Forget the Playoffs

The Giants weren’t awful yesterday, but in a way they were. They got a maximal effort from just about every player. They had the lead with a couple of minutes left, but they couldn’t stop San Diego when it mattered most. When they needed to put pressure on the passer, they didn’t. When they needed to cover their best receiver, they didn’t.

It becomes more and more obvious every single week that the biggest loss from last season is Steve Spagnuolo. They never replaced him. To replace him, you’d need a guy who could inspire players. And, more important, you’d need a guy who had some canoles. The new defensive coordinator doesn’t.

I won’t even glorify him by putting his name in print. This is a guy, though, who had early communications problems with a couple of his stars. This is a guy who didn’t recognize that one particular cornerback couldn’t cover at all. This is a guy who was ignorant of any communications problem when the whole team knew they had one.

Coughlin’s meetings with the team seem to have denigrated into one-way communications. He too could use some canoles, as evidenced by the ridiculous play-calling down by the goal line and his gutless decision to kick a field goal.

But that’s ok. They won’t make the playoffs but they’ll be somewhat competitive from week to week. The games will be entertaining. They just won’t be one of the better teams. They’ll be mediocre. And they deserve to be mediocre. Let the gutsy teams rise to the heights. Let those teams that would have shut the door on those Chargers yesterday reap the benefits.

Not that Coughlin is really that much different from the coach whose team won it all in 2007. He always has played conservatively. I’m reminded of the playoff game against the Cowboys in that 2007 year. He ran three plays into the line, had to punt, and very easily could have lost that one. But he had a defense then. He had a guy named Steve Spagnuolo. Now he’s just got what’s his face.

So I’ve written off this season. The Giants never make changes mid-season and this year will not be any different. And, as long as they stand pat, they’ll be lousy. Well, maybe not that bad, but certainly not approaching good.

Thank the media gods for alternatives. With the NFL RedZone, I’ve been able to stay in touch with all the games. I’ve been able to see the difference between the good teams and the bad. A lot of the difference has to do with having smart coaches. But there is better than a smidgeon that has to do with heart, with intensity, with a fighting spirit.

It’s impossible to play hard for a bad coach, a guy who seems to make all the wrong decisions, a guy who will always lose a tight game for you in the final seconds. My poster boy for this kind of coach is Herman Edwards. He prided himself on his ability to motivate, but his teams just didn’t play smart football. You can still see examples of intellectual defects around the league. Yesterday’s finest example would be the Chicago Bears, who elected to cover the best receiver in the league, Larry Fitzgerald, with just one totally overmatched cornerback. Kurt Warner threw to him at will all day.

Then there are those coaches who are all intellect and possess no ability to motivate. You could name several head coaches for this category too. Zorn, Mangini, and several others, just have teams that can’t sustain any fighting spirit throughout the game. Why play hard for a management group that doesn’t know the difference, or appreciate the difference? How can you make plays when nobody ever says, “nice play”?

The Jets had a bye yesterday, thank God. Their coach Rex Ryan has so far shown himself to be a great communicator and motivator, but, alas, he hasn’t yet shown he can make good decisions. I won’t pick on Ryan though. It’s a little early for that. He can gain the experience that will help him become a better coach. He already has that innate sense of what buttons to push to motivate football players, a sense that takes a much longer time to acquire, if it can ever be truly mastered.

The Jets have to play in the AFC East, a division that has one of the best coaches in the game in Bill Belichick. Miami too has Bill Parcells pushing buttons at the top and what appears to be an imaginative and fiery head coach in Tony Sparano. The Giants have to play in the NFC East, a division that’s got Andy Reid of the Eagles and even Wade Phillips of the Cowboys. The other team is the Washington Redskins, thank the football gods.

You can pretty much bet the farm that both our local NFL representatives will finish behind those teams this year. It won’t be a surprise when it happens, for a team, first and foremost, needs good management and then they need a good quarterback, the manager of each and every game.

Not that I’m picking on either Eli Manning or Mark Sanchez.

Eli’s playing with a bunch of new receivers who, while very talented, don’t seem to be on the same page as Eli more often than not. He’s also got a giant running back in Brandon Jacobs who seems to prefer running the ends, seems to have no explosiveness whatever, and who also opens his mouth only to say stupid and hurtful things.

Sanchez is a rookie, and, while some rookies have made it big in their first years, I don’t see Mark as being one of them. And it won’t entirely be his fault. His defense, despite its bravado, hasn’t measured up in key situations all year. His receivers either don’t get open or drop the ball.
Both teams should have enough to finish third in their divisions. Forget the playoffs.