Do preseasons start any better?
A win. Putting up over 30 points. No turnovers. Rookies looking great. No injuries!
How do Giants fans not get carried away?
Offense
Week 1 of preseason is in the books for the New York Giants and what a great week it was.
I was very pleased to see head coach Brian Daboll finally change his strategy and give the starters some playing time.
Russell Wilson
Quarterback Russell Wilson started the game – 6/7 for 28 yards – it seemed as though we put an emphasis on the quick release for Wilson, who has always been guilty of holding onto the ball too long.
Nothing spectacular to report, but also no negatives. The drive lead to a field goal with the Giants missing three of their top four receivers on their depth chart – Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton and Jalin Hyatt.
Jaxson Dart
Jaxson Dart got the nod as the second quarterback to come in the game. Whether this is because he is ahead of Jamies Winston in the coaches eyes, or to give him snaps against better opposition, time will tell.
I thought he looked excellent, there was a calmness about him and composure in the pocket. While a couple of errand passes missed their targets, his reads and progressions seemed to always be correct which is great.
Capped off by a 29-yard touchdown pass to Monrell Washington – who had a good game for himself – this has Giants fans very excited for the future.
The rest
Truth be told, all four quarterbacks looked good. I would not be totally shocked if we trade Winston away and keep Tommy DeVito as the third quarterback, especially with his salary and experience in the system.
I would say Dart was the best offensive player of the day, but Dante ‘Turbo’ Miller certainly made the most of his extra snaps.
Last shoutout on offense goes to seventh round daft pick Thomos Fidone. The tight end displayed some excellent hands on key snaps. He is insanely tall, and coach Daboll will have fun scheming redzone packages with him and Theo Johnson – who are both literally New York Giants.
Defense
The starting defence – minus Dexter Lawrence – took the field and obliterated the Buffalo Bills offensive line on the first drive to force a three and out.
The next drive would have been the same but for a roughing the passer penalty. The pass rush looked legitimate!
Abdul Carter
Abdul Carter looks incredible. So good in fact he played six snaps, three of them were passing downs and he registered three pressures and hurries. This was all against a legitimate offensive line full of starters.
Now imaging this with Dexter Lawrence thrown into the mix. This pass rush of Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibideoux, Abdul Carter and Dexter Lawrence could be real fun to watch, especially if we can give them a lead to defend.
We need a name for this fearsome foursome – not that – if anyone has any suggestions, please leave them in the comments or let us know on social media @JoinTheHuddleUK.
Run defense
Another bright note for the defense today was the the run game. They held Buffalo to 3.9 yards per carry on 15 attempts and only a longest run of 14 yards.
If our run defense can even just be competent this season, giving us some third down passing downs to defend, we really could be a top five overall defense this year.
The downside
Not to put a sprinkling of negativity into this amazing result, but the tackling was still very poor – particularly from the backups.
Hopefully with joint sessions with the New York Jets next week, this is something we can address.
None of the back-up defensive players stood out to me and there were some busted coverages. But the starting defense looked great and that is the most important part.
HuddleUK Game Balls
HuddleUK game balls go to Jaxson Dart and Abdul Carter, which is fantastic that our first round picks both looked great in their first outings for Big Blue.
I am not sure how the injury bug can be given a HuddleUK game ball, but it gets one for staying away
Roll on next week and Go Giants!
