NY Giants: 7 reasons to be excited about the future

The season might have ended in heartache, but the Giants gave plenty of reasons to get excited for the future.

Despite missing out on the NFL playoffs, despite a slow start and a limping finish, despite an unproven first-year coach, their best offensive weapon missing the season, and their starting kicker and starting corner being arrested and subsequently released from the team before the season even started, the NY Giants had a pretty damn good 2020.

It’s always harder to look on the bright side of things when you come up just short, and the Eagles’ approach to ending their own season certainly added salt in the wound.

It’s also a bit tougher when in a historically weak division, the NY Giants only managed a 6-10 record.

But, this season should be considered a success for the Giants, even though it marked their fourth straight losing record.

It’s been a long stretch of mediocrity and poor performance since the Giants won their last Super Bowl in 2011, which was also the last year they won the division. Since 2012, the Giants have had just two winning seasons — 2012 and 2016 — and made the playoffs just once.

Over that stretch, and especially since that last playoff appearance in 2016, the team was in a complete tail spin. The Giants have gone through three coaching regimes, two general managers, and retired one legendary quarterback.

But the winds of change swept through MetLife Stadium in 2020. And this season feels like a crucial turning point.

Giants’ staff, players, and of course their fans find themselves in the familiar position of watching the playoffs from the outside looking in. But for the first time in a long time, they can watch with the perspective that they belong there, and that they could hang with the NFL’s best.

This year’s team played with heart and effort, something that they lacked over their poor stretch. What’s more important, that effort brought results.

Outside of a few blowouts, the Giants were in the majority of their games. And even late into the games they had no chance of winning, the players played like the game was on the line.

While there is plenty to opine about from another losing season, there’s just as much to look forward to. So let’s review seven reasons to be excited about the Giants moving forward.

The Return of Saquon

It’s no surprise that the Giants’ offense struggled in Saquon Barkley’s absence. Even with strong play from Wayne Gallman, there’s no substitute for a superstar like Barkley. And the offense has no where to go but up once he’s ready.

The Giants’ offense was anemic this season; they were ranked 31st, and had the second-fewest yards, yards per game, total points, and points per game.

New York’s rushing attacked proved to be their only saving grace. They were 19th in the league, with 110.5 yards per game. They also averaged 4.4 yards an attempt, which puts them in the top half of the league.

Looking further, it’s evident that the Giants win when they stick to the run and run effectively. They surpassed 100 total rushing yards in nine games this season. Their record for those games was 6-3.

That was actually better than the 2019 season with Barkley. The Giants rushed fewer times in 2019 than they did in 2020, and had fewer yards per game. Further, the team went 3-6 in the nine games the Giants eclipsed 100 yards.

If 2020 proved anything, it proved that waiting for disaster to strike can only result in further disaster. Preparing for something to go wrong will mean you’re ready for when it does, and by all indication, we have to assume that it’s likely to happen again with Saqon Barkley.

Barkley is the kind of player that will make all those around him better. And instead of imagining an offense in which he’s the only featured back, the Giants would be wise to take a play from the Cleveland Browns’ playbook.

Having two featured running backs will insure the Giants if Barkley goes down. But more importantly, it will increase the the amount of games they can eclipse 100 yards, thus increasing their chances to win.

Cleveland in 2019 had the 12th-ranked rushing offense in the NFL behind Nick Chubb. They had 11 games of 100+ rushing yards, going 5-6 in those games.

But with an offense behind Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, the Browns’ offense moved up to third in 2020. They rushed for more than 100 yards in 13 games this season, going 10-3.

Another added plus to having a secondary back is the ability to give Barkley a break during games. He’s coming off of a devastating injury. And it would be catastrophic if he remains their only option and is forced to play because of a lack of depth at the position.

Getting Barkley back will improve the Giants’ strongest aspect of their offense. And whether it’s Gallman or someone else, it’s exciting to think about how good he could be with a complimentary back.

McKinney at Full Health

By all indications, safety Xavier McKinney appears to be a great find from 2020’s draft class.

A pre-season injury kept McKinney from playing before Week 12, and he didn’t play more than 50% of defensive snaps until Week 15. But anytime he entered a game he flashed his ability of what’s to come.

Through six games played, McKinney had 25 tackles, one of which was for a loss, a pass deflection, and a game-sealing interception. In a total, those numbers don’t really jump out.

But when you break them down, you could see McKinney was only beginning to warm up.

