Tag: Eric Gray

Giants’ Joe Schoen explains why he cut Jamison Crowder

New York Giants GM Joe Schoen explains why he cut return specialist Jamison Crowder prior to the season: “That’s on me.”

The New York Giants are underperforming in all passes of the game this season. Their offense is last in scoring and yards and their defense is ranked 28th overall.

Their special teams, a unit the Giants have prided themselves in the past few seasons, has also had its challenges. They are averaging just 6.5 yards per punt return (30th) and the reason is fairly clear – they have failed to find a reliable returner.

“That’s on me,” general manager Joe Schoen told reporters on Monday.

“To be honest with you, that’s another — we tried to address the punt returner. We knew it was an issue. In the draft, some of the guys we liked went probably higher than where we deemed you would take a guy.”

The Giants ended up settling on rookie running back Eric Gray, a fifth-round pick out of Oklahoma who averaged just 4.0 yards per return on 28 attempts and had serious ball security issues to boot.

Gray was injured in Week 8 and has been out with an ankle injury ever since. He returned in Week 12 but the Giants have moved on, adding free agent Gunner Olszewski, who has stabilized to the role, averaging 9.3 yards per attempt.

Schoen spoke about Gray and his background, which led to the Giants believing he could handle the responsibility of returning punts over several veterans, including Jameson Crowder, who the Giants cut.

“Eric had done it at Tennessee, and he had done it at Oklahoma and the coaches were comfortable, we were comfortable going into the regular season based off what we were seeing,” Schoen explained.

“I know Crowder is having success in Washington, you bring him up — we kept seven receivers; we couldn’t keep eight. Do the math, who do you move on from, from the group if you kept Crowder? So, there was some moving parts in there and that’s me being candid with you and that’s on me, the returner. I’m glad we got (wide receiver) Gunner (Olszewski) here, though. He’s done a really good job for us.”

Schoen didn’t quite close the door on Gray. The Giants still need him for depth in the backfield and could still try him as a returner in the future.

“Eric’s got a bright future and we probably put him in a spot that wasn’t most comfortable for him either, but he went out there, didn’t flinch an eye, didn’t bat an eye, and did what he could, but again that’s on me, early on. We couldn’t do everything overnight and as much as we wanted to and that was a position we continued to look for and Pittsburgh let Gunner go and we were able to get him,” Schoen said.

Meanwhile, out in Washington, Crowder is seventh in the league with 207 yards on punt returns.

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Giants-Patriots Week 12: Offense, defense and special teams snap counts

The New York Giants won their Week 12 game against the New England Patriots. Here are the snap counts on offense, defense and special teams.

The New York Giants avoided overtime and won ugly on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, taking down the New England Patriots, 10-7, for their fourth win of the year.

Remarkably, after winning two consecutive games, the Giants are still alive in the NFC playoff hunt and are now just 2.5 games back of the final spot with six weeks and five games remaining.

That still seems highly unlikely but the team does have some good vibes headed into their bye week.

Here are the snap counts that contributed to the Giants’ most recent win.

Offensive snaps: 52
Defensive snaps: 68
Special teams snaps: 23

The rotation at wide receiver continued again on Sunday with rookie Jalin Hyatt, who recorded his first career 100-yard game, and Wan’Dale Robinson seeing a bulk of the action. Rookie running back Eric Gray also saw just four total snaps in his return from injured reserve.

Defensively, seven players saw 75 percent or more of the total snaps, with five of those players receiving all 68 snaps. That’s an overwhelming workload and something the Giants have to manage over the final five games of the season.

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Giants activate Eric Gray from IR, sign Randy Bullock to 53-man roster

The New York Giants have activated rookie RB Eric Gray from injured reserve and signed kicker Randy Bullock from the practice squad.

The New York Giants completed their most recent kicker swap ahead of a Week 12 game against the New England Patriots, signing Randy Bullock from their practice squad to the active roster.

Bullock, who was maxed out on gameday elevations, fills the roster spot vacated by fellow kicker Cade York, who was waived earlier this week.

After clearing waivers, York was signed back to the practice squad.

Despite the presence of York, who was signed off of the Tennessee Titans’ practice squad at the same time Graham Gano was placed on injured reserve (IR), Bullock was elevated and started each of the previous three games.

Bullock has connected on both of his field goal opportunities with a long of 40 yards, and he’s also converted all six of his point-after attempts.

