The New York Giants are now 0-6 in the 2013 season. How could a former two-time winning Super Bowl team like that sink so quickly?
The most important player on the team, Eli Manning has regressed badly from his career pinnacle in 2011. He has thrown 15 interceptions to only 9 touchdowns this season. His accuracy is scattershot, and he looks like he has lost his confidence. He is trying to do way too much and it has cost his team several times this season.
The offensive line is old and it can’t block anybody. The running game is anemic and David Wilson is hurt. The defense, once so feared, is one of the worst in the NFL. All of these problems have culminated in this catastrophic start to their season. The question is who is responsible for this mess, and how can it be fixed?
The answer is complicated and may require the team to go outside of its comfort zone. The first thing that the Giants need to do at the very least is let go of Kevin Gilbride and Perry Fewell. Their schemes have become ineffective and vanilla. The play-calling has been predictable because of the lack of running game. I can forgive that to a point.
Ultimately, it is up to the offensive coordinator to scheme around that and Gilbride has done a terrible job. Fewell’s defense is just plain bad and he calls a lot of blitzes. The problem is that the rushers can’t beat any offensive lines. He has lost his touch, at least in New York.
It now brings me to the head coach, Tom Coughlin. He has had a great run with the Giants. Coughlin has won two Super Bowls with the team.
He may very well be the greatest coach they have ever had. There comes a point where things just run their course. It looks like the players have stopped responding to Coughlin. Andy Reid went through the same thing in the last few years of his tenure in Philadelphia. The Mara family is loyal to a fault, and they don’t like to fire coaches. The best way for everybody to move on would be for Coughlin to retire with his dignity.
It may very well have gotten to that point for the Giants.
General Manager Jerry Reese has to be put on notice. He is the one who constructed this roster as it is. He has made some good moves in the past such as signing Victor Cruz and the gutsy decision to let Steve Smith walk away in free agency in 2011. The moves he made this offseason have been an utter failure. He deserves a chance to turn this thing around, but it could be a long process. The Giants will have high draft picks, and should use it on either an offensive lineman or a defensive end to bolster the pass rush. They should have some money to spend in free agency.
Use it to plug in as many holes as you can, particularly at linebacker.
A new coach would obviously be needed if Coughlin retires. Reese should look to a good coordinator such as Adam Gase in Denver or Greg Roman in San Francisco. Both are offensive-minded coaches who would have a new system and a fresh voice to get Manning back on track. There is always the remote possibility that Reese could look to the college ranks for a coach. David Shaw of Stanford would the best candidate. He has NFL coaching experience and is a very smart guy. He is all business and has a lot of the attributes that the Mara’s covet in a coach. It is very remote, but it is worth discussing.
The Giants have a lot of work to do to restore the luster of a proud franchise. There are smart people running the team, and I am confident that this season will be an anomaly. Big Blue should be up and running again in no time.
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