E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he was one of only three sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls until the past few. Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

(As the losses grow, and as the mistakes proliferate, the Giants are going further and further down that rabbit hole of no escape. They are 2-12, and our analyst Scott Landstrom is rapidly losing all faith in what they are capable of producing. So read the tearful analysis and as true Giant fans root for immediate changes)

By Scott Landstrom
If there is one "credo" that one could formulate to encapsulate this disastrous 2024 NFL season for the New York Giants, it would be: "What CAN go wrong, WILL go wrong."

If it means the team has to lose its best All-Pro offensive left tackle (Andrew Thomas) for the season with a foot injury, then down he goes and onto the IR list. If it means the team has to lose the best defensive tackle playing in the NFL in Dexter Lawrence for the season, he dislocates his elbow and is lost for the entire year.

If Brian Daboll "gambles" a bit by only carrying one kicker (Graham Gano) who is a bit banged up, the other team busts a huge kickoff return on the very first play, and Gano tears his hamstring trying to chase down the runner in a game the Giants lose by only three points, leaving nine points on the field -- if only they had a kicker.

Additionally, New York had to play this Baltimore game without their best linebacker (Bobby Okereke), and their best defensive back (Tyler Nubin), who will have 100 tackles from the safety position after only two more).

If it means their most sure-handed receiver (Malik Nabers) has to drop a fourth down pass that hit him right between the numbers which would have clinched the win vs. the Commanders, he drops it, of course - and they go down the field and win on a field goal.

If it means QB Daniel Jones has to follow up an outstanding 119.7 QB rating game with a miserable nationally broadcast "clunker" against Carolina in Munich, serving as the "last straw" in the team's patience with "Danny Dimes," he plays horribly in Germany, is demoted, and then asks for his release. He is now a Viking (and is 12-2 instead of 2-12).

If it means New York is finally in the game with an easy chance to force overtime against the Saints with a 25-yard field goal attempt, then of course that is the one time the field goal blocking breaks down, and the kick is blocked, and the chance for overtime is lost.

If it means our General Manager (Joe Schoen) has to make one of the most COLLOSSAL miscalculations in player evaluation in the HISTORY of the NFL, he does exactly that, allowing "best player" Saquon Barkley to walk away for the unwillingness to pay him one THIRD of what Jones was making, or HALF of what Schoen agreed to pay Brian Burns, and Barkley joins (of all teams) our most hated rival and has a likely-MVP season to completely grind salt into the wound.

He is on track to finish with over 2,300 total all-purpose yards and leading the league also in AGR for players with at least 150 carries, at 5.9 yards per attempt. Really, Joe? An "edge rusher" who is probably somewhere between fifth and 15th in the peer rankings of that position is worth double what the best running back on planet Earth is? I think you better "guess again!"

Let's put the icing on the cake and point out that there have probably been two more games lost due to unfathomable play-calling decisions made by Daboll. Last year, he clearly had "the magic" in his play-calling, highlighted by his daring "go for two points" with almost no time left in Week One on the road against the Titans, but this year forever proves that "regression to the mean" is a real phenomenon.

All you had to know about last Sunday's Ravens game is that the Giants, about to play their fourth-string quarterback (Tom Boyle) for the entire second half, were 16.5 point underdogs, despite playing at home. According to NextGen Stats, that betting line made New York the largest "home dog" in Vegas since 1968. And THAT, folks, is over half a century ago!

And just think, if this game had been in Baltimore instead of New York, given the "standard" three-point home team edge, that implies the spread would have been 19.5 points!! That is the kind of spread you get when Delaware Lutheran plays Georgia, not a game among peers at the NFL level!

The game was a disaster on all levels. Baltimore MVP candidate QB Lamar Jackson merely had a QB rating of 154.6 (theoretical perfection is 158.3), and a ESPN QBR of 93.3 (perfection is 100.0). The number of times he threw to completely "uncovered" receivers approached double digits in the game. DC Shane Bowen's zone was "shredded" to pieces, and many of the reserves having to play because of injuries simply did not know who to cover.

They outrushed us 170 to 55 yards, an embarrassing ass-whipping, out-passed us 275-181, and averaged over 40 yards per kickoff return, and over 20 yards per punt return. Verily, there was not one category I could find (other than "penalties") where the Giants outplayed the Ravens.

Oh, and are you ready for this? The two teams had almost an identical number of third down opportunities: Baltimore had 11, New York had 12. The Giants were a miserable 2-10 on converting, while the Ravens were 9-2. Said another way, we ONLY converted two of our dozen opportunities, whereas they converted ALL BUT TWO!

I wish I could find a "silver lining" in this evolving story of nine consecutive losses, most of them at home, no less - but there is no such glimmer to be found. This 2024 team, as injured, unlucky and letting their best player walk away - makes mistakes like dropped passes between the numbers and no field goal kicker for an entire game and blocked "chip shot" 25-yard field goals - I repeat: "What CAN go wrong, WILL go wrong."

So this Sunday, on to play the 7-7 Atlanta Falcons in their building with them beginning the era defined by starting their No. 1 draft pick, QB Michael Penix Jr., who took the Washington Huskies to the National Championship game last year in college. I would try to say something pithy and optimistic, but this 2024 Giants squad is feeling more like a "Ray Handley" coached team every week, sadly.

And THAT is really saying something, folks, because Mr. Handley was hopelessly over his head as a coach running an NFL team. I hope the same is never said about Coach Daboll, but with every consecutive loss, it looks darker and darker before the dawn.

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