Tag: Matt Skura

Daniel Jones, Andrew Thomas were highest-graded Giants in Week 4

QB Daniel Jones and LT Andrew Thomas were the highest graded New York Giants in a Week 4 victory over the New Orleans Saints.

The New York Giants picked up their first victory of the 2021 season on Sunday, coming back from a fourth quarter deficit before winning in overtime.

The comeback was led by quarterback Daniel Jones, who, unsurprisingly, was the highest-graded Giant on the day, earning an 84.6 from Pro Football Focus.

Right behind Jones was the team’s second-highest graded player, left tackle Andrew Thomas, who earned a 79.9. He was followed by wide receiver Kenny Golladay (77.7).

Other notable offensive grades include wide receiver John Ross (76.4), running back Saquon Barkley (65.8), left guard Matt Skura (61.0) and right tackle Nate Solder (55.0).

The lowest-graded Giants on offense were tight ends Evan Engram (43.8) and Kaden Smith (35.9).

On the defensive side of the ball, lineman Leonard Williams led the way with a 74.2.

Just behind Williams were defensive linemen Dexter Lawrence (71.3) and Austin Johnson (61.6), and cornerback James Bradberry (61.2). That’s with a 40-snap minimum.

Other notable defensive grades include rookie edge rusher Azeez Ojulari (55.2), cornerback Adoree’ Jackson (53.8) and safety Logan Ryan (44.5).

The lowest-graded Giants on defense were safety Julian Love (34.0) and linebacker Tae Crowder (31.0).

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Giants vs. Saints: 4 biggest storylines for Week 4

The New York Giants face the New Orleans Saints in Week 4. Here are the four biggest storylines to follow for this contest.

The New York Giants (0-3) head down to New Orleans to face the Saints (2-1) in a matchup of NFC hopefuls this Sunday afternoon.

Here are four storylines to follow in Week 4.

Giants rule Sterling Shepard, two others out vs. Saints

The New York Giants have ruled WR Sterling Shepard, WR Darius Slayton and one other out against the New Orleans Saints in Week 4.

The New York Giants will take on the New Orleans Saints and an extremely hostile Caesars Superdome crowd this coming Sunday while shorthanded.

Wide receivers Sterling Shepard (hamstring) and Darius Slayton (hamstring) were unable to practice all week and have been officially ruled out. Ditto guard Ben Bredeson (hand).

Bredeson was expected to miss the game and it’s likely that former Baltimore Ravens center Matt Skura will replace him. Meanwhile, Kenny Golladay, who is dealing with a hip issue, and rookie receiver Kadarius Toney could see increased roles in Shepard and Slayton’s absence.

Finally, running back Saquon Barkley (knee) escaped designation for the first time this year.

The full and official injury report can be found below:

Out: OL Ben Bredeson (hand), WR Sterling Shepard (hamstring), WR Darius Slayton (hamstring)

Questionable: DB Keion Crossen (elbow), DB Nate Ebner (quad), TE Kaden Smith (knee), LB Tae Crowder (hamstring)

No designation: RB Saquon Barkley (knee), FB Cullen Gillaspia (ankle), WR Kenny Golladay (hip), LS Casey Kreiter (knee), DB Logan Ryan (hamstring)

For the New Orleans Saints, we are still waiting.

Out: N/A

Questionable: N/A

No designation: N/A

Giants place Shane Lemieux on IR, sign Matt Skura to active roster

The New York Giants have placed OL Shane Lemieux on injured reserve and signed OL Matt Skura to their active roster.

The New York Giants made a series of transactions on Thursday prior to their Week 2 matchup with the Washington Football Team.

The Giants officially announced that offensive lineman Shane Lemieux (knee) has been placed on injured reserve. He will miss a minimum of three weeks but potentially more.

Lemieux suffered what some have reported to be a partially torn patellar tendon. He missed all three of the Giants’ preseason games and took just a 17 snaps in Week 1 before being replaced by Ben Bredeson.

Replacing Lemieux on the 53-man roster is offensive lineman Matt Skura, who was signed from the practice squad. Skura signed with the Giants earlier this month after being released by Miami. He has appeared in 54 career games — 42 of those at center.

With Lemieux now on IR, Nick Gates will slide from center to left guard. Billy Price will start at center.

