#we overran their tag and it may never return

[needtherapy]

soaring, carried aloft on the wind...continued 19

A story for Xichen and Mingjue, in another time and another place.

The Beifeng, the mighty empire of the north, invaded more than a year ago, moving inexorably south and east.

In order to buy peace, the chief of the Lan clan has given the Beifeng warlord a gift, his second oldest son in marriage. However, when Xichen finds out he makes a plan.

He, too, can give a gift to the Beifeng warlord, and he will not regret it.

Part 1: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 Part 2: 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / ... HOME

It’s complete on AO3 here.

Notes: Check the tags if you’re concerned about the pairings ;)

For translations of the entirely fictitious Beifeng language, you’ll have to scroll to notes. I’m only going to translate something that’s not clear in the text. Sadly, there’s just not any other good way to do it on Tumblr!

Chapter 19 Earlier

They may have been technically in an armistice, but it did not escape Xichen’s notice that the scouts still patrolled, and groups of Ikarahu soldiers still rode out in the evenings. Trust, Xichen thought, but not without contingency.

Still, it meant that Xichen had less to do during his days. He still spent mornings with the healers and time working with Mingjue, but there were fewer injuries to heal and fewer decisions to make. It had been too cold to sword fight, sometimes even too cold to ride. It hadn’t taken long for him to grow bored with so many idle afternoons.

Fortunately, Guangyao had expressed interest in deepening his knowledge of the guqin, and it became a welcome distraction in Xichen’s day. Xichen had been uncertain of the wisdom of befriending him at first, but Guangyao made no demands of him and kept a respectful distance, letting Xichen guide their conversations, and eventually, Xichen found that he liked the man’s quiet, thoughtful company.

Sometimes they spoke of poetry, as they had discovered a mutual appreciation for the poetry of Mu Bai, one of the greatest pastoral poets in their country’s history. Sometimes they shared tea and talked about the strange world they had found themselves in and the peculiarities of living in an army camp.

And sometimes, they spoke of home.

Obliquely, of course. Xichen preferred not to share details of his family, and Guangyao was, if anything, more reticent about his life in Jinlin Tai. But they could speak of their cities, the infrastructure, the people, their day-to-day tasks. As much as Xichen valued Qingyang and Huaisang, it wasn’t the same as having a friend who understood the position and life he’d left. Guangyao could laugh with Xichen about the famously disastrous contract between the Wen and the Zhao two decades ago that ended with the dissolution of two marriages, the return of the silk dowry that had already been made into dresses, and a vow that the Wen would never drink Zhao tea again. He sympathized with the failed compact between Xichen’s uncle and Yunmeng, although in the end, that alliance had been made stronger through a triad of exchanges that cost the Cloud Recesses fewer concessions. He told funny stories of bickering merchants in Jinlin Tai and Xichen told stories of escaped goats. It made him miss his home both less and more to talk about it, and he thought he saw the same wistfulness in Guangyao.

Today, however, at the time they usually sat to play, he was surprised to find Guangyao’s tent occupied with other people.

Mingjue was sitting in a chair, leaning over a map on the table. Qingyang was holding a brush over a map she seemed to be guarding, never fond of anyone touching her maps, and especially not fond of Guangyao around them. He had, only once, debated the placement of a territory border, and she clearly had not forgiven him. Guangyao and Huaisang were having an animated discussion about...something Xichen didn’t catch because as soon as Mingjue saw him, he grinned, mouth tipping up at one corner, eyes crinkling at the corners, and Xichen’s focus narrowed to the beloved shape of his face.

“Aitapaho, come. Sit,” Mingjue beckoned.

Xichen set down his guqin and sat in the chair next to Mingjue, which Mingjue moved closer, cupping the nape of Xichen’s neck to kiss his forehead and nose, the warmth of his mouth spreading slowly across Xichen’s skin. Always so demonstrative, Xichen thought, but he couldn’t help smiling.

