It's Not Daniel Jones' Fault

The Daniel Jones era is finally coming to an end. The announcement by Brian Daboll that Tommy DeVito will start this Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium is, for all intents and purposes, an acknowledgment by the head coach that Jones's career as a quarterback for the New York Giants is over.

Let's be clear: by no means is DeVito a better QB than Jones; for that matter neither is Drew Lock. This move is being made for one reason and one reason alone: the Giants intend to cut Jones after the season and they don't want to risk him getting injured. I'll explain.

Under the current CBO, the Giants could cut Jones after the season and only have to carry $22.2 million in dead cap space next season. However, if Jones were to get injured before the end of this season, the Giants would be prohibited from cutting him and be on the hook for $41.6 million in 2025. $41.6m minus $22.2m comes out to $19.4m. Think what GM Joe Schoen could do with that much extra money in the kitty.

But while Giants fans are celebrating the news on social media, it's important for them to remember one thing. This is not Daniel Jones' fault. Seriously, it's not. It wasn't Jones' fault that:

1. Dave Gettleman took him with the 6th overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft when every GM and most scouts had him rated no better than a mid-second rounder. 

2. He had no offensive line to block for him or decent wide receivers to throw the ball to throughout his tenure with the team.

3. He had three different head coaches and as many offensive coordinators in six seasons. 

4. His current GM saw fit to sign him to a four-year, $160 million contract that he could never live up to.

Imagine being a slightly above average quarterback, drafted that high and then thrown into a scenario like the above in the world's largest sports market. John Mara was right about one thing: the Giants really did do everything possible to screw this kid up.

But all that is water over the dam now. The fact is over his career, Jones has had two moderately successful seasons: his rookie year and 2022, the latter had literally everything going right for him. That's it. To continue throwing good money after bad makes absolutely no sense. The best thing the organization can do is to extricate itself from this nightmare. The NFL is one of the few leagues where teams can ostensibly cut a player under contract and suffer minimal consequences.

The Giants wouldn't be the first team to have to admit they blew it. It was just over 16 months ago that Steve Cohen had to eat $55 million to get rid of Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. Look at how that turned out. The Mets were two wins away from their first World Series appearance since 2015 this season.

And while no sane person would believe the Giants are that close to a Super Bowl appearance, one thing is abundantly clear: Daniel Jones is not the short-term or long-term solution under center. That the braintrust at 1 MetLife Stadium Drive has grudgingly come to that conclusion is a good sign. It means that this franchise will finally be able to begin its long journey from mediocrity to relevance.

Joe Schoen Doesn't Pull a Gettleman

Going into the 2019 NFL Draft, New York Giants GM Dave Gettleman was looking for a successor to Eli Manning. The previous year, he used the number one overall pick to draft Saquon Barkley. Landing a franchise running back and a franchise quarterback in consecutive drafts would've been quite the feather in Gettleman's cap.

Unfortunately for Gettleman, the quarterback he wanted - Justin Herbert - decided to stay one more year at Oregon. So instead of waiting until 2020 to get his man, Gettleman took Daniel Jones with the 6th pick in the 2019 Draft. To say that pick was a reach would be putting it mildly. Every single draft board had Jones as a late first or early second-rounder at best. Compounding the issue was the fact that the Giants had two first round picks that year - 6 and 17 - meaning they could've taken linebacker Josh Allen with the 6th pick and still had Jones at 17.

While Jones has struggled to deliver on his promise, Allen has become one of the NFL's best edge rushers. Last season he recorded 17.5 sacks. And Herbert, who was drafted by the L.A. Chargers the following year - ironically at 6 - is one of the best signal callers in the league.

Credit Joe Schoen this much: the man takes good notes. Going into this year’s NFL Draft, the Giants once again had the 6th overall pick. J.J. McCarthy of Michigan was sitting there just waiting to be snatched up. His former coach, Jim Harbaugh, raved about him, calling him the best quarterback in the Draft.

But Schoen wasn't biting. In fact, he tried to move up to number 3 to get Drake Maye, whom he believed to be a much better QB, but the New England Patriots were not interested in trading down. So instead of reaching like his predecessor did five years ago, he took the best available player on the board.

Malik Nabers is unquestionably the most dynamic and explosive wide receiver in this year's draft class. The Giants haven’t had a player with this much talent at that position since Odell Beckham, Jr. With the departure of Barkley to the Philadelphia Eagles during the offseason, Nabers instantly becomes this team's number one offensive weapon. Whatever else you might say about how bad things went for the Giants last season, the front office had itself a pretty good night last night.

True, the Giants are still stuck with Jones for at least another season. With the contract he signed last year, there's no way in hell they can cut him; the dead cap hit alone would be $69.3 million. So, like it or not, Danny Dimes will get one more shot to prove he's a franchise quarterback. But this time he'll have an elite receiver to throw the ball to.

As for Schoen, his work is not done. He still needs to find a replacement for Xavier McKinney, who bolted for the Green Bay Packers over the winter. Then there's the offensive line, which continues to need help. In other words, there's plenty of holes still left to fill for Joe.

So far, I'd give him an A for the first day of the draft; overall, an A minus for his tenure as general manger. And that's more than I can say for the guy he replaced.

"It Is What It Is."

"There ain't no good guy; there ain't no bad guy. There's only you and me and we just disagree." 

- Dave Mason

No doubt there will be a good deal of analysis and even some finger pointing over the next few weeks regarding what happened between the New York Giants and Saquon Barkley. What we know for certain is that GM Joe Schoen made the last of what was believed to be three contract offers to the all-pro running back, all of which were rejected. As a result, Big Blue will go into the 2023 season not knowing whether Barkley will sign his $10.1 million franchise tag or hold out. As of now, it's anybody's guess.

Already the Monday-morning quarterbacks - pardon the pun - are chirping away. How could the Giants allow this to happen? Why couldn't Schoen just give Barkley what he was asking for? After all, he gave $160 million to Daniel Jones. Certainly Barkley deserved no less consideration given what he has done for this organization.

Let's be clear: the Jones contract was entirely different. The Giants never had any intention of letting their quarterback walk. It was simply a matter of whether they were going to franchise tag him or sign him to a long-term extension. The former meant a $32.4 million cap hit on the books, while the latter, due to the way the contract was written, worked out to a $21.7 million cap hit. For a team still reeling from Dave Gettleman's gross incompetence, Schoen would've been a fool to tag Jones. 

This was a business decision, pure and simple. Schoen knew what he wanted to spend and, more importantly, what he could afford to give up. It's worth noting that even with Barkley on a franchise tag, the Giants only have $4.1 million in available cap space left. As valuable as Barkley is to this offense, Schoen had a fiduciary responsibility to an organization that, cap wise, has been a train wreck for years. How bad a train wreck? This season, they will be carrying $14.7 million in dead cap space, courtesy of Kenny Golladay's contract buyout.

If you're looking for someone to blame here, try Barkley's agent, Kim Miale. She badly overplayed her hand. Either she didn't know what the market for running backs was or she doubted Schoen's resolve. In either event, she cost her client a good deal of money. 

Agents have two basic responsibilities: One should be fairly obvious: get their clients as much money as possible; two, level with their clients in the event they are unsuccessful. Miale clearly failed on number two. Once it was obvious that Schoen wasn't going to blink, she should've told Barkley to sign the contract. She didn't. Or if she did, Barkley didn't listen to her. So instead of a three-year deal with $22 million in guaranteed money, he will now have to settle for $10.1 million on a one-year franchise tag and then hope for a better offer from the Giants next season. 

Fat chance that happening. If anything, it's entirely possible the Giants won't even tender him a franchise tag next summer. The fact that no other team approached Barkley with an offer better than what the Giants had on the table is a pretty good indication that, despite his bonafides, the demand for his services just wasn't there. Josh Jacobs, who had a much better season for the Raiders, also didn't get the deal he was looking for and, like Barkley, has so far refused to sign his franchise tag.

Like it or not, the NFL is a passing league. Running backs are not very high on the pecking order. With the franchise tag expected to go up to $12 million in '24, the Giants might very well elect to low ball Barkley, or perhaps walk away entirely. If that happens, it's on Miale. 

Look, is it fair that one of the most dynamic players in the league is getting treated this way? Of course not. As a fan, I feel bad for the guy. He deserved better than what he got. And I have no doubt that this will reverberate throughout the locker room. It could even cost the Giants a playoff appearance, especially if Barkley decides to sit out the season. 

