IT’S ABOUT TIME WE TALK
Fans need answers when Giants’ Mara holds his first in-person press conference in almost two years today
Tuesday morning will mark John Mara’s first in-person press conference since Jan. 24, 2020, when he spoke eloquently at Eli Manning’s retirement ceremony. He has done three Zoom pressers since: one on Sept. 4, 2020 before Joe Judge’s first season, a second on Jan. 6 after the Giants’ 6-10 finish and a third on March 31 after the Giants’ free agency blitz.
The pandemic pushed Mara’s sporadic public availability virtual, relegating the face of the Giants — and one of the faces of the NFL — to a scarcely-heard voice.
But Mara’s face needs to be seen because his is the face of hope, anguish and restlessness that truly defines the Giants’ progress in their quest to return to relevance.
Steve Tisch is a full 50% of the partnership that steers this franchise, but with
Tisch stepping out of the spotlight for understandable personal reasons, Mara’s state of the union address matters all the more.
He speaks for both himself and Tisch. He speaks for the Giants. He speaks directly to the fans and reaches them, better than anyone in the building can.
And that is why Tuesday’s press conference is well-timed.
The fans need to hear from Mara. They need to hear his honest assessment of where this team really is.
Most years, plenty of Giants fans go on social media to tear down critics of their team, to troll hot-take national pundits and objective local reporters alike.
They attack the people they consider the haters and believe they are staying loyal to their team. Never mind that recently they have gone down with the ship year after year.
But this summer feels different. This summer, the fans seem restless. They appear to understand the gravity of the offensive line’s issues. They seem skeptical, or at best cautiously optimistic, about new offensive pieces Kenny Golladay, Kyle Rudolph and Kadarius Toney all coming together right away.
The fans seem to feel the pressure on Daniel Jones. They don’t know what to think of Saquon Barkley’s health.
Part of the reason for their restlessness may be because they haven’t been able to attend training camp and watch their team, since Mara and the Giants didn’t open it to them.
Although when the fans finally got in for a practice last Wednesday, they loudly booed Evan Engram for dropping a pass in 7-on-7, indicating that the scars of last season’s drop in Philadelphia still haven’t healed.
Judge seems to have the support of the fan base as the head coach, at least.
When Sterling Shepard said “if you don’t like [in Judge’’s program], then you’re welcome to leave,” the fans rallied behind it.
They know this team needs to be better and tougher. They believe Judge’s discipline and detail-oriented approach will get them there. And they are all on the edge of their seats hoping for Jones to throw four TDs in a Week 1 win over Denver to shut everyone up.
But there is only so much losing a franchise and its fan base can take, and the Giants’ 18-46 record the past four years is a lot to carry. So are the interminable controversies.
Like this May, when former Giants video director David Maltese filed a lawsuit that alleged “a culture of violence in the workplace by Giants’ management toward subordinates” against the organization and Giants general counsel William J. Heller.
The allegations and contents of the legal filings in that case, regardless of its outcome, do not paint a favorable picture of the organization.
Mara has not addressed that lawsuit publicly. He also has not spoken about continuing to employ corner Sam Beal, who pleaded guilty to gun charges stemming from a 2020 arrest in Ohio.
More than anything, though, since Jan. 2020, Mara has not stood in person in front of the New York press and delivered his assessment of the team on the field.
So when the Giants’ media schedule suddenly changed on Monday to include Mara’s first in-person press conference in almost 19 months on Tuesday O morning, it was a welcome sight. ne day before the Giants get on a plane to practice against Odell Beckham Jr. and the Cleveland Browns, Mara will have the floor to tell his fans where he honestly sees his team, whether their concerns are valid, and whether the Giants are going to do something about it before it’s too late.