FA Additions: James Bradberry (CB), Blake Martinez (LB), Levine Toilolo (TE), Kyler Fackrell (LB), Cameron Fleming (OT), Colt McCoy (QB), Nate Ebner (FS), Dion Lewis (RB), Austin Johnson (DT), Casey Kreiter (LS), Eric Tomlinson (TE)
Draft Selections: Andrew Thomas (OT), Xavier McKinney (SS), Matt Peart (OT), Darnay Holmes (CB), Shane Lemieux (OG), Cameron Brown (LB), Carter Coughlin (LB), T.J. Brunson (CB), Tae Crowder (LB)
FA Return: Corey Coleman (WR)
FA Departures: Michael Thomas (FS), Mike Remmers (OT), Cody Latimer (WR), Antonio Hamilton (CB), Deone Bucannon (LB)
| Week 1 | Sept. 14th 7:15 PM ET | vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (ESPN) |
| Week 2 | Sept. 20th 1:00 PM ET | @ Chicago Bears (CBS) |
| Week 3 | Sept. 27th 1:00 PM ET | vs. San Francisco 49ers (FOX) |
| Week 4 | Oct. 4th 4:05 PM ET | @ Los Angeles Rams (FOX) |
| Week 5 | Oct. 11th 4:25 PM ET | @ Dallas Cowboys (CBS) |
| Week 6 | Oct. 18th 1:00 PM ET | vs. Washington Redskins (FOX) |
| Week 7 | Oct. 22nd 8:20 PM ET | @ Philadelphia Eagles (NFLN) |
| Week 8 | Nov. 2nd 8:15 PM ET | vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (ESPN) |
| Week 9 | Nov. 8th 1:00 PM ET | @ Washington Redskins (FOX) |
| Week 10 | Nov. 15th 1:00 PM ET | vs. Philadelphia Eagles (FOX) |
| Week 11 | BYE | |
| Week 12 | Nov. 29th 1:00 PM ET | @ Cincinnati Bengals (FOX) |
| Week 13 | Dec. 6th 4:05 PM ET | @ Seattle Seahawks (FOX) |
| Week 14 | Dec. 13th 1:00 PM ET | vs. Arizona Cardinals (FOX) |
| Week 15 | Dec. 20th 1:00 PM ET | vs. Cleveland Browns (CBS) |
| Week 16 | Dec. 27th 1:00 PM ET | @ Baltimore Ravens (FOX) |
| Week 17 | Jan. 3rd 1:00 PM ET | vs. Dallas Cowboys (FOX) |
It was another brutal year for the New York Giants as they finished third in the NFC East with a 4-12 record. Giants fans are hoping for a rebound season as they haven’t seen much success in the past three years as they haven’t won more than five games in a season. The Giants, once again, are rolling with a new head coach in a long time former New England Patriots special teams coordinator, Joe Judge. The young-minded 38-year old is bringing some quality coaches with him. Former Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator and Patriots linebackers coach Patrick Graham to control the defense, and former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett as the offensive coordinator. When first hired not many people thought he was the right fit, but the former boss at Alabama, Nick Saban, praises the hire in an interview with Giants.com,
“When Joe was here, he was a young guy, very bright, enthusiastic, great teacher, really good relationships with the players, had lots of leadership qualities about him because of the example that he set and the energy and the enthusiasm he had on a daily basis. He was really smart. He had a good understanding of football. So no surprise to me that Joe has gotten to this point in his career, and we certainly wish him well. He did a fantastic job here for us.”
Judge is going to have to be a great teacher, especially to a young team that was ranked 18th in offense and 30th in defense. For the offense, they have some great talented players like Saquon Barkley, Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate, Evan Engram, and Daniel Jones, but last year the biggest issue was Jones taking care of the football since he fumbled 18 times. Nonetheless, this team has some nice weapons that Garrett can work with. Another issue for the Giants came from the offensive line where they ranked 25th in run blocking and 17th in pass protection. Hopefully with Barkley being healthy, Garrett opening up the offense and Jones taking a big second-year jump, that the offensive line becomes one of the solid units in the NFL.
One thing that made the Giants one of the worst teams in the year was that defense. This offseason the Giants addressed that problem and brought in some key players with James Bradberry, Blake Martinez, Kyler Fackrell, and second-round pick Xavier McKinney. The Giants also drafted three linebackers in the mid to later rounds in the draft. Just like the offense, the defense is very young too, even with their veterans like Martinez, 26, and Bradberry, 26. They are heading into the prime of their career, but these are also guys that can teach and lead the unit. Bradberry has shown he’s one of the better corners in the NFL with three interceptions and 12 pass deflections, then Martinez has been a tackling machine throughout his career, but lacks the coverage.
Here’s the thing, the Giants are putting the right pieces into play: hiring quality coaches, already have the weapons for the offense, and building a young, athletic defense. The first year under Judge isn’t going to be perfect, there’s going to be growing pains, but if Judge can be that great teacher like Nick Saban says and show off his brightness and leadership, the Giants could easily turn their franchise around.
Coast to Coast Network 