Tag: Will Hernandez

Giants defeat Panthers: Winners, losers and those in between

Here are the winners, losers and those in between from the New York Giants’ Week 7 victory over the Carolina Panthers.

For just the second time this season, the New York Giants picked up a victory — this time, a 25-3 upset victory over the Carolina Panthers.

Things didn’t look good early, but the Giants weathered the storm and came out strong in the second half. In what felt like the blink of the eye, they were rolling on both sides of the ball and up big on the scoreboard.

Joe Judge & Co. didn’t take their foot off the gas and sailed to their first home win of the year.

Here’s a look at the winners and losers (and those in between) from Week 7.

Kadarius Toney, Julian Love were highest-graded Giants in Week 5

WR Kadarius Toney and DB Julian Love earned the New York Giants’ highest grades in a Week 5 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

The New York Giants were embarrassed on Sunday afternoon, falling to the Dallas Cowboys by a score of 44-20.

In the process of the defeat, the Giants also lost quarterback Daniel Jones (concussion), running back Saquon Barkley (ankle), wide receiver Kenny Golladay (knee) and rookie cornerback Rodarius Williams (knee) to injury.

But things weren’t all negative. We witnessed the emergence of wide receiver Kadarius Toney who, despite being ejected in the fourth quarter, finished the game with 10 receptions for a team rookie record 189 yards.

Unsurprisingly, Toney led the Giants with a Pro Football Focus grade of 92.4.

Just behind Toney on the offensive side of the ball were right tackle Matt Peart (69.8), tight end Evan Engram (69.0) and guard Will Hernandez (65.8).

Other notable offensive grades include tight end Kyle Rudolph (58.9), quarterback Mike Glennon (53.3) and wide receiver John Ross (52.9).

The lowest-graded offensive player in Week 5 was left tackle Nate Solder (38.8).

On defensive, Mr. Do-It-All Julian Love led the charge with an 80.0. Just behind him were defensive lineman Austin Johnson (64.7), linebacker Lorenzo Carter (63.6) and nose tackle Danny Shelton (62.6).

Other notable defensive grades include linebacker Reggie Ragland (59.7), cornerback James Bradberry (57.7) and safety Logan Ryan (51.9).

The lowest-graded Giant on the day was linebacker Tae Crowder (28.7).

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Giants fall to Cowboys: Winners, losers and those in between

Here are the winners, losers and those in between from the New York Giants’ Week 5 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

The New York Giants watched a nightmare scenario play out on Sunday. Not only did they get beaten down by the Dallas Cowboys, they watched as player after player left the field injured.

In fact, the Giants were so snake-bit that safety Jabrill Peppers, who missed the game due to a hamstring injury, suffered an additional injury on the sideline. He was hit in the face (accidentally) by wide receiver Kadarius Toney.

Speaking of Toney, he managed to get himself ejected for throwing a punch. So… You could say things went well on Sunday.

It was an ugly day with few positives for the Giants but we will attempt to find some.

Here’s a look at the winners and losers (and those in between) from the Giants’ latest loss.

Giants fall to Falcons: Winners, losers and those in between

Here are the winners, losers and those in between from the New York Giants’ Week 3 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

The New York Giants fell to 0-3 on the season with a humiliating, 17-14, loss to the Atlanta Falcons as time expired. It was their second such loss in as many weeks.

Looking at the numbers, it’s almost unbelievable that the Giants found a way to lose the game but that’s what bad teams do. It’s also what the Giants do best these days.

Here’s a look at the winners and losers (and those in between) from the Week 3 loss.

Damion Willis, Blake Martinez were highest-graded Giants vs. Patriots

WR Damion Willis and LB Blake Martinez earned the New York Giants’ highest offensive and defensive grades in a loss to the Patriots.

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The New York Giants dropped their preseason finale to the New England Patriots, 22-20, and there were plenty of reasons to come away concerned. We’ll get to those.

