Giants Losing Talent Acquisition Battle To Eagles, Cowboys
By Curt Macysyn
In the NFL these days, if you are not getting better, then you are getting worse. And based upon the results of the past two weekends, the New York Giants (3-4) are once again in decline. The most ardent fan of Big Blue would like to blame injuries or turnovers for the loss to the Dallas Cowboys 31-21 on Sunday, but that assessment ignores too many facts. For example, the Cowboys were missing, due to injury, tackle Doug Free, perhaps their best offensive lineman, and they were also without linebacker Bruce Carter, one of their better defenders.
All NFL teams go through injuries throughout the rugged sixteen schedule; that is a fact of life in the league. The Giants won a Super Bowl with a backup quarterback and second string running back in 1990. New York won Super Bowl XLII with rookie Kevin Boss at tight end after Jeremy Shockey broke his leg during the regular season. The Super Bowl XLVI winning team suffered plenty of injuries as they scuffled their way into the playoffs. The difference between those teams and this group of New York Giants is talent. Those teams had plenty of talent, while the 2014 New York Giants have a dearth of it.
For all of the criticism that owner/general manger Jerry Jones gets in Dallas, the one thing that the bombastic Cowboys' owner realizes is that you have to have play-makers in the NFL. Jones has always swung for the fences in an attempt to get top level talent onto his squad. Some attempts have not been successful, like the ill-fated trade that brought wide receiver Roy Williams from the Detroit Lions to the Cowboys, but other attempts have been successful, like drafting Dez Bryant who dropped to 24th pick in the 2010 NFL draft due to character concerns.
Other attempts, like the Terrell Owens experiment, had mixed results for the team. For those of you not paying attention, in three seasons with Dallas, Owens averaged 78 catches for 1,198 receiving yards and 13 touchdown catches per season. Yes, you read that correctly. Jones knew what he was getting into with Owens, but he also knew that talent wins in the NFL above all else.
The Cowboys cut ties with defensive end DeMarcus Ware in order to save some salary cap room this off season, a bold move by any standard. With a record of 6-1, the move seems to have paid off for Dallas.
Just down the New Jersey Turnpike, people questioned whether Chip Kelly's brand of football would work in the NFL. News flash for those folks, it has! The Philadelphia Eagles, last season's NFC East champions, for those keeping track, are 12-2 over their last 14 games. In their 27-0 rout of the New York Giants two weeks ago, the Eagles ran circles around the New York Giants offensively and defensively. Every year, LeSean McCoy must highlight the games against the Giants, because he knows that if his blocking breaks down, chances are he will still outrun most of the Big Blue defenders.
As much as everyone wants to try and make the losing about poor schemes, missed assignments and costly turnovers, it is not. In fact, those arguments are like suggesting that the Titanic sunk because of a water leak. It ignores the big picture.
Larry Donnell's fumbles certainly hurt on Sunday, but the previous week, Eagles' quarterback Nick Foles threw two interceptions, and the Birds still shut out the Giants. Does anyone out there really think that Deion Sanders or Barry Sanders were as great as they were because of scheme?
New York Giants Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor was always improvising, and no NFL team could stop him, only personal problems could. And Taylor played for a Hall of Fame coach, Bill Parcells, who allowed Taylor to be LT. Now the Giants' front office thinks it can pick up a free agent, or late round draft pick, and coach him up to become a Pro Bowler, and that philosophy has not worked in years, if ever.
The drafting of Odell Beckham, Jr. was a small step in the right direction, and the future of Weston Richburg seems to be bright. But third round draft pick Jay Bromley has played in one game, and maybe there was a reason why Andre Williams dropped to the fourth round. As far as free agency, the Geoff Schwartz injury may be a case of bad luck, but Jon Beason was a roll of the dice that should not have occurred given his injury history.
In a league, and now a division, that likes to accumulate play-makers, the Giants seem content to show everyone that they march to their own tune. The team hired Ben McAdoo to revitalize the offense, yet it surrounded him and his Super Bowl winning quarterback with questionable talent. It would be like giving Jeff Gordon a go-cart and asking him to win a NASCAR race.
Certainly losing Victor Cruz hurts the offense, but even a healthy Cruz would not have made a difference on Sunday, when the defense could not get off the field. There is a talent gap in the NFC East; the haves and the have-nots if you will. For those keeping track the Giants and Redskins are the have-nots, which is why the Giants will be watching the NFL playoffs from home this January for the third straight year.
For more Giants news and updates, visit Giants Central.
Curt Macysyn has been covering the New York Football Giants for the past two seasons for Examiner.com. Born and raised in northern New Jersey, Curt has followed and covered the New York Metropolitan sports scene for 35 years. He attended Seton Hall Prep School in South Orange, NJ and is a graduate of Rutgers University, New Brunswick. His work can be found on aExaminer.com.
