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The New York Giants gave it their all Youth Wayne Gallman Jerseys , but they finished the 2018 season just about the only way they could. They lost, but they made it a close loss, complete with highlight reel plays from Saquon Barkley and a disappointing defensive performance at the end to let victory slip away. The Giants’ loss to the Dallas Cowboys was a nearly perfect encapsulation of their 2018 season. This was our last look at the Giants before the 2019 free agency and draft seasons, let’s see what parting lessons they had for us. The Giants have work to do on the offensive lineWhen Dave Gettleman was hired he came in with sturm und drang, declaring that he would fix the offensive line, bring in “Hog Mollies,” and in general return the franchise to an earlier era of Giants football. Pat Shurmur talked about “changing the transmission” of the Giants’ offense, as they proceeded to completely tear down and rebuild the offensive line over the course of the year.Unfortunately, the Giants’ offensive line regressed.Eli Manning was sacked 47 times, eight more times than his previous high of 39, and 16 more sacks than in 2017 (despite attempting all of five more passes). The Giants finished with the 27th ranked run blocking offensive line (according to Football Outsiders), and spent most of the season with one of the very worst. A year ago they were ranked 15th. The Giants found a keeper in left guard Will Hernandez. The guard, who nobody expected to fall out of the first round of the draft, looks to be a long-term foundation piece. The team is locked in to left tackle Nate Solder for at least another year, and while Jamon Brown wasn’t the mid-season savior many hoped he would be, he was an upgrade over Patrick Omameh and he might be the Giants’ best option going forward. They could also hope that he plays better with better pieces around him.Center and right tackle, however, need to be addressed and upgraded this season. Chad Wheeler is a high-effort player, but a liability on the edge. Jon Halapio will return from injury, but he wasn’t particularly good before hie was hurt. (In particular, he struggled using his hands in the run game Wayne Gallman Jerseys Stitched , and too often couldn’t snap the ball and get his hands up before defenders were into his pads. He is a low-cost option and should have the chance to continue to develop and compete, however.)Spencer Pulley showed why the Los Angeles Chargers felt comfortable in letting him go. Whether it is in the draft or in free agency, the Giants need to find answers for their offensive line. They were able to scheme around it in the last two weeks, and these two games should heavily inform their offensive scheme next year. Doing football things, however, will be MUCH easier if they don’t have a leaky, inconsistent offensive line.Saquon Barkley is really good at football The debate whether Barkley was the right pick for the Giants in 2018 will probably rage on for some time. In all honesty, it hasn’t been decided yet, but drafting Barkley instead of a quarterback leaves them with uncertainty at the most important position on the field. There is still time to address the position and maximize the potential of Barkley, Odell Beckham Jr.We can pick that debate up again tomorrow. For now, let’s just appreciate that Barkley joins Edgerrin James and Eric Dickerson to became the third rookie in NFL history with 2,000 yards from scrimmage.And in the final game of the season, Barkley got back to giving us highlight reel plays. Plays like these: Whoops, that was a scene from Space Jam. I meant this: And, of course, there was the play that put him over 2,000 yards on the season: He also set the record for receptions by a rookie running back: Evan Engram needs to be a major piece of the 2019 offenseIs Engram a 6-foot-6, 270-pound monster who can match up with a defensive end in pass protection and blow open holes in the run game? Nope, and attempts to use him as such are a mistake by the coaching staff. But credit where credit is due, with Beckham injured, Pat Shurmur has adjusted his usage of Engram Youth Dalvin Tomlinson Jerseys , and Engram has responded by being the Giants’ most consistently productive offensive player over the last quarter of the season. Engram is a high effort player in the blocking game, though his frame will always limit the types of players he can match up against. Where he has an advantage over the prototypical tight ends is that he can play from all over the offensive formation, and be a true explosive mismatch. He is also a very tough ball carrier, consistently working through contact and selling out for every yard.The trick for Pat Shurmur will be to remember what Engram is capable of when Beckham gets back healthy.The Giants need pieces on defense I already mentioned that the Giants need to add pieces to their re-built offensive line. They also still need to address the future of their quarterback position. They also need many pieces to field the kind of defense that James Bettcher wants to put on the field. Olivier Vernon finished the game with 2.5 sacks and was harassing Dak Prescott all game long — but he has struggled to convert pressure into production all season long, and only really produced against back-up offensive tackles. Curtis Riley had four interceptions on the year, but has been a liability at free safety all season ... And then he did whatever this was: The Giants still have struggled against tight ends and have a habit of making them — particularly Dallas tight ends — look like All-Pro players. Eight of their eleven losses were by a touchdown or less. While their offensive struggles certainly contributed to that, their defense’s inability to hold a lead and close out games was the primary reason. When the Giants had an 11-5 season and went to the play-offs in 2016, the defense’s ability to finish close games was a deciding factor, and it’s a factor that eludes them. They need to pour resources into this defense, and make smart decisions doing so. Let’s try to make sense of the seemingly contradictory moves coming from East Rutherford"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections New York Giants NewsGiants Training Camp 2016Giants vs. Eagles 2015, Week 17New York Giants NewsRebuild? Win now? Some weird mix of both? What is the Giants’ plan?New,532commentsLet’s try to make sense of the seemingly contradictory moves coming from East RutherfordEDTShareTweetShareShareRebuild? Win now? Some weird mix of both? What is the Giants’ plan?Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY SportsRebuild? What rebuild?After the Giants dealt Odell Beckham Jr. and Olivier Vernon to the Cleveland Browns the narrative — and I bought into a lot of it — was that the Giants had finally acknowledged that they were in need of a complete rebuild.Then, on Thursday the Giants announced the signing of safety Antoine Bethea, who will be 35 next season, and news broke that they will be adding wide receiver Golden Tate, who will be 31.What gives?One thing I’ve learned about Gettleman over the past couple of years is that if you go back and really look at things that he has said in the past they help explain actions taken in the present. I warned for months that his “We didn’t sign Odell to trade him” wasn’t a blanket “we won’t trade him.” It left him an exit ramp, and when the Browns made him an offer he liked he took it.Here is something the general manager said in January at his season-ending press conference:“I just hate the word rebuild. You just keep going, you just keep building. It’s really what we’re doing here. We’re doing our best to accumulate the talent that fits our schemes, and that understands how to play the game, and hates to flippin’ lose. That’s what it’s really all about, and we’re going to continue to do this and get it right. We’re going to fix it.”Building. Not rebuilding.Here is something else that Gettleman said. Warning — it may leave you with an unshakeable graphic image that will mess up your day.“I’m on that tight rope Dalvin Tomlinson Jerseys Stitched , and me in a tutu on a tightrope ain’t pretty,” Gettleman said. “It’s the tight rope of you want to win now, you want to get those wins now because you’ve got a coaching staff whose fannies are on the line every Sunday, and you want to set the team up, the franchise up, for sustained success.”There it is. Sustained success. The holy grail.Gettleman has no interest in completely sacrificing the present, which is the connotation of a true from the ground up rebuild. He wants to win as much as he can in the present while laying a foundation that will lead to teams that can consistently contend down the line.Can you do both? How?Here are some of my thoughts on where Gettleman is going, and why he is doing what he is doing.Culture is criticalGettleman says it over ... and over ... and over.“Talent sets the stage. Character sets the ceiling,” he said at the Combine. “Unfortunately guys who have character issues create distractions. They do.“My point is, you’ve got to eliminate distractions.”Agree or disagree, it’s a big part of why Beckham is in Cleveland. It’s part of why Eli Apple is in New Orleans. There are other examples if you look over the decisions of the past couple of offseasons.I also think it’s part of why Tate and Bethea are Giants. Both are veterans who have been successful players and won Super Bowl titles. Nate Solder is in that category. Jonathan Stewart, Connor Barwin, Michael Thomas were among veterans signed last year partially for their presence and what they could teach their younger teammates about being NFL players.“We’re only going to bring quality people in here that hate to lose,” Gettleman said. “That will stay the same.”Run the ball, stop the run, rush the passerTo many, those are antiquated tenets of an NFL that is gone. To Gettleman, they remain truths. He talks about “hog mollies” or how “it’s a big man’s game” or how you can’t rush the passerif you can’t stop the run first.He’s reconstructing the roster — on both sides of the ball — from the inside out.If the Giants can get Mike Remmers to sign on the dotted line Friday, the offensive line rebuild will be complete. For now. Gettleman has said, and proven while in Carolina, that he will always add to that group. Remmers Youth Sterling Shepard Jerseys , though, would allow the Giants use their first-round resources to find a quarterback or build the defense.He added B.J. Hill, Lorenzo Carter and R.J. McIntosh to the front seven last year. Markus Golden came via free agency Thursday. Adding front seven talent will undoubtedly continue in the draft.Building through the draft and gaining flexibilityGettleman has said that accumulating draft picks is part of the plan. As it should be. When you are a bad team with holes to fill that’s the best long-term strategy. That gives you the best chance of building long-term success, the best chance of growing a core from within. and yes, I know that moving on from Landon Collins goes against the idea of “growing a core from within.”The Giants have 12 picks in the upcoming draft. That gives them room to maneuver. Or, to simply make their picks and stockpile players. Gettleman has also jettisoned a number or large contracts — most of which belonged to popular, talented players. Cap numbers are fluid, but if you believe the numbers at Spotrac as of Friday morning the Giants would have $126 million in cap space based on this year’s $188.2 million cap number.That’s the most in the league. Over The Cap shows $99 million, ninth in the league. Obviously, the two sites are counting somewhat different things. Either way, it’s a lot of money available.Gettleman, then, has put the Giants into a situation where they have a tremendous amount of flexibility between now and the 2020 season.Quarterback This is the one that is the long-term key to everything. I know this won’t happen, but fans and the media should really stop obsessing about Eli Manning being the quarterback in 2019. Who the quarterback is next season really isn’t the most important part of that equation. It’s who comes after. Right now, I’m not convinced the Giants know.Kyler Murray, Dwayne Haskins, Drew Lock and even guys like Daniel Jones and a couple of others have their supporters. Some believe it should be Josh Rosen if the Arizona Cardinals make him available. Some think the best play is to build the roster and wait until 2020, when there theoretically should be more top-tier options in the draft.When you talk to people about the Giants and the quarterback succession plan, you hear a lot of different things. Which leads me to the conclusion that inside the walls of 1925 Giants Drive in East Rutherford there likely is not a unanimous opinion right now among the team’s decision-makers.I remain steadfast in the belief that it doesn’t really matter if they get their quarterback of the future this offseason. What matters is that whenever they make that move, they get it right.