Preview: New York Giants at Miami Dolphins, October 8, 2023

Brian Daboll and Daniel Jones – © USA TODAY Sports

THE STORYLINE:
The 2023 season began with such high hopes. However, with only one-quarter of the season completed, the campaign is all but officially over. In two weeks the team will be 1-5 after the Dolphins and Bills embarrass them. After that, it’s not a given the team will win another game.

Hyperbolic? No. We have enough of a sample size to judge the product. The Giants have been outscored 122 to 46, for a league-worst net point differential of -76. No one else is close. The Giants have not scored a touchdown in two home games, managing a only a 55-yard field goal.

The loss to the San Fransisco 49ers was defensible. The 40-0 loss to the Cowboys and the 24-3 loss to the Seahawks were not, especially given Seattle’s injury situation. The Giants haven’t been remotely competitive in all three of their losses.

The only comparable situation in team history that I can remember is the 1995 New York Giants, which ironically was the season when I started this website. That team was coming off a 9-7 season in 1994 with very high expectations for the upcoming season. That changed when the Cowboys humiliated the Giants in the home opener on Monday night, 35-0. The Giants would finish 1995 with a 5-11 record. However, that Giants team was extremely competitive in almost all of their other defeats. They may have lost 11 games, but they were not an easy team to beat. In eight of their 11 losses, they had a chance to tie or take the lead late in the game. It was a painful season because of the what-could-have-been moments, but the team was watchable.

To date, the 2023 New York Giants have been unwatchable. They are the butt of jokes from pundits, fans, and even other NFL players. We were supposed to be beyond this, and beyond seasons being over in October. But here we are.

THE INJURY REPORT:

• RB Saquon Barkley (ankle – questionable)
• RB Gary Brightwell (ankle – probable)
• WR Wan’Dale Robinson (knee – probable)
• TE Daniel Bellinger (knee – questionable)
• LT Andrew Thomas (hamstring – out)
• RT Evan Neal (hand/ankle – probable)
• OC John Michael Schmitz (shoulder – out)
• OG Marcus McKethan (knee – probable)
• OG Shane Lemieux (groin – out)
• OLB Azeez Ojulari (hamstring – probable)
• ILB Micah McFadden (ankle – questionable)

NEW YORK GIANTS ON OFFENSE:
Many fans are overthinking the offensive woes. It’s great for the site as it keeps the discussions going. Fingers are being pointed at the head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterback. Some of the criticism has merit. However, no NFL offense can function with an offensive line as bad as the New York Giants. I don’t care if you have Joe Montana and Jerry Rice back there. There is no running game. The quarterback is under pressure and getting hit on every other snap. Love or hate Daboll and Jones, but when the offensive line was only average in some games in 2022, both looked good. Funny how that works, isn’t it?

The problem is there is no way to fix this in 2023. Because of a god damn special teams disaster, Andrew Thomas, the team’s best offensive player, is sitting on the sidelines and likely will be limited the rest of the season. Now the team’s second best offensive lineman, John Michael Schmitz, is hurt and out. The weakest unit on the team now has five of its nine players on the 53-man roster on this week’s injury list.

The Giants are not going to be able to block the Dolphins on Sunday. Because of that, they will lose. It’s that simple.

Meanwhile, the collateral damage is going to be catastrophic. It’s unlikely that Daniel Jones will survive the mental and physical beatings. He was clearly pressing against Seattle. Fans once again have turned on him. He is unlikely to recover from this, which means the decision to re-sign him to a 4-year, $160 million contract instead of tagging him and letting Saquon Barkley depart in free agency was a colossal mistake that is going to set this team back. The light at the end of the tunnel just got dimmer.

NEW YORK GIANTS ON DEFENSE:
Wink Martindale seems remarkably unfazed by the early-season struggles of the defense. Indeed, if you review his presser right before the season started, Wink was pretty upfront that he expected growing pains due to the youth of the secondary. The defense didn’t play poorly against the Seahawks. I suspect we will still see ups and downs, but I think the defense will be trending in the right direction as long as the players remain committed.

The real head scratcher here is the absence of turnovers. The Giants don’t have one single interception or fumble recovery through four games. None. It’s mind-boggling. And it is contributing to a -8 turnover differential. You can’t win like that.

NEW YORK GIANTS ON SPECIAL TEAMS:
Thomas McGaughey’s special teams have had two disastrous games in the first four games. The first was against the Cowboys. The second was the six penalty affair against the Seahawks. His time in New York may be running out.

FROM THE COACHES:
Head Coach Brian Daboll: “I’m not satisfied with anything right now.”

THE FINAL WORD:
Spoiler alert. The Giants season is already basically over. But it’s not for the players and they had better keep this in mind. Every snap and every game now is a job interview for the Giants and other NFL teams. My advice to any player is this: play hard, have fun, and see where the chips fall. Don’t worry about the W-L column. Take it one play at a time. But you had better do your job. This general manager and head coach are not going anywhere.