Bears open as 6.5-point favorites vs. Giants in Week 12

The Bears are coming off a deflating 17-7 loss to the Rams, but Vegas has confidence that Chicago can beat the Giants in Week 12.

The Chicago Bears (4-6) return home where they’ll face the New York Giants (2-8), where the Bears will be looking to rebound after a deflating loss against the Los Angeles Rams (6-4).

This will be the second season in a row that the Bears will play the Giants, as the two teams squared off last year at MetLife Stadium. The Giants beat the Bears 30-27 in overtime, as Chicago was without starting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.

Which might end up playing out once again, as Trubisky suffered a hip injury against the Rams on Sunday night. While the severity of the injury isn’t known, it wouldn’t be a surprise if we get another Chase Daniel vs. Giants game, which hopefully wouldn’t play out as it did last season.

While the Bears are coming off a 17-7 loss to the Rams, Vegas is confident in Chicago’s chances against the Giants.

The Bears have opened as 6.5-point favorites against the Giants, according to BetMGM.

Chicago has been favorites in every game they’ve played this season except two — the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 9 and the Los Angeles Rams in Week 11 — which is surprising considering their struggles this year.

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Giants practice report: Evan Engram remains sidelined

The New York Giants returned to practice on Monday and just about everyone was a go other than TE Evan Engram (foot).

The New York Giants returned to practice on Monday ahead of the team’s Week 12 game against the Chicago Bears, and while there won’t be an official injury report until Wednesday, we were able to test the pulse on several injured players.

On the positive side of things, cornerback Janoris Jenkins (concussion), wide receiver Sterling Shepard (concussion), right tackle Mike Remmers (back) and center Jon Halapio (hamstring) were all on the field and participating.

Additionally, tight end Rhett Ellison (concussion) was working on the sideline with a trainer while rookie offensive lineman George Asafo-Adjei, who is on injured reserve with a concussion, was spotted riding a stationary bike for the first time in months.

Unfortunately, not all was positive on the injury front as tight end Evan Engram (foot) remained sidelined and unable to practice despite coming off of the team’s bye week.

Finally, offensive lineman Nate Solder was not at practice. The team said he was excused for a personal matter and is expected to return this week.

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Why Sam Darnold’s recent hot stretch must be taken with a grain of salt

Jets Wire breaks down Sam Darnold’s recent hot streak and if it is a product of the lesser competition the Jets are playing against.

After weeks of seeing ghosts and spending the majority of his time either on his back or running for his life, it looks like Sam Darnold is finally back on track.

Darnold has reverted back to his end of 2018 form for New York the last two weeks, throwing for a combined 523 yards, seven touchdowns and only one interception. The USC product tossed a career-high four touchdowns against the Redskins and was on point all game in a dominant 34-17 win over Washington.

Forget about the stats for a second. Darnold has looked worlds better the past two weeks, displaying the pocket presence and poise that gave Jets fans hope that he would be the team’s franchise quarterback moving forward.

With those traits reemerging, it’s certainly possible that Darnold is back and fully recovered from a three-game stretch in which he struggled mightily. However, it’s worth taking into account the level of competition Darnold has gone up against the past couple of weeks.

The Giants and the Redskins aren’t exactly elite defensive teams. New York’s defense is among the worst in the league, ranking 25th against the pass. Washington’s unit has battled inconsistency, a lack of pass rush and questionable playcalling all year long.

The Giants failed to generate much of a pass rush against a sputtering Jets offensive line, which allowed Darnold to sit in the pocket and pick apart the secondary. He did the same against Washington, as the Redskins registered only two sacks in Week 11.

Factor in both teams’ personnel in the secondary and it’s no wonder Darnold has posted the numbers he has with all day to throw the ball. Weaker secondaries have afforded New York’s receivers more freedom to get open — an issue that has plagued the unit throughout 2019. Ryan Griffin isn’t burning a secondary for five catches, 109 yards and a touchdown on a weekly basis. That’s a product of going up against a struggling Redskins secondary. The same goes for Jamison Crowder’s standout performance against the Giants in Week 10, even though he has been nothing but solid for the Jets this season.