But the bottom line is this: the NFL, like the NBA and the NHL, has a salary cap. And, yes, I know the league gives their GMs all kinds of room to get creative with respect to player contracts. But come the start of the season, teams still have to be cap compliant. Gettleman was one of the most creative GMs the Giants ever had and look where it got them. At some point you have to be willing to say "enough is enough."

I actually respect the decision Schoen made. It couldn't have been easy for him. But in the end, it was the only decision he could've make.

Giants Lock Up Their Franchise Quarterback

In the end, Joe Schoen didn't have much choice. Either he was going to bite the bullet and give in to Daniel Jones' demands, or he was going to slap the franchise tag on him. The latter meant two things: 1. Saquon Barkley would likely be signed by another team with no compensation coming back to the Giants; and 2. The entire $32.4* million owed Jones under the franchise tag would be guaranteed and would be applied in full to the 2023 salary cap. Neither was acceptable to Schoen.

So he did the only thing he could: he waited until the 11th hour - 3:59 PM Tuesday, to be exact - to agree to a four year, $160 million contract - $82 million guaranteed. Doing that allowed him to franchise tag Barkley for $10.1 million. But more importantly, it meant that the first year of Jones' contract - thanks to the way it was written - would only count $19 million against the cap. And if Schoen can somehow get Barkley to accept a two-year, $25 million deal, that 10.1 million cap hit would be lowered by $1 or $2 million. Only in the NFL can $40 million equal $19 million. If Jones played hockey instead of football, he and his agent would be up a creek.

Now before you skewer Schoen for overpaying for Jones, it's important to understand just how hamstrung he was regarding the salary cap. While not quite as hard up as some of his fellow GMs, Schoen was nonetheless facing a daunting task: how to field a team next season and still be cap compliant. Nobody, with the exception of Jones, his family, a handful of friends and his agent, seriously believed that coming off a year in which he had only 15 touchdowns and threw for 3205 yards, he was worth $40 million per year. And keep in mind, Jones' agents were reportedly asking for $46 million. If Daniel Jones is worth $46 million, Patrick Mahomes is worth $75 million. Even $38 million was pushing the envelope. $35 million seemed a more reasonable figure.

But reason and reality rarely intersect in professional sports. If they did, the Mets payroll would be $200 million instead of $370 million. Schoen knew with the clock ticking, he didn't have the leverage to play hardball. Give him credit at least for turning a shit sandwich into a Big Mac. Once the Giants buy out Kenny Golladay next week, they will have about $25 million in available cap space. And if they can somehow get Leonard Williams to renegotiate his contract, they could pick up another $5 million. Now you know why John Mara hired an assistant GM instead of a Director of Player Personnel to run his franchise. The latter may be a good talent evaluator, but the former knows how to crunch numbers. Schoen is still digging out from the debris left by his predecessor.

But there was another reason for keeping Jones. His ceiling is still unknown. I have long felt that Jones' biggest problem is between his ears. He obviously has the arm strength and the wheels to play in the NFL; it's his pocket presence and decision making that has so often tripped him up. If Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka can continue to mold him, there's a very real possibility that this contract could pay for itself in two years. If not, if Jones never develops into the quarterback the Giants envisioned him being when they drafted him, Schoen can simply cut him after the '24 season with only an $18 million dead cap hit on the books.

Feel better? You should. Joe Schoen knows what he's doing. Just take a look at the Buffalo Bills. In two years, the Giants could be where they are.

Who wouldn't want that?

* An earlier version of this piece incorrectly stated that Jones's franchise tag would've been $36.2 million had the Giants not signed him to his four year contract. The actual amount was $32.4 million. I have made the correction. Sorry for the confusion.

Coaching Matters

Let's be honest. If somebody had told you before the start of the season that the New York Giants would be in second place in the NFL East with a 6-1 record - the best start since '08 when they went 11-1 in their first twelve games - you'd have thought they were either drunk or nuts. Shit, I had 'em going 6-11 and I thought that was being overly optimistic. That's what being a fan of this franchise can do to people. And with only one winning season - 2016 - in the last ten can you really blame them?

Since Tom Coughlin was shown the door in 2015, three head coaches have come and gone: Ben McAdoo, Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge. Apart from McAdoo's inaugural season, when then GM Jerry Reese spent heavily on a revamped defense, they've all been brutal disasters. Judge was so bad, he was fired a week after the end of his second season.

So when John Mara and Steve Tisch decided to clean house - again - and brought in Joe Schoen as the new GM, the faithful weren't exactly beaming with confidence. But so far this season, Schoen's hires have turned the most ardent skeptics into believers. Head coach Brian Daboll, offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale have transformed this moribund team. No longer are the Giants the laughingstock of the league. As of this writing, they are a legitimate threat to make the playoffs.

Of all the organized team sports, none is more dependent on coaching than football. You can have all the talent in the world, but if your coaches aren't competent, you're not going anywhere. To be clear, the Giants do NOT have the most talent in the NFL, not even close. But Daboll and company have gotten the most of what talent they have. With a healthy Saquon Barkley, a patchwork defense, a young and inexperienced offensive line, a quarterback with virtually zero pocket presence and a bunch of receivers who are throwaways at best, they have become the unsung story of the 2022 season.

The reclamation job Daboll and Kafka have done with Daniel Jones is nothing short of miraculous. Since Dave Gettleman selected him with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft, he has struggled to establish himself in the league. By giving him just enough rope, Daboll has allowed Jones to play to his strengths. The long bombs have been replaced with short, strategic passes; he runs for the first down instead of staying in the pocket; and when his receivers aren't open, he throws the ball away. In short, Jones has become an effective clock manager. He's no Patrick Mahomes, but with the system the Giants have designed around him, he doesn't have to be. Through the first seven games, Jones has had five game-winning drives - the most by a QB since 1950 - while throwing only two picks and fumbling the ball twice.

The offensive line has been a blemish on this team for years. Daboll's staff has turned that around too. Since the Cowboys game at MetLife in game three, in which Jones was sacked five times, the line has allowed only seven sacks in the last four games. Pass protection isn't the only thing that's improved. Against the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team with the third best-best run defense in the league, the Giants rushed for 236 yards on 39 attempts, for a 6.1 average; 61 of those yards came on their final possession.

They've beaten Aaron Rodgers and Lamar Jackson on consecutive weeks; their defense has made last-second stops to preserve wins; and their offense has run out the clock on opponents. Unlike past years, when they invented ways to lose, they have not beaten themselves once this season. This might be the most disciplined Giants team we've seen since the glory days of Bill Parcells. In fact, the more I think about Daboll, the more he reminds me of Parcells: a no-nonsense coach who demanded and got the most out of his players. If he isn't coach of the year, there should be an investigation. 

Look, it's still early in the season; we're not even at the halfway point yet. But this team is for real. Their resiliency is matched only by their belief in each other. If Barkley stays healthy, there's no telling where they might finish. 11-6? 12-5? Who knows?

It's been a very long time since Giants' fans have had something to cheer about. Thanks to Brian Daboll, there's finally hope in Big Blue land.

A Tale of Two Drafts for Joe Schoen

Round one of the 2022 NFL Draft couldn't have gone any better for Joe Schoen if he had choreographed it himself. Thanks to the four teams picking ahead of him, he had the good fortune of snatching two of the best players in the draft at numbers 5 and 7: OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux and OT Evan Neal. Thibodeaux was considered the second best defensive prospect behind Aiden Hutchinson and Neal was the top-ranked tackle in the draft.

It's rare indeed when the Twitterverse is in agreement - sorta like a solar eclipse and the planets lining up in a row all on the same day - but suffice to say that by the end of the evening, if Schoen had decided to run for mayor of New York, he would've won in a landslide.

Unfortunately for Schoen there were six more rounds left in the draft: two on Friday and four on Saturday. Let's just say for the sake of argument that by the Friday night, most of the good will Schoen had amassed on day one dissipated, like air escaping from a balloon. It's not that WR Wan'Dale Robinson, G Joshua Ezeudu and CB Cor'Dale Flott aren't good players or won't contribute in some way to the Giants; it's that they could easily have been selected in the fourth and fifth rounds. The general consensus was that Schoen reached on all three.

He didn't stop there, though. TE Daniel Bellinger, S Dane Belton, LB Micah McFadden, DL DJ Davidson, G Marcus McKethan and LB Darrian Beavers were all taken in rounds four thru seven on Saturday. If Friday's picks were any indication, it's clear what Schoen's mission is: to replenish this organization's pipeline of talent that his predecessor Dave Gettleman neglected. Seven of the eleven players Schoen selected in the draft were either offensive linemen or defensive front seven. That, I can assure you, is no accident. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what's wrong with this team. Apart from figuring out whether or not Daniel Jones is a franchise quarterback - the smart money's on the latter - the line of scrimmage has been an unmitigated disaster for years. Fixing that has to be priority number one.