His first two games, he only played a total of 11 defensive snaps, while playing 14 snaps on special teams. Those games, in which he only recorded one tackle, were meant to get his legs under him.

His first two games as a starting safety, he recorded four tackles in each. And he went from playing 11 snaps across two games to 38 (48%) of the defensive snaps in Week 14 and 41 (64%) of the defensive snaps in Week 15.

In McKinney’s next two games, he recorded eight tackles in each. He played 46 (68%) of the snaps in Week 16, and 73 (89%) of the snaps in Week 17.

Playing more time in each game would be a good sign for a banged-up rookie. But McKinney takes it a step farther. He doesn’t just play more, he produces more.

Each week, he either did as much or more than the week prior. And consider his Week 17 numbers. He played most of the game, matched his season-high eight tackles, and also recorded an interception, and was credited with a pass deflection.

It’s worth repeating, the more McKinney plays, the more he does.

Having him be a natural safety with Jabrill Peppers will help strengthen all aspects of the Giants’ defensive secondary.

Peppers had a great year while he established himself a leader of the Giants’ defense. His game continues to improve. A career-high 69 targets were thrown his way. But he allowed career lows in yards per target and completion. He only allowed two touchdowns, and opposing quarterbacks were only rated an 89.8 while they threw his way.

While it’s a bit unfair to compare those numbers to McKinney’s, since he only played a fraction of the games that Peppers played, it’s a good sign that they’re on par.

Peppers allowed 12 of 13 targets aimed in his direction. But he held those passes to 96 total yards, with a yards per completion of eight and yards per target of only 7.4. He allowed no touchdowns, and held quarterbacks to a rating of 65.4.

This season, the secondary was strengthened with addition by subtraction. 2019 first-round pick DeAndre Baker was released, and his play was not missed.

While he plays a different position, his numbers show the Giants are better without him. In 2019, he allowed 850 yards on 54 completions in his direction. He gave up 15.7 yards per completion, six touchdowns, and quarterbacks had a rating of 116.2.

When McKinney is at full health, he and Peppers will make a formidable combo at the safety position. This also allows standout 2020 stars Logan Ryan, who was awarded a contract extension, and James Bradberry, who was selected to his first Pro Bowl, to play natural corner backs.

McKinney’s presence alone helps fill out a better defensive lineup. And his play is something fans should get real exited about.

A Healthy Quarterback

Daniel Jones regressed in his second season. But he also dealt with lingering injuries that took away his best ability.

Jones had fewer touchdowns, fewer passing yards, and a lower rating in 2020. But anyone who thinks that he is going to be a quarterback known for his arm is under a delusion. Jones’ strength is in his legs, and he did show improvement in this aspect of his game.

He ran 20 more times, had nearly 200 more yards, and his yards-per-game average was up by nearly 10 yards. And that’s after he only attempted 10 rushes across the last three games he played.

As his coaches and teammates have said, Jones proved he’s a tough kid willing to play through pain. But if his legs are not healthy, neither is his game.

Let’s look at sacks as an example. Jones was sacked 45 times, up from 38 in his rookie campaign. He was sacked six times in Week 14 and again in Week 16. He only attempted one run for three yards in those two games.

He was sacked five times in Week 9, when he rushed for just four yards. And he was sacked twice in Week 5 when he rushed twice for -7 yards.

The secret to beating Jones and thus beating the Giants is for teams to contain his rushes and put him in the ground. If they take away his legs, Jones is hard-pressed to beat a defense with his arm.

What’s more, Jones was sacked in 12 of the 14 games he played this season. In Week 6, he was sacked once, but ran seven times for 74 yards. Week 12 was the only game in which he wasn’t sacked, but he only played 63% of the offensive snaps, going down with a hamstring injury. But before he did, he ran six times for 19 yards.

His legs are what save him from getting sacked, and it’s also how he can keep defenses on their toes.

As I mentioned in a post during the Giants’ bye week, Jones was well on his way being one of the NFL’s leading rushers at quarterback. Only Kyler Murray and Lamar Jackson were ahead of Jones, who was only one of five quarterbacks with at least 300 yards rushing through the first 10 weeks.

And as I mentioned earlier in this post, the Giants are far more likely to win a game if the team can rush for more than 100 yards in a game.

Jones’ biggest asset for this offense is his ability to run. He was the Giants’ second-leading rusher this season, behind only Wayne Gallman. He rushed for 423 yards on 65 yards, with an average 6.5 per carry. Further, 17 of those rushes were first downs.