This isn’t to discredit what Darnold has accomplished the past couple of weeks. He has made numerous impressive throws and his decision making has drastically improved compared to the head-scratching mistakes he made with regularity earlier in the season. These are all major and much-needed strides in his development, which had seemingly taken a turn for the worst.

With that being said, it wouldn’t be a full evaluation if the competition wasn’t taken into account. If Darnold was dominating the elite defenses in the league, there would be no hesitation to acknowledge that he is trending in the right direction. He’ll have his chance to accomplish that at some point, but right now, he’s tasked with playing through the “soft” part of New York’s schedule.

Is Darnold’s recent hot streak a sign of things to come? That remains to be seen. Either way, don’t get too carried away with what the USC product has accomplished the past two weeks just yet. Let’s see what happens when Gang Green’s strength of schedule picks up before jumping to any conclusions.

Report: Giants chose Pat Shurmur over Jim Schwartz due to control demands

The New York Giants reportedly chose Pat Shurmur over Jim Schwartz due to Schwartz’s demand for personnel control.

If you want to be the head coach of the New York Giants, that will be the extent of your job. Some great football minds have walked out the door and shied away from East Rutherford because they wanted full control.

That is ultimately what led the Giants to choose Pat Shurmur over Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz for their head coaching position after the 2017 season.

Schwartz was the defensive mastermind behind the Eagles’ Super Bowl run that led to Philly’s first NFL championship since 1960. He was in the mix for the Giants’ head coaching job, but there was that one catch that kept him from getting it.

He wanted more of a say in the choosing of personnel, and when it comes to the Giants, coaches don’t have much equity in the process. They never have.

That’s what ultimately led to Bill Parcells’ departure in 1991 when he clashed with then-general manager George Young. Parcells had other reasons for leaving, but ultimately it was over control, an issue he had in several of his next few destinations as well.

“If they want to cook the dinner, they should at least let you shop for the groceries,” Parcells would go on to say after he left New England as head coach in 1997.

From NJ Advance Media:

Under (Schwartz’s) operation, the Eagles’ defense has ranked 4th, 5th, 15th and, in 2019 thus far, 9th in defensive DVOA, according to Football Outsiders.

Ultimately, though, there was at least one sticking point for any potential Giants-Schwartz marriage — control.

Per the Philadelphia Inquirer, Schwartz told the Giants that he required “personnel authority” if he was going to be their coach.

That is not going to happen, especially as long as Dave Gettleman is in the house. The Giants have maintained the traditional GM/coach organizational structure they’ve been using since Young was hired to straighten out the franchise in 1979.

Shurmur was chosen as the coach because he does not have as much of a desire to dabble in the scouting and personnel end of the business, although he claims he is a part of many of the decisions.

Shurmur has been doing a lot of the legwork for Gettleman, who has had health issues. Shurmur has been very visible at rookie pro days and other workouts and has been joined by a consortium of Giants’ scouts as well as Chris Mara, senior vice president of player personnel.

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Giants open as 6.5-point road underdogs vs. Bears

The New York Giants have opened as 6.5-point road underdogs against the Chicago Bears in Week 12.

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The New York Giants (2-8) and Chicago Bears (4-6) will be attempting to make runs to salvage their seasons beginning this Sunday at Soldier Field in Chicago.

The Giants are coming off their bye week, while the Bears are reeling from a frustrating 17-7 road loss on Sunday Night Football at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams.

Our friends over at BetMGM have made the Bears an early 6.5-point favorite over the Giants, who have lost six straight. The over/under opened at 41.5.

Both clubs are only 3-7 against the spread this season, so this one should be interesting. The Bears’ loss to the Rams was also marred by another uneven performance from quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who left the game after suffering a hip injury in the fourth quarter.

Trubisky and the Bears’ front office are under fire for not only their losing record, but the fact that the Bears may have made a huge miscalculation by drafting him.

