How the Reese Giants Got to the failed 2017 Season (long)

I am never the one to play Chicken Little and yell the sky is falling, and in truth I will never permit myself to fully adopt that attitude. However, if you step back and look at Jerry Reese’s tenure as GM, the reality is staring you in the face. Of course, you cannot remove the 2007 and 2011 Championship seasons, but the reality remains this franchise has won zero playoff games since 2011, and only has a total of four playoff appearances in 10 years (Let me reiterate, in 10 years!) with only one playoff appearance in the last 6 years. In comparison, Ernie Accorsi presided over a playoff team 4 times in an 8 year period, with one Super Bowl appearance. Of course, he deserves a lot of the credit for the 2007 team.

Clearly, not only is the tenure of Jerry Reese not up to the standard of one of the “Flagship Franchises” of the National Football League, but the last six years have been a disaster. Count me as one of those who think that Reese had more cause for termination than Coughlin (not that Coughlin was blameless) and drafting OBJ pretty much saved him at the time. I’m sure I am oversimplifying things, but that’s the basic gist. Bottom line, this organization is 88-72 from 2007-20016, and 39-41 from 2012-2016. Frankly that is just not good enough. If you anticipate this season ending no better than the historically bad 3-13, which is highly likely, then those numbers get even worse. 91-85 from 2007-2017, and 42-54 since 2012. If those numbers don’t strike you as ugly, then I question the quality of your eyesight.

Let us also remember that those 2007 and 2011 Championship teams over-achieved and in many cases caught lightning in a bottle. Reese inherited the nucleus of a veteran team in 2007, with a hall of fame defensive end, pro-bowl MLB, solid veteran OL, and veteran receiving corps. I give Reese and company full credit for the 2007 draft, which was instrumental in the championship run, but Accorsi spent years building that team, which still managed several playoff appearances in the early 2000s. 2011 was all about Cruz, Nicks, and Manningham, and the Giants pass rush. We all know the 2011 team was not as good or complete as the 2007 or 2008 teams, but Eli had his best year as a pro with a stable of targets to throw to. Also, it wasn’t like 2011 was Coughlin’s first rodeo. I’m not trying to diminish what Reese has accomplished during his time here, I’m just pointing out that the franchise’s successes (though momentous) are inconsistent and not solely attributable to him.

If you look at 2007-2011 as a block in time, you would think the Giants were on their way to being the team of the early 21st century. However, this is where I think Reese fatally erred. Giant fans all know the 2011 team got hot at the right time. We know the 2011 OL was already in decline. We all knew Ahmad Bradshaw was already running on his last legs. And we all knew the 2011 defense was aging (with the exception of JPP) and increasingly banged up. The starting middle LB was Chase Blackburn! Reese spoke yesterday about the Giants buying into the hype (which to me was an indictment of himself and MacAdoo more than the players). I would submit that Reese bought into the hype after 2011 and didn’t see the writing on the wall. On the one hand, who could blame him if he did. He had been GM for five years, had won two Super bowls in that time, blessed with the best QB in franchise history at the top of his game, had a solid rotation of defensive ends, and a trio of game breaking WRs. No doubt the Giants had a very good nucleus of talent from pretty much 2004-2011, but it was rapidly aging and growing more injury prone.

By 2013, when Eli Manning was getting destroyed in the pocket and the running game had evaporated, it was too late. The collapse of the team’s offensive line was nearly complete. Sure they had drafted Pugh, but he was a rookie in 2013, and I would argue too little too late. Diehl was 33 and in dramatic decline. Chris Snee played three games in 2013, the last season he played in the NFL. The OCs were Baas (who was also aging and only played in three games I think) and Jim Cordle (journeyman). The LG was Boothe, a serviceable player, who was also aging and nothing overly special. And Will Beatty, an up and down player, who never lived up to his potential was the LT. The average age of the Giants starting OL in 2013 was 29 years old, which doesn’t sound terrible. However, when you consider that the line started a 23 year old rookie, plus a 33, 32, and 30 year old, the 29 number is misleading. If you take Pugh out of the lineup, the average age rises to nearly 31. When you add the fact that Baas and Diehl by that point in their careers were quite injury prone, it makes that 31 look even older.

As the GM with a Super Bowl winning QB, who is a prototypical pocket passer, Reese should have never allowed 2013 to happen. The saying is you build a football team from the inside out, and this statement is even truer when you have a QB like Eli Manning. Reese was a year too late in trying to fix the OL, and it led to the disaster that was 2013. A 7-9 finish no one expected. I mention all of this to say that the decisions made by Jerry Reese and the front office after the 2011 Super Bowl led to that 2013 season, which directly led to the firing of OC Kevin Gilbride.

