So the Giants victory over the Denver Broncos proved to be an aberration after all. Although they were coming off a spirt-lifting 23-10 road win against the Denver Broncos in Week 6, the seeming momentum gained by the Giants failed to translate into another victory a week later.
Facing the Seattle Seahawks at home this past Sunday, the offense could only feebly generate 177 total yards and seven points. Quarterback Eli Manning was limited to 134 yards passing—a head scratching 17 in the first half—and the running attack was virtually non-existent, averaging 2.7 yards per attempt on 17 carries.
The end result was the Giants falling to 1-6 and moving further down the path of a losing season. Only the 0-7 San Francisco 49ers have a worst record in the National Football Conference. Overall, the Giants have the third worst record in the NFL.
As expected, the Giants’ locker room was permeated with disappointment and frustration after their loss to the Seahawks. But now they are in their bye-week. The players exited the team’s facilities in East Rutherford, N.J., Tuesday and won’t return to work until Monday. Their next game will be at home Nov. 5 against the Los Angeles Rams, who currently lead the NFC West at 5-2. The respite will provide the Giants time to reflect on what has gone so terribly wrong and which direction the franchise will proceed over the remaining nine and a half weeks of the season.
“I think we need to get away from it for a little bit,” said Giants head coach Ben McAdoo Tuesday. “We need to get away from it, we need to clear our minds, get our bodies back and get back with a fresh outlook, as tough as that may be. We need to come back; we have a lot of football left to play.”
The Giants are now playing to assess who will be back next season. That includes players, coaches and front office personnel. The two men who are receiving the most scrutiny are senior vice president and general manager Jerry Reese and quarterback Eli Manning.
Reese took accountability for the Giants’ unforeseen collapse when he addressed the media Tuesday at his annual bye-week news conference. “I’ll start with, we’re 1-6. That’s not where we want to be obviously, but this is where we are,” Reese said.
He continued, “This roster—it’s my roster. I’m responsible for everybody on the roster, and I’ll take ownership to where we are right now with this 1-6 start. I do believe that we still have good players on this roster. But, in this league. It’s almost like we came out of the gate, there was a lot of chatter about how good the team looked and how good it looked on paper and we also talked about the Super Bowl and just things like that. But, in this business, the 11 games we won last year—that’s over with. You have to start over every time and you have to earn wins and you have to do it the right way.”Indeed, there was exceeding optimism entering the season that this season could be a Super Bowl campaign for the Giants. Today, the franchise contemplates the future of its two-time winning QB Manning.
Unlike the New England Patriots’ seemingly ageless 40-year-old Tom Brady, Manning, who will turn 37 in January, has labored along with his team. The Giants’ ownership and Reese, if he is still around after this season, must determine if they are going to move forward with Manning or rebuild with a new, much younger quarterback.