Julian Love NFL Draft , in the words of center John Greco, “not where we want to be” after one quarter of the 2018 NFL season.Can they right the ship?The road to redemption, if you will, won’t be an easy one. It begins on Sunday with a Week 5 trip to Charlotte, N.C. to face the 2-1 Carolina Panthers, who are coming off an early-season bye week and favored by a touchdown.Coach Pat Shurmur said after last week’s loss to the New Orleans Saints all the Giants can do now is “just keep playing.”“I think we on all three sides of the ball have things that we need to get better at, and that’s what the focus is,” Shurmur said. “We’ve just got to play our way back into it. That’s the reality of it, and that’s the world that we live in as coaches and players, and we all have things we need to do better.”The Giants, expected to feature a potent offense fueled by explosive plays from Odell Beckham Jr., the game’s highest-paid wide receiver Julian Love Buffalo Bills Jersey , and running back Saquon Barkley, the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, are 29th in the league in scoring 18.25 points per game. The heat is being turned up on long-time quarterback Eli Manning, and “McAdoo 2.0” is already being tossed around in reference to the offense put together by Shurmur.In other words, it’s getting late early for the 2018 Giants.The Giants might have linebacker Olivier Vernon (high ankle sprain) available for the first time this season when they face Carolina. We will find out more about his status, as well as that of cornerback Eli Apple (groin) and wide receiver/kickoff returner Cody Latimer (knee) as the week progresses. Both Apple and Latimer missed Sunday’s game vs. the Saints.The Panthers could be getting reinforcements of their own this week.On offense, wide receiver Curtis Samuel is expected to return after a minor procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat. Samuel was a second-round pick a year ago. On defense, newly-signed safety Eric Reid is expected to start Sunday against the Giants.By the numbers0 — That’s the number of touchdown receptions for Odell Beckham Jr. so far this season.6.2 — That’s the Air Yards per passing attempt being averaged by Eli Manning so far this season. The only quarterbacks below that number are Blake Bortles, Derek Carr, C.J. Beathard, Blaine Gabbert and Sam Bradford.74.2 — Manning’s completion percentage, far above his career-best of 63.1 percent and his career average of 60.1 percent.127.2 — Manning’s third-down passer rating. He is completing 80.5 percent of his passes on third down and has 33 completions. All of those numbers lead the league.100 — Saquon Barkley has hit the 100-yard mark in scrimmage yards in each of his first four NFL games. If he does so again vs. Carolina he will join Kareem Hunt (7) and Adrian Peterson (5) as the only players to hit that mark in their first five NFL games.27 — That’s the number of receptions Barkley has thus far Authentic Christopher Slayton Jersey , leading all NFL rookies. It’s also the number of rushing yards Carolina quarterback Cam Newton needs to surpass Randall Cunningham (4,482) for most rushing yards all-time by a quarterback with a single team.245 — Beckham (4,755) needs 245 yards to reach 5,000 receiving yards in his career.166.0 — The Panthers enter the game leading the league in rushing yards per game at 166.0. The Giants are 29th in the league in rushing yards allowed (126.0 per game) and 26th in rushing yards allowed per attempt (4.8).142.7 — That’s how many yards per game Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey is averaging. That’s second in the NFL. One of these seasons, the New England Patriots won't cruise through the AFC East to an easy division title and position themselves, more often than not, for a Super Bowl run.One of these seasons, 40-something quarterback Tom Brady will begin showing his age and stop putting up MVP-caliber numbers. His lack of options at receiver will cause the offense to stall, the defection of another coordinator will fatally weaken the defense, and coach Bill Belichick's cold-blooded approach to his roster will backfire.That is sure to happen, one of these seasons.There's just no indication that it will be 2018.When the defending AFC champions return to the field in pursuit of their sixth NFL title, there are no credible threats in the division (and only one in the conference: a Pittsburgh Steelers team that hasn't outlasted them in the postseason since 2010 or beaten them in the playoffs since 1997).So while the Patriots appear to be vulnerable in several areas — tension between Brady and Belichick could be the biggest threat to the dynasty — there still doesn't seem to be anybody ready to knock them off the postseason podium.Here are some things to look for from the Patriots this season:AGELESS WONDERBrady was 40 when he won his third NFL MVP last year Christopher Slayton Jersey Boys , leading the league in yards passing and leading the Patriots to the Super Bowl for the eighth time. In the game, he threw for a record 505 yards and brought New England back from a 10-point, third-quarter deficit to take a 33-32 lead with nine minutes left.That's a player who is at the top of the mountain, not over the hill.BOUNCING BACKBut Brady was unable to muster another comeback after the Eagles retook the lead, and the lingering image of the game was Philadelphia quarterback Nick Foles catching a touchdown pass while Brady let the ball thrown his way bounce off his hands.It was the third Super Bowl loss for New England in the Brady-Belichick era.So, how have they bounced back from previous big game losses?In 2008, after a loss to the Giants in the Super Bowl spoiled New England's hopes for a perfect and unprecedented 19-0 season, Brady was injured in Week 1 and the Patriots went 11-5 under backup Matt Cassel but did not make the playoffs based on a tiebreaker.In 2012, after another loss to Eli Manning and the Giants, New England went 12-4 but lost in the AFC title game to the Baltimore Ravens.POOR RECEPTIONWith the loss of Brandin Cooks (65 catches) and Danny Amendola (61), the Patriots are down their top two wide receivers from last year. Throw in Julian Edelman, who caught 98 passes in 2016 but was injured last year and is suspended for the first four games for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancers.Until Edelman is eligible to return for the Oct. 4 game against Indianapolis Youth Eli Manning Jerseys , Brady's top targets are tight end Rob Gronkowski (69 catches), running back James White (56), and wideout Chris Hogan, who had 34 catches in nine games. Malcolm Mitchell, Jordan Matthews, Kenny Britt and Eric Decker were all brought in but didn't work out.TEAM TURMOILThe decision to bench Malcolm Butler, the hero of the 2014 championship, in this year's Super Bowl not only cost him a reliable member of the secondary, it also raised doubts about Belichick's judgment in New England — new territory for a team whose unofficial motto had been "In Bill We Trust."Belichick has also clashed with owner Robert Kraft about the succession plan at quarterback: The coach was reportedly ready to move on from Brady to backup Jimmy Garoppolo, and when Kraft took sides with the player he treats like a son, Belichick gave Jimmy G. to San Francisco for the pittance of a second-round pick.Belichick has also struggled to establish boundaries for Brady's fitness guru, Alex Guerrero Eli Manning Jerseys Stitched , banning him from the sidelines and the team plane for a time. Guerrero was back in both places during preseason Week 3.CALLING THE SHOTSLongtime defensive coordinator Matt Patricia left to take over as head coach of the Detroit Lions, and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left for — and then backed out of — the top job in Indianapolis. Belichick did not replace Patricia, but linebackers coach Brian Flores will call the plays on defense.Coaching churn is one thing the Patriots are used to, though. Charlie Weis, Bill O'Brien, Eric Mangini, McDaniels and Romeo Crennel are among those who earned promotions after serving on Belichick's staff, and he replaced all of them without difficulty.