Giants have a new game plan with Tyrod Taylor at quarterback
Giants quarterback Tyrod Taylor looks to pass against the Eagles during the second half of an NFL game on Monday in Philadelphia. Credit: AP/Matt Rourke
Barring injury, 13-year veteran Tyrod Taylor presumably will be the quarterback for the Giants’ last two games of the season. That’s barring injury, of course. Tommy DeVito is in the role of backup for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Asked about the two, offensive coordinator Mike Kafka said, yes, there are differences.
“You’re going to build the game plan around each player’s strengths,” he said. “Whether it’s quarterback, running back, receivers, offensive line, you want to build the best game plan you can around the guys and what they do best.”
Which, in the case of Taylor, means reinserting a veteran presence at the position. Coach Brian Daboll benched DeVito at halftime of the 33-25 loss in Philadelphia.
“He’s been in the league for 13 years,” Kafka said. He does a lot “not just on the field but as a leader, as a good teammate. I think Tyrod does a hell of a job in the huddle getting guys organized. So there’s a lot of things that he does just outside of playing the quarterback position that makes him special.”
Taylor will be a free agent at season’s end.
Taylor and receiver Darius Slayton connected on a 69-yard pass play that went for a touchdown against the Eagles, which ranks as the Giants’ longest play of the season.
Not surprisingly, Kafka liked everything about it.
“It was, number one, a great route,” he said. “Great job by the O-line, great protection up front. Tyrod gave him a great ball and he went down there and grabbed it. So great concentration, great catch, great balance, and he’s a tremendous athlete with great speed, so it wasn’t shocking to see him make a play like that. He’s done that several times this year. It was just a hell of a play.”
That’s the kind of play the Giants haven‘t seen nearly enough of this season.
Giant takeaways
Asked about 39-year-old kicker Mason Crosby — who on Monday became the fourth Giant to kick a field goal this season — and his leg strength, special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey said: “It’s the first time he’s kicked off in a while. Is Mason Crosby 23 years old? No, he’s not. He’s 39 years old. He’s in his 17th year in the league. That’s just what it is. I’m sure John Elway when he was 23 could throw it farther than when he was 40. It’s just over time, you lose power. You lose some of that stuff. But he’s still definitely serviceable and he did a really good job for us [Monday].” . . . The Giants noticeably have stopped returning kickoffs. McGaughey said, “It’s all analytical. It’s all kind of based upon analytics.” . . . Inside linebacker Bobby Okereke and safety Xavier McKinney have played every snap on defense this season. “I think it’s a tribute to them that they’ve taken care of their bodies,” defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said. “They’ve been fortunate without any [serious] injuries but how they’ve taken care of their bodies resting, working out, doing all the things you have to do to prepare to play every Sunday to get in a 60-play car accident basically is what it is. I think they’re both playing really well.”
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.