So Schoen, after hitting it out of the park in round one, opted to go for depth the rest of the draft. In fact, he even traded down twice in the second round so he could get even more picks. And based on where this team is right now, I can't say I blame him. When you take over an organization as ineptly run as this one was for years, your first order of business has to be to find as many able bodies as possible who can play. For head coach Brian Daboll to succeed, he has to have the horses.

None of us can predict with any degree of certainty whether the players chosen by Schoen in the second and third days of the draft will make any difference, this season or next. It took years for this franchise to become the train wreck it is. It will take several more years before the salvage project is complete. Think about it: in 2018, the Buffalo Bills were 6-10. Look where they are now. Miracles do occasionally happen.

I know patience is a four letter word for Giants fans, but for now, at least, Joe Schoen deserves the benefit of the doubt.

The Pressure is on John Mara and Steve Tisch Now More Than Ever

Now that the Ren and Stimpy Show has been canceled at MetLife Stadium, the real work begins. The New York Giants, owners of the worst win-loss record in the NFL over the last five seasons at 22-59, are in the market for a new G.M. and a new head coach at the same time. That hasn't happened since 1978 when head coach John McVay was fired and G.M. Andy Robustelli was allowed to "retire."

If you recall - and the memory has been seared into my consciousness for decades - the Giants were the laughingstock of the league that season. Come to think of it: they were the laughingstock of the league for six years running. But 1978 took the cake. That was the year of "The Fumble" - the double reverse handoff to Larry Csonka that wound up in the waiting hands of Herman Edwards of the Eagles who ran it in for the winning touchdown. 

That stunt would prove be the last straw for Wellington Mara and his nephew Tim. After the season, they commenced to find someone who could reverse the team's fortunes. The problem was the two couldn't agree on who was best qualified. After a bitter public feud, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle stepped in and appointed George Young to run the football operations. Young would subsequently hire Ray Perkins as his head coach. And so marked the beginning of what would become the most stable period in the franchise's storied existence since its glory days of the 1950s and early '60s.

Perkins in his third year got them in the playoffs before leaving to coach Alabama the following season. Defensive co-ordinator Bill Parcells was promoted to HC and guided them to two Super Bowl wins in 1986 and 1990 before resigning. Young's specialty was drafting and during his tenure, the Giants drafted the likes of Phil Simms, Lawrence Taylor and Carl Banks.

Young eventually stepped down as G.M. after the 1997 season, and it was his successor, Ernie Accorsi, who, like his predecessor, assembled the makings of a championship-caliber team that included Tom Coughlin as coach and Eli Manning as quarterback. That team would go on to win two more Super Bowls in 2007 and 2011. 

When Accorsi retired in '07, Jerry Reese took over the reigns. But unlike Accorsi and Young, Reese was a lousy talent evaluator. His draft selections, with a few notable exceptions, were dreadful, and after the 2011 season, the team began to decline, making the playoffs once in ten years. Reese was eventually fired in 2017 and replaced by Dave Gettleman, who in his relatively brief four-year stint managed to make things even worse.

And this, my dear Guinevere, is where we came in. A franchise wrecked by poor management, inept coaching and bereft of talent is now in tatters. The parallels to 1978 are unmistakable. It'd be easy to say things can't get any worse, but sadly that's not true. If there's one thing we know about professional sports, it's that the pit is bottomless. If you think 4-13 is bad, try 2-15 on for size; or perhaps even, dare I say it, 0-17. Don't laugh, it can happen, because it has.

That's why these next few weeks are critical for both John Mara and Steve Tisch. The two co-owners must work together to find the right man who can rebuild this once proud franchise. The pressure couldn't be greater, especially since they aren't the only ones looking for a G.M. Both the Vikings and the Bears cleaned house after their disappointing seasons as well. Misery, it appears, does love company.

Fortunately, there is an abundance of potential candidates out there from which to choose and Mara, to his credit, is looking outside the organization. He's already reached out to several teams in an attempt to get a head start. Indeed, the Giants have already interviewed Buffalo Bills Assistant G.M. Joe Schoen, and have asked permission to speak with Kansas City Chiefs Director of Player Personnel Ryan Poles. Both men would be excellent choices, especially Poles who, if he's hired, could entice Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy to join him in New York as his head coach. Bieniemy is considered one of the best and brightest offensive minds in the league, and if there's one thing the Giants desperately need, it's someone who knows how to run an offense.

Whoever gets chosen is going to have his work cut out for him. Gettleman not only screwed the pooch, he took out a four-year mortgage on it. The Giants went crazy last year signing players who didn't pan out, and because they got creative with the cap, they're going to be in cap hell for the foreseeable future. And that means any hope the fans have of seeing Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson in a Giants uniform next season will have to remain the stuff of dreams. Like Young, the next G.M. will have to go through the draft to repair the damage.

And that's why as difficult as these last few years have been to watch, things might not get much better next season. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will the Giants. When you clean house, it takes time to put in place an infrastructure that can endure. Remember, it took Young eight years before he could deliver a Super Bowl. Expectations, both for the fanbase and ownership, will have to be managed. Incremental progress will be the catch phrase. It's worth noting that the last last three coaches this franchise hired - Ben McAdoo, Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge - all regressed in their second season. By comparison both Bill Parcells and Tom Coughlin had losing records their first season, only to reach the postseason in year two, followed by a championship two years after that.

That's how this typically works. You take your lumps early, while you construct the building blocks that inevitably leads to a parade outside your stadium. Successful franchises know this, which is why they can survive the odd bad year or two. As disappointing as the Baltimore Ravens and New Orleans Saints were in 2021, both teams have the right personnel in place to rebound next season. 

And speaking of the right personnel, the Pittsburgh Steelers have them in droves. Their head coach, Mike Tomlin, has not had a single losing season in 15 years. He didn't accomplish that with smoke and mirrors, or by referring to other teams as "clown shows," or by calling consecutive quarterback sneaks on second and third and long deep in his own end. He did it because he knows how to motivate his players to win.

Look, this isn't rocket science. When you hire the right people, good things tend to happen. John Mara needs to find the right man, and that right man needs to hire a lot more right men to turn this shipwreck of a franchise around.

An Open Letter to John Mara

Dear Mr. Mara,

How are those trash cans doing? I heard you threw a couple of them around your suite at Met Life Stadium after the game against the Falcons. Hopefully they didn't get too badly damaged. Good trash cans are so hard to come by these days.

Seriously, though, have you had enough? How long are you going to let this nightmare go on before you wake up and do what has to be done? This franchise is a fucking joke, and frankly it's been that way for a very long time.

Since your last Super Bowl win in 2011, the Giants have had exactly two winning seasons (2012 and 2016) and one lousy playoff appearance (2016). The overall record during that span is an abysmal 57-80, including three losses this season. During the reign of Dave Gettleman, the man you hired to replace Jerry Reese, the record is 15-36.

You fired Tom Coughlin because you felt the game had passed him by. OK, fine, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. It's a business, I get it. But here's the thing: at least he had a resume. Ben McAdoo was an offensive coordinator under Coughlin and a quarterback coach at Green Bay, Pat Schurmer was a failed head coach at Cleveland and an offensive coordinator at Minnesota, and Joe Judge was a special team's assistant under Bill Belichick at New England. 

While you were drooling over landing Judge, several quality candidates slipped through your fingers. One of them, Matt Rhule, after going 5-11 with the Carolina Panthers last year is currently 3-0 and in first place in the same division as Tom Brady's Buccaneers, with a starting quarterback New York's other moribund football team discarded during the offseason. 

Transforming losing programs is Rhule's specialty. He successfully turned around both Baylor and Temple before jumping to the NFL. As of right now, he has the inside track to be coach of the year. Your guy? So far, he's no better than his last two predecessors. The Giants still commit way too many costly mistakes at critical moments and seem incapable of making key stops on defense when they need to. Last Sunday, Atlanta marched down the field and kicked a game winning field goal as time expired. The week before that, Washington did the same thing. Yes, Dexter Lawrence jumped offsides, but the bottom line is the defense still couldn't protect a lead.

The offensive line remains a problem; the receivers drop way too many balls; and the team hasn't had a legit edge rusher in over a decade. Gettleman has had four years to fix what's wrong and he's thoroughly failed. His decision to take Daniel Jones with the 6th overall pick in 2019 instead of Josh Allen should've earned him a pink slip. Instead, you gave him two more years to inflict yet more damage. And true to form, he didn't disappoint. Last year, he took offensive tackle Andrew Thomas with the 4th overall pick, bypassing more skilled tackles like Tristian Wirfs and Jedrick Wills, Jr, the latter played at Alabama for Nick Saban, Judge's old boss. Thomas has been underwhelming, to say the least, while the other two have excelled.