I am the first to admit, I was not always happy with Gilbride. I thought his offense functioned like a European sports car. When it was well tuned it was unstoppable, when one part was out of whack, the whole thing came crashing down. Case in point is 2011, when the offense stunk until it found a functional slot WR, and 2013 when the OL could not stop a cold. All that said, Gilbride ran an offense that played to Eli’s strengths. Highly cerebral, well balanced in run vs pass, used playaction to create separation, and was not afraid to throw the ball downfield. I would contend that after the 2013 season when the Giants front office said the “offense was broken,” that they were wrong. The offense was not broken. The offensive line was broken, which brought the Gilbride offense to an abrupt halt. The issue was not a schematic problem as much as a personnel problem.

In my opinion, Jerry Reese paved the way for MacAdoo and they should be thought of as a pairing. The collapse of the OL in the early part of the decade is clearly on Reese. The collapse of the OL led to the MacAdoo hire and a stark change in offensive philosophy. A philosophy that does not play to Eli’s natural strengths. In his mid-30s, Eli underwent a process to change his footwork and speed up his release. Not exactly what you want a two time winning Super Bowl QB doing in his latter playing years. That said, with the arrival of OBJ, the offense enjoyed success. Lost in all those OBJ and Eli stats with MacAdoo as offensive coordinator are two facts. 1) Despite limited success running the ball, the Coughlin-led Giants remained committed to offensive balance and playaction. 2) The Giants defense was horrible in 2014 and 2015, which meant the Giants were either trying for a big play early to get a lead or playing from behind and throwing the ball a lot. This is why some say accurately say “stats are for losers!”

Following two 6-10 seasons, Coughlin was forced into retirement. Never mind that he managed 6 wins with a team that had historically bad defensive talent. Wouldn’t we love 6 wins this year, but I digress. The firing of Coughlin and elevation of MacAdoo cemented this team’s offensive identity. Three step drops, quick passes, short passing game as an extension of the run game, rub routes, slants, outs, and gos. I’m sure I am glossing over some nuances, but the point is made, the MacAdoo offense is philosophically different than the Gilbride/Coughlin offense. I would argue that the performance of the offense in 2016 and the first month of 2017 strongly suggests the transition to the full implementation of the MacAdoo offensive scheme has not been good for the franchise. A fairly easy argument can be made that even OBJ was more effective when Coughlin was the HC.

With this long write-up, I’m trying to illustrate how Reese’s probable mindset and assessment of the team after 2011 contributed to the degradation of the OL, the resulting belief that the offense was broken, the firing of Gilbride and his replacement with MacAdoo, the resulting change in offensive scheme which was a departure from Eli’s strengths and has clearly not yielded consistent results despite having the one of the best offensive playmakers in the game.

2017, and the 1-6 record, has been a 6 year process for the New York Giants. With Coughlin and Gilbride gone, Jerry Reese and Ben MacAdoo are the only ones left holding the bag, and as of 2016 this is their team. The roster is Reese’s, the scheme is MacAdoo’s, and both have failed miserably. Perhaps there was a time when the Giants could piecemeal a solution to their problems, but that time was 2012-2013. Even before the injuries to the WR corps, the 2017 Giants had no running game, could not protect the QB, and employed an offensive scheme that was predictable, stubborn, inconsistent, and ineffective. John Mara may not relish the idea of cleaning house and firing both a GM and HC, but this is what he must do. The New York Giants should not tolerate a historically bad season (which they were well on their way to before injury struck) when they have a more than competent defense, the best QB in franchise history, and the best offensive player in franchise history (for four of the first five games).

I actually think the Giants can return to being a competitive team in 2018 if they first begin by changing their approach. A different offensive philosophy. No more basketball on grass! Rebuild the lines on both sides of the ball. The Giants DL is great, but there is no depth. Eli has at least two good years left in him (I would argue even 3-4) if you put him in a scheme that fits him. I think Eli’s situation is somewhat similar to Elway’s in the late 90s. Eli needs a figure like a Shanahan to come in and prolong his career by emphasizing the run and improved OL play. Between OBJ, Engram, and Shepherd, there are enough high-profile weapons in the passing game. What is lacking is the scheme to make them all complement each other. January 2018 is not the time for half measures, we are passed that point. It is time for a change! And that should begin with a new GM and a new coach.