Bowles ain’t bragging
Odell Beckham Jr. left Thursday’s Giants practice early and did not return, and coach Ben McAdoo couldn’t say definitively whether he had aggravated his left ankle injury. “It looked like he was cramping,” McAdoo said. “But I’ll have to go in and check out and see what the final word is.”
Beckham missed the Giants’ season opener in Dallas with a high left ankle sprain, played a limited amount in their home opener against the Lions and then went full go in Weeks 3 and 4.
But he dislocated his right index finger and aggravated his ankle in last Sunday’s loss in Tampa and was limited for a second straight practice before jogging off.
SHAuN SAvAgES FLOWERS
Former Giants O-lineman Shaun O’Hara said that left tackle Ereck Flowers’ “footwork” and “effort” in the running game are “awful.”
“I watched Ereck Flowers and … our standard is so low it’s like, ‘Oh, you know, it wasn’t that bad. He didn’t ruin the game,’ ” O’Hara said on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “I mean, he’s gotten better in pass protection but his run game footwork and effort is awful.”
The Giants did not allow a sack Sunday but that’s because McAdoo has changed the offense the past two weeks to include mostly quick throws after the line couldn’t protect Eli Manning in Weeks 1 and 2.
John Jerry, who moved from right to left guard on Sunday, was blown up on a run along with Flowers on the Giants’ first play from scrimmage by the Bucs. And Jerry then also whiffed on Gerald McCoy on Paul Perkins’ second down run, as McCoy split Jerry and Weston Richburg for the loss.
“The one thing that just leaves you scratching your head is the simple aspects of the game,” O’Hara said. “Combination blocks are things that Dave (Diehl) and I were working on in high school. If you’re doing a combination block with your guard or with your tackle you shouldn’t be tripping on each other, you shouldn’t be getting split by a defensive tackle. And we all watched the game and the first two snaps of the game they lose eight yards on two running plays.”
WINg STOP
It was not uncommon in training camp to see Brad Wing land a half-dozen punts consecutively within a 3- or 4-yard radius 50 yards down field. But now in two straight games Wing has killed the Giants with horrible 4th-quarter punts in Philly and Tampa.
And yet Wing said he intends to move on by sticking to what got him here, and staying confident in his approach.
“You can analyze it, figure out why it went the way it did, or you can just trust your talent and technique and just move on,” Wing said. “So for me, while I went back and looked at that punt, I didn’t spend too much time looking at it because I know what I’m capable of. I’m human, man. Every now and then stuff’s gonna happen. It happened last weekend, it happened the week before, but my confidence hasn’t taken a hit.”
It is especially worrisome, though, that Wing is struggling in the biggest spots. In last year’s playoff loss in Green Bay, a 37-yard Wing punt gave the Packers the ball at the Giants’ 38 to drive for their first touchdown late in the first half.
In Week 3 of this season, Wing’s 28-yard shank set the Eagles up for their game-winning drive at the Philly 38. And last Sunday in
After back-to-back wins, the Jets are tied for second in the AFC East with the Patriots. They enter this weekend’s game at the Browns with a chance to move into the top spot in the division. For all the criticism thrown their way, all the talk of 0-16 and tanking, the Jets are exceeding expectations. Todd Bowles, though, is unimpressed. “We’re 2-2, we’re .500. That’s nothing to brag about,” Bowles said. “We have to get better in a lot of areas each week.”
The Browns are one of four 0-4 teams in the NFL entering Week 5 (including the Giants). But naturally, Bowles isn’t concerned about his team overlooking Cleveland and its rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer.
“We’re not good enough to look past anybody. Really, we’re not,” Bowles said. “We just work every day to get better from the week before.”
It’s Bowles’ job to keep his players grounded. And he fully understands the razor-thin line between winning and losing. After a Week 2 loss in Oakland, Bowles said bluntly: “We’re not good enough to correct our mistakes and win the game. We got to play pretty good, sound football.”
But since that point, the Jets have meshed and unified. Players in the locker room describe a galvanized group that is growing tighter by the day. They’re aware they’ve proven people wrong so far, and they have no plans of slowing down — or taking any team for granted.
PLEAD THE THIRD
The Jets defensive turnaround in the past Tampa, his 15-yard miss swung field position and momentum in the fourth quarter before a Bucs’ go-ahead touchdown drive.
McAdoo defended Wing in Tampa declaring: “Brad Wing is our punter. He made one mistake today. A lot of guys made one mistake, including me.” ... WR Brandon Marshall (toe), RB Orleans Darkwa (back) and DB Janoris Jenkins (ankle) were full participants. RB Paul Perkins (ribs) did not practice, perhaps indicating that Darkwa, rookie Wayne Gallman and Shane Vereen will be the three backs to dress Sunday against the Chargers. two weeks is epitomized by one telling stat: In Weeks 1 and 2, the Jets allowed the Raiders and Bills to convert 16 of 29 third downs; in Weeks 3 and 4, they held the Dolphins and Jaguars to just 5-of-27 on third downs.
Defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers attributed the newfound third-down success to playing “faster.” “The first couple of weeks, we were so slow on defense. We just wanted to play faster, be more aggressive and get guys flying around,” Rodgers said.
ISN’T THAT SPECIAL
Special teams coordinator Brant Boyer said the Jets worked on the fake punt they successfully ran in Sunday’s win over the Jaguars for a year-and-a-half. On 4th-and-21 late in the first half, punter Lachlan Edwards fired a pass to cornerback Marcus Williams near the right sideline. Williams ran for the first down . ... DE Kony Ealy (shoulder), RB Matt Forte (knee, toe), LB Josh Martin (ankle) and CB Darryl Roberts (hamstring) didn’t practice Thursday. WR Robby Anderson was excused from the session for a noninjury reason. CB Juston Burris (foot), TE Jordan Leggett (knee) and DE Muhammad Wilkerson (shoulder) were limited. The Jets also waived TE Neal Sterling on Thursday, which could open up a roster spot for WR Jalin Marshall, who was suspended for the first four games of the season.