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Although there is a belief that it’s not how you start the season but how you finish it, when it comes to the New York Giants, how they've started the last two seasons is pretty much the same way they’ve finished them.
That’s not a good thing either. The Giants, who already have a challenging schedule for this coming season, have their first two games on the road against NFC East divisional opponents, making them games that they can ill afford to lose.
But getting off to a fast start hasn’t exactly been in the Giants’ DNA of late. The last time the Giants started a season 2-0 was in 2022, Brian Daboll’s first as head coach. That season, the team finished 9-7-1 and were postseason-bound for the first time since 2016, winning their first playoff game since 2011.
Since then, the Giants haven’t gotten off to as strong of a start to their seasons. In 2023, they went 1-1, but just as easily could have gone 0-2 were it not for them waking up in the second half of their Week 2 game against Arizona, a game in which they were down 20-0 at the half.
Up until that second-half comeback against the Cardinals, the Giants, through the first six quarters of play, had been outscored 60-0, going on to finish that 2023 season with a 6-10 record.
Last year was even worse. The Giants started 0-2 against the Vikings and Commanders, outscored 49-24 in those two games, in a season where they’d register a franchise-worst 3-14 record.
With jobs potentially on the line this year, a fast start is essential, and according to Emory Hunt of CBS Sports and Football Gameplan, head coach Brian Daboll needs to emphasize one thing in the team’s upcoming training camp, which opens July 23.
“They have to drill down on situational football because, as we know, the first two or three weeks of the season is essentially the extension of the preseason, especially Week 1,” Hunt told the Locked On Giants podcast.
“Week 1 is so sloppy around the board, so you're gonna have it. That's why you always see an upset or two in Week 1, because you have an opportunity to steal a game if you are the most disciplined, mentally tough, situationally sound football team.”
How to drive home the point
Hunt believes that to drive home the point, Daboll needs to exaggerate the penalties for mistakes to demonstrate just how damaging a lack of disciplined play is.
“If I'm Coach Daboll, what I'm doing in training camp is situation, situation, situation,” he said.
“I'm starting periods over if we have a fumble or an interception. If we have a penalty–if it's an offside on defense, it's a five-yard penalty, but I'm moving the ball up 15 yards just to hammer home that we don't jump offside.
“If it's holding on the offense, instead of moving 10 yards back, move them 20 yards back just to drill it down that we are not going to beat ourselves.”
In addition to driving home the point about mistakes not being tolerated, there is also the matter of preseason snaps. Historically, Daboll hasn’t given the starters and key reserves much work during preseason games, instead using the time to evaluate the bottom of the roster players and to allow players who might be nursing minor ailments to get fully healthy before the games start for real.
While Daboll’s intentions are honorable, they’re also not necessarily doing the players any favors because they’re not being exposed to the physicality of the game during the preseason, which cannot be fully simulated in practices. As a result, it’s fair to wonder if little nagging issues tend to linger or develop into more significant issues over time.
But to Hunt’s point, there is no substitution for live reps played at game speed versus trying to simulate game speed in a controlled environment. And if they’re going to take that approach, that’s where exaggerating situational football might help out.
“If you overemphasize the discipline, the situational football, I guarantee they can get off to a great start against Washington, against Kansas City, against any one of these teams they face,” Hunt said.
More New York Giants Coverage
More must-reads:
- Fantasy football Week 3: Five players who could flop
- Fantasy football Week 3: Five players who could smash their projections
- The 'Active three-TD catch NFL games' quiz
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