Tag: Kyle Rudolph

Giants injury report: Kadarius Toney, Sterling Shepard not practicing

New York Giants wide receivers Sterling Shepard and Kadarius Toney were among those not practicing on Wednesday.

The New York Giants returned to the practice field on Wednesday and it was Freddie Kitchens who was working with the quarterbacks. That role had been reserved for Jason Garrett, who was terminated by the team on Tuesday.

With that shift out of the way, focus returned to the players, who went through a walkthrough.

On the positive side of things, wide receiver Sterling Shepard (quad) was participating during the portion of practice open to the media but that was apparently extremely limited. He was eventually listed as DNP. Still, he’s inching in the right direction.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, wide receiver Kadarius Toney (quad) was not participating. Neither was safety Logan Ryan, who has not yet cleared COVID-19 protocols.

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

Did not participate: WR Sterling Shepard (quad), WR Kadarius Toney (quad), FB Cullen Gillaspia (calf), DB Nate Ebner (knee), TE Kaden Smith (knee), TE Kyle Rudolph (ankle)

Limited participant: WR Saquon Barkley (ankle), LB Lorenzo Carter (ankle), CB Adoree’ Jackson (quad), WR John Ross (quad)

Full participant: N/A

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Giants lose to Buccaneers, 30-10: Instant analysis

Analyzing the New York Giants’ 30-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in Week 11.

The New York Giants entered their Monday night game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as hot as they’ve been in several years, winning two of three before heading into their bye. The Bucs were beginning to sag, losing two straight in which their offense was slowed and their defense collapsed.

Even with these two teams heading in opposite directions the oddsmakers stuck to their guns and posted the Bucs as 10.5-point favorites.

They knew what they were doing. 44-year-old Tom Brady was on his game and the Giants’ defense just seemed willing to sit back and watch him operate.

That’s not a very smart strategy against the G.O.A.T. Brady simply picked them apart with the Giants putting up as little resistance as possible. He has always professed his love of beating the Giants, so he must have been in his glory in this game as he was hardly touched by New York defenders.

The first half was a back-and-fourth affair with Tampa striking first on a crisp, seamless opening drive that ended with Chris Godwin’s one-yard touchdown reception on a pass from Brady. The Giants could not tie the core on their first drive, breaking down in the red zone again and had to settle for a 37-yard Graham Gano field goal.

The Bucs answered with a field goal of their own to open the second quarter. The Giants needed to make something happen on defense if they were going too compete in this game and they did when Adoree’ Jackson picked off Brady’s pass that caromed off Mike Evans’ shoulder inside the Bucs’ 10 year-line.

The Giants tied the game two played later when Daniel Joined found a wide open Andrew Thomas all alone in the end zone on a tackle eligible call.

The Bucs wasted no time on their next possession, traveling 71 yards on eight plays to take a 17-10 lead when Ronald Jones scored around left end on a six-yard run. After the Giants punted, they finally held a team off the board to end half as the Bucs were forced to punt with 56 seconds left on the clock.

In the third quarter, Tampa Bay extended their lead to 24-10 after Evans scored on a five-yard pass from Brady to end a 10-play, 74-yard drive.

The final was 30-10, and it really wasn’t that close. Tampa took their starters out midway through the fourth quarter as the game was well in hand.

The Giants could not muster much on offense, especially in the second half. After the Thomas touchdown in the second quarter, their next eight possessions went as follows: Punt, Fumble, Downs, Interception, Punt, Interception, Punt, Downs. Their longest drive was their opening drive which ended with them kicking a field goal.

The Giants are now 3-7 and any postseason hopes they had pretty much ended with this loss.

Notes

  • The Giants were outgained, 402-215, and went 1-9 on third down. They lost the time of possession 35:39 to 24:21.
  • Tight end Kyle Rudolph was ruled out in the third quarter with an ankle injury.
  • Safety Logan Ryan, the Giants’ leading tackler this season, was sidelined on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
  • Wide receiver Sterling Shepard (quad) was inactive again. He has missed five games this season, continuing a trend of in which he has missed games due to injuries. He missed four game is 2020 and six in 2019.
  • Linebacker Oshane Ximines was healthy scratch again. Lorenzo Carter (illness/ankle) and special teamer Nate Ebner (knee) were also held out.

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Giants struggle in prime-time again, falls to Bucs, 30-10

The New York Giants continued their lengthy stretch of underperforming in prime-time, falling to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 30-10.

The New York Giants defense struggled right from the start as they let the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drive right down the field at ease and got down early.

Even though the Giants tied the score at 10 in the second quarter, the game was never really close. The defense wasn’t able to slow the Bucs down and the offense committed three turnovers on the day.

