Latest news with #NewYorkGiants'
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
New York Giants training camp preview: Special teams
With the New York Giants' 2025 training camp just days away, we conclude our unit-by-unit preview with the special teams, an area where the Giants made few offseason moves to improve. Here's a quick rundown of the room. Coaching staff Michael Ghobrial (coordinator), Cam Achord (assistant), and Stephen Thomas (assistant) Ghobrial enters his second year on the job, as does Achord. Thomas is in his third season with the Giants. The unit brings back its major players, including their entire kicking operation and return game. Kicking game Graham Gano (starter), Jude McAtamney, Jamie Gillan (holder), Casey Kreiter (long snapper) The 38-year-old Gano played just 10 games in 2024 and eight in 2023. The Giants are bringing back Jude McAtamney to challenge him this summer, as well as for insurance. They only attempted 28 field goals in 2024 (making 23) and 22 PATs. That's not on the kicking operation, however, as the Giants struggled to score the past two seasons. Punter Jamie Gillan (starter) Gillan appears to be the lone punter entering camp this year, despite missing four games last season with a hamstring injury (he was replaced by Matt Hauck). The Giants were in the middle of the pack in net average (40.3), but their 36 punts inside the 20 were tied for the third-highest in the NFL last year. Returners Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Eric Gray, Dee Williams, and Montrell Washington Smith-Marsette should be the primary on both kicks and punts, but as always, the returner group is fluid. He was the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week in Week 17, returning a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown in the Giants' victory over Indianapolis. It was the Giants' first kickoff return for a touchdown since 2015. Coverage units Dane Belton, Bryce Ford-Wheaton, Chris Manhertz, Ty Summers, Tomon Fox, Darius Muasau These faces change every week, depending on availability. The players mentioned above stood out in 2024, however. Outlook There was no urgency or effort to improve the "teams" this past offseason. A more productive offense should lead to more opportunities this year.
USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Antrel Rolle: New York Giants legend Eli Manning 'deserves' Hall of Fame
The New York Giants' quarterback position has been a source of struggle for several years. Looking back at their history, since Phil Simms joined the team in 1979, only Eli Manning can be compared in terms of longevity and success. Kerry Collins took the team to a Super Bowl in 2000, but the Giants lost, and he was only with the team for four years, compared to Simms and Manning, who played for the Giants for 15 and 14 years, respectively. Manning was a Hall of Fame nominee for the 2025 class, but he didn't make the final cut. Former Giants safety Antrel Rolle views that as a travesty and believes Eli deserves to make it in. "Do I think he will get in? Yes, I do. And I think he deserves to get in. And it's not just because of the name, or because he played in New York," Rolle told Gambling Industry News. "You're talking about someone who had a very good NFL career, postseason we know what he did. Two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback, and the guy (Tom Brady) who he beat in both Super Bowls. "That stuff speaks for itself, and it doesn't happen by accident. Eli, to me, is clutch. He gets my vote 200 percent of the time. And this is not me being biased. He is the real deal at quarterback, and I'm hoping he gets his flowers. I know he will. He deserves it." Manning does deserve a spot in the Hall of Fame, and he will likely get there at some point. But what about the Giants' current quarterback situation? They have options now, but it was pretty dire for a little bit. "Listen, I love my Giants," Rolle said. "I just felt like there were some bad moves along the way, man. GM moves. They got rid of some guys and paid some guys where it didn't make sense to me. The film doesn't lie. I understood Saquon had injuries, but if you had gotten Saquon more help, he would have been who Philly experienced this year. Maybe not to that extent because we know how dominant the offensive line is there, but I just felt like there were a lot of bad moves made that really didn't make any sense. "With that being said, they are trying to get back into the right direction. They drafted the stud they drafted this year (Jaxson Dart). He's going to be a helluva player. That goes without saying. You have Nabers, who's been playing out of his mind. Russell Wilson can distribute the ball. How good will Russ be? That's to be determined. But we haven't seen a huge decline in Russell Wilson. "But I feel like Nabers needs more help, and you can use more help in the backfield. Those will be the key focal points to turn the organization back around." The Giants are absolutely working to turn the organization around, and the offseason activity led by Joe Schoen seems to be pointing the team in the right direction. When the players hit the field for training camp next week, we'll learn more about what to expect from the Giants this fall.
