The Giants.com crew members give their final thoughts before the franchise embarks on its 100^th season:

John Schmeelk: I am excited about what the offense is going to look like this season. I always try to be very careful not to allow what I see in training camp and preseason games impact my thinking too much because it can be deceptive and lead to flawed conclusions. But my feeling about the offense has less to do with what I have seen in July and August and more with what I see on the roster and the way the coaches and players have spoken about it.

The 2024 Giants are going to feature the best set of targets for Daniel Jones, and the best set of pass protectors in front of him that he has had since being drafted by the Giants. I believe Malik Nabers is going to be a game-changer as a rookie. I admit that I have been swayed by what I have seen from him this offseason. He looks like the true No. 1 that he was at LSU and the type of receiver that has been missing from the roster. It will allow Wan'Dale Robinson to slide into the slot position and Jalin Hyatt and Darius Slayton to be speed burners.

I also believe Brian Daboll will ensure this team will continuously pressure teams with downfield throws. He has been clear that Jones will check it down if nothing is available over the top, but things will often be called that contain potential for explosive plays. Daboll's past as a play-caller shows a coach that will be aggressive getting the ball down the field. If you want to score a lot of points in the modern-day NFL, explosive plays are necessary.

In addition, the offensive line is set to provide the needed protection to take advantage of those perimeter targets and execute Daboll's desired strategy. The Giants have established players with recent track records of starter-level pass protection skills. Andrew Thomas is an All-Pro. Jon Runyan was a four-year starter in Green Bay. Jermaine Eluemunor and Greg Van Roten both had success the past two seasons with new offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo, who has a history of elevating the play of similarly-constructed lines in Las Vegas.

John Michael Schmitz is the only player without a track record, but the Giants have high hopes he will take a jump in his second season. The Giants also have veteran depth with guard Aaron Stinnie and starters that can slide to different positions like Eluemunor, Van Roten, and Runyan. It should allow flexibility to get the five best players in the group on the field in case of injury.

The pieces are in place for Jones to have his best season throwing the football. He might not have the franchise-record low interception rate he had two years ago because of more throws down the field, but if a couple more picks is the price of more explosive plays, it is worth the tradeoff. I think it is going to be a fun, explosive offense, and I can't wait to see it against the Vikings on Sunday.

Dan Salomone: This will be Daboll's 24^th opening day in the NFL. Before the 23^rd, he reminded everyone that each year is different. He was fresh off becoming the first person to win both Coach of the Year and Assistant Coach of the Year awards, but he knew the challenging road ahead to sustained success. This year, he issued the same warning. It would be a positive this time around, however, as the Giants try to erase a six-win season that was mired in injuries from the very first game.

That is why starting fast is of the utmost importance. The Giants have lost eight of their past 10 openers. In the two that they won, the team went on to make the postseason. They will now open against the Minnesota Vikings, whom they defeated in their most recent playoff appearance.

"Like I've said before, 24 years of doing this," Daboll said. "Twenty-fourth opening game. Every year is different. We've played on Thursday nights, played on Sundays at 1. It really doesn't matter what you did the year before or two years ago, whatever that is. What matters is doing everything you can do for this week to get ready to play a football game. That's all of us, what we're all going to do."

Matt Citak: Once the Giants' 2024 coaching staff was finalized and Shane Bowen was named defensive coordinator, it became clear that adding another edge rusher to complement Kayvon Thibodeaux was one of the team's top priorities. General manager Joe Schoen addressed this area of need in a major way, swinging a blockbuster trade for outside linebacker Brian Burns and signing the 26-year-old to a long-term extension.

I've spoken at length over the last few months about the importance of the front four in Bowen's system. The success of the defense as a whole will rely heavily on the success of Burns, Thibodeaux and Dexter Lawrence up front. The three young players combine to form one of the league's most tantalizing pass rushing defensive lines, as the trio combined for a total of 148 quarterback pressures last season, according to Pro Football Focus.

Burns is a two-time Pro Bowler that has registered a pass rush win rate of 20.4 percent over the past four seasons, which ranks 14^th among all players during that span. Lawrence has been a Pro Bowler and a second-team All-Pro selection in each of the last two years, as he has developed into the league's most talented nose tackle. Then there's Thibodeaux, who made a big jump last year in his second season, finishing with 11.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss to go with three forced fumbles. All three players have flashed throughout the summer as they have consistently gotten into the backfield to wreak havoc on the quarterback. And let's not forget about Azeez Ojulari and his 16 sacks in 35 career games now playing in a reserve role on the defense.

When Bowen served as the coordinator in Tennessee, his defenses thrived at keeping opponents out of the end zone. The Titans finished with the No. 1 red zone defense in the NFL last season, allowing a touchdown on just 37.7 percent of opponents' trips inside the 20-yard line. This was no fluke, either, as the unit also finished with the No. 7 red zone defense in 2021 and No. 15 in 2022. We caught a glimpse of this red zone defense in the one preseason game that the starters saw extensive action. The Texans had a goal-to-go situation in the first half, and the Giants shut them down on four straight plays to force a turnover on downs. On the fourth-and-goal play, Burns used an impressive spin move to get around the offensive tackle and into the face of C.J. Stroud. The young quarterback was forced to get rid of the ball quickly, which Lawrence batted down at the line of scrimmage.

Given the relative youth of the team's secondary, the Giants are going to need their talented defensive front to bring their "A" game this season. If Burns, Lawrence and Thibodeaux can hit home and consistently get after the quarterback, it should alleviate some of the pressure on the defensive backs, putting them in much better positions to make plays. To put it simply, I believe the Giants' pass rush holds the key to the defense's overall success in 2024.