Official Game Thread - Week 1 - Giants @ Commanders

[Voice_of_Reason]

I don't actually think preseason momentum means anything.

What means something is preparation. If the preparation is there, it's fine. If it's not, it's a problem.

What you get out of the preseason games is basically meaningless.

I do think we were hurt by the removal of the joint practice with the Ravens. I think that would have been where JD5 and the offense played a lot of snaps against a starting defense to get in sync, and that practice didn't happen.

I'm not all that worried about the Giants good vibes either. Remember Osaka! Preseason vibes don't mean much. I do think they're a better team than they were, and I thin there are matchup problems we will have to deal with. And the fact that they have made us their daddy for my entire life terrifies me.

But I kindof dismiss the preseason records and how the teams looked in the preseason, I don't think that matters a damn.

 

[RexTomb]

I don't actually think preseason momentum means anything.

What means something is preparation. If the preparation is there, it's fine. If it's not, it's a problem.

What you get out of the preseason games is basically meaningless.

I do think we were hurt by the removal of the joint practice with the Ravens. I think that would have been where JD5 and the offense played a lot of snaps against a starting defense to get in sync, and that practice didn't happen.

I'm not all that worried about the Giants good vibes either. Remember Osaka! Preseason vibes don't mean much. I do think they're a better team than they were, and I thin there are matchup problems we will have to deal with. And the fact that they have made us their daddy for my entire life terrifies me.

But I kindof dismiss the preseason records and how the teams looked in the preseason, I don't think that matters a damn.

Agreed - we come out and smash them in the first couple of drives, all those preseason vibes go out the window. Russ is a statue back there now, so our defensive line needs to show out and be in his face all damn day.

 

[HOF44]

Agreed - we come out and smash them in the first couple of drives, all those preseason vibes go out the window. Russ is a statue back there now, so our defensive line needs to show out and be in his face all damn day.

I just hope they don’t do the ole switcheroo and roll Dart out there. He’s looked decent

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Agreed - we come out and smash them in the first couple of drives, all those preseason vibes go out the window. Russ is a statue back there now, so our defensive line needs to show out and be in his face all damn day.

I want Witt to trust the secondary with Lattimore/Amos on the outside and Mikey S. in the slot, good set of corners, and just load up the box, bring pressure all day, stuff the run, and harass Wilson until he goes home to Ciara and cries himself to sleep.

The best way to make this a blowout is to entirely shut down the run and then force Russ to beat us with his arm. And then for the love of God, double Nabers. Might get 3 INTs in the game if they did that.

And then the vibes are all gone.

This is, of course, MUCH easier said than done. But it's something we CAN do this year we COULD NOT do last year with Forbes and St. Juste as the outside guys.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

I just hope they don’t do the ole switcheroo and roll Dart out there. He’s looked decent

To me, the gameplan doesn't change if it's Dart. And if it is Dart, you HAVE to beat a rookie QB in their opener. You have to confuse the heck out of him. Tampa managed to confuse JD5 a bit in our opener last year. Daniel's sortof gave up on his progressions and just took off a lot, which was effective because he's a really good scrambler. But as the season progressed, he stopped doing that.

I'd take either one in week 1. If it's Dart, we need to show him things he's never seen.

 

[skinsinparadise]

I think, with regards to the pass rush, that there won’t be constant pressure, guys just getting beaten all the time, but there will be some lapses until they gel. We look really good for a while and then miss a stunt and a guy has a free run etc. and actually, I think that is a good bit better than last year.

I think they had to scheme around Coleman at LT and the offensive line in general last year. I don’t think that happens this year.

I tink the pass rush actually might be good. Not great. But I don't see it as the weakness most of the national media see it as for this team. I think Von Miller has something left. Jacob Martin with a good camp. Payne with a good camp. Luvu. Newton-Kinlaw.

I think their bet that they miss on is the run stopping. I think the best analogy I can come up with is I am a good sprinter-short distance runner. But am average to maybe even below long distance runner. But my track coach touts me as part of the solution for the long distance runners on the track team because I am a good sprinter. It's just odd.