“Are you finished?” Huaisang asked, with a disgruntled huff. “Guangyao was just explaining the route the Jin supply chain takes from Ganyu, and I would very much like to discuss how we can remove it.”

“No no, please continue. I am taking note of the different shades of red Huaisang has turned for mixing colors later,” Qingyang interrupted, laughing when Huaisang flicked a map weight in her direction.

Xichen folded his hands in his lap serenely. “I would not interrupt your work. I can not speak for your brother.”

Mingjue’s hands closed around Xichen’s, and he pulled them to his mouth, blowing hot air on Xichen’s chilled fingers, grazing the knuckles with his lips and looking at Xichen in a way that made his stomach flop agreeably. “I do not interrupt you either,” he said, and Huaisang snorted.

Xichen tilted a smile in his direction, and Mingjue sat back, pleased with himself, still holding Xichen’s hands. “Go on, Guangyao,” he encouraged magnanimously. “We are all here.”

Guangyao appeared as annoyed by the interruption as Huaisang, but he only let out a small, aggravated sigh and began pointing to spots on the map again. Qingyang marked the path he indicated with swift, light touches. Xichen could see that they were marking a route leading north from Jinlin Tai and skirting the coast to a tiny harbor on the sea.

“Will destroying it not violate the armistice, anati?” Xichen asked Huaisang.

He reached out to Kitingi, standing on the padded leather perch Guangyao had made for her, feathers fluffed around her. She closed her eyes in avian rapture as Xichen scratched the back of her neck, and Xichen peeked at Guangyao out of the corner of his eye.

His face was perfectly relaxed, and he seemed entirely unconcerned that he was giving the enemy of his father valuable military intelligence. Was it genuine? A dangerous ruse? Xichen couldn’t read the small expressions of his face easily. Or rather, he didn’t always understand what he saw on Guangyao’s face. They sometimes twinged against the back of his mind like an untuned guqin string, and he couldn’t be sure if what he saw was true or calculated.

It was Guangyao who answered. “No, not if the disruption is a natural disaster. There is allowance in the agreement for the inherent unpredictability of nature. The caravan travels over this bridge.” He pointed to a river on the map. “It is guarded well, but if there was a sudden flood and the river overran its banks, who would be to blame? The next time it rains, the bridge could very well be washed away, and it would be an insurmountable setback. If the timing was right, someone enterprising might even find the supplies from the next caravan washed downstream.”

Qingyang turned what looked like the start of a laugh into a grimace, and Huaisang’s eyes widened in mock horror. “Guangyao, do you think the Ikarahu can create rain?"

It wasn’t quite fair to say they could create rain, nor could they stop it, as Xichen had found. But they could make the air fill with water from one part of the river and move it to another, and it would, Xichen thought, look a lot like rain. Especially to the Jin.

Guangyao flushed and shrugged, and Huaisang laughed, a quick chuckle. “That clever bit of advice comes very close to admitting you know more about our magic than you have previously acknowledged.”

To Xichen, he sounded admiring, but Guangyao dipped his head and hunched his shoulders away from Huaisang as though he expected a reprimand. “You cannot fault me for being observant.”

Huaisang bumped his arm against Guangyao’s, and the man looked up in surprise. “It wasn’t an insult, it was a compliment. I’ll be more clear in the future. This has...you have been a great help.”

The expression on Guangyao’s face was, for a moment, so unguarded, so stunned, Xichen wondered if it was the first compliment he’d ever received.

“Yes, Yao-ti, thank you,” Mingjue agreed, and he leaned forward, catching Guangyao’s attention and waiting until he nodded acknowledgement with a tentative smile before sitting back and folding his arms thoughtfully.

“Whatever magic you use, if it is possible, aim for subtlety, Oringa’anhu Ikira,” Guangyao added. “My father is not an idiot.”

“Are you sure?” Huaisang asked, and Qingyang looked away, eyes dancing with mirth. “But I find subtlety so overrated.”

“I am.” Guangyao‘s words were tight and clipped. “You would be an idiot if you underestimate him.”

