Simply guarding yourself from failure. Yes we have glaring holes but this team is formidable. Our style of play counteracts the strengths of many of the top teams and is very similar to the Hosteler led 1990 Giants. Before you guys go crazy I am not comparing this team to the 1990 SB team. I and simply saying we are led by a mobile QB making smart decisions. A power running game and a stingy defense. Things are about to get very interesting over the last 8 games. I think the Eagles have a few more L’s on their schedule (2-3) Dallas is playing @ Minn and against us on a short week. If we fall back down to earth I’m fine with it we’ve already exceeded expectations. I do think many on here have tempered our success because none of this was expected instead of just riding the wave. We are 1 game out from the number 1 seed with more than half the year in the books. You all can be realists, I’ll be in fantasy land until further notice.
We’ve been in the upside down for the past 10 years feels good to currently be out!
Quote:
But if we roll into the playoffs with a health dline with Azeez, Thibs, Williams and Dex, Ximmines, and Ward, pro bowl level safety play with X back, and Jackson playing at the level he is playing at. That is a formidable defense that can cause some damage.
We have a pro bowl kicker for close games.
We have the best back in the league.
We may have an oline with Thomas, Shane, Gates, Bredeson, Neal, Feliciano, Glowinski. That is deep and will have had more time to Gel.
Bellinger will be back and by then our other tight ends will have gotten valuable experience.
When completely healthy, our only weakness is WR. Wan’Dale may show himself to be a solid slot and number three, Slayton can imitate a 2 everyone and then. Do we add Odell? Can Golliday wake up—prob not.
Jones is showing himself to be a winner, not always pretty, but if he gets hot in the playoffs and we have team health, it is not ridiculous to dream.
You're very optimistic. We have way more weaknesses than just WR. We aren't a great pass blocking team. We don't take shots downfield. Our ILBs are atrocious. Our run defense is really bad. And our STs has been very up and down.
I agree that I was optimistic, often overly, but I think our biggest weakness outside of WR is depth which is my focus on health.
Our LBs are bad, but I think wink has minimized their use in the defense. WRs are harder to cover up for.
I think with the dline fully healthy our run game improves as well. I am hoping for the oline to mature as the season goes on and the pass blocking improves.
i think right now the first round matchup would still line up to Seattle or Tampa. if Ojulari and McKinney both come back strong and thibs keeps improving the defense could make things really difficult for teams with immobile QBs.
- We have some real talent on the field: Dex, Saquon, AT, etc.
- We have a QB that doesn't turn the ball over. And we haven't seen his best football yet - we will when we need to score points.
We've lost two understandable games:
- The Cowboys were simply the better team at the time. But the thing about good coaching is that you get better as the season progresses.
- We lost a long West Coast road trip against a good team, 2 weeks after playing in Europe. Not a huge surprise.
But we're not losing any games that we should win.
I'm anxious to see where it goes from here, but if we make the playoffs I think we can make a run.
Quote:
if they beat Detroit and go 8-2...this one will be tougher.
I’m curious why you’re not a believer @ 7-2 but beating Detroit at home would turn things around in your mind.
I agree, beating Detroit really doesnt prove much. Thats why I keep saying they have to beat Dallas, too
we haven't played and beat a high octane offense yet
2 wins puts them at 9 wins, 3 puts them at 10 even if they lose to Detroit (and one of these days they will lose to an inferior team they shouldn't lose to because that's the NFL and it happens). Detroit has been competitive in almost all their games this year.
On paper they are 7-2 and one game back from the top seed. On paper they have beaten 2 of the 4 AFC division leaders.
On paper they also play with a small margin for error. Case in point the Seattle game. 2 Richie James fumbles cost them a chance at making it a game.
Personally, I think there is better football ahead for this Giants team. This is a young team with good coaching- alot of young guys in key roles who are getting reps under their belt. A number of key contributors coming back from injury as well. And I think we take for granted that both sides of the ball have played this well while adjusting to new systems. More time should only help guys learn the ins-and-outs of each system.
We have a pro bowl kicker for close games.
We have the best back in the league.
We may have an oline with Thomas, Shane, Gates, Bredeson, Neal, Feliciano, Glowinski. That is deep and will have had more time to Gel.
Bellinger will be back and by then our other tight ends will have gotten valuable experience.
When completely healthy, our only weakness is WR. Wan’Dale may show himself to be a solid slot and number three, Slayton can imitate a 2 everyone and then. Do we add Odell? Can Golliday wake up—prob not.
Jones is showing himself to be a winner, not always pretty, but if he gets hot in the playoffs and we have team health, it is not ridiculous to dream.