It’s exciting that you could mention Jones in the same breath as the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson. The Ravens have had the NFL’s leading rushing offense for the past two years, in part because of the explosive players in their running-back-by-committee, but in larger part because of what Jackson could do with his legs.

A healthy Daniel Jones gives the Giants the dimensions needed from a quarterback in today’s NFL. And while it remains to be seen if a big-time receiver will help his arm, it’s a definite that his legs help the Giants win.

New Weapons

General manager Dave Gettleman does have his work cut out for him, but this offseason should be much easier than last.

Most of Gettleman’s defensive acquisitions have turned out to be gems, drastically improving a Giants defense that went from 25th in 2019 to 12th in 2020. But the offense has yet to even slightly improve.

While there are plenty of holes that can be filled, none was more evident than the lack of a big-time wide receiver.

The Giants had the 29th ranked receiving offense. None of their receivers eclipsed 1000 yards, and only one averaged more than 50 receiving yards per game. That receiver was Sterling Shepard, who averaged 54.7.

To find a wide receiver with an average comparable to that, you have to go down to Robert Woods, who was 23rd in the NFL in reception yards. He averaged 58.5 yards per game. The Giants’ receiving leader, Darius Slayton, was ranked 46th with 751 yards.

No team had to worry about a deep threat, both due to Daniel Jones’ arm strength (his intended air yards were down this year) and due to a lack of a player capable of making contested catches.

As FanSided’s Matt Lombardo has written earlier this week, there are plenty of viable options in free agency that Gettleman could target.

But it is an absolute must for the Giants to get a talented receiver for Jones. Not only will it open up a deep threat, but it will open up more opportunities for Shepard and Slayton. Both are strong receivers, especially Shepard. But neither is a true number one.

Whoever Gettleman can get will likely be an improvement to the lot. Excitement lies in seeing just who will wear Big Blue at wide receiver in 2021.

Offensive Line Experience

There is no substitute for experience, and if nothing else, the Giants’ offensive lineman picked up some much needed experience this season.

Between Nate Solder opting out and Will Hernandez testing positive for COVID, the Giants depended on a couple of rookies to protect Daniel Jones’ blindside.

Rookies Andrew Thomas and Shane Lemieux played left tackle and guard, while the experienced veterans Kevin Zeitler and Cameron Fleming played guard and tackle on the right. Third-year pro Nick Gates held down the center.

It was a mixed year for the rag-tag bunch, and only partly because the drama at a bye-week coaching change. While the Giants improved on rushing the ball, they digressed in the passing game. Worse, they allowed more sacks this season.

In fact, only the Eagles beat-up offensive line allowed more sacks than the Giants. The Eagles allowed 65. The Giants, the Washington Football Team, and the Houston Texans allowed 50.

Thomas was responsible for many of those. Pro Football Focus has Thomas allowing 10 of those 50 sacks, which would be tied for most in the league. He only had an overall grade of 62.4, which was actually second best along the line. Lemieux had the worst with 32.2, Gates had 59.5, Zeitler had the best at 65.9, and Fleming had 58.4.

Thomas was not drafted to start at left tackle. And the Giants through Ereck Flowers already know what could happen when you keep someone who can’t hang at that position. But Thomas improved as the season went on, showing far more promise than Flowers did in his rookie season; Flowers was rated just 54.9 by PFF that season.

With a full year under their belt, and the team trending in the right direction, this offense of line could become more of a singular unit. It remains to be seen how they’ll shift the line to include Solder and Hernandez.

But as bad as the line was, they never got down on each other, and they never got down on themselves. The team believes that their younger guys can develop into an offensive line that can dominate.

The line can’t get much worse. And while that always seemed to be the kiss of death for the Giants’ offensive line, which seems to continuously get worse, this young offensive line should excite fans going forward.

Defensive Line Improvement

While the offensive line was one of the Giants’ weaker aspects, their defense of line was one of the strongest.

I hesitate to include too much about Leonard Williams. His re-signing is as important for Gettleman as signing a big-time receiver. And his importance to this team, specifically for this defensive line, could not be overstated.

This was arguably Williams’ best season, and he reminded everyone in New York why the Jets drafted him with the sixth overall pick in 2015. He finished with career-highs in sacks, tackles for loss, and WB hits.

