What is a reasonable expectation for the New York Giants defense, which finished last in the league in 2015 in yards allowed, for the 2016 season?
The Giants, of course, went on a massive free-agent shopping spree on defense. They used three of their first four draft picks on defensive players. They should have better talent and more depth across the board on that side of the ball.
Our own Joe Messineo thinks the Giants might have the best defense in the NFC East. Linebacker Jonathan Casillas says “only time will tell” and that “we want to be No. 1.” Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo says “I anticipate us getting better and better.”
So, back to our question. As the Giants pick themselves up and try to climb from the bottom of the NFL defensive mountain, how high can they rise. There is no one better equipped to answer that question than former great Giants linebacker and current radio analyst Carl Banks. Appearing on a recent PapaCast with Giants radio host Bob Papa, Banks said the Giants should be “average” overall, but with a very encouraging caveat.
“I would expect that the Giants defense should climb as an overall defense, they should climb to the top 15, 16 in the league. That’s just average. I think they’ve got enough talent to get there, but I think they should be leading the league or in the top five in two categories -- that should be turnovers and it should be sacks.
“If they can do that you’re going to see an appreciable improvement from the record that they had because they’ll be able to create offensive field position and they’ll be able to create their own points.”
Everyone, of course, wants to have a top-ranked, dominating defense. If Banks’ assessment proves to be accurate, though, would that be good enough for you?