You want to get on Eli Manning after his horrendous five-interception meltdown in the incredibly preventable 16-10 loss to the 49ers? Feel free. He was truly bad. He may have even had the “happy feet all game’’ that rookie linebacker Chris Borland observed. The question is this: Given what Eli sensed was taking place when he nervously glanced over to his right side, can you blame him?
Here’s another prize delivered to the Giants this holiday season from general manager Jerry Reese: Charles Brown, now playing right tackle. Or, more accurately, not playing right tackle.
This is the depth Reese provided for his $100 million franchise quarterback. Yeah, we know, Brown started 14 games last season at left tackle for the Saints, and he’d made 22 starts in his 37 NFL games. He’s 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds, only 27 years old, originally a second-round pick out of USC. Problem is, he can’t play. The Saints had no interest in re-signing him. The Giants got him on the cheap – one year, $730,000 – as insurance for Will Beatty at left tackle.
In the summer, as Beatty healed from a broken leg, Brown had to start in the preseason at left tackle, which is why the Giants couldn’t wait to get Beatty back on the field. At least Brown is better at left tackle than he is at right tackle. Brown was inactive in seven of the first nine games – that’s what the Giants thought of him. When Justin Pugh had to leave early with a strained quad, Brown had to fill in because the actual backup at right tackle, James Brewer, is so bad he cannot even get a uniform on game day. Brewer, another Reese beauty, was a fourth-round pick in 2011 and has stuck on the roster because he’s a draft pick. Heaven knows he’s not around because of anything he’s done on the field. He should have been gone years ago.
Well, Brown was a disaster in his first offensive snaps for the Giants. He was cleanly beaten by linebacker Aaron Lynch for a sack that was wiped out by a defensive holding call downfield. He was beaten by defensive tackle Ray McDonald, who nailed Manning and forced a fumble that right guard John Jerry was able to pounce on. Another pressure by Lynch on Brown caused a Manning third-down incompletion. On Manning’s fourth interception – it’s so hard to keep count – Brown was one of several offensive linemen to offer turnstile protection. Manning was sacked twice – it would have been more if not for his throwaways – and hit seven times.
“I’m ready every week, that’s my job,’’ Brown said. Asked about his performance, he added, “I didn’t predict this, no.’’
This is no excuse-fest for Manning. The interceptions are on him and represent incriminating evidence for those in the “Eli is on the downside’’ camp. But his GM did him no favors with the offensive line he’s thrown out there in front of him. The line can’t run-block worth a damn. Brown, starting center J.D. Walton and Jerry – forced into a starting role because Geoff Schwartz is on short-term IR – are not what you would call quality, winning signings. And, though everyone is intrigued by the potential of Weston Richburg, the second-round draft pick, he’s not exactly lighting anything up in his rookie year at left guard instead of his natural center position.
Other notables from yet another Giants loss:
– While we’re at it with Reese and the roster, did you get a good look at Borland, the rookie inside linebacker for the 49ers? The only reason he’s playing is because of a toe injury to perennial Pro Bowl starter Patrick Willis, who last week was shut down for the season. Borland is too short – 5-11 – and too slow – he was 22nd out of 27 linebackers timed in the 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine – to amount to much in the NFL, right? The Giants are more often attracted to size/speed athletes. Borland, out of Wisconsin, has been nothing short of great for the 49ers and not only because he had two interceptions off Manning. Borland isn’t a supreme athlete, but he’s a player. The Giants don’t nearly have enough of them, especially at linebacker. When is the last time Reese and the Giants came up with a real “find’’ in the middle to late rounds at linebacker? The answer is never.
– Let’s get to everyone’s favorite subject: Play-calling. Remember those thrilling days of yesteryear when Kevin Gilbride would call back-to-back delayed draw plays from the 4-yard line and get roasted for it? What Giants fans wouldn’t have given to pull Gilbride out of retirement for one play on Sunday with the Giants on the 49ers’ 4-yard line in the fourth quarter. There is no reasonable explanation for three consecutive fade patterns into the end zone – even though, one could argue, two of them, to Rueben Randle and Larry Donnell, could have and probably should have been caught.
