Folks, we made it. We’ve had the luxury of watching some preseason football, but that can only take us so far. Now that it’s September, Week 1 of the NFL season is right around the corner, which means the Jets and Giants will soon be playing football that counts again.
Both squads will get their respective seasons started on Sunday, Sept. 11. The Jets will face the Ravens (presumably with Joe Flacco under center) at MetLife Stadium. As for the Giants, Daniel Jones and company will hit the road to face the Titans in Nashville.
The return of football is always exciting. Do you know what’s even more exciting, though? Some winning football. That’s escaped both organizations in recent years.
It’s been a while for Giants, Jets
The Jets last participated in the NFL Playoffs during the 2010 season when they lost in the AFC Championship to the Steelers. Since then, New York has posted a pair of 8-8 performances and one winning campaign, which included a 10-6 record in 2015.
Things haven’t been much better for Big Blue. The Giants’ last trip to the playoffs was in 2016 when they lost to the Packers during Wild Card weekend. It’s been the only time New York has played in January since 2012, and it was also the last time they finished the regular season with a winning record (11-5).
Will the drought end in 2022?
If there’s ever a time to be optimistic about a team’s chances, it’s before the regular season gets underway. Regardless of what transpired during training camp and the preseason, all 32 NFL squads have a clean slate to work with.
Everyone technically has the same chances of reaching the NFL Playoffs and making a run at the Lombardi trophy. However, expectations are all over the place depending on each squad’s specific situation.
Judging from projected win totals from various outlets, it could be another year of losing football for both the Jets and Giants in 2022. According to Sports Betting Dime, the Jets’ over/under for wins this year is set at six, while the Giants’ is set at 7.5.
If that’s the case, is there a light at the end of the tunnel for either organization (or, both)?
Trust the Process
Whether we’re talking about the Giants or the Jets, there’s been some turnover regarding the front office and coaching staff. That’ll happen when there hasn’t been any winning football for a prolonged period of time.
Even if 2022 isn’t the year these playoff droughts come to an end, there appears to be a feeling within both organizations that they’re on the right track.
Here’s Jets head coach Robert Saleh recently saying the team’s process is too good not to work:
"I still believe that we're going to win championships here. Our process is too good…it's too good for this not to work."
– Robert Saleh pic.twitter.com/yEnWuLgo2G
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) August 31, 2022
As for the Giants, general manager Joe Schoen has spent most of his offseason cleaning up what the past front-office regime led by Dave Gettleman did. Connor Hughes of SNY briefly discussed how the Giants feel good about the team’s finances moving forward:
How is the Giants' front office different from last season? @Connor_J_Hughes breaks it down, highlighting that Joe Schoen believes that he has set the Giants up to be "salary cap healthy moving forward" pic.twitter.com/KwNLGM3HSB
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) September 2, 2022
The focus is on trying to win this year, but Shoen also thinks New York is set up to have an active offseason following 2022 to supplement the roster moving forward.
I mean, what else are these guys going to say? Of course they think what they’re doing is going to work. They’re not going to publicly say, “Well, we have no clue how this is going to work out, but we’re hoping for the best.” Taking the words straight out of Joel Embiid’s mouth, it seems like both the Jets and Giants are trying to tell their respective fanbases to stay patient and trust the process.
That’s hard to do after a number of years without any trips to the NFL Playoffs, but it’s the only choice there is right now.
Who will return to the playoffs first … Jets or Giants?
So, this brings us to our big question. Which team will bring winning football and a trip back to the playoffs first: the Jets or the Giants? Vote in our poll below:
More on ESNY:
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• Yankees call up SS prospect Oswald Peraza
• Giants cut starting LB Blake Martinez in surprise move
• Three keys to Mets’ Mark Canha enjoying a huge August
• Knicks strike out on Donovan Mitchell deal; Jazz trade him to Cavaliers
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
