There are so many awards. Awards for rookies. Awards for the most valuable. Comeback awards. Awards for specific positions. Awards for offense, defense and special teams.
The honor Nick Gates received this week is the curiously named Ed Block Courage Award. Ed Block was a longtime athletic trainer for the Colts also known for his humanitarian work. The award is given to one player on each NFL team “who exemplif[ies] commitments to the principles of sportsmanship and courage.’’ It is determined by a vote of each team’s players, so each recipient of the award has been elected by his teammates.
That Gates received the honor is a testament to the effort he made in returning from a horrific leg injury that required seven surgeries. Unable to play for 410 days before he made his return earlier this season, his comeback reached its final stage on Thanksgiving, when he moved in as the starting center for injured Jon Feliciano and played all 64 snaps in a 28-20 loss to the Cowboys.
That this award has the word “courage’’ attached to it is noteworthy.
“Courage, it’s just showing that you’re not afraid, but showing that you can always keep going no matter what the case is,’’ Gates said. “If you’re hurt or you’re having a bad day, it doesn’t matter. Just keep moving forward and keep going forward with it. Keep working no matter what because there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel and you’ve just got to keep going.’’
Gates was a popular player before he became an inspirational player. He was not drafted out of Nebraska, and spent his 2018 rookie year on injured reserve after hurting his foot. A reserve in 2019, he started all 16 games at center in 2020, not allowing a sack. He was voted a team captain and started the first two games in 2021, but did not make it out of the Week 2 game in Washington. Playing left guard, Gates got tangled up with a bunch of other bodies and went down, holding his head in pain. He suffered fractures to his left tibia and fibula. He recalls seeing his mangled leg facing the wrong direction.
The gruesome leg injury Nick Gates suffered in Week 2 last season against Washington sidelined him for more than a calendar year before he made it back for the Giants in late October.Getty ImagesA variety of procedures were needed to stabilize the leg. He experienced a setback when an infection in the bone was detected and the rod holding the leg in place had to be removed and replaced. For a short time, there was even a fear he might have to lose part of the leg.
“To be honest with you, I just took it step by step, day by day,’’ Gates said this week. “I never tried to look too far ahead and didn’t look in the past. What happened happened, and I can’t control that part of it. So all I can control is my attitude and what I did every day. I just tried to put one foot in front of the other and just keep going. So that’s all I tried to tell myself.’’
Gates endured. He went through his rehab at the Giants’ facility and his teammates saw him every day, working to get back, not feeling sorry for himself as others took his place on the offensive line. He was not ready at the start of this season, but on Oct. 26, he was activated off the physically unable to perform list. In Week 8 in Seattle, he made his return to the field when he played five snaps as a blocking tight end. The next week against the Titans, he played 13 snaps while filling the same extra tight end role. When Feliciano went out in the second half of the loss to the Lions, Gates returned to the interior of the line, finishing out the game with 25 snaps at center.
Four days later, he started against the Cowboys and did more than fill in. He played well. He compiled the second-highest run-blocking grade of any Giants offensive lineman this season, according to Pro Football Focus, topped only by left tackle Andrew Thomas’ work against the Panthers in Week 2.
To Gates, the award came as a bit of a surprise because he figured wide receiver Sterling Shepard (coming off a torn Achilles) or quarterback Daniel Jones (coming off a neck injury) would win the vote.
Gates initially returned to the Giants offensive line as a blocking tight end before taking over at center for an injured Jon Feliciano.Getty Images“It’s definitely meaningful … even more so that my teammates voted on it,’’ Gates said. “They saw me every day last year putting in the hard work to get back to where I was and all the struggles and all the things I had to overcome. It felt pretty good to get my name called, especially with the two other guys that were in the group with me. … That’s a good group to get picked out of, and it’s an honor.’’
As a recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award, Gates enters into an association with the Courage House National Support Network for Kids and now becomes an Ambassador of Courage for victims of abuse, violence and neglect.
Despite his modest pedigree as an undrafted player, Gates has often taken a leadership role on the team, in his own way.
“I definitely try to take the vocal lead when it’s my turn,’’ he said. “When I’m the center, I feel like until Daniel is in the huddle, it’s my huddle and I’m going to take over as that guy. And once Daniel steps in, it’s his. But I feel like … every center has to kind of be the leader of the group and set the tone. They’ve just got to make sure everybody’s going in the right direction and just go play hard.’’
Playing hard never has been an issue for Gates. He brings an agitator quality to the field, similar to the way Rich Seubert often was the instigator of practice altercations when he was with the Giants for a decade (2001-2010). If there is a skirmish in training camp, Gates often is involved.