Kinlaw by reputation is an atrocious run stopper. Just because he's a big guy doesn't change that. Armstrong struggled with it last year. Von isn't hot at it. Newton isn't hot at it. Wise at least by reputation is meh at it -- yeah he's a big guy but so what? Goldman had atrocious run stopping PFF scores last year. I love what Peters did. But the idea that they fixed the run defense issues with this type of approach feels very wacky -- Rivera level weird. But he did everything else so well that its hard for me to complain.

Maybe I am wrong about it, i hope i am. But when I hear from film study guys like Logan Paulsen that Goldman stuggled this preseason including stopping the run and he seemed to think he wouldn't make the team. And lol, hearing Logan saying well the Patriots killed us in the preseason because they game planned a little and that's a bit unfair as to judging the outcome of the game, ala the crack toss runs they ran successfully at us.

The irony of the crack toss is its about a WR successfully blocking the DE. Heck if the opponent's WR can handle our DEs even our backup DE's that's not a good sign. And teams were running at dudes who are part of this rotation like J. Newton and Goldman.

 

[skinsinparadise]

My concern with these "soft" training camps is that we do not come out firing on all cylinders. I understand they are trying to avoid injuries before the real season but it also impacts game day playing, especially the first game against a division opponent who has been playing harder during the pre season.

IDK?

We cannot depend on JD to save our ass at the end of every game. We need to be a solid team on offense, defense, and special teams to get to the big game

I'd add the Giants played their starters a lot and as far as I know came out healthy.

If they lose to the Giants. I'd want Quinn to at least consider it this way.

A. If they are going to rest their starters in the preseason
B. Make sure their game 1 opponent has a similar approach

I hate this approach especially because the Giants had the opposite approach.

What We Learned: 'We're going to play in the preseason'

The New York Giants opened up the preseason with a 34-25 road victory over the Bufalo Bills.

www.giants.com

The New York Giants opened up the preseason with a 34-25 road victory over the Buffalo Bills.
It was a strong performance by the offense as all four quarterbacks led scoring drives, including three touchdown passes from the group.
It will be a quick turnaround for the Giants as joint practices with the Jets begin on Tuesday. The preseason wraps up with two games at MetLife Stadium, next Saturday against the Jets and the following Thursday against the Patriots.

Coach Brian Daboll and several players spoke to the media following the preseason win in Buffalo. General manager Joe Schoen also joined Bob Papa and Carl Banks in the broadcast booth during the second half, as well.

Here is what we learned.
'We're going to play in the preseason'
A big topic of conversation with the media all week was whether or not the Giants' starters would take the field in Buffalo. In the end, all of the team's healthy starters took part in Saturday's game for various lengths of time. Looking to break away from the slow starts in the previous two seasons, the head coach decided to switch his preseason strategy from recent years.

"I thought we needed that," Daboll said. "We'll do it again. We're going to play in the preseason. People that are able to play are going to play, and if they're not able to play or a doctor or a trainer says it'd be smart to hold them out, we'll hold them out, but other than that, we're going to play."
"We've got to be ready to play when September comes," Schoen added.

 

[skinsinparadise]

I don't think it's quite that bad, we did win one game last year, 20-10 over the Patriots in the preseason finale. (And yeah, I looked that up because I thought we won a game or two last year but I couldn't remember which.)

Though last years games where much closer than this years games.

I REALLY attribute most of the pre-season struggles to the fact JD5 played 1 series, and the rest of the preseason was played by Hartman and Johnson. I really think they wanted and thought Hartman was going to be better than he ended up being. They let him start the preseason opener, which is the key that they were at least hoping he would show something. And he was just terrible. And Johnson was somewhat better, but not good. And when that's your QB play, everything sortof crumbles around you.

Quinn's history of not taking the preseason seriously. Not quite 0-17, etc. But pretty bad 0-4 in 2017. 0-4- in 2018. 1-4 in 2019. 1-2 in 2024. 0-3 in 2025. Worst than Jay.

He's 2-5 in openers. And they put up a stinker last year in the opener and would have lost game 2 if the Giants had a healthy kicker.

Should be an interesting matchup. The best preseason team who took the preseason uber seriously as to getting their starters ready for the opener. Versus the worst preseason team who didn't take the preseason seriously at all as to getting ready for the opener.

I know you like Bram as do I. He's multiple times has said he doesn't like the energy of this camp including compared to last year.

