both teams are riddled with injury.

For Philly, that has been the top storyline of the year and it won’t change this week.

Following their Wednesday walkthrough, the Eagles officially announced that offensive tackle Jack Driscoll (ankle), tight end Zach Ertz (ankle), defensive tackle Malik Jackson (quad), running back Miles Sanders (knee), wide receiver Alshon Jeffery (calf/foot) and safety K’Von Wallace (shoulder) are all out.

However, they will get back wide receiver DeSean Jackson (hamstring) and offensive tackle Lane Johnson (ankle).

The Giants, meanwhile, got some good news when it came to wide receiver Darius Slayton (foot), who did not receive a designation and is expected to play on Thursday night. Ditto running back Dion Lewis (hand).

Wide receiver C.J. Board (concussion) and safety Adrian Colbert (shoulder) have both been ruled out. Rookie cornerback Darnay Holmes (neck) is questionable and will likely be a game-time decision.

Finally, the Giants did not make an announcement regarding wide receiver Sterling Shepard (toe), who remains on injured reserve. The team has until 4:00 p.m. ET on Thursday to activate him if he’s to play in the Week 7 game.

[lawrence-related id=658050,658058,658055]

Giants injury report: Sterling Shepard designated to return from IR

The New York Giants have designated WR Sterling Shepard (toe) to return from IR and he was participating in Tuesday’s practice.

The New York Giants took the field on Tuesday for their only open practice (see: walkthrough) of the week and the injury news seemed generally positive.

As expected, wide receiver Sterling Shepard (toe) had his helmet on and was participating, which means the Giants have designated him to return and begun his 21-day window for activation.

New York has until Thursday at 4:00 p.m. ET to return Shepard to their 53-man roster in order for him to play in Week 7 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Head coach Joe Judge has stated previously that be a game-day decision.

“Being a walkthrough week for us, we’ll have to go really based on what the trainers tell us,” Judge said on Monday. “We’ll have to go ahead and look at him. We’ll see. This could go up to a pregame workout. We’re not sure. We’ll see where he’s at throughout the week.”

In addition to Shepard, veteran cornerback Brandon Williams (groin) also returned to practice on Tuesday, starting his 21-day activation window.

The full practice report, with updates on wide receiver Darius Slayton (foot) and linebacker Tae Crowder (hamstring), will be published shortly, so check back for that news.

Did not practice:

Limited participant:

Full participant:

[lawrence-related id=657978,657780,657974]

Giants-Washington Week 6: Offense, defense and special teams snap counts

The New York Giants won their Week 6 game against Washington. Here are the snap counts on offense, defense and special teams.

The New York Giants picked up their first win of the season on Sunday, defeating the Washington Football Team, 20-19, at MetLife Stadium.

It wasn’t exactly a pretty win for the Giants, but it was another step forward and showed continuing progress. And after five straight losses, the taste of victory must be sweet.

Here’s a look at the snap counts that attributed to their first W.

Offensive snaps: 48
Defensive snaps: 73
Special teams snaps: 22

Undrafted rookie receiver Austin Mack out-snapping veteran Golden Tate 36-30 immediately leaps off the page. Tate has been a disappointment this season and his playing time is beginning to dwindle as a result.

Meanwhile, running backs Dion Lewis and Wayne Gallman have seen their roles almost entirely vanish in favor of Devonta Freeman, who took 73% of all offensive snaps.

In his return, linebacker David Mayo took just 11 defensive snaps, while rookie linebacker Tae Crowder has all but established himself as a starter.

Linebacker Markus Golden, who had seen his role increase in recent weeks, took just 24 snaps.

[vertical-gallery id=657890]

Fantasy Football: Targets, Touches & TDs: Week 6

Tackling five backfields that create confusion in fantasy football and trying to make sense of them.

Despite the ongoing extreme makeovers with the NFL itinerary, we remain right on schedule here with your weekly serving of TT&T.

Running backs remain the most valuable point-for-point fantasy football commodities, and with that in mind this week, we’re tackling five of the league’s most baffling backfields – ones where a clear, startable fantasy back has yet to emerge.

