New York Giants’ horrific season is broken beyond repair
By Ryan Disdier
I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed.
That was the six-word phrase I kept saying in my head during the New York Giants’ meltdown loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. In fact, that’s the six-word phrase I’ve been saying for the majority of the season.
Despite having a 21-0 lead at one point in Sunday’s game in Jacksonville, the Giants squandered their lead and would only score a mere three points in the second half. A crucial miss by Josh Brown, his first of the year, would end up dooming the Giants, as they lost by one point to Jacksonville. The loss marked the seventh consecutive for Big Blue, and it erased any chance of finishing 2014 with a winning record.
Instead of having a late-season collapse like they usually do (see 2006, 2009 and 2010), the Giants have opted to avoid the rush in favor of being a bottom-feeding team.
This is the worst I’ve seen the Giants play since 2003 during the infamous “Jim Fassel Era.” In 2004, when the club finished 6-10 they were bad, but a majority of those issues could be attributed to growing pains, as they were working with a rookie quarterback. That rookie quarterback is now an established player, and the team is dealing with serious issues. Sitting at 3-9, the Giants are worse than they were last year, and major changes need to be made in the offseason.
Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell needs to go. The Giants are currently 29th in total defense. This is a defense that let Blake Bortles drive down the field late in the fourth quarter and eventually set up Jacksonville for the game-winning field goal. This was the first time all year Bortles hasn’t thrown an interception in a game, and the atrocious Giants defense made him look like a young Kurt Warner at times.
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I can’t put all the blame on Fewell, though. Jason Pierre-Paul continued to display his undisciplined nature as he over-pursued on a read-option play, which sprung Bortles for a big gain. The issue I have with that isn’t the mistake, as no player is perfect. The issue is that the exact same thing happened against Seattle. JPP is proving he is prone to make the same mistakes time after time. And speaking of undisciplined, Damontre Moore, who I’ve been very high on, had an inexcusable offside penalty.
This is a unit that has been embarrassed by a litany of teams. Obviously not having inside linebacker Jon Beason and cornerback Prince Amukamara hurts the defense, but they simply have to be better if they want to win games.
The offense isn’t much better. The problem with the offense, besides mistakes like Larry Donnell‘s asinine fumbles, is the inability to show up for the second half. It’s as if the offense decides to go take in a matinee during the second half. However, instead of maybe emulating a thrilling movie like Interstellar, the offense more closely resembles Dumber and Dumber To once the second half rolls around.
Am I exaggerating?
Well, against the Cowboys in week 7, the Giants scored 14 points in the first half, but they would only score seven points in garbage-time during the second half. When they played against the Seattle Seahawks, the offense scored 17 points in the first half, but they were held scoreless in the second. The story was the same last week, as the Giants scored 21 points in the first half, but would only score seven in the second.
I’m not sure what exactly transpires, as I’m not a defensive coordinator, but I have to imagine defenses make adjustments, focus in on Odell Beckham Jr. and shut down the offense. Defenses must realize the Giants won’t take shots down field because they simply don’t have the talent. If Odell Beckham is taken care of, Eli Manning is typically forced to dump off the ball.
The offensive line doesn’t show up in the second half either. Against the Jaguars, the offensive line was depleted, as Geoff Schwartz and James Brewer suffered injuries.
To be completely and blatantly honest, I’m not sure the Giants can win another game this year.
Sure, if you want to be an optimist you could argue they should have an easy time against the Tennessee Titans next week, but the Titans have the same record as the Jaguars, the team that just beat the Giants. Following that game, the Giants host the Washington Redskins, and sure, you could once again argue that they should win that game, but when are NFC East games really predictable? New York’s last two games are against the Rams, who just shutout Oakland 52-0, and at home against the Eagles, who shutout the Giants 27-0 earlier in the year. Right now I’m pretty averse to optimism.
Let’s be honest here, Beckham is the only legitimate playmaker on the offense. Larry Donnell is just a big tight end, and he’s still fairly green, which means he’s capable of making boneheaded blunders. In regards to the wide receivers not wearing number 13, Eli Manning would probably have more chemistry throwing the ball to a box of spiders than he does throwing to Rueben Randle, and Preston Parker is just plain bad. Seriously, I think I speak for a majority of Giants fans when I say I’ve seen more than enough of Preston Parker. Plus, his hair actually looks like a box of spiders.
Rashad Jennings is effective, though it seems he can’t stay healthy, as he sustained an ankle injury in Sunday’s loss. Andre Williams will be a reliable back in a few years, but a 2.9 average per carry isn’t going to help a team win many football games. The play-calling isn’t anything to write home about either.
What’s next for the Giants?
Well, it’s really hard to tell. The Giants have to deal with their first back-to-back losing seasons since 2003-2004, and they will miss the playoffs for the fifth time in six years.
Who do they keep? Who gets jettisoned? Only time will tell, but these poor displays are getting old. It gets to a point where changes have to be made unless the Giants want to continue to be synonymous with mediocrity.
One thing is for sure, and that’s that the New York Giants’ Lombardi Trophies are beginning to lose some of their shine. Winning now is what matters, and the Giants haven’t won since week five.
Things can only get better, right?