Giants v. Vikings - Week 1 Preview
Welp, I hope all you sad, strange, little doomers are happy. Your incessant moaning over a couple of preseason interceptions, (admittedly) ugly uniforms, and Joe Schoen’s (semi-scripted) line delivery on Hard Knocks has shifted the court of public opinion into thinking that the New York Football Giants are a bad football team. The nerve!
PFF has us 32? If I gave a shit about some mustached dweebs rambling about imaginary numbers, I probably would’ve done much better in Algebra 2. I understand not putting your kid’s college fund on the Super Bowl future - but the pessimism heading into this season is just plain pathetic.
For the life of me - I can’t understand why the fan base is already down in the dumps before week 1 kickoff. I get it - we’ve been waterboarded by piss-poor play for the better part of the last 3 presidential terms, but the time to reacquaint ourselves with our good friend “rock bottom” is not today. So take your Dak Prescott photo shops and 2025 Mock Drafts and push them up your tush. We’re not playing the ‘85 Bears on Sunday. We’re hosting the Sam Darnold led Minnesota Vikings.
And we’re gonna win.
Does no one remember when we patty-whacked this sad excuse of a franchise in the playoffs a year and half ago - when they had a (somewhat) legitimate quarterback? Trust me, I fully understand that Daniel Jones is (to put things kindly) limited - both in terms of arm talent and overall processing ability. But he and Isaiah Hodgins had no issues prancing up and down the field for 3 straight hours against this defense (twice). Granted, Brian Flores is an obvious upgrade over that box of rocks coordinator Minny trotted out in 2022, but trust me - he’s about as much of a “world beater” as my grandma taking on 7-2.
Much like our old pal Wink Martindale - Flores’ gimmick, “spam the corner blitz” defense was eventually solved by the more intelligent offensive coordinators. The unit surrendered 30 points per game during the final month of the season and is now without their best defensive player - Danielle Hunter.
While 1st Round Pick - Dallas Turner figures to slide right into Hunter’s vacant position, I’d be shocked if he has a major impact in his first NFL action, especially now that the Giants have finally fixed the O-Line for the 9th time this decade (I’m serious this time).
I fear that the late addition of Stephon Gilmore may partially spoil the hopes and (wet) dreams I’ve been having about the debut of Malik Nabers. However, I remain optimistic that if we’re able to run the ball and establish some blitz beating quick passing (TE screens?), the deep shots will open up in the second half of the game. What better time than now for Hyatt’s first NFL TD?
Defensively - there is understandably a lot of worry when it comes to the Giants secondary. The New York Pass Defense (NYPD) has been de-funded enough to satisfy your bluest haired cousin - and we’re going against a fully healthy Justin Jefferson. He’ll undoubtedly “get his” over the course of the afternoon. However, the game plan should focus on stopping the run and getting home with our pass rush on 3rd and long.
Lord knows Sam Darnold is prone to making mistakes in a collapsing pocket. Minnesota has a couple of really nice young tackles that may somewhat limit the debut of the Burns/Thibedoux duo. But thankfully for the G-Men, Dexter Lawrence has historically dominated the interior of the Vikings line and I fully expect that to be the case on Sunday.
I definitely do have some respect for Kevin O’Connell as both a play caller and head coach. I just have more respect for Brian Daboll in both of those areas. The cat is out of the bag - “Skinny Dabes” has taken over play calling duties with his job seemingly on the line in 2024. He knows Flores well and the Giants should have no issues putting up 30+ at home.
While I expect there to be some early communication errors in the secondary, the Darnold turnovers will come. The “Geno Smith” type revival under KOC is the most boring and lazy narrative since Cloud Atlas.
Giants 31 Vikings 21
