Big Blue ‘close’ to winning, and close to oblivion
HOUSTON — Pat Shurmur has been around long enough — not with the Giants, but certainly around the NFL — to understand what happens early is not necessarily an indication of what happens late. He has not seen it all and done it all, but he has seen a great deal, enough to develop a steady-ashe-goes philosophy as he tries to navigate his team through the storm.
“What I take from my past is … You … Just … Keep … Playing,’’ Shurmur said, emphasizing the four-word mantra. “And then things will work themselves out.’’
Well, sometimes they do and sometimes they do not. There are no assurances the Giants are on the right track, no guarantee they will start flowing. There are seasons where a bad start is not merely a slow start but a forbearer of a bad team. No one can deny the Giants possess incredible weapons in Odell Beckham Jr. and Saquon Barkley, and they strongly believe that talented duo eventually will spearhead an offensive awakening. Two games into their pairing, it has not come close to happening, and as a result the Giants take an 0-2 record into Sunday’s game against the 0-2 Texans inside NRG Stadium.
The watchword around the Giants is “close.’’ They insist they are close to breaking out.
“Close I think is a key word,’’ offensive coordinator Mike Shula said. “You don’t want to use that as an excuse, but I think there’s a fine line in everything that we do for us in our world with perception and reality. I think that perception is we’re not there, it’s not good enough. It hasn’t been, but reality is we think we’re really close.’’
This is often the explanation, or the lament, of a team that cannot quite get it done. Are the Giants getting closer? They were better offensively in their opening 20-15 loss to the Jaguars than they were in their 20-13 loss at Dallas.
“It wasn’t as close as the first week,’’ Beckham admitted.
Until the offensive line gets its act together, exploiting Beckham and Barkley’s gifts will be a weekly struggle and Eli Manning will look older than his 37 years. Shurmur has not outwardly shown any added urgency or given the fans the fire and brimstone rally cry that often soothe concerns, a balm to quiet an ache. With his players, he assures all who will listen outside the circle, he is forceful. “Don’t misunderstand the calm,’’ he said.
He says he does not see any signs his players are pressing and pointed out the Vikings last season were 1-1 then 2-2 before they won eight straight with him as the offensive coordinator. He says of his offensive line, “I’m confident we’re gonna get guys blocked so we can run the ball and throw the ball.’’