What are the '23 Giants?

2023 schedule is far tougher. We may see a step backwards. My gut tells me 2024 is a more realistic target for competing against the big boys.

In comment 16068153 Eric from BBI said:

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2023 schedule is far tougher. We may see a step backwards. My gut tells me 2024 is a more realistic target for competing against the big boys.

I agree one more off-season. And to the op Thomas is another elite player

is the determining factor. Depth looks better so far.

Hinges on how we do in the draft, the improvement of players like Neal and our record in the division specifically against Dallas and Philly. On paper we have improved some but still a ways behind SF, Dallas, Philly and maybe a few other NFC teams. The schedule is more difficult this season. Crazier things have happened though.

I think they'll be .500 or around there. Maybe the last team to get in the playoffs Hate to say it, but I think they got super lucky this past year in a couple of games.

Have to see how the draft plays out, of course. I think they get swept by both Dallas and Philly .... AGAIN.

By that I mean the 8-8-1 .500

The NFL flips tremendously every year except for a few teams. I don't think that you can clearly say that the team will have a hard schedule because good teams become bad and bad teams become good after one off-season. Will it be tougher than last year? Probably (because we played a few bottom of the barrel teams). But there is a decent chance that, at the end of the year, the schedule doesn't look as difficult.

Another thing to keep in mind is not just who they play, but when they play them. Playing the titans in week 1 last year was MUCH more difficult than playing them at the end of the year with Willis. Playing the lions in the second half of the season was much more difficult than playing them at the beginning. Bottom line - predicting schedule difficulty is almost an impossible task.

Who are the 2023 Giants? An ascending team that doesn't quite know how good it can be.

It is hard to say how far we have to go, but we are clearly moving in the right direction.

...

If they add a legit starter in the draft at WR, they can contend for the division.
If not, they will be a playoff team.

In comment 16068153 Eric from BBI said:

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2023 schedule is far tougher. We may see a step backwards. My gut tells me 2024 is a more realistic target for competing against the big boys.

Perfectly stated. The team may actually improve and have a slightly worse record next year. Schedule is very, very tough.

Playoff win each season is a reasonable goal. They need to be at least 3-3 in the NFC East. 4-2 is more comfortable.

In comment 16068204 GiantGrit said:

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In comment 16068153 Eric from BBI said: Quote: 2023 schedule is far tougher. We may see a step backwards. My gut tells me 2024 is a more realistic target for competing against the big boys. Perfectly stated. The team may actually improve and have a slightly worse record next year. Schedule is very, very tough.

We’ll have to see how it plays out. We were supposed to have an easy schedule last year, but our opponents combined SOS ended up at .526. But AFC East this year definitely tougher than playing AFC South last year. Bottom line is it’s a tougher schedule for everyone in our division. Watching the offseason unfold, I’m optimistic that we we can improve enough to get back into the playoffs, even though our wins/losses won’t change that much.

Flips from year to year. Look what Philly did last year coming off an average 2021.

I've seen it enough to know we could be as good as anyone next year. If DJ becomes a star next year the offense will be dynamic. The defense is close.... who knows. Lots of if's but I'm not ruling out anything.

the team is better but the schedule is harder. i currently don't know if the team is good enough to be a true contender to win the conference. god this team really needs neal to step his game up.

if i were predicting playoff teams right now.

philly
giants (wc)
dallas (wc)
lions
south winner (who knows all these teams stink)
SF
seattle (wc)

maybe the vikings make a playoff push as well but that defense is going to take a big step back talent wise and that unit already stinks.

there are just not a lot of good teams in the NFC

won't make the playoffs this year unless they get better against the Cowboys and Eagles. The non-division games are far tougher this year.

and they are the division on the schedule. Packers are an easier opponent than than we would have thought at the end of the year. But of course, the Giants need to be better in division. But the schedule isn't brutal. Harder yes, but not brutal. And really, the NFL is the one professional league where it is really hard to predict strength of schedule before a season.

Schedules that looked tough turn out not to be. Super Bowl contenders fall apart. Teams that were left for dead can surprise.

I get the prudent view and expecting the Giants to level off and maybe even take a step back. We still have the bitter aftertaste of that Eagles playoff loss influencing our judgment. (Not that it means *everything* -- as mentioned, the 2021 Eagles were also destroyed in the playoffs, I'm sure their fans thought they were a long way from the Super Bowl at the time.) But if you believe sustained success comes from management and coaching, and you believe Schoen and Daboll are the right guys, then a little optimism for 2023 doesn't seem far-fetched. Most of the NFC is in flux, especially when it comes to QB play. If the Giants can stay relatively healthy and maybe steal a game or two from the Cowboys or Eagles, I think they'll be in good shape.

.....

of opponents for 2023 posted anywhere?

Giant.com


In comment 16068383 winoguy said:

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of opponents for 2023 posted anywhere?

2023 Opponents - ( New Window )

It’s easy to assume that since their personnel is going to be better, that they will have a better record, but I think a lot of previous posters feel the same way I do, that I can see them taking a step back, despite advancing the quality of the team. Schedule is definitely more difficult (though even that is hard to say at this point, last year we were looking at teams like Seattle and Detroit as “easy” games), but there are still a lot of question marks. Is Neal going to take a big step, does Jones continue his upward trajectory, what’s Saquon’s status both in terms of contract and ability to withstand the rigors of being an every down back for 17 games, will they have enough depth on the defensive line to stop the run, secondary depth. I think a 8-10 win season is likely, and a possibility of a wild card again.

