The Giants 2024 win projection is not great. DraftKings has the win total for the Giants set at 6.5 wins (over/under). How can the Giants surprise the masses and return to the playoffs in 2024? Here is what they must do to have a chance.
Just Air it Out
Any good team must have a competent offense. While the Giants may not have the best talent on offense, they still need to at least take some shots. Over the past two seasons, the Giants offense has been conservative for the most part. There seems to be a lack of rhythm. They start off slow in the first halve, then follow it up with pure panic in the second half. Their play mix seems to consist of throwing short of the sticks, poorly coordinated and rarely executed screen passes, and very few explosive play attempts throughout. One could argue that the Giants offensive line is so bad, they have no choice but to come out with conservative play calls. I am not buying this. They are playing not to lose rather than playing to win. The result…they lose anyway.
Taking more shots at bigger plays is especially important for Daniel Jones this year. He is likely on his last year as a Giants starting QB unless he starts dominating. The only way he will dominate is if he consistently executes explosive plays.
The Giants averaged 6.8 points in the first halves of games in 2023. This is a result of the conservative starts. The Giants will have to come out more determined to score in the early game. Fortunately, Brian Daboll is set to take over play calling. If the Giants have more consistent repeats of the 2023 Giants-Cardinals game (where Brian Daboll took over play calling half-way through) the Giants can become more of a threat on offense.
Defensive Turnovers
The Giants have a key strength that is not talked about much. The Giants finished second in turnover margin in the NFL in 2023 with +12 turnovers (the ratio of turnovers conceded by a team to the number of turnovers that team generates in a season). Why is that so important for their winning potential? Because in the last 20 years, the 2023 Giants are the only team to finish with a +12 turnover margin and finish the season with a losing record. This is perhaps the most important element of the Giants identity at this point. The odds of the Giants missing the playoffs in 2024 would be extremely low with an average offense coupled by a similar turnover producing defense. That said, areas for improvement with the defense include improving the tackling quality, as well as having a better run defense.
O-Line Has to Stabilize
You knew this one was coming. This goes without saying. The Giants offensive line has not been stable in over a decade. Their poor play has undoubtedly hindered the performance of the Giants quarterbacks, receivers, and running backs. It makes it challenging to assess the talent of other players simply because the play is over within seconds of the ball being snapped. Fortunately, Giants offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo is very highly touted coming over from the Raiders. If coaching was the issue last year, rest assure this will likely get fixed.
Specific to the players, Andrew Thomas needs to stay healthy. John Michael Schmitz needs to take a step forward from being a learning rookie to a reliable starter. Jon Runyan Jr. will likely be the left guard. He needs to match his best performances in Green Bay. Between Neal and Eluemunor, the Giants must assess the talent as quickly as possible to determine who plays right guard and right tackle. Justin Pugh came on our the Rush Podcast to speak about the issue of switching sides of the offensive line (position is less challenging if it is on the same side). The Giants need to conclude whether Evan Neal is a reliable right tackle during the preseason, and not early in the regular season. If they do not fully trust him come week one…Eluemunor should be right tackle.
Lastly, the Giants need to do a better job of picking up stunts. The miscommunication on the offensive line was a major issue last year. The Giants improving to a middle of the pack offensive line ranking would bring relief to Daniel Jones and the rest of the offense.
Last But Not Least
Players need to remain healthy. The Giants are continuously one of the most injury-ridden teams. They need to consider having a 3rd party health consultant review training practices and turf quality at the Timex Center. The Giants injury bug problem over the past decade has ended careers, hindered player development, and ruined seasons. If the team gets littered with injuries, the Giants have no chance at the playoffs.
Fine Print
No boat parties. No fireworks. No unlicensed firearms. No quads or dirt bikes.