By Andrew Rosario
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
Not much was expected from the the New York Giants last year. Knowing that their 2 time Super Bowl quarterback Eli Manning was coming to the end of his career, General Manager Dave Gettleman went out and drafted quarterback Daniel Jones with the 6th pick. It had fans shaking their heads knowing the team needed help on the offensive line. They also had the 17th pick and used it to snag defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence from Clemson who turned out to be a solid run stopper. Manning would lose the first two games and head coach Pat Shurmur wasted no time benching Manning. It looked like the right thing to do as Jones got the team to .500 winning the next two games. Big Blue would lose the next 9 games in a row finishing the season 4-12. Shurmur gets the ax and Gettleman hires New England Patriots Joe Judge who spent the last 8 years under Bill Belichick.
Jones showed flashes in his rookie year when he wasn’t coughing up the ball. Part of it was him trying to make things happen. Part of it was a swiss cheese offensive line that had him scrambling for his life when he dropped back to pass. With second year running back Saquon Barkley dealing with a high ankle sprain for most of the year (he missed 4 games) the offense sputtered. Gettleman did not want relive last year’s draft backlash knowing that another 4-12 year could cost him his job. He used the number 4 pick on offensive tackle Andrew Thomas from Georgia. Thomas was ranked the 4th best OT coming out of the draft so maybe Gettleman saw something in him other scouts didn’t. Four of the next five picks were also on the defensive side of the ball. The team was ranked 30th out of 32 teams last year. Guard Shane Lemieux was picked in the fifth round hoping to bring depth to the offensive line.
Meanwhile, the Jets under first year head coach Adam Gase, had their sights on making the playoffs. Second year quarterback Sam Darnold had a new offensive weapon in running back Le’ Veon Bell. After blowing a 16 point lead in the home opener against Buffalo, Darnold comes down with a case of Mononucleosis. He would miss the next three games (all losses) and the team never seemed to get on the right track. Gang Green played well at home (5-3) and finished with a respectable 7-9 record overall. Like the Giants, the Jets bolstered their offensive line selecting a monster in Mekhi Becton from Louisville. At 6’7”, 364 lbs, Becton ran the 40 yard dash in 5.11 seconds. They added a safety (Ashtyn Davis-California) and defensive end (Jabari Zuniga-Florida) with their third round picks. To give Darnold more weapons, they selected wide receiver Denzel Mims (Baylor) and running back Lamical Perine (Florida).
The Jets won 6 of their last 8 games and with Tom Brady taking his talent to Tampa Bay, the Patriots are ripe for the taking after having won the division the last 11 straight years. It won’t be easy as they will face 7 teams that made the playoffs last year. Both Buffalo and Miami have improved and you can never count out Belichick and New England.
For the Giants, aside from their division opponents (Dallas, Philadelphia and Washington) they will face the 49ers, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Seattle. No cake walk. Gettleman is hoping his draft picks leads to more wins in 2020. Another 4 and 12 season will have him looking for another job.
