Tag: malik nabers

Former LSU WR Jack Bech finding success with TCU as senior

Former LSU receiver Jach Bech is having a year with the TCU Horned Frogs

LSU’s 2021 recruiting class was loaded with talent at wide receiver. [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag] and [autotag]Brian Thomas Jr.[/autotag] were the headliners and became two of the best pass-catchers in LSU history. Blue-chips Chris Hilton Jr. and Deion Smith signed with that class too.

There was also [autotag]Jack Bech[/autotag], yet another four-star. Bech had a strong freshman campaign, catching 43 passes for 489 yards. He stuck around through the coaching transition and remained with LSU in 2022. His production decreased, but he added 200 yards and a score in a crowded receiver room.

When the portal opened, Bech set out to look for a bigger role. He landed at TCU.

Bech wasn’t a major factor right away. He caught 12 passes for 146 yards in his first year in Fort Worth. Now a senior, Bech is amid a breakout.

With 56 catches for 982 yards and nine scores, Bech is among the Big 12’s top receivers. He’s second in yards while leading the conference in touchdowns.

This week, he was named a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award, annually given to the nation’s top receiver. The talent was always there for the Louisiana native. 2024 was Bech’s first real chance to be a focal point in an offense and he’s making the most of it.

When TCU plays Arizona this week, he should surpass the 1,000-yard mark. Bech will likely turn pro in the spring, joining LSU classmates Nabers and Thomas.

Ranking the most explosive offenses in the SEC. Where is LSU?

Who are the most explosive offenses in the SEC? See where LSU and others fit after week 12

Explosive plays go hand-in-hand with winning football games. If you rip off more chunk plays than your opponent, you have a pretty good shot.

In 2023, LSU’s offense was one of the most explosive in college football history. [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag], along with [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag] and [autotag]Brian Thomas Jr[/autotag], were big plays waiting to happen.

We haven’t seen the same level of big-play threat from LSU in 2024 and it’s a key reason for LSU’s three-game losing streak.

Today, we’ll rank the most explosive offenses in the SEC to see where LSU fits in and evaluate which offenses are the best at generating the big play. We’ll look at overall offense first then peak at some passing and rushing splits.

Let’s jump right in.

SEC Offensive 20+ Yard Play Rates

Team 20+ Yard Play Rate 20+ Yard Play Rank
Ole Miss 10.72% 1
Texas 10.58% 2
Alabama 10.02% 3
Arkansas 9.74% 4
Georgia 9.22% 5
Auburn 9.21% 6
Florida 8.85% 7
South Carolina 8.62% 8
LSU 8.13% 9
Kentucky 7.24% 10
Tennessee 7.21% 11
Texas A&M 6.74% 12
Mississippi State 5.97% 13
Vanderbilt 5.03% 14
Missouri 4.97% 15
Oklahoma 4.29% 16

Takeaway

LSU is closer to the bottom than the top of the conference with an explosive play rate of 8.13%. That’s nearly five points below LSU’s mark from 2023.

We’ve seen this impact the entire operation. A lack of explosive plays puts pressure on LSU to execute perfectly down after down in the red zone, something this offense isn’t capable of doing.

It’s also forced LSU to be near perfect on third down. That’s an area where LSU’s excelled, but relying on third and long conversions isn’t a sustainable way to win games.

With no consistent deep threat, defenses can stack the box and take away LSU’s run game and short passing attack.

It comes as no surprise that Lane Kiffin’s offense is setting the standard this year. Ole Miss, Texas, and Alabama are the only three offenses above 10%.

Sitting at the bottom of the SEC are Missouri and Oklahoma. That wasn’t the case last year, but both offenses took a major step back in 2024.

A name that stands out in the top five is Arkansas. The Razorbacks aren’t consistent, but when they’re on, few units are as explosive as Bobby Petrino’s.

Giants’ Joe Schoen believes successful foundation is already in place

New York Giants GM Joe Schoen believes he has built a successful foundation in East Rutherford even though the results say otherwise.

The New York Giants are 2-8 to begin the 2024 NFL season and are essentially out of the postseason picture two weeks before Thanksgiving — again.

It’s co-owner John Mara’s recurring nightmare. Potentially having his multi-billion dollar stadium half-empty down the stretch while the rest of the league is chasing their dreams has become an all too familiar reality for the Giants.

Since handing over the reins to general manager Joe Schoen in January of 2022, the Giants are 17-26-1 and 1-1 in the postseason.

But there is hope, Schoen said in his annual bye-week press conference this week. He is confident the team is “not far off” and is not wavering in his plan, which is deep into its third season.

