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Perhaps no fanbase has had to endure a worse run than the New York Giants in the last decade. After seven games, 2024 is looking like another lost season. The pressure is on the team once again, and blame is being placed all around, from owner John Mara to quarterback Daniel Jones.
Naturally, a struggling team's head coach takes some blame regardless of the situation. Brian Daboll is no exception. The third-year head coach, on track for another regression in win production, has been showered with criticism.
After starting with a 9-7 year in 2022, Daboll's Giants took a step back by going 6-11 in 2023. Much of that was due to Jones going down with a torn ACL, but he was already struggling before that. With just two wins through the first seven weeks of 2024, the Giants are in danger of another decline despite boasting one of the league's best defenses.
The team's 28-3 loss to divisional rival Philadelphia Eagles in Week 7 seemed like a new low for New York. The game was filled with drama but amounted to no offensive production, a frustrating trend on the year. Despite taking over the play-calling earlier in the season, Daboll is not the one to blame.
Brian Daboll is not the issue with the Giants' offense
The 2024 campaign has not been a total loss for the Giants. New defensive coordinator Shane Bowen's defense is playing at an elite level, and Malik Nabers looks like a legitimate superstar. Tyrone Tracy Jr. has also given the team some life in the backfield. There has been a lot of good; it just has not led to wins.
Offense has been the big issue all year, stemming from Jones at the top. Before giving up 28 points to the Eagles in Week 7, New York's defense did not allow more than 21 points in a single game. Yet, despite several favorable matchups, their offense has only scored over 20 points twice. It hasn't all been on Jones, but the criticism of his subpar play is more than fair.
Brian Daboll was labeled desperate by some when he took over the play-calling from offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, but the Giants' only two wins came after that decision. An offensive guru, one of Daboll's best skills comes as a play-caller, as he did when he was named Assistant Coach of the Year in 2020 and Coach of the Year in 2022.
Many seem quick to forget that Daboll was the key to the Giants' outlier 2022 season, not Jones. Both were given credit, but Daboll's playcalling got the most out of Jones and an uninspiring receiving corps led by Darius Slayton and Isaiah Hodgins.
Two years later, that same formula just is not consistent. Running five-yard curl routes was enough to get by for one year but not three. Daboll has attempted to run his traditional offense and has most of the tools to do it. He is just missing one, which happens to be the most crucial part.
Daniel Jones' quarterback struggles limit Brian Daboll
At this point, it is a viral fact that Jones has not accounted for a touchdown at home through four games at MetLife Stadium on the year. Few winning formulas that can be built from that stat, even if he has kept his turnovers down. Touchdowns have always been a struggle for him in his six years as a professional. Jones has not thrown for more than 20 touchdowns in a single season since he notched 24 as a rookie. Even when Brian Daboll semi-revived him in 2022, he only recorded 15 scores through the air.
Jones has been protected for years by the claim that his offensive line capped his ceiling. There are no doubts that this has been true at times, but in 2024, that has not been the case. Joe Schoen put considerable effort into the position in the offseason by hiring Carmen Bricillo as the new offensive line coach and adding veterans Jon Runyan, Greg Van Roten and Jermaine Eluemunor. They are far from one of the league's best units, but they are much improved.
Regardless, Jones has still been sacked 21 times in seven games. There is still work to be done up front, but most of his sacks have resulted from holding onto the ball for far too long.
Even when he has time, Jones' arm talent simply hasn't been enough. He routinely underthrows deep balls and is a second behind with his timing on some of the same throws Tyrod Taylor and Tommy DeVito hit in his absence. When executed properly, the Brian Daboll offense has proven to be dynamic.
Expect Brian Daboll to stick around
When Schoen and Daboll first arrived in New York, they appeared to want to move on from Jones by declining his fifth-year option. All that did was lead to his massive $160 million contract the following summer. The money now makes it hard to bench Jones and even less appetizing when the alternative options are Drew Lock and DeVito. The latter had some success as a rookie but struggled late in the year once teams began to figure him out.
These are 100 percent front office mistakes and not on Daboll. Schoen has hit more often than not as the Giants general manager, but he missed on those. Even looking at the lousy year New York had in 2023, they were 1-5 in the games Jones played and 5-6 in the games he did not. The numbers don't always tell the whole story, but they might have something to them in this case.
Jones is clearly not the only issue in New York but just hasn't shown enough in six years. His receivers have struggled with drops and Jones still is effective as a runner. Not everything would be fixed with a quarterback change but Daboll deserves the opportunity to have a new face under center.
For as long as Schoen is in office — whom Daboll has a good professional relationship with — the 49-year-old has a longer leash than some may believe.
