New York Giants Musings with One Week Left to Go Before Regular-Season Opener

For several reasons, it will be an interesting first season for general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll.

Today marks the last weekend without New York Giants football for a while. And as the players and coaches wrap up a long three-day weekend and prepare to start their regular-season preparations for Week 1 at Tennessee, here are a few thoughts.

Measuring Success

What kind of record do the Giants need for this first season under Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll to be considered a success?

That question has been asked of me in just about every mailbag I've done on this site or the LockedOn Giants podcast, and I think I've been fairly consistent with my response. My answer has been 8-9--unlike the folks over at SI.com who think the Giants will only be one win better than last year's total, I believe doubling that four-win mark isn't a crazy expectation.

But let's also be realistic here. Schoen knows that this roster is not as solid as it should be. That's not news to anyone following this team since the new regime took over.

There are plenty of question marks on both sides of the ball, and it hasn't helped that the injury bug once again bit into some of the depth at key positions (see the next section for one).

Giants general manager Joe Schoen has tried to assemble enough of a competitive team despite serious salary cap limitations :: Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

While the Giants aren't about to tank for whatever college quarterback is the flavor of the month, when measuring the "success" of this team, the thing we all have to look for--and this is where there will be some debate--is if the program is on the right direction.

For example, don't worry so much about quarterback Daniel Jones's stats; rather, is he making the right decisions? Is he giving this team a chance to win games, or is he playing fast and loose with the football? 

Saquon Barkley? Sure the yardage can be used as an indicator, but to truly assess if he's the Barkley of old, is he lowering his shoulder? Does he see creases that he might have missed in the past? Is he breaking tackles?

I could go on and on about each position, but you probably get the idea by now. It's not all going to be about numbers as it is about this regime getting a comprehensive look at the players they think can be part of the foundation moving forward before making strategic decisions to push the club to the next level.

The Unsettled Offensive Line

By now, it would have been ideal if the Giants had their starting offensive linemen in place and ready to go following several weeks of chemistry building and jelling.

But this is the Giants offensive line we're talking about, and since when has anything ever gone smoothly with this unit? This year is no exception as here we are, a week away from the regular-season opener, and thanks to injuries, the Giants starting offensive line still isn't set.

It's been a challenging summer for Giants offensive line coach Bobby Johnson, who has had to work around injuries that have depleted the unit's depth :: Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

You can blame that on injuries at left guard. Shane Lemieux is on IR for at least the next four weeks. Joshua Ezeudu is a rookie who has missed chunks of training camp and playing time due to an undisclosed injury.

Devery Hamilton has tried to hold down the fort and has done a decent job of it, but that still didn't stop the Giants from bringing in Jack Anderson and Tyre Phillips, both of whom will likely get some practice snaps in the coming week at the position.

Who's Calling Plays?

One of the questions I expect to come up at some point this week when the media meets with head coach Brian Daboll is about the offensive play caller decision.

Daboll has given offensive coordinator Mike Kafka a long audition there, dating back to the spring, and has praised the young coach (what else would you expect) for the job he's done. 

But there is always the possibility that Daboll when he was first hired, said the decision would boil down to who the offensive coordinator was and the job that individual did.

Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka left, has been calling the plays since the spring. Will head coach Brian Daboll (right) officially name the first-time play-caller the team's permanent option? :: Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

This summer, Kafka did the play calling, with Daboll listening in on the headset, much like one of those quality control trainers would listen in on customer service calls. 

If Kafka had struggled or not lived up to expectations, it's hard to believe that Daboll wouldn't have taken the role back over at some point before the preseason ended to make sure that quarterback Daniel Jones was fully comfortable with whoever was in his ear on game day.

To my knowledge, that didn't happen, which is why I would be stunned beyond belief if Daboll decides to call the plays after letting Kafka grow into the role dating back to May.

Doing Things Their Way

First, it was Logan Ryan. More recently, it was Blake Martinez. So just what is going on in the land of the Giants?

For those who aren't sure what I'm referencing, Ryan and Martinez were two roster cuts that didn't benefit the Giants financially. On the surface, they were also moves that took away two still good players whom some might argue weren't fits for the new defensive system being deployed by Wink Martindale.

Whether that's true or not, there's likely another angle here. Every coach and coordinator to ever come through an NFL team's doors usually brings with him "his guys"--players he trusts to disseminate his message and lead the locker room.

Blake Martinez, a two-time Giants team captain and tackle leader in 2020, is no longer on the roster after reaching a mutual decision with the team to move on.  / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Joe Judge did it with Ryan and Nate Ebner. James Bettcher, the defensive coordinator under Pat Shurmur, lobbied for and got many of his former players from his days with the Arizona Cardinals. 

Patrick Graham, the defensive coordinator under Judge, did it with Martinez, whom he had in Green Bay. And yes, even Brian Daboll has done it with guys like Jon Feliciano, Matt Breida, and Davis Webb, while Wink Martindale has welcomed in former Ravens such as  Justin Ellis, Jihad Ward, and Tony Jefferson.

While on the surface, this might be viewed as a less than ideal approach to building a roster, when a team is starting from scratch as the Giants are, it makes sense.

I've often compared the process to a chain restaurant opening a new location and sending down corporate trainers who are well versed in how to do things to help "train" the newer employees with no prior experience in the system. That's what the Giants have done here in this first year of the Schoen-Daboll era.

But it becomes a problem if the regime becomes too reliant on the past and not focused enough on developing guys for the future.

For the record, I don't think that Schoen and Daboll will fall into that trap. I think both are committed to unearthing fresh talent not just from the college ranks but from around the league that fits into their overall vision for this team and developing it into a new Giants recipe built for success.

Of course, time will tell if that's the case. For instance, we still need to see how Schoen will operate with a healthy salary cap situation. But it's hard not to be encouraged by what this new regime has shown so far.

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