GIANT SUCCESS
Former Jet Leonard Williams is finally feeling good in Blue
Leonard Williams believes he deserves more respect, and he’ll get it if he keeps making dominant plays like Sunday’s third quarter sack of Alex Smith. Williams powered through a double team by Washington left guard Wes Schweitzer and Chase Rouiller, with Schweitzer choking him and Rouiller holding him, for Williams’ team-best fifth sack in nine games this season.
The Giants’ defensive end has had a pretty good season playing on the franchise tag for a team-high $16.1 million. But sacks and timely production are what the Giants need from him on top of consistency — especially after a half-sack in eight games with them last season.
Add in Williams’ confident postgame defense of his abilities, and Sunday was a glimpse of everything the Giants want to see and hear from one of their defensive leaders.
“It’s not about money for me, it’s not about anything like that,” Williams, 26, said. “I think about this game and my love for the game. It’s more about respect and proving who I am and gaining respect from my peers. I think it’s all coming together at the same time. I have a lot of guys on the defense to thank for it. Our secondary players help me get to the quarterback … It’s helping me flourish.”
The Giants’ interior defensive line could have been broken up at the trade deadline. Teams showed interest in both Williams and tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, 26, knowing both are in contract years and that the Giants (2-7) are rebuilding. But suitors were greeted with “thanks but no thanks.” The Giants like the talent, depth and leadership they’ve assembled on the inside for this year’s improving team.
The premise of GM Dave Gettleman’s 2019 midseason trade for Williams to help turn around that team was frivolous. And if Williams continues to produce, he could hit the free-agent market and walk to the highest bidder next spring, as well. If that happens, Gettleman will have traded the Jets a 2020 third-round pick and 2021 fifth-rounder in exchange for 24 Williams games.
But on Sunday he was fired up about being a Giant, talking about how Joe Judge has turned the franchise around, and excited to continue proving the doubters wrong.
“There’s obviously been a lot of stuff out there in the media in a negative outlook (about my game), and from my perspective, I’ve always known who I am,” Williams said. “I feel like I’ve proven I can get to the quarterback, and now it’s being able to take them down when I get there.”
ON BOARD WITH TATE DISCIPLINE
Judge preempted a second full week of Golden Tate back pages by announcing Monday: “I would anticipate Golden being active” on Sunday against the Eagles (3-4-1).
Judge refused to explain his decision to leave Tate off the Giants’ trip to Washington entirely as a disciplinary measure for Tate’s selfish on-field and social media behavior.
But he did tell Albert Breer of The MMQB on Sunday night that the Giants’ captains were on board.
“To me, it’s got to be independent of who the person is or what the experience level is,” Judge told Breer. “It’s got to be focused on what the standard is. And to me, it’s critically important that there’s consequences to what you do. There are consequences for either not playing productively or practicing with the right effort and attitude. And then there’s consequences for off the field.
“To me, I just wasn’t going to condone some of the stuff that’s been going on by acting like it didn’t happen,” Judge added. “So it was an opportunity to send a message. Judge also pointed out that Tate “responded the right way. “(He) came into practice, practiced two days this week, and he had two great practices. I told him, ‘That’s what I
expect to see. I expect to see that guy.’ ”
BIG WILLIE STYLE
Left guard Will Hernandez has started some of the ramp-up physical recovery work to get cleared off the NFL’s COVID-19 reserve list, Judge said. But it sounds like Hernandez is likely to miss a third straight game Sunday as the Giants take his recovery slowly.
“The one thing I want to make sure we’re fair with is this guy’s missed two games, that’s a lot of football he’s missed,” Judge said. “We have to get his conditioning back and get him back on the field. It’s not like he’s spent the last two weeks lifting weights and running and doing individual drills in his backyard. He’s been quarantined and fighting a virus. So we have to make sure we get him back and … he can play a full 60 minutes healthy. And also make sure he can get reps to account for lost time and sharpen him back up.”
MCKINNEY MAKES PROGRESS
Second-round rookie free safety Xavier McKinney (foot) is strong enough in his rehab that he is now running on the field with trainers. And while he won’t play in a game until after the Giants’ Week 11 bye at the earliest, there is an outside chance he could be activated off injured reserve on Wednesday.
“That’s still up in the air,” Judge said. “I don’t know that we’ll necessarily see him this week. He was on the field the other day running with the trainers. I haven’t had much of a chance to get my eyes on him. I know he’s making a lot of progress. I’m getting positive reports on him.
“He’ll be with the trainers (Tuesday),” the coach added. “Based on how we practice Wednesday, if we go full tilt or have an abbreviated walkthrough or fundamentals practice, that may decide whether we start his clock that day or not.”
Judge said the Giants will err on the side of caution most likely with all of their I.R. guys to start their 21-day clock to be activated once they’re designated for return. That includes edge Oshane Ximines (shoulder) and linebacker Tae Crowder (hamstring).
But he has told the Giants’ trainers that he needs some answers today on the players’ health to help them with their roster juggling. That could include signing veteran running back Alfred Morris, who must be signed if the Giants want to play him Sunday, since they’ve called him the maximum two consecutive times from the practice squad to play in their last two games.