Big Blue View
Good morning, New York Giants fans!
The Giants used their two practice squad elevations for Sunday’s game on linebacker Neville Hewitt and kicker Jude McAtamney. With two open spots on the 53-man roster, they could have signed up to two more players from the practice squad to have available for the game. The Giants elected not to promote wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey, which left them with just five active wide receivers, and Gunner Olszewski is mostly a returner. So when Darius Slayton injured his hamstring early in the fourth quarter, the Giants only had three legitimate wide receivers available.
Would Humphrey have made a difference in the game? Well, yes. He likely would have been a better option than Jalin Hyatt, who appears to have lost all confidence. Deep balls used to be Hyatt’s one strength, but he didn’t come close to hauling in two bombs on Sunday.
The narrative for the New York Giants heading into Thursday night’s national showcase against the Philadelphia Eagles will undoubtedly center on those players who got away from the franchise and took their games to another level.
Not just Saquon Barkley, who will return to MetLife Stadium for the first time since he rushed for 2,000 yards, won the Offensive Player of the Year award and hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy with the Super Bowl champion Eagles eight months ago.
Still, there’s no denying the film or the numbers and what they suggest, which is that Flott has been the steadier of the two, Flott currently with an 85.4 passer rating and zero penalties, and Flott having allowed 66.7% of the pass targets against him to be caught, whereas Banks has allowed 75%.
Still, the insistence on putting Banks out there remains a headscratcher. The third-year cornerback currently has a career-worst 154.2 NFL coverage rating, and his four penalties amassed so far have him on pace to top the eight he recorded last year. Are the Giants, for instance, doing so because Banks...
