Big Blue View
Good morning, New York Giants fans!
Here we are again, barely past the midpoint of another dreary season, and ire is up, pitchforks are out and skids are getting greased in the hearts and minds of those who want all of them out, now. Begone!
No one with any sort of emotional attachment or vested interest in the Giants should be asked to stay calm or keep the faith. And so, the job security of head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen is once again a necessary conversation.
The lack of ownership from the players who are supposed to be leaders shouldn’t be a surprise. That starts at the top, with coach Brian Daboll running a program that rarely demonstrates accountability. Daboll avoids singling anyone out publicly, so he stuck to his script of blaming the “collective” for the team’s struggles on Monday. But as each week passes with no changes to the coaching staff or the lineup, it’s not a surprise there are no changes to the results.
“Nothing is good enough. Offense, defense, kicking game — we all can be better,” Daboll said. “We’re doing everything we can do to try to improve it, and I’m confident we will.”
Most important game remaining: Week 17 vs. the Cowboys. Team co-owner John Mara regularly says he wants to walk off the field after the final game feeling good about the direction of the team. Well, a Week 17 win at home over the rival Cowboys could leave a positive taste in his mouth, especially if rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart finishes strong. Eli Manning and the Giants have long talked about how the final game of his rookie year in 2004 (a come-from-behind win over Dallas) gave him and the team confidence going into the following season. In 2005, they had an 11-5 record and made the playoffs.
Their pass rush, which had been predicted to be legendary with the likes of Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Dexter Lawrence, and rookie Abdul Carter, has a modest 21 sacks (16th overall) after nine weeks, and Burns has 11 of them, which leads the league....
