New York Giants Report Card: Embarrassing

The grades are in for the New York Giants’ 30-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Head coach Brian Daboll was looking toward new quarterback Tommy DeVito, who was providing a spark for the offense, but instead, the unit fizzled out faster than an open bottle of soda. The offense ran 18 plays in the first half, resulting in zero points. They failed to produce a first down on four of their ten drives. And, stop us if you’ve heard this before, but the offense couldn’t get into any kind of rhythm. 

Tyrone Tracy, Jr.’s lost fumble–the sixth lost ball by the Giant running backs this season–killed their best drive, as that miscue happened on the Bucs’ 5-yard line. And the Giants scored just once despite making it into plus territory four times out of their ten drives.

DeVito? All that talk about seeing improvement in his game was probably just that—talk. He looked lost out there. To be fair, his offensive line didn’t give him much of a chance, as it allowed four sacks and nine quarterback hits.

Yes, Daniel Jones was a problem, but thinking that replacing him would cure all that failed the offense was a pipe dream.

Missed tackles–at least ten–were a big problem in this game. How many of those were “business decisions” is hard to say, but at this point in the season, missed tackles happening at such an alarming rate shouldn’t be the case. 

The next time the Giants run defense steps up to the plate will be a first. Guys just aren’t getting off blocks, taking proper angles, or filling gaps. Dexter Lawrence can’t do this all by himself, and it’s clear that the young talent this team was counting on for its defensive front is just not making the grade.

And maybe it’s just me, but the Giants lack of response when Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield decided to mock the Giants by mimicking Tommy DeVito’s Italian pinch celebration spoke volumes. Do you think the Giants of yesteryear would allow an opponent to get away with such a classless act by an opponent, regardless of the score?

The special teams unit was the only one of the three that did contribute to the embarrassment. Jamie Gillan punted well, placing three of his punts inside the 20. Graham Gano didn’t have any field goal attempts, which might have been a good thing, given the windy conditions on the field. Ihmir Smith-Marsette had a nice 33-yard punt return on the day, and the Giants kickoff coverage unit limited the Bucs to only six yards.  

The bye week didn’t do the Giants any good, nor did all the “good practices” that head coach Brian Daboll claimed the team had.

And speaking of Daboll, if there was any doubt about his control of the locker room slipping away, look no further than postgame when not one, not two, but multiple players spoke out about the team being soft and how some guys weren’t giving their all.

Look no further than Malik Nabers angrily telling reporters to ask Daboll why he wasn’t more involved in the passing game in the first half. 

When you have that kind of feedback, this is beyond the Xs and Os. That this team looks so flat and unprepared week after week is a testament to the head coach, whose message to “trust the process” clearly–and rightfully—seems to have fallen on deaf ears. 

Daboll aside, the more we see Shane Bowen’s defense missing tackles and looking like they don’t know how to stop the run, the more we’re convinced that this just isn’t working out with him running what was once a pretty good defense.