N.Y. Giants: Perry Fewell'd Rage

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

House of Blues

Monday Night Failure:

Colts   40

Giants 24

NEW YORK GIANTS FOOTBALL: Big Blue's season is bleeding blood red after taking a horseshoe to the jaw.

Giants Battling The Law Of Diminished Returns.  Tom Coughlin has never been this subdued. The talent hasn't been this thin since Dan Reeves was coach.  Not coincidentally, that was the last rebuilding period.  It's now time for the next rebuilding.

On the heels of Sunday's Cowboys loss (vs. Arizona), the only ones who didn't see Monday night's debacle coming were love blind Giants fans.

Sorry, but it's over Johnny.  The weeks and recent seasons of denial are done.  Monday night was not just a supremely poor performance.  Instead, Monday night's game was an indictment.

The Giants were losing 37-10 after three quarters en route to a 40-24 final score.

There were three main reasons for that: the offensive line allowed 3 sacks and failed to create even the faintest glimmer of daylight for Andre Williams; Eli Manning's receivers were flat out amateurish, if not incompetent, and Perry Fewell's defense is an ongoing joke.

Perry Fewell's defense allowed over 40 points, and over 400 yards of offense.  The MNF crew informed us that the Giants hadn't allowed 40/400 at home since 1948 against the (then) Chicago Cardinals.

The fault is not necessarily attributable to the talent at his disposal.  Far tooooo often, the defense looks completely lost.  THAT is an old, recurring problem under Perry Fewell since the days of Corey Webster and Aaron Ross (again, no knock against them).

The major fault is with Fewell's damn systems.  The Giants recovered in time to win Super Bowl XLVI because he had no choice but to simplify an unnecessarily layered and overly reactive system.   After that, the secondary played shutdown football.  Fewell has not learned his lesson though.

Yes, the secondary can only cover receivers so long - a pass rush would be nice.  I know.  But that does not explain the complete breakdown we witness time and again.  The depth Michael Strahan, Osi, Justin Tuck, and even Chris Canty provided is gone.  Jason Pierre Paul is alone in that respect.   Strahan at least had Keith Hamilton by his side during his early years.

You do not have to respect Ray Lewis, but, he was a great linebacker and someone who knows defensive philosophy, scheming, application and execution.  After the game, he lambasted the Giants defense, and it was well deserved.  And Lewis may not be the best ("FREAKIN") guy behind a microphone either, but it was high time someone told it the way it needed to be said.

Wanting Perry Fewell fired is hardly a knee jerk reaction to last night's game, last week, or this season.  It's an accumulated opinion formed throughout his body of work as Giants DefCo.  That said, it's time to fire Perry Fewell.

That's a first for this blog with regards to any coach or coordinator.

Moving on....

You can thank much of the positives regarding Monday's game to Eli Manning - yes.

Among the offensive highlights:

• An equal number of 1st downs; more total plays than the Colts; an equal number of drives; relatively equal yardage (443 vs. 438) gained; Eli throwing for slightly more yardage (349 vs. 345) than Luck; just 9 less yards rushing than the Colts.

We get it.  But hey, Big Ben and the Steelers scored 51 points against the Colts (and won).  Just saying....

Recall how Giants veterans were made to endure Eli Manning's first few years.  Eli is now being made to survive what should have been his most formidable years.  He went from playing behind what was arguably the best offensive line in the NFL, to what is arguably one of the NFL's worst.

Eli once had reliable receivers like Steve Smith, Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer, Hakeen Nicks, and even Domenik Hixon, Mario Manningham, etc., and of course, the injured Victor Cruz.  But it's been a far more harrowing world throwing to the likes of Ramses Barden, Jerrel Jernigan, Preston Parker, Rueben Randal, Odel Beckham Jr. etc., etc.

The revolving door of tight ends has been equally frustrating, and debilitating.

I've said it a bunch of times already - the Giants suffer personnel issues.  We squeezed out a 2nd Super Bowl with the old crew.  Since then, the roster around Eli has deteriorated.  Injuries have taken their toll on the Giants, for sure, but as much as Jerry Reese tried, the draft has failed to satisfactorily or consistently back fill team needs.

In the last five seasons, the Giants either won the SB, or failed to make the playoffs.  Now consider the overall consistency of the Packers, 49ers, and Patriots; the three main opponents during Big Blue's 2 Super Bowl seasons, and the measure of Giants success or failures.

The overall condition falls on Jerry Reese.  This is his mess to fix, or rebuild, if John Mara lets him.




Mike