A Difficult Realization

With the Giants out of the playoff picture, fans want to point out the biggest problem. Fans want to know the weakest link that needs adjusting for the future of Giants football. Unfortunately for this season, the Giants problems are not as concrete as they've been in years past. There is a fair amount of blame to be shared on all levels of the spectrum up and down on the fifty-three man roster and coaching staff.

Offensive Line: The Giants biggest reason for starting 0-6 this season was their inability to win the battle up front. Season ending injuries to Chris Snee and David Baas immediately put the Giants in a difficult position before their season had even began. Of course, David Diehl's thumb surgery kept him sidelined for several weeks as well, and the Giants had to start the 2013 season without three of their starting linemen. Injuries are never an excuse, but the inexperience in the backfield at the beginning of the season became even more of a problem due to the lack of veterans on the offensive line. Justin Pugh proved to be a solid first round draft pick and will continue to develop nicely, but he did show moments of confusion when it came to assignments on picking up blitzes. Perhaps the Giants will break the NFL trend of only keeping eight offensive linemen on the roster in an attempt to overcome disasters like these in the future.

Running Backs: It is miraculous that the Giants were able to turn the woes of their running game around this season. David Wilson's struggles were evident when he fumbled twice in week one against the Dallas Cowboys and got benched. Unfortunately for Wilson, the kid was never really able to overcome his adversity after doctors discovered that he has spinal stenosis. Wilson received immediate surgery and was put on Injured Reserve for the remainder of the season. His third year of his rookie contract is next season, and a lot is at stake for the future of the young mans career. Due to Wilson's woes of fumbling, blocking, and eventually his health, the Giants elected to go out and get old friend Brandon Jacobs to help the suffering running back depth. After that, the Giants backfield became a rotisserie of faces old and new. Five different running backs started games for the Giants this season, including David Wilson, Michael Cox, Brandon Jacobs, Peyton Hillis, and Andre Brown. The addition of John Connor at full back and the return of Andre Brown gave the Giants their best running situation of the season. Brown is only 26, and due to his problems with injuries he may not get a large contract in the future, but the Giants should do what they can to keep this man in blue.

Wide Receivers: The biggest issue with the Giants wide outs this season was the attitude and poor play of their number one receiver Hakeem Nicks. Nicks, who hasn't received a touchdown since the Giants played New Orleans last season, has been quite the mystery. He is still putting up a decent amount of yards, but he has only caught around 50% of the passes that have been thrown to him this season. He is not breaking out of his routes as hard and as passionately as Giants fans have come to expect. Entering free agency next season, Nicks' future is unclear. His decision to not practice throughout the week of a huge Giants Cowboys match up in November resulted in him being sidelined for the game. It was supposedly due to abdominal pain, but it was not expected by anyone and came as quite the shock. Victor Cruz has not been a problem, but with Nicks' problems he has drawn a lot of double coverage and the Giants have not been able to find another man to answer the call. Rueben Randle has shown flashes of brilliance this season, but he's also had games where he hasn't really shown up. That inconsistency exemplified in Randle can be well represented throughout the entire receiving core, and tight end Brandon Myers as well.

Quarterback: Eli Manning suffered from exhaustible circumstances week in and week out this season. With a new member in the backfield on five occasions, an inconsistent receiving core, and an extremely banged up offensive line, it's understandable that Eli Manning's numbers took a significant toll. However, Eli Manning tried to do too much with too little this season, and he suffered individually as a result. He currently has twenty interceptions, which is a league high in the NFL. It would be irresponsible to blame the offensive woes on everybody except Eli. He deserves as much criticism as everyone else for the Giants lack of offensive authority. He is not the problem, but he deserves some heat. As the Giants struggled early he built up too much pressure early on to try and revive the season.

Defensive Line: Led by defensive tackles Cullen Jenkins and Linval Joseph, the tackles inside were quite solid for stuffing the run this season. For the first time in a few years, the Giants play at the defensive tackle position was not their short coming on the defensive line. Quite unfortunately, the Giants woes on the front four came from the defensive end position. In fact, a difficult fact remains that the Giants defensive ends have not really been the same since Michael Strahan retired before the 2008 season, and this season was the worst in a while. A disturbing statistic is that the Giants are 30th in the league in sacks, and yet as a defense they are ranked 10th in the NFL. That speaks volumes to the defensive end position. Whether it's because of health or attitude, Jason Pierre-Paul has not produced. Justin Tuck has also had a rough go this season besides a magical nine minutes against Washington when he had four sacks. Hopefully Damontre Moore, whom is only 21 years old, can develop into the well-rounded athlete that General Manager Jerry Reese anticipated when he took him in the third round. In any event, it's time to realize that the defensive ends for this team are not producing.