Same goes on game days.
Late in the Thanksgiving Day loss to the Cowboys, outside linebacker Micah Parsons was called for unnecessary roughness penalty for going at Gates, who said he goaded Parsons into punching him in the face.
The Cowboys’ Micah Parsons was so frustrated with playing against Gates, he drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Thanksgiving.Getty Images“That’s just my game,’’ Gates said. “I feel like I’ve always been that guy, and it doesn’t matter who it is. If it’s Micah or if it was anybody else, I think it’s just what I do. I just play hard, and I kind of get under people’s skins and they don’t like that.’’
Parsons did not, and he took to Twitter to post about Gates: “Play dirty, take cheap shots and try to hurt other opponents!”
Though the 7-4 Giants are saddled with a two-game losing skid heading into Sunday’s critical game against the Commanders at MetLife Stadium, Gates’ return to the fold could be a boost the Giants need down the stretch. Feliciano was dealing with a neck issue and might be ready to return, but the decision on who starts at center will be based on performance and not availability. There is also a chance Gates moves in at left guard, a position in flux ever since Ben Bredeson went out because of a knee injury.
Gates, who turned 27 this past Sunday, could benefit, too. He is not under contract for 2023, and needs to impress this new coaching staff. Playing well down the stretch, showing that his rebuilt left leg can withstand the demands of life in the NFL trenches, helping the Giants get into the playoffs for the first time since 2016 all are factors that would work in his favor.
“We’ll see,’’ Gates said. “I’ve just got to play, put some good film out there and just play the way I play. Do what I’ve got to do. I feel like center or wherever it’s at, I’m going to play hard and try to put the best tape on the film.’’
Full contact
The Giants returned to work Tuesday after having a three-day weekend off following their Thanksgiving Day loss to the Cowboys. The brief respite allowed coach Brian Daboll to put his team through a full-pads practice, something that is quite rare this late in the season.
Brian Daboll has shown good instincts for when he can push his players to go hard in practice and when they need a bit of a breather.Noah K. MurrayThe last time the Giants engaged in a full-pads practice was leading into the Week 10 game against the Texans.
“I think practicing in the things that you’re wearing [in a game] help,’’ coach Brian Daboll said. “Obviously, we’ve done a lot of it all the way up until now. You want to make sure you’re taking care of the players. They’re fresh. They’ve had a couple days off. So, again, I think this was a good day to do it.’’
It was a good move by Daboll. He needs to find out which of his offensive linemen are healthy and ready to play, and there is no better way to glean this information than by watching the big guys in pads trying to move the big guys on the defensive line.
Figuring out when to turn the intensity up and when to pull back is a challenge for a first-year head coach, but one for which Daboll seems to have a good feel.
Asked and answered
Here are two questions that have come up recently that we will attempt to answer as accurately as possible:
Why didn’t the Giants put guys such as tight end Daniel Bellinger and right tackle Evan Neal on injured reserve? It was pretty clear they were going to have to miss at least four games, which is the minimum required for players on IR.
While there was always some hope the two rookies could have beaten the anticipated time frame, the real reason why the Giants did not put them on IR is a team can only bring a maximum of eight players off IR during the season. The Giants already have used this designation on cornerback Rodarius Williams, outside linebacker Elerson Smith, guard Ben Bredeson, outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari, guard Shane Lemieux, safety Tony Jefferson and cornerback Aaron Robinson. That leaves them with only one more IR spot to use for a player they believe will be able to return. Sure, if they put Neal or Bellinger on IR, they would have freed up a roster spot, but the Giants are filling the back end of their roster with practice squad elevations and activations. It goes to show just how much transactional digital paperwork goes into navigating a season.
Evan Neal has missed the past four weeks with a knee injury, but NFL transaction rules prompted the Giants to not place him on IR.Bill KostrounThe Giants and Commanders play each other twice in a three-week stretch. Does this favor one team over the other?
It is a strange deal. The Commanders play the Giants on Sunday at MetLife Stadium and then enter their bye week, meaning they will face the Giants on Dec. 17 or 18 in Washington as a well-rested team. Meanwhile, the Giants will face the Eagles, the team with the best record in the NFL, in between their games with the Commanders. The Giants have a slight advantage in this first meeting in that they played on Thanksgiving and will have had 10 days to get ready. The Commanders defeated the Falcons, 19-13, this past Sunday, and they will come in with their normal rest. Here is one theory: Playing the same opponent twice in three weeks favors the team that wins the first game.
