New York Giants: 10 things we learned last season

Dec 14, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham (13) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Washington Redskins during the fourth quarter of a game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

3. Stats Can Be Superficial

Odell Beckham Jr. exploded on to the scene in 2014. After missing the first four games with a hamstring injury, Beckham Jr. racked up 91 receptions for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns. Manning had one of the best statistical seasons of his career throwing for 4,410 yards, 30 touchdowns and just 14 interceptions. The Giants passing attack got big chunks of yards at will, they had 53 passes that went for over 20 yards.

The Giants offense had the tenth most total yards per game in the NFL last season. The Giants had the seventh most passing yards in the league. The Giants were certainly moving the football well and putting points on the scoreboard. If I just gave you those stats and told you to guess the record of that football team, you probably wouldn’t guess that the Giants were 6-10 last season.

Numbers never lie but you can always spin statistics to make your point. You may look at the Giants 47 sacks from last season and say that the Giants defense has a phenomenal defensive line. But when you consider that the Giants gave up almost five yards on every run play and gave up 135.1 yards per game on the ground that argument can be easily shot down.

Stats are superficial sometimes because they don’t tell you the entire story. Yes the Giants were putting up great statistics on offense but they weren’t winning games because of it. The NFL is a results oriented business and the only results that matter is the winner of the game.

Next: 4. Losing Is Contagious