The Giants have also activated rookie running back Eric Gray from injured reserve (IR).

Gray, a fifth-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft, has been on IR with a calf injury since October 24. He had served as the team’s primary return man, a job that now belongs to Gunner Olszewski, but fumbled three times.

As a running back, Gray gained just 27 yards on 13 carries, adding one reception for two yards.

The Giants did not announce any practice squad elevations for Week 12.

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Giants’ Dexter Lawrence, Darius Slayton doubtful vs. Patriots

The New York Giants have ruled RT Evan Neal out and listed NT Dexter Lawrence and WR Darius Slayton as doubtful vs. the New England Patriots.

The New York Giants will host the New England Patriots at MetLife Stadium in Week 12 and could be down several additional key players.

Man games lost has been the major story for the Giants since 2009 as they lead the league in injuries over that span, and they will look to continue that string here in 2023.

Nose tackle Dexter Lawrence, the team’s most dominant player, missed all three practices this week due to a hamstring injury and is listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game.

Meanwhile, wide receiver Darius Slayton, the team’s leading receiver, is also listed as doubtful for the Patriots clash due to a neck injury that is causing some nerve-related issues.

“So, we’ll take both those guys right up to game time,” head coach Brian Daboll said. “Evan Neal will be out.”

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

Giants injury report: Dexter Lawrence continues to miss practice

New York Giants NT Dexter Lawrence missed his second consecutive practice on Thursday due to a hamstring injury.

The New York Giants held a brief practice on Thursday morning before players and staff were permitted to leave early and attend their respective Thanksgiving celebrations.

“We’ll bump it up a little bit,” head coach Brian Daboll said of Thursday’s practice. “I talked to the captains last week relative to how they wanted to approach the week, if they wanted to push it up and practice on Tuesday, give them off on Thursday.

“They wanted to keep it a normal week. So, we’ll push up the time that we start, and then they’ll get out a little bit earlier than they would. Fairly normal.”

East Rutherford facilities were closed to the media, so there were no press conferences or Zoom calls held, while practice was closed.

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

Did not participate: NT Dexter Lawrence (hamstring), OL Evan Neal (ankle)

Limited participant: WR Darius Slayton (neck), LB Bobby Okereke (rib/hip), DL A’Shawn Robinson (back), CB Tre Hawkins (shoulder)

Full participant: OL John Michael Schmitz (finger), RB Saquon Barkley (rest), LT Andrew Thomas (knee), RB Eric Gray (ankle), OL Tyre Phillips (knee), WR Sterling Shepard (hip), CB Adoree’ Jackson (concussion), S Bobby McCain (illness)

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Giants injury report: Eric Gray designated to return from IR

New York Giants RB Eric Gray has been designated to return from IR while NT Dexter Lawrence was a non-participant with a hamstring injury.

The New York Giants returned to the practice field on Wednesday ahead of a Week 12 game against the New England Patriots at MetLife Stadium.

Before practice, head coach Brian Daboll met with reporters to update the status on several players, including wide receiver Darius Slayton and left tackle Andrew Thomas, who is reportedly playing on a sprained MCL.

“He won’t practice today,” Daboll said of Slayton, indicating he could play on Sunday.

Additionally, the Giants announced that rookie running back Eric Gray has been designated to return from injured reserve (IR) with his 21-day window officially opening.

Linebacker Bobby Okereke also revealed that he’s dealing with a broken rib and dislocated finger, noting that the latter hurts worse than the former. Both he and Slayton intend to play.

Finally, nose tackle Dexter Lawrence was a surprise addition to the injury report. He generally has a veteran rest day on Wednesday but was listed as a non-participant due to a hamstring injury this week.

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

Did not participate: WR Darius Slayton (neck), LB Bobby Okereke (rib/hip), NT Dexter Lawrence (hamstring), RB Saquon Barkley (rest), OL Evan Neal (ankle)

Limited participant: LT Andrew Thomas (knee), RB Eric Gray (ankle), OL Tyre Phillips (knee), WR Sterling Shepard (hip), CB Adoree’ Jackson (concussion)

Full participant: OL John Michael Schmitz (finger)

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Giants waive RB Deon Jackson, OL Joshua Miles

The New York Giants have waived RB Deon Jackson and OL Joshua Miles with three players eligible to return from IR this week.

On Monday, the New York Giants waived running back Deon Jackson and offensive lineman Joshua Miles, leaving them with 51 players on the 53-man roster.

