Tag: John Mara

Desperate Giants hope to change narrative by playing the ‘Cutlets Card’

The New York Giants are desperate and dishonest, and now they’re playing their last hand — the Cutlets Card — in hopes of what, exactly?

These are desperate times for the New York Giants. After another 2-8 start, they finally canned their underperforming quarterback, Daniel Jones, in an effort to create “a spark.”

With the Northeast (and the Giants) in the throes of a historic drought, is that even a good idea?

Is putting hometown hero Tommy DeVito back under center really the answer at this point? Or is this a red herring to draw attention away from the many problems of this organization?

The Giants are benching Jones for reasons they won’t admit, most of them financial, but the reality is they need to change the conversation.

They can do that by elevating their young players into key roles. But, they’re already doing that. They can make a coaching change, but co-owner John Mara isn’t feeling that at the moment. He’s been through too many coaching changes over the past decade and has said he is not planning on another one.

So, the only card they have left to play is the Cutlets Card. DeVito, who has been the Giants’ emergency quarterback all year and has not played a single snap this season, was leapfrogged over Drew Lock and thrust into the starting role.

The Giants are actually leaning on the celebrity status of DeVito to salvage what’s left of this garbage can of a season. That’s asking a lot of the Jersey product considering he is a player of limited ability.

Don’t get us wrong. DeVito is a legitimate NFL-level talent, but not as a starter. He was in the right role up until Monday which is as a third-string, emergency quarterback.

The Giants’ decision to turn back to DeVito is a clear indication they are out of ideas. They are desperate and there’s nothing that chaps Mara’s britches more than his team playing meaningless football in November in front of clusters of empty seats.

The Giants still have four home games remaining this season. They are hoping to capitalize on DeVito — the colorful former Don Bosco Prep star who burst onto the scene last year after Jones and backup Tyrod Taylor both got injured — creating some positive buzz.

The only issue here is that they’ve already played this card. It worked for a while and then it faded out. They are in such dire straits that they have no other cards to play. Sad.

DeVito played surprisingly well at times last season, compiling a 3-3 record with eight touchdowns against three interceptions, but his performance was not without warts.

DeVito had a knack for making plays, yes, but he also looked like a deer in the headlights on most snaps. His sack rate of 17.2 percent was unnerving. By comparison, former Jets bust Zach Wilson’s sack rate was a much lower 12.1 percent and it seemed like he was ravaged on every play.

But this is where the Giants are right now. Playing out the string and hoping a franchise quarterback somehow falls into their lap next March or April.

There are seven games remaining this season. The Giants are 0-5 at home and could challenge for the franchise record for fewest home wins in a season (0-7, 1974) but this will be far worse.

In 1974, they were a mess and were playing their home games at the Yale Bowl. This season, they are a mess again and can best that infamous record by losing three of their four remaining home games.

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NFL analyst: Giants coach Brian Daboll’s seat is getting hotter

The New York Giants are 2-8 and headed nowhere this season, leading to talk of head coach Brian Daboll’s job security.

The New York Giants thought 2024 would be a season in which they turned the corner to sustained success.

Not so, it seems, as the team has fallen on its face once again out of the gate winning just two of their first 10 games and a killer schedule on the horizon.

The losing of games, of course, has been concerning but the manner in which the team has lost games has fans and pundits wondering if this team is truly headed in the right direction as general manager manager Joe Schoen believes it is.

Head coach Brian Daboll’s bunch has been uninspired, undisciplined, and just downright bland this season. Veteran Giants and NFC East reporter Ralph Vacchiano of FOX Sports has listed Daboll as a possible candidate for the unemployment line after this latest Giants disappointment.

Daboll jumps up on this list mostly because two coaches have already been fired and because his team heads into the bye week on a five-game losing streak and coming off an ugly, 20-17 loss to the Carolina Panthers in overtime in Germany. He was hired for his offensive mind, but their offense is awful, they probably need to make a quarterback change sooner than later, and at this point their fans are clamoring for a tank so they get the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

The Giants also have four home games left and they’re already 0-5 at the Meadowlands this season. Empty stadiums and angry crowds have a history of weighing on this ownership and convincing them to do things they otherwise promised themselves they wouldn’t do.

Co-owner John Mara has recently given his front office and Daboll a vote of confidence saying he has no plans of firing anyone during or after the season.

