Sportsnaut
After two joint practices this week, the New York Giants and New York Jets will battle Saturday night for MetLife Stadium bragging rights.
Both teams were victorious in their preseason openers last week, as the Giants defeated the Buffalo Bills 34-25 and the Jets beat the Green Bay Packers 30-10. It’s unknown at this time how many Giants starters will play on Saturday, but on Thursday, head coach Brian Daboll was asked if having the two joint practices would affect who will play.
“I wouldn’t say it affects it. Again, we’ll end up making the decision we think is best,” explained Daboll. “There’s no substitute for tackling. There’s no substitute for cleaning the pocket. There’s no substitute for run after catch when you’re going to get hit. There’s no substitute for being live as a quarterback in the pocket. But we’ll end up deciding at the end of the day what we think is right for our team.”
Several players for Big Blue stood out against the Bills last week, and here are five to keep an eye on this week against the Jets.
Jaxson Dart looked poised and confident in his debut last week, completing 12-of-19 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown. He showed accuracy and toughness on his 28-yard touchdown to Lil’ Jordan Humphrey, knowing he was going to take a hit as soon as he released the ball.
Dart has been as good as advertised this summer and is on track to be No. 2 on the depth chart behind Russell Wilson if he continues to perform at a high level. Now it’s time to see what he can do for an encore against a team he’s been practicing against all week.
Abdul Carter has been a disruptive force throughout training camp, and on the six plays he appeared against the Bills, he wreaked havoc. Three of those plays were passing situations, and Carter registered a quarterback pressure on each one.
Everyone has given the 21-year-old edge rusher high praise as he seems on the verge of becoming one of the most impactful defensive rookies in the league. He might once again see limited time on Saturday, but it will be interesting to see how much disruption he causes.
Whenever Dante Miller gets his hands on the ball, he’s electrifying to watch. It’s easy to see why he earned the nickname “Turbo” because of his explosive speed. Against Buffalo, he caught seven passes for 80 yards and carried the ball 10 times for 22 yards.
With rookie Cam Skattebo still nursing a hamstring injury, Miller should see extensive playing time once again. The top three running back spots for the Giants are solidified with Tyrone Tracy Jr., Devin Singletary, and Skattebo, but it’s going to be hard to keep Miller off the 53-man roster.
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