For the second straight year, the New York Giants are sitting at 2-7 at the midway point of the season. It has not been the season Brian Daboll and Co. had envisioned and questionable coaching decisions, poor offensive showings and the inability to win in the division have Big Blue missing the playoffs for yet another season.
After a great first season under Daboll in 2022 which saw New York make it back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and winning a playoff game as well, the Giants have had a major decline ever since that magical season.
While John Mara has expressed support for Daboll and GM Joe Schoen, it's no secret that Giants fans are starting to get very frustrated with how the franchise has fallen. If Daboll wants to gain respect back from the Giants faithful, he will have to do these three things in particular.
Three changes Daboll must make right now to save face
3. Stop following the analytics
When Daboll announced that he would be taking over the playcalling this season over offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, there was hope that the Giants offense would play much better after two straight seasons seeing them finish in the bottom of the league scoring points.
That has not been the case however as New York has scored 20 points or more in three games this season and has yet to hit the 30-point mark too. The offense has also seen Daboll go with the analytics when it came to scoring opportunities and that must stop.
For the past two games when the Giants were down by 14 points and scored a touchdown to cut into the deficit, Daboll has opted on both occasions to go for two and make it a six-point game instead of seven. Both two-point conversion attempts failed miserably and made the deficit at eight which had Giants fans just puzzled.
Daboll's explanation...analytics. While it is true that going for the two points may give you the best chance for a win, New York though has gone 0-for-6 on two-point tries this year. Just take the extra Brian Daboll, Giants fans are tired of you relying on the analytics.
2. Get Jalin Hyatt involved... in any capacity
I'm sure I can speak for Giants fans everywhere in saying, where's Jalin Hyatt? Big Blue drafted the wide receiver in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft and it looked like for sure during his days at Tennessee, the Giants were getting something special in him.
Now in his second season in the NFL, he's pretty much been a forgotten man which is why Giants fans would gain some respect for their head coach if Hyatt is used more for the rest of the season.
Despite not recording a touchdown during his rookie season, the 23-year-old still had 23 receptions for 373 receiving yards in 2023. He posted his first 100-yard game of his career in Week 12 against the New England Patriots and was named NFL's Pepsi offensive rookie of the week. Now, in 2024, he has just one reception for six yards. It's just ridiculous not to use someone who showed so much promise last season and who you drafted in the third round.
It's time to use Hyatt more in your offensive Brian Daboll to create a much-needed spark.
1. End the Daniel Jones experiment and look toward the future
The Giants are expected to have a high draft pick once again in 2025 which could stir some rumors about whether or not the G-Men will look for Daniel Jones' replacement.
After reportedly trying then failing to trade up to the third overall pick with the hopes of selecting a quarterback, Giants fans would be thrilled and respect Daboll a lot more if they do just that in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Despite being in his second year of a four-year, $160 million contract he signed in March of 2023, the former sixth overall pick does have an out in his contract after this season which again, could stir some rumors of New York going in the quarterback direction if they high a pick. There's no reason to question that move as this draft just like last year's draft, this draft as well will potentially be filled with generational talented quarterbacks. Shedeur Sanders of Colorado, Cam Ward of Miami, Quinn Ewers of Texas, and Jalen Milroe of Alabama are all anticipated to declare for the draft.
Daboll would gain much more trust from Giants fans if he and the front office opt to select a quarterback.