Giants Remaining Optimistic

An 0-3 start to the season is far from what the New York Giants had expected but for a team that is fast approaching must-win mode, they remain increasingly focused on the task at hand.

Nothing more it seems and nothing less.

Before the season started, the Giants were favored to amake the playoffs and perhaps even make a push for the Super Bowl, but have instead been flat out of the gate. Struggles on offense up until the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss at the Philadelphia Eagles and a myriad of penalties — as well as mistakes — have doomed this team to a winless start.

And at 0-3, the team’s playoff chances certainly are not very good at this moment but that can’t be their concern right now. With a trip against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coming up next, head coach Ben McAdoo said the focus must be on this week.

A loss this week, though, likely means the playoffs would be a bridge too far to cross this season.

“We need to talk about our potential in the room. We haven’t played a complete football game and clean football in all three phases, and we really haven’t earned a win yet,” McAdoo said on Monday in a conference call with the media. “It’s all correctable and we need to stay positive, be realistic and understand that we need to learn from these first three games and find a better way to play team football.”

There is no denying that the Giants have talent. They return the vast majority of a defense that allowed the second-fewest points in the league a season ago. On offense, they are led by a two-time Super Bowl MVP and several playmakers at the skill positions. It isn’t like this is a team in rebuild mode or trying to tank. This team is built to win and built to win now.

But the wins haven’t been there and the Giants now are left to try and right the ship.

It isn’t impossible. A handful of teams have lost their first three games of the year only to rebound and make the playoffs. It is a small group but certainly plausible that a team with the talent level of the Giants could rattle off a few wins and suddenly be back in the mix.

They’ll need better offensive line play, that’s for sure. The running game will need to get going and those costly penalties will have to be cut back significantly.

But as McAdoo said on Monday, it is one day and one week at a time for this team.

“Where we go from here. You know, we talked about it a little bit yesterday in the press conference, the three D’s, the cause of irritation, that’s where we are right now, we’re irritated. Deny, delay and disappointed. We need to keep fighting through,” McAdoo said.

“I believe in this team. I believe in the potential of this team. It starts with me and we need to keep fighting to get better and we need to keep fighting to get the win. Got to get that first one. With that, we will open it up for questions.”