“Ah, Yao-ti,” Mingjue smiled indulgently. “Aurakat is often an idiot, but he is not a fool. Da ati eko anha, Aurakat? Roka et kindio di amau daku?” he asked, glancing back at Guangyao. “Heti pia amau daku.”

Huaisang clicked his tongue and grumbled, “Em ekos auha kindio eta iraminga, anakau.”

He didn’t seem truly offended by Mingjue’s question, and Xichen glanced at Guangyao to see if understood Mingjue’s meaning. Guangyao’s face seemed relaxed, but for one fleeting moment, his fingers flexed and his jaw tightened, long enough for Xichen to be certain. He did realize that Mingjue was including him as one of their people to protect. Strangely, though, he did not seem pleased and Xichen wondered why.

“Is this a good idea?” he asked, and Huaisang tipped his head curiously.

“Why wouldn’t it be, Xichen? It’s such minor magic, anakau could do it himself, but if it makes you feel better, I will order him to take a squad.” He grinned impishly and Mingjue shook his head.

“He teases. We will be careful, aitapaho.” He looked smug, and Xichen sighed but didn’t argue. They were a formidable team, and he trusted that they knew what they were doing. And yet, he couldn’t help thinking they were taking such a risk based on the word of a man they barely knew.

A few days later, though, Xichen had a different reason to be displeased.

He should not have intruded. It was ill-bred of him to enter Guangyao’s tent without permission, but he thought of him as a friend he could share worry with, and Mingjue had been gone for several days, longer than he had expected.

Evidently, he had returned.

Mingjue was sprawled on the wood floor of the tent in only his tunic and pants, his armor in a heap next to him. Huaisang was perched on a pillow, back to the door, but he turned to acknowledge Xichen with a brisk nod. Guangyao was standing barefoot on Mingjue’s back, as graceful as a dancer, walking in tiny, careful steps next to his spine. He stopped and shifted, bending at the knees to press his weight down, and Mingjue let out a heartfelt groan that pierced Xichen with an icy dagger.

Guangyao looked up and tipped his head, noticing Xichen watching.

“You will have to teach this…” Mingjue groaned again and Xichen’s lips tightened. “...massage to our healers, Yao-ti.”

Without looking away, Guangyao smiled, toothy and inviting, his dimples like punctures in his cheeks. “I am yours to command, Ipira’orhew Ikira.”

Xichen’s eyes widened, unable to comprehend why Guangyao was looking at him like that, and yet speaking to Mingjue the way he was. It was unsettling, and he let his glance slide away, down at Huaisang, who was looking up at Guangyao, eyebrows drawn together in a pensive frown.

Mingjue chuckled, a flat and pained sound. “I command you...to teach…this...” he said between grunts as Guangyao dug his toes into the muscle on Mingjue’s lower back.

“Then I will do whatever you want,” Guangyao answered, lifting on the balls of his feet at the curve of Mingjue’s buttocks, like he was about to jump, before settling back on his heels. He lightly stepped back to the floor and Mingjue rolled over, twisting his neck and back on the floor like a wriggling puppy.

“What do you think I want, Yao-ti?” he asked softly, stretching his head to the side and raising his eyebrows.

Huaisang stood so quickly he knocked the pillow across the room. “I want dinner,” he huffed and stormed out.

Perhaps “storm” was too dramatic of a word. He walked the way he always did, with a lilting step and a smirk at Xichen, but there was something tight in his jaw Xichen did not like. He felt the same tension on his own face. Guangyao didn’t look at Huaisang, not even when he slapped open the tent flap, instead, fixing his gaze on the ground just beyond Mingjue’s shoulder. Mingjue met Xichen’s eyes, though, like he had just noticed him, like he wanted to ask something, like he would say something that mattered. Xichen didn’t wait for him to collect the words.

“My apologies for interrupting, Ipira’orhew Ikira, Jin-gongzi.”

