Well, that happened. Another football season The Big Apple has come and gone with a whimper. What was supposed to be “THE SEASON” ended up being like every other season. All the preseason optimism was gone in the blink of an eye. We probably should have seen it coming, it was naive of us to have hope, but what else is a fan supposed to do. With the campaign finished, it’s time to run an autopsy on the Jets and Giants. We’ll conclude with an early look ahead to their offseason plans, but I warn you now, this isn’t going to be pretty. We’re not going sugarcoat things, nor will we pretend things are okay because these disasters ended on a winning note. We’ll start with Big Blue.

Giants

The Giants got off on the wrong foot this season, and never really got it together. Many of the issues that emerged in their blowout loss to the Cowboys to open the season plagued them all year long. The offensive line was completely ineffective, the quarterback didn’t protect the ball, and the defense was sloppy. Before I take each of these in pieces, I want stress that I still believe in Daboll as head coach. This season was full of adversity, and I think he became a better coach for it, we’ll see if there any staff changes besides the two we already know about, but the brain trust of the Giants should remain intact.

To win in this league, you have to win up front, so let’s start there. The Giants offensive line was at least expected to improve in 2023. Losing tackle Andrew Thomas and center John Michael Schmitz to injuries at different points certainly affected the group, but it can’t all be about injuries. Veteran addition Marc Glowinski struggled mightily at times, while second year man Evan Neal had a bad year on and off the field. The depth did what it could, but overall, this unit was the beginning of the end for this team. Daniel Jones stood no chance behind them, and Saquon Barkley was largely ineffective early year with no holes to run through. This group will need to make big strides next season if the Giants want to improve.

Of course, as with any team, we need to take time to breakdown the QB play. The Giants had the misfortune of having to play three quarterbacks this season due to injuries, something that is tough for most teams to overcome. Daniel Jones started the season and while his struggles are not solely on him, let’s not pretend he was playing well. Number eight made some ghastly decisions with the ball in almost every game. Ugly interceptions, bad pre-snap reads and his typical fumbles plagued his game until an injury ended his year.

Jones gave way to Tyrod Taylor, who ran the offense the best of the three quarterbacks used this season. The veteran moved the offense with relative ease at times and was under center for several of the team’s best efforts this year. Taylor’s mobility allowed him to cover up some of the o-lines struggles while he developed chemistry with his targets. Taylor traded starts with local boy Tommy DeVito who had some nice moments of his own.

The backups acquitted themselves well, but it remains abundantly clear that the Giants do not have their franchise quarterback on the roster. I could see Taylor being back next season as the backup, and Jones will likely return as well. But I do expect there to be a rookie, likely from a top pick, on this team next year for the staff to develop. While the Giants have plenty of areas to address, passing on a QB this time out could prove disastrous. Jones is entering his last year of guaranteed money (the second of four on his current contract), and in my opinion the Giants should use him as a place holder while they groom their rookie, and then release him at a lower cap penalty next year.

The Giants defense helped carry last year’s squad to success, something that was always going to be difficult to replicate. Unfortunately Wink Martindale’s unit struggled as uneven and sloppy efforts were consistent feature throughout the year. Tackling was a glaring weakness, especially early in the year. They eventually traded Leonard Williams to Seattle but there were some bright spots on this side of the ball amidst the disappointment.

Rookie corner Deonte Banks had some good moments in 15 games this season. Number 25 had two interceptions on the year, a skill he can hopefully hone next season to become more of a ballhawk. The star of this unit though was Kayvon Thibodeaux who had a strong second year in the league. Number five posted 11.5 sacks and three forced fumbles, impressive numbers for a player who still has room to grow. While it’s still a bit early in his career, it feels like Big Blue has their next big time pass rusher.

The defense will be under new leadership next season as Wink Martindale resigned Monday. This is a surprising staff change, one that lends credence to rumors that he and Daboll didn’t get along. Regardless of that, Daboll will now have to fill this spot with a top end coordinator, entering a critical year three for him. This will be a coveted job as we move through the offseason.

GM Joe Schoen has a number of key decisions to make this offseason, one’s we’ll be covering in great detail. This team needs to get better in the trenches, especially on offense, and he has already set about addressing that by firing o-line coach Bobby Johnson. He’ll also have to make some tough decisions on pending free agents, including Saquon Barkley, who in my opinion they should let go. Schoen needs to load this roster up with quality talent in all phases, while still drafting a quarterback in the first round, setting the Giants up for short- and long-term success.

The only bad news is for him is that the late season turnaround will prove costly in terms of draft position. It could have been worse, but ultimately the Giants landed at sixth overall. They’re still within reach of one of the top quarterbacks in the class but may need to trade up to get the one they want. Arizona could be a good trade partner to swap with, as they sit at fourth overall and will likely stick with Kyler Murray as their starter. There will be a lot of moving parts, creating an awful lot to cover and we’ll keep you up to date in the offseason edition of this piece.

The Last Song

In every recap we used a song by the musician who gave this blog its namesake. In searching for a Springsteen song that accurately captured the somber nature of the disappointment that this season was, I settled on Atlantic City off of Nebraska. As the Boss says, “Well now, everything dies, baby, that’s a fact Maybe everything that dies someday comes back.” Feels like a good way to look at this past season and what lies ahead for the Giants in 2024. Follow me on Twitter @YNWA9623 and subscribe to the blog by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner of your screen and entering your email address. Stay tuned for the Jets Autopsy soon!