What New York Giants Must Improve Most Coming out of Week 8 Bye

Bad news: no New York Giants this week.

I hate the bye, but the truth is teams need it. The 2014 Giants are no different. After two consecutive losses, New York's to-do list has grown into a to-do novel.

In this article, I've narrowed it down to four major areas in which the team must improve. New York has one weekend away from the spotlight to patch up holes in the game plan and mend its mediocre reputation.

Read on to get my scoop on the Giants' four biggest deficiencies and how each one can improve over the bye.

Get Healthy

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The most important factor for post-bye success is overall health of the team.

The Giants have a lot of work to do in this department.

Several key Giants, such as Victor Cruz, Walter Thurmond III, Jerrel Jernigan and Trumaine McBride, have already landed on injured reserve. There's nothing New York can do about these players' availability; they are done for the season.

Jon Beason is the next Giant flirting with IR, according to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com. The team captain and starting middle linebacker can't shake a foot/toe injury that has bothered him for months. He needs to either get fully healthy over the break or get out of Jameel McClain's way. The former Baltimore Raven can assume Beason's vacated starting position and leadership role.

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie will benefit from the week off. The cornerback is battling a host of ailments, including a tweaked hamstring and occasional back spasms.

Rashad Jennings' recovery from a knee injury is timed nicely with the bye. The Giants' starting running back is eyeing a Week 9 return, per Raanan, after sitting out each of the last two games, both losses.

The bye week won't make much of a difference for Cullen Jenkins, who injured his calf against the Dallas Cowboys. The defensive tackle is expected to miss some time to rest his leg, reports Raanan.

Every Giant—even those not listed on an injury report—is banged up in some way. A week away from game-day contact will help those bodies heal.

Rediscover Running Game

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The Giants have no rhythm on offense.

New York needs to set the pace of games with its running attack. The team has tried, unsuccessfully, to do so in each of the past two weeks. The result: two losses.

Against the Houston Texans in Week 3, the Giants racked up 193 rushing yards in a decisive win. It was the start of a three-week stretch in which New York averaged 157 yards an outing and won all three games.

Since then, starting running back Rashad Jennings injured his knee. With Jennings sidelined, the Giants have struggled to gain much ground by handing the ball off to his backup, rookie Andre Williams.

Williams has not cracked 60 yards on the ground since taking over as the team's starting running back, and the Giants have dropped two straight. Although the blocking has been atrocious, Jennings ran behind the same five starting offensive linemen and was far more effective. The rookie's inexperience is pinning the offense down.

New York's offense will spring back to life once a fully healthy Jennings is reinserted into the lineup. The Giants will enjoy the 29-year-old's veteran savvy and dynamic effect in both the running and passing game.

Even if Jennings is unavailable for Week 9, Williams will have accrued an extra week of practice as the starter by then. Things could be different.

Through the first two weeks of the season, Jennings carried the ball 34 times for 110 yards. The last two weeks, Williams has carried the ball 35 times for 110 yards. Perhaps Williams is primed for a breakout performance like Jennings' 174-yard outing in Week 3.

Either way, the Giants must get the running game going again.

Find a Pass Rush

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Where are New York's teeth on defense? The pass rush has enjoyed its moments, but it really hasn't been a fearsome group of quarterback chasers for these 2014 Giants.

Jason Pierre-Paul is still the leader of the group. He has been disruptive this season, but he has stopped the run more than rushed the passer. Still, JPP's influence goes beyond his paltry yet team-leading sack total of 3.5.

Opposite Pierre-Paul, Mathias Kiwanuka's only big play of the season has been a strip-sack of Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins. Solid but not spectacular, Kiwi should relinquish some of his reps to Damontre Moore and Robert Ayers after the bye. Moore and Ayers each have two sacks off the bench.

New York has always relied upon dominant edge-rushers to get to the quarterback, but there must be a concerted effort to improve the interior pass rush over the bye. The team's best inside rusher, Cullen Jenkins, is out of action at an inopportune time.

In Jenkins' place, Markus Kuhn must develop quickly. Kuhn has been just so-so in the defensive tackle rotation so far this year, so maybe the Giants also try out 2014 third-rounder Jay Bromley in this role.

Johnathan Hankins and Mike Patterson are both run-stuffing nose tackle-types, yet the Giants need both players to chip in as pass-rushers, too. That shouldn't be too much to ask of Hankins, who already trails just JPP on the team with 2.5 sacks on the season.

The Giants must mix up the pressure and personnel during the bye week to revamp a pass rush that has gone cold.

Become More Explosive on Special Teams

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Even when the Giants were winning, they did so without much zing.

To take the next step and become a team that wins with consistency, the Giants need to be more dynamic on special teams.

Already down a captain on the offensive and defensive side of the ball (Victor Cruz and Jon Beason), New York's two main units need all the help they can get. If that means producing at least one explosive play on special teams per game, the Giants must find a way to make it happen.

It looks like the team could already be on the brink of making this happen. Even when all he does is call for a fair catch, a playmaker like Odell Beckham Jr. brings electricity to the punt returner position. The Giants must concoct a return scheme that's guaranteed to spring him for a long gain.

Michael Cox had a 40-yard return Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, but he's a prime candidate to cut when the Giants inevitably add O-lineman Geoff Schwartz to the active roster. If Cox ends up on the street or back on the practice squad, New York must find another player to replace the minor resurgence he's provided on kick returns.

Expecting the return game to take off after the bye may be wishful thinking for a group that has been bland at best under special teams coordinator Tom Quinn. However, there's several other ways Quinn's units can make a difference moving forward.

For example, the Giants can down a punt on the 1-yard line, block a field goal or recover an onside kick. How about a 50-yard field goal? A successful fake on fourth down? Heck, at this point, if all the Giants can muster is blasting each and every kickoff through the back of the end zone, I'll take it.

Just give us something to cheer for, Quinn.