But the reality is that the Giants are 17-26-1 under Schoen and Daboll. The team, at times, appears as if there is no one steering the ship, and their continued ineptitude in nationally televised games has amplified the team’s internal problems.

Daboll isn’t likely going anywhere for the moment. Keep in mind, he is the team’s fifth head coach since 2016 and Mara is taking a more patient approach with him.

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See it: Eagles fans chant ‘Thank you, Giants’ for Saquon Barkley

Philadelphia Eagles fans drown out the Thursday night postgame panel by chanting “Thank you, Giants” for letting Saquon Barkley walk.

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley sat among the Thursday Night Football Nightcap panel following a 26-18 victory over the Washington Commanders, but you couldn’t make out much of what he said.

Barkley was largely drowned out by a group of Eagles fans who stayed after the game to celebrate their running back while also mocking the New York Giants.

“Thank you, Giants” chants rang out and grew louder and louder. Eventually, the panel had to pause their segment to appease the fans.

“It feels amazing,” Barkley said. “Last year was a tough year for me mentally.”

This is John Mara’s worst nightmare, which has literally been born into reality. As we saw during Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants, he was extremely skeptical about letting Barkley walk.

“I’ll have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I’ll tell you that,” Mara said to general manager Joe Schoen.

Schoen reacted to Mara with a somewhat sarcastic smile after having told him the Eagles were “out” before proclaiming, “I don’t know if that’s true.”

As it turns out, it was. Barkley not only signed with the Eagles but he’s now in the midst of an All-Pro and potential MVP season. He singlehandedly won Philadelphia the game on Thursday night, amassing 198 total yards and two touchdowns. He leads the NFL in rushing and scrimmage yards and may be carrying the Eagles toward a Super Bowl.

Every time Barkley does something remarkable, the optics get worse for Schoen, and the dagger gets buried deeper into Mara’s heart.

As the Giants remain an embarrassment and punchline, Barkley is breathing life into their bitter rivals. It’s the worst of both worlds and now it’s being rubbed in, perhaps deservedly so.

Schoen believes his job is safe but negatives are mounting. And Mara can not possibly be happy about any of this.

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Ex-Giant says team should fire everyone ‘effective immediately’

One former New York Giants defensive lineman and Super Bowl champion says John Mara should fire everyone “effective immediately.”

It’s time to burn things down and start over once again, says former New York Giants defensive lineman Chris Canty.

Following last Sunday’s embarrassing 20-17 overtime loss to the lowly Carolina Panthers, Canty suggested co-owner John Mara fire the entire regime “effective immediately” and get to work on another complete rebuild.

“The Giants should fire everybody effective immediately,” Canty said on Unsportsmanlike. “I know what Giants owner John Mara said two weeks ago about not making any changes in the season or after the season, but Sunday’s loss in Munich puts Big Blue on a five-game skid.

“It was the first time in 25 games where the Giants were actually favored by Vegas and they lost.”

Canty believes Mara and fellow co-owner Steve Tisch must accept that the franchise is going through another rebuild and there’s “no sense” in keeping the same power structure that has failed.

“There’s no sense in going through a rebuild with the head coach and a general manager on the hot seat,” Canty said. “It’s been three years for (Brian) Daboll and (Joe) Schoen and frankly, that’s long enough.”

The Super Bowl XLVI champion also added that blaming quarterback Daniel Jones for the team’s struggles is lazy and while DJ did little to help himself in Week 10, it’s important to remember Schoen and Daboll hitched their wagon to him.

“Even though this regime didn’t draft him, Daniel Jones is their guy because they paid him,” Canty said. “There’s the quiet part that needs to be said out loud about this head coach and general manager: They’ve already won with Daniel Jones. You can’t say you can’t win with Daniel Jones when you got to the playoffs with Daniel Jones.

“You can’t say you can’t win with Daniel Jones when Daniel Jones quite literally won a playoff game with this head coach and this general manager. They’ve already done it. There’s proof of concept. What you’re saying is the head coach and general manager aren’t coaching well enough (and) aren’t building the team good enough in order to maximize what you’re getting out of the quarterback — you know, the guy you invested $40 million a year in.”

That alone should be enough for Mara to go back on his word and “dismiss” Schoen and Daboll, Canty says.

“You’ve got to hold somebody accountable for what we’re seeing from this team,” he added. “I understand you don’t want to be the New York Jets when you’re hiring and firing coaches every couple of years. . . but under this current circumstance, it’s actually warranted to move on from Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen.”

