Just a few items I still think are flying under the radar.
- I don't think I've ever seen any team in the NFL basically get by with just two defensive linemen, but that's basically what the Giants did with Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams. The # of snaps these guys played was astounding.
- The guys who ended up starting at inside linebacker were not even on an NFL roster in September.
- Most of us dismissed the Jihad Ward signing in March. He was an asset both on and off the field. Another free agent who was not given much thought was Richie James.
- The Giants approached free agency on the cheap. Most of the 25 bargain basement free agents signed did not pan out.
- Incredibly frustrating season for Azeez Ojulari. He was better than I expected when he played, but he seldom played (only 6 games out of 17 and not being able to finish even a few of those).
- If you would have told me that Fabian Moreau would start 11 games and Nick McCloud 8 games at cornerback, I would have told you the Giants would win maybe 4 games. Most Giants fans had no clue who these guys were in September.
- It was talked about a great deal when he came back, but we should still be in awe of the fact that Nick Gates not only returned to the team this year, but he actually started seven games (and played in two more). There is no way I expected him to be able to vie for a starting job this year.
- Ben Bredeson redeemed himself in the eyes of Giants fans. Not sure if he is a starter moving forward, but he's not the bum many thought last year.
- On the other hand, Shane Lemieux was set to start at left guard for the second season in a row, but in both 2021 and 2022 suffered training camp injuries that wiped out his seasons. In both years, he came back only to aggravate the injuries. Lemieux never missed a game in four years in college (52 starts).
- When the season started, the top wideouts were expected to be Kenny Golladay, Sterling Shepard, Kadarius Toney, and Wan'Dale Robinson. Those who saw extensive playing time after things didn't go as planned were David Sills and Marcus Johnson. It's stunning how things ended up here.
- Giants quietly added OLs who were drafted in the first four rounds by other teams, including Tyre Phillips, Wyatt Davis, and Solomon Kindley.
- Two of the three tight ends on the roster were not on the team in September.
- Who the heck thought Gary Brightwell could run the ball?
- A popular prediction was Tyrod Taylor would be starting for the Giants by December.
- The 11-man 2022 rookie class was jinxed by injuries.Five ended up on season-ending injured reserve. Both top picks missed time with injuries. That said, Thibodeaux, Neal, Robinson, Ezeudu, Flott, Bellinger, Belton, and McFadden all started games. Davidson was an important reserve before getting hurt (and arguably the best reserve DL). Beavers was on track to start (confirmed by Schoen yesterday). And Schoen said McKethan "was having a really good camp for us before tearing his ACL." (he said it with emphasis too)
New York Giants 2022 Free Agency Scorecard - ( New Window )
My gut reaction was he was talking about the DL, Linval or Suh specifically.
My gut reaction was he was talking about the DL, Linval or Suh specifically.
No clue. I am surprised they didn't raid other team Practice Squads more.
Part of me keeps thinking that next year the Giants HAVE to regress to the mean. They can't win THAT many 1 score games again, and while Daniel Jones showed terrific progress this year, leading the league in protecting the football year-in-year-out is probably too much to ask, especially if they start to lean into more passing plays (which I expect as soon as they have some WRs).
But part of me also realizes that the Giants were basically playing the whole season with one hand tied behind their back due to the Salary Cap purge + injuries. Even assuming essentially the same injury luck next year (poor), having the financial ability to sign some depth players will do a ton both in terms of overall team performance and protecting the key players the Giants do have.
TL;DR - I still expect some regression to the mean in a variety of categories, but less than you might think.
We also need another edge. I don't expect Ximines to return, and Ojulari can't be counted on at this point. He had injury issues coming out of college, and it looks like they are continuing.
I also wouldn't be surprised if the Giants do very little with the OL this offseason. As you note, we grabbed a whole bunch of OL who were taken in the first four rounds by other teams, and also have Ezeudu and McKeathan returning. Neal should also be better.
Kudos to Gates. What a warrior. I never thought he'd play football again, let alone this year.
Probably would’ve thought that the Giants finish beneath last place.
I've read/listened to way too much sadness/anger. And hey who am I to say you're wrong, we're all on a message board...but I think the Giants are in the right direction...eventually talent wins. Of the 11 on the field, how many start for any other team that played this past weekend? 2 or 3? And furthermore, of the 11...how many weren't in camp with NYG to start the season...2 to 5? Hard to win with that.
Futures bright. We have the right GM/Coaches in place, now let them get "their guys" in the building. At that point, then you can raise expectations.
I am really looking forward to what they can accomplish with a more robust roster. I haven't been this optimistic about the Giants future in 10 years.
