Preview: Washington Redskins at New York Giants, October 28, 2018

1983 New York Giants Media Guide

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Game Preview: Washington Redskins at New York Giants, October 28, 2018

THE STORYLINE:
Last week, I ended my game preview with the following paragraph:

At some point, this team is going to have to bite the bullet, maintain fiscal responsibility in free agency, accumulate draft picks by trading away players who won’t be here when the team does eventually turn it around, and accept short-term suckitude. But at least fans will see the team attempting to build for something in the future and have hope. Right now, they are just treading water and weekly becoming a doormat for other teams. Stop trading away picks; accumulate them. There is no short-term fix.

So as painful as it is going to be, I fully endorse what the Giants hopefully only BEGAN to do this week when they traded away Eli Apple and Damon Harrison (though I must admit, I am one of those who felt we got short-changed on the Harrison deal). But the Giants should not half-ass this and call it a day. Keep in mind that the Giants traded away picks for Alec Ogletree (4th and 6th) and Riley Dixon (7th), as well as spending their 3rd rounder early on Sam Beal. They have gained a 4th (Apple), 5th (Harrison), and two 7th rounders (Brett Jones and part of Ogletree trade).

So the Giants have:

• One 1st rounder (own)
• One 2nd rounder (own)
• Two 4th rounders (own and Saints)
• Two 5th rounders (own and Lions)
• One 6th rounder (own)
• Two 7th rounders (Rams and Vikings)

That’s not enough. The trade deadline is rapidly approaching: 4PM on October 30.

This team is now officially in FULL rebuilding mode. The Eli Manning era is all but officially over. He MUST be on the trading block or ownership and management should be deemed incompetent. A Jaguars-Manning marriage is obvious to all. Get it done. Olivier Vernon, Janoris Jenkins, and Landon Collins are also obvious trade candidates. Not so obvious, but certainly possible include the likes of Evan Engram and Sterling Shepard. In the offseason, it will be VERY interesting to see if Dave  Gettleman admits to mistakes and cuts Nate Solder, Patrick Omameh, Kareem Martin, and Connor Barwin.

We’re in uncharted territory for the Giants. The closest similarity I can think of is the roster purge after the 1983 season, but even then, the Giants still had Phil Simms at quarterback. The Giants will need to build around Saquon Barkley and Odell Beckham (I believe the latter’s new contract makes him untradeable, at least in the short-term).

What we do know is the Giants are going to suck for the rest of the year and probably next season as well. But this is the right course. They APPEAR to have admitted the rebuild is needed. Of course, all bets are off if Eli Manning is still quarterbacking this team in 2019. Then, be afraid, very afraid.

The next TWO huge questions are:

1. Is 67-year old Dave Gettleman the right man to rebuild this team?
2. Is Pat Shurmur the right head coach to lead this team?

“C’mon Eric, they are not going to fire Gettleman and Shurmur after only one season!!!” I would respond, why not? Both have made huge miscalculations in creating the 2018 roster. As I mentioned in last week’s preview, Gettleman batted 1-of-5 on offensive line decisions and determined Eli Manning wasn’t the problem. He also traded away valuable picks. Shurmur certainly hasn’t inspired confidence, either in Cleveland and now in New Jersey.

Much will probably depend on how this team finishes. How competitive are the Giants, even when losing? Do the remaining players play with fear for losing their jobs or just tune out the coaches?

THE INJURY REPORT:

• WR Russell Shepard (neck)
• WR Jawill Davis (concussion – out)
• RG Patrick Omameh (knee)
• LB Alec Ogletree (hamstring – out)

NEW YORK GIANTS ON OFFENSE:

The obvious move is to bump Kyle Lauletta up to at least #2 on the depth chart, and then start him sometime after the bye week. He’s not ready. He will likely flounder. It’s a big jump from Richmond to the NFL. But the Giants must get a read on him. Does he have a viable NFL future or not? This question must be answered before the 2019 NFL Draft. Paying homage to Eli Manning by allowing him to continue to start may be the “classy” thing to do, but it’s not good for the franchise. In fact, it could be quite harmful.

How Odell Beckham responds during this dark period probably is going to be an issue. In his five years with the Giants, Odell has been on only one winning team. Most of the time, the Giants have not only been bad, but very bad during his tenure. And now there is no end in sight. This could get ugly.

The offensive line is a disaster. There appears to be only one or maybe two players on the current roster who may be part of the solution.

NEW YORK GIANTS ON DEFENSE:

The morale of the defense has to be in the toilet. Though they deserve a fair amount of the blame for another dreadful season, my guess is they feel they have been the superior unit on the team. And now they see Damon Harrison traded away for a 5th round pick. Moving Eli Apple also weakens an already sore area of the defense. If Janoris Jenkins is moved, the make-up of the secondary becomes comical.

My focus moving forward is how does the defensive line perform without Harrison. Can Dalvin Tomlinson play the nose tackle position at a high level? How well will B.J. Hill, Mario Edwards, Kerry Wynn, Josh Mauro play now without that stud in the middle?

Little noticed this week was that Ray-Ray Armstrong was cut from IR. It’s B.J. Goodson’s last chance to impress now. Do Nate Stupar, Tae Davis, or Ukeme Eligwe have an NFL future? Outside, when do the Giants finally give Lorenzo Carter the bulk of the playing time?

In the secondary, the Giants are now down to Janoris Jenkins, Landon Collins, and a bunch of no-names. Glass half full… sometimes it is fun to watch no-names fight and scratch to gain the respect they feel they deserve. Glass half empty… this secondary is one injury or trade away from being possibly the worst in football, requiring a mammoth rebuilding effort. Enter Antonio Hamilton, Michael Jordan, Grant Haley, Tony Lippett, Sean Chandler, and Kamrin Moore.

NEW YORK GIANTS ON SPECIAL TEAMS:

The search for a returner for 2019 continues. Quadree Henderson flashed a bit last week.

THE FINAL WORD:
You have to embrace the suck at this point, or you are going to be miserable. The only way for this to get better right now is for things to get worse first. But if Shurmur isn’t able to get his players to play at a scrappy, competitive level, and the Giants start losing games by 14, 17, 21 points, bigger changes could be coming as well.

My plea would be to move Eli Manning before the deadline. Don’t let him end his career with the Giants like this. And get something, anything, in return.