NFC Team of The Bearded Twits

The New York Giants in 2016 got to the playoffs. The New York Giants in 2017 won 3 games all season. Vastly different outcomes for the Giants organisation.

There were so many things that hindered the Giants last season which makes it difficult to pin point what the root cause was, if any. Their offensive line was terrible, they lost OBJ and Brandon Marshall in the same game, for the entire season. Eli was not playing in his usual way, they had zero run game and their defense didn’t play as they had done in 2016. All of that, no doubt caused the Giants downfall in 2017. But, the Giants organisation and Giants fans (I should know, I am one) go into 2018 with a new sense of hope. We have got rid of Macdoo, we have brought in a new defensive and offensive coordinator, a new head coach, new talent and some incredible draft picks. So, having said that, let’s look at why I have chosen the Giants to be The Bearded Twits NFC Team of 2018 (and I promise it’s not just because they’re my team).

So, the first thing we have to mention is Eli. Eli did struggle last season, now I don’t think that was entirely all down to Eli (even though he was used as a scapegoat by the guy with the funny hair). After being benched, we saw a different side to Eli, the man looked broken. But, wouldn’t you be if you had hardly any receivers to throw to, no run game and a pocket that collapsed every snap. I think though, the benching lit a fire in Manning’s belly that we haven’t seen in a while. Eli is Eli and at the end of the day, he is a 2-time Superbowl winning MVP, he has the talent and that has never been disputed.

In comes Nate Solder to relieve Ereck Flowers of his Left Guard position. Flowers has struggled since getting into the League in 2015 and did not live up to the hype that surrounded him after college. In 2017 this became so much more apparent given that the rest of the offense was struggling too. Nate Solder came from the New England Patriots as a free agent and signed with the Giants on a 4-year deal worth $62 million making him the highest paid offensive lineman in the League. Solder has been a solid starter for the Patriots and is often considered one of the best O lineman in the League. He brings with him a vast amount of experience, after protecting the blindside of arguably the greatest quarterback to play the position. Yes, he is a great offensive lineman, but just as importantly, he brings a leadership trait, that has been missing in the offensive line office. Last season there were tensions that sometimes boiled over in this room, mostly with other players calling out Flowers. But, bringing in Solder ensures that there is some stability on that offensive line, which is vitally needed. That brings us to another notable addition to the offensive line, 2nd round draft pick, left guard, Will Hernandez.

Hernandez will be played at Left Guard going into the season, and its seen that he will remain here. Hernandez played college football at UTEP and started all 49 games from 2014 to 2017 (he redshirted his first year). He had a great deal of success at college and was named second team All-American and C-USA first team. When the Bearded Twits ranked the 2018 draft class, we had Will Hernandez as the number 2 overall Guard, behind Quentin Nelson. He adds size and strength to the Giants line with, for his size, sheer athleticism. By adding Solder and Hernandez to the left and moving Flowers over to right tackle (a position that has been said to suit him better than left tackle), the Giants have put themselves in a much better position for 2018.

Their offensive line depth chart looks like this:

LT – 1. Nate Solder, 2. Victor Salako

LG – 1. Will Hernandez, 2. John Jerry, 3. Zac Kerin, 4. Nick Gates

C – 1. Jon Halapio, 2. Brett Jones, 3. Evan Brown

RG – 1. Patrick Omameh, 2. John Greco, 3. Chris Scott, 4. Malcom Bunche

RT – 1. Ereck Flowers, 2. Chad Wheeler, 3. Nick Becton

The Giants really haven’t had a running game, probably since Tiki Barber. Last year the Giants were 26th in the League in rushing yards and 29th in 2016. Going into the 2018 season, the running back position was at the top of their list. The Giants had the 2nd overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and with that selection, chose Saquon Barkley. Barkley had a steller career in college. He rushed for 3,843 yards, scoring 43 touchdowns in his three years at Penn State. He won the Big Ten Running Back of the year in 2016 & 2017 and held most of the Penn State records.

In summary, he’s a beast. His first NFL carry was in the pre-season, week one game against the Cleveland Browns. He took the handoff from Eli, was patient in behind the line, saw a gap and ran for 39 yards before being force out of bounds by Randall. He provides Eli with another weapon, and gives him that option, instead of being forced to stay in the pocket and pass (and run for his life). During free agency, the Giants also added veteran Jonathan Stewart, kept Wayne Gallman and didn’t extend Orleans Darkwa.

