Honesty is supposed to be the best policy, unless you’re New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen.
Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Schoen was asked about his expectations ahead of the new year. The Giants have only recorded one winning season since the start of 2017, and they’re on their fifth head coach in the last 11 years.
Schoen obviously wasn’t going to say that he viewed the Giants as a 5-12 team, but his response and analysis of the team’s overall roster nonetheless turned heads on social media.
“Without going position by position, I do like the roster. I do like where we are. I’m not comparing it to other rosters, but again, I do like where we are on both sides of the ball. Special teams as well. Again, all three phases, I like the group. And without going each position, through each position, it’s certainly a competitive group and those expectations this year.”
That’s a solid answer, albeit repetitive and redundant. The problems arose when the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy shortened the quote to “There are expectations this year.”
Clarifying New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen’s comments about the team’s expectations
Because social media is a minefield and it’s incredibly easy to take comments out of context, Giants fans immediately took issue with Schoen’s remarks. Why wouldn’t a team, even those amid rebuilds like the Browns or Jets, have expectations?
If anything, the greater story is how often Schoen used the same terminology. We counted 12 instances in Schoen’s press conference where he offered some variation of how much he likes the Giants’ roster and the team’s current state. Heck, he said it four times in the quote we used earlier!
If you’re a cynic, you’d argue that the more someone needs to say something, the greater the likelihood that it’s untrue. Even the most passionate Giants fans would agree that the roster has glaring holes and significant concerns, most notably at receiver and the interior defensive line. The ongoing running back questions appear to have slowed down, though questions linger about Tyrone Tracy Jr.’s long-term future in New York.
Should Schoen have taken a different approach during Wednesday’s press conference? That’s far easier said than done, as anyone familiar with public speaking knows firsthand. You can create a game plan for what you’ll say and how you’ll say it, but anything can happen once you stand in front of an assembled crowd.
But when you’re coming off three consecutive losing seasons, insisting on how much you “like” the roster isn’t a great way to foster faith among the fanbase. Most preseason projections have the Giants finishing in last place yet again, even after potentially landing their franchise quarterback in Jaxson Dart and hiring the proven John Harbaugh as head coach.
Remember, Schoen “likes” where the Giants are. As a wise man once said, “The bigger the lie, the more they believe.”
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