Looking back, January 15, 2023, looked like a genuine turning point for the New York Giants. That’s the Seattle Seahawks’ next opponent. The team from New York (New Jersey, really) travels west with a 1-3 record and is in last place in the NFC East, a spot they have grown far too familiar with over the past decade. But less than two seasons back, that all seemed on the brink of a change.
On that winter day in 2023, the G-Men went on the road and beat the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. It was their first playoff win since defeating Tom Brady and the New England Patriots to win Super Bowl XLVI in 2012. The fact that they came back to earth in a blowout loss to the eventual NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles the following week didn’t put much of a damper on the optimism coming from the Meadowlands.
Then the 2023 season happened, and, well, that optimism went the way of the automat and rent-controlled apartments in Manhattan. Let’s check in on where the Hawks’ upcoming opponent stands after one month of the 2024 season.
What the Seahawks expect from the Giants in Week 5?
The Giants last year
As mentioned, 2023 began with optimism. The doldrums under GM Dave Gettleman and coaches Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge seemed over. A combo from Buffalo – GM Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll – had begun rebuilding the team. Daboll won a number of Coach of the Year awards in 2022. But things went south immediately.
The Giants stumbled to a 1-5 record, including a decisive 24-3 loss to the Seahawks in week 4. In that game, a strip sack set up the Seahawks’ first score, and late in the third quarter, with the Giants trying to mount a rally, Devon Witherspoon jumped Daniel Jones' pass to Paris Campbell and returned the pick 97 yards to snuff out any hopes New York was harboring. By week 10, the Giants were 2-8, and fans were calling for the reigning NFL Coach of the Year to be fired.
The Giants offseason
And so the Giants once again attempted to rebuild a roster short on talent this off-season. They faced one enormous decision. They chose to pay Jones, a former first-round QB who has had limited success since he arrived in 2019, and chose to let Saquon Barkley, their potential stud running back with a history of injuries, walk.
Schoen tried once again to build a decent offensive line – a sore spot on the team for the better part of a decade. He signed four veteran free agents, three of whom are now starting on the line. He also signed journeyman running back Devon Singletary to replace Barkley as the primary ballcarrier.
On defense, Schoen didn’t tinker nearly as much. He brought in pass rusher Brain Burns in a trade with Carolina, but the clear focus of the off-season was to rebuild the drab offense.
In the 2024 draft, Schoen added wide receiver Malik Nabers in the first round, tight end Theo Johnson in the fourth, and running back Tyrone Tracy one round later to supply Daniel Jones with a little more offensive firepower. He also addressed a struggling secondary with early picks of safety Tyler Nubin (brought in to replace departed free agent Xavier McKinney) and cornerback Dru Phillips.
The Giants this season
So how has it all worked out?
1-3. A team that has some talent and fights hard but still finds itself struggling at key positions and often loses against opponents who simply have more firepower. The Giants were in position to win two of their three losses (against division rivals Washington and Dallas) but could not get it done. That has been a common refrain during much of the Daniel Jones era.
Jones has the talent to be a good quarterback. He has a plus arm and is a very good runner. But he rarely makes big plays at big moments (witness that Spoon pick last season.) Whether that is because he simply isn’t a good enough player or because he has been cursed with a below-average supporting cast is open to debate.
But at this point, it doesn’t really matter. Despite some roster improvements, Jones still doesn’t have nearly enough talent around him to get a read on how good he could be. The only thing for sure is that he isn’t good enough to elevate mediocre players. Only the best QBs in the league can do that, and Daniel Jones is not even close to that level.
This year, he has Singletary and Tracy behind him. Both are hard runners, but neither is a game-changer. On the outside, the Giants’ pass catchers are still inconsistent (Darius Slayton) or mediocre (everyone else.) With one enormous exception.
Malik Nabors, through four games, has proven to be the best wide receiver the Giants have had in years. The rookie is a genuine game-changer, the only one New York has on offense. He can go deep. He has a dynamite spin move on quick outs. He is dangerous every time he touches the ball. But he is still young and has had a couple of crucial drops late in close games that hurt the team.
The Giants have had one quality offensive lineman for the past several years – left tackle Andrew Thomas. That remains the case this season, at least so far. They hope promising younger players like center John Michael Schmitz and guard Jon Runyan will develop. About the best thing you can say about New York’s line right now is that they have stayed healthy. The five starters have played every snap together in the 2024 season.
The strength of the Giants team is found in the middle of the defense. The mammoth Dexter Lawrence may be the best interior D lineman in the entire NFL. Behind him, linebackers Bobby Okereke and Micah McFadden are very active. Jason Pinnock and the rookie Nubin have been solid at safety. Pinnock, in particular, has been a dangerous blitzer this season. The rookie on defense, Dru Phillips, when healthy, has been good in the slot.
But the Giants expect more from their defense. They should have an elite tandem of edge rushers in Burns and former first-round draft pick Kayvon Thibodeaux. Burns has been OK so far but has not taken over games the way they did in Carolina. And Thibodeaux remains wildly inconsistent. Every so often, he makes a play that reveals why he was the fifth player selected in the 2022 draft. But he disappears far too often.
The same is true of several other talented young defenders. Isaiah Simmons, another top-ten overall pick, can’t seem to find a position on defense. That has plagued him since he joined the Arizona Cardinals back in 2020. Boundary corners Deonte Banks and Cor’Dale Flott are young and talented, but they are very inconsistent. Nick McCloud is a solid player who stepped into the slot for the injured Dru Phillips last week and played well.
Kicker Graham Gano has been out since week two, and veteran Greg Joseph has been filling in. Both he and punter Jamie Gillan are reliable, if not spectacular. Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Eric Gray are sort of the same as the G-Men’s primary punt and kickoff returners.
What to expect when the Seahawks play the Giants in Week 5
The Giants will try to run, especially if the Hawks are without many of their front seven starters. Even so, there is nothing in the Giants’ running attack that should trouble the Hawks too much. The one huge danger is that Nabers makes big plays on the outside. He is fully capable of that, but fortunately, Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen are ideally suited to keep him in check. The Giants simply don’t have enough other playmakers to scare a quality defense. Daniel Jones can and will run, but even that should not bother Seattle too much.
On offense, most of the battle will be neutralizing Dexter Lawrence in the middle. He can wreck any game plan. Connor Williams is well aware of what Lawrence can do from his time in Dallas, and this may be one of the last chances Anthony Bradford has to show why the coaching staff wants him at guard.
There is always the possibility that edge rushers Burns and Thibodeaux step up against the Hawks’ tackles, but if the line can keep Lawrence at bay, Geno Smith should have room to work his magic. If he has time, the Hawks’ dynamic receiving threats should have a good day.
Ryan Grubb will almost certainly look to get Kenneth Walker going early, but that can be difficult against Lawarence, Okereke, and McFadden. This may prove to be another game – not unlike what happened against the Lions last week – in which the pass sets up the run rather than the other way around.
Even with the spate of recent injuries, the Hawks have a significantly better roster than the Giants. If Seattle comes out flat, the Giants have the grit to play hard and keep things close, and even have enough playmakers to pull off an upset. But if Mike Macdonald has his team ready – and I expect that returning home after their first loss, that will be the case – this should prove to be a comfortable win for Seattle in advance of their big early season showdown with San Fran in week 6.
You know what? Forget I even said that last part. That’s a classic case of looking ahead. They’ll have plenty of time to do that after taking care of business against the Giants.
