The difference is palpable in John Harbaugh’s first season in New York. The state of the Giants has gone from woebegone to hopeful in a matter of months, with the belief that Big Blue can dig out of the basement and become a contender swiftly.
With mandatory minicamp underway, the vibes around the Giants are mostly positive — save the recent political debates. The belief in New York is that the club has enough talent to compete under the right leadership. Veteran pass rusher Brian Burns, however, cautioned that offseason hype doesn’t always translate come the fall.
“Man, I like to always say, like I said, everybody is excited right now,” he said via the team’s official transcript. “Every other team is excited. Everybody is 0-0. They’re seeing the pieces they have, flying through OTAs. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel this is a little different, I was a little excited, and I expect highly of this team. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that. But at the end of the day, like I say, you’ve gotta prove it. It’s (not) just about being happy and optimistic. You’ve gotta get on the field and you’ve got to prove it against another team and impose your will on them.”
If wins were based on vibes, you could pencil in the Giants for double digits right now. Unfortunately for Big Blue, they are not.
The Giants have seen quick turnarounds under first-year coaches in the past. Between Tom Caughlin and Harbaugh, New York has hired four full-time head coaches. Two – Ben McAdoo and Brian Daboll – took their club to the playoffs in their first season with the club. Each unraveled swiftly thereafter. Those two playoff campaigns were the only winning seasons the Giants enjoyed in 15 years.
Teams going from worst to first aren’t abnormal in the NFL. In fact, it’s become almost expected that someone will accomplish the feat each season. The question is whether the Giants, who haven’t won an NFC East crown since 2022, can be the ones to pull it off in Harbaugh’s first season.
Burns underscored that every team is feeling the positive vibes in June.
“That’s all 32 teams feeling the same way we’re feeling right now,” he said. “It’s just about how you handle it during the season, how you handle the pressure and especially how you handle the adversity when it hits. That’s the most important thing, but yeah, everybody (is) feeling good and optimistic about their season.”
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