Knock on the biggest piece of wood you can find, Giants and Jets fans.
Both local NFL teams finished the preseason Saturday night — with a 32-24 win for the Jets over the Giants in their annual matchup — and that means that they survived training camp without any significant long-term injuries.
Yes, a handful of bubble players, especially from the Giants, suffered injuries that could alter the back end of the 53-man rosters before cuts are finalized at 4 p.m. Tuesday, cost the teams some extra money in injury settlements and — from a human perspective impact player livelihoods.
But, in terms of starters, key reserves, fantasy football draft picks and popular jersey-sellers, the Giants and Jets mostly emerged unscathed except for the pre-camp season-ending injury to Giants linebacker Jarrad Davis and the mysterious back injury that might carry into Week 1 for Jets defensive end Carl Lawson.
That’s no small accomplishment considering camps opened with concerns about whether Saquon Barkley might pull a hamstring — real or exaggerated because of his contract dispute — after skipping offseason activates with the team … and if Darren Waller could stay on the field after back-to-back injury-marred seasons … and how Mekhi Becton’s twice surgically repaired right knee would hold up.
Giants fans still have whiplash from losing Jason Sehorn for the 1998 season on a preseason kickoff return. And both sides have lost quarterbacks for extended time because of the preseason — Phil Simms in 1982, sandwiched between Joe Namath in 1971 and Chad Pennington in 2003.
More recently, Giants safety Xavier McKinney lost 10 games as a rookie in 2020 to a broken foot suffered during practice, and Lawson’s unstoppable first training camp with the Jets was cut short in 2021 when his ACL tore during joint practices against the Packers.
Indeed, the relative health of both rosters with high expectations was one of the biggest surprises of training camp. Here are a couple of other things that defied expectations one way or another:
1. The Jets’ offensive line was more of a mess: Not once all preseason did the five projected starters line up together — mostly because left tackle Duane Brown wasn’t activated off of the Physically Unable to Perform List until Aug. 23, one day after second-team left tackle Becton received his first snaps of camp as the starting right tackle. Four of the five starters (not Brown) played against the Giants.
The Jets also rotated centers — mostly between Connor McGovern and Wes Schweitzer — before settling on McGovern for a fourth straight year. Left guard Laken Tomlinson missed time with a leg injury. Backup tackles Billy Turner and Max Mitchell struggled with the starters, opening the door for Becton.
2. Aaron Rodgers was more gung-ho (and better?): The future Hall of Fame quarterback vowed to be all-in when he was traded from the Packers … but was he really going to be? Well, thanks to the glowing praise from coaches and teammates, plus some fluffy behind-the-scenes clips from “Hard Knocks,” it sure seems like the antithesis of Brett Favre’s cameo in New York.
Rodgers’ confidence-building lunch date with Becton coincided with the former first-round pick’s surge. Zach Wilson had a strong summer after buddying up to Rodgers. Dalvin Cook — the best free-agent playmaker available during August — signed here because of Rodgers. At times, Rodgers seemed like quarterback/coach/general manager, which isn’t a bad thing as long as there are limits.
As for his play after last season’s broken thumb-related decline? Rodgers’ ball placement and reading of defenses was remarkable.
3. Daniel Jones was more comfortable than expected returning to the same offensive system: The biggest jump that Jones took was in his Mahomesian improvisations. With less time spent drilling fundamentals and thinking about decision-making, Jones unveiled some new arm angles for releasing the ball around pressure and looked smooth making the off-platform throws that are all the rage in the NFL nowadays.
Jones threw two interceptions on 242 passes during 11-on-11 periods during camp, according to The Athletic. He threw 10 on 184 attempts last season while learning the Brian Daboll-Mike Kafka offense.
4. The Giants’ draft class was more impactful: The last 15 draft classes failed to live up to the standard set by the 2007 class, which produced cornerback Aaron Ross (first round), receiver Steve Smith (second round), defensive tackle Jay Alford (third round), long snapper Zak DeOssie (fourth round), tight end Kevin Boss (fifth round), safety Michael Johnson and running back Ahmad Bradshaw (seventh round) as big contributors to a five-year stretch that includes two Super Bowls.
While it’s still way too early to judge, there are more signs than normal that the Giants hit it big in the 2023 draft. Three rookies are projected starters — cornerbacks Deonte Banks (first round) and Tre Hawkins (sixth round) as well as center John Michael Schmitz (second round) — and three others — receiver Jalin Hyatt (third round), running back/punt returner Eric Gray (fifth round) and defensive tackle Jordon Riley (seventh round) — are lined up to contribute.
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So, which team will be better this season?
