Tag: PAT SHURMUR

Shurmur on Barkley: ‘I think he’s making good progress, and when he’s ready to play, we’ll put him out there’

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Saquon Barkley will not make an unlikely return to action two weeks after suffering a high ankle sprain. The Giants today declared their star running back out of their home game Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.

“After consulting with our doctors, we decided that he’s not going to play this week,” coach Pat Shurmur said.

Barkley, who was injured in the victory at Tampa Bay on Sept. 22, returned to practice today on a limited basis. He had spent the previous two days rehabilitating with the team’s athletic training staff.

“He took some reps today,” Shurmur said. “We deemed him out this week, and that’s how we’re going to play it. I understand everybody’s interested in the situation. You (reporters) got to see him moving around out here with your own eyes. But we decided that he’s not playing this week.”

Asked if he’s encouraged by what he’s seen this week from Barkley, Shurmur said. “I’m encouraged because he’s going through his rehab process and he’s making an effort to come back quickly.

“I think he’s making good progress, and when he’s ready to play, we’ll put him out there.”

The next chance for that will be Thursday night when the Giants visit the New England Patriots.

Without Barkley, the Giants’ running game will again be in the capable of hands – or legs – of third-year pro Wayne Gallman and rookie Jon Hilliman, who made his NFL debut last week vs. Washington.

Barkley is constantly encouraging both of them. Gallman and Hilliman understand they aren’t expected to perfectly mimic Barkley, but must give the team the level of production needed to win a game. And it is in that context that they are determined to continue capitalizing on their opportunity.

“We talk about that all of the time,” Hilliman said. “It’s key that you’re not trying to be someone you’re not. Saquon Barkley is a once-in-a-generation back. He’s somebody that’s phenomenal. He does phenomenal things in his way. Wayne is a phenomenal back in his way. I’m a phenomenal back in my way. That’s three different ways. We all believe that we can get it done, just in a different way. That’s just what we speak about all of the time. Even with (Eli) Penny, we speak about it all the time. Don’t try to be something you’re not. Just play to the best of your capability and be who you are and believe that you can get it done your way.

“We’re not going to drop the standard. The standard is what it is in our room, regardless of who carries the ball. We’re not dropping the standard for anybody, so that’s kind of how we feel about that.”

As his backfield mate for two years, Gallman knows better than anyone how special Barkley is. But his job now is to produce enough that the Rookie of the Year’s absence is not a factor in the game’s outcome.

“Football is a team game,” Gallman said. “Whether you have a two-back rotation, one-back rotation where it’s simply just the main guy and someone is filling in the role like I have, or a three-back rotation, it doesn’t matter. You just have to keep the main thing the main thing, prepare, and just get ready to play and be a team player. It’s not about being an individual. You have to throw all of those feelings out the door and you just have to focus on what you have and what you can control.”

Gallman was one of the offensive stars of the Giants’ victory against the Redskins last week. He scored their two offensive touchdowns, one apiece rushing and receiving, ran for 63 yards and caught six passes for another 55 yards. His 118 yards from scrimmage were a career high.

“Just being able to get that rhythm and you start to really feel it, I haven’t had that in a long time,” Gallman said. “Just being out there and being able to have that moving forward, I think preparation for me is not changing, but just a little different in a way.”

Hilliman rushed for 33 yards on 10 carries. Like Gallman, he lost a fumble in the game. But Hilliman’s occurred at the Washington two-yard line. And that stuck with him more than his 33 yards after his first NFL appearance.

“I’m a perfectionist,” he said. “It was an easy fix. Just put two hands on the ball. I got overexcited. I saw the end zone. Rookie mistake. Obviously, I just knew what I had to do and just did it. But besides that, don’t change anything. Run as hard as you can, hit the holes, be physical in protection, be smart on your routes, communicate and stuff like that. Obviously, if I get that opportunity this week, I have to go punch it in.”

That’s the attitude the entire backfield will maintain as long as Barkley is sidelined.

*The other three players on the Giants’ final injury report are all linebackers. Alec Ogletree (hamstring) and Tae Davis (concussion) are out, and Lorenzo Carter (neck) is questionable.

Without Ogletree and Davis and rookie Ryan Connelly, who was placed on injured reserve after tearing his ACL vs. Washington, the Giants’ inside linebackers will be David Mayo, Nate Stupar and rookie free agent Josiah Tauaefa, who was signed off the practice squad this week.

“We’re very confident in the guys that we’re going to put out there,” Shurmur said.

Asked why, he said, “Because they’re good football players, and they’re pro football players. We’ve liked what we’ve seen from what they’ve done in practice and for some of them, what they’ve done in games.”

