Former Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes was in attendance at MetLife Stadium this past weekend when New York honored the 10th anniversary of the Super Bowl XLVI championship team, but once the 2021 Giants took the field, it was hard to think about the good old days.
All the Giants had on Sunday was the crutch of past accomplishments, as the team allowed 28 points in the second quarter in an eventual 38-11 blowout loss to the Rams.
“You’d have to think they’d play with a little more heart with that NY on their helmet and us being there and a home game, I don’t know,” Tynes tol Danielle McCartan on Wednesday night. “It just looked very bad.”
It hasn’t looked great for New York in general in recent years, now 1-5 on the season and owners of the league’s worst winning percentage since 2017. Tynes had an up-close view of that on Sunday, while celebrating one of the last great Giants teams for a franchise that has been sliding downhill ever since.
“I just don’t know how much pride people have in playing for the Giants,” Tynes said. “This new age of players. When I was there…there was just this huge sense of pride. I played for the New York Football Giants. There’s nothing cooler in the world.
“They gotta figure it out. The losing has been happening for just way too long.”
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New York appeared committed to ending the years of losing by dropping nearly $200 million in upgrades this past offseason, but it hasn’t translated onto the field, and the fans have been showing their frustration. Co-owner Jon Mara was booed earlier in the year during Eli Manning’s jersey retirement ceremony, and the team was booed again on Sunday.
“Listen, I feel the pain,” Tynes said. “I’m a fan now…it’s just not good. There’s a lot of money being spent there…and to put something like that on the field, especially when we were there, I don’t know, something needs to change.”
As for the current Giants, defensive tackle Leonard Williams took exception to the booing on Sunday, something Tynes criticized immediately on his own podcast before doubling down in his conversation with Danielle.
“It’s only gonna get worse now…the next time they don’t play well, they’re gonna boo even harder,” Tynes said. “Play better. You make $21 million a year, play better. We can boo. Everyone can boo that paid their hard-earned money to come into that stadium and watch you play.”
The entire Giants team needs to play better as they appear to be heading for a lost season, one that started with promise after making numerous upgrades on both sides of the ball. But the losing continues, and even a trip down Memory Lane with Tynes and company wasn’t enough to bring back any winning ways. And right now, there doesn’t seem to be an immediate way out of their current tailspin.
“I don’t know what it is,” Tynes said. “The message from Joe Judge or somebody is not getting across to those 52 players. I don’t care how many injuries you have, you just don’t go out there and lay an egg like that. It just seemed like they almost didn’t want to play.”
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