1) Some candid remarks about the Giants were made by a set of four Star Ledger Reporters last week. Their perspective here is valuable because you don’t get these kind of editorial remarks in their general reporting:
2) The story from Garafolo about the locker room being upset with Coughlin BEFORE WEEK 17 vs the Patriots is important. Pierce saw a problem “festering, stewing.” Coughlin, in his typically obtuse fashion, did not take too kindly to it. But the thing to see is how communication of problems is important.. oh, I forgot, they had the Leadership Council that year to address issues! Yeah, right. Coughlin is Coughlin, and without the true leaders like Strahan and Pierce, players are going to act out in frustration, be it Rolle flapping his gums or Terrell Thomas getting a personal foul.
This story took place right before their Super Bowl run. Are you going to run through a wall for someone who you have a festering, stewing problem? Coughlin is obtuse and he needs players who can stand up to him and let him know about player problems.
3) “Players better realize that they got what they got. This guy is sticking around. And the Giants will let this guy go out on his own terms, as long as he doesn’t pull a Fassel and lose total control of the team.” HELLO EVERYBODY!!! THE GIANTS ARE ON A SLEIGH RIDE IN MEDIOCRITY UNLESS COUGHLIN TOTALLY SCREWS IT UP.
4) Note the comparison near the end between Ryan and Coughlin, how these reporters observe that younger players want to play for Ryan, older players want the structure and discipline of Coughlin, but then… lol… they catch themselves and figure out that… wait, Ryan’s team is more disciplined than Coughlin’s… so what does Coughlin really offer in the end???
5) Look at the current void in player leadership. There still is no replacement for Strahan and Pierce for incidents like the anecdote in (2) above, combined with the status quo of (3). Yes, Rolle is no Strahan or Pierce. Some commenters rightfully take issue with Rolle talking when his play on the field can be better. But the much larger issue for me is that Rolle’s talking is a symptom of a much larger problem. The Coughlin status quo is here and no one can do anything about it. All I can say is that I see the status quo of (3) also and I don’t like it either.
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