I am not pessmistic about the season. But I got a bad feeling that we have a Jay style 0-2 start.

 

[Boone]

Anything is possible. We all suffer from angst when it comes to our team. Couple of thoughts.

1. Quinn's record in openers. It's 3-4 (2-4 with Atlanta and then the opening day win last season. He lost to the Bucs, Eagles, Vikings, and Seahawks in Atlanta openers). I'm not sure it's all that relevant. We are talking different teams and staffs. But yes - he is sub .500 in openers.

2. Pre-season vibes. I really don't think trotting starters out for significant preseason time and being 'super hyped' is going to be a big factor in our opener. It's about talent, matchups, game plan, and player performance. You can argue that the extra reps and 'taking preseason seriously' may result in improved performance in the opener, but I just don't think it's a huge factor.

3. Team mentality. I guess it's possible that our players, after making so much noise in year 1, have all bought into the hype, are taking the Giants lightly, and are going to get shocked in the opener. But we have a lot of new faces on this roster - they didn't even experience last season. I don't see Jayden having that kind of mindset - ever - and he lifts everyone around him. And I think we have a really great coaching staff that's unlikely to take the opener off.

We don't have long to find out. I think the biggest wildcard in this whole thing is Russell Wilson. Will we see 'good Russell' or 'bad Russell'?

NFC East games are, as we all know, always a crap shoot. By all rights, Daboll should've already been fired. He is playing for his coaching life. So of course, he's going to hype his current approach and try to show he is 'shaking things up' in New York. What happens on the football field next Sunday is another matter.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Quinn's history of not taking the preseason seriously. Not quite 0-17, etc. But pretty bad 0-4 in 2017. 0-4- in 2018. 1-4 in 2019. 1-2 in 2024. 0-3 in 2025. Worst than Jay.

He's 2-5 in openers. And they put up a stinker last year in the opener and would have lost game 2 if the Giants had a healthy kicker.

Should be an interesting matchup. The best preseason team who took the preseason uber seriously as to getting their starters ready for the opener. Versus the worst preseason team who didn't take the preseason seriously at all as to getting ready for the opener.

I know you like Bram as do I. He's multiple times has said he doesn't like the energy of this camp including compared to last year.

I am not pessmistic about the season. But I got a bad feeling that we have a Jay style 0-2 start.

Yeah JP has also said the same thing.

However they seem to have somewhat reversed course a little bit since Terry got signed.

I have no idea. I don’t think we’re going f 0-2. I see 1-1 as a real possibility.

I wouldn’t do preseason the way Quinn does but I also think we’re entering the season healthy and have a top 5 QB, and that should really help stave off a slow start.

But who knows.

 

[Riggo44]

We started really slow last year with a bad blowout in Tampa than eeking one out against these same said Giants, before really going on a tear shocking the Bengals and curb stomping the Cardinals. We could get off on that same foot this year--but the Giants, while better, are still bad. Their OL was awful and they did nothing to fix it. Their interior DL is Dexter Lawrence, who is an absolute stud, but can any one name a DT other than him? I had to look it up: Rakeem Nunez-Roches and Roy Robertson-Harris. We ran for over 350 yards between the two games against them--and they did nothing to shore that up either. Adebo and Holland signed big contracts after having down years--and their DC is still Shane Bowen.

I can still see this being a close game--Giants always seem to play us well. But I am pretty confident in a win.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

We started really slow last year with a bad blowout in Tampa than eeking one out against these same said Giants, before really going on a tear shocking the Bengals and curb stomping the Cardinals. We could get off on that same foot this year--but the Giants, while better, are still bad. Their OL was awful and they did nothing to fix it. Their interior DL is Dexter Lawrence, who is an absolute stud, but can any one name a DT other than him? I had to look it up: Rakeem Nunez-Roches and Roy Robertson-Harris. We ran for over 350 yards between the two games against them--and they did nothing to shore that up either. Adebo and Holland signed big contracts after having down years--and their DC is still Shane Bowen.

I can still see this being a close game--Giants always seem to play us well. But I am pretty confident in a win.

