Film room: How the Giants turned Eli Manning loose vs

. Jets Since the New York Giants hired Pat Shurmur to be their new head coach and fix their broken offense Cheap Eli Manning Jersey , fans have waited to see what he could do, whether he could bring the magic he worked on the Minnesota Vikings’ offense to New York. When Shurmur was hired, Odell Beckham Jr. excitedly tweeted that he was “geeked!” by the hire. Giants’ fans finally got to see what the excitement was about when the Giants faced the New York Jets in their annual meeting in the third pre-season game. As the game which coaches use to simulate a regular season game week, we finally got to see more than the outline of the Giants’ new offense. And even with game-breaking playmakers Saquon Barkley and Odell Beckham Jr. sidelined for the game, Eli Manning was unleashed like we have only rarely seen him these past few years. So, how did Shurmur and Mike Shula simultaneously get Manning’s completion percentage to a mark he has only matched seven times since 2014, while also having the most yards per attempt since Week 3 of 2016?Attacking all levels of the defenseOver the last four years, Giants fans have become accustomed to seeing routes run in isolation. The previous offense consistently sought to put receivers in one-on-one situations for the quarterback to complete high-percentage throws. Usually that meant short passes based off the slant route. That lead to problems when faced with certain coverages or when they couldn’t feed the offense through Odell Beckham or Sterling Shepard.Under Shurmur, the Giants’ offense looks to help receivers by scheming them open, creating conflicts for defenders, and creating simple reads for the quarterbacks. This will clearly be a feature of the offense and was on display from Manning’s first pass of the night. The Giants open with a variaton on the “sail” concept. The sail concept overloads one side of the defense, in this case the defensive right, with receivers at (roughly) 5, 15, and 25 yards. In this case the Giants run the concept with a pair of crossing routes from the bunch formation to the offensive right, with Sterling Shepard running the underneath crosser while Engram runs the intermediate route. Cody Latimer runs the third element of the concept, the vertical route, on the left side of the offensive formation. The Jets seem to be running a Cover 3 defense here, which happens to be particularly vulnerable to the sail concept. The concept puts the free safety Marcus Maye in a difficult conflict. The passing concept forces Maye to choose between staying deep and defending the vertical route or coming down to help pick up the deep crossing route.Just before the snap, Maye retreats to a deep center field position, and at that moment Eli knows that he will have Engram open in the intermediate. Other than the coverage on Latimer, which looks as if it could be press coverage until the corner turns to make a zone drop just before the snap, this looks as though it will be zone coverage. across the board — which it is. The vertical route from Latimer pulls the outside corner and free safety deep, vacating the sideline for Shepard and Engram. Meanwhile, Jonathan Stewart comes up to pass protect before releasing into a short check-down route. That freezes the underneath coverage on his side slightly http://www.giantscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-riley-dixon-jersey , and forces a mistake when the inside linebacker doesn’t pick up Engram as he passes through his zone. Instead, he lets Engram go, apparently expecting him to be picked up by a free safety who isn’t there. Either way, it likely wouldn’t have mattered, as Engram’s speed in the open field is too much for most linebackers to match.The end result was an easy read for Manning, who delivers an accurate pass in rhythm to a wide open Engram for a 15-yard reception. Take what the defense gives themShurmur’s offense is flexible and varied, borrowing ideas from every offensive mind he’s worked with. But it’s foundation is still the West Coast Offense, and abides by the Tao of Bill Walsh: You don’t go broke making a profit. The Giants’ new offense features far more aggression and vertical elements than Ben McAdoo’s, but they’ll pick their spots for those plays. Here, we see the Giants taking advantage of the defensive call to find a completion and establish a lead with a field goal. The Jets are showing a Cover 4 defense with four defenders in deep zone coverage (quarters coverage), and just four rushers. The route combination on the bottom of the screen uses two receivers to clear out the three defenders to the offensive right. Eli keeps his eyes to that side of the field, using the vertical route to pull the safety and outside corner into the end zone. He then moves his eyes to the middle of the field, pulling the other safety and the two inside linebackers to TE Scott Simonson, who is running the inner of the two hook routes. Wayne Gallman immediately goes out as though for a swing pass, pulling the outside linebacker toward the sideline. All of this creates a big void for tight end Jerell Adams on the outer of the two hook routes. It’s an easy pitch-and-catch from Manning to Adams, and a very safe play.Considering the circumstances — a pre-season game in which top tight ends Evan Engram and Rhett Ellison have already left the game, and the offense is missing Beckham and Barkley — taking the conservative option is forgivable. The play is unlikely to score or result in a first down, and in a regular season game this is likely more of a second-and-9 