Both local teams are 0-2 and a woeful 0-2 at that.
The Jets proved their woeful status on Sunday against the Oakland Raiders, a game that had Marshawn Lynch dancing on the sidelines in a wickedly talented display.
The Giants joined the putrid status with an embarrassing loss on Monday night to the Detroit Lions, the second straight week that Big Blue proved to be Big Pew.
Before the season, we all knew that the Jets would stink. There were some prognosticators who predicted that the Giants would challenge the Lions' 0-16 march of a few years ago, that the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets were headed for a season like they had when Rich Kotite (remember him?) guided Gang Green to a 1-15 mark with Boomer Esiason calling the signals.
So the fact that the Jets are off to such an auspicious start isn't exactly shocking.
However, it sounds as if head coach Todd Bowles is already on nap watch. In his press conferences, Bowles sounds like he's been medicated. He has no emotion. He is monotone. One answer after another, Bowles almost hypnotizes you. If you listen to him speak, make sure to bring the My Pillow and your soft blanket, because you're almost guaranteed to take a siesta.
I don't think I've ever heard a coach speak with less emotion than Bowles.
As for the team, there isn't much to like, except that the players seem to care and seem to be busting their tails. There isn't much talent and clearly Josh McCown is definitely not the answer. It's safe to say that no one in the Jets organization has any use for either Christian Hackenberg or Bryce Petty, because neither seems to be even on the radar at this point.
But we knew all of this before the season began. There was no hope for anything (except for USC's Sam Darnold in the 2018 NFL Draft) in Florham Park.
However, that wasn't the case with the Giants.
In preseason, there was a buzz that the Giants were the elite team in the NFC East, a team that could have legitimate Super Bowl contention written all over them.
Now, two weeks into the season and two stinkers in a row, does anyone still have those glories of grandeur?
There's no way.
Where do we begin?
There's no rushing attack at all. Paul Perkins was thought to be the answer, the next Eric Dickerson. He had 10 yards on seven carries last night and had all of 15 yards against Dallas. Dickerson used to gain 25 yards on his first two carries of a game. Perkins looks as lost as Kim Kardashian's virginity.
Is it me or does it look as if Eli Manning has aged faster than his older brother? Eli looked almost feeble last night and couldn't avoid the Lions' ferocious rush at all.
The wide receivers were supposed to be the best trio in football. But Brandon Marshall dropped two HUGE passes, one that would have been about a 40-yard gain. Sterling Shepard was practically invisible except for one reverse rushing attempt. And the big hype was that Odell Beckham, Jr. would return from his celebrated ankle injury (has there ever been a more overblown sprained ankle than OBJ's was last week?) and save the day and he had a ho-hum four catches. As Derrick Coleman once uttered, "Whoop-dee-damn-do."
At least the defense is very solid. No worries there at all. Even their leading tackler from Week One, B.J. Goodson, goes down with a leg injury and his replacement, undrafted rookie free agent Calvin Munson, looked very good in Goodson's middle linebacker slot. There were times that Jason Pierre-Paul almost over pursued along the line, but that comes from being quick and aggressive and no one will complain about that.
So let's address the huge issue at hand, something that the administration didn't address at all during the off-season. The Giants' offensive line is the humongous albatross hanging around Jerry Reese's neck right now.
I don't think I can remember seeing a line play so poorly for two straight weeks like this conglomeration of nitwits. I think it's safe to say now that Ereck Flowers is a bust. He's a gigantic man who cannot play left tackle to save his life. His footwork is like Herman Munster's. He doesn't get off the ball at all. He stands and watches defensive ends and outside linebackers slide around him and it looks as if Flowers has no clue.
John Jerry is the same. He is about as bad of a guard that has ever played in the NFL. He also doesn't get off the ball at all and is seen just standing there watching his teammates (especially the aging quarterback) to get drilled play after play. Jerry was supposed to be a great run blocker. See Perkins' stats to determine whether Jerry is any good. He was a failure with the Dolphins and he's a failure here.
