Summer is the time for optimism in the NFL. Teams have gone through free agency and the draft, acquiring the talent they hope will take them to the next level, or help them remain competitive if they’re already on top.
For some teams, training camp and preseason saw those hopes dashed and expectations come crashing back to Earth.
For fans of the New York Giants, however, the optimism that’s permeated the franchise since the spring has remained unabated. In fact, the optimism seems to have grown over the past month, and now a full 85% of the Big Blue View community say that they’re at least “cautiously optimistic”.
The Giants have given their fans plenty of reasons to get excited this summer. The additions of Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston seems to have energized the Giants’ offense, as well as spurred on the development of their younger players. Rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, meanwhile, has exceeded expectations — at least among the media — and there are already calls for him to start sooner rather than later.
On the other side of the ball, the additions of Paulson Adebo, Jevon Holland, and Abdul Carter, as well as the return of Dexter Lawrence, have sparked talk of the Giants fielding a Top 10, or even a Top 5, defense.
The early returns in the preseason were promising as well, with the Giants scoring 100 points (on offense) in three games and becoming just the eighth team since 2009 to outscore opponents by at least 60 points.
With all that in mind, it makes perfect sense that fans are optimistic, but it also makes sense that most fans are a bit tentative in their optimism. After all, the team has only won 9 games in the last two years and they face a potentially tough schedule that features a bevy of playoff teams.
The Giants’ line has remained fairly steady with an over/under of 5.5 games since their opponents were known at the end of last year. Even so, 70% of Giants fans took the “over” back in April.
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Four months later, that number has gone up considerably.
Now a full 87% of Giants fans think the team will win at least 6 games. Granted, only 14 percent of fans think the team will have a winning season (9 or more games), but even a six to eight wins would represent a significant step forward for the team.
There’s been speculation as to how many games the team would need to win in order for Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen to keep their jobs. It’s possible that John Mara has divorced the idea of improvement and success from a winning season. Given that 10 of the Giants’ 17 games are against playoff teams — not counting teams that could return to the playoffs like the San Francisco 49ers or New England Patriots — having an 8-win season would mean beating at least one playoff team.
Finally, voters across SB Nation rank Abdul Carter as the heavy favorite to win Defensive Rookie Of The Year.
It’s fair to note that this year’s draft featured some excellent defenders with an incredibly deep pool of defensive tackles and edge defenders. If Carter wins DROY, he will be standing out from a very strong class. Of course, his potential is a big driver of the optimism around the fanbase.
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