It’s difficult to imagine any head coach can muster up excuses after losing eight consecutive games, one of which coming against a team that just lost to the winless Cincinnati Bengals. New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur has used every excuse in the book heading into week 14 at 2-10.
After Sunday’s blowout loss in the snow to the Green Bay Packers, Shurmur resorted to his go-to post-loss comments.
“This is a historically young team that’s going out there and competing against some really good football teams,” he said. “We’ve got to do what we have to do to win games and I understand that. They also are developing.
He’s not wrong in one respect — the Giants are focusing on developing their youth and matching them up with top wide receivers and opposing players to help them progress and gain essential film to work off of. Cornerbacks DeAndre Baker and Sam Beal have been thrown into the mix against top dogs like Chris Godwin, DeVante Adams, Allen Robinson, Amari Cooper, Larry Fitzgerald, Adam Theilen, Stefon Diggs, Marvin Jones, Kenny Golladay, etc.
For the most part, Baker and Beal haven’t been terrible in every aspect.
Correctly, Baker has shown development in recent weeks, as the Giants forced him into off-ball coverage, a red-flag before the NFL Draft. Developing that part of his game was essential, and Shurmur has made that a focus for the first-round draft choice.
However, after losing to the Packers, New York Giants HC Shurmur made another interesting statement:
“I’m well aware of it,” Shurmur said, via SNY. “People will change what they think of us and me when we win games.”
Shurmur is aware that his seat is getting warmer with every passing loss, even if it ends up landing them Chase Young in the 2020 NFL Draft. Losing at this rate is unsustainable for any head coach, and when fans are barely showing up to a game in week 13, you know you’re in danger of losing trust. The reality is, the Giants must walk away with a wholly upgraded team next offseason, and with plenty of cap space and a guaranteed high-pick to work with, they could turn everything around quickly.
Ultimately, it requires GM Dave Gettleman to make the right choices. So far, he’s been 50/50 in his judgment.