Aiden in New York: Watching the Packers vs. Wink's blitzing packages and they're designing plays to get the ball out of Rodgers hands in under a second. They keep commenting on these new receivers needing to get acclimated to Rodgers. Why can't the Giants ever seem to scheme offensively the same way with Jones' WRs being just as inexperienced and the pressure he's facing all the time in the pocket?
John Schmeelk: It's a bit more complicated than that. Some of those quick Rodgers throws are checks at the line of scrimmage and are made against blitzes and off-coverages. The Giants and Daniel Jones are not necessarily seeing those looks. Against Dallas, for example, the Cowboys' cornerbacks were in press coverage for most of that game making those type of quick passes impossible. It is also more difficult when teams are only pressuring with four and have more bodies in coverage to prevent those quick and easy passes.
Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka have helped Jones in different ways with their schemes. The Giants have run the most play-action passes in football this year (85), according to Pro Football Focus. Play-action passes are designed to slow down the pass rush and get Jones on the move to help the offensive line. The Giants also ran some empty sets against the Packers designed to spread the field so Jones could read the defense quickly and get the ball out fast. He also ran a couple of quarterback draws out of those sets after Barkley motioned out of the backfield at the snap.
The Giants' coaches have done a great job this year generating plays that help give the offensive line help in pass protection and scheme up plays that will help receivers get separation to give Jones some easier windows. There might not be a lot of big plays down the field, but Jones has been efficient and consistent with his decision=making helping move the ball down the field.
Ed in Florida: With so many injuries occurring again in 2022 would the NFL consider returning to a 16 game schedule? They could keep the extra week of NFL TV games by just adding a second bye week. 18 weeks of football for TV but only 16 games on the player's bodies?
John Schmeelk: No. The 17-game schedule is in the CBA and was agreed to by both the owners and players. It is not going anywhere. Plus, injuries occurring in the first few weeks of the season have nothing to do with whether there is a 17th game. If anything, the players should be fresher than ever this time of year with one fewer preseason game and fewer padded practices in training camp. Injuries are hard to prevent and are often times just a matter of bad luck. They are frustrating but something every team has to deal with.
