Giants news, 12/15: Barkley, Jones, Daboll, Manning and Jeter, more headlines

Good morning, New York Giants fans!

Like Giants, Commanders’ players felt Week 13 was really a loss

Ed: Thinking back to Week 13, Giants players said the game felt like a loss. From this perspective, I thought it was a game the Giants should have won. How did Washington players take it? How did you take it?

Kyle SmithforGM: From what I’ve heard, Washington players took it the exact same way, as feeling like a loss. The game was strange. Early on it felt like it would be a Washington blow out. By the fourth quarter it felt like the Giants would surely win. By the end, I was content with a tie. The two teams play with fairly conservative offensive styles, and can ill afford to make any mistakes on offense if they want to win.

From Big Blue View

• New York Giants promote DL Ryder Anderson to 53-man roster
• Giants-Commanders Thursday injury report: CB Adoree’ Jackson remains sidelined
• Giants vs. Commanders, Week 15: What to expect when Washington has the ball
• Giants-Commanders, Week 15: How the Giants’ offense can succeed vs. Washington’s defense?
• NFL picks, predictions, Week 15: Does BBV staff think Giants will defeat Commanders?

Other Giant observations

Notebook: Saquon Barkley looking to bounce back vs. Commanders | Giants.com

Barkley is not on the injury report this week as the Giants prepare for their critical NFC East showdown with the Washington Commanders Sunday night in Maryland. He refused to blame his decreased production – or, as he calls it, "lacking" – on any physical issue.

"No, not because of being banged up," he said. "It's just the truth. I haven't had a big run in a long time. Last time, I guess, was against Washington (two weeks ago). It was over 20 (yards). (It was 21, one of two runs more than 10 yards he's had in the last four games.) The last couple of weeks, the run game has been – I don't want to say non-existent. But they've been doing a really good job of stopping the run game or necessarily, stopping me. Obviously, that's a focal point. And that's going to be a focal point again this week. Just got to continue to get back to that mentality of knowing that teams are going to try to stop us. But if I can get going, it's going to help the team and it's going to help put us in a position to win."

Barkley showing his moves in the locker room

Agent’s Take: Lamar Jackson tops nine franchise tag candidates for 2023 | CBSSports.com

Presumably, Barkley wants to be among the league’s five highest paid running backs. This would require Barkley topping the four-year, $50 million deal, averaging $12.5 million per year, Derrick Henry signed with the Titans in 2020 as a franchise player. Henry’s deal is worth as much as $51 million through incentives and had $25.5 million fully guaranteed.

Saquon Barkley Needs More Touches for Giants to Make Playoff Run | The 33rd Team

Robert Smith explains why the New York Giants must get creative in finding more touches down the stretch for superstar running back Saquon Barkley. Barkley has cooled in recent weeks, but head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka need to get the ball in the hands of their best playmaker if they want to get into the playoffs.

Baldy Breakdown: Poor protection costing New York Giants big plays | USA Today

Retired offensive lineman and current NFL analyst, Brian Baldinger, also looked over the Giants-Eagles film this week and concurred with the rest.

Baldy singled out rookie right tackle Evan Neal and right guard Mark Glowinski as culprits. He showed how their protection breakdowns are not only forcing Jones to rush throws but are costing the offense big plays and leading to injuries.

The head coach talks about adjustments needed for the rematch

O-line prepared for challenge of Washington's defensive front | Giants.com

"Those two D-tackles – especially Allen – I think he's one of the better defensive tackles in the league," offensive lineman Nick Gates said. "And especially what he does, there's not many other defensive tackles that can play in that body. They're big, strong guys. The big thing is trying to keep them away from your body and move your feet on them. You don't want them to get coasting."

"Allen is one of the premier tackles in the league, one hundred percent," Feliciano said. "He kind of gets, I don't want to say 'lost in the sauce' there. They have a lot of first round guys. With Chase Young coming back, he gets a lot of attention. But Jon Allen is definitely a really, really good player."

NY Giants’ Azeez Ojulari, Kayvon Thibodeaux excelling together | The Record

Kayvon Thibodeaux used two analogies to describe the New York Giants’ pass rushing tandem he has formed with Azeez Ojulari heading into Sunday night’s potential playoff elimination game against Washington.

