As the media and masses converge on Atlanta for the Super Bowl, we who are in and around the Big Apple may wonder when America's biggest game might feature one of our squads.
Be patient.
For some time, Giants fans feasted on the two Super Bowl wins they got at the expense of the Patriots, even years after they happened. Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning found the cheat code for an otherwise unbeatable football program. For those two wins, Big Blue and the Big Apple have had a smirk every time they saw the Pats jousting for a Lombardi Trophy.
But since Eli made that impossible throw to Mario Manningham, the cupboards around the Meadowlands have been bare. In seven years since that play, the Giants have had just two winning seasons, have only made the playoffs once - a game they lost 38-13 - and have an aggregate record of 47-65. Since that enchanted 2011 run, the championship players have melted from the roster, Coughlin got fired, and Eli Manning has gotten old.
The Giants have tried two more head coaches, with woeful results. Ben McAdoo was canned and Pat Shurmur produced a 5-11 record in his maiden season. Their best player, Odell Beckham Jr, was a choirboy for a few months last summer, just long enough to sign his big contract, then returned to his loud, narcissistic form.
Joining Big Blue in the line of forlorn NFL franchises is Gang Green. While the Giants have been to five Super Bowls since 1986, the Jets have been to none since 1969. Since the Giants reached their last Super Bowl, the Jets have gone 42-70. Yet the Jets may have the more promising future. With a young franchise QB in Sam Darnold, a new coach in Adam Gase, the third overall pick in the NFL Draft, and pockets bulging with $100 million in cap cash, the Jets have to feel like the more promising franchise right now.
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If you can look past his bug-eyed opening presser as HC of the NYJ, Gase may work out for the Jets. Beyond Darnold the Jets have some promising skill players, and also have an anchor on the defensive line (Leonard Williams) and perhaps the best young safety in the sport (Jamal Adams). Teams aren't nearly as scared to spend their way to the top. Two years ago the Eagles splurged on trades and free agents and then won the whole thing
Meanwhile, the 2018 Rams feature three new players who have reputations for being disruptive, if not destructive, to their employers. Yet they made it rain on Aqib Talib, Marcus Peters, and Ndamukong Suh. Then they acquired the high-end wideout, Brandin Cooks - from their opponents in the Super Bowl, ironically - and here they are. Despite the bloated payroll, the overflow of ego, and undeniable inexperience at HC and QB, the Rams are four quarters from winning Super Bowl LIII.
So if Jets CEO Chris Johnson allows GM Mike Macagnan to spend the quid, then they can turn this tanker around much faster than their MetLife roommates can. The Giants need a quarterback before Eli's arm falls off, need to fortify and leaky offensive line, and tweak a defense that has gotten soft. The Jets share some issues with the Giants, but if you look at both squads with objective eyes, the Jets are far closer to those Roman numerals than the Giants.
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So if you can forgive his first public appearance as Jets head coach, when he resembled those other creatures descending upon Georgia (the kind sure to have their heads split open by Rick Grimes), Gase is one of the pillars every successful team needs. Beyond bad draft picks and poor contracts, the Jets also had a void in leadership, a major chasm in the chain of command. This coach hates that GM, or the reverse.
The Jets may have fixed their faulty wiring among the brass. With one fine offseason, they can morph into contenders, if not winners. The Giants are a bit more complicated. Big Blue easily has the more glorious past. Maybe it's time for Gang Green to have the more glamorous future.
