When the Giants went to Houston two weeks ago, the Giants has their proverbial backs-against-the –wall.
They had a consistent and efficient effort on both sides of the ball and won.
Now, two weeks later, the Giants have slumped back down to the same situation.
It is a sense of urgency.
It is their 911 call.
They will go to Carolina this Sunday desperately needing a win to salvage any glimmer of hope left for this season.
They will face Cam Newton and his Panthers who will be well rested from a bye week and they already have posted two impressive home victories.
The Giants looked just as effective on their opening drive against New Orleans last Sunday with Eli Manning hit six of seven passes on the way to the end zone.
Unfortunately, that path was short.
The Giants offense sputtered the remainder of the afternoon.
Manning couldn’t go deep, and Saquon Barkley had a 28-yard burst as a highlight of a mediocre effort.
Odell Beckham Jr. was properly lassoed by the Saints’ zone defense, and the offensive line couldn’t give Manning a 5-Mississippi count most of the game.
Beckham believes it is time to shoot a red flare.
“It needs to be,” he said in response if it should be an urgent matter. “ If it isn’t felt, it needs to be felt. We need to come out like I said when we were in Houston, we just need to have that energy. The word that I’m going to keep repeating is energy. It’s about energy, it’s about the way you come in here every day to work, the way that we all vibe and bond together.
“Being a team isn’t about one person scoring touchdowns, it’s about the little stuff. It’s about the locker room, the vibe, everything – just bringing that energy a little more than what we have already.”
Great point.
The Giants couldn’t maintain a fluid level of urgency and energy against the Saints, most notably as the game lingered.
They need to find a way to get Beckham and Barkley more involved. Unless he is changing the plays at the line, Manning has shown enough to prove he isn’t the entire problem.
Sounds simple, right?
Well, the offensive line showed some flashes last week that they can grind out a day for Barkley. Chad Wheeler has been an upgrade for Ereck Flowers, but they still aren’t cohesive enough.
Unless they can get Wayne Gallman to emerge as a steadier contributor, the Giants may have to rely on Barkley for 20 to 25 carries this week. Jonathan Stewart never materialized as the second option.
They only have to look around the corner to find a hungry Philadelphia team seeking to further prove themselves next Thursday at Met Life.
In a week, we will learn the fate of this team.
They will either have answered their 911 call or be the victim of their one.