New York Giants: Biggest Remaining Unanswered Questions
The New York Giants’ 2015 preseason is in the books, with the team finishing with a 2-2 record that won’t count for diddly when things get real starting Monday.
The purpose of preseason is to evaluate, to see progress and to make those hard decisions on players who are on the bubble. All of that will be sorted out by Saturday at 4 p.m. ET, when teams have to get to the 53-man roster limit.
However, there are more decisions to be made besides who makes the team, and for the Giants, there are still some unanswered questions that the coaches had better figure out before this team next suits up against Dallas a week from Sunday.
Let’s run down the list.
The Passing Game
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Starting quarterback Eli Manning, who didn’t play in the preseason finale for the first time since 2010, finished the summer 20-of-38 for 159 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception.
The good news is that Manning hasn’t really been under pressure all that much—he has been sacked just twice, both times coming against the Jets.
Per Pro Football Focus, he was not hit as he threw the ball on any of his pass attempts, and he was only under pressure 13 times out of 40 dropbacks.
However, Manning never had his projected top three receivers—Odell Beckham Jr., Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle—on the field at the same time because of injuries.
Why? The Giants passing offense has a number of timing patterns that can only be perfected through passing reps.
With Randle and Cruz missing time, the timing between the quarterback and receivers is sure to be off when they all eventually do reunite on the field, which could lead to more interceptions and incomplete passes early on.
The Right Side of the Offensive Line
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As noted on the preceding slide, the Giants’ starting offensive line has only allowed two sacks against starting quarterback Eli Manning.
Usually if a coaching staff isn’t sure of the best people for a position, it will go to a rotation.
When that rotation goes late into the final preseason game, that is not a comforting thought.
Yet that was the case this summer with the right side of the offensive line, a decision likely forced by projected starting right guard Geoff Schwartz’s one-week hiatus due to ankle soreness.
Schwartz has been trying to shake off the rust after missing all of last season and has had his share of peaks and valleys.
Complicating matters, though, is that the coaches apparently aren’t completely satisfied with Marshall Newhouse at right tackle.
That’s why on nearly every series, there was some combination of Schwartz, Newhouse, John Jerry and Bobby Hart playing on that right side of the O-line.
Does the coaching staff have the answers? Probably not, as it wouldn’t be surprising if it scans the waiver wire hard this weekend in hopes of finding some other options to ensure that Manning’s jersey ends the day as clean as it was at the beginning.
The Starting Safety
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After missing some time with a sprained knee, rookie Landon Collins has come back and picked up where he left off, nary missing a beat.
If anything, Collins probably nailed down the starting strong safety spot with his play against the Patriots, a game in which he finished with four tackles and a pass breakup.
The identity of the other starting safety is still unclear. New York re-signed old friend Stevie Brown earlier this week after losing yet another safety (Josh Gordy) to injury.
In his 2015 Giants debut, Brown, who led the Giants in interceptions with eight in 2012, had one interception and one pass defensed in coverage.
Is he the answer at free safety, or is Cooper Taylor, a fifth-round draft pick in 2013, the answer?
Considering Taylor had the starting job and then lost it, only to gain it back when the injuries were too much, it would appear that Brown is in the lead for the job. Though, again, New York could scan the waiver wire for other options.
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Jason Pierre-Paul
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A late addition to the biggest question marks is the anticipated return of defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, first reported by ESPN’s Dan Graziano and confirmed by Giants team president John Mara (h/t Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News).
Pierre-Paul has kept the Giants at a distance regarding the extent of his injuries resulting from a July 4 fireworks accident.
He has limited his communication with the team, even refusing their help to provide medical assistance, leading to the belief that he wasn’t planning on showing his face around the team’s headquarters until he received a green light from the South Florida doctors who treated him.
If Pierre-Paul thinks he is going to simply show up, sign his $14.8 million franchise tender and carry on with life, he is mistaken. The Giants are going to want to examine not just his hand, but also his state of mind.
Chances are that Pierre-Paul isn’t quite in football shape, which would likely mean that he’s probably going to be placed on the non-football injury list, where the Giants would have the right not to pay him.
What happens, then, if the Giants insist on that approach? Will Pierre-Paul leave the team in disgust?
On the other hand (no pun intended), will he accept the fact that his lapse in judgement has potentially cost him millions of dollars on a team that really could use a steady pass-rusher going into the season?
More importantly, when Pierre-Paul does show up, how do the Giants manage the media storm that’s bound to ensue in a week where they can ill afford to have distractions as they prepare for a key Week 1 game against a division opponent?
The Injured
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Defensive end Robert Ayers. Linebacker Jon Beason. Receiver Victor Cruz. Cornerback Chykie Brown. Defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins. Linebacker Jonathan Casillas.
Those are just a few of the dozen or so injured Giants that the team was counting on having for the start of the season.
As it stands now, their injuries may potentially force the coaches to make some tough decisions that will likely result in being forced to carry one fewer player at a position in order to compensate for another position.
For instance, will Casillas, who has missed game snaps due to a neck issue, be ready to go, or will he end up on season-ending injured reserve? Will Beason’s knee be ready to go by Week 1 as he vowed, or will the Giants need to carry another linebacker just in case?
These are just some of the many decisions that injuries will force the coaching staff to make, decisions that will probably be among the hardest of all.
Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.
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