Part of me keeps thinking that next year the Giants HAVE to regress to the mean. They can't win THAT many 1 score games again, and while Daniel Jones showed terrific progress this year, leading the league in protecting the football year-in-year-out is probably too much to ask, especially if they start to lean into more passing plays (which I expect as soon as they have some WRs).
But part of me also realizes that the Giants were basically playing the whole season with one hand tied behind their back due to the Salary Cap purge + injuries. Even assuming essentially the same injury luck next year (poor), having the financial ability to sign some depth players will do a ton both in terms of overall team performance and protecting the key players the Giants do have.
TL;DR - I still expect some regression to the mean in a variety of categories, but less than you might think.
A step backwards could happen. But...the offense will be improved next year and holding on in 1 score games may not be a weekly occurrence. Likewise, I expect the defense to not be playing the 4th and 5th CBs as starters weekly and the ILB have to be better, merely because it could not be any worse.
On the LW situation, I don't think anybody doubts his quality as a player. But the contract is among the worst in the NFL. As TTH mentioned in a post yesterday, way too much of the front seven budget is tied up in a single player, who played hurt much of the year. So there is a severe risk/return imbalance as well the loss of quality depth at the position, which is what led to the team being among the worst five NFL teams in rushing defense in 2022.
I still argue that Tomlinson, Hill and a free agent like Reddick a couple of years ago, as a cost neutral example, would have been a much more prudent front seven approach to the position than LW and a bunch of jags.
Glowinski has a contract, but Feliciano does not...Glowinski was the worst player on the line(except for bad Neal days).
Will Gates be brought back and in what roll? The Giants have a load of very good backups, but need some interior starters.
But if the opportunity for someone better comes up they can’t just dismiss it
Jihad Ward: I had a feeling he was going to be at least a significant role-player given he was signed pretty quickly in free agency, even had him penciled in as the third defensive lineman beside Lawrence and Williams.
Ojulari: Ojulari is a very good pass rusher, but not particularly good defending the run, and that's when he's healthy. Should the Giants look to add a true DE (3-4 DE/4-3 DE, think JJ Watt in skillset but not JJ Watt) to assist against the run?
Easily the worst takeaway of this season is our performance against Philly and Dallas. Could have easily won’t the 1st Dallas game and didn’t. The Philly regular season games felt very odd in both cases where for us they were sandwiched between games of larger significance. The playoff loss in Philly was a tough way to go out. It’s not the loss as much as it was that score against that team. I hope that turns out to be rock bottom in our decade plays struggle against that franchise.
I thought Ezeudu was coming on before he got hurt. I posted earlier that I though he an McKethan coming back healthy would be a + for the IOL next year, but C has to be fixed.
I'm not a Lemieux fan. Move on. I'd keep Gates thought he may be best suited as the IOL swing man. But get a real C either in FA or draft if Gates isn't the starter. They Have to have a STOUT C.
I hope off season training away from the building is something the FO/coaching staff tries to influence. I'm worried that Thibodeaux will make the same mistake Ojulari did. I'm hoping both edge guys train for explosiveness and speed.
There is a ton of wood to chop, above and beyond the obvious big ticket decisions surrounding Jones and Barkley.
Not doom and gloom - but the amount of cap space immediately available really doesn't look big when you hold it up against the holes in the roster.
That said, scouring the landscape and beating the bushes for serviceable players that are pennies on the dollar is just one part of the equation, Daboll and staff created a situation where the Cagers, Moreaus and Hodgins were constructive pieces. It gives me hope that has been absent for many years.
Of good coaching over an entire team.
For many of the reasons you stated above as well.
Injuries, lack of depth, severe talent deficiency across several units etc.
To perform the way they did was truly remarkable.
We saw ownership get excited over Judge/Grahams final 5 game stretch in JJs first yeat coaching the team and then spend quite aggressively in the offseason to really fortify the offense and get a better read on DJ.
Though that horribly failed between the bad signings and bad coaching of the JJ/JG/PG trio , I think they will see this staff as one that has done more with less , maintained a high compete level relative to lesser talent all season long and be quite willing to again be aggressive in the offseason fortifying this roster.
Eric in Li wrote a great piece on the synergy of this team with the 2021 Eagles I think it has quite a bit of validity to it.
I think there is enough cap flexibility there to make some strong moves this offseason in addition to resigning DJ and Saquon and being a much more well rounded and deep team next year under one of the better coaching staffs we've had in quite some time.
Template to keep in mind- 2021 Eagles - ( New Window )
Beavers - Has to play a lot faster than he times or he will be a double-edged sword.
Gates - Passed physical and started, but was used strangely in place of mediocre or worse players. Nothing from full recovery to no attempt to re-sign should surprise.
CBs - Most have physical talent to start. Locating ball while staying connected and learning to grab discreetly are usual issues. If our Position Coach can substantially correct this, he is worth his weight in gold.
