Big Blue Huddle

Pat Leonard
@PLeonardNYDN
#Giants rookie WR Malik Nabers on not letting his early drop rattle his confidence: "You gotta move on. [Daboll] asked me in practice, he's like, 'How do you move on from a drop?' I said, 'I don't move on.' He said, 'Well, I'm gonna need you to move on.' So it's a next play mentality.

"Move on," he added. "There's a lot more plays to be made through the game. It was the first quarter. They're gonna keep on coming to me, you can see."

Daniel Jones said he stays grounded in the details and film and play review to stay resilient after his own mistakes, as well

"You want to stay even-keel, understand what went wrong," Jones said of finishing the first half with some building block completions. "You don't have time to let that affect your confidence or your mood."

https://x.com/PLeonardNYDN/status/1824972318931849542

Nice speak but two picks early is in reality pretty much a game killer.

Quote from: Ed Vette on August 18, 2024, 08:51:11 AMNice speak but two picks early is in reality pretty much a game killer.

I don't think I have ever heard someone talking "game killer" in reference to a PS game.

DJ's start couldn't have been worse, with 2 INTs and a 3rd dropped.   To me, as important as the poor start was (could it be DJ's new norm, rust, or just learning to trust his body again) was how he responded.  Did he go into a shell or bounce back?   Considering neither Lock nor DeVito have impressed in the preseason (I suspect that is partially due to how Daboll is running his PS offense, which is extremely vanilla and not getting receivers open), DJ is the only option.

It's also interesting on Twitter. I see everyone singing Naber's praises (he made a nice catch yesterday), but everyone is ignoring his killer 3rd down drop on what should have been a long gain.

The negatives were how both players started. The positive was how both players finished.

I am mindful of drawing too strong of a conclusion over PS games.  That said, the early DJ struggles were troubling.  However, his bounceback does minimize my concerns.  One of my concerns with DJ this season is if he is broken.  That years of poor protection, poor schemes, and weak receivers have damaged his psyche beyond repair.  How he responded to the terrible start gave me both concern (the start) and some comfort (the rebound)

Quote from: MightyGiants on August 18, 2024, 09:08:20 AMI don't think I have ever heard someone talking "game killer" in reference to a PS game.

DJ's start couldn't have been worse, with 2 INTs and a 3rd dropped.   To me, as important as the poor start was (could it be DJ's new norm, rust, or just learning to trust his body again) was how he responded.  Did he go into a shell or bounce back?   Considering neither Lock nor DeVito have impressed in the preseason (I suspect that is partially due to how Daboll is running his PS offense, which is extremely vanilla and not getting receivers open), DJ is the only option.

It's also interesting on Twitter. I see everyone singing Naber's praises (he made a nice catch yesterday), but everyone is ignoring his killer 3rd down drop on what should have been a long gain.

The negatives were how both players started. The positive was how both players finished.

I am mindful of drawing too strong of a conclusion over PS games.  That said, the early DJ struggles were troubling.  However, his bounceback does minimize my concerns.  One of my concerns with DJ this season is if he is broken.  That years of poor protection, poor schemes, and weak receivers have damaged his psyche beyond repair.  How he responded to the terrible start gave me both concern (the start) and some comfort (the rebound)

It doesn't matter that this was a preseason game. If they start any game the way they did yesterday, their odds of winning are significantly diminished. If that was Dallas, that game is a blowout.

Quote from: Ed Vette on August 18, 2024, 09:17:42 AMIt doesn't matter that this was a preseason game. If they start any game the way they did yesterday, their odds of winning are significantly diminished. If that was Dallas, that game is a blowout.

Do you think coaches and players approach PS games the same way they do real games?  Do you think DJ (or any QB) is more willing to test their limits and try and make a play when the score doesn't matter?

Last year Jones looked great in preseason and played horrible in the regular season. This year he stunk in preseason so maybe he will light it up in the regular season.

I said back in June/early July that I wasn't going to get overhyped about Jones if he looked great in camp/preseason, and therefore I'm not going to grow despondent because he has looked (generally) bad in both this year.


With that said, the recent pattern with him is less than ideal:


-Played very poorly last season (much worse than other QBs on the same team) before he got hurt.

-Got significantly injured for the fourth time in five seasons

-Looked mostly bad in camp despite us being told that his injury was not an issue anymore

-Looked bad yesterday, despite the O line playing very well. Only started to look better when he was still in with the offensive starters against the opponent's 2s and 3s.


Let's hope he suddenly looks much better in the regular season. It's possible he might. But I can't say I am encouraged by the data points of the last 13 months.

