Tag: Leonard Williams

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.

7 players Giants should consider trading at the deadline

The NFL trade deadline is just around the corner and as likely sellers, the New York Giants should consider trading these 7 players.

The New York Giants have come out of the gate this season with a 1-5 record, which means co-owner John Mara will once again face the indignity of sitting through another December of meaningless football.

The Giants’ chances of qualifying for the postseason is a whopping 2 percent. It would take a miracle for them to even get close to a .500 record this season.

Since they can’t beat Dallas or Philadelphia, whom they have three remaining games with, that would put them at eight losses even if they won their other remaining games.

Do you see miracles coming out of this team? If you do, then power to you. The real course of action here is for general manager Joe Schoen to identify his core and attempt to deal as many non-core pieces as possible by the October 31 NFL trading deadline.

Here are seven trade candidates they may consider.

Giants fined more than 49ers following Week 3 clash

The NFL has hammered the New York Giants with several big fines after a Week 3 game that saw the San Francisco 49ers play very, very dirty.

Following a Week 3 game between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers, it appeared inevitable that several fines would be handed down from the NFL.

After all, the 49ers played a very dirty game that saw offensive lineman Trent Williams punch defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson in the face and center Jake Brendel deliberately injure defensive tackle D.J. Davidson.

Williams was penalized but not ejected for his flagrant personal foul, while Brendel didn’t even draw a flag.

After the game, the NFL offered up a lame excuse for why Williams wasn’t ejected.

“When we have a flag thrown on the field for unnecessary roughness, members of the officiating department are able to review available video, Rule 19, to determine if there is a flagrant action that should result in a disqualification,” NFL senior vice president of officiating Walt Anderson said after the game. “We ended up looking at the video we had available to us, and we just didn’t see anything that rose to the level of flagrant, which is the standard that we have to apply to disqualify the player.”

The league’s clown show continued this week as Brendel somehow escaped both a fine and a suspension. And while Williams was fined $11,473 for his punch, he also avoided a suspension.

Adding to the circus, the NFL fined A’Shawn Robinson the same $11,473 for unnecessary roughness and also hit linebacker Jihad Ward with a $8,139 fine for unnecessary roughness.

Still not laughing at the show? Well, the NFL decided to hit Giants defensive lineman Leonard Williams with the game’s biggest fine, slapping him with an invoice for $16,391. The reasoning? Because he made a very normal, everyday football play.

Just to recap: Robinson was fined the same amount as Trent Williams after getting punched in the face.

And this “penalty:”

Was fined more than this non-penalty:

Okay then.

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Giants vs. Seahawks: 5 biggest storylines for Week 4

The New York Giants face the Seattle Seahawks in Week 4. Here are the five biggest storylines to follow for this contest.

The New York Giants (1-2) host the Seattle Seahawks (2-1) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Monday Night Football in Week 4 of the 2023 NFL season.

Here are five storylines we are following.

Leonard Williams says Giants are still finding their identity

Leonard Williams believes the New York Giants are headed in the right direction but admits they’ve not yet found their identity.

The New York Giants are 1-2 through the first three weeks of the regular season and will pass the quarter mark on Monday night against the Seattle Seahawks.

After an impressive summer, the wheels have come off for Big Blue. They were blown out in Week 1 and dominated in Week 3, and needed a historic comeback in Week 2 to secure their only win of the year thus far.

While they’re not quite a team going through an identity crisis, veteran defensive lineman Leonard Williams says they’re still trying to figure out exactly who they are.

“I mean, honestly, we are still finding (our identity),” he told reporters on Thursday. “That’s why I try to say every year is a new year, regardless of if you have a lot of the same players on the team, regardless of if you have a lot of the same coaches that are coming back. Each year is a new year and you’ve got to treat it that way. Right now, I think we are on the right track, like I said, but there are still some things that I think we have to bring together and close on who we are.”

A year ago, the Giants were a scrappy, never-say-die team that fought hard in every game until the bitter end. This season, that fight seems to be missing at times.

Ultimately, Williams says, it’s on the veteran players to sort things out and set the right example. That will ultimately help establish this group’s identity.

“I mean it’s definitely on the leaders, for sure. Even outside of the coaches, the coaches are obviously leaders, but I think at the end of the day this a players game and we are the ones out there on the field, we are the ones setting the tempo in practice and all type of things like that,” Williams said.

“I think it’s on us to shape the identity of the team and shape the way we go about things around here. A lot of times rookies coming in, they’re not knowing what to expect, they are just following the guys in front of them and that’s when it’s on the leaders to show the whole team how it’s done.”

If the Giants can come out strong against the Seahawks and buck their recent downward spiral in prime-time games, it will go a long way in setting the tone for the rest of the season.

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Giants defense put through ‘tackling circuit’ on Thursday

The New York Giants defense was put through a “tackling circuit” on Thursday ahead of a Week 4 game against the Seattle Seahawks.

The New York Giants missed 16 tackles during a Week 3 game against the San Francisco 49ers and have missed a total of between 29 and 31 this season depending on which metrics you use.

That means the Giants’ defense is anywhere from fourth-worst to the worst in the NFL in tackling. It’s led some, including team great Tiki Barber, to question their effort.

Despite all of that, safety Xavier McKinney told reporters earlier this week that tackling wasn’t something he was stressing over and is not why the team lost two of their first three games.