What’s more, Williams’ finished seventh overall in sacks, collecting 11.5. Further, he finished third in QB hits, with 30. He, T.J. Watt, and Carl Lawrence were the only three defensive lineman with at least 30. And Williams’ 57 tackles was the highest for any player in the top 10 of sacks.

How he was snubbed for a Pro Bowl is almost as mysterious as how Evan Engram was selected. Williams was a key reason why the Giants defensive line did more than just improve, it became feared.

Dexter Lawrence and Davlin Tomlinson were big reasons for that as well. While Williams finished tied for fifth in tackles on the Giants, Lawrence finished eighth with 53 and Tomlinson finished ninth with 49. Lawrence collected four tackles and seven tackles for losses, while Tomlinson had 3.5 sacks and 9.5. tackles for loss.

Both also made it difficult for opposing quarterbacks to throw over the line of scrimmage; Lawrence had two pass deflections and Tomlinson had four.

B.J. Hill also contributed with 32 tackles, one sack, and one pass deflection.

The line was most destructive against the run. While the defense was ranked 12th overall, they allowed the 10th fewest rushing yards per game, averaging just 111.4. And stopping the run is a big prelude to stopping an offense completely.

That brings results in a number of ways, but an easy look is at how it causes turnovers. The Giants caused 22 turnovers, tied for 10th highest in the league. Unfortunately, their turnover differential was dead even, since Daniel Jones continues to struggle with turnovers.

But if not for the defenses ability to cause as many as Jones, the defense would not have taken a tremendous step forward from 2019.

Games are won in the trenches; whichever team can control the line of scrimmage usually comes out on top. And the Giants’ defensive line has proved they can win that battle.

If the Giants are able to keep this line together, not only will they become an even more destructive force thanks to experience, but they’ll also help improve the rest of the defense. It’s exciting to see how much better this line can get.

Joe Judge, and the Return to the Giants Way

Perhaps the greatest thing of all to come out of the Giants’ 2020 season is a sigh of relief over the head coach.

Joe Judge proved over and over again he is the real deal. And his ability to take this team as far as he did in a season like this should give all Giants’ fans hope for the future.

From his opening press conference, he maintained a no-nonsense, let’s-go-to-work attitude that has backfired on so many other Bill Belichick proteges. But it’s clear from his handling of on- and off-the-field issues that this is not an act.

Before the season began he had to deal with two players getting arrested. During the season he had to deal with an unhappy player venting on social media and rumors of him fist fighting former offensive line coach.

But none of these problems distracted him for doing his job of coaching up his team and preparing them for each game.

And his players respond to it. They see their coaches dedication, determination, and desire to win, and they want to prove that they do too. Even in some of their worse losses, you could see Giants’ players still fighting hard on each and every down until that final whistle blew.

And even when it was all set and done, he knew how to casually throw shade at the Philadelphia Eagles for their seemingly purpose tank in Week 17.

It’s not as easy as it looks to put blame on another team without overtly calling anyone out. But he knew first hand how hard this team has worked to put themselves into a position to reach the playoffs. And that presser showed to his players that he’s the kind of coach willing to fight for them and be in their corner.

Judge’s ability to connect to his players is going to have big benefits to get excited about. While it’s a tough pill that the Giants couldn’t win the “NFC Least,” which sent a team with a losing record to the playoffs, it shows that the division is up for grabs.

Washington’s defense is improving along with the Giants. But the Giants were able to continue to stretch their win streak over Washington with two wins this year. The Eagles have a mess all over, and the Cowboys seem to equally have more questions than answers.

By all accounts, the Giants are the team to fear going forward in the NFC East. And what kind of football player wouldn’t want to play for a coach like Judge?

As NY Jets fans are acutely aware, if the team stinks, no one wants to come play for them, and actively try to get away. But if a team has a good foundation and appears to be on the up-and-up, it makes it more enticing to try to get there.

That can only help the Giants, who showed this year that they are quickly putting all the pieces together under Judge’s rule. And best of all, he’s doing so by the traditional Giants mentality that has been championed for generations.

And results are already bearing fruit. Defensive coordinator and assistant head coach Patrick Graham, who was highly sought out for a head coaching position elsewhere, would rather stay with the Giants and build upon an already sound defense.

While it could be difficult to institute yet another offense if Jason Garrett leaves, fans have to be excited from what Judge showed in 2020.

The expectation is no longer to find a coach. The expectation in 2021 is to win.