Following McKinney’s statement that the coaches haven’t done a good job of “listening to the leaders and the captains,” their efforts started with endorsements of Brian Daboll and Wink Martindale.
Captain Bobby Okereke, who recently debated with both Daboll and Martindale, said of McKinney, “I mean, I’m not gonna sit here and invalidate his perspective.” That is not how I see things. That’s not how I see the situation that we’re in. But he seems like a grown man to me. He’s an expert in this. Furthermore, he ought to voice his concerns if he believes they are legitimate. And I believe he did. He and Wink had a conversation about it, and they are now fine.
Daboll’s first-year playoff success, wide receiver Darrius Slayton said, makes him think this year’s coaching staff isn’t in the same “at risk” situation as Joe Judge’s staff in 2021.
Slayton added that everyone was put on notice when offensive coordinator Jason Garrett was fired following a 2021 season Week 11 loss in Tampa.
This season, there haven’t been any midseason firings; however, in Week 7, Daboll replaced Mike Kafka as the offensive coordinator, indicating a growing sense of urgency.
However, in order for any of it to matter, the Giants (2-7) must consistently support the coaching staff’s defenses with effort and execution.
For instance, McKinney, Adoree Jackson, and Kayvon Thibodeaux can all run faster or offer greater resistance than they did during Jakobi Meyers’ 17-yard touchdown run in the first quarter of last Sunday’s game in Las Vegas.
Could players be excused for feeling humanly disappointed when Joe Schoen showed them that the future now matters more than the present by trading away one of their leaders and most important players, Leonard Williams? Yes.
However, that play was also brought up as a crucial correction in meetings earlier this week.
When asked if players turn to teammates when they witness those kinds of disappointments, Okereke responded, “I’d say there’s measures in place for that.” Everyone on the field is not flawless. I won’t, therefore, sit here and claim that I’m executing 100% of the plays or that I put in a 100% balls-to-the-wall effort on every play. Players “fuck off,” end quote.
But coaches bring it up, the linebacker in the middle said. “All of us watch movies together. Coaches discuss it. I would say that we have genuine conversations as players. We remain authentic. Men will therefore bring that up. As professionals, you are calling out the number rather than the person. You simply point it out to a man and inform him that it needs to be fixed. And they are accountable for fixing it. We are all paid to perform a job at the end of the day.
If handled and stopped early, plays like the Meyers touchdown and remarks like McKinney’s can spread like wildfire.
Because “there was very little to no light over that two-year span, except the first season we were 6-10 and almost backdoored into the playoffs,” Slayton continues to believe that 2021 under Judge was different.
The only bright spot, according to Slayton, was that. We were still 6–10, though. It goes without saying that we would have fought our ass off if we had advanced [to the playoffs]. We would have been the first 6-10 Super Bowl champion in history if we had gone on a 6-10 run. It would have also made a cute story. However, that wouldn’t have altered the fact that most people don’t deserve to be in it if they place 6–10.
All of that being said, Slayton acknowledged that things might have been different if the Giants had sneaked into the 2020 postseason at 6-10 under Judge and won one game. That’s how precarious the NFL’s equilibrium is.
“Let’s just say they’re probably still here if we win that wild card game,” Slayton remarked.
As it stands, Daboll’s inaugural 9-7-1 campaign that included a Wild Card victory, a postseason berth, and a Coach of the Year honor still seems to be significant in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
If this eight-game finish goes as badly as this season has gone thus far, the question is how solid all of that will hold up.
Since Bill Arnsparger’s team finished 2-12 in 1974, the Giants have not had a season with two wins. In a regular season format consisting of 16 or 17 games, they have never lost with just two wins.
The Giants’ 3-13 season in 2017 is still their worst result in a schedule consisting of 16 or 17 games.
The day after benching Eli Manning with the team’s record at 2-10, general manager Jerry Reese and head coach Ben McAdoo were fired. Steve Spagnuolo led the team as an interim head coach for the final four weeks.
As of right now, the trio of quarterbacks on Schoen’s and Daboll’s roster have only started seven of their 23 career games.
Tommy DeVito, an undrafted rookie who will start for the first time in his NFL career on Sunday, has made two appearances and has an 8.2 QBR rating out of 100, according to ESPN Analytics. Matt Barkley (2-5) is a backup who hasn’t participated in a game since 2020.
When he was fired, McAdoo had a 13–15 record with a playoff berth and a loss. Pat Shurmur scored 9 out of 23. The judge had a 10-23 record.
Daboll has an 11-14-1 record in addition to a win and a loss in the playoffs. However, he is 5-13-1 in his last 19 regular season games after having a 6-1 start to the 2022 campaign.
If Daboll were to lose these eight games, his record would be 11-22-1 for the first two years.
That is a very distant hypothetical scenario. Still, it’s not implausible.
Thus, it is advantageous that leaders such as Okereke are taking the lead when the Giants most need their voices to be heard.
It’s difficult, Okereke remarked. “With this record, nobody wants to be where we are. It irritates me. But really, it’s just practicing self control, particularly as leaders, understanding that our words and actions affect the younger players on this team as well as the organization’s future. In my opinion, it all boils down to discipline in the face of difficulty.