“I believe in the process. I believe where we’re going,” he said. “Again, building it, sometimes it hurts and it’s painful and it’s hard to go through it. But, we’re going in the right direction.”

Schoen feels that way because of the young nucleus that he has under his roof and hopes to continue building on. He spoke about his latest draft class, which has been performing very well.

“There’s some young pieces here in place in terms of the foundation that we’re going to continue to build on. Another year of free agency and another draft, we’re not far off. We’re not far off,” he said.

The previous two drafts have also yielded some talent and depth the roster so sorely needed as well.

“I like the guys in our first two drafts. Where we were then and what we were trying to do by moving back,” he said. “We needed players. There were five healthy offensive linemen on the roster at the time. So, there were players or situations you were in, trying to fill out the roster, whether it was depth players with some of those guys or certain roles that they’ve developed.

“(Cor’Dale) Flott is a third-round pick that’s played solid this year for us. He plays nickel. Wan’Dale (Robinson) has turned into a good slot receiver. I think he’s in the top 10 in receptions in the league. Some guys are role players. You need those guys as well. So, I wish I could bat a thousand, you always want to do that.

“But, I believe in the people in the building. I believe in our process. I believe in the research that we do, the work we’re doing. I think you saw the results this last offseason with the draft that we had. I look forward to continuing to, hopefully, have some drafts that compare to this one.”

Schoen apparently will get the chance to continue building. He was asked if he felt he’d be back next year and did not hesitate to confirm that he would be.

This comes after Mara said he did not see the team making any changes at the top either during or after the season.

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Giants impressed, pleased with 2024 NFL draft class

Despite their regular season struggles, the New York Giants have been both impressed and pleased with their 2024 NFL draft class.

The first 10 weeks of the New York Giants’ 2024 season are in the rearview mirror as they head into the bye. With a disappointing record of 2-8, there hasn’t been much that has gone right for Big Blue this year.

One of the few things that has been impressive is the team’s 2024 NFL draft class.

General manager Joe Schoen fielded questions from the media on Tuesday and talked about the early success of his most recent class.

“I like Tyler Nubin. He’s played well for us. He’s one of the only rookies playing 99 percent of the defensive playtime. He’s leading rookies in tackles. So, I’m excited about him,” Schoen said. “Tyrone Tracy, also leading rookies in terms of rushing. So, I’m excited about the young players that we have.

“The build’s tough. It hurts sometimes as you’re going through it. But, you got to go through it to get to the other side. I like the young foundation that we’ve put in place. Whether it’s (Brian) Burns, (Dexter Lawrence II) and Kayvon (Thibodeaux). There’s some pieces that are going to be in.”

Schoen then circled back around to his 2024 draft class.

“(Malik) Nabers, the rookies I talked about, Theo (Johnson). There’s some young pieces here in place in terms of the foundation that we’re going to continue to build on. Another year of free agency and another draft, we’re not far off. We’re not far off.”

At 2-8 in the third season of the Schoen-Brian Daboll regime, there are no guarantees that the general manager or head coach will be back.

However, Schoen’s 2024 draft class certainly has been impressive. He received criticism following the draft after being the only team not to draft an offensive or defensive lineman.

On offense, the Giants have the rookie rushing leader in Tracy and the rookie receiving yards leader in Nabers. Let’s not forget, Theo Johnson has seen an increased role in the offense as time has gone on. On the other side of the ball, Andru Phillips and Nubin have been noticeable in the secondary for the Giants.

With just three teams younger than the Giants at the start of the regular season, Schoen will continue to evaluate the roster in the final seven games. However, it does seem as though the 2024 draft class will go down as a win on his resume.

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Giants’ Brian Daboll shoulders blame for flea-flicker disaster

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll accepted blame for a Week 10 flea-flicker that ended in complete disaster.

The New York Giants have put a lot of bad play on film this season but none of it compared to a third-and-1 flea-flicker that failed spectacularly on Sunday in Germany.

Trailing 10-0 with just under 8:00 remaining in the second quarter, head coach Brian Daboll decided to get cute with an unnecessary play-call. But even more ridiculous and embarrassing than that is what transpired.

After running back Devin Singletary tossed the ball back to quarterback Daniel Jones, he just stood there. Two receivers were running wide open and DJ simply froze before taking a sack and ending the drive.

After the game, Daboll admitted it was a poor play call and shouldered the blame for its failure.

“I wish I had it back. I wish I had it back. Didn’t work,” Daboll told reporters. “I wish I had it back. Bad coaching.”

