New York Giants: It’s Time to Accept That This Offense Will Not Get Better

After disappointing offensive performances throughout the first 12 weeks of the season, we can safely conclude that the New York Giants’ offense won’t magically improve in the rest of 2016-17.

The New York Giants’ offense was hyped to be one of the best in the entire league coming into the year. As we sit down following the Week 12 win against the Cleveland Browns, it finally may be time to accept that the Giants’ offense has already reached its peak this season.

The Giants average 23.2 points per game, but included in that total are defensive touchdowns. Not yet has the offense met our expectations thus far. When the game is on the line, not many people would trust the 2016 Giants offense to execute.

Over the past two weeks, the Giants scored three touchdowns against the (then) 2-7 Bears and four touchdowns, 3 offensive, against the winless Browns. These are some of the worst defenses in football, and the Giants could not blow open either game. When facing good teams, these numbers will not go up.

If they are scared to call plays aggressively against the woeful Bears and Browns, do you think they will suddenly take more risks against good teams? Screens and slants will only get you so far, no matter who your receivers are.

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Maybe the Giants’ offense has already hit its ceiling. Maybe our expectations were too high. The talent is there on paper, but the execution on the field is missing. Why?

To people who don’t watch every game, they label head coach and offensive play caller Ben McAdoo as an aggressive coach. To fans who have watched every play, they know this label cannot be further from the truth. The ones who think of McAdoo as a”riverboat” only look at 4th-down plays. In reality, he is ultra-conservative during downs one thru three. Had he been a true aggressive coach, his offense would rarely even be in position to go for it on fourth down.

The deep passing game is still missing from this offense, and McAdoo is failing to fully utilize Eli Manning‘s deep ball ability. Aside from a few throws to Victor Cruz over the past couple of weeks, Manning has not taken too many chances downfield. Odell Beckham Jr. will always be dangerous on a crossing route, but throwing long will also open up the field for others and set Beckham up for more options.

So why aren’t McAdoo and Eli actively trying to incorporate the long ball? While it may be McAdoo’s philosophy to advance down the field using the short passing game, the lack of running game also hinders an aggressive approach. Rashad Jennings leads the team with 395 rushing yards. Rookie Paul Perkins and Shane Vereen, who is on IR, are tied for second with 147 rushing yards. In comparison, Ezekiel Elliott of the Cowboys has 1,199 rushing yards.

Yes, the Giants’ backs do not run behind the Cowboys’ offensive line, so comparing them to Elliott is unfair. However, having a functional running game will open up the playbook and will diversify the predictable offense. With even a decent running game, the Giants could probably score points like we thought they would. Alas, this is not the case.

General manager Jerry Reese‘s reluctance to improve the offensive line this offseason has undoubtedly hurt the offense. Even with questionable talent among the starters entering the season, Reese did not bother to solidify the offensive line or add depth. The Giants are paying the price, boasting the 31st ranked rushing attack and being forced to use backups for their backups because of injuries. You could put

You could put Jim Brown in the backfield, and even he wouldn’t find open holes to run through. The Giants’ rushing game will not get better this season because of the offensive line, so teams can continue to feel confident dropping more defenders in coverage.

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Aside from the offensive line, Reese did not bother to improve the tight end position this season. Relying on Larry Donnell, who was coming off an injury and is now in the doghouse, undrafted Will Tye and 6th-round pick Jerell Adams, Reese felt that the TE depth was adequate. Well, he was wrong.

Depriving Eli of a key element and safety valve was not the right thing to do for the offense. Tye and Adams have not developed as dependable pass-catchers and the passing game is missing another player to stretch the field. Manning has been known to work miracles developing tight ends, but Tye or Adams have been closer to Brandon Myers than Martellus Bennett or Kevin Boss.

The identity of this 2016-17 team has been the defense, and will be for the remainder of the season. The offense has tremendously underachieved, but the team is still sitting at 8-3 despite their struggles.

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Sure, playing lesser competition during this 6-game winning streak certainly helps, but the Giants will be in for a reality check next week when they face the dynamic Pittsburgh Steelers. Unless the offense finds a way to put up big points on the board, they will not win the upcoming shootout.

Does this offense have the potential to be better? Absolutely.

Will it happen? Probably not.