For the first time in a long time, the New York Giants feel as though they’re headed in the right direction. Despite losing three of their last four games and heading into a massive game against the Washington Commanders with playoff implications, the team has the right coaching staff in place and plenty of talented young players to help fuel future success.
The Giants have dealt with a significant number of injuries once again. Ownership has already committed to changing the surface at MetLife Stadium after players voiced their concerns.
In fact, half the Giants have sustained MCL sprains this year, which is an extremely specific and odd injury. Most of them occurred playing on the MetLife turf, in addition to a number of ACL tears. Receiver Sterling Shepard, rookie linebacker Darrian Beavers, and rookie lineman Marcus McKethan all suffered ACL injuries on the MetLife turf this year, forcing Mara to make a change.
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With a brighter future on the surface of the Giants’ home field, they can look ahead to hopefully fewer injuries. That will hopefully fuel a far more competitive team down the stretch since the Giants have been utilizing a secondary composed of mainly practice squad players the past few weeks. That is not even mentioning the similar reality the wide receiver room is currently facing.
If the Giants can smooth over this avoidable reality, the future is bright, and Mara understands that. In fact, he got a nice glimpse of that truth during the first half of the 2022 season, in which the Giants fought their way to seven wins before an unfortunate downward spiral.
According to Newsday, Mara was rather optimistic in his 2022 review so far:
“We’ll see how it finishes out. But right now I feel good about the team, the direction we are going. You are always disappointed if you don’t make the playoffs but we are trying to take it one week at a time at this point. I know that sounds like coachspeak but that’s really the only way you can look at it right now. I just know the vibe in the building is the best that it has been in a long time. People are all pulling in the same direction.”
The New York Giants are headed in the right direction, for now:
The Giants seem to be in lockstep with one another, creating an environment of communication and positive reinforcement. Head coach Brian Daboll has done a tremendous job getting the most out of individual players, but a lack of talent has caught up to them. The Giants will have plenty of financial flexibility in 2023 and beyond, but they need to make the right decisions and invest in specific units to help put themselves in a good position moving forward.
Successful drafting is ultimately the top priority, but general manager Joe Schoen found a few solid contributors in his first class with Big Blue. He’ll be hoping to compound that success with another strong rookie unit next season, hopefully, led by a revitalized WR room.