Courtesy: Michael Eisen

Shurmur on Barkley: ‘I don’t want to put any timeframe on how long it will take him to come back’

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Saquon Barkley will not require surgery to repair his injured ankle, nor will he be placed on injured reserve. But the Giants don’t know when their star running back will return to action.

Barkley was examined yesterday by Dr. Robert Anderson in Green Bay, Wisc. He saw Dr. Martin O’Malley on Monday, one day after he suffered the first significant injury of his career late in the first half of the Giants’ 32-31 victory at Tampa Bay.

“Saquon got his second opinion,” coach Pat Shurmur said this morning. “He’s obviously consulted with Dr. O’Malley and Dr. Anderson. I guess it’s been determined we’ll just rehab him and get him ready to go and we’ll see how that plays out. Obviously, as coaches, we have a short time horizon, so he won’t be available this week (when the Giants host Washington), but we’ll just see when he is. I don’t want to put any timeframe on how long it will take him to come back.”

Asked why, Shurmur said, “Because you never know how long some of these things take.”

Which is why the Giants are not placing Barkley on I.R.

“At this point, no, no we’re not,” Shurmur said.

After starting the first 19 games of his career, Barkley will not be in uniform for the first time on Sunday. He will be replaced in the starting lineup by third-year pro Wayne Gallman.

Barkley is arguably the Giants’ most valuable offensive player. In his Rookie of the Year season in 2018, he rushed for 1,307 yards, caught 91 passes, totaled 2,028 scrimmage yards and scored 15 touchdowns. This year, Barkley ran for 237 yards and caught 11 passes in 2½ games before he was hurt when his leg got caught under Buccaneers safety Mike Edwards.

Gallman’s career totals are a more modest 682 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 169 carries – 58 since the start of the 2018 season – plus 51 receptions for 306 yards and one score.

“He’s not quite as big, so you’re not going to quite see him, I would think, lower his shoulder,” offensive coordinator Mike Shula said. “Although he will do it, and we’ve seen him do it like Saquon has at times. Wayne, in my short time with him, has flashed at times where he’s really explosive, whether or not it’s running the football or receiving the football. It’s our job and his job to get him playing fast where he’s not thinking and just going as fast as he can because he’s fun to watch when he’s that way.”

Gallman is listed at 216 pounds, or 16 pounds less than Barkley. But that should not change the look of the Giants’ offense.

“We are still going to run our stuff,” Shula said. “Wayne runs the ball differently than Saquon, but we still have our things that we want to hang our hat on. Then we’ll tweak them week to week based on personnel or based on the defense we are playing. We feel like we want to try to have good balance each and every week and do the things that keep you out of long-yardage situations, and then obviously get the ball in the end zone when you get close to the goal line.”

In his two seasons with the Giants, Barkley has seven runs and two receptions that gained 50 or more yards. Gallman’s longest run has been 24 yards and his longest catch 21 yards, so the Giants might not have the big-play ability at running back they are accustomed to.

“Those things, you just have to look at them as bonus,” Shula said. “We’ve been spoiled over the last year, a little over a year, with Saquon. We have other ways we feel like we can create chunk plays. They might not be 50-yard plays, but if we can get those chunk plays anywhere from, as a run, over 12 yards, we kind of look for those, (and) in the passing game over 18. Those are momentum changing plays and field position changing plays which put you in a positive situation. Not just as an offense but as a team. We’re not asking guys to go do anything more than what we’re teaching them. We do feel like we’ve got guys on the field that with the ball in their hands can be explosive. I think we saw some of that in the second half (in Tampa).”

*The same five players who missed practice yesterday sat out again today: linebackers Alec Ogletree (hamstring) and Tae Davis (concussion), defensive tackle Olsen Pierre (knee) and wide receiver Russell Shepard (foot)

*Wide receiver Bennie Fowler (hamstring) was limited.

*Linebacker Lorenzo Carter (elbow) and wideout Cody Latimer (concussion) practiced fully after they were limited yesterday.

Courtesy: Michael Eisen

Giants’ Shurmur: ‘We feel like we are a better team than we were a year ago’

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Pat Shurmur has high expectations for the Giants and he’s comfortable letting everyone know it.

“We feel like we are a better team than we were a year ago,” the second-year head coach said today. “We just have to go out and perform. We know we are at the stage of our year where winning football games is what it’s all about and so that’s where we’re at.”

The Giants begin their season Sunday afternoon in Dallas against the defending NFC East champion Cowboys. It’s the perfect opponent to gauge the strength of a Giants team that significantly restructured its roster in the offseason and has continued to do so in the last two days. The Giants concluded their 5-11 season in 2018 against the Cowboys, dropping a 36-35 decision on Dec. 30.

