Good morning, New York Giants fans! Here is your Giants Morning Report.
Eli Can't Explain Second-Half Woes
The Giants have been outscored 109-34 in the third quarter this season. They have now lost four straight games they had an opportunity to win heading into the fourth quarter. Quarterback Eli Manning doesn't have an answer for the second-half collapses.
"I don't have a reason, I don't have an explanation," Manning said Monday. "We have to be better, we have to be better in the second half of all these games. That is where games are won. It is usually going to come down to that third and fourth quarter, who plays football. That is where the situations of the game come. You are going to be up a little bit, you are going to be down a little bit. You've got to play to the circumstances of the game and make the plays in that time to win the game. We are not making the plays; we are making mistakes, we are not making enough plays in that situation to win the games."
Valentine's View: Not only the last four games, but the Week 2 game against the Arizona Cardinals was also there for the Giants to win. They led that game 14-10 after three quarters only to implode in the fourth and lose, 25-14. How different would this season look if that Giants had, let's say, three of those very winnable games?
Around The Inter-Google
Everybody has an opinion regarding who should get blame for the Giants' plight, and whether or not Tom Coughlin should stick around for another year. Here are some of them.
Vacchiano: Jerry Reese's piece doomed Tom Coughlin - NY Daily News
The Giants may be a mess, but they’re not solely Coughlin’s mess. It’s a shared responsibility with Jerry Reese, their eighth-year general manager, and the rest of his front office. For two straight years now the Giants thought they were sitting on a Super Bowl contender when the reality is they had badly overvalued the players on their own roster. What they assembled was a mediocre and flawed team, and when the injuries mounted it was exposed as dangerously thin.
Just how thin and bad they really are was crystal clear on Sunday when they blew a 21-0 lead and lost 25-24 in Jacksonville to the woeful Jaguars. But even before that disaster one NFL talent evaluator told the Daily News, "There's not another coach out there who could have won with that team this year."
There are many who share that view - including some in the Giants' organization - and that's a reflection on Reese and his staff.
Tom Coughlin should be allowed to leave on own terms | New York Post
General manager Jerry Reese needs to spend money on a defensive line, linebacker and cornerback, but the notion the Giants need to clean house and are facing a "long-term rebuilding process" is folly. You expect the knee-jerk from the radio jocks who never visit the locker room, but Dungy should show Coughlin enough respect to know it’s not over until he says it’s over. He has earned that right.
It's time for co-owner John Mara to shake up his pathetic Giants | Politi | NJ.com
This team - your team - has bottomed out. There's no denying it anymore, or blaming it on injuries, or hoping a respectable finish in December will make everyone forget the current seven-game skid. Tossing aside defensive coordinator Perry Fewell while waving your finger and putting everyone else on notice - again - will just delay the inevitable.
Your team needs a complete overhaul. It isn't the Mara Way to blow things up, and the faith in the status quo has been a good thing. But you're well aware of when it isn't a good thing, like those 17 years without the postseason that shaped your father's legacy.
"Sometimes, things have to change," is what you said before the season about that era of bad football. That time has arrived with the Giants - your Giants - and you're the only one who can make the changes a reality. Will you?
When it comes to the decision about what to do with the two-time Super Bowl-winning coach at the end of this dismal season, it stretches well beyond just this year, when the Giants have been devastated by injury, and whether he is still capable of coaching (which he is). Age and state of the franchise must play major roles in the decision as well.
Coughlin is the NFL's oldest head coach. He will be 69 years old at the start of next season.
The Giants are in need of a rebuild, a major retooling at minimum, after a season that might not see them reach five wins. They have holes all over the roster and admittedly don't know how to win with this group of players. Another Band-Aid won't cure these problems. The Giants are in dire need of a multi-year reshaping of their team.
It doesn't make sense to begin that journey with a head coach who will be 69 at the start of next season, nevertheless one who is coming off the worst stretch of his coaching career. The Giants are 13-23 in their last 36 games.
Giants must ask this critical question: If not Tom Coughlin, then who? - New York Giants Blog - ESPN New York
If Tom Coughlin isn't the right coach for the New York Giants in 2015 and beyond, then who is?
One-Liners
Eli On WFAN: Giants Players Deserve Blame, Not Tom Coughlin " CBS New York
Befuddled Giants seeking answers - Football - NorthJersey.com
Myers: Giants and Jets could battle for Jim Harbaugh - NY Daily News
Could quarterback Eli Manning follow Tom Coughlin out of New York? - WSJ