New York Giants management’s leash on first-year head coach Pat Shurmur should not be that long, especially after Sunday’s abysmal loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 12.
After jumping out to a 16-point lead at 19-3, the Giants collapsed at the very end of the first half, which avalanched to a miserable final two quarters where Shurmur could not do a thing right.
Actually, it looked like he was attempting to make the wrong decisions with every offensive play call.
Shurmur’s questionable second half was highlighted by his unreasonable decision to cut star rookie running back Saquon Barkley out of the playbook.
After he ripped apart the Eagles in the first half for 127 total yards (94 rushing, 33 receiving) and a touchdown on 15 touches, Shurmur called Barkley’s number just five times in the final 30 minutes.
If the head coach’s decision-making wasn’t bad enough, his excuse for basically leaving Barkley out of the second half was even more pathetic, stating that he wanted to “spell him a little bit.”
What a ridiculous answer and an insult to Giants fans everywhere.
There were only two acceptable reasons as to why Shurmur possibly could have limited Barkley that much in Week 12:
1) Barkley was injured and the Giants are hiding it.
2) The Giants are tanking.
Option No. 2 seems far more likely because Shurmur basically curled his offense into a conservative shell down the stretch and allowed the Eagles to gain all the momentum needed to score 25 of the game’s final 28 points.
The passing game, which carved up an injury-riddled Eagles secondary for 236 yards in the first half picked up just 66 more yards in the second. Veteran quarterback Eli Manning, who should be blamed for a bad interception at the end of the first half near the red zone, attempted just 12 passes compared to 25 in the opening two quarters.
Wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. — who doesn’t need to be prompted for comments — and Sterling Shepard had no problem pointing the finger at the inept coaching.
“Honestly, that’s a question for the coach,” Beckham said. “I don’t call the plays. I just do what I’m told to do.”
“You can go back and watch the film as well, can’t you?” Shepard asked. “Tell me what you see.”
It’s been 11 games and it looks like Shurmur is already losing his locker room, which is a recipe for disaster regardless of record.
For first-year general manager Dave Gettleman, Sunday’s disaster in Philadelphia should be all the evidence needed that Shurmur is not the right coach to help the Giants’ turnaround. This is a front-office member who came in claiming that the Giants are in a win-now mode. Now facing a 3-8 record, Gettleman has to step in quickly and get things right if he wants to hold on to his job, as well.
While he will be searching for upgrades on the field this offseason, he might want to take a moment and evaluate what kind of head coach he has leading the team. After all, a coach who displayed that kind of decision-making on Sunday probably shouldn’t be leading a storied organization like the Giants for long.
