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Franchise (Giants) in Trouble; Read This
Topic Started: Dec 28 2004, 05:12 AM (39 Views)
Strider
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'Franchise in trouble'

A year after Mara's mea culpa,
bumbling Big Blue goes from bad to worse

By RALPH VACCHIANO
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

From his end zone seat at Giants Stadium, Archie Manning can see everything that's been happening to the Giants. He's seen the injuries that have torn them apart. He's watched the beatings they've taken on the field. He's cringed as the offense has collapsed around his youngest son.

Heading into Eli Manning's breakout game yesterday against the Steelers, sitting there and watching hasn't been easy. "A former player told me, 'I've never seen anybody have to start in a tougher situation than Eli has,'" Archie says. "And he's been watching football for 30 years."

It has not escaped Archie's attention that 2,800 miles to the west, the team that drafted Eli, the San Diego Chargers, are 10-3 and streaking toward the playoffs - a cruel twist since just eight months ago Archie told the Chargers not to draft his son because he had concerns about where their organization was headed. He wanted Eli in New York, playing for the Giants - a team that has now lost 21 of its last 30 games.

But don't expect anyone in the Manning family to second guess that decision or lament the trade that landed Eli in his current situation. "I saw what Tom Coughlin did in Jacksonville and I've seen what this organization has done over a long period of time," Archie says. "I fully support this organization and I'm confident they'll get it done here."

It's getting harder and harder to find others who share that belief, with the Giants heading toward their worst two-season stretch in 30 years. A year ago last Friday, the day Jim Fassel asked to be fired, Giants VP John Mara declared his organization "a franchise in trouble." Now that the Giants are 5-9 and riding a seven-game losing streak, is it possible the team is in worse trouble?

Mara doesn't think so. Neither does GM Ernie Accorsi. And neither do most of the players. Last year they were all worried, bracing for an offseason of change. This year, with a new coach and quarterback already in place, they have faith that better days aren't too far away.

"It's painful to watch right now, we understand that," Mara says. "Obviously, we're all very disappointed with our record and our performance over the past six weeks. But I still think we have a lot of hope for the future. We've got a young quarterback we think is very talented, we have a coaching staff we think is very talented, and I think we will get a lot better."

Adds Accorsi: "People don't want to hear when you're (5-9) that everything's great, and I don't mean that. But I think the feeling here is that the building blocks have been established."

The coach and quarterback are the biggest pieces of the puzzle, but there are plenty of other pieces in place, too. Tiki Barber is signed through 2006. Michael Strahan and Amani Toomer are signed through 2008. All five offensive linemen, and injured guards Rich Seubert and Barry Stokes, are signed at least through next season. In fact there isn't a single key player who can leave as a free agent in 2005.

The downside, of course, is that those pieces come from a puzzle that went 4-12 last year, ended the season on an eight-game losing streak, and just might go 5-11 this year while losing its final nine. They thought they hit rock bottom last season. They weren't supposed to hit it again.

"We've had long years before, but I did not expect this," Mara says. "I did not see this coming."

So what happened? For the most part, it's exactly what happened last year when 12 Giants finished the season on injured reserve. This year the number is already at 14, and it's likely that five more players - linebacker Barrett Green, defensive tackle Norman Hand, receiver Jamaar Taylor, safety Gibril Wilson and guard Chris Snee - are also done for the season. That kind of hit two seasons in a row is too much for a team to withstand.

"It's hard for people to accept that now, looking at how we've played over the last few weeks, but we probably, over the last two years, have also set a league record for most players on injured reserve," Mara says. "I've never seen two back-to-back years like that. I think that needs to be taken into account."

Then again, as Accorsi says, "Bill Parcells has that great line about injuries: 'Nobody cares.'" And to a degree, that's true. But how is a team supposed to survive the loss of nine starters, including three safeties, three-fourths of its defensive line, and a player (Strahan) who might be the best defensive player in the league? And there are others, like center Shaun O'Hara, linebacker Carlos Emmons and Toomer, who've been battling injuries all season, too.

From those injuries, though, the Giants see hope. They were 4-1 at one point, and were still 5-4 when Coughlin made his much-anticipated quarterback change. But it was too much to groom a rookie quarterback with a roster falling apart at the seams.

"If you take our entire roster on paper, and include the guys that are on injured reserve, I think it's a pretty solid roster," Mara says. "If we get back the guys who are currently injured, I think we have a chance to have a pretty good team."

A lot of that hinges on two major decisions. The Giants are in deep trouble if Manning isn't the "great guiding light for the future" that Accorsi believes he is, especially since they gave up next year's first-round pick to get him. They're also in trouble if Coughlin's hard-driving ways lead to what some believe is an inevitable player revolt.

But even if Manning and Coughlin work out and the Giants get healthy, they acknowledge there's still work to do. The Giants - who will be in "decent shape" under the salary cap, according to Mara - generally like the players on their much-maligned offensive line, but will be searching for a left tackle so they can move Luke Petitgout to the right side. They'll also be in the market for a game-breaking receiver to take some pressure off Toomer, and they'll keep their eyes on available linebackers, too.

