N.Y. Giants: No Lipstick Can Doll-Up These Hog Mollies

From the desk of: DO IT FOR THE DUKE

Like Running Into a Brick Wall!

WEEK THREE

Niners   36

Giants     9

FINAL

That was hard to watch.  San Francisco was essentially forced into playing the B-Squad as a result of so many injuries.  But even with confidence on their side the Giants still turn in their worst performance through three games.  They manage just 49 offensive plays for 231 total yards.  They possess the ball for only 20:16 minutes and turn it over three times.

When the quarterback is the team's leading rusher you know something is very wrong.  Daniel Jones has so far scrambled 12 times for 92 yards.  Combined rushes by the backfield to date have only netted 80 yards.  Against the Niners the Giants rush just ten times for 17 net yards.  In Week Two they net 16 yards on 16 carries and in Week One they rush 13 times for 47 total yards.

Directional Breakdown: rushes/yards

• I - left 4/6; center 0/0; right 9/41; TOT 13/47
• II - left 5/1; center 4/0; right 7/15; TOT 16/16
• III - left 2/3; center 3/8; right 5/6; TOT 10/17

No need to rub your eyes.  You're reading that correctly.  The Giants have so far rushed CENTER/LEFT 18 times for 18 net yards, whereas they've rushed CENTER/RIGHT 21 times for 62 net yards.  Will Hernandez is dealing with a weekly maelstrom having to be sandwiched between rookie Andrew Thomas and novice center Nick Gates.  Kevin Zeitler and Cam Fleming aren't exactly cutting down rain forests out there, but the difference in experience and execution between the left and right sides of the line is clearly discernible.  However, as a whole there's no shade of lipstick in the world than can disguise the Hog Mollies lack of performance.  I also refuse to put this all on the unavailability of Saquon Barkley.  You can't run to daylight if the guys up front keep the curtains shut.

I'd be remiss if I didn't include the tight and and offensive coordinator in this indictment.  Evan Engram isn't even a legit tight end to begin with.  He's an oversized slot receiver at best and that's being kind.  Where is the blocking tight end?  Where is the fullback lead blocker?  Where are the coordinated blocking schemes and pulling guards?  Where the hell is the offensive coordinator's sense of creativity?

Jason Garrett and offensive line coach Hal Hunter are engineering an absolute bore.  This offensive line can't even execute a simple screen.  They're making pee-wee football look complex by comparison.  Meanwhile, averaging just 12.6 points through three games is just amateurish.

Daniel Jones has so far turned the ball over six times through three games (four INT; four fumbles, two lost), and now has multiple turnovers in ten of 16 career starts.

N.Y. Giants: Someone Must Answer For Sunday's Big Blue Bust

From the desk of: DO IT FOR THE DUKE

THREE YARDS RUSHING

WEEK TEN

Giants   27

Jets       34

FINAL

No sense in picking on the defense.  Like Sunday's loss, it's a shameful situation.  We knew this heading into the season.  But where Dave Gettleman did pay particular attention this past off-season was in the offensive line.  With three of his starting hog mollies missing from action, the Giants run game gets shrouded in green darkness Sunday afternoon against the Jets.  Center Jon Halapio, and tackles Nate Solder and Mike Remmers, are all out with injuries.  That manifests in six quarterback sacks, ten other QB hits, and just three rushing yards all game.

• I say it all the time ... show me a Super Bowl contender and I'll show you an all-pro caliber center.  After missing most all of last season Jon Halapio (a converted center) is hurt again, making this the third straight season he's been forced off the field due to injury.

Behind a compromised offensive line Saquon Barkley rushes 13 times for one yard.  Wayne Gallman rushes one time for two yards.  The offensive line's physical condition and Sunday's performance by the backups are indeed contributing factors in Sunday's dismal rushing display, but the extent of Barkley's lingering injury (real or otherwise) is another matter.  For if Saquon is running on a hurt ankle that makes Wayne Gallman's lone rushing attempt far more indicative of Coach Shurmur's ongoing malfunction.  For if an offensive line is doing their job correctly, I could push a mailbox up field for positive yardage.  Which is why I say when it comes to implementing and executing a detailed running attack, Shurmur and his staff continually reaffirm the notion there is no plan.  I hearken back to Shurmur's reasoning for transitioning away from Eli Manning and have since watched him utilize Daniel Jones as a primary running threat.  It's no coincidence that for a second straight game Daniel Jones leads the Giants in rushing with 20 yards on three scrambles.  Jones also coughs up his ninth fumble of the season.  Hand the ball off and we don't have that problem.  Otherwise this level of ground game ineptitude is unrivaled in the annals of Giants history.  Where are the proactive measures?  Where are the variations in game planning that better suit your personnel?  Where is this coaching staff's adaptability?  It's certainly not coming from Shurmur, and it's definitely not coming from offensive coordinator Mike Shula, offensive line coach Hal Hunter, or even running backs coach Craig Johnson.  The results all speak for themselves.  Here we are entering week eleven and Saquon has yet to gain 500 yards for the season (same goes for Le'Veon Bell, Adam Gase, and the Jets).  That screams of a ponderous lack of technique.  Gettleman is at fault for not bringing in another body; any warm body; needed to reinforce the back field (or sign a viable fullback, for that matter).  We know Shurmur is unlikely to be fired soon.  Therefore Gettleman must absolutely place Shurmur's offensive staff under full review.

• Know why Rhett Ellison looked so good Sunday?  Because no team expects him to break off in a pass route.  When teams see Ellison, they expect the Giants to run.  When teams see (injured) Evan Engram line up at tight end, they are usually correct in assuming pass.  I find this such an impotent application of tight end.

I watched Joe Pisarcik, so believe me when I say I have no issues with Daniel Jones.  Sure, his 17 turnovers are problematic.  But of the 47 or so roster spots which demand Dave Gettleman's immediate attention, kicker quarterback is not one of them.  With Evan Engram and Sterling Shepard both out, Jones turns to fellow rookie Darius Slayton whom plays his best game to date.  Jones targets him 14 times, connecting ten times for 121 yards and two touchdowns.  Slayton did not play in week one against Dallas.  Since then, Jones has targeted him 45 times, connecting 27 times for 394 yards and five touchdowns.  In their first game together Jones and Slayton connected three times for 82 yards in week two against Tampa.  I'm excited to watch this relationship grow.

In the meantime, Dave Gettleman has created quite a mess for himself.  Although I would argue he needs at least another draft under his belt, losing to the Jets is quite an indictment of his work to date as general manager of the New York Giants.  To that affect, Pat Shurmur offers no help in getting out-coached by Adam Gase.