Giants Country

Where Giants Offense Needs to Improve

The Giants offense, through three games, has not been what we thought it would be. Here are some reasons why.

Patricia Traina

Where Giants Offense Needs to Improve
Where Giants Offense Needs to Improve /
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Things were supposed to be different for the New York Giants offense this year.

After adding speed and playmakers like Jalin Hyatt, Darren Waller, and Parris Cambell, the Giants offense, in Year 2 of the Brian Daboll-Mike Kafka regime, was supposed to be more explosive--maybe not historically explosive like what the Miami Dolphins were in Week 3, but more explosive in terms of gathering the chunk plays, and keeping pace with the competition.

Instead, the offense has looked lethargic, out of sorts, and at times just plain bad. They've been outscored 98-43 in three games. Their offensive line, which was supposed to be better this year, is about to have its fourth edition on the field due to injury and performance.

Their $160 million quarterback, Daniel Jones, is getting no chance to succeed, and their running back, Saquon Barkley, is either not being utilized to his full potential or is dealing with injury.

Deja blue? You could probably say that. So what needs to change besides, well, everything?

The Offensive Line

When it has come to the offensive line, the Giants have seemingly been stuck in a "Groundhog Day" type of storyline where every year, despite optimism that the line will be better, it ends up being the same regardless of who the starters are.

This year is no different. Through three games, the Giants offensive line, per Pro Football Focus, ranks 30th in pass-blocking efficiency (76.6). The unit has also allowed 50 pressures, second most behind Carolina's 60.

Unless someone can explain otherwise, I'm unsure how any quarterback is expected to function with a line that can't protect.

I've seen enough fans come out and ask about finding more offensive line talent, whether in the draft next year or the form of someone on the street. The Giants have two first-round picks (Andrew Thomas and Evan Neal), a second-rounder (John Michael Schmitz), and if both players end up staying in the lineup (which they should, in my opinion), a third-rounder (Josh Ezeudu), and a fifth-rounder (Marcus McKethan).

That's not exactly chicken feed as far as talent goes for the offensive line. And while there have been issues with the line jelling, at what point do we begin to question if it's the talent or the coaching of the unit?

We saw how, for years, the Giants tried to shoehorn Ereck Flowers at left tackle only to fail, yet when Flowers moved on and was converted to guard, he suddenly became more than serviceable. It's the same with Will Hernandez, who seems to have developed into more than a serviceable guard for the Arizona Cardinals.

In reality, it's probably a combination of things involved here, but suffice it to say, the Giants need a lot more from this unit if this team is to turn things around.

Daniel Jones

As predicted, the Daniel Jones critics are out in full force, having a field day over the quarterback's struggles. And no, I'm not going to absolve Jones for his part in what we have seen on offense so far, offensive line woes or no offensive line woes.

Because of the offensive line woes, the passing game has been stuck in the mud as far as what it did last year: short, quick throws and a reliance on the speedsters to pick up YAC (another problem in itself since the YAC hasn't been there).

That sack he took at the hands of Joey Bosa? If Jones is allowed to adjust the play and he didn't, then that's on him for not calling for an adjustment to the blocking to counter that mismatch.

At least right now, the bottom line for Jones is that if this offense is to become what everyone thought it might be, it needs to play near-perfect football. And right now, this team just isn't good enough to do that or overcome their mistakes.

Penalties

Don't look now, but the Giants, through three games, are tied for ninth in the league with 21 penalties called against them. Of those 21, nine have come on offense, and of those nine (for 67 yards), five have resulted in a stalled drive.

Again, this team isn't good enough to overcome its mistakes, including drive-killing penalties that turn the potential to score at least six into half of that or, worse yet, nothing.

Deep Ball

Remember all those deep pass plays (20+ yards) we wrote about in the spring and the summer and how breathtaking they were? Well, since the season started, there just haven't been enough of them; this is likely due to the offensive line woes but also partially due to certain receivers not always getting open.

The Giants have completed just two of seven deep pass plays of 20+ yards (28.6 percent completion rate) for 89 yards. Rookie wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, who routinely put on a show with his ability to split and beat coverages deep down the field, has been targeted a whopping three times so far this season, none of which came last week against the 49ers despite playing in 16 of the Giants' 50 offensive snaps.

“There’s a plan for Jalin — a plan for all the guys — and based on the personnel we choose to use on a given play, it could be more, it could be about the same,” head coach Brian Daboll explained. “So, we’ll keep giving him reps, and hopefully, we have more than [50] plays in a game. We put him in plays to try to target him.”

They need to try harder. Hyatt is averaging 7.0 yards after the catch, second on the team behind tight end Lawrence Cager's 7.5 YAC. And while we get that there is a plan for everything, sometimes it can't hurt to change a plan if what you initially had on paper isn't working, which has been the case for most of the first three games.

Turnovers

The Giants defense is one of three that has yet to record an interception. (The others being Las Vegas and the Rams.) This problem has continued since last year when they tied for last with the Raiders with six interceptions.

That wouldn't be so bad, except the offense has given the ball away five times in three games for a minus-5 differential. You won't win many games when you give it away, as the Giants have done so this year.

While some might think that a couple of Daniel Jones's interceptions have been of the pop-up variety, a turnover still cannot happen, regardless of the circumstances.

Third Down

The Giants just haven't been able to sustain drives on offense, period. If they're not coughing the ball up or committing a drive-killing penalty, their coming up short on third down, where they have a 37.5 percent conversion rate (tied for 19th in the league).

Chalk that up, along with some of the other issues already discussed, for the Giants' rank of 30th in average points scored per game (14.3) through three games this season.

Final Thoughts

These are just a handful of issues to pop up through three weeks with the Giants offense--and I didn't even get to the personnel usage, where I'm still trying to figure out why the Giants were so quick to abandon the running game in Week 1, or why they can't get Hyatt involved more in the passing game, or if head coach Brian Daboll has been more involved in giving his input into the offensive play calling these last two games.

I get it that there have been weeks with not a lot of snaps on offense, but plans are made to be adjusted, and I'm just not sensing a lot of flexibility in the offensive game plan when things go astray.

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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.

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