Fansided

5 reasons the New York Giants reach playoffs in 2018

By Baasil Ebrahim

TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 01: Odell Beckham Jr. #13 of the New York Giants looks on during a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on October 1, 2017 in Tampa, Florida. The Bucs defeated the Giants 25-23. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 01: Odell Beckham Jr. #13 of the New York Giants looks on during a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on October 1, 2017 in Tampa, Florida. The Bucs defeated the Giants 25-23. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur is seen on the sidelines during the first half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions in Detroit, Michigan USA, on Friday, August 17, 2018.(Photo by Jorge Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur is seen on the sidelines during the first half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions in Detroit, Michigan USA, on Friday, August 17, 2018.(Photo by Jorge Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images) /

3. No Ben McAdoo

Ben McAdoo grounded the Giants season last year. His play calling during the beginning of the season was absolutely abysmal and ruined the Giants last year.

Instead, the Giants now have offensive guru Pat Shurmur. He showed in Minnesota that he can put together a great offense without required a superb quarterback. He is coming into a very similar situation in New York, where the talent levels at skill positions are very comparable to what he worked with last year.

Last year, per Football Outsiders, Case Keenum was the fourth best quarterback in the NFL, leading the Vikings to a 13-3 record. He was credited with 11 of those wins, while before that in his career, he had only been credited with nine total wins. Shurmur can produce similar results with Eli Manning. Manning brings even more experience and lot of knowledge of the game, so buying into Shurmur’s system will allow him to excel this year.

At the running back position, Shurmur turned rookie Dalvin Cook into a beast. In his starts, Cook averaged over 100 yards from scrimmage per game. Guess what? This year Shurmur gets another rookie running back by the name of Saquon Barkley who is even more talented than Cook. He can harness all of Barkley’s talent and turn him into a big contributor his rookie year.

The wide receivers have parallels as well. In Minnesota, Shurmur had two key receivers, Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen. The Giants offer him Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall/Sterling Shepard. Odell will command most of the attention, while allowing someone like Shepard to play the Adam Thielen role of playing in the slot and running all over the field. Last year, 55.3% of the snaps Shepard was in on he played in the slot, so he is more than capable. The Giants could have as many as three dominant receivers for Shurmur to work with.

The same can be said for the tight end position. Kyle Rudolph caught eight touchdowns for Shurmur last year. Evan Engram’s 41.2% contest catch rate will give him a chance to replicate the red zone presence that Rudolph had.

Shurmur is coming into a situation which is eerily similar to the one he previously thrived in. That will put him in position to vastly exceed McAdoo’s ugly performance as Giants head coach.

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