It's time to wipe the slate clean. Gettleman's gotta go. I realize you may have to keep some of the coaching staff until the end of the season, but I've seen nothing from Judge that leads me to believe he is capable of turning this ship around. If anything, he's a slightly improved version of McAdoo, but without the play calling ability.

What this organization needs is a complete makeover. The game has changed considerably since the days of George Young. The best franchises today aren't run from the front office; they're run from the sidelines. You want to know who the best GM's are, Mr. Mara? Simple, take a look at who's wearing the headsets. Besides Belichick and Rhule, Pete Carrol, Sean Payton, Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, John Harbaugh and Andy Reid all run the show from top to bottom. And with the exception of Rhule, all have been to the Super Bowl at least once.

You need to get one of these guys, and now. Someone who knows how to evaluate talent and can bring out the best in it. You have two first round draft picks next year. Maybe you could dangle both to pry Sean Payton away from New Orleans. He once worked for your father as an assistant under Jim Fassel, so it'll be a sort of homecoming for him. Payton checks all the boxes and has one of the best minds in the game. If anybody can figure out Daniel Jones, it's Payton. And he'll finally fix this offensive line so you don't have to worry about stupid-assed holding penalties in the red zone that kill scoring drives.

It's time the New York Giants entered the 21st century. This is one of the premiere franchises in the NFL. As principle owner, you have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure it doesn't become a laughingstock. To allow the stars quo to continue is a slap in the face to the tens of thousands of fans who each Sunday shell out their hard-earned money to watch this team in person, and the millions more who watch it alone at home. 

It's all on you, Mr. Mara. What are you waiting for?

Will the Giants Benefit From Playing in the NFC East?

Last year, the Giants finished an abysmal 6-10, yet were still mathematically alive for a playoff spot pending the result of the Philadelphia / Washington game. And had former Eagles head coach Doug Pederson not decided to bench quarterback Jalen Hurts in the second half, the Jints might've snuck in. Unfortunately, he benched Hurts and the Washington Football Team wound up winning the game and, with it, the division with an underwhelming 7-9 record.

Welcome to the NFC Least, where mediocrity is the norm and excellence is a word best left to other teams. Indeed, it remains to be seen if the team that wins the division will even have a winning record. Thursday night's game between the Cowboys and Buccaneers notwithstanding, I haven't seen any evidence that indicates the road to Super Bowl 56 will go through any of this division's cities.

So, when all is said and done, will the Giants be the ones left standing after week 18? Remember starting this season each team has to play 17 games. The defense won't be the problem. In fact, this team should have one of the better defenses in the league. So where are the concerns? It comes down to several:

The Offensive Line. While it began to jell in the second half of last season, it reverted back to form during this preseason. Basically, it's still a work in progress, and if last year's number one pick Andrew Thomas doesn't pan out, this will be another in a long series of lost years.

Daniel Jones. The guy Dave Gettlemam took sixth overall in 2019 is entering his third season and, suffice to say, there's a lot riding on his shoulders. The issue is not his arm; it's his judgement. In a nutshell, he continues to make rookie mistakes. His decision in the Patriots game to force a throw into the end zone that got picked off is typical of so many errant passes he has thrown throughout his brief career. And while he's only thrown 22 INTs over two years, it's the timing of those pics that's problematic. When you combine that with his lack of pocket presence and the fact that the Giants have two first-round picks in next year's draft, this is Jones's make or break season.

Joe Judge. Judge's system of discipline has given this franchise something it hasn't had since Tom Coughlin was shown the door: accountability. But while Judge may have learned at the feet of legends like Nick Saban and Bill Belichick, it remains to be seen if his tough, take no prisoners approach is well suited to today's NFL. If the team gets off to another slow start, will he be able to hold the locker room? Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett is on the hot seat. Jones has not progressed the way the organization had hoped he would, and the play calling has been predictable. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham seems on solid ground, but overall, the jury is still out on the rest of this group.

Saquon Barkley. The most talented offensive player on the team has had season-ending injuries the last two years. It is critical for the Giants that Barkley return to form, or at least as close to it as possible. Garrett will have to proceed with caution with the star running back over the first few games. That won't be easy given Barkley's nature and that fact that game two is next Thursday night. If Barkley does manage to stay healthy and Garrett can successfully thread the needle, the Giants might just have the multi-dimensional offense they've been dreaming about since they drafted the Penn State stud in 2018.

Washington and Dallas. The Washington Football Team has the best front seven in the league and Dallas's offense will rank in the top five or six. But both have their own issues to contend with. The Cowboys defense was horrific last season and even with the addition of Micah Parsons, it won't be that much better this season. Washington will go with Ryan Fitzpatrick at QB and hope they squeeze one more year out of that 38 year old arm. If you could somehow combine Dallas's offense with Washington's defense, you'd have a Super Bowl contender. Unfortunately, you can't. And therein lies the problem for both teams.

One final thought: In 2016, the Giants made it to the postseason as a wild card on the strength of an outstanding secondary and a below average offense. One can only wonder what a healthy Barkley would've meant to this team in 2020. Remember, they only missed the playoffs by a single game last year.

That being said, here are my final predictions for the NFC East:

Washington: 9-8

Dallas: 8-9

Giants: 8-9

Eagles: 5-12

As with all my predictions, you can take them with a grain of salt. And if you're dumb enough to wager any money on them and you lose, my evil twin Ivan is the one responsible.

"Trader Dave" Silences the Haters

I have two questions for the man posing as Giants general manager. Who are you and what have you done with Dave Gettleman?

Seriously, in the past eight NFL drafts, five of which were with the Carolina Panthers, Gettleman hadn't once traded back. And with six picks in this year's draft, including the 11th pick in the first round, it was looking very much like number nine wasn't going to be any different.

And then...

The Philadelphia Eagles, who had the 12th pick in the first round, decided to leap frog ahead of the Giants, and took DeVonta Smith, considered by some as the best receiver in the draft, with the 10th pick. There's no doubt Gettleman had Smith on his board and would've taken him had he been there, so you can just imagine what the scene was like at MetLife Stadium after the Eagle selection.

With Smith gone, Gettleman examined his options. He still wanted a receiver but pondered possibly taking Micah Parsons, the linebacker from Penn State, who everyone and their grandmother had rated the best defensive prospect in the draft. That's when the Chicago Bears entered the picture. The Bears had the 20th pick and they were looking for a quarterback, having struck out trying to pry Russel Wilson away from Seattle.

Since the 49ers threw a monkey wrench into everything and chose Trey Lance instead of Mac Jones with the 3rd overall pick, the conventional wisdom was that Bill Belichick would grab Jones with the 15th pick. That left Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields available. But would Fields still be there at 20? That was the sixty-four thousand dollar question. No one knows who initiated contact, but when all was said and done, the Bears and Giants swapped first round picks and the Giants wound up getting the Bear's fifth round pick this year and the Bear's first and fourth round picks in 2022. 

Given it was Gettleman's first trade down, it was a nice haul. Not only did he get a quality receiver in Kadarius Toney with the 20th pick, he accumulated valuable draft capital for next year's draft, which almost everybody agrees will be deeper and richer than this one.

Gettleman wasn't remotely done trading, though. He swapped second round picks with the Dolphins and netted their 2022 third rounder. And with the 50th pick, landed outside linebacker Azeez Ojularo, one of the best pass rushers in the draft. Then in round three, he traded up and snagged cornerback Aaron Robinson, who many analysts thought was a mid- second rounder.

As a result of Gettleman's wheeling and dealing, the Giants had one of the best and most productive drafts that they've had in years. They filled two needs - receiver and edge rusher - and fortified a strength - the secondary. The Giants now have one of the deepest secondaries in the league and have the pass rusher they've been looking for since the glory days of the Tom Coughlin era.

Two years ago, Dave Gettleman panicked and used the 6th overall pick on Daniel Jones when he could've gotten him with the 17th pick. In so doing he let a valuable defensive player in Josh Allen slip away and he was justly ripped for that blunder.

This time around, Gettleman didn't panic. He used his leverage to not just improve the present roster, but the future one as well. With two number one picks in next year's draft, the Giants are well positioned to either improve on what they already have or combine both picks and trade up to draft a new quarterback if they decide Jones isn't the second coming of Eli Manning after all.