Eh, it was 37-20 against a playoff team from 2023 and a playoff team in 2024 with a rookie QB making his first start and an entirely new coaching staff, and 2/3 of the roster was new. It was a blowout, to be sure, but that's a tough situation, and I'm not sure what could have been done much differently in that game. I give somewhat of a pass on the opener from last year. I don't think it was as much about starting slow as it was adjusting to all the new pieces. Could they have played more in the preseason and maybe been better prepared? Yeah? But with so many veterans, I'm not sure that would have been wise either. Tough spot. What's most impressive is the improvement week to week from that point on.

As far as the Giants, I think the Giants are going to get better play at QB this year. They also have a true #1 in Nabers. And their defense is very good, even outside of Dexter Lawrence.

And they've been our daddy for 45 years.

So, color me concerned on that front.

I don't think they're bad. But we should be better.

The situation this year is different: We have consistency in coaching staff, a lot of the roster is returning, we have a top-5 QB (until proved otherwise) and we aren't playing a team which was in the playoffs last year or expected to be in the playoffs this year.

I'm very interested to see how we start. I hope we don't start slow, but I'm bracing for it. But we really should win. I predicted 17-13 in the prediction thread. Close, 1 score game.

 

[Faithful Fan]

Anything is possible. We all suffer from angst when it comes to our team. Couple of thoughts.

1. Quinn's record in openers. It's 3-4 (2-4 with Atlanta and then the opening day win last season. He lost to the Bucs, Eagles, Vikings, and Seahawks in Atlanta openers). I'm not sure it's all that relevant. We are talking different teams and staffs. But yes - he is sub .500 in openers.

It’s 2-5 in openers. We lost to Tampa 37-20 in week 1 last year.

 

[Riggo44]

I think the Giants are going to get better play at QB this year. They also have a true #1 in Nabers. And their defense is very good, even outside of Dexter Lawrence.

I am not overlooking this game, I am well aware of the insanity that comes with playing the Giants, at least I don't think. Are we overrating their defense? Yes, Burns, Thibodeaux, Lawrence, and Carter form an impressive pass rush. Who else is on their defense that scares you? Andru Phillips is good, McFadden is decent, but Banks is terrible, Adebo had a meh year last year, as did Holland. And, they have absolutely no depth.

On offense, at least against us, QB play was not their problem. After Micah Parsons, there is no player I am happier to see on another team than Daniel Jones. Fuck that guy. He pulls it out of his ass every time against us. Every. Time. He played well against us--accounting for 5 TDs and 1 TO--a fumble. If Wilson surpasses that, more power to him. He's been on 4 teams in 4 years--and will be 37 in November.

We need to stop the run, box in Nabers (much easier said than done), and avoid stupid penalties, and we should win.

However, never underestimate the John Mara effect. And if Shawn Hochuli gets assigned this game, we know who made that call!

 

[skinsinparadise]

Yeah JP has also said the same thing.

However they seem to have somewhat reversed course a little bit since Terry got signed.

I have no idea. I don’t think we’re going f 0-2. I see 1-1 as a real possibility.

I wouldn’t do preseason the way Quinn does but I also think we’re entering the season healthy and have a top 5 QB, and that should really help stave off a slow start.

But who knows.

I didn't know. Feels 1-1 at best to me.

I like a lot about what this team did in the off season. And i like Quinn. But lol, he makes Jay look like an animal in comparison as to taking the preseason seriously and I don't think its a coincidence that both have bad records in openers.

 

[skinsinparadise]

I am not overlooking this game, I am well aware of the insanity that comes with playing the Giants, at least I don't think. Are we overrating their defense? Yes, Burns, Thibodeaux, Lawrence, and Carter form an impressive pass rush. Who else is on their defense that scares you? Andru Phillips is good, McFadden is decent, but Banks is terrible, Adebo had a meh year last year, as did Holland. And, they have absolutely no depth.

On offense, at least against us, QB play was not their problem. After Micah Parsons, there is no player I am happier to see on another team than Daniel Jones. Fuck that guy. He pulls it out of his ass every time against us. Every. Time. He played well against us--accounting for 5 TDs and 1 TO--a fumble. If Wilson surpasses that, more power to him. He's been on 4 teams in 4 years--and will be 37 in November.

