New York Giants Mailbag: Hot Seats, Jersey Retirements, and More

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Ed, I don't think either man's seat is as warm as some would have you believe. John Mara knows you can't keep turning over the head coach/general manager every two or so years and starting over. 

I get it that he's impatient, and it’s been a while since this team has been consistently good, but Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll need at least four years, in my opinion, to try to get things right. 

I also believe that the team's first season in which it made it to the playoffs masked a lot of its problems, which is why everything came crashing back down to earth the following season (that plus the injury situation, which continues to be a huge problem for this team).

So, unless either man does something completely out of character that embarrasses the organization, I don’t believe either is in jeopardy of being fired regardless of what happens this season. 

Is every decision they make going to be the right one? No. But how they recover from their mistakes is very telling, and as long as they stay a step or two ahead of things, I believe they’ll be able to overcome mistakes.

Schoen needs about $8-$10 million to get through the summer and most of the regular season, and right now, he has $11,465,031. So don’t expect him to spend the money like an out-of-control shopper unless he has to.

Who is out there now that you'd consider “big-time” and worth a contract? There is a reason why teams usually wait until Week 2 of the season to start signing guys who might be available: Those contracts aren’t automatically guaranteed. 

All that said, have a little patience. For all we know, they have some promising young talent who will do just fine on that defensive line. They have an outstanding pair of coaches in Andre Pattterson and Bryan Cox. Let’s see what those youngsters look like in the summer and in the preseason before we start wringing our hands with worry that the team needs to add to the d-line.

One last point regarding restructuring Andrew Thomas’s contract. Unless this team gets wiped out again by injuries, I don’t see Schoen touching Thomas’s deal until he has to, which would probably be next year.  While you can theoretically restructure a contract every year, why would you unless you absolutely need to? And as of right now, they don’t need to.

Don’t assume he likes jelly. Maybe he’s a fan of preserves. I know I like preserves over jelly (and yes there is a difference). 

I think what the coaches will be looking for is for Jones to show progress in making multiple reads, good decisions with the ball, and staying healthy. 

I know people want stats, but I think it’s too easy to get hung up on that. I’m not so sure that will factor into their decision unless he throws a ton of interceptions (but that again goes back to decision-making with the ball).

I do think if he misses significant time again due to injury, that will tip the scales against him. The bottom line is there are no more excuses for him at this point–he has a (supposedly) better offensive line, he has a No. 1 receiver, and although he doesn’t have Saquon Barkley anymore, I don’t think his running game is that bad. 

I personally still find it concerning that after five seasons, we’re still asking questions about who he is as a quarterback. I understand that it isn’t all his fault–the injuries and missed time haven’t helped, nor have the constant changes in coaching and systems. 

But at some point, you need to be able to determine if this young man can make correct decisions and play above the Xs and Os on a semi-consistent basis, which he has yet to do.

Look, I hope he balls out because that means the team is winning and my job becomes easier. But I need to see something from him to believe in.  

I would say the best thing to do is to write to John Mara to make your case. But quite honestly at this point, so many players have gone on to wear No. 53 (as well as No. 58, Carl Banks’s number) that it’s fair to wonder if the Giants think at this point the whole honor loses something. 

I mean the idea behind retiring a number is that no player ever wears it again. So if they were going to retire Nos. 53 and 58, they probably should have done so after both men last put the jersey on. 

Serious question. Why bother reporting the negative stuff that sites like Pro Football Focus, CBS Sports, and Bleacher Report report? I get that it's the slow news period, but some of the opinions they put out are just so depressing to read, and it just seems like you’re piling on. – Harold W.

Harold, thank you for the question. I don’t know if you actually bother to read beyond the headlines, but quite often, when other media sites express an opinion, we disagree with it, and we say as much in the articles we write. 

It continues to dismay me how people are so quick to jump to conclusions based on a headline where we only have so many characters/spaces to devote to what’s in the article rather than checking to read what was written. I would say the majority of the articles we "respond" to that expressed some sort of negative feeling about the team, e.g., "Giants have the worst roster," have a counterargument we presented.

Look, training camp will be here before you know it, and ultimately, these opinion pieces that sites need to produce year-round should start to thin out. We have some original analysis coming up on “Giants On SI” that I hope you’ll check out.  

I know it’s just one episode of Hard Knocks so far, but has anything surprised you? And is there anything you hope to see in the remaining episodes? – Tammy J.

What’s up, Tammy? Based on the two episodes I have seen (yes, I had a chance to see the second one, which I would say is juicier than the first), I can’t say any “holy moley!” moments were revealed in the first episode. 

Sticking with the first episode, though, since that’s what people have seen, I found the scouting discussions interesting (though not ultra surprising because, if I remember correctly, we wrote about some of those players as a possibility). 

The Saquon tag-and-trade scenario was something I mentioned on my podcast back in January and February as something that could be considered.  

As for what I hope to see, I’d like to get more insight into the brass's discussions about the quarterbacks and if they had an eye on anyone other than Drake Maye. 

I’d also like to get some more insight into Xavier McKinney's departure, though, to be frank, I had enough evidence to believe that McKinney wasn’t returning regardless of what happened with Wink Martindale.  

The other big thing I’m curious about is why the Giants brass went after Drew Lock as opposed to other options that were available at the time.

And I’m hoping that the series shows some of the teaching that the assistant coaches have done with their players as I think viewers will probably find that interesting.