Team Grades: Sputtering Giants Drop Close One To Falcons, 24-20
By Curt Macysyn
Over the past three season, the New York Football Giants have started out of the gate slowly. In 2013 and 2014, their slow starts created too large a hole for the team to dig out of, and neither squad made the playoffs. Unfortunately, this season has started off the same way for Big Blue, as the team has dropped two games when they had the lead in the final quarter. This week, New York again blew a ten point lead in the fourth quarter, and the defense allowed Atlanta to score a late touchdown to enable the Falcons to upend the Giants 24-20 at MetLife Stadium.
Giants' cornerback Prince Amukamara could not handle Julio Jones, and the dominant Falcons' wideout set up the game-winning touchdown with a 37-yard catch late in the fourth. Running back Devonta Freeman barreled in from two-yards out with just 1:14 left in the contest to provide the winning margin of victory. Atlanta is 2-0 on the young season, and the Giants have dropped to 0-2, as they face a must-win situation against the Washington Redskins on Thursday night. Unlike last weekend, when blame could be spread around to players and coaches, this week the lion's share of the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of the players, through poor performance and lack of execution.
Offense: C
If the first half was any indication, New York seemed to have cleared up their sloppy clock management and play-calling troubles this week. The Giants' defense held down the Atlanta offense and then managed the clock effectively, as Josh Brown booted a 44-yard field goal with two seconds left in the first half for a 13-10 halftime lead. That field goal was proceeded three minutes earlier by another spectacular catch and carry by Odell Beckham, Jr. that covered 67-yards. It was Beckham's first touchdown of the season and highlighted a seven-catch for 146 yards for OBJ in the home opener.
Shane Vereen was also a factor as he caught eight passes from out of the backfield for 76 yards, and he also had 19 rushing yards on six carries. Andre Williams had one nice run of 35 yards, but otherwise he averaged 1.6 yards per carry. Rashad Jennings did not fare any better with 12 yards in nine carries (1.2 yards per carry). Larry Donnell had four catches for 28 yards, including a 10 yard touchdown catch, but the reality is that the tight end position does not provide all that much production for the New York Giants.
Late in the game, the offense reverted back to its old ways with an insane delay of game penalty that occurred after a Falcons' time-out that brought flash-backs to last Sunday. Quarterback Eli Manning, who was 27-40 (67.5 percent) for 292 yards and two touchdowns, misfired a couple times on the game's final drive. Manning also lost a fumble deep in Falcons' territory that likely took points off the board for the Giants. A nonsensical illegal motion call against Dwayne Harris negated a successful fourth down conversion for New York, as the offense continues to shoot itself in the foot.
Rookie left Ereck Flowers left the game with a reported ankle injury, but the shift of Justin Pugh out to left tackle and putting John Jerry at right guard did not seem to hurt the offensive flow.
Defense: D
Yes, there were some defenders who stepped up in week two, but more often than not, the defense was rattled. On the positive side, Atlanta's 56 rushing yards was the lowest total by a Giants opponent since Philadelphia ran for 48 yards on Oct. 27, 2013. The Falcons averaged just 2.5 yards a carry.
Atlanta did pass for 346 yards, and receiver, Julio Jones, caught a career-high 13 passes for the Falcons. He set up the game-winning touchdown with a 37-yard grab that beat Prince Amukamara down the left sideline. Unfortunately, New York's best cover corner, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, left the game twice with injuries. The second time DRC had to leave the game, it was to undergo the league mandated concussion protocol, and he did not return.
Holding wideout Roddy White without a catch became only a moral victory, as Big Blue had no answer for the Atlanta tight end Jacob Tamme, who had four catches for 77 yards. Redskins' castoff Leonard Hankerson had six grabs for 77 yards as well. Rookie safety Landon Collins allowed Hankerson to gain an additional seven yards, since he did not touch down the Atlanta receiver after a ten-yard catch late in the fourth quarter. It was a boneheaded play, as Collins has been more sizzle than steak in the first two games.
