Jason Garrett to keep calling plays for the Giants' offense
New York Giants offensive coordinator Jason Garrett looks on during the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Sep. 12, 2021. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Joe Judge said he will not make any "radical changes" to the structure of his coaching staff on gamedays, meaning offensive coordinator Jason Garrett will continue to call the plays for the Giants when they face the Saints on Sunday.
"We’re going to stay consistent with what we’re doing and keep improving as a team," Judge said on Monday. "There are a lot of things we have to clean up coaching-wise and execution-wise, but we’re going to stay on the track with it and make sure we get those things right before making any radical changes."
The biggest issue facing the offense has not been moving the ball but finding the end zone. As of Monday (prior to the Cowboys-Eagles game) the Giants’ offense ranked 18th in the NFL in yards per game but 25th in scoring. They have gained a handful more yards than the 49ers (1,051 to 1,046) but have scored 23 fewer points (56 to 79). Last year, Garrett’s first with the Giants, they finished 31st in both yardage and scoring.
Now they’ll likely be without two of their top offensive weapons as Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton heal from hamstring injuries suffered on Sunday. Judge did not have any updates on their status on Monday, but it’s hard to believe either will be at full capacity Sunday in New Orleans.
"Gameplan-wise we’ll make some adjustments and do some things that we think will give us more of an advantage," Judge said. "We have a couple of different focal points. We want to make sure we can finish in the red zone, that’s something we have to do better as a team."
The Giants have scored three touchdowns in nine red zone possessions in the first three games, and a good deal of those struggles have been execution-based.
On Sunday, the Giants had two trips inside the Atlanta 20 in the first half that resulted in field goals. On the first, when they had first-and-goal from the 8, Daniel Jones had Evan Engram open for a potential touchdown but had the pass batted away and then was sacked for a loss of 11. On the second, they had first-and-10 from the 17 and had a shotgun snap sail through the hands of Jones for a loss of 11 then a false start on Eli Penny that pushed them back to the 29.
None of which means the heat is off Garrett or, for that matter, defensive coordinator Patrick Graham or special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey.
"The coordinators are still going to be making the play calls this week," Judge said.
Beyond that may be the radical changes he is currently shelving.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
