If you believe everything you read regarding the situation at the New York Giants, then you would assume that Eli was Blake Bortles Mark 2 and that Dave Gettleman has no plan and had lost his mind indicating he was going to go forward with him in 2019. However, if you impartially analyse the Giants 2018 season and how the roster is shaping, maybe things are not all doom and gloom.
Giants 2018 record.
Big blue finished 5-11 last season, however, it is worth bearing in mind that Eight of those defeats came by a touchdown or less, and four of those were by three points or less. The team battled right to the end and in the final two games with nothing left to play for but pride they lost to playoff-bound Dallas and the Colts by a combined two points! With a little bit of luck, they could have been 8-8 or better, and Eight of the games were against teams who made the postseason. Further, their opponents ended with an overall record of 109-96 in the regular season. Overall had this been a team less in the spotlight they would have been praised for their valiant effort against a horrible schedule.
Eli’s record.
Eli Manning is being cast as the villain of the piece, but despite being in the twilight of his career and playing behind a less than stellar offensive line he managed to put up 4299 yards passing, the ninth best in the NFL. This was more than Drew Brees and no one is writing him off. He was sacked 47 times (6th most) and the 358 yards lost as a result was the second most suffered by a quarterback in the regular-season. Ok, he only managed 21 touchdowns against 11 interceptions, however, Saquon Barkley was involved a lot and had 11 rushing TDs which affected the numbers. This was not the performance of a pariah QB.
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The OBJ trade.
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As we alluded to in an earlier article the decision to trade Odel Beckham Jr is being viewed with total derision to the point it is viewed as one of the worst trades ever, however, it’s worth looking at his 2018 performance adjusted for him only playing 12 games. He scored 6 TDs which is 0.5 per game. Pro rata that up and he is tied for 13th alongside Julio Jones & Mike Evans good but not great. On average yards per game, he is 9th with 87.7, and on yards per reception, he is 33rd. These are pretty good stats from a quality WR but not really “once In a generation” as the hype goes. Yes, he will be missed but Gettleman got quite a haul for him and even Beckham’s most ardent fan would agree that he is a bit of a disruptive influence in the locker room. When you consider that the Steelers only got a 3rd & 5th Round Pick for Antonio Brown (who led the league in TD receptions) then the haul of 2017 1st round pick Jabrill Peppers and picks 17 & 95 in this year’s draft is not so shabby.
So the Giants are coming off a season which may not have been as bad as it looks on paper, Eli is still playing at an above average level, they have upgraded their secondary and saved a few $ in the process bu not paying Collins, and thanks to the Vernon trade they have taken steps to keep Eli on his feet by improving the OL. Plus they now have 12, yes 12 draft picks to play with this year, eight of which are in the top 150.
We have already seen this money ball strategy pay dividends for Cleveland and to be fair the Giants are in far better shape than the Browns were.
Overall the Giants are well placed to move up or down the draft as it pans out and there is always the possibility of grabbing Rosen from the Cardinals on the cheap and sitting him behind Eli for a season or two, much like they did when sitting Eli behind Kurt Warner, and we all know how well that panned out. We don’t expect the Giants to win the NFC East this season but they may be a little better than everyone expects and watch out for them in 2020.
