Giants' John Michael Schmitz, Evan Neal latest offensive linemen to suffer injuries in preseason loss to Jets
Giants quarterback Tommy Devito after being sacked by Jets defensive end Braiden McGregor during the second half of an NFL preseason game Saturday at MetLife Stadium. Credit: Noah K. Murray
The Giants concluded the preseason with a 10-6 loss to the Jets on Saturday night at MetLife Stadium, and now they might have an offensive line issue.
Center John Michael Schmitz, who missed significant time in training camp with a shoulder injury, appeared to suffer an ankle injury on the last series of the first quarter.
Right tackle Evan Neal played 19 snaps and gave up a sack before departing with a left ankle injury. Neal spent most of the summer on the physically unable to perform list while recovering from ankle surgery.
Both players walked out of the halftime locker room a bit later than their teammates and remained on the sideline for the rest of the game.
Guard Jon Runyan Jr. is just getting back from a shoulder injury, but Brian Daboll has said he expects Runyan to be back for the regular season.
Under new offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo, there has been hope for better days. That still could be the case, of course, but having a banged-up offensive line before the season begins is never ideal.
In the fourth quarter, guard Jalen Mayfield was ruled out with an ankle injury and cornerback Darnay Holmes suffered a neck injury.
The Giants, who held joint practices with the Lions this summer and had a day of workouts with the Jets on Wednesday at Florham Park, rested most of their key personnel on Saturday night, including quarterback Daniel Jones.
Tommy DeVito played the entire game and was under pressure the entire game. DeVito, who was sacked eight times, completed 14 of 27 passes for 103 yards and zero touchdowns. The Giants totaled 56 passing yards and were held to minus-8 yards in the first half.
Jones, coming off the ACL tear in Week 9 of last season, has had an up-and-down training camp.
Giants assistant general manager Brandon Brown said of the quarterback, “The one thing I take comfort in, and I know there will be continued development in, is his ability to push the ball down the field, being more aggressive and taking those deep shots.”
Brown also noted the speed around Jones in receivers Darius Slayton, Jalin Hyatt, Wan’Dale Robinson and Malik Nabers.
“I think this is the first time in his career that Daniel has had four receivers that could line up on a 4 x 100-meter track team and are creating natural separation,” Brown said. “I think the more that we have the jelling, the cohesiveness, especially with that top group, it’s going to be the best outcome for everybody involved. I think [Jones] is going to get used to seeing that separation and having more anticipation on some of these throws. So I’m happy where he’s at.”
Saturday night’s game again featured Daboll as the offensive play-caller, a change that has been in the making for some time. When the regular season begins, offensive coordinator Mike Kafka will be in the booth during games, with Daboll calling the plays from the sideline.
Daboll likes the options he has, none of whom played Saturday night.
“I like that [the receivers are] fast and quick, so they can run, they can create some separation,” Daboll said. “Some are shorter, some are taller. But I like them. They’re young. Obviously, Slayton’s got some experience. So we’ll keep growing and building them up and improving them. But I like their skill set.”
The Giants receivers all seem to have the potential to be deep threats.
“Well, you want to try to attack all areas of the field,” Daboll said. “I think there were 323 plays of 40 yards or more last year in all the games. So that accounts for less than 1% of the entire season, 0.9% exactly. So you have to do a good job of threatening the vertical part of the field. No question about it. But you also have to be able to sustain drives.”
Slayton, 27, the Giants’ most veteran receiver in his sixth season, has appreciated the aggressiveness of the offense during training camp.
“It’s been solid,” he said. “We haven’t hit all of the ones that we needed to hit. That’s for a variety of reasons, but . . . I think the intent is there, and that’s where it starts. Execution will grow with time and all that, but we have been getting it down the field a good bit.”
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
