The Giants, who fired two-time Super Bowl winning GM Jerry Reese midseason in 2017, had Dave Gettleman and his family and friends on the MetLife Stadium sideline pregame Sunday for photos and a send-off.
That’s a special kind of mismanagement and lack of wherewithal, paying more tribute to a 19-46 GM than to a man who shepherded two championships.
But that’s the modern day Giants.
Meanwhile, Joe Judge’s team predictably concluded his second season with a 22-7 loss to Washington at MetLife Stadium, dragged down by the anvil of Gettleman’s personnel mismanagement.
Gettleman’s time here is over and Judge’s future hung in the balance as the stands emptied.
Jake Fromm threw his first career NFL touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, a 22-yarder to Darius Slayton to draw within 12-7.
But the defense immediately got the ball shoved it down their throats for 66 rushing yards on an insurance TD drive by the visitors, capped by an 18-yard Antonio Gibson TD run.
Fromm and the offense were mostly embarrassing, never more so than when Judge ran two quarterback sneaks from victory formation with his offense backed up against its own goal line in the second quarter.
Calling it on 3rd and 9 from the Giants’ 4-yard line drew national criticism on social media. The worst part, though, was that it was Judge and Freddie Kitchens’ only real option to free enough room to punt.
Fromm had dribbled a pass at fullback Eli Penny’s feet, and Penny had false-started on the two plays prior. And Gettleman’s pathetic offensive line has only one player, left tackle Andrew Thomas, who is good enough to start for this team in 2022.
That’s four years after the GM came in to fix the offensive front.
The Giants’ sales job on Gettleman’s end as a retirement shouldn’t be confused with a firing. Call it whatever you want. This has been an absolute disaster the past four years, and the blame for it lies at the feet of ownership, primarily John Mara.
Mara had yet to address anyone’s job status as of game’s end.
