Skip to main content

Giants Face Do-or-Die in Philadelphia

The New York Giants came into the season with high expectations. Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul even commented "as long as we all work together, we'll be undefeated." But after two games, the Giants are 0-2, the fan base is torn on who to blame, and the offense can't sustain any success.

Starting 0-2 is far from a death sentence. The Giants also lost their first two games in 2007, when they would go on to defeat the undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. On the other hand, a slow start turned to an 0-6 death sentence for the 2013 Giants.

But these 2017 Giants have talent, and a real chance at making noise in the playoffs this year. That is, if they can turn things around quickly. Offensively, Eli Manning has a slew of weapons in the recovering Odell Beckham Jr., the newly added Brandon Marshall, sophomore Sterling Shepard, rookie tight end Evan Engram, and versatile back Shane Vereen. On defense the team can be flat out scary at full strength. Janoris Jenkins, Eli Apple, and All-Pro Landon Collins round out the NYPD: New York Pass Defense. And their job in the secondary is made even easier by a capable pass-rush consisting of JPP, Oliver Vernon, and Damon "Snacks" Harrison.

With such a talented roster, the Giants will be blowing an opportunity at a special season if they can't turn it around soon. Very soon, as in, this week in Philadelphia.

On one hand, the Giants could be tied for first place by the end of Week 3. A victory over the Eagles coupled with losses by the Redskins and Cowboys would set the entire division at 1-2.

On the other hand, a loss in Philadelphia would push the Giants to 0-3. The Eagles would be 2-1, and the Cowboys and/or Redskins could join them. This would also put New York at 0-2 in divisional play, an extremely important tiebreaker in a division that should come down to the wire.

Would going 0-3 eliminate any shred of hope for the Giants to make the playoffs? No. But it would make it an extreme uphill battle to even work back to a winning record. The Giants still have to travel to Tampa Bay, Oakland, Denver, and Arizona. While all are winnable games, none will come easy. The Giants also host the Seattle Seahawks, as well as all three NFC East opponents before the season ends.

On paper, the Giants would be favored in most of these match-ups if they were in mid-season form. But if the offense keeps putting up embarrassing attempts, it's going to be a long season. The Giants must defeat their NFC East rival Eagles this week to stay relevant in the season moving forward.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Patriots Quickly Lose Underdog Status in Fluctuating Vegas Line

Championship Sunday gave us two wild overtime games with the winners set to meet in two weeks at Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta. On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Rams opened as slight one point favorites, which would have had Tom Brady and the New England Patriots play the underdog role once again. The line quickly shifted to a pick 'em game. This feels like the most accurate reflection of the game's odds. While the Rams finished with a better regular season schedule, Brady and the Patriots are playing in their third straight Super Bowl and it would be tough to call them true underdogs. As Monday progressed, bettors started shifting the line in favor of the Patriots, likely to reflect early bets. Many bettors probably saw taking an underdog Patriots team as an easy bet. The line could go even deeper in New England's favor, or perhaps balance out closer to a pick 'em. Realistically, the line won't favor either team by more than 1 or 2 points, making it essentia...
2 comments
Read more

Oladipo to LeBron: If You Want To Win, Come to Indy

LeBron James is a expected to make a major free agency decision for just the second time in his career this summer. While the de facto favorites so far have been the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers, and Houston Rockets, other teams could still compete for LeBron's services before he make his second "Decision." While Joel Embiid has already publicly recruited LeBron, Philadelphia was already a rumored landing spot. But now, recently-crowned Most Impoved Player Victor Oladipo has thrown the Indiana Pacers name in the ring. Oladipo told TMZ Sports that James is his most highly coveted free agent acquisition for the 2018-2019 season. "If you want to win, come to Indy" the guard said, publicly addressing LeBron. While the big buzz has been around the prospects of building superteams, teaming up with Kawhi Leonard and/or Paul George, or completing the process in Philadelphia, there are other suitors that could make sense in the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Where Will Cut WR Jordy Nelson Land?

The Green Bay Packers sent their fans through a rollercoaster of emotions of the eve of the official new league year. Just minutes after agreeing to terms with superstar tight end Jimmy Graham, the Packers announced they would be parting ways with longtime wide receiver Jordy Nelson. The 33-year-old pass-catcher has already indicated he wants to keep playing in the NFL, so in this wild era of NFL free agency, he should have no shortage of suitors. After three straight elite seasons of production, in which he caught at least 85 passes, surpassed 1,250 yards and 8 touchdowns each of the three seasons, Nelson had a down year in 2017. In 15 games he caught 53 passes for 482 yards and 6 touchdowns, seeming to have lost just a step at times. Of course, Aaron Rodgers was absent for much of the season as well, but still, teams have to be realistic bout their expectations for Nelson. With that being said, here are some potential suitors for the 2016 NFL Comeback Player of the Yea...
Post a Comment
Read more