With 2016 NFL Training Camp looming, we identify and breakdown four New York Giants players who need to step up this season.
As the start of New York Giants training camp is nearly one week away, it has been more than a full calendar month since organized team activities concluded and the coaching staff dismissed the players for the summer.
Although the strict spring practice rules and regulations limited the things the coaching staff was allowed to do with its players, these practices did provide valuable insight on multiple fronts regarding player health, roster spots, and the makeup of the depth chart.
Compelling position battles are starting to take shape, and free agent acquisitions are beginning to get acclimated to the culture of the organization. And while action is expectedly slow during the offseason, this time of the year can be used as a good opportunity to look ahead towards the season.
With a change at the head coaching position for the first time in the Eli Manning era as well as an unprecedented free agent spending frenzy, the front office felt that shakeup was necessary in order to catalyze a franchise seemingly in decline after four straight disappointing seasons. With more talent on both sides of the ball than they have had in several seasons, the outlook seems brighter for 2016 than it has in a long while.
However, with the established talent on the roster comes the unknown.
As the Giants have moved on from several veteran players, there is a newfound injection of youth on the roster. These young players will not just be asked to fill openings on the roster, but they will be counted on to elevate their play—with the success of the team at stake. If the Giants are to have success in 2016, the Giants will need these four players to take large strides forward:
Ereck Flowers
Ereck Flowers, the ninth overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, was immediately thrown into the fire when he was named the week one starter at left tackle due to the pectoral injury Will Beatty suffered in training. The transition to the NFL for any offensive linemen from college is usually a difficult process. Compound that with being thrust into the toughest position on the line—as well as documented footwork issues in pass protection—and you have a recipe for disaster. Although Flowers’ rookie season was not nearly a disaster, there is certainly room for improvement.
He struggled to handle pass rushers coming of the edge, and allowed the most pressures of any offensive linemen in the entire league. His footwork was in fact a big problem as many scouts predicted, and resulted in several drive-stalling holding penalties. He played so poorly in 2015 that he was rated the lowest-graded tackle in the entire NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. It was also known that he and former offensive line coach Pat Flaherty (who is now with the San Francisco 49ers) butted heads on multiple occasions throughout the season, as Flowers did not agree with his coaching style. But along with all of these negatives came several encouraging signs for the then 21-year old.
He started 15 of 16 games as a rookie as Eli Manning’s blindside protector—no small feat for any rookie linemen. And he did this while battling a nagging ankle sprain that he suffered in his very first game in the pros. Week in week out, Flowers battled through a painful ankle sprain that hindered his performance—especially in pass protection. His toughness could not be questioned, and he held is own in run blocking all year with improvements in his footwork as the season progressed.
Can Flowers’ struggles in pass protection be attributed to the combination of a nagging ankle injury and natural rookie growing pains? Rather, are they deep-rooted problems that stem from technical flaws unable to be fixed through coaching? The Giants desperately hope that it is the former.
Landon Collins
In very similar fashion to Flowers, Landon Collins was a rookie pressed into a starting role well before he was ready. Collins excelled in college playing close to the line of scrimmage as a “box safety” where he can help stop the run and attack the ball. But when he was asked to play the “center field” role in the back of the defense, he struggled. And with paper-thin depth at safety heading into the season, the second round pick was forced into a bigger role than the team would have liked— many times at the position where he struggled in college.
Due to the rash of season-ending injuries at the free safety position, the Giants did not have a true free safety on the roster. Despite the signings of veteran stopgaps Brandon Meriweather and Craig Dahl, Landon Collins was repeatedly forced to play the “center field” role of which his struggles were well documented at the University of Alabama. And as expected, he did not fare well.
He had a hard time taking proper angles to the ball in flight. His lack of top tier speed hurt him against NFL wide receivers, and allowed several completions over the middle. He also displayed extremely poor hands—recording only a single interception— and dropped a fair share of catchable balls, most notably a pass thrown by Tom Brady that would have secured a Giants victory over the heavily favored Patriots.
But despite these struggles from Collins, he did perform well against the run. He recorded 112 combined tackles (which led the Giants and all rookies), logged seven run stuffs and forced a fumble. He was always active near the line of scrimmage and frequently made plays that prevented big gains. Not to mention, he started all 16 games and played more than 90% of all defensive snaps—a huge workload to put on a rookie. When Collins was used to his strengths, he performed. When he was not, he faltered.
With the addition of third round pick Darian Thompson and the bevy of free safeties returning from injury competing for the starting spot, the Giants will look to play Collins to his skillset as a box safety where he is best suited. However, there will be times where Collins is forced to make plays in coverage and in deep zone. The Giants hope that Collins will be a better player in 2016 because of his struggles in 2015. For this to happen, he will need to improve upon his poor play in coverage and record some of the interceptions he was not able to come down with in his rookie campaign.
Owa Odighizuwa
While the first and second round picks from 2015 had large roles on the team last season, the Giants’ third round pick did not. Defensive end Owa Odighizuwa had a rookie season to forget—as he only played in four games and recorded three tackles. Hindered by an early-season foot injury and then a hamstring injury that eventually ended his season, the majority of his time was spent on the sidelines recovering instead of on the field practicing. The missed practice time has impeded his development, and his lack of game experience may limit the coaching staff’s confidence Odighizuwa moving forward.
Now, the second-year defensive end is looking to make an impact. Coming out of college, he was touted for his speed and prowess against the run. He flew all around the field at UCLA and made numerous plays in the backfield. However, he had a lengthy injury history that caused his stock to fall. Those issues followed him to his first season in the pros.
“I definitely on plan on talking to Tuck, kind of get tips from him and see what made him successful inside [as a pass rusher]… I’ll have that opportunity.” – Odighizuwa said, according to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com
He is slated to move all around the defense—rushing from the edge, dropping back into coverage, and moving inside. With the signing of Olivier Vernon and the resigning of Jason Pierre-Paul, Odighizuwa is next in line on the depth chart. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo loves to move pass rushers all around the defense, and his scheme works best with as many pass rushing bodies on the field at once.
Last season, Odighizuwa was not able to make an impact on a defense that desperately needed another defensive end. But this year, all the tools are there for Owa to be that guy for this Giants defense—he just needs to stay on the field and perform.
Devon Kennard
Similar to Odighizuwa, Devon Kennard’s upside has been hindered by his inability to stay on the field. In his first two seasons in the league, he has missed a total of 11 games due to a multitude of injuries.
His rookie campaign was nothing short of superb. After recording 43 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 7 run stuffs in only 12 games, expectations were high for Kennard. He showed prowess rushing the passer as well as stopping the run. After only one season, he was already seen as a defensive leader and a player the Giants could build their defense around. However, he took a step backwards in 2015—when nagging injury issues forced him out of seven games, and limited him in the nine others.
Now, the question for Kennard heading into his third year is if he is going to be another name on the list of talented Giants draft picks whose injury issues prevented him from reaching his full potential. Only time will tell, but the Giants surely need Kennard on the field—as he is one of the few three down linebackers the team has on the roster. If the defense is to improve its 30th ranked pass rush, Kennard will have to stay healthy and play at the talent level he flashed as a rookie.