As much support as we've given Jerry Reese in the past, there is no denying that he has taken a Super Bowl caliber team and driven it straight into the ground. When you have a Super Bowl MVP QB in his prime any smart GM builds around him. Instead, our GM has allowed our offensive line to literally crumble into one of the most pathetic units in the national football league. All of our problems on offense start and end with the offensive line. You can argue there is little talent at our skill positions but in all honesty, there is no way to reasonably judge them b/c there is no time for them to get open. I truly believe that there is no pocket passer in the league that would have any success playing in this offense right now. Not Peyton, Not Brady, Not Rodgers, No Brees. And that's saying something.
It's like everybody here thinks he does what he wants, even though others in management may disagree.
This is a SHARED collapse, but since Reese is the point man, he's getting all the blame.
It's like everybody here thinks he does what he wants, even though others in management may disagree.
This is a SHARED collapse, but since Reese is the point man, he's getting all the blame.
I wouldn't say it's a on Reese but his philosophy sucks. For his first 6 years he focused on 3 position groups heavily in the early rounds and thorough misses or bad luck w injury has virtually nothing to show for it. Follow that upnw bad FA signing and yeah. He's a huge part of the problem. Ross and the scouts work for him. Who decided Sintim was a better
Pick than Max Unger? Wilson over Cordy Glenn etc.
Sadly the who staff will get fired but it starts w Reese.
The coaching staff has burned through it's equity too. Plenty of blame to go around when you have looked this bad for a few years but Reese needed to go at the end of last year.
Reese and Ross have had a combination of shit luck and some bad drafting. The sheer number of guys who were injured and saw premature ends to their careers is frightening. Beyond the football injuries you have a 3rd rounder in a car accident and a first rounder with a congenital spine disease. Injuries aside, we've done a lot of drafting with little to show for it in key areas (as strong as we are at drafting DL for the most part, we seem weak at drafting OL).
We've extended veterans who were over the hill and are still paying the piper. Our FA acquisitions leave a bit to be desired (stretches across Gettleman and his successor).
On the coaching front - even if all these guys were mediocre, you'd figure the coaching staff would at least be able to coach up 1-2 of them. Instead, we get guys who were raved about by scouts (outsiders, not ours) at draft time, and they turn up here and do squat. OL has been concerning to me for some time - while the guys who've left here haven't gone on to rule the world, Guy Whimper did a serviceable job elsewhere, and Matt McCants seemed to do OK for the Raiders last season (although a backup this year). We had guys who were way past their prime starting games, and it's hard to tell whether that was blind loyalty or the dearth of talent behind them, but the fact that we couldn't take one of these guys and turn them into a halfway decent starter (or even above average backup) is damning, and starts to defy the law of averages.
On specials, we stink. We've stunk for some time, going back to the championship run. I've heard a lot of excuses, but how long can you continue to blame the players when so many have come and gone, but the coach remains the same?
Then you get to Eli - whom I hold a great deal of respect for, and he's one of my favorite all-time Giants. But at this point, he's seriously overpaid. And that cap number is holding back the team from putting more talent around him, which he's going to need if he's going to be anything more than your average immobile QB running for his life. Everyone here is either part of the problem or part of the solution, and right now Eli stands firmly in both camps. I do believe he could have a career resurgence, but he's not the guy to pick up everyone around him anymore. He's a solid top 3rd of the league QB, but he needs so much support in terms of OL due to his immobility that you can't win with him being paid as one of the top QBs in the game. It's a catch-22, and I'm afraid it's hurting us right now. As much as it pains me to say it, I think it's time that Eli either comes to that realization, or moves on to a team that's got the requisite talent that can still fit him under the cap to see if he can wring another championship out of his arm.
Fewell didn't look like he knew how to play with his new toys last night. Perennial complaints about how his defenses had to change because he didn't have the horses in the backfield were met with some high profile signings, and it didn't appear that he realizes that he's got those guys now. While the D was the least of our problems last night, it was still troubling to see how often we went into a soft zone allowing the Lions to complete at will when we were down a couple of scores and desperately needed a stop.
Last but not least, it seems like the team has finally tuned TC out. I don't think it's a matter of energy, I think that's ageist and does TC a disservice. But any leader will eventually wear out his welcome, and it seems like after 10 years TC has finally reached that point. Like Eli I have a tremendous amount of respect for TC and the run he gave us, and would wish him luck with anything he decides to try after he leaves. Barring a miraculous turnaround (which is very possible, it's only game one), if this continues I'm afraid it's time to move on.
It is only the first game, and we have a lot of season left, but this has been the trend for almost 2 years now, and it doesn't seem to be improving.
I am sure part of the plan was ODB to replace Nicks and all would be ok. So far that plan is failing....so far.