In the 2017 NFL Draft, the Bears moved up one spot with San Francisco — from No. 3 to No. 2 overall — surrendering their first-, third- and fourth-round selections (3rd, 67th, and 111th) in that draft as well as a third-round selection in 2018 to land Trubisky, who is being labeled by many as a bust.

[Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.]

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Ex-NFL exec Jeff Diamond offers pessimistic take on Giants’ future

Retired NFL executive Jeff Diamond believes Dave Gettleman can turn things around for the New York Giants, but it may take some time.

The New York Giants entered 2019 pushing the narrative that they would be able to compete while rebuilding, which essentially blew up in their faces after just two weeks.

It was immediately clear that New York had a plethora of problems, including a lack of depth at several key positions leading to the over-use of rookies and all of the problems that come along with that.

Coming up on Week 12, the Giants are 2-8 and in the running for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, which speaks volumes about just how far off they are from being legitimate Super Bowl contenders. But perhaps they can make a playoff push in 2020?

Not so fast, says former NFL Executive of the Year, Jeff Diamond.

“I think it’s too soon to make that statement. I think that they’ve added some pieces, but there’s a lot of work to do. It will help them to have that cap cleaned out a little bit,” Diamond told Big Blue View. “They’ll have an opportunity to kind of re-fortify. Not that free agency is a cure all; it’s not. I still believe that you build through the draft primarily and you augment through free agency.

“They’ll have opportunities to add some quality free agents and hopefully they’ll turn out better than they did the last time. . . We’ll see. It’s going to be incumbent on Dave Gettleman if he survives this he’s going to have to make better free agent calls.”

Diamond does believe Gettleman benefits the Giants with his knowledge of personnel and history of winning, but eventually some of that has to show up in New York or his resume will no longer keep him afloat.

“I do believe Dave Gettleman knows personnel, he knows the business, he’s built winners before,” Diamond added. “We’ll see how it shakes out.

“I think the next draft and the next free agent class [are] really important for this Giants team to take a step forward.”

Make no mistake about it, Diamond believes the Giants can turn things around, but he doesn’t see it happened in a one-year span. Rather, he’s looking at least a couple seasons down the line and assuming that if all goes according to plan, the Giants will reemerge as competitors.

Unfortunately for Giants fans, that may mean another down year or two.

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Giants remain one step ahead of Redskins in NFC East

The New York Giants remain one step ahead of the Washington Redskins for a basement spot in the NFC East.

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The New York Giants managed to avoid losing on Sunday for the first time since defeating the Washington Redskins on September 29. Of course, the Giants were enjoying a bye week, so that’s not exactly saying much.

Big Blue is back at it on Monday, returning to East Rutherford ahead of a Week 12 game against the Chicago Bears before back-to-back games against the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles.

With the other three NFC East teams playing on Sunday afternoon, here’s a look at how the division sits after 11 weeks:


Dallas Cowboys (6-4)

It took everything Dallas had, including a huge game from quarterback Dak Prescott, but they were just able to edge out the Lions in Detroit, giving them six wins on the season and complete control of the NFC East. However, those good feelings could fade in short order as the Cowboys now have back-to-back games against the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills on tap.


Philadelphia Eagles (5-5)

The Eagles gave it a valiant effort and clearly caught Tom Brady & Co. off guard on Sunday, but New England ultimately prevailed, sending Philadelphia back to .500 on the year. Things get no easier for Philly in Week 12 with the Seattle Seahawks up next. However, it’s much more smooth sailing after that with the Dolphins, Giants (twice) and Redskins making up four of the Eagles’ final five games.


New York Giants (2-8)

The Giants have essentially been left to contend with the Redskins as the worst team in the NFC East and entering Week 12, they have a one-game lead. Of course, the thought of Big Blue’s offensive line going up against Khalil Mack and the Bears defense is a scary one. On the plus side, it looks like the secondary will get a slight break against Chase Daniel, which likely means just a modest 250-yard, 2-touchdown performance for Chicago’s signal caller.


