Giants head coach Pat Shurmur didn’t want to be pinned down to how many wins his team needs to achieve this season to show the kind of progress that will make the franchise feel good about itself again.
“Let’s worry about the Cowboys,” Shurmur said on Wednesday as the Giants began full preparation for Sunday’s season opener at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“I’m not trying to avoid that question. The progress is we have to start playing winning football.”
OK, let’s use generalities if not specific numbers. Winning football essentially means winning more games than you lose, which means the best way to show progress this year is to have a winning season, which means at the very least the Giants need to go 9-7 to play “winning football.”
Otherwise, 8-8 would be .500 football and 7-9 or worse would be the Giants’ sixth losing season in the past seven years. If contemplating what constitutes “winning football” over the course of a 16-game season is too daunting, let’s just focus on the importance of the first two weeks.
In each of the Giants’ five losing seasons since 2013, they have started the year 0-2, including last year, their first under Shurmur. No season is ever the same, but similar starts can apparently lead to similar endings. The Giants started 2-0 in 2016 under Ben McAdoo, went 11-5 and qualified for their only playoff appearance since the 2011 Super Bowl season.
This year, the Giants open with the Cowboys on the road before their home opener against the Bills the following week at MetLife Stadium. The two games should reveal plenty about the 2019 Giants as they face the adversity of playing a Cowboys team galvanized by the extension signed by running back Ezekiel Elliott, followed by the mental rebound of playing a home game they should win against the Bills.
The Giants, 3-13 and 5-11 the past two seasons, have talked all summer about the progress they’ve made. The offensive line would seem to be upgraded with the additions of Kevin Zeitler and Mike Remmers and the return of Jon Halapio, while the defense will have an infusion of youth with rookies Dexter Lawrence, DeAndre Baker and Corey Ballentine all expected to see ample playing time. But progress and potential meet reality this week in an environment in which there’s little room for a feeling-out process.
“All this progress we’re talking about, the rubber is going to hit the road here,” Shurmur said. “We’ve got to go play.”
The Giants offered a collective shrug at Elliott coming to terms and being available for Sunday’s game.
“It just adds another outstanding player to what is already an outstanding offense,” Shurmur said.
What Shurmur can’t fully anticipate is how his team will respond in Dallas. How will the offensive line perform in its debut? Can the receiving corps make up for the loss of Odell Beckham Jr.? How will the young defensive players perform in their first NFL game? And how will Eli Manning look in his 16th season with rookie Daniel Jones waiting in the wings?
“There’s always some uncertainty in the first game,” Shurmur said. “It’s important we go play hard, we play very fundamental, and do all the things you need to do to win games: take care of the football, defend the run effectively, pressure the passer, and on the flip side, score points when we get a chance.”
That’s easier said than done, especially against Dallas. The Giants haven’t beaten the Cowboys since 2016, but Shurmur said his staff has been preparing for this game for much of the offseason.
“I’ve certainly learned a lot about the Cowboys over last year and this year,” Shurmur said. “I have a good feel for who they are and they’re an outstanding team.”
The Cowboys have compiled a 32-16 record over the past three seasons, making the playoffs twice. That’s the kind of “winning football” the Giants need to be chasing.
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