How the New York Giants Offense Could Adjust without Saquon Barkley
Replacing Saquon Barkley is no easy task. The No. 2 overall selection in the 2018 NFL draft is done for the season with a torn ACL, and the Giants offense will look to persevere through the loss.
It's not going to be easy. We're talking about a generational talent here who could do so many things so well. Barkley's loss also gives defensive coordinators full reign to focus on a potential quick passing attack unless the Giants can muster a rushing attack, which they struggled to do with the star runner in a game and a quarter.
This is where coaching is going to have to earn its money. How good will this staff be with making adjustments? The "next man up mentality" is good in theory, but in practice, it doesn’t always go as expected.
However, it did work out last year when Barkley was injured in Week 3, and Wayne Gallman stepped in valiantly in Week 4 before he too suffered an injury, that coming in Week 5.
Gallman did not dress against the Bears but figures to dress in Barkley's absence this weekend vs. the 49ers.
The Giants are also reportedly working out Devonta Freeman, the former Atlanta Falcon. If Freeman is signed, the Giants will more than likely form a three-headed backfield that consists of Gallman, Dion Lewis, and Freeman, with a heavier emphasis on the first two players as Freeman is integrated into the offense.
Even if Freeman is signed, and Gallman plays to his ability, it’s still a significant loss for Joe Judge and Jason Garrett led offense. I believe a few things to be imperative for Garrett as he moves forward with a Barkley-less offense.
The offense is going to adhere to the next man up mentality, but opposing defenses are going to adjust significantly to the lack of Barkley in the backfield.
This will lead to fewer men in the box since the Giants struggle to win at the point of attack, and more players in coverage. We could be seeing more two-high looks and more players sitting on the underneath routes that the Giants have had success within the first two games of the season.
The Bears were able to deter the Giants offense in the first half because they played for the quick passing game. The Giants combated this by throwing the ball 10-15 yards downfield and found success specifically with the deep dig route.
The Giants need to put their best players on the field, as they’ve been doing through the first two weeks, so expect a lot of 12-personnel, especially with the toe injury to Sterling Shepard that could keep him out a few weeks.
Tight end Kaden Smith has played a lot of snaps in the first two games, and that won’t change. Smith and fellow tight end Evan Engram’s ability to beat linebackers in coverage and act as competent short passing targets will benefit the Giants as they attempt to confuse the defense with passing out of heavier personnel.
When the Giants go into 11-personnel, Garrett must implement more pre-snap motion to give Jones a beat on what type of coverage he may be seeing post-snap.
Good teams like the Chiefs, Ravens, and Rams run a lot of pre-snap motion to give themselves an advantage after the snap, and the Giants thus far have not utilized this tactic nearly enough.
Pre-snap motion will allow Jones to decipher the impending coverage from zone or man more easily.
The Giants should also keep doing what they did against Chicago in certain situations, which is - use the entire length of the field. Spread the box out and go into "10" personnel to force a lighter box and easier blocking assignments for the offensive line.
I put 10 in quotes because the Giants can do this with split-out tight ends (which means it would really be 12-personnel). General manager Dave Gettleman wants to establish the run with the hog mollies. Still, the Giants have to make these blocking assignments easier for the offensive line, and they have to widen the offense on some of these rushing attempts.
New York rocked spread formations in both games and had success in the second half against Chicago when they lined up both outside receivers about five yards off the numbers, between the sideline.
With Smith and Engram on the field, the Giants can keep the defensive personnel on the field and then line both tight ends on the line of scrimmage, giving the offense an ability to run the football against a lighter defense.
Smith and Engram's skill-sets allow the Giants to do this, and New York has implemented this into their game plan this season, but it should be used a bit more, in that up-tempo fashion when the team is struggling to establish the run.
I would also like to see tight BUNCH and stacks, where Garrett uses pre-snap motion to add or take away from the stack, which could force the defense to have communication errors.
Garrett has used some creative backdoor screens to tight ends and Barkley so far this season, and that should continue, as will mirrored passing concepts to the sticks (curls, ins, pivots).
I also feel the vertical passing attack is something that the Giants have to attempt to incorporate. They had some success with it against the Steelers. The issue with vertical passing is protection, and that’s something that the Giants have struggled with.
The Giants can keep six men in for protection and use Lewis in this role, now that Barkley is hurt. The Giants should use Yankee concepts, with short passing concepts to the flat.
In this concept, Darius Slayton would be the deep post runner, with Tate as the horizontal crosser, and Engram/Smith leaking into the flat to keep the overhang defenders honest.
New York will struggle to replace Barkley--to be frank, they struggled to rush the football with Barkley. Yet the season must go on, and the responsibility of adjustments will lie on Judge and this offensive coaching staff.
The Giants have to find ways to win the time of possession, so their defense isn’t gassed in the second half. It won’t be easy, but great teams adapt and overcome, so let’s see what Judge, Garrett and company can do.