Mara has offered his vote of confidence in several previous regimes before ultimately talking them back and hitting the reset button, and there’s mounting pressure for him to do that again this coming offseason.

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Giants’ John Mara should rethink vote of confidence after Germany calamity

The New York Giants lost in embarrassing fashion in front of the whole world on Sunday. How will co-owner John Mara react?

Three weeks ago New York Giants co-owner John Mara told reporters that he still had confidence in general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll.

“Obviously, we’re all very disappointed with where we are right now,” Mara said. “But I’m gonna say one thing: we are not making any changes this season. And I do not anticipate making any changes in the offseason, either.”

The Giants were 2-5 at the time and the season was somewhat salvageable. Fast forward three weeks and three more losses later and one has to wonder if Mara is rethinking his endorsement.

His 2-8 Giants are a sloppy, uninspired bunch that finds different ways to lose winnable games on a weekly basis now. They lost to Pittsburgh by eight points, Washington by five, and now by three to Carolina in overtime on Sunday.

Combine those games with a three-point loss in Washington in Week 2 where they screwed up their kicker situation and a five-point defeat at the hands of a dysfunctional Dallas team in Week 4 and this season has been a series of “what-ifs.”

They also lost to the high-flying Bengals by a respectable score of 17-7. The score was 10-7 until the final two minutes.

Had they been more disciplined and focused in some of those games, they might just be in the thick of things right now.

And that’s not just the players we’re talking about. The coaching staff and front office should be lumped in there as well. They have mismanaged the roster multiple times this season and have made dubious choices in handling injured players.

Throw in Daboll’s erratic in-game coaching decisions that have backfired and the Giants have no one to blame but themselves. He has outsmarted himself time and time again. The truth is, he has a winning percentage of just .398 as Giants head coach — the fifth worst among Giants head coaches in their history.

Mara has to be frustrated. The fans are, for sure. This NFL season is wide open and the Giants aren’t competing.  The Carolina loss was the final blow of a long flurry of final blows this season.

Whose fault is it? WFAN host Sal Licata says look no further than Mara.

“To me, the main culprit is the owner,” Sal said. “If I were John Mara, I’d wake up today and fire myself! That’s how bad he’s been. Their problems go back years, whether it’s pushing Coughlin out, hiring McAdoofus, allowing Gettleman to draft a running back second overall, and then forcing Schoen and Daboll to extend Daniel Jones… Every step of the way, it’s been wrong decisions, and it starts at the top with Mara…the problem is, he’s not going anywhere.”

Of course, Mara didn’t force Schoen to decline Jones’ fifth-year option. If he were truly meddling, that would have never happened and Saquon Barkley would still be dressing in blue. That suggests Schoen and Daboll are acting freely.

Still, Mara is not without blame.

Firing Schoen and Daboll will just keep the revolving door going. They are new to their jobs and may not be very good at them for all we know.

Mara has to take into account his role in this mess. These are not pleasant times for the Giants and their fans. Will they ever be able to escape this losing cycle again?

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Ex-NFL GM believes Giants have wrong approach for success

Former NFL general manager Michael Lombardi, a long-time New York Giants critic, is taking shots at their roster-building process again.

This week, New York Giants co-owner John Mara committed to general manager Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll despite their second 2-5 start in as many years.

The regime Mara is hanging his hat on is 17-23-1 since taking over the club in 2022. They began by winning six of their first seven games that year and eked into the playoffs, but since that streak, their record is 11-22-1.

Most new general managers and coaches concentrate on beating the teams they need to beat to win their division. In the Giants’ case that would be the NFC East rivals: Dallas, Philadelphia, and Washington.

Since Schoen and Daboll took over the Giants are 0-5 against Dallas, 1-5 (including playoffs) versus Philly, and 3-1-1 against Washington but lost their first game versus them this season with Jayden Daniels under center and Dan Quinn as the head coach.

Former NFL executive Michael Lombardi pointed out on the Pat McAfee Show this week that the Giants — Mara, Schoen, and Daboll — aren’t preparing themselves for success, which begins by winning games within the division.

“You win the division, obviously, and you get in the dance and have a home playoff game,” said McAfee. “And anything can happen from there.”

Referring to the footage aired by HBO’s Hard Knocks, Lombardi and McAfee were both shocked at how the Giants brass made their plans to build their roster for the season.

“They never said one time in the entire Hard Knocks, ‘How do we beat Philly? How do we beat Dallas?'” Lombardi said.