The biggest concern the team had LAST year was the offensive line and Reese and his crew did nothing to address that issue, just thinking that they could sprinkle some Anthony Munoz magic dust on them and they would become even decent blockers. Right now, the Giants' offensive line couldn't block Justin Bieber.
How could Reese go into the off-season and not even try to improve the Giants' offensive line? They failed to score 20 points in their last six games last year and that streak is now eight after the first two stink bombs. Does Reese not see what the rest of the world does? These guys, the way they are constructed now, cannot block. It's as simple as that.
Two weeks into the season, there are no magic potions to make them any better. And you're not going to find any Orlando Paces on the NFL waiver wire. They have to dance with the mess Reese created _ or failed to create.
The first move has to be to get Flowers out of the crucial left tackle slot. Either bench him or put him at right tackle and move Justin Pugh (a natural guard) to left tackle. There's no choice. Flowers cannot play left tackle any longer. He's a disgrace. Flowers doesn't play football. He clods his way through a game.
And after they make that switch, maybe they can see if either of their other two rookie tackles, Chad Wheeler or Adam Bisnowaty, can slide in and play right tackle. Let's face facts. They cannot be any worse than what Flowers and Jerry showed last night.
Let's now address the general manager. Reese did a great job taking over for football guru Ernie Acorsi when he became the GM and promptly led Big Blue to a Super Bowl victory. But since then, his moves have to be considered questionable.
Other than drafting Beckham (a complete no brainer) and trading up to get Landon Collins in the second round two years ago, what has Reese done? Well, there's one glaring thing Reese didn't do. He didn't improve that offensive line one iota. Reese has to be held accountable.
And then there's the coach, Ben McAdoo, who gets somewhat of a flier because the team won 11 games in his first season.
But now, it appears as if McAdoo's team has been so totally unprepared to start the season. Some of the play calling last night just scratches your head in amazement. Draw plays on third and 11 inside his own 20 yard line are just not going to work. Down 14 points in the fourth quarter, you have to abandon the running game entirely. You're in panic mode. Orleans Darkwa off tackle is not the call to make there.
McAdoo came to the Giants as an offensive wizard who worked with Aaron Rodgers. He was so well liked by the Mara and Tisch contingency that they actually had the nerve to fire a legend like Tom Coughlin and tried to make it look like a retirement. McAdoo was brought in and they bounced a two-time Super Bowl winning coach who still had some fire left in his belly to do so.
Well, how does that move look like now? McAdoo looks lost with this offense and Coughlin was on the field last night holding the Super Bowl trophy and gleaming from ear-to-ear.
McAdoo also appears on the defensive every press conference, like he's afraid of getting criticized. Well, he has to be criticized sharply right now, because his team absolutely stinks. Sure, he stepped up to the podium last night after the game and said that the loss was his fault.
“Put
this game on me,” McAdoo said. “We talk about playing complete,
complementary football. By no stretch of the imagination did we get that
done tonight. We’ve got to do better. No one
feels sorry for us. We’ve got to find a way to get better and get
better in a hurry. Just too many issues. We’ve got
to play and feed off each other and we’re not doing that right now and
I’ve got to find a way to make that work.”
But a lot of this mess falls in McAdoo's lap. They have to take advantage of their speedy receivers, go to more quick short passes and hope they can make a play with their feet. They have to switch up their blocking schemes and personnel up front. They have to hope that the 36-year-old quarterback didn't get old overnight.
Sure, there are 14 games left in the regular season, time to right the ship. After all, the Super Bowl champs that they honored at halftime last night in the 10th anniversary celebration started that season 0-2.
But does anyone in their right mind believe that's going to happen with this group. The Giants look completely lost right now and incredibly are headed in the same downward direction as the other inhabitants of MetLife Stadium. A sad state of affairs indeed for New York's football teams.
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You can read more of my work at www.theobserver.com or www.hudsonreporter.com
