Giant Disgrace

The New York Giants organization is a sinking ship. This colossal failure of a season validates that last season was nothing but a mere fluke. Last year they started the season 6-2 but they really caught a lot of good teams off their game in the early part of the season. All they did was get lucky. In the second half they won just three regular season contests. They failed to beat Dallas, Philadelphia, and failed to neither beat nor lose to Washington in a tie. A 9-7-1 regular season record with a win vs. the Vikings in the NFC Wild Card Game. Might I add Minnesota is a team that the Giants have had their number for a while and the Vikings record last year was better than the team really was. The same goes for the Giants. I’m sorry Bills Parcells but I don’t agree with the statement “You are what you record says you are.” Following the Wild Card playoff win Big Blue got overwhelmed by the Eagles on a frigid night in the City of Brotherly Love. They failed to play with the big boys.

If anything, that fun ride last season did the Giants more harm than good. It gave them fraudulent hype with not sky-high predictions this year but pressure to catapult the prior season’s success. But how can you do that when there were barely any additions to the receiving core which was the Achilles heel of the team a year ago? I was all for the Giants giving Daniel Jones the contract last offseason but obviously it was a mistake. And when your Quarterback signs a $160 Million 4-year deal, he better perform well. Case closed. Fortunately, the Giants can opt out of the contract after next season, so the max contract was more a promise ring than an engagement ring.

So, we started the season on Sunday night at Metlife and it was nothing but humiliation getting shutout 40-0 to the Cowboys. A 40-point shutout in an opener. Those two consecutive evenings were nothing but a house of horrors in East Rutherford. The following night hosted a grandiose celebration for the inception of the Aaron Rodgers era with the Jets but after 4 plays the hopes all went down the drain.

In week 2 the Giants beat a team they should dominate but really played one good quarter to earn a win vs. Arizona then met their match against who is now the number one seed in the NFC in the San Francisco 49ers. In early October they once again embarrassed themselves on national television this time vs. the Seahawks and mustered up three total points. Two straight road losses to AFC East teams sunk the record to 1-5.

 In Miami they scored one touchdown but it was a pick-6 by Jason Pinnock. And in the waning seconds prior to halftime vs. the Bills all the Giants needed to do was throw the football. Up 6-0 with 14 seconds till halftime and looking to make it a two-possession game you don’t hand it off to Saquon Barkley you throw, and if it’s incomplete the clock stops. Did I just teach Brian Daboll a basic backyard football fundamental such as something that Rick Moranis would have said in Little Giants? So, the Giants came out with zero points in that All Pro performance of the two-minute drill and failed in a similar situation to win at the end of the game. Though the referees called pass interference on Buffalo on the second to last play in which Darren Waller was clearly being held and it impeded making an end zone reception, yet they declined to call a penalty on the next and final play in which Darren Waller was basically boxed into a fence by Taron Johnson and there certainly was a tug on the jersey. That evening there was a flurry of social media uproar for good reason regarding the no call that cost the Giants the game on Sunday Night Football. I guess social media frenzies are the 2023 version of debating in barbershops. Despite the referees on hallucinogens the Giants went 12 quarters with not one offensive touchdown.

The following week they barely fended off the Commanders, but a win is a win. Then Brian Daboll simply did not allow Tommy DeVito to throw the ball vs. the Jets and instead of playing to win they played not to lose where the humility and mockery level eclipsed its foremost peak. Graham Gano missed a Field Goal then the Jets with 24 seconds left in regulation and no timeouts marched down the field to tie then later win in overtime. Was there a defense on the field in the conclusion of that game? The Jets didn’t so much beat the Giants, the Giants beat themselves in the “best-worst” game. It was not a great game at all. It was a close game and there is bold line between good games and close games.

More drudgery ensued vs the Raiders and Cowboys then after that, two wins vs. two bad teams happened. After the bye week the Giants did have an exhilarating Monday Night Football victory vs. Green Bay, and everyone was ready to make Tommy DeVito the next Phil Simms. It is a great story because he’s a local kid who was undrafted and went from barely making the practice squad to a starter, but DeVito is just a backup Quarterback who played a couple good games and was credited the starting job because Daniel Jones then Tyrod Taylor went on the shelf. The New York media just wanted to hype it up because of how dismal and dreary both New York teams have performed all year. Due to the lack of positive headlines from both Blue and Green, the three good performances by DeVito were the façade that the New York media wanted everyone to get excited, and 60% of the fan base bought into it. Then his worth went up an extra $10,000 after the Monday Night Football win vs. the Packers and Sean Stellato had the audacity to charge a mom-and-pop run pizzeria in Morristown $20,000 for a meet and greet. Only in America can a no name agent who dresses like a badass become an overnight sensation just because he’s spotted on the camera.

 After the loss to the Saints, it seems like my claims came to fruition. Then they came close to beating the stumbling Eagles on Christmas Day and during halftime decided to switch back to Tyrod Taylor then the next week Brian Daboll fumbled the play calling once again vs the Rams. Lastly the Giants beat up on their bitter NFC East rivals dousing the flustered Eagles like a Philly Cheese Steak at home to end the season on a high note against what was the class of the NFC dating back to last season until the wheels fell off in December and the Eagles began running around like a chicken without a head and lost all their Juju.

 It’s easier to say what went right in the Giants 2023 campaign. A 6-11 record, a deplorable offensive line where Evan Neal is the main culprit of a group who failed to protect the Quarterback allowing an NFL high 85 sacks. I know Daniel Jones went down with a torn ACL in October, but he was despicable this year going 1-5 with 2 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. An extremely porous group of Defensive Backs. Saquon Barkley did have a pretty impressive season. But he did miss four games and I can tell his knees are becoming wear and tear and he’s not the superstar he used to be. It’s highly likely we have seen the last of Saquon Barkley in a Giants uniform.  In 2022 Brian Daboll was Coach of the Year and he rightfully earned it. But this year his play calling was blatant buffoonery. The prior year he was very gutsy constantly going for it on 4^th down and this year it was very conservative play calling not aggressive play calling. I have almost nothing positive to say about this team. They were a disgraceful abomination and there’s way too many missing puzzle pieces for the team to recapture its winning spirit to be a contender. 2023 had all of New York feeling Blue.