NY Giants: Best- and Worst-Case Scenarios for the 2015 Season

Next week, the many questions that have been swirling around the New York Giants will start to be answered when the team kicks off its annual training camp on July 30.

Some of the answers will be ones that the team and its fans are going to like. Others, though, might not be as well received.

On that note, let’s run down some of the best- and worst-case scenarios for some of the burning questions staring this Giants team in the face.

Best Case: Jason Pierre-Paul Reports to Training Camp on Day 1

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If defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is planning to make any kind of impact this season, the best-case scenario would be for him to show up on July 30 for training camp, sign the franchise tender and at least begin to benefit from regular attendance in the classroom, even if he does go on the Non-Football Injury list.

That scenario, though, is unlikely to happen. According to Jordan Raanan of NJ Advance Media, the Giants appear to have had little to no contact since Pierre-Paul’s July 4 fireworks accident that resulted in the amputation of his right index finger and a broken thumb, according to NFL.com’s Kimberly Jones..

Pierre-Paul’s reported reluctance to enter into a consistent dialogue with the Giants is likely twofold. First, he’s technically not an employee of the team and thus doesn’t owe them anything (though common courtesy would suggest otherwise).

Second, in giving him the benefit of the doubt, it’s possible that his mood might be one where he’s not ready to expand his circle beyond a few close friends and family members. 

If Pierre-Paul is looking to collect every last penny to which he's entitled, it doesn’t make sense for him to sign the franchise tag tender unless the Giants guarantee to pay him regardless if he’s on NFI, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk suggested. 

It wouldn’t be prudent of the Giants to guarantee more than $14 million in salary to a player whose exact physical and mental conditions are unknown to them.

So don’t be surprised if this strange story continues to drag out into the summer, with the numerous different reporters who tend to filter in and out of training camp bringing up the subject.

Worst Case: Victor Cruz Is Not Ready for the Start of the Regular Season

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Receiver Victor Cruz has always been a hard worker in the offseason, but this year in particular he’s been working probably twice as hard than ever before.

That’s because Cruz, who suffered a season-ending torn patellar tendon last October, is trying to do everything in his power to be ready for the start of training camp next week.

So far, he’s on track. During the organized team activities and minicamp attended by the media, Cruz showed anyone who was curious just how far he’s come in his rehab by running and cutting on an empty grass field while the rest of his teammates worked in groups on another field.

Both head coach Tom Coughlin and Cruz have said that the goal is for Cruz to be ready for the start of training camp, though Coughlin did leave the door open to the possibility that Cruz could start training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list.

If that were to happen, it probably wouldn’t be too big of a deal provided that Cruz is, of course, ready for Week 1.

However, if Cruz has any kind of setback when he tries to take his comeback to the next level, which is working against live competition with the pads on, that would potentially be the worst-case scenario for a Giants offense that is counting on having Cruz in the lineup.

With opposing defenses likely planning to focus on limiting the damage that Odell Beckham Jr. can inflict upon them, the Giants are going to need another reliable and consistent receiver to help take the onus off Beckham and to help discourage defenses from double-teaming him.

Cruz is that guy. Unlike Rueben Randle, at least so far, Cruz has been consistent on the field when it comes to doing all the little things necessary to prepare himself and in terms of fighting for the ball and yardage.

If Cruz can’t go in the beginning of the season, his would be a significant loss to a passing offense that right now has the potential to be a Top-10 unit league-wide if the pieces fall into place.

Best Case: The Safeties Will Overcome Any Previous Lack of Experience

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Ask any NFL head coach about the idea of starting multiple inexperienced players at the same position, and chances are that they probably won’t be too enthusiastic about that possibility.

The Giants, however, find themselves in that predicament at safety, where all but one player—Jeromy Miles, who signed last week as an unrestricted free agent—have yet to start an NFL game. 

The rapid progress of the young safeties would be a big sigh of relief for Coughlin, whose team needs to get off to a fast start this year to save jobs.

Landon Collins, the team’s second-round draft pick this year, who is all but inked in as a starter for this year, has already drawn praise from the coaching staff as far back as the rookie minicamp, when the former Alabama defender was just getting into the Giants’ playbook.

“Landon was moving people around and directing, so if he can keep doing that every day, I think we’ll have exactly what we thought we had when we took him,” defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo told reporters after the two-day rookie minicamp concluded. 

The identity of the second safety remains to be seen. Cooper Taylor took the bulk of the reps with the starting defense, but the team added Miles, who worked with Spagnuolo in Baltimore, as insurance.

If the two starting safeties show they can handle the complex nature of Spagnuolo’s defense, they will be that much better off, especially with the questions surrounding the defensive line’s pass rush thanks to the Pierre-Paul injury.

