The present-day New York Giants seem to be exactly where the New York Knicks were in 2018, full of youth that’s in need of essential playing time.
Ensuring players like Daniel Jones, DeAndre Baker, Oshane Ximines, Dexter Lawrence, Julian Love and more earn live-action time is crucial. They are ultimately the future of the team and will require the opportunity to develop and refine their skill-sets. However, they can only do so with experience against NFL-level talent.
Football is a bit different than basketball, though, as the more physical sport is a bit more complicated when it comes to putting a roster together. In the NBA, five players start, in the NFL, 22 spots on the field must be filled. It’s not as easy to plug in veterans and expect them to perform, age hurts at the professional level at times, but it can also be a positive.
The Giants realistically aren’t in the best position to make a playoff appearance in 2019, but if we’ve realized anything over the years, it’s that anything can happen. Eli Manning will likely enjoy one final season in blue, and some of his vintage magic could still be out to good use on Sundays — One. Final. Time.
Maybe, trading Odell Beckham Jr. was the recipe to a culture change that will benefit the organization as a whole. Maybe Manning will operate at a higher level with Saquon Barkley as the featured player and Beckham not luring his eyes towards triple coverage.
The number of times we have witnessed Manning heave passes into multi-coverage just to find Beckham has been astounding over the years. Those days are over, a new offense is on the horizon.
Take a look at the New York Giants schedule below:
Your 2019 #NYGiants schedule??
Details ??
— New York Giants (@Giants) April 18, 2019
The Giants have a sneakily difficult schedule in 2019. Facing off against the Cowboys, Eagles and Redskins twice a piece is never easy, especially with Washington gaining a quarterback in Dwayne Haskins, who wants his revenge.
Additionally, the Giants will play a decent Bills team, the Vikings, Patriots, Jets, Chicago, and Green Bay. There are challenges scattered throughout the season which certainly puts a damper on their playoff hopes.
In conclusion, the Giants will not make the playoffs as expected, but their younger players will receive very beneficial playing time, making 2020 a more competitive campaign.