Add that to a core of talented young players - like Manning, tight end Jeremy Shockey, Snee, Wilson, defensive end Osi Umenyiora and cornerbacks Will Allen and Will Peterson - and a few not-quite-done veterans like Barber, Strahan and Toomer, and the Giants believe they'll soon be competitive again in the mediocre NFC.

"Obviously there's still need for improvement in certain areas, but the roster on paper is pretty solid," Mara says. "I think there certainly is reason for optimism.

"I think we felt we were on our way to rebuilding during the first seven weeks of the season," Accorsi adds. "And when we get that team back, that's the feeling that we will have here."

* * *
Since Ernie Accorsi took over for the late George Young on Jan. 8, 1998, the Giants have been to the playoffs twice and the Super Bowl once. But they've only had two winning records in his seven seasons, have gone 53-56, and if they don't win again this season (a likely possibility) they'll have their worst two-season stretch since 1973-74.

Along the way, some of Accorsi's moves have been big hits, some have been big misses, and with some it's way too early to tell:

The Good

1. Re-signing Tiki Barber (2001) - A no-brainer now, but at the time he had only one good season. At six years, $25.2 million with a $7 million bonus, he's a bargain.

2. Re-signing Michael Strahan (2002) - Ended bitter talks by agreeing to guarantee $20.9 million of Strahan's seven-year, $46 million deal just before the season started. That stopped Strahan's public complaints about the split signing bonus he was offered and locked up one of the NFL's best defensive players for his career.

3. Signing Kerry Collins (1999) - Literally rescuing him from rehab, Accorsi got the Giants their best QB since Phil Simms. Criticized at the time for the four-year, $16 million deal they gave a player nobody wanted, Collins rewarded them with a Super Bowl trip.

The Bad

1. Drafting Ron Dayne 11th overall (2000) - It was a good idea to draft a big, bruising running back. Too bad that's not what Dayne is. More of a finesse runner, he was miscast from the beginning.

2. Re-signing Jason Sehorn (2001) - In the afterglow of Super Bowl XXXV, the Giants felt pressure to keep the old gang together. Sehorn, who was blistered in that game, got a six-year, $36 million deal with a $10 million signing bonus - too much for a declining player who was cut two years later.

3. Drafting William Joseph 25th overall (2003) - When nine defensive linemen went in the first 24 picks, the Giants should have looked at another position. Joseph's done absolutely nothing to prove his worth.

And the undecided

1. Trading up for Eli Manning (2004) - Accorsi traded a bushel of picks, including next year's No. 1, to trade for Manning when he could've traded down, picked up an extra second-rounder and taken Ben Roethlisberger.

2. Hiring Tom Coughlin (2003) - The Giants needed discipline and boy did they get it. Coughlin nearly started a preseason player revolt before rallying his troops to a 5-2 start. It's been all downhill since. Will any free agents want to come play for Major Tom?

3. Trading up for Jeremy Shockey (2002) - No one questions his talent, but has his production been worth the headaches? Had the Giants passed, there were a lot of quality options, such as WR Javon Walker, RB T.J. Duckett and S Ed Reed.

Mara: Don't blame Accorsi

They changed the coach, they changed the quarterback, they changed nearly half the roster, yet all the Giants have done is go from 4-12 to 5-9, with a second straight season out of the playoffs a virtual lock.

Does that mean that it's time to change the GM?

Not according to Giants VP John Mara, who threw his full support behind Giants GM Ernie Accorsi and said he'll definitely still be the team's general manager in 2005. "He hasn't done one thing that we all haven't bought into," Mara said. "So you can't blame it on him."

Not that people aren't trying. Mara said most of the fan mail he's received in the last two seasons places the blame for the Giants' mess on either the coach or the general manager. With a new coach in place this season, there's only one obvious target left.

"I've been in this business 34 years so I'm well aware of the pressure," Accorsi said. "Joe Paterno's got a great line: 'It bothers you if you let it bother you.' So I just don't let it bother me."

Accorsi, who is 62 and has a contract that runs at least through next season, has said in the past that he's on the "back nine" of his career and has hinted at retiring after the 2006 season. He has told people in the organization that he wants to make sure the team is set up well for the future before he turns the job over to somebody else.

"But that would be important even if I had 30 years left," Accorsi said. "It's the franchise that comes first, not me. The fans don't care about me. You just want to win for pride and for the respect for the franchise. That's the thing that really matters."


Take from that what you want. Its basically the same stuff we've talked about. Its just good to see it in print. That's in contrast to the usual bullsh*t that we don't wanna hear/read in the media, in relation to the Giants and management.

Last year, I had made fun of how Accorsi can never give a quote without quoting someone. It went right over everyone's heads. Now you see an example of what I was talking about.
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VICTORious
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agreed with everything but shockey

add williams and pettigout to the bad, both could still be good but at a horrible price
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Njdevils350
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its nice to see4 there are beat writers that have competent thought. Of course, nothing i didnt already know
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