The New York Giants may have put up another disappointing season in 2014, going 6-10 and finishing in third place in the NFC East.
It wasn’t for a lack of success on offense, especially through the air. Super Bowl-winning quarterback Eli Manning put up a career-high 63.1 completion percentage in his first season under offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo. He also tallied 4,410 passing yards with 30 touchdowns compared to 14 interceptions for a solid 92.1 rating. Overall, the Giants finished 13th in scoring offense compared to 28th the season prior.
Now with a full season under his belt in McAdoo’s offense and looking forward to offseason activities, it appears Manning is confident the Giants will take the next step.
It (the offense) was new last year and it wasn’t something I have been doing for 10 years, so you want to keep it fresh and go through your reminders and all your checks.” Manning said, via the Giants official website. “So when we come back I haven’t taken a step backwards and have to re-learn things. It is still all there. There will be new stuff and we will be taking it to another level.”
When a quarterback has been existing under the same scheme for as long as Manning was with former offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride at the helm, it’s not an easy transition to start with a clean slate.
We saw Manning progress a great deal in this new offense as the 2014 season drew to a conclusion. Following a five-interception performance against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 11, Manning put up 12 touchdowns compared to three interceptions in the team’s final six regular season games.
While the Giants were without Victor Cruz for the final 10 games last season, rookie Odell Beckham Jr. found a way to light up the stat column. The first-round pick put up 91 receptions for 1,305 yards and 12 scores as a rookie. All those numbers are among the best for a rookie receiver in recent league history. If Cruz is able to come back at full health (a big if), the Giants receiver group will be among the best in the NFL next year.
Manning also checked in on that aspect of the team’s offense.
Victor and Odell can do a lot of the same things. The more guys you can have that are great athletes, the more you want to try to get the ball in their hands. You can change up formations, you can move them inside or outside. Victor can play outside, he can play in the slot. Odell can do both of those things, so I think that is an advantage to us.”
Considering Rueben Randle had a stellar 2014 campaign (71 receptions for 938 yards), there’s a strong chance the Giants passing game will take that next step this upcoming season. This is only magnified by the addition of a talented pass-catching running back in the form of Shane Vereen in free agency last month.
Whether this translates to overall team success is a completely different story. The Giants may have added some solid pieces on defense, but this is a unit that ranked in the bottom third of the NFL last season. General manager Jerry Reese and company will have to address that side of the ball in the upcoming draft if the team is going to contend for a playoff spot next year.
Photo: USA Today Sports