Not much has been salvaged for the New York Giants this season under head coach Joe Judge. Daniel Jones is one of the few remaining starters from Week 1 that is not injured. Much of this team is succumbing to injuries and the rest is underperforming. Dave Gettleman is definitely to blame for coordinating this mess, but Joe Judge has plenty of blood on his hands as well.
Joe Judge Walking on Thin Ice with New York Giants
Offensive Struggles
2020
Jason Garrett calls the offensive plays like Patrick Graham calls the defensive plays. However, Joe Judge oversees everything that is going on in practice and in the game. It took him eleven weeks to fire former offensive line coach Marc Colombo in 2020 after his unit severely struggled, causing a hemorrhage to Andrew Thomas‘ development as a left tackle. Though it was a growing unit, the offensive line ranked among the bottom three groups in the league.
Saquon Barkley tore his ACL in Week 2 of that season, but Jason Garrett found no way to improvise and game plan to Daniel Jones’ strengths. Though the weapons were not supreme, Garrett misused Golden Tate and found zero ways to move the offense downfield. The offense mostly depended on under-center rushing attempts with curl and comeback routes. Due to the defense’s success, many people overlooked that Judge had a part in the offense’s struggles as well.
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2021
The Giants upgraded the talent on the offense by drafting Kadarius Toney and signing Kenny Golladay and Kyle Rudolph. All were sidelined with injuries during the preseason but played Week 1. The offense, with everyone healthy, failed to execute in the red zone, as well as committed many drive-killing penalties. The offense only scored seven real-time points as the defense gave up 27 to Teddy Bridgewater and company.
After a successful offense in Week 2, the offense returned to its Week 1 roots of horrible playcalling and terrible execution, due to penalties. With a few weeks of a wide playbook, the Giants once again returned to their roots in Week 6 where Daniel Jones was sacked four times against the Los Angeles Rams.
Between Weeks 1-6, the following players have suffered injuries at different points, some season-ending: Saquon Barkley, Kadarius Toney, Andrew Thomas, Shane Lemieux, Nick Gates, Darius Slayton, and Kenny Golladay. Before Andrew Thomas suffered a foot injury, Judge did not bench right tackle Nate Solder. The film from then to now clearly shows Nate Solder is at the end of his career and that he is very lethargic with very bad technique. Judge did not play Matt Peart between Weeks 2-4.
With the team doing worse than 2020, Judge’s lack of presence in overseeing the offensive game plan is exposed.
Defense Underperforming
2021
The Giants drafted two pass-rushers and signed Adoree’ Jackson to upgrade their defense in the 2021 free-agent period. Unfortunately, due to cap space restrictions, the Giants were forced to let Dalvin Tomlinson walk in free agency. This has proven to be one of the worst decisions yet.
Despite positive progressions in the summer, the defense has performed horribly thus far. In Week 1, Patrick Graham’s aggression was exposed when he blitzed a ton and the personnel rarely pressured Teddy Bridgewater. He also played more man coverage, which exposed the Giants defensive backs over the middle.
The next week, he had James Bradberry play multiple yards off of the ball and stuck to a soft-zone game plan. Bradberry allowed 10 receptions, 117 yards, and one touchdown to Terry McLaurin. The defense’s soft coverage led Taylor Heinicke and the Washington Football Team to score the game-winning field goal. The defense evened out against the Atlanta Falcons the next week; however, they let Matt Ryan and the Falcons march down the field, ending the game in a Younghoe Koo game-winning field goal.
Overall, the defense has underperformed to start the year and Joe Judge has done not nearly enough as the head coach to contain the issues. After the offense turned the ball over four times in Week 6 against the Rams, the defense allowed 38 points, with players’ effort lacking at the end of the game. This may indicate that Judge is losing the locker room.
No pass-rush and lack of coverage ability fall on the defense as a group. However, Judge as the coach and CEO of the on-field product has not made proper adjustments.
Outlook
Unfortunately, the 1-5 start to 2021 has opened many people’s eyes to see the long-lasting problems with this football team. With soft coverage being played early in the year as well as a conservative offense, this proves Joe Judge to be a conservative coach on many levels. His lack of aggressiveness at times has put the Giants in a tough position where they have to be aggressive in certain spots. That is or else the consequences are dire.
The Giants started out the first three games as the fourth most penalized team in the NFL. They have calmed down since then, but it seems like one of the few improvements.
Playing Daniel Jones in a blowout with a practice squad right tackle in Week 6 seems very sketchy. Many are pointing to Judge’s harsh practices to be the reason for many soft tissue injuries. The talent on the field is underperforming. Yes, injuries happen and the coaches are to blame. However, Judge oversees the product as the head coach.
Rather than just fire general manager Dave Gettleman if everything sets on fire, Joe Judge needs to be gone too. Having Judge pick a general manager is completely backward. The New York Jets hired a coach and general manager in 2015 simultaneously. With that being said, then-head coach Adam Gase got Mike McCagnan fired in 2019 and Gase helped hire a new general manager. With Gase gone, many are still trying to figure out whether Joe Douglas will stay as long as Robert Saleh.
The point is if the season goes on the path it is heading toward, John Mara should clean house and start over. Unfortunately, that has been the theme for the past decade.
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