From each of these five backfields, we’ll take a look at the key stats and metrics produced so far and use those as guideposts to try and forecast whatever fantasy value may emerge from each going forward.

Here goes, starting alphabetically with the …

Baltimore Ravens

Primary backs and stats

  • Mark Ingram: (5 games played) 45 rushes-205 yards-2 TDs; 5 targets-3 receptions-25 yards-0 TDs. 35.0 standard-scoring fantasy points/38.0 point-per-reception points
  • J.K. Dobbins: (5) 16-126-2; 10-9-73-0. 31.9/40.9
  • Gus Edwards: (5) 34-192-0; 3-0-0-0. 19.2/19.2

Total touches-yards-TDs (fantasy points/touch)

  • Ingram: 48-230-2 (0.73 standard scoring/0.79 PPR)
  • Dobbins: 25-199-2 (1.28/1.64)
  • Edwards: 34-192-0 (0.56/0.56)

Offensive snap shares

  • Dobbins: 106/300 (35.3 percent)
  • Ingram: 99/300 (33.0)
  • Edwards: 95/300 (31.7)

Red-zone stats

  • Ingram: 7-16-1 rushing; 2-1-4-0 receiving
  • Dobbins: 2-5-2; 0-0-0-0
  • Edwards: 1-2-0; 0-0-0-0

Outlook

Major asterisk here, of course, with quarterback Lamar Jackson ranking second on the team in rushing attempts (41) and pacing the squad with 238 rushing yards – and that’s even with Jackson’s average number of attempts down 3.5 carries per contest (11.7-8.2) from last season.

The drafting of Dobbins has played a major role in knocking Ingram’s per-game touch average down to 9.6 from 15.2 a year ago, and that – and an expected touchdown regression – has caused Ingram to fall from the RB1 ranks down to sub-flex territory as he currently ranks 34th at the position in total fantasy points (standard scoring) and 42nd in average fantasy points per contest.

Ingram has been the Ravens’ back to own simply due to the fact that he’s getting the most the carries on the league’s second-best rushing team (160.8 yards per game). But Dobbins is superior in yards-per-touch (8.0-4.8) and fantasy-points-per-touch averages. Additionally, his higher usage in the passing game portends bigger and better fantasy things as the season presses on. He’s a must-add if he was somehow dropped in your league.

Edwards still will be involved as well – primarily as a late-game closer – but Ingram and Dobbins are the Ravens’ backs to own in standard-size leagues.

Detroit Lions

Primary backs and stats

  • Adrian Peterson: (4 games played) 54 rushes-245 yards-1 TD; 6 targets-4 receptions-31 yards-0 TDs; 33.6 standard-scoring fantasy points/37.6 PPR points
  • D’Andre Swift: (4) 12-42-1; 16-13-124-1; 28.6/41.6
  • Kerryon Johnson: (4) 21-71-1; 3-2-17-0; 14.8/16.8

Total touches-yards-TDs (fantasy points/touch)

  • Peterson: 58-276-1 (0.58 standard scoring/0.65 PPR)
  • Swift: 25-166-2 (1.14/1.66)
  • Johnson: 23-88-1 (0.64/0.73)

Offensive snap shares

  • Peterson: 105/264 (39.8 percent)
  • Swift: 83/264 (31.4)
  • Johnson: 70/264 (26.5)

Red-zone stats

  • Peterson: 12-35-1 rushing; 0-0-0-0 receiving
  • Swift: 2-2-1; 3-2-16-1
  • Johnson: 5-19-1; 0-0-0-0

Outlook

The Sept. 7 signing of the 35-year-old Peterson changed the whole dynamic of the situation here as he has 10 more touches than the rookie Swift and the incumbent Johnson combined.

Given his superior rushing attempt and snap shares and red-zone work, an iron man known as Peterson has been Detroit’s most trustworthy fantasy back to date, but Swift’s sizable edge in the passing game isn’t to be ignored. The second-round pick quietly ranks 20th among all league running backs with 13 receptions and figures to become more and more involved as his adjustment to the pro game eases and his early-season health issues further fade away.

