The Miserable State of The New York Giants
via USA Today
It appears that every week, just when it seems like it cannot get any worse for Big Blue, it simply gets worse. I myself am starting to run out of words to describe the Giants’ recent performances. Pathetic. Embarrassing. Emasculating, in a sense. You name it, The New York Giants are it.
The Giants looked completely incompetent yesterday, with terrible offensive play and the defense struggling to stop a supposedly washed-up Andy Dalton. The offensive struggles hit an all-time low yesterday, with QB Mike Glennon recording -10 (!) net passing yards. That is the lowest mark any NFL team has hit this century.
This. Century.
There is so much wrong with this team, and Sunday’s blowout loss to a 5-10 team with a coach on the hot seat may be the lowest point the G-Men have hit in a long time. The offense continues to look vulnerable and is now ranked 32nd in PPG, YPG, YPP, and red zone efficiency dating back to Judge’s inaugural game. The defense has not lived up to expectations set from last season, and the special teams continues to underperform. WR Pharoh Cooper’s blunder on kickoff that ultimately led to the Giants getting the ball at their 3-yard line perfectly exemplified the season Big Blue has had. From top to bottom, the roster needs work in basically every department, a LOT of it.
The same can be said about personnel.
Us Giants fans have seen it all in recent years when it comes to incompetent coaches. The Ben McAdoo experiment was fun for 20 minutes. Pat Shurmur was hired with a 10-23 coaching record on his resume. We have seen it all. However, I’m sure I’m not alone when I tell you Joe Judge takes the cake.
HC Joe Judge, via USA Today
The Giants have solidified themselves as the laughing stock of the NFL, and Judge’s bizarre, obviously desperate, postgame press conference only made matters worse. Let’s break this down.
Judge claimed that “This ain’t no clown show organization” when referring to the Giants, and also said things are heading in the right direction? The Giants have the league’s worst record since 2017. If that’s not a clown show organization I’m really not sure what is.
Judge said, "If we don't play well, every fan has a right to boo my ass out of the stadium. You got that?” This is not something that a coach, who is apparently being retained next season, should make known to their fans. A clown show organization would be one that gets boo’d because their head coach encourages it.
When asked about Judge’s postgame speech, RB Devontae Booker replied with “I didn’t bother honing in on it to see what he had to say”. This is concerning on so many levels regarding Judge’s locker room control.
Judge said that he has players from last season wishing they were still on the team, and upcoming free agents begging to stay. OK Joe, and Lawrence Taylor’s starting next week.
Judge’s press conference further illustrated the kind of season it’s been for this squad. Upon his hiring, Judge came in guns ablazing, with his intensity restoring fans and ownership with faith that the Giants will be back and better than ever. Fast forward two years, a 10-22 record later, and a ton of unfulfilled promises later, Judge is now borderline pleading to stay with the team next season.
Judge’s whole “tough guy” mantra is no longer fooling anybody, and his inability to not walk the walk is not going to get him farther than he’s already gotten in this league. The lack of professionalism in his responses to the media just shows that he is simply not that guy. Judge may pride himself on being a good leader, but it’s obvious that he is not a good coach. This inability to do so has been evident all season, especially in the Giants’ five game losing streak. If Big Blue can’t string together a watchable performance versus Washington next week, Judge’s job security will undoubtedly be questioned.
Bottom line is, changes need to be made for this team to compete next season, regardless of next week’s result.