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EAST RUTHERFORD — Joe Schoen apologists will tell you that he hasn’t had a chance to “pick” his own quarterback. Yet all he did this season was assemble one of the worst quarterback rooms in modern football history. Three quarterbacks have tried and three quarterbacks have failed miserably in this putrid Giants offense — the latest example coming Sunday at MetLife Stadium when Drew Lock had poor pocket presence and missed open receivers in the Giants’ 14-11 loss to a bad Saints team. “Obviously we could’ve done a better job in certain areas whether it’s protection, reads, throws, calls — whatever it may be,” said head coach Brian Daboll, who has also failed at being the offensive mastermind that the Giants hired him two years ago to be. “It’s a collective thing. Put it on me.” Look, the obvious caveat is that it would be difficult for many quarterbacks to thrive in this environment. The 2-11 Giants are down to backups at both offensive tackle spots, lost two more linemen during Sunday’s game, and don’t have a legitimate pass-catching tight end. No one is asking for Tom Brady-level production, though, and it’s undeniable that the front office didn’t help its cause by signing lousy quarterbacks who don’t elevate an offense in any shape or form. Remember when Schoen thought he could somehow neutralize Daniel Jones’ deficiencies by drafting wide receiver Malik Nabers instead of picking a new quarterback like J.J. McCarthy or Bo Nix, who is going to win Offensive Rookie of the Year with the Broncos? Remember when the staff didn’t have enough faith in Tommy DeVito to name him the backup this season, but suddenly wanted the No. 3 quarterback to start after benching Daniel Jones in Week 12, then changed their minds after DeVito missed one game due to injury? Or remember when they thought Lock was a legitimate backup to sign in the first place, rather than pursue a more provenly successful veteran like Russell Wilson? None of it has worked out. Schoen has made numerous miscalculations that he must own, and it’s no longer realistic for fans to trust that he’s the right man to find a franchise quarterback with one of the first picks in next year’s draft. Just how bad was Lock against the Saints’ 29th-ranked passing defense? He didn’t complete a pass until the second quarter after eight straight incompletions, and he had only 81 passing yards entering the fourth quarter, when the Giants trailed by double digits. “Just missed some easy ones,” Lock said. “One of those (first) halves where you’re gonna go back and be frustrated. They were giving us some stuff, and, ah, man, just didn’t maximize the opportunities they gave us. As the quarterback and how I feel, it’s the classic ‘shoot myself in the foot.’ Found some plays where we had opportunities and didn’t take them, didn’t make them.” Lock even went viral on social media in the second quarter for inexplicably cutting to the outside on a scramble when he had a first down if he continued running straight. Even when the Giants miraculously had a chance to tie or take the lead late, Lock rolled to his right and threw an interception with 1:52 remaining from the Giants’ 38-yard line. Then the Giants got the back ball thanks to their defense forcing the Saints to punt for the seventh time, yet their last-minute drive stalled at the Saints’ 17-yard line and fittingly ended with a blocked field goal. “They were giving us a lot of Tampa (defensive coverage) on that final drive,” Lock said in explaining the second- and third-down incompletions. “Flipped around a couple guys around in the huddle. Put Wan’Dale (Robinson) at 3, (Malik Nabers) at the X, tried to get it to him on one of the boundary safeties. They gave me Tampa, Wan’Dale did a great job of getting around 56, put a low ball to Wan’Dale and guy made a good play on that. “The last play it was, we’ve got the field goal, they’re gonna be playing off, can’t get tackled in bounds. If we do, we better get up on the ball. But at that point it was end zone, incomplete or out of bounds, and it ended out of bounds.” The only positive to come out of Sunday was that with a fourth-quarter touchdown, the Giants are still averaging 14.9 points per game. That’s 0.1 higher than the worst scoring average in team history (minimum 16-game schedule) set by the 1979 Giants. But there’s plenty of time for that record to be broken with four more opponents who all have a chance to make the playoffs and will be almost certainly be tougher than the Saints. The Giants are also on pace to finish with the most losses (at least 14) in franchise history after recording 13 in 2021 and 2017. They have finished with two wins or fewer five other times (not since 1974), except all of those seasons contained no more than 14 games. It’s not an ideal way to celebrate your 100th year as a franchise, but this is what happens when you run a systemic failure from the top all the way down, starting with a dreadful quarterback room. So where do the Giants turn to for answers in the final month of the season? “Each other,” said wide receiver Darius Slayton, who has endured five losing seasons in six years with the Giants. “Nobody is gonna come make the plays. We’ve got to make the plays. We’ve got to run, catch, throw and block. So got to do that better.”
Vijay Gir is a Certified Blockchain Expert with over 8 years of experience in the blockchain industry. He has a deep passion for sharing his knowledge of blockchain, cryptocurrency, and web3 technologies. For the past 7 years, Vijay has been dedicated to writing about these transformative topics, helping others stay informed and understand the evolving landscape of decentralized technologies. a silent closing? Bitcoin is hovering around $96,316 with a slight dim of 0.35% from December opening. A few minutes ago it was over 2%, however as we approach christmas eve, it looks like Santa is preparing the gift. Current Momentum: A Mixed Bag December started with Bitcoin flirting with record highs, but it's now down $15,000 from last week's peak. Still, BTC has climbed by 2.28% in the past two hours, showing that short-term traders are staying active. Zooming out,...