A Preseason Game 1 Summary

[bamagiantfan]

I know these games are hard to watch for those outside the New York area. I took some notes on the NFL Network rebroadcast in the wee hours this morning and this was my perspective

Overall
-    Defensive 1s badly outplayed the Offensive 2s for both teams.
-    Oline played well. No glaring mistakes.

Best Players
-    Tommy Devito
-    Eric Gray
-    Jalen Mayfield
-    Dante Miller
-    Dyontae Johnson
-    Breon Borders
-    Whitley

Players who took a step backwards

-    Azeez Ojulari
-    Bryce Ford-Wheaton

Offense
-    O-line was solid, especially as Devito started to make plays on schedule.
-    Allen Robinson was the only receiver able to get open against the 1s.
-    Tracy was solid but missed a blitz pickup.
-    Lock too tentative. Yes, receivers were covered but the injury was the result of him holding the ball too long. The ball needs to come out. If it isn't there, get rid of it and live for the next play AND THE GAMES THAT COUNT.
-    Devito better at getting the ball out on time. Willing to trust himself and receivers in tight windows. Playing into the 4th quarter due to the injury to Lock.
-    Gray looked good in the passing game and running game, in space, and short yardage
-    Bellinger getting H-Back work.
-    Jackson made great catch on a bullet behind him then dropped the easy one, and nearly scored on another tight window throw by Devito. He reminds me of Waller. As TE projects go, I like him more than Cager.
-    If the Giants want to run, some of these backups on the O-line can really block. Kubas and Mayfield in particular had some complete cleanouts
-    Ford-Wheaton had a 3rd down catch short of a first down, but didn't get lined up right twice. Stumbled out of his break on a go route that looks like it would have been a TD. He is playing his way off the team and playing late into the 4th quarter.
-    Dante Miller, we know about his speed, but he showed some toughness and effectiveness running between the tackles for a small back. Had a nice game running, with a catch as well. If he eventually gets cut I don't see how he gets to the practice squad. His situation will be interesting to watch.
-    Lots of holding penalties and missed assignments on the 3s and 4s on the O-line. Daboll is giving them an earful.

Defense
-    Dyontae Johnson was the best player on the field for either side in the first quarter and played well into the third quarter. Left with an injury after Hendon Hooker ran him over. Hooker later left as well.
-    Basham was active with tackle for loss and a sack
-    Nubin was in the right place but missed two tackles
-    Massau, reminds me of Sam Mills with his short stature and ability to diagnose where the play is going.
-    Owens completely blew up a 3 and 5 play. Giants intercepted the 4th down play it caused. Played well on Special Teams too. 
-    Darnay Holmes was mixed but more importantly noticeably not as "handsy" in coverage in Bowen's Defense. That said, he was playing with the 3s late in the game.
-    There was no daylight between Hawkins and the receivers. Didn't see much work as a result since passes had to go somewhere else. Broke up the one pass that came his way.
-    Ojulari looked bad - slow, disinterested.
-    Timmy Horn looked good at NT
-    Beavers was flying around and making plays.
-    Breon Borders has had a nice game. Good goal line coverage on 3rd and goal, forcing a 4th down try. Had a pass breakup and a couple of tackles too.
-    Casey Rodgers had some good and bad, but was definitely disruptive.
-    Late in the game, Whitley was just whipping the left tackle. Two sacks and a pressure. I did not have him on my radar.

Special Teams
-    Borders was good on Specials and then when he had a chance on the Defense.
-    Olszewski vs. McKenzie for punt returner. McKenzie muffed one but showed more as a returner. Qzeiwski was safer – no mistakes – but didn't do much with his chances. Wet ball for both. Ayir Asante had one return.
-    CB Alex Johnson never had a chance to make a tackle but came clean on several punt coverages. Had a nice tackle on Defense late in the game when the Lions were inside the Giants' 10 yard line.

Also, Hendon Hooker at QB for the Lions caused some problems for the Giants. Like Devito, the throws came out quicker and he made some plays with his legs. The Defense kept everything in front of them but Hooker was able to move the chains with the help of some Giant penalties.

[MightyGiants]

This is an outstanding post!  Thank you for putting in the work and reporting on it.   

[katkavage]

Always remember the most important thing and really the only thing of value to take from a preseason game is the reality of injuries. Nothing else has any true correlation to a regular season game. I've learned that the hard way over decades of watching these games.

[Ed Vette]

Nice wrap up. I was most pleased with the Oline depth being so competent and the RB's because it was hard to evaluate them at Camp. They won't keep four Backs, so the competition is tough. As it should be.

[bamagiantfan]

Nice wrap up. I was most pleased with the Oline depth being so competent and the RB's because it was hard to evaluate them at Camp. They won't keep four Backs, so the competition is tough. As it should be.

Tracy and Miller were breaking the first tackle and Gray did a lot on his own for the long TD. I can't overstate how well the O-line played. I'd like to go back and see how many of the 141 rushing yards by the RBs were before they were touched. I bet it was over 100 and would have been more had it not been for some holding penalties in the second half.

[Gman329]

What stood out to me were the O and D lines.
 
OL opened some nice holes and generally held up well in pass protection, a marked improvement over last year. 

Defensively, the run defense was excellent, also a huge improvement over what we saw last year. 

[bamagiantfan]

Just a quick edit, Tyrone Tracy did get another series after Lock went down so he was NOT benched because of the missed blitz pickup.

[Trench]

Good summary. I get the same watching Ojulari it appears he doesn't work as hard each play.

How did the rooking TE play Theo?

