TIME TO REBRAND
Giants need to include Marshall, scale back playbook to protect Eli
The Giants are hoping Odell Beckham Jr. will make his debut Monday night against the Lions. It’ll only feel like Brandon Marshall will be making his.
The Giants’ biggest offseason splash practically was nonexistent in their disappointing 19-3, season-opening loss to the Cowboys. Marshall was targeted just four times, catching one pass for 10 yards, in his first game lining up with Eli Manning.
“It’s a weird phenomenon. Sometimes as a quarterback, you just have an instant rapport with a guy. … The thing is they are not even targeting Brandon Marshall,” ESPN “Monday Night Countdown” analyst Matt Hasselbeck said.
“I am sure since they didn’t and much has been made about it, they will start targeting him. And I think you have guys [who] are used to touching the ball. That was probably my biggest concern with the offense. It could be almost paralyzing if they try and get everybody too many touches, but that’s not at all what they did [against the Cowboys].”
The problems did not start or end with Marshall as the offensive line was overmatched and the run game nonexistent for large stretches of the game. Hasselbeck said he believes the Giants must adjust their game plan, with or without Beckham.
The offensive line could be in even worse shape with starting right tackle Bobby Hart nursing a right ankle injury that could keep him out Monday night.
“You need to eliminate some of the playbook,” said Hasselbeck, who played 17 seasons in the league. “If you can’t protect, then you need to take seven-step drops out of your game plan. It’s a little bit what Sam Bradford had to [do] last year with the Vikings. But you see teams that aren’t willing to do that.
“I think for Eli and the Giants and for Giants fans, you are going to see a less exciting passing game until they get the pass protection figured out. And they have to find opportunities to run the ball. The Giants last year did a really nice job with one-back runs, pulling the guard — I think Justin Pugh was the one best at it. The threat of running the ball slows down the pass rush. [If] you want to help your offensive linemen, then call some runs.”
Hasselbeck cautioned it’s too early for the Giants to panic but warned that might not last long. If they are unable to beat the Lions, who rallied past the Cardinals in their opener, they could be staring down the barrel of 0-4 with trips to Philadelphia and Tampa Bay next on the schedule.
“It’s easy to say it would’ve been totally different with OBJ in there, and maybe that’s true, because he is the guy that can take a slant 80 yards,” Hasselbeck said. “But really, for me, when I think of the formula for New York Giants football: It’s a very physical offensive line and a very physical defensive line.
“The games I remember losing to the Giants — and watching when they won Super Bowls — that was the formula. That’s not what happened on Sunday night. It was the opposite of that.”