Giants-Patriots will be a laugher, so give younger players more snaps
EAST RUTHERFORD >> Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have been the architects of a dynasty for so long that when they won their first Super Bowl together on Feb. 3, 2002, Daniel Jones was just four years old.
Jones now gets to — gulp! — try to become the first rookie quarterback to win at New England since Belichick became the Patriots coach in 2000 when the Giants play at the home of the defending champions on Thursday night.
Rookies are 0-11 in Foxborough and 5-17 overall against Belichick. Only Ben Roethlisberger, Mark Sanchez, Colt McCoy, Russell Wilson and Geno Smith have won against the Patriots in their first season.
Coming off a 28-10 loss Sunday to Minnesota, Jones and the Giants have a virtually impossible task. Their three best play-makers — running back Saquon Barkley, wide receiver Sterling Shepard and tight end Evan Engram — were all ruled out with injuries in a short game week.
“There were some plays we left out there, some plays that I left out there on the field that I’d like to have back that we need to make, and several other things,” Jones said Monday. “I think there are times I can be better in the pocket, more efficient in how I move and create space. There’s a number of things, but like each of these weeks, it’s an opportunity to learn.”
Learn indeed.
The Patriots are 17-point favorites, which is the largest spread ever for a Thursday night game, according to CBS Sports. Yet that may be too conservative. Given how depleted the Giants are and how dominant New England’s defense has been, this one has all the makings of a laugher.
So let’s not bother with platitudes and hypotheticals about how New York can win. Eli Manning can feed all the intel he wants from the sideline about his Super Bowl triumphs against Brady. Jones will still be in for a world of torment.
Instead, what really matters in this game is how Jones and several other young players continue to develop on a primetime stage.
For as much flack as general manager Dave Gettleman has taken regarding his long-term plan, the Giants’ 2019 rookie class has been a bright spot. Jones, wide receiver Darius Slayton, defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, cornerback DeAndre Baker, outside linebacker Oshane Ximines and inside linebacker Ryan Connelly (out for the year with a torn ACL) have all played significant snaps and flashed potential.
Slayton, a fifth-round pick out of Auburn, has essentially supplanted Cody Latimer as the team’s No. 3 receiver. Slayton has averaged 17.4 yards on nine receptions. He hauled in his firstcareer touchdown catch on a 35-yard connection with Jones against Minnesota.
“That’s a hell of a route by him, great throw by DJ and incredible catch,” veteran receiver Golden Tate said. “He’s impressed me for sure and we just want him to keep being him. We brought him here to make plays and use that speed and if he just keeps doing that, I think he’s going to play in this league for a long time.”
Lawrence has shaken predraft criticism that he was mostly just a run-stuffer at Clemson. The 6-foot-4, 342-pounder has been constantly disruptive in the middle of the defense and shown pass-rushing upside. Lawrence and Ximines each have three quarterback hits and two sacks.
“I think he’s a little bit like X-Man and some of these young defensive players that are doing it for the first time,” head coach Pat Shurmur said of Lawrence. “They get more and more comfortable, so then you can see more and more of what they can do physically. I think he’s been pretty disruptive in there, actually. Even though he’s not getting sacks, the pressures and just the sheer size of that man when he gets going … I’m encouraged by the improvements he’s making out here.”
In the secondary, Baker has started all four games opposite veteran corner Janoris Jenkins. The firstrounder out of Georgia struggled initially and was being singled out by opposing offenses. But he’s steadily made strides in coverage as he grasps the nuances of defensive coordinator James Bettcher’s scheme and the fundamentals of being an NFL corner.
“The little bit of what he did at Georgia really didn’t carry over here,” defensive backs coach Everett Withers said. “Now, he’s having to learn just technique and fundamentals, and understand, ‘When I’m the inside corner, when I’m the outside corner’ and all of those things. It’s just taking him a little bit of time, but I have seen a tremendous amount of improvement from him.”
With Ximines joining the lineup last week, this is the first time the Giants have started five rookies in the first five weeks of a season since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
The Patriots game is the perfect chance to learn even more about your young players.
Rookie defensive back Julian Love, who has played exclusively on special teams, should take some of 35-yearold Antoine Bethea’s snaps. Rookie Corey Ballentine had a 52-yard kickoff return Sunday and should get some action at slot corner.
All of these guys are sure to make mistakes against the reigning Super Bowl champs. But watching them learn and grow is part of rebuilding a franchise, which is what this season is about for the Giants.
Contact Greg Johnson at gjohnson@21stcenturymedia.com and follow him on Twitter @gregp_j