Football Outsiders: New York Giants will go 6-10 again

Football Outsiders early projections for the 2016 NFL season [ESPN Insider only] forecast that the New York Giants will be new, but not improved. FO has the Giants going 6-10 in their first year under coach Ben McAdoo, identical to the way they finished the 12-year tenure of Tom Coughlin.

The 6-10 record is better than the previous projection, which had the Giants ending up with the second overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. FO's Aaron Schatz said he "fixed a variable that mistakenly penalized the Giants and Buccaneers for having new offensive systems. (Because the offensive coordinator became the head coach for both teams, the system stays the same.)"

Anyway, 6-10 still isn't what anyone is hoping for. Here's what Schatz said to explain the projection:

There are a lot of reasons to believe the Giants will improve on defense: overall trends suggest a rebound after two straight years of decline, and the defensive line in particular should improve with the additions of Olivier Vernon and Damon Harrison. But the offense has to overcome an inexperienced line with questionable depth and the loss of starting receiver Rueben Randle. A lot depends on whether Victor Cruz is finally healthy enough to play and what the Giants can expect out of him.

Football Outsiders has the Dallas Cowboys winning the NFC East with a 10-6 record. FO also has both the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins joining the Giants at 6-10.

As we said earlier this week, the Giants appear to have done some good things in revamping the roster. That, however, does not guarantee on-field success.

Are you more optimistic than Football Outsiders appears to be about the 2016 Giants? Or, is their projection on target?