Good morning, New York Giants fans! Here are the stories you need to know as the Giants prepare to battle the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
Bring on the blitz! Changing the identity of the Giants’defense | ESPN.com
This week’s opponent could bring a different approach as the Giants take on the New Orleans Saints on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, Fox). Saints QB Tyler Shough has been just a touch above average against the blitz, with a 0.1% completion percentage above expectation (CPOE). He has five touchdown passes and two interceptions against the blitz.
Wilson’s track record doesn’t
show a heavy lean on the blitz. His Titans defense blitzed just 22.8% of dropbacks over the previous two seasons, the 22nd-highest rate. He sent DB blitzes 9.3% of dropbacks, which was 25th over that span. Perhaps that changes a bit with the Giants short-handed on pass rushers. It might be the best way for them to survive.
Giants embracing the underdog role
Giants adamant Kayvon Thibodeaux is making a bigger impact than modest stats indicate | New York Post
Sunday was almost a homecoming game for Kayvon Thibodeaux. The Saints called the Giants about trading for Thibodeaux during April’s draft but found the asking price — believed to be a third-round pick — too high.
Watching from afar as reports surfaced, including from The Post, Thibodeaux posted an image from “Fast & Furious” to social media with the tagline, “You thought you could leave without saying goodbye.”
Jameis Winston’s starting dream is alive as the Giants roll into a game against the Saints | FOX Sports
When Jameis Winston signed with the New Orleans Saints in 2020 initially to back up Drew Brees and then to be in the mix to succeed him at quarterback, he was long removed from winning the Heisman Trophy in college and being the top pick in the draft.
He did not give up on being a starter in the NFL again, like he was early in his career with Tampa Bay. “I dreamt of it,” Winston said. “And now it’s here.”
Giants WR reveals details of intense exchange with Jameis Winston: ‘You know how to read lips?’ | NJ.com
Winston wanted Mooney to flush the drop and refocus — echoing what Mooney had told Winston in the wake of his own mistakes. Said Mooney: “That was his opportunity to tell me, ‘As much as you tell me to f— it, this is my time to tell you: F— it. It’s OK. Just move on. I’m coming back to you right now.’”
It wasn’t just the drop that had Mooney annoyed in that moment when it appeared he was rolling his eyes at Winston. In reality, Mooney said, he was aggravated about how the afternoon had unfolded. “It was just how the game was going for me,” he said. “I got face masked. I got poked in the eye. When I had a ball, I got ran into, and I thought it was a [pass interference]. It’s just that things weren’t going well for me.”
‘Big, fast, physical’Giants tight end emerges as special teams playmaker | The Record
Theo Johnson entered the NFL harboring dreams of becoming one of the league’s top tight ends. The former New York Giants coaching staff used to show him highlights of Rob Gronkowski, pulling him out of meetings to bring him upstairs, just to break down Gronkowski video for inspiration and motivation.
Now in his third season, Johnson isn’t giving up on that goal just yet.
Confident Giants kicker Dominic Zvada: ‘If nothing has changed, nothing should change’ | New York Daily News
Zvada said he spent Monday dissecting what went wrong and now has no need for a rear-view mirror as he prepares for the New Orleans Saints. A return to MetLife Stadium and to a turf field might help his footing, and he is no less confident than he was last week.
“I really just try and focus on what I can control,” he said. “That’s kind of how I’ve been able to have success early in the season is by just focusing on not the score or where we’re at in the game or anything like that. It’s just focused on going out there, having that mental checklist in my head and lining up and kicking the ball through the uprights. That’s really all I need to focus on. I’m kind of just forcing myself to focus on that, and when you force yourself to focus on that, everything else just kind of fades out. And then you’re just kind of in your own world. So it’s nice.”
New York Giants’John Harbaugh: Isaiah Likely a‘unique kind of athlete’| USAToday.com
“When he was being evaluated, he went in the fourth round; I think it was late fourth round. Nobody really could get their arms around him. He made all these plays in college, but it just looked different. You see it out here, it turns out it’s really good what he does,” Harbaugh said. “He’s elusive; he can get away in man and zone coverage. He’s got a great feel; he’s got great hands, he has an amazing catch radius. He’s an elusive runner, a good, strong runner. So, all those things that are football. He’s also, and this was in college, he was crazy good as a perimeter blocker. He would launch guys through the air, like five yards through the air sometimes at Coastal. He’s a really good perimeter blocker here too. He’s translated really well, and I think he’s been able to really express that here this year. The kind of player he is, and it’s just great to see.”
From Big Blue View
- Abdul Carter held out of practice for 2nd straight day
- ‘Peanut punch’ prevalence has gotten Giants’ attention
- 5 takeaways from Matt Nagy: Good things coming in Giants’ running game?
- Giants’ RB Cam Skattebo explains taking gloves off late in game vs. Commanders
- Giants vs. Saints matchup: Can the Giants’ defense shut down the Saints’ offense?
- NFL predictions: Will underdog Giants upend the Saints?
- Giants vs. Saints, Week 6: News, injuries, analysis, more
This week’s opponent
- Our Offense vs. Their Defense: New York Giants | Canal Street Chronicles
- New Orleans Saints united on disappointment of slow start | NewOrleansSaints.com
- Tyler Shough: We can’t let Gayle Benson’s comments affect our daily process | Pro Football Talk
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