The NY Giants have been straight up bad this season. Entering the year, there was plenty of promise for this team, but Brian Daboll and Co. are now 1-4 ahead of the Sunday Night Football tilt with the Buffalo Bills. There's a good chance this team falls to 1-5, which no one was expecting.
Originally, plenty of people were excited about the offseason moves made by general manager Joe Schoen. However, it's safe to say Schoen also dropped the ball in multiple different ways. These three stand out to us:
3. Not adding pass-rush depth
The Giants went into the offseason knowing that they needed to fix the defensive line and Schoen has tried with multiple signings, namely A'Shawn Robinson and Rakeem Nunes-Rochez alongside drafting Jordon Riley. The issue is on the outside - the Giants did nothing to get better. Multiple proven veteran pass-rushers were out there on the market, but the Giants elected to attempt to fix the interior before anything else.
Besides Kayvon Thibodeaux, there has been no threat of a pass-rush, allowing opposing quarterbacks to sit back in the pocket and pick this young defense apart. Preseason standout Tre Hawkins hasn't looked good so far in the regular season, neither has Adoree' Jackson. If the Giants were able to get after the QB consistently, it would take a lot of pressure off the secondary.
Azeez Ojulari is dealing with another injury, Jihad Ward has not shown the ability to win against an offensive lineman and neither has Boogie Basham. Tomon Fox is an unproven talent, while former third-round bust Oshane Ximines has not produced yet continues to hold a spot.
Unfortunately for Ojulari, he has already been ruled out for Week 6 and there's a chance he could end up making his way to the Injured Reserve. The young outside 'backer just can't seem to stay healthy for this defense. Pass-rush depth must be a priority for Schoen next offseason, that's for sure.
2. Not adding quality offensive linemen
The Giants came into the offseason knowing that the offensive line was in need of major work. There were questions at every position beside left tackle. The organization did draft the best center available in John Michael Schmitz, but that's where it stopped.
Thus far this season, the Giants have given up almost 30 sacks, which is ludicrous to even think about. Daniel Jones has had basically no time to throw the ball, with constant pressure being put on him. Things reached a new low for the Giants OL in Week 5, as Jones was sacked and he suffered a neck injury, which has cost him a chance at playing vs. the Bills this weekend.
Due to injuries, guys like Joshua Ezeudu, Shane Lemieux, Marcus McKethan and others have been forced to play significant snaps. Yeah, that hasn't gone well at all. The Giants did sign Justin Pugh to the practice squad and they're interested in potentially signing La'El Collins, but ignoring things until now was a major mistake from Schoen. He owes it to Danny Dimes to get things cleaned up ASAP.
1. Not improving the special teams' unit
Last season and this campaign too, it's almost like the Giants HAVE to have a special teams blunder every game. From blocked punts and field goal attempts, to not having any kick or punt return touchdowns in what feels like ages, the special teams unit as a whole has been atrocious. What is going on?
The Giants lost some big pieces from the unit and failed to replace them. It is a glaring issue that teams have been able to take advantage of that thus far this season. Outside of Graham Gano, the Giants definitely could stand to upgrade all around. Punter Jamie Gillian was very inconsistent last season and was still brought back on a multi-year deal.
This offseason, Schoen signed a couple players fans thought could help out in special teams, mainly Jeff Smith, only for him to be cut. It seemed like management was too busy getting Jones weapons and neglected other parts of the team. Eric Gray, a rookie, has disappointed as a return man. Games are won in all three phases of the game. Things have been so bad, people have been calling for Thomas McGaughey to lose his job. Unless things change the rest of the way, there's simply no way he can return as special teams coach next season.