E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat
writer for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995. He is the author of 26 books
and he was one of only three sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls
up until last year. Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.
TOUGHEST PART OF THE SEASON STARTS NEXT WEEK By
Dave Klein It is now time to reflect.
The Giants have played nine games of
their 17-game season and they have won seven of those nine, which gives them a
7-2 record. Go figure.
However, there are people who sit in small, cramped rooms all season and figure
out all kinds of things, and one of them just announced that the Giants have the
most difficult second half of the season among all the teams in the NFL.
This Sunday they play Detroit in MetLife Stadium (1 p.m.). That doesn't count
among the most toughest, but it is still a game they could lose, of course. But
after that they must face Dallas, Washington, Philadelphia, Washington again,
Minnesota, Indianapolis and Philadelphia again. Maybe
the best way to approach this Mt. Everest of a challenge is to go along with head
coach Brian Daboll's theory: "We play one game at a time. We decide what
we must do each time we play another game and then we try to do it to the best
of our ability. There just isn't another way."
Of tantamount concern is the durability of running back Saquon Barkley, who currently
stands second in the NFL with 931 rushing yards, but he has only played in nine
games. The leader, Tennessee's Derrick Henry, has 1,010 in 10 games - which means
Barkley needs to gain 82 yards against the Lions to re-take the lead. And
at this moment in time, Barkley is the key to the Giants' offense, even more so
than quarterback Daniel Jones, who is burdened with mediocre wide receivers and
a so-so line. Does Daboll concentrate
on Barkley when he prepares the game plan? Does he instruct offensive coordinator
Mike Kafka to make sure the former Penn State star gets a significant amount of
touches? "I think as the game goes,
you get a feel for it and what's going to happen relative to play calls and how
many times he's touching the ball," he says. "I don't think you can
go into a game and say, 'hey, you're getting this many carries' or 'you're going
to get this many passes.' I don't think you can do it that way. I just think as
the game goes, that's how you call it, and you do what you think you need to do
to win." And has he started to
talk to his team about the prospects for first place in the NFC East (which means
the entire conference) and the playoffs yet?
"I'm sure they realize it, but that's not something we talk about it,"
he responded. "Again, we're at the halfway point or a little bit past the
halfway point of a long race. I think you just keep on running, get ready for
the next game, and play that game. The minute you start thinking about other things
or what's going to happen three weeks from now, it just doesn't do anybody any
good, particularly the team." Let's
call it the Daboll Directive and see if he can manage to tailor it all the way
through this most difficult second half of the season. EXTRA
POINTS - The Giants are favored by 3½-points against the 3-6 Lions. ... Detroit
has won the last two meetings between the teams (2017, 2019) and holds a narrow
23-21-1 all-time series lead. ... That tie represents the last 0-0 knot in the
NFL, on Nov. 7, 1943, during World War II. The
Lions had a guard on the starting unit named Augie Lio, who for years after his
NFL career was the sports editor and columnist covering the Giants for the Passaic
(NJ) Herald-News. Rookie TE Daniel Bellinger
(eye) did not practice Friday and will not be available on Sunday. ... Also excused
from practice were DT Dexter Lawrence (rest), LB Kayvon Thibodeaux (illness),
and relegated to Limited Practice were OT Evan Neal (knee), SS Dane Belton, WRs
Kenny Golladay (???) and Wan'Dale Robinson (hamstring) and LB Jihad Ward (thumb).
Finally, on a personal note, the Lions'
head coach, Dan Campbell, played for the Giants (1999-2002) as a tight end from
Texas A&M.... He discovered I had a rooting interest in Oklahoma, and the day
before the teams were to play, we "bet" a school t-shirt on the outcome.
... The Sooners won - and I'm still waiting for my T-shirt
davesklein@aol.com You
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