Giants win: “What I meant was, wait until the Giants win the NEXT next game!”
Eagles are +79
Cowboys are +47
Commanders are -22
Vikings are +35
The Giants have scored 187 points this year. The following teams are below them:
Green Bay 185 (10 games, 4-6)
Tampa Bay 183 (10 games, 5-5)
Los Angeles Rams 148 (3-6)
Pittsburgh 140 (3-6)
Tennessee 166 (6-3)
Indianapolis 157 (10 games, 4-5-1)
Houston 149 (1-7-1)
Denver 131 (3-6)
Long story short, the odds are stacked against us. You have to score points in today's NFL. We are winning because of great coaching and playing our game. Yes, we have gotten down early and shown the ability to come back which cannot be understated. With that said, we were still able to stick with the running game to some extent. Playoffs are a different animal. I am not counting the Giants out. I love this team and the fight they have. All I am saying is the chips are stacked against us.
All true, but of the 8 division leaders, only the Titans have given up fewer (7) points than us, and they are a (-2) differential. Defense counts …as much as offense.
This nice run has been made possible by game plans that focus on field position, time of possession, and low scoring contests. The second half of the season features a slate of teams on our schedule that can put up points in bunches.
Beating bad teams is one of many different signs of a good team - and we've done that this year. But one of the other signs is being able to hold your own against the better teams in the league, and we're about to go into a stretch of games (Dallas, Phil x 2, Minn) that will test that part of the equation.
We're in a rebuilding year, so don't freak out if we don't go 6-2 the rest of the way.
Exactly how I think. These guys give us a shot to win every game. Even the Dallas game didn't get out of hand until the end.
Quote:
if they beat Detroit and go 8-2...this one will be tougher.
then next week it will be “if they beat Dallas and go 9-2”
Thanks for putting words in my mouth, even though that is not what I said or meant.
If they beat Detroit, they will make the playoffs. They will likely lose to Dallas, Minnesota, and probably the Eagles twice..but end up with 10 or 11 wins.
If the records were reset to 0-0 for everyone and the playoffs were to be determined by the remainder of the schedule only, we would not make the playoffs.
This offense is not scoring enough points and the defense has been mediocre since the first quarter of the season. We have relied on turnovers to win lately and have struggled to stop teams from moving the ball down field.
Quote:
But if we roll into the playoffs with a health dline with Azeez, Thibs, Williams and Dex, Ximmines, and Ward, pro bowl level safety play with X back, and Jackson playing at the level he is playing at. That is a formidable defense that can cause some damage.
We have a pro bowl kicker for close games.
We have the best back in the league.
We may have an oline with Thomas, Shane, Gates, Bredeson, Neal, Feliciano, Glowinski. That is deep and will have had more time to Gel.
Bellinger will be back and by then our other tight ends will have gotten valuable experience.
When completely healthy, our only weakness is WR. Wan’Dale may show himself to be a solid slot and number three, Slayton can imitate a 2 everyone and then. Do we add Odell? Can Golliday wake up—prob not.
Jones is showing himself to be a winner, not always pretty, but if he gets hot in the playoffs and we have team health, it is not ridiculous to dream.
You're very optimistic. We have way more weaknesses than just WR. We aren't a great pass blocking team. We don't take shots downfield. Our ILBs are atrocious. Our run defense is really bad. And our STs has been very up and down.
Pass rush has been inadequate. However, they haven only played one game all season with, Dex, Leo, K. T. and Ojulari on the field together
After the Lions game, things get tough. Two games with the Eagles, the Cowboys in Dallas, two against the resurgent WFT, and don't forget the 8-1 Vikings. Ouch. The only trawler in there is the 4-5 Colts.
If the Giants do get into the playoffs, they will have earned it.
If the records were reset to 0-0 for everyone and the playoffs were to be determined by the remainder of the schedule only, we would not make the playoffs.
This offense is not scoring enough points and the defense has been mediocre since the first quarter of the season. We have relied on turnovers to win lately and have struggled to stop teams from moving the ball down field.
The season is 17 games long. All 17 count. There is no going back and resetting. It is akin to saying that they should have lost to Tenn, Green Bay and Baltimore. They didn't, those games count.
And BTW, turnovers do determine wins and losses. It is an important stat. +3 turnovers in a game virtually guarantees a win for that team.
Yes, the end of the season schedule is tough, but you can only play the games on the schedule.
So, as long as the running formula still works on offense and our defenses continues to allow FGs over TDs in the redzone, we are absolutely legit contenders.
