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We have arrived at our final New York Giants post-game ‘Kudos & Wet Willies.’
Kudos to ...
Lorenzo Carter — Another sack on Sunday, giving him five in the season’s last four games. Those were his only sacks of the season. Carter had 10 tackles, one for loss, a quarterback hit and a pass defensed. He’s put together a pretty good salary drive. Question is, will whoever is making the decision want to bring Carter back to the Giants next season? If he does, will the Giants be able to afford it? Carter has probably earned himself a decent paycheck with his recent play.
Special teams — Alex Bachman, where have you been all season? Bachman averaged 23.5 yards on four kickoff returns. He had a 16-yard punt return. He smartly blocked near the goal line on another punt, allowing it to go into the end zone.
Keion Crossen and Steven Parker had nice tackles in kick or punt coverage. Even punter Riley Dixon managed to finish off an inconsistent at best season with a nice day, averaging 51.0 yards on six punts.
It was a good day for coordinator Thomas McGaughey’s group. The only bad news is we had to look this hard for a ‘Kudos.’
Darius Slayton — He caught a touchdown pass. It’s a miracle. His 22-yard TD was the first by a Giants’ wide receiver since Dante Pettis in Week 7, three months ago.
Assorted defenders — There were a bunch of defensive players who probably at least merit some mention. Jaylon Smith, Dexter Lawrence, Azeej Ojulari and Leonard Williams all had at least some impact. Logan Ryan, used as a blitzer more than I can remember, had a sack and two quarterback hits.
Wet Willies to ...
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Back-to-back sneaks — If Joe Judge gets fired, that sequence in the second quarter is the one that might have sealed his fate. Now, I will admit I had zero faith in the Giants’ offense with a first-and-10 at their own 3-yard line. I saw them turn that situation into a safety for the Chicago Bears a week ago.
If you are the head coach of an NFL football team, though, you cannot show such a blatant lack of faith in your team. One sneak is fine. But, a second one from your 4-yard line? C’mon! Run a fullback dive maybe. Anything but embarrass your team like that. I almost want to call it a reverse Pisarcik. Whatever you call it, that was the lowest moment of a season that long ago went off the rails.
Jake Fromm — It’s not Fromm’s fault he was thrust into this impossible situation. If we learned anything about Fromm, though, it’s that he’s not an NFL quarterback.
Kenny Golladay — I don’t care if it was a meaningless play at the end of a lost season, Golladay simply has to make a better effort than he did on the long pass from Fromm that whispered just out of his reach. Stretch. Leap. Dive. For crying out loud, at least look upset that you didn’t make the play. You’re the $72 million guy. That’s a third-string QB who probably shouldn’t be playing, and he gave you a chance. You have to make that play if you’re Golladay.
The overall offense — The Giants punctuated a horrible season on offense with another miserable performance. Yes, they were playing their No. 3 quarterback but a real NFL team should look better than that. They couldn’t run, unless Fromm was scrambling on a broken play. They couldn’t throw. When they did, they couldn’t catch. They couldn’t block. They played to punt rather than score a number of times. Inept.
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