What were Giants fans thinking in 1982 and 1983?

they all knew that PArcells and Young were the right fit here and the Giants were about to embark on a golden era of football.

No doubt they all knew.





No one knew shit.

(1) The Giants were cursed;
(2) 1981 was just a tease;
(2) Bill Parcells was a goner.

season, according to most media reports back then. George Young reportedly reached out to Howard Schnellenberger (Univ of Miami) as a possible replacement. No interwebs, no fan forums, just some newsletters, water cooler, backyard conversations among fans. From what I remember, Parcells had to go, Phil Simms was a mistake, too injury-prone, Scott Brunner was better, yada, yada. So in retrospect, not much has changed.

i still remember saying to my dad after the week 1 win against Philly in 84 that the Giants looked good and maybe they finally were on the right track. He said no way in hell, week 1 was a fluke and the Giants would inevitably blow it.


There were not many optimistic fans back then. Just like now. 81 was awesome, but people forget the team lost a lot of games in 82 and 83. Fans were negative and had absolutely no faith in Simms.

And then they started winning.

In comment 15564980 M.S. said:

Quote:

(1) The Giants were cursed; (2) 1981 was just a tease; (2) Bill Parcells was a goner.

Me too 1983 I thought Parcells was not gonna make it but the team was DEVASTATED with injuries that year

Then he finally PULLED Brunner, inserted Simms, the team showed signs of Life and then Simms almost lost hi Thumb 2 drives in. That team was cursed The low point was a 20-20 tie on MNF which as a real clownshow

tempered some of it. Brunner was still considered acceptable then. I always thought he sucked. I was still optimistic in 1983 until Parcells named Brunner. Then the roof fell in with injuries, drugs and other issues. Parcells cleaned house going into 1984 and the rest is history.

I had just started college in fall 1982

but I remember BP always looking clueless and stoic on the sidelines and wanting him fired.. Glad I was wrong.

because he was seen as the architect of the success in 1981. I don't remember 1982, the strike made it a mess.

So yes, I think (I was only 16) I remember being annoyed that we went right back to crap in 1983.

but we had LT, and Simms was getting hurt all the time.
You kind of knew things were going to turnaround.
In 1981 we made the divisional round with Brunner QBing. Nucleus was there.
82 was the strike shortened season, and Perkins left.
1983 was just weird, injuries, new coach etc.
With the nucleus in place in 1984, we draft Banks, William Roberts, Manuel and Bobby Johnson and away we go.

Right now we have cap issues and a bad roster.
Its a different feeling now. No Lawrence Taylor's on the roster.

about losing Perkins after 1982 and the crash and burn 1983, you have to remember that the USFL was getting into gear. There were real concerns at the time that LT was going to jump because he was in a contract fight with the Maras. LT actually signed with Trump and the NJ Generals but the USFL folded before it could become a reality. I was still a kid in 1984 as it turned the corner, but I remember my dad and family saying that 1981 was a tease and it was back to the same old garbage again.

Perkins was for leaving. We were developing something good

The HC that had finally won a playoff game had abandoned ship for Alabama. The QB savior who was drafted in 1979 had been beaten up so badly his career was in question. The new HC went 3-12-1 in his first year. It was very easy to think the Giants in the 80's weren't going to be much different than the Giants in the 70's.

And then 1984 happened. To this day it's one of my favorite Giant seasons. I think I'd rank it 6th after the 4 Super Bowl wins and 1981. I can tell you the day that I really started to believe. I can't speak for anyone else.

October 28, 1984 Giants 37 Washington 13. Washington was the 82 Super Bowl winner and had lost the 83 Super Bowl to the Raiders. The score and winning the game wasn't what made me believe. The Giants had started the season beating Philadelphia and Dallas they had been blown out the two weeks before by the Rams and 49ers and were 4-4 when the game started. Washington beat them 30-14 earlier in the year and I think the Giants had lost 6 in a row to them.

John Riggins and their OL were the big deal for Washington when the game started the Giants decided to play a 5-2 and covering every Washington OL with Harry Carson playing as a down lineman. They stuffed Riggins he gained 61 yards on 16 carries and Simms threw for 339 and 2TDs.

Parcells out coached Gibbs badly that day. That's when I thought we be on to something here.

Just when we made progress hurt. I remember my sister and I joking that at the end of the season he was plotting his route to Bama on the sidelines. Instead of playsheets he had maps.

Parcells first season confirmed the fear we’d regress. But LT, Carson, and that D were tough, and Simms once he stayed healthy showed something. But still wasn’t sure we’d ever win it all.

85 showed we were really good, but not good enough.

And then ‘86. And the dream was real.

In comment 15564995 djm said:

Quote:

i still remember saying to my dad after the week 1 win against Philly in 84 that the Giants looked good and maybe they finally were on the right track. He said no way in hell, week 1 was a fluke and the Giants would inevitably blow it. There were not many optimistic fans back then. Just like now. 81 was awesome, but people forget the team lost a lot of games in 82 and 83. Fans were negative and had absolutely no faith in Simms. And then they started winning.

As for Phil Simms, the first time I saw him throw a pass (in his first appearance for the Giants) I thought (and said to my brother) this kid is gonna be good! I was completely befuddled when they drafted him, but he showed me something right away. Of course, it took awhile to get everything pointed in the right direction, but I really believed in Phil Simms. He had it.

thinking what many on this site blurt out daily about Daniel Jones, that Phil Simms after 4 seasons was a complete bust of a draft pick and the team needed to find a competent QB. How did that turn out?

...how many times was I going to hear random utterances of
"F___g Scott Brunner", before my Dad was onto the next thing.

who looked like they were assets.

It turned out that they all had issues of one sort or another, including some druggies.

and they'd be a damn good team if they could ever get a decent offense on the field.

I was a beleive in simms, he was my favorite Giant. It broke my heart when he was lost in the pre season in 1982. They weren't that bad that year, they lost a lot of games late and just missed the expanded post season. 1983 was a disaster, of course. Simms has even said being injured was a blessing in disguise becasue if he had played he'd probably would've been gone after the season.

the whole thing was weird. The Giants were in almost every game

83- rookie head coach made a bone-headed decision naming Brunner the starter, lot of injuries, very, very tough division, too many turnovers.

BUT. I’m sure I was also saying, “I could watch this defense ‘til the cows come home.” I grew up with those bad teams in the ‘70s; it’s what I expected.

The Giants defense during those lean years made the team watchable. Every week.

and he's no Ray Perkins