USA Today
11-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Offensive line named New York Giants' biggest remaining need
Since Joe Schoen took over the reins as the New York Giants' general manager in January of 2022, his main focus has been on fixing and building the offensive line. Four drafts and free agency periods later, he's still far from done. Schoen has used high draft picks and spent a boatload of money on the unit, but it is still lacking. In a recent evaluation by Josh Edwards of CBS Sports, identifying each team's largest remaining need heading into the 2025 NFL season, the offensive line was at the top of the list for the Giants. Time will tell if New York made the correct decision to trade up for Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart, but to its credit, the team had a conviction and made the move up the board. As far as the offensive line is concerned, who is a part of the long-term vision aside from Andrew Thomas and, perhaps, John Michael Schmitz? The group should be better when completely healthy, but the sample size has not been large enough to prove that theory. Linebacker and cornerback come to mind next. Schoen has had a flurry of misfires and bad luck in his efforts to improve the line, the biggest being the selection of Alabama tackle Evan Neal with the seventh overall pick in 2022. Neal has been a bust thus far, and the team has decided to try him at guard. Injuries have befallen All-Pro left tackle Andrew Thomas even since signing a five-year, $117 million deal before the 2023 season. Thomas has missed 18 games over the past two seasons, sending the Giants' line into disarray. It is still not known if he'll be ready for the regular season this fall. The selection of center John Michael Schmitz has also not worked out as hoped. He has been average at best. The Giants thought he'd be better; a player who would anchor their line for 8-10 years. He hasn't gotten there yet. The line has some veteran free agents, such as Jermaine Eluemunor, Jon Runyan Jr., and Greg Van Roten, holding it together for the moment, but they are far from where Schoen had hoped they'd be at this point.
USA Today
10-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
New York Giants' Rakeem Nunez-Roches offers blunt solution to fix run defense
The New York Giants' defensive line got a wake-up call when stud nose tackle Dexter Lawrence was not on the field in 2024. This offseason general maanger Joe Schoen added a few more pieces that should address the depth issues, but the returning core needs to step up their collective games. Veteran Rakeem Nunez-Roches recently said on the Giants Huddle podcast that he and his linemates must band together and communicate better to have a cohesive unit. "To be honest with you, a simple fix: Just do your job," Nacho said. "The biggest thing last year was sometimes you felt like you had to do somebody else's job or compensate because of a lack of trust. "This year, I feel like taking that step together and believing in one another. Like, hey, 'I'm going to do my part and you do your part.'" The Giants relied heavlily on Lawrence up front last season until he was lost for the year in Week 13 with a dislocated elbow. Lawrence played on nearly 80 percent of the defensive snaps to that point and the Giants were last agaisnt the rush, yielding 5.2 yards per attempt. The line actually played better against the run after Lawrence went on season-ending injured reserve (IR). This season the Giants hope to lessen Lawrence's workload, bringing in veterans such as Ray Robertson-Harris and Jeremiah Ledbetter to take some snaps in the rotation. The best-case scenario, however, is that third round pick Darius Alexander can come in and be effecive early on.
USA Today
02-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Could New York Giants' Dexter Lawrence win Defensive Player of the Year?
The New York Giants' roster has been panned as one that is devoid of top talent, but they do have one player they can hang their hat on: Defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence. The 6-foot-4, 340-pound 2019 first-round pick out of Clemson has become a monolithic presence in the middle of the Giants' defensive front, an immovable force. Last year, Lawrence led all NFL interior defensive linemen with 9.0 sacks, and he did it in just 12 games, missing the Giants' final five games with a dislocated elbow. Lawrence is clearly head and shoulders over the pack when it comes to one particular stat. Lawrence has become such a standout that many insiders have no choice but to recognize his ability and achievements. In a recent piece for Bleacher Report, Brent Sobieski listed Lawrence as a top-5 candidate for NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Interestingly, Lawrence is the catalyst among this talented group, because he's such a rare talent. Massive interior defensive linemen aren't supposed to be capable of consistently harassing quarterbacks. They're supposed to be space-eaters who let everyone else get the glory. Keep in mind, Lawrence managed nine sacks in 12 games played in 2024 and only 550 total snaps, per Pro Football Focus. With the talent now around the 27-year-old making it harder to double-team him, the Giants' three-time Pro Bowl nose tackle could easily accumulate double-digit sacks for the first time. The group being referred to here is the Giants' linebacker group of Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and rookie Abdul Carter. They should surely ease the burden on Lawrence this year, as will rookie defensive lineman Darius Alexander and a stronger defensive line rotation. Lawrence was a workhorse on the defensive front in 2024, playing nearly 80 percent of the snaps, an unheard-of amount of playing time for a man of his physical stature.