“Azeez is like classical music, I’m hip hop,” Thibodeaux said with a laugh after Wednesday’s practice. But then his next comparison stuck even more: they’re peanut butter and jelly, and, according to Thibodeaux: “Doesn’t matter which one of us is peanut butter and who is jelly, you want them together. We’re peanut butter and jelly - we’re different, but better together.”

10 questions for stretch run of NFL regular season | CBSSports.com

Are the next four games Daniel Jones' last with the Giants? If the New York Giants find a way to blow a 7-2 start to the season and miss the playoffs in Brian Daboll's first season as head coach, that would likely confirm 2022 as Daniel Jones' last year with the G-Men. The former sixth overall pick in 2019 was former general manager Dave Gettleman's guy, something that was made clear when new general manager Joe Schoen declined Jones' fifth-year contract option.

Ahead of biggest game of his career, Daniel Jones’ Giants future could be on the line | SNY.com

Let’s make this abundantly clear: The Giants’ offensive struggles during this difficult stretch are in no way an indictment of Jones. He has nothing to work with. His offensive line is on its fourth different combination since Week 8. He finally got tight end Daniel Bellinger back last week, but then he got hurt again (ribs). His starting receivers are Darius Slayton, Isaiah Hodgins and Richie James. Basically his only offensive weapon is running back Saquon Barkley, but the wear-and-tear he’s endured to this point has rendered him a shell (3.1 yards per carry his last six games, compared to 5.08 his first seven) of the player he was earlier in the year.

It’s hard for any quarterback to find any success when dealing with those circumstances. But that’s also what makes this opportunity against Washington so important for Jones.

Eli Manning praises job Daniel Jones, Brian Daboll have done for Giants | Newsday

“I think Daniel has made great strides. He’s protected the football. Things that have hurt him in the past, he’s corrected. It’s been a conscious effort to do that. He’s tough, he runs, he throws it. … I’ve talked with him and been proud of the way he’s played smart. It’s not easy with the style they’re playing. But he’s keeping them in games. When they were winning games, they were playing their best football in the fourth quarter and the defense was making stops and the offense [was sustaining] drives and they’ve lost that a little bit, but I think that’s the winning formula.”

Captain’s meeting

John Mara: Vibe in Giants’ building is the best it’s been in years | ProFootballTalk

Mara acknowledges that it stings to see how much better the Eagles are than the Giants but that “people are all pulling in the same direction.”

“That certainly was a disappointment,” Mara said. “I didn’t think there was that big of a gap between the two of us but obviously they proved that there is. We’ll see. We get to play them one more time. It was disappointing but you have 17 games and you’re going to have one or two games like that. Hopefully, it won’t happen again.”

Five free agents who have raised their stock the most in 2022 | PFF

Giants’ Daniel Bellinger doesn’t expect rib injury to limit him | New York Post

This week’s opponent

Commanders excited, prepared for primetime rematch with Giants | Commanders.com

It was not always pretty, but Washington found ways to win. So, an NFC East matchup that was flexed to Sunday Night Football with serious playoff implications is nothing new for the players.

"You treat it as the same," Antonio Gibson said. "A lot of people counted us out. We put ourselves in a position to be in that talk right now. Just go out there and handle business. That's our goal."

Dan Snyder expected to sell the team | Hogs Haven

via The Washington Post:

The investment bank hired by Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder is moving forward with the process for him to consider offers to purchase all or part of his franchise. Bank of America is poised to send what amounts to a prospectus for the team to qualified potential buyers who agree to the confidentiality provisions.

While those materials likely will not specify whether Snyder intends to sell the entire franchise or a portion of it, four people familiar with the process said they believe a full sale is the most likely outcome. One person expressed the belief that it no longer is feasible for Snyder to inform fellow NFL owners that he plans to keep control of the team and sell only a minority share. Any sale, whether it involves the entire team or a portion of it, must be approved by at least three-quarters of the other NFL team owners.

Around the league

Cardinals GM Steve Keim taking health-related leave of absence | ESPN.com

Vice president of player personnel Quentin Harris and vice president of pro personnel Adrian Wilson will handle Keim's duties on an interim basis. Keim, 50, has been the Cardinals' general manager since 2013 and signed an extension with the team in March that runs through the 2027 season. The team said it will have no further comment "out of respect for privacy -- which is required by law."

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