What We Learned About the Giants in an Unusual Off-Season
The last time the NFL went through an off-season like the COVID-19 altered one of 2020 was in the lockout stricken 2011 off-season.
Thanks to the pandemic, the all-important spring workouts were canceled, with the classroom sessions held virtually.
Complicating things for the Giants is that they have a brand new coaching staff, and by brand new, that means having a head coach in Joe Judge, who was never a head coach before.
Whereas in 2011, the Giants had coaching continuity, they now have a new staff that's been trying to implement new schemes virtually.
In trying to get a sense of what the 2020 Giants will look like, some questions were answered while others remain.
Then there were those in which we could take an educated guess based on the coaches' history. And there are still a lot of questions that remain.
Let's break down the top three questions in each category.
What We Know
They sought to upgrade their speed on defense.
Remember all those times when a running back or tight end caught a ball and a Giants defender who was supposed to be in the area to make a stop ended up eating that ball carrier’s dust?
General manager Dave Gettleman remembered, which is why he sought to add more speed to the back end of the defense.
That speed included fourth-round pick Darnay Holmes out of UCLA, who will compete for the nickel role. They also added four linebackers between Rounds 6 and 7—Cam Brown (Round 6), and Carter Coughlin, TJ Brunson, and Tae Crowder in Round 7—guys whom Gettleman said, “They all can run, every one of these guys can run. We’re excited about that.”
Time will tell which of these youngsters gets onto the field and what type of role, but overall, Gettleman concluded at the end of the draft that the team checked off one of its most significant needs.
“We feel like we improved our team’s speed, and that was what we were trying to do,” Gettleman added.
Special Teams is Going to be a HUGE Emphasis
No one knows the value of having a good special teams unit than Judge, who was in charge of a Patriots special teams unit that ranked in the top 10 of the league in the significant special teams categories.
In the last two seasons, the Giants also discovered what a well-run special teams unit could do. In major categories such as punting and kickoff coverage, coordinator Thomas McGaughey steered that unit toward top-10 rankings.
But there’s always room for improvement, and that’s what the Giants did.
They added Nate Ebner, one half of the Patriots “Batman and Robin” duo that also included potential Hall of Famer Matthew Slater. Ebner, for his part, ranked among the Patriots top three performers in four out of his eight seasons.
RELATED: How The Giants' Special Teams Might Integrate Patriots Concepts
The Giants also upgraded at long snapper, signing Casey Kreiter, a 2018 Pro Bowler who began his NFL career in Dallas with Jason Garrett in 2014.
With Zak DeOssie, himself a Pro Bowler, likely headed toward retirement, the Giants wanted to make sure they had themselves a solid long snapper who not only puts zip on his snaps but can hustle down the field to get into a position to make plays. In Kreiter, they believe they have that guy.
When you also factor in the speed they added, it’s evident that the Giants special teams have their eye on being in the top 10 league-wide in just about every major statistical category.
They Added Legitimate Depth to the Offensive Line
We still don’t know what the starting offensive line configuration is going to look like, but what we do know is that the Giants finally added quality depth at just about every position, something they didn’t have in the past.
Offensive tackle Andrew Thomas, the no. 4 overall draft pick, is a given to be a starter if he's healthy and should provide the Giants with a significant upgrade at a spot that last year was a significant underperformer.
Think back to last year when left tackle Nate Solder was struggling. Because the Giants coaches likely didn’t have someone that could step in and not have a dropoff, they decided to roll with Solder for better or worse.
This year that should change. They added Cam Fleming, a very underrated off-season signing, at offensive tackle. Fleming can play either offensive tackle spot with little to no drop off from the starters.
In coming from Dallas, he already is familiar with the techniques that offensive line coach Marc Colombo teaches plus the type of offensive blocking schemes run by Giants' offensive coordinator, Jason Garrett.
If an injury were to strike either of the Giants’ offensive tackles, it’s probably not a stretch to think that Fleming’s presence will make things a lot less scary if he has to play.
They also have some quality along the interior offensive line, the lone question mark being center, where only Spencer Pulley has live game experience.
RELATED: Can Nick Gates Be a Fit at Tackle or Center?
But there’s some young talent coming up through the pipeline. Nick Gates, who last year practiced at the center position, is one; fifth-round draft pick Shane Lemieux, who, despite playing left guard exclusively for Oregon, also took it upon himself to cross-train at center, is another.
Both probably won't be ready to roll for live-action come Week 1, but it certainly wouldn't be a surprise if, by mid-season, both were up to speed.
What We Think We Know
They should be okay at “receiver.”
People like to point at the fact that the Giants didn’t dip into the historically deep wide receiver pool as a big mistake. But in hindsight, it might not be as big of a catastrophe as some initially thought.
