Look. We all love a Cinderella story-type run, no matter the sport. It’s fun to see teams go beyond their expectations, and upset some of the nation’s finest teams. But, to a certain extent, a team truly has to be evaluated on just how far they can go, before the postseason begins. The two teams in East Rutherford have seemed to capture a lot of the media’s attention this year. But, in this article, let’s focus on the Giants.
In a prove-it year, Daniel Jones hasn’t played too badly. He has protected the ball very well, with just four total turnovers. He’s also been able to use his legs a lot more, giving defenses another aspect of his game to worry about. He’s been pretty solid, overall. But, I just don’t see much progression from his throwing. I feel like his legs, along with Saquon Barkley, are the bulk of the offense. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn’t make this team competitive with some of the top competition.
Speaking of top competition, the Giants are part of arguably the best division in the NFL, the NFC East. Making the playoffs will be tough with the Cowboys and Eagles both ahead. They have already lost to the Cowboys once, and still have to play Philadelphia twice, along with Washington. No easy road to the playoffs. If they are truly a top team, they’ll need to come out with at least three division wins. Outside of the division, however, New York is 2-0 against teams above .500, with wins against the Titans and Ravens. The Tennessee game showed a lot of grit from this Giants team, as they rallied onto a win from a missed Randy Bullock field goal. As for the Ravens game, I believed it was well coached. Tight end Daniel Bellinger was the leading catcher with near 40 yards, but New York still found a way to get the job done. Saquon had a solid start on the ground, putting Daniel Jones in a position to succeed. It isn’t always pretty, but it has worked.
The lack of depth is my main concern for this Giants team. So far this season, Sterling Shepard has torn his ACL, Kadarius Toney was traded to Kansas City, and Kenny Golladay has been benched. There aren’t many choices to choose from in regards to Daniel Jones, but he has chosen to adapt to the circumstances, and excel in them. But, that will only take him so far. It seems as if every playoff team has a good receiver that their quarterback can rely on.
Overall, I feel like this team just gets overrated by the media and fans. I just dono’t see them being able to win games that come down to the clutch. They are still young, so dumb mistakes will still happen, but I feel like the future is in good hands. The BIg Blue finally have their coach, but it may take them longer than people to expect to be officially “back”.
Top Photo: Marca