Q: What's wrong with the Giants? (A: How much time do you have?)

The Giants are 0-5, and while I think I'm doing a good job of not letting it affect my happiness most of the time, here is a rundown of what is wrong with the NFL's worst team:

*By unit, the Giants' offensive line and linebackers are the worst in the league.  You can only go so long not spending high picks on any unit before it catches up to you, and that addage has certainly caught up with these two groups.  They did use a 1st rounder on OT Justin Pugh in 2013 - and I think he'll be an okay pro - but it was too little, too late.

*The Giants are the NFL's easiest team to prepare for.  Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride and Defensive Coordinator Perry Fewell are constantly out-schemed, and are horrible at making adjustments. 

*Metaphorically punch this team in the mouth early, and it will roll over.  Or, if one thing goes wrong in the early going, they won't recover.  Contrast this with another winless team, Pittsburgh, who in spite of being clearly outmanned, is feisty and battles you for 60 minutes.
*Eli Manning has turned back into the bumbling enigma he was criticized for being prior to 2007.  For a 10-year veteran, 2-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback, he throws a lot of dumb interceptions.  And long gone are the 4th quarter comeback wins that were his calling card from 2007-2011.   

*Most of all, the players are simply not very talented.  Turnover in NFL rosters happens so fast, that if you have 2 or 3 subpar drafts in a row, suddenly the cupboards are bare.  That has happened with this Giants team, with GM Jerry Reese having added so few good picks since 2010.  Add that to letting of key contributors like Bradshaw, Boley, Canty, Umenyiora, Blackburn, and Bennett, all walk for nothing in return, with no adequate replacements for most of them, and you've got a rotting corpse of a roster.
 

One man I didn't mention here is Tom Coughlin.  Sure, when you're 0-5, everyone is to blame, but Coughlin's way down on my list.  He's trying to make chicken salad out of chicken crap, and just can't do it anymore.  I don't think Vince Lombardi could win with this team.  I also give Coughlin a ton of credit for being front and center for the media after every loss, patiently answering every question when there is really nothing he can say.  Jerry Reese can hide, but Coughlin's got to take the slings and arrows.  Coughlin certainly can't say Reese gave him a garbage roster, even if that's painfully obvious.
 
I've seen some Giants fans say the 2011 run was the worst thing that could have happened to the franchise, because it covered up so many deficiencies.  I'm not one of those fans though.  I'll take a Super Bowl any way it will come, and if this was the Giants' version of "selling their soul" for a championship, then fine, mission accomplished.  If they don't win another for 17 years, it was worth it.  (That's the "Years Between Giants Championships" pattern in the Super Bowl era after all...1986, 1990, 2007, and 2011, makes 4-17-4...next one's 17 then, due in 2028.)  But, I do believe there is something to that "2011 covered up a lot of problems" theory, as well as two other theories that seem to fit these Giants perfectly:

*A team tunes out its head coach eventually

*Every dynasty - or even every good-to-great team - has an expiration date.