Giants Groundhog Day…Michael Lombardi Please Lobby For Giants Football Operations Job

Written by: Paul Burke

It is early September again. It is like the scenes in Groundhog Day when the alarm clock goes off with the same song from a radio station, the same exact surroundings, and same exact characters in place. We drive ourselves crazy to believe things will be different this season but it is like Lucy pulling the football away while Charlie Brown kicks thin air and falls on his ass.

The Giants organization can't evaluate their own coaches, and their coaches can't evaluate their own players. It's a mess.

Full Week 1 recap on the latest GM Shuffle: https://t.co/W4dyJbJ7HQ pic.twitter.com/uDNOLAO58H

— Michael Lombardi (@mlombardiNFL) September 13, 2021

Michael Lombardi ranted on GM Shuffle podcast about what we here on NYGUndergound have been agonizingly pointing out for over two years. This organization is dysfunctional and has been for the last 10 years. Lombardi is correct that they cannot evaluate their own players. It is a systemic problem. It is a football operation organizational issue. The microcosm of Jabril Peppers and how he is utilized in game management and put in a position to fail versus succeed sums up the dysfunction of the overall organization. John Mara needs to get the Heck out of the way and hire an experienced professional President of Football Operations. John Mara needs to stop pretending he knows what he is doing. If bottom line earnings in the NFL was based on wins and losses versus the sharing of T.V. revenue, John Mara would have been fired in corporate America long ago. John Mara is stuck in time. He is stuck in what is called the Endowment Bias. He overvalues his inner circle and continues to hire from his inner circle. He stuck with Reese too long. Overvalued Eli and stuck with him too long. Hired dinosaur Gettleman. Hired Garrett. Sorry Lombardi it is not because he went to Princeton but from his days as a back up QB with the Giants. John Mara has never worked in the real business world. He was a lawyer by trade for a few years before working under his Dad as the ownership group. In fact this is a family tradition as Wellington was saved by Pete Rozelle by getting to hire George Young in those dark years of the 70s. Just go back in the history of NYG front office and you will see a noticeable trend over many years.

Since 2018, the Giants have a 15-34 record.

What we are trying to implore is an open letter to Michael Lombardi to lobby for the position of President of Football Operations for the New York Football Club. Mr. Lombardi has lots of experience in working for the likes of Walsh, Parcells and Belichik. He worked in many roles in Front Offices. Surely the position of President of Football of Operations for a storied franchise would be more fulfilling and rewarding than a podcast or occasional articles in the Athletic?

We are tired of the losing. We are tired of the same dysfunction. We are tired of the same poor draft decisions. We are tired of being stuck in time. We are tired of listening to local media put lipstick on a pig and homer fans telling us to be more positive as it is different this year. John Mara is not going to sell his team. Why would any rationale person do that? The business is built to make money whether he losses or wins. Heck, I now live in Detroit and they never win but still make a profit year in and year out. Mara needs to step aside and focus on the business side and leave the football operations to an experienced professional. Otherwise, it will be Groundhog Day for another 10 years.

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Broncos 27 Giants 7

Written by: Glenn Warciski

Full Bloom Fumble

Another year and another opening loss. In fact the Giants have lost 5 consecutive opening games. The last time the Giants won an opening game: 2016 at Dallas. The last time they won an opener at home:, 2010 vs Carolina. Oh boy, it has been brutal on the loyal Giants fans who pay top dollar for a crappy product.

Sheesh. The losing continues. Even with all the offensive additions in the off-season, the Giants could only muster 7 points. (I am not going to count the garbage time touchdown.)

I am extremely disappointed with HC Joe Judge. Now in his second year, his team looked pathetic in front of a surprisingly energized crowd. His team lays an enormous egg on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Shame on you Joe. The festive crowd went home hanging their heads once again. Brooding about what is it going to take to start winning again.

Speaking of stinking up MetLife, Danger prone Daniel Jones with his obligatory fumble. When I saw him fumble yet again, I do not believe his gratuitous and careless behavior is going to be corrected. As we have stated on this blog, passing in the NFL is king. In order to win in the 21st century NFL, a team has to have a competent quarterback who can help his team put points on the scoreboard.

The Giants defense has a lot of potential and I like Graham as a coach. However, in this modern NFL the rules favor the offense. Therefore, I do not have any evidence we have hope for the OL in addition to Daniel Jones. This offensive line stinks. This falls on Dave Gettlefraud. He vowed to fix it. With 4 years under his watch , there has not been much of an upgrade compared to 2017. The other issue is Joe Judge’s misguided thinking about the offensive line. He thinks they can fix it and coach it up. It’s NE bias as Pats had/have a genius coach. And Judge is not. Throw in OC Jason Garrett’s piss poor game plan and play calling, this team is going to lose a lot of games in 2021.

Other observations:

Kenny Gollady: he was wearing an invisibility cloak. Never a factor in this game. 4 catches for 64 yards.