Since then, the Giants have added front-line players like offensive linemen Kevin Zeitler and Mike Remmers, safeties Antoine Bethea and Jabrill Peppers, rookie starters Dexter Lawrence and DeAndre Baker, plus a quarterback of the future in Daniel Jones, among others. (One of their key acquisitions, wide receiver Golden Tate, will miss the four games while serving an NFL suspension.)

Shurmur is bullish on his new group.

“I like the way we have built our team,” he said. “I like some of the changes we made personnel wise. I also feel like the second year in our system we are smoother in how we operate. That’s why I think, I don’t care what everybody outside thinks.”

Asked if he thinks if there is “more talent in the building,” Shurmur said, “I feel like we are a better football team right now, and this is a team sport.”

Shurmur’s confidence and enthusiasm is shared by the players.

“We can be one of the best teams in the league,” said linebacker Alec Ogletree, who was announced today as one of the team’s seven captains. “We have a shot at it, just like every other team, of making it to the end of the year and to the Super Bowl. We have to start with Week One, starting with Dallas. That’s our focus right now, taking care of business this week and (then) going from week to week.

“We are a better team than we were at this point last year. Last year was a new a year for everybody. It took a little time for everybody to get going the right way. This year I thought we attacked OTAs really well and the summer really well. Now we just have to continue to attack the season as well as we did in the offseason.”

The players believe one advantage they have this season is this is an exceptionally close-knit group. They enjoy spending time together off the field. With Shurmur’s blessing, Saquon Barkley bought a Ping-Pong table in the spring that sits in the center of the locker room and has become the epicenter of team bonding.

Fourth-year wide receiver Sterling Shepard said “without a doubt” this team is closer than it was last year.

“I think that’s the thing that we wanted to accomplish over the offseason, getting guys with great character,” Shepard said. “You look around the locker room and we’ve just got a group of great guys at the end of the day.

“I can’t say anything specific, it’s just the feel. You know that if you’ve been in a locker room before, you can feel when a team is very close. Like I said, I can’t be too specific with it, but it’s just a feeling, and it feels great.”

The table helps. The Giants are in the midst of team-wide Ping-Pong tournament, complete with an NCAA-style bracket taped to a nearby locker.

“We get together,” Shepard said. “We huddle around the table, give it a little amped up feel.”

“We definitely have come together a lot closer this year,” Ogletree said. “Like I said, it was new for everybody last year. Things were happening all over the place. It’s one of those things the more you stay together with a certain group, the more comfortable you get with being around each other.”

Ultimately, as Shurmur said, it’s about winning football games. And frankly, a lot of people outside of the Giants locker room expect that to be the case.

“Nobody is really giving us a chance,’ Ogletree said. “But we have to worry about what our standards are and what we say we want to be. We have to do the things we know we can do. Like I said, we have to play to our standards and not to what somebody else says we should be or what they think.”

*When the Giants played the Cowboys in December, NFL rushing champion Ezekiel Elliott was inactive. Because he is trying to get a contract extension and has yet to report, Elliott might miss another encounter with the Giants.

“That’s really an issue for Dallas,” Shurmur said. “…We’re getting ready for him to be there. If he’s not, then we rally.

“We’re going to play defense the way we have to play to defend the Cowboys. Certainly, if Zeke is there, you have to spend special attention (to him). They have some running backs that have done well in camp that they feel good about. We have to play good team defense, regardless of who’s playing against us. There’s no telling who they’re going to line up with at this point.”

*Shurmur explained the team’s decision to keep Alex Tanney on the roster as the third quarterback behind Eli Manning and Jones.

“I think it makes sense for us to keep three quarterbacks,” Shurmur said. “That’s why we did it. (General manager) Dave (Gettleman) was in agreement. We felt like that’s the best thing for our (quarterback) room. That’s why.

“Daniel is going to be ready when it’s his time. Having Alex here, who is a veteran, I think adds to the room.”

Regarding the decision to keep Tanney and waive 2018 fourth-round draft choice Kyle Lauletta, Shurmur said, “There are things behind the scenes where we felt like Alex was doing well. I think Kyle made great progress. We were really pleased with what (Kyle) had done. We just felt like it was the best thing for us to move forward with Tanney.”

*Although he had yet to practice, cornerback Sam Beal seemed to be progressing from his hamstring injury but was placed on injured reserve yesterday. He will be eligible to return to practice in six weeks and play in a game in eight weeks. Beal spent the entire 2018 season, his first in the NFL, on I.R. after undergoing shoulder surgery.

