Too many of us have been too easy on the Giants this year (guilty as charged).
How else can you explain the complete lack of public outrage for the mess they’ve made en route to 5-8 and a likely first losing season since 2004 — the first year with the team for both coach Tom Coughlin and quarterback Eli Manning?
How else can you explain the lack of widespread disgust after watching them lose their first six games while not even looking competitive for most of that stretch, and then Sunday in San Diego where, during and after falling behind 24-0 in the first half, they looked disinterested?
Too many of us have been too quick to give the Giants a free pass because of the two Super Bowls they won in the previous six seasons.
But at what point do you begin to question what has gone wrong with this team, which will endure its fourth January without a playoff berth in the last five years?
Can you imagine the rabid reaction the Jets would have elicited if it had been them being humiliated Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium the way the Chargers abused the Giants?
Here’s a Rex Ryan guarantee regarding that: The Jets would be taking a public pummeling, with everything about their program, beginning with Ryan and rookie quarterback Geno Smith, being questioned, and with demands major changes take place, beginning with Ryan and Smith.
This is not to say Coughlin should be fired (which he won’t be) or Manning should be sent to the bench in favor of rookie draft pick Ryan Nassib — though that might not be a bad idea for at least a game before the end of the season to give Nassib some NFL experience and see what he has got.
But what’s the deal with these Giants?
Sure, they’ve endured some injury problems, with defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul’s production diminished following offseason back surgery, the offensive line losing two starters early on, starting running back David Wilson lost, though he was untested to begin with. They lost their starting middle linebacker, Dan Connor, to injury at the start of the season, but they traded for Jon Beason, who’s even better.
Most importantly, the Giants have had Manning for every snap this season, along with his top three receivers, Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks and Rueben Randle for the most part, and yet they’re still one game worse than the Jets, who are 6-7 with Smith at quarterback having looked lost for most of the season and with no star receivers to throw to.
So here are the Giants, already eliminated from playoff contention (the first time since 2004 they’re closed out before the final week of the season) while the Jets travel to Carolina Sunday still playing for a postseason berth.
Here are the Giants “playing for pride’’ in these last three games, beginning with 11-2 Seattle Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
For a competitor, there is not a more empty and distasteful phrase than “playing for pride.’’ What that really means is you’re playing for nothing. This is the bitter pill the Giants will be forced to swallow these last three weeks.
“Pride should always serve as the motivator [and] obviously at this point it’s all you play for … this team isn’t one that is going to crumble inside,’’ Cruz said Monday.
“The things we have to remember and understand [and] what we’re going to continue to preach in the locker room is this is a prideful organization,’’ linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka said. “We have a lot to play for. Every time you take the field you’re representing yourself, your family, your team and your city — in that order.’’
With his team in this unusual circumstance, Coughlin has been peppered with questions about how his players will respond to three weeks of garbage time — even from some people associated with the team.
“I was asked [Sunday] night on the plane by just interested people,’’ Coughlin said. “We have to deal with reality. I’ve used the word ‘respect’ that we can gain and earn back by virtue of how we play in these last three games. That’s all we can possibly think about right now.’’
Because of the credit the Giants have accrued with those Super Bowls, it’s easy to believe in those words from Cruz, Kiwanuka and Coughlin. But I’m wary of being guilty as charged yet again and cannot help but wonder if this season is going to become even uglier before it’s over.