The preseason mercifully will end Thursday night, and the Giants who will start the regular season one week from Sunday against the Jaguars look nothing like the impostors who disgraced the uniform all last season.
Along with regime change comes attitude change, and although the faces change, the expectations never do for the Giants. Not in this unforgiving town and not in this unforgiving league.
General manager Dave Gettleman and head coach Pat Shurmur have put the Football back in the New York Football Giants.
Here’s how they did it, and why the Giants believe they will be a playoff contender again:
Personnel
The failings of the offensive line ultimately cost Jerry Reese his job and prevented Ben McAdoo from fielding that heavy-handed team he always promised. From the day each of them was hired, Gettleman and Shurmur attacked a debilitating problem that more than anything else cost Eli Manning too many of his prime years.
“My plan is to come in here every day and kick ass,” Gettleman announced for all to hear.
After Tom Coughlin beat Gettleman to guard Andrew Norwell, one of his former Panthers and treasured hog mollies, Gettleman pivoted swiftly to new left tackle Nate Solder, making him an offer (four years, $62 million) he could not refuse and the highest-paid offensive lineman to that point in the NFL. He also imported guard Patrick Omameh, who had lost his job to Norwell.
Then came the draft, where Gettleman intensified his Win Now approach by selecting running back Saquon Barkley, his gold-jacket guy, over Sam Darnold, much to the Jets’ delight.
The second round brought guard Will Hernandez, a compact box of nasty and Day 1 starter on the left side who moved Omameh to the right side alongside new right tackle Ereck Flowers.
And the third round brought power broker defensive end B.J. Hill and pass-rushing outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter.
Coaching
Shurmur has turned out to be a godsend, the right man at the right time, a mature, even-keeled professional whose inner toughness that Gettleman was seeking and relationship-building expertise have helped $95 Million Man Odell Beckham Jr. buy in.
Shurmur was hailed as an elite play-caller last season in Minnesota with Case Keenum, and he expects Manning, armed with Score Four (Beckham, Barkley, Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram) weaponry, to establish a career high with a completion percentage of 65 or higher. The players have embraced an offense that will be unpredictable and balanced and no longer an Edsel that averaged a 31st-ranked 15.4 ppg.
Shurmur is a teacher with superb communication skills. But at the same time, he demands accountability. He has won the respect of his players. And media as well.
Leadership
Gettleman’s “You don’t quit on talent” mantra revealed itself when he met with troubled Eli Apple and assured him he would have a clean slate. Solder added championship experience and professionalism to an offensive line room that was begging for it. Gettleman’s trade for inside linebacker Alec Ogletree gave Big Blue a much-needed leader, to go along with Landon Collins, Snacks Harrison and Olivier Vernon, and outside linebacker Kareem Martin gave fiery new defensive coordinator James Bettcher a disciple of the 3-4 defense he was installing. And veteran outside linebacker Connor Barwin is a seasoned pro.
“There are guys that play professional football, and there are professional football players,” Gettleman said. “And the professional football players are the guys we want. I don’t want guys that want to win. I want guys that hate to lose.”
Shurmur rearranged the locker room, moving the offensive lineman together.
“We’re going to go as far as that line will block for us,” Shurmur said. “I think it’s important that they’re together in everything that they do.”
Shurmur is convinced Beckham, revered by teammates, will embrace a leadership role, and the precocious Barkley is a natural-born leader.
A toxic locker room seems to have been repaired.
Even Manning has been buoyed by the faith and belief that Gettleman and Shurmur have expressed in him, by their words and by their actions.
Health
The 2017 season was impacted dramatically last August when Briean Boddy-Calhoun’s controversial low hit knocked Beckham (ankle) out of the regular season opener against the Cowboys.
Shurmur bubble-wrapped Beckham, in the final stages of rehabbing the fractured ankle he suffered last October, at a delicate time during the preseason, when negotiations were intensifying on his megacontract. He has been smart with Barkley, making sure his tweaked hamstring is ready for the Jaguars on Sept. 9. The only major concern is Vernon (ankle).
In the days leading up to the 2017 opener, Manning was unable to get on the same page with the injured Beckham or faded Brandon Marshall (shoulder). Manning has worked overtime on his chemistry during and after practices with Beckham.
“We’re gonna fix this,” Gettleman vowed when he arrived.
The job isn’t complete. But the Giants are no longer a broken team.
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