The ’16-’17 New York Giants’ season and Super Bowl aspirations ended on wildcard weekend at the hands of Aaron Rodgers, aka AR-12 and the Green Bay Packers. First and foremost, I’m a Giants fan and I predicted that we would go 10-6 before the season even started. That prediction was a result of understanding just how close to 10-6 the previous year’s 6-10 team was, had it not been for a few late game blunders in some winnable games. Our free agent acquisitions on the defensive side of the ball fueled my confidence along with the offensive weapons we possessed.
Not only did we win more than I predicted, we surprised plenty of doubters who saw as bottom feeders in the NFC East for another season. In doing that, we fooled a lot of people into thinking we were a playoff team. I know what you’re saying, “you guys made the PLAYOFFS, what do you mean?”; I’ll elaborate. Winning enough games to qualify for postseason play doesn’t equate to actually being ready to make a deep run.
Being a “playoff team” means more than just being there. Being a “playoff team” is being solid on both sides of the ball instead of relying on a bail out by one facet of the team. Getting hot at the right time and having momentum plays a huge part in making that playoff run as well. (Ex: Eli’s ’07-’08 & ’11-’12 seasons). We never really hit a stride that reminded me of the previous title runs.
Unlike last year, minus 1 or 2 losses this season, we won the games we were “supposed to win” instead of shooting ourselves in the foot. That changed the perception from “same old New York Giants” to “the Giants have figured it out”, when in reality we still have work to do before we’re serious threats again.
Our offense looked scarier on paper than it actually was on the field all year. Fan or otherwise, you just had this feeling that an offense featuring this many weapons was not only equipped for a breakout performance but due for one. That breakout never came. Sure, there were games where our stars showed up and shined bright, but they never reached a level collectively to strike the necessary fear in opponents.
All things considered, I’m proud of the New York Giants and we have a great foundation to build on from here. Very young team with a lot of great pieces and an 11-5 season under their belt. Looking forward, the mistakes we made this season will only serve as lessons and make us better when it’s time to suit up again.
I’ll be back soon like I left my car keys, owwwww. (Max B voice)
