So since it is the end, let's talk about the disappointing Giants season as if it were The Wire, a dead Baltimore cop being eulogized on a pool table in a Baltimore cop bar.
What can we say about the Giants this season? Besides it being terrible, not much. This was one of the more frustrating seasons I've ever had to sit through. Mostly because of how close the were to winning a good amount of football games. Those games would have been the difference in making the playoffs. Football is a game of inches, a few breaks here and there, maybe some better clock management, and the Giants would be looking at 11 wins. But things don't work out the way it should. Victor Cruz never returned, I'll never be Batman, and the Giants weren't good enough to get the breaks they needed.
They did have some brilliant flashes in an otherwise dark cave of a season. Both Eli and Odell had good years, and JPP's return was well received as he made an immediate impact. There were also a few good memories, like Jennings' long touchdown against Buffalo, Dwayne Harris had both a punt return and a kickoff return for touchdowns, and the comeback win against the 49ers.
I don't know what will happen after the season. I don't know what will become of Coughlin and the rest of his coaching staff. Most likely an encouraged retirement? Will Jerry Reese be let go? It's hard to know what Mara and Tisch will do. They can sometimes be too loyal to people that have brought them success. They have such a long leash for their guys that they sometimes get tied up in it.
But if Coughlin winds up getting tossed, it will only be because he wasn't able to coach a poorly constructed team. Yes, there were blunders made. Bad clock management at the end of games, that play where he went for it on 4th down against the Jets, and it completely backfired just to name a few.
Also who would be an upgrade from Coughlin? Would they promote from within and hire Ben McAdoo? Would they hire someone from the outside and get Sean Payton? I have no idea if these guys are a better option for head coach than Coughlin, but you have to trust the ownership. They always seem to make the right decisions. But no matter what happens with Coach Coughlin there is one thing to say, when it went bad, it was really bad, but when it was good, he was the best coach in the NFL.
So let's raise our glass to the Giants' season, and to the coaching staff. We don't know what the future will bring, but we have no choice but to thank them for the past.