Washington Redskins (1-9)

As bad as things are in New York, they might actually be worse in Washington. With a 34-17 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday, the Skins fell to 1-9 on the season with that one win coming against the Miami Dolphins, who went for a two-point conversion with no time remaining on the clock instead of kicking a PAT and sending the game into overtime. Washington’s latest loss was highlighted by rookie QB Dwayne Haskins pleading with his offensive line to protect him.

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The 32 nominees for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award

The players nominated for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award have been announced.

The 32 player nominees for the sixth annual Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award were announced last week. Each NFL team nominated one of its players for the award, which recognizes players around the league who exemplify outstanding sportsmanship on the field.

The award is presented each year to an NFL player who best demonstrates the qualities of on-field sportsmanship, including fair play, respect for the game and opponents, and integrity in competition.

The nomineese:

2019 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award Nominees

» Arizona Cardinals C A.Q. Shipley
» Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones
» Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson
» Buffalo Bills LB Lorenzo Alexander
» Carolina Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey
» Chicago Bears DB Kyle Fuller
» Cincinnati Bengals DE Sam Hubbard
» Cleveland Browns RB Nick Chubb
» Dallas Cowboys CB Byron Jones
» Denver Broncos LB Von Miller
» Detroit Lions QB Matthew Stafford
» Green Bay Packers CB Tramon Williams
» Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson
» Indianapolis Colts WR T.Y. Hilton
» Jacksonville Jaguars DL Calais Campbell
» Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes
» Los Angeles Chargers LB Thomas Davis Sr.
» Los Angeles Rams S Eric Weddle
» Miami Dolphins C Daniel Kilgore
» Minnesota Vikings DE Danielle Hunter
» New England Patriots WR Matthew Slater
» New Orleans Saints T Terron Armstead
» New York Giants DL Dalvin Tomlinson
» New York Jets DL Steve McLendon
» Oakland Raiders QB Derek Carr
» Philadelphia Eagles QB Carson Wentz
» Pittsburgh Steelers RB James Conner
» San Francisco 49ers T Joe Staley
» Seattle Seahawks LB K.J. Wright
» Tampa Bay Buccaneers LB Lavonte David
» Tennessee Titans C Ben Jones
» Washington Redskins RB Adrian Peterson

A panel of former players — Warrick Dunn, Pro Football Hall of Famer Curtis Martin, Karl Mecklenburg and Leonard Wheeler — will select eight finalists (four in the AFC and four in the NFC) from the 32 nominees.  The winner of the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award will then be determined by a vote of current NFL players.

Past recipients:

» 2018: Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints
» 2017: Luke Kuechly, LB, Carolina Panthers
» 2016: Frank Gore, RB, Indianapolis Colts
» 2015: Charles Woodson, CB, Oakland Raiders
» 2014: Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals

Do Giants have one of NFL’s top young cores?

Things look bad for the New York Giants right now, but do they actually have one of the NFL’s best young cores?

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The New York Giants are mired in another losing season and fans are beginning to groan that things are never going to change, but when stepping back and looking at their roster objectively, is there enough young talent to warrant some long-term optimism?

Chris Roling of Bleacher Report certainly thinks so. In fact, he believe the Giants have one of the top young cores in the NFL, just edging out the New York Jets.

9. New York Giants

Key Young Core Players: Saquon Barkley, Daniel Jones, Dexter Lawrence

It is hard not to like a core that has a player with the rushing prowess of Saquon Barkley.

The 2018 Offensive Rookie of the Year bullied his way to 1,300-plus yards on the ground and 11 touchdowns last year for a bad New York Giants team. While the 22-year-old running back had one particularly awful showing in Week 10 this season (13 carries for one yard), he would still be on pace for nearly a 1,000-yard campaign if he weren’t missing time with a shoulder injury.

