McAdoo cedes Giants' play-calling to OC
Oct 17, 2017 - 12:22 AM EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- After hitting rock-bottom a week ago in a loss against the then winless Los Angeles Chargers, New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo made a decision that might very well have saved his locker room -- and perhaps even his job.McAdoo, who retained the play-calling duties when he was promoted to head coach last season, decided to hand off those duties to Mike Sullivan, the team's offensive coordinator in a move that was widely regarded as long overdue given McAdoo's predictability and head-scratching decisions this year.
The move worked. Sullivan, who last called plays as the offensive coordinator for the Bucs under then head coach Greg Schiano, orchestrated a mostly smooth game plan that saw the Giants rely more heavily on 12 personnel (72 percent of the snaps) while reducing its dependency on 11-personnel to 28 percent of the snaps.
Sullivan also found a way to even out the Giants offensive attack, calling for a season-high 32 runs versus a season-low 19 pass attempts. And of those pass attempts, the Giants targeted their new receivers on just six of their 19 pass attempts, connecting on two for 21 yards.
"It's not so much that the game plan was different," said quarterback Eli Manning after the game. "It's just a greater emphasis on sticking with the run and staying with it."
McAdoo, who said he made the decision to hand off the play-calling duties to Sullivan at the beginning of the week, made the decision in part after two members of his defense -- cornerbacks Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Eli Apple, were disciplined for conduct detrimental to the team on top of losing four receivers -- Odell Beckham Jr., Dwayne Harris, Brandon Marshall and Sterling Shepard -- to injuries, with Shepard's being the only one of the four that wasn't season-ending.
"I felt like during the course of the week, I needed to make sure that I was here for the entire football team and this organization any way that I could be," McAdoo said.
"We talk about doing what's best for the team, and what was best for the team last week was for me to give up play-calling duties."
"And yes, the head coach needs to be available for his team each and every week," he added when asked specifically about his in-game comments to NBC sideline reporter Michele Tafoya about "needing to be available to the entire team."
McAdoo's initial comment raised questions about whether he was perhaps spending too much time with the offense and not enough with the defense and special teams.
While McAdoo didn't admit to anything, he did hint that freeing himself of the heavy burden that is the play-calling did allow him to approach his job a bit differently last week.
"I think what can happen sometimes is, when you call plays your mentality may be a little bit different,"' he said.
"Your personality may be a little bit different. So, I felt my personality came out a little bit more (Sunday night) than maybe it normally has. I was still involved with the offense. I had a chance to buzz around and be around all the players, let my energy come out a little bit more maybe than I have in the past."
And how did Sullivan do?
"I think he did a tremendous job sticking to the plan during the ballgame and sticking with the run and putting us in position to win the ballgame," he said.
McAdoo snorted when asked if Sunday's result meant that Sullivan would retain the play-calling duties moving forward.
"I'm never going to jump on here and tell you who's playing where and who's calling the plays. But you can write about what you want," he said.
--After finally recording their first win of 2017, the Giants' locker room let out a collective, if not defiant sigh of relief.
However, the team still realizes that despite its impressive win against a very tough Broncos team, the Giants have a long way to go before they wash the stench of their 0-5 start out of the fabric of this season.
"It is one of 16," head coach Ben McAdoo said after the game. "Give credit to the players, they came out and executed the plan at a high level. We knew it was not going to beat a pretty football team, but that is our style and that is how we feel we have to win physical and heavy-handed."
"We always think we can dominate," added safety Landon Collins, who shook off a week-long ankle injury to suit up. "We know what kind of offense we have and what kind of defense we have. We didn't think we were going to have the offense we had, but those boys came out and did their thing, and then we had good special teams. We played all three phases and worked it to our advantage."
Running back Orleans Darkwa, who posted a career-high 117 rushing yards on a career-high 21 carries against the Broncos' top-ranked run defense, was slightly more bitter toward the media after the game ended.
"You (the media) all try to kill us every chance you get," he said. "You all are going to try to grill us, but we believe in ourselves and we feel like we're all we've got as a team. I feel like we've got a talented roster. We've lost some close games in the last three games or so and I'm just glad we were able to close this one out."
McAdoo, who pushed forth an "us versus the world" message to his players leading up to the game, tried to get the players to buy into the fact that contrary to the popular axiom that a team is what its record says it is, the 2017 Giants could be an exception.
"We talked about that our record was not good, but that does not mean we are a bad football team," he said. "We are a good football team. We just need to find a path to victory. We found one (this week) and now we need to start stacking them."
"It's a special win, just with everything going on, losing four receivers last week and coming into this week. There could be a lot of people who wrote us off for this game," added quarterback Eli Manning.
"I don't think anyone picked us to win this game, but for just the preparation all week, the commitment all week to come in here, no giving up, no laying down, we knew the circumstance that we had put ourselves in, but the only thing you can do is be responsible for how you handle the situation and every game."
That approach turned out to be more than enough for the Giants to get themselves back on the right track.
--On Sunday, the Giants unveiled their fifth offensive line combination of the season, a configuration that, from left to right, consisted of Ereck Flowers, John Jerry, Brett Jones, D.J. Fluker and Justin Pugh.
That offensive line configuration delivered perhaps the best showing to date of any of the previous groupings by enabling the running game to average 4.6 yards per carry while mostly keeping the ever dangerous Von Miller from maiming quarterback Eli Manning.
Miller, who mostly lined up across from Pugh, managed just one tackle, one sack (a sack he earned when quarterback Eli Manning stepped up in the pocket to avoid a rush).
