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The first half of games have not been kind to the Giants offense through three weeks of play. They were shut out in the first half of Week 1 (Cowboys) and Week 2 (Cardinals) and managed to score only six points in the first half of Week 3 against the 49ers.
The Giants know that they must start much faster on Monday night in Week 4 when the Seattle Seahawks come to town riding a two-game win streak. The Giants can move to 2-2 with a win over the Seahawks and be right in the mix of the NFC East.
Earlier this week QB Daniel Jones was asked how the offense can get off the faster starts.
“I think we’ve moved the ball well the first couple of drives in two of the games (vs. Dallas and at San Francisco),” Jones said. “I think we’ve got to finish with points, finish in the end zone, and execute all the way down the field, and score a touchdown. It’s just about sustaining that execution.”
Rookie center John Michael Schmitz also feels the need to start fast.
This week on the Giants Huddle Podcast, Giants head coach Brian Daboll was asked how important it is to establish the run game early.
“Each week is a different week, how the game gets played is different … being balanced is important, but ultimately if we think it’s to throw the ball a bunch then we throw it, if its to run it, it’s run it. It’s executing whatever the plays that we call in terms of the game plan and how we want to attack a team,” Daboll said.
Saquon Barkley Remains Questionable for Week 4
Giants running backs ran for 22 yards total in Week 3 against the 49ers. Establishing the running game has been difficult due to the absence of Saquon Barkley who has been out with a high ankle sprain.
Barkley’s status has been murky for the past week and on Friday he was listed as limited in practice. It remains unclear if he will try to play on Monday night, but video of him practicing has might be a positive sign.
Giants Must Tackle Better vs. Seattle
The Seattle Seahawks come to town this Monday night with a 2-1 record. They are scoring 29 points per game which ranks fourth in the entire NFL. If the Giants want to start fast then they must get the Seahawks offense off the field. That means they need to improve their tackling. A lot.
Despite missing 16 tackles in the loss against San Francisco, Safety Xavier McKinney told reporters earlier this week that tackling wasn’t something he was stressing over and is not why the team lost two of their first three games. However, it does seem that the team took extra measures to address tackling this week in practice.
“We put an emphasis on it today in practice,” linebacker Bobby Okereke told reporters on Thursday. “I had a coach tell me that tackling is technique and desire. We all have a great desire to tackle out there, now it’s all about cleaning up the technique and we’ll get it right.”
“I think we can do a much better job tackling,” defensive lineman Leonard Williams said. “I think we can do a better job in a lot of areas on defense, but overall, I think that we are on that right track. The way we played against San Fran and the way we’ve been continually growing is a good thing for the defense right now, I think we are on the right track.”
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