Jackson appeared in one game for the Giants after being claimed off waivers from the Cleveland Browns on October 24. He gained two yards on a single carry in Week 9.

Miles was signed off of the Atlanta Falcons practice squad on October 17 but was inactive for each game he was with the team.

Running backs Gary Brightwell and Eric Gray and offensive lineman Matt Peart are all eligible to return from injured reserve (IR) this week and it’s likely those two open roster spots will be filled by a pair of the three.

Meanwhile, kicker Randy Bullock and tight end Tyree Jackson have reverted back to the practice squad.

With no more elevations left for Bullock, the Giants will have to make a decision at kicker. Cade York remains on the active roster for the time being.

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Giants hope new additions help fix punt return issues

The New York Giants added several players this week with the hope that some of them will help shore up the punt return issues.

The New York Giants’ special teams have been a unit the team has prided themselves in ever since Thomas McGaughey took over as coordinator back in 2018.

The ‘teams’ as they are known, have been among the tops in the league, especially when it comes to kick and punt coverage. The return group was never outstanding, but were always respectable and rarely did they cough up the football and coat the team games.

This year, the returners have been less than palatable. Kickoff returns are basically non-existent if handled correctly but punt returns are still very much a thing and Giants are not faring very well.

The plan was to have rookie running back Eric Gray handle punt returns, which he did — sometimes. Gray was a disaster as have the players who have spelled him.

The Giants are averaging just 3.8 yards on punt returns and have fumbled — or muffed — four punts this season through seven games.

Gray was placed on injured reserve (IR) last week and the Giants will no longer have to worry about his ball security issues until next season, but who will handle the load the rest of the way this year?

Sterling Shepard was inserted in place of Gray last week but he had never returned a punt in his entire eight-year NFL career. He isn’t the guy.

The Giants signed veteran returner Gunner Olszewski to the practice squad this week and then added running backs Jashaun Corbin and Deon Jackson to the active roster.

“He’s typical Gunner,” McGaughey said of what he saw in Olszewski during his workout earlier this week. “The same thing you see on tape, he does a good job of tracking the ball and excellent punt catcher. Early in his career, he had a really, really, really good start. He does a great job of getting the ball vertical, so good player.”

Corbin has been in the Giants’ orbit for the past two years and was recently on the Carolina Panthers practice squad. He will get an opportunity to return as well.

“Jashaun did a great job when he was here,” said McGaughey. “It was tough, but he did a great job and I love the kid. He works his tail off, he plays hard, he’s physical and he’s a good man. He’s a great teammate, all the guys know they were super happy to get him back because he is such a good guy and a great teammate, but no, he did a really good job in the spring and last year as a young player. He’ll be fine.”

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Giants place two on IR, make other roster moves

The New York Giants made a series of roster moves on Tuesday, impacting both their 53-man roster and their practice squad.

The New York Giants made several roster moves on Tuesday, signing veteran kick/punt returner Gunner Olszewski and outside linebacker Justin Hollins to the practice squad.

Offensive tackle Matt Peart (shoulder) and running back Eric Gray (calf) were placed on injured reserve.

In other moves, the Giants added running back Jashuan Corbin to the roster, claiming him off the Carolina Panthers practice squad and claimed running back Deon Jackson, a high school teammate of Andrew Thomas and college teammate of Daniel Jones, off waivers from Cleveland.

The moves should give the Giants a little more stability on special teams, where they have been struggling with what should be second-nature functions.

Corbin spent last season on the Giants’ practice squad after getting cut after training camp. He was elevated to the active roster for one game during the postseason and spent all summer with the team only to get cut again.

Hollins has played in 55 NFL games in his career for the Denver Broncos, Laos Angeles Rams and Green Bay Packers. He won a Super Bowl ring as a member of the Rams.

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Stock up, down after Giants’ 14-7 win over Commanders

Whose stock is up and whose is down following the New York Giants’ Sunday afternoon victory over the Washington Commanders?

The New York Giants ended a four-game losing streak on Sunday, taking down the Washington Commanders by a score of 14-7 at a very windy MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Big Blue’s defense stole the show, recording six tackles an an interception of Sam Howell, while the offense started hot and then sputtered.

With the win, the Giants improved to 2-5 on the season and kept their slim (and fading) playoff hopes alive.

Whose stock is up and whose is down after the Week 7 win? Let’s take a look.