The defense is a bit worse, and remains horrifically thin. The one defensive position that had some depth last year was safety. Can't even say that any more.

With reasonable health and some maturation from a few guys - Neal, Bellinger, Ezeudu - they look like a competitive team that will be more fun on offense. But with a couple of ill-placed injuries, things could get ugly fast.

Could they contend in the NFC? Sure, if they add a few key pieces in the draft and nearly everything goes right. Realistically, they are much more likely to muddle along, close to the .500 mark, or even that the bottom falls out.

AFTER the Philly loss. To paraphrase "we didn't accomplish what we wanted to this year".
His and Schoen's goal EACH year is to win the Super Bowl. That's their goal, not just improve a little and be a 500 team. That's not how they are going to operate and the vibe around the team will NOT be mediocrity.

Answering this question today with FA still in motion and the draft still to happen is just plain dumb. No one knows what the Giants will be like and no one knows what their opponents will be like. I suggest that this is a better question maybe by June 1.

projections. We still need a #1 WR and a true Center on offense and another #2 CB on D IMO. With health and another year in the system for some starters, I could see big improvement, however, as pointed out, the schedule is harder and so we might take a step back or we just might surprise some folks!

The front office still has a ton of work to do in assembling the 2023 squad.

Also, projection of young players is notoriously unreliable. The Giants have bet on the continuing "ascent" of a lot of guys who could be considered (and need to be) "ascending" talents: Jones, obviously, but also Neal, Thibodeaux, Okereke, Campbell, Hodgins, Bellinger, McKinney, Flott, Ojulari, Ezeudu, both Robinsons, even Lawrence, in the sense that he has just started to peak. How many key Giants can coast on their past body of work and be satisfied to plateau? Darren Waller, Leonard Williams, Adoree Jackson, Andrew Thomas, and Graham Gano. Everyone else has upside (except a few veteran placeholders like Glowinski and Ward). Whether they ever tap it remains to be seen.

A little premature to have this conversation?

... trump's the joy of being a fan.

Gotta see how half the rookie class last yr comes back from injury
Draft obviously and how many more FA signings that add some depth.
Most games will be tight so 7-10 or 10-7 are both feasible
Good coaching will get you winning more tight ones than losing

Philly still loaded but a lot of their guys resigning are older and can full off anytime
Kelce, Graham, Cox, slay.

Not sure about the Eagles yet but beating the Cowboys should be in the cards.

In comment 16068503 JerseyCityJoe said:

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Not sure about the Eagles yet but beating the Cowboys should be in the cards.

I mean it doesn't matter if either of those two teams look unimpressive or not, the fact remains the same, this wimp Giants franchise is incapable of being those two.

In comment 16068153 Eric from BBI said:

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2023 schedule is far tougher. We may see a step backwards. My gut tells me 2024 is a more realistic target for competing against the big boys.

+1.
The O will have faster weapons, likely bigger OL.
The D may depend on a S and LB(Beavers), and DT(Davidson).

I see a lot of parallels to the Bills under Beane & McDermott: not much expected of them their first season in Buffalo & the Bills shock the world & make the postseason for the first time since '99. Buffalo took a step back in '18 before going off like a rocket ship. I hope we have the same fortune, with a Lombardi sprinkled in too.

In comment 16068992 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:

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I see a lot of parallels to the Bills under Beane & McDermott: not much expected of them their first season in Buffalo & the Bills shock the world & make the postseason for the first time since '99. Buffalo took a step back in '18 before going off like a rocket ship. I hope we have the same fortune, with a Lombardi sprinkled in too.

Funny thing is, if you told me the Giants made it as far as Buffalo did before the 2022 season, I'd think you were high.

The answer to a future Jeopardy answer?
The question being...who won the Super Bowl in Brian Dabol's 2nd season as Head Coach....

Route9, I would have assumed Allen had blown out his knee Week 1 & Buffalo went something like 6-11.

I think Buffalo's window is closing. That Bengals game wasn't even competitive.

building toward something special in a couple of years.

on how the OL improves (Neal) and talent upgrade in the middle. If the OL stays the same about the same season and maybe no playoffs. Even if we get a really good WR or 2 the plays still need time to develop. The OL stepping up they can make out blue collar crew of WRs look better than they are with extra time and Jones with a cleaner pocket. Not to mention better running for a tough 3 or 4 yards up the gut.

Our blue collar….

If jones, Barkley and waller are all humming the offense will pose problems. I’m confident more because of the coaching and cohesion, but the talent is in place now. Two TE set with an elite back and major running thread in Jones. It’s an easy to run, high percentage play offense. The wrs are fine with 3-4 capable bodies in hodgins, Parris and slayton, maybe Robinson coming back at some point. Shep is a long shot but who knows. Maybe James is back? He fills two spots seems they’d want him back. FA isn’t over. And you have the draft.

Draft defense and OL first two picks. Probably in that respective order.

Out of Neal and the other kids upfront, maybe a second or third round pick added along the interior OL, relatively decent health, I expect the offense to run the ball a little bit more effectively in 23 and score a few more points as well. I’ll say 390-410 points scored. Barclay 1800 all purpose yards. Jones 4200 all purpose yards and 27 total TDs. Biggest key on offense is Waller.

In comment 16069001 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:

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Route9, I would have assumed Allen had blown out his knee Week 1 & Buffalo went something like 6-11. I think Buffalo's window is closing. That Bengals game wasn't even competitive.

I mean, I hate the word overrated but maybe Buffalo was overhyped way too much by some.