What a Difference a Year Makes

The most abused word in the English language is the word if. This is especially true when it comes to sports teams. After watching the New York Giants lose to the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium Sunday, the word if was thrown around so much, had it been a small animal, the ASPCA would've been called in.

If either Tyrod Taylor or Tommy Devito didn't have a collective minus 9 yards passing on the day; if Graham Gano had converted on just one of his two missed field goals; if Brian Daboll had gone for it on 4th and 1 from the Jets 17 with 28 seconds left in regulation up 10-7; if Kayvon Thibodeaux had not stopped the clock with 17 seconds left by jumping offsides; if Wink Martindale had elected to drop eight defenders into coverage instead of trying to rush Zach Wilson, then maybe, just maybe, the Giants might've snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, instead of the other way around. 

But, alas, they couldn't. Against a Jets team that went 2 for 15 on third down, the Jints found a way to one up them, going 2 for 19. And one of those first downs came courtesy of a roughing penalty. Indeed, it was only because of penalties like that, the running of Saquon Barkley and the defensive play of Thibodeaux, who had three sacks on the day - 8.5 on the season - that the Giants managed to get the ball across the 50 yard line at all. Barkley rushed for 128 yards, including a 34-yard run on the opening drive of the second half; and Thibodeaux stripped the ball from Wilson on the Jets opening drive of the game, giving the Giants the ball at the Jets 26 yard line.

And yet all they could muster was a lousy 10 points. That they were seconds away from pulling off an improbable win just goes to show you how snake bit this team truly is. They are nothing if consistent. 

For the third week in a row, Martindale's defense put the Giants in a position to win. They held the Buffalo Bills to 14 points; the Washington Commanders to 7; and the Jets to 13. Last season, they would've gone 3-0; this season, they went 1-2.

After the game, Daboll took responsibility for his decision to go for the field goal rather than the first down. Fans may question the call, but it was the correct one. Considering how bad the Giants were on 3rd down, converting a 4th and 1 would hardly have been a slam dunk. Besides, if your field goal kicker can't make a 35 yard field goal then what's he doing on the team? The fact is had Gano simply done his job, the Jets would've needed to go the length of the field to score the winning touchdown with less than 20 seconds left in regulation.

What a difference a year makes. The 2022 Giants were a resilient football team that found ways to win the close games. The 2023 Giants are the polar opposite; they invent new ways to lose the close games. It's hard to fathom just how fundamentally flawed they are, especially on offense. It doesn't matter who's quarterbacking them, with the exception of that second half against the Cardinals, they have been one of the worst red-zone teams in the NFL. Ironically, the only team worse than Big Blue in the red zone is the Jets, the team that beat them on Sunday.

Oh, death, where is thy sting?

So now that what little hope the Giants had of salvaging this train wreck of a season is gone, the only question that remains is how big of a selloff will they have? The first domino to fall is Leonard Williams. The underperforming defensive end was dealt to the Seattle Seahawks for a 2024 second rounder and a 2025 fifth rounder. Joe Schoen was able to get the return he got because the Giants picked up the bulk of Williams remaining contract. I would not be at all surprised if Adoree Jackson is the next one out the door. It was his pass interference penalty in OT that set up the Jets winning field goal. Both players are in the final year of their respective contracts and neither is expected to return next season. As for Barkley, I seriously doubt he gets traded. John Mara loves him, and let's be honest: without him, this team would probably be 0-8.

If there is a silver lining here, it's that the Giants, as of now, have the 4th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Not quite how the fanbase envisioned things going when the season started. But then I'm sure the passengers on the Titanic didn't envision a collision with an iceberg ruining their voyage across the Atlantic either.

Shit happens, you know.

Joe Schoen Shines

Going into the 2022 NFL Draft, Joe Schoen had something every first-year GM dreams about: two first round picks in the top 10. His selections - OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (5) and OT Evan Neal (7) - were widely lauded as being blue chip. And while many were skeptical of Schoen's later picks, both WR Wan'Dale Robinson (43) and TE Daniel Bellinger (112) not only made the club but contributed to a team that made its first postseason appearance in six years.

Could Schoen duplicate his success from last year? Based on the reviews, he appears to have hit it out of the park. CB Deonte Banks (24), C John Michael Schmitz (57), WR Jalin Hyatt (73) and RB Eric Gray (172) not only addressed needs but were valued higher than where they were taken. The New York Post's Ryan Dunleavy evaluated all 32 teams drafts and gave the Giants an A. Only the Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers had better drafts in his opinion.

He wasn't the only one who was impressed. Pro Football Focus gave the Giants an A plus; The Sporting News gave them an A; Mel Kiper, Jr of ESPN and Chad Reuter of NFL.com each gave them an A minus; while Ed Valentine of SB Nation gave them an A. 

Of course nothing is guaranteed. History is replete with examples of draft picks that never panned out. But if last year is any indication, Schoen appears to know what he's doing. If anything, he put on a clinic on how to use his draft capital. In the first round after the top two receivers he had targeted were off the board, he traded up from 25 to 24 to nab Banks. He then did the same thing in the third round, when he traded up from 89 to 73 to land Hyatt.

