New York Giants’ Resilient Rally: Jameis Winston, Malik Nabers, And The Running Game Mystery

This is the Locked On Podcast Network, celebrating 10 years of your team every day. The NFL season is finally here, and Locked On NFL is covering every second of it. You can find us breaking down all the action on Amazon Music every single day with bold takes and real analysis that matters. Opening day storylines, roster moves. If it's happening with your team, we're on it. No waiting, no fluff. Subscribe on Amazon Music and never miss a snap. The New York Giants 27-27 tie with the Washington Commanders wasn't as bad as it looked. I'll tell you why on the Locked On Giants Podcast coming up next. You are Locked On Giants, your daily New York Giants podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello New York Giants fans and welcome to another edition of the Locked On Giants Podcast. I'm your host, Patricia Traina, and the New York Giants 27 to 27 week five, a tie in a very weird type of game with the Washington Commanders. So we're going to break down the good, bad, and ugly from that game. We're going to take a closer look at one of the ugly elements, basically not just of this game, but of the season so far, and that's the Giants running game. And then we've got something we might want to keep an eye on. So I'll tell you what that is coming up later on in the program. Today's episode of Locked On Giants is brought to you by our friends over at FanDuel. Get $350 in bonus bets guaranteed when you bet just $5 every day for seven days. Join all the action at fanduel.com. All right, Giants fans. So the Giants 27 to 27 in a game against the Washington Commanders. It was kind of a yicky day, rain, sloppy, just you thought it was going to be a low scoring game. You thought it was going to be a lot of mistakes and whatnot. But there was actually some good to come out of the game, believe it or not. Starting with the fact that the Giants rallied from being 14 points down. They rallied in the second half and they were able to muster up a tie. For a while there, it just looked like the commanders had their number. You thought, oh gosh, this is going to be one of those games that the Giants should win, but they're going to let slip through their fingers. But to their credit, the Giants played tough. Jameis Winston, let's talk about his performance here. Jameis Winston, you know, we always talk about the Jameis Winston experience, and we got it again today. We got it in that, you know, Winston in the beginning part of the game looked like he was kind of out of sorts a bit. But he actually got better as the game went on. And if you break down his completion percentage and his overall production by quarter, the numbers back it up. So let me give you those numbers. In quarter one, he completed 50% of his past attempts. Quarter two, that dropped down to 37.5%. In quarter three, it jumped up to 72.7% with one touchdown. And in the fourth quarter, 76.5% completion rate with two touchdowns, all right? So what was the difference between the first half and the second half, basically? The coaches went to more of an up-tempo offense in the second half. And that's when things kind of broke open for the Giants. They got into a bit of a rhythm there with Jameis Winston running the show. And it looked like a totally different offense there in the second half. So that was a positive. The pass rush, they added five more sacks to their total. You know, Arville Reese got his first sack in the NFL. Abdel Carter was his usual disrupted cell. You really got to like what you saw from those two young men. I think they're going to be part of the future, along with Brian Burns when he comes back for the pass rush. Some more positives to come out of the game. The Giants were three for three in the red zone. That's important. I think the commanders, they were 0 for 2 in the red zone, which is kind of what you would expect, I guess. Charlie Jones in his taking over the kickoff and punt return role for the injured Braxton Barrios. Charlie Jones averaged 26 yards on kickoff returns. 13 on punt returns. Not bad. I really like Charlie Jones. He's got great acceleration, hits the holes quickly. He doesn't dilly-dally back there. He just takes the ball, makes a decision, and boom, he's through the hole as best as he can. The Jameis Winston to Malik Nabers connection. This is the second game in a row that Malik Nabers had 800 yards receiving. Malik was targeted 20 times in this game. You can see that rapport building up between Jameis and Malik, Malik having his second straight 100 yard receiving game. That's some of the good there. Now, some of the bad, obviously, and I'm not going to talk about Washington, and the head scratchers that they had. I'll let David Harrison of Locked On Commanders talk about that. But for the Giants, I did not understand why they didn't put a spy on Jaden Daniels. Coming into the game, I think that was one of my keys to the game, spy Jaden Daniels. Maybe it was the Giants figured, okay, you know what? He's coming back, he's got the elbow brace. Maybe they won't run him as much, they'll be more conservative. Well, they weren't. Jaden Daniels rushed nine times, 103 yards, two