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Giants hear Coughlin’s loud message, but talk is cheap
EAST RUTHERFORD, N. J. — At the end of the brief Monday practice, New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin gathered his players in a huddle and could be heard addressing them in a voice loud enough to be heard two counties over.
“I had some things I wanted to tell them because of how I started the morning,” Coughlin said.
While it was only natural for those who witnessed the scene to wonder if Coughlin’s frustration finally boiled over with the team’s 3-4 record before the bye week that included consecutive road game losses to the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, the head coach was simply trying to do what he’s done so well in past years.
That objective would be getting his team focused for its remaining schedule of games, starting next Monday night at home against the Colts.
“The message also really was that you look around the league and you see teams that are playing superbly that maybe hadn’t been playing superbly,” Coughlin said.
“So to me, we’ve got to play above the X’s and O’s. We have nine games to play as well as we possibly can play and I think everyone in that locker room can do that. We just have to realize that the amount of the season and schedule that has gone by and let’s go — one game at a time.”
It’s a simple enough message that his players seemed to enthusiastically embrace, but as Coughlin himself has said over and over, “Talk is cheap; play the game.”
So now that the Giants know what their head coach expects of them, a better question to address is how do they ensure that they are making the most of these remaining nine games?
“We just have to stop making mistakes,” quarterback Eli Manning said matter-of-factly. “You’re going to have some bad plays and sometimes things are going to go wrong, but we’re making the same mistakes over and over again that are preventing us from winning games.”
Those mistakes include turnovers, of which the Giants have 13 for the season (five interceptions and eight lost fumbles); drive-killing penalties that put them in long-yardage situations, and other assorted mental errors.
On defense, the mistakes include busted coverages that lead to big plays, ill-timed penalties that give the opponent a fresh set of downs, and communication issues that continue to thwart their attempts to make plays
“It’s pretty obvious that when we don’t make those mistakes we dominate and we play pretty well,” Manning said. “Then when we have the (mistakes), it keeps us from doing our jobs.”
Notes: Running back Rashad Jennings (knee) was not at the open part of practice Monday. Jennings missed the last two games and may be in danger of missing his third next Monday. . . . Among others missing practice were running back Peyton Hillis and linebacker Spencer Paysinger, both due to illness. . .Offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz (toe) returned to a limited practice. . . Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (hip, ankle, hamstring) took part in practice.
GIANTS REPORT CARD AT THE BYE
— PASSING OFFENSE: B – The season-ending loss of receiver Victor Cruz hurts the passing game, but the good news is that quarterback Eli Manning has enjoyed a rebirth in the West Coast offense. He has completed 64.9 percent of his pass attempts and has cut down on his interceptions, throwing just five over seven games while averaging two touchdown passes per game. The return of first-round draft pick Odell Beckham, Jr. has provided a boost to the passing game as has the otherwise solid pass blocking done by the offensive line.
–RUSHING OFFENSE: C – The Giants rushing game looked solid during its three-game winning streak, averaging 157 yards per game. However, against a step up in competition, the unit has struggled across the board, averaging just 105.8 yards per game in the four losses. The offensive line cannot open up holes with any consistency, the tight ends have struggled to seal the edges, and it doesn’t help that the Giants have been without starting running back Rashad Jennings (knee) for the last two weeks, which has forced them to rely on rookie Andre Williams. Williams is a very promising talent, but right now, the game is too fast for him, causing him to still leaving many yards on the field.
–PASS DEFENSE: D – The highly touted pass rush, which featured a significantly upgraded defensive secondary and the return of a healthy Jason Pierre-Paul for the pass rush, has been a disappointment. Part of the problem has been injuries to the back end. New York lost slot corners Walter Thurmond III and Trumaine McBride to season-ending injuries while top cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie has struggled with injuries since Week 4. The other problem has been an inability to win the battles up front, resulting in just 13.0 sacks for the season, a total that puts the Giants in the bottom half of the league. Perhaps even more alarming has been the number of big pass plays of 20 or more yards surrendered by the Giants — 28 to be exact — which as of the end of Week 7 tied them for second-most in the NFL with the Ravens.
–RUSH DEFENSE: C – Once a Giants team strength, the run defense has been gouged this season. The Giants have held opponents to under 100 yards only three times this year. In their last two games, they allowed 359 rushing yards, and were tied for third in the league at the end of Week 7 with seven big-play runs of 20-plus yards surrendered to opponents. Besides struggling with gap control, the Giants have not done a good job with defending the edges, which is where they are getting burned the most on the ground.
–SPECIAL TEAMS: D – The special teams unit has been like a box of chocolates without a guide in that you never know what you are going to get each week. Already the punt coverage unit has allowed one return for a touchdown, its 38.4 net average being the seventh lowest mark in the NFL through Week 7. The lone bright spot has been new kickoff returner Michael Cox, who took over those duties in Week 7 and who finished with a 29.0 average, better than the tam’s 18.0 average through seven games. On punt returns, it looks like the Giants will give Odell Beckham Jr. a chance to work his magic. In Week 7 vs. Dallas, he averaged a healthy 10.5 average.
–COACHING: D – Offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo is still feeling his way around as a first-year play caller, but he has done well given the injuries at running back and receiver as well as the inconsistency on the offensive line. Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell’s schemes seem to expose his defense’s weaknesses more than cover them, as he has been a little too reliant, especially early on, on zone defense. The special teams issues — stupid mistakes, bad penalties and breakdowns in coverage — seem to follow coordinator Tom Quinn from year to year, regardless of the personnel. There have even several times this season where head coach Tom Coughlin has looked tired and defeated. It was unsettling that he wasn’t aware of the chirping coming from his locker room from his hand-chosen leaders no less, prior to the Eagles game. Coughlin has long demanded accountability from his team, but at times, it is probably fair to wonder if his control over the locker room has waned of late.
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