New York Giants: Key Takeaways from GM Jerry Reese's Mid-Year Press Briefing
New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese spent a little more than 10 minutes fielding a list of questions from reporters in his annual in-season press conference.
While Reese didn’t drop any earth-shattering pieces of info about what lies ahead for the team (other than to emphasize, as head coach Tom Coughlin had done in his press conference earlier in the day) the importance of winning the next six games, there were a few things of note worth a mention.
Victor Cruz’s Contract Is Going to Be Redone After the Season
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Reese is notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to discussing player contracts, and true to form, he declined to share his thinking regarding receiver Victor Cruz, who is due to count for $9.9 million against the 2016 salary cap—a figure that includes a $7.9 million base salary.
“I’m not going to talk about that right now; that will take care of itself when the time comes,” Reese said.
Make no mistake about it. History suggests that the move is going to be made. This offseason, Reese redid the contracts of offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz and linebacker Jon Beason, both of whom had season-ending injuries, with Beason needing to accept a pay cut to stick around.
Cruz doesn’t quite have Beason’s injury history, but since 2013, the receiver has missed 28 games due to assorted lower-body injuries, which for a position that makes a living on speed and quickness, is not good news.
According to Over the Cap, the Giants are currently projected to have $37,734,600 of cap space based on a projected $150 million salary cap.
That figure does not include what will be left of the $12.548 million of current space the NFLPA’s public cap report shows the Giants as having, money that is expected to be carried over or expected cap savings that could come from contracts such as offensive lineman Will Beatty ($4.175 million) or Beason ($6.566 million).
While Reese remained confident of Cruz overcoming this later setback, he admitted that the road is going to be longer given that Cruz will be two years removed from the game.
"Yeah, who knows? When you’re gone for a couple of years like that, you just can’t jump back in and play, I don’t think," he said.
"I think you have to build your way back up and get your feet under you and get your confidence back and have the quarterback get his confidence back and get that chemistry back. I don’t think it’s an easy road back."
While it is too soon to say if Cruz’s days as a Giant are over—the Giants will wait to see how he comes through surgery and how he recovers.
But certainly his days as being paid like an elite receiver are soon coming to a close if Reese does follow history.
He Sees a 1st-Place Team...
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Regardless of what warts the 5-5 Giants have on the roster—and let’s face it, there are several such as the injury situation and the lack of depth that has left voids, the failed development of draft picks and so forth; in Reese's mind, this Giants team isn't a .500 team.
“I feel like a first-place team because that’s where we are,” he said, repeating that opinion a few more times during his press briefing.
“Obviously I really don’t want to talk about the first 10 games—the first 10 games are over, but we had some chances in some of those games to come out on top. We didn’t do it, and we’re 5-5...we’re on top.”
Yes, the Giants are in first place for the time being. However, in a division that has been simply abysmal, someone has to lead the pack, but that doesn’t mean the Giants should be puffing out their chests because they’re ahead of three other teams that have equal or worse problems.
...but Admits the Team Isn't Perfect...
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While Reese kept reminding the media of the Giants’ first-place status, he also was frank with how the team has underperformed in one critical area.
“I think we haven’t finished games like we want to finish games,” he said. “I think that’s been an issue. In this league, the close games, you have to win the close games.
“There’s not many blowout games in the National Football League. You have to win the close games. For whatever reason, we’ve come up short a few games at the end of the game.”
What’s frustrating about this fact is that in four of the Giants’ five losses this season, they’ve only been blown out once—that by the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 6.
Otherwise, their four other losses—Dallas in Week 1, Atlanta in Week 2, New Orleans in Week 8 and the New England Patriots in Week 10—were decided by four points or less.
Why has that been the case?
“You can blame it on all of us; I think everybody can take some blame in this situation,” Reese said. “I can take some blame, the coaches can take some blame, the players can take some blame about where we are.”
But?
“Again, we’re in first place. We’ve got six games to go, and we’re going to try and win them all. So blame all of us if you want to; we’re big boys. But again, we’re in first place.”
Yes, we know.
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…Yet It’s Not Completely to Blame
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No, the Giants aren’t perfect thanks to a combination of injuries that have removed key pieces of the puzzle coupled with the poor drafts that forced the Giants to seek budget players via free agency as compensation for busted draft picks, particularly along the offensive line, at tight end and at linebacker.
While Reese welcomed accepting his share of the blame for the team’s inability to finish the game, he also said, “I can’t play, I can’t go out there and play. It’s up to the players to make plays.
“We do our best to get the best players out there, and we think that can make some plays. And obviously the players have to make plays. Coaches have to get them in position to make plays.”
He’s right to a degree. But where his statement falls short is that the personnel department has to give the coaches the talent that fits what they want to run and not players they fall in love with because they’re “athletes.”
Regardless of where the Giants finish, there are enough holes that are going to need to be addressed, starting with an upgrade on the right side of the offensive line.
They also might want to think about adding another young linebacker to the mix, because for as good as Jasper Brinkley has looked so far, he’s also 30 years old, which is the same as the man he’s replaced—Jon Beason.
They’re also going to need to replenish at receiver, as Rueben Randle has been a disappointment, while there’s no telling when or if Cruz will ever be the same as he was before his injuries.
Another pass-rusher would also be nice to add, regardless of what the Giants do with Jason Pierre-Paul after this season, as if anything, being without Pierre-Paul should have underscored this glaring depth deficiency.
They're in 1st Place
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The Giants are in first place in the NFC East. But in case you didn't know that, Reese made sure to mention that five times in his press briefing.
Whether they stay there remains to be seen.
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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