Coming to a stadium near you: “Bad To Worse,” the story of the Giants’ 2023 season. If you were enthralled by the first episode of this series, released in 2022 and entitled “Hope, Restored” then you will be shocked and alarmed with the plot turn that befell this team and its collection of characters.
That they lost, 30-6, to the Raiders in Las Vegas is an afterthought, as one-sided losses are commonplace in year No. 2 of the Joe Schoen-Brian Daboll regime. That Daniel Jones, paid as the franchise quarterback, went down on the first play of the second quarter with what is sure to be diagnosed on Monday as a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee turned into the headline on a day that left the entire organization somber, sad and wondering where the next body-blow will hit.
Let us try to unravel all this:
The timeline of it taking one full year to recover from ACL surgery is not valid any longer. Receiver Wan’Dale Robinson tore his ACL on Nov. 20 last season, missed the remainder of his rookie year, went through the typical months of rehab and was cleared to return to practice on August 29. He played in Week 3. Another receiver, Sterling Shepard, tore his ACL in Week 3 last season and was ready for this year’s season opener. Different players, different bodies, different positions. The standard recovery span is 8-9 months. Jones should be able to play all or most of the 2024 season, as long as everything goes well with his surgery and his recovery.
Those predicting that Jones will never throw another pass for the Giants might want to store those prognostications in the overhead compartment. There is a salary cap and there are ramifications for cutting a high-priced player, and no one has forgotten that the Giants last March gave Jones a four-year contract worth $160 million. His salary cap number for 2024 is $47.5 million and if the Giants decide to cut ties with him after the season — they will not do that, for several reasons — the salary cap dead money hit would be $69 million. That is untenable. The four-year deal contained an “out” after two seasons but even then, if the Giants parted ways with Jones after the 2024 season, he could count $22 million in dead cap money in 2025. That would be a Giants record. Contracts have consequences. Jones will be on the team in 2024.
Just as Jones will be back, it is inconceivable that the Giants will await his return to health without significantly upgrading the position. First of all, he will be coming off a major injury. Secondly, he was an ineffective quarterback this season, playing one outstanding half of football in Arizona and not much else to get excited about. Plus, he missed three games with a neck injury, the second time in three seasons he missed time with a neck issue. Availability is a talent and Jones is not available enough. As it stands today, the Giants would own a top-five pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. They need help — everywhere. They thought they were out of the quarterback procurement business and now they get dragged back in, having to think about Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Bo Nix, Michael Penix Jr and maybe Shedeur Sanders because Jones’ season unraveled so painfully and completely. Would the Giants actually use a high first-round pick on a quarterback, with Jones financially obligated to the team for at least another year? Everything must be on the table and this must be considered.
Will the Giants win another game if Tommy DeVito is their starter the rest of the way? DeVito is earning an NFL paycheck and thus analyzing his performance is fair game. But this was not the plan for him and ripping him is not the answer. He was undrafted and made a nice story for himself, a local Jersey guy who hooked on the practice squad with his hometown team. He was not supposed to play. Tyrod Taylor is on injured reserve and must miss at least the next three games. He is dealing with a rib cage injury and the pain and soreness were considerable. He most likely will be able to return. The long-awaited bye finally arrives in Week 13. Before then, the Giants have the Cowboys, Commanders and Patriots and return after the bye to face the Packers on Dec. 11 in a “Monday Night Football” matchup that is screaming “Flex me the hell out of there.” Figure Taylor could be back for the last five games. What does it matter, you ask? Well, Taylor should be able to compete at a high enough level to give the Giants a fighting chance in some of these games. Again, what does it matter? Discuss amongst yourselves.
And now, onto some non-quarterback issues and observations:
— It seemed as if the offensive line was playing a bit better, opening holes early for Saquon Barkley, who ran for 69 yards and averaged 6.9 yards on his 10 carries in the first half. Jones was sacked twice in 11 drop-backs before he went down and out. DeVito was sacked six times in 26 drop-backs. He could have avoided a few of those. This was a no-win scenario for the blockers, saddled with a quick deficit and forced to throw it with DeVito, who was not trusted to throw the ball down the field in last week’s 13-10 overtime loss to the Jets.
“That was about the worst scenario for us,’’ Justin Pugh, finally inserted at left guard after having to fill in at left tackle for injured Andrew Thomas, said.
If the Giants can keep (from left to right) Thomas, Pugh, John Michael Schmitz, Ben Bredeson and Evan Neal on the field, they should at least be competitive up front. It looks like that won’t happen, though, as Neal, after missing two games with a sprained right ankle, was forced out against the Raiders with an injury to his left ankle. The Giants have already used eight different starting offensive line configurations in their first nine games.
— No sacks, no forced turnovers. This was not the finest work for the Giants’ defense, a unit that did not make life uncomfortable for rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell, making his second NFL start. This was the third game this season without a sack or takeaway for the Giants on defense.
— The Giants are bad and at their worst against that other conference. They are 0-4 in games against AFC opponents.
— Remember when the Giants and Jalin Hyatt bristled when doubters questioned his ability to be a complete wide receiver? Hyatt does not appreciate being labeled a “speed receiver” because he feels it short-changes what he can do on the field, running a variety of routes. Hyatt lasted into the third round of the 2023 draft because of this. Well, midway through his rookie season, does Hyatt look like a speed guy or the complete package? He gets open almost effortlessly on go-routes and his stop-start and slight change of direction separates himself from quality cornerbacks. He should have had two long receptions in Las Vegas but Jones overthrew him twice. Still the “complete receiver” label has yet to stick with Hyatt. The good thing about him is he gets it and wants it.
— In the first game since Leonard Williams was traded to the Seahawks, Rakeem Nunez-Roches played 35 snaps and A’Shawn Robinson played 30 snaps. These are two veteran players along the interior of the defensive line but they were signed as backups for a reason. Dexter Lawrence is going to miss Williams lining up next to him a great deal.
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