For the Giants, it was strike two.
Two weeks ago, everything supposedly was reset in Giants’ land when the G-Men lived up to their preseason hype with their convincing win at Denver. The troubles and eventual suspension of cornerback Dominique Rogers-Cromartie was behind them, as he rejoined them the following week.
With Aaron Rogers gone for the year and the wild card race becoming wider, the Giants were set to finally make their run.
Then came the meltdown against Seattle in which the defense simply was gassed due to the inconsistent offense.
No worries, though. A bye week would be the perfect complement to further re-energize. Head coach Ben McAdoo gave the team the week off, and it was back to work on Monday.
Like the season, however, any hint of impending success was short lived.
This time around, it was fellow cornerback Janoris Jenkins who violated team rules and has been suspended indefinitely.
Jenkins decided to miss Monday’s practice and basically take his time getting back?
That’s strike two with McAdoo and likely GM Jerry Reese in the batter’s box.
Two suspensions in one season, yet alone in eight weeks, is not a good sign for any head coach, especially a second-year one who replaced a legendary disciplinarian.
This week, the players spoke out in support of McAdoo, inferring the team rules should have been enforced and that he hasn’t lost the locker room.
But how many of them have spoken out in favor of McAdoo on their own before this week? You likely can count them on one hand.
Rogers-Cromartie’s issues about playing time were the most magnified of the restlessness in the Giants’ secondary this season. Eli Apple was benched earlier for his play, but he has spun things in a more positive direction.
Still, do we hear any of these dilemmas in New England, the current gold standard of the NFL? If there is, a player is quickly jettisoned and it is back to normal.
Remember, it was Tom Coughlin who lost his grip on his job with Odell Beckham’s antics with Carolina’s Josh Norman in a game two years ago. There was also the eventual release of Demonte Moore that further soiled the scene.
Ironically, Beckham’s dog-urinating touchdown celebration set the lack of discipline thoughts into motion this season.
The Giants again will try to hit the reset button this Sunday in an expected tight battle with the Rams.
It shouldn’t take long to see if everything is behind them, or if the Jenkins’ situation is a sign of things to come, another fastball coming right down the middle.