Big Blue lost the turnover battle, the time of possession battle and never really stood a chance in this one. It was an ugly game from start to finish and the Giants fell short for the seventh time this season.

Giants have opportunity to feast on second half schedule

The New York Giants (barely) survived a tough first half schedule and now have the opportunity to feast on a weaker second half schedule.

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The New York Giants are 3-6 as they enter their bye week and many have written them off again.

Those who are doing that may be jumping off the bandwagon too early according to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, who believes the Giants’ playoff hopes are far from dead.

Here’s the main reason to hope: Even if the Giants return from the bye week with a loss to the Buccaneers to fall to 3-7, only two of the final seven opponents (Cowboys, Chargers) have winning records. The combined winning percentage for those seven opponents (Eagles twice) is .400.

What’s more? The Giants have a winning formula now that the defense is meeting high expectations after a disappointing start. In all nine wins of the Judge-Jason Garrett-Patrick Graham era, the Giants have allowed 21 or fewer points. Seven times that point total is 16-21.

Good points all around. The Giants’ defense has been playing lights out the past three weeks, allowing a league-low 13 points per game and have only allowed opponents to score touchdowns in the red zone on 23 percent of their trips, also a league-low over that span.

The defense has come around, now the offense must follow. But that can only happen if Jason Garrett takes off the training wheels and the Giants get some production out of their marquee stars such as Saquon Barkley, Kenny Golladay, Kyle Rudolph and Sterling Shepard.

Barkley, Golladay and Shepard may all be back in the lineup next Monday night in Tampa, which would be a huge boost. Add them to the group of Kadarius Today, Devontae Booker, Evan Engram, Darius Slayton and Rudolph and you have the makings of a very powerful offense.

21 points per game could be all the Giants need to go 6-2 in the second half, which would put them at 9-8 on the year and in the post season conversation.

Xavier McKinney, Dexter Lawrence were highest-graded Giants in Week 9

New York Giants FS Xavier McKinney and DL Dexter Lawrence earned the team’s highest PFF grades in Week 9. The lowest grade will shock you.

The New York Giants defense came up big in Week 9, holding the Las Vegas Raiders to just 16 points while scoring seven of their own. And in the end, it was the defense that sealed the team’s third victory of the season.

The star of the show was safety Xavier McKinney, who recorded seven tackles, two interceptions and one touchdown. Unsurprisingly, he was the Giants’ highest-graded player on Sunday.

In fact, McKinney’s PFF grade of 94.5 was the highest grade of any defender in the NFL on Sunday.

Just behind McKinney on defense were lineman Dexter Lawrence (88.8), linebacker Quincy Roche (75.0) and lineman Leonard Williams (73.3).

Other notable defensive grades include safety Julian Love (70.8), cornerback Adoree’ Jackson (63.0) and nose tackle Danny Shelton (39.7).

The lowest-graded Giants on defense were cornerback James Bradberry (37.2) and linebacker Tae Crowder (31.9).

Offensively, tight end Kyle Rudolph led the way for the Giants, earning an overall PFF grade of 81.0. Just behind him were running back Devontae Booker (68.4), wide receiver Kenny Golladay (68.0) and left tackle Matt Peart (66.6).

Other notable offensive grades include quarterback Daniel Jones (65.2), tight end Evan Engram (65.0) and wide receiver Darius Slayton (52.9).

The lowest-graded Giants on offensive were guards Matt Skura (51.0) and Will Hernandez (46.8).

Hernandez grading out so low is puzzling.

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Giants injury report: Kenny Golladay returns to practice, eight sit out

The New York Giants welcomed WR Kenny Golladay back to practice on Thursday, but eight did not participate – some due to COVID-19 protocols.

The New York Giants were back on the practice field on Thursday under some unusual circumstances.

On Tuesday through Wednesday, the Giants had in excess of 13 positive COVID-19 tests. However, they quickly determined many (see: most) were false positives and that an error had occurred.

The team paused rapid testing, re-tested the entire organization, canceled in-person press conferences and pushed the team’s entire schedule back. When they did finally take the field in East Rutherford, many were absent.

Due to the continued testing, several Giants did not participate in practice due to COVID-19 protocols. Others, including wide receiver John Ross, were added to the injury report for other reasons.

On the positive side of things, wide receiver Kenny Golladay (knee) returned to practice on a limited basis. He has an outside shot to play in Week 9.

