Tag: Eric Gray

Studs and duds from Giants’ Week 7 win vs. Commanders

Here’s a look at the studs and duds (and studly duds) from a 14-7 win for the New York Giants against the Washington Commanders in Week 7.

The New York Giants entered a Week 7 game against the Washington Commanders fully aware that a loss would not only end their season (unofficially) but potentially result in some players being traded.

For at least one week, they avoided that.

In a game that was a tale of two halves, the Giants’ defense held on late and was able to stop a Washington drive inside the 10-yard line with the threat of overtime looming.

It wasn’t pretty given how dominant the Giants looked early, but there are no style points in the NFL. And for a team that only had one win entering the game, they’ll take the dub.

Here’s a look at some of the studs and duds (and studly duds) from the team’s latest win.

Stock up, down after Giants’ 14-9 loss to Bills

Whose stock is up and whose is down following the New York Giants’ Sunday night loss to the Buffalo Bills?

The New York Giants avoided humiliation on Sunday Night Football, battling the Buffalo Bills for four full quarters before being sent home with a 14-9 loss.

The defeat falls squarely on the Giants’ shoulders after failing to score from the 1-yard line in the final seconds of each half. Those mistakes, highlighted by a major mental error courtesy of Tyrod Taylor, were too much to overcome.

There were still quite a few positives but before we look at those, let’s reflect a bit.

Whose stock is up and whose is down after the Week 6 loss? Let’s take a look.

Studs and duds from Giants’ Week 6 loss vs. Bills

Here’s a look at the studs and duds (and studly duds) from a 14-9 loss for the New York Giants against the Buffalo Bills in Week 6.

The New York Giants entered Sunday night’s game against the Buffalo Bills as 16-point road underdogs. Precious few even gave them a chance with 99 percent of all experts predicting a double-digit loss.

Considering the team’s struggles early this season and their mounting injuries, that perception was warranted. But the NFL is unpredictable and anyone can win on any given Sunday.

That wasn’t ultimately in the cards for the Giants on this night. And although there are no moral victories in football, at least they didn’t humiliate themselves again. Positive steps.

Here’s a look at some of the studs and duds (and studly duds) from the team’s latest loss.

Giants’ Parris Campbell getting work as kick returner

New York Giants WR Parris Campbell has been working as a kick returner in practice this week and may be an option on Sunday night.

The New York Giants are seeking any kind of spark to lift them out of the early season funk that has them at 1-4 after five weeks.

That spark could come on special teams, perhaps with a new returner.

This week, coordinator Thomas McGaughey spoke about wide receiver Parris Campbell, who the Giants signed in free agency during the offseason.

“Yeah, he’s back there,” McGaughey said of Campbell practicing as a return man. “He’s done it. He did it at Ohio State, he did it as a rookie and so we’ll see. We’ll see what happens, but you’ve seen him with the ball in his hands, he’s an electric guy with the ball in his hands so we’re going to work him back there.”

The Giants have had several players lined up to return both kicks and punts but rookie running back Eric Gray is the only one who has attempted to return both.

To say the least, Gray has been inconsistent, averaging six yards per attempt on four punt returns and 18.3 on three kickoff attempts.

“He’s growing, you know. I always tell those guys, it’s not what you’re going through, it’s what you’re growing through, right?” said McGaughey. “So, it’s a maturation process for him. Every situation is a new situation in this league for him and he just has to grow his way through it, he’ll be alright. He’s a young returner in this league that has upside and he’s a good football player and he’s a good young man so he’s just getting better every week.”

The Giants could use a boost from special teams — or anywhere — against the powerful Buffalo Bills this Sunday night. Maybe Campbell can provide it.

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Giants will go back to Eric Gray as their punt returner

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll says rookie running back Eric Gray will reassume his punt return duties.

During the New York Giants’ embarrassing loss at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks, one of the more surprising decisions by the Giants was to use Adoree’ Jackson as a punt returner.

Jackson replaced running back Eric Gray on the Seahawks’ second punt after the rookie muffed the opening punt.

The decision gave Giants fans flashbacks of last season when Jackson was used as a punt returner in Week 10 against the Detroit Lions. Jackson, of course, sustained an MCL injury that would sideline him for the final seven weeks of the regular season.

Now, headed into Week 5, head coach Brian Daboll said the Giants are going back to Gray as their returner going forward.

“I’d say that we’ll go back to him,” Daboll told reporters. “Again, that game I just felt that was the right thing to do, based on that punter, is to let Adoree’ field them after that first one and we’ll go ahead and he’ll be back.

Gray has been the primary returner through four games and given that he has been used minimally on the offense during the absence of Saquon Barkley, the move makes sense.

Even though Gray has appeared uncomfortable fielding punts, Daboll still has faith in him.

