Just the beginning for the Giants?
The New York Giants have made the postseason for the first time since 2016 but win or lose, things are looking up for them.
To suggest that the result of any playoff game doesn’t matter is absurd. There is no telling what could happen in the postseason (just ask the 2007 Giants) and fans of the Big Blue should enjoy their first playoff game in six years. I can easily see them beating a vulnerable Vikings side who they came mighty close to defeating in week 16 but even if they end up losing heavily, this game won’t define this team. This could be just the beginning of something special for the New York Giants.
At the start of the season, very few people expected the Giants to make the postseason. Even after they began the season 6-1, many NFL analysts questioned whether they were actually a good team and confidently predicted that they would fall away (according to DVOA they were the worst 6-1 team since 1982). Even now they have made the playoffs, many have them as the weakest team in the postseason and argue other teams deserve to be in the playoffs ahead of them.
When breaking down just how good this New York Giants team is right now, some of these critics may have a point. Since that 6-1 start, they are 3-6-1 and have lost every game they have played against fellow NFC postseason teams, the Eagles, Cowboys, Vikings and Seahawks. The 48 points allowed to the Eagles in week 14 particularly highlighted their defensive weaknesses and their offense has been distinctly average at times this season. It would be wrong to judge this team through such a narrow window though. They are nowhere near the finished article yet and the real interest isn’t in how good this Giants team is but how good they could be.
Prior to this season, the Giants had a combined record of 22-59 since their last playoff appearance. The 2021 New York Giants finished the season 4-13 with an offense that ranked 31st in both yardage and PPG and a defence that ranked 21st in yards allowed and 23rd in PPG. They ended that season with their head coach and general manager leaving and their quarterback and star running back both entering contract years with massive question marks over them. The Giants were a mess and in need of a major rebuild.
They turned to Buffalo to solve their problems, hiring Joe Schoen as their new GM and Brian Daboll as their new HC. Both were very aware of the challenge that awaited them and neither made grandiose statements on how they were going to turn things around. In a preseason press conference, Joe Schoen addressed the roster issues and lack of cap space by saying,
“The situation we’re in is the situation. It’s the hand we were dealt. We’re going to do the best we can”.
Brian Daboll also took a pragmatic approach to goals for the upcoming season saying,
“We are just taking steps and the next day we want to take a bigger step. I don’t want to look too far ahead”
and that the players need to be focussed on
“their individual improvement and collectively building a team together”.
The Giants leadership team was clearly not planning specifically for a postseason push this year but on making improvements and gains that could lead to success in the future. The fact that they have made the playoffs is a welcome bonus that has undoubtedly come ahead of schedule. This season was always about moving in the right direction and when looking more closely at the Giants’ season, it is clear they are already making large and sustainable improvements.
One of the first priorities for Brian Daboll when he started in New York was turning around an offense that was the second worst in the league the previous season. An offense that was severely lacking in weapons and a lack of cap space to address this. They did have one potential star though in Saquon Barkley but one who had been plagued with injuries the last three years after his 2018 breakout season.
Daboll and Mike Kafka trusted him though and they have been hugely rewarded with 1312 rushing yards from him, the most in his career, and ten touchdowns. The Giants have largely leant on their rushing game this season, especially early on in the season, and they ended with the 4th ranked rushing offense in yardage. A run-heavy offense is not one normally associated with Brian Daboll though, especially when you throw in ex-Chiefs passing game coordinator Mike Kafka at OC. Both Daboll and Kafka favoured receiver-heavy offences relying on a high passing volume with their previous teams. Last season both the Bills and the Chiefs regularly ran 11-personnel (three receivers, one tight end and one running back) and the Bills even frequently used 10-personnel (four wide receivers, one running back and zero tight ends). The decision to lean more on the run clearly came down to the roster they inherited and using schemes that would get the most out of those players. One of those players was their quarterback who came into the season with huge question marks hanging over him.
Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll started their reign with the Giants by declining the fifth-year option on Daniel Jones’ rookie contract. He had the year to show the new regime what he could do and if they decided he wasn’t the future of the franchise then he would become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Daboll and Kafka started the season by simplifying the offense as much as possible for Jones. The Giants were very play-action heavy and Jones was encouraged to scramble and use his legs whenever he needed. In fact, this season has seen a huge increase in the amount of rushing that Jones has done for the team. He has career highs of 120 rushing attempts (almost more than double any other season) and other career highs in rushing yards (708) and rushing touchdowns (7). Clearly, Daboll has been keen to take advantage of Jones’ mobility and interestingly, his 2022 stats are extremely similar to the stats from last season of the quarterback Daboll was working with, Josh Allen (122 attempts, 763 yards, 6 touchdowns). The area where Daniel Jones has not been able to compare with Josh Allen is in the passing game, although there are signs for optimism on this front too.
Jones has had, without question, the best year of his career, ending with a quarterback rating of 92.5, a career high 3205 passing yards and he seems to have finally overcome the turnover issues that have plagued his career, only giving up the ball eight times this year with his five interceptions being the least amount thrown by a quarterback who played in 12+ games. Interestingly, the last three games of the season, prior to them resting their starters against Philadelphia, may have given a glimpse of the vision that Daboll and Kafka have for this offense. In these games against the Commanders, Vikings and Colts, the Giants ran a much more pass-heavy offense with 11-personnel groupings. This coincided with two of Daniel Jones’ best performances of the season, his 334-yard passing game against the Vikings and his 268 total yards and four touchdown game against the Colts. Could this be a sign of what Daboll and Kafka have planned for Jones and this offense in 2023? It makes sense that in order to be competitive this season, the new coaching team would play to their roster’s strengths but at the same time slowly introduce the style of play they would want going forwards. Remember Daboll’s pre-season comment,
“just taking steps and the next day we want to take a bigger step”.
To turn what was a power run offense in 2021 to the effective passing offense that Daboll desires was never going to be an overnight job but there could already be signs that this could be where the Giants’ immediate future lies.
It wasn’t just the Giants’ offense that had a major overhaul this season either. The appointment of Wink Martindale as defensive coordinator has been an exciting one and while statistically the defence haven’t made major strides, they are a stronger unit, especially in the pass rush. Martindale’s aggressive, blitz-heavy schemes (the Giants have blitzed a huge 39.7% of the time this season against the drop back) have led to 155 quarterback pressures (seventh highest in the league) and 41 sacks. All-Pro Dexter Lawrence, rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux and second year OLB Azeez Olujari have led this charge on opposing quarterbacks and with all three being 25 or younger, the future is bright for the Giants’ pass rush. Improvements need to be made against the rush though with the team struggling at times this season and ending the season ranked 27th in the league in rushing yards allowed. As with the offense though, major changes weren’t going to happen overnight but again there are signs that they are heading in the right direction.
The fact that the New York Giants have made the playoffs this season is a testament to the work the coaches have done with this roster and their ability to get the best out of them. Brian Daboll surely has to be a leading contender for coach of the year.
This season has never been the endgame for this new regime though. Their job has only just started and they have a long way to go before they are the team they are aiming to be. That this Giants team has made the playoffs so early on in their development, makes seeing what the finished version of this new team could be capable of a very exciting prospect indeed. What could this Giants team be capable of if they could improve the receiving corps during the offseason? If they could improve the rush defence? What could they be capable of after these coaches have had another year of implementing their new schemes? Could Daniel Jones really thrive in a new pass-heavy offense and the young pass rushers continue to dominate in Wink Martindale’s blitz-heavy schemes? Giants fans should enjoy this postseason and who knows, this team may go all the way to the big game, but even if they end up one and done, fans of the Big Blue should be very excited for the future. After all, last year the Eagles were an NFC team that made the playoffs ahead of schedule. Could the Giants be challenging for number one in the NFC next year? Whatever happens, Giants fans have every right to be optimistic about what’s coming.