Meeting the Enemy – Giants Edition
July 24, 2018
by Steve Thomas
Welcome to the third and final week of my NFC East preview series. We’ve already covered the Philadelphia Eagles (read it here) and the always hateful Dallas Cowboys (read it here), so now we come to the division’s worst team, the New York Giants. In some respects, the Giants are a bit of an enigma, with some significant talent on the roster, but also seemingly having made great strides in some ways. Let’s dive in.
2017 recap
3 – 13, 4th place
The major storyline for the Giants in 2017 was the status of quarterback Eli Manning, who was benched in favor of Geno Smith in week 13 against the Raiders. At the time, the Giants claimed that replacing Manning wasn’t for performance reasons, but rather to give backup Geno Smith and third stringer David Webb some playing time as part of the evaluation process given that New York was hopelessly out of the playoff race. Smith went a decent but unremarkable 21 for 34 for 212 yards, 1 touchdown, and an 89.3 quarterback rating. Smith’s start broke Manning’s streak of 210 straight start, which was second in NFL history for quarterback, behind only Brett Favre. Webb never played, and after a fan and media uproar, Smith was replaced by Manning in week 14.
The other big storyline was a remarkably terrible run of injuries, with an impressive 27 players on injured reserve by the end of the year, second-most in the NFL, tied with the Saints and behind the Jets, who had 31. This included both of their primary receiving threats, All-World Odell Beckham, Jr., and the moody-but-effective Brandon Marshall, as well as a number of other starters. Beckham and Marshall both missed the last 11 games.
Giants’ ownership fired both general manager Jerry Reese and head coach Bob McAdoo on December 4, replacing them with Dave Gettleman and Pat Shurmur, respectively, for the 2018 season.
The 2017-18 season was one of the worst campaigns for the Giants in recent memory. New York went 0 – 4 in the first quarter of the season, dropping games to the Lions at home on Monday Night Football and the Cowboys, Eagles, and Buccaneers on the road. The Eagles and Bucs games were close, with scores of 24 – 27 and 23 – 25, respectively. The Buccaneers managed to run up 434 yards of total offense, which wasn’t even the Giants’ worst mark of the season. The second quarter was only marginally better for New York, with the team posting a 1 – 3 record, for 1 – 7 total, including a win over the Broncos on the road and losses against the Chargers, Seahawks, and Rams at home. Their bye came in week 8. The Rams game was their worst loss of the season, with Los Angeles scoring 51 points and gaining 471 in total offense. The third quarter featured more of the same, with losses to the 49ers, the Redskins on Thursday night, and the Raiders, and a somewhat improbable overtime win over the Chiefs by a score of 12 – 9, for a total record of 2 – 10. New York went 1 – 3 in the final quarter of the season with consecutive losses to the Cowboys and Eagles at home, and a 0 – 23 shutout at the hands of the Cardinals in Arizona. New York did manage to beat the Redskins by a score of 13 – 3 in New York in the final game of the season, a loss which handed the Redskins a losing record for the season.
The numbers
The 2017-18 Giants were ranked 31st in total points scored, 21st in total yards, 22nd in yards per play, 19th in passing yards, 31st in passing yards per attempt, 26th in rushing yards, 22nd in rushing yards per attempt, and 12th in sacks. To highlight just how ineffective the Giants actually were last year, they had a total of 1,036 plays, good for 10th-most in the NFL, which was amazingly inefficient considering how few points they scored.
The Giants were on the whole something of a disaster on defense, surrendering 388 points, which was tied with the Redskins for 27th in the NFL, 31st in total yards, 28th in yards per play, 31st in total passing yards, 16th in completion percentage, 27th in passing yards per attempt, 27th in total rushing yards, 20th in rushing yards per attempt, and 29th in sacks.
New York was also one of the most undisciplined teams in the league, with 115 accepted penalties, ranked 27th. As an added measure of negativity, they were also 31st in average yards per punt return, 28th in average yards per kickoff return, 31st in field goal percentage, 26th in punt return defense, 19th in kickoff return defense, and 32nd in yards per punt.
Despite the controversy, Manning was still New York’s leading passer, completing 352 passes in 571 attempts, for 3,468 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions, for a quarterback rating of 80.4, which was his lowest mark since 2013. His total passing yardage was his lowest mark since 2008. At age 37, there are significant questions as to Manning’s future and his effectiveness as a franchise quarterback going forward.
Orleans Darkwa was the leading rusher, with 751 yards on 171 attempts, for an average of 4.4 yards per attempt, with 5 touchdowns. Wide receiver Sterling Shepard led the team in receiving yardage with 731 yards, but tight end Evan Engram was the team’s reception leader with 64 receptions on a team leading 115 targets. Engram also scored 6 touchdowns, first on the team.
On defense, safety Landon Collins led the team with 74 tackles. The seven and a half fingered Jason Pierre-Paul was the team leader in sacks, with 8.5 on the season. Corners Ross Cockrell and Janoris Jenkins tied for the team lead in interceptions with 3 each.
2018 offseason
The Giants had an active offseason, to say the least, engaging in wholesale roster destruction, which isn’t unexpected given that the team had its worst season since at least 1976 when they went 3 – 11, and hired Gettleman and Shurmur in December. Quite a bit happened, and all of the moves are listed below, but since it’s such a long list, I’ll summarize by saying that the biggest moves were the departure of Justin Pugh, the release of Brandon Marshall and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, the trade of Jason Pierre-Paul, the trade for linebacker Alec Ogletree, and the signing of left tackle Nate Solder.