It's a position the organization hasn't been in in a very long time. And it's long overdue. Bravo, sir.

Breaking Down the 2020 NFL Draft

Before I get around to the winners and the losers, let's give it up for the NFL. The 2020 draft went off without a hitch. Based on the beta test they did on Monday, there was plenty to worry about. Also, more than 15 million people tuned in Thursday night to watch the first round, a draft record. Don't tell me this country doesn't love sports. Though to be honest, with pretty much the whole country on "lockdown," I'm not that surprised at the ratings. There are only so many re-runs you can watch before you lose your mind.

Now onto the draft. Several things stood out. For starters, there were a shitload of offensive tackles taken in the first round. Six overall, with four of them going in the first 13 picks. What that told me was 1. There were a lot of exceptional tackles; and 2. Contrary to past drafts, a lot of teams went with need over best available player on the board.

Secondly, this was one of the deepest drafts that I can recall in quite some time. There were genuine steals as deep as the fourth and fifth rounds that in past years would've been taken much sooner. Clearly, it was a very good collegiate year.

So who were the winners? As much as it pains me to admit, the Cowboys had the best draft from start to finish. They ended up with the best overall wide receiver - CeeDee Lamb - at 17, the second best corner - Trevon Diggs - at 51, their next starting center - Tyler Bladasz - at 146, and a promising defensive end - Bradlee Anae - at 179. Clearly, Mike McCarthy did his homework. I haven't seen Jerry Jones smile that much since the '90s.

Another winner was the Carolina Panthers. For the first time in the modern draft, a team devoted all its picks to one side of the ball. After finishing near the bottom of the league defensively, Matt Rhule decided to do something about it, and boy did he ever. He chose Derrick Brown, the best defensive tackle in the draft, Yetur Gross-Matos, an outstanding defensive end, Jeremy Chinn, the second best safety in the draft and corner back Troy Pride. John Mara should never have let him get away.

The biggest losers? Guess. I'd give a month's worth of unemployment insurance payments just to have had the pleasure of listening in on the phone call Matt LaFleur made to Aaron Rodgers after he took Jordan Love with the 24th pick in the first round. Not only didn't he address a major need on a team that was one game shy of going to the Super Bowl, he actually traded up for a player that might never start a game for the Packers. Hey, Dave Gettleman haters, cheer up, at least your GM didn't pull a boner like this.

Speaking of Big Blue, they had a good, but not great, draft. The first two picks were exceptional. As expected, Gettleman chose an offensive tackle with the fourth pick. While most thought the top two tackles were Tristan Wirfs and Jedrick Wills, Getteman went with Andrew Thomas of Georgia. Frankly there wasn't much daylight between these three, so I'm good with Thomas. According to the poop sheets, he was the most pro ready, whatever the hell that means. Plus, he's a natural left tackle, which means Nate Solder's days as a Giant are numbered.

Xavier McKinney was a steal at 36. He was the best safety in the draft. The only reason he was still on the board was because there was a run on tackles and wide receivers in the first round. Unfortunately, thanks to the Leonard Williams trade with the Jets, the Giants didn't have another pick until 99 - late in the third round. That meant they lost out on a several outstanding players like Zack Baun, an outside linebacker who recorded 12.5 sacks as a senior at Wisconsin. Instead, they took Matt Peart, another tackle. A good player but likely not a starter. Two rounds later, Gettleman took guard Shane Lemieux. Clearly, the offensive line was his top priority, as was the secondary.

Overall, I'd give the Jints a B+. They addressed two major concerns, but sadly did not land the pass rusher the team has needed ever since it sent Jason Pierre-Paul packing. And in this throw-first, run-second NFL, a team without a pass rusher is a team destined to lose, and lose is what the Giants have been doing a lot of lately; in fact, they've made the post-season once in the last seven years - 2016. Not coincidentally, that was there last winning season.

It's too early to tell whether these picks will significantly improve the Giants' fortunes. No doubt, Thomas will give Daniel Jones the time he needs to complete more of his passes and provide Saquon Barkley with the holes he needs to become the all-pro running back he is. McKinney will shore up a pass defense that was 30th in the league last year. And the free agent signings Gettlemann made during the off season will certainly help a team that went 4-12 in 2019.

Do I feel better now than I did going into Thursday's draft? Yes, but I'll reserve my judgment until I see tangible evidence that the coaching staff Gettleman has assembled is up to the task of transforming this team from a perennial loser to a playoff contender.

Who Should Giants Pick in the NFL Draft?

Defense or Offense? That's the sixty-four thousand dollar question before Dave Gettleman. What primary need does he address this Thursday with the 4th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft? Clearly, they need help on both sides of the football. They were ranked 30th defensively last year with one of the worst pass rushes in the league. And they were almost as bad at protecting the quarterback. So, either way, the Giants can't lose.

This will be the third consecutive year that the Giants will have a first round pick in the top 6. In 2018, they took Saquon Barkley with the 2nd pick; in 2019, they chose Daniel Jones with the 6th pick. Both picks turned out to be winners. In fact, with the exception of 2015 - Erick Flowers - the Giants have had pretty good success with their first rounders. It's the rest of the draft they've struggled with.

If we assume that the first two picks, QB Joe Burrow to the Bengals and DE Chase Young to the Redskins, are locks - and there's no reason to believe they aren't - the only question is whether the Lions and/or the Giants will trade down. That depends on how desperate the Dolphins (5th) and the Chargers (6th) are.

We know from past drafts that Gettleman does not trade down. However, this year he has indicated that he might listen to offers. It's clear that the Lions want Jeff Okudah. If neither team trades down, the Giants will have their choice of LB/S Isaiah Simmons, OT Tristan Wirfs or OT Jedrick Wills. All three are studs and can start on day one, assuming we have even have a day one.

So who would I pick? I happen to be a disciple of the George Young school of drafting. You always take the best player on the board when it's your turn. And for me, that's Simmons. To call this player a hybrid does a disservice to the word hybrid. The Prius is a hybrid; Simmons is a phenomenon. Adam Schein calls him an "absolute freak." He has the skill set to drop back into coverage as a safety or rush the quarterback as an edge. And he would be the first linebacker taken by the Giants in the first round since Carl Banks in 1984.

But if I were a betting man, I'd say that Gettleman opts for one of the two tackles, either Wirfs or Wills. My money's on Wills. He's from Alabama and Joe Judge's connection with Nick Saban will prove to be the tie breaker here. As far as I'm concerned, you can flip a coin between the two, that's how good they are. Both are hogs mollies and while they currently play on the right side, they could easily switch over to the left, which means Jones will have protection he needs on his blind side. The Giants can move Nate Solder and his $16 million cap hit to right tackle where he can do less damage.

As far as trading down goes, like I said, Gettleman may be open for business, but the opportunity might not present itself, especially if the glitches that took place Monday during the league's mock draft resurface on Thursday when they go live. And even if everything does run smoothly, the thing you don't want to do is trade so far down that you lose out on a top tier player in the draft. Whether you think an offensive tackle should be taken this high or not - and I don't - there's no denying the Giants desperately need one. Unless someone makes Gettleman an offer he can't refuse, he should stay right where he is and let the chips fall where they may. He still has nine picks over the next six rounds to get some defensive help. And there are plenty of quality players in this draft that can step in and make an impact this season; again assuming we even have one.

So here's how I think the first 15 picks of the draft will unfold:

1. Burrow QB to the Bengals
2. Young DL to the Redskins
3. Okudah CB to the Lions
4. Wills OL to the Giants
5. Tua Tagovailoa QB to the Dolphins
6. Justin Herbert QB to the Chargers
7. Simmons LB to the Panthers
8. Derrick Brown DL to the Cardinals
9. Javlon Kinlaw DL to the Jaguars
10. Wirfs OL to the Browns
11. Mekhi Becton OL to the Jets
12. Jerry Jeudy WR to the Raiders
13. CeeDee Lamb WR to the 49ers
14. Josh Jones OL to the Bucs
15. Henry Ruggs WR to the Broncos

And in a surprise move, Jordan Love QB to the Saints at 24.

Garrett Hire Makes Absolutely No Sense

I have just three words to describe the news that the New York Giants have hired Jason Garrett as their new offensive coordinator: WTF?!

Seriously, the most important coaching position on the team - next to head coach - and Joe Judge picks a guy whose teams have severely underperformed during his nine seasons at the helm, despite having some of the best talent in the NFL. What, Ben McAdoo was unavailable? At least he managed to make Eli Manning a better quarterback. In the four years Dak Prescott has played for the Cowboys, he has regressed as a quarterback under Garrett.

