NY Giants Week 10 Storylines: Back to the Drawing Board

The Giants roster remains the same post-trade deadline. Will the results also remain the same?

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll needs to find a way to get the team pointed in the right direction. | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Welcome to the official start of the second half of the NFL season and another week of the New York Giants, determined to turn the tide and steer their season back on track.

The Giants head to Chicago this weekend to face the Bears, a team with a top-10 offense (fourth overall, second in rushing, and 10th in passing) averaging 26.9 points per game, the sixth-best mark in the league. That’s not great news for a Giants defense that continues to be banged up and which has looked disjointed ever since the great collapse in Denver a few weeks ago.

On the flip side, the Giants' offense, which has averaged 21.0 points per game, gets to go against a banged-up Bears defense that, although being ranked 26th overall, 25th against the run, and 25th against the pass, is first in the league in interceptions with 13 (one for a touchdown). 

While a win would be ideal, what the Giants really need at this point is a competitive, mistake-free game. This is a crucial moment for the team to show their resilience and determination.

Here’s a look at the top storyline ahead of this meeting in the Midwest.

Chasing Improvements

Can New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll figure out a way to get the team playing better over these last few games? | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

We hear it every week, it seems, from head coach Brian Daboll and the coaches after a loss. “We have to play better, coach better, look better, be better…” (You get the picture.)

That’s the low-hanging fruit part of the equation, given the results. The question that Daboll and company can’t seem to answer is how to make that happen. 

Outside linebacker Brian Burns, in response to how this coaching staff holds guys accountable, said,  “Pretty much we evaluate the film. I guess, I wouldn't say call out, you call people up to the standard of how they should be playing. We give examples of how it should look. After that, on Wednesday and Thursday, we drill it.”

With all due respect to the coaches, accountability needs to be tougher than that. If one consistently underperforms on their job, they are replaced.

While we get it that the Giants are banged up in some spots to the point where they have limited options, how much worse would it be if the coaches sat players who weren’t giving their all? 

Road Kill

The Giants will try to get their first road win the season at historic Soldier Field in Chicago. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Giants haven’t travelled well this season at all. They are 0-5 on the road this season and have been outscored 158-109. Three of those games have seen the Giants lose by two or more scores (Washington, New Orleans, and Philadelphia). 

All games are important, but this team cannot simply continue to struggle as it has in road games and expect to convince team ownership by the end of the year that it’s on the road to improvement.   

Roster/Lineup Changes Coming?

New York Giants offensive lineman Evan Neal wasn't traded. Will he make it to the end of the season though? | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

No, the Giants didn’t make any moves at the NFL trade deadline, but that doesn’t mean they should keep the status quo regarding the roster.

If offensive lineman Evan Neal isn’t going to get on the field–and it’s pretty clear at this point he’s not going to unless a major injury wave wipes out everyone on the offensive line–then cut him and bring in another running back to fill out the depth there.

If Jalin Hyatt is not in the plans at receiver, move him along so he can get a fresh start and put someone else on the roster. 

As for those already playing, will the Giants continue to stick with veteran receiver Darius Slayton, who is having a really tough stretch this year, or Deonte Banks, who at times looks like he’s going through the motions?

Yes, the roster is the roster, but if Daboll is sincere about wanting to be better and coach better, tough decisions–and actually some of these aren’t as tough as they seem–need to be made.

Dwindling Giants Defense

The New York Giants need a lot more than what they've been getting from their defense. | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

The Giants' defense has top-15 talent — it really does. But, as we have seen established as a trend, the vaunted pass rush —the strength of this unit —has been virtually rendered useless.

This is all thanks to the porous, 31st-ranked run defense (150.0 yards/game) and an injury-weakened back end of the defense, which is currently second in the league (behind Denver) in defensive pass interference calls (9), but whose 200 penalty yards on this infraction leads the league.

Because of the back end’s issues, embattled defensive coordinator Shane Bowen has had to go into survival mode with this unit, meaning he’s blitzed just 23.7% of the time, usually of the straightforward variety. 

In a nutshell, the Giants' defense needs to be more lethal across the board, in both execution and scheming. Hopefully, the return of some of the injured players who can help make that happen will become a reality.

Health Watch

New York Giants cornerback Paulson Adebo's absence in the Giants lineup has been sorely missed. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Giants had a slew of players sidelined due to injury last week, the biggest of which were three-fourths of the starting defensive secondary. Cornerbacks Paulson Adebo (knee) and Cor’Dale Flott (concussion) led the way, followed by safety Jevon Holland. 

It’s hoped that Flott will clear the protocol this week, while Adebo’s status for the upcoming game is up in the air. If neither is available, the Giants' back end of the defense could be in for another long afternoon.

Another injured player from last week who will hopefully return is tight end Daniel Bellinger. The Giants, in their loss last week to the 49ers, moved away from a heavy use of 12-personnel, which had been working for the offense over the previous few weeks, and leaned more heavily into 11-personnel. We suspect Bellinger's injury-related absence had something to do with that. 

With that said, if they want to keep moving rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart’s progress forward, they have to go with what works for the young man who was not gifted a play-making receiver at the trade deadline.

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