Big Blue View Mailbag: Darren Sproles, Will Beatty, more

Let's open up the Big Blue View mailbag and see what questions we can answer this week about your New York Giants.

@bigblueview how are the G men going to get a grip on sproles? Seems like they never have an answer for that guy

— Sam Goldberg (@swgold) October 16, 2015

Ed says: Sproles is a great, dangerous player. The guy can make plays and wiggle away when it seems like that is impossible. That said, I think the Giants are better positioned than they have been in the past to handle at least one of the things Sproles does well -- return punts. Brad Wing has done an outstanding job thus far with directional punts. He has given up only 53 yards worth of returns and has forced nine fair catches. That bodes well for controlling Sproles in the return game.

As for Sproles catching passes out of the backfield, maybe he will fall down, or Sam Bradford will mis-fire, or something, The Giants have been awful covering running backs and tight ends in the middle of the field, and I really don't want to think about Sproles and the damage he can do. So, now I'm regretting answering this question. Because I don't know what the answer is.

@bigblueview how much you see Unga playing vs an Eagles team that loves the wheel route & very good receiving TE's?

— BK (@Base718) October 16, 2015

Ed says: I don't see why there would be much different in 'Unga's playing time from what it's been all along. He will probably replace Jon Beason in the nickel package and maybe play a little on run downs to keep Beason fresh. Teams have targeted 'Unga with the tight end, which will continue until he is able to make some plays. Beason doesn't have the wheels to cover the pass, so 'Unga has to play some.

@bigblueview Who starts at WR on Monday night? DE? LB? Do we have anyone left?! #NYG #bbvmailbag

— Billy Nayden (@bnayden) October 16, 2015

Ed says: Well, we will just have to follow the injury report and see what happens. My guess is that Odell Beckham and Rueben Randle both play, and it looks like Jon Beason, Jonathan Casillas, Robert Ayers and George Selvie are in line to play. The big losses, assuming Beckham plays, are cornerback Prince Amukamara and probably linebacker Devon Kennard. And there will be 46 guys in uniform, so they do have some people left.

@bigblueview #bbvmailbag what happens with the return of Beatty? Does the O Line change or do you think he becomes a backup? thx! #gogiants

— footballgiantsreport (@fballgiantsrepo) October 16, 2015

Ed says: That remains to be seen. Beatty is eligible to return to practice next week. That DOES NOT mean he will be activated in time for the Week 7 game against Dallas. It doesn't even mean he will practice next week. We don't yet know if he is healthy enough to begin practicing, and with the Giants playing Monday next week is a short practice week.

If the Giants don't immediately activate Beatty after Week 6 -- which they almost certainly won't -- they have a five-week window tin which to get Beatty back to practice. That window would close after Week 11. As soon as Beatty begins to practice, the clock begins to tick on the Giants needing to make a decision. NFL teams have 21 days from the time a player on PUP begins to practice to decide whether to activate, place on season-ending IR, or release the player. If either of those deadlines pass, the player must remain on PUP the entire season.

Now, how would the Giants use Beatty if and when he returns? Remember how long it took Geoff Schwartz to build back up to playing a full load of snaps? Beatty could start out as an extra tight end, though I would assume he will eventually replace Marshall Newhouse in the starting lineup. As for whether Beatty plays the right side, which he hasn't done in many years, or Ereck Flowers moves over there, I don't know. My guess is the Giants leave Flowers on the left, but that's just a guess.

@bigblueview I feel good about this team even with all the injuries, can team chemistry overcome less talent on the field? #bbvmailbag

— William Reed (@Cuse7070) October 16, 2015

Ed says: I don't know if I would say chemistry can overcome less talent, but effort and being relentless (a Steve Spagnuolo word) can make up for a lot of shortcomings. Perhaps the best thing about this Giants team is that they play hard. They give maximum effort. They have a lot of guys who will move around and do whatever they are asked to do. Those things can help overcome a lot.

@bigblueview do you think we will see more of a split between Tye/Donnell moving forward or was last week a outlier..who's better blocker?

— Andrew Holtorf (@BigWIBlue88) October 16, 2015

Ed says: I don't really know. I think Will Tye was very impressive last week, but it was one game. Let's see him do it repeatedly for the rest of the season. I do think it's possible that Tye either has, or will, supplant Jerome Cunningham as the No. 2 tight end. Donnell is a terrible blocker, I don't care what Ben McAdoo says. Tye? I don't think we know yet. The Giants are using really quick passes to replace the run and to hide some of their blocking deficiencies, which is excellent game-planning.