Several Giants land in Peter King's midseason awards
The Giants have begun the season 6-2, the franchise's best start since 2012.
Not many pundits across the NFL landscape predicted the Giants to have this early-season success. However, many are now jumping aboard the Brian Daboll-Giants bandwagon.
NBC Sports' Peter King is the latest to recognize the Giants' achievements in the first half of the season. In his weekly 'Football Morning in America' column, King acknowledged Big Blue's start by referring to them as the "craziest team in this crazy season."
"Maybe we should just accept that smart coaches—Brian Daboll, of course, and underrated Mike Kafka and Wink Martindale—can put players in position to win late in games," King wrote. "They've done it for much of the season so far."
King went on to select his top five choices for the midseason awards, which featured the Giants quite heavily. Based on the above quote, it should come as a surprise to no one that Daboll was King's top choice for Coach of the Year. The Giants coach beat out Philadelphia's Nick Sirianni, Minnesota's Kevin O'Connell, Tennessee's Mike Vrabel and the Jets' Robert Saleh.
When it came to Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year, King picked the same five players for both, with each list consisting of four quarterbacks. Bills QB Josh Allen ended up being the top selection, but coming in at No. 5 was Giants running back Saquon Barkley. Barkley, who currently ranks second in the NFL with 968 all-purpose yards, is enjoying a dominant, bounce-back campaign after injuries derailed his previous two seasons. The other three players listed were Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and Seahawks QB Geno Smith.
One of the brightest spots on the Giants defense this season has been the performance of defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence. His play has not gone unnoticed as King selected him in his top five for Defensive Player of the Year. Dallas' Micah Parsons came in at No. 1 on King's list, which also featured Los Angeles' Aaron Donald and Buffalo's Matt Milano and Von Miller.
The final Giant recognized by King at the midpoint of the season is not one of the players on the field, but rather the man in charge of putting the guys on the field. In his first season as general manager, Joe Schoen was No. 3 on King's list of top choices for Executive of the Year. Philadelphia's Howie Roseman led the group, while Seattle's John Schneider, Jets' Joe Douglas and Buffalo's Brandon Beane rounded out the rest of the top 5.
View photos from the Giants' Week 8 game against the Seattle Seahawks.
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Marquise Goodwin (11) runs against New York Giants defensive tackle Justin Ellis (71) during the first half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence (97) gestures during the first half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll watches during the first half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Seattle Seahawks running back DeeJay Dallas (31) runs against the New York Giants during the first half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs against Seattle Seahawks cornerback Mike Jackson (30) during the first half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
New York Giants cornerback Adoree' Jackson (22) breaks up a pass intended for Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Dee Eskridge (1) during the first half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
New York Giants cornerback Adoree' Jackson (22) reacts during the first half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) passes against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
New York Giants cornerback Adoree' Jackson, right, celebrates with defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence after recovering a fumble against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
New York Giants cornerback Adoree' Jackson, middle right, celebrates with teammates after recovering a fumble against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
New York Giants cornerback Adoree' Jackson (22) reacts after recovering a fumble against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) reacts after scoring against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
New York Giants defensive end Leonard Williams, right, celebrates in front of Jihad Ward after sacking Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith during the first half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) celebrates with offensive tackle Andrew Thomas (78) and guard Jack Anderson after scoring a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) passes against the Seattle Seahawks during the second half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) scores a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
New York Giants fullback Chris Myarick (85) runs against Seattle Seahawks safety Quandre Diggs (6) during the second half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) passes against Seattle Seahawks linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (10) as offensive tackle Andrew Thomas, second from right, blocks defensive end Shelby Harris (93) during the second half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) passes against Seattle Seahawks linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (10) during the second half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, second from right, runs against Seattle Seahawks linebacker Uchenna Nwosu, left, and defensive tackle Bryan Mone (90) during the second half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs against the Seattle Seahawks during the second half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) runs against the Seattle Seahawks during the second half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) passes against the Seattle Seahawks during the second half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) runs against the Seattle Seahawks during the second half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs against the Seattle Seahawks during the second half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Notebook: 6-2 Giants look to recharge for 2nd half
Self-scouting over the bye week is like making in-game adjustments. You can't wait until halftime to start thinking about them.
"You're always self-evaluating yourself each week," coach Brian Daboll said Monday afternoon, 10 hours after the team returned from its cross-country flight back from Seattle. "We have quality control coaches. We have analytics. Then the coaches do it. We try to do it on a week-to-week basis and try to improve on things that maybe we're not doing as good of a job as we'd like to do. We try to build off some of the positive things. So, we'll always continue to do that. But really, we're in right now looking at this tape. And [with the] extra days, we'll have some time to get on Houston and look at a few other things."
The Giants have reached the midway point of Daboll's first year as head coach. The team went 3-1 in both the first and second quarters of the season for a 6-2 overall record, the franchise's best through eight games since 2012. A common refrain among fans is you couldn't realistically ask for a much better start to the new era, but the people inside the building can't think that way. To steal an oft-repeated line from Daboll, this league will humble you quickly.
"That's why, this time right there, you kind of look everything holistically," Daboll said. "But each week, you're doing that. And that's what Mondays are for and part of Tuesdays. I do that every week, whether it's decisions throughout the game, revisit the game, go onto the next week, look at a ton of different stuff. I think you need to stay on top of that, it's kind of like a game. You can't wait until halftime to make some adjustments. You got to keep doing that throughout the game, and we've done a lot of that. I've done a lot of that since I started."
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