“(Tackling) is not the reason why the games are going how they’re going. (There’s) a lot of other different things that we’ve got to correct and be better with, and like I said, fundamentals matter and they’re always going to matter, and we’ll be better with it. I’m not going to stress too much over that, because I know that we’re a good tackling team,” McKinney told reporters on Monday.

“Obviously, we’re just going through a little hiccup, but like I said, we’ll correct it, and we’ll keep moving forward. Not going to stress over it, though.”

McKinney may not be stressing it but the coaches appear to be.

On Thursday, as the Giants returned to practice ahead of a Monday night game against the Seattle Seahawks, tackling was the primary focus.

“We had a tackling circuit today,” linebacker Bobby Okereke told reporters. “I had a coach tell me that tackling is technique and desire. We all have a great desire to tackle out there, now it’s all about cleaning up the technique. Whether it’s chopping down the stiff arm, running our feet, whatever. We’re all professionals, we’ll get that done.”

And what exactly is a tackling circuit?

“It’s a couple of different stations. Working on different tackling scenarios, and opportunities on the field,” Okereke added.

The Giants were in full pads on Thursday and will be again on both Friday and Saturday. A week removed from no true practice at all, they are now going full steam ahead with an emphasis on cleaning up areas of weakness.

“I think we can do a much better job tackling,” defensive lineman Leonard Williams said. “I think we can do a better job in a lot of areas on defense, but overall, I think that we are on that right track. The way we played against San Fran and the way we’ve been continually growing is a good thing for the defense right now, I think we are on the right track.”

We’ll see if the Giants can finally put it all together on Monday night against the Seahawks.

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Giants’ Brian Daboll refuses to criticize refs even though they deserve it

Giants coach Brian Daboll refused to criticize officials for their horrible performance on Thursday night, so social media did it for him.

Shawn Hochuli and his crew were an absolute dumpster fire on Thursday night during a game between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers.

There were nearly 20 flags thrown throughout the game with 12 of those being accepted in total. Among them was a roughing the passer call against Giants defensive lineman Leonard Williams.

Hochuli argued that Williams came down with the full weight of his body on 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy which, by definition, is a violation of the rules. But in this particular instance, it was a bang-bang play and Williams had no chance to fall off to one side.

However, it’s not as if Williams didn’t try to abide by the impossible rule. He clearly puts his left knee down to alleviate some of the impact but that didn’t suffice. It was a 15-yard penalty, it extended San Francisco’s drive and it ultimately led to a touchdown.

What makes that call more egregious is that 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams later avoided ejection after punching Giants defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson in the face.

By rule, that’s an automatic ejection and clearly, Hochuli & Co. abide by the NFL rules and the letter of the law without question, right? That’s the reason Leonard Williams was flagged.

But no. There were instead offsetting penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct and Williams was allowed to remain in the game. Although the officiating crew saw the Leonard Williams “penalty” clear as day, they somehow missed Trent Williams’ close fist, as they explained after the game.

“When we have a flag thrown on the field for unnecessary roughness, members of the officiating department are able to review available video, Rule 19, to determine if there is a flagrant action that should result in a disqualification,” NFL senior vice president of officiating Walt Anderson said after the game. “We ended up looking at the video we had available to us, and we just didn’t see anything that rose to the level of flagrant, which is the standard that we have to apply to disqualify the player.”

There were other astonishingly bad or missed calls throughout the game and at one point, Giants head coach Drian Daboll completely lost his cool. But given an opportunity to criticize the referees during a Zoom call on Friday, he took the high road instead.

“Those guys have got a tough job to do out there and that’s really all I’ve got to say on that,” Daboll told reporters.

Daboll wouldn’t even criticize the officials for missing a clear and extremely dirty play by 49ers offensive lineman Jake Brendel, who yanked Giants defensive lineman D.J. Davidson down by his arm UFC-style, resulting in what appeared to be a serious injury.

“It was a physical game. A lot of emotions, so hopefully he’ll be okay,” Daboll said.

While Daboll refused to criticize the officials, plenty of others did it for him on social media.

Stock up, down after Giants’ 30-12 loss to 49ers

Whose stock is up and whose is down following the New York Giants’ Thursday Night Football loss to the San Francisco 49ers?

The New York Giants dropped to 1-2 on the season following a 30-12 loss to the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on Thursday night.

It was another ugly prime-time showing for the Giants, whose schedule isn’t going to let up any time soon. They now have 10 days of rest before a Week 4 battle with the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football.

Whose stock is up and whose is down after the Week 3 loss? Let’s take a look.

Studs and duds from Giants’ Week 3 loss vs. 49ers

Here’s a look at the studs and duds (and studly duds) from a 30-12 loss for the New York Giants against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 3.

The New York Giants fell to the San Francisco 49ers, 30-12, on Thursday night, dropping their record to 1-2 on the season. It was another ugly showing and the injury bug bit hard, so things look murky for the team moving forward.

There was a lot more bad than good on the night, so the next 10-plus days will be a bit rough for the Giants and their fans. National media is not going to take it easy.

Here’s a look at some studs and duds (and studly duds) from the game.

Behind Enemy Lines: Week 3 Q&A with 49ers Wire

With a Week 3 matchup between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers on tap, we go behind enemy lines for a chat with Niners Wire.

The New York Giants (1-1) and San Francisco 49ers (2-0) will square off on Thursday night in a Week 3 matchup at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

The Giants opened the week as 10-point road underdogs but that spread has only gotten worse. They are +10.5 as of this writing.

With this matchup on tap, Giants Wire took the opportunity to hold a Q&A with 49ers Wire managing editor Kyle Madson.