“I just feel like for him, (we want) to give him the opportunity to get as healthy as he can be before he gets out there,” Shurmur said. “Sometimes it’s not just the player. It’s the full roster, and maybe adding a player at another position. That’s part of it. There’s sort of the player, then there’s sort of the big picture. When you’re going through that process of picking the best 53 (players) to get ready to play Dallas, sometimes you have to consider both sides of that.”

Courtesy: Michael Eisen

Shurmur on Jones: ‘He moved forward in his progress of being ready to play’

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The Giants’ preseason record remains perfect. Their performance Thursday night wasn’t.

Dropped passes, a lost fumble, and too many penalties – though just five were accepted – were all part of a 25-23 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals in Paul Brown Stadium. The Giants improved to 3-0 this month, with one more game – next week at New England – before the regular-season opener in Dallas on Sept. 8.

“I thought the guys competed hard like they did the first two weeks,” coach Pat Shurmur said. “It was probably just a little bit sloppier than I think we would all have liked to see. But the one good thing about this game is we played everybody, and we got a chance to evaluate everybody doing what they do. That will help us as we move forward here picking our 53 (man roster).”

Several players stated their case to be on that roster, including wide receiver Brittan Golden, who caught two passes for 59 yards and returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown (though he fumbled the ball away when he next fielded a punt); tight end Garrett Dickerson (two catches for 30 yards), and rookie receiver Darius Slayton (an acrobatic 27-yard catch to set up a touchdown in his first action). The Giants had five sacks, including two by third-round draft choice Oshane Ximines. Corey Ballentine started at corner and tied for the team lead with seven tackles (five solo). Rod Smith and Jon Hilliman each scored on one-yard runs.

But the best news for Shurmur and Co. continues to be the outstanding play of the Giants’ top two quarterbacks, 16-year veteran Eli Manning and first-round rookie Daniel Jones.

For the third week in a row, Manning played only the game’s first series. He completed four of eight passes for 41 yards, numbers that would have been much better had Cody Latimer not dropped two passes, including one in the end zone that forced Aldrick Rosas to score the game’s first points with a 41-yard field goal.

“He did a good job,” Shurmur said of Manning. “He did a really good job.”

In his three brief stints – which is likely to be his full body of work for the preseason – Manning has hit nine of 13 passes for 86 yards and one touchdown.

“I feel like we’ve had good practices, and in the last two preseason games, I’ve made some plays and done some good things,” Manning said. “I just have to continue to work and get ready. (I’ll need to) watch this film, look at it, make some adjustments and work on those things this week. I don’t know how much we’ll play in this last preseason game, but (I’ll) keep working hard, make some improvements and get ready for Dallas.”

Jones, meanwhile, continues to post impressive numbers. He completed nine of 11 passes for 141 yards. In three games, only five of his 30 passes have not found their intended target, and none were caught by the opposing team. That’s an 83.3 completion percentage, which is attention-grabbing even in the preseason. He has thrown two touchdown passes and his passer rating is a striking 140.1.

He demonstrated a new element to his game vs. the Bengals, the ability to shake off a brutal hit and near turnover to throw one of his best passes of the summer. Jones was hammered by linebacker Carl Lawson on his third possession and fumbled (the ball was recovered by Golden). On the very next snap, Lawson again charged full speed at Jones, who stood strong in the pocket and threw a terrific pass to the left side to fellow rookie Slayton, who was stopped at the one-yard line. Smith scored the Giants’ first touchdown two plays later.

“That’s something that coach (Mike) Shula (the offensive coordinator) and coach Shurmur talked about a lot, just having the next play mentality,” Jones said. “I was just trying to give Darius a chance there. He made a heck of a play.”

Shurmur liked how his young quarterback responded to Lawson’s legal assault.

“You take hits, you know?” Shurmur said. “He came to the sidelines and I said, ‘That was a good one.’ He said, ‘Well, I’m sure I’ll get hit harder than that at times.’ He was fine. I think he did a good job. He got us into the end zone. He made some really good throws. He has a good feel for a couple of the deep balls he threw, when the defender was in close proximity, giving the receiver a chance at the ball. Those are two of the results on a couple of his deep balls. But he sees things well. He moved forward in his progress of being ready to play. Each week he does things. He’s into it. I adjust on the run quite a bit and he can handle it, which is fun when you’re calling plays and trying to make adjustments to attack what you see on defense. He can handle it.”

That has become very evident. And Manning and Jones both playing at a high level is good for the Giants.

