New York Giants News

Giants news, 11/10: Wink on McKinney, Tommy DeVito, Phil Simms, more headlines

New York Giants news for Friday

By JamesPHickey Nov 10, 2023, 6:00am EST

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Giants’ DC Wink Martindale ‘surprised’ by Xavier McKinney’s comments, says they ‘hurt the locker room’

New York Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said Thursday that he was “surprised” by safety Xavier McKinney’s comments after Sunday’s 30-6 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders about and told him "something that hurts the locker room, it hurts the defensive room when you say something like that."

Martindale, who said he asks players each week to share concerns about the game plan or anything else bothering them, admitted the comments hurt him. He went back to the defensive leaders after McKinney’s comments to see if anyone share his concern.

“I had to go back and talk to the leaders. And when I say leaders, you don’t have to have a ‘C’ on your chest to be a leader. I talked to the vets — A’Shawn (Robinson) and Nacho (Rakeem Nunez-Roches), Bobby (Okereke), all of them, and said, ‘Hey, is there something that we’re not discussing? Is there a problem here?’ And to a man, they said, ‘No.’“

Other Giant observations

Tommy DeVito: NJ QB's journey from Don Bosco to NY Giants | The Record

“It was Bergen-Bosco, playoff game at Bosco, really close, really intense,” said Chakonis, who works in wealth management at Morgan Stanley. “Coach Toal was really on edge at halftime, it was a really close game and you just had the feeling one play in the second half was going to change the entire game. I remember me and Tommy were walking up the hill to the field, and we came up on Coach Toal, he was pacing. Tommy turns to him and says, calmly, ‘Coach, listen, I got this. This is what we are here for. This is all on us. We’re taking this home.’”

Don Bosco was down 12-0 after the first quarter, but had battled back to take a 14-12 lead at halftime on two TD passes from DeVito. He threw a third touchdown pass in the third quarter after making his promise to Toal and the Ironmen, and Don Bosco never trailed again.

Execution is key in slowing down pressure from Dallas: Kafka

Mike Kafka on slowing down the Dallas defense

Watch: https://t.co/buRthOLAkT pic.twitter.com/FXuBy2Eowp
— GiantsTV (@GiantsTV) November 9, 2023

Giants predictions at NFL midseason: Will Brian Daboll get a Year 3? - The Athletic

Given what’s to come, locker room management will be key for Daboll. He’s already facing some internal strife with safety Xavier McKinney criticizing the staff Sunday for not “letting the leaders lead, and (not) listening to the leaders and the captains.”

However, it seems Daboll already handled that well, with McKinney saying Tuesday everything is good with defensive coordinator Wink Martindale and that they’re on the same page.

As Giants look toward future, these 10 players face most pressure in 2nd half of lost season | NJ.com

The Giants' season is essentially over, but there is still plenty at stake for the future.

Sterling Shepard impressed with Daniel Jones' outlook after ACL injury | New York Post

Though Jones has yet to have surgery as he waits for the swelling in his knee to go down, he has begun the road back by prehabbing, something Shepard did last year after his torn left ACL.

“I was so proud of him, because some people want to take a little break after something big like that happens. With the surgery nowadays, with the knee, you have to jump right on it,” Shepard told The Post. “You have to begin the prehab and start to strengthen the leg. … The first time I saw him, he was already prehabbing and riding on the [exercise] bike. He was definitely in the right headspace, and I’m happy to see him there.”

Victor Cruz: Time for Giants to embrace a rebuild

Victor Cruz shares his thoughts on the giants season pic.twitter.com/KSw9QSm4zk
— ̷ ̷ ̷ (@Theylovelus) November 9, 2023

The New York Giants gambled and lost with quarterback Daniel Jones | PFF

It’s clear that Jones has shown nothing to prevent the team from drafting his successor if they pick high enough in the first round or if a quarterback they like enough is available to them when they pick. The only question that remains is whether they can get rid of him via trade or if it’s worth keeping him around as a backup option to the new quarterback.

Giants’ Tyrod Taylor says his season isn’t over, so he could wind up filling in for Daniel Jones | NJ.com

Will the Giants have to play out the season with a third-string quarterback? Tyrod Taylor doesn’t think so, based on the feedback he has received from the Giants’ medical staff.

5 Things We Learned: Andrew Thomas ‘sets the tone’ | Giants.com

The All-Pro tackle is a tone-setter for the entire O-line, and with another week separating him from the hamstring injury, Thomas should see even better results against the Cowboys, according to his offensive coordinator.

“It was great to have him back out there, you saw it right away...” said Mike Kafka. “I think he did a great job in the game. I think the more he’s going to play, the better he’s going to look. I think it’s one of those things, he’s a leader, he’s a captain, he’s back in the huddle. That whole offensive line now ramps up, it’s a little bit more juice there, too. He certainly sets the tone and tempo for that group.”

2023 NFL Midseason Report: All 32 NFL teams' biggest surprises | PFF

Biggest surprise: LB Micah McFadden (72.2). There haven’t been many surprises (good ones, at least) for the Giants, but McFadden has been a bright spot at linebacker. He has the third-most pressures on the team (11), the third-most tackles (36) and a solid 76.1 run-defense grade.

Stat to know: Just 8.5% of the Giants' offensive drives have ended in a touchdown, the second-lowest rate in the NFL.

Phil Simms gets his Disney Parade

Peyton finally took @PhilSimmsQB on the @DisneyParks parade he never got 35 years ago pic.twitter.com/RoFhkptCDA
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) November 6, 2023

Giants’ Leonard Williams trade was as classy as it was atypical | New York Post

The Giants informed Williams that they had the framework of a trade in place that would send him clear across the country to Seattle — but only if Williams signed off on it.

“Normally I certainly wouldn’t speak on the record about a team, because that’s a mutual respect thing,’’ said Brandon Parker, Williams’ agent. “Because I was so blown away, in a good way, how the Giants handled this situation, I actually want there to be good things said about this front office.’’

This week’s opponent

Updates: Turpin ‘questionable’ to practice Thursday | DallasCowboys.com

head coach Mike McCarthy said that it's still undetermined how much wide receiver/returner KaVontae Turpin (shoulder) will do in practice on Thursday on the heels of his recovery from an injury suffered against the Eagles.

"We'll see how he feels," McCarthy said. "He's questionable. He'll be either limited or with the rehab group. I'll know more when I get down to practice."

Dallas Cowboys RB Tony Pollard needs to improve his production as lead back | Blogging The Boys

Tony Pollard is obviously an extraordinarily talented ball-carrier and the Cowboys would be wise to continue to use him, but they have to work on ways to help him spring loose so that he can utilize the speed that we have come to know from him. Obviously it might also be worth considering handing out a few more carries to the likes of Rico Dowdle.

The run game issues have not necessarily cost the Cowboys a game yet, but we are reaching a critical point in the season. Everything has to be operating at its peak power and right now that is definitely not happening here.

2023 NFL Midseason Report: All 32 NFL teams’ highest-graded players | PFF

Highest-graded player: Edge DeMarcus Lawrence (91.2). Lawrence’s 91.3 run-defense grade is the best in the NFL among edge defenders, and he’s contributed as a pass-rusher with 25 pressures.

Biggest surprise: CB DaRon Bland (83.1). Bland has been a revelation since stepping in for Trevon Diggs as the starting cornerback for the Cowboys. He leads all cornerbacks in interceptions (4) and has the lowest passer rating when targeted this season (33.8).