When John Mara assessed the Giants back in training camp, he scanned the roster and decided it was “as talented a team has we’ve had in recent years, at least on paper.’’
It’s too bad the Giants couldn’t have stayed on that paper rather than have to take the field, for once they started playing, they were awful. There’s no doubt Mara and general manager Jerry Reese overrated the talent they assembled, but there’s also no doubt the Giants were not capable of having a big season based on how banged up they were. The injuries came fast and furious and never relented.
How bad was it? The Giants were the most injured team in the league, according to an expansive study by Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News, losing an NFL-high 91 games by starters because of injury. The Colts, with 83 games lost by starters, were the second-most injured team. The Jets, with only 20 games lost by starters, were the healthiest team in 2013.
“That’s not an excuse for starting out 0-6, because there is no excuse for that,” Mara said of the bloated injury ranking. “But it certainly had an effect on us and we were never able to quite dig out of it. But there’s no question that we have to make some significant improvements in our personnel moving into next season.”
The study counts all projected starters, meaning safety Stevie Brown, who missed the entire season following reconstructive knee surgery, counts for 16 games lost. The Giants lost 26 games by starters on their battered offensive line, and their six starters placed on season-ending injured reserve was the highest total in the league.
The Giants were, by far, the most injury-ravaged team in the NFC East. The Redskins (22) were the third-healthiest team in the league and the Eagles (29) were fourth. The Cowboys (62) were hit hard, with the eighth-highest total in the NFL.
Was it lack of production or lack of health that did the Giants in?
“I guess you could say it was all of the above,” Mara said. “I think Jerry Reese said that everybody has a different theory and probably everybody is right about it. Our offense certainly did not play well. It was not a great year for Eli [Manning]. The offensive line had injuries and then injuries on top of injuries. The receivers didn’t have a great year. Victor [Cruz] had a pretty good year, but the other guys really did not play up to what our expectations were of them. The running backs all got hurt.
“So it was a lot of different things. But I’m not hiding from anything. We’re not blaming it all on injuries. There’s no excuse for starting out 0-6. We know that we need to make improvements in our personnel, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, and that’s going to be our goal going into next season.”
Mara called the number of injuries “staggering.’’
Teams were able to overcome the injuries, as the Colts and Patriots (74 games lost by starters) are both alive in the postseason and face each other this weekend in an AFC divisional playoff game.
“For the Patriots to do what they have done, when they’re in the playoffs every single year and making a run at the title, is just unbelievably impressive,’’ Mara said. “We all strive to get to that level, but it’s tough to get there. That’s what our goal is. You’re never happy when you’re eliminated from the playoffs as early as we were. It’s something that’s going to sting the entire offseason. But again, we’ve got some good people here. We’re going to get this thing turned around.”