Tag: Julian Love

Giants’ Julian Love will see more action in Jabrill Peppers’ absence

New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur says rookie Julian Love will see more action at safety with Jabrill Peppers ailing.

Prior to Week 12, New York Giants rookie defensive back Julian Love had played just three defensive snaps in the team’s first 10 games. Then, last week in his hometown of Chicago against the Bears, Love played 42 of the Giants’ 76 defensive snaps, many of them due to the absence of starting safety Jabrill Peppers, who left the game with back injury.

Peppers will be out for some time — maybe the rest of the season if things don’t break his way — and the Giants will now turn to Love, a fourth-round draft pick out of Notre Dame, and veteran Michael Thomas.

“We’ll have a combination with Love back there, Michael Thomas,” head coach Pat Shurmur said on Wednesday as the Giants began preparation for Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers’ visit this Sunday. “We’ll fill in. I thought Love did a good job with his first extended action last week. He’s displayed a lot of the things that we thought he might have. We’ll just try to build on that if for some reason Jabrill can’t make it.”

Jabrill has a fracture in his transverse process, an injury that heals itself with rest. Very few plan on seeing him anytime soon.

Many were wondering with all the rookies playing extensively this season why Love was the one that was held back. Shurmur said it was simply a matter of time and finding the right role for him.

“He was ready to play. He was ready to play, and we just made a decision coming off the bye week that it was time. That’s all,” Shurmur said.

Love had only one tackle in the game but managed to come away with his first career interception on an errant throw by Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. After all the waiting, he was ready.

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Giants’ David Mayo, DeAndre Baker earn high PFF grades in loss to Bears

New York Giants LB David Mayo and CB DeAndre Baker earned high PFF grades in a Week 12 loss to the Chicago Bears.

The New York Giants lost their seventh consecutive game in Week 12, falling to the Chicago Bears, 19-14, at Soldier Field. And as disheartening as another loss was, there were a few positives to come out of the game.

First and foremost, rookie cornerback DeAndre Baker played well a week removed from being called out in front of the entire team, earning his highest Pro Football Focus grade of the season.

In addition to Baker, linebacker David Mayo also graded out well, earning a team-high grade of 92.4.

Our friends at PFF also singled out Mayo during their ReForcused segment, specifically making note of how well he played against the run.

David Mayo was an absolute beast for the Giants’ defense at linebacker. He was all over the field, leading the way in defensive stops. His run defense was phenomenal, as he constantly snaked through blockers and was able to make multiple tackles for loss.

Finally, rookie defensive back Julian Love also earned a little love for his play, finishing the game with a 81.2 grade.

It may have been another hard to swallow loss for Giants fans, but if you’re desperately seeking out a silver lining, Pro Football Focus has provided it.

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Stock up, down after Giants’ 19-14 loss to Bears

Whose stock is up and whose is down following the New York Giants’ loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 12?

For the first time in franchise history, the New York Giants were able to accomplish something, although it wasn’t exactly an honor to be proud of.

The Giants have lost every game played in the months of October and November, falling to the Chicago Bears, 19-14, on Sunday at Soldier Field.

The last game the Giants won came back in September against the Washington Redskins, which seems like a million years ago given how the last two months of the season have transpired — a horrendous down spiral.

With that said, whose stock is up and down for the Giants following the loss to the Bears.? Let’s take a look.

Dylan Buell/Getty Images

Stock up: Markus Golden

With each passing game, Golden continues to show that he is, in fact, back to his former double-digit sack self.

Golden added another sack to his 2019 total, which is rests at 7.5. He also had a few batted balls at the line of scrimmage and several pressures, making his presence known and felt on defense.

Given the way his season has gone, Golden is going to be in line for a much bigger payday and if the Giants were smart about it, they would sign him to a contract extension immediately.

Stock down: Aldrick Rosas

A year ago. Rosas was an All-Pro kicker and looked like he finally had turned the corner as far as his career goes. A year later, Rosas has reverted back to the guy we saw in 2017, making critical mistakes and costly misses.

Rosas missed two field goals, although granted, one was due to a botched snap. But the miss still goes to Rosas’ record, plus he’s had a tendency for missing kicks over the last few games.

