Much of the vitriol is aimed squarely at Ben McAdoo, and much of it is well deserved.
For the New York Giants franchise, the mistakes run much deeper than its head coach. Team ownership kicked the can down the road with general manager Jerry Reese two years ago. And if John Mara now wants to blame injuries, then Reese may still be calling the shots at the 2018 NFL Draft.
No one feels sorry for Mara, Reese or McAdoo. The smugness that this triumvirate has exhibited for the better part of a year, makes them an easy target. When you act like the smartest people in the room, then you’re going to have to prove it each week.
Quite frankly, it wouldn’t surprise me if many folks around the NFL are gleeful of the present state of the New York Giants.
Too bad their won-loss record can’t be handled internally, just like every other uncomfortable matter surrounding this team.
John and Jerry
Primarily, the fault lies with John Mara and Jerry Reese. Outside of an occasional quality draft pick, there have been more misses than hits for Reese. When Mara brought the general manager back a couple years ago, it didn’t sit right then. Former head coach Tom Coughlin was given a bag of garbage on defense and asked to make the playoffs.
It stunk then, and it stinks worse now.
As much as Wellington Mara was revered, he also presided over 18 years of futility called “The Wilderness Years”. It only changed when George Young was forced upon the Mara family (Wellington and Tim). Young begat Ernie Accorsi, and the franchise was in good hands for a long time.
Not every season was great, but there was a plan. What’s the plan now?
Reese wants to force-feed Ereck Flowers down everyone’s throat, and 2016 first-round pick Eli Apple has been awful this season. And when the team screamed out for an offensive lineman, Reese reached for tight end Evan Engram in 2017.
Routinely, there is more sizzle than steak when it comes to their players. Guys like B.J. Goodson and Darian Thompson are anointed as immediate All Pros, before they play a snap. There more fake news surrounding the New York Giants than there is anywhere else in sports.
McAdoo can’t do
After forcing out Tom Coughlin, Reese and Mara settled upon Ben McAdoo as head coach. In his quest to be his own man, McAdoo eschewed the foundation created under Coughlin. Coughlin’s program was always organized. This year McAdoo has been exposed as insufficiently prepared for this position.
New York Giants
Remember, it was Mara and Reese who had to have him as their guy.
McAdoo spent the better part of the summer holding a largely irrelevant back-up quarterback competition. Meanwhile, the deficient offensive line was treated like a given, instead of a work-in-progress.
Five games into the regular season, the New York Post reported on the deficiency of the offensive line against the Los Angeles Chargers:
"“Protection for Eli Manning (21-of-36, 225 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) was shaky; he was sacked five times, lost a fumble and got knocked around.”"
This description can be utilized every week, but the offensive line wasn’t only not addressed, it was ignored completely. If you count sixth-round pick Adam Bisnowaty and signing D.J. Fluker as addressing the need, then you too can be the New York Giants general manager.
Largely, the cupboard is not as stocked as everyone has been led to believe, and the head coach has not shown the ability to make good players better. Management seems more interested in convincing people that the draft picks are good, instead of making good draft picks.
Clearly, it’s the worst of all worlds.