3 Super Bowl LV Takeaways for the New York Giants
With the final piece of confetti having been swept off the Raymond James Stadium field following the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 31-9 thrashing of the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, it's on to 2021.
But before we turn the page on the Super Bowl, let’s take one look back at some roster-building lessons that the Giants might be able to pull from the game played on the sport’s biggest stage.
Offensive Line is Key. We talk all the time about how the battle starts upfront in the pit, but if you needed further proof of this, look no further than the Super Bowl. The Chiefs were down both of their starting offensive tackles and were without their starting right guard for most of the season, so they had to turn to their depth.
Unfortunately, there is always a reason why a starter is a starter and a backup. But when Giants general manager Dave Gettleman begins ramping up the roster-building process, Cameron Fleming, whom the team signed to be a swing tackle only to have him have to take up a starting role, will be an unrestricted free agent.
If Fleming departs, that will leave promising youngster Matt Peart and not much else at the all-important offensive tackle position. And that would be a huge problem if the Giants don’t prioritize that spot in free agency.
And while on the topic of the offensive line, whoever Giants head coach Joe Judge hires to be the unit’s coach is a big, big looming decision. Having talent is one thing, but having a coach who can optimize that talent and maybe even take it beyond its capabilities can make all the difference in the world.
And this has never been truer than for the Giants, who still have an otherwise young offensive line that has only begun to scratch the surface of its collective potential.
Get Playmakers on Offense. This is something that everyone seems to write or state as an opinion when it comes to Giants general manager Dave Gettleman’s to-do list, but let’s explain why by going beyond what the statistics tell us.
Namely, scheme. For all those who complained about the lack of creativity offensive coordinator Jason Garrett showed last year, ask yourself how much of that had to do with what the coaching staff determined to be the talent's strengths.
Specifically, did the Giants have anyone other than maybe receiver Darius Slayton to stretch defenses down the field? Did the injuries and/or decline in the play of the receivers warrant a lot of shorter stick routes? How much of those shorter routes resulted from the offensive line plus the receivers' speed not allowing for the development of longer routes?
These are all valid questions, and for an answer on how vital it is for the Giants to pick up some playmaker, look no further than what the Bucs and Tom Brady were able to accomplish. Brady had speed with which to work, and that speed not only opened things up down the field, but it also opened up quite a bit underneath for the Super Bowl MVP to exploit.
You barely saw Chiefs defenders sitting on routes because they had to honor the deep ball. And all that speed at receiver stressed out an otherwise solid group of Chiefs defensive backs, leading to the Bucs being able to gain multiple chunk plays of yardage.
Last year, the Giants receivers floundered against man to man coverage, leaving quarterback Daniel Jones with tighter windows to fit the ball into. That’s why when Gettleman starts looking at candidates to bring in, getting guys who are big, fast, and physical should be high atop his list.
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The Pass Rush. Very few people will disagree that bolstering the Giants pass rush isn’t a top need. But there are two parts to this.
The first is upfront. The Bucs defense managed to get a steady stream of pressure on Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Even if the pressure didn’t result in a sack, look at how many times they chased Mahomes backward, forcing him to have to use his arm to make up for the yards he retreated, let alone the yards he originally needed.
The Giants right now only have two veteran pass rushers under contract. Both—Oshane Ximines and Lorenzo Carter—are not only young, but they’re also coming off season-ending injuries.
The Giants are believed to be planning to retain Leonard Williams, a pass-rushing defensive lineman, but they lack an established outside pass rusher and have since they traded Jason Pierre-Paul away.
Unfortunately, pass rushers don’t grow on trees, so they might have to go with someone who has the tools but requires development. This isn’t an impossible task—Pierre-Paul was one such player who, when he came to the Giants, was as raw and unrefined technique-wise as they came.
Through coaching and his own hard work, Pierre-Paul developed into a pass-rush force who warrants double teams.
And in that vein, it’s also worth noting that the Giants currently have an opening at their outside linebacker coaching spot after Bret Bielema left the club in November to accept the head coaching job at Illinois. So much like the offensive line coaching job, Judge’s next hire for outside linebackers coach is significant.
The other aspect of the pass rush is the defensive secondary. If your cornerbacks aren’t holding their coverage long enough to force the quarterback to hold onto the ball (and hence give your defensive line time to rush the passer), then you might as well pack it in.
The Giants have a solid cover corner in James Bradberry, but the other cornerback spot is a big question mark. Is Julian Love the answer? Maybe. But can the Giants upgrade that spot? Probably. The question, like everything else, is how do they approach it?
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