The New York Giants Should Be Mediocre At Best In 2016
Even though NFL fans and media expect the New York Giants to contend for the NFC East division crown, there is a realistic possibility that they end up being mediocre at best. This is because the Giants organization made it a priority to feature Odell Beckham Jr as a focal point of their offense. Due to the fact that when Odell Beckham Jr made his debut for the Giants almost two seasons ago, the Giants were able to finally see what kind of speed he had on the field. They soon realized that provided he had man-to-man against a corner, corners would be unable to keep up with his speed. As a result, they decided to implement an offensive system that heavily relied on the passing game in an attempt to maximize the use of Odell's speed. Due to this, the Giants were 7th in the league in passing attempts per game as they averaged 38.9 per game last season according to team rankings. However, this decision has and will continue to put the organization in a tough spot because, in order to maximize the use of Odell's speed, Eli has to hold on to the ball for an extended period of time to give Odell a chance to get separation before he looks at the other receivers. But the offensive line isn’t strong and/or quick enough to hold their blocks to allow him to hold the ball for an extended period of time, which leaves him more susceptible to throwing the ball into double coverage, being hit or taking a sack thus it increases the likelihood of having shorter drives.
As a result of this, the offensive unit will end up playing a major role in determining how the defense is going perform because if the giants decide not to alter their offensive system the defense will be on the field for the majority of the game. This means that defense would have to go back on the field without the proper amount of rest which leads to the defense being more susceptible to giving up yards and points because they were not able to regain some energy between possessions to be able to stop the opposing offense. Thus the giants will most likely be mediocre for as long as Odell Beckham Jr is on the roster because they will always be tempted to throw the ball due to his incredible speed.
