Sunday, February 1, 2015

"My 2015 Wishes for the Giants" by Bojo

The past several years have been truly boom or bust for the New York Football Giants. Sine 2007, the Giants have won two Super Bowls. I don’t think there’s a fanbase in the league that wouldn’t be happy with that. However, the non-championship years, as our detractors absolutely love to point out, have been relatively lackluster, to put it mildly. So what do I want for the Giants in 2015? 


In a word, I think it would be consistency. I would like for them to compete for a championship every year, not put up 6-9 records, leaving them open to claims of flukiness. But how do we get there?




Offense
With players like Odell Beckham Jr. (and Victor Cruz coming off IR), truly anything is possible.  But flashy receivers often don’t translate into championships. The Giants averaged only 3.6 yards per carry last season; third worst in the league. However, I don’t think our running backs are not serviceable, I think there is something wrong with our line. Last year, the Giants signed four veteran free agent lineman; J.D. Walton and John Jerry started every game, but the rest had mixed or poor results in games. So I hope, so much, that we go O-Line heavy in the draft. And as I always say, In Jerry Reese We Trust.

Defense
In the championship years, our calling card was always our pass rush. However, I don’t think any reasonable Giants fan would lay claim to our D-Line being anything close to dominant the past year or two. Here’s my suggestion; they run a 3-4 defense. Because not only is our D-Line no longer dominant, I would say that the linebacking core has become the strongest defensive unit. Herzlich has proved much more than a special teams player, Jon Beason will be back (and his replacement McClain was above average as well), and the Giants even have a true nose tackle on the roster in the 320-pound Johnathan Hankins. So on the defense, I think some of problems could be formational, and not even personnel related.

Either way, a run at the ‘Ship is never more than a season away in Giants land, the one current bright spot of New York sports.