To go along with the two missed field goals, Rosas also had a kickoff go out of bounds.

Rosas is struggling, and if he continues, he might find himself out of a job really soon.

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Giants vs. Bears: Statistics, numbers and broken records

The New York Giants fell to the Chicago Bears in Week 12 and here’s a look at some of the statistics, numbers and broken records.

The New York Giants were defeated by the Chicago Bears, 19-14, on Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field, but the game could have ended in an entirely different way had Big Blue been able to channel any late-game magic.

Unfortunately, Eli Manning’s heroics have yet to wear off on Daniel Jones & Co., who were unable to get anything of substance going, instead watching their consecutive loss counter tick over to 7.

Here’s a look at some of the noteworthy records, numbers and statistics from the Week 12 loss:

  • With the loss, the Giants failed to log a win in either October or November for the first time in their long history.
  • The seven-game losing streak is the Giants’ longest such streak since 2014.
  • The Giants are guaranteed to finish with a losing record for the third consecutive season and the sixth time over the past seven seasons.
  • The Giants amassed just 243 offensive yards, which was their third-lowest total of the season.
  • The Giants’ 134 net passing yards was their lowest total since December 31, 2017.
  • The Giants went just one of 12 on third down conversion attempts.
  • The Giants drove 97 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter on Sunday, which was their longest touchdown drive in terms of yardage since November 11, 2012.
  • The Giants held a 7-3 halftime lead, which was their first such lead since defeating the Washington Redskins in late September.
  • Daniel Jones attempted 36 passes on Sunday, increasing his Giants rookie record to 333 on the season.
  • Tight end Kaden Smith started his first career game and scored his first NFL touchdown.
  • Rookie DB Julian Love recorded his first career interception.
  • Aldrick Rosas became the first Giants kicker to miss two field goals in a game since Lawrence Tynes did it on September 26, 2010.
  • Rosas also became the first Giants kicker to miss two or more consecutive field goals since Jay Feely did it against the Seattle Seahawks on November 27, 2005.

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

The New York Giants lost their Week 12 game against the Chicago Bears. Here are the snap counts on offense, defense and special teams.

The New York Giants fell to the Chicago Bears, 19-14, on Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field, dropping their record to 2-9 on the season and extending their current losing streak to a pathetic seven games.

To be honest, we’re running out of ways to cleverly describe these losses since they are all so similar in nature, and after seven straight… Let’s just be real — it’s difficult to cultivate content around the misery.

Let’s take a look at the snap counts that contributed to Big Blue’s latest loss.

Offensive snaps: 60
Defensive snaps: 76
Special teams snaps: 29

With tight ends Evan Engram and Rhett Ellison both out due to injury, it meant substantially more playing time for Scott Simonson and Kaden Smith, who scored his first career touchdown in Week 12.

Defensively, Julian Love played over 50% of the snaps for the first time this season and he played well, making a few big stops and coming up with his first career interception.

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Watch: Julian Love’s First NFL Pick, Golden Tate’s Touchdown

It was Love’s first career NFL interception and happened to take place in his hometown of Chicago as Love grew up just outside Chicago.

It’s been on a long few seasons for the New York Giants, entering Sunday just 2-8 on the year and with a defense that has struggled to slow almost anything down.

Well, things didn’t go a whole lot better for the Giants this Sunday as they fell to the Bears 19-14. Despite the score a couple of former Notre Dame stars made some big-time plays for Big Blue.

Trailing 19-7 at the start of the third quarter the Giants forced a third and ten when Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky tried to throw deep, only to connect with former Notre Dame Thorpe Award finalist Julian Love.

It was Love’s first career NFL interception and happened to take place in his hometown of Chicago as Love grew up just outside Chicago.

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Love’s interception probably meant a little more to him this week as two of his childhood friends he was planning on seeing while in Chicago died in an automobile accident earlier this week.

Still trailing 19-7 later in the fourth quarter it was former Biletnikoff Award Winner and Notre Dame product Golden Tate making another outstanding grab to cut the lead to 19-13.

The touchdown was Tate’s fourth of the season.

