Giants vs. Bears: What I'll be watching

With the starters likely to see more playing time this week, here's a look at what I'll be watching for when the Giants host the Bears.

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Last week the Giants got an extended look at most of their depth in a crazy, rain-delayed 31-22 win over the New York Jets.

But as is customary with preseason games and head coaches’ plans, it would not be surprising to see the starting offense and defense get more than a series this week when the Chicago Bears come to town. 

Head coach Pat Shurmur hasn’t indicated how he’ll deploy his personnel, but anything short of a one to one hand a half quarters of play for the starters would probably be a realistic expectation.

Before getting into the things I will be watching this week’s game, my advice to you is to keep an eye on which fringe players play and which ones do not.  

For those looking for early hints as to who might be on the roster bubble, often the second preseason game gives a glimpse inside the coaches’ thinking.

This is because those players who are typically not in the future plans don’t get much, if any, playing time in Weeks 2 and 3 of the preseason, whereas those the coaches are still trying to decide on will see the lion’s share of the snaps.

With all that said, here are the five items that I’ll be watching in this week’s game.

What’s the next step in Daniel Jones’ development?

Daniel Jones had a perfect NFL preseason debut, but we need to pump the brakes here because that perfect game consisted of only five pass attempts.

Head coach Pat Shurmur has been increasing Jones’ workload each week since the rookie got to East Rutherford. Jones has started off with some basic, one-read plays which he executed so perfectly in last week’s game. 

This week in practice, Jones has been facing more “pressure” from the defense and has been asked to make multiple reads which have necessitated him holding onto the ball a little longer than he did last week.

Then there are other intangibles such as how will Jones handle halftime and any adjustment added in on the fly and how will he handle adversity such as a sack or a turnover?

Thus far in practice, the rookie has been as cool as a cucumber. But it’s one thing to do it in practice, where you know you’re not about to get flattened by a charging defender versus doing it in real-time.

Where is the pass rush?

Last week against the Jets, the Giants pass rush managed just three hits and two sacks—and none of those were recorded by any defender projected to be a starter or key reserve.

In fact, there were times when Jets quarterback Sam Darnold was able to step up in the pocket to avoid the edges from collapsing around him, which had one wondering when the push up the middle the general manager Dave Gettleman has been seeking was going to show up?

We get it that defensive coordinator James Bettcher doesn’t want to tip his hand regarding blitz packages or stunts, but we sure would like to see some kind of heartbeat on a pass rush—and no, it doesn’t necessarily have to be sacks (though they’d be nice)—from the Giants’ revamped pass rush.

Which Eli Manning will we see?

In his lone series last week, Eli Manning had one pass play in which he dumped the ball off to tight end Scott Simonson underneath rather than target a streaking Rhett Ellison, who had a few steps against a defender.

Even Manning admitted that last week, there wasn't much to take from thhe lone series he played. 

"(There was) one little bootleg and two runs. Then obviously I had a penalty on the second play, which is never good," he said.

"I think this week we’ll get more playing time. (We’ll be) going against a good defense and a good team in Chicago. We want to go out there and get some first downs and move the ball and score some points."

Manning has looked very sharp this spring and summer in practice, but that sharpness needs to carry over into games. Gettleman remade the offensive line which, on paper, looks like the best unit this team has had in years.

Manning has noticed that as well. 

"It seems that way," he said. "I think, obviously, once you get to live-action, that kind of tells more of a realistic approach to things. We get blitzes, and everybody is on the same page. 

"I feel like they are on the same page, they are making good calls, they are in the right spots and picking up a lot of blitzes and sound in passing things off, and are communicating what the defensive line is doing."

The question that Manning, whom team co-owner John Mara admitted is now on a year-to-year basis as far as his contract is concerned, is if a half dozen years behind shoddy pass protection has irreversibly ruined his timing and feel for the pocket.

Is there a punting competition brewing?

UPDATE: The Giants swapped out punters, exchanging Ryan Anderson for Johnny Townsend, acquired off waivers.

No one has really talked about that possibility, but the fact that the Giants still have two punters on the roster likely extends beyond the desire of not wanting to overwork incumbent Riley Dixon.

Speaking of Dixon, last year the Giants ranked 27 in the league in punts placed inside the 20 and tied for 18 in touchbacks.

That the Giants finished seventh in net average is a testament to the great job done by the coverage team hustling down the field and limiting return yardage.

Dixon, in his first season with the Giants, wasn’t horrible—inconsistent is the word we’d probably use. 

That inconsistency also showed up in last week’s game against the Jets when he had one solid punt and one iffy punt, his two punts traveling 77 yards for a 38.5 average and a 33.5 net average.

Interestingly, after praising Ryan Anderson, whom the team waived Wednesday, the Giants added Johnny Townsend off waivers.

Townsend, in his second season, was a fifth-round pick of the Raiders last year. 

Thus far in the preseason, he's punted three times for 127 yards, a 42.3 average, and has a net of 40.7 yards. Townsend has also ut two punts inside the 20-yard line.

Will Darius Slayton play?

After a strong spring, the rookie reported to camp and strained his hamstring on July 22. Slayton just recently returned to practice, but he’s missed a lot of work being on the sideline.

Shurmur said he didn’t know if Slayton would be good to go on Friday, but he did gush over what the rookie offers when he’s on the field.

“He’s a fine receiver. He has speed, obviously,” he said. “Through the OTAs and the time he was on the practice field, he displayed the ability to go down the field and make a catch. We anticipate that he’s going to have a bright future. He just needs to get out there.”

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