One of the biggest problems for New York's defense is its inability to make stops and get off the field. The Falcons succeeded on 11 of 17 third-down conversion attempts, the most successes by a Giants opponent since Baltimore had 11 on Dec. 23, 2012.
Robert Ayers, Jr. continues to play well for Big Blue, as he knocked down two Matt Ryan passes and had a sack of Ryan too. Linebacker Devon Kennard had nine total tackles, while safety Brandon Meriweather had eight. Meriweather has played well since being scooped up off of the unemployment line late into training camp, after the Giants lost several safeties to injury.
Special Teams: B
What could have been for Dwayne Harris? The speedy return specialist had a solid afternoon for the Giants, but twice slipped down, on his own, on what could have been longer returns. On his 41-yard kickoff return, Harris was forced out of bounds by kicker Mat Bosher, so one more block would have sprung him. Overall, Harris had two kickoff returns for 77 yards. The free agent signing from the Dallas Cowboys was just as effective on punt returns with four returns for 66 yards, including a 29 -yard return that could have gone for a touchdown if not for his faulty footwear.
Because of Harris and punter Brad Wing, the Giants won the field position game all day. Wing punted four times for a net average of 41 yards, but he he had three punts downed inside the 20-yard line. Kicker Josh Brown was solid on field goal attempts and kickoffs. Eric Weems had a 21-yard return on the opening kickoff, and that was it for the Falcons, as brown mostly had touch backs. The special teams are the only area on the Giants' roster where they generally have more talent than most squads.
Coaching: B
After a week of finger pointing and back biting, Tom Coughlin got his troops ready to play, which was not a given. Defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo, is doing the best he can with the talent level on defense as it is. After losing his best cornerback, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, to injury early in the game, Spags had to counter with Jayron Hosley, which is akin to having a pitcher pinch hit for your cleanup hitter. Sure there are holes on this defense, but that is not a reflection on the scheme. After losing his two best players to injury (Jon Beason and Jason Pierre-Paul), Spagnuolo has done his best to keep the Giants afloat in the first two contests.
Ben McAdoo knows he has a huge asset in Odell Beckham, Jr., and guess what, so does the rest of the league. McAdoo has been resourceful enough to find ways to get Beckham the ball to take advantage of match-ups. In addition, McAdoo has understood what running back Shane Vereen brings to the table, and what Rashad Jennings and Andre Williams do not. Relying upon Preston Parker and Rueben Randle to be consistent threats was and is a mistake, so cutting James Jones was a poor roster decision in hindsight. Jones could have made a difference in the first two games, if nothing else, but to provide a viable threat on the outside in addition to OBJ.
More often than not, tight end Larry Donnell is a fumble in waiting for the G-men, and there are no yards after catch with Donnell. Jerome Cunningham had one catch for New York, as did rookie wideout Geremy Davis.
Team Notes:
The Giants have a short work week, as they return to action against the Washington Redskins at MetLife Stadium on Thursday night. The Redskins are coming off of their first victory of the season, as they beat the St. Louis Rams, 24-10, at home this week.
Eli Manning became the 15th quarterback in NFL history to pass for more than 40,000 yards in his career. manning eclipsed the mark with a 26-yard toss to Odell Beckham, Jr. in the second quarter. Ironically, his brother, Peyton, surpassed the 70,000 yard mark on Thursday in Kansas City.
The Giants are 0-2 for the third consecutive year, the first time that's happened in franchise history. The Giants are 49-39-3 in home openers, including 2-4 in MetLife Stadium. They have lost their last four home openers.
Curt Macysyn has been covering the New York Football Giants for the past four seasons for Examiner.com, and he is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). Born and raised in New Jersey, Curt attended Seton Hall Prep School in South Orange, N.J. and is a graduate of Rutgers University - New Brunswick. Follow him on Twitter @CurtMac23 for the latest NFL and New York Giants news.