"I thought they played hard, I thought they played physical," head coach Ben McAdoo said of his offensive line. "I thought the defense we went up against last night is one of the better defenses and one of the best defenses in this league and playing them on the road on grass is a tremendous challenge and I thought our guys fought hard."
McAdoo was asked especially about Pugh and Jerry, who have started every game, though not at the same position. Pugh initially started the year at left guard before moving to right tackle while Jerry started at right guard before flipping over to left guard.
"John and Justin are two pros," McAdoo said of the two veterans' willingness to play wherever they're needed. "They're two guys that will do whatever is asked of them and it doesn't take a big sitdown for it to take place, it doesn't take an act of Congress for it to get done. They're willing to jump out and play a new position if it's for the best of the team and it gives us the best chance to win the ball game. They put their head down and they go to work and it's much appreciated by the head coach."
What's also appreciated by the head coach has been the job center Brett Jones has done to orchestrate the offensive line while filling in for starter Weston Richburg, who is currently sidelined with a concussion.
"It's certainly a challenge when there are moving parts up front," McAdoo said. "I think when you have a center like Jonesy who goes in there and does a nice job communicating and getting everyone on the same page, I think it really helps the guards out and that echoes out to the tackles and they did a nice job with that (Sunday)."
Despite the line's solid showing, McAdoo didn't commit to keeping the same configuration moving forward.
"Each week provides new challenges and new opportunities and we'll take a look at what we need to do this week to give us the best chance to win the ball game," he said.
NOTES: QB Eli Manning played in his 207th regular-season game, tying former tight end Howard Cross for second on the Giants' career list. Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan is first with 216 games played. Manning also started his 205th consecutive game; he is three games shy of tying his brother Peyton for the second longest starting streak in history by a quarterback. ... RB Orleans Darkwa posted career-high totals of 21 carries for 117 yards, and a career-long run of 47 yards. Darkwa's previous career-high was 69 yards, set last week vs. the Los Angeles Chargers. His previous career-high of 12 carries was set on Oct. 3, 2016 at Minnesota. He also had the team's first 100-yard rushing game since Paul Perkins ran for 102 yards at Washington on Jan. 1. ... DT Damon Harrison recorded his first sack in a regular-season game since January 1, 2017 at Washington. ... K Aldrick Rosas' 51-yard field goal was the longest three-pointer by a Giants kicker since Nov. 15, 2015, when Josh Brown converted on a 53-yarder vs. the Patriots at home, and the Giants' longest field goal on the road since Brown's 52-yarder at St. Louis on Dec. 21, 2014. ... LB Calvin Munson suffered a quad injury and had to leave the game early. His status for next week will be updated later in the week. ... CB Michael Hunter suffered a hamstring strain during Sunday night's win, according to head coach Ben McAdoo. ... Head coach Ben McAdoo said he will meet with suspended cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie this week to revisit where things stand with the veteran. According to a report by ESPN, that meeting is set to take place first thing Tuesday morning, when the players report back to work for the new week. McAdoo refused to add any more detail.
REPORT CARD VS. BRONCOS
--PASSING OFFENSE: B-plus - Eli Manning's 11 pass completions were his lowest total in a full game since Nov. 4, 2012, when he had 10 (on 24 attempts) vs. Pittsburgh, but despite having new receivers, Manning still managed to average 11.6 yards per pass completion by mostly throwing to his tight ends and running backs, the recipients of nine of his completions this week. Although Manning was sacked three times, two of those were more a result of him stepping into the sack when he tried to avoid the pressure.
--RUSHING OFFENSE: A-plus - The Giants ran the ball down the throat of the NFL's top-ranked run defense coming into this game. Orleans Darkwa continued his strong showing, recording 117 yards on 21 carries, a 5.6 yards-per-carry average. Rookie Wayne Gallman averaged 3.0 yards per carry (27 yards on nine rushes). At the end of the day, the Giants averaged 4.6 yards per carry on the ground as the game plan heavily featured a running game that did not disappoint.
--PASS DEFENSE: B-minus - Although the Giants allowed 376 yards in the air to Trevor Siemian and Co., the Giants' pass defense played as complete of a game as they have all season. The Giants recorded four sacks, three by defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul. They also had two interceptions including a pick-six by cornerback Janoris Jenkins, thus tripling their season total for interceptions. Lastly, the Giants recorded a season-high 11 passes defensed, a total that included breaking up some long pass attempts down the field.
--RUSH DEFENSE: A - The run defense looked more like its 2016 form when it allowed opponents an average of 88.6 rushing yards per game. This week, they held the Broncos to 46 yards on 12 carries, stuffing two rushing attempts for a loss of yardage, moving them up to 25th in the league (123.5 rushing yards per game allowed).
--SPECIAL TEAMS: B - Other than a blocked 49-yard field-goal attempt, the special teams has been playing better ball of late. New punt returner Ed Eagan made smart decisions with fielding punts, safely returning one try for 20 yards while wisely calling for a fair catch on two other opportunities. The kickoff return unit didn't get a chance to return any kickoffs, while the coverage team gave up a long return of 47 yards.
--COACHING: A - Regardless of how the decision came about, kudos to head coach Ben McAdoo for realizing that he was doing his team more harm than good by retaining the play-calling duties while also trying to manage the sideline. Offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan, in his first game calling plays under McAdoo, did a masterful job of mixing things up and minimalizing the inexperience at receiver. Sullivan also did a fantastic job of sticking with the hot hand when the running game was working.
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