Bredeson will serve as a backup.

In addition to those moves, the Giants have also elevated wide receiver/kickoff returner C.J. Board and tight end Chris Myarick to their gameday roster. This is the second week in a row Board has been elevated.

Following the conclusion of Thursday’s game, Board and Myarick will be returned to the practice squad.

Giants protect WR C.J. Board, three others

The New York Giants have protected WR C.J. Board and three other members of their practice squad.

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The New York Giants announced their practice squad protections ahead of a Week 2 game with the Washington Football Team and once again, wide receiver C.J. Board is among them.

Board was not only protected in Week 1, but elevated to the active roster. He took 16 combined snaps in a 27-13 loss to the Denver Broncos — 10 on special teams and six on offense.

Despite the limited snaps, Board did manage to contribute. He caught one pass on one target for six yards, and returned two kickoffs for 66 yards.

In addition to Board, the Giants also protected offensive lineman Matt Skura, defensive tackle David Moa and tight end Chris Myarick.

Both Myarick and Moa were also protected last week. Skura, who is likely to be activated on Thursday, replaces tight end Ryan Izzo.

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12 recently cut players the Patriots should consider adding

Here are 12 free agents from roster cutdown day that could improve the Patriots’ roster.

One of the most difficult days in the NFL comes right before the season begins.

Roster cutdown day hits and more than 500 players around the league are let go from the team they trained with during the offseason. But, there’s still hope for many of these players to either re-sign with the original team or found a home elsewhere.

The New England Patriots had to make some difficult decisions and let go of many talented players — including Cam Newton. New England’s 53-man roster is solidified at the moment, but there’s still some work to do.

Here are 12 players from roster cutdown day that could be find their way to the Patriots.

Ravens reportedly trade OL Greg Mancz to Dolphins in deal that involves pick swap

The Ravens reportedly traded OL Greg Mancz to the Dolphins in a deal that involves a late-round pick swap

The Baltimore Ravens will be saying farewell to quite a few players in a short amount of time as cut down day quickly approaches. However, the team has made a few trades over the last couple of days that have netted them draft compensation for people who would not have made their final roster.

On Saturday, Baltimore reportedly traded offensive lineman Greg Mancz to the Miami Dolphins in a deal that includes a late-round pick swap. The move comes on the heels of another trade made by the team a few days ago, as they traded rookie cornerback Shaun Wade to the New England Patriots in exchange for two draft selections.

In the past three days, the Ravens have acquired a 2022 sixth-round pick and a 2023 fifth-round selection for two players who likely would have been cut during final roster trim downs. It’s great value for general manager Eric DeCosta, as acquiring anything of value for a player who isn’t going to make the team is a win.

Mancz spent the first six years of his NFL career with the Houston Texans before signing a reserve/futures deal with Baltimore in January. He was competing for one of the final offensive line spots on the Ravens’ roster, but the versatile lineman couldn’t carve out a role to himself. Instead he’ll head to Miami, where he’ll seemingly play alongside another former Baltimore player in offensive lineman Matt Skura.

8 players to watch during Ravens’ Week 1 preseason game vs. Saints

8 players to watch during Ravens’ Week 1 preseason game vs. Saints

The Baltimore Ravens will soon have a great chance to see how some of their practice standouts will perform in live game action. The team will face the New Orleans Saints on Saturday in their first preseason game of the 2021 season, which is another step to figuring out who will make Baltimore’s 53-man roster.

There will be plenty of players to keep an eye on over the course of the preseason, especially those who are on the roster bubble. Through a few weeks of training camp practices there have been those who have helped their stock and those who have hurt it.

Let’s dive into eight players to keep an eye on during the Ravens’ Saturday preseason game against New Orleans.

How Dolphins OL Matt Skura tackled his 2020 snapping issues

How Dolphins OL Matt Skura tackled his 2020 snapping issues

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The Miami Dolphins’ offensive line overhaul could best be classified as a “work in progress”. Miami brings back a number of young rookies from their 2020 class and, when mixing and matching between the 2019 and 2021 draft classes, could potentially see all five starters arrive via the top-125 picks of three combined draft classes.

