Debunking Top Arguments Why New York Giants Should Keep to Status Quo

It’s now officially four straight seasons without a playoff appearance for the New York Giants—not a good thing in a results-driven business. 

What’s more, the four straight seasons without a playoff appearance is the longest since the dark years otherwise known as the “17 Years of Lousy Football” days that commenced in 1964 and lasted through 1980.

Want another sobering fact? According to Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post, the Giants are the first team since the 1970 merger to miss the playoffs four consecutive years after winning a Super Bowl.

Is a change needed? All signs certainly point to that being the case, yet there are some arguments that have been tossed out there that suggest a change at general manager and/or head coach would not do the Giants any good.

Truth be told, if you’re not changing, you’re probably dead, and certainly given how the Giants seasons have gone these last four years, their lack of postseason life would certainly suggest a change is necessary.

Still, for those who believe that a change wouldn’t do this team good, the following slides provide a counter argument to the most common excuses NOT to make a change.

The Giants' 34-Year Old Quarterback Shouldn’t Have to Learn a New System

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

Of all the arguments against making a change, the belief that the Giants shouldn’t have to start fresh with a new offensive system because they have a 34-year-old quarterback in Eli Manning is probably the weakest of the arguments.

First, Manning is not stupid. He quickly picked up the new offense introduced by Ben McAdoo two seasons ago, so unless Manning’s intelligence level has taken a significant drop for some undisclosed reason, there’s no reason why he can’t learn a new system all over again and perform it at a high level.

And what about if a new system introduces new mechanics? Well, that’s what the OTAs, minicamps and training camps are for. Whereas two years ago Manning got out of the gate slowly in that regard, remember, that was partially due to his recovery from ankle surgery.

Second, while Manning’s overall numbers are better, the short-passing game (largely in place due to the constant rebuild of the offensive line), has taken away something he’s done well during the early part of his career, which is the deep ball.

According to Pro Football Focus, Manning has attempted 10.4 percent of his pass attempts in the 20-plus yard range. Comparing that number to 2011, that’s down from the 18.5 percent of the deep downfield shots Manning took in 2011, the last year the Giants were in the playoffs.

What about his accuracy? This season Manning has been accurate on 38.6 percent of those deep pass attempts; in 2011, he connected on 46.8 percent.

It’s Not Tom Coughlin’s Fault

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Sadly, even a head coach with two Super Bowl championships under his belt needs to take some of the blame. Whether it was sticking with subpar talent too long, questionable in-game decisions or questionable and inconsistent clock management, that’s on the head coach.

Second and most importantly, the Giants have, over the last two seasons, changed their offensive coordinator and their defensive coordinator and have had the same results. That means the next logical target is the head coach.

For what it’s worth, Coughlin is a good man and a hard-working man. He never asks his players to do something that he himself wouldn’t do, whether that’s spend an extra 30 minutes watching film or delve even deeper into the finer details of game preparation. He’s also charismatic, likable and has shown that he cares about his players.

As much as it would be ideal to have a coach stick around like Bear Bryant at Alabama or Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech, or, at the pro level, a Bill Belichick in New England, the way to achieve that is through repeated success and measurable results.

Coughlin, regardless of his past success, hasn’t been able to attain that, and while it’s not all of his fault, it’s certainly valid to ask if his program has perhaps grown stale.

Not Enough Quality Depth

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It hasn't been very often that a replacement comes in because of an injury and "Wally Pipps" the incumbent.

Newsflash: Every team in the NFL has injuries. So when a team says injuries are not an excuse (but then proceeds to point out that it had injuries), then it’s making an excuse.

Yes, injuries stink, but what stinks even more is when there is a huge drop-off in the quality of talent from the injured starter to the guy who ultimately replaces him. And that is on the people responsible for building the roster.

In life, you get what you pay for and the same holds true in the NFL. While you could make an argument that perhaps giving a player who spent last year out of the league a chance to make a gazillion times the amount of money he’d otherwise make if he was a desk jockey, it doesn’t always work that way.

The answer is to have solid drafts and to develop that talent so that when there are injuries, that talent can step in and not miss a beat. The Giants have had far too many missed draft picks that have left their cupboard bare and have forced them to rely on free agency, where even then nothing is guaranteed.

If the Giants are to regain top-tier status, this cycle needs to be broken. 

Injuries

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While we’re on the subject of injuries, every NFL team is subject to the same playing conditions, yet some teams consistently have low injury numbers year in and year out.

For example, the Denver Broncos have six players on injured reserve, half of which are players with two or less years of experience.  

The Giants? They list 17 players on injured reserve, eight of whom were designated as starters in 2015.

The Giants are constantly evaluating and tweaking their football program to allow players to recover. Coughlin introduced recovery days to the weekly in-season schedule. And beginning in 2014, Coughlin introduced mid-practice breaks during training camp to allow players to catch a breather.

Nothing seems to have worked, however. Whether the Giants are simply one of the unluckiest teams when it comes to injuries or there is a deeper issue that needs to be changed, injuries have been an ongoing problem.

Stability

Rich Schultz/Getty Images

The Giants have always been about stability, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. However, if that stability doesn’t reach the locker room, that’s a big problem.

Regardless of who the general manager is, the roster is about to be massively turned over for the second time in three years. Elected co-captains such as Jon Beason and Zak DeOssie may or may not be back with the team.  

The same can probably be said of defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins, the ex post facto defensive leader appointed after Beason was placed on IR.

Receiver Victor Cruz, previously elected as a captain, needs to show he can stay on the field after two seasons away from the game because of injury.  

Although the Giants have some good young players who can form a core, that core still needs to solidify, something that might not happen for a while yet. Besides that, the Giants are likely to have new faces at safety, receiver, linebacker, defensive end and cornerback—all pieces that will have to jell with those who are part of the 2016 plans.

Unfortunately a pattern has been established here that may or may not discourage free agents from signing with this team. And if that's the case, then how "stable" is the franchise's leadership foundation? 

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.