touchdowns, two of the three touchdowns scored by the commanders, and that included a 38-yard run. And after the game, John Harbaugh talked about it. He said, yeah, we didn't spy him. I have a feeling when they meet again on Thursday Night Football at MetLife, they will put a spy on Jaden Daniels if he's playing. I don't think the Giants will make that mistake twice. So that was a concern. Dominique Zavada's performance, I'm not as concerned with that. Zavada missed three field holds attempts. Each of 50, I think they each were, I want to say 45 yards, at least 45 yards. The conditions were sloppy. And I saw somebody tweet at me. They said, oh, why were the Giants even trying it in those conditions? Well, you're gonna have to play in all kinds of conditions. So I don't really fault the coaches for that. And Zavada, look, he was gonna miss eventually. He wasn't gonna be perfect for his entire career. So if this is his worst game of the year, good, we got get it out of the way. Didn't really, you can't really say that it resulted in a loss. It didn't help the winning effort, but a tie is not too bad because the Giants are still a game and a half ahead of everybody in the NFC East. All right. Now, the ugly, the Giants running game continues to be disappointing. All right. And we're going to start off with the fumbles. Cam Scadaboo with a big fumble late in the game and over time, I believe it was, lost the ball when the Giants were like literally within sniffing distance of the end zone. That now makes five fumbles for the Giants running backs this year, three of which have been lost. Both of those categories lead the league. I don't know what the problem is with the running backs, but they better get that cleaned up. I mean, that's just not acceptable. It's just not. And just a quick thought here, a lot of people say, well, you know, Tyrone Tracy was removed from the Russian game because, you know, he had false security. Cam Scadaboo has fumbled. What now? I want to say three times this season and he lost this one. So this excuse that, oh, if you're going to punish Tracy, you know, let's just drop that by now. Fix the problem. Instead of punishing Tracy, let's just get the problem fixed. Whether it's having those running backs walk around the facility with the ball high and tight, the way Tiki Barber used to do it back in the day when he was having fumbling issues, whatever the case may be, get it fixed. If you're holding Tyrone Tracy out of the game because you don't trust him with ball security, well, how can you make that same case when Cam Scadaboo has been fumbling too? Fix the problem. It's that simple. So that's something that they need to clean up for sure. So overall, folks, again, it's disappointing that they didn't get the win, but I can live with this because the Giants are still all by their lonesome in first place in the division. Dallas, as we know, they lost. We know Philadelphia lost. Washington, they've yet to win their second game. I think they're 1-3 and 1 now, if I'm not mistaken. So, the Giants, they showed resiliency. And the fact that they were able to score as 27 points in what was basically a slot fest out there, the fact that they were able to make adjustments and that they didn't give up, that bodes well for them. So I know this sounds like I'm settling, but me personally, I'll take it. I'll take it. If it had been a loss, I think I would have had a harder time with it, but there was enough good in this game, as well as some bad obviously, but there was enough good in this game to come away and say, okay, you know what? So far everything's staying on course, headed in the right direction. All right, Giants, coming up next, speaking of the running game, we're going to dive a little deeper into that and talk more about what the problem is with the running game. So don't go anywhere, I'll have that for you right after this. Hey, Giants, if you've ever taken an online quiz, a research, your symptoms at midnight, you know it's no substitute for a real clinic. When it comes to your energy, sleep, diet, and how you feel day-to-day, you deserve more than guesswork. That's where Gameday Men's Health comes in. It's an in-person men's health clinic with more than 430 locations across the US and Canada. 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So go on and download the app today and use the promo code LockedOnNFL to get $150 instantly in lineups if you win your first $5 lineup. PricePix, run your game. All right, Giants fans, welcome back to the Locked On Giants podcast. Locked On Giants is part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Now, the number one sports podcast network in America celebrating our 10th anniversary all year long. I am your host, Patricia Traina, credential member of the Giants Media for Locked On, as well as for New York Giants On SI, which is where you can find all of my written work. As always, we welcome on in our Every Dayer Club, which is our blue crew, newcomers and everybody in between. Thank you so much for spending part of your day with us here on the Locked On Giants podcast. All right, Giants fans, let's get back to today's episode. The Giants run game. All right, let's talk about this. What is the