EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ: There was a lotta debate on Monday about whether the Jets or the Giants are more of a clown show. Tough season for your NY football squadrons. To say things have gone sideways would not be accurate, as things have gone straight downhill for both. I’m not gonna weigh in on that debate, but it sure has been a rough week for the Giants. Also, Baker Mayfield is fun to watch but his Tommy DeVito “tribute” in the end zone was an amateur hour move.
Hell Week
The Giants went through one of the worst weeks in franchise history. The decisions to franchise Saquon and pay Daniel Jones two seasons ago came to a head and will reverberate in infamy for years to come. These two decisions culminated in Saquon signing with the hated Eagles and Jones getting benched, then cut.
It sure didn’t help matters that Barkley dominated in prime time on Sunday night with about 4000 yards. Or that Xavier McKinney, the other big free agent the Giants let walk, just had his seventh interception of the season. Meanwhile, the Giants tied a record with their 10th straight game without one. Nor did it help that a reported ten teams inquired about signing the discarded Jones. Talk about getting kicked in the balls while you’re down. Repeatedly. With a hammer.
Arguing which NY team is in worse shape is like arguing who is the cutest rat in the subway. There is no winner. But the fact that there is even a debate after the week the Giants had is hard to believe.
History Repeating Itself
This season is reminiscent of the Joe Judge Era, when management said Judge would be back the next season, but things went so horribly wrong in the last few games that he ended up getting canned anyway. It also reminds me of the Ben McAdoo Era, when things started so well with a playoff appearance and then the wagon completely fell apart.
The Giants are in a horrifying, Groundhog Day death spiral.
Baker the Troll
Piling on to the misery was Baker Mayfield in an ass whooping in Jersey. I enjoyed Baker Mayfield’s downfield block and appreciate his high energy play as much as anyone. But when he did the Tommy DeVito hand gesture thing in the end zone and said it was a tribute after, I call bs. That was a punk move. They cut to DeVito on the sideline, and he was all “what did I do?” It’s not a tribute to aggressively mock your overmatched opponent. The gator doesn’t celebrate when he eats a helpless chicken.
The Giants are in free-fall. They were a boulder sitting on the edge of a cliff for the Buccaneers. All that was needed to win the game was a gentle nudge.
It’s not that the Bucs are a rival of the Giants or that Baker has an axe to grind with them. When you beat a team that’s lined up for the first pick in the draft, you should act like you expected to win. You would never see Tom Brady fired up for a nearly meaningless touchdown against a 2-8 team.
That’s it for me. Come back tomorrow for Ward, Angry.