Joe Judge pulled a Jim Schwartz. Challenged a touchdown. Why? All touchdowns are reviewed. His blunder cost his team a timeout.

Giants have a short week. They play the Football team on Thursday. Judge has to get his Giants a win. Otherwise, this season can slowly begin to slip away.

The coffee is going to taste better in Denver tomorrow. Former Giants HC Pat Shurmur is the offensive coordinator for the Broncos. It had to be satisfying to beat his old team. Especially since he was scapegoated for the two dismal years in 2018 and 2019. He got fired but Dave Gettleman was retained.

Tony will have a more detailed analysis with his Prophet’s Point After.

Prophet’s Pulpit- Week One 2021…Giants vs Broncos Preview and Prediction

Written by: Tony “The Prophet” Yantosca

OVERVIEW

Here we go, Football 2021 is here. It’s the Prophet’s 7th year writing at this website. It is also my 62nd Giants’ season. I started watching this team at age 7 and I have seen it all over that time, the good, bad and ugly. It is an exciting time for all who love this game! It is a challenging water shed year for Dave Gettleman, Daniel Jones and Giants fans everywhere. 

After 2 years, we don’t know if Daniel Jones, who was the 6th overall pick in 2019, is a starting NFL quarterback. He has more turnovers 39 than touchdowns, 37. He has only won 8 games in 2 years but he has not beat a winning team. Four of those wins came from a rebuilding Washington team that has a losing record both years. Garrett hid Jones last year. Jones only had 210 yards/game passing. All the games they won, the Gmen had over 100 yards rushing. One game they even had over 190!

Prophets Manifesto 2021

Written by: Tony “The Prophet” Yantosca

I am entering my 7^th year on nygunderground.com providing the truth about the Giants that is not pom-pom waving or sugar coated. To paraphrase the line from the movie A Few Good Men, “can you handle the truth”? Hopefully you can and continue reading now and every week for an update before every game in “The Prophet’s Pulpit”.

Dave Gettleman’s legacy is tied to his decision to take Daniel Jones as the overall number 6 draft pick in the 2019 draft. He willingly put his head in the noose with Jones. Both would either sink or swim together. If Jones is a bust, Gettleman will be put out to pasture for a premature retirement even though he is already 70 years old.  In his first 2 years Jones has more turnovers, 39, than touchdowns, 37! Like his predecessor, Jerry Reese, Gettleman went on a free agency spending spree to ensure that if Daniel Jones fails it is not going to be his fault. I will refer to Jerry Reese going forward as Jerry “Reach” as we all know his legendary reaches like Ereck Flowers and Eli Apple to name a few. 

Prophet’s Point After

Giants 23 Cowboys 19

Written by: Tony “The Prophet” Yantosca

It was a tale to 2 halves in the Giants Finale. The Giants got outto an early lead and hung on after the Dallas comeback in the second half. The Giants have been starting the recent games very slowly. Judge must had made a fast start a priority this week. They only took a little over 3 minutes to score on the opening drive. Shepard ran in a 23-yard touchdown and Gano missed the extra point. Gano set his personal record today with 30 consecutive field goals which is also the Giants record. He hit a 50-yard field goal to make the score 23 and that is also a record. He has 5 50 yard or longer field goals which is the Giants record. Shepard had his best game of the year with 8 catches on 10 targets for 112 yards and a touchdown. He also had 24 yards rushing on 2 attempts with the long 23-yard TD run. Dallas cornerback Anthony Brown was beat constantly by Shepard. Brown played off Shepard and Dallas never gave him any help. 

Prophet’s Pulpit- Cowboys vs NYG- Preview and Prediction

Written by: Tony “The Prophet” Yantosca

The Giants play the Dallas Cowboys this week for a possible trip to the playoffs. The winner of this game if the Washington team loses will be the NFC divisional winner. More absurdly that winner will host a home playoff in the playoffs with a 6-10 record!. Right now, that game would be vs the Buccaneers pending Sunday’s action been completed.

The recent history for the Gmen vs the Cowboys is not good. Dallas has won the last 7 in a row. The last time the Giants won was 12/11/16 at home by a field goal 10-7. The Giants arebehind in the all-time series history 45-69-2. The last meeting was the game where Dak got hurt and was out for the season. Dalton had brought the Cowboys back for a 34-point tie. We all thought the game was going to overtime. The Cowboys had the ball at their own 12-yard line with 52 seconds to play. The Giants played a prevent defense that prevented the win. Dalton threw 15 yards to Cooper, 19 yards to Gallup, and the dagger, 38 yards to Gallup. Lewis had bad coverage on him with a top tap on the sideline. After the review the catch was good. Zuerlein hit a 34-yard field goal to beat the Giants 37-34. 

