New York Giants: Not Far Away From Success

The New York Giants are 4-9 but the future is brighter than their record suggests. Surely, the GMEN have a lot of work to do in the off season. The defense needs to be revamped with fresh talent, the offense is missing a couple of pieces. The Giants do not need to overhaul the entire roster, instead they just have to do some light patchwork.

The Giants have a lot of talent on the roster but in some crucial spots they are lacking. Part of the Giants problems stem from injuries; one can only wonder what could have been if Victor Cruz, Jon Beason and Geoff Schwartz did not miss so much time due to these injuries. The truth is the Giants looked better in the off season when they planned on having these players play large roles in their success.

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The path to the Giants returning to prominence in the NFC East is a path easy to see. The Giants need to do what great organizations do, draft well and responsibly add free agents that can help. This does not mean that the Giants need to go after the big names and scrape the ceiling of the salary cap.

This means that if there is a good player at a workable deal, that will help them at key positions they need to get them in Giants blue. With the bevy of injured starters that have missed time back in the lineup in 2015, and a good off season a winning team is a possibility.

Sep 8, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; New York Giants outside linebacker Jon Beason (52) against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Forget the coaching staff that is stuck in limbo, expecting to fall to their employment’s bitter end. It is the players that we need to worry about in New York.

The Giants need to prioritize the front seven of the defense. Beason will help next year’s defense tremendously but they must get better at the other two linebacker positions. They need another pass rusher as well.

The Giants need one more weapon to add to the impressive 2015 trio of Cruz, Odell Beckham Jr and Eli Manning. With the return of Schwartz and the continued development of Justin Pugh and Weston Richburg, the Giants just need a little patch work on the offensive line. It may seem like a lot but it can be done in one offseason.

The second step is to look at the Giants’ free agents. The Giants may have lucked out with Jason Pierre-Paul not having a juggernaut season as a pass rusher. The Giants can let him test the waters. If he gets a worldly offer that is too rich for the Giants, they will let him go. Likely he comes back to the Giants with a fair offer as the Giants think his best football is still in the 25 year old defensive end.

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The Giants will likely say goodbye to offensive guard Adam Snyder as he is 32 years old which is like 50 in NFL years. It is possible to see him back in New York for the veteran minimum but don’t hold your breath. If it were up to me, the franchise tag would go unused.

The franchise tag pays a player for one season a top 5 salary for that position. One could argue that Antrel Rolle could merit the tag as the strong safety is one of the best in football. On the open market however he is a 31 year old player. The Giants can work out a cap friendly short term deal with Rolle,

The Giants really won’t have to break the bank to keep anyone if I am right about JPP. The Giants will have some cap room to spend in free agency. They may not be able to break the bank for anyone but they could likely land a quality veteran.

Maybe they could get cornerback Brandon Flowers from the Chargers or a Mike Iupati from the 49ers for the offensive line. Free agency lends itself to a team like the Giants, a team that really does not need 1000 different pieces and will have a little money to spend.

The draft however is how teams are built and the Giants will need to hit home runs with each selection. In the first three rounds, good drafters get starters. In the fourth round you start to get role players. After that you get the coaches projects and special teams players. The Giants need to draft defensively. The offense has talent and the line will be better next year, the focus must be on the defense.

What it boils down to is that the Giants must fill patches in their roster. There is no need for an overhaul. The team is not 10 pieces away from a good team it is all but a few. The Giants may not turn into Super Bowl contenders overnight but they can be a winning team next season. GMENHQ will keep you in the loop as the patchwork takes place this off season so please be sure to visit us in the future!

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