EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The stench from the New York Giants' dreadful start can be traced back to the offseason. It should have become stronger in the preseason, even if it wasn't obvious.

Few probably noticed at the time but when Cleveland Browns safety Briean Boddy-Calhoun dove at the legs of star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. during their preseason matchup, the Giants' season was doomed. Beckham had an ankle injury that would cost him the opener and parts of Week 2. He was never really healthy until that ankle/leg shattered late in a Week 5 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Giants were barely a functional offense last season with a healthy Beckham. They averaged fewer than 20 points per game, and failed to reach 30 in any of their 17 tries. Without Beckham, it's an incompetent unit. The Giants have averaged 10.8 points in the four games where he either didn't play or was limited.

Beckham is a playmaker. His presence is a game-changer.

"Really all I need to say about Odell is we need him to get healthy and that's what's most important right now, is that he's healthy moving forward," general manager Jerry Reese. "He is a terrific football player and it hurts anybody's football team if you lose a player of his caliber."

No Beckham meant significant trouble for the Giants. It may be their biggest problem as they sit during their bye week, but it's hardly the only reason they're 1-6 and in the midst of one of the most disappointing seasons in team history.

Some of the other areas that have contributed to the early-season struggles ...

Offensive line

This goes back to the offseason when Reese stuck with the same starting unit that struggled last year. The Giants never seriously tried to sign a proven tackle like Andrew Whitworth. Instead they put unfounded faith in Ereck Flowers and Bobby Hart. They tried to tell anyone that would listen that Flowers and Hart were working hard on their conditioning at the team facility throughout the offseason -- when they couldn't work with coaches -- as if that would magically morph them from struggling young tackles to serviceable starters.

It hasn't happened and was a flawed approach. Flowers has predictably remained a problem as quarterback Eli Manning's blindside protector and Hart injured his ankle before subsequently being benched.

The Giants also re-signed veteran John Jerry to remain a starting guard. Reese somewhat incomprehensibly doesn't believe there was a miscalculation on the offensive line, even though they're 27th in rushing, dead last in time of possession, and their offensive schemes and quarterback are handicapped by a line that cannot be trusted.

"No. I think our offensive line -- we have some young players. I think they have improved," Reese said. "We've run the ball some, a little better than we have in the past. But, you have to be consistent doing it. You have to commit to running the ball some. I think our offensive line is comparable. Do we want to upgrade our offensive line? Of course we do, but is our offensive line comparable to a lot of teams around the National Football League? Absolutely, it is."

Nobody is buying this one. What the line is not good enough for is to have the Giants sustain a successful offense. They're 31st in the NFL averaging 16.6 first downs per game. Only the New York Jets are worse. The Giants' offensive line is a key contributor to the struggles.

Quarterback play

None of this is supposed to happen with a proven Super Bowl-winning quarterback counting almost $20 million against the salary cap. The quarterback is the most important player on a team. He's supposed to make the players around him better. It really hasn't happened for the Giants.

Manning hasn't played particularly well this season. He's 24th in total QBR and his 6.2 yards per pass attempt is the worst since his rookie season. His only multi-touchdown games have come when Beckham has been on the field for a majority of the snaps. The combination of a porous offensive line and immobile quarterback has proved toxic for most of the past two years.

Manning knows it's not good enough.

"Everybody knows the record, so I got to play better," he said. "I'm going to keep fighting, keep finding ways to get completions and see if we can move the ball and score some more points."

It's going to take more than just completing passes. Only 12 percent of Manning's passes have been 15 or more yards downfield, the lowest percentage in the league. He's not making enough plays, whether it's throwing his receivers open or buying some time however possible.

Defensive slip

The offensive line and offensive struggles were somewhat predictable. The defense's regression, to an extent, has been surprising. The Giants are 27th in the NFL after finishing 10th last year and allowed three late leads to slip away (although the offense was equally responsible for some of those).

With nine of their 11 starters returning from last season, this wasn't supposed to happen. The defense was expected to be the strength of this Giants team after it carried them to 11 wins in 2016.

"Absolutely disappointed," linebacker Devon Kennard said. "I don't think we've played horribly but just not to our standards. All of us as individuals, all of us as a unit, we can be better."

Part of the Giants' defensive struggles can be attributed to the amount they've been on the field. They're averaging 69 defensive snaps per contest, second only to the winless San Francisco 49ers. The blame can be shared by an offense that is last in time of possession and a defense that is middle of the road in third-down percentage after finishing last year third-best in the NFL.

No wonder the Giants have allowed 63 points in the fourth quarter this season, by far the most of any quarter this year and sixth-most in the league.

Special teams struggles

This completes the trifecta, proving the season has been a team failure. The Giants have shanked punts late in games, received nothing from their return game, missed field goals in recent weeks and had a punt blocked, which makes it no surprise they are 28th in Football Outsiders' special teams DVOA ratings through seven weeks.

These miscues and struggles contribute to their 0-3 record in games decided by seven points or less after going 8-3 in those situations last year. Consider it a collective fail.

"Just all three phases not coming together as one," wide receiver Sterling Shepard said. "Some games we have the defense, they're on and we're off."

Put it all together and it equals a 1-6 record for the Giants and a lost season at the bye week.