Preview: Kansas City Chiefs at New York Giants, November 19, 2017

[contentblock id=1 img=html.png]

Game Preview: Kansas City Chiefs at New York Giants, November 19, 2017

THE STORYLINE:
To bastardize a line from a movie classic Becket: “Will no one rid us of this this interminable season?”

This is never-ending horror show… the NFL version of the Bataan Death March. It gets worse by the week yet we are only just over halfway through the season.

I may be dead wrong, but Ben McAdoo, his coaching staff, and many of the players signed their pink slips last week by getting blown out by the previously winless San Francisco 49ers. There is no excuse, none, for being that uncompetitive against one of the NFL’s worst teams. The question is does John Mara have the balls to hand a pink slip to Jerry Reese as well? And if not, does the Tisch family intervene?

You think these scenarios sound extreme? In the team’s 93rd season, the Giants are on course to have THEIR WORST season. The Giants have finished with two wins four times in team history. The 1966 Giants currently have the worst overall record, finishing 1-12-1. Do the 2017 New York Giants have another win in them? If not, the Giants will finish 1-15.  And this is a team that the franchise believed to be a Super Bowl contender. Talk about a complete and epic management failure! This is not all on the coaching staff. The current culture feels stale and needs a shake up.

THE INJURY REPORT:

• OL Justin Pugh (back – out)
• OL D.J. Fluker (knee – probable)
• DE Jason Pierre-Paul (knee – probable)
• DT Damon Harrison (ankle – questionable)
• DT Dalvin Tomlinson (ankle – probable)
• LB Devon Kennard (quad – questionable)
• LB B.J. Goodson (ankle – out)
• LB Calvin Munson (quad – probable)
• LB Kelvin Sheppard (groin – doubtful)
• CB Donte Deayon (ankle – probable)

NEW YORK GIANTS ON OFFENSE:
In the cesspool that is the Giants’ offense, there are two emerging bright spots: Evan Engram and Sterling Shepard. These are two building blocks. Pray for their health during the remainder of this meaningless season. But the Giants may be facing a total rebuild everywhere else:

• Quarterback: As I’ve previously discussed, it is time to move on from Eli Manning. He may stick around one more season as a starter to serve as mentor to the new quarterback, but sticking with a quarterback who is approaching 37 makes no sense on a rebuilding ball club. The Giants will likely draft their replacement for Manning with a top three pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Davis Webb? The Giants are not going to play him this year and the Giants can’t risk assuming he is the answer at QB going into 2018 and pass on a potential franchise QB with a top pick. For better or worse, they feel like they owe to Manning to not bench him for Webb. (And to be honest, because Webb has received virtually no practice snaps since being drafted, he’s not ready for any real game action).
• Running Back: I keep saying this but the Giants are wasting snaps on Orleans Darkwa. Same with Shane Vereen. Ben McAdoo is trying to save his job and the jobs of his assistant coaches. The welfare of families are involved… it’s a tough situation. But Darkwa and Vereen are not the future of a rebuilding club. The team needs to get a better read on Wayne Gallman and Paul Perkins. Unfortunately, the team will probably head into the offseason with running back remaining a big question mark and the team parting ways with the two backs who will receive the bulk of the remaining play time. Stupid.
• Wide Receiver: Re-signing Odell Beckham is not a given. He will demand to be the highest paid non-quarterback in the NFL. Is he worth it? Talent wise, probably, although one can point to the fact that the Giants haven’t won a lot of games despite his historic productivity. The bigger issue is his head. He’s not a “bad guy.” But is he a “winner”… that almost-indefinable intangible demonstrated by impact players who lift their entire team? Or is he a distraction? Also muddying the waters is that Beckham, from a marketing standpoint, is one of the few reasons to watch this team. He’s a legit superstar marquee player in the world’s biggest media market. That’s not lost on Mara and Tisch – who in the end, are running a business that seeks to make money. One thing to keep in mind is that with Manning likely coming off the books soon, allocating a significant chunk of the salary cap to Beckham becomes more tolerable. Aside from Beckham and Shepard, there isn’t much in the cupboard here. The Giants need to part ways with Brandon Marshall.
• Tight End: Ironically, a year after fielding arguably the worst tight end unit in the NFL, this is the bright spot moving forward. Evan Engram, Rhett Ellison, and probably Jerell Adams are all keepers. On some teams, Matt LaCosse may be seeing more playing time.
• Offensive Line: Here is probably the #1 reason why the Giants will be in full rebuild mode. There may not be ONE single keeper in this group. Perhaps Chad Wheeler and Adam Bisnowaty (the latter who struggled mightily in the preseason but who is still young). But that may be wishful thinking. Justin Pugh can’t stay healthy and based on his Twitter account seems obsessed with a big pay day. Weston Richburg has declined as a player since 2015 and is coming off a serious concussion. A year after the Giants gave him another big contract, the Giants need to part ways with John Jerry. Bobby Hart proclaimed himself the best right tackle in football but has proven to be the worst. D.J. Fluker is serviceable, but inconsistent. Brett Jones is just a guy and probably better suited to a reserve role. Ironically, as the Giants have gotten worse as a team, Ereck Flowers has gotten better. But as Sy’56 has pointed out, he has some tough opponents coming up. He may be the most important player to watch on offense for the remainder of the season. How many new starters do the Giants need on the offensive line after spending three premium picks on the position? The question is scary enough. But how scary is the potential answer?