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

Did not participate: RB Saquon Barkley (ankle/COVID protocol), RB Gary Brightwell (COVID protocol), LB Lorenzo Carter (ankle), DB Nate Ebner (ankle), DB Xavier McKinney (COVID protocol), WR Dante Pettis (shoulder), TE Kyle Rudolph (personal), WR Sterling Shepard (quad)

Limited participant: WR Kenny Golladay (knee), WR John Ross (quad), TE Kaden Smith (knee), WR Kadarius Toney (thumb)

Full participant: OL Matt Skura (cleared COVID protocol)

Giants report card: How we graded Big Blue in Week 8 loss

The New York Giants fell to the Kansas City Chiefs, 20-17, in Week 8 and the Giants Wire team grades reflect that performance.

The New York Giants suffered another deflating loss on Monday night, this time to the sagging Kansas City Chiefs, 20-17, in a very winnable game.

Here’s the report card. Please take it home and have both parents sign it.

John Ross, Logan Ryan were highest-graded Giants in Week 8

WR John Ross and S Logan Ryan earned the New York Giants’ highest offensive and defensive grades in a Week 8 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The New York Giants whiffed on an upset bid on Monday night, falling the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 20-17. They were undone by poor clock management, untimely penalties and back-breaking mistakes.

But there were some positives (if you care to hear about them), especially on the defensive side of the ball.

Safety and team captain, Logan Ryan, had his best game of the season and it was reflected in the Pro Football Focus grades. Ryan earned a unit-high grade of 79.2 (min. 15 snaps).

Just behind Ryan were cornerbacks James Bradberry (78.5) and Adoree’ Jackson (78.4), and safety Julian Love (69.1).

Other notable defensive grades include cornerback Darnay Holmes (66.0), defensive lineman Leonard Williams (60.7) and linebacker Oshane Ximines (52.7).

The lowest-graded Giants defenders were linebacker Tae Crowder (26.5) and Benardrick McKinney (23.9).

On the offensive side of the ball, wide receiver John Ross was the top dog with his grade of (90.3). Checking in just below Ross were tight end Kyle Rudolph (76.4), left guard Matt Skura (73.3) and, somehow, center Billy Price (71.1).

Other noteworthy offensive grades include left tackle Matt Peart (68.1), wide receiver Kadarius Toney (60.2), running back Devontae Booker (55.8) and quarterback Daniel Jones (47.3).

The lowest-graded Giants on offense were right guard Will Hernandez (41.8) and tight end Kaden Smith (39.5).

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Giants defeat Panthers: Winners, losers and those in between

Here are the winners, losers and those in between from the New York Giants’ Week 7 victory over the Carolina Panthers.

For just the second time this season, the New York Giants picked up a victory — this time, a 25-3 upset victory over the Carolina Panthers.

Things didn’t look good early, but the Giants weathered the storm and came out strong in the second half. In what felt like the blink of the eye, they were rolling on both sides of the ball and up big on the scoreboard.

Joe Judge & Co. didn’t take their foot off the gas and sailed to their first home win of the year.

Here’s a look at the winners and losers (and those in between) from Week 7.

Kadarius Toney, Julian Love were highest-graded Giants in Week 5

WR Kadarius Toney and DB Julian Love earned the New York Giants’ highest grades in a Week 5 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

The New York Giants were embarrassed on Sunday afternoon, falling to the Dallas Cowboys by a score of 44-20.

In the process of the defeat, the Giants also lost quarterback Daniel Jones (concussion), running back Saquon Barkley (ankle), wide receiver Kenny Golladay (knee) and rookie cornerback Rodarius Williams (knee) to injury.

But things weren’t all negative. We witnessed the emergence of wide receiver Kadarius Toney who, despite being ejected in the fourth quarter, finished the game with 10 receptions for a team rookie record 189 yards.

Unsurprisingly, Toney led the Giants with a Pro Football Focus grade of 92.4.

Just behind Toney on the offensive side of the ball were right tackle Matt Peart (69.8), tight end Evan Engram (69.0) and guard Will Hernandez (65.8).

Other notable offensive grades include tight end Kyle Rudolph (58.9), quarterback Mike Glennon (53.3) and wide receiver John Ross (52.9).

The lowest-graded offensive player in Week 5 was left tackle Nate Solder (38.8).

On defensive, Mr. Do-It-All Julian Love led the charge with an 80.0. Just behind him were defensive lineman Austin Johnson (64.7), linebacker Lorenzo Carter (63.6) and nose tackle Danny Shelton (62.6).

Other notable defensive grades include linebacker Reggie Ragland (59.7), cornerback James Bradberry (57.7) and safety Logan Ryan (51.9).

The lowest-graded Giant on the day was linebacker Tae Crowder (28.7).

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