Depleted Giants Too Far Gone to Compete in 2014

The New York Giants don't lose games like these. Teams with future Hall of Fame head coach/quarterback duos rarely do. Not at home on 15 days' rest. And when it does happen, it doesn't come in blowout fashion. 

The final score—Indianapolis Colts 40, Giants 24—doesn't do justice to what happened at MetLife Stadium on Monday Night Football. The Giants scored a pair of garbage-time touchdowns, avoiding what should have been their second 20-plus-point defeat in their last three games. 

That's why Monday night's lopsided loss confirmed that the Giants simply lack the talent to compete in 2014.

Even last year, when the excrement was hitting the fan for this franchise, Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning and the Giants won a home game coming out of their bye week, beating the Oakland Raiders 24-20 in Week 10.

In fact, this marks the first time since 2007 that the Giants have lost with two weeks to prepare. During that six-game winning streak, they outscored their opponents 201-91. Three of those victories came by at least 28 points, and only once did they allow more than 20. 

Year	Opponent	Result
2014	Colts	Lost, 40-24
2013	Raiders	Won, 24-20
2012	Packers	Won, 38-10
2011	Dolphins	Won, 20-17
2010	Seahawks	Won, 41-7
2009	Falcons	Won, 34-31
2008	Seahawks	Won, 44-6

They gave up 40 Monday night, and had just 10 of their own entering the fourth quarter. They converted just four of 16 third downs, recorded just a single sack, failed to register a takeaway on defense and controlled the ball for six fewer minutes than the Colts. 

Just a month ago, we were certain this team had the ability to compete into January. But we were wrong, and that just goes to show how quickly things can change in this league. 

The problem is a team that was already short on talent and depth entering this season has been ravaged so aggressively by injuries that the roster just isn't good enough. Coughlin is a magician and Manning has helped this team atone for a lot of shortcomings in the past, but there's only so much compensating those two can do. 

Monday night, they were without key defensive cogs Jon Beason at linebacker, Cullen Jenkins at defensive tackle and Walter Thurmond and Trumaine McBride in the secondary. Keep in mind this was a defense that already lost starters Justin Tuck, Linval Joseph and Will Hill in the offseason, and that top cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Comartie is extremely limited with an ankle injury. 

When former first-round pick Prince Amukamara went down with a biceps injury in the first half, they were stuck facing the league's top-rated offense without approximately 3.5 of their top four corners. 

And it's not as though relief is coming. Beason, Thurmond and McBride are out for the season, and it looks as though Amukamara will join them on injured reserve. His injury will require season-ending surgery, according to Coughlin. 

The secondary was supposed to be a strength this year, but now it's comprised of a hobbling DRC, an aging Antrel Rolle and a bunch of scrubs, which explains why they've surrendered at least 27 points in three consecutive losses. 

Also on Monday night, they were without five 2013 starters in Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks, Chris Snee, David Baas and Brandon Myers. Four of those guys departed in the offseason after less-than-stellar 2013 campaigns, but throw in a season-ending knee injury to the Pro Bowl-caliber Cruz and the continued absence of new starters Rashad Jennings and Geoff Schwartz and you have a major talent void. 

Plus, rookie left guard Weston Richburg was forced out of Monday's game after suffering an ankle injury in the third quarter. 

Starter	Position	Replacement
Victor Cruz	No. 1WR	Odell Beckham Jr.*
Rashad Jennings	RB	Andre Williams*
Geoff Schwartz	G	John Jerry
Weston Richburg	G	Adam Snyder
Cullen Jenkins	DT	Mike Patterson
Jon Beason	LB	Devon Kennard*
Prince Amukamara	CB	Zack Bowman
Will Hill	FS	Quintin Demps
Walter Thurmond	Slot CB	Jayron Hosley

This is a team that has already missed the playoffs four times in the last five years. How can we possibly expect them to compete now without guys like Beason, Jenkins, Thurmond, McBride, Amukamara, Cruz, Jennings, Schwartz, Richburg, Tuck, Joseph, Hill, Nicks, Snee, Baas and Myers? 

With so many positions lacking, the front office was already displaying signs of frustration during the bye week, with general manager Jerry Reese oddly suggesting that an offense built to be conservative should be more aggressive. And as ESPN.com's Dan Graziano pointed out in his initial review of Monday's game, those mixed messages may be doing more harm than good: 

"

Maybe it was all of the confusion last week stemming from GM Jerry Reese's comments that they needed to be more aggressive, but the Giants' offense never looked in sync in this game, which was close until the third quarter. They can't get the run game going without Rashad Jennings, the receiving corps is thin and young and drops too many passes, and for the first time in a while they didn't look like they consistently knew what they wanted to do. Whether it's working or not, the Giants need to stick to an offensive game plan. Monday night's looked disjointed. Remember, their coordinator/playcaller, Ben McAdoo, is a rookie, too.

"

"We just gotta play better," Manning said during his post-game press conference, which aired on NFL Network. "It's the same team. I think we prepare well and we practice well and we do things correct at practice, we just don't perform well on game day."

That's just it. Nobody is questioning how well-prepared this team is. We all know how thorough and smart Coughlin is and how studious and committed Manning is, but that can only bring you so far if you severely lack talent everywhere else. 

The hole is already too deep. They've lost three straight games by double-digit margins, falling three games back of the NFC East-leading Philadelphia Eagles and 2.5 back of the second-place Dallas Cowboys, both of whom they lost to during the first half of the season. 

Now, on short rest, they travel to Seattle to take on a Seahawks team that has lost just two home games since December 2011. When they met in New Jersey last December, the Seahawks shut the Giants out 23-0. 

It hardly gets easier with the San Francisco 49ers and the Cowboys looming after that, so expect the Giants to have fallen much further out of the race before December arrives. 

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFC East for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon