On February 5th, 2012, the New York Giants were making their way through the Canyon of Heroes in Manhattan, celebrating their fourth Super Bowl victory in the franchises’ history and their second in five seasons. They had a star quarterback in Eli Manning, a stud defensive line anchored by veteran Justin Tuck and All-Pro Jason Pierre Paul, budding young wide receivers in Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz, and a future Hall of Fame coach in Tom Coughlin. The future looked promising.
Less than two years after that victory parade, the Giants are sitting at the bottom of the NFC standings as the laughing stock of the NFL. (Other than the Jaguars, of course. No team is more of a joke than the Jaguars.) What has changed in the past two years? The star quarterback, the stud linemen, the talented wide receivers…they’re all still there. Yet somehow, the talent, the focus, the passion, and the desire to win just don’t seem to be there in this year’s Giants team. We are more than a quarter the way through the season, and the Giants have yet to win a game…they are barely even competitive in those games. So who is to blame for this team’s lackluster play thus far? Here is the breakdown by certain positions:
QB, Eli Manning: Sixteen turnovers in six games! Eli just cannot protect the ball this year. This has always been one of Manning’s greatest flaws as a quarterback. His inability to keep his interceptions to a low number has prevented him from entering into the upper-echelon of QBs, with the likes of Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Drew Brees. (Yes, I am putting Peyton in a category all by himself.) However, his 4th quarter play throughout his career has usually bailed him out. It has made him the player he is: a competitor who has what it takes to win when it matters most.
But this year, there is something off about him. Perhaps he is putting too much pressure on himself to win a game, or his absolutely terrible offensive line has gotten in his own head. Perhaps he thinks his head will get knocked off if he doesn’t throw the ball right away. Whatever it is, Eli hasn’t been the quarterback we have grown accustomed to. Thursday night against the Bears, this trend continued for Eli. He threw a pass about five inches out of the reach of TE Brandon Myers’ hands and into the hands of a Chicago defender when the Giants were driving the field on their way to a potential first win. Nothing is going right for this two-time Super Bowl MVP. Out of his 15 interceptions this year, eight have come in the 4th quarter, sealing the losses. That, to say the least, is not a recipe for success.
RB, David Wilson, Da’rel Scott, Brandon Jacobs, etc.: One month ago, Brandon Jacobs was not even on an NFL roster. He hadn’t been since the 49ers released him last year due to disagreements. This is the same Brandon Jacobs whom the Giants did not want on the team last year and did not want to pay. The same Brandon Jacobs, standing at 6’4” and weighing in at 265 lbs, who can’t seem to get one yard for a first down despite being built like a bull. Yet somehow, this is the man who will be the starting running back for the upcoming weeks.
This is, of course, due to David Wilson being hurt and a fumble machine, and Tom Coughlin not being able to trust him. (The early speculation on Wilson is that he may have spinal stenosis, a potential season-ending injury) It is also due to Da’rel Scott just being plain bad at football (just recently cut from the team, and then re-signed again). But regardless, when your team has 284 yards, two TDs, and four fumbles through five games, you do no have a very effective offense. Brandon Jacobs did give some hope for the Giants rushing offense with his impressive game of 106 yards and two touchdowns against the Bears on Thursday. Is this a sign of things to come, or just a mere #throwbackthursday for the 31-year-old running back? My gut says the latter.
O-Line: This is as bad as the Giants have ever looked up-front on the offensive line. Just a few years ago, this position was considered to be their strongest asset. Now it is just a mess. To be fair, there has been a slow decline in performance year by year, especially in the run game. But last year, Eli Manning got sacked the least amount in the entire NFL: 20 times. This year, he has already been sacked 16 times. Absolutely no one has shown anything with their run or pass blocking. Will Beatty is a statue at left tackle, week by week having defenders blow past him right to Eli. David Baas had been hurt. David Diehl has been hurt (although this arguably doesn’t make the Giants any worse). And to top it all off, rookie Justin Pugh is put in all different spots because of the Giants’ injuries and inconsistency on the line. The offensive line is the most underrated part of a football team, yet it may very well be the most important part. And the fact of the matter is, the Giants just don’t have enough talent at the position to win many games.
D-Line: The defensive line used to give this team its identity. It used to make the opposing team’s quarterback fearful and uncomfortable in the pocket. In years past, this D-line took down the untouchable Tom Brady in the Super Bowl, twice. But now, this defensive front looks like a JV High School football team. Justin Tuck, the captain and leader of the defense, just doesn’t have it anymore. He has battled with injuries throughout his career, and these injuries combined with his increasing age have left him a shell of his former self. As for Jason Pierre-Paul, it is tough to say. Just two seasons ago he was the near Defensive Player of the Year, accumulating 16.5 sacks on the way to a championship. After a bit of a down year last season, Giants fans were expecting a resurrection in play for the 2013 season. However, Pierre-Paul continues to struggle. It may have to do with his off-season back surgery, but it may just be due to offenses game-planning better. Whatever it is, if the Giants don’t find an identity again with their entire D-line soon, their season could be over. (Oh what’s that? We’re 0-6 and our season is over already? Okay, never mind. Let’s just tank for Clowney.)
Secondary: This defensive back unit of the Giants has struggled remaining healthy for years, and this year is no different. The players who are staying healthy aren’t bringing much more to the table. The best player in the secondary is Prince Amukamara, and sadly, that is not saying much. Antrel Rolle, another defensive captain, has a bark way bigger than his bite. Corey Webster was good about three years ago, but now he is easy pickings for QBs and has been hurt most of the season. Aaron Ross is out for the year with a back injury. Terrell Thomas, who is coming back from not one, not two, but three torn ACLs, is just not the same player he once was. Stevie Brown, a turnover machine from a year ago, who had a breakout season in his first year as Giants starting safety, tore his ACL before the season even started. With all these injuries and bad play, the Giants have resorted to starting Trumaine McBride at CB, a player who has been cut from three teams already in his brief NFL career.
LBs: Easiest analysis yet. They are bad. Maybe bringing in veteran former All-Pro linebacker Jon Beason will make a difference. Then again, maybe not.
Coaching: Winning two Super Bowls and having career numbers similar to those of Bill Parcells has all but confirmed that Tom Coughlin will be the coach of this team as long as he wants it, and I am okay with that. However, for Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride I have a slightly different opinion. If you go around and ask Giants fans about Kevin Gilbride, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who actually likes the offensive game plan he runs out on the field week in and week out. Shotgun passes on first down, 3rd-and-long “halfback draws” and/or “screens” that never work, zero creativity in the Red-Zone. As much as the players need to execute, they should be given an initial platform to work with. And although Eli Manning won two Super Bowls with Kevin Gilbride in command, I think this year is as good a time as any for a change.
So there you have it: the reasons why the Giants are an amazing 0-6 for the 2013 season. The finger can’t be pointed at one person, because the fault is not solely on one person. This entire team hasn’t done its job, from the offense to the defense to special teams. In order to be a contender that this team was hoping to be, you can’t have the mistakes, the penalties, the turnovers, and the downright sloppy play that this team has had thus far. As much as it pains me to say it, the Giants will not be having one of those memorable victory parades down the Canyon of Heroes this year. The better question is whether they will be having a victory high-five for winning one game.
