When he took the job as the offensive coordinator in January 2020, Jason Garrett may have thought he heard the last of the boos from the New York Giants fans he encountered twice a season for years. Likewise, that he reached the end of eight years of drama and constant criticism for his underperforming leadership that came with being under the lens of head coach of “America’s Team”.
Little did he know, he was leaving his Dallas chapter, after being fired in 2018 by the Cowboys, for an even more passionate football city in New York, where nobody is given an inch and everything is earned. Thus, with the way the Giants’ offense has underperformed through a season and three weeks under his tenure, the struggles have only continued and the heat against his back intensified.
For a former head coach who saw the Giants’ opening as a dream job, given that he played with the organization as a quarterback from 2000-2003, clocking in as the team’s offensive coordinator has not turned out to be a joyous affair for Jason Garrett. Since taking over last season, the Giants offense has ranked in the very bottom of the league in numerous categories, including 31st in points per game in 2020 (17.5). Garrett has also borne the brunt of heavy criticism for his boring schemes and questionable play calling in critical moments of games, some of which has limited the team’s capabilities and cost them wins.
Both of these issues–an inability to score points and strange strategies–have reared their ugly heads in the Giants first two contests of the season. First in Week 1, the offense was held to just seven points for almost the entirety of the game by a good, but not top 5, Denver Broncos defense. It took Daniel Jones scoring on a short quarterback keeper on a meaningless final play of the game to put New York in double digits and make the end result somewhat respectable.
Then last Thursday in Washington, an interception by corner James Braberry in Washington territory set Garrett’s offense up at the 20 yard line with a perfect opportunity to score six and put the Football Team’s hopes to rest. With four downs at his disposal and clock to burn, Garrett instructed Jones to run two handoffs to Saquon Barkley that went nowhere before an incomplete pass on third down sent the Giants away with only three points for the fifth drive of the game.
That drive being the most important, and we all saw what happened next.
With the 2021 season being one where numerous members of the Giants organization are on the hot seat if wins do not matriculate, Garrett could soon be joining the party if he doesn’t get the offense rolling with the chest of talent, including a mobile quarterback in Daniel Jones, at his disposal.
Yet, whether Garrett keeps his job at the end of the season, if not through it, may depend on more than just the record in the standings or the stat cards on Sunday. A larger issue surrounding Garrett became apparent on Thursday night when cameras caught a concerning interaction between him and a player on the Giants sideline that could impact his job security.
The trust of his players.
During the primetime week 2 loss to Washington, broadcast cameras focused on wide receiver Kenny Golladay when he appeared to be having a heated conversation with another member of the Giants on the sideline. At the time, the presumption from the sports media world was that Golladay, the team’s $72 million receiver, was giving his angry two cents to Jones because the quarterback happened to be within the frame and talking at the same time.
However, when he addressed the media on Monday afternoon, Golladay made it clear that his emotional exchange was between him and “JG”. He also stated that it had nothing to do with his targets through two weeks.
“Pretty much just me just talking to [Jason Garrett] a little bit,” Golladay said. “That is two competitive guys right there. More so just me wanting to do anything I can. Not so much get me the ball more.”
Head coach Joe Judge did his very best to drag the media attention off the spectacle they were trying to make out of the confrontation. Understanding the tendencies to create perceptions around teams that are struggling, he said there is nothing but passionate and competitive ballers within his locker room.
“Look, I’d say in terms of — you guys asked me the other night about Kenny, there was no argument on the sideline. There was no him versus Daniel or anything of that nature. This is a guy that in the heat of the moment, you speak very passionately,” Judge said. “You kind of speak with some emotion. I speak with emotion on the sideline. There was no blowup or anything that has to be made of it.
“I understand sometimes the perceptions will be what they are, but like I said the other day, there’s no issue there.”
Golladay even made a point to say that his emotions simply got the best of him in the heat of the moment.
“It was a division game, and I wanted to leave that spot with a win. That’s the main thing.”
Even if the situation is given the benefit of the doubt as a simply passionate moment on the field, it’s hard for Golladay or anyone to deny that the Giants offense hasn’t included their #1 receiver enough in their weekly schemes. For that matter, to deny that the offense behind Garrett has been nothing short of mediocre.
As a Detroit Lion, Kenny Golladay was the #1 target, for reasons pertaining to his length and play making ability in the open field. Given these things, Golladay became an instant star who racked up consecutive 1000+ seasons in 2018 and 2019 to go along with a combined 13 touchdowns.
Sure it has only been two games, but since joining the Giants, Golladay has been targeted very little. In Thursday’s loss to Washington, Golladay finished with three catches for 38 yards that included a key drop late in the game. Through the two weeks, he’s only collected seven catches for 102 yards.
Kadarius Toney has been another Giants receiver who outsiders believe is upset with his production and involvement in the offense through two weeks, something which Joe Judge said he spoke to the rookie first round pick about. Toney has only played 17 snaps and secured two touches since returning to the team from injury during spring and training camp practices.
The Giants and Jason Garrett have these offensive pieces at their disposal thanks to some good recruitment work by Dave Gettleman and the front office, but they must find a way to implement them all into the offense so that it becomes less predictable and more productive. Sure, week 2 against Washington was not a poor offensive outing for Daniel Jones or the team, who produced over 400 yards of total offense and 29 points despite 12 of those points coming on field goals. With that performance included, the Giants are still trailing their opponents in many important offensive categories, including but not limited to points per game, touchdowns, passing completions, passing yards, and total offensive plays per game.
A lot of this has to do with a porous offensive line that has plagued the team for seasons, but another share falls on Jason Garrett and his playcalling which we saw just as recently as last week. Some of his Cowboys demons appear to be following him to New York, and Garrett hasn’t found the answer to make his offense less vanilla and compete for a division title in one that is the worst in the NFL.
Golladay and the rest of the locker room may be content and back on good terms with their offensive coordinator for now, but that doesn’t mean any further eruptions will not occur if the season continues to slip in the wrong directions for New York. As Golladay mentioned, he’s a competitor that wants to help his team win. The same goes for many other players on the roster, some of which have been through the struggles of the organization post-2016 and want that change under their watch.
The Giants have seen what can happen to the franchise when losing becomes rampant and toxic emotions repeatedly flare up along the sideline and behind closed doors. It’s certainly not pretty, becomes nothing of a media buffet for the local and national newspapers, and tends to lead to changes within the organization and locker room. All of which constitutes another reset which is not what ownership expects of this season.
Thus, as the team gets ready for a Week 3 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, they have another opportunity to turn things around, especially on the offensive side of the ball. The energy will be there, Eli Manning will be in the stadium for his jersey retirement and Giants’ Hall of Fame enshrinement, and the Falcons are not expected to be going very far this season amid their own turnover from last season which has translated to an 0-2 start this year.
It’s time for Jason Garrett to get creative and have his offense show up on Sunday. If not, the only direction for his image in New York to head is further downward, and the heat on his seat will only get hotter.
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