E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he is one of only three sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls. Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

SHURMUR POINTS TO SEVERAL GIANTS IN THE AFTERGLOW OF VICTORY NO. 1;
NEXT UP: NEW ORLEANS AND DREW BREES

By Dave Klein

It is possible that Pat Shurmur circled the date on his desk calendar Monday. It was, after all, the first time he was going to hold a telephone press conference with the media after a regular-season Giants' victory.

And he sounded pleased to have the opportunity.

First, he outlined the injuries - not to worry, he intimated, about tight end Evan Engram's knee. It's not torn, just a sprained MCL, and if he isn't back this week (at home against New Orleans) it won't be much longer.

And don't worry about rookie sensation Saquon Barkley, who also took a shot on his knee but returned almost immediately and recorded his third straight 100-plus all-purpose yardage game - more impressive since he has only played in three games thus far.

"I had no problem with either hit," Shurmur added. "That's football. I didn't think there was anything intentional involved."

As for his new right tackle, Chad Wheeler, the coach was mildly complimentary. "Wheeler did a really good job, I thought, in the run game against a really unpredictable player [star Houston defensive end J.J. Watt]. I thought he did a good job, and he finished blocks. When you watch him play, you say there's a guy who's finishing blocks and doing those things.

"I'm going to take responsibility for it, a couple times he got stretched out and just pure one-on-one (pass protection) against Watt and I can't put him in those positions as many times as I did, but he battled, and in my opinion, even though he got beat on a couple of snaps, I thought he had a winning performance."

Some readers have suggested that the treatment in these transmissions of Ereck Flowers, who was replaced by Wheeler, has been unfairly tough. Let's listen to Shurmur.

"He blocked well against the run and he got beat a couple of times in pass protection. Watt will do that to anyone. Wheeler did a really good job, I thought, in the run game against a really unpredictable player. I thought he did a good job, and he finished blocks. When you watch him play, you say there's a guy who's finishing blocks and doing those things.

"I'm going to take responsibility for it, a couple times he got stretched out on one-on-one (pass protection) against (Watt), and I can't put him in those positions as many times as I did, but he battled and, in my opinion,, even though he got beat on a couple of snaps, I thought he had a winning performance."

Barkley, who was drafted second behind and ahead of a quarterback, has turned into a budding superstar and has spent his three games highlighting his various skills as a runner, blocker and receiver. "Yeah, he's everything we thought he would be to this point. He shows up on game day. When you see it up close and personal, you see the way he's into it and how competitive his spirit is, and how he wants to compete and get the ball in his hands. There's a reason why he's got a chance to be a really good player for a very long time."

And the Giants, now 1-2, can be said to be in the middle of the NFC East scramble, since Philadelphia and Washington are 2-1 and the Giants are 1-2 with Dallas. "It's a long, long way to the end of the season," Shurmur says, "and it's way to early to feel one way or the other about anybody's chances."

A side note: The starters in the secondary - cornerbacks Janoris Jenkins and B.W. Webb and safeties Landon Collins and Curtis Riley were on the field for ALL 68 PLAYS for the defense. "We had to do that," said defensive coordinator James Bettcher, "we had some injuries. All those guys played exceptionally well."

Reserve defensive end Kerry Wynn (6-5, 265, sixth season), who has quietly been a dependable player for two seasons, had another solid game. He recorded five tackles, two assists, one forced fumble, one pass defended, one quarterback hit and one quarterback pressure.

"It was quite a game," Shurmur said. "I thought Kerry was outstanding. That's a darn good day at the office. Kerry is long, he's kind of a relentless player, he's tough, he's all the things you're looking for - he's tough, he cares, he works, and he finds a way to make plays. That certainly was an outstanding performance on his part."

And all the Giants can take a bow.

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- Team Giants

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