The hopeful voices heard during Giants training camp, the ones that spoke of winning the N.F.C. East or of wild-card prospects, are no longer heard. Coaches and players now talk the talk of a losing team, speaking of the need to stay professional and not allow a poor season to spiral into an abysmal one.
Coach Tom Coughlin searched hard for something positive to say toward the end of a conference call on Monday, the day after his team was gashed for 350 rushing yards and endured a fourth-quarter meltdown in a 38-17 road loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He noted that the Giants proved to be resilient after being at the same 3-6 crossroads last year to finish 7-9.
“We did put together some wins at the end of last year, which gave a little bit of respectability to where we were,” he said. “We’ve got to do the same thing here.”
Respectability, even if it is achieved, would probably be viewed as a hollow victory by most fans. And the Giants appear to be on a more perilous course this year than when they opened last season with six consecutive defeats before righting themselves somewhat.
In surrendering 350 yards on the ground in Seattle, the third-highest rushing total allowed in the franchise’s 90-year history, in being outscored 21-0 in the fourth quarter, the Giants absorbed their fourth defeat in a row. They almost surely will miss the playoffs for the third straight year since they defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.
Coughlin, in his 11th season, sounded like a coach feeling the heat despite his two Super Bowl triumphs.
“There is progress that’s been made,” he said. “There are a lot of things we can point to that are good. But we’re not finishing the job, so that dominates all of your thinking. We all know what the game is about. You’ve got to win.”
Coughlin acknowledged that the team was falling short of where he thought it would be after the move to the West Coast offense under the first-year coordinator Ben McAdoo and a roster overhaul in the off-season.
“I’m disappointed,” Coughlin said. “I expect more, and I continue to expect more. My concern is for my team. You can blame it all on me. This is our team, and I’m the head coach, so I’m responsible for everything. So that’s where it starts.”
The hard-driving Coughlin never mentioned injuries in discussing his team’s shortcomings. But they hit hard, particularly in the secondary where Prince Amukamara, Walter Thurmond and Trumaine McBride all landed on injured reserve. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, another key cornerback, has been slowed by back and hamstring injuries.
And it is hardly coincidental that the four-game slide began after the team’s top running back, Rashad Jennings, sustained a sprained knee when the Giants beat the Atlanta Falcons, 30-20, on Oct. 5, for their last win.
Jennings should rejoin the lineup for Sunday’s home game against the San Francisco 49ers. Jennings is averaging 4.4 yards per carry. His replacement, the rookie Andre Williams, is averaging 2.9 yards per rush and was limited to 33 yards in Seattle.
Coughlin said of Jennings: “If he is ready, then obviously he will have a big share of the load.”
Then again, it will not matter who takes handoffs for the Giants if opposing ball carriers continue to run wild the way the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks did. The only other times the Giants allowed more than 350 rushing yards were when the Boston Redskins rambled for 420 yards in 1933 and the Buffalo Bills churned out 366 yards in 1978.
Seattle’s 350 rushing yards were a team record, leaving the Giants more than a little angry as they studied film of the Seahawks ripping off one huge gain after another.
“No one wants records to be set on them,” said Jameel McClain, a linebacker who was among the wave of free agents signed by General Manager Jerry Reese in the off-season as part of an uncharacteristic spending spree by the organization.
The Seahawks were powered, as expected, by their premier back, Marshawn Lynch, who rushed for 140 yards. But quarterback Russell Wilson capitalized on the Giants’ failure to adhere to their edge assignments and ran for 107 yards, and Christine Michael, Lynch’s backup, needed only four carries to pick up 71 yards.
McClain insisted that Perry Fewell, the defensive coordinator, and other coaches should not be blamed for the repeated breakdowns.
“We were definitely prepared,” McClain said. “Coach had a great game plan.”
The Giants have a week to find answers before Colin Kaepernick, another quarterback capable of doing serious damage with his legs, visits with the 49ers.
“Absolutely, it is fixable,” McClain said. “It is more communication. It is more attention to detail.”