Compare and contrast what Schoen did with what Jets GM Joe Douglas did when the Patriots and Steelers swapped picks. The Steelers took the offensive lineman Douglas had targeted and the result was the Jets wound up reaching for a player most thought they could've gotten in the second round. Leave it to Bill Belichick to stick it to the Jets.

When you combine his draft picks with the free agent signings of Darren Waller and Bobby Okereke, Schoen has had himself one helluva offseason so far. Giants fans, who've been patient with this new regime, had their patience rewarded last season. Not since the good old days of George Young and Ernie Accorsi has this franchise been this well run.

The Biggest Winners and Losers in the 2018 NFL Draft

So now that the 2018 NFL draft is over, it's time to see who the biggest winners and losers were. Keep in mind, you can never really know how these players will pan out, so all this is conjecture on my part.

First, the winners:

The Giants. They pick up the best talented player in the draft in the first round; then they pick up the 4th best offensive lineman in the second round; then they use both their third round picks to beef up their defensive front seven. Oh, and by the way, they landed a quality quarterback in the 4th round to possibly take over for Ei in two or three years. Dave Gettleman had himself one helluva good draft.

The Broncos. How's this for a scenario: your kid was hoping for a brand new bike for Christmas, but you couldn't afford to get him one. Then, miraculously, the bike shop owner calls you up and tells you that a customer who put a deposit on one couldn't come up with the balance and if you still want it, the bike is available at a lower price. You say thank you, rush down and swoop it up. That's what the Broncos did when the Browns, for some unknown reason, decided to pass on the best defensive player in the draft, Bradley Chubb. So now the Broncos will have Chubb AND Von Miller on the same defensive line. Just imagine what's going through the mind of every quarterback in the AFC West right now. Yum, yum, eat 'em up!

The Cardinals. Assuming they can squeeze Josh Rosen's ego back into his body, Arizona did pretty well in this draft. That's because in addition to picking Captain America in the 1st round, they got one of the better receivers in the draft in Christian Kirk in the 2nd round along with running back Chase Edmonds in the 4th.

The Patriots. Eschewing the best talent on the board rule, Bill Belichick decided to address needs and address them he did. Two cornerbacks, a running back, a linebacker and a potential replacement for Tom Brady. And all, except for the QB, are expected to battle for starting jobs this season. The rich do indeed get richer.

The Steelers. They snagged what many believe will be Ben Roethlisberger's replacement in Mason Rudolph in the 3rd round, when many thought he was a low 1st rounder; then landed a replacement for Martavis Bryant in James Washington. That's called taking care of business.

The Colts. If the mission was to keep Andrew Luck upright, mission accomplished. They got Quenton Nelson - the best offensive lineman available - in the 1st round; then added guard Braden Smith in the 2nd. They then used the two 2nd round picks they got from the Jets to address defensive needs, drafting a linebacker and a lineman. That's how you work the draft, not by trading up but by trading down. Nice job.

The Packers. They had one of the worst pass defenses in the league last year, so they used their first two picks in the draft to go after cornerbacks. Clearly somebody in the front office figured out that having to win games 38 to 35 was not a good recipe for success.

The Jaguars. They bolstered what was already one of the league's best defenses by adding defensive lineman Taven Bryan and safety Ronnie Harrison. Then they addressed a need by drafting receiver D.J. Clark. Tom Coughlin is turning out to be an even better talent evaluator than he was a head coach.


The Losers:

The Browns. Picture this: you have the two of the first four picks in the first round and not only don't you end up with the best offensive player, you don't even get the best defensive one. Okay, so maybe Baker Mayfield will turn out to be the next Drew Breese; or maybe he ends up being the next Todd Blackledge. Bottom line, if you're going to pass on Barkley for a QB, you should at least wind up with the best one, Sam Darnold. But even if you give John Dorsey the benefit of the doubt with Mayfield - maybe he knows something we don't - there's simply no excuse in the known universe for passing on Chubb. Now you know why Cleveland fans have a persecution complex. Well, at least they partially redeemed themselves by nabbing the second best running back in the draft whose last name, ironically, also happens to be Chubb.

The Jets. Yeah, I know Manish Mehta of the Daily Booze thinks the Giants "blew it" when they passed on Darnold, thus allowing the USC quarterback to fall into the Jets' lap. But here's the thing, Sparky, Gang Green could've had their guy with the 6th pick without having to sacrifice both their 2nd round picks to move up. Here's how. It was obvious the Browns were going to go for a quarterback with the number one pick. And the Giants were dead set on taking Barkley at number two. No way the Colts were going to take a QB at three and the Browns were going defense with the fourth pick. That means the only team that might've gone for a QB would've been the Broncos and we know what they did. So Darnold would've been sitting pretty at number six. And even if the Browns chose Darnold number one, the Jets would've landed Mayfield with the 6th pick. Either way they would've gotten a quality quarterback and still had both their 2nd round picks on the board. Trading up was totally unnecessary and cost the Jets a chance to fill some badly needed holes.

The Seahawks. Yes, it was touching that they drafted the one-handed twin brother of Shaquill Griffin in the 5th round, but most of their other picks had people scratching their heads.