September 17, 2018
The Giants stunk and they looked like the worst team in football!
If they lost a competitive game like they did last week, it would be disappointing, but nowhere near as bad as what I witnessed last night.
The offensive line is awful. They made steps to improve it, but it’s hard to overhaul a line in one year. Nate Solder and Will Hernandez are a step in the right direction, but there are three positions that need improving. The Giants are kidding themselves with Ereck Flowers. In addition, it takes time for a line to play together and know one another, more than other units. Hopefully, they can find two players who can start next year and not by default.
Saquon Barkley had no room to run and gained 35 yards on 17 carries; a team can’t win with those numbers and it comes back to the line. Add six sacks of Eli Manning and it comes back to the line again. Manning was not sharp and he does not stand in well against a pass rush, often looking like a klutz. It is time to look beyond Eli and hopefully Kyle Lauletta can be a solution in time.
The defense wasn’t great, either. I give the benefit of the doubt on Janoris Jenkins slipping on the first play, but safety Curtis Riley took a terrible angle on the receiver, enabling the touchdown. Giant defenders were breaking contain on read-option plays with the quarterback having plenty of room to run after the defender chased the running back instead of staying home to defend the outside. They also did not produce either a sack or a turnover.
I predicted 8-8 for this year and I will stick to it, but it looks a lot closer to 0-16 than 8-8. They sure look like a team that will have a Top 5 draft pick. There are only 14 games to go and it will be all over.