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Giants news, 11/18: Shane Bowen not fired, Abdul Carter, Graham Gano

Good morning, New York Giants fans!

From Big Blue View

Other Giant observations

Why Jaxson Dart’s return to action for NY Giants isn’t as complicated as some are saying | The Record

Jaxson Dart has welcomed the pressure of taking the game into his own hands.

That’s an inherent responsibility of playing quarterback at every level, and Dart has accepted that from the moment he stepped on the youth football fields home in Utah.

We’re not talking hero ball, mind you, but the willingness to accept the burden of raising the standard for a team when execution above the X’s and O’s matters most.

Giants interim coach Mike Kafka shows he isn’t giving up without a fight | The Athletic

The new coach was not one of these Average Joe Division III players who overpopulate coaching staffs and front-office suites all across the league. Kafka played quarterback at Northwestern and was a fourth-round pick of the Eagles. He stands tall at a podium. He stands taller in a team meeting.

“I thought he did a good job being a leader in the locker room and on the field, keeping guys engaged and inspired on the sideline,” Jon Runyan said. “He brought a lot of energy and I think we fed off that. Since he’s been in this role, he’s been very vocal, maybe a little more vocal than Dabes was. Dabes had his moments but Kaf’s been super intense and super vocal all week and today to keep the morale up. … He really listens to the leaders on this team, the stuff they see, and lets the team this past week kind of build itself and lead itself. And then he’s at the head of that in making the final decisions.”

Wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins is back. After signing off the Steelers practice squad this week for a second stint with the team, he immediately became their top wide receiver. Hodgins played 78% of the snaps and caught five passes on six targets for 57 yards. That included a huge fourth-down catch in the fourth quarter that helped the Giants grab the lead, temporarily

1. This seven-game audition can’t end with an interim coach taking over. Kafka might earn his keep as offensive coordinator based on his relationship with Dart, but the Giants desperately need a new voice on the sidelines (and, preferably, from someone with experience in that role already).

2. No matter who takes over the Giants, the biggest problem remains a roster that lacks the talent to compete with the better teams in the NFC. Yes, this is a point we’ve made a few times, but it is hard to understand how general manager Joe Schoen is still holding onto his job when you watch this team on a day like this.

Yes, the Giants defense did blow a fourth-quarter lead for the third time this season.

Yes, it resulted in a loss to the Packers and Mike Kafka’s first as interim head coach after Brian Daboll was fired last week. However, the 27-20 result wasn’t all gray skies.

The Giants now want a CEO-type coach — someone with command of all three phases of the game. They want a leader who can capture the locker room and master the details to tilt close games in their favor. New York is 3-12 in one-score games since 2023, including four blown 10-point leads this season.

So offense, defense, or special teams experience doesn’t matter. Prior success helps, as would experience in a winning organization, but it’s not required. The Giants simply want the right leader…In-season coaching changes are never ideal. But the timing allows the Giants to start work early. They don’t have to hide in the shadows or rely on back channels. They can be transparent in their search.

Joe Schoen’s Giants in disarray even with Brian Daboll gone | New York Daily News

Culturally, a lack of 100% effort and focus has been tolerated on the field here for too long. Personnel wise, the roster is filled with players who cannot consistently make a difference.

During the week, when Schoen whispers in ownership’s ears and works the national insider phone lines, he paints a rosier picture of what is happening with this team and where it is headed and does his best to move the goalposts and change the conversation. But when his team takes the field — or sleeps through an opportunity to do so — everyone can see this for what it is: One of the NFL’s worst operations, a franchise that would own the No. 2 overall pick if the season ended Monday, that should have a new GM making that pick for a new head coach in April.

Here’s what the top seven of PFF’s big board looks like: Edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. (Miami), safety Caleb Downs (Ohio State), linebacker Arvell Reese (Ohio State), defensive tackle Peter Woods (Clemson), receiver Jordyn Tyson (Arizona State), edge rusher T.J. Parker (Clemson) and running back Jeremiyah Love (Notre Dame).

This week’s opponent

Here’s the deeper question. Did the time Campbell spent preparing for the micro task of calling plays against the Eagles dilute his ability to focus on the macro strategy against the Eagles? Did he spend less time working with defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard to fine tune tactics for countering the expected effort to feed the frustrated Brown?

[Sunday], the commitment to being aggressive for the sake of being aggressive didn’t work. Sometimes, it makes more sense to be passive aggressive. Given the status of the Eagles’ offense entering the Sunday night contest, it would have made far more effective to force the Eagles to get out of their own quicksand.

Campbell, the Lions’ head coach, took over the offensive playcalling duties from Morton in Week 10, coming off a 27-24 upset loss to Minnesota on Nov. 2. Detroit was among the league leaders in total points per game but was still struggling to find an offensive identity outside of home run plays. “I think for us an offense, the word that sticks out to me is flow. I feel like we haven’t been in the flow all year,” receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said.

Off night: Jared Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown has been one of the most consistent connections in the NFL over the last four seasons. St. Brown came into Sunday with at least five receptions in eight consecutive games and 57 career games since entering the NFL in 2021, but that connection was off against the Eagles. Goff threw to St. Brown 12 times and completed only two of those for 42 yards.