Their depth at running back looks like this:

RB – 1. Saquon Barkley, 2. Jonathan Stewart, 3. Wayne Gallman, 4. Jalen Simmons, 5. Robert Martin

The Giants wide receiving corps suffered last season with the loss of Odell Beckham Jr and Brandan Marshall who they brought in from the New York Jets. This really spelled disaster for the Giants, and they never recovered. Let’s look at this from a 2018 perspective. If OBJ and another WR goes down, leaving the Giants to deal with the aftermath, they now have Barkley, Stewart and a solid offensive line which would allow Manning to draw on the run game, and have more time to search for receivers who may find it harder than Beckham to get open. They have good depth at the position now, and Sterling Shepard showed why the Giants love him, last year. Cody Latimer was added from Denver; Evan Engram returns at Tight End after doing a fine job last season.

Their depth chart at receiver looks like this:

WR – 1. Odell Beckham Jr, 2. Cody Latimer, 3. Sterling Shepard, 4. Travis Rudolph, 5. Hunter Sharp, 6. Kalif Raymond, 7. Roger Lewis, 8. Russell Shepard, 9. Amba Etta-Tawo, 10. Marquis Bundy

TE – 1. Evan Engram, 2. Rhett Ellison, 3. Jerell Adams, 4. Scott Simonson, 5. Ryan O’Malley

The Giants defense has some stars and they will continue to shine bright, Landon Collins for instance. All those key players, who will undoubtable be on the field have a new signal caller. James Bettcher, who replaced Steve Spagnuolo from Arizona.

Geetleman has said that he does not wish to define Bettchers defense in anyway. He won’t call it a 3-4 or a 4-3. He had this to say when asked “You can call it a 3-4, you can call it an under, you can call it an over, you can call it this, but at the end of the day we’re looking for football players”. That comment really speaks to Bettcher’s style of defense, it consists of so many moving parts.

The Giants retained some key defensive depth during free agency with the likes of Mark Herzlich at OLB returning, Robert Thomas, nose tackle and Kerry Wynn at defensive end. Just before the draft, the Giants traded John Pierre-Paul to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a 3rd round pick, he finished 2017 with 8.5 sacks and was a productive player for the Giants. Beefing up that line will be Dalvin Tomlinson, 2018 draft pick BJ Hill, Kerry Wynn who was re-signed for 2018 and Josh Banks. Josh Mauro is likely to be added to that line once his four game, PED suspension is finished.

Their depth chart on D line looks like this:

DE – 1. Dalvin Tomlinson, 2. BJ Hill, 3. Kerry Wynn, 4. Josh Banks, 5. Josh Mauro

NT – 1. Damion “Snacks” Harrison, 2. Robert Thomas, 3. AJ Francis, 4. Izzah Lunsford

The Giants secondary is strong and has been gifted with some true talent during the off-season and in the draft. Alec Ogletree came from the Rams to join the Giants and brings with him some impressive talent at the inside linebacker position. He is joined by BJ Goodson. Olivier Vernon, Kareem Martin and 3rd round pick in the 2018 draft, Lorenzo Carter make up outside linebacker position. At corner the Giants will play Eli Apple, Janoris Jenkins and William Gay who comes over from Pittsburgh. At free safety we see 2016 third round pick, Darian Thompson as well as Michal Thomas and Curtis Riley. Strong safety features 21, Landon Collins who has been a strong presence on the Giants defense, Andrew Adams and Sean Chandler.

Their depth chart at secondary looks like this:

ILB – 1. Alec Ogletree, 2. BJ Goodson, 3. Ray-Ray Armstrong, 4. Mark Herzlich, 5. Calvin Munson

OLB – 1. Olivier Vernon, 2. Kareem Martin, 3. Lorenzo Carter, 4. Connor Barwin, 5. Romeo Okwara

CB – 1. Janoris Jenkins, 2. Eli Apple, 3. William Gay, 4. Leonard Johnson, 5. Chris Lewis-Harris

FS – 1. Darian Thompson, 2. Michael Thomas, 3. Curtis Riley, 4. Orion Stewart

SS – 1. Landon Collins, 2. Andrew Adams, 3. Sean Chandler

The Giants have a real chance to make headway this season after their shocking 2017 campaign. They have talent on both sides of the ball, as well as new coaches to install the right kind of change.

#2018Season #NewYorkGiants #NFCTeam