Good Morning, New York Giants Fans!
When Amari Cooper secured his single touchdown catch of the night, it was odd to see New York Giants rookie cornerback DeAndre Baker in coverage. The immediate thought that ran through my mind was, “why isn’t Janoris Jenkins blanketing him?”
Were the coaches looking to throw Baker into the fire and give him some film to study? A bit late for that experiment during the first regular-season game of the year against a division rival, don’t you think?
In fact, Jenkins, who shadowed Cooper on 64.5% of his routes, allowed just one catch on three targets for 13 yards. Cooper’s stat-line for the night was — 6 catches, 106 yards, one touchdown. So, how exactly did Cooper manage to thread the Giants’ defense when Jenkins shut him down for a majority of his routes?
Well, we can see that on 35.5% of his offensive snaps he was covered by Baker or Antonio Hamilton, both of which were torched in the process. A substantial opportunity to record film on both players, but it undoubtedly cost the Giants any chance at fighting back and making the game close.
However, Cooper is also capable of playing out of the slot, which Jenkins struggles in. That’s how the Cowboys managed to scheme around Jenkins and match up their best pass-catchers against the Giants’ weakest links. Also, Dallas’ No. 2 wideout, Michael Gallup, finished the afternoon with seven receptions for 158 yards. This puts the Giants’ secondary strength on display, and while they have a ton of youth and inadequate chemistry hurting them, allowing 405 yards through the air is unacceptable.
Nonetheless–
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