I've cut Judge a lot of slack, mainly because most of the men he's chosen to surround himself with have at least worked with him during his years with the Patriots. Sometimes the devil you know really is better. But this hire makes absolutely no sense, and for two reasons.

First, if you look at the Cowboys and the Giants, they each have one thing in common: both teams boast an immensely talented running back in their backfield. The Cowboys have Ezekiel Elliott, the Giants have Saquon Barkley. If you bothered to watch Dallas this year, it was painfully obvious that Elliott was seriously underutilized. Throughout the season, the Cowboys opted to pass 57 percent of the time. Among teams with elite running backs, only the Rams and Giants had a higher pass to run ratios: both around 62 percent. There's simply no excuse for this. Either Garrett was to blame or his offensive coordinator Kellen Moore was. As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter. Moore worked for Garrett. Case closed. Any coach who thought handing the ball off to one of the best running backs in the league wasn't a priority has no business calling plays for a team that ranked 19th in scoring and 23rd in average yards per game last season.

Secondly, it is a cardinal rule that you don't hire former head coaches to run your offense. For one thing, deep down you know they want another crack at running the show. I don't care how fond of the Giants Garrett is, or how much John Mara admires him, this is a ticking time bomb. Sooner or later, another team is going to ask the Giants for permission to speak to Garrett about a possible head coaching job. What are they going to say, no? And if Garrett decides to leave in a year or two, Judge will have to hire a replacement. That'll make three offensive coordinators with three distinct systems that Daniel Jones will have had in four years. Talk about screwing the pooch.

I smell Gettleman all over this move. After Judge hired two ostensibly unknowns for defensive coordinator and defensive line coach, I'll bet my severance package that Mr. "I'm Never Wrong" called up his new head coach and "suggested" he give dear old Jason a call. He probably mentioned how Mr. Mara would be very appreciative of at least considering the ex-Cowboys' coach. And no doubt the point was made that Garrett's familiarity with the Dallas personnel would be extremely beneficial to the Jints next season.

Bt here's the thing: Mike McCarthy is now the new sheriff in town. Whatever insight Garrett had with his former organization ended the day he was given his pink slip. And if this franchise really needs Garrett to remind them of how dangerous Elliott and Prescott are, Giants' fans had better get used to losing records for the foreseeable future.

Maybe I'm overreacting. I have a habit of doing that. Maybe Garrett turns out to be the best offensive coordinator the Giants have had since Vince Lombardi. Could be the next job I land will pay me seven figures. Hey, you never know. But given that I've never earned more than $88,000 in my life, I wouldn't hold my breath on either scenario becoming a reality.

Rhuled Out. Giants Go With Plan C

Me: Hey did you hear the Giants hired Judge to be their head coach?

Friend: You mean Aaron Judge is gonna be the Giants head coach? How's he gonna do that and play for the Yankees?

Me: No, you dunce, not Aaron Judge, Joe Judge.

Friend: Who the fuck is Joe Judge?

Me: Right.

Seriously, how bad do you have to be to go 0 fer on three top tier coaches that you knew were qualified to be the next head coach of your franchise? You want to give the Giants a mulligan for not getting Ron Rivera? I'm fine with that. Rivera was fired during the season and the Giants didn't fire Pat Shurmur until after the season. For all we know Dan Snyder might've been in contact with Rivera for several weeks.

But how do you explain not making an offer to a coach like Mike McCarthy, who's won a Super Bowl, been to another NFC championship game and who coached two hall of fame quarterbacks when you had him in your building and you knew his next stop was Dallas? And once you knew that McCarthy was taken, how do you justify not moving up your interview with a coach who's turned around two moribund college programs? There's no excuse for giving the Carolina Panthers first dibs on Matt Rhule, especially when everyone under the sun knew he was your top choice.

Look, t's possible Joe Judge turns out to be the next Bill Belichick; he did spend the last eight seasons with the Patriots, and before that three seasons with Nick Saban at Alabama. You don't get a job with either of those two men if you don't have something going for you. But being a good special teams coach is one thing; being a good head coach is quite another. Ben McAdoo was going to be the guru that revived Eli Manning's career. Shurmur was the adult in the room. Both are unemployed.

Since their last Super Bowl championship, the Giants have had exactly two winning seasons: 2012 and 2016; the latter a wild card playoff appearance that ended in a drubbing at Green Bay. What they needed was an established coach with a proven track record that could put the franchise back on an even keel; a reset, if you will. What they've done is taken another gamble that could set them back two or more years, depending on how long Judge's leash is. And given that they have a promising young quarterback in Daniel Jones and a stud running back in Saquon Barkley that would be nothing short of malpractice. John Mara better pray this move pans out.

One thing the Giants can and must do in order to give Judge a fighting chance is equip him with good assistants. Supposedly, he's been given the authority to hire his own. But one thing is certain: he won't be calling the plays like Shurmur did. Maybe Judge can entice Josh McDaniels to be his offensive coordinator, especially since the only other head coaching vacancy in the NFL right now belongs to the Cleveland Browns: a team so dysfunctional, they make the Giants look like the 49ers of the Bill Walsh era. McDaniels might opt to leave the relative comfort and safety of the Patriots for the chance to develop Jones into an elite QB. But if McDaniels isn't interested, Norv Turner would be an ideal choice.

For defensive coordinator, I'd go with either Wade Phillips or Steve Spagnuolo. With the exception of Belichick and Tom Landry, Spags was the best defensive coordinator the franchise ever had. Because he's currently under contract with the Chiefs, the Giants would have to wait until they were either eliminated or went on to win the Super Bowl.

But regardless of who Judge chooses to staff this team, Dave Gettleman is going to have to do a much better job of getting him the horses he needs to compete than he did with Shurmur. The offensive line was a problem all year long and the secondary was among the worst in the league. With over $60 million in cap space available to spend, the Jints have some giant holes to fill.

Am I overreacting here? Perhaps. Maybe this works out in the end. Maybe Judge turns out to be a pretty damn good head coach. After all, John Harbaugh was a special teams coach and we all know what happened with him. Then again, maybe Judge turns out to be the next Ray Handley.

Knowing this team the way I do, I have a nagging feeling it'll be the latter.

Belichick To Giants Isn't As Far Fetched As You Might Think

Twenty years ago, Bill Belichick shocked the football world when he resigned as head coach of the New York Jets - a position he'd been promoted to only 24 hours earlier - to become the head coach of the New England Patriots. Over the last nineteen seasons, Belichick, with the help of the best quarterback the game has ever seen, has coached the Pats to nine Super Bowl appearances, winning six of them. No franchise in NFL history has come close to accomplishing that feat; not the Steelers, not the Cowboys, not the Packers, not the 49ers, no one.

Now that the Patriots are out of the playoffs, having lost to the Tennessee Titans last night, there's a lot of speculation about what happens with Tom Brady. Does he retire? Does he re-sign with New England? Or does he leave for another team? And where does Josh McDaniels - Brady's offensive coordinator - wind up?

But no one has dared ask the most important question; the one that's on the tip of everyone's tongue. What happens with Belichick? He's been such a fixture in New England sports that no one can conceive of a life without him. But as in love as they may be with Belichick, the hall of fame head coach has a soft spot in his heart for another franchise, and it's the one where he got his start: the New York Giants.

Deep down, Belichick never forgave the Mara family for passing him over for the head coaching job when Bill Parcels stepped down, even though the decision was actually George Young's. For their part, I'm pretty sure the Maras probably wish they could have a do over, given that Ray Handley botched things up in his brief two-year stint. And even though Jim Fassel led the franchise back to the Super Bowl in 2000, it would take seven more seasons before another former Parcells' assistant - Tom Coughlin - allowed them to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Imagine what might've been if the Giants had had the foresight Robert Kraft possessed two decades ago.

Look, this may sound crazy, but I wouldn't be shocked one bit if over the next couple of days Belichick announces that he is stepping down as head coach of the Patriots to become the next head coach of the Giants. I also wouldn't be shocked to learn that as a condition of him leaving the Pats, John Mara and Steve Tisch have agreed to give him complete veto power over all personnel decisions Dave Gettleman makes, including draft picks and free agents signings. In other words, Belichick would be in charge.

Far Fetched? Perhaps. After all, knowing how things are done at 1925 Giants Drive, it's much more likely that they end up signing Matt Rhule as their next head coach, especially now that Mike McCarthy has decided to stay an extra couple of days in Dallas. But I'm not so sure that this is as far fetched as most would think. Let me explain.