Worst Case: LB Jon Beason Will Miss Time with an Injury

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If the Giants are to have any chance whatsoever of turning things around and becoming competitive again, they need to have middle linebacker and projected 2015 defensive co-captain Jon Beason on the field for 64 quarters of regular-season play.

That has been the challenge with Beason since 2011 thanks to an assortment of lower-body injuries that have limited him to just 24 games over that period.

The reason the Giants need Beason on the field is obvious. He’s a defensive leader, and his football IQ is off the charts, which is going to help Spagnuolo run the type of system he’s envisioning.

It's not that the Giants don't have other linebackers who can step into the role; it's that none of them have the resume that the three-time Pro Bowler Beason has. 

Beason has fully embraced the opportunity to have the freedom and flexibility to make checks based on what the offense is showing, much like Antonio Pierce did for Spagnuolo in 2007 and 2008.

However, for Beason to do that, he has to be on the field not just for every game, but every practice.

The Giants, who are fully aware of this, are doing everything they can to make sure that Beason is there for them. The 30-year-old linebacker said in an interview with SiriusXM Radio hosts Bruce Murray and Rich Gannon that he’s anticipating the Giants will limit him in training camp (h/t Nick Powell, NJ Advance Media).

"I'm sure the Giants will force me into being smart about reps and the workload. I'll do what I can to listen to them, but at the same time, do what I have to do to prepare and get ready for the season," Beason said.

Also worth noting, as Powell wrote, is that Beason hinted that he is going to have to prepare his surgically repaired foot differently than he has in the past in order to make sure he doesn't suffer any setbacks. 

That’s what he tried to do last year, only to have the injury worsen to the point where he had no choice but to shut things down.

If Beason has the same type of issues again this year, he would be a huge loss for that defense.

Best Case: Odell Beckham Jr. Crushes Last Year’s Numbers

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Considering that receiver Odell Beckham Jr. didn’t practice much last spring or summer and missed four regular-season games, he did pretty well to finish 10th league-wide in receiving yards (1,305), tied for ninth in receptions (91) and tied for fourth in touchdowns (12).

That’s why the Giants wasted no time in shutting Beckham down this spring when the second-year receiver’s other hamstring became sore—they want Beckham to be available for 16 games.

While there is a possibility that defenses will start to hone in on limiting Beckham, offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo showed creativity last year in putting the young receiver in favorable positions.

Beckham ended up finishing the 2014 season with 100-yard receiving performances in seven of his last nine games and posted at least 130 receiving yards in the Giants’ final four games of the regular season.

Still, imagine what this phenomenal athlete might be able to produce numbers-wise if he can play a 16-game season.

You can be sure the Giants are having those visions, and you can be sure that those images of Beckham making defensive backs look foolish are a nice distraction from the other question marks that might be weighing down the team.

Worst Case: The Giants Offensive Line Doesn't Come Together as Hoped

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New year, same story for the Giants offensive line.

Injuries have hit this unit yet again—this time, however, the injury bug didn’t even wait until training camp to claim a key cog to the unit. New York will be without starting left tackle Will Beatty until at least early November as he recovers from surgery for a pectoral muscle tear.

That injury has thrown the entire unit into a state of chaos, which has forced the coaches to start five new faces at all five positions for the first time in Coughlin’s tenure with the team.

The problem is at the tackles, where rookie Ereck Flowers, who was supposed to cut his teeth in the NFL at right tackle, is now suddenly being asked to guard the quarterback’s blindside.

That’s potentially bad news for quarterback Eli Manning if the coaching staff agrees with NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein’s pre-draft characterization of Flowers’ pass-protection technique as needing “plenty of work.”

On the other side is journeyman Marshall Newhouse, who thus far has appeared to live up to his NFL.com pre-draft profile’s weaknesses:

"

Lacks the lateral agility to make blocks in space and struggles to get into position after counter moves. Does not consistently recognize stunts and blitzes and misses his blocking assignments too often. Lacks a mean streak and does not always finish blocks.

"

The problem for the Giants is that behind Flowers and Newhouse, their only other option off the bench is John Jerry, who, per Pro Football Focus, struggled last year, his first season with the Giants, as a run-blocker, albeit at right guard.

For the time being, the Giants have no choice but to stick with the players they have at offensive tackle—they’ll no doubt want to take a good look at them once they put the pads on before drawing any final conclusions.

Who knows? Maybe they’ll get lucky and everything will be OK with the position.

Then again, “lucky” and the “Giants” have rarely appeared in the same sentence since the 2011 season.

Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.

Follow @Patricia_Traina.