The New York Giants will enter the 2021 season with a lot of pressure on them to win. The storied franchise has fallen on hard times of late, winning just 15 of the 48 games played since Dave Gettleman took over as the general manage in late 2017.
The losing ways go back even further than that. Big Blue has just one winning season over the last seven and have gone through four head coaches during that period.
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This offseason, the club spent a fortune to revamp their roster giving top of the market contracts to defensive lineman Leonard Williams, cornerback Adoree’ Jackson and wide receiver Kenny Golladay.
“It’s time for us to start winning,” Giants CEO John Mara said earlier this year. “That’s one of the reasons we spent the money we did.”
Maurice Moton of Bleacher Report lists the Giants as one of his five teams under the most pressure to win in 2021.
Quarterback Daniel Jones must make good use of Golladay, one of the Giants’ prized acquisitions. Jones threw for 2,943 yards, 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last season. Now going into a critical third year with a go-to receiver, Jones must elevate the offense whether running back Saquon Barkley can play through a full season or not.
Dave Gettleman, who drafted Jones in the first round of the 2019 draft, is 15-33 as the Giants’ general manager. With that record, he had to approach the offseason in win-now mode.
Last year, at 6-10, the Giants finished second in the NFC East behind the Washington Football Team, yet they went 4-2 within their division. With a top-10 defense from the previous campaign and pricey acquisitions on both sides of the ball, Gettleman isn’t likely to see a fourth season if Jones struggles on a non-playoff squad.
That last part might not be accurate. All the Giants really need to show is progress — a winning record will do — for Gettleman to keep his job. Last year, a winning record, or even an 8-8 season, would have won the division for them.
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