Biggest Takeaways from New York Giants' Week 6 Loss
If it’s any consolation to New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin, captured in the above picture in one of his countless exasperated poses during his team’s Monday night implosion against the Philadelphia Eagles, he’s not alone.
No doubt, on Tuesday morning, there were numerous television sets and remote controls once owned by Giants fans that took the brunt of their owners’ frustrations.
Yes, it was that kind of game, a game where a 3-2 team that had a golden opportunity to tighten its grip on first place in the division committed mistake after foolish mistake only to realize in the end that they’re just not good enough to overcome self-inflicted wounds.
So what have we learned from this week’s debacle? If you have the stomach for it, read on.
DE Damontre Moore Still Can't Be Trusted
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Perhaps the most exasperating thing to emerge from the Giants' Monday night debacle was the play of defensive end Damontre Moore, a three-year veteran who continues to play the game with no plan, no direction and, as he admitted to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post, no understanding of the rules:
"Damontre Moore on his roughing the passer penalty: "I got to get my football IQ up and get a better understanding for the rules.''
— Paul Schwartz (@NYPost_Schwartz) October 20, 2015"
Moore's biggest boneheaded move of the night was his decision to body-slam quarterback Sam Bradford to the ground well after the ball had been released. This came on a third-down play that went incomplete, no less.
As the yellow flag came fluttering to the ground, defensive captain Jon Beason could be seen on camera giving Moore, who is only 23 years old—but again, who is a three-year veteran—a heated glare that would have melted the iceberg that sank the Titanic.
If that wasn't bad enough, how about Moore's poor taste in celebrating his lone sack in the game with a ridiculous dance despite his team behind, down 17 points, at that point in the game?
On a team that actually had a pass rush, Moore's transgression—and it needs to be noted that this isn't the first time he's played the game like an out-of-control freight train—likely would have resulted in a benching.
The most outrageous takeaway from his showing was his confession that he didn't know the rules, which now calls into question his weekly preparation. If a player in his third season doesn't know the rules by now, then he shouldn't be out there on the field, regardless of where he was drafted.
The Coaches Contributed to This Loss
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There were several things from a coaching standpoint that were head-scratchers.
Let’s start with the offense where offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, who came from the very same organization once coached by the great Vince Lombardi, went against one of the most famous Lombardisms, and that is to keep running something that’s working until opponents show they are able to stop it.
That brings up question No. 1: Why did McAdoo, whose offense had success working from a 12-personnel set on the very first drive, move away from that? Sure the Eagles adjusted their personnel, but why not test them to see if they truly had it figured out?
Question No. 2: Why call for slow-developing running plays against a fast defense, especially when the speed at running back isn’t world-class? If you’re looking for a reason the short yardage failed, the wide run by Rashad Jennings who couldn't beat the Eagles to the corner should tell you what you need to know.
Question No. 3: Why not call for a few plays to Odell Beckham Jr. to loosen up the defense and maybe unclog the interior running lanes in the process? Was Beckham double-covered? Yes.
But he was also double-covered in other games where he managed to have healthy yardage production. (And whatever happened to moving Beckham all over the field to gain the ideal matchup?)
Now to the defense, where yes, Steve Spagnuolo was missing some key personnel—had Devon Kennard been healthy this week, he probably would have been on the field a lot. Anyway, with no pass rush to speak of, why not, on occasion at least, send a fifth man on a blitz to at least rattle Sam Bradford?
Yes, Spagnuolo was probably trying to protect his banged-up defensive secondary, but Bradford won’t be mistaken anytime soon for Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady, so why not blitz just a little bit more?
Head coach Tom Coughlin always speaks about the team concept. Well, this was clearly a team loss, with the coaching included.
TE Larry Donnell Continues to Be Inconsistent
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Tight end Larry Donnell has a lot of talent and ideal measurements to be a successful tight end. The problem is that he isn’t consistent—not even close—and has developed into a coach killer.
When he’s not dropping passes or whiffing on blocks, he turns in a play such as what happened on Eli Manning’s first interception—an interception that manning didn’t deserve to be charged with.
Donnell failed to fight for a ball thrown to him on the Eagles' 23, as DeMeco Ryans snatched the ball away.
In the snap-of-a-finger, the Giants' scoring drive was over, and in retrospect, so were the Giants, who began to pile on the mistakes after that.
The most frustrating thing about Donnell is his yards-after-the-catch stat. Per Pro Football Focus, he’s averaging 3.2 yards after the catch, which means he’s not separating or really using his size or strength to break away from defenders.
That’s not good news for an offense that likes to throw to the tight end in the seam.
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Eli Manning Needs to Be Smarter with the Football
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Not a week seems to go by when during a press briefing, quarterback Eli Manning tells reporters, “I need to make more plays; I need to be smarter with the football.”
Ah, but talk is cheap. Simply put, Manning, by nature, is a gunslinger who made it this far not because he played it conservatively, but because he took calculated risks, many of which have paid off and some of which have not.
There are the interceptions, which sometimes have been a result of Manning simply trying to force a ball into a tight spot, because he believes his receiver will make the catch.
There is also the “delay of game” penalties, of which the Giants had none this week, but of which they came close as Manning drove the clock down to the nub several times before they snapped the ball.
At some point, they have to simply line up and play football instead of constantly switching things around and creating confusion for the other 10 guys on the field.
Then there are the flat-out stupid decisions to move the chains that are driven by Manning’s stubbornness. Such was the case with the intentional-grounding penalties, two of which Manning had, that even irked head coach Tom Coughlin.
“The frustration of the day continues with some of the penalties that were recorded for intentional grounding which, quite frankly, I thought we were through that,” he said during a conference call Tuesday with reporters. “We’ve opened that can of worms again. We’ve got to do a better job with that.”
If no one is open, all Manning has to do is throw the ball away. Period. It stops the clock, it doesn’t cost him penalty yardage, it doesn’t put the ball's security at ris, and it allows the offense to re-group.
The Running Game Is a Weak Link
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Not a week goes by that head coach Tom Coughlin doesn’t pine for the good old days, when the Giants pounded the ball down opponents' throats via the running game, which of course would set up the pass.
Those days are long gone, and the Giants are still trying to get them back. No such luck, however, at least not this season. According to Mike Eisen of Giants.com, the Giants have not rushed for at least 100 yards in any of their first six games.
As Eisen also noted, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, this is the first time the Giants have rushed for fewer than 100 yards in six consecutive games and are the only NFL team without a 100-yard rushing game this season.
Who’s to blame for the running game woes? Truly it’s hard to pin it all on one or two individuals, but this much is for certain.
With the Giants unable to run the ball with any consistency, that has allowed opponents to key in on the pass.
Until the Giants can figure out how to loosen things up and get the running game going, the Giants' running game, which according to the Giants' weekly press packet, has dropped from 15th in the league in Week 1 to 28th after Monday night’s game, is going to continue to hold this offense back from reaching its full potential.
Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.
Follow me on Twitter @Patricia_Traina.
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