Coming off their bye week, the Giants are 4-3 and tied for second place in the NFC East with this Sunday’s opponent, Philadelphia. Bye weeks are cited as the time for teams to get healthy, make scheme adjustments and perhaps tweak their roster. In short, they’re an opportunity to say “bye” to certain things that just aren’t working.
As the Giants prepare for the second half of their season, they hopefully bid sayonara to the following things:
Bye: To an anemic running game, which is averaging 70.3 yards per game, good for last in the NFL.
Bye: To Odell Beckham Jr.’s penchant for undermining his brilliance by getting flagged for selfish behavior.
Bye: To head coach Ben McAdoo as the offensive playcaller, as the scheme has become predictable and the Giants are an unimpressive 26th in points (19.0 per game).
Bye: To Rashad Jennings as the starting running back.
Bye: To ranking last in the NFL in time of possession.
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Bye: To fumbling on the first possession of games.
Bye: To ranking 28th in the NFL in third-down conversions.
Bye: To being tied for the league’s second-worst turnover ratio (-7).
Bye: To ranking 6th in the NFL with 275 yards passing per game with only 8 touchdown passes.
Bye: To having the second fewest sacks (9) in the league.
Bye: To having the second fewest recovered fumbles (1).
Bye: In short, to a defense that hasn’t made enough plays so far.
If the Giants can effectively say “bye” to even half of those things, they will go far this season.
Now let’s say “hello” to some things related to this week’s game against the Eagles.
Hello: To a stout Eagles defense that is allowing 16.7 points per game, ranked 4th in the NFL.
Hello: To a Philly defense that has 22 sacks, good for third most in the league.
Hello: To a Giants offensive line that has only allowed 11 sacks, second fewest in the league.
Hello: To another quick throw from Eli Manning, whose penchant for dumping the ball at the first sign of trouble is part of why he has been sacked so infrequently.
Hello: To Eagles rookie quarterback Carson Wentz, who has played terrific so far this season.
Hello: To first year Eagles coach Doug Pederson, who made some questionable late-game decisions in the team’s 29-23 loss to Dallas last Monday.
Hello: To Darren Sproles, the one game-changer the Eagles have on offense.
Hello: To whoever the Eagles are rolling out at wide receiver these days.
Hello: To Eagles fans making the trip north from Philly. Please pick up after yourselves.
Hello: To a Giants victory in a must-win divisional game.
