What is it with NFC East players and talking about their team as Super Bowl contenders this week? First, it was Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. Now, it's Giants running back Rashad Jennings.
"No question," Jennings said, when asked at offseason workouts of the Giants are a potential championship contender. "We've got the skill set to do that. We showed flashes last year, but they were obviously being overshadowed by what we didn't do so well. We eliminate self-inflicted wounds, the before-the-snap [and] after-the-snap errors, this is a different team."
The Giants went 6-10 last season as the struggled under the weight of multiple injuries. Pro Bowl wideout Victor Cruz was lost for the season with a knee injury, while guard Jeff Schwartz and Jennings himself also missed time.
Jennings thinks 2015 will be different because the offense will have more experience playing in offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo's system. "You look around the locker room, we've got great players," he said. "Everybody's coming back healthy, flying around, going into Year 2 of the same system. That makes a tremendous difference. McAdoo explained it to us. Last year, we installed a system. This year, we get to run our offense.
"There's a difference. Different attitude, different command in the huddle, different understanding of what's going on. It's not about lining up in the right place now. It's about making plays. That's what we expect. We've got explosive players. Great offensive linemen, we got the capability at every single position to make sure we're in this playoff push."
Jennings is right. The New York offense should be explosive. With Eli Manning throwing to Cruz and Odell Beckham, and with Jennings, Andre Williams and Shane Vereen coming out of the backfield, the Giants have weapons galore. They should be able to pile up points.
And that's all well and good, but the reality is the Giants had a pretty decent offense (15th in DVOA) last year, struggling badly through the season mostly because of their issues on defense. They finished the 2015 season ranked 24th in DVOA, checking in as a bottom-third team against both the run and the pass. And the only notable defensive acquisitions they made in free agency were Jonathan Casillas, J.T. Thomas and George Selvie, none of whom is exactly an elite player.
Their secondary is woefully thin, particularly at safety (even if they re-sign Stevie Brown), and they could still use help along the defensive line as well. Considering they'll have to square of with Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, Terrance Williams, Cole Beasley, Pierre Garcon, DeSean Jackson, Jordan Reed, Andre Roberts, Jordan Matthews and Zach Ertz a combined six times next season, they'll have to shore up the back end of the defense in the draft if they want to become contenders. And with DeMarco Murray, Ryan Mathews, Darren Sproles, Alfred Morris and [whoever the Cowboys draft next week] on the schedule, too, any line upgrades will be equally important.