problem with the Giants run game? They haven't had a whole lot in terms of explosive runs. They had another bad showing, all things considered. I mean, they're just not getting the production from the run game that they need to bait, which makes you wonder or not making you wonder, but kind of reinforces why they were so interested in getting Jeremiah Love in the draft. This week, the Giants rushed for 3.7 yards per carry. All right? So you take away the yardage by the quarterbacks, which, oh, by the way, happens to be a big issue. You take that away from the equation, and the average drops down to 3.5 yards per carry. All right? So what is the issue here? For me, I think it's very simple. Maybe I'm oversimplifying it, but for me, the problem is twofold. Number one, the Giants have been leaning heavily on Camp Scadaboo. I do not think Camp Scadaboo is an all-purpose running back. And by that, I mean he's great between the tackles, but if you need him to be a quick, shifty, outside runner, that's not his game. That's not really Nanjay Harris' game either. I look at Scadaboo and I look at Harris and I kind of say to myself, they're almost the same type of runner. So where's the variety in the running game? Right now, you throw in the fact that they don't have Jackson Dart in there because we all know Jackson Dart could contribute to the running game with his legs. And I've made this point before, I'll say it again. Last year when the Giants ranked fifth overall in the rushing attack, that was with the contributions of the quarterback. You take the contributions of the quarterback out of that and you just base it on the running game, the running backs only, they would have ranked 15th in the league, which is a big difference between ranking in the top five. The minute Jackson Dart went out of the lineup, what happened? The Giants had to take out the design runs, the RPOs that Jackson Dart ran so well. Now, with JJ McCarthy, he can run some of that stuff. Is he up to stuff on the offense and what they do? He's getting there. He's definitely getting there. But let me give you some numbers here. All right? This week, JJ McCarthy was in the game for, I believe it was four plays. He ran twice for two yards. The run blocking, by the way, was not great this week. Let's put that out there for what it's worth. JJ McCarthy also had two pass attempts, both of which were nullified by penalties. Jameis Winston, this season, has rushed nine times and only four of them are design runs, okay? So it's not his game. It's really not. And I'm not counting, by the way, I'm not counting scrambles in Jameis' rush total. So the Giants, because they had to rip out pages from the playbook that included the RPO game and the design runs and all that stuff, that has hurt them, I think, because again, the running backs that they have now, other than Najee Harris, it's the same group they had last year. And that group, like I said, you take away the quarterback contribution and that group was pedestrian at best. The Giants are missing a legitimate explosive running back. I think the closest they have is Tyrone Tracy. And as I said in the last segment, Tracy's kind of been, you know, seen his touches reduced on offense, supposedly because of the fumbles. And if that's the reason why, then don't you think that's got to apply also to Scadaboo? I mean, I guess somebody's got to run the ball. So hey, maybe you activate Devin Singletary, who hasn't been active now for three weeks. Maybe you give the ball more to Najee Harris. The bottom line is the Giants' rushing attack leaves a lot to be desired. And I don't, again, I don't want to put it all on the running backs because it's not all on them. The run blocking today was not good. Andrew Thomas, who is the best offensive lineman the Giants have, he is hurting with that groin injury. I don't know how he is getting through the games. I know they're trying to get him through each week by managing his practice reps. But today, it was pretty obvious that Andrew Thomas was hurting. The damp conditions, the footing, I'm sure that didn't help him. That's something to keep in mind. But it would certainly help if the Giants had a running back, who could be that change of pace guy. Again, the closest they have is Tracy, who, whether you want to blame it on the task protection issues he's had, or the ball security, whatever you want to blame it on, he's had his role reduced. I don't necessarily agree with it. Yes, he's had ball security issues, but so has Harris, and so has Scadaboo. So how can you just point the finger at one guy and say, okay, you're not going to partake in the offense while these other guys are? Now, I get it. Look, Washington's run defense was pretty good, right? They came in with a, probably that was the strongest part of their defense. The idea was pound the you-know-what out of Washington. The Giants couldn't do it. So sometimes the pound approach, sometimes it's good to mix in some quicks because that can wear out a defense as well. And I just don't feel like the Giants did a good enough job. And again, you take away the quarterback thing. Now, moving forward, I could see JJ McCarthy running some of those RPOs that they had to take out of