Belichick knows that Brady's days are numbered. In fact, you could say the entire organization has been holding its breath, hoping to squeeze one more year out of that magic arm. But the sad truth is that after an 8-0 start, the Pats came crashing down to earth. The offense became predictable and one dimensional, and the vaunted defense was simply unable to compensate. Put succinctly, there's nothing more for Belichick to prove here. Even if he retools during the off season, at best he'd still be the coach of a 42 year old quarterback who is doing his best to cheat father time one game at a time. At some point, reality is going to set in and hit this franchise hard. Belichick knows this, and deep down so do the millions of diehard fans in New England.

With the Giants, Belichick would have the opportunity to mold another young quarterback and rebuild a defense that once upon a time put the fear of God in opposing offenses. He'd also have Saquon Barkley in the backfield instead of Sony Michel. And if the current crop of receivers the Giants have manages to stay healthy for an entire season, Daniel Jones will have a nice arsenal of targets to throw to in 2020. Sterling Shepard may not be Julian Edelman, but he's younger and faster.

They say you can't go home. I beg to differ. I think if you subjected Bill Belichick to a lie detector test, you'd learn that he would jump at the chance to come back to his old stomping grounds and return Big Blue to the promised land. And if you did the same thing to both John Mara and Steve Tisch, you'd learn that, despite all their protestations to the contrary, nothing would give them greater satisfaction.

Twenty years ago, Bill Belichick shocked the football world. I wouldn't put it past him to do it again.

Gettleman Can't Afford To Screw Up This Next Decision

The question was never whether Pat Shurmur deserved to be fired; the question was why he was ever hired in the first place. With the possible exception of Ray Handley and Ben McAdoo, no Giants head coach was more in over his head than Shurmur. He's proof positive that not ever assistant coach turns out to be a Bill Belichick.

And that's why Dave Gettleman's next decision - naming his replacement - is the most important one he's made since he became GM. I won't mince words here. Gettleman should've been shown the door along with Shurmur on Monday. He's as much to blame for the sorry state this franchise is in as his sad sack of a head coach; more so, since he was the one who hired him and then saddled him with least talented bunch of players this side of Miami.

But the fact is John Mara didn't want to pull the trigger, so Gettleman gets one more shot to get this right. And for the sake of Big Blue, he'd better not screw it up. If he does, the organization might never recover.

Now that Ron Rivera has signed with the Redskins and Jerry Jones seems unwilling to fire Jason Garrett - go figure - there are several intriguing candidates the Giants could consider. I'll go through them in order of preference.

Mike McCarthy. The former Green Bay head coach guided the Packers to a Super Bowl title in the 2010 season and the best record in the NFC the following year before getting upset by the Giants in the divisional round. He has the experience and temperament needed to turn this franchise around and his no-nonsense approach will bring badly needed discipline to the locker room. He employs a west-coast offense, so if he's hired you can expect that Saquon Barkley will see a lot of play-action passes. The only red flag is his relationship with Aaron Rodgers. It led to his firing.

Matt Rhule. Currently the head coach at Baylor, he's turned around two programs and got his team all the way to the Sugar Bowl this year before losing to Georgia. The smart money is on him, but he's on record as saying he plans on remaining at Baylor. At least he has some head coaching experience, and he does know the organization having been offensive line coach under Tom Coughlin in 2012.

Josh McDaniels. He bailed on the Colts two years ago after agreeing to be their head coach, so any potential suitor would do well to be wary of hiring him. Still, as Patriots' offense coordinator, he does have a pretty impressive resume. Yes, Tom Brady is in a league of his own, but even the best need good coaching.

I think it'll come down to McCarthy or Rhule, and if I were a betting man, I'd put my money on Rhule. He's from New York and he's more of a teacher than McCarthy, something that will help with a young team. Either way, the Giants will wind up with a very good coach who hopefully will restore this franchise to the lofty heights it once enjoyed.

End of an Era.

Before I proceed to slice and dice the New York Giants for the brutal way in which they handled this whole, ugly affair, I wanted to say a few things about Eli Manning first.

With the exception of Lawrence Taylor, who was the best defensive player I ever saw play the game, no one had a bigger or more profound impact on this franchise than number 10. Eli was a class act and a true professional. He's the only quarterback in NFL history who can boast with pride that he beat Tom Brady twice in the Super Bowl. And I'm also pretty sure he's the only quarterback who went into Lambeau Field twice and beat Brett Favre and Aaron Rogers in a playoff game; the former in sub-freezing conditions, the latter against a 15-1 team. Had Jerry Reese done a better job of drafting offensive linemen during his tenure, Manning might well have won a third title, that's how good he was.

Many "critics" have opined about how Manning's skills have deteriorated over the last few years. You try getting your ass pile driven into the turf six, seven, eight times a game and let's see how your skills hold up. The fact that he hasn't missed a game due to injury in his entire 16 year career is nothing short of miraculous, given how little protection he's had the last six seasons. Were it not for Ben McAdoo's decision to bench him for, of all players, Gino Smith in 2017, he would've entered week three of this season having started 233 consecutive games, second only behind Favre. Not bad for a guy the so-called experts said was overrated.

For all the talk about how great the David Tyree and Mario Manningham catches were in Super Bowls 42 and 46 respectively - and they were great - the fact is that it was Manning who delivered both throws. The Manningham ball, in particular, was perfectly placed. Had it been thrown slightly to the left, Manningham would not have been able to catch it; had it been just to the right, it would've been batted away. Without those plays, the Patriots and not the Giants would've won both games. That's why Manning, and not Brady, was the MVP in those contests. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, New England fans.

On behalf of every Giants fan out there, I wanted to say thank you, Eli, for all the great memories. I still have your jersey and I will wear it proudly this Sunday when your team goes up against Tampa. Daniel Jones has some mighty big shoes to fill.

And now onto the main course.

Once more, this franchise botched what should've been a graceful transition. Dave Gettleman's refusal to admit that the Giants were in rebuilding mode when he took control over a year ago, meant that the team was compelled to retain Manning and his $23 million salary going into this season. It's now painfully obvious that he was going to select a quarterback in this year's draft, having passed on one last year. Fine, I have no problem with that. I'll say it again: Saquon Barkley was the best player in the 2018 draft. You don't pass on a generational player like that.

But if Gettleman was determined to choose a quarterback in 2019, he should've jettisoned Manning before the season began and put that money to work where it was sorely needed: the secondary. It was inevitable, given how well Jones performed during the preseason, that he was going to eventually be named the starter. Gettleman could've chosen to do what the Jets did a year earlier: let his number one draft pick learn how to be a successful quarterback under center rather than on the sidelines. I'm not saying the Giants' record would've been any better with Jones as the starter, but at least the expectations would've been set a whole lot lower.

So now this team, with arguably the worst secondary in the league and a front seven that at best is below average, has a $23 million quarterback riding the bench and a rookie quarterback at the helm. And for that, owner John Mara must take full responsibility. It was undoubtedly his call to keep Manning this season, rather than release him and allow him to sign with another NFL team that could've used his services. Imagine Eli taking over the reigns in Pittsburgh, where Ben Roethlisberger is done for the season. Or perhaps landing in Jacksonville to take over for Nick Foles, who is also out for the remainder of the year. How sweet would it have been to see Eli reunited with Tom Coughlin? Now he's forced to sit while Jones starts in his place. If you don't think that's humiliating, you've never watched a football game in your life. There are bench players in this league that are treated better.

Face it: the Giants are the laughing stock of the NFL. Their ownership and G.M. have managed to take a bad football team and somehow make it worse. Going into this season I thought they might go 7-9. As things stand now, they'll be lucky if they match last year's record of 5-11. But one thing's for certain, the man who proudly wore number 10 for 16 seasons had nothing to do with this train wreck. In fact, had his team performed with the same level of professionalism he exhibited game in and game out, I dare say the Giants would be one of the league's premier teams; right up there with the Patriots.

Predicting Where the Giants Will Finish

The last time I made a prediction regarding the Giants was six years ago; let's just say that one didn't turn out so well. I had them in the Super Bowl against the Ravens. The Jints finished 7-9 that year. Oh, well.

That being said, I think that those who are predicting this team will finish 3-13 or 4-12 might be in for a shock. No, I'm not predicting they're going to be in the Super Bowl. I'm not making that mistake again. But I do think they will be better than last year, when they went 5-11. That's because of two factors: one, their schedule is somewhat easier than last year's; two, their offensive line is considerably better than last year's.