It was poor coaching. It was also astonishingly poor execution. The call itself made no sense but there was an opportunity for a big play there and Jones simply didn’t make it.

Malik Nabers said he discussed it with Jones after the fact and DJ claimed he couldn’t see the wide-open receivers.

“When you look at it, you can see that we were open, but there’s many things that’s going on in Daniel’s face that us receivers don’t see. We’re just out there running our route. We see that we’re open. But there’s a lot of things going on in the backfield that you don’t know,” Nabers said. “You give the ball to the running back, defense collide down, so they’re all blitzing, you’re flicking it back and it’s just us in coverage. But there’s a lot of things going on back there with Daniel.

“I asked him about it. He said he couldn’t see us. So that’s the play.”

Jones is not someone who generally makes excuses, so everyone should be inclined to take his word for it. However, when you watch the play over, it’s difficult to understand how that could be the case.

Either way, it was a play-call that shouldn’t have been made and Daboll certainly deserves his half of the blame for it.

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What did Giants star Malik Nabers say about Commanders QB Jayden Daniels?

Jayden Daniels is now 2-0 vs. his former college teammate.

It’s no secret that New York Giants rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers and Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels are close. The duo spent the last two seasons breaking records together at LSU.

Daniels was drafted No. 2 overall in April, while Nabers went four picks later at No. 6 to the Giants. The two joked about placing a bet on which one would win the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award. That bet was quickly called off, and the NFL spoke to the rookies about the league’s gambling policies.

Daniels and Nabers met for the first time as opponents in September, and Daniels and the Commanders won 21-18. Both players played well, but Daniels led his team to scores on every offensive possession.

On Sunday, the rematch took place, this time at MetLife Stadium. Daniels and Nabers were seen talking to one another before and during the game. Washington won the rematch, sweeping the Giants for the first time since 2021.

Afterward, Nabers was asked what he thought of how Daniels played.

“I know how he played,” Nabers said. “Nothing different. Leading his team to win — he’s going to do that every time he steps on the field.”

Nabers looks like a frustrated player who misses catching passes from Daniels.

Gimme Him: One player the Commanders would steal from the Giants

The Commanders face the Giants at MetLife Stadium on Sunday and there is one player they would love to steal from their opponents in Week 9.

As we head into Week 9, the Washington Commanders are set to face a division rival in the New York Giants. Over the last five years, these two teams have met 10 times with the Giants winning six, the Commanders won three games, and the two sides tied once.

This year, though, there is a very different level of talent in Washington than there is in New York, and the Commanders have been far more successful behind Jayden Daniels than the Giants have behind Daniel Jones. That said, there were two players in mind to steal from the Giants this week: Dexter Lawrence and Malik Nabers.

Despite Lawrence’s complete domination, we landed on stealing Nabers. Not only does this reunite Nabers with Daniels as the two played together at LSU, but it gives Daniels a far more talented receiver than what he currently has at his disposal.

Nabers has 46 receptions on 73 targets for 498 yards. Because he missed two games with a concussion, he isn’t ranked at the top of the league, but if you take his average and extrapolate it to include the two games he missed, he would have 664 receiving yards and be second in the NFL behind Ja’Marr Chase.

In his final season at LSU with Daniels as his quarterback, Malik Nabers recorded 89 receptions for 1,569 yards and 14 touchdowns. Who wouldn’t want that kind of production on their team? Plus, with Terry McLaurin on the field, the Commanders’ passing game is vastly improved.

While it would also be nice to see Dexter Lawrence bolster the Commanders’ defense, they dynamic duo of Nabers and Daniels is just too good to pass up.

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Giants vs. Steelers: 3 reasons for optimism in Week 8

The New York Giants visit the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night in Week 8, and here are three reasons for optimism.

The New York Giants will head on the road to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers for their Week 8 matchup.

Through seven weeks, the two teams are going in opposite directions. The Steelers come in with a 5-2 record and have won their last two games averaging 34.5 points per game in that span. Meanwhile, at 2-5, the Giants have dropped two straight and have averaged five points per game in that span.

Given the current status of the two teams, it’s no surprise that the Giants opened and continue to be significant underdogs in this matchup.

Here are three reasons for optimism ahead of the matchup on Monday Night Football.

Rio Giancarlo/Getty Images

On the road again

The Giants are back on the road this week after consecutive weeks at MetLife Stadium. The splits for quarterback Daniel Jones are mightily tilted when it comes to being away versus being home. For whatever reason, DJ is much more impressive on the road.

