It is true! Scrimmage or not, we had New York Giants football on Friday night. It means “Kudos & Wet Willies”. So, let’s review.
Congratulation to …
Soccer! – Empty stadium. Giants against giants. Pumped up in the noise of the crowd. It doesn’t matter. It was a warm and windy evening. A great night to sit in the seats at MetLife Stadium even though it was raining a little, which I did for a good chunk of the scrum, and watch some football.
Lorenzo Carter’s Play – You’ll read all kinds of different numbers on how many “sacks,” which were really two-handed touches the quarterback Carter had. Some got it for as much as 4.5. I got it for 3.0 because the one that was advertised as a Carter bag was clearly Leonard Williams. One piece where some gave him a half-sack was, in my opinion, a pass hit by Dexter Lawrence.
It does not matter. Carter was exceptional. He beat Andrew Thomas, Cameron Fleming and Levine Toilolo for the sacks. He should have been credited with a Daniel Jones backpack, but Jones was incorrectly judged to have been hit before the fumble.
Giants fans can only hope that Friday night was any indication that Carter’s game may finally be on the verge of matching his incredible physical tools.
Lorenzo Carter Post-Game Speech – I don’t care what your policy is. I don’t care what you think of the state of policing in this country. I don’t care what you think about the state of racial and social justice (well, I know that, but we’re not here to discuss it). No matter how you view it all, you just had to be in awe of Carter’s post-game video conference.
He was eloquent. He was passionate. He showed knowledge of the history of racial tensions in this country. He has shown that his priorities are in the right place. He has shown that he cares about this country and that he wants to take action and not just complain about the injustices he sees.
He deserves to be applauded.
Wayne Gallman – A 44-yard touchdown that he made a nice cut at the line of scrimmage. A 5 yard touchdown reception. There were times when I wondered if Gallman could be a weird man in the Giants backfield. The way he played on Friday makes it unlikely to remove him from the eventual 53-man roster.
“He’s a guy who really shone throughout training camp,” said coach Joe Judge. “He’s a guy we challenged and told him we wanted to see how he reacts in competitive situations. Obviously he had a good night’s sleep tonight.
Tae Crowder – The last player selected in the draft, the guy known forever as “Mr. Not relevant ”showed on Friday that it is possible that he is not at all irrelevant for the Giants. Crowder took advantage of the additional snaps provided by Blake Martinez’s ominous absence.
Crowder showed his ability to cover running backs by covering Dion Lewis for a defended pass. He was also active in the running game, with several “tackles” on or near the line of scrimmage. If he’s competing with fellow rookie TJ Brunson for a spot on the roster, Friday was clearly Crowder’s advantage.
Graham Gano – The veteran placekicker has completed his four downs, including a 47-yard goalie and a 41-yard “game winner” when the clock expires.
Javon Leake – The undrafted free agent came to the Maryland Giants with a reputation as an explosive running back and kickoff returner. In the second half on Friday, he showed both. Leake had a kickoff return towards the 34-yard line and also a great straight aorund run that lasted over 20 yards.
“He did a good job in the second leg right there. There was a bit of space to hit him. He did not waste this opportunity, ”said the judge. “He did a good job tonight in the race game. I took advantage of certain opportunities. “
Wet Willies at …
Daniel Jones – There were some nice throws including a perfectly placed tilt to Darius Slayton that lasted 40 yards. There were, however, only three points generated in five possessions. There was also the Carter-caused fumble, a piece that was too reminiscent of last season for Jones.
Andrew Thomas – The rookie had his hands full with a visibly inspired Carter. The fourth overall pick wasn’t Carter’s only casualty – he also passed Levine Toilolo and Cameron Fleming. Friday, however, was a real learning experience for Thomas. In his defense, the judge said there were things the Giants could do in a real game to help with protections. On Friday, they just left the recruit on an island to fend for themselves.
Defy the flags in a melee – Come on, Joe! I understand why Judge contested where the ball should have been spotted as Saquon Barkley barely went out of bounds after catching a screen pass – he wanted to go through the mechanics of a challenge. But, damn it. Fortunately, officials took about 10 seconds to announce “on call” and moved on.
More thoughts
Nick Gates appeared to be having a clean night at the center … Rookie Tyler Haycraft, bidder for the save center job, bounced two shotgun shots in the second half. Otherwise, he also looked like he had had a good night’s sleep … Dion Lewis was busy, with lots of touches. He was a handful too, having a productive night running and receiving … CJ Board probably didn’t help himself by muffling a punt, then fielding one stupidly near the sideline at about the line. from 3 yards. Board had a productive night as a receiver … rookie Cam Brown opened the game by going down the field to tackle Corey Coleman inside the 20-yard line at kickoff … Rookie cornerback Darnay Holmes had a good night’s sleep, his best play being a pass break on a crossover route for Sterling Shepard. Hopefully his “lower body injury” is not serious … Colt McCoy is a very good quarterback. He was in charge during his shots in the first half. His best throw of the night was probably a well-placed back shoulder fade to Corey Coleman to set up a basket late in the first half … Rookies Niko Lalos (long-snapping) and Carter Coughlin stayed on the pitch to work for several minutes after the game … Count me as officially concerned about linebacker Blake Martinez, who didn’t even appear to be around on Friday night. The judge was evasive about Martinez, saying he would “check with the trainers” on his status.
