Giants news, 8/16: Collin Johnson, Quincy Roche touted as players to watch

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Giants training camp, 8/15: Brian Daboll — ‘We’re all about the process’ | Big Blue View

Head coach Brian Daboll said before Monday’s practice that the time to worry about results has not arrived.

“That’s why we practice. We’re all about the process, so if you have a bad day, you regroup, you look at it, you talk about it,” Daboll said. “Obviously, you want to translate good things in practice to games. We’re evaluating players right now. We’re working through a lot of different schemes. That’s not much different than the last 22 years I’ve been around. But we want to perform well when it counts the most, which is on game day.”

Backup NFL Playmakers Most Likely to Blossom in 2022 | Bleacher Report

Third-year Giants receiver Collin Johnson might be about to emerge in 2022. The 6’6”, 224-pounder posted impressive numbers at Texas before being drafted in the fifth-round by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He finished his career with 188 receptions for 2,624 yards and 15 scores over four years.

His seven-catch, 82-yard performance in his first preseason game was encouraging. After this unit was ravaged by injuries last year and saw inconsistent play from Kenny Golladay, Johnson provides a similar vertical skill set that can be an insurance policy. If Golladay again disappoints or several projected contributors miss significant time, Johnson is already proving to be a fit in Brian Daboll’s offense.

NFL preseason Week 1 winners and losers: Rookie quarterbacks impress, Deshaun Watson struggles in Browns debut - CBSSports.com

Kenny Golladay received a “loser” designation from CBS’s Tyler Sullivan.

“Golladay has yet to live up to the $72 million contract he signed with the Giants last offseason and he didn't start his preseason on a positive note either,” writes Sullivan. “In New York's first exhibition of the summer against the Patriots, Golladay was only able to bring in one of his three targets on the night and seemed to really struggle creating separation. Either that or was running half-heartedly on this shot from Daniel Jones.”

The story included this tweet:

Brian Daboll: I think Kenny Golladay has acclimated himself well | ProFootballTalk

Daboll was asked if he’s been pleased with what he’s seen from the wideout thus far.

“I think he’s acclimated himself well in terms of what we’re doing,” Daboll said. “Again, all receivers, they’re different. Some are really shifty and quick. Some are big and physical. It’s just a matter of when you have an opportunity to go out there and make plays, which he’s made some of them, that you go ahead and make them. I’ve been pleased with how he’s handled himself. He’s been a pro, and he’s competing everyday with those guys.”

New York Giants 53-man roster projection after the first preseason game | The Athletic

Which young RB will they keep? Will Sterling Shepard be healthy for Week 1? Will it be Oshane Ximines or Quincy Roche at OLB?

Antonio Williams not relying on familiarity in bid to make Giants | New York Post

There’s a degree of validation that Daboll and Schoen liked him enough in Buffalo to bring him to East Rutherford. But there’s also motivation.

“A guy like myself, I haven’t done much in the NFL yet, but to know what I had done in the practices with them seeing me every day was enough to get an opportunity, that does make you feel good,” said Williams, who was active for one game — last year’s regular-season finale — in two seasons with the Bills. “It gives a sense of motivation to try and prove those guys right about yourself. So for me right now, I have a huge amount of respect for Dabes, a huge amount of respect for Joe, so I just want to make their decision to bring me here look like a good choice.”

NY Giants Darrian Beavers: Time to show staying power as impact rookie | The Record

Darrian Beavers' eyes widened, the natural reaction for any rookie making his NFL debut.

Read. React. Trust your keys. It's still just football. The first play was a quick slant. The next one? Beavers could not have scripted it any better to make an impression.

"I was in the huddle thinking, ‘This is my dream come true. I’m here now,’ and then I missed the tackle," the Giants' inside linebacker said after Thursday's 23-21 preseason victory over the Patriots. "I was in there, I was like, 'Wow, I just came free,' had a TFL [tackle for loss], came through and missed the tackle. But that was just nerves, man, that was just me trying to go out there and perform."

Amy Trask with a remembrance of Wellington Mara

Trevor Lawrence, Elijah Moore and other second-year players ready to break out | The Athletic

A surprise candidate is EDGE Quincy Roche. A sixth-round pick by Pittsburgh, Roche was then waived and picked up by the Giants just before the 2021 season. And he could turn into a sleeper. He’s a bouncy, nimble athlete on the edge, one who can change direction and retrack to the ball with a lot of speed and explosion. The Athletic’s Dan Duggan notes that he’s in a roster battle in New York, as the Giants also have talented young edge rushers in Azeez Ojulari and Kayvon Thibodeaux to think about (and they’re not going anywhere). If Roche can’t stick with New York, don’t be shocked if he shows up somewhere else and makes an impact. He can play.

Baldy breaks down the how the Giants “vanilla” preseason defense still features blitzing:

Giants’ Leonard Williams makes NFL top 100 | Big Blue View

The New York Giants have some representation on the list as Leonard Williams has made the top 100 for the second consecutive season. Williams comes in this season at No. 97 overall, down from the year before where he was at 84.

