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.
JUDGE WON'T USE JONES IN FIRST PRESEASON GAME VS. JETS SATURDAY NIGHT
By Dave Klein
The third preseason game was historically the one in which the starters did not
participate. In effect, it was the last chance for the coaches to watch the team's
hopefuls before making the final, painful roster cuts. But
things are different now, most notably in that there are only three preseason
games, and the Giants announced Thursday that quarterback Daniel Jones WILL NOT
PLAY Saturday night against the New York Jets. Rather, he will be the starter
in the third game - at home against New England - which is the precursor to the
season opener, also at home, against Denver ON Sept. 14.
The starter, then, will be nine-year veteran Mike Glennon, who was signed as a
free agent this spring. Glennon, 6-7 and 225, played at North Carolina State before
being selected by Tampa Bay in the third round of the 2013 draft. Since then,
he has played for Oakland, Chicago, Jacksonville and Arizona - never as a starter
- but he did play in 13 games for the Bucs as a rookie. What
does head coach Joe Judge want to see? "I want him to go out there and function,
see the efficiency of the offense. To me, the quarterback's role is always to
make sure the offense operates the way it should, that they're on the same page
and just consistently improve. One thing
I've seen in Mike is consistently taking a step forward every day. I'm pleased
with the way he's managing the offense, and the more experience he has with the
offensive coordinator (Jason Garrett) the better. Obviously, he's had a short-term
window for that being in spring and being in training camp for three weeks now."
Glennon's backup will be Clayton Thorsen (6-4, 220), a fifth-round draft choice
by the Eagles in 2019 out of Northwestern who has yet to play in the NFL. He is
the only other quarterback on the roster. The
next decision (which Judge says he hasn't yet spoken about to the players involved)
is whether the "starting" offensive line will be on the field at kickoff.
"We haven't decided that yet, so
I don't want to answer one way or another," he said. "There's a lot
of meetings to go, and we're going to talk to our players later on and we'll make
that decision soon." *****
***** ***** Messages from various E-GIANTS
subscribers, concerned with the attendance policy of the Giants have been received.
One such came from Steve P., as follows:
"Because I have grandchildren under 12 years old, I will not attend Giant
games this season unless the Giants impose a vaccine requirement on all fans attending
the game. Can you please report on this since most of my friends who are season
ticket holders are also of the same mind?" The latest information from the
Giants is this: "MetLife Stadium
has returned to 100 percent capacity in the seating bowl, suites and clubs for
all events with no physical distancing requirements. Face masks are not required
for entry and guests are not required to show a negative COVID-19 test or provide
proof of vaccination to enter the stadium. To reduce touchpoints, MetLife Stadium
has implemented mobile ticketing upon entry and cash-free transactions at all
concession stands and retail locations."
That's probably not the answer Steve P. was hoping to receive, although late Thursday
the New Orleans Saints announced that all fans attending games must provide proof
of vaccination, the first NFL team to do so. ... It only makes sense to expect
the others to join the movement.
***** ***** ***** The Giants have signed
tight end Jake Hausmann, defensive back Chris Johnson, wide receiver Matt Cole
(released by the Jets) and defensive lineman Elijah Qualls. ... Waived were defensive
lineman R.J. McIntosh and wide receivers Andy Jones and Derrick Dillon. LB Ryan
Anderson, waived by the Giants on Monday, was re-signed Thursday.. You
can subscribe Dave's newsletters which run much more frequently than what is available
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