We need to stop the run, box in Nabers (much easier said than done), and avoid stupid penalties, and we should win.

However, never underestimate the John Mara effect. And if Shawn Hochuli gets assigned this game, we know who made that call!

Their D line is scary. I know some say our D line on paper years ago was scary and it didn't play out that way so that serves as a disclaimer on the Giants D line, too. I don't think so. Dexter Lawrence is for real what some of us fantasized J. Allen and Payne could me. Brian Burns > Sweat. And apparently Abdul Carter was unblockable in camp and we got Parsons saying he expects him to be better than him. Heck even their lesser D lineman are interesting: Thibodeaux with 11.5 sacks in 2023, got hurt last year and still had 5.5 sacks. D. Alexander was intriguing from the draft.

Okereke is a really good LB. Mcfadden is decent. Phillips is one of the best slot corners in the league. Holland is still young, and yes regressed from elite to just decent. Nubin is decent.

Giants only weakness is outside corners albiet Banks has given Terry some issues on occasion.

They looked good when I watched them in the preseason.

Russell Wilson seems to think Hyatt breaks out this season, will see. But I translate that to --deep balls, deep balls, deep balls. Even if Hyatt doesn't emerge, Nabers and Slayton can get the deep ball and Wilson for his weaknesses can still throw it long.

Easier for me to see Giants recipe to beat us than it is for us to beat them.

Giants recipe to beat Washington IMO: Hope that T. Tracy looks like he did in that first drive against Washington in game 2, where it felt that he got the ball every down and they couldn't stop him. Test their run stopping. Makes them bring in their linebackers and then Wilson with play action burns them with the deep ball.

And while Jayden is insane. Overload Conerly in game 1. Washington can't double team everyone -- they typically double team Lawrence if so they can't always also give extra help to Conerly. If you pressure Daniels on the strong side that also shuts down his typical running lane since he scrambles on the right a lot.

For Washington to win. I think we need running -- a lot of running from Jayden. Make the Giants D line hesitiate. So scrambles from Jayden. End arounds and quick handoffs to Deebo. I think to get to the Giants defense you need to make thier heads spin at the line of scrimmage.

 

[heisenberg]

Here for my daily dose of giants paranoia.

Why does anybody care what our history against them is?

Are we worried about walking under ladders and black cats too?

Of course the last 3 decades are bad on that front, they're bad on that front with almost every team, we had dan snyder as an owner and we sucked against almost everybody.

We won the head to head with them in both the 70's and 80's is that surprising? No. Why not? Because we were a good team back then.
The last 3 decades were a dark time but they're over, hell the last 5 years we're only one game behind them and for most of that we had rivera and snyder, and they haven't beaten us since 2023.

We won 9 more regular season games than them last season, if they had played the lions in the divisional round they would have lost by 50 and thats no exaggeration.

Yes its a new year and anything is possible, i wouldn't be shocked if we lost week one but this constant fear of the team that is expected to be picking top 5 next year is unwarranted.

 

[Riggo44]

And apparently Abdul Carter was unblockable in camp

He was also facing the Giants OL 🤣 I think we can all agree, our OL is much better than theirs--even without Cosmi.

Okereke is a really good LB.

I knew I was forgetting someone--Okereke is good.

I just see us running on them better than they'll run on us. Maybe? We have such little actual information to go on here for week 1--Brian Robinson put up 133 yards against them last year.

I think to get to the Giants defense you need to make thier heads spin at the line of scrimmage.

This is where we have the biggest advantage--Kingsbury vs. Bowen.

 

[skinsinparadise]

NFC East games are, as we all know, always a crap shoot. By all rights, Daboll should've already been fired. He is playing for his coaching life. So of course, he's going to hype his current approach and try to show he is 'shaking things up' in New York. What happens on the football field next Sunday is another matter.

Ironically they aren't a crap shoot for Giant-Dallas and Giant-Eagle matchups. They are lopsided domination mostly by the Cowboys and Eagles over New York.

But for THIS team, the NFC East games can be a crap shoot. Hopefully, this new era of Jayden Daniels brings us into that category of dominating the bad teams in the division.

 

[Boone]

I hear you. I meant in general it is always tough to pick an NFC East matchup. There may be stretches where it’s not the case as you pointed out.