Before we do however, there were also several reasons to feel optimistic. Case in point: linebacker Blake Martinez demonstrating a significant improvement in coverage — if even just for a day.

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Martinez led the Giants defense with a Pro Football Focus grade of 91.7. He was followed by defensive back Julian Love (89.5), and defensive linemen Elijah Qualls (80.7) and Austin Johnson (76.2).

Other notable defensive grades include linebacker Lorenzo Carter (74.3), cornerback Sam Beal (69.7) and cornerback Rodarius Williams (59.8).

The lowest-graded Giants defenders on Sunday were linebackers Trent Harris (29.9) and Niko Lalos (24.3).

On the offensive side of the ball, wide receiver Damion Willis led the way with a PFF grade of 92.5. He was followed by guard Will Hernandez (92.2), offensive tackle Jackson Barton (78.7) and tight end Nakia Griffin-Stewart (74.7).

Fullback Eli Penny earned a 73.7, while quarterback Daniel Jones graded out at 53.8.

The Giants’ lowest-graded offensive players were running back Devontae Booker (42.1) and wide receiver Darius Slayton (41.4).

Offensive tackles Andrew Thomas and Matt Peart earned grades of 53.4 and 48.5, respectively.

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Giants’ Dave Gettleman has ‘no regrets’ over drafting Saquon Barkley

New York Giants GM Dave Gettleman has no regrets over drafting Saquon Barkley, maintains his faith in Daniel Jones and praises Joe Judge.

The New York Giants are deep into their 2021 training camp and preseason and with multiple questions still to be answered, the team decided to empty the offices and send the powers that be out in front of the media.

The first person up was general manager Dave Gettleman, the man who has the most to lose — and gain — by this season. The media was waiting with a fusillade of questions regarding Gettleman’s personnel decisions and future plans.

Here are a few of the hot points from Gettleman’s media season on Tuesday.

David Moa, Carter Coughlin were highest-graded Giants vs. Jets

David Moa and Carter Coughlin earned the New York Giants’ highest PFF grades in a preseason Week 1 loss to the New York Jets.

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The New York Giants dropped their first preseason game of the year, 12-7, against the New York Jets on Saturday night at MetLife Stadium.

It was the first game hosting fans since December of 2019, but the Giants provided little to cheer about. There were more negatives than positives, but it’s important to note that the team’s starters saw very little action — some not at all.

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Pro Football Focus completed their grading breakdown on Sunday morning and there were some legitimate surprises.

Linebacker Reggie Ragland, who earned our Player of the Game, was the lowest-graded Giant with a 32.6. Although he did grade out fairly well in terms of tackling and run defense, his coverage grade of 32.1 really drug him down.

Veteran defensive tackle Danny Shelton, who had a drive-changing stuff on fourth down, also graded out at just 39.1.

Some of the team’s other low grades belong to defensive end Raymond Johnson (39.7), rookie cornerback Rodarius Williams (45.5), running back Alfred Morris (45.0) and running back Corey Clement (45.1).

The team’s highest grade belonged to defensive tackle David Moa, who earned a remarkable 92.0 on 41 snaps. Linebacker Carter Coughlin checked in just behind him with a 91.8.

Also earning a 90+ was linebacker T.J. Brunson (90.4).

On the offensive side of the ball, left tackle Andrew Thomas led the way with a 76.0, followed by right tackle Matt Peart with a 73.2.

Meanwhile, wide receiver David Sills earned a 73.0 and offensive lineman Kyle Murphy a 72.2.

Other noteworthy grades include quarterback Mike Glennon (72.2), guard Will Hernandez (60.1) and edge rusher Azeez Ojulari (56.6).

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Giants fall to Jets: Winners, losers and those in between

Here are the winners, losers and those in between from the New York Giants’ preseason Week 1 loss to the New York Jets.

The New York Giants opened the 2021 preseason on Saturday night with an embarrassing 12-7 loss to the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

It was an ugly game for both teams from the jump, but the Giants appeared lightyears behind where they should be. The saving grace is that the vast majority of their starters didn’t play or played very little.

