After six weeks of football (for the New York Giants and the Chicago Bears) the Cleveland Browns share a piece of the division lead while the Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons and the Giants are a combined 1-14. Yes, I think it’s time to be stocking the bomb shelter because the apocalypse has to be just right around the corner — and no, I don’t mean the season premier of The Walking Dead on Sunday.
Like the mantra repeated almost every season, this year has had its fair share of strange storylines so far. One of the oddest is happening in New York and it doesn’t involve the foot fetishes of Jets head coach Rex Ryan but the bumbling nature of New York’s other team that can’t seem to get out of its own way to win a game.
Sitting at 0-6 after yet another loss on Thursday night where turnovers were the difference in the game, the New York Giants find themselves at gut check time if they want to achieve any success this season. This also extends to the most important aspect of the fantasy football season, as these once trusted Giants skill players have been anything but so far.
But is there value to be had on this Giants roster moving forward this season? Let’s take a look.
Quarterback
The Manning family quarterback gene must all be tied to one giant pool of talent that can be accessed by anyone with their last name. I say this because if this were the case, Peyton is hoarding all of it considering Eli has struggled to the same extent as his brother has flourished. Through six games this season, Eli has thrown just nine touchdowns to 15 interceptions — an interception number that matches what he threw all season in 2012. To make matters worse, Eli is showing no signs that he is about to snap out of the funk, as he threw three of the 15 just this week.
Final Verdict: Avoid the younger Manning like the plague! With a plethora of quarterbacks that can give you more and should be available (like Terrelle Pryor and Geno Smith), he’s not worth the headache.
Running Backs
Has there been any fantasy frustration more evident than those expressed by owners who banked on the Giants rushers to perform this year? Outside of maybe New England and Pittsburgh, I would say the answer would be no. David Wilson, the starter for much of the season, got off to a horrible start with early fumbles and when he finally started to find his stride, the injury bug made an appearance.
The one bright spot for the Giants rush attack happened on Thursday night when Brandon Jacobs stepped into the starting spot and recorded the first 100 yard game of the season for New York. Jacobs put up 106 yards on 22 carries and added an extra two touchdowns to the mix to make anyone who started him happy campers.
Final Verdict: If Wilson has to miss extended time, then Jacobs could hold value as a bye week replacement for the next couple weeks. When Wilson returns, avoid the Giants rushing game unless desperate because it will probably be muddled with split carries between the two.
Wide Receiver
Rueben Randle, Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks are the three primary receivers on an offense that was once as feared as any in the league. All three wideouts are extremely talented but suffer from the same affliction: ‘interception’ Manning tossing them the ball. Having a quarterback that hasn’t found his game six weeks into the season can lead to a numerous amount of frustration.
Of course, not every interception is the quarterback’s fault and since we aren’t fully aware of where these things go wrong, the following stats may hold interest. Of the 15 interceptions that Eli has thrown, six were passes intended for Randle, three were meant for Nicks and two were meant for Cruz. In Randle’s case, this points to a receiver that is not only not on the same page as his QB but may not even be reading the same book.
Final Verdict: Cruz, Nicks, and Randle are all worthy of roster slots but serious thinking must be given to match ups when deciding if they should play. Ranked in order, the best to worst starters of the group are Cruz, Nicks then Randle, though it should be noted that Nicks has yet to find the end zone.
James LeBeau is an avid fantasy football participant and a sports contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @Jlebeau76 or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
Photo Credit: Getty