Xichen found it depressingly simple to hide the chill in his voice and the hurt in his eyes behind the half smile of ingrained civility that had always protected him. The ingrained civility also thought he should explain himself. It told him he should offer plausible excuses for leaving. But he didn’t. He just followed Huaisang out into the cold.

Notes: Da ati eko anha, Aurakat? Roka et kindio di amau daku. Heti pia amau daku? = Can you do it, Aurakat? Without endangering our people? Any of our people? Em ekos auha kindio eta iraminga, anakau. = I would not endanger the armistice, elder brother.

[josephkitchen0]

Fire Evacuation Procedures for Your Livestock

By Mary Wilson – The year 2013 was an informative and challenging year for Half Creek Farm in Bickleton, Washington. In late July and early August, we got our first “opportunity” to give farm fire evacuation procedures a try. We pretty much sucked at it.

I raise Kiko goats, British White cattle, Gotland sheep, a llama and a Holstein heifer. We also run a small herd of British Guernsey milk goats. We are raising geese, a zillion free-range chickens, ducks and three dogs.

Our animals are generally very gentle and used to us handling and touching them. We don’t have any craziness here (in the livestock sense). This fact led me to anticipate that should I ever need to put our fire evacuation procedures to the test, it would be a fairly simple thing to load all my gentle, well-behaved animals into the horse trailers and canopy and, away we’d go. Hah! That is not what happened.

Our best chicken secrets revealed with this FREE guide!

Even old pros say they got dozens of tips for their flocks by reading this guide. YES! I want this Free Guide »

First, and foremost, you need to realize that all those friendly, sweet, easy to handle animals become raving lunatics when they sense something is wrong. My sweet Daisy (one of the British White cows) jumped her enormous girth (which I had no idea was even possible) onto a four-foot cattle panel and squashed it in half to escape the loading pen I’d thrown together. In spite of my warnings of oncoming barbecue weather, it took hours to lure Iris (the other British White heifer) into the horse trailer. That’s when I discovered that two of these girls weren’t going to fit in the horse trailer. So I took Iris and the llama to our friends’ farm in Goldendale (30 miles), dropped them off, and headed back. Daisy was having none of it, and ended up never being loaded out.

All of the meat goats were loaded up into the big horse trailer and hauled to Centerville, Washington (40 miles). When I arrived to unload the goats I discovered that one of my really nice registered Kiko doelings was crushed in the load. Not only is this heartbreaking, it’s a financial hit, as fire evacuation procedures are not cheap!

I unloaded the goats into the pasture provided by a friend’s farm and fed them to help settle them down. I was sharing a fence line with her goats, which made me nervous, and I didn’t have time to reinforce the fence between the two herds. This proved problematic, as the hay is always greener on the other side, and her herd broke through the fence and mixed with mine. That meant that a few months after I got my herd home I had to have the whole group blood tested for CL and CAE. Another expense I hadn’t counted on from our fire evacuation procedures.

I didn’t even try to move the poultry as part of the fire evacuation procedure, choosing instead to shelter in place. We have a large area behind one of the barns that’s void of grass and debris, and we put food and water out hoping for the best. The dogs stayed with us the whole time, traveling in the trucks while we moved livestock. The cats disappeared into the woods, not bothering to look to us for saving them.

Then we loaded the dairy goats and took them to a third farm. The dairy goats were near kidding and we were worried about them. We’d spent a lot of time and money having them AI’d and didn’t want to lose anyone. The people who owned the farm worked, which meant the girls would be alone for the day. They also didn’t know much about goats, so couldn’t tell when kidding was imminent, leaving us to check on them often. This farm was 25 miles from us on a side road.

Just when you think you’re finally set, you realize you’ve only begun with the hassle of the fire evacuation procedure. Once you have your animals moved, you are then responsible for making sure they get fed and watered. This was a really expensive challenge for us, as all of our shelter farms were about 30 miles away. We got up each morning and loaded up hay and buckets, and headed out to each farm to care for our animals. We couldn’t leave extra hay just sitting at our host farms because they had animals as well and their animals didn’t know our hay from their hay. So each day we’d drive out, feed and water all our animals, make sure they were doing okay, then in the evening we’d repeat it. One of the farms put the llama and the British White out on pasture so we didn’t have to do anything with them. This was so nice!

