ONE GIANT MESS!

Jerry talks Eli, Mac, OBJ & more

Giants GM Jerry Reese had a lot to answer for in his midseason press conference on Tuesday as the Giants enter their bye week dead last in the NFC East with a 1-6 record and staring at missing the playoffs for the fifth time in the last six years. Reese, who is in his 10th year as Giants general manager, came right out of the gate to take blame for the utter disaster that has been this season, saying he is “the reason for why the team is 1-6.”

He added that he, along with the rest of the team, “bought into the hype” as he stood and answered questions for 20 minutes. He also addressed the following:

THE OFFENSIVE LINE

The Giants’ offensive line was the team’s biggest question mark in the offseason and Reese neglected to make any changes or improvements to the starting five, citing continuity and a willingness to go younger. “I think our offensive line, we have some young players, I think we have improved,” Reese said. “... We felt like we had a lot of young players on the offensive line with a lot of snaps together, they flashed in some good plays at times. Obviously, if you’re not winning things get pointed at and people start pointing to the offensive line.” Reese added that they explored options in the offseason but said the market was thin and did not fit into what they wanted to do with the line. “We want to be a younger football team,” Reese said. “Everyone has an opinion on who was available and who wasn’t. To us, it didn’t make sense for us and that’s what we went with. We wanted to be a younger offensive line. If you want to try to develop a 23-year-old guy or bring in a 36-year-old guy, we chose to go with the younger option.”

ERECK FLOWERS

One of those younger options Reese is referring to is left tackle Ereck Flowers. The 23-year-old was the Giants’ first-round pick in 2015 and has failed to live up to expectations. The GM had his former firstround pick’s back but did not commit to Flowers as a long-term solution. “He has improved, first of all,” Reese said. “All young players have to develop and he is developing. Is he our long-term left tackle? We don’t know that. If you look at him compared to left tackles around the league, he is comparable throughout. “... This is a common thing: Everybody wants to beat up on Ereck Flowers,” added Reese. “He is not the reason we’re 1-6. I still believe he will develop and get better. He has gotten better this season as we’ve gone on, so far.”

ELI MANNING

There has been some talk lately if the Giants would be better off seeing what they have with rookie Davis Webb and sitting Manning. Ben McAdoo dismissed that idea on Monday and while Reese said his quarterback needs to play better, he still echoed McAdoo’s sentiment. “At some point (we’ll consider), but when is that some point?” Reese said. “It’s not right now. We’re going to fight with everything we have with nine games left and hopefully we can turn our season around.”

BEN MCADOO

While Reese accepted blame for the 1-6 start, he also pointed to the fact that the team was not prepared for the games come Sunday. That would seem to be a shot at the head coach, but Reese spoke highly of McAdoo.

“Ben won 11 games last year as a rookie, it’s been a little tougher and you can’t sneak up on anybody in this league,” Reese said. “He has to get better at his job and I think he will. Here’s why: It’s important to him, he’s a hard worker, he is smarter than all of us in this room combined. I can tell you that.”

ODELL BECKHAM JR.

Odell Beckham Jr. will be seeking a new contract, even after suffering a seasonending ankle injury, but Reese is only focused on getting his star receiver healthy.

“All I need to say about Odell is we need him to get healthy and that is the most important thing moving forward,” Reese said. “He is a terrific football player and it hurts any football team losing a player of his caliber.”

Reese added that he believes Beckham will make a full recovery and return 100%.

DEFENSE

The defense was one of the best in the league last season but has failed to play to that caliber this year, unable to close games out in the fourth quarter in Week 3,4, and to some degree, 5.

“What does the defense have to do?” said Reese. “The defense has to stay hungry and I don’t think we had that hunger when we first came out during the season . ... I saw a hungrier defense last year than I’ve seen it at times (this year), but it’s just being hungry every week.”

OFFENSE

The Giants offense remains one of the worst in the league again, ranking 30th in points per game. While injuries have hurt the team in recent weeks, it has been an ongoing problem dating back to last season.

“I thought we upgraded the offense at different positions,” Reese said. “Continuity wasn’t there like we wanted it to be, but it’s a work in progress, backs are against the wall. It’s a bad formula to use, to wait until your back is against the wall, but we are where we are right now, and going to give our fans every ounce.”