BY LANDON WASHBURN, CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The New York Giants have quickly become one of the worst teams in the recent years of the National Football League.
Since the 2013 NFL season, the Giants have had one winning season.
In 2016, they had a record of 11-5 and lost in the first round of the postseason to the Green Bay Packers. Since that “wonder year,” they haven’t had a winning season. They’ve also had inconsistent leadership as they have had five different head coaches since the playoff loss. Through all the misery for the fan base, could this be the year that they are able to turn the ship around?
Many people wrote off the Giants before the season even began. They had +230 odds to make it past the regular, 17-game season – that’s the sixth-lowest odds in the NFC.
The sports community believes that the Giants don’t have a talented enough roster. Despite what others think, they have bright spots and opportunities to change the tide.
First off, they finally have a leader in Brian Daboll. With over 25 years of experience, he is most noticeably known for his recent work with Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills from 2018-2021. The first year head coach of the Giants has them off to a hot start of 2-0.
They also seem to just have the right pieces this year. When they drafted Daniel Jones sixth overall in 2019, it seemed to be a questionable pick. Jones has looked rough in his first three years in the pros – so did Josh Allen until Daboll changed him into the superstar he is today.
Jones has an average passer rating of 84.0 through his first 37 starts. In his first two games under Daboll this season, he has raised his rating to a 99.4. If anyone can improve Jones to make him relevant as a franchise quarterback, it’s Daboll.
The quarterback is always the center for success, but New York fans are certain that they have the pieces around Jones to start to compete. This year, they brought back their Pro Bowl caliber running back in Saquon Barkley and upgraded their talent in the trenches.
In the Giants’ past six first round picks, four have been offensive or defensive lineman. The most notable prospects being the two top-ten picks in this past year’s draft – the fast, powerful edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux out of Oregon and Evan Neal, a 6’8, 340-pound, experienced offensive tackle from Alabama.
With now seven teams receiving playoff bids in each conference, the Giants could easily slide into one of those spots. The NFC is as wide open as ever. With only being two games into the season, there isn’t a big sample size.
Some teams that we thought would be elite are starting off a little shaky. The defending Super Bowl champions, the Los Angeles Rams, are close to being winless, along with the Arizona Cardinals. Both squeaked out close games to even their records at 1-1. They are two teams everyone thought would be close to unstoppable this year.
In order to cement themselves as a playoff team, the Giants would need to capitalize on having the fourth-easiest strength of schedule this year. This could be the year that the Giants shock the sports world and make the postseason.
washbulj22@bonaventure.edu