As we had feared, one of the British Guernsey dairy goats did indeed kid. We found her and her kid on one of our evening rounds and took her home, figuring if it got bad, we’d put her in the back seat of the car and run for it.

Dave made runs around our house and property with the Bobcat to help provide protection. There were tons of flying ash pieces in the air, and for weeks after the fire they remained on every surface on the farm. It’s amazing they didn’t start more fires as some of them were really large.

We brought the animals home in waves, about five days later, and then sat down to make a new fire evacuation plan for next time. We live in the rural west and wildfires are a fact of life. We have to be prepared to evacuate. However, remember there are many other reasons to evacuate, or to be prepared for disasters. From floods, to earthquakes, to volcanoes, we pretty much have it all and should be ready to provide for our animals as well as our families. With this in mind, I’m sharing with you some of the things that might help you in times of uncertainty.

Level 1=Get Ready, Level 2=Set, Level 3=Go!

We began waking up to heavy smoke in the air and flying pieces of ash. The fire departments sent trucks down to warn everyone to get ready for fire evacuation procedures (Level 2). They started advising steps to take to help minimize damage if the fire overran their fire line. It was a tense time. The smoke in the air was a constant reminder that all was not well.

Another thing to remember is that local wildlife is also on the run. Once your animals are out, open your gates, fill the water troughs, and close up your barns. You don’t want others running from the fire to be cut off from escape, or trapped in your barn thinking it’s safe, or full of your hay.

Pay close attention to local authorities and when you are moved from Level 2 to Level 3, assume you won’t be permitted to re-enter your place once you’ve left. All your animals need to be rescued before this point.

Finally, try to make sure valuable farm equipment is under shelter, and you’ve cleared around the shelter as much as you’re able. By now we’ve all had it drilled into us to clear a defensible area around our houses, but you should also have that same area around your barns and storage shelters. No debris, scrap lumber, or usual farm “stuff” should be banked up near any structures. If it’s valuable enough to keep, put it under cover; otherwise toss it, or put it in a pile in the middle of a clear field and away from structures.

So, I’ve told you how we did it, now I’ll tell you things that we would do differently, and things we’ve learned for the first time we executed our fire evacuation procedures.

1. Your tame well-behaved animals will become strangers. They won’t follow you like they always do, they won’t pay attention to the dogs, they’ll run everywhere but where you want them. Have a good livestock handling area set up in advance. It will make your life easier anyway so just do it. Sturdy aisles, good-working gates, and a well-built loading area will make things so much better.

2. If you have a lot of animals be sure you have room for all of them at host farms. In the case of a fire, you can’t just board at your neighbor’s because he’s boarding somewhere too. You need to be far enough away from the disaster to provide safety. Setting up reciprocal agreements with other farmers in advance is something you can do this week!

3. If you have a lot of animals and it looks serious, start moving them when you reach Level 2 of your fire evacuation procedures. You may not be allowed back if you wait until a Level 3 and have to make several loads.

4. On your final trip, leave a horse trailer at the host farm. When you return to check on your animals the next morning, bring plenty of hay and store it in the trailer. This way you can take a more economical vehicle for the rest of the fire evacuation procedures as you won’t have to haul hay every day.

5. Make sure all of your animals have positive identification on them, whether it’s a brand, an ear tag or tattoo. Have current pictures of unmarked animals and keep accurate records of where everyone went. It’s easy to lose animals while they are hosting at someone else’s farm, especially if everyone is working and there’s no one to watch your animals.

6. If you have to leave an animal behind, don’t chain them, or contain them where they will be trapped. Place them in a cleared area with enough food and water for 72 hours. Don’t rely on automatic waterers as you may lose electricity.

