Joe Judge Takes Blame for Giants' Struggles: 'The Fish Stinks from the Head Down'

New York Giants head coach Joe Judge is taking accountability for the team's 1-5 start to the 2021 NFL season.

"I'm the head coach. It's my responsibility, point blank," he told reporters Thursday. "Every player on this field, every position group, the execution, it all comes down to me. The fish stinks from the head down."

Putting everything on Judge would be unfair.

The Giants have been without a number of key players on offense for multiple games. Nothing better symbolized the situation than Kadarius Toney enjoying a breakout season and almost immediately picking up an ankle injury.

It's not really Judge's fault that Daniel Jones appears to be miscast as a franchise quarterback, either. Through six games, Jones has thrown for 1,524 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions, while his completion percentage (62.5) is equal to its 2020 counterpart.

But Judge hasn't built up the kind of equity that provides him with the benefit of the doubt in a situation like this.

If anything, New York's current stretch only magnifies the significant level of skepticism surrounding the 39-year-old when he first took the gig. He was a special teams coach for the majority of his time with the New England Patriots and didn't have any high-level experience as a coordinator.

Although it's probably too early to say Judge's job is in jeopardy, Giants co-owner John Mara said everybody was effectively on the hot seat coming into the year. The franchise handed out $124.6 million in guaranteed money, third-most in the league, per Over the Cap.

That kind of investment signals a desire to reach the playoffs, and the G-Men are on track to fall well short of that goal.