During and after the Giants' 31-21 loss to the previously winless 49ers on Sunday, sports media members scorched the once-proud New York organization.
Call it a mutiny by Giants players who want coach Ben McAdoo fired. Call it sabotage, particularly by a defense that was so tough last season.
However you slice it, sports media talkers say, the 2017 Giants have quit on their coach, their front office, their fans and each other.
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ESPN NFL insider Josina Anderson has delivered some eye-opening reports on the raging dumpster fire that is the Giants. After the team's pathetic effort against the 49ers, one player texted Anderson an interesting message: I told you so.
Text from a #Giants source just now on the loss in San Francisco, who predicted the probability of this result the night before: "Tried to warn you."
— Josina Anderson (@JosinaAnderson) November 13, 2017
An anonymous Giants player previously told Anderson the team had quit on its coach:
"McAdoo has lost this team. He’s got us going 80% on Saturdays before we get on a plane to play a game, it’s wild. Changed our off day. He’s dishing out fines like crazy. Suspended two of our stars when we need them the most. Throws us under the bus all the time. He’s ran us into the ground and people wonder why we’ve been getting got."
I asked the the Giants player if he wanted to go on the record. He said he wanted to remain anonymous for fear of the impact to his status on the team.I texted another Giants player for their thoughts too on what I heard minutes before. Has McAdoo lost the team? A second anonymous Giants player replied, “Yea I think so." That same player also texted, “Guys are giving up on the season and nothing's being done. Guys just don’t care anymore."
During Monday's "Mike and Mike in the Morning" on ESPN Radio, host Mike Greenberg noted that "quit" is the dirtiest word one can apply to a professional athlete. His partner Mike Golic agreed, then warned that the next Giants coach/GM will review game tape and decide who needs to be shipped out of New York.
ESPN's Dan Graziano noted that New York general manager Jerry Reese shows no accountability and that the team's problems go beyond aging quarterback Eli Manning.
Exactly. No accountability, great job security. Best racket going. https://t.co/vja1sCZRs0
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) November 13, 2017
On CBS Sports' "The NFL Today" pregame show, Boomer Esiason surprisingly picked Giants-49ers as the one game he was eager to watch Sunday. He wanted to see whether the Giants would show any pride (they didn't), and during his WFAN morning show in New York, he likened the game to "car crash TV."
.@7BOOMERESIASON thinks @Giants are embarrassing themselves... pic.twitter.com/ueUKnOmqA9
— CBS Sports PR (@CBSSportsGang) November 12, 2017
After excoriating the Giants secondary's effort in their Week 9 loss to the Rams, NBC's Rodney Harrison on "Football Night in America" singled out cornerback Janoris Jenkins for his lack of effort. After showing Jenkins ducking two tackles, Harrison noted, "This is why the Giants are so terrible."
Host Dan Patrick added that the Giants, who seem to think "tackling is optional," are off to their worst start since 1980.
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Leave it to the New York Post to sum up the feelings of Giants fans. As columnist Mark Cannizzaro wrote, the Giants should have left McAdoo in San Francisco, along with what used to be their hearts:
"They all proceeded, grim-faced, to the team bus after the latest in a season saturated with embarrassing moments — 49ers 31, Giants 21 on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium. When Giants coach Ben McAdoo got to the bus, he was admitted on board without incident. Same for general manager Jerry Reese, who declined to speak to reporters when asked on his way out of the locker room.
"Why is this relevant? Because, based on the quality of the product McAdoo and Reese oversaw on the field Sunday, you couldn’t have blamed Giants ownership if they’d barred their head coach and GM from entering the bus, instead leaving them to cab it to the airport and fly middle-seat coach cabin back to Jersey. But you can bet the thought ran through the disillusioned minds of John Mara and Steve Tisch."
Remember, these are not the Browns. These are the Giants, a team that was picked by some experts to reach the Super Bowl this season.
These are the Giants that previously upset the favored Patriots in two Super Bowls; the Big Blue Wrecking Crew of Lawrence Taylor, Bill Parcells and Phil Simms; a team that has prided itself on defense from LT in the 1980s to Sam Huff in the '50s; a franchise for which former defensive coaches include Bill Belichick and Tom Landry.
IYER: Why McAdoo needs to go
From now on this season, every time a Giants defender shies away from contact, it will be seen as an indicator they're tanking the season.
There have been a lot of depressing aspects of the NFL season, but the 2017 Giants might be the saddest.
