New York Giants veteran wide receiver Golden Tate is never shy about expressing himself and sometimes that can manifest itself in ways that are unintended.
After returning from his four-game suspension against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 5, Tate saw just six targets, leading to three receptions for a mere 13 yards. It was a performance that did not sit well with him and one that led Tate to immediately question his role on the team.
Since then, Tate has seen 20 targets, leading to 12 receptions for 182 yards and one touchdown. However, the Giants have done nothing but lose, going 0-3 since Tate’s return.
Much like the lacking targets early on, that is also not sitting well with the veteran.
“I didn’t come here to lose, I came here to help get things turned around and help us win a bunch of games,” Tate told reporters on Monday.
While Tate admits to an obvious frustration, he maintains that these Giants aren’t “light years” away from being competitive, but just a few plays here and there.
“I still believe that we can [win], we just need to be a little bit better. Looking back at that film, I don’t think it was as bad as I thought it was. I think there are some things we definitely. . . one guy does one thing a little bit better, that could be a big play,” Tate said. “Looking at it, I don’t think we’re light years away from being a really, really, good team. I just think we’re a few plays. Just do a few things a little bit better, and I think we’re in a better situation late in the game.”
Perhaps that’s an optimistic view of things given that the Giants are losing by an average of over 15 points per game this season, but at least Tate isn’t throwing in the towel and throwing his teammates under the bus.
Still, if the Giants don’t find a way to start winning soon, these obvious signs of frustration will boil over and players will stop being so diplomatic, Tate included.