When they decided to trade for Carolina Panthers Pro Bowl defensive end Brian Burns, which was highlighted in the docuseries, Lombardi pointed out that the group never discussed Burns’ performance against their NFC rivals.

“That’s the stuff we (general managers) talk about and it wasn’t there,” he said. “It looks like people were doing their fantasy draft … and that’s offensive to me.”

The numbers don’t lie. In the NFL results are what counts. No one cares how smart you are or think you are. If you don’t win, you’re out.

Daboll and Schoen are safe for now but one wonders if they can’t even match last year’s win total of six this year, will Mara still feel the same?

“I think you focus on what you can control, and I’ve said this numerous times, we have a very good communication process, a good relationship,” said Daboll. “Again, nobody’s happy about the results or the record, but the communication and the process and the people, I believe in them.”

It’s sink or swim time for this latest version of the Giants front office.

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John Mara sticking with current regime could pay off for Giants

New York Giants co-owner John Mara says he’s sticking with GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll, which could pay off for the franchise.

New York Giants co-owner John Mara told reporters this week that he does not anticipate making any organizational changes this season or during the offseason despite the team getting off to yet another sluggish start.

“Obviously, we’re all very disappointed with where we are right now,” Mara said at a viewing of “The Duke: Wellington Mara’s Giant,” a documentary of the life of his late father, in New York City on Wednesday night.

“But I’m gonna say one thing: we are not making any changes this season. And I do not anticipate making any changes in the offseason, either.”

Translation: General manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll are going nowhere. Mara is likely tired of the revolving door of coaches and executives he’s had to deal with since parting ways with Tom Coughlin after the 2015 season.

That is both good news and bad for Giant fans. Schoen has swung and missed on several draft picks and fumbled draft capital in the process. He has the organization in neutral at the moment.

On the flip side, his free agent signings have largely been hits (Bobby Okereke, Jermaine Elumunor, Jason Pinnock) and he adroitly pulled off a trade for a star edge rusher (Brian Burns).

Mara is likely figuring that both men — who are both new to their positions — will grow into them over time. Although both have extensive NFL resumes, Schoen has never been a general manager and this is Daboll’s first job as a head coach.

They have both made mistakes and perhaps have learned from them. Going forward, they can lean on their experiences and not repeat those mistakes. Changing them out would only set the team back further.

“I think to try to be more patient than maybe I’ve been in recent years. He preached that all the time,’ Mara said referring to his father.

“I’ve probably been guilty of not being patient enough in recent years. That’s one of the reasons I’m committed to Joe and Brian Daboll and giving them a chance to turn this thing around.”

Mara is also resigned to the fact that Daniel Jones’ days in blue are likely numbered and the Giants, who are probably going to be selecting very high in next April’s NFL draft, are going to have a quarterback that appeases both Daboll and Schoen.

The clock will officially begin to tick for Scheon and Daboll at that time. If Mara’s patience pays off, his statements this week will be seen as the Giants finally “getting it.”

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Giants’ John Mara doesn’t anticipate firing Joe Schoen, Brian Daboll

New York Giants co-owner John Mara says he does not anticipate making a regime change and expressed total faith in Joe Schoen, Brian Daboll.

The New York Giants are mired in another ugly, losing season, but co-owner John Mara intends to be more patient this time around.

After cycling through multiple regimes in short order following the “resignation” of Tom Coughlin in January of 2016, Mara wants to demonstrate more discipline and be less reactive when it comes to general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll.

Speaking at a screening of NFL Films’ new documentary, “The Duke: The Giant Life of Wellington Mara,” Mara said he does not anticipate firing Schoen or Daboll at any point this season or in the offseason. He then took things a step further and expressed total faith in the GM-coach duo.

Mara refused to comment on quarterback Daniel Jones, instead insisting he was focused on Schoen and Daboll.

When the pair were hired in 2022, it appeared the Giants were headed for a quick turnaround. They finished with a 9-7-1 record and not only made their first playoff appearance since 2016 but picked up their first postseason victory since Super Bowl XLVI.

For his troubles, Daboll was named AP Coach of the Year.

But it’s been all downhill since then. Beginning in Week 11 of that 2022 season, the Giants have compiled an overall record of 10-21-1 (11-22-1 if you include the playoffs) and become an NFL laughingstock. Daboll made national headlines this past offseason over his fallout with former defensive coordinator Wink Martindale and oversaw a coordinator and assistant coach exodus.

