A quarter into the season, what's the expectation?

Nothing has changed for me..I expected growth..

I'll be happy to see them at 4-4 at the half way point. 5-3 would be a bonus.

In comment 12526330 Big Blue '56 said:

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Nothing has changed for me..I expected growth..

YES. Well said

I meant that I agree about the "growth" part.

Will depend on health.

That way you don't end up disappointed if they are not met.

As for how the Giants will do this season? They look pretty solid to me. And if we get the parts to return instead of going to IR, then we look like a team that could do some damage in January. There is no reason this team can't win another championship this year IMO.

But I didn't learn anything from either the Washinton or Buffalo wins. The opposition self-destructed in each, and we were the beneficiary. Worse was the feeling that, we allowed each team to be in the game longer than they should have.

So I see a team with average talent that still doesn't play the game to win very well. .500 with a chance to make the playoffs because thats the way the NFC East is.

...was great to see. Buffalo was averaging 33 pts per game going into that contest. The expectation is quite simple...playoffs or bust. Not just improvement...playoffs.

In comment 12526344 Victor in CT said:

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I meant that I agree about the "growth" part.

Understood. My disclaimer of course has been "providing no similar type injuries to the last two years."

They feel like an 8-8 team with the mistakes, lack of pass rush, and missing Cruz in the offense. But, with all the divisional injuries and the way the schedule is laying out, perhaps they'll improve enough to exceed 8 wins.

SF, @ Philly, Dallas, @NO @ TB.

There is no reason the Giants cant win every one of those games.

They have to go a minimum of 4-1. Get to 6-3 going into the NE game. No worse than 6-4 heading into bye.

You can also see a team playing hard. The arrow is certainly pointing up and this is what I wanted to see.

As a fan looking forward at the schedule I was thinking 8 or 9 wins with a few breaks. I'm still thinking this, but with the division sucking playoffs are possible...again though...the breaks need to all fall in place including health.

The Giants are making some solid decisions and positioning themselves for a little run over the next few years...at least I hope so!

division. Not based on what we've seen so far. I'm not blind to our weaknesses, but everyone else in the division has them too. And I trust our QB and coaching staff over the rest of the division. If the defense continues to improve under Spags, I think our chances are at least as good as anyone else's.

seriously... 2-2 is better than 0-4 which is where we were last year.

Seeing a marked improvement in this team from a fundamental standpoint.

Tom's been lauded for changing and he's done it again - changing the weekly schedule he's used 40 years to Recovery Friday: in effect choosing to do even less work than the CBA allows.
To my eye this team - whatever reason - is playing with more energy and aggression and we've been beating people up. We just beat the Bills up.

this is Playoff-style football, with a franchise QB. With plenty of room for improvement. Spags also deserves big credit: he's (again) come in and changed the culture.

In comment 12526384 JonC said:

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They feel like an 8-8 team with the mistakes, lack of pass rush, and missing Cruz in the offense. But, with all the divisional injuries and the way the schedule is laying out, perhaps they'll improve enough to exceed 8 wins.

+1

In comment 12526384 JonC said:

Quote:

They feel like an 8-8 team with the mistakes, lack of pass rush, and missing Cruz in the offense. But, with all the divisional injuries and the way the schedule is laying out, perhaps they'll improve enough to exceed 8 wins.

+1. Although part of me feels like it's counterproductive - the NFL being the weekly crapshoot, if they pick up momentum they may be able to make some noise, in particular if Cruz returns and if they manage to find a pass rusher somewhere.

On the other hand - knowing that next year has a huge cap allocation just waiting to be spent, a better draft pick plus those FA acquisitions on a young and improving team sure sounds like a good deal.

Packers (4-0)
Panthers (4-0)
Falcons (4-0)
Cardinals (3-1)
Cowboys (2-2)
Seahawks (1-2)

That order is just based on the records, but I do think those teams are better than us right now.

But none of those teams scare me except an angry peaking at the right time Seahawks squad and a fully healthy Cowboys team. And even those two teams don't scare me that much since they both look worse than they were last year.

We look somewhere between 7-9 wins right now. We need to develop a stronger pass rush to have any chance in the playoffs vs. the big boys. But our O has shown real potential, especially if Beatty and Cruz are difference makers in the 2nd half. And our D looks ok, even with the mediocre pass rush.

Still a long way to go.

Right now it looks like the Pats vs. everyone else.

Too many holes at DE, TE, S. A lot of try-hard plugger types on offense, but no dynamic playmaking receivers or backs aside from Beckham.

Can't change a guarantee.

And the QBs on our remaining schedule, it would be a disappointment if we didnt win the East. Im still not quite sure we are that good, but the bar isnt high right now

I look across the NFC in general though and i see a wide open field. Who is the best team? Right as you want to buy into the Cardinals they are dropping a home game to St. Louis. The Falcons and Panthers at 4-0 both have clear flaws in personnel, and Atlanta is fortunate to not be 1-3. Cam is out there trying to make it happen with Ted Ginn Jr in Carolina. The Packers have the best player in the league but im otherwise not blown away with the roster, especially with these injuries. Seattle can always rebound, but theres a lot of physical and mental fatigue that comes with back to back sb runs, and they dont look quite the same