Portrait » Giants vs. Jaguars: 10 things to watch on Sunday

The New York Giants’ season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars is exciting purely for the fact that it is the first game of a new year. It is fascinating for myriad reasons. The return of Odell Beckham Jr. Tom Coughlin being in the building. The Giants play-makers vs. the highly-regarded Jacksonville defense. The debut of Pat Shurmur.Let’s go through some of the things to watch on Sunday.Marquee matchupThat Youth Will Hernandez Jersey , of course, is Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. vs. Jaguars All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey.The Jacksonville corner is known for trash talking, trying to get in the head of his opponent. That leads to memories of Beckham’s meltdown against Josh Norman a few seasons back, one he promised won’t be repeated.“I think I learned my lesson,’ Beckham said earlier this week.Ramsey, speaking with Jaguars media, downplayed the matchup.The puzzle is finally completeSpeaking of football being a team game, Sunday will mark the first time we see the Giants with all of their offensive pieces on the field. Saquon Barkley played in only one preseason game and Beckham did not play at all. So, this will be the first time we see in live game action what the possibilities are for the Giants’ offense.Fullback Shane Smith’s excitement at seeing the offense whole for the first time perhaps borders on hyperbole, but it may also reflect the hopes of the fan base.“There’s just so many weapons all over the place. It’ll be like fireworks out there going off,” Smith said earlier in the week. “Real excited about all those guys getting out there and seeing how the defenses are even going to be able to respond to that.“There should be a lot of mismatches.”Early test for Pat ShurmurNo matter how good the Giants are at the skill positions, and I believe they are as good as any team in the league, they can’t simply line up against Jacksonville, go mano-a-mano and expect to win enough one-on-one matchups to be successful. Not against that defense.That’s where Shurmur comes in.The head coach earned his shot with the Giants, his second as a head coach, based largely on his ability to call offensive plays, to be multiple and unpredictable on offense, to learn the strengths of his players and use them. He will need all of that acumen against a star-studded Jacksonville defense that was second in the NFL in yardage and points allowed last season.Shurmur sees the challenge.Offensive coordinator Mike Shula said this week the Giants “want to be versatile” and “use the guys the best way we can.”I am not going to pretend to know what that “best way” is going to be, or exactly how to scheme to have success against the Jacksonville defense.Our Dan Pizzuta offered a look at some ideas earlier this week.NFL analyst Brett Kollmann, whose fantastic film breakdowns on YouTube are a must watch, did an in-depth study of how teams who have had success have attacked Jacksonville and how the Giants could adapt some of that. Here it is:All I know is Shurmur will have to be at the top of his game to dial up things that will give the Giants advantages during the game. Then, it will be incumbent upon Eli Manning and the team’s play-makers to execute those concepts, to be at their best.Nothing else is going to be good enough.Who will win on third down?Can the Giants offense stay on the field on third down? Conversely, can the defense get off? Per SB Nation’s advanced stats, the Giants were last in the league offensively on third down a year ago. With so much new about the offense, that number is probably not significant. What is significant is that the Jaguars were fourth in the league in defensive efficiency on third down, surrendering first downs just 33.7 percent of the time.Kollmann addressed this in the video above.Offensively, the Giants have to stay on schedule. They have to convert manageable third downs and not make major mistakes — like throwing the ball to the wrong team — on third-and-long.Defensively, they have to put Blake Bortles in down-and-distance situations where he has to try to win with his arm.Both are easier said than done.Odell Beckham returning a punt in 2016.Photo by Al Bello/Getty ImagesSaquon and Odell on returns?Shurmur has hinted at willingness to use Barkley and Beckham on kickoff and punt returns, at least occasionally. Special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey is unquestionably in favor of the idea.“These guys are play makers. Any time you get a chance to put play makers out on the field, give you the best chance to win, that’s what you want to do. You’re trying to win the game,” McGaughey said.“Both those guys are special athletes. Whenever you get a chance to get the ball in the hands of a special athlete you want to do it.”My guess is it is pretty likely you will see at least one of them, and probably both, on returns at some point this season. Will that be Sunday? Well Youth B.J. Hill Jersey , it is one way to put the ball in their hands without having to scheme up ways to make that happen.Alex TanneyPhoto by Elsa/Getty ImagesWho’s No. 2?Shurmur hasn’t come right out and announced which of Kyle Lauletta and Alex Tanney will dress Sunday as backup to Manning. He has hinted, however, that he would go with Tanney.“I’m very fond of a veteran presence backing up Eli,” Shurmur said on Wednesday.Tanney has only played in one regular season game, completing 10-of-14 passes, but he has been in the league since 2012. That background is what Shurmur finds valuable.Leonard FournettePhoto by Sam Greenwood/Getty ImagesHow will the wall hold up?GM Dave Gettleman walked in the Giants’ door talking about getting back to the three basic tenets of football — running the ball, stopping the run, rushing the passer.The Giants have focused much of their defensive effort on stopping the run, with rookie defensive lineman B.J. Hill saying back in the spring that the Giants wanted to build a wall against the run along their defensive front.With Hill, Damon Harrison and Dalvin Tomlinson they have a good start. The Giants believe they are improved at linebacker. Landon Collins, maybe the best run-defending safety in the league, is healthy. Janoris Jenkins, an excellent run-defending cornerback when he is right, is healthy.The Giants have constructed their wall. Now, how sturdy is it?There won’t be a better test for the Giants than the one Jacksonville presents. The Jaguars will pound the rock mercilessly with Leonard Fournette and Co., probing for weakness and trying to wear the Giants out. The Jaguars led the NFL in both rushing attempts and yards a season ago.Shurmur knows the Giants have to control the running game.