2018 Offensive Improvement

How does the 2018 NY Giants Offense improve vs 2017? Let us count the ways. The cynical among us can label this another offseason puff piece. Frankly, as 3-13 with the 31st ranked Offense (by points scored), there’s no place to go but up. Given a facelift at OL, a new scheme, a new Head Coach, and fewer injuries, one can imagine a significant improvement.

1. Predictability of scheme. I think we have heard about the number of times the Giants used the same 11 personnel grouping (1 RB 1 TE, 3 WRs) about as many times … as they used 11 personnel! This is going to change with Shurmur.
2. Protection. Eli Manning led the NFL in quickest release, holding the ball a league low 2.4 seconds. He had no choice. It was either chuck and duck or get pulverized by the pass rush. Manning’s pass protection will get much more consistency with Nate Solder at Left Tackle. Moving Flowers over to RT will not solve all of those woes, but one would think that (using a modicum of logic, something lacking from McAdoo’s schemes) Flowers will get a chip from TE Rhett Ellison or the RB once in a while. Add Omameh (a better/more consistent pass protector than run blocker) and a rookie with a nasty streak, and it is easy to see that there will be more time to operate behind the line of scrimmage.
3. WR injuries. Last year, the entire WR crew was on medical alert. OBJ went on IR. Marshall went on IR. Shepard only started 10 games. Dwayne Harris IR. The Giants used Tavarres King, Travis Rudolph and Roger Lewis. It was patchwork. It led to the Giants leading the NFL in dropped passes. Another awful place to be leading the NFL.
4. No surge. When was the last time the Giants had a Pro Bowl OLman? That would be Chris Snee. And that would effectively end in 2012. By 2013, hip and elbow injuries caught up with the stalwart RG. You can track the Giants offensive woes beginning right when Snee left the OL. He was the last of Accorsi’s legacy that enabled Reese to cash two titles. Once Snee left, the wheels came off. Snee could get you that yard, providing enough surge to move the OL off the line of scrimmage. In 2018, Will Hernandez should be able to get some of that surge back. It may not be immediate, but he will change the attitude and get the Giants a yard when they need it.
5. Saquon The Deliverer. Hype. Hope. And plenty of help for the Giants.
6. Play Action. Add up a run game plus pass protection, and you get Eli Manning effectively utilizing the play action pass.
7. Engram Beast. Quietly, TE Evan Engram was a budding star in his rookie year. It is possible that with OBJ back and Barkley in the backfield that Engram’s numbers may actually go down. But those will be misleading statistics. He will go up the seam, helping OBJ. He will be a matchup nightmare, big and fast. With his rookie campaign over, he admits that despite learning a new offense, the game has slowed down for him. That is bad news for the rest of the NFL. Do not let the stats fool you, Engram is going to kill it for the Gmen.
8. Eli Freaking Manning. Eli has been held back by zero OL the last 5 seasons. If this new OL can just give him a semblance of order, he has the weapons to destroy the universe. It may take a year for the OL to come together and solidify to the point where it can click. If the OL gives Manning any time, he will have so many options to choose from. If Saquon gets into a rookie rhythm, it will make Eli’s job even easier too, something Manning has not had since Ahmad Bradshaw. Shurmur is salivating at the experience he is working with, having had to teach one QB after the next what to do. Now, all he has to do is give Eli the keys.