Despite the help from a couple of Domers, the Giants ultimately dropped the game 19-14 in Chicago while falling to just 2-9 on the year.

Giants dropped by Bears, 19-14: Instant analysis

Instant analysis of the latest New York Giants loss in which they fell to the Chicago Bears, 19-14, in ugly fashion.

The New York Giants blew into the Windy City this weekend with nothing to lose unlike their opponent — the Chicago Bears — who at 4-6 had a lot to lose.

This was a contest between two teams who have had a boatload of issues between them this season and the flow of the game was choppy from start to finish. For a Week 12 game, it was an undisciplined mess. If these two teams weren’t playing each other they would have embarrassed themselves against a real NFL team.

The Bears had several opportunities early on but penalties, turnovers and drops kept them off the board. The Giants ended up opening the scoring with a three-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Jones to rookie tight end Kaden Smith midway through the second quarter.

Then, Aldrick Rosas’ struggles continued, missing two field goals in the first half, one from 42 yards and the second from 43. Both snaps from Zak DeOssie were errant. The Bears finally got on the board with a field goal with eight seconds left in the first half.

In the second half, after Rosas’ opening kick went out of bounds giving the Bears the ball on their own 40, the Giants’ defense thought they had the Bears stopped when Marcus Golden sacked Mitchell Trubisky on a third-and-10 from the Giants’ 37.

But Giants’ corner Janoris Jenkins was called for holding wide receiver Allen Robinson, negating the sack and giving Chicago a first down on the Giants’ 32. On the very next play, Trubisky found Robinson streaking over the middle past rookie corner Corey Ballentine to give the Bears a 10-7 lead.

The Bears would take control of the game from there, kicking a field goal on their next possession. Then, Bears’ linebacker Khalil Mack blew past Giants left tackle Nate Solder and stripped the football away from Jones. The Bears would take a 19-7 lead after Trubisky punched it in from two yards out.

The Giants next scored with 4:10 remaining when Daniel Jones, on a 4th-and-18 from the Giants’ 23, threw up a desperation pass into the end zone. Golden Tate managed to reel it in to narrow the score to 19-14 which ended up being the final.

In short, the Bears were awful and the Giants were worse. The Giants lost their seventh straight game and are 2-9 after 11 games, one game worse than they were last year at this time.

Notes

  • Safety Jabrill Peppers left the game midway through the third quarter with a hip injury. Rookie Julian Love took his place. Entering the game, Love had only played three defensive snaps all year. He picked off an ill-advised Trubisky pass early in the fourth quarter.
  • Saquon Barkley was not a factor in the game, rushing 17 times for 59 yards and allowing a swing pass to slip through his hands in the first half which would have gone for a huge gain.
  • Jones sustained a cut on his right hand on the Giants’ final possession that may or may not have hindered him as he threw several incompletions as the Giants turned the ball over on downs.
  • The two missed field goals ended up being the difference in the game.
  • The Giants had their first team offensive line intact after missing some time due to injury. Jon Halapio was back at center while the two tackles – Nate Solder and Mike Remmers — also both started.

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Giants fall to Bears: Winners, losers and those in between

The New York Giants fell to 2-9 with a 19-14 loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 12, and here’s a look at the winners and losers from that game.

The New York Giants lost their seventh consecutive game on Sunday, falling to the Chicago Bears, 19-14, at Solder Field in what may have been the ugliest display of football all season (if not longer).

The Giants did have a chance to pull off a miracle at the end, but Daniel Jones was unable to channel his inner Eli Manning and watched as his final fourth-down attempt fell harmlessly to the ground.

Here’s a look at Sunday’s winners and losers (and those in between):

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Winners

Julian Love: Love wasn’t just eased into the defensive rotation, he was straight-up thrown into the fire. The results? They were largely positive. While it wasn’t perfect, Love made several key plays, including his first career interception off the arm of Mitchell Trubisky. He also made two other potential touchdown-saving plays.

Markus Golden: On a defense that simply doesn’t play well at all, Golden continues to make his presence felt and Sunday was no different. Not only did Golden record another sack, he added several other pressures and a couple batted balls at the line of scrimmage. He also came up with a huge 3rd-and-1 stop late in the fourth quarter, giving the Giants an opportunity for a last-minute win.

