New York Giants: The Pros and Cons

• Stagnant offense, bottom five last year
  ⁃ Incompetent quarterback: below average stats, can’t score in the red zone, folds under pressure, has trouble with balance
  ⁃ Injury prone backfield: HB1 plays like HB2, injury prone, isn’t a threat inside the opponents five yard line, unlikely to return to full form
  ⁃ Lack playmakers on the outside: “pass catchers” can’t catch, no deep threat whatsoever, no need to double cover anyone inside the red zone, overpaid, waiver wire pickup in fantasy football at best
  ⁃ Worst TE group in NFL: Had worst TE in 2021 yet somehow downgraded, expect more blocking than receiving
•  No depth with linebacker corps
  ⁃ Tae Crowder, Blake Martinez, and Azeez Ojulari are all solid starters, but if one of them get injured, their options will dwindle fast. You could argue that rookies Darian Beavers and Micah McFadden have shown promise, but until they prove their worth, there’s not a lot to work with here. In summary, the Giants have a great starting group of guys, but it’s a long season. Injuries will happen, but will their second string hold up? I don’ know about that.

• Lack of talent at cornerback
  ⁃ Adoree’ Jackson is a decent player when healthy, but he can’t contribute much when he’s spending most of his time on IR. Even when he is healthy, he’s not keeping quarterbacks up at night. He can hold his own, but that’s not the point I’m trying to make. The Giants whiffed on an opportunity to capitalize at CB this offseason, and now they’ll have to reap what they sow. According to ESPN, their current starters are Adoree’ Jackson, Cor’Dale Flott, Darnay Holmes, and Rodarius Williams. WHO???

The Pros

-Rookie Evan Neal and Andrew Thomas make up one of the best pairs of tackles in the NFL. Between the two of them, they only allowed four sacks last year. If they can replicate that performance this season, the Giants’ passing game will be significantly better. Jon Feliciano at center adds veteran leadership to this offensive line. In 2021, he never allowed even one sack. There’s a lot to look forward to with New York’s O-line this season.  One of Daniel Jones’ biggest excuses last year was that he didn’t have enough protection in the pocket. Well, now he does. If he fails this year, it’ll be on his shoulders.

• Defensive line

– Leonard Williams, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Dexter Lawrence, and Justin “Jelly Bean” Ellis round up a solid defensive front, with a good mix of promising, young talent and veteran leadership. First round pick Kayvon Thibodeaux provides immense versatility to this team. He can play linebacker or line up where he normally does on the edge. Regardless of where he is on the field, as long as he’s out there New York’s in a good spot defensively. He still has to prove himself, but fans should expect a lot out of this guy. After all, many people actually regarded him as the clear cut #1 overall pick at one point.

• Safety

-Julian Love and Xavier McKinney are two solid playmakers in the Giants’ secondary. McKinney is the better of the two, but Love can hold his own. He’s a good tackler, good in coverage, but he’s not great. That’s his biggest flaw. He keeps the secondary afloat, but he’s not going above and beyond, either. With a good defensive line, the secondary might see a decrease in production this year. That isn’t a bad thing however, if anything, its a good thing.

Because the opposing team’s quarterback will have limited time to throw in the pocket, he’ll need to release the ball sooner. This means that there’ll be more short passes and screens, allowing their linebackers to take over.

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