It may be time for the owners of the New York Football Giants to sing the classic Michael Jackson “Man in the Mirror.” Why? Because John Mara and Steve Tisch need to make a change as to how they approach constructing a team.
Yesterday, the New York Giants suffered their worst loss of the season at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams. They gave up 51 points, the worst the team has ever done since 1964. It was clear from the way the team was playing that they quit on the coaching staff. You don’t give up a 52 yard touchdown on a 3rd and 33 and say that you were playing hard.
There was little to believe that there was any considerable effort from the players.
Rodney Harrison, former two time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots and current analyst with ESPN’s Monday Night Football, stated that the Giants quit on the coaching staff.
“This is unbelievable,” Harrison said tonight on Monday Night Football. “They’re playing a prevent (defense) and they have to do is tackle this guy,” Harrison said. “Look at (Giants cornerback) Eli Apple. He wants part of it. He flat out quit.”
He also was extremely critical of Giants coach Ben McAdoo and his handling of the situation.
“Tony Dungy earned his respect. (Patriots head coach) Bill Belichick earned his respect. McAdoo has to do the same thing. He can’t come in and try to bully these guys. They’re young, they’re rich, and they’re not going to listen to a coach trying to bully his way around.”
Mara and Tisch could easily put the blame of Jerry Reese, Ben McAdoo, and clean house. However, what happens then? What direction do they plan to take the franchise? These are hard questions they need to ask themselves, especially if they want to regain the trust of their fanbase.
It has been often stated that Mara and Tisch want to run their organization similar to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Much like the Giants, they are a cornerstone franchise of the NFL that has been model of success for many years. There’s a hierarchy that they follow that showcases how to handle team structure. These are solid foundation keys to learn from and it’s no shame to try to build a team by learning from the best. One problem: the Steelers actually have an established staff that can do the job. The Giants (unfortunately) don’t.
It’s fair to say that Reese has been given ample chances despite the fact that he and his staff have constantly failed the owners and the fans for over a decade while lucking out with two Super Bowl titles. After the Giants pulled off a Cinderella run and beat the New England Patriots in the classic Super Bowl XLII in 2007, the Giants went back to the post season once after their victory. They failed to return in 2009 and 2010. Tom Coughlin was on the hot seat at the time and bounced back in 2011 by returning to the playoffs to win another Super Bowl title. Giants failed to return the following season and finished below .500 in 2013, 2014, and 2015.
During those years, Mara and Tisch fired Coughlin’s coordinators before eventually being fired himself. Reese survived during those times despite the fact that he failed to consistently draft young talent to makeup the players who would eventually leave in free agency or be left off the roster based on front office decisions. He’s escaped blame despite his blunders and that’s due to Mara and Tisch following the Steelers’ belief that you don’t immediately fire a staff without giving them a chance to turn things around.
That’s the thing though: Reese had ten years worth of chances! Eventually it had to catch up to the Giants somehow. Although Reese has recently stated he takes ownership of his mistakes, it’s just another case of “too little, too late” with the way things are with the organization.
Fans can only hope that Mara and Tisch have scouts paying attention to young quarterbacks that are about to enter the NFL Draft. Louisville’s Lamar Jackson is a prospect that looks the most ready to lead the franchise along with Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph. The Giants must take one of these players in the draft if they have plans on having a young quarterback take the reigns from Eli Manning as the next great Giants franchise QB.
Whichever player they draft, the next GM needs to make sure to build a lasting team that will continuously compete for many years to come. Steelers have been in the playoffs for the duration of Ben Roethlisberger’s career. He came into the same draft class as Eli Manning and so far has more postseason appearances and — like Manning — won two Super Bowl titles. The next Giants QB needs to have a career similar to Roethlisberger’s.
Mara and Tisch better look hard for an outside general manager who can handle the organization going forward and not try to shortcut their way to victory like they’ve done in the past. A full rebuild needs to take place otherwise you can expect more horrible losing seasons like the one the Giants are currently in right now.
*source credit to Big Blue View, Yahoo Sports, ESPN, New York Post, SBNation, Newsday