Linebackers: Before Jon Beason, the Giants linebacking core looked lost. Now however, they have their heads on straight and it finally looks like good things are coming. In addition to the good play from the defensive tackles, the development of the linebackers contributed to the Giants solid run defense, and that is a true reflection of Beason. Desperate for a leader, Beason made an immediate impact to a Giants defense that looked so bad it was embarrassing. Due to miracles of circumstance, Beason was released by the Carolina Panthers due to the emphatic play of Luke Kuechly, and the Giants stole him. Somehow, this 28-year-old gem was not taken by anyone else in the league. This was a terrific move by Jerry Reese and the Giants should lock him up as soon as possible. Beason makes Spencer Paysinger and Keith Rivers look a lot better than they actually are. The linebackers could improve in their pass coverage, but struggling in that regard is a consistent trend for most teams in the NFL both good and bad.

Secondary: Antrel Rolle might be the Giants MVP. He doesn't miss tackles, he doesn't get beat deep, and he is a tireless well-rounded force that fires up other players. Giants fans can only imagine how lethal the safety combination could have been if Stevie Brown did not tear his ACL in pre-season, and the good news is he is on track to be ready to go next year. However an injury to Cory Webster created some problems at the cornerback position that were tough to overcome. Aaron Ross when he was healthy proved to not be the answer. Instead it was Trumaine McBride who embraced his new role with the team. In his first year as a Giant, McBride did the most important thing a corner can do: he didn't get beat deep. Of course, a mention must be made of Terrell Thomas, who arguably should win comeback player of the year by coming back from his third career ACL tear and earning a well deserved role with the Giants. Prince Amukumara's coverage has been getting better and better, but his tackling ability still has room for improvement. With Webster and Brown coming back next year, the Giants secondary shouldn't have any real problems in the near future.

Special Teams: The Giants kickoff and punt coverage this season was abominable. Just ask Trindon Holliday, Dexter McCluster and Cordarrelle Patterson. That's a mental problem not a physical problem. Stay in your lanes and trust your teammates. The only man who doesn't deserve any criticism is punter Steve Weatherford.

Coaches: Tom Coughlin is a terrific head coach. He has won the hearts of Giants fans everywhere and given them fantastic memories in recent years. But his weaknesses have not changed throughout his tenure as head coach. He is not a good "in-game" coach. He does a good job preparing his team on a weekly basis, and they typically are motivated and ready to play. However, when there are signs that his plan isn't necessarily working, the Giants don't tend to make any major changes in the middle of the game that differentiate from the initial plan. As long as Coughlin wants to be in New York, Giants fans should be happy he is their team's head coach. The Giants 0-6 start this season clearly took a lot out of him despite his constant effort to remain professional around the locker room. For once, despite how many times the media claimed it to be so, Coughlin may be parting ways with the Giants in the near future. He's a man's man, but he's also a sixty-seven-year-old man's man. The tragic passing of his brother may cause Tom to want to be with his family. But only time will tell of that situation. As for the coordinators, their jobs rightfully should be on the hot seat. Kevin Gilbride showed zero recognition for the Giants terrible offensive line. Where's the west coast? Where's the trick plays? Gilbride has had great NFL success but his roster doesn't motivate his play calling which is problematic and not helpful in the Giants current situation. As for Perry Fewell, the guy knows defense. But he coaches like he is afraid to lose is job. In any pivotal situation where the Giants need a big stop he has the defense play drop back zone which isn't exactly defense at all. It's in fact merely delaying the inevitable. Exhibit A: the Dallas Game at Metlife this year. The Cowboys were standing on the Giants forty yard line and that was not going to cut it for a field goal attempt with the wind. The Giants were desperate for a big play and he rushed three linemen and dropped eight men back. Despite the extra coverage Romo was able to drop the dagger to a wide open Cole Beasley. That's what happens when you play afraid to lose. Fewell's struggled elsewhere but this situation was enough to question his job as defensive coordinator.

This blog has conjured a difficult realization: The Giants are completely out of playoff contention with three games left to play. Yes it's been a tough year for Giants fans, but if there's one thing fans need to understand it's that losing out for draft picks is despicable. In fact, it's the opposite of what football is going for. In these next few games, the Giants will be playing for pride. Don't be surprised if they play well too now that the pressure has severely lightened. Unless players crack based on the fact that they're trying to make a lasting impression with the off season fast approaching, the Giants should play well in these last three games.

As fans we stand by the Giants no matter what. This is the first year in a long time the Giants have struggled so significantly so soon. Never be a fair weather fan. Watch the game. Suffer. It makes the special moments more special at the end of the day.