Giants Report Card vs. the Bucs

There was a lot of good in the Giants Week 3 win over the Bucs besides the performance of rookie quarterback Daniel Jones.

There must be something about playing in Tampa and opponent field goals sailing wide right.

Ok, while you can't necessarily compare a missed field goal clinching a Super Bowl victory to a missed field goal clinching a regular-season game, the fact is that the Giants, who came into this week's game 0-2 and without an established identity, took a huge step forward in gaining back some respectability among their NFL peers.

A large part of that was the spark that ensued from the change at quarterback from Eli Manning to Daniel Jones. 

With Jones under center, the Giants offense was able to more closely resemble the Vikings top-5 unit that head coach Pat Shurmur coordinated for the Vikings a few years ago.

Put another way; it was as though the Giants offense finally leveled up after being stuck at a certain level for years. And although it was just one game, you have to like the possibilities this new level appears to have opened up.

The defense? As will be explained in this review and the forthcoming issue of Inside Football, defensive coordinator James Bettcher did have a plan. Unfortunately, the plan was of the "rob Peter to pay Paul" variety, a necessity given the youth he has at cornerback.

Still, a win is a win, and it's been a long time since the Giants have graded out this well. So let's get into it.

PASSING OFFENSE: A

As Mark Schofield and I discussed on the latest LockedOn Giants podcast, head coach Pat Shurmur had Daniel Jones throwing mostly on first down against base defenses, a good way to kind of break a rookie in and allow him to develop a feel for the flow of the game. As it went on, the Giants added elements into the mix and Jones didn't disappoint.

Even when the Bucs brought the heat against Jones--and they did so quite often this week--the rookie was Mr. Cool under pressure.

The Giants added in elements to the passing game that we have been hoping to see for weeks, including the seam route run by tight end Evan Engram, who had himself another huge day (six receptions for 113 yards, one touchdown).

Engram continues to be a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses, and it was nice to see the Giants play-calling take advantage of this.

Sterling Shepard was also a big part of the passing attack and did an excellent job of getting open underneath.

And speaking of the passing game, it helped out the running game. The Bucs brought pressure up the middle, which opened the rushing lanes on the edges. 

The Giants were able to take advantage of that to a degree, recording 39 of their 72 rushing yards in the second half by mainly sending more runs to the outside.

RUSHING OFFENSE: C

Before the Giants lost Saquon Barkley to a high-ankle sprain, an injury that will keep him sidelined for multiple weeks, they weren't getting much on the ground anyway, as the Bucs zeroed in on stopping Barkley and forcing Daniel Jones to beat them through the air.

Barkley rushed eight times for 10 yards, but the run blocking wasn't as sharp as it had been the first couple weeks of the season-- the play of the offensive line as a unit wasn't as sharp as you’d have liked.

Jones finished as the Giants' leading rusher with 28 yards (on four carries) and the two touchdowns, while barely a whimper was made by the rest of the running game even after Barkley went down.

It will be interesting to see if over the coming weeks the Giants rely on more RPOs and designed rollouts to achieve that all-important balance on offense.

PASS DEFENSE: D

Janoris Jenkins had an afternoon to forget in trying to cover Bucs receiver Mike Evans mostly by his lonesome.

While a big part of that is the scheme, the bigger picture here is that Jenkins, who is being paid like a top-shelf cornerback, has struggled the last couple of weeks to live up to that expectation, which is why he's unlikely to be back here next season when he's due to count for $14.75 million against the team's 2020 salary cap.

Rookie DeAndre Baker had a little bit better showing as the game went on, but again, credit the scheme here which took some of the onus off him and allowed him to build up his confidence.

The big development was the pass rush started to show signs of life. Edge rusher Markus Golden recorded two of the team's four sacks and four of the Giants' 10 quarterback hits.

The pressure, though, is only one part of the equation, as unless the back end of the defense is tightened up, the defense will continue to have its struggles.

RUSH DEFENSE: C-

The run defense continues to struggle with plugging up the middle rushing lanes, and that could be a result of personnel deployment.

For example, Dalvin Tomlinson continues to struggle against solo blocking. There were times when, instead of being deployed at the 3-technique, he was deployed inside. Thus far, that just doesn't appear to be an ideal fit for his skill set.

And when asked to play nose tackle, he's rarely creating the congestion that you would expect from the position.

Again, this could fall on coaching and personnel deployment, but between that and the play of the linebackers against the run, this is an on-going problem the Giants are still trying to figure out.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A

The Giants punt coverage team continues to be outstanding. This week, it allowed five returns for nine measly yards, with punter Riley Dixon dropping one ball inside the 20.

Say what you want about Antonio Hamilton as a cornerback, but against the Bucs, the man turned in some of the most exceptional gunner play you'll ever see, which is why he's still on the roster.

A few other thoughts about special teams: One of the Bucs' two PATs was blocked by rookie Dexter Lawrence, who, if you remember, last week against the Bills was flagged for having made contact with the snapper (a ticky-tack call, by the way).

I bring this up because Lawrence has been getting a good push up the middle on place-kick scoring attempts and it was a matter of time before he got a hand on one. This week was the week.

TJ Jones was once again solid on punt returns, returning the lone returnable punt for 13 yards and wisely calling for two fair catches. Jones has come on strong in this role after looking shaky in it during the preseason.

Aldrick Rosas was his usual mid-season form, hitting a 36-yard field goal attempt and sending all six of his kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks.

COACHING: B+

As Mark Schofield and I discussed on the latest LockedOn Giants podcast, head coach Pat Shurmur had Daniel Jones throwing mostly on first down against base defenses, a good way to kind of break a rookie in and allow him to develop a feel for the flow of the game. As it went on, the Giants added elements into the mix and Jones didn't disappoint.

On defense, the Giants continued to struggle. I'm convinced that the schemes are a big reason why the defensive backfield has struggled. Singling cornerback Janoris Jenkins against Mike Evans with no safety help is a headscratcher, though a potential cause for it might have been to provide some extra help to DeAndre Baker.

To his credit, defensive coordinator James Bettcher did adjust at halftime, going to a two-deep zone with the cornerbacks playing man-to-man coverage underneath. 

However, on that last Bucs possession, the Giants went right back to deploying the same strategy they used in the start first half, and it very nearly cost them the game.