A year ago, life wasn’t as quiet at the Giants’ complex.
Speculation was building whether Odell Beckham Jr. was going to show up for training camp or be offered a new contract by the team. There were plenty of possible scenarios to see how this drama would play itself out.
A new head coach, a new GM, an old quarterback, and a potential superstar rookie running back all added to the backdrop.
Flip forward to the 2019 season all is quiet on the Meadowlands front. The turbulence from a 5-11 season has flattened itself into an early sense of mediocrity.
Unlike the Jets, the Giants will open training camp in a little less than a month without any controversy or expectation.
The swirling controversy surrounding top draft pick quarterback Daniel Jones has settled into the swamps.
It will be about Saquon Barkley and his progression behind an anticipated better offensive line.
It will be about whether Eli Manning can still capture the magic without Beckham and instead steadily further cement his relationship with receivers Golden Tate, Sterling Shepard, and Evan Engram.
It will be about how coordinator James Bettcher’s defense can respond and save games from defeat.
Yet, by Week Eight, this may all change.
If the offensive line doesn’t jell, Barkley could be hobbling around again and miss some time.
Jones could replace Manning — in the last year of his contract — and a new era will be underway. Or GM Dave Gettleman quickly will discover that he made a huge mistake and Manning pushes 40 in the 2020 season.
Bettcher’s defense could look like it did most of the time last season when too many wins slipped from their grasp.
The best guess here is that it may fall somewhere in between. Expectations shouldn’t be high, and it most of the early signs point to the Giants having a mediocre season with anywhere from four to seven wins. If they can gain some momentum and jell, an 8-8 season isn’t out of the question with the likes of Detroit, Arizona, Buffalo, Miami, and Washington (twice) on the schedule.
Offensive line and overall defense are still the question marks before the first whistle begins in late July.
Some of those questions can begin to be answered when they meet the Jets in preseason opener August 8.
It will also begin to see if a year passed from a tumultuous season can develop into a possible prosperous one.