Zoom-Mania! Takeaways from chatting with New York Giants position coaches

Here are some of the takeaways from Tuesday’s media availability of New York Giants position coaches.

“Good first outing” for Devonta Freeman

That is the assessment of running backs coach Burton Burns.

“We planned on just kind of easing him in. He’s still learning the system. We got him 15 snaps and I thought he did well, did what he was supposed to do as far as his assignments were concerned. Obviously we’re looking forward to gettin him more involved in the offense as we move forward.

“I thought the guy did a great in two or three practices getting a base understanding of our offensive scheme.”

Freeman carried five times for 10 yards vs. the San Francisco 49ers.

Assignment. Technique. Effort.

Those are the three things Burns grades backs on. Not on yards or receptions or broken tackles or negative runs.

“My big thing is making sure the running backs are doing what they’re supposed to do,” Burns said.

Saquon Barkley was around Sunday

Burns said that Barkley was in the locker room before Sunday’s game.

“He has a lot of respect for his teammates. They obviously have a lot of respect for him, so just his presence goes a long way.”

Trying to get Tae Crowder on the field

The final player picked in the draft played his first two defensive snaps on Sunday.

“We’re trying to get him on the field. We think he’s got the ability to help us in some roles,” inside linebackers coach Kevin Sherrer said. “Hopefully his role will increase as the season goes if he continues to develop like he has.”

Carter Coughlin’s fit at inside linebacker

Sherrer said Coughlin, the team’s sixth-round pick “brings an element of third down” to the inside linebacker position as a rusher or in coverage.

“He’s a good athlete,” Sherrer said.

‘X’ marked the spot

Edge defender Oshane Ximines played a season-high 44 snaps (57 percent) on Sunday and had five tackles.

“You look for the silver linings in games like that. He probably played as good as he has to this point,” said outside linebackers coach Bret Bielema. “Had a couple nice things in the run game, but also converted a couple nice rushes against good players. so it was positive to see that.

“Now you’d like to see that momentum and his confidence continue forward. See what we get this week.”

Bielema and the Giants are obviously hoping for more.

“In my career I’ve noticed guys that just need that one play, that one moment, that one thing that kinda catapults them into ‘hey I belong here, I can do this, I need to be able to capitalize on my skill set.’ He’s really got some things physically ... Unique player, a guy that has a skill set for the edge that you can really build on.”

EDGE by committee

Lorenzo Carter, Kyler Fackrell, Markus Golden and Ximines are splitting EDGE snaps, and all have been effective at various times.

“Our room has four guys. Those guys all have different, unique skill sets, they all bring to the table certain strengths and we try to minimize the weaknesses,” Bielema said.

QB coach Jerry Schuplinski on Daniel Jones running

The Giants used quarterback Daniel Jones in the run game extensively on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers. That is something they may need to continue to do.

“I don’t like him taking a lot of hits. He knows that, but I think sometimes ... you want to get as much as you can and get down,” Schuplinski said. “I think he did a good job even though he took a few hits ... we always want him to get down if he can.”

Maximizing Evan Engram

Giants’ tight end Evan Engram has a career average of 7.0 yards per target. Yet, the speedy tight end is only averaging 4.8 yards per target after three games in Jason garrett’s offense. why?

“We’re continuing to try things to get the ball in Evan’s hands whether it be run after catch or down the field,” said tight ends coach Freddie Kitchens. “Sometimes coverage dictates a lot of those things. It just hasn’t happened yet.”