Odell and Engram are good to go, but Blue D missing pieces
Right tackle Bobby Hart, middle linebacker B.J. Goodson and backup linebacker J.T. Thomas are out for Sunday’s Week 3 visit to the Eagles in Philadelphia. But the good news is rookie tight end Evan Engram was removed from the concussion protocol on Friday and Odell Beckham Jr. was not listed on the injury report at all, though he was projected as limited for a walkthrough practice.
Top corner Janoris Jenkins, meanwhile, is questionable with an ankle injury but would not indicate if he’s ready to play yet.
“One step at a time,” Jenkins said Friday when asked if he thinks he will play. “Improved over the last week. Got better, been better, got to go to treatment and we’ll see after that.”
Head coach Ben McAdoo said the plan is to see what Jenkins can do in a quick practice on Saturday and then take a look at him game day.
The loss of Jenkins would be a big blow for the Giants’ defense.
“He has the ability to take out some No. 1 guys,” secondary coach Tim Walton said. “So it always hurts.”
Hart’s injury means Justin Pugh will start at right tackle after moving there from left guard after two snaps due to Hart’s aggravated ankle injury in Monday night’s loss to the Lions. Brett Jones will remain at left guard.
Goodson’s second straight absence means Calvin Munson will make a second straight start at middle linebacker.
The Eagles, meanwhile, are banged up in the secondary. Corner Ronald Darby (ankle) and safeties Corey Graham (hamstring) and Jaylen Watkins (hamstring) are out Sunday, as is defensive tackle Destiny Vaeao (wrist). Safety Rodney McLeod (hamstring) and receiver Torrey Smith (illness) are questionable.
A FINE MESS
Engram was fined $12,154 for unsportsmanlike conduct this week after grabbing his crotch during his first career touchdown celebration on Monday night.
The NFL has relaxed its celebration rules significantly but still is placing a heavy emphasis on players not doing anything sexually suggestive, and Engram’s seemingly Michael Jackson-inspired dance certainly qualified as such – even though Engram claimed after the game he hadn’t done anything intentionally.
Engram, the Giants’ first-round draft pick this spring, has eight catches for 93 yards this season and that touchdown in the Giants’ 24-10 loss to the Detroit Lions. He was removed from the concussion protocol on Friday and will be good to go in Sunday’s Week 3 game at the Eagles as the 0-2 Giants look for their first win.
DOUBLE TIGHTS
The Giants have made plays out of two tight-end sets. Eli Manning mentioned that formation Wednesday as a positive, and Ben McAdoo explained Friday why it can be effective and difficult to defend.
“Well the game’s about players and it depends on matchups,” McAdoo said. “If it gives you an advantage running the football because they can block the defensive ends, or you can scheme it where they can block safeties or linebackers, that’s an advantage for the offense.
“If they’re pass receiving tight ends, you can move them around and try to get some information from where they line up. And if they have skill set of a receiver, you can get an advantage there,” he added.
Engram was the only tight end on the field for his second-quarter touchdown on Monday but lined up unconventionally in the backfield before sneaking out. And Jerell Adams’ 38-yard catch down the right sideline in the third quarter came out of a two-TE set with Engram on the field. It was the Giants’ biggest offensive play of the whole game.