We have a pretty strict rule when it comes to assessing stuff in the football world and that is ‘Never, ever base conclusions on just one game!’ The corollary is never, ever, ever base anything on a pre-season game, especially the first one. So we aren’t going to say much other than it was nice to get a W, I mean it’s been a while!! In addition, both QBs, or at least Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor, were solid enough. And we probably aren’t saying much new in pointing out that several players had really good games including LB Darian Beavers, CB Cor’dale Flott, WRs Collin Johnson and Richie James, and RBs Antonio Williams and Jashaun Corbin. In fact, the latter two guys got our game balls. And we’d be preaching to the choir to note that WR Kenny Golladay, with that red zone egregious drop, that stopped the Giants initial drive, and CB Aaron Robinson didn’t have good nights. In fact, pretty much the whole CB corps is still trying to find the ball. Fortunately, few of those guys are going to make the final 53, but clearly its the Giants main concern right now.
It was also a pretty good evening for the offensive line, especially the 2s and 3s that dominated the Patriots’ subs at the point of attack all night long. However, the guys we were focused on were rookie OL Evan Neal and Josh Ezeudu, whom the Giants selected in the first and third rounds respectively this past spring. Bottom line is that neither looked out of place, although both guys have some stuff that needs to be cleaned up. Neal, for example, actually looked surprisingly quick, particularly for somebody that big. He gets off the snap with authority and sets up very quickly. He also moves much better in space than we were expecting. Neal, though, had some issues with his balance when people got into his pads. It appears that while he’s light on his feet, his base just isn’t very wide with the result he ends up being top heavy and slides off blocks too easily. He probably could also get better arm extension and keep people off his pads. Indeed, with Neal there was too much reaching, leaning and pushing rather than solid contact.
Like Neal, Ezeudu is pretty quick off the snap, but he has a much more quiet, balanced slide step that allows him to move around the pocket with relative ease. Ezeudu’s issue, though, was that he did not appear to absorb initial contact all that forcefully and tended to get stood up off that first contact. He generally was able to recover and get his pads back down, but there would be penetration. One of the ironies here, again based solely on one meaningless game, is that if one didn’t actually know the players, one might think that Ezeudu was the OT prospect and Neal the OG candidate.
Notes: While watching Neal and Ezeudu, it was hard not to note the mobility and effort of veteran offensive linemen Jon Feliciano and Mark Glowinski who seemed to get in an extra shot or two on just about every play. Nice change from the past … We also had several queries asking whether we thought the fact that WR Darius Slayton started the game with the first-unit indicated the Giants were showcasing him for a possible trade. Of course, anything is possible, but more likely all it means is that with Kadarius Toney and Sterling Shepard not playing, he’s the next guy up … And why would the Giants keep QB Davis Webb around as a 3rd QB. Well, not as insurance in case Jones AND Taylor get hurt. But if Jones is more comfortable having Webb as a kind of coach on the bench to talk things over with, then he’s going to be more valuable in that spot than any 10th offensive lineman. We’ll see!!