Another national NFL insider predicting big things for RB Saquon Barkley this year:

Longshot worth firing: Giants WR Toney to lead NFL in receiving | PFF

Best Bet: WR Kadarius Toney to lead NFL in receiving yards, +10000 on DraftKings. Betting a volume stat requires passing volume and efficiency on the part of the receiver. New Giants HC Brian Daboll figures to bring a high-volume passing offense. Toney was elite at earning targets as a rookie, and he was highly efficient — especially after the catch. Adding in a possible downfield role against what projects as the easiest passing schedule in the league might just unleash Toney as the NFL’s leading receiver.

NFC East Projections: Cowboys the division favorite; Eagles and Commanders playoff hopefuls | The Athletic

The Philadelphia Eagles stole the offseason headlines for the NFC East by acquiring A.J. Brown, but it’s a quarterback league, and the Dallas Cowboys have by far the safest option at quarterback within the division. The Cowboys and Eagles both have dreams of making a deep run while the Giants and Commanders would be happy with a playoff berth. However, this looks like a clear two-team race for the division crown.

The Athletic’s Austin Mock used his NFL projection model and simulated the NFL season 100,000 times to take a deep dive into the NFC East and identify how likely each team is to win the division and make the playoffs in the 2022 season.

This week’s opponent

Tyler Boyd: Joe Burrow made all the right reads, diced the defense up in practice | ProFootballTalk

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow returned to practice on Sunday after undergoing an appendectomy in late July. Burrow did some work in individual and 7-on-7 drills, making the accurate passes his coaches and teammates have come to expect from him.

Head coach Zac Taylor said Burrow looked good in his return to practice. Receiver Tyler Boyd agreed with Taylor’s assessment.

“He looked great. He’s never going to lose his stuff,” said receiver Tyler Boyd. “He made all right reads, diced the defense up. He’s the same Joe Burrow that took us to the Super Bowl.”

Zac Taylor to sit most Bengals starters vs. Giants | Cincy Jungle

The Cincinnati Bengals sat most of their starters in their first preseason game, and it sounds like that’s the plan for this week as well. After sitting just about every starter last Friday vs. the Arizona Cardinals, Zac Taylor says it will be more of the same this Sunday when they face the New York Giants. Taylor made the announcement during Monday’s meeting with the media.

Cordell Volson gets first-team reps with Jackson Carman injured: Bengals News | Cincy Jungle

The Bengals have learned over the past few seasons, especially on the defensive line, that depth matters. This year, it could be a similar tale, and the goal is to have confidence in their backups in case they need to take over

One of the players that Cincinnati should have high hopes for is fourth-round pick Cordell Volson. Volson, drafted out of North Dakota State and already 24 years old, played very well in the team’s preseason opener, a 36-23 loss to the Cardinals, and has since earned first-team reps in practice.

Per the Bengals’ radio voice, Dan Hoard, Volson, who received a 74.8 Pro Football Focus score in Cincinnati’s Week 1 matchup, has been getting reps with the starters, clearly showing the upside the coaching staff desires.

Around the league

Chiefs cut defensive back Lonnie Johnson three months after trading for him | CBSSports.com

The Kansas City Chiefs have made another surprising cut in the secondary, as the team announced Monday that they were waiving defensive back Lonnie Johnson Jr. The Chiefs acquired him via trade just three months ago, sending a conditional seventh-round pick to the Houston Texans in exchange for the 26-year-old. Johnson recorded three combined tackles in the Chiefs' 19-14 preseason loss to the Chicago Bears on Saturday. He was seen as an intriguing flier for Kansas City because of his size and versatility.

49ers release Darqueze Dennard, waive three | ProFootballTalk

San Francisco released veteran cornerback Darqueze Dennard and waived fullback Josh Hokit, receiver KeeSean Johnson, and defensive lineman Tomasi Laulile. Dennard, a former first-round pick, has appeared in 87 career games with 30 starts. He’s recorded four interceptions and 27 passes defensed since entering the league, spending his first six seasons with the Bengals.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni: Jalen Hurts was 'great' in preseason opener | NFL.com

"I thought he was great," Sirianni said via the team's official website. "He made plays in the pocket when he needed to make plays in the pocket and when he needed to escape, he escaped. I think it's interesting; I think it's also to be known that leaving the pocket isn't just something that you see when the protection breaks down. I think that people think like, oh, we left the pocket early, and the protection was good. Well, sometimes nobody is open. And sometimes the defense calls a good play and it's not a good look in the coverage.

Fifteen illegal contact flags thrown in Week 1 of NFL preseason | ESPN

NFL officials threw 15 flags for illegal contact during the first week of the preseason, an elevated number that reflected the league's request that officials pay close attention to those fouls.

The league does not compile public preseason penalty data, but the total is based on an ESPN examination of the week's play-by-play logs. It represents a steep rise from 2021 trends, when officials threw only 36 flags for illegal contact for the entire 18-week regular season. It was also a significant bump from the average of 97 established annually between 2002 and 2020.

Recently cut LB Niko Lalos has landed with the New Orleans Saints

Jason Garrett, Jac Collinsworth to call Notre Dame football for NBC | New York Post

NBC has found its replacements for Mike Tirico and Drew Brees on its Notre Dame football coverage. Jac Collinsworth will be on play-by-play, and Jason Garrett will be the game analyst, according to sources. Garrett has also replaced Brees on “Football Night in America,” NBC’s Sunday night pregame show.

In case you missed it

• Giants’ WR Collin Johnson making the most of his opportunities
• Giants roster move: CB Olaijah Griffin claimed from Buffalo Bills

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