The Bad
The Giants went 5-11 in the 2018 season. They lost 7 games by 3 points or less. The beginning of the season was especially tough with the Giants only winning one game through
A big part of the early struggles was the gross miscalculation by Dave Gettleman and Pat Shurmur about the ability of the Giants roster to compete. The Giants kept Ereck Flowers which I’m sure nobody was thrilled about. They also made baffling moves like bringing in Jonathan Stewart. While no disrespect to him as he had a great career in Carolina. His signing was absolutely useless. It gave Giants fans ammunition to clown Dave Gettleman and rightfully so. They also brought in players like Curtis Riley and signed Guard Patrick Omameh.
These were some of the back-breaking moves that killed the Giants 2018 season. Pat Shurmur and Dave Gettleman are 100% to blame for half of the Giants O-line getting released mid-season due to poor play. Their literal inability to keep their quarterback upright. After 8 games the Giants seemed destined to be picking in the top of the draft again.
The Good
The Giants came out of the bye week and went on to win 4 of their next 5 games. The single biggest difference was the offensive line. The Giants claimed Guard Jamon Brown from the Rams. His arrival was a big spark to the Giants winning streak.
The next big move was to run the offense through Saquon Barkley. Saquon amassed over 2,000 yards from scrimmage in his rookie season. Joining elite company to do it as a rookie. This coupled with the improved blocking from the O-line allowed Giants fans to hope again even if it was only for a few weeks.
Pat Shurmur had a dumpster fire of a team going into the bye week and instead of folding. They came out and played hard for their head coach won games, and even got a few pro bowlers out of it. In the second half of the season, Pat Shurmur and the Giants showed there is hope with this young core, especially with the stellar 2018 draft class. While there is a huge decision looming with Eli Manning Pat Shurmur deserves praise for successfully navigating a lot of the challenges that come with taking over a 3-13 team. While the win total doesn’t reflect it. The Giants took steps forward in 2018. The question is will they build on them or take steps back. The draft will be a big determinant of that.
How Do you feel Pat Shurmur did in his first season as head Coach? Let us know in the comments below!
