Giants Country

New York Giants Game Day: Five Thoughts Before Week 4's Game

The Giants are at a crossroads not just at this point in their season, but potentially for the future.

Patricia Traina

New York Giants Game Day: Five Thoughts Before Week 4's Game
New York Giants Game Day: Five Thoughts Before Week 4's Game /

When it comes to Giants football, we've heard the clichés before...

"It's not about how you start a season, but rather how you finish it."

"It's still early."

"The season's a marathon, not a sprint."

"There's a lot of football left."

Ah, if only the points on the scoreboard flowed as freely as the clichés, right?

You see, here's the thing. The Giants had an easy stretch to start their 2021 schedule. The schedule makers gave them three very winnable games, and the Giants couldn't close the deal on any of them.

Here's the frustrating thing about that. It's not that the talent is terrible, or the coaching is so horrible. It's that the team didn't look ready for the start of the season.

I go back to training camp and the decision made by head coach Joe Judge to not play most of his starters until the third preseason game. Judge, at the time, decided that because guys were getting quality practice time, he'd back them off in preseason games that didn't count.

But at the same time, Judge has previously admitted that it's virtually impossible to simulate game-like conditions in practice. If you consider that the head coach didn't want players putting each other on the ground or touching the quarterback in any way, shape, or form, is it any wonder why we've seen a spate of missed tackles and poor angles? Is it any wonder why receivers have struggled against press coverage?

Judge, remember, comes from two programs (Alabama and New England) where this kind of philosophy was a staple. The difference, though, is that those teams had more established talent with a track record of winning, whereas the Giants do not have that to where they can afford "throwaway" regular-season games.

Now, this isn't to say that these first three losses are squarely on Judge. Still, I think at the end of the season, when he sits down to evaluate himself, he'll look to do things a lot differently next summer.

A few other thoughts...

1. The newly rebranded Caesars Superdome is going to be loud. No, make that extra loud.

And with good reason. It's the first time this season the Saints' fans will be able to see their beloved home team following the devastation of Hurricane Ida.

Giants head coach Joe Judge knows this. So in preparing the team for the noise, he revealed that he had music (perhaps in addition to or instead of crowd noise) blared onto the field throughout the entire practice to get the players to sharpen their verbal and non-verbal communication.

"The reality is, though, you’re going to deal with elements outside of the 11 on the field that affect your communication on the field and things you’re going to do. You have to prepare for that. Obviously, we jammed the music as loud as we can the entire practice. We try to make communication as stressful and difficult as we can," he said.

"We can’t just talk about noise and say, ‘Hey, it’s going to loud.’ We have to make them operate in the noise. In terms of the atmosphere down there, look if you’ve played in that dome, coached in that dome, it’s a great atmosphere."

Fans are typically encouraged to make as much noise as possible when the opposing team is on offense. So to be sure that when plays are being called in from the sideline, Judge went the extra mile, so to speak, to ensure no one misunderstands a call.

In short, it's a smart move to blare the music throughout the entire practice, as Judge said. Whether it pays off remains to be seen.

2. For the second time in seven months, the Giants had to restructure cornerback James Bradberry's contract to create some salary-cap space.

This, unfortunately, is the fall-out from a massive free-agency spending spree that the team would hope yield a playoff berth. But before I get into that point, the Giants, who had less than $600,000 before clearing $2.7 million on the Bradberry restructure, had to do something. Otherwise, they wouldn't have had any money for emergency signings or practice squad promotions.

I said it back then and will repeat it. Free-agent spending sprees rarely, if ever, work. People might point to the Giants' last big free-agency spending spree in 2016 and how that got them to the playoffs, but I'll counter that by saying they didn't go very far, and that spree ended up screwing their future cap.

The same seems to be in the cards for the Giants this year. Back in the spring, assistant general manager and salary apologist Kevin Abrams admitted the team might have some problems next year as the league emerged from the global pandemic's effect on its revenue.

And the Giants, in their desperation to get out of this nearly decade-long rut they've been in as a franchise, picked the worst time to put their future cap in peril.

And here's the scary part. If this team doesn't make it to the playoffs, barring a miracle, the chances of it getting very far next year are also concerning.

3. While on the subject of the cap, if this team is still bringing up the rear in the standings, I'd look to move safety Jabrill Peppers and tight end Evan Engram. No disrespect to either, but those two players account for $12.78 million of cap space.

And given the looming salary cap crunch this team appears to be headed for next year, the chances of either re-signing don't look very promising, so why not look to move one or both?

They'd not only get something in return (at this point, the more draft picks they can accumulate, the better), but they'd also help their salary cap situation this year on two guys that right now I think are a long shot to be re-signed by this team.

4. Coaches will tell you that sacks come in clusters, and often that's true. But when it comes to the Giants overall pass rush, this is one of the slowest starts I can remember it having in a while.

Looking specifically at the edge rushers who have been active for every game so far--Azeez Ojulari, Lorenzo Carter, Oshane Ximines, and Raymond Johnson III--they have a combined 15 pressures, per Pro Football Focus. Ojulari's three sacks not only lead the team, but they are also the only sacks produced by the edge guys.

Granted, Carter and Ximines are both coming off injuries from last year, but five total pressures in 99 pass-rush snaps for Carter isn't very good, nor is two pressures in 51 pass-rush snaps for Ximines.

Granted, some of that is related to the issues in the defensive secondary. But the front and back ends need to work hand in hand, and that's just not happening right now.

5. Right now, the Giants fan base is down on the team, and understandably so.

But in looking back at some of the turning points in the first three games, you wonder if it weren't for the mistakes this team seems to make on a fairly consistent basis--a dropped interception here, a dropped touchdown pass there--if the Giants might have been 2-1 at this point instead of 0-3?

An 0-3 record is nothing to be proud of, and there are no medals for trying in football. And I know this sounds coach-like and cliched, but if the Giants can clean up those fundamentally driven issues and, of course, tighten up the play calling and in-game coaching decisions that aren't helping, maybe there might be hope for this team after all. 

More from Giants Country

Join the Giants Country Community

Become a premium Fan Nation member and get access to all of Fan Nation’s premium content plus a subscription to Sports Illustrated! Click here for more information or to begin your free 30-day trial.

Published
Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

Home/Big Blue+