Look, it's insane what we are watching, but somehow it's working...
The conversation of “on paper” is weird. On paper we should have lost Super Bowl 25 and 42 does that take away what we accomplished?
With our running game, efficient passing, and DL talent; I see a team that could easily "steal" a game in the playoffs if not two. I still think the lack of offensive talent will limit this team's ability to actually make a deep run, but we have some positive things going for us.
Having said that poor Daniel Jones hasn't even been dealt a deuce seven offsuit with our WR's, he's been dealt deuce and the "How to Play Stud Poker" card at the poker table.
I think this team is on its way but they need more talent and experience. No reason why they can't finish strong and compete for the division/playoffs. The formula which I have posted before is 7-0.
Playoffs is a different animal but a lot of that depends on the path and matchups. It tends to expose weaknesses by limiting a teams strength.
Regardless of how this season plays out I hope JS and BD have learned something about winning a different way and more in line with past Giants teams. I would hate to see them go to a very pass happy team as a goal longer term.
I think the D has more upside this year still and the O will addressing in the offseason.
you have to be concerned about the two loses we had -- because in those two games -- clearly superior teams out played us
so Detroit game is important --
then at Dallas on Thanksgiving will be important
the Washington game will be important
Then Eagles game will be important
how those games go -- will determine how legit this team is
that is a very tough 4 game stretch playing each of our division rivals
and then we go on to another very tough 4 game stretch
at Washington
at Minnesota
Indianapolis
at Philly
I'm here for the season
I'm happy
I have no expectations
I'm enjoying the games
Right now it's great to be a Giants fan - but while this team has exceeded expectations imo - it has some worrisome issues that I need to see work through the next 4 games before I start looking ahead
could go either way -- the Giants still have a lot to prove if they are really contenders in my opinion
But any given Sunday......
IMO I’m thinking we won’t see McKinney again for a while and if we can get him back at least for a few games prior to end of season, I’d be ecstatic. Having a complete team getting into the playoffs at the right time is crucial if they want to keep playing Football after the regular season is over.
2022 NYG is playing with house money. Win 10 and make the playoffs and the season is a success. 2023 Giants are going to look a bit different ...
2022 NYG is playing with house money. Win 10 and make the playoffs and the season is a success. 2023 Giants are going to look a bit different ...
I am not making a promise but I think we beat the Cowboys on Thanksgiving, then we go on to sweep the Eagles. Yep, sweep. I know the history. The reason is that we are a VERY disciplined team, there will be weather. I feel this team is going to to win at least 12 games. I can't wait to watch the rest of the season.
I think we are 9-2 after Thanksgiving and a bona fide SB contender. If we get some home field advantage, no one is going to want to play this team at home in January. This team is physical and disciplined. The QB has made real strides. He doesn't give games away anymore and makes plays when needed.
No one I respect more this board than you sir, but I do think this team is better than being given credit for. The fact that the league isn't on board yet helps in our locker room. Easy motivation.
2022 NYG is playing with house money. Win 10 and make the playoffs and the season is a success. 2023 Giants are going to look a bit different ...
Bingo
Right now, the Giants inability to execute chunk plays and convert shots to points means that they are going to have to play near perfect football vs. teams that can afford mistakes.
That said, it does make for some exciting game day experiences.
2022 NYG is playing with house money. Win 10 and make the playoffs and the season is a success. 2023 Giants are going to look a bit different ...
That's right.. I said this exact thing on another thread recently:
"Jones cut turnovers by scaling down and playing conservatively. He has never scaled back up. Daboll is using the scaled down Jones to max effect. If Jones can scale up tomorrow and be a 4500 yard 35TD 8INT guy, let's do it. If he demonstrates he is capable of that level of performance I'll become a big advocate. But he hasn't, because he can't."
Jones needs to scale back up - ( New Window )
Darius Slayton
Wan'Dale Robinson
Kenny Golladay.
None, zero, zilch.
Quote:
Jones and the passing attack absolutely will need to scale up their productivity. Some below average to bad teams have hung in there with NYG, and a thin margin for error will be much harder to win vs the Eagles, Cowboys, Vikes, and Washington looks healthy and ready to make noise.
2022 NYG is playing with house money. Win 10 and make the playoffs and the season is a success. 2023 Giants are going to look a bit different ...
That's right.. I said this exact thing on another thread recently:
"Jones cut turnovers by scaling down and playing conservatively. He has never scaled back up. Daboll is using the scaled down Jones to max effect. If Jones can scale up tomorrow and be a 4500 yard 35TD 8INT guy, let's do it. If he demonstrates he is capable of that level of performance I'll become a big advocate. But he hasn't, because he can't." Jones needs to scale back up - ( New Window )
Jones is not calling the plays. He'll ramp it up when they call for it.
