Giants Potential Achilles’ Heels

In Greek mythology, Achilles was a brave and excellent warrior for the Agamemnon army in the Trojan war. As a child, his mother Thetis dipped him in the River Styx of the underworld, making him nearly invulnerable. His only weak point was the heel by which his mother held him that stayed above the water, and so the metaphorical “Achilles’ Heel” was born. The New York Giants are by no means one weakness away from being invulnerable. There are a number of factors that could wind up as their fatal flaw, or Achilles’ Heel, in 2021. That’s not to say that Big Blue is doomed to fail this season. The Giants have their most talented roster in years, and are poised to compete for the playoffs.

But fans still need to be wary of the pitfalls that could sink this promising Giants season. So, in order to project how this Big Blue train could get derailed, let’s rank New York’s top five potential Achilles’ Heels in 2021, from least to most likely.

5. Injuries

The specter of injury trouble is always just around the corner for every NFL team. But the Giants will be relying on an inordinate number of players in critical postions with concerning injury histories. Big Blue’s would-be wounded start with their prize free-agent acquisitions. Receiver Kenny Golladay, who New York is hoping will catalyze a third-year leap from quarterback Daniel Jones, missed 11 games with a hip injury last season. Cornerback Adoree’ Jackson missed a total of 13 games with a knee injury last season. Tight end Kyle Rudolph had a foot injury, which required surgery, discovered by the Giants’ medical staff prior to his signing.

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Plus, star running back Saquon Barkley is coming off a season-ending torn ACL and Jones has missed two games with injury in each of his first two seasons. New York has a clutch of core players for whom good health is far from a sure thing.

4. Pass Rush

On the face of it, the Giants pass rush doesn’t appear to be an area of great concern. Their 40 total sacks last season tied them with the Indianapolis Colts for a respectable 12th in the NFL. But over a quarter of those sacks came from Leonard Williams, an interior defensive lineman who averages under 6 sacks a year. If Williams’ production regresses, there’s no other reliable pass rusher on this roster.

There’s hope that second-round rookie outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari can hit the ground running. Beyond him, the combination of Lorenzo Carter, Oshane Ximines, and Ifeadi Odenigbo are uninspiring at best. Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence can be expected to increase his sack production with more snaps, but no 340-pounder can be expected to spearhead a pass rush. If Big Blue can’t consistently get to the quarterback, their secondary will carry undue pressure to cover deep into plays.

3. Daniel Jones

Even the most devout Jones believer ackowledges this is a make-or-break season for the third-year quarterback. Admitting that means admitting Jones has yet to prove he’s a franchise signal caller, and that he may never do so. The aspect of his game that unconditionally must improve is ball security. The Duke product has turned the ball over 45 times (22 interceptions and 23 lost fumbles) as a pro, for a whopping 1.73 turnovers per game. No matter how much the rest of this Giants roster has gotten better, Jones can single-handedly sink their season by continuing to give away possessions. Not even the mid-90’s Dallas Cowboys would be able to overcome such a high turnover rate.

The rest of Jones’ game has been at worst tolerable. He throws the ball accurately when in a clean pocket and his running ability has developed into a real asset. But if he can’t take care of the ball, the Giants won’t see the postseason.

2. Jason Garrett

In 2019, under the guidance of offensive playcalling head coach Pat Shurmur, the Giants finished a firmly middle-of-the-pack 19th in total offense. In 2020, after Shurmur’s firing, the Giants finished a putrid 31st in total offense under new offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. The sharp decline in offensive efficiency can’t be pinned entirely on Garrett. Barkley missed almost the entire season and COVID-19 eliminated any and all offseason practice sessions. Still, watching Garrett’s offense last year was the football equivalent of watching grass grow. Aggression, creativity, and explosiveness were all components sorely missing from Big Blue’s offensive gameplan last season. A lack of talent can only excuse so much as their lineup remained largely the same as the year prior.

Giants management and fans are hoping the additions of Golladay and Rudolph will allow Garrett to run the more downfield, Air Coryell-inspired offense he’s known for. If he doesn’t open up the playbook and allow this offense to flourish, it will be another dull, low-scoring year for Big Blue.

1. Offensive Line

If there’s one position group Giants fans have their collective hands clenched about, it’s the offensive line. Pro Football Focus ranked the unit as the second-worst in the league last season, and all the Giants did to improve it was let Kevin Zeitler, their best and most reliable lineman, walk in free agency. New York will be counting on five young, inexperienced, and unproven players to comprise their o-line in 2021. All of them struggled to some extent last year. The tackles, second-year players Andrew Thomas and Matt Peart, will need to take major strides to effectively bookend the line. Will Hernandez and Shane Lemieux will man the guard spots, but neither played well last season and Lemieux was especially bad in pass protection. Former undrafted free agent Nick Gates will start at center after debuting at the position last year to mixed results.

The Giants believe this is a young, talented bunch that will grow together and rise above expectations. After all, there has been some substantial draft capital invested here (Thomas is a first-rounder and Hernandez is a high second-rounder). Any major hiccup in their development, though, will leave Jones running for his life and this offense short-circuiting before it has a chance to shine.

– Ryan Cuneo is the Managing Editor of Full Press Giants. He covers the New York Giants. Like and follow on Follow @ryan_cuneo Follow @FullPressGiants and Facebook.

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