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As the New York Giants close in on another double-digit loss season, fans and pundits are pondering: Is this the worst period in the 96-year history of the franchise?
It depends on who you ask.
Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post believes the Wilderness Years (1964-80) were worse. He’s got a case. I, like Vaccaro, lived through that painful period and it was not pretty.
As amazing, as improbable, as impossible as this may seem, it could be worse.
Because the era that is generally cited for comparison’s sake, the playoff-free run from 1964 through 1980 that included only two winning seasons in those 17 years — that really was worse. And the elixir moment often cited — Young’s arrival off Don Shula’s staff on Valentine’s Day 1979 — was a much lower rock bottom than where the Giants sit now.
It may be close, but they aren’t quite there.
I say they are. During that stretch, the Giants had just two winning seasons but they never logged in more than three double-digit losing seasons in a row (’78-’80).
That was back before the balanced schedule, free agency and compensatory draft picks, three initiatives the NFL has instituted to help the bad teams get better more quickly. The thinking is that teams should be able to rebuild in a three-year cycle and should not experience more than three consecutive losing seasons.
Some teams fail to follow the script, however, and the Dave Gettleman Giants have been one of them. He has over-payed in free agency, drafted against the grain and failed to reverse the embarrassing injury spate that has dogged the team for a decade.
As for the league-wide futility, the Giants are closing in some of the worst success dearths in NFL history.
Tampa Bay has the worst losing stretch in NFL history, losing 10 or more games for 12 straight seasons from 1983-94. The runners-up aren’t even close but the Giants are going to join the list shortly:
- Jacksonville, 6: 2011-16
- Cleveland – 6: 2008-13
Detroit, 6: 2001-06
Raiders, 6: 2003-09
Cincinnati, 5: 1998-2002
Arizona, 5: 2002-06
Rams, 5: 1990-94
Buffalo, 5: 2009-13
Sure, the Wilderness Years seemed to be more hopeless given the fact that there were fewer opportunities to turn things around. That is why this period has been so frustrating. The league has basically laid out a blueprint for their franchises on how to succeed.
The Giants, for some reason think they’re above following it.
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