In 2009, the New York Giants began their season with 5-0 record, culminating with a 44-7 drubbing of the hapless Oakland Raiders at the now defunct Giants Stadium. Ironically, a once promising season ended twelve weeks later with the Giants on the losing end of a 44-7 score against the Minnesota Vikings. The 2009 Giants finished 8-8 and missed out on the playoffs for the first time since 2004. After the Minnesota loss, Giants co-owner John Mara criticized his team for their "lack of mental toughness" and their "lack of effort" over the last two weeks of the 2009 campaign. Well, Mr. Mara cannot be pleased with this year's version of the New York Giants.
Entering the 2010 season, not many pundits and experts had the Giants on their list of Super Bowl contenders. However, the level of talent and depth in New York could not be denied. The Giants possessed two premier defensive ends in Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck; two underrated cornerbacks in Terrell Thomas and Corey Webster; a top 10 quarterback in Eli Manning (coming off of the best season of his career at a still young 29 years of age); one of the best offensive lines in the game (albeit, appearing to be in decline); a pro bowl wide receiver in Steve Smith and a budding superstar in Hakeem Nicks; and a fortified safety corp consisting of Kenny Phillips, Antrel Rolle and Deon Grant. The only real weak link appeared to be at the linebacker position where retired Antonio Peirce was replaced Jonathan Goff. This was a team built to compete with any team in the NFL; however, the Giants are likely to miss the playoffs for the second consecutive year. What went wrong?
Generally, a 10-6 record is indicative of a football team that can beat, or at least be competitive with, any team in the NFL. Not so with these 2010 Giants. Of their nine wins (as of the date of this post), six of those wins came against teams who assuredly will not be playing football after next Sunday. A seventh win was against the Seattle Seahawks of the infamous NFC West who currently sport a 6-9 record. Yes, the Seahawks could play postseason football this season with a win over the St. Louis Rams this week. However, make no mistake, the Seattle Seahawks are a bad football team in an even worse division. In sum, the Giants have just two wins over quality opponents this season. The Giants overpowered the Chicago Bears in a Sunday night matchup 17-0, assaulting QB Jay Cutler, who was knocked out of the game with a concussion when his head bounced off the turf thanks to an Aaron Ross sack. After a putrid first half, the Giants edged out the Jacksonville Jaguars after Eli Manning connected with Kevin Boss late in the game. That's it. Two quality wins that aren't nearly as impressive after a second look. When the Giants met the Bears, the Bears offensive line was swiss cheese and the Giants were able to take advantage. While still weak, the Bears offensive line has improved dramatically since that Sunday night in early October. The Jaguars season has been in steady decline for the last couple of weeks, and it looks as though they will miss out on the playoffs as well.
On December 19, 2010, against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Giants had an opportunity to quash the concerns of the big blue faithful and all other doubters, and they did just that. Unfortunately, they only did it for 52 minutes, and watched DeSean Jackson return a Matt Dodge punt to paydirt for a miraculous 38-31 Eagles victory. However, all was not lost. All the Giants needed to do was beat the Green Bay Packers and they would clinch a playoff birth. With their destiny in their hands, the 2010 Giants looked eerily like the 2009 Giants - heartless, gutless and effortless. The Packers crushed the Giants in a must win game 45-17.
Where do the Giants go from here? Should John Mara fire Tom Coughlin after two consecutive late season meltdowns (arguably three if you count 2008, but I'll lay that one on the leg of Plaxico Burress)?
In the era of hard salary caps and free agency, consistent success in the NFL is hard to come by. Three teams have been consistently successful for the last decade: the Patriots, Steelers and Colts. However, thanks to Tom Coughlin, Ernie Accorsi and Jerry Reese, the Giants have not been far behind. Since 2000, the Giants have been to two Super Bowls and won one. They have won three NFC East Championships and have been to the playoffs six times. Further, if the Giants beat the Redskins this Sunday, and finish the season 10-6, it could be just the 14th time since 1978 that a 10-6 team does not make the playoffs.
There is no doubt that changes need to be made this offseason. However, Tom Coughlin should not be one of those changes. One of the reasons Giants fans are so upset is because Coughlin (along with Reese and his predecessor, Accorsi) have created such high expectations with this football team, and that's not a bad thing. However, with high expectations comes dramatic disappointment when those perceived expectations are not met. When it's all said and done, while Tom Coughlin and his staff prepare the players for the game and call the plays, in order to be successful, the players have to execute those plays. Tom Coughlin cannot carry the football for Ahmad Bradshaw, Brandon Jacobs or Mario Manningham. Tom Coughlin cannot prevent Jason Pierre-Paul from jumping offside on a crucial 4th and 6. Tom Coughlin cannot stop Eli Manning from being inexplicably reckless with the football.
This team does not need a new head coach (offensive coordinator is another story and for a separate post), this team needs leaders on the field. What the Giants lost in Michael Strahan and Antonio Pierce cannot be understated, and it has not been replaced or replicated. What this team needs, as John Mara so aptly described after the 2009 debacle, is "mental toughness." Mental toughness is sorely lacking in this clubhouse. Is the lack of mental toughness an indictment on the coach? Perhaps. However, it's more of an indictment on the players.
Keep Tom Coughlin. Find a leader in the middle of the defense. Find a leader on the offensive line. Find a leader and mental toughness might just follow.
