Coordinator Corner: Special teams injuries, screen passes, and Saquon

Injuries, screen passes, and dealing with Saquon Barkley were among the topics discussed by New York Giants coordinators during the media sessions on Thursday. Let's hit some of the highlights.

Michael Ghobrial On dealing with injuries ...

The Giants are without placekicker Graham Gano (IR/hamstring) and punter Jamie Gillan (hamstring). In their place are veterans Greg Joseph and Matt Haack.

"It's tough to deal with any injury. But the fact of the matter is in this league, that happens," Ghobrial said. "We just have to be prepared for whoever's out there to perform at their best. It's our job to get the guys enough reps in practice to give them enough confidence to go out and execute in the game."

Joseph is 8 of 11 on field goals since taking over from Gano in Week 3. He missed kicks of 45 and 47 yards in Week 6 against the Cincinnati Bengals .

"The first one, he hit a good ball, but his target line was a little off. Then the second one, he just pulled it," Ghobrial said. "Any outdoor stadium, there's always wind that you have to pay attention to, especially as you get into these months. So, we're not going to make excuses due to the weather. Our objective is always to go out there and make kicks, and that's what we need to do. Doesn't matter whether it's a snowy game or anything. When we send out our field goal unit, we have to come out with points."

Ghobrial said that Haack, a veteran punter, did a good job holding.

"Matt has held in this league. He's punted in this league and he's held a lot of footballs," Ghobrial said. "So, nothing with the operation. We're not going to make excuses. Again, we have to go out and make the kicks."

Ghobrial said Haack was "solid" in his first game.

"For showing up later in the week, I thought he did a solid job," Ghobrial said. "I know he wants to have a couple punts back. But I thought he ended up averaging a good ball. Then he hit a really good ball that he needs to bottle that up and keep producing that one. The one outside the numbers with high hang and good distance. I know that's his objective every time and that's a standard that he'll hold himself to and same here."

Mike Kafka: The screen game It seems like it has been forever since the Giants were proficient in the screen game. This season, quarterback Daniel Jones has completed 19 of 23 screen passes, averaging 8.2 yards per attempt and 9.9 yards per completion. That is the best since Jones was a rookie in 2019, when the Giants averaged 9.3 yards per attempts and 9.9 yards per completion.

Why is the screen game working?

"I think, number one, our offensive line are doing a really good job of getting to their landmarks and getting vertical. Our backs are being nice and patient with setting those things up. Then our pass protection and our pass game has helped that too," Kafka said. "I think those three things combined have really helped it. When we call them, whether first down or second down, things that maybe defenses could be clued into is something we evaluated and looked at.

"There's a few things that go into it, but overall it's been a really good job of execution by the guys up front, the offensive line, the receivers, the (running) backs, the timing with the quarterback and when to free throw it over the top of a guy or dart it. It's been just good execution."

On those dropped passes ....

Giants' wide receivers have dropped 16 of Daniel Jones' passes. No quarterback in the NFL has had his receivers drop more. Darius Slayton has four drops, a career-worst 10.8% drop rate. Wide receivers Malik Nabers and Wan'Dale Robinson each have three drops. Rookie tight end Theo Johnson has two drops in 16 targets, a 12.5% drop rate.

"It's a combination of things," Kafka said. "It could be separation. It could be protection. It could be ball placement. It could just be lack of concentration. So, there's a bunch of things that go into it. Each play is just a little bit different.

"For us, we look at it and go, 'All right, that was a tough catch. We need to have better ball placement,' or 'We need to catch that.' At the end of the day, we've got to make sure the ball's in our possession. We don't want drops regardless of where the ball is. We've got to make sure we throw an accurate football. But it's not those two things exclusively. It's a combination of things. It could be, was the quarterback affected by a rush where he had to move and now his launch point and his throw is a little bit off target and off rhythm. So, it's a combination of things. But, we have to clean it up."

Shane Bowen: Prepping for Saquon Barkley This is the first time the Giants have ever had to prepare to face running back Saquon Barkley. So, what is that like?

"I've had experience in playing with him. Explosive. You give him space, he finds it. He's made teams pay already this season on that," Bowen said. "Got the ability to make the home run, hit the home run every time he has the ball in his hands. So, we've got to be disciplined. We've got to do a good job. We've got to get hats to the party. It's going to be tough bringing him down with one guy. Big challenge for us."

On why the defense has been improving ...

"I think we're continuing to learn, continuing to improve. Guys playing with each other. We have some continuity now finally for the most part. Early on it was shuffling deck chairs a little bit, especially in the back end. But guys are working. They're working hard day in and day out. Big emphasis on fundamentals. I see those improving week to week. Continuing to play the next play. I think there's a lot to it. But the guys are playing hard, and they're making plays when we need them to make plays for the most part. They're showing up. So hopefully we can continue that."

On the possibility of defenders being frustrated with the team's offense ...

"Believe me, we got enough in our house to worry about, I promise you. There's four plays that really changed the game for them [the Bengals] that we gave up. Whether it was the 47-yard scramble or whether it was the third-and-12, he got out of the pocket. Whether it's the very first third-and-6, and he scrambled for the first down. So, there's plays for us. We're always coaching, we got enough to worry about and focus on making sure our guys are ready to go and can play. And, again, just doing our part, make plays when they're there, find ways to change the game when we have the opportunities to change the game. And we [have] got to create more turnovers. That's a part of it, too. Create some turnovers, and, you know, we'll set some things up. But we got enough to worry about. Believe me, especially week to week with some of these teams we're playing, with this Eagles team we're playing this weekend."