Giants Need To Look In Their Mirrors

The Giants are complacent..or is it settled?

 

This is another theory about this 0-3 team that many expected to challenge for the NFC East title. 

 

Now, this is about character.

 

This is a team that plays like it is a team that will win the game in the end, but they haven’t. Head coach Joe Judge has lost his swagger from last year.

 

Make the big play or make the big stop. If you don’t, you can lose consecutive games in the final seconds on field goals to teams that aren’t better than you (sorry about the double negative). 

 

The Giants need a shakeup, but where does it come from? Is firing offensive coordinator Jason Garrett the real answer? No, it isn’t. Yet, that may be a solution, especially after another loss Sunday.

 

They need to make the game-changing play like they did in the second half of last season. Currently, that’s on quarterback Daniel Jones and the defense. There’s also the latest theory floating that Saquon Barkley should change his running style to be more of a north-south runner.

 

Life doesn’t get any easier for them when they meet the 2-1 Saints in the Big Easy Sunday afternoon. This will be a dramatic moment for the Saints, as this will be their first game in the Superdome since their Jan. 5, 2020 playoff game. 

 

Or does it?

 

Jameis Winston has been reborn with the Saints and he threw five touchdown passes in Week One, and he has been consistent in his role. He had an effective 14-for-21, 128 yards, two touchdown performance in their 28-13 victory at New England last week.

 

Winston hasn’t been put in the position to win a game, and he has a respectable seven touchdowns and two interceptions. 

 

Yet, the gunslinger has a history of throwing interceptions, and he might be the perfect fit for Giants’ DC Patrick Graham’s scheme. Again, it will come down to the Giants’ defense making the big play. Where are you, Leonard Williams?

 

There also is running back Alvin Kamara to contend with, and Saints’ head coach Sean Peyton will try to maximize him as a runner and receiver. Denver Melvin Gordon has been the only opposing running back to rush for more than 100 yards against the Giants’ defense this season.

 

Jones won’t have leading receiver Sterling Shepard and fellow receiver Darius Slayton Sunday, and he can open up the offense with Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney, both of whom have felt underutilized this season.

 

It will be interesting to see if the Giants’ offense can rebound back to the Washington game in which they had their best offensive output with 391 yards.  

 

They looked just the opposite in their 346-yard production in their loss to Atlanta last week. That’s enough yards for a win, but there wasn’t enough timely execution.

 

The Giants can put their struggles behind them with a solid effort. This should be a must game for them, as they have the Cowboys, Rams, Panthers, Chiefs, Raiders, and Bucs in the next six weeks.

 

Make the play, make the stop. Don’t be complacent. Look in the mirror.

 

It’s a tough task in New Orleans, but it has to get done. 

 

About the Author

Jeff Moeller

Jeff Moeller has been covering the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and college football and basketball as well as high school sports on a national and local scene for the past 39 years. He has been a Jets and Giants beat reporter for the past 13 years.

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