the playbook because Jameis Winston, just it's not a fit for what he does well. Maybe that's the plan moving forward. I don't like the idea of alternating quarterbacks. I mean, there was a period in this game where I said, just pick one quarterback and stick with him. But if that's what's going to help get the running game going, because look, they cannot be one dimensional. And that's what Washington sought to do today. They sought to make the Giants one dimensional by stopping the run and forcing Jameis to beat him with his arm. And Jameis, to his credit, almost came close to doing so. I don't put this loss on Jameis. So anyhow, the run's got to be fixed. That unfortunately, I think is going to be an offseason project for the Giants. Running back is going to be a high priority. I'm pretty sure of it. All right, Giants fans, coming up next, there's an interesting development that happened after the game, a report that came out. We're going to talk about it because this might be something to watch moving forward. So I'll tell you what it is when we come back. What's going on, everybody? My name is Ross Jackson, host of the Locked On at Saints podcast. Today's Locked On episode is brought to you by our friends at Basque and Lather. I've been using Basque and Lather's all-natural, 100 percent organic haircare products for my beard for a couple of years now. It's been a lifesaver because I used to have some bad beard care habits. I'm talking over-the-counter shampoo in the beard type stuff that created this brittle, scratchy and uncomfortable beard that I just had to wear around all the time. But now the game done changed. Thanks to Basque and Lather, I got their beard care starter kit, which gave me shampoo, conditioner, oil balm and their hair growth stimulator formula as well. And now my beard is full. It's soft but strong and the confidence is on 10 and it's all thanks to Basque and Lather. Explore viral best sellers and products of healthier hair of all types from Basque and Lather. Go to basquenlathercode.com and use the promo code LOCKEDON for 20% off. That's 20% off at basquenlatherco.com, code LOCKEDON. Hey, Giants fans, today's episode of Locked On Giants is brought to you by FanDuel. Football Sundays are here and every snap matters. With FanDuel Sportsbook, you can put your gameday knowledge to work. Pick your spot on the biggest games of the week from the opening kickoff to the final whistle. Want to stay in the action all game long? Lie betting lets you make your move as the game unfolds, while same-game parlay lets you build your own bet with your favorite players all in one place. And this NFL season, FanDuel is making the excitement go beyond what happens on the field with the all-new FanDuel Rewards Club featuring exclusive offers, surprises and more. You never know what you're going to find when you open the app. You're not sure where to start? FanDuel makes it simple. Download the app, create your account in minutes and get access to odds, props and markets on the NFL, college football and a whole lot more. So go on and make every game more exciting. Download the FanDuel Sportsbook app right now and make this your most rewarding season ever. With FanDuel or visit fanduel.com today to get started. All right, Giants fans, welcome back to the Locked On Giants Podcast. I am your host, Patricia Traina. And coming up on the Locked On Giants Podcast, I had the pleasure of interviewing NFL insider Jordan Schultz on Friday. Now this was before the Marvin Harrison trade, before the weekend actions. But Jordan and I had a really, really good conversation, I thought. So we talked about a variety of things, including the Giants, we talked about the NFCEs, we talked about the officiating, a lot of stuff. I will have that podcast for you. Again, keep in mind, I did record it on Friday. So not a whole lot of it is outdated, but some of it might be when you listen to it. Also, I had a chance to interview on Friday as well. Giants right tackle Jermaine Aluminor. Now Jermaine unfortunately suffered a calf injury in the Washington game. I don't know how serious it is, but I'll bring you that segment anyhow, because Jermaine was just so good. And we talked in general about the Giants, and I hate to throw that one away. So that'll be coming up this week as well. We will also have a crossover Thursday with my guy Ross Jackson of Locked On Saints. I'm looking forward to that show. So that is coming up. All right, giant fans. So speaking of Jordan Schultz and whatnot, something Jordan reported after the Giants' game to keep an eye on. The Giants are going to host former Ravens pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue on Monday. And when I saw that, I immediately went to something that Jordan had said in response to a question I asked him on the upcoming podcast that I'm going to air for you about Kayvon Thibodeaux. And I actually clipped that segment. I'm going to play it for you now so that you can hear what Jordan had to say about Kayvon Thibodeaux and if there might be a market for him. So, here's that clip from Jordan Schultz. You mentioned Kayvon Thibodeaux. I mean at this point, you know, given the Brian Burns injury, does it pay to just keep him or