Judge says Jones ‘stood in there like a man’ in opener
The Giants were 5.5-point underdogs Wednesday, according to Vegas Insider, as they began game week practices for Sunday’s contest at Chicago.
Head coach Joe Judge praised the Bears’ offense coming off the team’s 27-23 win against the Detroit Lions in Week 1, specifically characterizing wide receiver Allen Robinson as “dynamic” and “one of the top (receivers) in the league.”
“This is an explosive team,” Judge said. “They have multiple weapons, they use their players in very inventive ways. They do a great job of mixing a lot of personnel groups along with tempo and quick substitutions. We’ve got to make sure that we’re very attentive and in-tune to the game to match the speed that they’re gonna present.”
Here are a few other highlights from Judge’s conference call with the media.
Adamantly Backing Jones
There’s been much division among critics regarding quarterback Daniel Jones’ performance in Monday’s 26-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Despite two turnovers and three sacks against a top defense, Jones avoided two sacks by scrambling and completed 63.4 percent of his passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns. He also had to overcome three drops by his receivers and an offensive interference penalty by tight end Evan Engram on a 24-yard reception.
After coaching Jones in a game for the first time, Judge prefaced support of the sophomore by deeming quarterback “the toughest job in all of professional sports.”
“You look at the truly great ones that have come through our league … how many of those guys were able to have high degrees of success before they had to truly carry a team?” Judge said. “How many of those guys had the benefit early in their career of really working with teams that were either carried more by defense or run game or had great arsenal guys around that supported him?
“Obviously there’s some things you’ve got to clean up in every game, but I’ll tell you right now. You watch that tape from the other night, that dude stood in there like a man, alright, and delivered that ball down the field. That dude stood in there aggressively, he stood in there tough, he stood in there confidently, and our team feeds off that. We’re proud to have him on our team.”
Barkley’s Rough Night
Former Giants running back Tiki Barber said Tuesday on his CBS Sports Radio show Saquon Barkley “might not be an every-down back. He cannot pass protect.”
For all his talent as a runner and receiver, Barkley remains a liability in pass protection. In the Steelers game, he failed to pick up a blitz from cornerback Mike Holton on a thirddown sack in the fourth quarter.
But most glaringly, Barkley had only six rushing yards on 15 attempts. Pittsburgh stopped him for negative yardage on eight carries.
“I respect Tiki, obviously he’s a guy who knows the game, he’s been a great player for this organization, but we’re gonna go ahead and make sure we get everybody to rise up,” Judge said. “We’ve got to do some things to help Saquon throughout the game. He’s a key part of our team, he’s an integral part of offense, so, look, we’re going to keep feeding him the ball and he’s going to make some plays for us. I’m happy with the way he works, I’m very pleased with his attitude. He’s a team-first guy.”
Heavy Sub Packages
The Giants’ defense spent most of Monday’s game in sub packages, frequently deploying five defensive backs while keeping only two defensive linemen on the field.
Leonard Williams (44 snaps), Dalvin Tomlinson (32) and Dexter Lawrence (30) saw the most action up front. Cornerback James Bradberry, safety Julian Love and linebacker Blake Martinez played all 64 snaps. Safety Jabrill Peppers and linebacker Lorenzo Carter missed only one snap each.
Cornerbacks Corey Ballentine (59) and Darnay Holmes (47) also had more playing time than Williams, Tomlinson and Lawrence.
It was a bit puzzling since the Giants have made significant investments in the defensive line — the strength of the defense — and given that Steelers backup running back Benny Snell Jr. rushed 19 times for 113 yards.
“Each game will call for different game plans,” Judge said. “The other night it was definitely a key point for us to have a fresh defensive line early in the season.”