Bob Donnelly asks: It’s great to see the Harbaugh era start with a W and there’s certainly a lot to get excited about.
I’m sure there are some in the glass half empty crowd that will say that the W is nice and John is 1 and 0 in one score games, but there remains some of the latent issues that often derailed this team last year with ball security (4 fumbles , 2 turnover-worth plays) and penalties (#1 penalty yards) leading the list.
As you reflect on the first game performance under Harbaugh what areas
concern you most?
Ed says: Bob, absolutely nothing has changed from my preseason evaluation of the Giants. The biggest areas of concern entering the season were cornerback play and defensive line depth. Nothing about Sunday changed that.
Tae Banks was OK. I thought he got pushed off on the touchdown he surrendered. I didn’t think Greg Newsome was that good against the Cowboys, but he was a lot better than Paulson Adebo. Colton Hood still isn’t ready for full-time duty.
DJ Reader and Shelby Harris were fine. When they were replaced by Darius Alexander and C.J. Okoye, Dallas had more success running the ball. If they can find a run-stuffing veteran defensive tackle who can help them get through this season that would be great.
Adam Jacobs asks: I have an offbeat question about the taunting penalty by Javonte Williams. Every penalty that occurs in the field of play is marked at the spot of the foul unless it occurs behind the line of scrimmage. Except the Williams penalty. Why was this enforced after the play was finished, and not from the spot of the foul? I am not sure I have ever seen this before. Do you have any idea how this works?
Ed says: Adam, taunting is treated as a dead-ball foul. Thus, the result of the play stands. The penalty is assessed after the play.
Kölnerbigblue asks: Ed, I know teams can request a review of penalties after the game. Not that it will change any results, can you explain how this process works?
Ed says: The NFL audits every snap during the days after games, looking at calls and non-calls. That is both to assess the performance of the offcials, and to determine discipline when it comes to handing out fines.
NFL teams can send a maximum of 10 plays to the league office each for review, clarification, explanation. Sometimes, the league will admit that a mistake was made. That, though, will not affect an outcome or result in a do-over.
James Pauloski asks: For me, the most amazing statistic from the Cowboys game was that Dallas only had two possessions in the second half. Yes, they scored two touchdowns, but that was it. That seems almost impossible. Did the Giants tie (or set) a record for allowing only two possessions in one half?
Ed says: James, I have been unable to find anything to answer that directly. What I can say is that each team had only seven possessions on Sunday, making 14 total (yes, I can do math!). That is an incredibly low total. There was a 2023 game between the Denver Broncos were there were only 12 possessions, six for each team. It speaks to efficiency by both offenses as there were five drives in the game that took more than six minutes, two of those by the Giants lasting more than eight minutes.
Todd Kuehn asks: Ed, I really like looking at box scores when the game is over because the information and numbers in them are all objective instead of subjective except for two of them. Maybe I’m wrong about that but when you look at the QBR and the RTG for quarterbacks from the Dallas game it seems to me maybe they are subjective. Dart got a really good RTG 134.2 and Prescott only had 84.8. But when you look at the QBR Dart received 81.5 and Prescott had an 89. How can that be? There is no doubt in almost everyone’s mind that Dart outplayed Prescott.
Ed says: Todd, there is no perfect quarterback measuring stick. PFF uses a different methodology than QBR, passer rating, etc. As Tony DelGenio pointed out this week, Pro Football and Sports Network’s ‘Impact Score’ had Dart as the second-highest rated quarterback this week with Prescott 14th. It all depends what they are grading and with they give importance to.
Bottom line is that no matter how Dart was graded by any rating system, it was clear that he played very well and did the things needed for the Giants to win a football game against a good team.
Martin Hand asks: Hi Ed, I just saw an article about Gronkowski and that his number had not been retired yet… It made me think about our situation with Malik and Abdul… Don’t you think it is a bit self-absorbed for an retired individual to think that the number is his and does not belong to the franchise… Players last a few years, whereas the Giants will last forever… I don’t have my heels dug in over this one, but couldn’t help to think about it and wanted to ask you what you thought.
Ed says: Martin, I can’t say I have ever heard that opinion before.
Players don’t decide to retire their numbers. Franchises do that in honor of those players. So, yes, the number belongs to the franchise and that is what the franchise has chosen to do with it.
To be honest, I vehemently disagree with the whole idea of “unretiring” numbers. I think sometimes well-meaning franchises retire too many numbers. Here is the list of Giants’ retired numbers. I think the Giants allowed Malik Nabers to wear the previously retired No. 1 jersey opened a Pandora’s Box that led to the Abdul Carter mess, and that it won’t be the last time there is a situation like that.
Numbers, though, get retired because of a player’s accomplishments. That means something to that player, and to the player’s family. Why should a kid fresh out of college who has done nothing get the number of an all-time franchise great? Because his “brand” revolves around that number? Please.
Jeffrey Jacobs asks: Do you see any scenario where the Giants mange to pry Joey Porter Jr. away from the Steelers, and if so what do you think it would take?
Ed says: Jeffrey, of course there is a scenario where the Giants try to pry Porter Jr. away from the Steelers. I think it is highly unlikely, but if the Giants believe the player is worth the draft capital they would have to surrender and the big price tag they would have to pay him they would try to make it happen.
Spotrac recently posted what their model believes Porter’s price tag would be:
Four years, $110 million would make Porter the seventh-highest paid cornerback in the NFL in terms of average annual value. Is he really worth that kind of money?
Also, the Giants are extremely reluctant to give out contracts of that length. Andrew Thomas and Brian Burns, arguably the two best players on the team not currently on four-year rookie contracts, are the only veteran players with deals of longer than three years.
Are the Giants really going to go there for Porter? Remember, not too far down the road they will have to negotiate long-term deals with Jaxson Dart, Malik Nabers, and Abdul Carter.
As for trade cost in terms of draft capital, I can’t imagine the Steelers being able to drive a hard bargain for Porter if they choose to move him. I am not offering more than an early-Day 3 pick considering the contract I would have to give him.
Marcus Mbow bonus
I was asked many times during the offseason if I knew whether or not second-year offensive tackle Marcus Mbow has put on weight during the offseason. Until Thursday, I couldn’t answer the question because I had not spoken to him at all.
I got a chance to speak with him for a minute in the locker room this week. For all of you obsessed by Mbow’s weight, he put on 15 pounds this offseason and is now around the 320-pound mark.
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