Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman held his year-end press conference on Wednesday and here are 10 takeaways.
New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman took the podium on Wednesday morning for his year-end press conference, which came on the heels of co-owner John Mara formally announcing the GM’s return.
Mara indicated that no real consideration had been given to replacing Gettleman, which could be felt when the GM stepped up to the plate. He sounded like a man who was still very much in control.
Here are a few takeaways from Gettleman’s final presser of the season.
New York Giants DT Leonard Williams has been named NFC Defensive Player of the Week after his three-sack performance against Dallas.
The season has come to the end for the New York Giants, but they will get to celebrate one last time anyway.
On Wednesday, defensive lineman Leonard Williams was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his three-sack performance in a 23-19 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
In addition to this three sacks, Williams also recorded seven tackles, five QB hits and on pass defensed. In particular, his play in the closing moments was stellar.
But that was no anomaly. Williams finished the game as impressively as he started it.
Leonard Williams strung three incredibly impressive plays together to hold Dallas to 3 points after Gallman's first fumble…Huge sequence from the impending free agent. pic.twitter.com/gbpZp0u9WK
— Nick Falato (@nickfalato) January 3, 2021
Williams finishes the season with 57 tackles, four stuffs, one pass defensed and a career-high 11.5 sacks. And after that performance, he’s in line for a potential mega contract this offseason.
“Leonard is a guy who is a tremendous player, we love him in the building, he’s a great teammate, he’s fun to coach. He makes your job a lot easier in terms of coming to work and enjoying your job, and then also making plays on the field,” head coach Joe Judge said of Williams. “Players make coaches good or not, you can’t be a good coach with bad players, that’s the reality of it. He’s a good player, so he makes all of us look better. We needed to get plays from him, he stepped up, and he’s been a blast to coach.”
This is Williams’ second NFC Defensive Player of the Week honor of the season. He is the first Giants defensive lineman to be named NFC DPOW twice in the same year since 2011.
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The New York Giants have reportedly decided to keep Dave Gettleman in place as their general manager.
The New York Giants have decided to keep Dave Gettleman in place as their general manager for a fourth season, reports The New York Post.
The Post reports substantiated several other reports that have suggested the same.
After another losing season, which dropped the Giants’ record to an abysmal 15-33 during Gettleman’s tenure, there were rumors that Giants brass was thinking of letting him go or re-assigning him to an advisory role within the organization.
However, ownership believes the team showed enough progress in Gettleman’s third-year and are headed in the right direction.
While Gettleman received well-deserved heat for hiring previous failed head coach in Pat Shurmur, he also played a large role in the hiring of head coach Joe Judge, who showed promise as a leader in his rookie year.
Personnel wise, the Giants’ roster still has a lot of holes to fill, but the signings of James Bradberry, Blake Martinez, Logan Ryan and Graham Gano were home run additions.
Gettleman’s investment in Leonard Williams also paid dividends as Williams had a career season with 11.5 sacks, 57 tackles, 14 tackles for a loss, and 30 quarterback hits.
Despite constant displeasure from their fan base regarding Gettleman’s time as GM, Giants ownership felt they had seen enough in 2020 to keep the current regime in place.
Although the team went 6-10, they were in contention for the NFC East until the final evening of the regular season due to poor competition within the division.
And while ownership said they wanted to be playing meaningful games in December, being a product of a poor divisional race likely did not play a factor in bringing Gettleman back. This decision came from the improvement of the team as the season progressed and the culture that the coaching staff built on the field and in the locker room.
Judge also publicly thumped for Gettleman, telling reporters recently that he’s thoroughly enjoyed working with the GM.
“I’ve enjoyed working with Dave the entire year,” said Judge. “We’ve done a lot of good things together. I really enjoyed the process of free agency and the draft. Obviously, we went through training camp, and there was a lot of logistical work we had to do in this particular spring and summer in terms of getting the setups ready for when the team came back.
“I think everyone is doing a good job right now in terms of understanding where we want to go and pushing in the right direction. There’s been some great coordination and communication with Dave [Gettleman] and everyone in personnel in terms of the kinds of players that fit into our systems.”