“He’s caught the ball well. He had the one (catch) interference against San Francisco, the interference with the kick. Done a good job out here at practice. Again, some of that was their punter. He’s got some unique punts, too. Saw the first one and thought that was the right thing to do for the team,” he said.

Following Jackson’s injury last season, Daboll stood by his decision to use him as a returner and even hinted this offseason that the Giants may use Jackson again as a return this year.

Jackson is vital to a secondary that has plenty of youth, especially at the cornerback position, and they will need him healthy if they are going to turn the season around.

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Giants report card: How we graded Big Blue in Week 4 loss

The New York Giants fell to the Seattle Seahawks, 24-3, in Week 4 and the Giants Wire team grades reflect that comeback performance.

The New York Giants were blown out once again in prime time, this time on Monday Night Football to the Seattle Seahawks.

Big Blue fell, 24-3, in a home loss to Seattle. This was once again a game where the Giants failed to get anything going. The team came out flat and never improved.

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

Giants report card: How we graded Big Blue in Week 2 win

The New York Giants defeated the Arizona Cardinals, 31-28, in Week 2 and the Giants Wire team grades reflect that comeback performance.

The New York Giants had a miraculous comeback win against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon.

New York picked up a much-needed win in Glendale in Week 2. They defeated the Cardinals, 31-28, in what was one of the biggest comebacks in franchise history.

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

Time for a bounce back: Some Sooners on offense to keep an eye on vs. Tulsa

After a poor showing on offense against SMU, we’ll be looking at these Sooners to have better games or get more playing time.

Oklahoma’s performance on offense against SMU was head-scratching. The playcalling felt disjointed, especially after the first quarter. Poor blocking was the main culprit, but it also felt very conservative.

Whether that was by design, it needs to be better.

The entire offense needs to be better. The blocking took a step back after dominating Arkansas State. The running backs weren’t particularly explosive or impactful until later in the game. The receivers were essentially a non-factor outside of [autotag]Andrel Anthony[/autotag] and a late fourth-quarter touchdown catch from [autotag]Jalil Farooq[/autotag].

This Saturday will give Oklahoma one more tune-up before they embark on a journey to start their Big 12 schedule. After this week’s matchup with Tulsa, the Sooners will go on the road again to face Cincinnati. The Sooners will want to feel better about their offensive performance before making the trip in week 4.

With a unit that struggled against SMU, there are a number of candidates in need of bounce-back performances. Here are the three players we’ll be watching closely on Saturday.

Up Next: 3 Sooners to Watch on Offense

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Giants working out James Proche, Andre Roberts

The New York Giants are working out wide receivers, James Proche and Andre Roberts, on Tuesday in East Rutherford.

The New York Giants will hold their weekly workouts on Tuesday and wide receiver James Proche will be among the group in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler was the first to report Proche’s workout.

The 26-year-old Proche was a sixth-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in the 2020 NFL draft and had spent his entire three-year career with the team before being released as a part of final cuts.

In 43 career games, Proche has hauled in 25 receptions for 278 yards and 14 first downs. He also sees a lot of action in special teams, returning 27 punts for 222 yards and two kickoffs for 22 yards.

In addition to Porche, the Giants are also working out wide receiver Andre Roberts.

The 35-year-old Roberts was a third-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals in the 2010 NFL draft. He’s also played for the Washington Commanders, Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans, Los Angeles Chargers and Carolina Panthers.

Roberts is a prolific return man who’s been to three Pro Bowls and been named an All-Pro three times.

The Giants have needs along the offensive line, at cornerback and in the secondary, but don’t really have a glaring need at receiver. However, head coach Brian Daboll & Co. seem to be looking for an alternate option at returner after rookie running back Eric Gray fielded just one punt for seven yards on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.

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Early execution among the three offensive keys to a Sooners win vs. SMU

Offensive keys to the game when the Oklahoma Sooners take on the SMU Mustangs.

Oklahoma enters Saturday’s matchup with SMU on a four-game winning streak against the Dallas-based institution. The last time these two schools played each other was 1995. Things have changed drastically in both programs since, and it’ll be interesting to see how things shake out on the field come Saturday evening in Norman.

Oklahoma’s offense put on a clinic against Arkansas State and will carry it into this game. Here’s the skinny on this game: expecting Oklahoma to put up another 73 points is highly irrational.

That doesn’t mean Oklahoma shouldn’t be able to score in the 40-point range, but from a pure talent perspective, SMU’s defense is better.

The Mustangs are full of veteran players, and that veteran leadership is precisely why they are one of the favorites to win the American Athletic Conference.

They will be unphased, with 15 seniors starting on both sides of the ball. Many have played at more prominent institutions and seen teams of Oklahoma’s size and talent before making their way to Dallas.

For this offense to uphold its end of the bargain, it’ll likely need to do what we highlighted in our three keys for this week.

Up Next: 3 Keys on Offense vs. SMU

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