"A better team with a worse record"

[MightyGiants]

That is what many fans and pundits were predicting for the 2023 Giants.   So, with just 4 games left, was that prediction correct?

[BluesCruz]

by a tie

last year 9-7-1

This year 9-8?

This is a better team in almost every regard

if we get into the playoffs this year I predict a much deeper run.  SB possible as there are no great teams this year including the much touted SFO

[kartanoman]

A team in transition is probably fair to say.

Let's not lose sight that this is a rebuild and it is only year two where plenty of weak areas in need of rebuild were exposed.

If we look at who started the season, versus who is playing right now, what does that tell you, regardless of record? I like seeing more of the younger Giants playing right now. They represent the future and we want them to grow and succeed  both individually and collectively as a team. We've only seen this a handful of times over the generations:

1. Bill Parcells era (1983-84)
2. Dan Reeves-Jim Fassel era (1996-97) particularly the defense
3. Tom Coughlin era (2004-05)

The team is starting to show a nucleus of players they can build around. I know QB is a question mark but there are too many other areas of need as well and this rebuild is still a good two years to go and possibly three.

This has been a year they weathered a storm but there was no serious expectation they could contend with Dallas or Philly because they haven't closed the gap with either of them on talent. Now, if they go into Philly and Hurts and company have a bad day, and the Giants play lights out, anything can happen. But a lot has to go right for the Giants to make that even a remote possibility.

So, are they a "better" team? I think to have gone through what they have, and to stand up and keep playing and fighting, I'd say they're tougher and a little more mature now. The record doesn't matter. They've grown and need to keep building and growing, win or lose, over the final month of the regular season and let's talk about their record then.

Peace!

[Ed Vette]

The Offensive Line derailed this team and broke and made Danny Dimes into Humpty Dumpty. On paper a better team with a much worse record.

[katkavage]

Last year's mirage his serious problems. This year they were exposed, most notably the QB position. They will be better moving forward as long as they recognize the problem they had/have at QB.

[Bob In PA]

As as whole they are better, mostly because the depth is better.

But IMO the number of players who improved is note greater than (but maybe equal to) the number who've declined, which is a wash.

The problems are... first, a tougher schedule; second, the guys who've declined are more important to the team than those who've risen (generally speaking).

On offense, that would be QB and RT (and guard play generally until Pugh returned; now, IMO, it's a wash).

On defense, if Leo were still on the team I'd say the defense has definitely improved over all. Without him, it's more like an "average" step forward, but the depth is far superior to last year.

Bob

[DaveBrown74]

That is what many fans and pundits were predicting for the 2023 Giants.   So, with just 4 games left, was that prediction correct?

It is fluid as the season is not over yet, but right now I would say no. The Giants have not looked like a better team this year than last year. They have gotten killed in most of their losses and their win margins have been pretty scant and for the most part against really bad teams. We can say the Packers are a decent team if we want to, but we caught them without Christian Watson, Aaron Jones, Jaire Alexander, etc. We can't bemoan our own injury woes if we're not going to acknowledge when our opponents are in similar positions.

If I'm going to put forward a positive statement about this season, it would be that some of our young players have at the very least shown promise if not flat out played well. Thibodeaux, Banks, Hyatt, Robinson, and others come to mind.

[Uni]

The team was going to be better based on assumptions like Neal would be better, Jones would be better, Schmitz would make a huge difference, and the two rookie CB were going to make Jackson expendable.

Neal made zero improvement, Schmitz played like a rookie, and Jones turned back into a pumpkin after an outlier year that wasn't even that good on paper. Banks looks better on paper than on the field, and Hawkins isn't a starter.

But it was clear that last season saw a lot of wins that could have gone either way, a missed FG here, a pass made 6 inches deeper there. Their record was a bit of a mirage anyway.