The New York Giants disposed of the Philadelphia Eagles in dominant fashion with a 42-7 win at MetLife Stadium yesterday. Unfortunately, their victory celebration was ended prematurely. Moments after the Giants’ win, the Chicago Bears defeated the Detroit Lions, 26-24, thus eliminating the defending Super Bowl champions from playoff contention.
Despite starting the season at 6-2, the Giants entered their Week 17 contest with the Eagles with their fate out of their hands following two embarrassing losses to the Atlanta Falcons and Baltimore Ravens in consecutive weeks. The Giants needed to win on Sunday and have the Bears, Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys all lose their final regular season games in order to clinch a playoff berth. The Lions’ inability to compete with the Bears put an early end to the Giants’ playoff hopes, however, and sent New York into the offseason with many shortcomings to address.
Those shortcomings undoubtedly include the Giants’ defense, which ranked among the league’s worst in the NFL for the second year in a row. Though they won the Super Bowl just last year, defensive coordinator Perry Fewell will likely receive a long evaluation in the offseason.
Longtime offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride’s seat is not much cooler after a dismal, inconsistent offense was just as much to blame for the team’s disappointing season. Gilbride’s play calling has long drawn the ire of Giants’ fans everywhere and has proved costly at times this season.
The offensive line could use a major facelift. After being one of the league’s stalwart units for many years, age has taken a toll on a unit calling for much-needed attention in the offseason. Tackle David Diehl is no longer a starting option and the remaining pieces are aging and injury prone. General manager Jerry Reese has proven to be a genius when addressing particular needs through the NFL Draft and he will need to work his magic to rebuild the offensive line into a dependable unit.
The secondary unit, though it’s been addressed yearly, needs work as well. The Giants placed their hopes on 27-year-old cornerback Terrell Thomas returning to play from an ACL tear in the 2011 preseason and doing so in tiptop shape. Unfortunately, his knee couldn’t hold up and he suffered the third ACL injury in his young career.
Safety Stevie Brown was a pleasant surprise, recording eight interceptions and turning in the best season of his career. But the remainder of the Giants’ secondary was underwhelming. The Giants allowed 60 pass plays of 20-plus yards and 13 plays of 40-plus, proving to be unacceptably susceptible to the big play.
Eight-year veteran cornerback Corey Webster proved to be a dependable starter, rarely missing a start and remaining the team’s top cover guy since joining the ball club. Age seemed to take its toll on him this season, however, as the 30-year-old spent much of this season reading the backside of opposing players’ jerseys. He struggled dramatically in coverage for the first time in his NFL career and the Giants’ opponents targeted him more and more as the season went on.
It’s strange for a team just a year removed from a Super Bowl victory to have so much work to do to reconstruct a title contender, but with the Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks and many other young teams taking the NFL by storm, the Giants must do something to keep pace.
New York has numerous young players set to play a vital role in the team’s future, including breakout rookies David Wilson (running back) and Rueben Randle (wide out). But in order to compete, the Giants will need to get younger along the offensive line and at linebacker — a position that has been in desperate needs for years now.
Fortunately, Reese has shown adeptness in discovering talent and piecing together a fantastic team. His work has helped bring two Lombardi Trophies to the franchise in the last six seasons and many of his pieces are already in place to potentially bring another in the near future.
Falling just shy of a playoff berth, the Giants will not require a complete overhaul to be competitive. But it will take some wise moves by their talented GM to put them in position to be lethal in the NFL next season.
Louis Musto is a contributor to the Sports Journey Broadcast Network. You can follow him on Twitter @LouisMusto.