Troy Aikman Surprised About Giants' 2-0 Start

Count former Dallas Cowboys quarterback turned broadcaster Troy Aikman among the critics who aren’t impressed by the New York Giants' 2-0 start.

In an interview with 96.7 The Ticket , Aikman, who for years was part of the lead broadcasting team at FOX before making the jump over to Amazon Prime’s Thursday night package, expressed surprise that the Giants have gotten off to a 2-0 start, citing the struggles of the offense in particular as a basis for his surprise.

Said Aikman:

I’ve seen a team that’s pretty fortunate to be 2-0. Defensively, I don’t want to say they’re like the Cowboys because I believe the Cowboys overall are a far better team than I’ve seen of the Giants. Offensively, they’re just struggling. I think the offensive line’s a work in progress … the whole team is, I guess, for that matter. And that’s what happens when you have the turnover they’ve had at the head coaching position.

I’ll be interested to see how this game goes. I do feel that Dallas is a lot better in so many areas. Dallas played Tampa, a team expected to do a lot, and Cincinnati, who just came off the Super Bowl. And they’ve been in those games with a chance to win, and here they are 1-1. I just don’t know what exactly New York has, but I don’t think it’s a lot.”

While some will no doubt want to jump down Aikman’s throat for taking a shot at the Giants, he’s not wrong. The Giants offense is still very much a work in progress-- progress that has been slowed in part because of the injuries on the offensive line and at receiver dating back to the spring. Couple that with the team learning a brand new offensive system that is far more complex than what was run in the past, and it’s only natural that the Giants are far from being a finished product.

At the end of training camp, even general manager Joe Schoen admitted that it would take a few additional weeks into the season before the brass knew what kind of team it had.

“I think every team, it's going to take three to four weeks to figure out who we are,” Schoen said. “I've said it to you guys before, how are we going to react when we face adversity? How are we going to handle success? No matter where you are, every year that's the case. You truly don't have a feel.”

Schoen further cautioned people about overreacting, regardless of how the season began. And for the Giants, their first two games have been close calls. In Week 1, they could have easily lost to the Titans if kicker Randy Bullock had not missed a game-winning field goal.

Last week, the Giants, playing against a rebuilding Carolina Panthers team, only managed a three-point margin of victory, failing to score at least 20 points in that game, a problem that has plagued the team for the last two years.

“Win, and everyone's going to say we're better than we probably are. If we lose, we're not as bad as we were that day,” Schoen said. “So, I think it's going to take a few weeks to feel out who we are.”

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