For years, fans of the New York Giants griped over their special teams units, which regularly appeared to be among the worst in football. And in 2017, that reached a head when the team fielded one of the worst units of the decade.
Under Tom Quinn, the 2017 Giants finished dead last in Pro Football Focus’ special teams rankings and were statistically among the worst in the NFL.
But the Giants weren’t just bad in 2017, they were dreadful. In fact, using Football Outsiders’ analytical formula, they were among the very worst of the decade.
5. 2017 Denver Broncos (-7.4%)
4. 2017 Los Angeles Chargers (-7.5%)
3. 2017 New York Giants (-7.5%)
2. 2010 San Diego Chargers (-10.2%)
1. 2013 Washington Redskins (-12.0%)
The Giants briefly parted way with Quinn following the 2017 season, but he returned shortly thereafter to serve as an assistant to Thomas McGaughey, who had been dealing with some health issues.
The Giants also parted ways with punter Brad Wing after that season, and he has yet to return to the NFL since. And while kicker Aldrick Rosas did hang on and had a Pro Bowl year in 2018, he fell back to earth last season and now faces a slew of issues after an alleged hit and run.
The good news is that the Giants have completely overhauled their special teams unit in a short amount of time and were among the league’s best a season ago. Now under first-year head coach Joe Judge, who cut his NFL teeth as a special teams coach, they are expected to be even better.
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