Stats That Matter: What the New York Giants Must Maintain or Improve in 2012

Stats can sometimes be overrated, but it's nice to be able to set goals based on what's tangible. And oftentimes, there is a direct correlation between good statistics and success in the win column.

I dug deep to find four statistics that the New York Giants need to either maintain or improve upon in order to have a successful 2012 season.

Maintain: Sacks allowed and percentage of times sacked

It's no secret that the offensive line struggled in 2011, and we'll have more in a moment on why it must improve. But I wanted to include this statistic as something that merely has to be maintained because it's hard to believe that, despite having what Pro Football Focus ranked as the worst pass-blocking line in football, the Giants gave up only 28 sacks last season.

According to Pro Football Reference, Eli Manning was sacked on only 4.5 percent of his pass attempts, which ranked sixth in football. 

But those numbers shot up from 16 and 2.9 respectively in 2010, so Giants fans had better hope that they don't keep moving in that direction in 2012.

Improve: Pass-blocking efficiency ratings

So while Manning himself must continue to do a stellar job avoiding sacks, the offensive line has to improve its pass-blocking in general. 

Numbers from Pro Football Focus indicate that Manning was pressured more than any quarterback in football last season. The website's pass-blocking efficiency rating (PBE), which takes sacks, hits and hurries into account, rated David Diehl as the worst pass-blocker in football at both guard and tackle. 

David Baas and Karrem McKenzie also had PBEs which ranked near the bottom of the barrel. 

McKenzie's gone now, but there's no telling what Will Beatty will bring to the table in his return to the starting lineup. Regardless, these numbers have to improve. Otherwise, the Giants will probably start taking more sacks.

Improve: Yards per carry

Sometimes you don't have to dig deep at all. The Giants averaged an abysmal 3.5 yards per carry in 2011, which ranked dead last in football. They'll continue to be a pass-first team next season, but that rushing number still has to increase. If it can, don't be surprised to see those sack numbers drop, too.

The Giants struggled particularly to increase that average when running left or up the middle, according to NFL.com's offensive line stats. In those directions, they had a league-low 15 runs of 10-plus yards last season.

They were actually ranked in the top 15 in terms of first downs and plays of 10 yards or more when running right.

Improve: Passing first downs allowed

It took me quite some time to find a specific stat that best represents the team's defensive problems. In terms of yards given up per play, the G-men had the 10th-worst run defense and the 12th-worst pass defense in football, so both are areas of some concern. 

Now, they gave up too many yards and points, period. But where they really struggled relative to their peers was first downs allowed—particularly through the air. Only three other teams gave up more passing first downs than the Giants did last season, according to Pro Football Reference. 

Despite the great pass rush, the defense really struggled at times on third down. That'll be something to work on in 2012.

And yes, the Packers and Patriots both gave up more passing first downs, but those teams also led games a hell of a lot more often than the Giants did.