Jerry-rigged
Reese left Coughlin, Spags with major talent gap on ‘D’
THE 2015 Giant scan be summed up in so many ways, with so many words, with so much passion and disgust and annoyance, with so much blame to assign so many places. It can also be explained away quite simply. Uani ’Unga vs. Greg Olsen. With a burst of their best football in years, the Giants rolled up 28 unanswered points on the undefeated Panthers, turning a 35-7 disaster into a 35-35 launching point, a surge that included Eli Manning tossing three touchdown passes, Rashad Jennings running it in from 38 yards out and the suddenly fearsome defense coming up with four consecutive stops. It was time to decide the game, to force overtime, to get the ball back in Manning’s hands. It was winning time.
And the Giants had Uani ’ Unga on Greg Olsen.
There is no reason to disparage ’Unga. He’s a hard-working, likeable 27-year-old husband and father of three in his first NFL season, overcoming major knee surgery and his undrafted status to fight his way onto an NFL roster, trying to figure it out as a 233-pound middle linebacker. Good for him. Maybe he’ll be back in the league in 2016. Maybe not.
’Unga has no business, with the game on the line, covering Olsen, one of the great pass-catching tight ends. It is not going to work out well for the defense, no way, no how. Cam Newton had no trouble locating Olsen and hitting him for a 16-yard gain, into Giants’ territory, with 57 seconds left and before long the Panthers were in range for the game-winning field goal. The loss was certainly not on ’Unga, but that he was in that position is an indictment of GM Jerry Reese and those who put together this roster. With regime change likely upon us, with Tom Coughlin’s 12-year run as close as ever to nearing an end, Giants ownership with one eye on the head coach must also take a long, hard look at the palpable lack of talent this coaching staff has been asked to turn into a winner.
Injuries are a part of every season, and no one wants to hear about them. ’ Unga is not on the field if Jon Beason is healthy, but when is Jon Beason healthy? Of all the damning aspects to this sorry season, the abject failure to assemble a coherent defense tops the list.
In the recent past, the Giants were able to wave their hands and get rid of their defensive coordinators, Bill Sheridan and Perry Fewell, after disappointing results. Steve Spagnuolo, despite some bad times with the Giants and with the Saints, knows what he’s doing — no one is questioning his use of the personnel or his ability to orchestrate the manpower on the field. Spagnuolo has been woefully unable to dial up the correct connection late in games. Six times, his defense needed one stop in the closing minute to win, and six times, failure. If we can assume Spagnuolo has not lost his mind, then the logical conclusion is the personnel he’s been assigned is appallingly limited and lacking.
If you had a sheet of paper showing the Giants’ depth chart on defense, which names would you circle as absolutely wanting back in 2016? Which players are keepers who can start for a championship unit? Johnathan Hankins as a run-stopper, coming off pec- toral surgery?? Sure. Devon Kennard at linebacker? Fine, but he’s had a disappointing, injury-filled second season. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie? Yes. Prince Amukamara? Beware. He is headed to free agency, not playing well down the stretch and once again failed to play in 16 games. Landon Collins after starting every game as safety as a rookie? Yes. Jason Pierre-Paul, also headed to free agency, with a permanently disf igured and impaired right hand? Probably not. Beason? His time is done. Cullen Jenkins is a mature leader, but he is past his prime. Robert Ayers? OK, but he’s a free agent and ideally suited as the third defensive end.
There’s not much there, fewer than a handful of players to build around and not one feared passrusher. The drafts have been so hit-and-miss — third-round picks such as Damontre Moore and Jayron Hosley failed to develop and the jury remains out on Jay Bromley — that Reese had to fill up the roster with free-agent fodder such as Jasper Brinkley, J.T. Thomas, Jonathan Casillas, George Selvie and Craig Dahl. All are replaceable.
The Giants are headed for a fourth consecutive season missing out on the playoffs. Their record since Super Bowl XLVI is 28-34. The expectation from outside the organization was that the Giants this season would be a .500 team, at best. They are what most of us thought they were. This coaching staff navigated a flawed team to the brink of victory six times and came away empty. Did they get stupid in the desperate closing minutes or did the talent level ultimately fail them?
Coughlin has gone against some of his coaching principles because he cannot trust his defense. The hand he was dealt was shuffled by Jerry Reese. Are the Giants all in this together, or not?