Big Blue View
Douglas Furth asks: Ed, You did an article this week about realistic expectations and it seemed reasonable on its face. But it seems to me (without having done a scientific study on the subject) that teams don’t improve incrementally over several years. Rather what seems to happen more often is that bad teams reach a tipping point and get a lot better. So I have two questions, what do you think about the tipping point theory and does the addition of a top tier coach and a couple of impact players push this Giants team towards a tipping point?
Ed says: Douglas, there is some truth to what you are saying. There are teams that occasionally do what the New England Patriots did last season, going from four wins to 14 and reaching the Super Bowl. It takes time, though, to build something sustainable. The Giants had the big 2022 season out of nowhere, and then went right back to their losing ways. The 2022 season was built on a house of straw, and was not sustainable.
It looks on paper like the Chicago Bears had that kind of fast turnaround a year ago. I would argue that beginning in 2022, GM Ryan Poles built what the Bears have become brick-by-brick. He accumulated 21 draft picks in 2022 and 2023 that helped lay the foundation. He got his quarterback, Caleb Williams, with a tremendous trade up to get the No. 1 overall pick in 2024. He got the right coach for Williams, Ben Johnson, the next year.
The Bears now appear to have something that should be sustainable while Williams and Johnson remain together. That is what teams want to build.
Gregg Wanlass asks: Ed, optimism springs eternal this time of year (as always) but while this might be the deepest roster we have had recently, to me it will mostly depend on how it is utilized, which brings me to my question. I realize situation and down as well as opponents tendencies will dictate who we have on the field but it seems like the amount of passing in the league would suggest we have five DBs on the field most of the time, including the slot corner. That adds up to six other positions. If we deploy big DTs as run stuffers to shore up our rush defense, how do we get the strength of our team on the field? I realize this is why we have coaches who know a lot more than I do, but doesn’t this remain an ongoing challenge?
Ed says: Gregg, this is the same challenge we talked about last season. The question was whether or not Shane Bowen was up to the task of figuring it out and maximizing the talent the Giants did have. He was not, and got fired.
I feel better about new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson being able to do this, especially with John Harbaugh being a coach who admittedly spends more time with the defense than...
