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The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/DoABarrowRoll on 2023-07-27 14:05:37.

New York Giants

Hello everybody, it is my honor and privilege to present to you the New York Giants Offseason Review for another year!

For those of you who are new to my writing, consider this a formal warning that this post will be EXTREMELY long.

I will be providing a tl;dr version in a comment, which you can find <<HERE>>.

And with my usual disclaimer out of the way, let’s get into it!

2022 Summary

NFC East: 9-7-1 (3rd)

Before we dive into what happened during the 2022 season, I think it’s important to recontextualize where the Giants were for this series last year.

Coming off a 4-13 year that saw both Dave Gettleman and Joe Judge’s reigns of disasters mercifully come to an end, the Giants went into the 2022 offseason seeking new leadership throughout the building, just 4 years after a similar process brought us Dave Gettleman and Pat Shurmur.

That process led the Giants to Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll, hires that were pretty unanimously applauded. And both the front office and coaching staff were built out with some really strong names in support. Brandon Brown as assistant GM, Mike Kafka and Wink Martindale as Daboll’s coordinators.

But this was still the team that went 4-13 in 2021, the team that was one of the worst in the league for the entirety of Gettleman’s tenure, and the roster reflected that. I think my exact quote was:

Look, this is a team that is very clearly in the first stages of rebuilding. It’s not going to be easy, it’s not going to be fun losing for another year. But honestly, I don’t care how many wins the team gets this year. I mean, I do, but their win total this year isn’t necessarily indicative of where this team is going.

We thought we’d be picking comfortably in the top 10 again, searching for a new QB, and really starting to see Schoen and Daboll’s vision take shape.

…And then the 2022 season happened.

It started with the Giants going into halftime week 1 against the Titans down 13-0. The offense was lifeless, Daniel Jones had been strip sacked once, the defense was doing its best, but it wasn’t looking good. It really felt like the start of another just brutal year for the Giants.

Then the defense came out of the 2nd half forcing two 3 and outs for the Titans, and the Giants quickly tied the game, 13-13 halfway through the 3rd quarter.

But Giants fans had seen this before. Even over the 5 years prior where the Giants stunk on ice, we’d seen them effortlessly shift between not belonging on the field, and giving us false hope only to take it away. And they did give it away, as the Titans retook the lead on the next drive. The Giants would get into the red zone with about 9 minutes left in the 4th quarter, and Jones threw an absolutely boneheaded interception that cost the Giants points.

With 5:27 left to play in the 4th quarter, down 7 points, the Giants got the ball back. And I think I speak for most Giants fans when I say, I expected them to roll over and die. But Saquon Barkley rips off a 33 yard run that put the Giants at the Titans 26. There was life. And then with 1:09 left to play, the Giants scored a touchdown.

This moment was really going to set the tone for the rest of the season, and maybe the rest of Brian Daboll’s Giants tenure. He could send out the kicking team, tie the game up, and probably take us to overtime.

But he didn’t. And as the offense stays on the field, I’m thinking “ah shit, here we go. Losing the game like this. I respect the balls on Daboll to go for it, that’s what I would do with no consequences but if this doesn’t work, people are going to have a field day with it.”

He called a shovel pass to Saquon Barkley, and Barkley caught the ball and turned upfield…to stare directly at multiple Titans defenders. Somehow, by sheer power of will, he was able to power through and push into the end zone, giving the Giants the lead!

The game wasn’t over though. Once again, the doubt started to creep in. There’s still over a minute left to play, and I’ve seen the Giants blow these. And to their credit, they almost did. Tannehill started moving the ball downfield, and then attacked Darnay Holmes on 2 straight plays, one drawing a penalty on third down, and one converting for 21 yards, to put the Titans in field goal range.

And good ol’ Fat Randy (Giants legend) missed the kick. The Giants won week 1 for the first time since 2016.

That was the start of what turned into a magical first half of the season, the Giants entering their week 10 bye with a 7-2 record. All 7 of those wins were by 1 score margins (though the Bears and Texans games were cleaner than the final scoreline suggests), and 5 of them came down to major plays in the last 5 minutes of the game.

