The 2018 New York Giants were doomed from the start

A 37-year-old immobile quarterback, an atrocious offensive line, and a star wideout with a quick temper and a brand new $95 million deal, the New York Giants were doomed from the start of the 2018 season.

The New York Giants all but closed the door on their already minuscule hopes of a division title with an embarrassing 34-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night.

Veteran football executive Dave Gettleman knew what he was getting himself into when he accepted the role as the New York Giants general manager. He inherited the job of fixing a 3-13 football team, and anyone, including Gettleman, who thought he could do it in one offseason was kidding themselves.

Gettleman did what he could to fix Big Blue’s shortcomings. He signed left tackle Nate Solder to a $62 million contract, drafted guard Will Hernandez, traded for veteran linebacker Alec Ogletree, and brought superstar running back Saquon Barkley into the picture. However, the New York Giants’ biggest problems, the offensive line and quarterback, were far from fixed by these moves.

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New York started the season with Jon Halapio, Patrick Omameh and Ereck Flowers at center, right guard and right tackle. None of the three players had shown anything throughout their NFL careers that would have suggested they would be successful with the G-Men.

Flowers was among the worst tackles in the league throughout his first three years, Jacksonville let Omameh walk in favor of another guard, and Halapio had been cut four times prior to signing with the Giants.

Doomed to fail?

Those three, along with a rookie left guard, protecting a completely immobile quarterback was a recipe for disaster. And a disaster is exactly what the offensive line has been from the first snap of the season. Flowers proved to be his old self and was benched in favor of Chad Wheeler, Solder has struggled to live up to his hefty contract and Omameh has frequently looked lost in pass protection and basic running schemes. According to NFL.com, through the first six games, the New York Giants offensive line has allowed 20 sacks and 40 quarterback hits.

The frequency in which he is being hit has completely hindered Eli Manning from having any composure within the pocket. The timing with wide receivers is off and Manning cannot comfortably read through his progressions. The 15-year NFL veteran looks shell shocked, often checking down before even looking to push the ball downfield.

Manning does not have the athletic ability to escape the pocket and extend plays. It’s not who he is, and everyone, including Gettleman, knew that prior to the season. This makes the decision to keep Manning at quarterback behind a below-average offensive line a head-scratcher.

The New York Giants had their opportunity to find the quarterback of the future in the draft. Sam Darnold was available at second overall, but the Giants chose Barkley instead. Darnold has already shown in his short time with the Jets that he has the ability to extend plays and find receivers on the move.

The allure of securing a player like Barkley may have blinded Gettleman to the issues that having Manning behind a subpar offensive line would present. After reviewing Manning’s tape from last year, Gettleman and head coach Pat Shurmur had wishful thinking that the 37-year old could perform well behind an improved offensive line. If this was the case, you have to question their logic. However, it is more likely that the Giants did not feel that any of the quarterbacks in the draft were worth passing up on a generational talent like Barkley.

The Penn State product has been the lone bright spot for the Giants offensively this season, rushing for 438 yards and gathering another 373 through the air. Barkley has reached the end zone six times and is just the second player in NFL history to record at least 100 yards from scrimmage in his first six career games.

Can’t do it alone

The most impressive thing about Barkley is that he is doing it all with an ineffective offensive line. Like many teams in the NFL, the Giants running game is an inside zone scheme. The offensive lineman block the gaps to the play side and work off double teams to second level defenders. It is Barkley’s job to read whether the play will hit frontside or backside based on the defense’s alignment.

The Giants offensive line fails to get any type of vertical push more times than not. Barkley often has to avoid two tacklers just to get past the line of scrimmage. However, his ability to make defenders miss within a small box using spin moves and jump cuts that few players could execute is special.

Barkley was the best player in the draft, but by not selecting a mobile quarterback to compensate for the offensive line, the Giants doomed themselves for the 2018 season.

The losing has already begun to take a toll on the locker room. Star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has been visibly frustrated, returning to the old sideline antics that garnered him heavy criticism in the past. The fifth-year wideout went outside the team last week to voice his displeasure in an ESPN interview in which he criticized the energy the team plays with.

Constant losing can create a toxic environment within a team. The Giants can only hope that their young players do not get comfortable with losing and Shurmur can keep control of the locker room.

While many consider it erroneous, there is a chance that Gettleman understood what this year would be. It is entirely possible that he did not feel there was a franchise quarterback for him in the draft and he selected Barkley with the understanding that his team may land in the top ten again next year.

Next. Acknowledging the obvious begins now for New York Giants. dark

Maybe Gettleman has his eye on Justin Herbert or Drew Lock, or maybe he genuinely thought he had fixed the offensive line and Eli Manning had years left in the tank. Either way, the Giants are heading nowhere for the second straight season.

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