What a difference a couple of weeks makes if you’re Jerry Reese and the New York Giants.
On September 9, you’re one of the strongest teams in the NFC and a surefire playoff favorite if not a Super Bowl contender.
Just 10 days later, the Giants are 0-2 to start a season for the fourth time in five years, which has countless football fans speculating if they’ll have fewer wins than the Jets while calling for the firing of the general manager Reese.
That’s how bad it is. However, their reactions are totally justified.
The offensive line is in absolute shambles, which really shouldn’t be a surprise to many considering it was the weakest part of an 11-5 playoff team last year.
Ereck Flowers was one of the worst rated guards in all of football to become the unfortunate poster child of an inept protection unit.
But instead of tweaking the roster and attempting to get quarterback Eli Manning and the running game more protection, Reese decided to basically look in the other direction.
They had an opportunity to draft an offensive lineman with the 23rd-overall pick of the draft in April but decided to go with Ole Miss tight end Evan Engram. While he is, in fact, a great talent who is already proving to be a playmaker at the NFL level, he wasn’t necessarily a need.
Reese justified his course of action by saying that it wasn’t a deep offensive line class and that he’d search the market if the unit slacked.
He should’ve started looking during halftime of Week 1 against the Cowboys.
Manning was sacked three times against Dallas and another five times on Monday night in a 24-10 loss to the Detroit Lions. Ziggy Ansah, who had just two sacks all year last season, picked up three while working against Flowers on the left end.
It’s contributed to the Giants’ offense looking worse than a Division III college program’s as they have scored just one touchdown in eight quarters. Not to mention the running game has put a combined 97 yards.
Their play has put a tremendous strain on a defense that is one of the strongest in the league. But when they are constantly on the field because of the offense’s inability to hold the ball, things are naturally going to break down.
The Giants have had 10 drives in two games that have lasted three offensive plays or less.
That’s atrocious and a lot of it has to be put on the shoulders of an offensive line that Reese refused to upgrade over the summer.
If fans and analysts alike can see a glaring hole that needs upgrading, how can the general manager not?
Either Reese is out of touch or just so set in his ways that he is willing to let his franchise quarterback get walloped week in and week out while the running game continues to be non-existent.
Maybe instead of focusing their sights on the postseason, the Giants should set their sights on a new general manager.
