Big Blue View
Last seven games will have an impact on the team’s future
The New York Giants get back to work this week, playing out the string of a lost 2-8 season, something that has become a far-too-familiar occurrence in East Rutherford, N.J. Here are six things to watch the rest of the way.
It isn’t a matter of “if” the Giants choose to replace Daniel Jones in the starting lineup, but “when”. That may come as soon as this week when the Giants host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium.
We may not find that out until Wednesday, since head coach Brian Daboll is not scheduled to speak to media until then. Of course, a resourceful or well-connected insider might find out before then. We will just have to wait and see.
Best guess is that whenever the Giants do replace Jones, Drew Lock gets the first opportunity to start games. Lock has been the backup all along, and if you aren’t going to play him in this situation what did you sign him for?
Will fans get to see Tommy DeVito play at some point? If so, will he reprise DeVito-Mania or show why he is a third-stringer who went undrafted?
Can either Lock or Devito show enough to be the bridge quarterback the Giants are inevitably going to need next season?
Can the league-worst offense show improvement once Jones is no longer behind center, which would be even more evidence that the Giants need to start over at quarterback?
Can the Giants, 1-5 in one-score games this season, win a couple of close games with Lock or DeVito?
Continuing to lose games won’t help Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll build cases for why they should keep their jobs. More than that, the optics of the remaining seven games are critical.
Are the games competitive? is it apparent players are continuing to buy in and giving their best effort? Or, are they making business decisions to protect their bodies rather than trying to help their team? Is their locker room sniping, whether it be at others in the room or at the coaching staff? Does Deonte Banks appear to have gotten, and taken to heart, the effort message? Or, is that a continued issue?
This is a dangerous seven weeks for Daboll and Schoen. We know co-owner John Mara doesn’t want to go through another massive change. We know he has said as much. We know, though, that he will
After playing well in his first start of the season in Week 10 against the Carolina Panthers, Neal figures to get the final seven games at right tackle as a last chance to prove he can play the position effectively at the NFL.
How that goes could help determine both Neal’s future and the future structure of the Giants’ offensive line.
Several Giants players could record significant personal achievements over the final seven games....