7. Make sure the host farms have all your contact info. Place contact info on your door when you leave.

8. When you have completed your fire evacuation procedure, put a sign at the end of your drive, advising fire and rescue that you have evacuated. You don’t want them to waste precious time going in to check to make sure you are safe when you aren’t even there.

9. Be sure to take important papers like registrations, health records, and vaccinations.

10. If you are unable to evacuate all of your animals, you need to decide which genetics are the most valuable. Prioritize if you can’t take them all.

The 5 P’s of Executing Immediate Fire Evacuation Procedures:

People, pets, and livestock

Papers — important documents

Prescriptions — medications, eyeglasses, hearing aids

Pictures — Irreplaceable memories

Personal computer

Before a Fire Evacuation Procedure:

Make a list of priorities. What will you pack when you leave? Write it down so that if it ever comes up, you can pull your list and begin loading the car.

Keep a kit: This should include a first aid kit, some emergency tools, a battery powered radio and flashlight with extra batteries, a spare set of car keys, credit cards, cash, water, non-perishable food, blanket/sleeping bag, a waterproof tarp, all packed in a backpack or carryall so you can grab it and go. Keep several packed and in handy places, like one in each car, and one in the utility room.

Always establish two escape routes in case of disaster.

When you leave your home:

Leave your electricity on and a light on!

Move flammable furniture to the center of the room.

Close shutters, blinds, and heavy drapes. Remove light-weight drapes and curtains.

Close fireplace screens and dampers.

Shut all interior and exterior doors and leave them unlocked.

Place a note on the front door stating names of all evacuees and your destination/contact info.

Place a ladder outside for roof access.

Originally published in Countryside 2014 and regularly vetted for accuracy.

Fire Evacuation Procedures for Your Livestock was originally posted by All About Chickens

[usnewsaggregator-blog]

Giants Report Card: Grading Big Blue at the bye week

New Post has been published on https://usnewsaggregator.com/giants-report-card-grading-big-blue-at-the-bye-week/

Giants Report Card: Grading Big Blue at the bye week

Ben McAdoo refused in September to provide his grade for Eli Manning’s Week 1 performance.

“You want me to give you the grade for Eli?” McAdoo said, confounded by the question. “You think I’m going to stand up here and give you the grade for a player? No.”

And that’s where we come in. The Giants are 1-6 at their Week 8 bye, so it’s time to grade the players, coaches and management individually to reveal the biggest disappointments and the silver linings.

Players are listed by percentage of snaps played, rounded down, to illustrate both their durability and importance. They are evaluated by their play on the field and are not penalized for injuries. Here we go:

Cowboys cut Damontre Moore, who raised fist at end of anthem

Head coach Ben McAdoo gets a D at the bye week as Pat Leonard grades the 1-6 Giants.

(Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

MANAGEMENT

Jerry Reese, GM Grade: F

Misjudged team’s quality and needs, stuck with poor O-line, prioritized Brandon Marshall in free agency.

Ben McAdoo, Head Coach Grade: D

Poor play-calling, stubbornness, inconsistent discipline, 30th-ranked offense (16 points per).

Giants worked out former Idaho, Bills punter/kicker Austin Rehkow

Steve Spagnuolo, Defensive Coordinator Grade: D

A mystery why Giants defense forgot in offseason how to tackle, stop the run and protect leads.

OFFENSE

Eli Manning

(Al Bello/Getty Images)

Eli Manning, QB (100% of 445 offensive snaps played) Grade: C-

Evan Engram’s rookie season making Giants offense worth watching

Ranks 19th in NFL with 86.1 QB rating. Seven turnovers to 11 TDs. Let down by O-line & defense, too.

Ereck Flowers, LT (100%) Grade: D

Cost Giants enormously in Weeks 2 and 3. Tackles’ pass protection problems forced McAdoo to change entire offense.

