Articles

by Shane Sharkey

Excuses and more excuses.

As fans, we get no say what the Giants actually do. But as an occasional blogger, I get to say my piece and you fine folks get to read me rant if you so choose.

I for one am sick of the excuses. When the Giants do something questionable, you shake your head and tell yourself, it’s a rebuilding year or the Giants didn’t have a lot of “cap room” or maybe you’re that person that says, “the players are young, they will develop”. Ok cool.

However, when the Giants do things that are colossally stupid, I immediately ask myself, “Would Belichick, Carroll, Reid or Peyton do that”?

If the answer is “NO”. I check off the box labeled: Damn, I’m sick of these excuses.

Goal Line Masterpiece:

You are down to your 4th string running back whom you cut and resigned to the practice squad. You have the ball on your 1-yard line. Do you roll out your young stud QB who is extremely mobile and try to hit the Tight End in the flat?

or

Do you bring in two additional linemen, go heavy left, let entire Defense know you’re going to run, snap the ball with no hard count or delay and let the linebacker and corner tackle you for a safety? Just using the knowledge of your personnel, you know you’re not making much forward progress.

Answer: Andy Reid would have rolled Mahomes out and hit Kelce in the flat. Why? Because he knows football. He knows strategy is part of the game.

Week after week Shumur, Shula and Bettcher continue to make sophomoric mistakes that cost this team. While I understand there are other factors that contribute to losing like injuries and inexperience, but for the love of God can the football coaches actually contribute something?

Hailey vs Thielen:

Bill Belichick would have known before kick-off that Hailey could not cover Thielen without help over the top. Belichick would have prepared for this in advance and done everything to help his young defensive back. Not the Giants, the let Thielen run rough shot over the Giants secondary all day. Belichick would also bench a guy that couldn’t perform up to what was expected. You don’t see the Patriots defense getting shredded with poor coverage and disgraceful attempts at tackling.

4th down:

The Giants went for it, three times on 4th down.

Sean Payton would have made sure Brees went to a “hard count” or snapped the ball on two with the hopes of drawing the defense offside. My guess…Sean Payton wins that battle two out of three times.

The Giants 0-3.

The players will get better with more experience. What’s Shurmur’s excuse? He’s been in the NFL for over 30 years? Shula? Why do you think this guy has never been a head coach in the NFL. And 26-23 at Alabama.

Bettcher, A shell of his former self:

Under Bettcher, the Cardinals allowed the fewest yards per rush (3.67) and forced the most fumbles (60) since 2015, according to ESPN. They also had the seventh-most sacks during that stretch with 121, compared with the Giants, whose 85 sacks were the fewest in the NFL before he came to New York.

Bettcher’s Cards were blitz-happy with the second-highest rate in the NFL during his tenure. What happened?

I know…I know…some more excuses that Baker, Love, McIntosh, Lawrence, Ximines, Carter, Hill, Jenkins, Golden, aren’t as good as the players he had in Arizona.