The New York Giants, once again, are 0-3. Here we are, in September, talking about who we should take with our top-five pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Out for blood are disgruntled Giants fans, campaigning to begin the Tank for Trevor Lawrence.
These are dark times for New York’s prolific football franchise. The Giants are, historically, one of the greatest franchises in NFL history (arguably in the history of all sports). But for years now, the Giants have been at the bottom of the barrel.
New York has changed head coaches like supermodels change outfits at the Met Gala. Ben McAdoo was hired in 2016 and fired in 2017. Shurmur was hired in 2018 and fired in 2020. Joe Judge was hired this offseason to be the team’s next head coach, but things have gotten off to a very shaky start.
In addition to the firing of Ben McAdoo in 2017, New York also fired general manager Jerry Reese. To replace the two-time Super Bowl champion Jerry Reese, John Mara and the Giants brought in a familiar face: Dave Gettleman. Gettleman previously worked with the Giants from 1999-2012. When Mara promised “wholesale changes,” Gettleman is not the man many had in mind.
Worse Under Gettleman
Three years into the Gettleman era, the Giants have seen little- actually, no improvement. New York is 9-26 since Gettleman took over the roster in 2018. In Jerry Reese’s final 35 games, the Giants were 14-21. Dave Gettleman has run the Giants into the ground; it is time for everyone to realize this.
What Are The Strengths?
Gettleman, admittedly, inherited a bad roster in 2018. But what has he done with that roster? Has he turned any of its weaknesses into strengths?
When looking at the Giants’ roster, it is hard to find any real strengths. The Giants have invested a lot into their offensive line and defensive line, but only one of those two units have performed as a strength for the Giants.
New York has invested a slew of assets into their defensive line. Those investments have paid off, for the most part, as Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence combine with Dalvin Tomlinson to form an impressive front line of defense.
But the investments on the offensive line have not found the same success. Andrew Thomas looks like he has the makings of a franchise left tackle, but nearly every other position on the offensive line is a weakness. New York has allowed Daniel Jones to be pressured on 41.5% of his dropbacks through the first three games of the season.
One strength that could also be pointed out is the running back position. Well, that could have been pointed out before Saquon Barkley went down with a season-ending knee injury. The Giants’ receivers have struggled to gain separation this season. Evan Engram has been wildly disappointing. So it is hard to identify any of the skill positions as a strength.
The Giants’ defense has some bright spots. Blake Martinez has been a top-performing at the inside linebacker position and James Bradberry has been lockdown on the outside at cornerback. But the rest of the secondary has struggled and the pass-rushers have not maintained their impressive level of play from Week One.
Overall, Dave Gettleman has built a roster that lacks impact players for the Giants. Every positional unit could use an injection of talent. The quarterback position is also a giant question mark as fans are campaigning for the team to tank for Trevor Lawrence and replace Daniel Jones.
Given the current state of the Giants’ roster, it is hard to see this team being competitive this season, despite the division being the worst in the NFL. Additionally, it is inexcusable on Dave Gettleman’s part for the Giants’ roster to be as bad as it is. His seat is flaming hot and it seems like the writing is on the wall for Dave Gettleman’s impending doom.