Expectations in the NFL are like a volatile roller coaster. When you meet or exceed expectations, it’s exhilarating. When things aren’t so easy, it’s upsetting.
When Brian Daboll took over as Giants head coach in 2022 to replace Joe Judge, the team was in the midst of five consecutive struggling seasons, winning just 22 games against 59 losses.
So expectations for Daboll’s first season outside the Giants’ locker room were less than high.
However, the Giants finished the season with 9 wins, 7 losses and 1 tie, winning a wild-card playoff game in Minnesota that earned Daboll NFL Coach of the Year honors. It was the Giants’ first postseason game since 2016 and their first playoff win since the 2011 Super Bowl season.
No one expected that kind of success, but Daboll and general manager Joe Sean, in particular, were prepared to take a slow and steady path to fame as they embarked on a complete restructuring of the team’s culture and dismantling of the roster.
But that incredible, immediate success proved to be something of a curse, because it raised the bar to a level the 2023 Giants simply can’t reach.
This leaves Giants fans wondering what to expect from the team this season.
Starting quarterback Daniel Jones is back from a torn ACL that ended his season in ’23, the team is also losing its top offensive player, running back Saquon Barkley, for edge rusher Brian Barnes, and the offensive line is expected to get better with the additions and improved health of several players.
So what can we expect from the Giants this year?
“I don’t think expectations are that high from people outside of this building,” receiver Darius Slayton told The Post after practice Tuesday. “Given how we performed last year, [6-11]People are probably expecting not much to change this year.
“But I don’t really care about what people expect from us. Whether people say we’re the best team in the NFL or the worst team, we’ve got to get over it. Either way, we’ve got to keep a cool head and have our own expectations in the building and try to live up to them.”
“It’s definitely exciting this year because we have a lot of talented players on the team. We have a lot of young talent,” added Slayton, who is in his sixth season with the Giants and one of the team’s three longest-tenured players.
As an example of how player turnover is going, linebacker Azeez Ojulari, drafted in 2021, is the only player not drafted, signed or re-signed by Sean.
A lot has changed in the two-plus years of the Davor-Schon administration.
“I’m just going to focus on this year,” Daboll said when asked about his expectations. “This is my 24th season. I’ve had 15 winning seasons and eight losing seasons. One season we won the Super Bowl, the next season we [did] Can’t make the playoffs.
“This is something we do every year. After the first year, [and] I will say it again after the second year. We have a new team, new members. We will try as hard as we can to be the best team we can. It’s a new year. There is a lot of work to do.”
Tight end Daniel Bellinger said one of the keys to meeting expectations this year is not dwelling on what happened last year.
“You can’t change the past,” Bellinger told the Post. “You can’t change the injuries we suffered.” [last year]All of that has passed and now we just need to focus on what is in front of us and learn from the mistakes we made last year and make sure we don’t make the same mistakes again.
“Of course there is external noise online and on social media. We see it. We are aware of it. But what’s important to me, and for us, is to be able to block out all of that and focus on what we can control internally. If we’re not achieving our highest objectives as a team, then we have to do something about it.”
This is certainly Ojulari’s view, as he said, “We have to get back to being a playoff team.” [in 2022]”We know where we were before. We want to win some games again and get into the playoffs. We have the expectation to win.”
Receiver Wan’Dale Robinson said the secret to managing outside expectations is to “not worry too much.”
“They’re not in the locker room, they’re not practicing with us every day,” Robinson said. “We have our own expectations of how we want to be perceived.”
what is that?
“We just expect to win,” Robinson said. “And that’s it.”