And Reese's OL quick fix this off-season isn't going to work either.
But it is also true that the problems go much deeper than that.
Then you get to Eli - whom I hold a great deal of respect for, and he's one of my favorite all-time Giants. But at this point, he's seriously overpaid. And that cap number is holding back the team from putting more talent around him, which he's going to need if he's going to be anything more than your average immobile QB running for his life. Everyone here is either part of the problem or part of the solution, and right now Eli stands firmly in both camps. I do believe he could have a career resurgence, but he's not the guy to pick up everyone around him anymore. He's a solid top 3rd of the league QB, but he needs so much support in terms of OL due to his immobility that you can't win with him being paid as one of the top QBs in the game.
The Giants are 3M under the cap right now, money they didn't spend yet and probably won't, even after signing the mighty group of Schwartz/Walton/Jerry/Brown to bolster the OL, having Beatty with a $7.4M cap hit, and spending a R2 pick on Richburg. They spent a painful amount of money on the suck that was Beatty/Baas/Snee/Diehl last season, along with spending a first round pick on Pugh (they also have decent dead money tied up in Snee and Baas this season).
His contract really hasn't stopped them from paying for anyone along or investing in the OL. It's one of the greatest myths constantly perpetuated here these days that the Giants haven't invested in that area. The team has just done a really awful job of doing the investing.
I certainly blame the he and Ross the most, because the talent (especially on offense) is horrendously low and has been crashing downward for seasons now, but from Coughlin to Fewell to Eli, there's still blame to go around and be divided.
My biggest problem continues to be that Reese/Ross are the ones who are going to escape blame from the team itself and keep their jobs while Coughlin and Eli get the axe. If they latter two have to fall on the sword, the guys who pretty much pushed them into that fall shouldn't still be employed and in charge of selecting the next HC/QB era either. They should all be gone after the season if that's what needs to happen, should things spiral out.
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As far as who he could have drafted: Cordy Glenn over Wilson, Osemele with a trade down if he didn't want Glenn, Max Unger over Sintim.
Maybe the single-worst draft decision of his tenure - on par with Accorsi's Dayne over Faneca in terms of a bust that everyone saw coming instead of a top-tier offensive lineman for years to come.
"Yes" you can replace that FA but it also costs draft picks to do it. Keep some of the FAs and draft at other positions.
John: It's a matter of cap dollars. We would have kept Coefield and Linval if we had the coin. Eli makes a fortune.
Wrong. Peyton & Brady both were much less effective in losing Superbowls when their Olines were dominated by a superior Dline.
Plus, they've never played with SHIT Olines. Never.
Hakeem Nicks went from a dominant playmaker to a nicked up, likely quitter, who is off the team. Mario Manningham blew out his knee. Rueben Randle was drafted to be the next man up and defied universal expectations as NFL ready and is anything but ready. Odell Beckham hasn't seen the field.
David Wilson had a career ending injury in the year he was supposed to get his shot after having some fumbling issues.
Kenny Phillips, Terrell Thomas were both playmaking hawks who blew out their knees.
Jason Pierre Paul has dealt with injuries that took him from a force to being just another guy.
This is where Reese invested a lot of his big moves and he has been ravaged by misfortune.
Instead, all of those investments have become problems for the Giants, and that only aggravates the situation when it comes to places that he had to defer on making a priority.
Reese isn't blameless, but the complete lack of talent on the team is not entirely his fault.
Excellent post, Paul. Add the Will Hill drug problem to that list.
Randle
Hosley
Robinson
Mosley
McCants
Kuhn
Hakeem Nicks went from a dominant playmaker to a nicked up, likely quitter, who is off the team. Mario Manningham blew out his knee. Rueben Randle was drafted to be the next man up and defied universal expectations as NFL ready and is anything but ready. Odell Beckham hasn't seen the field.
David Wilson had a career ending injury in the year he was supposed to get his shot after having some fumbling issues.
Kenny Phillips, Terrell Thomas were both playmaking hawks who blew out their knees.
Jason Pierre Paul has dealt with injuries that took him from a force to being just another guy.
This is where Reese invested a lot of his big moves and he has been ravaged by misfortune.
Instead, all of those investments have become problems for the Giants, and that only aggravates the situation when it comes to places that he had to defer on making a priority.
Reese isn't blameless, but the complete lack of talent on the team is not entirely his fault.
It's why I give him a bigger pass than most do. I'd add Will Hill, Jonathan Goff, Jake Ballard, and Kenny Phillips (none of whom are 30 years-old yet) to that list. These guys are at bare minimum solid contributors who the Giants only got 1 season out of for one reason or another. Maybe if 26 year-old (healthy) Nicks was still on the team, they draft a OL instead of a WR.