What New York Giants Can Do This Offseason to Ensure Playoff Push in 2015
Let the rebuild begin!
The New York Giants have plenty of work to do this offseason, and they know it.
After a second consecutive losing season, the Giants are as far removed from Super Bowl success as can be. To make it back to that glorious stage, New York must first make the playoffs.
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For that to happen in 2015, Big Blue will need to hit on these three things in the offseason:
Consider Major Defensive Changes
The Giants might need to take another leap of faith.
They did so last year by replacing Kevin Gilbride with Ben McAdoo to coordinate the offense. Gilbride had coordinated two Super Bowl-winning offenses; McAdoo had never called a play at the NFL level.
The result? A leap up in the offensive rankings from 28th overall in 2013 to 10th overall in 2014, an average of 5.4 more points per game and a revitalized quarterback in 33-year-old Eli Manning.
New York should have similar confidence when addressing the defense this offseason.
Perry Fewell's defense has allowed at least 6,000 yards in three of the past four seasons. The coordinator has experienced some reputable moments, but the 2014 season was not one of them: The Giants allowed 400 points for only the fifth time in franchise history.
A popular candidate to replace Fewell is Steve Spagnuolo, who coordinated New York's defense for two seasons. Although he helped create a Super Bowl-winning pass rush, Spagnuolo's coaching career has taken a turn for the worse since he became head coach of the St. Louis Rams.
After he was fired by the Rams in 2011, Spags went to the New Orleans Saints and coordinated the worst defense in NFL history in terms of yardage. After that one horrendous season in New Orleans, he became a senior defensive assistant for the Baltimore Ravens before being demoted to secondary coach before the 2014 season.
| 2010 | 4,972 (7) | 347 (17) |
| 2011 | 6,022 (27) | 400 (25) |
| 2012 | 6,134 (31) | 344 (12) |
| 2013 | 5,316 (8) | 383 (18) |
| 2014 | 6,012 (29) | 400 (22) |
Having recently fired Rex Ryan come in to coordinate the defense now that his tenure with the crosstown rival Jets is up is just as unlikely. If Ryan doesn't land another head coaching gig, he will probably end up on television in some capacity—he has already met with executives from ESPN, reports Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. His boisterous personality will be more accepted there than on the Giants sideline.
The under-the-radar candidate is Pepper Johnson, who won two Super Bowls as a Giants linebacker from 1986-1992 and currently coaches the Buffalo Bills defensive line. Johnson's Big Blue roots as well as his expressed desire to coordinate his own defense (h/t BuffaloBills.com) could draw him back to the Meadowlands.
The search will require some fearlessness. New York must be equally brave during contract negotiations with defensive players too, most notably end Jason Pierre-Paul and safety Antrel Rolle. Although Pierre-Paul and Rolle have helped the Giants win a Super Bowl in the past, the organization must maintain the upper hand this offseason.
Replacing the coordinator or losing a couple big-name players would not destroy the Giants defense.
Solidify the Offensive Line
The Giants' biggest problem is their offensive line, and it has been for quite some time. There is a dearth of talent in this unit, as injuries to starters have repeatedly exposed subpar reserves.
When 100 percent healthy, however, New York is probably one player away from a serviceable starting offensive line. If Will Beatty (although still grossly overpaid) can hang in there at left tackle, the Giants can reshuffle their interior in 2015.
Former Kansas City Chief/Minnesota Viking/Carolina Panther Geoff Schwartz should make a comeback at left guard, 2014 second-round draft pick Weston Richburg should finally get to play center and Justin Pugh should be bumped inside from right tackle to right guard. That leaves a vacancy at just right tackle, which the Giants can fill with either a free agent or a draft pick.
Even if they're able to assemble this dream O-line, though, the Giants' work is not done until they bolster the depth of this unit. No free agent New York signed last spring was spectacular.
Although Schwartz showed some promise, injuries limited his impact to just two games. John Jerry started all 16 games at right guard, but he was easily pinpointed as the unit's weakest point. J.D. Walton was an average center at best, and Charles Brown's brief stint may have been the ugliest in Giants history.
As bad as these free-agent signings turned out in 2014, they were nothing compared to Jerry Reese's poor mid- to late-round drafting since taking over as general manager in 2007.
Reese draft picks Adam Koets, Mitch Petrus, James Brewer, Matt McCants, Brandon Mosley and Eric Herman were all disappointing. It's hard to believe how many times New York's usually trustworthy GM has swung and missed at this position.
Moving forward, the Giants must practice improved talent evaluation when examining offensive linemen. Otherwise, the unit charged with protecting the team's most valuable investment, the quarterback, will suffer in perpetuity.
Nail the First-Round Pick Again
The greatest lift the Giants got in 2014 came from rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., the 12th overall selection in last spring's NFL draft.
Next spring, New York has an opportunity to reel in a similar talent. The Giants hold the ninth pick in the 2015 draft, their first top-10 position since 2004.
After bringing in an offensive playmaker in OBJ with their last first-round pick, the Giants can begin to rebuild the other side of the ball by spending this year's first-round pick on a defensive counterpart. The perfect way to do this would be to select an explosive pass-rusher.
One guy who fits that mold and could be available when the Giants pick is Missouri's Shane Ray. He's a bit undersized (6'3", 245 lbs) for a prototypical 4-3 defensive end, but Ray's athleticism and burst off the line make up for it.
And what if the Giants end up replacing Fewell, perhaps setting up a shift to a 3-4 defensive alignment under new leadership? Wouldn't Ray be an ideal edge-rusher around whom New York could build the new defense? B/R draft expert Matt Miller seems to think so.
But there's that obvious need at the offensive line too. It might be too hard to ignore this spring, and the Giants may be pressured into addressing this position instead of selecting the more luxurious pass-rusher.
If that's the case, New York may be interested in Iowa's Brandon Scherff. A pro-ready prospect, Scherff is the type of player who can step in and start for the Giants on Day 1—just like Justin Pugh in 2013 and Weston Richburg in 2014. The three of them would make a great young core of offensive linemen.
Whatever the Giants do with their first-round pick in 2015, the selection must yield an immediate impact.
New York's playoff hopes depend on it.
Kevin Boilard writes about the New York Giants at Bleacher Report.
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