Johnson, thought be to be a rising fantasy star only a season ago, has become the odd man out.

Los Angeles Rams

Primary backs and stats

  • Darrell Henderson: (5 games played) 58 rushes-260 yards-3 TDs; 11 targets-7 receptions-92 yards-1 TD. 59.2 standard-scoring fantasy points/66.2 point-per-reception points
  • Malcolm Brown: (5) 53-213-2; 14-9-44-0. 37.7/46.7
  • Cam Akers: (3) 26-113-0; 1-1-4-0. 11.7/12.7

Total touches-yards-TDs (fantasy points/touch)

  • Henderson: 65-352-4 (0.91 standard scoring/1.02 PPR)
  • Brown: 62-257-2 (0.61/0.75)
  • Akers: 27-117-0 (0.43/0.47)

Offensive snap shares

  • Brown: 176/336 (52.4 percent)
  • Henderson: 119/336 (35.4)
  • Akers: 40/210 (19.0)

Red-zone stats

  • Henderson: 17-35-3 rushing; 3-2-18-1 receiving
  • Brown: 10-31-2; 3-1-(-2)-0
  • Akers: 2-5-0; 0-0-0-0

Outlook

There’s definitely some interest here as the Rams have logged the league’s second-most rushing attempts (169) this season and trail only the Browns as well in overall rushing-play percentage at 51.5.

Even though Brown owns a sizable snap edge, Henderson has out-touched Brown in three of the Rams’ last four games for a 62-41 edge during that span. Akers, meanwhile, got the start in Los Angeles’ opening two games before leaving early in Week 2 with a rib-cartilage injury that kept him out of action until Sunday.

As a rookie second-round pick, Akers is the team’s shiny new object, while Brown lends a steady, veteran presence, and Henderson has been the most productive and dynamic of the trio to date. Look for a Henderson/Akers split of the workload going forward with the former drawing the slight edge in touches.

New England Patriots

Primary backs and stats

  • Rex Burkhead: (4 games played) 30 rushes-128yards-2 TDs; 17 targets-12 receptions-101 yards-1 TD. 40.9 standard-scoring fantasy points/52.9 point-per-reception points
  • Sony Michel: (3) 26-173-1; 3-2-23-0. 25.6/27.6
  • James White: (2) 8-43-0; 11-10-68-0. 11.1/21.1
  • Damien Harris: (1) 17-100-0; 0-0-0-0. 10.0/10.0
  • J.J. Taylor: (3) 16-70-0; 2-1-4-0. 7.4/8.4

Total touches-yards-TDs (fantasy points/touch)

  • Burkhead: 42-229-3 (0.97 standard scoring/1.26 PPR)
  • Michel: 28-196-1 (0.91/0.99)
  • White: 18-111-0 (0.62/1.17)
  • Harris: 17-100-0 (0.59/0.59)
  • Taylor: 17-74-0 (0.44/0.49)

Offensive snap shares

  • Burkhead: 128/280 (45.7 percent)
  • White: 59/139 (42.4)
  • Harris: 23/75 (30.7)
  • Michel: 60/205 (29.3)
  • Taylor: 25/205 (12.2)

Red-zone stats

  • Burkhead: 8-36-2 rushing; 4-2-23-1 receiving
  • Michel: 5-18-1; 0-0-0-0
  • Taylor: 3-10-0; 1-0-0-0
  • White: 1-7-0; 1-1-(-4)-0
  • Harris: 1-5-0; 0-0-0-0

Outlook

The Pats’ backfield situation is the toughest enigma to crack – for a number of reasons.

First, there’s the sheer number of backs in the mix (five), and then there’s the Cam Newton factor, as the quarterback remains one of the league’s top red-zone rushing threats with 12 carries for 37 yards and four TDs in only three games so far. And, then, most significant of all, this is the Patriots we’re talking about, as the chameleon-like Bill Belichick and his staff change things up on a weekly basis to keep opposing defenses – not to mention fantasy general managers – off-balance.

With Michel on injured reserve, though, and the rookie Taylor seeing only a 12.2-percent snap share in the games he’s played, that whittles the usable fantasy contenders down to three.