Justin Pugh, RT/LG (91%) Grade: A

By taking responsibility, Jerry Reese giving reason to be fired

Tough, versatile, durable and the Giants’ most consistent lineman. Moved from left guard to right tackle.

John Jerry, LG/RG (87%) Grade: D+

Involved in a lot of the failed stunt block pickups and culpable in the poor run game.

Evan Engram, TE (80%) Grade: B+

Giants GM Jerry Reese takes the blame for 1-6 start

Special talent. Had growing pains, early TD celebration penalty and some drops, but he’s the offense’s best option and leads all NFL rookies in receiving yards.

Brett Jones, C (73%) Grade: A-

Beaten for a big Manning fumble in Week 7, but Jones’ strong play at center in Weston Richburg’s absence has been eye-opening.

Sterling Shepard, WR (61%) Grade: B+

Jerry Reese, with minimal moves, seemed to believe Giants ‘hype’

Was on his way to a big season until he reinjured his left ankle. Has played well when healthy.

Brandon Marshall

(Robert Deutsch/USA Today Sports)

Brandon Marshall, WR (57%) Grade: F

Never acclimated fully, dropped passes and looked disengaged. Preseason shoulder injury may have affected him more than he let on.

D.J. Fluker, RG (56%) Grade: C+

Sterling Shepard hoping to become leader with Giants

Has helped run game, but this team needed Fluker to have a better training camp to start in Week 1.

Weston Richburg

(Elsa/Getty Images)

Weston Richburg, C (54%) Grade: A-

Again the Giants’ second-best lineman behind Pugh before he suffered a concussion.

Roger Lewis Jr., WR (51%) Grade: D+

Don’t expect Giants to sit Eli Manning, says Ben McAdoo

Great TD catch vs. Chargers but made two huge mistakes as punt gunner: overran Detroit’s Jamal Agnew on TD return and failed to down ball outside end zone in Tampa.

Odell Beckham Jr., WR (47%) Grade: B

Game-changer when healthier (Weeks 3, 4) but had dog-peeing TD celebration and six drops, per Pro Football Focus.

Rhett Ellison, TE (46%) Grade: C+

As Giants spiral out of control, Ben McAdoo urges team to reset

Big missed tackle on Agnew’s punt return TD in Week 2. Valuable run blocker but underutilized early.

Bobby Hart, RT (36%) Grade: F

Though it’s a small sample size, when healthy, Hart has been even worse than Flowers.

Shane Vereen, RB (31%) Grade: D

6 tough decisions Giants need to make during bye week

Hasn’t made a noticeable difference. Lots of late-game yardage.

Paul Perkins, RB (24%) Grade: D

Can’t give Perkins an ‘F’ with how poorly line blocked for him and how few screens McAdoo called for him, but needs to be better when healthy.

Tavarres King, WR (23%) Grade: C

Giants sustain injuries to B.J. Goodson and Justin Pugh

Like Lewis, needs to make more of a difference as one of leaders of new receiving corps.

Orleans Darkwa, RB (23%) Grade: A

His 5.4 yards per carry average is no joke. Dropped a few passes in Week 5, but Darkwa, Pugh and Engram are the offense’s best.

Wayne Gallman, RB (21%) Grade: C+

Controversial touchdown call strikes again as Giants on short end

A hard, encouraging runner but has to work on ball security and needs to pop some big gains.

Travis Rudolph, WR (12%) Grade: D

Can’t understand why he and Manning were on such different pages against Seattle.

Jerell Adams, TE (8%): C-

No more false hope, Giants’ season is officially over

Huge catch vs. Lions but whiffed on his man on Seahawks’ blocked punt.

Matt LaCosse, TE (5%) Grade: B

Entered the offensive rotation with the three-TE set vs. Seattle. Has talent.

Shane Smith, FB (2%) Grade: B

Olivier Vernon kneels during national anthem for Giants again

Smith mostly blocked well before being released to practice squad. Special teams hurt him.

DEFENSE

Eli Apple, DB (93%) Grade: C-

First 3.5 weeks were horrible. Last 3.5 weeks he’s been better, sometimes excellent. But not enough.