That was stubbornness from offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, though he surely will view it as conviction: We like our guys in those jump-ball matchups and we’ve been successful with them this season. The lack of a single running play on any of the four downs is shameful for anyone who values physical football and shows there is absolutely no confidence in pounding away on the ground in that situation. You pick up, say, two yards with Rashad Jennings on a second-down run and you give the defense a pass-run threat to consider the next two downs. In a season where Tom Coughlin is pleading for his guys to “play above the X’s and O’s,’’ going for broke with fades into the end zone – a 50-50 proposition, at best – was unwise, given the inability of this team all season to come close to beating those odds.
– Joe Staley, the 49ers’ fine left tackle, said he knew the Giants would be “all geeked up to stop the run’’ after last week’s debacle in Seattle, because “their manhood was challenged.’’ And so, the Niners knew what to do.
“It was a game plan,’’ Staley said. “Jason Pierre-Paul is a really good run stopper, so we felt really good about the matchup of [right tackle] Anthony [Davis] vs. Mathias [Kiwanuka] and Robert Ayers and he did a great job over there.”
Primarily running to the left side of the Giants defense, Frank Gore picked up 95 yards on 19 attempts as the 49ers rushed for 148 yards. This wasn’t the 350-yard gashing of a week earlier, but it was more than effective on a day when Colin Kaepernick wasn’t overwhelming anyone with his arm. Kiwanuka had to accept a cut in salary to return for his ninth year with the Giants and these come-back-for-less-money situations never seem to work out. It was a dismal failure in 2013 with Corey Webster, who barely played. Kiwanuka is on the field, but he is not having a strong season in what surely will be his last go-round with the Giants.
– It was only a few weeks ago fans were howling – well, maybe not howling, but certainly barking – after the loss to the Colts that the Giants never should have let Ahmad Bradshaw get away, considering the sad state of their running back situation. Well, on Sunday night Bradshaw left Lucas Oil Stadium on crutches after the Colts were thrashed by the Patriots, wearing a walking boot on his left foot. That’s always an ominous look for Bradshaw, given his long history of foot injuries. The early fear is he broke his ankle. Teammate Trent Richardson was already talking as if Bradshaw won’t be back when he said, “Whenever he gets ready to come back, if it’s this year or next year, there’s going to be open doors for him.’’ This is why the Giants decided enough was enough with Bradshaw, a player they greatly admired. They did not believe he was reliable from a physical standpoint. He only got through three games last year, his first season with the Colts, and now it looks as if he’ll make a premature exit in 2014.
– At 3-7, this is the worst record for the Giants after 10 games since 1998, when they were also 3-7. They finished 8-8 that year, Jim Fassel’s second as head coach. Fassel was one year removed from winning the NFC East. This is the first time the Giants have had losing streaks of at least five games in consecutive seasons since 2003 (Fassel’s last year) and 2004 (Tom Coughlin’s first year), when they lost eight in a row each year.
– Did the 16-10 loss have a different feel to it? Sure it did. The 16 points were the fewest allowed by the Giants in a loss since Oct. 16, 2006, when they lost 16-13 in overtime to the Cowboys. The goal for any defense is to give up no more than 17 points. The goal was met against the 49ers and the Giants also played an outstanding game on special teams. That’s why this particular loss was so unnecessary. But 10 points won’t win you much.
– Didn’t Coughlin look smart when the Giants won the coin toss and he deferred taking the ball until the second half? His defense did not give up a point on the Niners’ first possession – although after the Niners mounted an 11-play, 63-yard drive, the Giants got lucky when Frank Gore lost the ball on a self-inflicted fumble. Then Coughlin watched his team march down the field with the first possession for a 7-0 lead. The plan went awry and Coughlin didn’t look as smart after halftime, as the Giants got the ball and promptly went three-and-out, with Manning sacked on second and third down. So much for building momentum. It was the first time this season the Giants won the toss and Coughlin opted to defer. They are 0-6 when Coughlin wins the toss and defers, proving no one looks smart when you lose.