Big Blue View roundtable podcast: The state of the Giants

It might not seem like it, but the 2020 season is already a quarter over. And it pretty much goes without saying that the New York Giants didn’t get off to the start to the season that they might have hoped they would have a month ago.

Of course, this was never going to be an easy path for the Giants. Even leaving aside the struggles inherent in a pandemic-disrupted year — which the other 31 franchises need to navigate as well — this was going to be a rough year for the Giants. Last year the Giants finished with a disappointing 4-12 record despite playing one of the easiest schedules in the NFL. This year the Giants faced a schedule that promised to be one of the league’s hardest while breaking in a rookie head coach a renovated coaching staff, and a reshuffled offensive line for a second-year starting quarterback.

So where do the Giants really stand after four games? Are they what their 0-4 record says they are?

Rather than dive into the tape for our usual post-game breakdown, Joe DeLeone and I wrangled Nick Falato and Ed Valentine for a roundtable to hash our our various perspectives on the state of the New York Giants.

Offense

The Giants’ offense has only scored three touchdowns in four games. What’s holding them back?

Just about everything about the Giants’ offense has been disappointing this year, and that was true before the injuries to Saquon Barkley and Sterling Shepard. Is it the scheme, the personnel, the execution, or some combination of the above that’s holding the Giants’ offense back?

Defense

Defensively the Giants played great against the Rams, should we expect more of this type of performance?

The Giants held one of the hottest offenses in the NFL to just 17 points (albeit in a losing effort). Was this a one-off performance against a team that matched up perfectly with the Giants or played down to poor competition? Or is this a performance the Giants can build upon for the next 12 games?

The future

How insane is it to bring up the Giants drafting Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence?

Tankathon currently lists the Giants as holding the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, while Football Outsiders lists the Giants with the second-best odds to have the pick, just 0.2 percent behind the New York Jets. If that comes to pass, can the Giants justify passing on a quarterback who has been the prohibitive favorite to be the first pick in his draft class since his freshman year?

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