Tag: Matt Peart

Baldy Breakdown: Giants’ Matt Peart has serious upside

In the latest Brian Baldinger breakdown, we examine New York Giants rookie OT Matt Peart and his long-term potential.

The New York Giants benched first-round left tackle Andrew Thomas in Week 6 against the Washington Football Team, citing disciplinary reasons.

Thomas allegedly showed up late to a Saturday night meeting, which he acknowledged in a statement through the team.

“I was late for our meeting last night,” Thomas said in a statement. “Coach Judge always talks about actions have consequences, and I take responsibility for my actions and the consequences. It won’t happen again.”

Head coach Joe Judge confirmed Thomas’ statement while meeting with the media on Sunday.

“I want to make clear, this wasn’t performance based at all,” Judge told reporters. “I’m not going to go too far into detail, but what I will say is Andrew violated team policy. There was nothing disobedient, disrespectful or malicious in what he did, but he made a mistake and there’s consequences for mistakes. We’ve got to make sure that we go ahead and we handle that the right way. That being said, I thought that Andrew did a really good job of accepting it, staying ready, performing when he got in the game.”

Thomas’ benching paved the way for third-round offensive tackle Matt Peart to start, and he later received additional offensive snaps.

In his brief film review of the game, NFL Network’s Brian Baldinger focused solely on Peart, who he feels has tremendous “upside.”

As Baldinger alludes, most of Peart’s issues are basic. He doesn’t stay square long enough and occasionally dips his head, but those are fundamental issues that can be fixed with good coaching.

As it pertains to Peart’s talent, there’s no denying it. He’s built like a quality offensive lineman, has long arms and is as strong as an ox. Once he gets more experience and cleans things up, watch out.

Peart at left tackle and Thomas at right tackle? Maybe, baby…

[vertical-gallery id=657890]

Giants’ Matt Peart has ‘absolutely’ earned a rotational role

New York Giants head coach Joe Judge says rookie OT Matt Peart has “absolutely” earned the right to play and will be part of a rotation.

[jwplayer cpboXlrv-ThvAeFxT]

The New York Giants benched left tackle Andrew Thomas early in a Week 6 game against the Washington Football Team, instead giving the start to rookie third-round pick Matt Peart.

After the game, Giants head coach Joe Judge insisted it was a disciplinary decision and not one based on performance.

“I want to make clear, this wasn’t performance based at all,” Judge told reporters. “I’m not going to go too far into detail, but what I will say is Andrew violated team policy. There was nothing disobedient, disrespectful or malicious in what he did, but he made a mistake and there’s consequences for mistakes. We’ve got to make sure that we go ahead and we handle that the right way. That being said, I thought that Andrew did a really good job of accepting it, staying ready, performing when he got in the game.”

Unfortunately for Thomas, Peart also performed well, earning the team’s highest grade in Week 6.

Now the Giants have a bit of a dilemma. Do they continue to ride it out with their struggling first-round pick or do they give way to their third-round pick, who has excelled in practice and performed well on the field?

Judge isn’t exactly saying.

“I think the biggest emphasis is just it’s important for us to play as many of our guys as possible, especially these young guys who need to gain the experience. They can only really improve by being on the field and working,” Judge told reporters on Monday. “Matt’s a guy that’s shown a lot of improvement in the way he works in practice. We’ve seen it from the team periods, the individual one on one pass rush periods. He’s shown progress in the games and the action he’s seen.

“Has he earned the right to be on the field and contribute? Absolutely. That’s why he’s going to be at the games for us.”

Whether or not Thomas starts on Thursday night against the Philadelphia Eagles, it’s clear that Peart will have some sort of rotational role. And given Judge’s faith in right tackle Cam Fleming, that will likely come at the expense of Thomas, who could be at risk of losing his job if he doesn’t play better.

[lawrence-related id=657930,657898]

Matt Peart, Dalvin Tomlinson were highest-graded Giants in Week 6

Rookie OL Matt Peart and DL Dalvin Tomlinson earned the New York Giants’ highest Pro Football Focus grades of Week 6.

[sendtonews_embed video_id=”9HuzqM4rlH-1006968-7498″]

The New York Giants picked up their first win of the season on Sunday, defeating the Washington Football Team, 20-19, at MetLife Stadium.