In 2024, Daboll seized play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, who attempted to leave the Giants in a lateral move, and the offense has somehow been even worse. The latest disaster came in Week 7 when the Giants scored just three points in a loss to the Saquon Barkley-led Philadelphia Eagles, which was a nightmare-turned-reality for Mara.

Daboll benched Jones in the fourth quarter of that game hoping to generate a “spark,” but has since recommitted to the quarterback who has an injury clause that could become a major problem in 2025 should he get hurt over the final 11 weeks.

Two poor drafts, terrible personnel decisions, bad play-calling, and constant losing have put the Giants in a terrible spot and it’s worn thin with fans, but Mara is determined to give it at least one more season.

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John Mara expects Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen back with the Giants in 2025

Giants fans who want a franchise overhaul are out of luck.

New York Giants owner John Mara revealed keen insight into the futures of coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen on Wednesday night.

During the New York premiere of the NFL Network documentary The Duke: The Giant Life of Wellington Mara, John Mara told the crowd in attendance that he didn’t anticipate making any major changes after the season, per NFL.com’s Judy Battista.

That is huge news for Daboll and Schoen amid a lackluster 2-5 season, the duo’s third together in New York.

In his first year as coach, Daboll led the Giants to the playoffs and helped Daniel Jones mount his best year as a pro.

However, the wheels fell off the franchise in 2023 because of injuries and uninspired play on both sides of the ball.

This season hasn’t fared much better for New York, even if Jones has rebounded just a bit, rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers has looked like the real deal and Schoen has built one of the better defensive lines in football.

The team letting running back Saquon Barkley sign with the Philadelphia Eagles has been a particularly tough look for the Giants, especially since Barkley has been thriving in Philly.

Nonetheless, Mara’s comments show that he’s willing to let Daboll and Schoen continue their work to improve the team next year. That will almost assuredly include New York finding their quarterback of the future.

In fact, Battista also shared that John Mara wouldn’t discuss Jones during the event.

Well, at least Daboll and Schoen can sleep a little easier for the time being.

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Bill Belichick annihilates Giants general manager Joe Schoen

Bill Belichick pulled absolutely no punches when discussing New York Giants GM Joe Schoen on Monday, highlighting the regime’s many failures.

Bill Belichick made a Monday appearance on the Pat McAfee Show and took that opportunity to completely shred the New York Giants, a team he deeply loves, as well as general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll.

Belichick ragged on the regime for a shoddy offensive line rebuild, allowing running back Saquon Barkley to depart for the Philadelphia Eagles, and their decision to start Joshua Ezeudu at left tackle in Week 7.

“It looked like, in Hard Knocks,” Belichick began, “I don’t think Daboll wanted to get rid of Saquon and I certainly don’t think John Mara wanted to get rid of Saquon. It just seemed like a general manager thing. Like, ‘We don’t think anybody will pay him.’ But, kind of, everyone in the league knew that he was going to go to the Eagles.

“I don’t think everyone was on the same page with that. At least it didn’t appear that way from Hard Knocks which, honestly, I am surprised they even let that air with that kind of tone being on it.”

The Giants’ handling of Barkley has been widely criticized and the Hard Knocks coverage of his departure and then Sunday’s performance certainly didn’t help those optics.

“I really don’t understand. He was their best player,” Belichick added. “For a couple million dollars more they could have kept him. Instead, I guess they got a guard or somebody. I don’t know. The offensive line doesn’t look very good.”

But that was just one of the many jabs Belichick took at Schoen, Daboll, and the Giants.

“They’re playing a guy at left tackle who shouldn’t be playing left tackle. Evan Neal was drafted in the first round (and) he doesn’t play,” Belichick said. “They have some UFA (undrafted free agent) guards that are pretty suspect. It’s a tough line.”

Perhaps somewhat ironically, the Giants’ offensive line has played better this season than at any point over the past decade, which highlights just how bad the unit has been and how far off from league average it still is. And in Belichick’s eyes, it has contributed to the struggles of quarterback Daniel Jones.

“Honestly, I thought that the quarterback is trying to hang in there,” he said. “But it’s been tough sledding.”

As Belichick spoke throughout the segment, the entire panel laughed at how poorly run the Giants have become. They were, as they’ve been, the butt of the joke and this added public humiliation by one of the great coaches in franchise history has to make Mara’s blood boil.

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