Barkley is a nice support for rookie Daniel Jones, who was hindered by a coaching staff unwilling to move on from Eli Manning. The 22-year-old quarterback has shown big upside while completing 63 percent of his passes with 15 touchdowns and eight interceptions despite taking 32 sacks.

Dexter Lawrence, a first-round pick this year, has quietly been a force. The 22-year-old defensive tackle is the highest-graded player on the Giants because of his run defense (sixth at his position), according to Pro Football Focus.

And there are also guys like tight end Evan Engram (25) and guard Will Hernandez (24), not to mention a young wideout not part of the 25-and-under core in Sterling Shepard.

Roling makes his case without even mentioning breakout wide receiver Darius Slayton, talented linebacker Ryan Connelly and a few other 25-and-under stars like Jabrill Peppers, Dalvin Tomlinson, B.J. Hill and Leonard Williams.

The reality is, the Giants are stocked with young front-end talent, but are struggling due to their inexperience and lack of depth behind them. Time will provide a wealth of knowledge for most, but the Giants still have a lot of roster building to do — this young talent needs some veteran experience and leadership around them. Certainly more than the team has right now.

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Giants’ brass content on leaving fans confused and in the dark

The New York Giants are mired in another embarrassing season and seem to have no qualms about leaving fans in the dark.

Usually during the bye week, we hear from either the owner or the general manager of the New York Giants. This week, we have heard nothing from CEO John Mara or his football czar, Dave Gettleman.

Some say it’s no big deal but others — present company included — believe there is a depression of sorts seeping into the team’s mentality. They are in the middle of their sixth losing season in seven years and there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

They are a poorly coached team devoid of talent at key positions and have been playing this season with more rookies and inexperienced players than the handbook on “how to run a franchise” recommends.

The least the fans deserve is to have management come out and speak to them. They are already being asked to sit through this miserable season, so it would go a long way for Mara or Gettleman to come out of hiding and reassure the faithful that they are going down the right path.

Gettleman has never held a presser at the bye. Not here or in Carolina. It’s not the way he does things. But the Giants always did. Gettleman’s predecessors, Jerry Reese, Ernie Accorsi and George Young always took time out to give a ‘state of the team” update.

From George Willis of the New York Post:

We should have heard from Dave Gettleman this week. We should have heard from the leader of this storied NFL franchise about what he thinks about a 2-8 record and a six-game losing streak. We should hear from Gettleman what has gone wrong and what, if anything, he thinks is going right.

Instead we have heard nothing. Nothing from Gettleman. Nothing from co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch. Nothing from any decision makers other than Shurmur, the embattled head coach, who is left on his own to fend off the critics.

At 2-8 and the direction of the franchise in question, Gettleman needs to break tradition and answer some questions. The team he is “rebuilding” is an abject failure and his hand-picked head coach is floundering.

Gettleman has been right about a few things. He can hang his hat on his draft classes and signings such as wide receiver Golden Tate. He can crow about cutting ties with Odell Beckham Jr. and Landon Collins, two stars who have basically vanished from the NFL landscape.

We would like to know management’s thoughts on the coaching staff, Daniel Jones’ progress, Saquon Barkley’s injury, the mindset behind the Leonard Williams’ trade, DeAndre Baker’s struggles and much more.

But we’re not getting that. Instead, we get a angry John Mara blowing by reporters in the hallway too miffed to stop to make a statement. We get Gettleman avoiding the media because Mike Francesa called the Giants a “clown show” back in the spring. Shurmur is left to diplomatically dance around the key questions with either guarded speech or complete refusal to divulge any information.

This is not the Giant way. But then again, neither are back-to-back-to-back double-digit loss seasons. No one likes to admit their plan is failing, that they made mistakes and might have to start over.

That is the mindset in the media and throughout the fan base. The fear is that Gettleman messed this thing up and his three-year plan could now be a six-year one.

This is New York, though. Nothing happens in a vacuum here. If they want to keep the fans in the dark, they’re going to find themselves in the same situation as the Los Angeles Chargers — playing their home games in front of a crowd dominated by the visiting team’s fans.

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