The New York Giants were one of the most heavily criticized teams in the offseason as it seems like every pundit thinks they’re going to be awful.
After trading away Odell Beckham Jr. and drafting Daniel Jones, are the experts right or is this Giants team going to be better than expected? Let’s take a closer look:
NY Giants Offseason Changes
In: Jabrill Peppers, Kevin Zetler, Golden Tate, Daniel Jones, Antoine Bethea
Out: Odell Beckham Jr., Landon Collins, Olivier Vernon
Evaluating The Changes
The Giants essentially traded their top wide receiver (Beckham Jr.) and leader in sacks (Vernon), and allowed their leading tackler (Collins) to sign with the Washington Redskins. In return, they beefed up their offensive line (Zeitler) and are banking on a number of young players and draft picks to step up on defense.
The team feels that Eli Manning still has enough left in the tank, even though many people in the analytics departments around the league feel that he’s finished. Their argument is that he hasn’t really had a good line to work with and that’s contributed to the deterioration of his recent performances.
If the latter is true and Zeitler and the rest of the rebuilt offensive line are better, this team might surprise. If Manning is still bad behind the new offensive line and Jones has to get under center, this team is in for another long season.
NY Giants 2019 Odds
Regular Season Win Total: Over 6 +110, Under -120
Odds To Make The Playoffs: ‘Yes’ +540, ‘No’ -834
Odds To Win NFC East: +1500
Odds To Win NFC: +5000
Odds To Win The Super Bowl: +10000
The New York Giants Will Win More Than 6 Games If…
They play the way they finished the 2018 season. Look, let’s face it: this team went 4-4 down the stretch and Beckham was gone for four of those games. The Giants defense was already bad (23rd in points per game, 24th in yards), so how much worse can they get?
Manning had 13 touchdowns and just five interceptions in Weeks 9-16 and it’s no coincidence that he was sacks just 16 in those games. He had eight touchdowns, six interceptions and was sacked 31 times in the team’s first eight games. If the offensive line is, in fact, improved and Saquon Barkley has an easier time of doing what he did last year, that will make this team much better.
In terms of receivers, the loss of Beckham Jr. will hurt and Tate is suspended the first four weeks. However, he’ll be back and there’s still Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram. The cupboard is not completely bare.
If the defense resembles last year’s unit and everything else goes right, the Giants could push for 8-8.
The Giants Will Win Less Than 6 Games If…
The critics are right. Look, the general sentiment around the league is that the Giants are a mess. They traded away one of the most dynamic players in the league, then over-reached for Daniel Jones in the NFL Draft and cut ties with their defensive leaders from last season.
Things haven’t gone swimmingly so far as Shepard broke his thumb and is questionable for Week 1 while Tate is already suspended the first four weeks. Sure, the offensive line might be improved but with no Beckham Jr. out wide and no real threat from the passing game, Barkley and the running game are going to have a rough go of things.
On defense, the Giants traded away Vernon, the player who led them in sacks, but they didn’t really replace him. This team had the second-fewest sacks last year (30) and that number could drop.
Manning and the offensive line now have to be awesome for this team to be decent. Do you really want to bet on that?
What Are The Best Bets?
I’m going under 6 with the Giants and I’m also betting on the ‘No’ in terms of them making the playoffs.
Barkley is a stud and the offensive line should be improved, but let’s face it: this is a league that’s become pass-oriented and the Giants are going in the other direction. Barkley is special and Jones showed well in the first preseason games, but it feels like the Giants really missed out on their rebuild by passing on Sam Darnold.
Opposing teams will stack the box to make sure Barkley doesn’t get lose and they’ll force the game on Manning’s 38-year-old arm. And with a defense that doesn’t have a lot of known commodities, this can’t possibly end well.
Bet against the Giants across all props.
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