From 2011 to 2015, I wrote a blog for just about every Giants game on Bigbluebullfrog.com. After several losing seasons it started to feel pointless as every game looked about the same. This year is interesting though, and I thought I’d try to restart the NY Giants blog here.
Over the offseason, I thought the Giants improved their offense by trading Beckham, whose distractions had outweighed his contributions for two seasons, and by picking up additional offensive pieces such as guard Kevin Zeitler and wide receiver Golden Tate. Unfortunately, the Giants did little to address their defense. So, going into this season, I thought the G-men would have a good offense and a bad a defense. It’s only been one game, but so far, my assumption looks dead on.
The Giants should win more games than last year, but they continue to struggle against division rivals, so the gates to the playoffs will remain closed to them. I do worry that the Shurmur Giants rarely seem to surprise me. His G-Men usually perform exactly as expected, and I miss the days of the Coughlin Giants.
His teams would often pull off stunning upsets, which made the losses easier to swallow. I think the biggest mistake Big Blue made since their last Super Bowl was firing Coughlin before Reese. Coughlin gave the Giants their attitude and their underdog mentality. Since he left the Giants, I haven’t seen any true character to the team, except blustering diva wide receivers and rookie coaches who couldn’t control their locker rooms.
Unfortunately, nothing can be done to fix the mistakes of the past. I do like the things Gettleman has done with the team, and I think we are heading in the right direction, but another losing season will probably result in defense coordinator James Bettcher being shown the door along with Eli Manning. Unlike many fans, I don’t think Eli has ever been a major reason why the Giants have lost so many games since the last Super Bowl. Jerry Reese badly mismanaged the team, and I think the organization is still trying to undo the damage he did. Sadly, the Giants won’t be able to fix things fast enough to send Eli off into the sunset like he deserves. It will be a depressing end for a franchise icon.