*Tight end Evan Engram saw his first action of the preseason when, like Manning, he played only the first series. Engram caught one pass for nine yards. Why did he play and not Saquon Barkley?

“I thought Evan needed it a little bit more,” Shurmur said, “just because (we wanted him to get) the confidence of being out there and because I wanted to.”

*Linebacker Jonathan Anderson hurt his knee and will be evaluated Friday.

The following Giants players did not play: Barkley (coach’s decision); wide receivers Golden Tate (concussion) and Sterling Shepard (thumb); cornerbacks DeAndre Baker (knee), Antonio Hamilton (groin) and Sam Beal (hamstring); linebacker Alec Ogletree (calf); and offensive linemen Chad Wheeler (back) and George Asafo-Adjei T (concussion).

*Without Barkley, the Giants rushed for 56 yards on 26 carries, the same 2.2-yard average they posted in the opener vs. the Jets.

Courtesy: Michael Eisen

Shurmur on Jones: ‘I think he’s making good progress and as he goes along here, he’s checking off all of the boxes’

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For New York Giants rookie QB Daniel Jones, preseason game number two came with some adversity. Jones, who was the sixth overall pick in this year’s draft, had two turnovers against the Bears in the Giants’ 32-13 victory over Chicago at MetLife Stadium on Friday night.

While Jones did have two turnovers (two fumbles), he did have a relatively strong game, as he completed 11 of 14 passes for 161 yards and one touchdown.

Jones continues to impress, but he knows he has to protect the football a little better moving forward.

“I was very upset. I think those are two mistakes you ‘can’t make,” Jones said about the turnovers. “One time we were driving with the ball in scoring position and I made a costly mistake there, and then kind of holding the ball in the pocket, two bad mistakes, so definitely things to learn from.”

Giants head coach Pat Shurmur continues to be happy with the Jones’ development, and he believes New York made the right choice on draft night.

“Again, I am going to say this—people outside our building seem surprised, but ‘we’re not. ‘That’s why we picked him,” Shurmur said about Jones. “I think ‘he’s making good progress and as he goes along here, ‘he’s checking off all of the boxes. I think when ‘it’s his time to play, he will be ready. I am pleased with the progress ‘he’s making.”

Just like Giants owner John Mara said this week, the hope is that Jones does not see the field this season, and Shurmur agrees.

“John owns the team, right? We’re on the same page,” Shurmur said. “There is really not much more to say. I think I’ve been saying it all along.”

After two preseason games, Jones is happy about the progress he has made thus far but knows he has to continue to get better.

“I think ‘I’ve made progress, and I think in certain areas I feel a lot more confident than I did even when camp started, or even a couple of weeks ago,” Jones said. “I think ‘there’s still so much to learn for me. I think ‘I’m certainly more confident, more comfortable, but I see a lot of things I need to improve on.”

Jones has proven that he has some ability in the first two preseason games, but his two turnovers show why he may not be ready for primetime just yet, which is not a bad thing for New York, especially if the 38-year-old Eli Manning, who was 4-4 for 42 yards and one touchdown on Friday, can have a strong showing in 2019.

 

Shurmur to Giants fans who think Jones should be the starter: ‘Slow your roll’

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New York Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones made his NFL debut on Thursday night against the Jets at MetLife Stadium, and he did not disappoint. Jones played one series and was impressive as he went 5-5 for 67 yards and punctuated the drive was a 12-yard touchdown pass to WR Bennie Fowler.

“Yeah, I thought it went well,” Jones said after the game. “It was good to move the ball down the field and score, so as far as expectations, I didn’t really know what to expect. I just wanted to play well and glad we were able to move the ball and execute.”

Giants fans may not have been happy when the sixth overall pick’s name was called on draft night, but they were delighted tonight, and so was Giants head coach Pat Shurmur.

“He got all completions, and he got us in the endzone,” Shurmur said. “That was a very effective drive. He did a good job. He had a couple of mistakes in there that we’ll clean up. I guess to the naked eye it was a good job.

While Shurmur was pleased with Jones’ performance, he did make it clear that it is only one game, and he had a message for any Giants fan who believes that Jones should be the Week 1 starter after this performance.

“I think, ‘Slow your roll.’ This is just his first go around,” Shurmur said. “I think he did a good job. As I mentioned, all along, he has done nothing to disappoint us, and certainly when you take the team down the field and score a touchdown—that’s a good start. It’s something good to build on. We have a lot of time left before we start playing games. Nothing at this point has changed.”

It is only one game, but the Giants have to be happy with what they saw out of Jones in Week 1 of the preseason. Hopefully, he builds on this performance next week against the Bears.