Five storylines to follow in the second half of the season as the Giants go on their bye week:
1. Evaluating everything. The bye week is a time to evaluate schemes and personnel, but realistically there can't be sweeping changes. "It's not like you're going to come out and we're going to be running the Wing T," coach Pat Shurmur said. Instead, what coaches do is they take a step back and look at things like which route combination worked against a certain type of coverage and go from there. The sample size is large enough now. There have been 518 snaps on offense and 529 on defense, which have amounted to a 1-7 record at the midway point.
"In terms of the players, there may be some changes, we'll see," Shurmur said. "But in terms of the scheme, you just step back and look and seek better ways to do things. We'll look at it."
There is one player change at the center of much speculation: quarterback Eli Manning. After the Giants lost their last game before the break to the Redskins, Shurmur was asked if he has to consider changes at the position. "I don't want to go there, I'm not going to tease that," he said. "I just want to look at everything and see what we have to do moving forward."
Shurmur stuck with that when he was pressed on the topic further the next day.
"I think we're going to evaluate everything, from who the guy is and how he's playing, and that's just what we'll do as we move forward," Shurmur said. "We certainly have not done things well enough and we've got to do things better. That's what we're looking at."
2. Post-trade roster. The Giants were busy the week before the league's Oct. 30 trade deadline, dealing defensive tackle Damon Harrison to Detroit (in exchange for a fifth-round choice in the 2019 NFL Draft) and cornerback Eli Apple to New Orleans (for a fourth-round choice next year and a seventh-round selection in 2020). But other than the release of offensive tackle Ereck Flowers, a former first-round draft choice, a few weeks earlier, the major roster movement ended there.
"All changes, if they're good, that's what we expect," safety Landon Collins said. "We expect the coaches to know what they're doing up there, and they know how to use their best players. When we come back, I expect them to know what's going on and how to fix things."
3. Opportunities abound. The trades have led to bigger opportunities for players like B.W. Webb, Grant Haley, Sean Chandler and Dalvin Tomlinson. Meanwhile, Spencer Pulley got up to speed at center, moving John Greco over to right guard in the last few weeks. The first four picks of the draft class have also played significant roles, which will only expand as the weeks go on. "What you do is you try to do what you can to win the next game," Shurmur said, "and then you reassess each week and move forward that way."
The Giants enter the Week 9 bye with a 1-7 record and half the season done. Heading into the second half of the season, here are the players to watch out for.
DL B.J. Hill
After getting limited snaps earlier in the year, Hill has started three of the last four games due to his production whenever he's on the field. Harrison being traded also benefits Hill in getting more reps and opportunities.
LB Lorenzo Carter
The rookie has been taken under the wing of veteran linebacker Connor Barwin this season, learning everything he can. In the limited number of snaps, Carter has taken full advantage of it already having 2 sacks. Look for Carter to be used more as the season progresses.
WR Corey Coleman
The former first rounder is looking for a chance to prove to everyone that he belongs in the league. In 19 games in his career for the Browns, Coleman caught for 718 yards and 5 touchdowns.
DT Dalvin Tomlinson
Tomlinson has the longest current start-streak on the roster with 24. Now with Damon Harrison being traded to the Detroit Lions, this opens up for Tomlinson to step into a more natural role above the center.
WR Quadree Henderson
The Giants are now all of a sudden deep at the wide receiver spot, but Henderson is here for his special teams play. Henderson had 7 return touchdowns while at Pitt, and with one of the biggest struggles being kick and punt returns, Henderson could add a much needed spark.
CB B.W. Webb
Filling in once when fellow corner Eli Apple was injured against the Texans, Webb is now the other cornerback across from Janoris Jenkins. Webb has played well in his time being the starter, with him almost tying his career-high in total tackles through eight games.
CB Grant Haley
Haley showed flashes during training camp and the preseason, but ultimately was signed to the practice squad. After signing to the active roster, the Giants released Donte Deayon and traded away Eli Apple, opening up room for Haley. In his debut, Haley made 4 tackles against the Redskins.
4. Saquon's growing leadership role. Shurmur has said that sometimes rookies can be your best leaders, and running back Saquon Barkley is proving that. The 21-year-old Bronx native is gaining respect on the field and in the locker room. He is second to only Todd Gurley II, a legitimate MVP candidate with the Rams, in yards from scrimmage (1,016) through the first half of the season. That puts him on pace for 2,032, which would be the fourth-highest total in franchise history. (Tiki Barber holds the top three spots.) Meanwhile, Barkley is emerging as a voice on a team looking to right as many wrongs as possible from the first half.
"Go back, watch film on yourself, see what you can do better from the first half of the season, see the things you did well, try and improve overall in your game," Barkley said on how he approaches the bye week. "Take a little bit of time off to just decompress from football, but also keep aware that you can't take too much time off because you've still got to keep your body in shape for another eight games, and come back ready to work."
5. Eye on the future (and draft order). Whether their team is 1-7 or 7-1, scouts are currently deployed throughout the country and doing the legwork for the 2019 NFL Draft. Once again, the Giants, who picked up three picks with the recent trades, figure to be major players in April. They are currently tied with the San Francisco 49ers for the worst record in the league, and sure enough, the two teams meet next Monday night at Levi's Stadium. Big Blue drafted Barkley second overall this past April with quarterbacks being taken first and third. Draft analysts' consensus top prospect coming out in 2019, however, is a defensive end -- Ohio State's Nick Bosa, who is the younger brother of Chargers pass rusher and former third overall choice Joey Bosa.
