Following a 6-10 season in 2015 that resulted in the ouster of Tom Coughlin, the New York Giants spent a boat load of money to improve the league’s worst defensive team. The money was well spent as Big Blue won 11 games last year and returned to the playoffs for the first time since winning the Super Bowl after the 2011 season. Now that the D appears to be in order, the Giants need more production from an offense that couldn’t run the ball and left Eli Manning scrambling for much of the year. If upgrades on that side of the football work out, the Giants could be a force in the NFC title picture.
NFC Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Seattle Seahawks +444
Green Bay Packers +460
Atlanta Falcons +472
Dallas Cowboys +620
New York Giants +888
Carolina Panthers +1350
Tampa Bay Buccaneers +1650
Philadelphia Eagles +1700
Minnesota Vikings +1800
Arizona Cardinals +1853
New Orleans Saints +2405
Detroit Lions +2900
Washington Redskins +3000
Chicago Bears +7500
Los Angeles Rams +8000
San Francisco 49ers +8500
Key Players for Winning the NFC
Eli Manning – The offensive troubles last season were a surprise considering Ben McAdoo, who was hired as coach to replace Coughlin, was the team’s offensive coordinator and the Giants ranked in the top 10 in total offense in both of his seasons. The Giants became overly reliant on Odell Beckham Jr. in the passing game last season and they had a hard time running the football. Manning had another good season throwing for over 4,000 yards with 26 touchdowns, but the offense was too predictable. OBJ is one of the top playmakers in the game and the Giants got Brandon Marshall to be the big target Manning covets. Add Sterling Shepard and tight end Evan Engram to the mix and Manning could have a big season, taking some pressure off the defense to constantly win games.
Paul Perkins – You could plug any running back into this slot but Perkins gets the nod because he’ll enter the season as the starter. The Giants need more out of their group of backs after they finished last season with the fourth-worst rushing attack in the NFL. The G-Men averaged just 88.3 yards on the ground and their six rushing touchdowns were the fewest in the league. Perkins saw some action last season and ran for 456 yards to finish second behind Rashad Jennings, and now he’s tasked with making the group more productive to give the Giants a more balanced attack. The run game stalled behind an offensive line that failed to open holes and the hope is that Perkins can use his elusiveness to make that part of the offense work putting more points on the board. The Giants ranked 26th last season scoring just 19.4 points per game.
Jason Pierre-Paul – The Giants spent $200 million on defensive free agents prior to last season and it proved to be a wise investment. Damon Harrison was the run-stuffing interior lineman. Janoris Jenkins was the shutdown corner. And Olivier Vernon provided a disruptive pass rush. The unit was one of the best in the NFL, ranking second points allowed and tied for third in rushing yards allowed per game. While Vernon did his job rushing the passer, he was the only one. The Giants collected 35 on the season and will look for JPP to be more of a force in the opponent’s backfield. He still looked out of sorts last season as he returned from blowing off his hand in an accident and started to look like his old self as the season progressed. He tallied 5.5 of his 7.0 sacks in the final three games before going down with a sports hernia for the final quarter of the season and the playoffs. Teamed with Vernon, the two could supply a fierce presence on the front line and be disruptive to opposing quarterbacks.
D.J. Fluker – The offensive line was a shambles last season and there wasn’t much done to address the problem in the offseason. The one move the team did make was acquiring D.J. Fluker, the former San Diego Charger, to compete for a starting job on the right side and provide some depth. An injury to Justin Pugh in the middle of the year didn’t help, but the group struggled to create a consistent run game. Fluker was one of Philip Rivers’ most trusted linemen while with the Chargers and he needs to up his game to make the rest of the unit better. If not, it won’t matter how many weapons Manning has to work with.
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