For one, besides having Golden Tate, Sterling Shepard, and Darius Slayton, the Giants also have running back Saquon Barkley and tight ends Evan Engram and Kaden Smith. All of them are capable of contributing to the passing game.
They are hoping that Corey Coleman can find his way back from an ACL injury suffered last year and that one or more of their undrafted free agents (Austin Mack, Derrick Dillon, and Binjamen Victor) step up.
Further complicating things in the eyes of many is the health statuses of some of the “receiver” candidates. For example, there is concern that Shepard is one more head injury away from having his career come to an end.
Engram is coming off a foot injury projected to keep him out of the spring workouts had they been held.
Ditto with Coleman, whose best quality pre-injury was his quick-twitch movement that often juked defenders out of their cleats. How close is he to being the same player he was pre-injury?
That’s why in looking at receiver, it’s important to think outside the box, as Judge appears to be doing.
“They can all run. I think there are different elements of speed that tie in all of the receivers. You may have the deep threat receiver, you may have the slot receiver for more short-area quickness who’s shifty, you may have the side receiver where it’s the release speed that’s important as far as getting off the line and establishing body position,” he said after the draft.
If, for some reason, the Giants don’t feel they have enough at “receiver,” Judge reminded everyone they’ll keep watch for any available help.
Until then, the Giants will roll with what they have and let performances and injuries help them make those decisions.
The Defense is Going to Be “Multiple”
If there was ever an overused word in the NFL, “multiple” would be it. By definition, in this context, “multiple” means having or involving several parts, elements, or members.
Well, that much is true as with all NFL defenses, you rarely see teams run their base defenses for the majority of the game.
RELATED: How the Giants Are Likely to Deploy Their Newest Additions on Defense
That’s what makes it kind of tricky to figure out precisely what the Giants plan to run on defense, though again, Judge offered a clue that, in retrospect, was obvious.
“The easiest way to describe that is you go back to last year in Miami where Patrick was. You can follow that through the different systems he’s been a part of,” Judge said.
“We’ll be a team that’s multiple by game plan and how we have to matchup and attack the opponent. The elements of the defense you can look through and what it will closely resemble will be the other stops that Patrick has been along his way that I have been there as well.
RELATED: How the Giants Could Deploy the 3-High Safety Set
“The New England system, some of the Houston system, the Tennessee system, the Miami system. Those families of defense will be the biggest influences that go into ours. Of course, ours will be mostly dictated by the players we have in the games.”
While past film clips offer a glimpse into what Graham has been a part of in his NFL career, the unknown lies in how he views the strengths and weaknesses of his new and returning players, as well as whether he believes he has everything he needs to run the schemes he hopes to execute.
Training camp, the preseason, and the regular season will likely go a long way toward answering those questions.
The Offense Will Closely Resemble What Jason Garrett Ran in Dallas
Judge confirmed this on his most recent conference call with reporters.
“I think schematically, the easiest way to describe it to the outside world right now is it’s going to be similarly based on what Jason’s (Garrett) done in Dallas over the last ten or so years,” he said.
“There are going to be some similarities carried over from that, but it has to cater to our players we have on our roster currently.”
RELATED: What the Ideal Giants Offense Might Look Like under Jason Garrett
However, winning football comes down to whoever wins their matchups. But to win one’s matchups, they have to be put in the best possible position to emerge victoriously.
So to expect, for example, the Giants to deploy Evan Engram the same way the Cowboys deployed future Hall of Fame tight end Jason Witten for all those years probably is an unrealistic expectation.
As to how the Giants will deploy Engram as well as the rest of the skill position players, and as far as what they’ll ask quarterback Daniel Jones to do, that remains to be seen.
“I think you’ll see throughout training camp as it takes form with the character of our team and as different players emerge,” Judge said.
“Really along with that, it’s going to take shape throughout the season as well. We’re going to be a team that focuses a lot on game plans and whatever we have to do game by game. That might be running the ball every play or throwing the ball every play based on the opponent. But we’re going to make sure we’re not too rigid in what we’re doing that we can’t adapt by game plan.”
What We Don't Know
How much better will Daniel Jones be in Year 2?
Daniel Jones had the most successful rookie season of any Giants quarterback dubbed as a “franchise” quarterback.
And yes, that includes Phil Simms and Eli Manning.
But for as solid of a rookie campaign as Jones had, there is still a long way to go. We know, for example, about the ball security issues, and Jones, to his credit, told reporters last month that he has been doing drills to address that deficiency.
“That’s something that’s crucial but also a fairly simple fix in that it’s a mindfulness--being intentional with securing the ball, having two hands on it,” Jones said.
