Giants Mailbag: Run Game Woes, Skattebo’s Fumbles, Deonte Banks’ Contract and More

Welcome to the weekly New York Giants On SI mailbag! From offseason moves to game-day strategies, we'll do our best to answer your questions. (Some questions have been edited for brevity and clarity.)

That's Jerry Meade, who is in charge of the team's security operations.

Run Game Issues

From Ross McLaren: Hi, is the run game as bad as it looks? How do the Giants make it better, and can Skattebo be a legit number one back?

Ross, I think it’s a combination of factors, starting with run blocking, which PFF ranks.

The lack of explosive runs is another problem. I don’t think the Giants have leaned heavily on players with that kind of explosiveness for those plays.

I suspect the loss of Jaxson Dart, who, as we know, is a running quarterback, contributed to the issue, as defenses no longer have to account for the quarterback as a potential running threat.

In Week 1 with Dart, the Giants rushed for 165 yards. Since he’s been out of the lineup, they’ve averaged 95 rushing yards per game.

In that first game with Dart, they had a season-best 4.5 yards per carry. Since then, the closest they’ve come was Week 3 against Tennessee, when they averaged 4.2 yards per carry.

Ball security issues haven’t helped either, and neither has their first-down rushing efficiency. Per NFL+, they have a -0.16 EPA (Expected Points Added) on first-down runs, which ranks 23rd in the league. They are also averaging 3.3 yards per carry on first downs.

So yes, the running game has been as bad as it’s looked, and to improve it, they have to address where it’s lacking.

As for Skattebo being an RB1, that is his current role on the team, though I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Najee Harris take on more rushing snaps, given Skattebo’s ball-security issues.

Time to Bench Skattebo?

From Kevin C. (via email): Harbaugh’s postgame comments about Skattebo’s fumble in Washington were infuriating: “He’ll learn from that” and “He’s got to be better next time.”

Four fumbles in five games! What makes anyone think it won’t continue? The inexcusable turnover Sunday cost the Giants a win. When will Harbaugh do something about it? After five fumbles, six, 10?

I wonder if you agree that it’s time to bench Skattebo. I think he should be inactive against New Orleans. They have three other running backs who are less likely to fumble and have been equally ineffective rushing for yardage. Time for a change, right?

Kevin, absolutely not, just as I don’t agree with the decision to remove Tyrone Tracy from the offense in favor of Najee Harris, whom I view as a runner similar to Skattebo.

I get the frustration you’re feeling, but a good coach gets to the root of the problem and fixes it. If the coach can’t fix it, then you make a move.

Players and coaches say every turnover has its own story. Maybe, but look for a recurring thread and get to the bottom of it. Dive into the film and see if there is a small gap between the ball and Skattebo’s body (which I wrote about in this article) and work with him to fix it.

Also drill it into his head that it’s okay to call it a day every so often, instead of fighting for an extra yard or two which puts the ball at risk of being punched out.

Deonte Banks’s Resurgence

From James L. McMahan Jr.: What are your feelings on how Deonte Banks is playing this year?

Hi, James. Banks has been playing extremely well. I’ve always said that he had loads of talent and that he was his own worst enemy.

I said that if he stopped beating himself up when something went wrong and came back swinging, he would live up to his billing. He’s proving me correct this season, and I’m glad for him.

I get that he was frustrated last season and felt like he was spinning his wheels, but not everything in life goes according to expectations, and you either sink or swim.

From Kris Kauffeld: Tae Banks is off to a good start this year. It’s the last year of his contract. Can the Giants give him a new contract during the season, and if so, should they open those conversations?

What’s good, Kris? Can the Giants give Banks a new contract during the season? Yes. They can give anyone an extension. I think you meant to ask whether they should give him a new contract right now.

My answer is no, for two reasons.

First, if I’m Banks, I play out the rest of the season and keep building a case for a nice payday. Maybe I have my agent find out what the Giants might be thinking, and then I use that as a base. But no way do I take a contract extension now, given how the season has gone so far.

Second, from the Giants’ perspective, they have $9.86 million in remaining cap space to get them through the rest of the season. They have already cut into all the big-money contracts on the roster to free up cap space, except for cornerback Paulson Adebo, whom I suspect they’ll cut after this year.

Remember, if they extend a player, the signing bonus proration starts the year it was signed unless both sides agree to defer, and that’s rare.

Financially speaking, I don’t see how it’s possible unless they say, “Trade Kayvon Thibodeaux and use those savings for a Banks extension.” And I don’t see that happening either.

Trade Talk

From Joe G. (via email): Please explain the logic of some members of the press who are calling for the Giants to trade Thibodeaux. Trading him when two of your other pass rushers are out is just plain foolish. The Giants are not losing with him. Yet the press is foolishly calling for his trade. Where is the logic?

Joe, if you want my opinion on the matter — I am not going to speak for anyone else — there are two potential reasons. 

First, his pass-rush productivity hasn’t been very good. That said, he makes a lot of little plays that don’t register on the stat sheet, and I think that gets overlooked.

Second, if Thibodeaux isn’t in the long-term plans and you can get something for him that you can use next year to replenish what you don’t have, why not make the move?

If he walks away in free agency, and I wouldn’t be shocked if he does, there is no guarantee you get a decent comp pick back to use the following year.

And if you feel good about Carter and Reese right now and think you can get something out of Jihad Ward on the pass rush this year, then maybe it’s not as silly an idea as it was earlier.

Personally, I don’t think a trade happens. Any team that trades for him is, in essence, getting a half-season rental unless it signs him to an extension.

And regarding your statement that “the Giants are not losing with him,” that doesn’t hold water. They weren’t losing with John Michael Schmitz at center, and yet they still made the switch. Since when is it wrong to make a lineup change when the opportunity is there and the situation warrants it?

A Different Kind of Season

From Pat L. (via email): Fresh off watching the Giants-Commanders game, these Giants feel different. A year ago this would have been a loss. Even after Zvada’s missed field goal attempt and Skattebo’s fumble, the Giants pulled out a tie. What do you attribute the change to?

Coaching. Pure and simple. Did you catch the adjustments they made? There’s been no more of this: “We’ll stick with the game plan and hope it works out.”

This staff is far more proactive than I recall previous ones being, and it’s paying off. Do you think they come back from a 14-point deficit in years past? I don’t.

Also, we have to credit Washington’s poor clock management at the end there. It almost reminded me of “The Fumble” from years ago, when all the Giants had to do was fall on the ball to seal the deal against the Eagles, and they got cute. Only thing is that instead of the Giants getting cute, this time it was their opponent.

How Far Can the Giants Go With Winston?

From “Go Giants”: Going forward, if Jameis can play as he did in last week’s second half, what is the ceiling for this team?

How do double-digit wins and a postseason berth, possibly as the division winner, sound? Let’s break this down.

According to Tankathon, the Giants’ remaining schedule has a combined .484 winning percentage and is ranked 22nd in difficulty. Their four “biggest” challenges, based on those teams’ current records, are the 49ers, Jaguars, Lions and Browns.

So let’s say the Giants win their remaining games against teams with losing records (they face the Eagles twice, so that’s seven games) and pull off at least one upset against the four teams on their schedule with winning records.

That should come to a double-digit win total.

Sign up for our free newsletterand follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news, andsend your mailbag questionsto us.