Four Statistical Areas the New York Giants' Offense Must Improve
It's no secret that the New York Giants need some new life if this team is to have any hope of rising from the bottom of the standings toward the top.
Perhaps no unit on the Giants needs more work than the offense, which finished 31st overall in the league the last two seasons, failing to average over 300 yards per game.
The good news is that head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka have brought a system widely considered more modernized by today's NFL standards, featuring more creative concepts and pre-snap motion (staples of the more successful offenses in today's game).
The Giants also heavily emphasized upgrading its offensive line and skill position players in the off-season. Still, as with anything in the game, it all comes down to execution by the players.
There is a lot of work to be done by the Giants' offense if it's to rise from the bottom of the rankings to at least the top half of the league. Here is a look at some statistical categories that last year, in particular, stood out like a sore thumb.
Points Scored
It only makes sense to start with the deciding factor regarding wins and losses. And when one looks at the Giants, who finished 31st league-wide in scoring the last two years and whose average point total from 2021 (15.2 points per game) was worse than the previous season's 17.5 average, it's clear as day that this is a category that must be addressed.
Taking a deeper look at the scoring issue, consider this alarming fact. Last year, kicker Graham Gano accounted for 104 of the team's 258 points. The next "closest" points generator was running back Saquon Barkey, who contributed 24 points to the party.
An argument can also be made that the Giants often did a lot of scoring late in games during "garbage time" when the outcome was all but decided. New York was outscored by opponents by 110 points in the first half of games to 54 points in the second half.
And what about getting off to a hot start? Forget about that, as touchdowns scored by the Giants in the first quarter of games were as rare as rain in the desert last year. In 2021, the Giants averaged 2.1 points per game in the first quarter. The Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs averaged 7.2 points in the opening 15 minutes, while Buffalo averaged 6.5 points per game.
Red Zone Scoring Conversions
A key to a healthy scoring average is to capitalize in the red zone, or, as was known to the Giants for the last two seasons, the "dead zone," given their inability to cross the goal line for six instead of having to settle for three.
In 2021, the Giants averaged 2.2 trips to the red zone per game, tied for last in league with Houston. In those trips, the Giants averaged one touchdown per game in the red zone. In short, the Giants finished with a league-least 44.74 percent red zone conversion rate.
How bad was it? The Giants attempted 56 passes in the red zone last season and completed 22 of those, a 39.29 percent completion rate. They recorded 115 yards and scored nine touchdowns on those pass attempts, and only one of the touchdowns was by a wide receiver (Dante Pettis).
For those wondering, the 49ers offense led the league in red zone touchdown conversion with a 66.67 percent conversion rate. That might be an ambitious goal for the Giants at this point, but aiming for an over 50 percent conversion rate isn't asking for much.
Pass Protection/Quarterback Pressures
All eyes are going to be on quarterback Daniel Jones this season and whether he can finally put to rest any concerns people have about him being a franchise quarterback.
But if Jones is going to have that chance to show what he's made of, he can't constantly be running for his life or is on his back.
That's why general manager Joe Schoen made it a top priority to address the offensive line this past off-season, adding rookie right tackle Evan Neal to the mix and veterans Jon Feliciano at center and Mark Glowinski at right guard to join holdovers Andrew Thomas at left tackle and Shane Lemieux at left guard.
As of this writing, the newly configured offensive line hasn't been in pads, let alone in any type of scrimmage. Still, there is optimism that this projected combination will be much improved from the 2021 version that allowed 191 pressures, 26th worst in the league, and a league-worst 30 tackles for a loss.
First Downs Per Game
If it's not obvious by now, the Giants' offense was so lethargic last year that it was sad. The low yardage mentioned earlier in this category naturally led to a low average first-downs per game (17.6, 31st in the league).
A team isn't going to do much on offense if it's not consistently moving the chains. Regardless of what it was, the Giants, who had a third-down conversion rate of 36.52 percent last year (24th in the league) and a fourth-down conversion rate of 43.33 percent (26th in the league), just couldn't keep the offensive momentum going.
A few more first downs per game, and the Giants, who finished 27th league-wide in average time of possession (28:34), just might begin fixing what ails them on offense.
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