It’s the kind of debate that Yankees and Mets fans are used to having, but since New York’s MLB season went up in flames …
3 reasons the Jets will be better than the Giants
1. The quarterback: Have we mentioned a motivated Rodgers was traded to the Jets?
2. The defense: You can argue either way in today’s pass-heavy NFL on which is more important: A dominant defensive line or a dominant secondary? The Jets have both.
The roster includes three of last season’s top 25 NFL cornerbacks — Sauce Gardner, D.J. Reed and Michael Carter II — according to Pro Football Focus, plus enough safety depth that career 122-game starter Adrian Amos comes off the bench. There’s also a 10-deep defensive line — their second-stringers would start for many teams — to maintain fresh fourth-quarter legs.
3. The playmakers: There’s only one ball and Garrett Wilson needs to get it the most. It won’t be a surprise if the season ends with him talked about in the same class of All-Pro young receivers as Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase. Oh, but the NFL’s best running-back tandem, Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook, needs touches, too. And, of course, Rodgers’ Packers-imported trusted allies Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb.
3 reasons the Giants will be better than the Jets
1. The NFC: Whereas the Jets face the grind of the loaded AFC, where 10 wins is no playoff guarantee, the NFC is wide open after the Eagles and 49ers. With a young, improving core, the Giants have as good a chance as any team of being the next-biggest contender.
By winning percentage, the Giants’ have one of the five-hardest schedules in the NFL, but they will mitigate some travel by staying out west for back-to-back games with the Cardinals and 49ers in September, and they are the rare playoff team who drew third-place crossover games because of last season’s standings.
2. The coaching: Daboll won NFL Coach of the Year honors last season. Really, it was a collective award. He pushed most of the right motivational and game-management buttons, but position coaches maximized off-the-street talent and coordinators Mike Kafka, Wink Martindale and Thomas McGaughey gave the Giants a strategic advantage most weeks. Why not again?
3. Improved weaknesses: The No. 1A point of emphasis for the offseason was speed. Hyatt ran past Gardner on two deep balls (neither completed by Tyrod Taylor) on Saturday. The $40 million-per-year man Jones will need to hit Hyatt in stride to make that elusiveness pay off. Okereke and potential trade-steal Isaiah Simmons finally could be the answer to near-decade long troubles with the coverage issues caused by quick running backs and tight ends.
No. 1B was stopping the run, and the additions of A’Shawn Robinson, Rakeem Nunez-Roches and Riley to the dynamic duo of Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams should elevate the Giants from No. 30 in yards per carry allowed to … much higher.
Before kids in the crowd at the Somerset Patriots’ game Sunday ran the bases as part of a postgame promotion, it would’ve been fun to see top Yankees prospect Spencer Jones race against a gazelle.
Making his Double-A debut at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, N.J., the 6-foot-6 outfielder flashed his tantalizing, easy, long-striding speed on a smash behind the second-base bag by legging out an infield single. He then scored from first base without a throw on a double into the right-field corner by Augustin Ramirez.
“I try to use my speed to my advantage,” Jones told Post Sports+ after the game. “It’s something people take for granted, but I like using it.”
Jones went 2-for-4 with two singles in a 7-6 victory to continue the hot hitting he carried from Single-A Hudson Valley, where he registered a .787 OPS with 13 home runs, 56 RBI, 62 runs scored and 35 stolen bases. He called it “pretty special” to have a small meeting with a few staff members where he was informed of his promotion late last week.
“There was a little bit of adrenaline coming into it,” Jones said of his debut Sunday, “and then by about the third or fourth inning it wore off, and I was ready to play.”
Settling in included a line drive single up the middle in the fifth inning for his first Double-A hit.
“We talk about fastball timing through the middle,” Jones said, “and I got a fastball and hit it through the middle.”
Jones hugged teammates in the dugout after the final out.
“It’s just cool to be around so many guys that I was able to hang out with in spring training and make good relationships with,” he said. “To be with them in a playoff push is special. Everybody wants to win, and I want to be a part of it.”
Jones took over the No. 1 spot in the Yankees’ farm system, according to MLB Pipeline’s rankings, earlier this month. He is one spot ahead of outfielder Jasson Dominguez — who was just promoted from Double-A to Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre — and two spots ahead of outfielder Everson Pereira, who made his MLB debut last week.
“There are no expectations,” Jones said. “I’m just going to go play baseball, do what I do and go from there. Not worried about it.”
Somerset, the defending Eastern League champion, already has clinched a playoff berth and will host a postseason game on Sept. 21.
“I love this ballpark,” Jones said. “Good fans. Good ambiance. Center field is really nice-looking, seeing the crowd. I want to play for a team that wants to compete for a championship. The guys in Hudson Valley did, too. These guys really want to win back-to-back titles.”