Now Is Not the Time for New York Giants to Flip-Flop on Offensive Strategy

The New York Giants haven't been dominating offensively, but it's obvious they've made progress in new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo's conservative system, as the players have absorbed it over the course of the first seven games of the 2014 season. 

The problem is, despite the fact quarterback Eli Manning is playing some of his best football without starters Victor Cruz, Rashad Jennings and Geoff Schwartz at receiver, running back and guard, respectively, the G-Men are just 3-4 and panic may be starting to creep in. 

Take this ridiculous comment from general manager Jerry Reese during his annual midseason press conference on Monday, via ESPN.com's Dan Graziano: 

"

I just think, as an offense, we have to be more aggressive. At times, we're a little bit almost too cautions with what we're doing offensively. This is the National Football League. You've got to go out there and you've got to win the game. You can't expect something to fall into your lap. You've got to take the game. And I think we've got to be more aggressive offensively.

I appreciate Eli taking care of the ball and not turning it over, because that's what leads to wins a lot of the time. But you can't be too cautious. You've got to throw the ball down the field. You've got to score points in this league to win.

"

Nobody will dispute that last point. I've literally never seen a team win without scoring. But scoring points and throwing the ball down the field are two very different things. Often, there's a correlation. But when throwing the ball down the field on a consistent basis is causing more harm than good—as it often was when Manning led the league in interceptions between 2010 and 2013—you've gotta consider finding new ways to win games. 

It appeared that was what the Giants were doing when they brought in McAdoo to replace longtime coordinator Kevin Gilbride. The idea was that Manning would work faster and more efficiently while taking fewer risks in a West Coast-oriented system. It was expected to be a major adjustment, and that rang true when New York's first-team offense spent the entire preseason and much of the first two weeks of the regular season in quicksand. 

But things clicked in mid-September and the Giants started winning despite not swinging for the fences. They kept it simple, with Manning attempting only 11 passes beyond 20 yards during a three-game winning streak between Week 3 and Week 5, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Those deep throws resulted in one touchdown, one interception and only 113 total yards.  

In New York's three wins, he averaged just 3.7 deep attempts per game. In their losses, he's averaged 2.8. Hardly a statistically relevant difference. 

The fact is, what Reese said this week completely contradicts what the Giants have been preaching and practicing for the last three months. 

"We're trying to protect the football and make good decisions, not force things, not make it harder than it has to be," Manning said just last week, per Graziano. "I'm very conscious of that, and forcing things and trying to make plays doesn't always help things out."

This is concerning because it indicates the organization's brain trust is not on the same page. Maybe Reese is pushing the envelope out of fear that the football grim reaper is coming for his job this Halloween, because he's usually not one to meddle when it comes to on-field strategy. 

It's not a healthy approach, and if McAdoo and head coach Tom Coughlin let that statement impact the way they run the offense going forward, it could destroy all of the progress they've made. 

And don't underestimate that progress just because the Giants rank below the middle of the pack with 22 points per game on offense.

Manning is on pace to set new career highs in completion percentage and passer rating, and his interception rate of 2.2 would be only 0.1 percent short of his career best. Nobody had more picks than he did last season, and only two quarterbacks had more interceptions on deep passes. This year, he has only five picks—just one in his last five games—and only a single interception on a deep pass. Last year, he had 27 and seven. 

Metric	2013	2014
Comp.%	57.5	64.9
Rating	69.4	96.8
INT%	4.9	2.2
Sack%	6.6	5.5
Time to throw	2.73	2.33
Deep passing%	12.7	9.8

According to PFF, Manning is getting the ball out a full four-tenths of a second faster than he did last season, which is a lifetime in the NFL. As a result, a depleted and vulnerable offensive line has on bad days survived and on good days excelled. 

The short passing game also enables the offense to move faster, no-huddle or not, which puts more pressure on opposing defenses and has helped the running game, which was on a roll before Jennings got hurt. During that three-game winning streak, it had an NFC-high 471 rushing yards. 

So why is New York averaging "only" 22 points per game? Consider the competition. 

The Giants have already faced four of the league's top 10 scoring defenses in the Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys. Two of those matchups came when they were still rusty and adjusting to the new offense in Weeks 1 and 2, and as a result they scored just 28 total points in those games. 

Since then, they've averaged 25.2 points per game, which ranks eighth in the NFL. 

Team	Points per game	Deep throws
Giants	35.0	11
Colts	35.0	21
Falcons	34.7	17
Cowboys	30.7	11
Eagles	30.7	24

The Giants have gone up against only two below-average defenses on paper this season, and in those games, against the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins, they scored a combined 75 points. The deep ball was hardly a factor on either of those occasions. Instead, Manning played it safe while taking the odd calculated risk. 

I don't see the need for this offense to push it any further than it did during those two victories. Just ask Matthew Stafford, Drew Brees, Cam Newton, Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers, all of whom have gone deep less often than Manning has this season and are doing OK. And just consider that the regular starter who has gone deep more than anyone else thus far is Nick Foles, who is one of only five quarterbacks with nine or more interceptions. 

Plus, Manning hasn't even been good when going deep this season. Why ask for more of it?

Quarterback	Deep accuracy %
Geno Smith	17.4
Cam Newton	23.8
Blake Bortles	25.0
Eli Manning	27.3
EJ Manuel	27.8
Derek Carr	29.6

You can't have it both ways. You can't have Manning making quick passes on short drops while also taking consistent shots down the field. If the Giants try to force things deep, they'll lose that ability to compensate for a bad offensive line and Manning will once again start taking the beatings he dealt with throughout that abysmal 2013 campaign. 

The Giants unequivocally decided this offseason they were going to start playing small ball, and they've assembled a lineup and generated a strategy that corresponds with that. Suddenly attempting to swing for the fences isn't just a bad football idea, it's one that indicates the franchise lacks a clear vision. 

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFC East for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon