Walking with the Giants

Even with our fandom blinkers on, how many would have predicted the Washington Commanders would be sitting atop the NFC East through the first eight games?

And with a 6-2 record?

I would wager only a small number who could profess to such a bold claim, but a season so far of extraordinary performances from a stud rookie QB, Jayden Daniels, took another leap with a joyous moment at the Northwest Stadium last Sunday.

The game winning drive to defeat the Bears, was factually, and wonderfully, broken down on X by longtime Hogs Haven writer Ken Johannsen:

• 9 seconds to go and the ball is incomplete to Ertz

• 12 seconds to go and the ball is at their own 24-yard line

• Pass completed to Ertz for a moderate gain and the last timeout taken with 6 seconds to go

• A quick out route is completed to McLaurin for a 13-yard gain, and he steps out of bounds at the 48 with 2 seconds to go

• The Hail Jayden play is technically 52 yards, but the ball travelled 65 yards from the hand of Daniels

Hail to the Mary indeed.

However, life does not slow up in the National Football League and next up is a road trip to NFC East rivals the New York Giants.

The Giants are 2-6, but it would be foolhardy to believe that the burgundy and gold can simply turn-up and walk away with another W at the MetLife.

Back in week 2, the Commanders needed SEVEN field goals (all in good range) from PK Austin Siebert to win a close one 21-18. Both teams have been in four one-possession games: Washington have a 3-1 record and the Giants 1-3.

Narrow margins indeed.

Here at UKHTTC we welcomed back Big Blue UK & Ireland for a deep dive into the NYG season so far and predictions for the Sunday match-up. Asking the questions is UKHTTC founder, Christian Burt.

UKHTTC: The Big Blue stand at 2-6. Given the roster, at least on paper, seems stronger than that record, can you offer insight into the Giants struggles in 2024 so far?

BBUK&I: The simple answer is Daniel Jones. He’s awful at home and still can’t win in primetime, we’ve heard many fans state, ‘we’re a QB away from being a good team’ and at this point, I can’t argue with that.

Whether we draft our new QB in April or bring in a tried and tested veteran until we find the future face of the franchise, remains to be seen.

But one thing is for certain, DJ’s time in NY is coming to an end.

However looking slightly deeper, it’s not JUST on Jones, but other areas of the offense too. Our seemingly strong group of receivers are becoming far too butter-fingered and recording costly drops week in, week out. Malik Nabers has shown signs of being an elite receiver but has also been a culprit of dropping key passes.

We don’t seem to know what a Tight End is at this point, with them rarely being used in the passing game. However 4th round pick Theo Johnson is showing some signs of promise.

Our previously much maligned offensive line seemed to have found some consistency early on but with All-Pro LT Andrew Thomas done for the year with a foot injury, it’s opened our eyes to the lack of depth not just on the line, but many other key positions too.

Defensively we’ve been much better, leading the league in sacks with 35 so far. Dexter Lawrence is having a career year with 9 of those and if it wasn’t for the Giants being a losing team, he’d be in contention for Defensive Player of the Year.

However, we’ve struggled against the run and our young, inexperienced secondary has been exploited on multiple occasions. Add in the drama surrounding Deonte Banks recently and it could quickly start to fall apart.

The main positive about this D though is that they’ve kept us in multiple games so far but unfortunately the inept offense can’t capitalise and now we find ourselves on the brink of it being yet another losing season.

What would be the single biggest reason for a Giants resurgence?

It has to be offensive production.

Through the first 8 weeks, we rank 31st in the league in points per game average with 14.8 and whichever way you look at it, it’s simply not good enough. If this were to improve to even a slightly below average number, the chances of winning a game would increase ten-fold.

Our DEF is holding teams to under 22 points per game, with us not giving up more than 28 in a single game so far, so if the offense was to improve production and actually start scoring some points, we might gain a few notches in the W column.

How has the free agency and rookie class performed in 2024?

Let’s start with Free Agents.

As previously mentioned, the new additions to our O-Line provided that much needed stability that’s been severely lacking over the last few years.

Tackle Jermaine Eluemunor and Guards Jon Runyon and Greg Van Roten have all proven to be good additions so far, with Eluemunor starting to excel at RT.

Devin Singletary was brought in as replacement for Saquon and although expectations weren’t particularly high, he’s probably fallen short of where we wanted him to be. However, almost a month on the sideline opened the door for a rookie to establish himself as RB1, so Motor now finds himself as backup.

The final big addition, in the huge trade with Carolina is Brian Burns.

He got off to a fairly quiet, uneventful start while he was finding his feet in DC Shane Bowen’s scheme. But over the past few weeks, we’ve really started to see the fearsome pass rusher that we paid big money to bring in.

Our 2023 rookie class has the potential to be our best draft in years, certainly in GM Joe Schoen’s tenure so far. In order of selection.

6th overall pick Malik Nabers has the potential to be an elite receiver in the league.

Safety Tyler Nubin although not flashy, has been solid so far and is being touted as a future leader on the Defense due to his maturity and ability to read the game.

CB Andru ‘Dru’ Phillips again has gone about his role fairly off the radar but has absolutely made an impact on the secondary.

TE Theo Johnson has a lot of potential and has shown glimpses of what he’s capable of. But the lack of an effective passing game has seen him struggle to make a real impact.

RB Tyrone Tracy is the surprise of the draft class. He’s established himself as a tough, gritty rusher and has taken over as lead back in the last few weeks. Just proves you don’t need to pay an RB big money for him to produce.

Lastly LB Darius Muasau might have been selected as a developmental piece in the 6th round, but one thing that’s stood out is his effort. He also holds the distinction of being the owner of our only interception so far on the season.

What might be an area whereby the Giants can cause problems for the Commanders on Sunday?

The defensive front will cause problems for Jayden Daniels and the offensive line all game long. That’s a given.

But fresh off a 145-yard performance against one of the best run defenses in the league, Tyrone Tracy could have another big game this weekend.

He’s agile, he’s tough and he knows how to keep his legs churning. He’s also a dual threat through the air having converted from WR in his last year at college so look for him to be used in screens and running routes out of the backfield.

And where do you feel Washington might have success vs New York?

The downside to our Defense this year is that we can’t seem to stop the run. We’re in the bottom 6 in the league in rushing yards allowed per game, giving up over 140 yards per game on average.

In the reverse fixture in week 2, we gave up a shocking 215 yards on the ground, with Brian Robinson Jr having a day.

We also seem to struggle with scrambling QB’s and Jayden Daniels is definitely that, so I see us struggling to stop the Commanders strong rushing offense.

Any under the radar Giants player(s) who do not get the plaudits they deserve?

It’s not a sexy position by any stretch of the imagination, but 2nd year Centre John-Michael Schmitz has picked up where he left off from his rookie year. It’s a wholly underrated position, with them essentially being the leader on the OL and he seems to be mature beyond his years.

He deserves a lot of credit as he came into his rookie season onto a line that was all over the place and he’s brought some much needed consistency to the middle of the unit.

Score prediction for Sunday

I don’t see our offense making any significant improvements, but our Defense keeps the score low.

Commanders 19-9 Giants

Season final predictions for both teams

Commanders - if the Giants can’t end the Eagles hold on the division, then I hope it’s Washington that do. 12-5 and a playoff berth.

Giants - our offensive struggles continue, though we win in Germany next week! 5-12.