If 13 mos ago someone told you come Jan youd be pissed off because we werent going to the NFCC, youd never ever would have bought it.
Beavers - Has to play a lot faster than he times or he will be a double-edged sword.
Gates - Passed physical and started, but was used strangely in place of mediocre or worse players. Nothing from full recovery to no attempt to re-sign should surprise.
CBs - Most have physical talent to start. Locating ball while staying connected and learning to grab discreetly are usual issues. If our Position Coach can substantially correct this, he is worth his weight in gold.
Beavers is a far better athlete than advertised. We saw that in camp and the preseason.
Looking back on a couple of moves/non-moves that could be questioned though include:
- Putting re-invented Guard Feliciano in here to the de facto starter at Center. Even if it was just for one season, it didn't work out well and needed a better solution
- Another was how the whole Bradberry thing went down and not being able to obtain anything for the services for a clear starting NFL CB that we couldn't afford
- And lastly, (and this is a little more of a stretch) but not grabbing a talented TE like Hockenson when he became available during the season. Maybe we tried and got outbidded but that was a player worth jumping on for this rebuild
Next year I think we see the Wink defense. This year was him having a few very good parts and just finding a way to keep points down as best as possible. I expect a very big focus this offseason upgrading.
I like all the competition on the OL. Draft some more and maybe a mid tier FA RT for Neal as injury/insurance player.
Lots to look forward to imv.
Looking back on a couple of moves/non-moves that could be questioned though include:
- Putting re-invented Guard Feliciano in here to the de facto starter at Center. Even if it was just for one season, it didn't work out well and needed a better solution
- Another was how the whole Bradberry thing went down and not being able to obtain anything for the services for a clear starting NFL CB that we couldn't afford
- And lastly, (and this is a little more of a stretch) but not grabbing a talented TE like Hockenson when he became available during the season. Maybe we tried and got outbidded but that was a player worth jumping on for this rebuild
Excellent, dead-on.
This team desperately needs to invest a premium pick into a DL that can start alongside Dex and Leo. That’s a recipe for disaster giving those guys that much play %, they can get more out of them throughout the season by getting some solid rotation pieces in here. Another 3-4 DE is needed, will help the edge guys and LBers. This team needs to shore up its pourous run defense which I think will come from better ILBer’s and more beef up on the lines.
There is still a lot of positions to fill on this team, but I truly hope they can make a move for a solid vet WR as well as land a promising rookie WR somewhere in the first 2 days of the draft. This appears to be a solid draft to add a DL piece and a high upside outside CB early.
I think it would also be wise to look for a developmental edge player to replace Ojulari. Guy can’t be relied on as talented as he is, he is made of glass. Hopefully they can find a real 3-down LBer in this class somewhere.
Look forward to this off-season, in particular if they re-sign Jones and or Barkley. They need to build this team to compete against Philly and Dallas in our division, can except to make playoffs again going 1-5-1 in the division, need to find a way to split with both Philly and Dallas and keep owning the Skins/Commies.
He was a really solid rotational piece that the Giants sorely missed.
We have a more than half of draft class that wasn’t playing for most of the yr
That’s a nice influx of talent along with 2023 draft
We also need another edge. I don't expect Ximines to return, and Ojulari can't be counted on at this point. He had injury issues coming out of college, and it looks like they are continuing.
Does gates have a chance to improve a bit with a full offseason not rehabbing?
That would help out, would love for him to be our OC. Think he may be a bit better there too
I also wouldn't be surprised if the Giants do very little with the OL this offseason. As you note, we grabbed a whole bunch of OL who were taken in the first four rounds by other teams, and also have Ezeudu and McKeathan returning. Neal should also be better.
Kudos to Gates. What a warrior. I never thought he'd play football again, let alone this year.
Quote:
McKethan - Would love for him to work out - but the reality is that majority of 5s remain as bottom of roster backups.
Beavers - Has to play a lot faster than he times or he will be a double-edged sword.
Gates - Passed physical and started, but was used strangely in place of mediocre or worse players. Nothing from full recovery to no attempt to re-sign should surprise.
CBs - Most have physical talent to start. Locating ball while staying connected and learning to grab discreetly are usual issues. If our Position Coach can substantially correct this, he is worth his weight in gold.
Beavers is a far better athlete than advertised. We saw that in camp and the preseason.
Beavers also started out as a safety in college I think. He may have some coverage skills.
He was a really solid rotational piece that the Giants sorely missed.
Next year, we could probably afford the $7M he signed for. Hopefully there is someone else like him available.
Also so true about the CB position. We all thought that if Aaron Robinson didn't pan out as a staring QB then the team would be finished. It's amazing how Moreau (and to a lesser extent, McCloud) filled in.
Like a gift from God!