Logan Ryan and Blake Martinez are back once again in 2021 for the weekly Giants Report on WFAN, and when Ryan joined Moose & Maggie on Tuesday, he gave a lot of credit to the Broncos’ offense while reminding Giants fans not to panic about a Week 1 loss.
“They did a better job of finishing some drives, and got a couple of huge third and fourth down conversions. Teddy Bridgewater made some good throws – have to give credit where it’s due,” Ryan said. “We didn’t execute on third down and get off the field enough; if we do that a few times, maybe it’s 16-13. We have to do a better job, and I’m confident we will. Week 1 isn’t the be-all, end-all.”
The Broncos were 10-for-18 on third and fourth downs in the game, and there was one particular fourth down conversion Denver made that surprised Ryan a bit – but is something he expects the league as a whole may see more of this season.
“Once they went for it on 4th and 7 on like the 40, I was surprised. We wondered it if was something where they’d try to hard count, but they went for it,” Ryan said. “That’s analytics there. It’s like playing Madden – when I play Madden I go for it on 4th down all the time! But they want to score, and early this season I’ve seen a lot of teams being more aggressive there. We’ll see how it goes, but we have to be prepared to play four downs.”
Moose & Maggie asked Ryan about “Tell the Truth Monday,” something Russell Wilson divulged the Seahawks do each week during his appearance on the Monday Night Football Manning-cast, and Ryan noted that this is a league where mistakes happen, but it’s about not making the same mistakes twice – and it’s on the players to do so.
“In this league, you don’t want to make mistakes, but it’s about not making the same mistakes. Can we cover up a cut so it’s not an open wound all year? We’re confident we can do that,” he said.
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And, as it relates to “Tell the Truth,” well – even if the Giants win by 30, Joe Judge doesn’t mince words, and the negative is always going to show up.
“We watch the film, and ask if we executed the play or not. It’s not always big things that have to go wrong,” Ryan said. “If we won by 30 the film wouldn’t be pretty either, Joe would’ve told the truth about what we missed. You have to have the players try to fix it. When you’re trying to win titles, win, lose, or draw, negative plays will show up on film and players will get called out.”
The Giants have a quick turnaround this week, playing the Washington Football Team in what’s already a huge divisional game down in DC, which helps with the ability to put Sunday’s loss in the rear view quickly – “not for my body, but for my mind, yeah,” Ryan joked.
Even though the WFT is technically playing with a backup QB in Taylor Heinecke, that doesn’t mean the game plan gets any easier.
“This is a national TV game against a division rival, the division champs, and don’t sleep on Heinecke; he’s a good player, and I watched that playoff game last year – pissed off of course – and he never looked like the game was too big for him,” Ryan said. “He’s mobile and can extend plays, and he’s a gunslinger – he will give his guys chances to make plays. Those guys led the league in yards after catch last year, and will get the ball in the hands of their playmakers and let them make plays. So, we have to communicate better on defense and do a better job.”
Ryan hopes the Giants can come back to MetLife 1-1 for their Sept. 26 showdown with Atlanta and give the fans they sorely missed at the stadium more reason to cheer than they did Sunday – and even if he understands their frustration, he’s quick to remind again that one week does not a season make, especially now with a 17-game schedule.
“I appreciate them showing up – it was out of control and I loved the environment, I thrive in that – but I’d say be patient,” Ryan said. “I don’t know how the Giants started in the Super Bowl years, but I’d doubt it was 4-0.
I was on two Super Bowl teams that started 2-2, and a Titans AFC Championship Game team that started 2-4 and fans wanted everyone traded. I want to win for the fans, and that’s what it is, but it’s week-to-week we have to improve. You don’t want to panic after one game, one loss, you just have to build off that.”
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