It wasn’t necessarily a clean win for the Giants, but the result reads the same either way. What made victory No. 1 so interesting were those who contributed to it.

Rookie linebacker Tae Crowder factored in heavily, as did rookie offensive tackle Matt Peart, who stepped in for fellow rookie offensive tackle Andrew Thomas after his benching for disciplinary reasons.

In fact, Peart led all Giants (25+ snaps) with a 90.6 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, including a 93.4 run blocking grade.

Thomas, meanwhile, earned an overall grade of 72.6 and a run blocking grade of 79.5.

Neither Peart nor Thomas fared particularly well in pass protection, earning grades of 58.0 and 55.3, respectively.

Tight end Kaden Smith (23 snaps) earned the team’s highest overall grade with 90.6. Defensive lineman Austin Johnson (6 snaps) also fared well, earning a 90.0 grade.

But it was defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson who led that unit with an overall grade of 83.9. He was followed by fellow defensive linemen Leonard Williams (75.7 overall) and B.J. Hill (75.5 overall).

Ryan Lewis was given the highest grade among defensive backs, earning a 71.9. Surprisingly, James Bradberry recorded a grade of just 65.1, while Logan Ryan was tabbed with a 62.6 grade.

The lowest-graded defender on the day was linebacker David Mayo, who earned a 28.6 in his return from injured reserve.

Finally, the lowest-graded offensive player of Week 6 was left guard Will Hernandez, who checked in with a lousy 44.1.

[lawrence-related id=657879,657900,657898]

Giants’ Andrew Thomas was benched for disciplinary reasons

New York Giants LT Andrew Thomas says he was benched for disciplinary reasons in Week 6, which head coach Joe Judge confirmed.

When the New York Giants lined up across from the Washington Football Team on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium, left tackle Andrew Thomas was conspicuously absent.

Instead of Thomas guarding Daniel Jones’ blind side, third-round pick Matt Peart was called upon.

Initially, it was believed that decision was made due to Thomas’ poor play in recent weeks, but it turns out that was not the case. Rather, Thomas was benched for the first few offensive series of the game for disciplinary reasons after he arrived late to a team meeting on Saturday.

“I was late for our meeting last night,” Thomas said in a statement. “Coach Judge always talks about actions have consequences, and I take responsibility for my actions and the consequences. It won’t happen again.”

After sitting out early in the game, Thomas eventually turned to man the left tackle position, but after missing a few blocks, he headed back to the bench with Peart again stepping in.

Head coach Joe Judge insists that neither benching was the result of poor play.

“I want to make clear, this wasn’t performance based at all,” Judge told reporters. “I’m not going to go too far into detail, but what I will say is Andrew violated team policy. There was nothing disobedient, disrespectful or malicious in what he did, but he made a mistake and there’s consequences for mistakes. We’ve got to make sure that we go ahead and we handle that the right way. That being said, I thought that Andrew did a really good job of accepting it, staying ready, performing when he got in the game.

“I’m glad Matt was ready and I’m proud of how Andrew responded to it, he was very mature about it, came in early and competed well. Again, I’ll emphasize it’s important that everyone understands he didn’t do anything disrespectful, anything malicious or disobedient, but he made a mistake and mistakes have consequences.”

Thomas did not play particularly well when he was in the game on Sunday, while Peart appeared stout and ready to go. We’ll see if that has any lasting impact on the team’s depth or rotation of the offensive line.

[vertical-gallery id=657890]

Giants defeat Washington, 20-19: Instant analysis

Instant analysis of the New York Giants’ 20-19 Week 6 victory over the Washington Football Team at MetLife Stadium.

It was a battle for last place in the NFC East, which is suddenly the worst division in the NFL. This game didn’t do much to change that. Two offenses that continue to be challenged faced off in an ugly game between two lost franchises that will likely be drafting in the first hour of next year’s NFL Draft.

The 20-19 victory was the first of the Joe Judge era and it came right down to the wire. The Giants are now 1-5 on the season and are very much alive in the division right now.

The Giants’ offense is still in small ball mode. Jones passed for only 112 yards on 12-of-19 passing. He threw a beautiful 23-yard touchdown pass to Darius Slayton in the first quarter which incidentally was his longest completion of the day.

