Really we must do better in 2014 than we did in 2013 or we will have gone down hill three consecutive seasons.
A season like 2013, where Manning threw 27 interceptions and team suffers a losing season (whatever the reason) should give no one confidence that things are about to improve.
This team has the oldest coach in the league and a QB well on the wrong side of 30.
The time to win is now. Lacking demonstrable improvement (and yes, it's all about W-L records), I see no reason to be confident in this administration in 2015.
The good news is the NFL is a crap shoot year to year. There is no team in the division or the league without warts.
I think the Giants can win, can compete for a division title now.
...and this is just Year 1.
And one of the major re-building pieces just may be our QB draft choice last year out of Syracuse.
(1) Neglecting the OL and TE positions for too long. He began to reverse the former with Pugh and Richburg in rounds one and two in 2013 and 2014. The TE position is basically bereft of talent.
(2) Using too many day one and day two picks on players with character problems (Austin), or who didn't fit our system (Sintim, Beckum). He began to reverse the former again with this year's draft of "team captains."
(3) Drafting too many players based on "measureables" (Barden, Petrus, Brewer, Robinson.) Some of this is inevitable as you movie into the later rounds, but he has done far too much in that regard.
But Reese has a lot going in his favor, including two SBs. He also did draft Nicks, Beatty, JPP, and Prince. His first round picks have actually been good. The problem is that the poor quality of the rest of his drafts have left us with little depth.
A lot depends on how his 2013 and 2014 draft classes perform. The early results are certainly encouraging. If they develop, Reese is safe. He's certainly safe if Nassib can replace Eli as the starting QB in a few years. The early results on that are also good.
Not unreasonable
I'm not really sure you get to be the guy to call out how anyone else views the OL situation, however they view it or its impact, with how foolish your own view has been established as being.
The offensive side of the ball is where all eyes will be. How is the Oline?, How's Eli doing? What about McAdoo?
The offensive side of the ball is where all eyes will be. How is the Oline?, How's Eli doing? What about McAdoo?
The major fork in the road hasn't even come up yet. What happens to the coaching staff, all of them, and Eli in 2 years? Do we re-sign them all or is that fork where we say, thanks to everyone for the golden age, but now we need to rip it all apart and start again?
Eli will be 35 when his contract expires, and TC will be 2 years older. RR's contract expires in 2 years as well, and so it will be interesting to see what happens then. That's the major fork in the road that could incite big time change which we haven't seen since 2003-2004.
The major fork in the road hasn't even come up yet. What happens to the coaching staff, all of them, and Eli in 2 years? Do we re-sign them all or is that fork where we say, thanks to everyone for the golden age, but now we need to rip it all apart and start again?
Eli will be 35 when his contract expires, and TC will be 2 years older. RR's contract expires in 2 years as well, and so it will be interesting to see what happens then. That's the major fork in the road that could incite big time change which we haven't seen since 2003-2004.
Yes. Any decision on Eli's contract would be huge. Did you know if the Giants cut Eli this season, they would save $17M? He's very expensive so he has to produce.
We could be looking at a complete rebuild. That's on the offensive side which I follow. I am not sure who would be a free agent on the defensive side. So add that and this team will be facing very important questions.
So is that honestly the case?
Stubborn or not, add declining Snee and O'Hara(after his last injury) to that list
Mara or Reese would have to force it and that's not the Giants way.
If he's terrible, they'll move on in the off-season... and that moving on will include TC, as he's not going to get a chance to coach the next franchise QB. It'll be a new era time in that case, whether people think that's fair or not too.
I also think Coughlin is in win now mode which is not where this team should be after the last two seasons.
...and this is just Year 1.
And one of the major re-building pieces just may be our QB draft choice last year out of Syracuse.
Agree wholeheartedly.. if you look at the pieces they aquired.. they added competition accross the board at all spots other than QB ( which i think they need to soon )....
The cream will rise to the top and TC will get em to the dance when the horses are in place, they are just not all there .... yet ;)
Unfortunately, the Giants will never say it because it would be bad for business. People would say, let's wait until they're good to buy Giants season tickets, or I'm not going to the Giants game because I don't want to see them lose again. Who is going to buy a jersey if the player is likely to be gone next year?
So temper your expectations because this IS a rebuilding year whether the Giants care to admit it or not.
I also think Coughlin is in win now mode which is not where this team should be after the last two seasons.
I agree. It didn't make sense to me to bring back Coughlin this season.
I agree. It didn't make sense to me to bring back Coughlin this season.
WTH??? Coughlin, even with his warts is probably the 2nd best head coach in the league.
