LOOKING UP
Eagles still class of division, but plenty of reasons for Giants to be optimistic
THE Brian Daboll Giants won’t be sneaking up on the NFL this season ... but there are growing reasons to believe in them as an ascending team that will not be any counterfeit one-hit wonder.
As smart, tough and dependable rookies, Daboll and GM Joe Schoen orchestrated a crawl for a franchise that had been stuck in place for too long that became a walk on the wildcard side, and it is not unreasonable or unrealistic to expect the Giants to start to run now in a league where there are arguably only a dozen or so teams that can dare to dream the Super Bowl dream — and they should be one of them, more contender than pretender, as are the Aaron Rodgers Jets.
Are they there yet? No. Is regression possible? Of course. Can they get there? It’s May. If you can’t dream “Why Not Us?” now, when can you?
The Formula:
The Eagles became 2022 NFC champions in large part because Jalen Hurts made an astronomical leap, and now that Daniel Jones is a $40M Man, he will face great expectations to make a big enough leap to honor the franchise quarterback mandate and lift his team.
At long last, Jones has been set up to succeed in his second year under Daboll and offensive coordinator/play caller Mike Kafka. He now has:
an elite TE and big target in Darren Waller;
speed demon receivers in rookie Jalin Hyatt and Parris Campbell to complement pleasant surprise Isiah Hodgins, and the return of a healthy Wan’Dale Robinson and Darius Slayton;
the best offensive line he has had to keep him upright and open holes for Saquon Barkley once the “Gold Jacket Guy” gets his contract quagmire resolved. Rookie C John Michael Schmitz is plug-and-play and elite LT Andrew Thomas is confident in a second-year jump from RT Evan Neal.
As much as his legs are an invaluable weapon, Jones has no excuse not to exceed his career high of 24 touchdown passes set in his rookie season. Hurts threw 22 TD passes last season to go along with his 13 TDs rushing (part of his 760 yards on 165 carries) even though he missed two games following a Week 15 shoulder sprain and even was compromised in the playoff rout of the Giants.
Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale is convinced he will have a better run defense alongside Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams with the additions of LB Bobby Okereke and DTs Rakeem Nunez-Roches and A’Shawn Robinson, and if he’s right, then the Giants are poised to stop the run and have some fun, as former GM Jerry Reese liked to say. Martindale was disgusted allowing 5.2 yards per rush and a 144.2-yard average in 2022.
If No. 1 draft CB Deonte Banks is as good as the Giants think he is, that would help make Kayvon Thibodeaux a double-digit sack threat in his second season, especially if Azeez Ojulari can stay on the field as his bookend.
And in a league where so many games are decided at the end by a field goal, Graham Gano, dontcha know.
And that kickoff return coverage? Oh yeah, never mind.
Such is the bull case for the Giants. Of course there is a bear case: There is rampant parity that always provides surprises; the schedule-makers did them no favors; the Eagles remain the team to beat in the division as well as in the conference; trusted safety Julian Love bolted for Seattle; the sweet, innocent climb of a year ago is over and done.
The argument that the Giants closed the gap on the Eagles is mitigated by the nature of that gap, and the Super Bowl runners-up added DT Jalen Carter and OLB Nolan Smith to their impressive collection of Georgia Bulldogs and predator pass rushers. Giants loyalists can comfort themselves with this reality: They were fortunate to keep Martindale and Kafka while the Eagles lost both their offensive and defensive coordinators to head-coaching jobs with the Colts and Cardinals, respectively.
The Giants are not one of the elite alongside the Chiefs, Eagles, 49ers, Bengals and Bills. Right now they look like they belong in a second tier with the Cowboys, Ravens, Chargers, Jets, Seahawks and several others.
It helps that the Coach of the Year is the coach of the New York Football Giants. Daboll knows his football. He knows his team. Knows his quarterback. Ask the $40M man. He has created an environment conducive to success. He injected energy and bravado into a culture that was desperate for both. Same guy every day. Same guy every week. A coach to believe in.
Giants co-owner John Mara at the end of each season forever tried to convince himself that the arrow was pointing up, until the Giants hit rock bottom and he knew that it was time to blow it all up and fire GM Dave Gettleman and HC Joe Judge. Mara knew that he had to regain the trust of his fans, and he has.
Too early to conclude that the sky is the limit, but blue skies over 1925 Giants Drive.