Paul Schwartz Call an audible
If coach can’t correct offense, he must hand off play selection duties
T HE TIME might come when Ben McAdoo, through his own volition or the not-so-gentle nudging of someone in the Giants front office, realizes there is no recourse other than to hand off his beloved play-calling to someone else.
That time is not now. But, a few more ridiculously ineffective offensive performances like the one that kicked off this season, and the head coach and his play-sheet might have to be separated.
This is McAdoo’s baby, and he is going to hold onto it for dear life.
“I mean, the communication is really the same,’’ McAdoo said Thursday, asked about the difficulties of handling the dual role of play-caller and head coach. “The difference is you take a third wheel out of the game, management part of things. So, that’s really the case. I have a chance to manage the game and call the plays on offense, I think that’s easier than adding a third spoke to the wheel.’’
Scoring three points in a season-opening loss to the rival Cowboys was a woeful first look for the 2017 Giants, and if Odell Beckham Jr. is the difference between functionality and dysfunction, he immediately should be named the NFL’s MVP.
Beckham is on the mend from his high ankle sprain, and his return for Monday night’s home opener with the Lions is imminent. It is poor directing to cast Beckham as a savior. He was brilliant in 2016, and the offense around him was often quite dull.
When a head coach doubles as the play-caller, it can narrow his view of the field. Small things fall through the cracks. The game-management aspect of the job — more vital now than ever — can get sloppy when the man in charge has his eyes fixed on a large laminated sheet in front of his face.
There is no indication this is happening with the Giants. McAdoo’s gamemanagement is fine. It is his offense that is sick.
Reputation only works for so long. George Young, a former Giants general manager, hired Jim Fassel, but during one particularly dreary offensive malaise wondered: “When will the guru start guru-ing?’’
When will McAdoo start guru-ing?
“I get a sense of it — Mac’s a really good play-caller,’’ said Geno Smith, in his first season as the Giants’ backup quarterback after four years with the Jets. “You want a guy who’s quick with it. The more time you have to be out there and assess the defense, the better. Coach McAdoo is very quick with the playcalling, he gets it in and out, he gives us a couple of reminders, things that will help you process as you walk up to the line of scrimmage.’’
Everything on offense is trending downward. McAdoo as an offensive coordinator arrived in 2014 and overhauled the attack, replacing Tom Coughlin’s offense with McAdoo’s version of the West Coast system. It was a drastic change, especially for Eli Manning. The Giants averaged 23.8 points a game that first season with McA- doo calling the shots, and were seventh in the NFL in passing and 23rd in rushing.
In 2015, there was the improvement anticipated in the second year of the system: 26.3 points a game, seventh in passing and 18th in rushing.
In his first year as head coach, McAdoo reversed several bad trends — losing leads late, sitting on the sideline come playoff time — but his offense largely was carried along for the ride by a rejuvenated defense. McAdoo’s offense was part of the problem, not the solution — clunking along at 19.4 points a game and ranking 25th in yardage, 17th in passing and a dismal 29th in rushing.
This year’s opening act was a disaster, albeit without Beckham, which is akin to raising the curtain on the current revival of “Hello, Dolly’’ and seeing an understudy where Bette Midler is supposed to strut.
The only option for McAdoo, if he does hand off the playcalling, is to stick it in the hands of Mike Sullivan, one of the few offensive coordinators in the NFL who does not call the plays. Sullivan, a longtime Giants offensive assistant, called the plays in 2012 and 2013 as the Buccaneers offensive coordinator. “Well, it is different,’’ Sullivan said last week of running the offense but not calling the plays. “There is a feel that you get, there is a rhythm that you get into. I’ll just say, first and foremost, it’s Ben’s decision to be the play-caller, and I support his decision.’’
McAdoo is not taking his hands off the reins. If his offense continues to falter, though, can he continue to call the shots?