[Trench]

I know these games are hard to watch for those outside the New York area. I took some notes on the NFL Network rebroadcast in the wee hours this morning and this was my perspective

Overall
-    Defensive 1s badly outplayed the Offensive 2s for both teams.
-    Oline played well. No glaring mistakes.

Best Players
-    Tommy Devito
-    Eric Gray
-    Jalen Mayfield
-    Dante Miller
-    Dyontae Johnson
-    Breon Borders
-    Whitley

Players who took a step backwards

-    Azeez Ojulari
-    Bryce Ford-Wheaton

Offense
-    O-line was solid, especially as Devito started to make plays on schedule.
-    Allen Robinson was the only receiver able to get open against the 1s.
-    Tracy was solid but missed a blitz pickup.
-    Lock too tentative. Yes, receivers were covered but the injury was the result of him holding the ball too long. The ball needs to come out. If it isn't there, get rid of it and live for the next play AND THE GAMES THAT COUNT.
-    Devito better at getting the ball out on time. Willing to trust himself and receivers in tight windows. Playing into the 4th quarter due to the injury to Lock.
-    Gray looked good in the passing game and running game, in space, and short yardage
-    Bellinger getting H-Back work.
-    Jackson made great catch on a bullet behind him then dropped the easy one, and nearly scored on another tight window throw by Devito. He reminds me of Waller. As TE projects go, I like him more than Cager.
-    If the Giants want to run, some of these backups on the O-line can really block. Kubas and Mayfield in particular had some complete cleanouts
-    Ford-Wheaton had a 3rd down catch short of a first down, but didn't get lined up right twice. Stumbled out of his break on a go route that looks like it would have been a TD. He is playing his way off the team and playing late into the 4th quarter.
-    Dante Miller, we know about his speed, but he showed some toughness and effectiveness running between the tackles for a small back. Had a nice game running, with a catch as well. If he eventually gets cut I don't see how he gets to the practice squad. His situation will be interesting to watch.
-    Lots of holding penalties and missed assignments on the 3s and 4s on the O-line. Daboll is giving them an earful.

Defense
-    Dyontae Johnson was the best player on the field for either side in the first quarter and played well into the third quarter. Left with an injury after Hendon Hooker ran him over. Hooker later left as well.
-    Basham was active with tackle for loss and a sack
-    Nubin was in the right place but missed two tackles
-    Massau, reminds me of Sam Mills with his short stature and ability to diagnose where the play is going.
-    Owens completely blew up a 3 and 5 play. Giants intercepted the 4th down play it caused. Played well on Special Teams too. 
-    Darnay Holmes was mixed but more importantly noticeably not as "handsy" in coverage in Bowen's Defense. That said, he was playing with the 3s late in the game.
-    There was no daylight between Hawkins and the receivers. Didn't see much work as a result since passes had to go somewhere else. Broke up the one pass that came his way.
-    Ojulari looked bad - slow, disinterested.
-    Timmy Horn looked good at NT
-    Beavers was flying around and making plays.
-    Breon Borders has had a nice game. Good goal line coverage on 3rd and goal, forcing a 4th down try. Had a pass breakup and a couple of tackles too.
-    Casey Rodgers had some good and bad, but was definitely disruptive.
-    Late in the game, Whitley was just whipping the left tackle. Two sacks and a pressure. I did not have him on my radar.

Special Teams
-    Borders was good on Specials and then when he had a chance on the Defense.
-    Olszewski vs. McKenzie for punt returner. McKenzie muffed one but showed more as a returner. Qzeiwski was safer – no mistakes – but didn't do much with his chances. Wet ball for both. Ayir Asante had one return.
-    CB Alex Johnson never had a chance to make a tackle but came clean on several punt coverages. Had a nice tackle on Defense late in the game when the Lions were inside the Giants' 10 yard line.

Also, Hendon Hooker at QB for the Lions caused some problems for the Giants. Like Devito, the throws came out quicker and he made some plays with his legs. The Defense kept everything in front of them but Hooker was able to move the chains with the help of some Giant penalties.

I would add:

- Excellent tackling
- Fantastic play by Phillips the rookie CB on the blitz penetration
- kicker looked good
- the 3rd TE (his name escapes me but he almost had a TB) played well

[bamagiantfan]

Good summary. I get the same watching Ojulari it appears he doesn't work as hard each play.

How did the rooking TE play Theo?

Honstly, if he played he was pretty much invisible, although Lock seemed to have the ball glued to his hand for the time he was in the game. Bellinger got the "start" and the TE project Tyree Jackson (Converted QB) got some snaps and looked good.

[H-Town G-Fan]

Honstly, if he played he was pretty much invisible, although Lock seemed to have the ball glued to his hand for the time he was in the game. Bellinger got the "start" and the TE project Tyree Jackson (Converted QB) got some snaps and looked good.

Something I reviewed showed Theo Johnson with 12 snaps, so very little opportunity, especially if they were with Lock.

[AZGiantFan]

I would add:

- Excellent tackling
- Fantastic play by Phillips the rookie CB on the blitz penetration
- kicker looked good
- the 3rd TE (his name escapes me but he almost had a TB) played well

I would also add that Nabers got open, even if the QB didn't see it or get him the ball.

[Painter]

A very good, and thoughtful summary. Many thanks, Mitch. Aside from the fact that our 2s, 3s, and 4s, played a better overall game than theirs, or perhaps because of it, I enjoyed watching it from start to finish. I look forward to doing and feeling the same next week against the Tejans.

Cheers!