New York Giants Slide Further As Ogletree Calls Players Only Meeting

New York Giants, Alec Ogletree
Nov 18, 2018; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants outside linebacker Alec Ogletree (52) celebrates after his interception with cornerback Antonio Hamilton (30) during the second half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

It’s not a great thing when a team is in a position where they have to call players only meetings. It’s not something that happens when things are going well for a team – the Patriots, Chiefs, Ravens, and any number of other good teams aren’t having their own players only meetings right now, halfway through the season. But the New York Giants are.

According to NJ Advance Media, outside linebacker Alec Ogletree felt the need to call one following the team’s loss against the Detroit Lions. The meeting, of course, follows a result that has led to heavy criticism of head coach Pat Shurmur, who hasn’t offered much improvement from week to week and hasn’t led the Giants to anything during the last two seasons except for a firmer place among the league’s rebuilding teams.

Shurmur has a decent collection of young players and players in their prime on this team, whether that’s Saquon Barkley, Daniel Jones, or others, but has seemed to only get the minimum out of them in terms of production – Jones has had some success amid mixed performances in his rookie season, but it’s been weeks since it’s felt like the Giants have actually been in a position to perform competitively because of Jones.

And now, it’s gotten to the point where players are taking things into their own hands. A players only meeting, after all, wouldn’t be needed on a team where the head coach was trusted enough to sort out things like the current losing streak on his own.

Is Shurmur on the hot seat? Possibly. There’s been a grace period, but the Giants are a demanding team to coach for, and fans expect some improvement between years. So far, however, the Giants have barely shown that they’re a better team than they were last year despite making improvements to the roster.

When the talent level of the players improves and the results are about the same, the coaching is often the next thing to take the blame. And this recent development following the Lions game is just the latest thing to worsen Pat Shurmur’s case for keeping the job when this season is all said and done.