On Thursday, prompted by Gronk’s comments, we said that the NY Giants Offense was already there and it was ready to “destroy” defenses. On Friday, we qualified our bullishness for the doomers who were worried that we were getting out over our skis with too much optimism. (The irony was not lost on us, the original 2012-2021 doomers.)
And then, Friday night, the NY Giants played the Carolina Panthers in preseason Game #2.
Daniel Jones played the first possession. He was 8 for 9. Four of those receptions went to TEs: 3 to Waller and 1 to Bellinger for the TD (TE red zone, our favorite). Note also that Jones would have been perfect if not for a Waller drop. The drive was dominant. One data point? Preseason? Qualify it all you want, but Schmitz and Neal both looked fine too. This NY Giants blogger feels that the Offense is a volcano ready to explode. It did not dampen my enthusiasm that Jalin Hyatt made one twitch and he was wide open in Pennsylvania on another drive. He slowed down a step and caught a TD back in the end zone in the state of New Jersey. Gone are the days of 2022 when opposing Defenses could sit on shorter routes and crowd the box. Oh, and that perfect Jones drive was done without Saquon Barkley in the backfield. So if you are going to give the Giants 6 man softer boxes in order to manage the passing onslaught, it will create all kinds of problems via the run as well.
My bullishness for 2023 started on June 11th. Yesterday, the Giants Bull Case was joined by Brian Baldinger. This blog loves Baldy almost as much as Baldy loves the game of football. Baldy is objective. He breaks down film. And he was an Offensive Lineman. Need I say more?!
“I know it’s preseason, so you don’t get too excited. But you should get excited.”
Brian Baldinger commenting on the Gmen/Twitter/8-19-23
.@Giants this isn’t going to be your Fathers Giants…they ain’t going to be your BigBlue Stick in the Mud Offense….no no no. Giant Fans get ready to crank this engine up. This is going to be SUNDAY FUNDAY #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/96ZQxnGTO1
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) August 19, 2023
Baldy gets it. Importantly, he knows what he is looking for. He sees what we see, and he is not afraid to get excited.
Baldy also had some nice things to say about rookies (1) John Michael Schmitz/Eric Gray, (2) Jalin Hyatt, and (3) Jordan Riley. I do not read the other NY Giants blogs, but someone passed along a comment from Big Blue View which was an important observation that I want to share here:
“Every rookie that Schoen drafted in April has been impressive this summer. Every. Single. One. Deonte Banks, John Michael Schmitz, Jalin Hyatt, Eric Gray, Hawkins, Jordon Riley, and Gervarrius Owens should all have some role with the Giants during the 2023 season.
“I have already seen the idea online that this draft class could rival the 2007 class that propelled the Giants to an unexpected Super Bowl title. I will admit that comparison has crossed my mind.”
Big Blue View 8/20/23
Ed Valentine goes on to temper the optimism, admitting it is early. Nonetheless, it is important to recognize that a consistent dearth of broad rookie contributions was a problem during the lost decade. No one, including Ed, is anointing this Draft Class as on par with the Giants 2007 Class or the Steelers 1974 Draft Class. Not yet, at least. But these are the things you look for in preseason. We can see Deonte Banks, John Michael Schmitz and Tre Hawkins starting in Week 1. We can see Hyatt in plenty of WR packages. And thus far it looks like Gray, Riley and Owens could all be solid Day 3 contributors as well. Our bullishness on 2023 is not really linked (beyond JMS) to this Draft Class, yet it can give this team more octane in its push for the playoffs. Even if only 3 or 4 end up being solid pros, it will have been a terrific class. Hitting on a Round 6 pick in Hawkins is something that has not been done since 2000 with Dhani Jones (no, I do not count 2003 David Tyree). The Giants have not hit on anything yet. But so far, so good.