The New York Giants were embarrassed last week in Arlington, TX when the Dallas Cowboys defeated them 35-17. The score isn’t the embarrassing part, the way the Giants played is, though.
The Giants secondary showed their youth with miscommunication and missed tackles and the play calling didn’t showcase the Giants best player in Saquon Barkley, to name a few things that went wrong.
If the Giants want a shot at saving their season and proving that they aren’t bottom feeders, they must win their home opener on Sunday against Buffalo. There are four keys to making this happen.
Ride Saquon
Last week, Saquon Barkley rushed 11 times for 120 yards, averaging 10.9 yards per carry. However, he wasn’t used on any major third down attempts, and when they got to the red zone, they gave the ball to Wayne Gallman instead.
The way Barkley was used last week is not conducive to winning ball games, so this week the Giants have to make a change. The Bills defense is actually pretty decent, so keeping the ball in the hands of one of the league’s top players is probably a good idea. This isn’t the time to be conservative with Saquon, there’s no reason to “save” him for later when later isn’t guaranteed.
The Giants won’t have a winning season without him, which means the ball should be in his hands. What Mike Shula and Pat Shurmur decide to do with Barkley this week will play a huge part in whether they win or lose.
Control time of possession
Every football game is 60 minutes long, unless there’s overtime. In general, the team which possesses the ball for the most time is the team that wins. There are times when that is not the case, but in large part, that’s how it works.
Last week, the Cowboys owned time of possession, holding the ball for just over 32 minutes while the Giants held it for 27 minutes and 42 seconds. A lot of that has to do with the Giants inability to stop the Cowboys offense, and that will look different this week against the Bills, who’s offense isn’t quite as potent or dangerous. They did, however, mount an impressive comeback against the Jets, so don’t count them out, but the talent isn’t at the same level.
If the Giants can control time of possession and keep the offense on the field for the majority of the game, their chances of winning go up astronomically.
Keep defenders off of Eli Manning
Last season, Eli Manning was sacked 47 times behind a questionable offensive line. This year’s line seems to be vastly improved considering Eli was sacked just one time against a pretty good Dallas defense. However, he was still hit seven times. At 38-years old, Manning cannot continue to take hits like that every game. His aging body will not tolerate very many games like that. So, it’s really important that the offensive line continue to step up their protection and give him the time that he needs to get rid of the ball.
On the flip side, Eli needs to make speedier decisions and get the ball out before the pressure comes. The blame for the hits he’s taking doesn’t just come from lack of protection, although that’s the biggest factor, but it also comes from Eli’s ability to get rid of the ball in a timely fashion. If he can make quick decisions (and his receivers are open) and his line can give him the time that he needs, there will be more completions and better results on big plays.
Eliminate mistakes/miscommunication
Most of the mistakes and miscommunication last week occurred on the defensive side of the ball. There are so many new faces, and the overall age of the players makes them young, but they are still professionals. They are still being paid to play the game, and like any employee, they can be benched if they screw up.
It’s not just the defense, though, Mistakes and miscommunication happen on the offensive side of the ball as well, and on special teams. As a whole, the Giants need to eliminate these things, or come as close as possible to it. You could make this argument for almost any team in the NFL, but after last week’s fiasco, it is especially true for the Giants this week.
The Bills are not equal to the Cowboys, but the team still needs to communicate better and make fewer mistakes if it wants to win. Especially on defense.
