The New York Giants are a team of trends. It’s been that way for more than a decade and has continued under multiple general managers, multiple head coaches, and through multiple rebuilds.
Some of the trends are obvious: Poor offensive line play, lack of depth at inside linebacker and, of course, injuries.
Buy Giants TicketsMany expected current general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll to buck those trends but it hasn’t happened. Instead, the Giants have managed to add another new and concerning trend.
Dating back to last season, whether it’s on offense, defense or special teams, the Giants regularly find themselves with either 10 men on the field or too many men on the field.
During their regular season opener against the Dallas Cowboys, the Giants were forced to burn two timeouts due to substitution issues. Then, in a Week 3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the issues returned.
Noted this live. It’s unbelievable how often this has happened. I had never seen a play run with 10 men on offense. This is the second time in the past two seasons, plus they called a timeout in the opener due to having 10 men at the line https://t.co/jv2oBSv0Wj
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) September 22, 2023
This is what the third time in as many games they've been short handed either on offense or defense? https://t.co/OAlRv5gS4a
— Patricia Traina (@Patricia_Traina) September 22, 2023
Not only did the Giants experience this same problem a season ago, they also dealt with it during the preseason. It was an issue that drew the ire of Daboll.
The roster may be young but this is as much a coaching problem as it is a player problem — from Daboll on down to Mike Kafka, Wink Martindale, and Thomas McGaughey. These are all experienced coaches who should have substitutions under better control.
Add it to the growing list of things the Giants must correct in Week 4 and beyond in order to save their season.