White, who’s averaging five catches per game, remains a PPR-format flex factor while Harris – he of the preseason buzz before a finger injury knocked him out of the first three games – made the most recent favorable impression with a team season-high 17 rushes for an even 100 yards in his 2020 debut in Week 4. Burkhead is the jack-of-all trades who always figures to be active and involved to some degree, but we’ve more than likely already seen his best game this season as he accounted for a 65.8 percent (34.8) of his 52.9 PPR points in Week 3.

That leaves White (PPR) and Harris (still need to see more coming out of the Week 5 bye) as the Pats’ best RB fantasy bets.

New York Giants

Primary backs and stats

  • Devonta Freeman: (3 games played) 33 rushes-103 yards-1 TD; 7 targets-6 receptions-62 yards-0 TDs. 22.5 standard-scoring fantasy points/28.5 point-per-reception points
  • Dion Lewis: (5) 13-31-1; 16-9-55-0. 14.6/23.6
  • Wayne Gallman: (4) 15-76-0; 6-5-21-0. 9.4/14.4

Total touches-yards-TDs (fantasy points/touch)

  • Freeman: 39-165-1 (0.58 standard scoring/0.73 PPR)
  • Lewis: 22-86-1 (0.66/1.07)
  • Gallman: 20-97-0 (0.47; 0.72)

Offensive snap shares

  • Freeman: 89/188 (47.3 percent)
  • Lewis: 124/321 (38.6)
  • Gallman: 43/256 (17.0)

Red-zone stats

  • Freeman: 3-6-1 rushing; 1-1-(-2)-0 receiving
  • Lewis: 1-1-1; 2-1-4-0
  • Gallman: 1-1-0; 1-1-3-0

Outlook

We go from the toughest nut to crack (Patriots) among our five to the easiest, as Freeman is the main man here as long as he can avoid the health issues of recent seasons (18 combined games missed from 2017-19).

The last two weeks, Freeman has out-touched Lewis and Gallman combined by a 34-18 margin and has outgained them 155-88 with a 27.5-14.8 edge in PPR points.

The Giants, though, are saddled with one of the league’s worst offensive lines and overall offenses, keeping Freeman in flex-start territory most weeks instead of the RB2 ranks. 

Extra points

  • The Ravens’ aforementioned Jackson is off to a slow start, ranking 14th among quarterbacks with 113.2 fantasy points through action Sunday. Gardner Minshew (120.7), Ryan Fitzpatrick (120.3), Derek Carr (119.5) and Carson Wentz (113.6) are among the QBs with more points. Jackson still ranks second at the position with his 238 rushing yards on 41 attempts (tied for first), but he only has one rushing score so far. Jackson, though, is mainly falling short as a fantasy passer, ranking 24th (as of Sunday) with 949 passing yards and tying for ninth with nine TD tosses after leading the league with 36 a season ago.
  • Jets WR Jamison Crowder has played in only three of the team’s five games, but he’s had at least 10 targets, seven receptions and 104 receiving yards in each outing while snaring a pair of TD passes for a total of 67.5 PPR points. Crowder’s average of 22.5 PPR points per contest, though, trails only the Packers’ Davante Adams (24.1) among league wideouts.
  • Dalvin Cook, Mike Evans and Tyreek Hill are the only players to score a TD in all five weeks so far this season.
  • Meanwhile, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Ronald Jones, Myles Gaskin, Austin Ekeler, Devin Singletary, Frank Gore, Amari Cooper and Robby Anderson were the only players with at least 60 touches or 35 receptions and one or fewer TDs through Sunday.
  • The Rams not only have a backfield fantasy conundrum but one at tight end, as well. Tyler Higbee had a monster Week 2 with five receptions for 54 yards and three TDs (28.4 PPR points), but he’s only caught 10-of-12 targets for 122 yards and no scores (22.2 points) in his other four contests combined. Gerald Everett, meanwhile, missed Week 2 but has out-produced Higbee in the other four games, catching 8-of-9 targets for 141 yards and no TDs while scoring on a 2-yard rushing TD (28.3 PPR points).