The New York Giants have revamped their coaching staff once again this offseason. After firing Pat Shurmur after two disappointing seasons, New York surprised everyone and hired Joe Judge, the now-former special teams coordinator for the New England Patriots.
Joe Judge has been impressive since taking over as head coach of the Giants a couple of short months ago. He has received a lot of praise for putting together an excellent coaching staff. Judge brought in plenty of former head coaches to be assistants on his staff, providing plenty of professional experience to teach this team’s youthful roster.
One of Joe Judge’s best hirings thus far has been offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. Garrett, as all Giants fans should know, was with the Cowboys from 2007-2019, serving as their head coach from 2011 to 2019. Judge hired a brilliant offensive mind in Jason Garrett and hiring him sets up the Giants’ two most talented stars (Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley) for long-term success.
An Offensive Scheme That Plays To Their Strengths
Jason Garrett runs a scheme that will play to the strengths of both quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley. His offense places heavy emphasis on incorporating play-action. Throwing off of play-action is one of Daniel Jones’s biggest strengths. As a rookie in 2019, Jones gained 639 passing yards on 93 play-action pass attempts. Garrett’s scheme should be able to get the best out of Jones in his second season.
Saquon Barkley will also benefit tremendously from Jason Garrett’s offense. Garrett loves to run the football and he has run one of the most efficient running-attacks in the NFL over the past few years.
Jason Garrett and the Dallas Cowboys ran for 2,153 yards last season on 4.8 yards per attempt with 18 rushing touchdowns. The team has rushed for over 1,900 yards in every season since 2016. In 2015 they were 10 yards short of that mark but were coming off of an explosive 2,354 rushings yards in 2014.
This dominant rushing attack opens up the play-action passing game. That has been Garrett’s bread and butter with Dallas. Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott threw for 1,239 yards off of 138 play-action passing attempts in 2019.
Now, with a revamped offensive line and some talented receiving options, the Giants could run one of the most efficient offenses in the NFL next season. Garrett benefitted from coaching one of the league’s best offensive lines for years in Dallas. His scheme was heavily dependant on the big guys’ performances.
The Giants now have a capable offensive line to protect Daniel Jones and open up holes for Saquon Barkley. Combine that with Garrett’s efficient scheme, and we could see Jones and Barkley flourish in 2020.