Co-owner John Mara and Gettleman will speak to the media on either Tuesday or Wednesday to discuss the decision. Gettleman will turn 70-years-old in February.
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New York Giants DL Dexter Lawrence and WR Sterling Shepard earned the team’s highest PFF grades in Week 17.
The New York Giants defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 23-19, to close out the regular season on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough to steal the NFC East crown.
Because if Doug Pederson’s embarrassing tank job on Sunday night, the Washington Football Team ultimately walked away victorious and won the division title with a record of 7-9.
But back to the Giants, it was a career day for wide receiver Sterling Shepard, who led the offense with a Pro Football Focus grade of 81.1.
Trailing Shepard (20+ snaps) was fellow wide receiver Dante Pettis (78.1), quarterback Daniel Jones (77.8) and center Nick Gates (76.3). And if we’re being honest, Gates deserves a higher grade simply because he’s an animal who wants all the smoke.
Other notable offensive grades include left tackle Andrew Thomas (75.8) and running back Wayne Gallman (61.2).
On the other side of the ball, defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence earned the team’s highest overall grade (20+) snaps with an 82.8. In just two snaps, linebacker Devante Downs logged a 90.2.
Just behind that duo were defensive end Jabaal Sheard (78.4), rookie safety Xavier McKinney (74.6) and linebacker Kyler Fackrell (73.5).
Defensive lineman Leonard Williams, who had a monster game, earned a 70.4.
The lowest-graded Giants on the day were linebacker Cam Brown (44.9) and tight end Evan Engram (40.8).
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The New York Giants defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 23-19, in Week 17 on the shoulders of DT Leonard Williams and QB Daniel Jones.
The New York Giants entered a Week 17 game against the Dallas Cowboys with an opportunity to end a seven-game skid against their NFC East rivals and potentially position themselves to win the division.
Of course, things couldn’t possibly go smoothly — especially during the 2020 season.
The Giants roared out to a 14-point lead early before an Evan Engram drop-turned-interception completely changed the momentum. Dallas then stormed back and positioned themselves to win late in the fourth quarter, but an Xavier McKinney interception sealed the deal.
Or did it?
In an end fitting of 2020, running back Wayne Gallman fumbled on a first down run that would have ended the game. A big pile-up ensued with referees each pointing in a different direction.
Ultimately, Gallman recovered his own fumble and the Giants walked away victorious. They now await the results of Sunday Night Football.
WR Sterling Shepard and DT Dalvin Tomlinson earned the New York Giants’ highest Pro Football Focus grades of Week 16.
The New York Giants were blown out of the water in Week 16 against the Baltimore Ravens, falling by a score of 27-13 — and it wasn’t even really that close.
At halftime, the Giants already trailed 20-3 and while they did play better over the final two quarters, it wasn’t nearly enough to dig themselves out of the hole they had created. However, several players did stand out on each side of the ball.
Offensively, wide receiver Sterling Shepard earned our Player of the Game and that was proven just as he earned the team’s highest Pro Football Focus grade of the week, checking in at 81.2.
Just behind Shepard (25+ snaps) were tight end Evan Engram (70.7), wide receiver Dante Pettis (69.1) and right tackle Cam Fleming (63.2).
Quarterback Daniel Jones earned just a 59.7, while wide receiver Darius Slayton got slapped with a 50.6.
On the defensive side of the ball, defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson reigned supreme, earning a grade of 77.8. Right behind him were cornerback James Bradberry (72.9), defensive lineman Leonard Williams (71.3) and linebacker Blake Martinez (64.0).
Veteran safety Logan Ryan, fresh off a three-year contract extension, had one of his worst analytical games of the season, earning a grade of 42.7.
The lowest-graded Giants of Week 16 were cornerback Isaac Yiadom (38.6), linebacker David Mayo (34.8) and linebacker Tae Crowder (28.0).
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Here are six takeaways from the New York Giants’ Week 15 loss to the Cleveland Browns, which dropped their record to 5-9.
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The New York Giants fell to 5-9 on the season with their depressing 20-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday Night Football and their season is on the brink of collapse.
Here are six takeaways from Week 15.
The New York Giants had an opportunity to regain the NFC East lead, but instead, fell to the Cleveland Browns, 20-6.
