New York Giants: Offense By The Numbers
The New York Giants offense has had moments of greatness and flashes of horrible play mixed together this season. Let’s take a look at the Giants offense by the numbers they have produced.
Everything starts with protecting Eli Manning for the Giants. Manning is the team’s rock and good pass protection gives him the chance to shred defenses apart. Manning has only been sacked 5 times this season which is a pretty impressive stat for the Giants offensive line (considering we expected much worse).
Manning has completed 90 of his 143 passing attempts. He has amassed 976 yards and 7 touchdowns, throwing just one interception. Manning did have a costly fumble against the Falcons and a boneheaded moment late against the Cowboys. Other than those two moments, Manning has played exceptionally sharp and is spreading the ball around.
Odell Beckham is clearly the number one receiver on the Giants with 24 receptions. But Manning isn’t forcing the ball into Beckham’s hands, he is taking what the defense gives him. Larry Donnell has 15 receptions for 119 yards. Rueben Randle has 14 receptions for 175 yards. Shane Vereen and Rashad Jennings combine for 19 receptions out of the backfield. Manning has completed a pass to 10 different players this season.
Beckham, Randle, Vereen, Jennings and Dwayne Harris all average over 10 yards per reception. The longest pass play was a 67 yard reception by Odell Beckham where he caught an intermediate pass and had a dazzling open field run.
The Giants are employing a running back by committee approach this season. Jennings has 42 carries for 134 yards and 1 touchdown. Andre Williams has 37 carries for 121 yards and one touchdown. Vereen has 20 rushing attempts for 77 yards.
The Giants have gotten some really big plays from their running backs (even a blocked punt from Rashad Jennings). Jennings had a 27 yard rush and Williams had a 35 yard carry as well. The Giants running game though has been pretty pedestrian overall. The team averages 3.5 yards per carry (and that includes Manning’s six rushes for 29 yards).
The Giants offense is ranked 21st in yards per game with 335.8. The Giants have the 19th best passing game in the NFL and the 24th ranked rushing offense. The offense is certainly playing below it’s potential. Last season the Giants had one of the best passing offenses in football. This season it is clearly efficient but the Giants aren’t putting on a clinic by any stretch of the imagination.
The Giants had a bad start to their season offensively. They struggled against the Cowboys in the second half and only had 289 yards in the contest. The Giants also struggled against the Bills defense to a degree. They couldn’t stay on the field much of the game and they put a ton of pressure on the defense.
The offensive play calling has been surprisingly balanced. The Giants have had 143 passing attempts and 106 rushing attempts. I think this shows that the offense is sticking with the running game to reduce the pressure on the offensive line. The passing game has been a quick release centered attack. The Giants offensive line may still be a concern for the Giants as evidenced by sticking with a running game that is inconsistent at best and neglecting to take many shots down the field in the passing game.
Overall the Giants offense is getting the job done because the team is ranked 9th in points per game. Even if they are a little to dependent on Josh Brown field goals, the offense is doing okay. Hopefully in the coming weeks this offense can take it to the next level.
Next: New York Giants: What Story Do Defensive Stats Tell?