play than third-and-9. It did, however, give the Giants another chance to see a young kicker in Aldrick Rosas who is trying to prove that he should keep his job.Taking shotsManning has always been at his best when he can attack the defense down the field. That doesn’t mean that he wants to sling the ball down the field on every pass like he did in Kevin Gilbride’s final year. However, Eli seems like a more engaged and energetic quarterback when he knows he has the option to try and throw the occasional haymaker.Once again going back to Bill Walsh and the original WCO, the run-action fake (or play-action) has long been considered to be the safest way to attack deep. Even if a team can’t ‘establish the run game,’ a well-executed play fake forces a defense to freeze, slowing a pass rush and taking defenders out of position in coverage.Here we see the Giants use a simple three-man route based off of play-action to deliver a body blow to the Jets’ defense. The Giants used pre-snap motion — with fullback Shane Smith motioning from a wide receiver position to the backfield — to establish that the Jets are in a zone coverage, in this case Cover 3. The free safety is so deep that he isn’t on the screen. After a good punt return Cheap Sterling Shepard Jersey , the Giants decide to take a shot down the field and really challenge the Jets deep for the first time in the game. With eight potential rushers, the Giants keep seven players back for pass protection while the play develops.To this point the Giants have not been able to run the ball effectively at all, with Jonathan Stewart losing yards on average. However, that doesn’t stop the Jets from reacting to the play fake, with all eight box defenders either attacking the run or freezing. Manning takes advantage of the opportunity to target Cody Latimer running the deep post. Latimer’s size and speed downfield get a couple steps of separation on Morris Claiborne while Trumaine Johnson is forced to respect the deep crossing route, keeping him from helping Claiborne in coverage.This play could — and probably should — have been a touchdown for Manning. However, hedoesn’t fully step in to the throw, under-throwing the ball by a yard or two. That could have been influenced by late pressure as rookie defensive lineman Nathan Shepard is never properly picked up and gets in Manning’s face as he throws the ball.Final thoughtsThis is a new and different offense from what we’ve seen from the Giants. It does have elements of previous offenses, such as the basic tenets of the west coast offense and most passing plays feature at least one vertical option, as in Kevin Gilbride’s offense. But unlike either McAdoo’s or Gilbride’s offense, Shurmur and Shula blend concepts and philosophies to create a varied and versatile offense. It is an offense that strives to create conflict on the defense while putting offensive players in position to maximize their skill sets — such as using Latimer deep or Engram in space against a linebacker. All that makes for relatively easy reads for Manning while letting him take care of the ball or indulge in his desire to attack the defense deep when the opportunity presents itself. The end result? 17 for 23 (73.9 percent) and 188 yards — a line that could easily have been better if not for the under-throw and a pair of drops by Hunter Sharp. Manning looked like a rejuvenated quarterback, quickly making his reads and delivering the ball on time and in rhythm. Manning certainly seems to enjoy playing in this offense, and with the team betting on their 37 year old QB having gas left in the tank, it was what they needed to see.Giants-Texans final score: Giants defeat Texans 27-22, earn first victory The New York Giants offense finally showed signs of life in Week 3 in their trip to Houston to take on the Texans, the performance leading the Giants to come up victorious for the first time this season with a 27-22 victory on Sunday. The Giants generated a hefty lead early, with a 20-6 halftime advantage marked by scores on every first-half drive. The Texans threatened, but never quite caught up, despite New York’s offense and defense both struggling in quarters three and four. While it was a tale of two halves for the Giants, it did not end up costing them in the end.“That felt a lot better than the first two weeks,” said Giants coach Pat Shurmur. “Great team victory. I told the team, I’ve always known they’re tough. I always knew they were gritty. I always knew they had great resolve, but today we just made enough plays to win. We went from being ‘almost’ in a lot of areas to finishing it.:Eli Manning wasn’t spared from the Texans’ pass rush, with John Greco filling it at center for the injured Jon Halapio and right tackle Ereck Flowers benched in favor of Chad Wheeler. Manning was sacked four times — three times by J.J. Watt — and hit five times, but he still had a good day Cheap Saquon Barkley Jersey , completing 25 of his 29 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers.