The “Identity” of the New York Giants
Image Credit: Giants.com
Following the release of the third episode of “Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants”, former NFL general manager, Michael Lombardi, gave his own thoughts about the Giants’ front office. This came as he was brought on the “Pat McAfee Show”, to give “insider information” about how general managers go about their everyday business. Lombardi made it very clear that, in his own opinion, New York’s front office is doing a pretty substandard job in terms of evaluating players. Here is the full quote from last week’s show:
“What I find missing in terms of when I watch this show is there’s no identity for the Giants. There is no systematic, ‘This is who we are,’ and that started in 1979 when the great George Young came in and said, basically, ‘We are going to create a system of scouting that is going to put a team on the field that has great size and speed. I watch this show and I see a team that is basically every player is evaluating individually, so they’re adding talent, not building a team. That’s my one concern.”
This quote came after Lombardi discussed how Giants GM, Joe Schoen, did an awful job with deciding what to do with Saquon Barkley. So, is what he said really true? Do the Giants have no identity at the moment? After all, Lombardi does have experience as a GM for the Cleveland Browns, so there has to be some substance to what he is talking about.
To put it short, two things can be true in this instance. The biggest part of the team’s identity, if not all of it, left the building when Saquon Barkley decided to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles; a division rival. Even people inside of New York’s front office knew that as president, CEO, and co-owner of the team, John Mara, said the following to Joe Schoen during episode three of “Hard Knocks”:
“I’ll have a tough time sleeping is Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I’ll tell you that. As I’ve told you, I’ve been around enough players, but he’s the most popular play we have, by far.”
Barkley has been the number one selling Giants jersey every year since he was drafted in 2018 according to Fanatics and Nike. He was the most followed New York Giant on social media. All things considered, he was the face of the franchise for the past six years. Without him on the team, that hurts jersey sales, brand exposure, and most of all ticket sales. So of course the president and CEO of the team is going to be a little wary of the team’s most popular player just walking out of the facility; it’s his job to ensure that New York fields a product that is worth watching.
Regardless of how popular Barkley was on the Giants, there is a second truth to all of this; there is still an identity on the New York Giants. This time it’s not just one person, but a unit.
The Giants’ defensive line is regarded as one of the best in the NFL, and it’s not by accident. Dexter Lawrence is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best nose tackle in the league. He is a “human wrecking ball” and an absolute game changer on defense. He has been the best player on the Giants for the past two seasons, and he is bound to be their best player this year as well. Lawrence is current the face of the New York Giants, and it’s a pretty clear-cut decision now that Barkley left the team. This doesn’t sound good to a lot of fans because a defensive tackle is not normally the “face of a franchise”, as it’s normally a different position, but Lawrence is dominant on the interior.
It’s not just Lawrence that makes up the “identity” of the Giants, as two other players are in the mix as well. Brian Burns was recently just traded to New York this past offseason, and was given a five-year, $141,000 contract right off the bat. This is a guy who was arguably the best player on the Carolina Panthers for the past few years, and now he gets to play next to one of the best defensive linemen in all of football. While those two together sound crazy to most of the NFL community, it’s even crazier that a third guy plays a crucial role on this defensive line. Kayvon Thibodeaux is a budding superstar who has shown flashes of brilliance throughout his first two seasons on the Giants. There are a lot of expectations placed on him, as he was selected with the fifth pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, but he already surpassed the double-digit sack total in just his second year.
Image Credit: Giants.com
Despite having 11.5 sacks in his sophomore season, Thibodeaux has still been on the receiving end of a lot of criticism. Whether it’s inconsistent play, or his advanced statistics not being up to par, he is always the victim of skepticism due to how high he was drafted. If last year’s play was considered to be “not good enough”, then the NFL world could be looking at a 15 sack guy in the near future; if he can find that second gear. The sky is the limit for Thibodeaux, and with Burns now lined up on the other side of the line, it’s going to alleviate a lot of pressure off of him.
This is the Giants’ identity; their pass rush. The trio of Lawrence, Burns, and Thibodeaux is one that is going to be around for a long time. Lawrence and Burns have already received mega-contracts from the Giants, and Thibodeaux will most likely be the recipient of one within the next two to three years.
In fact, defense has always been the identity for the New York Giants; whether it’s the pass rush, or the front seven as a whole. Back in the 80s and early 90s, New York won their championships with linebackers such as Lawrence Taylor, Harry Carson, and Carl Banks, who have all received a Ring of Honor with the Giants. In 2007, Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck, and Osi Umenyiora, dominated Tom Brady in the Super Bowl. A couple of years down the road and edge rusher, Jason Pierre-Paul, helped Justin Tucked win another ring for the Giants. Is it safe to say that New York has always focused their efforts on the defensive side of the ball, when it comes to winning championships?
This isn’t to say that the Giants are going to be contending for a Super Bowl this season, but the foundation is there. Joe Schoen is doing the exact same thing that previous Giants GMs have done, and that is to build around the trenches. The defensive line is all set to go, and with the money that Schoen could’ve used to sign Barkley back with, he invested that in rebuilding the offensive line; the same one that allowed 85 sacks last season.
So did the Giants lose most of their identity with the loss of Barkley? 100 percent yes. Did they manage to find a new one? Once again, yes. To say that this team “has no identity” and the Joe Schoen “doesn’t have a plan” is false. Schoen’s plan is the same one that won the Giants four Super Bowls.
Image Credit: Giants.com