There is no way for a team to put together a better-than-expected season without receiving better-than-expected performances from several youngsters, players without proven track records who suddenly emerge and contribute. As veterans such as Eli Manning, Will Beatty and Jason Pierre-Paul try to return to form, the Giants are going to need help from those with far less experience and far smaller paychecks.
Based on what has transpired in training camp and the first four preseason games, they may be able to count on Damontre Moore and Devon Kennard on defense and Andre Williams and Weston Richburg on offense.
All four came up big in Friday’s 35-24 preseason victory over the Jets. All but Moore are rookies and Moore is a second-year player who barely got on the field on defense in 2013, so he is not exactly a known commodity at defensive end. Judging from what’s gone down this summer, Moore might not be in the shadows much longer.
Moore had two sacks and recovered a fumble on the Jets’ 16-yard line, leading to a Ryan Nassib pass to Henry Hynoski for a touchdown. One of Moore’s sacks came against the Jets’ starting offensive line, a rarity for him because he usually only gets to play when reserves are on the field for both sides.
“Not to sound cocky, but I can do that, too,” Moore said of having his way with starting linemen. “Whoever my opponent is, to humiliate him in the worst way possible and come out with a win. That’s me and anyone who is a true competitor. It doesn’t matter who you are going against. You go out there and you beat him and you punish him.”
Kennard, a fifth-round pick from USC, has been impressive from the moment he stepped onto the practice field and not only because of his NFL size (6-foot-3, 251 pounds). The physical nature of Kennard’s game is readily apparent. Against the Jets he led the team with seven tackles. Kennard had five tackles and a sack a week earlier against the Colts and is shaping up to be a fixture on special teams. He has a roster spot locked up and may end up forcing defensive coordinator Perry Fewell to figure out a way to get him in the games in defensive packages.
As a second-round draft pick from Colorado State, Richburg was projected as a starter sometime soon, and though he has been a center, the first avenue to the field is at guard. Richburg was mixed in with the starters and ended up playing 36 snaps against the Jets, as left guard Geoff Schwartz went down with a dislocated toe that will keep him out at least for several weeks. Suddenly, the Giants need Richburg to be ready right now.
“That’s the whole point, he has gotten a lot of snaps,’’ coach Tom Coughlin said Saturday. “He did all right last night. He plays a number of positions. He’s had to adjust to both sides of the center and the center position as well.
He did OK last night and he’s a talented young man that’s at a position where he’s going to have to help us.’’
Williams is another rookie who seemed as if nothing was too big for him from the moment the Giants took him in the fourth round out of Boston College. He ran for 48 yards in his first preseason game in Canton against the Bills and broke off a 33-yard run in the fourth quarter on the Jets. With David Wilson forced into retirement because of a chronic neck issue, Williams is first in line behind starter Rashad Jennings and will be included in the game plan every week, entrusted to carry the ball as a rookie, as the running game has looked far better than the passing attack.
“Of course that gives you the feeling with a little tweaking here and there and some more work you can be able to perhaps count on that,’’ Coughlin said of the running game. “Let’s hope that’s the case.’’