Lets start with the offense shall we. The team went 0-6 to start the year, before finishing out strong, ending the year at 7-9. Now Kevin Gilbride, the offensive coordinator from last year, decided to hang up the clipboard. Enter Ben McAdoo, who is now in charge of trying to improve this offense. And he has a lot on his plate. McAdoo is trying to implement a West Coast Offense, which is already a tough enough task. Now try doing it with a quarterback in Eli Manning who is coming off a very rough year last year and throw in some of the other problems the offense has. The O-line is already reeling with the loss of guard Geoff Schwartz to a dislocated big toe for an indefinite period. Speed at the receiver position has been reduced with first-round draft pick Odell Beckham Jr. fighting a hamstring injury since training camp opened.
Big Blue's offense really has gone through an overhaul heading into this year. With the new offense that McAdoo is trying to install, it calls for a more up tempo style of play that the Giants are going to have to get used to quick. This new style utilizes quick releases, with short, precise routes and high completion percentages. If Beckham ever gets healthy, Manning has the receivers with veterans Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle. The running game also has potential with free-agent signee Rashad Jennings and rookie Andre Williams. The line is the question mark with tackles Will Beatty and Justin Pugh the only returnees.
Right now, on paper at least, the Giants offense looks like a small mess heading into the start of the season. The offensive line doesn't look like it knows what its doing, and to a degree looks about as bad as last years line did at the start of the year. Eli isn't much better off either. If the Giants even want to sniff the playoffs this year, Eli has to put last year behind him and return, somewhat, to form. If Eli turns in a repeat performance that he had last year, then the Giants are going to be in the exact same place.
That's just the offense. There has been an upside to this Giants team.
The defense got better. For quite a while, the front seven for the Giants made the secondary look great. Now it appears it might be the other way around this year. The biggest threat on the Giants line has to be Jason Pierre-Paul. JPP had a down year last year, but from every indication, he is back in top form, which is what fans saw from him back in 2011, when the Giants last won a Superbowl. Heading into his fifth pro season, the Giants need him to step up. When he is good, the 25-year-old can dominate with his speed, strength and athleticism. Then there's a vastly improved secondary. In fact this may be the best secondary that Tom Coughlin has had as Giants coach. He now has Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Antrel Rolle, Quintin Demps and Prince Amukamara to shut down opposing receivers.
So the Giants defense can, and should be able to, keep the Giants in a lot of games. The big question is going to be the offense and how well it can click.
Here's the Giants schedule for this season:
1 September 8 7:10 p.m. EDT at Detroit Lions Ford Field
2 September 14 1:00 p.m. EDT Arizona Cardinals MetLife Stadium
3 September 21 1:00 p.m. EDT Houston Texans MetLife Stadium
4 September 25 8:25 p.m. EDT at Washington Redskins FedEx Field
5 October 5 1:00 p.m. EDT Atlanta Falcons MetLife Stadium Fox
6 October 12 8:30 p.m. EDT at Philadelphia Eagles Lincoln Financial Field
7 October 19 4:25 p.m. EDT at Dallas Cowboys AT&T Stadium Fox
8 Bye
9 November 3 8:40 p.m. EST Indianapolis Colts MetLife Stadium
10 November 9 4:25 p.m. EST at Seattle Seahawks CenturyLink Field
11 November 16 1:00 p.m. EST San Francisco 49ers MetLife Stadium
12 November 23 8:30 p.m. EST Dallas Cowboys MetLife Stadium
13 November 30 1:00 p.m. EST at Jacksonville Jaguars EverBank Field
14 December 7 1:00 p.m. EST at Tennessee Titans LP Field
15 December 14 1:00 p.m. EST Washington Redskins MetLife Stadium
16 December 21 4:05 p.m. EST at St. Louis Rams Edward Jones Dome
17 December 28 1:00 p.m. EST Philadelphia Eagles MetLife Stadium
Big Blue has veteran experience that was brought in to plug in the holes they had from last season. One benefit the team has this year is that they play in a relatively weak NFC Eastern Division. So there is still an outside chance for the G-Men to take the division this year, but a lot really has to go right. The team's offense really has to click and Eli Manning has to have a better year than the one he did last year. That defense can keep them in the games every night but the offense has to show up and support their D.
Best Case Scenario: 9-7 maybe 10-6
For that to happen, three things must fall into place, and they are all related to that offense. The team needs to click with Ben McAdoo's west coast style. The Offensive line needs to do its job and protect Eli Manning and get the running game established. Finally Eli Manning has to play better. If he can cut down his turnover numbers from last year the Giants are going to be in great shape.
Worst Case Scenario: 7-9
Well this is pretty self explanatory. The offense could have an exact repeat of last year. The Line could suck again, the running backs can hold onto the football and Eli Manning keeps turning the ball over again. Simple as that.
Final Record: 8-8
The Giants made improvements to their team, but with the offensive line still a question mark and with Eli somewhat uncertain about his ability, you really don't know what to expect with the Giants. So with everything thrown into consideration, this is where I see the Giants finishing.
No comments:
Post a Comment