Riley Dixon: It’s a sad day when a punter is one of the few players to appear in the “winners” column, but here we are. But don’t let that be a reflection of Dixon himself, who had quite a day, averaging 51.4 yards per punt with four being downed inside the 20.

Others: Golden Tate, Jabrill Peppers

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Julian Love’s return home to Chicago marred by tragedy

New York Giants DB Julian Love will return home to Chicago on Sunday, but a tragic loss has marred the occasion.

New York Giants rookie defensive back Julian Love is going home to Chicago this week with more on his mind than a football game. The former Notre Dame star was looking forward to meeting up with two of childhood friends when the Giants play the Bears this Sunday at Soldier Field.

That won’t be happening now.

Last week, Love’s childhood friends — Joey Ramos and Tony Lemon — died in an auto accident when the car they were riding in plunged into Lake Michigan.

From Art Stapleton of USA TODAY:

Love will head back for his emotional homecoming with a heavy heart after Ramos and Lemon were killed in a one-car accident over the weekend. The men had been missing since Sunday and their car was found and pulled from Lake Michigan on Tuesday.

“A tragedy like this happens, and everything gets put into perspective,” Love told NorthJersey.com and USA TODAY NETWORK Northeast after practice Wednesday. “Joey was a big Bears fan, and this is the game where, I have no doubt they’d be there Sunday cheering me on. It’s hard, it’s definitely hard, but they’ll be with me this way, too. They’ll be there in spirit.”

Love has had a trying rookie season with the Giants, mainly because the Giants just don’t have a role for him at the moment. Defensive coordinator James Bettcher, in his weekly media session, was still unsure of what to make of Love.

“Yeah, he’s a safety/nickel,” said Bettcher. “A lot of those guys in the back end are safety/nickel or corner/nickel.”

But Love has played sparingly — only three defensive snaps all season to be precise — and has been used primarily on special teams. It’s been a disappointing season for the fourth round draft choice.

“I think Julian is close, he fits in the same category as DeAndre Baker, Corey Ballentine, X-man and even Lorenzo Carter in his second year,” Bettcher said when asked what Love needs to do to get more playing time. “The thing that I really like about Julian is you go and watch him take notes. He’s taking notes, he is locked into the meeting room and he has been that way since day one. I think AB (Antoine Bethea) has really helped him, I think AB has been a great guy in the room.

“I sit in the DB meeting room a bunch and I hear AB (saying), ‘hey, Julian you see this, recognize that, you see that, that’s why it’s this’ and they have some good dialogue and conversation. Julian is highly engaged in those conversations and that’s why he will trend himself to a guy that’s going to make a push to have a chance to play and be a guy that helps us.”

If Love does see an increased role on Sunday, he knows his two friends will be there with him in spirit.

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Giants Coordinator Corner: Preparing for final leg of 2019 season

The New York Giants coordinator met with reporters on Thursday to discuss bye week changes, rookies and preparing for the Chicago Bears.

The New York Giants head to Chicago to face Khalil Mack and the 4-6 Bears on Sunday. On Thursday, their three coordinators update the media on their respective units coming out of the bye week.

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Offensive coordinator Mike Shula

The Giants’ battered offensive line will face a talented Bears front on Sunday with Mack leading the way. The coaching staff has been widely criticized for not making adjustments quick enough or not at all.

Shula was asked if he has to do anything special this week with both starting tackles (Nate Solder and Mike Remmers) and tight ends Rhett Ellison and Evan Engram banged up.

“Those guys are really good players, and they’re not the only two that can rush the passer,” Shula said of Mack and linebacker Leonard Floyd. “But yeah, we have to mix our protections. We have to get the ball out. We have to stay out of third and long. As we say, stay ahead of the chains. Stay on schedule. Then whether or not it’s having a guy help chip, as we say.

“But you can’t do it every play, and they know that. They’re good at that. They’re not just good pass rushers. They have good schemes and they understand when you’re trying to keep guys in, it’s harder to throw the ball down field with less guys. It’s going to be a combination of all of those things. We have to be able to make things happen on first and second down. Stay out of third down. Make first downs on first or second down.”

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