Giants' Distractions Still Plague Coughlin, Players
By Curt Macysyn
In all likelihood, New York Giants' head coach Tom Coughlin was looking forward to the regular season with more gusto than usual. With an off season of turmoil and a preseason full of injuries. the veteran coach wanted to transition from amateur psychologist and athletic trainer, back to football coach. But after a crazy ending to Sunday night's loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Coughlin ended up wearing another hat this week, that of spin doctor. With the Atlanta Falcons (1-0), fresh off an upset victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, coming to town to face Big Blue in their home opener, Coughlin has his work cut out for him in his quest to maintain the focus of his reeling troops.
Imperfect Finish
Regardless of what happened in the aftermath of the stunning loss to the Dallas Cowboys, play-calling and clock management were sure to be topics in the post-game interviews and beyond, and rightfully so. One did not need to be a seasoned NFL analyst to see what befell the Giants in the final five minutes of the contest. The most simplistic analysis continues to be that a team ahead by ten points with five minutes remaining should vanquish their opponent.
The truth of the matter is that there were any number of contributing factors jammed into the final five that any sports talk show host could have taken the full week to dissect. There was a curious squib kick after the field goal, and there was the third-down and goal pass play call (where Daniel Fells was obviously held, but no one is focusing on that). There were missed assignments galore on defense in the final five, as well as questionable personnel on the field, which would have been regurgitated left and right even if the Giants won the game. They lost, however, in heart wrenching fashion, and the outcome, and how it occurred, became low lying fruit for the media.
When head coach Tom Coughlin met with reporters on Monday, he said, "The third and one play, which I again take responsibility for—it should have been a run, it wasn't. The throwing the ball away created the stoppage of the clock." Without what happened next, the story line might have finished there, and Coughlin and his team could have moved onto focusing on the Atlanta Falcons.
Waylay Jennings
What came next was a double-dip from Rashad Jennings that was nothing short of throwing gasoline on the fire. "As a running back, it's really tough when they tell you not to score," Jennings said. In the heat of the battle, and after a gut wrenching defeat, Jennings may have been given a small pass for his indiscretion. In Jacksonville or Oakland, Jennings previous NFL stops, this slip of the tongue may have gotten the veteran tailback some unwanted attention. In the media capital of the world, the story continued to write itself, especially after Jennings doubled-down with his story in a confirmation to ESPN.com reporter Dan Graziano the next day.
With the confirmation of the cryptic quote from the source, poor on-field decision and horrible clock management, both Coughlin and quarterback Eli Manning were called upon to fill in the blanks, which became the team's focus on Monday and Tuesday, as the burgeoning Huddle-gate crisis continued to spin out of control. At this point no one knows for certain why Jennings uttered the initial quote, so the next day's confirmation becomes more of a head-scratcher.
The Apology
Luckily for the Giants, well not really, Rashad Jennings just happens to be writing a column this season for the New York Post. And surprise, his first column was a full blown "apology" to Manning and Coughlin for tossing them under the bus after the Dallas game. Jennings' apology started this way, "First of all, let me say that I want to apologize from my heart for the negative light that I unintentionally cast my quarterback and friend Eli Manning in. I continue to have the utmost respect for him, and I have complete trust in his leadership."
The use of the word "unintentional" is curious. If Jennings' comments were limited to Sunday night, then his explanation may be plausible. But since Jennings went back to the scene of the crime the very next day, the situation turned from possibly unintentional to fully intended. Truthfully, Jennings had the opportunity to walk back the comments on Monday, but he did not. End of story.
Finally, no apology is fully complete without pointing out to everyone that you got it wrong, not me. Of course, Jennings words were taken out of context because why would he say such things? In this case, Jennings did not disappoint us.
"It is a strange and unwelcome feeling I have that after all these years as a professional football player, I finally get to experience the other side of how words can be misconstrued," Jennings said. From any logical vantage point, Jennings' words were an accurate reflection of his feelings because there is no possible way to misconstrue what he had to say. The caveat about experiencing the "other side" lends nothing to his apology, in fact, it takes away from its sincerity.
In the aggregate, with the apology now factored into the equation, this story will likely have an additional shelf life or another day or two, despite the fact that Tom Coughlin is now channeling his inner Bill Belichick.
This Week With JPP - Not!
For those Giants' fans who look at the glass as being half-full, consider this: the clock management, poor on-field decisions, Jennings' slip of the tongue, Manning and Coughlin rebuttals and subsequent Jennings' apology, have kept the Jason Pierre-Paul saga on the back page, somewhat, this week. Unfortunately, the reports continue to not be good, and the idea that Pierre-Paul will suit up for the Giants this season becomes more and more unlikely by the week.
In another report, sources said that, "Pierre-Paul had a repair procedure performed on his right middle finger three days before the New York Giants examined his hand last week. The condition of that finger and the fact that the defensive end also is missing the tip of his thumb and his entire index finger has led to some increased pessimism among team decision-makers about his prognosis."
Since Pierre-Paul did not sign his franchise tender, the Giants do not currently have any money tied up in the 26-year old defensive end. On the other hand, Pierre-Paul was given the franchise tag by the Giants with an expectation that he would be a key performer for the team in 2015. Never say never, but logic would seem to dictate that Pierre-Paul forget what is left of 2015 and focus on 2016.
Curt Macysyn has been covering the New York Football Giants for the past four seasons for Examiner.com, and he is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). Born and raised in New Jersey, Curt attended Seton Hall Prep School in South Orange, N.J. and is a graduate of Rutgers University - New Brunswick. Follow him on Twitter @CurtMac23 for the latest NFL and New York Giants news.