While he has not faired well in primetime, he seems to like to be away from MetLife Stadium so hopefully, the Giants can keep it close in a hostile environment.

Barry Reeger-USA TODAY Sports

These aren’t the same Steelers

As the saying goes, you are what your record says you are. Things were going well for the Steelers, sitting at 4-2 and hoping to extend to 5-2 on the season.

Through six weeks, the Steelers had played well with Justin Fields under center. However, for whatever reason, last week, the Steelers turned to Russell Wilson, who got his first win of the season.

There is certainly a quarterback controversy among the fans in Pittsburgh.

Russell Wilson has not been good over the last couple of years and tends to take a lot of sacks during his career. Hopefully, the Giants and their league-leading 31 sacks on the season can get to Wilson early and often.

Jason Miller/Getty Images

Malik Nabers

With the way Malik Nabers had played through the first four weeks of the season, he could legitimately be the Giants’ reason for optimism week in and week out. Nabers was back last week after a two-game absence with a concussion.

Nabers was not as overly impressive as he had been before the concussion and perhaps the Giants were easing him back into the role. Nabers seems primed for an impressive game to make a statement once again during his rookie campaign.

Getting their star rookie involved in the game early and often could give the Giants the best chance to win on Monday.

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Former LSU receivers continue to dominate the NFL

LSU continues to earn the title of WRU early in 2024.

For years, LSU was known as “DBU.”

The Tigers were synonymous with sending star defensive backs to the NFL. In recent years, former LSU defensive backs have continued to produce, but LSU has claimed the mantle at another position — wide receiver.

Three of the NFL’s six leading receivers are LSU products. [autotag]Ja’Marr Chase[/autotag] leads the NFL with 620 yards. [autotag]Justin Jefferson[/autotag] and [autotag]Brian Thomas Jr.[/autotag] rank fifth and sixth with 531 and 513 yards, respectively.

Further down the leaderboard, [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag] ranks 14th with 427 yards. He sits eight in catches, despite only playing five games and getting rough quarterback play.

LSU put receivers in the NFL throughout the 2000s and 2010s. [autotag]Dwayne Bowe[/autotag] and [autotag]Brandon LaFell[/autotag] eventually gave way to [autotag]Odell Beckham Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Jarvis Landry[/autotag]. But the group in the league now is deeper and more talented.

Its a young group too, and its set up to lead the NFL for some time. Thomas and Nabers are rookies while Chase and Jefferson are just getting around to their second contracts.

Ohio State has a claim to “WRU” too with Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave and Marvin Harrison Jr. in the league. But that core doesn’t stack up with LSU’s at the moment.

LSU has another promising group of receivers on campus now. [autotag]Kyren Lacy[/autotag] and [autotag]Aaron Anderson[/autotag] both rank in the top 10 in the SEC in receiving yards and will aim to be LSU’s next difference makers at the next level.

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Giants’ Malik Nabers is frustrated: Watch the tape, I was open

New York Giants WR Malik Nabers was frustrated after a Week 7 loss, saying he was open consistently, but admitted poor pass protection hurt.

On Sunday, the New York Giants were looking forward to the return of star rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers, who had missed the previous two games recovering from a concussion.

The Giants responded by gaining just 119 net yards of offense — 41 by Nabers on four catches — in their 28-3 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at home.

Nabers was targeted eight times in the game but the Giants’ pop-gun offensive game plan combined with Daniel Jones running for his life on most plays, led to a sorry output against a lukewarm Eagles defense.

“I mean, I was open,” Nabers said after the game, via the New York Post.

All of Nabers’ receptions came in the first half. He was targeted just twice in the second half — not exactly a strategy one would imagine for a team playing catch-up.

“It was very difficult out there. We gotta do a better job of just making plays and protecting the quarterback and trying to do our best to score points,” Nabers added. “Our defense was doing a hell of a job, playing a good game. But it’s hard when you’re going 3-and-out, and when they get back on the field, they’re tired.

“We gotta give our defense some time to get some breathers, so when they get back out there, they’re still playing at a high level.”

The Giants were playing their first game without All-Pro left tackle Andrew Thomas, who was lost for the season after undergoing surgery on his foot last week.

As a result, Jones was under siege all game, and the Eagles’ pass rush had free reign it seemed, sacking Jones seven times and his understudy Drew Lock once.

Nabers was on the field for 93 percent of the Giants’ 58 offensive snaps. He was there, where was the ball?

The Giants converted just 10 first downs, punted on 11 of their 13 possessions and their longest gain of the day went for just 14 yards.

You’re not beating anyone playing like that.

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