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on August 18, 2024, 09:57:48 AM-Looked mostly bad in camp despite us being told that his injury was not an issue anymore

That isn't true.   DJ started slow (as expected when one is returning from a serious injury that resulted in missed time) but steadily improved with positive reports over the last couple of weeks.

Quote from: MightyGiants on August 18, 2024, 09:24:37 AMDo you think coaches and players approach PS games the same way they do real games?  Do you think DJ (or any QB) is more willing to test their limits and try and make a play when the score doesn't matter?

They sure looked like they were playing for real to me. Passing mistakes, whether it's a PS game or a regular season game are still mistakes. Why did you go to camp to evaluate players? The pick 6 was classic Daniel Jones. Not recognizing the Defender on the inside covering Hyatt was a bad mistake for a 6th year QB. Did you notice that the next three passes deep were all designed back shoulder?

The Giants have notoriously started out slow or shot themselves in the foot in the first half. Against bad teams like the Cards, they have a chance to come back. Against teams like Dallas, it's over before it even got started because they capitalize on mistakes by their opponents.

It took DJ halfway through camp to settle down. Let's hope it doesn't take half the season. This of course takes nothing away from the other issues they had yesterday. The Secondary left Receivers wide open in Zone Coverage. Off sides and Roughing the Passer to negate a big play should earn a cut.

Quote from: Ed Vette on August 18, 2024, 10:37:56 AMThey sure looked like they were playing for real to me. Passing mistakes, whether it's a PS game or a regular season game are still mistakes. Why did you go to camp to evaluate players? The pick 6 was classic Daniel Jones. Not recognizing the Defender on the inside covering Hyatt was a bad mistake for a 6th years QB. Did you notice that the next three passes deep were all designed back shoulder?

They Giants have notoriously started out slow or shot themselves in the foot in the first half. Against bad teams like the Cards, they have a chance to come back. Against teams like Dallas, it's over before it even got started because they capitalize on mistakes by their opponents.

It took DJ halfway through camp to settle down. Let's hope it doesn't take half the season. This of course takes nothing away from the other issues they had yesterday. The Secondary left Receivers wide in Zone Coverage. Off sides and Roughing the Passer to negate a big play should earn a cut.

Listen to Daboll's presser.  He talked about what he was trying to accomplish, and it wasn't to win the game

Go to the 55 seconds mark

Quote from: MightyGiants on August 18, 2024, 10:41:29 AMListen to Daboll's presser.  He talked about what he was trying to accomplish, and it wasn't to win the game

Go to the 55 seconds mark

I won't waste my time looking at that. He absolutely game planned the first series. Winning is in the HC's DNA and they try to engrain it in their players. Just because they are practicing what they need to work on, doesn't mean they don't care about the execution of the play. Nabors sure wasn't playing not to get hurt. Neither was Hyatt, or they would have given up on a few of those tight coverage passes. A D-Lineman running down a Tailback, sure shows me he was looking to win a game and not just a Roster spot. Are you telling me that DJ threw 2 interceptions because he wasn't going all out? Don't tell that to his Oline.

I believe in any sport an athlete whose practices are bad is worried about doing the same in live action, therefore you cannot convince me PS games do not matter as to the psyche if the player.

Quote from: Philosophers on August 18, 2024, 11:01:43 AMI believe in any sport an athlete whose practices are bad is worried about doing the same in live action, therefore you cannot convince me PS games do not matter as to the psyche if the player.

Remember David Tyree's famous helmet catch?  In the last practice before the Super Bowl, he dropped every pass thrown to him

Quote from: Ed Vette on August 18, 2024, 10:51:54 AMI won't waste my time looking at that. He absolutely game planned the first series. Winning is in the HC's DNA and they try to engrain it in their players. Just because they are practicing what they need to work on, doesn't mean they don't care about the execution of the play. Nabors sure wasn't playing not to get hurt. Neither was Hyatt, or they would have given up on a few of those tight coverage passes. A D-Lineman running down a Tailback, sure shows me he was looking to win a game and not just a Roster spot. Are you telling me that DJ threw 2 interceptions because he wasn't going all out? Don't tell that to his Oline.

Every NFL person (former coach, former GM or former player) says they don't game plan for PS games

Quote from: MightyGiants on August 18, 2024, 11:08:01 AMEvery NFL person (former coach, former GM or former player) says they don't game plan for PS games

It doesn't matter that this was a preseason game. If they start any game the way they did yesterday, their odds of winning are significantly diminished. If that was Dallas, that game is a blowout.