The Giants’ starting offense didn’t complete a pass during their preseason game against the Steelers and didn’t make any big plays through the air in their preseason opener either, leading to some concerns that the new offense installed by offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo won’t overcome last year’s offensive doldrums.
The team doesn’t see things that way. To McAdoo, coach Tom Coughlin and quarterback Eli Manning, it’s a matter of trusting the offense and having confidence in what you’re doing within it.
“We need to take that leap of faith,” McAdoo said, via the New York Post. “We need to play fast, we need to trust our instincts. It’s a game of anticipation and [you have to] believe in your teammates. If you don’t do that, we’re not going to grow. You can’t be afraid to make mistakes.”
Coughlin and Manning shared similar takes on the need to trust the offense before things can really take off on that side of the ball.
Trust can be tough to find when a team makes as many changes as the Giants made this offseason, especially when they’ve also been playing without players like Odell Beckham, David Wilson and Chris Snee that were expected to have some role this season. That said, the Giants don’t have much choice other than taking that leap of faith because anything less will mean a tentative, ineffective offense that certainly won’t move beyond last season. They’re just going to have to hope that McAdoo’s work this summer leads to an offense that will break their fall.