Ok, so here are the New York Giants again. 1-5 heading into week 7. Not exactly what everyone was hoping for. Again. However, all of the people calling to “Fire Judge, he has no clue” or “Get rid of Jones and get an Elite quarterback once and for all” or “Blow it up and start over again” are letting their emotions control their common sense.
Well now, I admit, I was one of them (and usually am). Not to that extreme, but usually overly emotional (aggravated is more like it). Then I sat back and thought about it for a bit. Here’s what I came up with -
1 - There have been 18 injuries so far this year, many of which are 1st team players at skill positions. ANY team that could easily call themselves ‘The Walking Wounded” has pretty much no shot at playing good football, much less consistently good football. Remember, even with all of these injuries, this 1-5 team is still a team that was only one bad call and one bad play respectively away from being 3-3.
(AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
2 - Not re-signing Dalvin Tomlinson - Huge mistake! With Blake Martinez being one of the out-for-the-season injured players (not that that could have been predicted), that’s two players down.
Everyone has been saying that Leonard Williams got paid and stopped caring. Look at some game film. The truth of the matter is that he’s getting double teamed most of the time. Last year he had help with Tomlinson in there with him (and of course Martinez).
Yes, the defense has been a disappointment thus far. Something has happened to what they were building last year. Maybe it’s and attitude problem? Maybe it’s another slow start? Either way, it’s not going to be fixed by blowing up the coaching staff, and it certainly won’t be fixed with a new quarterback!
(USA Today Sports/Vincent Carchietta)
3 - Daniel Jones, while not necessarily a top quarterback in the league, seems as if when he is given enough time, with the right play makers to get the ball to, has improved. Yes, I would love an Elite quarterback instead, but where the hell are they going to get one of those?
There’s no guarantee with drafting quarterbacks, and Jones is ahead of the curve. Some may say that he’s only slightly ahead of the curve as this point, but his being just “slightly” ahead is only true when he is hurried. And while that is a problem (one that seems to be slowly getting fixed), it’s a lot less of one when he is not hurried.
Short of a mind boggling trade (that is big time in favor of the Giants) for a current Elite quarterback (i.e. both of next year’s first rounders and some other expendable picks and/or players for Lamar Jackson or Russell Wilson or someone like that, which won’t happen), I say ride Jones out for now and focus ONCE AND FOR ALL on the offensive line!
(The Athletic/Dan Duggan)
4 - Joe Judge seems to be struggling right now, but many head coaches would if they had to deal with all the injuries that Judge has had to deal with. Of the last 3 head coaches the Giants have had, Judge has shown the most promise. Is he Belichick, no, but who besides Belichick is? A little consistency is what’s in order right now. The Steelers have had just 3 head coaches over the last 53 seasons. The Giants have had 3 in the last 5! I’m not comparing the current Giants to the Steelers for the last half of a century, nor Judge to Noll, Cowher or Tomlin, but consistency does help. I say ride out Judge for now and see what he’s capable of after the injuries have subsided, and the offensive line project finally gets its wheels.
5 - Gettleman has been the issue for years now. The biggest glaring issue has been the offensive line this whole time, and he’s had four years to fix it and it hasn’t been fixed yet! Look, you put average quarterbacks with decent play makers behind a brick wall of an offensive line and they excel. You put Elite quarterbacks with amazing play makers behind Swiss Cheese and they will struggle. Football is won in the trenches. Always has been, always will be!
The moral - Gettleman needs to go, a new general manager needs to be hired. Not one from within the organization, they need to reach for a star from outside. The trouble will be finding one. Once they do, they could attempt to work a little magic to see what could be done in the short term.
The Giants have the makings of a decently competitive team. Don’t go crazy over that comment, the word “makings” was in there. That is a true statement. There are many decent, competitive play makers on this team. The front office needs to finally take responsibility, do something now and find a way to get this team to the next level.
