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EAST RUTHERFORD Mark Bavaro Jerseys Stitched , N.J. (AP) — Evan Engram understands that he has all the tools to be a top tight end in the NFL.The New York Giants‘ second-year player, the team’s first-round selection in 2017, has the size, speed and the drive to be a star.There’s only one problem. Engram has a propensity of dropping passes, especially in clutch situations.Engram caught 64 passes for 722 yards and six touchdowns last season. Engram also dropped 11 passes and vowed in the offseason to work on rectifying that problem.Now, in his second season, Engram has caught 17 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns, but he has also dropped three passes.“It’s pretty tough,” Engram said Thursday before the team practiced in preparation for facing the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night.“It’s not where I want to be. I have to put some of these plays behind me and keep working on getting better and staying positive.”Engram’s problems are also magnified because the Giants have a 1-7 record for the second straight season.“We just have to go out and get a win,” Engram said. “We have to get some of the bad tastes out of our mouths. It’s going to feel good to get out there on the big stage Monday night.”The Giants are coming off their bye week, which should make the beleaguered team feel a little better.“I think it’s important to put the bad things behind me Color Rush Darius Slayton Jersey ,” Engram said. “A couple of those drops are catches that I can make in my sleep. I just want to go out there and give us enough an opportunity to win the game Monday night.”Engram was the first rookie tight end to lead the Giants in receptions. His six touchdown catches were a franchise record for a rookie tight end in 2017.So the potential is there. He just has to make sure to hold on to the ball, something that coach Pat Shurmur also realizes.“Evan is a pass-catching tight end,” Shurmur said. “I think we all realize that. But it’s important that he catches the ball. He’s had a couple of drops. But he works at it. He has worked all along at catching the ball. He does a lot of drills, a lot of extra work. He works hard at catching the ball. He always puts the drop behind him and continues to work hard at trying to catch the ball.”Quarterback Eli Manning recognizes Engram’s passion for improving.“Evan works hard and wants to do everything right,” said Manning, who will remain the team’s starter for the time being. “He puts in a lot of work. He’s too good of a player and an athlete to let the little things bother him.”Manning knows that the Giants have had their difficulties scoring touchdowns this season.“I feel like we’re moving the ball well,” Manning said. “We’re getting yards and moving the ball down the field. We just need that to translate into scoring touchdowns. It always comes down to execution. We have to avoid the negative plays. We just have to execute better in the red zone.”Manning did not want to talk about whether Monday night’s game against the Niners might be his last as a starter this season.“I’m worried about this week,” he said. “I have a job to do right now. We’re just going to try to go out there and get the win this time. Sure, there’s a sense of urgency. We all need to get going. We need to improve. We need to score some points. I feel like we’re close. We just have to get back on track, keep improving and play some football.”The improvement might have to begin with the second-year tight end.“I watch film of other tight ends,” Engram said. “There are a lot of athletic tight ends in the league Youth Darius Slayton Jersey , so I try to pick up plays that can make me more effective. I love watching (Kansas City TE) Travis Kelce. He’s so polished and smooth as a tight end. It’s fun watching him. I always try to steal things from him.”So Engram took the practice field Thursday with the idea that the dropped passes, 14 over his first 1½ seasons, are a thing of the past.“I think we all strive for perfection,” Engram said. “I just have to put it (the dropped passes) behind me. I understand that it’s part of the game and it’s something that makes you work harder.”NOTES: Shurmur continued to hint that newly acquired OG Jamon Brown might start Monday night, just a week after being claimed on waivers from the Los Angeles Rams. “We’re putting him in there and getting him ready like he’s going to start,” Shurmur said of Brown. “He’s a big man, a really big man (6-foot-4 and 340 pounds). He was a starter on a team that won more than 10 games last year. He’s a really fast learner.” … Standout safety Landon Collins did not want to comment on a report that said the Giants were either going to place the franchise tag on him for next season or work on a long-term contract. “There has been no talk about that,” Collins said. “When we get to that, we get to that. If something happens, I’ll let you know.” … Manning said that he spoke with QB Kyle Lauletta about his arrest last week for motor vehicle violations in Weehawken, N.J. “It’s a tough situation for him Womens Darius Slayton Jersey ,” Manning said. “I’m trying to support him. This whole thing will be forgotten about and will be water under the bridge very shortly.”Giants at Panthers: Can the Giants offense get on track against Carolina? The New York Giants will try to get the offense back on track against the Carolina Panthers. It won’t be an easy task against one of the league’s most athletic defenses, even if it hasn’t exactly been up to its previous standards early in the season. The Giants, meanwhile have some problems that need to be worked out, but at least those problems can be identified. Let’s take a look at what