Landon Collins (21)

(Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

Landon Collins, SS (93%) Grade: B-

Giants fall to Seahawks, 24-7, to drop to 1-6 as offense stumbles

Still a stud but beaten by Bucs’ Cameron Brate to seal Week 4 loss. Strong vs. Seattle but has more.

Darian Thompson, FS (93%) Grade: D+

Really difficult start. Seems to have corrected his tackling, but it hurt Giants badly early.

Jason Pierre-Paul, DE (92%) Grade: B-

Still a handful for opposing tackles, but hasn’t disrupted games often enough and did nothing in Tampa.

Janoris Jenkins, DB (82%) Grade: B

Still a top corner. Not the reason the Giants defense has struggled, other than Eagles’ final pass that Jenkins and Apple couldn’t knock down.

B.J. Goodson, MLB (58%) Grade: C+

Mean and tough and likeable leader but has struggled in pass coverage.

Devon Kennard, LB/DE (57%) Grade: C+

Quietly has played well at points, but needs to make more big plays like he did at times vs. Seahawks.

Damon Harrison, DT (57%) Grade: A

The only Giant defender to consistently dominate. Quiet most postgames, though.

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, DB (55%) Grade: F

The last thing this team needed at 0-5 was a veteran walking out of the facility in a huff.

Jonathan Casillas, LB (54%) Grade: D+

Not sure he was ever healthy, but struggled with tackling.

Dalvin Tomlinson, DT (53%) Grade: B

Athletic, disrupts offenses.

Keenan Robinson, LB (52%) Grade: C+

Back from a concussion, Robinson has been just OK but improving.

Olivier Vernon, DE (41%) Grade: B

Ankle injury was a killer. He’s a monster.

Jay Bromley, DT (37%) Grade: C+

Played well vs. the Seahawks.

Kerry Wynn, DE (32%) Grade: A

Giants’ most underrated player this season in terms of consistency, effectiveness and effort.

Ross Cockrell, DB (27%) Grade: D

Not a fan. His alarming decision to avoid a tackle against Detroit is impossible to forget.

Avery Moss, DE (20%) Grade: B-

Hard-nosed player but lack of speed has kept him from contributing on special teams.

Robert Thomas, DT (18%) Grade: D+

Not having a great year in limited playing time.

Calvin Munson, LB (18%) Grade: B-

Smart and diligent, a good special teamer, poised in Week 2 when starting at MLB.

Romeo Okwara, DE (15%) Grade: C-

Hasn’t had impact on games like he did as a rookie, took bad angle on Agnew’s punt return.

Donte Deayon, DB (12%) Grade: B-

Deserves more playing time.

Andrew Adams, FS (10%) Grade: B-

Hasn’t excelled in minimal defensive play but leads entire team in special teams snaps, a good backup.

Curtis Grant, LB (6%) Grade: B-

Want to see Grant play more. Has speed on special teams, just got into defensive rotation vs. ’Hawks.

Nat Berhe, SS (6%) Grade: B

Berhe isn’t on the field with the defense much, but whenever he is, he seems to make a play. Big special teams contributor.

Michael Hunter, DB (7%) Grade: A-

Had a great camp, lightning fast as a gunner in Denver. Deserved more opportunities before he got hurt.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Aldrick Rosas, K Grade: C-

Has missed a field goal in three straight games. Refused to address media after loss in Tampa.

Brad Wing, P Grade: D+

Shanks vs. Philly and Bucs cost Giants dearly.

Zak DeOssie, LS Grade: B

Reliable snapping and leadership but also victimized on Agnew’s return in Week 2.

Dwayne Harris, WR (45%) Grade: B-

Made several plays as a gunner, didn’t cost team with bad return decisions, but didn’t break any big ones before his season-ending toe injury.

Tags:

nfl

new york giants

Send a Letter to the Editor

Join the Conversation:

facebook

Tweet

Original Article:

Click here