Here’s a quick look at our immediate winners and losers (and those in between) from Week 1 of the preseason.

Giants’ O-line issues mount with Nate Solder’s injury

The New York Giants are running dangerously short on offensive line depth following the injury to Nate Solder (shoulder).

The New York Giants are already thin along their offensive line following the retirements of Zach Fulton and Joe Looney, and that issue has only been compounded this week.

In addition to center/guard Jonotthan Harrison, who has missed the team’s previous two practices, veteran offensive tackle Nate Solder went down with a shoulder injury on Tuesday.

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Solder left the field in apparent pain and was met by trainers on the sideline. Although he didn’t leave for the locker-room, he also did not return to the field.

Following the conclusion of practice, Solder provided little update on his status or the potential severity of his injury.

It’s hard to imagine, but with rapidly thinning depth the Giants can ill-afford to lose Solder for any extended period of time. Not only can he start at both tackle positions and serve as a swing tackle, head coach Joe Judge also briefly put him in at guard earlier this week.

That decision came following a Will Hernandez false start and may have been a product of the lacking depth more so than an ode to Solder’s potential versatility.

Either way, the Giants have some legitimate issues along their offensive line and while that sounds like a broken record on repeat for the past decade, a lot is riding on the unit here in 2021. The team insisted they were happy with their players and their depth, but two weeks into training camp and that faith seems misplaced.

As things currently sit, Jackson Barton and Jake Burton are the only healthy reserves at tackle, Brett Heggie is the only healthy reserve at center, and Kyle Murphy, Chad Slade and Kenny Wiggins are the only healthy reserves at guard.

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Should Giants’ Will Hernandez fear the chopping block?

New York Giants guard Will Hernandez has flashed and sputtered, but is that inconsistency reason for him to fear the chopping block?

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The New York Giants have invested a substantial number of assets into their offensive line over the past decade and have little to show for it. It continues to be the leading concern of many and despite the team’s current level of confidence, the unit is not exactly inspiring.

Arguably, the Giants got worse across their offensive line this offseason, parting ways with veteran Kevin Zeitler and replacing him with Zach Fulton. Meanwhile, Andrew Thomas will return at left tackle after an up-and-down rookie campaign, Nick Gate will start at center for the second straight year and right tackle will be determined via training camp battle between Matt Peart and Nate Solder.

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Shane Lemieux, who Pro Football Focus graded out as one of the worst offensive linemen in football a season ago, will also factor in at the guard position. Ditto for former second-round pick Will Hernandez.

Perhaps more than the rest, Hernandez is an interesting case. He started every game for the Giants since being drafted until coming down with COVID-19 last season. He was replaced and eventually supplanted by the aforementioned Lemieux and is not guaranteed to win a starting job this year.

For that reason, in a breakdown of 32 players who should fear the chopping block, Patrik Walker of CBS Sports listed Hernandez among them.

One of the most highly-touted lineman of his draft class, Hernandez has been a combination of flash and disappointment over the course of his rookie contract in New York. He’s gone from being full-time starter to missing time due to COVID-19 and returning as a rotational player. In his absence, it was Shane Lemieux who plugged in and played admirably, something that caught the attention of both head coach Joe Judge and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett — two individuals who weren’t around when Dave Gettleman drafted Hernandez and, as such, don’t have any “draft loyalty” to him. Entering the final year of his deal, there’s enough value to potentially trade Hernandez and use the cap savings elsewhere, especially if undrafted rookie Jake Burton raises some eyebrows.

Given how weak the Giants are across their O-line, it’s hard to envision any scenario in which Hernandez gets sent packing after training camp. The last thing New York can afford to do is thin out Daniel Jones’ protection even further, especially by giving up on a player with Hernandez’s potential.

While Hernandez has yet to live up to his draft pedigree, the Giants are in no position to cut bait and run.

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