Sorry, coach, there is a situation
Ben McAdoo stood behind a lectern Sunday evening, as overmatched in front of a gaggle of New York reporters as his football team is on the field on a weekly basis.
He talked a lot about watching the tape, and players being honest with each other, and a lot of other things nobody had any interest in hearing. He was asked, at one point, whether he’d have to address his situation with players.
“What situation?” McAdoo snapped. “We have to go correct the tape, all right? We have to go correct the tape. We get to go play one of the best teams in football next week. There’s no situation.”
Well, coach, there is a situation: Your team, the New York Giants, has experienced a season constructed solely of nadirs, and you should probably find a decent real estate agent. Last Sunday, the Giants lost, 51-17, at home, coming off a bye week. Somehow, things got worse. The Giants this week lost to a previously winless team, with much of the fourth quarter a largely noncompetitive exercise. The Giants’ 31-21 loss to the San Francisco 49ers would look like a horror movie. Against a team that had scored 10 points three straight weeks, led by a third-round rookie quarterback, the Giants yielded 31 points. The damage included an 83-yard bomb to Marquise Goodwin and a 47-yard touchdown reception by Garrett Celek, who rumbled into the end zone past Janoris Jenkins, who on the play resembled a conscientious objector more than a tackler.
Jenkins’s questionable effort added to the reel of evidence against McAdoo. This week, he called reports that he’d lost the team “fake news.” But the signs that he had were present again. The Giants quite obviously do not play for him. Last week, they surrendered a 48-yard touchdown on third and 33. This week, the Giants led, 13-10, with two minutes left in the first half. Then came Jenkins’s whiff of a tackle attempt, and the 49ers scored 21 straight points as the Giants wilted.
The idea of McAdoo returning next year is out of the question, not that it was much of a debate before Sunday. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he’s fired before next week, or even before he has a chance to sit down in front of the projector.
The question for the Giants now is what they can get out of this season. The first thing they can do is gather information on how to proceed at quarterback. Eli Manning is 36 and looks it. He threw two interceptions Sunday. His 208 consecutive starts are worthy of celebration. But that streak has to end some time, and Manning’s performance this season has lost him the benefit of the doubt.
The Giants need to find out whether Davis Webb, a third-round draft pick this year, might be a valid option as a future starter. The Giants likely will have a top-three pick, which will put them in position to pick one of the top-rated quarterbacks in the draft.
McAdoo will not be around when the Giants’ next quarterback takes over, but he claimed ignorance Sunday. “We got seven games left,” McAdoo said. “We got a lot of football left to play.” All that means, is that another new low is likely on the way.