Giants news, 10/1: NFLPA wants grass playing fields, more

Let’s get to your Thursday headlines

By Ed Valentine@Valentine_Ed Oct 1, 2020, 5:54am EDT

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Good morning, New York Giants fans!

Only Natural Grass Can Level The NFL’s Playing Field | NFLPA

The data supports the anecdotes you’ll hear from me and other players: artificial turf is significantly harder on the body than grass. Based on NFL injury data collected from 2012 to 2018, not only was the contact injury rate for lower extremities higher during practices and games held on artificial turf, NFL players consistently experienced a much higher rate of non-contact lower extremity injuries on turf compared to natural surfaces. Specifically, players have a 28% higher rate of non-contact lower extremity injuries when playing on artificial turf. Of those non-contact injuries, players have a 32% higher rate of non-contact knee injuries on turf and a staggering 69% higher rate of non-contact foot/ankle injuries on turf compared to grass.

Earlier this year, the NFL and NFLPA tasked artificial turf manufacturers with developing a surface like natural grass that meets the specifications developed by our respective engineering experts. We also challenged cleat manufacturers to design innovative footwear that is safer and tailored to both players’ needs and to specific surfaces. There is no guarantee that artificial turf manufacturers will be able to create a product that provides as safe of a surface as natural grass, so we should not sit around hoping that happens. Until a product is developed that satisfies engineering specifications, we must take steps to protect players from unsafe field surfaces. In short, NFL clubs should proactively change all field surfaces to natural grass.

PFF Rankings: 10 highest-graded cornerbacks in the NFL ahead of Week 4 | NFL News, Rankings and Statistics | PFF

3. JAMES BRADBERRY, NEW YORK GIANTS

Bradberry gave up a couple of scores in his New York Giants debut in Week 1, but he has been the most productive cornerback in the NFL so far this season. He has totaled eight combined pass breakups and interceptions through Week 3, which is three more than any other cornerback.

Bradberry has also forced tight coverage on seven of his 19 targets thus far. And of those seven, not a single one was caught. That is the most targets forced in tight coverage without one being caught of any NFL cornerback.

The mysterious downfall of Giants' Markus Golden

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