Six New York Giants Storylines to Watch in Regular Season Week 4

The New York Giants remain in search of their first win of the 2021 season, but things aren't going to be any easier against a tough New Orleans Saints team.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Sep 29, 2021 8:00 AM EDT

Things are about to get very interesting for the New York Giants starting this weekend when they head down south to face the New Orleans Saints.

The Giants are a reeling franchise, a team that so far can't seem to get out of its own way on offense or defense. They're a team with injuries on the offensive line (particularly at left guard), that might potentially be without top receivers Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton (hamstrings), and who lost inside linebacker Blake Martinez, the heart and soul of the defense.

Add to that they're going to play a 2-1 Saints team that will be playing in front of its hometown crowd for the first time since January 17 in the postseason 30-20 loss to the Bucs, and it's quite surprising that the Giants are only an eight-point underdog at this writing.

All that said, there's a reason why teams line up and play the game, and hey, you never know, any given Sunday and all that jazz, right? So let's take a look at the key developing storylines ahead of the Giants' Week 4 trip to the Bayou.

The Heat is On

Giants head coach Joe Judge didn't come right out and say it in so many words, but the heat under offensive coordinator Jason Garrett's seat has been cranked up to an all-time high.

Rightfully so. The Giants have been abysmal in the red zone, where they've been 22 of 50 (44 percent) under Garrett. Quarterback Daniel Jones has thrown just five touchdowns inside the red zone with two interceptions in 17 games over that period.

And things aren't getting any easier for a Giants offense that has averaged 18 points per game so far this season. They're about to face a defense that has allowed the fourth-fewest points (14 points) per game, which ranks third against the run and 15th against the pass.

That's one tough customer indeed, but Giants head coach Joe Judge said that he's not about to make any changes to any of the play-caller this week, instead preferring to see if they can fix some of the problems they've had that have thwarted their efforts to score.

Can Garrett and the offensive staff accomplish that? They better, as they'll likely have a pretty short leash that Judge won't hesitate to reel in if the Giants don't start being more productive on offense.

Defensive Improvements

The Giants defense hasn't been much better and needs some improvements as well. This week, they will go up against a Saints offense whose bread and butter is running back Alvin Kamara, the back whose deployment is what so many people with the Giants would use with Saquon Barkley.

Kamara has a solid offensive line in front of him, which has a few injury issues at left tackle (Terron Armstead will miss the game with an elbow ailment) and at center, where Erik McCoy is a question mark.

But in getting back to Kamara, he's a tough customer and, oh, what a bad week for the Giants to have to start moving on without inside linebacker Blake Martinez, who was lost last week to a season-ending torn ACL.

In the passing game, the Giants may get a little bit of a break. The pass defense has allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete 75.4% of their pass attempts, the second-worst mark in the league.

Getting pressure on Jameis Winston with a four-man rush will need to be a focal point, as the Giants hope that Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence can penetrate through the A-gaps and make Winston uncomfortable enough to where he makes a few mistakes.

Another O-Line Combination

The Giants offensive line can't seem to catch a break this year as it's looking at its fourth different starting combination in as many weeks thanks to injuries at left guard.

Shane Lemieux opened the season as the starting left guard, but he lasted only17 snaps before his partially torn patellar tendon gave out. In Week 2, Nick Gates got the start, but he suffered a broken leg.

Last week, Ben Bredeson, whom the Giants acquired via trade from the Ravens, got the start, but now ESPN has reported that Bredeson could miss time with a hand injury.

So that means the Giants could have a new starting left guard, Wes Martin, whom they poached off the Washington practice squad.

With such a quick turnaround and a date in a building that has given even the most accomplished offensive lines fits given the noise level, the challenge for this offensive line is getting everyone on the same page communication-wise, which has been tricky thus far.

But against that Saints defensive front, the Giants better make sure they have their act together.

Speaking of Injuries

As previously noted, Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton both have hamstring strains. Head coach Joe Judge told reporters Monday that both strains were not equal, hinting that one player had it worse than the other but not disclosing the unlucky soul.

That said, the Giants are going to need Kadarius Toney to get involved. The Giants, for whatever reason, have kept the bubble wrap on Toney, using him sparingly. If Shepard and Slayton can't go, it will be interesting to see if Toney sees an uptick in snaps and pass targets to discourage the Saints from devoting too many resources against Golladay.

Can Evan Engram Rebound?

The good news for Evan Engram is that he's getting away from the MetLife Stadium crowd who turned on him in his first game back from a calf ailment last week.

The bad news is that Engram can expect to hear even more booing as a member of the visiting team. But all that aside, Engram has a good opportunity this week going against a Saints defense that has had a few issues defending the middle of the field.

And since Engram probably won't be deployed much to chip Cameron Jordan, one might think that with Shepard and Slayton likely to be out this week, there might be some opportunities for Engram to try to redeem himself in the eyes of Giants Country.

The House of Horrors

Bad things happen to the Giants when they visit the Superdome, where they last won a game on September 19, 2009, a 48-27 victory.

Besides the crowd noise--and trust me when I say it gets so loud in that building that if you don't wear earplugs, your ears are left ringing for days after--the last three games the Giants have played in the Superdome (all losses) have been scoring shootouts in which the Saints have scored no less than 48 points in each of the three meetings.

That's not good news for a Giants defense that has surrendered 24.7 points per game this season, nor is it good news for the aforementioned scoring offense that has averaged 18 points per game.

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