Close.
Or, at least closer.
This, above all, is the determining factor for everything going on with the Giants, a team that almost never wins.
Are they close? If not, are they at least getting closer?
Based solely on results, at 1-7 in Joe Judge’s first season as head coach, the Giants are not close to anything except the Jets — the only winless NFL team, which puts the Giants close to positioning themselves for the coveted and dreaded No. 1 pick in next year’s draft. In the terrible NFC East, the Giants are not close to the basement, they are in it, actually behind the only team they beat.
They meet up Sunday afternoon with Washington (2-5) at FedEx Field, and the difference between the Giants being 0-for-the-season and where they are is a 20-19 victory three weeks ago, nudged along by Washington coach Ron Rivera’s decision to go for a two-point conversion and the win with 36 seconds remaining, rather than kicking for the extra point to take the game into overtime.
So, the Giants won that one, and only one, the way they lost so many other games. Close.
Jerry Seinfeld gave us the Close Talker. The Giants are the Close Losers. Six of their games were one-possession spreads. In their past four games, the margin of victory was three, one, one and two points. It is the first time in Giants history — we’re going back 95 years here — they played four consecutive games decided by a total of seven or fewer points.
This is uncommon. The last time any team played four games decided by so few points was 30 years ago, when the Broncos did it in 1990, when Judge was 8 years old.
The Giants’ past three games were decided by a total of four points. It has been 47 years since that has happened with this franchise.
“I think any competitor that’s playing in this league wants to win and wants to improve and show that by results,’’ linebacker Blake Martinez said. “It’s a results business. So yeah, it’s definitely tough, and you want to go out there, after all the hard work, and come out with a win.’’
The Giants are as close as it gets, but still too far away. This is why Judge is keeping the heat on his players, his coaching staff and himself.
“I need to improve, every coach on the staff needs to improve, every player needs to improve,’’ Judge said. “That’s our job. On a daily basis, we have to come in and be better than we were the day before. There are no exceptions, no matter what your record is, what point you are in your career. That never stops. Improvement has to be the constant right there.
“But the reason I talk about the coaches is because, yeah, we’re all held accountable. We’re all responsible for how our players are playing, how our units are playing and how our team is playing. That’s our job. We’re measured by the results on the field. Every coach is held accountable like every player is held accountable. It starts with me.’’
Many coaches say “it starts with me,’’ but it is more lip-service than actual fact. Judge, by all accounts, puts his preaching into practice.
“I’m going to hold everybody accountable — that starts with myself,’’ he said. “I’m the first one to tell everybody when I screw up, because I demand every player to look in the mirror and have the same criticism of themselves. We’re never going to look at each other and say that wasn’t your fault, sometimes it is your fault and sometimes it’s my fault. We’re going to very open and honest with each other.’’
Finding fault is not an issue with these Giants. There’s plenty of it to go around. Giving credit after winning a game? That is much more difficult for the Giants to come by.
"close" - Google News
November 08, 2020 at 10:28AM
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Giants' task: Stop getting close and beat Washington again - New York Post
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