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Giants Must Stay Even Keeled Coming Off Win and Other Thoughts Ahead of Week 2's Game

Some final thoughts ahead of the New York Giants' Week 2 home opener against Carolina.

Patricia Traina

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It's been a long time since any sort of regular-season excitement has surrounded the New York Giants.

Yet here we are, fresh off a 21-20 upset win over the Tennessee Titans, one of those games that, if the critics are to believed, the Giants had no business winning.

But critics be darned because that's precisely what head coach Brian Daboll's gritty squad did, riding high on their own confidence (see Saquon Barkley's 164-yard rushing performance) and not being afraid to stand toe-to-toe with last year's top playoff seed in the AFC (see Daboll's gutsy 2-point conversion decision that won the game).

While the Giants' win last week isn't close to the magnitude of a Super Bowl win, the concerns about a hangover have certainly been there. This Giants team, for so long, has had to trek through the misery of one losing season after another that it's only natural to wonder how the team might handle its first taste of success in the Daboll era as it seeks to start a season 2-0 for the first time since 2016.

The answer? One day at a time.

Among Daboll's many messages to the team, which apply regardless of the previous week's outcome, is to take the lessons from the past, learn from them, and move on.

There need not be any hangovers or premature bookings of hotel rooms at Glendale, Arizona, where the next Super Bowl will be played in February 2023. Just BE A PRO, as signage around the Quest Diagnostics Training Center consistently preaches.

Message received.

"It’s a big win for us, but it’s one game," quarterback Daniel Jones said. "It’s about what we do now. ... It’s just one game. We haven’t done anything yet. So, we’re focused on this game coming up."

“Just go back to the process," added defensive lineman Leonard Williams. "That’s something that we’ve been harping on since we’ve been in the building, since OTAs.

"That’s something that (Head Coach Brian Daboll) and the players have all bought into – that it’s not really the results, it’s the process. I think we know as a team that although we got the win and we’re happy and excited to start the season off fast. There’s a lot of stuff that we have to clean up, and there’s a lot of things that we will have to do to continue to win, and we’re not going to buy into the hype."

"Come into work ready to practice," said Saquon Barkley, the reigning NFC Offensive Player of the Week, when asked what the team does for an encore. "Continue to fall in love with the process, learn the game plan and just get better day-by-day."

These sentiments aren't a result of Daboll trying to squish the euphoria the players and staff experienced after a long off-season and week of preparation. 

This, Daboll said, is the reality of the situation.

“One week really has nothing to do with the next week,” he said. “It’s a one-game season every week."

That's why the Giants' sights have been squarely on getting ready for the Carolina Panthers. Because they know if they keep their eye on the prize, in time, they'll eventually get to a point where they might be able to bask in the multi-day glory that comes with winning.

Here are a few other thoughts from the week.

1. In case you missed it, receiver Kadarius Toney is back on the injury report, this time with a hamstring issue. 

Toney, who practiced in full Wednesday, might have developed his hamstring issue during last week's game if a video that made its way to Twitter is to be believed.

The video, shot by a fan sitting behind the Giants' bench, showed Toney having his hamstring worked on by a member of the team's training staff. If Toney's hamstring was tightening up on him, that could explain why, despite Daboll's claim that they had several plays in the game plan for Toney, the second-year receiver played in seven snaps.

Toney is a wonderful, electrifying talent, but this constant string of injuries is disheartening at this point. No one on the Giants is giving up on him yet, but it's probably safe to say that if Toney can't get his body right for the rest of the season, the Giants will probably need to make some difficult decisions moving forward.

2. Last week, as Saquon Barkley was running wild against the Titans, Tennessee decided to stack the box (eight or more defenders) just 5.56 percent of the time, the lowest rate among rushers in Week 1.

You can likely assume that the Panthers will probably look to stack the box a little more often against Barkley to force Daniel Jones to beat them with his arm.

That possibility raised a question of Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and if there was any way to counter the defense's decision to load up the box.

"There are definitely things you can do within the game plan," Kafka said. "Whether it’s personnel-based, formation-based, motion-based. There are definitely some things that you look at to try and get those opportunities."

Credit goes to the offensive line, whose run-blocking last week was superb. But let's not forget to credit Barkley, who was decisive with his running and showed explosiveness that temporarily disappeared after he tore his ACL in 2020.

"He did a phenomenal job with the ball in his hands," Kafka said. "I thought the o-line protected him well. I think it was a full 11-man operation out there. I thought Saquon definitely benefited from that. He ran hard; he played well."

3. On the surface, the Giants' pass blocking left something to be desired after allowing five sacks and eight quarterback hits last week.

While the pass blocking wasn't as crisp as the run blocking, credit Kafka and Daboll for coming up with a way to minimize that flaw. Quarterback Daniel Jones had an average of 2.98 seconds to throw, according to NFL NextGen Stats, which is the highest average he's had since his rookie season when he topped out at 2.84 seconds.

How did they manage that? By keeping most of Jones's throws short and quick.

pass-chart_JON165462_2022-REG-1_1662941550608
NFL NextGen Stats

Jones attempted just one pass of 20+ yards against the Titans cornerbacks, the 65-yard touchdown strike to receiver Sterling Shepard, which traveled 49.3 air yards, per NextGen Stats.

Otherwise, ten of his 21 attempts were between 0-9 yards (he completed all ten of those), with just four thrown between 10-19 yards (he went two of four on those attempts).

4. This Sunday, former Giants head coach Ben McAdoo, who was the Giants offensive coordinator from 2014-2015 before being named as head coach in 2016, returns to MetLife Stadium to face his old team. McAdoo, now the Panthers' offensive coordinator, was the last Giants head coach to lead the team to a winning record (2016) when New York finished 11-5.

But after losing to the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card, the bottom fell out for McAdoo in 2017. The Giants finished that season 3-13, and McAdoo, who famously nudged quarterback Eli Manning to the bench, became the first Giants head coach to be fired in-season since 1976 when John McVay was dismissed following the fumble.

There aren't very many players currently on the Giants left from the McAdoo era--quarterback Davis Webb is one, and receiver Sterling Shepard is another. 

Shepard, in his press gathering Thursday, didn't seem enthusiastic about revisiting the past.

"I’m trying not to think about any of that stuff anymore. I’m just really focused on what we’ve got here right now," Shepard said. "That’s my main focus, getting this team back on the right track and winning football games."

McAdoo, who sat out for the remainder of his contract while collecting from the Giants, resurfaced in Dallas as a consultant before eventually moving on to Carolina as Matt Rhule's offensive coordinator.

According to colleague Schuyler Callihan at All Panthers, McAdoo had the following to say when asked about his time in New York:

Love New York. Got a lot of great memories there. A lot of great people there in that organization. Love this city. Love North [New] Jersey. But right now, it's about getting ready to play a football game. For me to spend any time thinking about that would be selfish and not very smart. Played them twice last year when I was in Dallas, and it didn't factor into anything. Playing them again this year, so far, there's nothing to it. Just getting ready to play a ball game. 

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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