Inside The Birds, NFC East Pre: N.Y. Giants Have ‘Chance To Be Very Solid Football Team’

On the latest Inside The Birds podcast, the NFC East preview continues as ITB looks at the New York Giants in Part 3 of the four-part series.

Geoff Mosher and Adam Caplan are again joined by Greg Cosell to break down the Eagles’ closest division rivals and determine whether New York can legitimately compete to win the NFC East.

Daniel Jones must set his feet more to become an improved third-down passer.

Daniel Jones

Cosell: “[Daniel] Jones was often under duress, and when I say under duress, it’s not as if there were free rushers, but he was often surrounded by bodies, and he was not particularly comfortable. He was an unsettled player. There were too many snaps in which he did not set and plant his back foot. He probably started to anticipate that he would get pressure, and when you anticipate that you’re going to get pressure you start to play very fast physically and you just don’t set. I think he’s gonna have to be better in those situations, that’s the next step for him, because even though he has some movement ability, he’s essentially a pocket quarterback. So the next step for him is he’s going to have to learn how to set and deliver when there are bodies around him.”

Defensive scheme

Cosell: “Defensively they’re one of those teams that’s very fundamentally sound, they play with excellent discipline. I think that really showed, they got a great year from Leonard Williams. They are a multiple front defense because Patrick Graham has the background with Bill Belichick, and that’s that multiple-front look where players can play all along the defensive front and Williams did that a year ago and played extremely well.”

Kenny Golladay

Cosell: “Kenny Golladay is almost your classic boundary X, meaning the single receiver to the short side of the field. He’s big, he’s physical, he’s a good athlete, he can make contested catches, he can run a bit with that stride length because he’s close to 6-foot-4. So while he’s not a 4.35 guy, stride length is a trait. So he can run away from man coverage on crossers because he’s just bigger. So he is your classic Boundary X, and he can win contested catches. Your X receiver gets a lot of man-to-man coverage on the backside of trips, and he has to be able to win versus man, and you win versus man multiple ways – you can win with your size, with your ability to make contested catches. That’s the way a lot of guys do win, but he’s a big physical competitive receiver who can make contested catches. He’s your classic boundary X.”

Andrew Thomas

Cosell: “I thought Thomas clearly improved at left tackle as the year progressed in terms of 1-on-1 pass protection. They certainly expect the left tackle position to be manned by Thomas, and for him to be able to pass protect 1-on-1 against even the best pass rushers that you’re going to face, week in and week out. You need your left tackle to be able to do that when you draft him fourth [overall] in the draft.”

Saquon Barkley

Cosell: “If [Saquon] Barkley is healthy for 17 games, he’ll carry the ball 250+ times. I think it becomes a function of who they play against, but philosophy-wise Barkley will be a significant part of what they do. They will not be a pass-heavy team. We know what that percentage is now and what the ratio is in the NFL, no one is 60 percent or 70 percent run. It’s not like the old days, but they are not going to be a 70-percent pass team.”

Blake Martinez

Cosell: “He’s been [a consistent] player throughout his career, he plays a lot of snaps. I don’t think he’s a great player, but I think you feel really comfortable with him out there. He’s an assignment-sound player. You’d love for him to be just a tad bit more explosive athletically, but obviously that’s not going to change.”

Elerson Smith

Cosell: “[Elerson Smith] was one of the more intriguing edge prospects I watched. He had an elite combination of length and fluid movement and natural quickness. When he lined up as a wide nine and he had space to generate burst and use his stride length to quickly attack and challenge offensive tackles – now, again, he played in Northern Iowa – but he would break down [an offensive tackle’s] pass-set technique immediately. They were snaps in which he showed impressive timing off the ball, he gained an immediate advantage by doing that. If you talk to offensive linemen they’ll tell you if the pass rusher gets off the ball first you’re in a little bit of trouble.”

Secondary

Cosell: “They are a team with a lot of moving pieces on the back end. Bradbury obviously is a quality corner, I assume Adoree’ Jackson gets the first opportunity to start opposite him and we’ll see how it plays out. But I would expect to see them play a little bit more man coverage than they did a year ago when they played a high percentage of zone.”

– Justin Morganstein (@jmotweets_) is a staff contributor to InsideTheBirds.com

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