Mercifully, just 14 games left this season...

"Gotham is yours!  None shall interfere, do as you please."

-Bane, The Dark Knight Rises
(and...
-The 2014 New York Giants)

I said this last week when the Giants dropped their Monday Night opener in Detroit, and I'll say it here now, after a 25-14 home loss to Arizona:  I'm not going to do what you think I'm going do, in reacting to the way these Giants are playing. No fire and brimstone, no ranting, no raving.

I think a more fitting word to describe my thoughts on this team, is "resigned." I am resigned to the fact that this is the worst Giants team in my lifetime. I give this squad the nod over the last Ray Handley season (1992, 6-10 record, -61 point differential) and the last Jim Fassell season (2003, 4-12 record, -144 point differential), because those teams had talent but quit on their coaches. One thing a Coughlin team will never do is quit - last season showed that. But looking around the league it's clear to see the Giants just don't have the kind of young, hungry, nasty playmakers that other teams have. And that points to GM Jerry Reese more than anyone. Sure, the Giants are struggling to learn Ben McAdoo's new offense, and have shown some of the same mistakes of Perry Fewell's defenses past - more on this later - but sometimes the simplest answer is the correct one. For the most part, the Giants simply do not have good players, and the teams they play against have better talent than they do. Before the season began I predicted the 2014 Giants would finish 6-10. I'll stick with that, but 3-13 wouldn't shock me either.  

It would take less time to list the people who aren't the problem with the current Giants, so I'll do that here: Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning. Manning has shown that when he is given time, he will make plays. Of course that's not to say he never makes a bad decision. But most plays, he is not given time, with the offensive line being the Giants' #1 problem the past few seasons. And Coughlin, with a career coaching record of 290-158 (including 162-90 with the Giants) is a proven winner. He's trying his best to make chicken salad out of the chicken waste that he's been handed by Reese post-Super Bowl XLVI, and all things considered he's done an admirable job of it.

Last week, after the Giants' season opening 35-14 loss in Detroit, I ranked it a tie among 6 or 7 games exactly like it, as the worst Giants performance I'd ever seen. But the Week 2 loss to Arizona, was more like most other Giants losses in this era. In fact, it could serve as a perfect introduction to anyone in the Phoenix area who hadn't seen much of the Giants previously. As I watched this game, I sat on the couch calling out what would happen next, like a WWE fan who understands the anatomy of a 6-man tag match. "Okay, right here Roman Reigns is going to get tagged in, and beat up all three members of the bad guys' team, and at some point will deliver a 'Superman Punch' (jumping punch) and a 'spear' (tackle)." For example...

-The announcers state that Arizona's starting QB, Carson Palmer, would not be playing today. Instead, starting in his place would be Drew Stanton, who had not started an NFL game in 4 years. Great, right? Wrong. The Giants routinely make backup quarterbacks look like Hall of Famers, and would have been better off facing Brees, Brady, or Rodgers.

-Arizona faces a 3rd and 12. Their QB will have plenty of time to throw, and there will be a receiver running free, wide open. Easy completion, first down.

-Just enough of a tease to make you think the Giants have a chance to win. They climb back and take a 14-10 lead. The new Giants Stadium (That's my name for it; not calling it "Met Life") is rocking, and momentum is firmly with the Giants. Don't worry, they'll screw it up with...

-A special teams miscue. The first man to Ted Ginn has a clean shot, and goes for the knockout instead of tackling him. Ginn bounces off, and runs straight up the middle through the rest of the punt coverage team.

-The Giants rolling over and dying after the aforementioned miscue. It doesn't take much adversity for this team to completely lose composure, and more mistakes come fast and furious after the initial adversity. After Ginn's Punt Return TD to put Arizona up 19-14, still with almost a full quarter remaining, I knew the game was over.

I want to make it clear here that I'm not refusing to give credit to the Giants' opponents. It's just something that I liken to a Hollywood star like Elizabeth Taylor, having 8 divorces. If something happens enough, eventually you stop attributing it to the other person and have no choice but to say, "Gee, Liz, maybe you're the problem here."

So, are you a Giants opponent, and your backups or eventual washouts like Vince Young, Charlie Whitehurst, or Drew Stanton are looking like Johnny Unitas circa 1959 (or early-to-mid 90s Steve Young, if you're into references from the last 50 years)...you are able to do as you please on 3rd and long...and you're the sudden beneficiary of a flurry of turnovers and drive-extending penalties?  Well I'm afraid I've got some bad news. It's probably more the Giants' doing than yours. But you have nothing to apologize for.  Take the generous gifts, and move on to your next game, where such luxuries may not continue.