The New York Giants took the field on Sunday night with an opportunity to regain the lead in the NFC East. The only thing standing in their way? The Cleveland Browns.
Without offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, quarterback Daniel Jones and cornerback James Bradberry, the odds were certainly stacked against New York. And as a result, they were uncharacteristically aggressive.
Unfortunately for Joe Judge & Co., that aggressiveness did not pay off on offense, while the conservative approach on defense basically allowed quarterback Baker Mayfield to have his way with things.
The good news? The Giants are just one game back in the division and will play a meaningful Week 16 game. Who saw that coming in September?
Cornerback James Bradberry was the only members of the New York Giants to earn a spot on the Pro Football Focus Pro Bowl roster.
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With Pro Bowl coming to a close, there a few players on the New York Giants who have stood out this year and deserve at the very least some consideration.
Pro Football Focus released their Pro Bowl rosters this week and cornerback James Bradberry was the only Giant selected.
Bradberry has never made the Pro Bowl before and has certainly shined in his first year with Big Blue. While PFF grades are the sole selecting tool behind their roster selections, it’s a little surprising that no other players from the Giants made the list.
Blake Martinez is currently tied for sixth in the NFL with 118 combined tackles and has been a real difference-maker in his first year with the Giants.
Logan Ryan, who may not have been on the roster if rookie Xavier McKinney didn’t get injured, has been another player who has been a real gem for the Giants’ defense. Many now question why he was still available into September when Big Blue signed him.
Entering the week, Ryan led all NFC free safeties in Pro Bowl voting.
Leonard Williams has also had a very strong 2020 campaign, racking up 8.5 sacks to lead the Giants. Williams has silenced many of Dave Gettleman’s critics who believe trading for defensive lineman was a mistake.
Lastly, Graham Gano has been everything the Giants have asked for and more. He has made 26 of 27 field goals this year and ranks near the league lead for field goal percentage.
The Giants, of course, sent Aldrick Rosas to the Pro Bowl in 2018 but due to a down season in 2019 and legal troubles this past offseason, the Giants moved on, signed Gano and haven’t looked back.
With fan voting concluded as of Thursday, December 17, the actual Pro Bowl rosters should be announced in the coming days. The Giants have been lacking Pro Bowl talent in recent memory but this year there are plenty who should be considered.
While there will not actually be a physical Pro Bowl this year, it would still be a tremendous honor for those who get selected. Instead, the game will be a virtual event on EA Sports’ Madden video game.
Hopefully we see more players from the Giants once the Pro Bowl rosters are announced.
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New York Giants DL Leonard Williams has been named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his dominant Week 13 performance.
The career resurgence of defensive lineman Leonard Williams continued in Week 13 as he recorded 2.5 sacks and five QB hits in the New York Giants’ upset of the Seattle Seahawks.
Williams’ 2.5 sacks gives him a career-high 8.5 on the season and was enough to win the Giants Wire Player of the Game.
But the recognition didn’t end there for Williams. On Wednesday morning, the NFL named him the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his remarkable performance.
“That guy is a man, man,” head coach Joe Judge said of Williams after the game. “That dude is a man. There are things about Leo that you may not know by not being in the locker room with him. First off, this guy is a pleasure to be around. This guy smiles all the time. He’s a great teammate, he’s very coachable. You give him something to work on, he’s going to work as hard as he can to master it. He gives us a lot of versatility on the defense because of his skillset.
“And this dude is just a guy that when you see him in your locker room before the game, he makes you feel a little bit better. Obviously, there’s statistics on the field that you see, what you don’t see is what kind of guy he is to coach, what kind of teammate he is away from it. That’s as important if not more important than all the statistics you see on the sheets. This guy helps everyone else raise their level of preparation and play.”
Williams is the first Giants defender to win NFC Defensive Player of the Week since cornerback Janoris Jenkins did it in Week 4 of the 2019 season. He is also the first Giants defensive lineman to earn the honor since Jason Pierre-Paul did it in Week 12 of the 2016 season.
Kicker Graham Gano is the only other Giant to receive a Player of the Week honor this season, winning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week following a Week 9 contest against the Washington Football Team.
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