The New York Giants are 1-5 for the second straight year under Joe Judge, albeit under slightly different circumstances – they started 0-5 last year before a Week 6 win, while this year’s win came in Week 4.
There’s another big difference right now, as well; as Leonard Williams noted in the postgame media session Sunday, the team started 1-5 last year but came within a Philly win over Washington from winning the NFC East.
This year, though, Dallas is already 5-1, two wins away from the total the division champion Washington Football Team had in 2020, with an extra game this season on top of that.
A tough road ahead, but the Giants won’t quit.
“We’re coming back and going to work on Wednesday, because we have things to improve on. We have to get bodies and minds right because there’s a lot of football to be played,” Judge said after Sunday’s game. “Our goal is to go 1-0 every week and get better every week. The big picture is how we handle next week – how we prepare and how we execute. We have faith in all those guys in that locker room to come in and do their jobs.”
The head coach noted that the team is “good in meetings, good in practice, and competes hard,” but right now, results aren’t showing it.
True, they have two last-second losses, but both of those are to two-win teams, and their other three losses are by a combined score of 109-44.
“I don’t see anything in the way guys are approaching it. There’s things you have to do along the way and in execution,” Judge said. “We make adjustments every week, and it comes down to how we call the game as coaches and the responsibilities we give internally. We have to look at how guys played and put the best 11 on the field to have success in every situation.”
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“It hasn’t reached our expectations, and the results haven’t added up to our work ethic,” defensive back Logan Ryan added. “I’m not embarrassed because I gave my max effort, but it’s unacceptable.”
Ryan admitted that morale isn’t “great” right now in the Giants’ locker room, and that’s understandable, but it’s a team-wide issue, not a team turning on each other.
“We have a unified locker room no matter how it looks. Morale is going to be what it as at 1-5; I can’t say it’s great, but we don’t have selfishness or splinters,” Ryan said. “Guys all believe we’re better and want to do better. As a competitor, you get mad when you lose, but we don’t have that type of cancerous locker room.
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The Giants somewhat proved that by how they played after halftime in Sunday’s loss, when they were down 28-3 at the break. Judge challenged them to go out and show fight, and to a man, everyone who spoke after the game spoke to how that’s exactly what happened.
“He basically said your spots aren’t guaranteed, and we’ll see a lot on tape about who you are when the chips are down and you need to respond to adversity,” Ryan said of Judge’s halftime message. “The effort is great but our execution isn’t going to win the game, because that’s all that matters.”
Ryan can speak to how things can turn around, as he was on the Tennessee team a couple years back that started 2-4 and ended up in the AFC Championship Game, but that rise also coincided with some serious organizational changes, most notably at quarterback.
That won’t happen in New York – Judge was adamant that Daniel Jones is the guy, and his foibles aren’t necessarily all his fault – but it’s going to take some soul-searching from all 53-plus on the roster.
“We have to play with heart; you look at the scoreboard and can start to get down, but one thing we’ve talked about is fighting no matter what the situation is, and it starts with communicating to the guys that we can’t give up on each other and start pointing fingers,” Sterling Shepard said. “I’ve been on teams where that has happened, and it can go downhill and snowball fast. We have to keep each others’ heads up and keep the energy high.”
“No one in this locker room is going to give up on each other,” Williams added. “Everybody has been grinding and I don’t question anyone’s work ethic, we just have to find a way to execute.”
Williams, for one, was also salty about the team being booed by fans at MetLife on Sunday, but to be fair, someone pointed out that in six-plus seasons in the league, Williams’ teams have won barely one-third of their games, and his only winning season came with the 10-6 Jets his rookie year.
“As a competitor, it’s upsetting that I’m in year seven and seen a lot of losing, and haven’t been to the playoffs yet. A long career in this league is 10-12 years and I’m halfway there,” Williams said. “I want to start seeing the tables turn and start winning, but I’m not pointing fingers and blaming everyone. I look at myself in the mirror first, and wonder how much more I can do. I love the fight this team has.”
Added Ryan succinctly: “It’s not good for anyone inside or outside the building, or the fans. We have to try to change that one step at a time.”
So there will be no quit in the Giants, but even Judge acknowledges that while everyone is working hard, it’s going to take all of them working harder to prevent another season lost.
“There’s a lot of ball left to be played, so to turn around and start tapping out now – we’re not going to quit, and anyone who has a woe is me mentality, what did you think would happen?” Judge said. “This is the NFL.
You have to play better than your opponent for 60 minutes every week to have success. These guys empty the tank and work hard, but better results on Sundays are a mix of factors. We don’t have a room full of guys looking to next year and waiting for someone to come in and save us. Someone on the ship has to step up.”
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