“When you’re having to adjust in the pocket, you’re maintaining that security. I’m trying to emphasize that (by) doing different drills and making sure that I’m always cognizant of that and being very intentional in that.”
But there are other areas of growth Jones needs to exhibit in Year 2, specifically developing a better feel for the pressure in the pocket and enhancing his reading of defenses.
According to PFF's Quarterbacks Annual, Jones threw based off his first read on 71% of his pass attempts, mirroring what he mostly did at Duke.
As he progresses in his NFL career, he's going to have to incorporate more second and third read looks in his game. Interestingly, PFF charted Jones' quarterback rating based on how much time he had to throw, and the more time he had, the lower his passer rating was.
Another area in which Jones is going to need to show growth is in decision making. There were numerous times where Jones didn’t go through his progressions and frequently bird-dogged his receivers.
Once he was locked in on a specific target, it was boom or bust for the then-rookie who, at times, forced the ball into tight or non-existent windows, usually with disastrous results.
Going back to Jones’ turnover issue, another element is knowing when to eat the ball. While Jones showed toughness in the pocket and a wiliness to hang in there for as long as possible, often, he tried to do too much, and it became costly.
RELATED: Daniel Jones Deep Passing Review: Part 1 | Part 2
Keeping two hands on the ball in traffic is one way to cut down on the fumbles. Developing better pocket awareness is another.
By becoming more intuitive as to when to simply call it a day and take a loss (as opposed to losing the ball as he famously did against the Jets when the pocket closed in around him and safety Jamal Adams managed to strip the ball from his grasp), Jones can help himself in cutting down on his turnovers.
Will the Defensive Secondary Be Better?
The Giants defensive secondary had enough question marks as it was coming into 2020, but the legal issues that cornerback DeAndre Baker encountered last month have further muddied the picture.
Last year, an “excuse” for the play of the defensive backfield was its collective youth.
But let's not confuse “youth” with “experience." While it is true that many members of the Giants defensive backfield last year played at the more advanced NFL level for the first time, there was a much bigger problem that extended across the board.
The fact is that every member of the young Giants defensive secondary has played football to some degree dating back to childhood, meaning that they weren’t just thrown out there for the first time and left to sink or swim.
With that said, they were often left to sink thanks to questionable coaching that left them often looking dazed and confused out there with executing coverages or just in knowing what to do.
Further, it didn’t help that there were instances in which the previous coaching staff seemed married to the scheme regardless, which is why you saw Corey Ballentine asked to play the slot despite his skillset not being an ideal fit for the role.
The Giants did a complete revamp of their defensive coaching staff, declining to keep any member of last year’s group. And for this young group of players, they brought in Jerome Henderson, a former NFL defensive back, to help assess each player's strengths and help bring their respective games up to snuff.
We'll find out if it makes a difference once the players hit the field.
Will they finally be able to generate a consistent pass rush?
Once again, the Giants say they are counting on the scheme to generate a pass rush.
"It’s one of those deals where, as I’ve said before, sometimes people think that all of the sacks have got to come from one to two guys. It’s a group effort," Gettleman said after the draft.
"We’re going to take a look at what we’ve got, and you know part of it’s going to be scheme. I’ve got a lot of confidence in (Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator) Pat Graham and Joe and the defensive guys. We’re going to be fine. It’ll get better.
"No, we didn’t draft what you guys would call a blue-goose pass rusher, but a lot of the time, it’s a group effort. It’s not about who gets the sacks; it’s about the number of sacks and the number of pressures."
RELATED: A Potential "Secret Ingredient" That Can Help the Giants Defense in 2020
Maybe so, but the truth is the Giants haven't been as productive in those categories either. Per PFF, the Giants finished tied with Cleveland and Jacksonville with 280 total pressures, with ten other teams finishing with fewer total pressures.
And not for nothing, but the scheme is only going to be as good as the players executing it, something we saw the Giants come up way short in the last two years.
Interestingly, in the same breath, Gettleman also said they would continue to try to improve what they have, even though they felt good about their talent.
Since then, the Giants placed the UFA tender on Markus Golden, who will be back with the Giants for another season if he doesn't sign with a team before July 22.
Gettleman tried to look at the bright side, saying, "It’s not about who gets the sacks, it’s about the number of sacks and the number of pressures."
But let's go back to the good old days when the Giants had, to use Gettleman's words, a "blue goose" pass rusher who would draw double and sometimes triple-team blocking.
It doesn't take a football savant to realize that if a pass rusher is consistently drawing multiple blockers, that means the opponent is going to be down one or more men in blocking someone else.
So yes, it is a group effort, but whether the Giants have that one player who might be able to create that kind of headache for the opponent remains to be seen.
