The 2014 season so far for the New York Giants has been a ride on a roller-coaster, giving us it's ups and downs. The bigger story however, is the NFC East Division and how tough the teams have shown up to be, more specifically the Dallas Cowboys in particular, sitting alone at first place atop the division right now with a nice record of (6-1). The question on everyone's mind is, can these Giants make the playoffs? Are they contenders? And have they played like the real big blue this season? If you ask me, I think the New York Giants are certainly capable of pulling it off and reaching the playoffs, they certainly have potential to win their division and make a statement and being a playoff team; but they need to fix a few problems first.
First off, I would just like to point out that the Giants really don't stick, they just haven't found their true identity yet, and they haven't been playing their best football as of late for several reasons. Let's look at some of those reasons.
INJURIES
Key players who have had an impact on this team right at the start of the season were guys like Rashad Jennings and Victor Cruz. On a sidenote, while Odell Beckam JR is no longer injured, he was sidelined for the first 4 games this season with a hamstring injury. Odell Beckam JR and Victor Cruz have only played 1 full game together this season, who knows how much more dominant this Giants team would be if this duo played an entire season together, both being 100 % healthy?
Rashad Jennings
Rashad Jennings was on a role before getting injured in a game vs Atlanta at home, giving the Giants exactly what they needed on offense, and that was picking up big yards on the ground. It also allowed more options to open up for this offense without really forcing Eli Manning to go back to the passing game all the time. This team had it clicking on all cylinders with Jennings; playing at a faster pace as soon as he provided the Giants with big run plays and a lot of first down conversions, it was an easy and comfortable transition for Eli Manning to make by going from big run game to short pass play, having a rhythm going. This is when everything started going great for the Giants, and what ultimately led to them winning 3 games in a row. Unfortunately that all stopped once Jennings was out with a knee injury that sidelined him for 2 big divisional games against our rivals the Eagles and Cowboys. Say what you want, but Rashad Jennings being out for 2 weeks has affected this team offensively, and Giants haven't been able to make an adjustment or come up with a successful gameplan that will work consistently without Jennings since then. They've lost their edge, they've lost the hot momentum they had going, now they've had to build from scratch all over again, and during a season, when it's critical to win as many games as you can, you can't afford to go through the process of what works and what won't work, and that's whats happening with the Giants once again. They're struggling without Jennings, trying to find a solution, but because they haven't found one yet, they continue to struggle, and that's what piles up losses for them. When players go down like this during a season, for some teams, if that player was a huge part of the success and chemistry that went on for a few games during the season, it impacts the entire team and in essence, maybe that's all they need to get it going again.
Victor Cruz
Now while Victor Cruz is out for the season, and although he isn't the only elite WR for the Giants right now, its never a good thing when your top player goes down. Cruz, for the most part, has been the heart and soul for the Giants, if not one of the heart and soul players for that team. Him going down is another tough loss Giants have to deal with, and we'll begin to see how much Cruz's absence will impact this team in the coming weeks.
Beating Themselves
Most of these losses from the Giants have come with them beating themselves and making costly mistakes either early or late in games. That was the case this past week in Dallas when a few penalties offensively came back to haunt them, taking away potential points on the board, and also a turn-over late in the 4th quarter on the Giants final drive had also haunted this team and led to them losing. They have done a lot of talking this season, not that talking isn't a good thing, but perhaps if they stick with the plan and concentrate more on football, they can be the big blue.
New Players
Many of these players for the Giants this year are either rookies or new players that have joined the team, making it hard for everyone to get used to each other right away and click as a team. When you have this many young players, and many new players on a team, it takes time to grow and develop, it takes time to bound together as a team. Unfortunately, with the lack of experience for some of these players, they will make mistakes; that's obvious, but with the help of a few leaders on this team and guys who have been around for several years now, like Eli Manning, like Jason Pierre Paul, and a few others, they can learn from them.
What has been good for the Giants so far, and may get even better
Eli Manning
Eli Manning has been a lot better this year, and has certainly improved after the horrendous season last year. Turnovers have reduced, interceptions have reduced, his percentage of complete passes has gone up, his accuracy has increased, and he is being more careful with the football as well, making wiser decisions and not forcing anything. So less mistakes from Eli Manning this year. If anyone has been the blue to this team, it has certainly been him.
Jason Pierre Paul
Defensively, he has been the man for the Giants. He's certainly taken a bigger role as the leader in that locker room for them this year.
Odell Beckham Jr
Though he's only played 3 games, Odell has been great; showing huge signs of life for the Giants this season, giving them hope to believe that not only will he get better, but he can make this team better as well. The duo combination of him and Eli connecting will be amazing, and a force to be reckoned with soon.
Whats In Store For The Future?
With this Giants team, you just don't know what to expect yet, because of how inconsistent they have been. They have a tough stretch coming up with games against the Colts, Seahawks, 49ers, and the Cowboys. The game they just recently played against Dallas wasn't all that bad, as it wasn't a blowout, and they almost came close to pulling off a comeback. Perhaps with a healthier, more stable, laid back Giants team with a few guys coming back, maturing, and some new guys stepping up, in the next game against Dallas, they can beat them. This bye week couldn't have come at a more better time for the Giants, after suffering 2 losses in a row, finding themselves at 3rd place in the division at 3-4, they can use this week off to get healthier, rest, get some players back; and find their original gameplan that seemed to have worked with them earlier in the season against Houston, Washington, and Atlanta (with Rashad Jennings). One thing to note: these next 3 teams coming up for them aren't impossible to beat, as the Seahawks have suffered losses to San Diego, Dallas, and St Louis. And San Francisco got blown out by the Broncos this past Sunday. It's certainly possible Giants can beat both of these teams, especially when they're home playing the 49ers and with Dallas on the road beating Seattle (toughest crowd to play in front of), they can win against Seattle too. We'll see what happens.
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