New York Giants: 3 Things to watch in Preseason Week 2

The New York Giants will look for a stronger performance as they travel to take on the Lions in Week 2 of the 2018 NFL preseason.

With the arrival of new head coach Pat Shurmur, there was undoubtedly a bit of buzz about the New York Giants heading into the 2018 NFL preseason. They were going to get things back on track with Ben McAdoo gone and going to look like the 2016 version of Big Blue that was quite impressive. That, unfortunately, didn’t happen in their preseason-opener against the Cleveland Browns.

Now comes their next preseason matchup, a date in the Motor City with the Detroit Lions on Friday night. In fairness to the Giants, this game should provide quite a bit more insight into what we’ll see from this team in the 2018 season. More starters on both sides of the ball are expected to play, save for Saquon Barkley.

With that in mind, what are the things that we should be watching for from the Giants on Friday night?

Will Davis Webb be better this week?

If you’re one who likes to overreact about one preseason game, you’re probably ready to bury any chance of Davis Webb ever being a viable NFL quarterback. Last week against Cleveland, the Cal product came into the game and looked quite awful. He finished the affair going 9-of-22 for just 70 yards. While he didn’t throw an interception, that’s about the only positive you can take from what he showed.

Even worse for Webb is the fact that Kyle Lauletta, a rookie out of Richmond, played quite well in fewer snaps last week. Subsequently, eyes will be on Webb in a big way this week. If his struggles continue and the rookie keeps on showing positive things, the second-year quarterback could see his stock slide internally with Big Blue.

Signs of life from the defense?

In the first week of the preseason against the Browns, much of the talk coming out of the contest was regarding Cleveland’s offense. While they were much improved and impressive, it’s worth noting that no one really of note for the Giants was on the field defensively for any part of the game. By all accounts, that should change on Friday night against the Lions.

Detroit’s offense is nothing to scoff at by any means, which is good for the Giants in gauging where this defense is. Under Ben McAdoo last season, they vastly under-performed where they were in the 2016 season and where they truthfully should be from a talent standpoint. As such, this will be a good early litmus test to see where things stand for New York defensively.

Wayne Gallman, it’s your time

All of the hype regarding Giants running backs this offseason has rightfully been about Saquon Barkley. With his draft stock then being parlayed into Big Blue taking him at No. 2 overall in April, he’s supposed to be the next-big-thing at running back. However, the next-big-thing at running back will currently need the next-man-up to step in on Friday night as he deals with a hamstring injury.

There’s no question that the starting job is Barkley’s when healthy, but behind him, the picture is a little less clear. As such, this matchup with the Lions is the time for Wayne Gallman to step up. NFL Spin Zone’s own Zac Wassink wrote about this recently, but it’s worth mentioning again. Gallman has shown flashes briefly to this point in his young career. Now, in this moment, he needs to put those flashes together to make a case as the unquestioned RB2.