NEW YORK GIANTS ON DEFENSE:
The defense has quit. And that is as much as an indictment on Steve Spagnuolo as it is on Ben McAdoo. That’s why both need to go. This will be yet another season where a Spagnuolo-led defense will finish near the bottom of the NFL. I don’t think 2007, 2008, and 2016 can save him from the performances of 2012 (Saints), 2015 and 2017 (Giants). The Giants’ defense gave up 31 points and almost 500 yards of offense to atrocious 49ers with a rookie quarterback. It’s not acceptable.

• Defensive Line: Damon Harrison and Dalvin Tomlinson are the building blocks. The problem is Jason Pierre-Paul’s $62 million contract. In hindsight, re-signing JPP was a HUGE mistake. He’s a coach killer. The game isn’t important enough to him. Yet, if the Giants cut him, it will cost over $20 million against the cap. So the new coaching staff is probably stuck with him. Same story with Olivier Vernon (over $11 million in dead money if cut). The prayer here is a new coaching staff will light a fire under both of these two, but that may be pie-in-the-sky, wishful thinking. The good news is that Avery Moss appears to have an upside, but we need to see more. After all, we thought the same of Romeo Okwara last year and we saw how he didn’t pan out.
• Linebacker: A complete mess. They can’t cover (historically bad against tight ends) or play the run. It’s time to part ways with Jonathan Casillas, Keenan Robinson, J.T. Thomas, Mark Herzlich, and most of the other no names. The hope here was that B.J. Goodson would turn out to be a viable linebacker, but he has been injury prone beyond belief and terrible in coverage. There may not be ONE KEEPER in this entire group. That’s unbelievable and an utterly damaging indictment on the personnel department on this team.
• Defensive Backs: This is the group that has quit. And it’s clear as day to see. Janoris Jenkins and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie have both been suspended for not taking their jobs seriously. Landon Collins went from a “Defensive Player of the Year” candidate to a stiff. All three were legit Pro Bowl/All-Pro types a year ago. Eli Apple’s head doesn’t seem to be in the game. On paper, this is a group of players that most teams would die for. You can see it on the tape, the effort isn’t there (see last week’s dagger-in-the-heard 47-yard touchdown right before halftime). Yeah, it sucks when you are a 1-win team and dead halfway through the season. But you are being paid to play to YOUR potential, not sulk and act like a baby. Grow up! You think your jobs and future income are guaranteed? I hope you saved a good chunk of your current contracts because your options in the outside world are going to be limited. Clean up in aisle 5.

NEW YORK GIANTS ON SPECIAL TEAMS:
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this, but Tom Quinn needs to go. Aldrick Rosas and Brad Wing are clearly auditioning for the next coaching staff. I do hope they bring Rosas back to camp next year. He has tremendous ability and it is not unusual for a kicker to struggle a bit in his rookie season. The Giants only got one good year out of Dwayne Harris. That contract was another mistake.

FROM THE COACH’S MOUTH:
Head Coach Ben McAdoo on Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram: “Sterling is really emerging as a young leader for us. I like that about him. He’s a confident player. It’s good to see him get in his groove. He’s had to fight through so many things in training camp and here in the season with injuries, and before those he was really hitting his stride. So it’s good to see him hitting his stride again, and we have a lot of confidence in him. He’s one of our better players, and he’s willing to block for a receiver that plays in the slot. That has a big impact on our football team… (Engram is) a dynamic player in the pass game, he’s coming along as a blocker. He’s working on it, it’s important to him. There are some things he needs to clean up. But his work ethic, his passion and love for football is refreshing. Evan was named a team captain this week. First time I believe I’ve named a rookie team captain.”

THE FINAL WORD
So you don’t think it can get worse?