The long wait is over. Football is back. The NY Giants are back. Hope springs eternal with a new season and new opportunities for a title.
Title? Of course, a title. That is why we blog. The quest is for a title every year. This isn’t the Jaguars or Raiders or Redskins, where respectability is being sought after. The Giants are in a circle of ~25 teams that have a legitimate chance at being competitive enough to win a title. Before the days of Free Agency, there were only ~10-15 teams that had any real aspirations each year for a championship. 1994 changed all that. Here we are, with the Gmen having missed the playoffs 3 consecutive seasons, and yes, we have a right to contemplate the Lombardi trophy.
How realistic is the prospect of a 5th Giants Super Bowl? By some measures, it is still fantasy. By others, it is there to be taken.
This spring, I wrote that the Giants chances for big things were very real. 10 or 11 wins was my preliminary early prognostication. Three days later, Will Beatty (and the Strength and Conditioning staff) made a fool out of me and tore his pectoral muscle. His loss at Left Tackle is huge. The injury reduces the Offensive Line from something that was going to be solid to one which is thin and vulnerable. Now, rookie Ereck Flowers is first on the depth chart, so he is likely going to be the starter. As high as we were on him in the draft, we clearly stated that he needed time his first year to develop. Starting in Week 1 was not the design by us or the Giants. Yet here we are.
Victor Cruz and Odell Beckham enter camp at less than 100%. Larry Donnell is not expected to be 100% until somewhere after the season starts. And our fireworks expert, Jason Pierre-Paul, is a no-show because he has no contract and would likely fail his physical if he took one right now.
Yet there is always promise in July. The Giants have two well-qualified coordinators in McAdoo and Spagnuolo. So that in and of itself is reason to believe that the Giants will be able to do more with less. The thinking here is that they can buy the time and lose maybe one or two less games than would otherwise be the case. Then, when the Spags defense comes together and the McAdoo offense is firing on all cylinders, the Giants can make a second half charge to get a playoff ticket. The schedule actually fits that bill. It is plausible for the Giants to win only 3 or 4 of the first 8 games, and then it is also possible for them to win 7 of the last 8.
But there has to be health. I have talked that topic to death in the offseason because virtually no one else would do that. I am as tired about that as you are. I have plans to do one more piece with an interview of a physiatrist (even the spellcheck does not recognize the word), and then we will give that a rest.
We heard Beason is as healthy as he’s been in a long time. Everyone inhale and hold that. Do not exhale until Beason has played all season and the Giants are in the playoffs.
This may sound stupid and crazy, but I think this as good a reason to believe in the Giants’ chances this year as anything else-
It’s Coughlin’s 4th year, his job is on the line, so it must be time to win a Super Bowl.
Think about it….
1) 2004-2006 dry holes. 2007 Coughlin’s on notice. Change or else. They go bowling during camp. Leadership Council. The softer side of TC. XLII.
2) 2008-2010. Failed opportunities. 0-1 in the playoffs. Super implosion to the Eagles in 2010. Coughlin on notice again. Afterburner. Fewell drops the Tampa2 zone. Blackburn comes off the couch to make the presnap reads. A slew of miracles. Tuck and Osi get healthy. XLVI.
3) 2012-2014. Coughlin has teflon. Gilbride finally loses his when his OL disintegrates. More injuries. 3 consecutive seasons without the playoffs. The Giants are on notice. It is time for that cyclical Coughlin mojo.
I was a big believer until Beatty was lost for 9-10 games. We really like the future of Flowers, but are not expecting any miracles in 2015 from him. If the Giants can be 4-4 after the first 8 games, they can make a big run.
at TB WIN
NE LOSS
at WAS WIN
NYJ WIN
at MIA WIN?
CAR WIN
at MIN WIN
PHI WIN!
Is it foolhardy to see 7 of these games as winnable? We are not sold on the Eagles this year, given the massive amount of turnover. Miami will not be an easy game. They rate to lose vs NE. The other 5 games are very winnable. So if the Giants can limp along and fight for a 4-4 start, this can be a big year. We still need to see Collins, Moore, Kennard, Wynn/Ayers?, Hankins, Amukamara, DRC, Beason and others play well on defense to cover up the weaknesses elsewhere. Believe in McAdoo. Believe in Spagnuolo. Believe in Tom Quinn? No. Two out of three ain’t bad.
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