Our guy Anthony Fontanello did an emergency press conference after the Giants’ loss to the Cardinals. First, credit to him for having a spine and being interesting. However, I want to help guide Anthony’s anger better. Jason Garrett is not the New York Giants’ biggest problem.
The Cardinals won this game 26-7 because Arizona is a much better team and is on track to make the playoffs (as I predicted). Garrett has gotten a bad rap here and it’s starting to become unwarranted. Garrett has been put into an impossible position and is expected to thrive. It just doesn’t work like that.
This Giants offensive personnel is not good. Outside of Andrew Thomas and Will Hernandez, there isn’t a foundational piece on the entire offense.
Evan Engram is a great athlete but is inconsistent and makes bone headed mistakes. Is that on Garrett because he’s been the same guy before Garrett arrived?
Saquon Barkley tore his ACL. The running back room is down to Wayne Gallman, Dion Lewis, and the ghost of Devonta Freeman. Is that on Garrett?
The wide receivers are average at best. Actually more like below average. Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate, and Darius Slayton isn’t anything to write home about. Is that on Garrett too?
Anthony mentions a point about Daniel Jones being hampered by an injury. The head coach and medical team are going to make the final call on whether Jones plays. It’s starting to feel like Garrett is just a scapegoat for larger issues.
You can’t make chicken salad out of chicken shit. Garrett has been handed garbage and is expected to win with it? The frustrations should be with the front office for putting together a bad offense.
Garrett might not be a great head coach but it feels like more so because of leadership issues. Not because he’s a bad offensive mind. Garrett deserves credit for one thing. The Giants establish the run. That’s a mindset that the Giants offensive coordinator deserves credit for.
Coming into the week, the Giants run the ball 43% of the time. That’s the 10th best mark in the NFL. Barkley has been hurt for essentially the entire season. Garrett has not given up on the run despite having bad running backs. It’s kept the Giants’ offense balanced and their strong defense rested / off the field.
Running the football is a mindset and the Giants offensive coordinator is committed to it. For the record, Wayne Gallman is having a great year. Gallman is averaging 4.6 yards per carry. A year ago, Gallman averaged 3.8 yards per carry. Gallman doesn’t have a ton of talent but Garrett has made it work.
The Dallas Cowboys have been a joke since Mike McCarthy took over. McCarthy looks far less competent than Garrett in Dallas. Additionally, McCarthy hasn’t been willing to stick with the run game. Zeke Elliott is having his worst year ever and the Dallas defense is getting torched. See a trend?
This idea that Daniel Jones is some god is crazy. Jones was a 4th round talent coming out of Duke. As Anthony said, his running ability is what he does best. Did you know Jones rushed for 319 yards (3.1 per carry) his final year at Duke. Garrett has turned what was a below average runner in college into a creative one in the NFL.
You want to know what criminal coaching is? Have you seen what Anthony Lynn does every week? What about Adam Gase? The Giants only are scoring about two fewer points per game in 2020. Given the personnel they trot on the field after losing Barkley, that’s about where they should be.
Jason Garrett found a way to win a game with Colt McCoy as his quarterback against the Seahawks. What more do you want? If you want to point fingers, point them at the guy who’s putting the players on the field. The one that decided to make Daniel Jones his franchise.
