After the game was over, Giants fans were ‘atwitter’ trying to figure out who the Giants are. This is the best we can do to answer that question:
GIANTS WINS
HOUSTON 3-3
WASHINGTON 2-5
ATLANTA 2-5
GIANTS LOSSES
DETROIT 5-2
ARIZONA 5-1
PHILADELPHIA 5-1
DALLAS 5-1
So unfortunately is not very complicated. The Giants are not able to beat the better teams in the NFL. At least they were more competitive. In some respects, the Giants played okay to at least stay in the game with a good Dallas team. But the Giants have so many inadequacies that they cannot cover up and scheme away entirely. (1) Their DL is mediocre (2) They have no pass rush (3) They cannot run the ball consistently (4) They were unable to stop the run (5) Too much miscommunication in the secondary. (6) Too many injuries (7) Mediocre OL (8) LBers pass coverage of RBs and TEs is poor (9) Still learning Offense (10) young players prone to turnovers.
The number of starting players who are injured this season is crazy. Beason, Jenkins and DRC are all hurt. Cruz is out for the year. Add that to all of the players already lost this season. And add that to the fact that the Giants were in last place in the NFL last year in total starts lost to starting players.
Prince Amukamara is a good solid cornerback. He is not a star. He gives up 2″ in height and 3.5″ in arm length to Dez Bryant. Professional football is a game of inches and Amukamara gives up 5.5 of them. As long as he cannot contain the premier WRs in the NFL, he will never be considered more than a solid corner. Today he simply could not stop Dez Bryant and that spelled doom for the Gmen. Jordan Raanan tosses out an interesting stat- Tony Romo did not throw an incompletion in H2. He was 9-9! Woof.
Speaking of doom, Larry Donnell’s turnover in the 4th quarter was a death blow. There was still an opportunity to somehow dig out of the massive 14 pt hole created by that strip. But the defense could not make a stop.
Let’s talk for a moment about some bright spots. Odell Beckham scored 2 TDs and his future looks very good. Andre Williams going to be a very good RB.
If the Giants beat every team that does not have a winning record and they lose to every team that does, they will finish the season 8-8. Another mediocre year is on tap. For now, they have a bye and a chance to coach and practice themselves into more meaningful competitiveness. The problem is that with the next 4 opponents IND SEA SF DAL, they Giants could first be looking at 4-7 or possibly 3-8. I doubt they will split those next 4 contests to be 5-6.
The Giants do not have realistic playoff aspirations. They are 2-3 games behind DAL & PHL, so it’s likely going to be the final wild card spot, if anything. The NFC North and NFC West look to potentially get a wild card team. In past years the Giants were recipients of the good fortune of playing inside a weak division. Now that 2 divisional foes are playing well, it is double the trouble.
Summary: The Giants played against a good team in DAL and they got beat. They are not good enough to survive mistakes because they do not do a lot of good things. Donnell’s strip cost them any chance at a win. But this is what happens when you have a lot of new players who are starting. The Giants have had trouble winning the battle of the line of scrimmage this season. Without a pass rush their Defense is very mediocre… at best. With 4 competitive teams up next in the schedule, it does not look like the season is going to last more than 16 weeks. Players like Andre Williams, Odell Beckham and Larry Donnell can be important skill position players in the Giants’ future.
What is the Giants identity? Until they can be consistently competitive on the OL and DL, they have none.
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