Giants Recap

The Giants looked horrific in losing to the Cowboys 20-13.  If possible, the Giants offensive line got worse than last year (but at a higher cost). People are killing Manning for his ineptness, but the reality is that almost no one can pass behind that line. Certainly, a more mobile quarterback could buy more time (like Sam Darnold).

Barkley is an interesting case.  He set a Giant record with 14 catches, but all dump offs that went nowhere. He got nowhere on the ground. Despite these facts, amazingly I thought he was fantastic. I’ve never seen a back break so many tackles and make so many guys miss. It speaks to just how bad the line is and it also speaks to the fact that the line is so important in the success of a running back that running backs just don’t deserve to be valued that highly. There is a reason I didn’t think the Giants should take Barkley, no matter how talented he is.

If this was a game, or even a season that was looking bad, it would be sad but manageable.  Unfortunately, I think the future for the Giants is bleak. The GM (Gettleman) has made so many errors that will cost them for many years to come. It wasn’t just not drafting Darnold which they will regret for years. They should not have given up JPP, or DRC (or Bert Jones who is now needed at Center), or signed Ogletree (the Rams would have given him up for less than nothing as he is no longer a plus player).  Solder at $17m is overpaid.  The worst crime may have been Jon Stewart, a washed up running back that they would not have needed even if it was a few years ago. He is similarly talented to Justin Pugh but at a much higher price. You can get any player you want if you are willing to massively overpay but with a salary cap it means you are sacrificing other areas. Omameh is useless. He is not an upgrade over John Jerry but also at a much higher price. The biggest problem with these signings is that the structure of signing bonuses getting accrued over the life means you really can’t cut the players who don’t perform without a substantial cap hit until the end of the contract.
 
Looking for bright spots:
Granted the Jags and Cowboys are not good passing teams, but the overall Giant defense held up in each game. Take away an early game slip by Jenkins on a long touchdown and the Giant defense held both teams in check despite not having their best player available in Olivier Vernon.  The difference between having one good pass rusher and none is huge.  The defense will get better with his return.  Certainly, a smart coach like Shurmur will make some adjustments on offense but this is not going to be a playoff team.  Its hard to believe that they won’t figure out something to make them a little better.  Most of the problem is lack of skills, but they also piled on by not knowing how to pick up stunts.

Another attempt at Optimism:
Why the Giants passing on a QB in this year’s draft could pan out. Quarterbacks are far and away the highest priced players on the field.  They should be as their performance is the single highest determinant of success.  As a result, even the 29th best quarterback (in a 30 team league) gets paid well as you need to have a quality starter.

Unlike other positions such as receiver and lineman, teams really only play one quarterback. As a result, they won’t pay much for a second quarterback.  While the QBs in the league are not all great, it could be a unique time next season where there are no teams looking to draft a quarterback.

Think about it. The only teams without decent quarterback play are teams that recently drafted and committed to young QBs and won’t give up on that very soon. The Cards took Rosen, the Bills, Allen.  While some teams with older QBs will look to the future, they won’t trade up to get that done.
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Additionally, even not counting guys like Fitzpatrick, Bradford or McNown, who are quality starters (and at this point of similar talent to Manning), guys like McCarron and Bridgewater and Tyrod Taylor are out there and won’t have starting jobs next year unless signed by a new team as a free agent. Simply put, the talent difference between the 20th best quarterback and the 30th best (including next year’s draft picks) will not be that large. The difference is that the free agent value of the 15th best will be $22m per year, while the 30th best could be had for $7-10m, or the price of the draft pick to sign next year’s top rookie QBs will be much less expensive than normal. It may be a very good time to be looking for a new QB next year. There is no way this went into Gettleman’s thinking and even if it did they should have drafted Bradley Chubb, but this may be stroke of luck that works out well.
 
 -Ari Glass