And it's the latter that will ultimately determine the fate of this team. I feel bad for Eli Manning. Over the last six seasons he has had to play behind arguably the worst offensive line in the NFL. Think about it: he's the same age as Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger, and he's younger than Tom Brady. Yet no one has asked if any of these quarterbacks are over the hill. That's because the organizations these quarterbacks play for have given each of them the tools they've needed to succeed. The Giants, for some unknown reason, have left Eli out in the cold to fend for himself. And for a man who moves about as fast as glaciers melt, that has spelled disaster for him and his team.

But in the second half of last year, there were signs that this beleaguered offensive line was starting to jell. Both free agent Nate Solder and first year starter Will Hernandez got their legs under them. Eli finally had the time he needed to throw and the team went 4-4. The season finale at Met Life against the Cowboys went down to the wire. Only a last minute touchdown by Cole Beasley saved Dallas from a stunning loss.

This season, the offensive line will be even better with the additions of Kevin Zeitler and Mike Remmers, plus the return of Jon Halapio who broke his leg in week two last season. Granted, it still is ranked only 17th in the league, but given where it was last season, that's saying a lot. When you consider that last year the Giants scored the most points in their division, it's reasonable to assume that this year's team will score even more.

And they will need to. That's because the defense, which was a sieve last season, could be even worse this year. Dave Gettleman's decision to pass on Josh Allen with the 6th overall pick meant they lost an opportunity to draft a premiere pass rusher. Dexter Lawrence, who they took at 17, is good at stopping the run, but is a huge question mark against the pass. With this secondary, if the Jints can't get to the QB, Eli might have to put up 40 points a game just to have a shot at winning.

Overall, though, I like this Giants team's chances more than last year's. Saquon Barkley will improve upon his stellar rookie season and the receiving corps will more than compensate for the loss of Odell Beckham Jr., who is now Cleveland's headache. They should have no problem splitting the first four games, and if they stay healthy, they will be in the playoff hunt going into the last couple of games of the season.

Barring John Mara and Gettleman switching to Daniel Jones halfway through the season, which I don't think is likely given how both feel about Eli, I predict a 7-9 record and a third place finish.

Daniel Jones Has Earned the Right To Start

Before we go any further, let me just reiterate what I wrote back in April. The decision to draft Daniel Jones with the 6th overall pick was a big mistake. By all accounts, not one NFL team had Jones rated that high on their board. The Giants could’ve drafted Josh Allen 6th overall and Jones would’ve still been available at 17. Having said that, and after having seen him in the preseason, it’s clear that of all the quarterbacks taken in the 2019 draft, Jones is by far the best of the lot. It’s not even close.

Just look at the stats. After 3 preseason games, Jones’s passer rating of 140 is off the charts. He has completed an astounding 83.3 percent of his passes, going 25 of 30 for 369 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Compare and contrast him with Dwayne Haskins – the quarterback everyone wanted the Giants to take. He’s completed just 22 of 41 passes – a 53.7 completion percentage - for 305 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions and a passer rating of just 66.

And Jones has looked good both in the pocket as well as in the shotgun. He has thrown the deep ball well, which was a huge question mark with him, and more importantly, he has thrown the ball where only his receivers can catch it; a feat that Eli Manning still hasn’t mastered after 15 seasons. The kid has handled himself better than could be expected, given the controversy surrounding his drafting. If there’s such a thing as ice water in a person’s veins, Jones’s nickname should be Mr. Freeze.

Based on his performance, he has earned the right to start the regular season under center. Yes I know Manning is the starter, and yes I know he’s getting paid over $23 million. You don’t pay that kind of money to a bench player. But let’s be honest here for a moment. Unless Eli and the Giants get off to a fast start, you and I both know the boo birds will be chanting “We want Jones” every incomplete pass or interception Eli throws. Do Dave Gettleman and Pat Shurmur – not to mention John Mara and Steve Tisch – really want that nightmare hanging over this team the entire year. Face it, if the plan is to not sign Eli for 2020, then it’s only a matter of time before the kid takes over the reigns. The longer this drags out, the more painful it will be for all involved.

Loyalty is a good thing; and this franchise has certainly been loyal to Eli. And he has repaid that loyalty by being a good soldier. But there comes a point where loyalty has to take a back seat to common sense. If Jones had had, say, an average preseason like Haskins, then I would say sit him for a year and let Eli play out the string. But Jones has had anything but an average preseason. In fact, he’s been exceptional. With a revamped offensive line in front of him, the best running back in the league in Saquon Barkley behind him and a number of talented receivers who are more than capable, Jones will have plenty of weapons at his disposal. It’s not like he’s going to be Kyler Murray out there.

Deep down, Manning knows the end is near. 15 years ago, he was the new kid on the block who took over for a Super Bowl winning quarterback. Now the shoe is on the other foot. Football, like all other sports, is a business. And that business can be cruel and exacting. But it is what it is. Mara’s responsibility, first and foremost, is not to consider the feelings of any one player, but to look after the long-term interests of the team. And those long-term interests are best served by making Jones the starter now.

This Thursday, Jones will start against the Patriots in the last preseason game. It'll be the toughest test of his brief NFL career. If he continues to perform the way he has so far, Shurmur will be faced with the toughest decision of his coaching career.

Look, what Eli Manning has done for this franchise is incalculable and will be hard, if not impossible, to replicate. After all, it isn't every quarterback who can boast that he beat Tom Brady twice in the Super Bowl. Those accomplishments notwithstanding, he shouldn't be allowed to determine when he rides off into the sunset.

The Last Word on Giants' Draft

Dave Gettleman has a message for Giants' fans who are criticizing him for choosing Daniel Jones with the 6th overall pick in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft: "In three years we'll find out how crazy I am." With all due respect to Gettleman, I don't think it'll take three years.

I'll say it again, there's no excuse for picking Jones at 6. The suggestion by Gettleman that there were two teams that would've drafted Jones ahead of the Giants at 17 is absurd and simply not supported by the available evidence. Apart from the Giants, there were four teams that were looking for a quarterback. The Cardinals took Kyler Murray with the number 1 pick. The Broncos identified Drew Lock as their quarterback and, after swapping first round picks with the Steelers, took him at 42 (the second round). The Redskins were clearly interested in Dwayne Haskins, and when the Giants passed on him, took him at 15. And the Dolphins were so enamored of the current crop of QBs that they were in negotiations with the Cardinals to acquire Josh Rosen, last year's overall 10th pick. Spoiler alert: the Fish got the best QB not named Murray.

I'm well aware of the fact that Gil Brandt thinks Jones is the second coming of Peyton Manning. Know what? I was convinced my Acura ILX was just a cheaper version of a BMW 328. It isn't and it never will be. But at least it isn't a Toyota Tercel. Considering Brandt has been out of football for more than three decades, I'll rely on the expertise of professionals who realize that the league has moved on from the '80s.

The fact is Gettleman committed two cardinal sins: the first is he severely overvalued Jones. Not one team or analyst had him ranked in the top ten. Most had him pegged anywhere from a late first rounder to a late second rounder. The fact that Lock, who is considered a much better passer, went at 42 is proof that the league was not overly impressed with this year's class. But the second sin might be even worse. Gettleman appears to have been bidding against himself. Like a customer who talks himself into a buying a car that he fears won't be there if he waits, Gettleman pulled the trigger sooner than he needed to, and as a result, he lost out on an opportunity to draft arguably the second best player in the draft in order to grab a player who might not start for another two to three years; a player that would've still been there at 17, perhaps even at 37.

Astonishing. A man with, as he so "eloquently" put it, such an impressive resume, ostensibly panicked and, in the process, might very well have set his team back five years or more. Compare and contrast Gettleman's draft with that of Denver's John Elway. Elway had traded for Joe Flacco during the off season, yet still felt he needed to draft a quarterback. But rather than panic, he bided his time and, on his terms, got the player he wanted at the slot he was worth. That's how you draft in this league. The first round of the draft is typically reserved for players who can make an immediate and positive impact on your team, not for projects like Jones and situational players like Dexter Lawrence.

In 1979, the Giants drafted a little known quarterback from Morehead State named Phil Simms with the 7th overall pick. Those who attended the draft were quoted as saying, "Phil who?" Seven years later "Phil Who" led the Jints to victory in Super Bowl XXI. Dave Gettleman thinks he will be vindicated the same way then GM George Young eventually was.

There's just one small problem with Gettleman's logic. Young didn't pass on someone like Josh Allen when he chose Simms. Indeed, the Bears, picking 4th, drafted Dan Hampton, one of the best defensive ends to ever play the game, and part of that vaunted 1985 Super Bowl defense that led the league. Before his career is over, Allen could well eclipse Hampton, that's how good a player he is.

Think about that, Giants fans, when Daniel Jones makes his Giants debut and Allen is already a three-time all pro.