“I think it’s very important we play good team defense, and everybody’s got to be where they’re supposed to be to make sure we don’t let them gain lots of yards against us,” he told the team’s official website. “That’s what they like to do, that’s what starts for them and then they have a quarterback (Blake Bortles) that’s playing winning football.”Where will the pass rush come from?Whether or not the Giants have enough pass rush was a valid question even before their best pass rusher, Olivier Vernon, suffered an ankle injury that has his playing status for Sunday in serious doubt.If Vernon can’t play, can veteran Connor Barwin, rookie Lorenzo Cater, and defensive coordinator James Bettcher’s devilish scheming make up for his absence?Ereck Flowers vs. Calais CampbellThe marquee matchup, which we spoke about above, is Beckham vs. Ramsey. We know a key to Sunday’s game will be the overall play of the revamped offensive line. I will be honed in on the matchup between Flowers, playing right tackle for the first time in an NFL game that counts, vs. defensive end Calais Campbell, a 32-year-old 2017 All-Pro had who had 14.5 sacks last season.Campbell was 17th among defensive linemen in pressures last season. He was also second in the league in “defeats,” with 32. That’s just one behind Chandler Jones of the Arizona Cardinals [explanation here]. Flowers was “credited” by Football Outsiders with 31 “blown blocks” last season, more than any lineman on the roster.The over-arching question is can the Giants offensive line do an at least OK job against a really, really good Jacksonville front seven? For me, that starts with whether or not Flowers has any chance against Campbell.Tom Coughlin’s returnThis, really, is kind of a media thing. I’m curious to see if Coughlin Youth Saquon Barkley Jersey , Jacksonville’s executive vice president, ventures onto the field before the game to say hello to Eli Manning, John Mara, Steve Tisch, Zak DeOssie, Odell Beckham and any other members of the Giants organization who are familiar with him.Fans won’t see it, unless they quite their tailgate early. You probably won’t see it on TV, unless the broadcast shows a brief highlight. Still, I’m interested. Pat Shurmur isn't about to express sympathy for the Atlanta Falcons' ever-growing list of key players on injured reserve.The New York Giants' coach has his own problems.The Giants (1-5) will try to end their three-game losing streak when they face the Falcons (2-4) in Monday night's matchup of last-place teams. Atlanta snapped its own three-game skid with last week's win over Tampa Bay .The Falcons will lean on Tevin Coleman as their new starting running back after placing Devonta Freeman on I R this week with a groin injury. Freeman already missed three games with a bruised knee and last week's game with the groin injury, so it was easy for Shurmur to study Falcons film with Coleman and rookie Ito Smith sharing all the snaps at running back."I've always been impressed with the way they move the ball and the way they score points," Shurmur said. "They find a way to score points no matter who is running the ball."The Giants' offensive woes continued in a 34-13 loss to the Eagles to extend their losing streak.Freeman joins offensive guard Andy Levitre as offensive starters on IR. Overall, the Falcons have lost five starters to IR, including safeties Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen and linebacker Deion Jones. Also, top defensive tackle Grady Jarrett has missed two straight games with an ankle injury.The Falcons hope Freeman and Allen can return this season, but each must miss at least eight games. Freeman wouldn't be eligible to return until the next-to-last game of the regular season."It's heartbreaking to see my guy go down," said Coleman of Freeman.Coleman said he has to fill the void so defenses can't focus on Matt Ryan and Atlanta's passing game."We definitely need to stay with the run just to open up the pass and keep defenses honest," he said.Here are some things to know about the Giants-Falcons matchup of last-place teams:BARKLEY ROLLINGGiants rookie halfback Saquon Barkley had a career-high 229 yards from scrimmage (130 rushing, 99 receiving) last week. He has at least 100 yards from scrimmage in each of his first six career games, one off the rookie record set by Kareem Hunt of Kansas City last season. The record for most consecutive games with 100 yards from scrimmage by a rookie during any point in the season is 10, set by Eric Dickerson of the Los Angeles Rams in 1983.NEW KICKERGiorgio Tavecchio was signed by Atlanta to fill in for at least one week for kicker Matt Bryant, who strained his right hamstring making a 57-yard field goal last week.Tavecchio, a native of Milan, Italy, made 16 of 21 field goal attempts with Oakland last season and spent time with the Falcons in the preseason.SCORING LETDOWNGiants quarterback Eli Manning has passed for more than 300 yards in three road games, and Barkley is sixth in the league with 437 yards rushing. Still, New York is scoring only 19.5 points per game to rank 27th."You've got to figure out what it is to score, and figure out what the problem is and fix it fast," said wide receiver Sterling Shepard. "I think the coaches did a great job putting together a game plan for this week and we've just got to go out there and execute it."BREAKOUT TIGHT ENDFalcons tight end Austin Hooper has suddenly emerged as a top target for Ryan with nine catches in each of his last two games. Hooper, in his third season, says all his practice with Ryan is paying off. "You add a couple thousand reps in the offseason and after a while it just becomes like playing catch," he said.MIFFED MARAGiants co-owner John Mara criticized his team earlier in the week , saying he was disappointed by the second consecutive 1-5 start. He was particularly angry with Odell Beckham Jr. The NFL's highest-paid receiver was critical of Manning and questioned the heart of the team two weeks ago in a televised interviewed. Mara said he wished Beckham would start making his news on the field.It will be interesting to see how Beckham and the team respond on Monday night.