Jones failed to play a clean game again however, tossing an interception in the red zone on a pass he though he was throwing out of the end zone. The replay showed that WFT’s Kendall Fuller was not in bounds, but Jones should have not put that ball anyplace where it could be picked off.

The Giants played fairly well on defense, but considering that Washington started Kyle Allen at quarterback, it’s difficult to crow about.

Kyler Fackrell’s fourth quarter sack of Allen dislodged the ball which was scooped by rookie linebacker Tae Crowder for a 43-yard return for the winning score.

Of course, the game was far from over at that point. Washington came down the field and scored a touchdown to narrow the score to 20-19, but head coach Ron Rivera rolled the dice on two-point conversion try in an attempt to win the ballgame. It failed and the Giants stayed out of last place.

Notes

  • First round draft pick Andrew Thomas did not start at left tackle. Third rounder Matt Peart got the nod but the two rotated throughout the game. Thomas has been embarrassing bad so far in his rookie season, almost to the point where the Giants and their fans are wondering if they made the right pick here.
  • Jones led the Giants in rushing again with 74 yards on seven attempts buoyed by a 49-yard ramble.
  • Darius Slayton toughed it out with a foot injury and then had his leg bent backwards making a catch.
  • Wide receiver C.J. Board suffered a concussion and a sprained neck and was taken to the hospital for further evaluation.
  • The Giants came into the game 31st in red zone efficiency (30.8%) and went 0-3 in this game.

[lawrence-related id=657843,657771]

Giants’ Matt Peart earning reps at left tackle

New York Giants third-round pick Matt Peart earned first-team reps at LT on Thursday, while first-round pick Andrew Thomas played RT.

[jwplayer rl0KQWmM-ThvAeFxT]

When veteran Nate Solder opted out of the 2020 season due to concerns over COVID-19, the expectation was that first-round pick Andrew Thomas would start at left tackle for the New York Giants.

That’s likely to still be the case, but don’t sleep on third-round pick Matt Peart just yet.

Giants head coach Joe Judge has remained committed to cross-training all of his players at multiple positions, and that includes both Thomas and Peart, who swapped during Thursday’s practice.

Peart earned first-team reps at left tackle, while Thomas was moved over to the right side of the line.

“He’s a guy who comes to work every day with a lunch pale and he’s improved going along,” Judge told reporters after practice. “As we said early in camp, we’re going to move our line around. We’re going to work guys at different spots and make sure we build in versatility and position depth. We had to move some guys around today for that purpose. He’s a guy who’s improved every day.”

Initially thought to be a long-term project, Peart came arrived to camp in remarkable shape and has looked every bit a starting-quality offensive tackle. In fact, Peart has been so impressive he caused offensive line coach Marc Colombo to drop the first f-bomb of training camp earlier this week.

“There’s just a lot to work with as an offensive line coach. We like what we’ve seen so far,” Colombo said, adding that Peart is a tremendous athlete. “He just looks like a [expletive] football player.”

Ultimately, the Giants will put their five best offensive lineman on the field and Peart has certainly been making his case to earn one of those spots.

[lawrence-related id=654705,654700,654685]

Giants’ Marc Colombo thinks Matt Peart is the (f) bomb

New York Giants offensive line coach Marc Colombo is a big bleeping fan of rookie tackle Matt Peart.

The New York Giants coaching staff, led by first-year head coach Joe Judge, is extremely intense. And perhaps no one better exemplified that intensity than retired offensive lineman and current offensive line coach Marc Colombo.

From his violent style of play to his love of death metal, Colombo doesn’t dial things down for anyone — his players or the media who cover the team.

That was evident during Colombo’s Zoom conference call on Wednesday when he dropped the very first f-bomb of training camp when discussing rookie offensive lineman Matt Peart.

“There’s just a lot to work with as an offensive line coach. We like what we’ve seen so far,” Colombo said, adding that Peart is a tremendous athlete. “He just looks like a [expletive] football player.”

The 6-foot-7, 318-pound Peart, who was selected in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft, was expected to be a long-term project for the Giants, but he arrived to training camp in remarkable shape and has looked every bit the dominant lineman experts projected him to be down the road.

