Jason Pinnock impresses in Giants’ preseason opener loss to Lions
DETROIT — Not half bad for the Giants.
With all the veteran and established starters safely confined to the sideline, the main objective Friday night for the Giants was to expose their most valued rookies to their first live NFL action.
All seven 2022 draft picks got their indoctrination and there were some bright moments in a 21-16 loss to the Lions at Ford Field.
The Giants led 13-3 at halftime, but their third units were outplayed in the second half.
Last year, head coach Brian Daboll opted to play his starters for the first quarter of the preseason opener against the Patriots.
His entire operation was new for the players and Daboll felt it was necessary to get the first units as much work as possible.
He balanced the risk of injury with the workload required to get his team ready for the regular season.
This year, Daboll went the more traditional route, keeping Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley and the other offensive starters and Dexter Lawrence, Kayvon Thibodeaux and the rest of the starters on defense in observer mode all night.
That does not mean there were no presumed starters in the game for the Giants.
Their first-round pick, Deonte Banks, is expected to start at cornerback and John Michael Schmitz, their second-round pick, is being groomed for the starting center job.
Both Banks and Schmitz started against the Lions, played the entire first half and gained needed experience.
Schmitz started at center on an offensive line that used two other players, Ben Bredeson at right guard and Joshua Ezeudu at left guard, who might find their way into the starting lineup.
Schmitz, out of Minnesota, has been working with the starters regularly this summer and it would be an upset if he is displaced.
There were no center exchange issues with Schmitz and quarterbacks Tyrod Taylor or Tommy DeVito, which is a good start.
“I’m pretty hard on myself,’’ Schmitz said. “I would just say I did a good job communicating out there, I know I can do better, just being a leader up front and making sure everyone’s on the same page. The first couple of snaps you just take it all in and then things just start clicking.’’
It was not a homecoming for Schmitz, but it was the next-best thing. He grew up in Flossmoor, Ill., a Chicago suburb about a 3 ¹/₂-hour drive from where he made his preseason debut.
Schmitz had about 15 family members in attendance to watch him play.
On defense, two rookies started at cornerback: Banks and sixth-round pick Tre Hawkins.
The Lions tested Hawkins on the very first play, sending Jameson Williams deep down the right sideline. Hawkins ran stride-for-stride with the receiver and quarterback Nate Sudfeld could not get enough on the throw because he was hit by Tomon Fox.
The ball floated into the waiting hands of safety Jason Pinnock for an interception.
It was the start of an impressive opening salvo by Pinnock, who is first in line to replace Julian Love (now with the Seahawks) as the starting strong safety opposite Xavier McKinney.
On the next offensive snap for the Lions, Pinnock dropped rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs for a 3-yard loss.
Three plays later, the Lions went for it on fourth-and-1 and Pinnock was on the scene in tight coverage on rookie tight end Sam LaPorta to force an incompletion.
The Giants got to see plenty from their rookie corners. It looked as if Banks had been beaten deep by Williams, but the Lions receiver dropped the ball as it fell into and then out of his hands while he was heading for the goal line.
Banks got a break there.
Later in the same series, Banks was targeted again, this time deep by Chase Cota. Banks bumped Cota as the pass fell to the turf.
A penalty flag was dropped and then picked up, allowing Banks to come off the field and forcing the Lions to settle for a field goal.
“I thought they did a pretty good job,’’ Daboll said of Banks and Hawkins. “Competitive, had some pass breakup, they went at ‘em a few times, a good learning experience for them to get as many reps as they did in their first game as an NFL player.’’
Taylor started at quarterback, did not get much protection up front and did not do much with the ball.
He went 3-for-4 for just 7 yards and rushed two times for 7 yards before he was replaced late in the first quarter by DeVito, whose highlight for the evening was his touchdown pass to tight end Tommy Sweeney.
The two Tommys, New Jersey natives, were teammates for a year at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey.
