The Giants entered week seven on the back of a 27-0 humbling at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles and responded with a shrug and a whimper rather than a necessary emphatic performance at AT&T Stadium on Sunday.
The Giants walked into Philadelphia aware that, if they pulled off wins in their next two weeks, they would enter the bye week 5-2, with three wins over division rivals and a firm hold of the NFC East. Dallas and Philadelphia have looked good this season, but close wins over poor teams have led some to question how strong they really are.
But both Dallas and Philadelphia are too good for New York, and Sunday was a reminder to all that the Giants are not yet contenders. The Giants had hoped that the script would be that of the plucky underdogs bloodying the nose of the playground bullies, but it played out more like a horror movie.
If the Philadelphia game was a crushing capitulation, it was a case of 'good, but not good enough' against the Dallas Cowboys. The Giants had pressured Tony Romo (Jason Pierre-Paul had a phenomenal game, besting Tyron Smith for two sacks, six tackles and three hits/hurries), kept DeMarco Murray and Dez Bryant in check, showed some offensive prowess of their own and went into half time tied 14-14.
One thing that had categorically not worked in the first half was the run game. The offensive line simply could not run block, and yet Tom Coughlin and Ben McAdoo religiously stuck with rushing on first down, even when Eli Manning had the time necessary to pass all over the Cowboys' defence. I understand that you cannot simply abandon the run altogether, but I'd have expected to see the ratio of pass plays to run players edge in favour of the former while chasing the game. It led to a lot of 3rd-and-long situations, and quick passes could have both neutralised the Cowboys blitzing defence and put the ball into the hands of the Giants' most dangerous playmaker - Odell Beckham, Jr.
Coaching can also be called into question when discussing the Giants' discipline. If Tom Coughlin's time in New York can be given a storyline, it is that of a harsh disciplinarian who tapped into his softer side, won the locker room over, and led the team to victory in Super Bowl XLII. Despite this, he has always preached mental toughness and maturity, so it is surprising to find the Giants so plagued by indiscipline. Larry Donnell fumbled twice on Sunday (one of which sealed the Giants' fate), and the offensive line had another night to forget, with Will Beatty responsible for two drive-killing penalties.
These issues are all, fortunately, correctable. What isn't, however, are injuries. The Giants have thus far lost David Wilson, Jerrel Jernigan, Victor Cruz, Trumaine McBride and Walter Thurmond III to season (or in Wilsons' case, career) ending injuries. On top of that Geoff Schwartz will be out of action until at least week nine, and Rashad Jennings, Jon Beason and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie are all hugely limited by injuries of their own. The Giants are a middle-of-the-road team, and now they are a middle-of-the-road team with an increasingly depleted roster. It's not a good position for any team to be in.
Tom Coughlin's men could pull off an upset at home later in the season, but for now Big Blue are 3-4, and have a number of major issues that need to be corrected before Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts roll into MetLife stadium in week nine.
These issues are all, fortunately, correctable. What isn't, however, are injuries. The Giants have thus far lost David Wilson, Jerrel Jernigan, Victor Cruz, Trumaine McBride and Walter Thurmond III to season (or in Wilsons' case, career) ending injuries. On top of that Geoff Schwartz will be out of action until at least week nine, and Rashad Jennings, Jon Beason and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie are all hugely limited by injuries of their own. The Giants are a middle-of-the-road team, and now they are a middle-of-the-road team with an increasingly depleted roster. It's not a good position for any team to be in.
Tom Coughlin's men could pull off an upset at home later in the season, but for now Big Blue are 3-4, and have a number of major issues that need to be corrected before Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts roll into MetLife stadium in week nine.
Put simply, the Giants are what everyone expected. The three-game win streak raised expectations - and power ranking positions - through the roof, but ultimately the giants are a team still very much in the process of rebuilding. The pieces are there to be successful, and 3-4 is a better record than the 1-6 record they had in 2013, but the 2014 Giants are an incomplete team that will feast on weak teams and come undone against the tougher teams on their schedule.
