The New York Giants’ offense was borderline unwatchable last season. They ranked 31st in scoring (16.1 points per game) and 30th in yards per game (294.8). The only thing worse than the execution was the clarity of who was running the show behind the scenes.
This offseason, the Giants tried to change that. They brought in Russell Wilson on a one-year deal after also adding Jameis Winston as a veteran backup. The quarterback room is more stable than it’s been in years. It’s a real attempt to field a professional offense again.
But even with the additions under center, the most important question is still unanswered: who’s calling the plays? After stripping duties from offensive coordinator Mike Kafka last year and taking them on himself, head coach Brian Daboll saw his offense get even worse. And yet here we are again, headed into another offseason with no firm plan in place.
What is Brian Daboll's vision?
This week, during the NFC coach's breakfast at the annual league meetings, Daboll confirmed what many feared: the decision still hasn’t been made. In fact, it might not come until August.
“Look, I have confidence in our staff,” Daboll said. “I have confidence in (assistant head coach/offensive coordinator) Mike (Kafka). I have confidence in the offensive guys. Again, what changes will be made, I’m going to go through the offseason and OTAs.
“You’re going to see, I know last year you saw me with the microphone, holding it, the walkie-talkie. You’ll see Mike with the microphone at times this year. We will go through that whole process leading to the preseason games and see where we are. To answer your question, I got to do both jobs better.”
While there’s value in exploring options and evaluating the staff, it’s a little wild that a team coming off a 3-14 season, with multiple jobs on the line, is still workshopping who’s going to call plays this fall. Daboll can say the right things about confidence and process, but at a certain point, you either have a vision or you don’t.
What’s changed since the end of the season? Co-owner John Mara made it clear he wanted Daboll to reconsider play-calling. Daboll said he would. And now, two months later, we’re back to square one. The only “update” is that we might get an answer by the preseason.
It’s not the worst idea in the world to give Kafka another shot or let someone else get a crack at it. But it’s hard to square that with the sense of urgency that this regime is supposed to be operating under. For a team adding Russell Wilson, maybe drafting a quarterback at No. 3, and desperately needing to prove they’re not stuck in neutral, the time to figure this out should probably be now—not five months from now.
Your move, Brian.
