It’s far easier to say after the fact, but New York Giants fans should have realized that Cam Ward would likely turn the ball over during the Tennessee Titans’ final drive on Sunday afternoon.
Wow, a Brian Daboll offense collapsing with the game on the line. We haven’t seen that before!
Playing in abysmal conditions amid a nor’easter that hit much of the East Coast, the short-handed Giants intercepted Ward in the end zone to seal an ugly 12-7 win on Sunday afternoon. Dennard Wilson’s defense bent, though much like a rubber band, fired back before properly breaking.
And although the Titans outgained the Giants, it’s hard not to watch Tennessee’s “highlights” and think about how badly the national media botched their offseason Daboll evaluations.
The national media owes the New York Giants an apology for their Brian Daboll praise
Those who followed GMEN HQ’s summer coverage, both before and during training camp, should remember the three trends we saw from national media outlets:
- Jaxson Dart’s aggressive play style makes him a troubling injury risk;
- Cam Skattebo doesn’t have what it takes to be a competent starting running back;
- Brian Daboll is a quarterback guru who will thrive with Cam Ward in Tennessee.
As the saying goes, two out of three ain’t bad. Except in this case, where the pundits botched the Skattebo and Daboll/Ward takes.
But in all seriousness, the Daboll glazing (as the kids say) always felt absurd. People were giving him too much credit for Josh Allen’s success in Buffalo while ignoring how poorly he handled Dart’s health last season.
Daboll recently came under fire for offering the same clichés and excuses during his four years in New York. Where was the national media to take accountability for their absurd dismissal of reality?
But wait, you say. What’s the difference between how those outlets covered Daboll and the approach we’ve taken when writing about Nagy? Easy: We’ve never credited the latter for Patrick Mahomes’ success in Kansas City.
Mahomes and Tom Brady are two of the greatest quarterbacks in league history, and not solely because of their Super Bowl rings. Think about how mediocre their wide receiver corps were at times. But the best quarterbacks make the most of their overall offense even if they’re not throwing to the most recognizable names.
McDaniels failed as a head coach in Denver and Las Vegas, but he’s been incredible as an offensive coordinator. Titans coach Robert Saleh looks like he’s falling into the same boat, albeit as a defensive-minded coach.
But in fairness to Daboll, he may have inherited a broken quarterback. Ward continues to look overmatched and uncomfortable in the NFL, and his 5.7 yards per attempt trails only Arizona’s Jacoby Brissett’s 5.6 for the worst leaguewide among those who have started all three games.
Depending on how Monday’s Eagles-Bears game turns out, the Giants could enter next Sunday holding a share of first place. Fittingly, their Week 4 test comes against Brissett and the 1-2 Cardinals.
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