to watch when the Giants have the ball in this matchup:By the numbersFor more explanation of these numbers, go here.The deep stuffIt’s been a topic of discussion all week and for most of the season so far — the ball just isn’t going down the field on offense. Per Next Gen Stats, Eli Manning has the fourth-lowest intended air yards among qualified quarterbacks. Two of the quarterbacks below him — Sam Bradford and Blaine Gabbert — are not their current starters on their teams. Among full-time starters, only Blake Bortles than thrown shorter average passes.We don’t need to get into the reasons why there haven’t been many downfield passes, but we can get into why that needs to change.Without the threat of a deep ball, there’s a ceiling put on the offense. It’s a tough ask for the offense to drive down the field and get into the end zone when the offense is only averaging 5.1 yards per play. Carolina could be a team to exploit here — the Panthers are 30th in big-play rate allowed on defense.There are some potentially easy fixes to this problem:Get Odell Beckham involved earlyBy now you’ve seen the collection of Odell Beckham deep targets from this season. There was a mixture of opinions that came from posting that, but one of the things that struck me about it while putting it together was how late in the game most of them came. Half of them were in the fourth quarter. Only two were in the first quarter. Last week against the New Orleans Saints, the Giants tried to get Beckham involved early but did so by giving him and end-around handoff. Instead of that Authentic Darius Slayton Jersey , letting Beckham go deep or even closer to intermediate on the first drive of the game could get him, Eli Manning, and the offense in better rhythm.More downfield routesThis isn’t meant to mean a higher volume, but instead more routes on a given play. There have been a number of plays with deep routes called that only have two deep routes with a check down option. That’s limiting the potential to stretch out the defense and will rarely give the offense a numbers advantage deep. Route combinations are built with the purpose of trying to make a defender pick between covering one route or the other. With limited options downfield, that decision doesn’t have to made and it’s easier to cover.Spread ‘em outAnother way to put stress on the defense is to use spread formations with a tight end and/or running back in the slot or outside. It gives the offense a potential mismatch should the defense stay in base personnel without the offense running out four or five wide receivers. This should open up more possibilities down the field and limit the number of pass rushers coming. And if not, there should be an open outlet receiver. It’s something the Giants have used, but not enough.Strength vs. strengthCarolina’s defense has been a bit of a disappointment so far this season compared to where it has been in the past — 20th in yards allowed per drive and 15th in points allowed per drive. But there are places where the Panthers defense has been just as good as expected. Carolina is eighth in DVOA defending against No. 1 receivers, sixth against No. 2 receivers, and ninth against running backs in the passing game (hello, Luke Kuechly and Shaq Thompson). Well, that just happens to be where the Giants’ strengths are on offense. Meanwhile Darius Slayton Jersey Boys , the Panthers are 22nd in DVOA against “other” wide receivers and 30th against tight ends — but the Giants don’t have legitimate threats at those positions at the moment. Shadow coverageGoing back to those numbers against No. 1 receivers — the Panthers have allowed James Bradberry to follow opposing top receivers. Per PFF, Bradberry was on Julio Jones for 70.4 percent of Jones’s routes and allowed four receptions and 46 yards on seven targets. In Week 3, Bradberry was on A.J. Green for 55.6 percent of Green’s routes with two receptions for 12 yards on five targets. Among 71 qualified cornerbacks, Bradberry ranks 28th in yards allowed per pass and 30th in success rate, per Sports Info Solutions charting from Football Outsiders. Those numbers are almost identical to Jalen Ramsey this seasonOn the other side, rookie Donte Jackson ranks 17th in yards allowed per pass and 37th in success rate.Preventing pressureStopping opposing pressure is always going to be a key for the Giants’ offensive line. That’s especially true against this Panthers defensive line. Carolina hasn’t been a team that has created a ton of pressure — the Panthers rank just 20th in defensive pressure rate — but the line has been one that converts those pressures into sacks when they do. The Panthers are 11th in raw sack rate and 14th in Football Outsiders’ adjusted sack rate.Kawann Short has been able to penetrate from the interior with two sacks on four quarterback hits and 5.5 pressures. Mario Addison, who was a regression candidate due to his high sack conversion rate last season, is again converting with 2.5 sacks on three quarterback hits and four pressures.Pace of playThe Giants have been one of the slowest offenses in the league through the first quarter of the season. They rank 31st in seconds per play in neutral situations — basically, non-garbage time plays — per Football Outsiders. A slow offense that doesn’t gain a whole lot of yards is not the greatest way to try to compete in 2018.Now the Giants don’t need to go full Chip Kelly, but running a little more hurry up and no huddle could be a benefit to creating mismatches against the defense. This slow pace is also not what Shurmur worked with last season in Minnesota when the Vikings were seventh in seconds per play in neutral situations then slowed down to 25th with a lead of seven points or more.