You and I deserve a medal. Me for writing a blogpost for an 0-4 team that is now 0-5, and you for coming over here to read it. Bless us both. But do not bless the Giants. They are a trainwreck.
I spent the entire game tweeting #NoYouHaveIt for how a Toilet Bowl exhibition game set back professional football many years. One team was worse than the next. The Chargers would make an awful mistake, letting the Giants have a path toward victory. Moments later, it would be the Giants turn for charity. Rinse, repeat. Over and over, the magnanimous giving continued until one team had to secure the victory on one last act of kindness to the opposition. This one was a sack + fumble + turnover at the NYG 11 yard line, which LAC cashed in with a TD 3 plays later.
There were 21 penalties in this game. 11 LAC penalties and 10 NYG penalties. A friend who was at the game said that the refs were generous to the Giants. Perhaps, but regardless, it was just ugly football with each team giving plenty of opportunities to the other to win a pitiful game.
Giants injuries sprouted like weeds. By the end of this contest there was only one WR left on the gameday roster, Roger Lewis. Harris had a foot injury on special teams, and Shepard, Marshall and OBJ all suffered ankle injuries. OBJ’s injury was to the same left ankle he suffered vs Cleveland in the preseason. Given that he was writhing in pain, that the LAC players were waiving over the medical staff immediately at the end of the play, what the replay looked like, and that he was carted off, it could be a broken ankle. (Giants confirm fractured ankle. Getting second opinion for surgery.)
If OBJ is out for an extended period of time or is lost for the season, it could be time to buy brown bags for fans who voluntarily go to the games. I cannot believe I am saying this, but the Giants could be looking at one of the very top draft picks in 2018 now.
So what exactly went wrong today? Let’s start with what went right- the first half running game. LAC came into this game #31 in Run Defense, allowing 163 ypg. The Giants were able to run against a lighter DL. Fluker got some surge when he replaced Jerry (..Why he did not start? Gotta ask the coach). Darkwa and Gallman were able to get chunks of yards. Darkwa ran for a 23 yd TD. You would think that when Spepard and Marshall both went out with ankle injuries, that the Giants would run the ball more and use play action as much as possible. But therein we segue to the problems. McAdoo would get 7 yds running on 1st down and then abandon the run. If LAC were to load 8 men in the box (they were not) then you could see play action. But that was not the case. More running was actually called for vs this opponent. The Giants got ~100 yards on the ground in H1 but finished with “only” 152. McAdoo short-circuited the run, and late draws to Vereen mask the reduction in run attempts/yardage.
Giants Linebackers cannot cover receivers, be they TEs or RBs. The 3 TD passes by Rivers today were all to TEs and RBs. Our Linebackers were targeted by an 0-4 team! This is one of the reasons why we argued in 2015 to get rid of Reese and move on. The Giants GM has been poor on LBer and OL. He better not hide behind Odell Beckham’s injury, but I am fairly certain he will because he does not hold himself accountable.
Dan Duggan: “The Giants have (1,2) twice had a DE line up offside, a (3) gunner not get set on a punt, a (4) player bump an official and (5) player run into the punter.” (6) On one punt by the Giants, the Chargers had too many players on the field, so with one of them frantically trying to run off the field, if the ball was snapped they would have had a free play. Worse, (7) the NYG gunner was uncovered, so a huge play was possible. On another play, the Chargers practically made the same mistake the Giants made, using a pitchout on 3rd & 2. (8) If Jenkins makes the tackle, it is stopped. I love (9) the decision by McAdoo, after a delay of game, to go for two from the 7 yd line. Lol, not. It takes away the run and changes the percentages. The attempt failed.
LAC/NYG charity continued: On one play, (10) Rivers missed a wide open receiver for an easy TD. (11) Rivers also threw an INT in the end zone into double coverage. And on yet another play, (12) LAC’s Center snapped the ball while Rivers wasn’t ready, sailing the ball into the end zone for what would be a Safety. This is the team the Giants played against. I do not know how the Giants could have had a more gift-wrapped opportunity for a win. Yet sloppy is as sloppy does; the Giants gift-wrapped their present with a bow on it too. One of the teams had to lose, considering how inept each were at the two point conversion.
The Giants can easily lose the next 3 games vs DEN, SEA and LAR, looking 0-8 right in the face. Those teams came in 8-4 before today’s games, so the Giants will be playing against far more competent teams.
On the bright side, Gallman looks like a legit running back, so there’s that.
Let’s hope OBJ can come back the same player after this injury. One MD orthopedist said the bad news is that his season is over but the good news is that a full recovery would be expected.
About the only thing I am looking forward to now in 2017 for the NY Giants is Jerry Reese’s bye week Public Relations farce. I’d like to hear what his response to the reporters is when they ask about the Offensive Line. The Chargers had 5 sacks and 2 turnovers generated from those sacks. Reese has not prioritized the health of his franchise QB, and not so uncoincidentally Eli was x-ray’d for his neck when his OL (Flowers) twisted it unnaturally. Hopeful the human gumby is ok, but it emphasizes the egregiousness of Reese’s priorities nonetheless.
Another reminder about Reese. We complain about the OL and about not re-signing 24 year old Hankins. Instead, he committed $62M to JPP, of which $40M is guaranteed. In 5 games, JPP has 1.5 sacks and was invisible against… Russell Okung, an offseason free agent. While we would not have been excited about paying so much money for Okung, it is a stark comparison that the guy Reese picked to invest in has done very little while the unit Reese ignored (in the Draft earlier this decade/recently in ’16 and ’17, in FA in ’17) has hurt the team.
We already did an autopsy of the team after the loss last week vs the Bucs. There is not much more to add to that. 5 sacks given up by the OL, LBers roasted in coverage, penalties, mistakes, another loss, 0-5, and OBJ is gone. It gets late early ’round here.
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