In previous years, all of those late game moments were going against us. Fat Randy makes the kick, the Giants fail the 2pt conversion, or they don’t get there at all against Tennessee. Julian Love sacking Baker Mayfield to force 4th and 15 against Carolina. Kayvon Thibodeaux and Xavier McKinney batting down Aaron Rodgers’ passe in London. Love intercepting Lamar Jackson to set up the game winning score against Baltimore. McKinney and Love stopping Christian Kirk at the 1 yard line to secure a win against Jacksonville.

But this year was different. The vibes were better, the team was actually pulling these wins off.

And Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley, two players whose futures with the team were almost foregone conclusions coming into the year, were really leading the way on offense. Saquon was dominant through the first half of the year, and Jones was efficient and methodical in a heavy, limited, play action focused passing attack.

At this point, the idea of either player playing for a different team in 2023 seemed to go out the window.

The next 4 weeks coming out of the bye were…rough. With a tie against Washington and awful losses to Detroit, Dallas, and Philadelphia, where the Giants looked overmatched, the team finished a 6 game stretch in which they were 1-4-1. The playoff spot that looked like a guarantee starting 7-2 was no longer a guarantee at 7-5-1. But a flexed SNF game against Washington would pretty much decide the season.

And the Giants won that prime time game, largely thanks to a huge strip, scoop, and score by Kayvon Thibodeaux. They took that momentum and rolled with it, taking the Vikings down to the wire (and doing so with a revitalized passing attack that we had yet to see), a dominating win against the absolutely cooked Colts locked in the Giants’ playoff spot, and a surprisingly tight and scrappy game between the Eagles starters and Giants backups gave a lot of us Giants fans some hopes as we headed into the playoffs.

We didn’t expect to make a run, but a first round rematch against the Vikings seemed very winnable. And win, the Giants did, for the first time in the playoffs since their last Super Bowl victory in 2012. In classic 2022 Giants fashion, they took a lead halfway through the 4th quarter, and clutch plays on defense by Cor’Dale Flott and Xavier McKinney ended the game.

…Then we went to Philly and got absolutely dusted, ending the season.

But it was still an impressive season overall! A 9-7-1 regular season record and a playoff win is WAY more than any of us expected.

And Brian Daboll was the clear choice for coach of the year to top it all off. Daboll might be the most beloved coach in New York sports, and it’s well deserved. We feel like this coaching staff is the right one. And we’ve felt that way before, but this time it came with a playoff win.

Now entering the offseason, the Giants came armed with very little cap space, and their lowest 1st round draft pick since (again), 2012, and a roster that still needed significant improvements.

Roster Changes

Players Lost/Cut

Player Position New Team (Contract Details; Click to go to OverTheCap)
Julian Love DB Seattle Seahawks (2 yr, 12m)
Nick Gates IOL Washington Commanders (3 yr, 16.2m)
John Feliciano IOL San Francisco 49ers (1 yr, 3.25m)
Richie James WR Kansas City Chiefs (1 yr, 1.1m)
Fabian Moreau CB Free Agent
Jaylon Smith LB Free Agent
Kenny Golladay WR Free Agent

Moment of silence for Kenny Golladay here, please. Thank you.

Now, you may have noticed, there’s not a lot of important names here. You’re probably wondering why I listed vaunted names like John Feliciano, Richie James, Fabian Moreau, and Jaylon Smith.

Well, John Feliciano started most of the Giants’ season at center. Richie James was 3rd on the team in targets, T-1st in catches, 2nd in receiving yards, and T-1st in receiving TDs for the 2022 Giants. Fabian Moreau and Jaylon Smith were signed off the street and were important pieces on defense. Moreau started 11 games for the Giants and played 82% of snaps, Smith also started 11 games and played 72% of snaps.

I love Nick Gates (#NastyNickGates #NickGatesVsTheWorld), but he didn’t play much coming off of his gruesome leg injury suffered in 2021. I would have loved to have kept him, but he got the bag and I love that for…

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