The Giants dropped to 26th in the league in points scored last season while their record moved in the opposite direction on the way to 11 wins and a playoff berth.
There were several culprits for the offensive shutdown, but 27 turnovers ranks right at the top of the list. On Wednesday, coach Ben McAdoo said that the team was “fortunate” to win that many games while turning the ball over that often.
Quarterback Eli Manning had a hand in 20 of those turnovers, many of which came when Manning was under pressure behind a leaky offensive line. While the blocking was subpar, McAdoo wasn’t willing to absolve Manning of his share of blame for giving the ball to the opposition.
“I think that’s an easy blame, an easy one-liner that you can throw out there and think you have all the answers,” McAdoo said, via Newsday. “I don’t necessarily agree with that. The offensive line, they need to play better, I agree with that. I think Eli needs to do a better job playing with fast feet and he needs to sit on that back foot in the pocket. He’s got to play with fast feet, he has to sit on his back foot and be ready to hitch into a throw. Things aren’t always clean in this league. You watch film throughout the league and you’re seeing a lot of dirty pockets.”
The Giants ranked 29th in rushing yards last season and improvement in that area would allow the Giants to both rely less on Manning and be less predictable about when they will be putting the ball in the air during the 2017 season. That would ideally lead to fewer turnovers and, when matched with what should be a good defense again this year, make the Giants a more formidable foe in McAdoo’s second year as the boss.