“I thought Eli (Manning) played a good game. I should say damn good game. Twenty-five for 29 for almost 300 yards and two touchdowns. Pretty fair day at the office, I might say to myself,” Shurmur said.Odell Beckham, Jr. had his 21st game with more than 100 receiving yards, with nine catches on 10 targets for 109 yards. Sterling Shepard had six catches on seven targets for 80 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Rhett Ellison, with an expanded role after Evan Engram was ruled out with a knee injury, had a 16-yard touchdown in the second quarter and totaled three catches for 39 yards on the day. Saquon Barkley led the Giants’ ground game with 17 carries for 82yards and a touchdown. He also caught five passes for 35 yards.On defense, the Giants came away with two takeaways. Defensive end Kerry Wynn forced a fumble on a Lamar Miller carry which was recovered by cornerback Donte Deayon, and linebacker Alec Ogletree picked off Deshaun Watson in the end zone to open the fourth quarter. None, however, resulted in Giants points.Meanwhile, it was Houston’s offense that looked anemic early, with just 160 yards of offense in the first two quarters. However, the second half saw the Texans focus on passing the ball with positive results, including a six-yard touchdown pass from Watson to receiver Will Fuller in the fourth quarter that cut New York’s lead to five points. Watson completed 24 of his 40 passes for 385 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and three sacks. DeAndre Hopkins had six catches on 10 targets for 86 yards. Fuller had five receptions on 12 targets for 101 yards and a score. Watson was the team’s leading rusher, with 36 yards. Injury newsCornerback Antonio Hamilton was ruled out with a groin injury. Barkley suffered a bruised knee in the first half but returned. Engram was ruled out with a knee injury. Moments that matteredFirst-half dominance: The Giants scored on all four of their first-half possessions, which included two Aldrick Rosas field goals and two touchdowns. The first was a 15-yard run by Barkley and the second, Ellison’s 16-yard touchdown grab.Houston’s stumbles: The Texans went three-and-out in three out of five first-half possessions.Rosas still perfect: Rosas converted all two of his field goal attempts and made all of his three extra point tries. He remains perfect on the season, going seven-for-seven in field goals and four-for-four in extra points. Wynning: Defensive end Kerry Wynn had a big game, with six tackles (one for a loss) and, most importantly, a forced fumble on Houston’s Miller, which was recovered by cornerback Donte Deayon.Ogletree I-N-T: The Texans had a promising late third-quarter drive that threatened to result in their first touchdown of the game. However Cheap Odell Beckham Jr Jersey , that was ended thanks to Ogletree’s interception in the end zone on a pass intended for Lamar Miller. Defensive end B.J. Hill also recorded a sack on the drive.Shepard seals it: The Texans gave the Giants a scare late, coming within five points. But Sterling Shepard’s 6-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter sealed New York’s win.What’s next?The Giants play host to the New Orleans Saints next Sunday. Kickoff is set for 4:25 p.m. ET.In-game updatesThe Giants lead 20-6 at halftime. We will take you home in our second-half open thread. When the game ends check back for our complete post-game coverage.Giants take 20-3 lead with 1:20 left in the half. They have scored on all four of their possessions.Evan Engram (knee) hurt on 19-yard pass reception.He is out for the rest of the game.A 15-yard run by Saquon Barkley gives the Giants their first lead of the season, 7-3, with 4:10 left in the first quarter.The Giants have already suffered an injury.Pre-game updatesJoin Big Blue View fans in discussing the game in our first-half live thread.Here are your Giants inactives:CB Eli AppleLB Olivier VernonWR Kaelin ClayQB Kyle LaulettaS Kamrin MooreCB Mike JordanC Evan BrownClay being inactive means that the Giants will likely use either Odell Beckham Jr. or newly-signed Stacy Coley to return punts. This also means that newly-signed fullback Elijhaa Penny will dress.The Giants have arrived.The Giants are reportedly benching right tackle Ereck Flowers in favor of Chad Wheeler, who gets the “honor” of lining up against three-time AP Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt.Game detailsWhat: Giants at Houston TexansWhen: Sunday, Sept. 23Where: NRG StadiumGame time: 1 p.m. ETTV: FOXAnnouncers: Kevin Albert, Ronde Barber, Meghan Olivi Radio: Sports Radio 610 (AM), 100.3 (FM); Sirius — 133, XM 229, SiriusXM 383, Internet 822; Giants Radio Network — WCBS-880-AM and local affiliates (Bob Papa, Carl Banks, Howard Cross); Giants Spanish Radio — Que Buena 92.7-FM (Nestor Rosario, Frances Adames)Odds: Texans -6 [Odds Shark]Prediction: Odds Shark predicts a 28-13 Texans victoryOnline Stream: Viewers in the U.S. can use the NFL Mobile app if they have a Verizon subscription. Anyone else can use the NFL Game Pass subscription service to watch the game.Weather: 81 degrees at kickoff, mostly cloudy [NFL Weather]SB NationTexans website: Battle Red BlogCheck the @BigBlueView Twitter account for in-game updates. As always, there will first and second-half threads for you to comment in. There will be plenty of post-game coverage as well, so make sure you don’t miss any of that.Regular-season scheduleWeek 4 (Sept. 30): vs. New Orleans Saints (4:25 p.m. | CBS)Week 5 (Oct. 7): @ Carolina Panthers (1 p.m. | FOX)Week 6 (Oct. 11): vs. Philadelphia Eagles (8:25 p.m. | FOX, NFL Network, Amazon Prime)Week 7 (Oct. 22): @ Atlanta Falcons (8:15 p.m. | ESPN)Week 8 (Oct. 28): vs. Washington Redskins (1 p.m. | FOX)Week 9: BYEWeek 10 (Nov. 12): @ San Francisco 49ers (8:15 p.m. | ESPN)Week 11 (Nov. 18): vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1 p.m. | FOX)Week 12 (Nov. 25): @ Philadelphia Eagles (1 p.m. | FOX)Week 13 (Dec. 2): vs. Chicago Bears (1 p.m. | FOX)Week 14 (Dec. 9): @ Washington Redskins (1 p.m. | FOX)Week 15 (Dec. 16): vs. Tennessee Titans (1 p.m. | CBS)Week 16 (TBD): @ Indianapolis Colts (TBD)Week 17: Dec. 30): vs. Dallas Cowboys (1 p.m. | FOX)