New York Giants Midseason Report Card: Doesn’t make the grade

The pieces were supposed to help the New York Giants finally turn the corner and get on track to finish in the top half of the league record-wise.

An improved and experienced offensive line, a legitimate No. 1 receiver, the most promising-looking draft class of general manager Joe Schoen’s three seasons in charge, a beefed-up pass rush, head coach Brian Daboll calling the shots — that was all the intention. to help the Giants shed the ugliness of the 2023 season and start finding an upward path back to respectability.

But instead, the Giants sit at 2-7 at midseason with seemingly far more questions than answers. The team will almost certainly be looking for a new quarterback after this season after Daniel Jones repeatedly proved he can’t come through in the big spots that a true franchise quarterback requires.

The team will also likely reevaluate its young defensive secondary, which has struggled not only with its play, but also its maturity. They will undoubtedly realize that one solid-looking draft class (at least so far) may not be close enough to undo years of previous draft irresponsibility from the previous regimes.

Schoen and Daboll have already received a vote of confidence from co-owner John Mara, but we’ve heard this song before with other head coaches being sent packing.

Granted, this time both men will probably be safe, because MAra has realized that he can’t keep starting from scratch with new leadership and new philosophies and that these things take time.

But it’s probably safe to say that if the Giants keep running into 2025, Mara and co-owner Steve Tisch might be forced out.

Head coach Brian Daboll took over the play calling this year, but it didn’t seem to matter. The Giants rank last in average points per game (15.4), their average slightly worse than in 2023, when they finished with 15.6 points per game.

They also struggled on third-down conversions (36.22%, 22nd), the red zone was a dead zone for them in terms of touchdowns (40% conversion rate) and the explosive plays (20+ yards) they were I count insist this season hasn’t been there either: the Giants’ 18 pass plays of 20+ yards are tied for second with the Browns and Bears.

And the Giants lead the league in passes dropped (24).

In the ongoing game, rookie Tyrone Tracy, Jr. a steal on draft day, but overall the Giants have 19 rake, average 114.7 yards per game, and are tied for 29th (with the Jets) for highest rushing touchdowns (5).

The funny thing is that the Giants rank seventh in average time of possession (31:29), so it’s not like the opportunities haven’t been there. However, the implementation did not do that.

Brian Burns may not have the eye-popping sack numbers and may not even lead the team in sacks – that honor belongs to All-World defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II – but his addition to the pass rush has paid off so far.

According to NextGen Stats, Burns, who has been lined up almost evenly on both left and right sides this season, currently leads the Giants with 35 pressures and 17 rushing pressures. He too is in eighth place among individual pass rushers in pass-rush win rate from the edge (21%).

Speaking of the pass rush, which despite last week’s quiet effort still leads the league, Lawrence not only leads all defensive tackles in sacks with 9.0, he’s also registered the third-most pressures at the position (28 ), despite seeing double-teams on a league-high 64.6% of his pass rushes.

Overall, the Giants’ pass rush has given opponents an average throw time of just 2.73 seconds, eighth-best in the league.

Conversely, the Giants’ defense remains a problem, especially when Lawrence gets a breather. New York ranks last in average rushing yards allowed per game (142.6), last in average rushing yards per attempt (5.2), and 28th in average rushing yards before contact per attempt (2.13).

The run defense has also allowed 40 rushing plays of more than 10 yards this season, third-most in the league, and ranks 19th with a stuff rate of 16.2%.

The pass defense was better, but one stat that really stands out is that the unit ranks 31st in interception percentage (0.40%)

You almost have to feel for Giants special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial, who has had three kickers and two punters and who also had to change his kickoff and punt returners this season.

But that’s not so much the problem for the Giants’ special teams, who haven’t done a good job of consistently turning the field or making plays that matter when it counts.

The Giants have converted 84.2% of their field goal attempts this season, 19th in the league. Opponents have averaged 31 yards per kickoff, the sixth-highest average in the league, though their 82% touchback rate is the seventh-best mark this year.

To be fair, it’s not the coaches who drop passes, miss tackles or throw punches. But since Daboll seems to say every week that the Giants’ poor play and results start with him, he might as well start there.

Pre-penalties, the ridiculous reliance on analytics, some baffling personnel decisions (e.g. not carrying a backup kicker in Week 2, the punt returner fiasco earlier this year, and the apparently failed swing tackle plan that has since been exposed thanks to Andrew Thomas’ injury) have all contributed to the mess the Giants are currently in.

Do you want more? Why was quarterback Daniel Jones given the job back due to a torn ACL, which he wasn’t playing very well before the injury? And why not be a little tougher on cornerback Deonte Banks when his attempt first became a problem to nip that in the bud?

From a play-calling perspective, Daboll hasn’t been bad, but again, we wish he would rely less on analytics and more on common sense in games.

In the meantime, give credit to Shane Bowen for mixing up his game plans, including some that went outside his core beliefs and past practices regarding pressure. Things would really be cooking if he could just figure out the issues with the run defense.