On Sunday against the Commanders, New York Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy made his season debut as he played five snaps during the tie.
While the limited snaps produced mixed results, they did give an added element to New York’s offense that it does not currently possess when quarterback Jameis Winston is under center.
Now, Giants head coach John Harbaugh has chimed in on whether McCarthy will continue to feature in games for New York.
New York Giants Head Coach John Harbaugh Comments on J.J. McCarthy’s Package
When asked about what the benefits are to the New York Giants bringing McCarthy into the game, head coach John Harbaugh replied, “It’s a change of pace. What you saw is probably not all we have for him right now. Whether or not he’s out there or not will be determined based on whatever happens. But we’ll see if it’s something that can help us. One thing about it, to me, it’s like, what’s the benefit of not doing everything you can to use all the guys you have? We’re always going to be searching for opportunities to use our players, give them an opportunity to help us win games. I think we’d be negligent if we didn’t try to do that.”
Regarding McCarthy’s brief usage against the Commanders, Giants Wire’s Dan Benton stated that his snaps “did not go well.” Benton wrote: “Recently acquired backup quarterback J.J. McCarthy made his Giants debut and took five snaps, nearly all of them ending in disaster. Each time he took the field, Washington knew an RPO or designed quarterback run was coming, and held him to two yards on two carries.”
While some other quarterbacks may not like being taken off the field, Jameis Winston did not seem to mind, as he said, “I think coaches get paid a lot of money to make decisions and do what they do. I had a chance to play with one of the best ones (quarterbacks) of all time in Taysom Hill. So whatever is required for this to win, I am for that.”
J.J. McCarthy’s Role
NFL insider Jason La Canfora reported that one executive told him to expect McCarthy to be more involved in the Giants offense sooner rather than later, and that is primarily due to New York’s running attack lacking a quarterback with running ability.
La Canfora wrote: “Look for the Giants to turn to youngster JJ McCarthy for key spots within games with more frequency moving forward.
The Giants run game has bogged down with veteran Jameis Winston, no threat to run or operate an option-based offense, at quarterback, and they need to be quicker to rotate QBs in certain situations.
While second-year running back Cam Skattebo is on every other commercial during NFL broadcasts, multiple evaluators told me he shouldn’t even be on the field more than 5-10 snaps a game.
The idea he can be a feature back, with a guy like Winston at QB, is proving to be folly (and his overtime fumble on Sunday was a killer). McCarthy brings explosion to the run game in a way that former starting QB Jaxson Dart did before his season-ending injury.”
Giants HC John Harbaugh Shares True Feelings After J.J. McCarthy Debut