For the Giants to win their last game the game plan is simple. They need to run the ball for well over 100 yards. This will also take the pressure off Daniel Jones. He is immobile since he suffered the hamstring injury. Jones was sacked 8 times by the Cardinals and 6 times by the Ravens last week. The offensive line that was playing better mid-season has been breaking down. Jones has just 3 yards rushing the last 2 weeks on 1 attempt. The Cowboys allow a league worst 161 rushing yards/game and they are tied for the league worst 5.0 yards/carry with Houston. Gallman and to a lesser extent Morris have to have a big game. Dallas is 32nd vs the rush but they are 11 vs the pass. The Gmen are 29th in passing which is another reason why the run game is critical.

Prophet’s Point After-Ravens 27 NYG 13

Written by: Tony “The Prophet” Yantosca

For the third week in a row, the Giants get off to a slow start and this week’s game was over before the end of the first quarter. The New York Football Giants never got off the train that they took to Baltimore. The Ravens took the opening kickoff for 82 yards on 13 plays that ate up 8:12 minutes. The Giants go 3 and out and take 1:36 off the clock. The Ravens again go on a long drive of 10 plays, 65 yards on a 5:05 drive. At 11 seconds left in the 1st quarter this game is over!

The last 3 weeks the Giants have been off the Joe Judge script for the Giants to win. The script is first rush for 100+ yards/game. This keeps the other team off the field and minimizes what Daniel Jones needs to do. Second, get a good game out of the defense holding the opposition to 20 points or less. The Giants are 31st in scoring with 17 points per game. Thirdly, the plan is to keep Daniel Jones passing around 200 yards/game. This minimizes turnovers. He has 14 this year which is down from last year’s 24.

The Giants got behind Sunday by 14 points in the first half to the Ravens. They were down 13-3 to the Browns at the end of the first half last week. Two weeks ago, they were down 13-0 to the Cardinals at the half and 20-0 midway through the third quarter. All these games were over early taking the Giants out of the 2020 winning formula. Against the Ravens the Giants had 54 yards rushing. Against the Browns the Gmen ran for 74 yards and vs the Cardinals they ran for 78 yards.

Prophet’s Pulpit-NYG vs Ravens Preview & Prediction

Written by: Tony “The Prophet” Yantosca

The Giants without Daniels Jones and Pro Bowl cornerback James Bradberry were beat by 2 touchdowns by the Browns last Sunday night. The outcome was never in doubt. Some questionable offensive decisions and a Giants team that came up small in the red zone. The Browns running tandem of Chubb and Hunt had a night off as they only combined for 71 yards rushing, Mayfield without Bradberry sliced and diced the Giants zone defense for 297 yards, 84% completion percentage on 32 passes, 2 touchdowns, and a 126.2 quarterback rating. 

This week’s opponent, the Ravens, have been playing much better and need to win the next 2 games to have a chance at a playoff berth. The only way the Giants can win is to limit the run game because they are not going to stop it. They need to force the Ravens to throw more than they want. Bradberry will be covering the Ravens only deep threat, Hollywood Brown. Snead and Boykin are not much of a threat. Mark Andrews is probably the 4th best tight in the league behind Kelce, Kittle and Waller. He has had 301 yards on 22 catches on 27 targets and 2 touchdowns the past 4 weeks. Martinez and the Giants safeties will have to keep him in check. Andrews is the passing red zone target.

Prophet’s Point After-Browns 20 NYG 6

Giants lay another egg!

Written by: Tony “The Prophet” Yantosca

This Sunday night primetime contest between the Browns and Giants was the most predictable game of the weekend. I don’t know why the spread was not double digits. I predicted it as a 15-point loss and it was a 14-point loss. (it would have been a 15-point loss not for a Parkey missed extra point). With both Bradberry and Holmes out I knew Mayfield would have a field day finding the holes in the zone defense. I also knew Landry would have a big game without Bradberry going step for step with him. He had 7 catches on 8 targets for 61 yards and a touchdown.

The key for the game that the Giants did not generate a pass rush all game. Mayfield had 3 and 4 seconds at times to place the ball. When Baker is comfortable he has his best games. If you can pressure him all game he will fold to the heat. He used his usual roll outs to find the open man. He was only sacked once by the Giants. They were also loading up the box to stop the Browns run game. However, they did not have to run because the completed passes came so easy. The Browns ran in the 4thquarter to end the game. Eight different Browns’ players caught at least 1 pass. Mayfield finished the game 27 completions on 32 passes for 297 yards, 9.3 YPA, and 2 touchdowns, and a 126.2 QB rating.

Prophet’s Pulpit

Browns vs Giants- Preview and Prediction

Written by: Tony “The Prophet” Yantosca

The Giants had a Golden Opportunity to take a big step and solidify their lead atop the NFC East. What happened is that they were reading their press clippings while the other 3 teams in the division won. Washington now has the inside track to win the division. I think they can win 2 of the next 3 and finish 8-8. The Giants have to hope they go 2-1 and Washington goes 1-2 and they both go 7-9 and the Giants would win the division because they beat Washington twice. To what end is it to win the division. You fall 8-11 spots in the draft and you get the first-place schedule picking up the Packers and the Rams or Seahawks. I’m looking for them to make a playoff push next year and fill the missing pieces on this team.