In the meantime, Daboll and Kafka clearly prefer putting it in Barkley's hands to putting it in Marcus Johnson's hands.
Quote:
if they beat Detroit and go 8-2...this one will be tougher.
then next week it will be “if they beat Dallas and go 9-2”
And?
That's the way the schedule is going to play out, isn't it?
How is it any different than the pollyanna refrain of "let's see how it plays out" whenever the team has struggled in the past (for years, literally)?
Darius Slayton
Wan'Dale Robinson
Kenny Golladay.
None, zero, zilch.
You are saying zero, zilch QBs could do it, which would imply none in the history of the game. Are you sure? Or is that just an annoyed, knee jerk response? Because just this season there is a player who is pretty close. Justin Herbert is close to those numbers and he is missing his two top WRs, tackles and TEs. And both his line situation and WR situation are arguably worse than Jones'. So maybe cool it with the angry certitude and zero, zilch stuff.
Quote:
In comment 15910031 JonC said:
Quote:
Jones and the passing attack absolutely will need to scale up their productivity. Some below average to bad teams have hung in there with NYG, and a thin margin for error will be much harder to win vs the Eagles, Cowboys, Vikes, and Washington looks healthy and ready to make noise.
2022 NYG is playing with house money. Win 10 and make the playoffs and the season is a success. 2023 Giants are going to look a bit different ...
That's right.. I said this exact thing on another thread recently:
"Jones cut turnovers by scaling down and playing conservatively. He has never scaled back up. Daboll is using the scaled down Jones to max effect. If Jones can scale up tomorrow and be a 4500 yard 35TD 8INT guy, let's do it. If he demonstrates he is capable of that level of performance I'll become a big advocate. But he hasn't, because he can't." Jones needs to scale back up - ( New Window )
Jones is not calling the plays. He'll ramp it up when they call for it.
In the meantime, Daboll and Kafka clearly prefer putting it in Barkley's hands to putting it in Marcus Johnson's hands.
Maybe you're right. But more likely you are wrong. It's no secret that playing QB in the NFL is hard. Being a top passer in the NFL is even hardwr. Why do you feel you can project a trait for Jones that he has never demonstrated in 4 years? Why do you have this faith that he can be Allen, Rodgers, Burrow, Mahomes or Herbert when he "needs" to? Why wouldn't we see a glimpse of this ability in this very fine season the Giants are having? Great passers have had great passing games with lowly receivers. Most likely, this isn't a trait Jones possesses.
Look, I think a lot of what we are seeing is a mirage, but the league is so upside down right now, especially the NFC, that it's not out of the realm of possibilities we could make some serious noise.
I keep waiting for some signs of a league correction (offensive output to accelerate - there are 8 team scoring 25 PPG or >, last year there were 15 teams doing that), but it's just not happening.
Quote:
who would average 4500 yards, 35 TDs, and 8 INTs by throwing the ball to.
Darius Slayton
Wan'Dale Robinson
Kenny Golladay.
None, zero, zilch.
You are saying zero, zilch QBs could do it, which would imply none in the history of the game. Are you sure? Or is that just an annoyed, knee jerk response? Because just this season there is a player who is pretty close. Justin Herbert is close to those numbers and he is missing his two top WRs, tackles and TEs. And both his line situation and WR situation are arguably worse than Jones'. So maybe cool it with the angry certitude and zero, zilch stuff.
Knee-jerk reactions? LOL. Absolutely hysterical coming from you.
Why dont you point out that Mike Williams has missed a total of TWO games. I know it goes against your narrative and goal post moving posts but actual facts can be helpful when you use examples. I know facts arent your strong suit (or overall knowledge of football) but it helps when trying to make a point. And by the way.... Herbert isnt even on pace for 30 TDs - he is on pace for 26 which is NO WHERE near 35, he is on pace for over 8 INTs - so great example!
And of course every situation to you is worse than Jones! I mean Jones is only missing his top FOUR WRs from the year, multiple OL and the top 3 TEs that were signed to start the year. But would you ever mention that? Nah.... not your style to post facts.
Youre the same poster who posted many times throughout the year that Jones was holding back our WRs like Marques Johnson, Rickie James, and David Sills. So maybe your opinion should be withheld from time to time - dont you think? Or maybe your thoughts are the knee jerk reactions? God forbid - you ever admit to being wrong on something....