do you think there would be a market for him? I think there'd be a market. You know, it's so funny, it's not the right word. So I guess it's interesting to me how most teams value mid-round picks at a very high premium. Most teams hate to give up picks anyway, but mid-round picks are of extra value. You know, those that third, fourth, fifth, those are picks that teams hate to give up. And I think for Thibodeaux, that's what it would be at this point. You know, he's still a young player, but you would have to, it would either be an injury, a team that has has an injured rusher or the Giants is saying, we want to cut ties because we're four and a half years into this thing. And we, you know, don't feel that he's part of the future here. I don't know the answer to that just yet. I think there'll be more clarity in the next couple of weeks. All right, everybody. That was the clip from my forthcoming interview with Jordan Schultz. Now, the reason why I played that is because a lot of people were like, would the Giants trade Thibodeaux? Should they trade Thibodeaux, especially given the Brian Burns injury? Would there be a market for Thibodeaux? There probably will be a market, as Jordan said. But if the Giants are holding out for a second round pick, not going to get it. Thibodeaux just hasn't, you know, he hasn't been horrible. Let's put it that way. I mean, actually, in today's game, he actually was a little bit more productive than I think he had been maybe in the last couple of weeks. But the bottom line with him is the pass rush, and that's kind of been missing. And a big problem with Thibodeaux's game is he's not winning his one-on-ones on a consistent basis. This despite Abdel Carter drawing extra attention, and to a degree, Arvel Reiss drawing extra attention. So with this news about Yannick, who by the way I think on his social media account said he wouldn't mind a reunion with John Harbaugh, who again they were together in Baltimore. With this news of Yannick coming in, if the Giants end up signing Yannick, that could mean that maybe Thibodeaux could be on the move. Now I know you're probably saying, but you know, look, you can never have too many pass rushers. Well, Trace Ford can come in and provide some depth. You've got Jihad Ward that you just brought in who could help with the pass rush. You've got pass rushers. So if you move Thibodeaux, basically, you know, Thibodeaux, as you all know, he has a 14.75 million cap hit. If you divide that by 17, you'll get a nice cap savings, which comes out to about 800,000 plus for every week he is not on the roster. And that should be enough to continue to get the Giants cap space. Plus, if you're willing to accept a day three pick for him, which at this point, you just might have to, rather than let him walk away, maybe, but just maybe, that would work. Because if you're the Giants, you've got to ask yourself this, given how Thibodeaux has played the last several years since coming into the league, is he gonna necessarily get a blockbuster type of contract from another team that's going to bring the Giants, I don't know, a third-round pick at minimum in the comp picks? Maybe not. Maybe not. I don't think the Giants would be that lucky. I could be wrong. So if you're not gonna get a third-round pick, doesn't it make sense to say, okay, you know what, if we get a fourth-round, a day three pick, whether it be a fourth or a fifth, let's take that and let's call it a day. Now again, I don't know for sure, just like Jordan said, he doesn't know either, or he didn't know at the time. And I don't know right now if they are desperate, looking to move Kayvon Thibodeaux. I would not be surprised. And I think if, like I said, if Yannick signs, that probably will be a good indicator of what the plan is. So it's something to keep an eye on as we approach the trade deadline, because as you'll hear also, and when I released the full interview with Jordan, he expects things to start heating up with the trade deadline coming up. We found out that Marvin Harrison, the Cardinals receiver who had been linked to the Giants, he was traded to Houston. The Giants were never in that one. That one, I can tell you. So it's something to keep an eye on, and not just that, but also, might the Giants look to unload one of their running backs? Because remember, they have Phil Mafa on the practice squad. So could they maybe unload, I don't know, Nanjay Harris or Devon Singletary, one of those guys, to a team that needs a running back? It's possible. Never say never, right? So just something to keep an eye on, like I said, moving forward. And I just thought I'd mention that since it came out after the game. All right, Giants fans, that is going to do it for this edition of Locked On Giants. Before we say goodbye, if you want another way to stay locked on to the Giants every single day, check out Locked On Giants. Hit your daily shot of espresso on the team you love, quick, strong, and five minutes or less. Find Locked On Giants hit on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, Giants fans, I'll be back tomorrow with a new episode. It will be the Jordan Schultz interview. So be sure to check that out. Until then, have a great one, everybody.