Giants Country

New York Giants Mailbag: What's Up with the Defense?

Let's check in with the readers to see what's on their minds.

Patricia Traina

New York Giants Mailbag
New York Giants Mailbag / Patricia Traina | New York Giants on SI
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If you'd like to submit a question for the mailbag, please use the link below link to avoid having your question land in spam. You may also post your questions on X (formerly known as Twitter) to @Patricia_Traina, hashtag #askPTrain. Please note that letters may be edited for clarity/length.

Was this the first NFL game where one team only scored with kicks and the other team didn't score a single point through kicks? Google was no help. -- Jason S.

Hi Jason. Last week's game was only the second time in NFL history that a team lost while scoring three touchdowns and allowing none. Hope that answers your question.

In passing situations, the team keeps the halfback in to block for the QB. Why not a fullback who is a better blocker? Why not use the fullback to actually carry the ball just a couple of times during the game and for short passes to keep the D honest. What do you think about a Fullback and how the FB is used? -- Joe G.

Joe, putting a tight end back there gives an offense more flexibility in terms of the passing game. I think the reason you don't see the Giants with a pue fullback is because they aspire to be more of a passing offense.

I read a report about the Giants locker room starting to turn on Daboll and it being as bad as it was in 2017 under McAdoo. Do you agree? -- Harvey F.

Harvey, I can only speak for myself here. Having spoken to quite a few players this week, I did not get a sense that Brian Daboll was losing the locker room. Is the room full of happy campers? No--they're losing, and if anyone is happy, they need to reassess what they're doing. 

I don't agree that it’s as bad as 2017. I was covering the team back then, and I can tell you that was really bad, with guys sniping at each other and the coaches on and off the record. So, no, I don’t think it’s that bad, at least not yet. Now, if the losses increase? Well, we’ll have to wait and see what comes of it.

The interview ran on the Locked On Giants podcast. You can see the entire interview here. I'll also have an article about it as well.

Chris, I think the question people have to ask themselves is, are they satisfied in having a quarterback you can win in spite of, or do you want a quarterback you can’t win without, like Mahomes?

Here's how I see it. The Giants have been practicing the scheme since May. I get it that practice is a much different setting than a game in terms of tempo/speed, but by now, you’d think they’d at least have a handle on the concepts, right? 

So, to your question, I don't think they have a replacement for Leonard Williams and the cornerbacks haven’t exactly set the world on fire, so it all factors into the mix. 

Charles, I sure hope so. After looking at the film, I can see what Bobby Okereke is talking about with others not doing their jobs. So we'll see because the talent up front should have much better results than what they've shown.

No disrespect to Woj, but I never had him on my Mount Rushmore of sportswriters--and I think the world of Woj, having read him way back when he wrote for my local paper. 

My Mount Rushmore includes Dave Anderson, Peter King, Jerry Izenberg, and Dick Young, all of whom I grew up reading. Honorable mentions go to Bob Glauber and Steve Serby. I also enjoyed Neil Best of Newsday, whom I always saw as an underrated writer. And I have mad respect for Jay Glazer, who I knew way back when he worked for a little weekly newspaper that covered the Giants.

Like who? Seriously at this point if there was someone out there worth bringing in, wouldn't they have done so?

The one consolation I have here is Andre Patterson is a VERY good coach. He has a lot of youth to work with but you give him a chance to work with them and see if he can't bring them further along.

Hey, the schedule is what it is.

Bill, paying customers have a right to feel and react as they please within reason–and by that, I mean so long as they’re not seeking to cause bodily harm to the players and coaches. No one has the right to judge or lecture them or say they’re over reacting.

Look, my late father was a season ticket holder for almost 50 years, and I remember him coming home in a bad mood after a bad game and thinking he was ridiculous for letting a football game influence him that way. As I got older, I understood the time and money he sunk into the game, so who was I to tell him how to act?

I honestly don't know how far away this franchise is from contending. I think the jury is still out on the quarterback spot, the defensive secondary DESPERATELY needs corners, and I still question Daboll's appraoch to getting this team ready in the summer by holding the starters out of the final preseason game.

I believe it was all part of the salary cap gymnastics. By taking guys at the bottom off the roster before the first week, their salaries didn’t become guaranteed for the entire year, even if that meant playing short-handed,  (which they could afford to do given they were healthy at the time). They gave themselves a bit more flexibility down the line. 

I can’t imagine why Wink Martindale would have anything to do with it. That said, I can’t speak for ESPN. I can only speak for what happens on this site.

Hard to say, Andrew. It could be a combination of both, or players just not doing their jobs as they’re supposed to. Whatever it is, they better figure it out fast.

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Patricia Traina

PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for over three decades for various media outlets. She is the host of the Locked On Giants podcast and the author of "The Big 50: New York Giants: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants" (Triumph Books, September 2020). View Patricia's full bio.

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