Why The Giants Are Struggling

Photo: Matt Ludtke/AP

The Giants head into week 6 on a three game losing streak and find themselves in last place in the NFC East. Though there are many factors that have contributed to the team’s struggles, here are a few glaring issues that I think are perpetuating Big Blue’s current situation.

Practice Habits

Poor preparation leads to poor performance, that is a saying many have heard over the course of their lives. It especially rings true in sports. With the way the team has performed the past three weeks, many will wonder if the Giants practices are yielding any positive results. This not only is a bad reflection on the players, it’s a massive knock on the coaching staff whose job is to make sure the team is ready to play at a high level each week. One should hope this is not the case, but given what has transpired thus far you can’t help but feel this

Lack of Depth

For the Giants, the discrepancy of talent between the starter and bench is far too wide. If a first string player gets hurt, their backup seemingly lacks the skill to perform even adequately and that is a big problem. The fault of this falls directly on General Manager Jerry Reese, who is in charge of drafting and signing capable talent to make sure the depth is always up to par. The team owes it to itself to improve upon this weakness if there is any hope of making sure this season doesn’t get away from them like it has the past 5 years.

Pass Rush (Or lack thereof)

In the off-season the team spent over $200 million improving the defense in order to increase the number of sacks and quarterback hits. Instead the pass rush has managed to look even worse that it did last year, which is mind boggling. After watching Aaron Rogers get time to read War and Peace in the backfield, it’s time to start holding Steve Spagnuolo and defense accountable for the uninspired play that is being shown on a weekly basis.

No Rashad Jennings

This may or may not have much merit to it, but the loss of Jennings for three weeks seems to be parallel with the team’s struggles. Perhaps getting him back for week 6 will yield a better result. With Shane Vereen on the shelf, the Giants could use a singular talent that is capable of doing some damage on offense.

The Slow Moving Offense

One of the things that was expected of New York was that the offense would perform at an elite level, especially since it has such a talented receiving core. Unfortunately, that has not been the case as the offense is spending more time sputtering out on drives, committing costly penalties, and turning the ball over. Many say this is on Eli Manning, whom to their point has not looked particularly good running some of the plays. However, it’s Ben McAdoo’s job to see this system through. The conservative play calling is hurting the offense’s effectiveness and it’s hard to get players like Odell Beckham and Victor Cruz going. If there’s going to be any advancement in overall play, this needs to change.