One of the contenders looking to stave off that reality is center Matt Skura, who the Dolphins signed to a one-year contract this offseason to compete for the starting center role. To this point in training camp, Skura appears to be patiently waiting for his first look to wrangle away that role from third-year lineman Michael Deiter — who appears to be in the driver’s seat for the job as things currently stand.

But training camp is a marathon, not a sprint. And Skura has plenty of starting experience; although some of his time in Baltimore was tarnished by some snapping issues in 2020. Part of his push for a starting role at center will be determined by how much he can prove the issues with the snap in 2020 were an anomaly and not a trend.

According to Skura, amending the issue has been a daily labor since January.

“I would say probably a week after our last game at Baltimore against the Bills, I was back home snapping. I wiped the slate clean. Go back to the most basic fundamentals of my stance, technique. It’s kind of like a golf swing, just going back to the very basics,” said Skura on Tuesday.

“Pretty much since January, almost every day, I’m trying to get snaps just because yeah, it was an issue last year. I felt like going into this camp, I’ve definitely been able to turn that corner and now I can just focus on playing football and having fun. It’s definitely been something I’ve been working on and something that I just want to continue to be consistent with.”

The good news?

There were no issues with the snap once the pads came on for the first time on Tuesday. But now we’ll need to see if Miami is willing to let Skura push for the job and, if they do, how he handles himself there.

Three worst case scenarios for the Miami Dolphins’ offensive line

Three worst case scenarios for the Miami Dolphins’ offensive line

The Miami Dolphins’ offensive line group is going to go a long way in helping to define the team’s 2021 successes. There are no shortage of new names in play for Miami along the offensive line this season — the team added OT Liam Eichenberg in the 2nd-round of the 2021 NFL draft and has signed free agents like Matt Skura, D.J. Fluker, Jermaine Eluemunor and Cameron Tom to compete with the foundational pieces secured in the 2020 offseason. Miami closed the season with three rookies starting on the offensive line last season and hopes that the playing experience afforded to that trio will lead to a big jump in the quality play of the line.

But this is not a foolproof plan and the Dolphins will need to have their guard up and be ready for a number of challenges which could derail progress up front and interrupt the development of second-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Here are three prominent worst case scenarios for the Dolphins’ line this season:

Offensive tackle Austin Jackson fails to take a step forward

Every second-year player in the NFL is hoping for a big leap in their play but no such thing is fully guaranteed. One thing that will come either way is clarity — and for Dolphins tackle Austin Jackson, his development as a player is going to be very telling for the future of the left tackle position.

If Jackson doesn’t advance his play in 2021, it doesn’t mean he never will. But it certainly puts the Dolphins into a very challenging position: do you continue to stay committed to a top-20 selection for a third year when you’re presumably entering into a competitive window? That’s not an easy question to answer, given the weight of Miami’s investment into Jackson.

This outcome would be problematic for both 2021 and for the long-term for the Dolphins — so let’s hope this one doesn’t materialize.

Matt Skura fails to claim up his snap issues

Skura was benched at one point last season in Baltimore for errant snaps; an issue that cannot continue in 2021. At the time of Skura’s benching, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said the issue was ‘very costly’ in a loss to New England.

“Are the snaps concerning us? Absolutely; that was very costly in the game,” said Harbaugh.

“It’s a tough deal. That’s a hard situation, but Matt [Skura] knows he has to get those snaps back there. Nobody feels worse about it than he does.”

One thing the Dolphins won’t tolerate is issues with the snaps and avoidable mistakes. So if Skura is able to wrestle the starting center position from competition from Cameron Tom and Michael Deiter, expect a short hook in terms of snaps. And that would be an issue for a unit that needs all the consistency and continuity it can get.

Liam Eichenberg isn’t ready to play

Miami has been unafraid of pursuing players in need of some seasoning with early picks. The 2020 selection of Noah Igbinoghene was one that didn’t bear fruit last season. But the choice of Liam Eichenberg on the Dolphins’ offensive line is going to need to hit for the Dolphins in Year 1 if Miami’s line is going to have untapped potential to strive for. Without Eichenberg being ready to play, Robert Hunt presumably stays at right tackle (where he would be fine). But then who plays right guard? Jesse Davis? D.J. Fluker? Jermaine Eluemunor? The ceiling for any other option that isn’t Eichenberg is going to be hard to get excited about for Miami — especially after Miami traded up in the draft to land Eichenberg this past spring.