Kevin Gilbride opened his weekly chat with reporters on Thursday by saying, “Shoot, go ahead.” That might not have been the best choice of words for someone as under fire as the Giants offensive coordinator.
After more than 20 years as a coach in the NFL, he can take the heat and readily accepts responsibility for orchestrating an offense that ranks next to last in the NFC in total offense, next to last in rushing yards per game, last in rushing yards per attempt, last in points per game and worst in the NFL with 39 turnovers.
But he doesn’t understand why anyone would single out quarterback Eli Manning for all that has gone wrong when he’s only part of the problem.
“It doesn’t really matter who is being blamed,” Gilbride said. “The bottom line is, we all have to do better. He’s doing the best he can. Could he perform better in some cases? Sure. But could the line have performed better? Sure. Could the receivers have performed better? Sure. Could I have called some plays differently that would have helped him out? Yeah. We’re all contributors to this thing.”
Manning is an easy target after tying a career-high with 25 interceptions this season. But the Giants aren’t going to rid themselves of their franchise quarterback who has won two Super Bowls. It’s Gilbride’s job that might hinge on the Giants’ performance at Detroit on Sunday and in the season finale against the Redskins.
When coach Tom Coughlin and general manager Jerry Reese meet to evaluate how the Giants go forward, Gilbride’s status is certain to come up. If Coughlin remains the head coach, and all indications are he will, then it should be his decision whether to keep Gilbride. They’ve won two Super Bowls together.
But there’s always a chance Reese might have his own ideas. If that’s the case, then it’s a matter of how far Coughlin is willing to go to keep his assistants.
Gilbride, meanwhile, is making it clear the problems on offense are primarily a product of injuries. The offensive line was decimated early with the losses of David Baas, Chris Snee and Jim Cordle. The backfield has been a turnstile with six different backs manning the position, and now the Giants will be without wide receiver Victor Cruz, who will miss the final two games following knee surgery. Jerrel Jernigan will step in as the primary slot receiver.
“We’ve certainly been beaten up in a couple positions that made it hard to get it going,” Gilbride said. “You keep on swinging and keep on preparing, you keep on working as hard as you can and you hope you’ve done enough to give your guys the preparation and encouragement and a plan that they can go out and have a chance to be successful.”
Gilbride said the injuries have made “a challenge” to piece together a productive offense. The Giants were shut out 23-0 by the Seahawks last week after a 37-14 loss at San Diego. But he insists the blame for this dreadful season doesn’t start and stop with the quarterback.
“I always feel badly because certain positions get singled out because everybody is always looking to assign blame,” he said. “But it’s not as simple as that. On one play somebody could have done a little better and on the next play someone else could have done a little bit better. Bottom line is, we have to do well enough to win a games.”
Manning has been vocal about his support of Gilbride, saying, “I definitely don’t want change.” But change could come if the Giants offense doesn’t improve over these last two games.