There was an air of change at the Giants’ facility this week. Daniel Jones wore a play sheet on his wrist for the first time. Kenny Golladay couldn’t stop smiling. Coaches are asking offensive players which plays they like to run. And Joe Judge has gone into full CIA secrecy mode.
This is the aftermath of Judge’s decision to fire Jason Garrett.
But this has only been practice. Whether Garrett’s ouster makes a discernible difference on offense won’t be uncovered until Sunday’s game against the Eagles, possibly longer than that.
“I mean, when you’re in Week 12 or Week 13 in the NFL, there isn’t really much more you can have,” running back Saquon Barkley said Friday. “Obviously, you could have new wrinkles here and there, but you’re not really going to have much, the terminology is not going to change.”
Maybe the scheme won’t change, or even the overall philosophy, but at least one thing needs to look different, and it’s non-negotiable: The Giants need to do a better job of getting their star offensive players involved. That includes Barkley, who had only 12 touches in a loss to the Buccaneers last week, but the No. 1 benefactor of the switch at offensive coordinator — Judge is declining to say who it will be, though it’s expected to be senior assistant Freddie Kitchens — needs to be Golladay.
The Giants paid Golladay $72 million this offseason to become the Plaxico Burress to Eli Manning’s Daniel Jones. Golladay has dealt with some injuries and missed three games, which hasn’t helped — but even when he’s played, Garrett at times seemed to make it a greater priority to get aging tight end Kyle Rudolph more involved than his most talented pass-catcher.
Well, Rudolph likely won’t play on Sunday. Neither will wide receivers Kadarius Toney or Sterling Shepard. Even John Ross is questionable. Golladay simply needs to get the ball more.
He had one catch for 12 yards on two targets against the Buccaneers, and two catches for 28 yards on three targets in the previous game, a victory over the Raiders in Week 9. There was a fourth-down play against the Buccaneers in which the only wide receiver on the field was Collin Johnson, whose primary job has been as a run blocker. It wasn’t the only play in which Golladay was on the sideline on a third or fourth down, either.
Golladay has 20 catches this season in seven games — and 17 of those have produced first downs. Golladay was signed in part for his skills downfield and for making difficult catches along the sidelines. Only six times has he been targeted 20-plus yards downfield, and none of those passes was completed. In 2019 with the Lions, Golladay led the NFL with 36 deep targets. He had seven in five games with the Lions last year.
Nine of Golladay’s 34 targets have come on third or fourth down, even though the Giants have run 99 passing plays on third or fourth down. Johnson (seven) and Dante Pettis (seven) each have only two fewer targets in those spots.
Golladay has been targeted once in the red zone — and a second time drew a defensive pass interference penalty. In 2019 with the Lions, Golladay was targeted 15 times in the red zone — and scored six touchdowns.
There are 94 players in the NFL this season with more catches than Golladay, including 81 wide receivers. Golladay is the seventh-highest paid receiver in the NFL in terms of average per year ($18 million) and the Giants aren’t using him like that.
“My mindset is just staying positive, to be honest,” Golladay said. “Excited for this weekend. Excited every weekend for a chance to play and be out there on the field. My mindset is just being positive.”
Back in Week 2, Golladay made waves when he was seen yelling at Garrett on the sideline. NJ Advance Media recently reported his (and other players’) frustrations with Garrett’s play-calling over the course of the season.
So it didn’t come as much of a surprise when Golladay was in such a good mood on Friday after practice.
How much would you like to start getting the ball more down the field?
Golladay smiled. “To be honest, just more opportunities, period,” he said. “Any way I can help the team, that’s all I really want, so of course I would like more opportunities.”
Have you been frustrated with your lack of opportunities?
He smiled again. “I’m going to just keep that comment to myself.”
Do you believe that you will be less frustrated after Sunday’s game?
And another smile. “I don’t know. I’m going to keep that comment to myself.”
Later, he was asked if it was weird that Eagles cornerback Darius Slay has scored more touchdowns (three) than Golladay (zero) this season. He laughed.
“Yeah, that’s messed up, huh?”
Golladay insisted he harbors no ill will toward Garrett, as a person at least.
“I loved Jason Garrett,” he said. “Things, I guess, didn’t work out and we had to make a change. But Jason Garrett in my book as a guy, I love the guy, to be honest.”
Barkley said that coaches this week approached players about the plays they like to run, giving them input into what should be a changing offense. It’s a wonder it took this long to do that.
“If you’ve got your five top runs, come let me know your five top runs,” Barkley said coaches told them. “Like these five plays that you know and you believe that are going to work, let me know the play that you believe is going to work. Just be open, be honest, the plays that we like, the plays that we don’t like.”
Surely, Golladay is asking for more targets down the field, at the sideline, in the red zone and in other key situations.
“When the ball is coming to 19, I’ve just got to make the play,” Golladay said.
So give him the ball.
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Zack Rosenblatt may be reached at zrosenblatt@njadvancemedia.com.
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