That doesn’t necessarily means Peart will start, however. Similar to what Judge has said previously, Colombo anticipates the “best five” will start — whoever they may be.

One of those starters could very well end up being veteran Cam Fleming, who has already earned the trust of Judge.

Meanwhile, as Judge previously alluded to, the battle at center is in a dead heat between Spencer Pulley and Nick Gates, who is making the transition from his previous role as everyman.

It’s been a long time since the Giants had a formidable offensive line, but like Colombo, you’ve got to be happy and excited with the way things are shaping up if you’re a Big Blue fan.

[lawrence-related id=654648,654633,654618]

Is O-Line now the Giants’ biggest liability?

The New York Giants have worked hard to repair their offensive line, but does it remain their biggest liability headed into the season?

Every NFL team has their assets as well as their liabilities and for the New York Giants, their offensive line has been a liability for quite some time.

In his latest piece on each team’s biggest liability going into this season, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox identifies the O-Line as the Giants’ most glaring question mark this summer.

We agree, even though the defense was probably the biggest concern coming out of the season last December. The Giants have just one known entity on their offensive line at the moment — right guard Kevin Zeitler — after left guard Will Hernandez endured a disappointing second season and left tackle Nate Solder opted out due to coronavirus concerns.

The Giants have, however, taken steps to address the unit through the NFL Draft and free agency, along with bringing in Dallas Cowboys line coach Marc Colombo to head the group, but it’s a huge ask for this bunch to form some cohesiveness in such a short period of time.

“The Giants will now likely rely on some combination of rookie fourth overall pick Andrew Thomas, rookie third-round pick Matt Peart and former Cowboys and Patriots backup Cameron Fleming at tackle,” writes Knox. “Could this group of tackles prove capable of protecting quarterback Daniel Jones? Sure. With no preseason, however, it could take them some time into the regular season to jell. Given Jones’ struggles with pocket awareness and fumbling—he had 18 fumbles in 13 games last season—this could be a major issue in 2020.”

That is the fear. Too many rookies and new faces on the line could prove to be too challenging at the outset but many see it as a step in the right direction.

Thomas and Peart were both coveted by many teams in the draft and Fleming, having played for Colombo last season in Dallas should help make for a smoother transition.

In addition, the Giants are looking to make a change at center where veteran Spencer Pulley will face challenges from Nick Gates and rookie Shane Lemieux.

[lawrence-related id=653943,653936,653938]

2020 Giants training camp: Position battles to watch

As the New York Giants ready themselves for padded training camp practices, here are some key positional battles to watch.

Every summer brings NFL training camps and every training camp has their share of roster battles.

With a new coaching staff and a load of new faces to pit against some unproven old faces, the New York Giants’ camp will have quite a number of battles for key positions this year.

AP Photo/Roger Steinman

Offensive tackle

Nate Solder was going to have to prove that he was still left tackle timber this summer before he opted out for the season. So, left tackle was very much in play. Now, it’s their priority.

The Giants are hopeful that first round pick Andrew Thomas slides right in and starts from Day 1. That could still happen. He’ll have plenty of company, though. Third round pick Matt Peart will now be thrust into the mix for the left tackle spot as well.

Right tackle is even more wide open. The loser of the left tackle role will have to fend off veteran free agent Cam Fleming and the Giants’ everyman, Nick Gates. These are the two biggest question marks of the summer.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8

2020 Giants training camp: Ranking rookies in terms of importance

As the New York Giants embark on their 2020 training camp journey, Giants Wire ranks all of their rookies in terms of importance.

The New York Giants are likely to have anywhere from 10 to 12 rookies on their 2020 roster. They used all of their 10 choices and went and signed a few undrafted players as well this spring.

Here’s a list of those players in the order of their importance (from most to least).

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Andrew Thomas, offensive tackle

The fourth overall selection out of Georgia this year is a complete tackle who plays the run and pass protects very well. He can play both the left and the right side. He becomes the most important rookie now that the starting left tackle, Nate Solder, has opted out for this year. The Giants ideally would love to see Andrew Thomas come in at left tackle and own the position from Day 1 and never look back.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8