What Philosophy Changes Might We Expect from Giants in 2023?

The New York Giants will be looking to build on last year's successful 9-7-1, a record achieved against the third-easiest schedule. But unlike last year, the Giants, thanks to their success, will now be up against the league's fourth-most difficult schedule.

While many of the names and faces remain the same, there are some newcomers whose talents will allow the coaching staff to try new things.

"Once phase three hits and we're out here practicing a little bit, albeit without pads in training camp, certainly we'll do that," head coach Brian Daboll said about adding new wrinkles to both sides of the ball.

"I don't think you just have a playbook and say, 'Here's what we're going to run.' I think the playbook is predicated on what the players do well."

Here are a few things that we could see the Giants doing differently this year.

Committee Approach at Running Back

Although Saquon Barkley is fully capable of being the team's bell cow at running back, if the Giants want to have him for the long-term, they must, in addition to obviously getting him signed to a multiyear deal, look to reduce his workload to keep him fresh for down the stretch.

Except for 2020 and 2021, when he dealt with injuries, Barkley has taken at least 80 percent of the offensive snaps in his other three years in the league. Given his injury history and importance to the offense, look for the Giants to gravitate toward more of a committee approach at the position, something Daboll didn't rule out.

"Depends on what we have out here come August," he said, no doubt referring to the health and performance of the other running backs--rookie Eric Gray and veterans Matt Breida, Gary Brightwell, and Jashaun Corbin. "We'll see how it goes once we get out here and compete with pads in training camp and preseason games."

While Daboll is wise to take a wait-and-see approach, the fact that he didn't shoot down the idea of lessening Barkley's load indicates that the possibility is very much on the table.

Fewer Snaps for Dex and Leo

Speaking of a lighter workload, don't be surprised if the Giants take the same approach for defensive linemen Dexter Lawrence, who recently signed a new four-year, $90 million extension, and Leonard Williams.

Lawrence is only 25 years old, but last season, he logged a career-high 82 percent of the defensive snaps. That wore on Lawrence physically, who, by the end of the season, was getting a weekly veteran rest day to allow himself more recovery time.

Leonard Williams was in the same boat--sort of. Williams, who turns 29 next month, missed his first career snaps last season thanks to injuries. But even before then, he played 75 percent of the snaps, a hefty yet necessary amount considering the drop-off when he was out of the lineup.

While the snap counts of each player will vary each week, don't be surprised if Lawrence's and Williams's weekly snap counts fall somewhere in the 65-68 percent range moving forward to help keep them both fresh. The Giants added veterans Rakeem Nunez-Roches and A'Shawn Robinson in part to help with this.

More Deep Shots Down the Field

Last season, the Giants ranked dead last in deep pass plays of 20+ yards completed (28), the reason for which was partly due to the inconsistent pass protection and partly to the receivers struggling to separate.

Of the three Giants receivers with a minimum of 45 pass targets, Richie James (now with the Chiefs) led the Giants in average separation (3.2) with an 81.43 percent catch rate. James was followed by Isaiah Hodgins (2.8)and Darius Slayton (2.5).

Separation is only part of the puzzle, though. James and Hodgins averaged 3.3 and 2.9 yards, respectively, after the catch. In contrast, Slayton, who had the lowest catch percentage rate of the three (64.79 percent), averaged 5.9 yards after the catch per reception.

A bigger issue may have been pass protection. Last year, the Giants attempted deeper drops on just 22 percent of their passing plays; meanwhile, their quarterbacks were under pressure on 41 percent of their total drop backs, which perhaps forced the coaching staff to design plays that got the ball out quicker.

With a (hopefully) improved offensive line, Jones should have more time for a deeper drop while his speedier receivers work their way down the field for potentially longer pass plays.

More 12-Personnel Packages

Last year, the Giants began the season looking like they might deploy more 12-personnel packages (one running back, two tight ends). But by the end of the year, the Giants deployed more 11-personnel (three wideouts) as the passing game picked up.

The 12-personnel grouping is generally good for a running team that wants to add extra run-blocking support via the tight end. And considering there was some question last year at the start of the season regarding how quickly the Giants' passing game might jell, it was only natural to see the offense lean more heavily on the run.

That eventually shifted around mid-year when the passing game started to come together. The Giants began using less 12-personnel in favor of more 11-personnel, and by the time the year was done, New York had, according to Sports Info Solutions, deployed 11-personnel on 66 percent of its offensive plays and 12-personnel on 14 percent.

Moving forward, don't be surprised if the use of 11-personnel dips a bit while 12- and 22-personnel rises. If the Giants can field a healthy Darren Waller and Daniel Bellinger on the field together, that should give offensive coordinator Mike Kafka more options than he had a year ago.

More Pre-Snap Motion

The only other thing more surprising than the Giants' record last season was that they didn't use pre-snap motion as much as it looked like they initially would.

Per Sports Info Solutions, the Giants only use pre-snap motion on 39 percent of their plays from scrimmage. Interestingly, only the defending NFC Champion Eagles (28 percent) used pre-snap motion less than the Giants within the NFC East, with Washington (52 percent) and Dallas (46 percent) leading the way.

For what it's worth, the Bills and Chiefs, from where head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka were before joining the Giants, made pre-snap motion a heavy part of their offenses, Buffalo using it in 44 percent of its snaps and the Chiefs of 61 percent.

All that said, I think the Giants will make heavier use of pre-snap motion to help quarterback Daniel Jones take his game to the next level. I often thought that last year, the coaches tried to keep things simple for Jones as he developed a comfort level in the offense.

Get the latest breaking news and analysis on the New York Giants
Follow and like us on Facebook
Submit your questions for our mailbag
Check out the Giants Country YouTube Channel.
Subscribe and like the LockedOn Giants YouTube Channel
Sign up for our FREE message board forums
Get your Giants tickets from SI Tickets!

Add us as a preferred source on Google