The following is the complete list of offseason roster moves (with the exception of the practice squad signings and cuts):
Giants Unrestricted Free Agents/Restricted Free Agents:
OLB Akeem Ayers (unsigned), Nat Berhe (signed with Steelers for 1 year), DT Jay Bromley (signed with Saints for 1 year), OLB Jonathan Castillas (unsigned), CB Ross Cockrell (signed with Panthers for 2 years), RB Orleans Darkwa (unsigned), OL John Greco (re-signed for 1 year), OL Jon Halapio (re-signed for 1 year), OLB Devon Kennard (signed with Lions for 3 years), OG D.J. Fluker (signed with Seahawks for 1 year), ILB Curtis Grant (unsigned), LB Mark Herzlich (re-signed for 1 year), C Brett Jones (re-signed for 1 year), WR Tavarres King (signed with Vikings for 1 year), OG Justin Pugh (signed with Cardinals for 5 years), TE Ryan O’Malley (re-signed for 1 year), CB Darryl Morris (unsigned), C Weston Richburg (signed with 49ers for 5 years), ILB Keenan Robinson (unsigned), ILB Kelvin Sheppard (unsigned), OLB Deontae Skinner (unsigned), QB Geno Smith (signed with Chargers for 1 year), DT Robert Thomas (re-signed for 1 year), RB Shane Vereen (signed with Saints), DE Kerry Wynn (re-signed for 1 year)
New York also released several players following the end of the 2017 season:
2017 Giants Released/Waived:
T Adam Bisnowaty, CB Domin que Rodgers- Cromartie, CB Brandon Dixon, TE Jessamen Dunker, WR Dwayne Harris, RT Bobby Hart, WR Keeon Johnson, T Damien Mama, WR Brandon Marshall, ILB Derrick Mathews, S Ryan Murphy, WR Darius Powe, S Tim Scott, LB Ishaq Williams, P Brad Wing
2017 Giants Traded Away:
DE Jason Pierre-Paul
Traded to Giants:
P Riley Dixon, ILB Alec Ogletree
Free Agent Signings:
TE Kyle Carter, DE A.J. Francis, CB William Gay, WR Cody Latimer, OLB Kareem Martin, DE Josh Mauro, OG Patrick Omameh, CB Curtis Riley, G Chris Scott, WR Russell Shepard, LT Nate Solder, P Taylor Symmank, CB Orion Stewart, RB Jonathan Stewart, CB B.W. Webb, CB Teddy Williams
The Giants drafted the following players in the 2018 draft:
Rd 1: Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn St.
Rd 2: Will Hernandez, G, UTEP
Rd 3: Lorenzo Carter, LB, Georgia
Rd 3: B.J. Hill, DT, North Carolina St.
Rd 4: Kyle Lauetta QB, Richmond
Rd 5: R.J. McIntosh, DT, Miami
This draft may end up being a franchise-changing event for New York, because the team passed on all available quarterbacks (except for Baker Mayfield, who went #1 to the Browns) in round 1 and instead selected Barkley, who was the consensus top talent in the draft. This selection means that the Giants have doubled-down on Manning and expect him to regain his form and continue to produce at a high level for at least another year or two. Hernandez was the highest rated guard in the draft and should stabilize the interior of the line for years to come, opening up big holes for Barkley.
2018 projection
The 2018 Giants are a very tough team to predict in some ways, because so much of their fortunes rely on both Manning’s ability to morph back into the Manning of old, the rebuilt offensive line, the healthy return of Beckham, and the ability of the defense to not be terrible. The season’s first quarter is a tough one. Game one is a battle against the Jaguars at home, followed by the Cowboys at Jerryworld, the Texans in Houston, and the Saints at home. With this slate of games, I predict a 1 – 3 start, with both 0 – 4 and 2 – 2 possible. The Jaguars and Cowboys are reliable losses, although the Giants might pick up a game between the Texans and the Saints. The second quarter gets no easier, with a road games against the Panthers, followed by the Eagles at home, the Falcons on the road, and then the Redskins at home. The Panthers, Eagles, and Falcons appear to be reliable losses at first glance, with the Redskins game always being tough. The most likely outcome appears to be 0 – 4, with 1 – 3 possible. If this is accurate, the Giants may be 1 – 7, with a potential range of 0 – 8 to 2 – 6. The Giants bye week comes in week 9.
At first glance, the second half of the season appears much easier. New York’s third quarter begins with the 49ers in San Francisco, followed by the Buccaneers at home, the Eagles on the road in the City of Hate, and the Bears at home. The Buccaneers and the Bears are both winnable games, and the 49ers game is not a guaranteed loss even considering that it’s on the road. The Giants will most likely go 2 – 2 in the third quarter, with 3 – 1 possible. Therefore, the Giants record going into the final quarter of the season will probably be 3 – 9, with a range of 3 – 9 to as good as 5 – 7. The run of easier games continues in the fourth quarter, beginning with the Redskins at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, then the Titans at home, the Colts on the road, and the Cowboys in New York in week 17. NFC East division games are always tough, but the Titans and the Colts are both winnable matchups, particularly if Manning’s season goes well. Week 17 against Dallas is anyone’s guess depending on how the season goes, but with my prediction last week that the Cowboys will at least be in contention, it will probably be a full-on tilt. I predict that the Giants will be 2 – 2 in this quarter, with 3 – 1 possible. Therefore, to finish the season, the Giants’ record should be 5 – 11, with a range of 5 – 11 to 8 – 8 at best.
What are your thoughts about the Giants?