Because this is really year 1 of a COORDINATED rebuild(OC, draft, FA), it could be painful; do not throw the remote.
For all looking for a WCO, TC himself said he wanted ton return to Giants (traditional)football, which is a clock control run game behind a strong OL, RBs that don't fumble, a passing game to move the chains; but uptempo to keep players heads in the game, and truly, to better fit Eli's game persona(look at his 2-minute O success).
Same time Eli might turn it around, do better, TC decides at the end of the year, you know what, it's not worth the agravation anymore, my GM isn't giving me shit to work with,Hell some other team might want him. I don't think any of these guys are "Married".
Seven years running.
The question of would Coughlin ever bench Eli for Nassib is a very interesting one though. You would think the length of the leash Eli has earned for himself is a mile long.
However, if the guy is still skittish, throwing bad picks and fumbling the ball everytime he moves out of the pocket game after game after game. Does TC have the balls to make a change?
My gut feeling is he doesn't, because once you go there, I don't think you can come back. The season would be a disaster, the locker-room would be a mess and the media would smell blood and be all over everybody.
If Eli goes down, so does Coughlin.
The Giants may suck this year but, fuck it, I think I'll actually watch the games before thinking about 2015.
If this team is the debacle it has the potential to be, Jerry Reese is no safer than TC or Eli.
Good news for all involved is TC is likely to retire, Eli has one more year and Reese could be the fall guy, I don't think any past "Giants don't.." statements are valid any longer.
The Giants may suck this year but, fuck it, I think I'll actually watch the games before thinking about 2015.
I agree baadbill. My post was responding to the theme of the thread, not my opinion of the outcome of the season.
Run the ball decently, don't turn it over as much as the other team, get a few timely 3rd down stops on defense. This team is in the playoffs with whatever 5 O-lineman you put out there...
I honestly do not know the answer. But if you had a team that beat the Falcons (best record in NFC following year), a 15-1 GB at Lambau, the Niners in the first of three straight NFC title games, and Brady and the Pats, shouldn't that tell us we had talent? Shouldn't we have been more consistent than 7-7 going into our 15th game and not get smoked by the Redskins in a meaningless game for them in December. As much as a I respect TC, that tells me a lot about where the blame lays if I HAD to separate them. But, as I said before, I don't think you need to or really can effectively. The OP has it right, they should sink or swim together.
Tom Coughlin turns 68 on Sunday. Eli turns 34 during wild card weekend. It's open to debate whether they are in decline, but they are both past the age where men in their respective jobs typically improve.
Add in the institutional history element - the Giants not firing a GM for 35 years - and the likelihood of Jerry Reese getting canned seems pretty far-fetched. It's relatively easy to see Coughlin retiring after a rough 2014. I can even imagine the team moving on from Eli after another bad year. But as long as Reese convinces ownership that he has a credible plan for turning things around, he'll almost certainly get a chance to implement it.
It doesn't really matter how well he or the team performs. One way or the other, Eli will need to be restructured or told he's in his final year as a Giant in 2015. If he puts up numbers like he did last year, and if the team struggles like it did last year, it will be hard for the team to justify keeping his 34 year-old self for that kind of money.
I am awed by what Eli Manning has done for the Giants, and I would love to see him do it again. But there comes a time when an athlete's body just doesn't hold up to the punishment any more. Watching him try to evade rushers gets more difficult each year - and that's saying something, because he was never one of the nimbler QBs in the league. He's accumulated a variety of foot, leg, and shoulder injuries over the years, and he's bound to get dinged up again this year - especially with the porous OL we have right now.
Everyone has to retire sooner or later. I think Giants fans might have to get used to the idea of not having Eli Manning around forever - and that his exit might be closer at hand than folks realize.
2014 will be a very interesting year in GiantsLand. And probably not a very good one.
I don't see Eli ever giving the Giants a hard time about his contract. He'll do what is best for the team and organization. It's one of the reasons he's a great player for the Giants (just like Simms).
I want to be clear about my post ... Eli can play lights out and "be worth $20M a year" and he will still restructure his contract if that is what is necessary for the team/organization to succeed (i.e. to have the cap space to sign the players to keep the team successful).
Quote:
If he's worth $10M a year he should be replaced
I want to be clear about my post ... Eli can play lights out and "be worth $20M a year" and he will still restructure his contract if that is what is necessary for the team/organization to succeed (i.e. to have the cap space to sign the players to keep the team successful).
Restructuring doesn't mean taking less money, it just means changing the payout schedule. So I'll stay with my last post once that is figured in